Thanksgiving Fun

We had a wonderful Thanksgiving Holiday with my in-laws. We went to their home in Candia, NH. The trip was a little hectic, as traveling with three kids under the age of 4 usually is. But it was nice to spend a few days letting someone else take care of us for a little while! Here are some pics from the weekend.

Esme and Iris

Happy Esme

Happy Iris

Eli goes right for the good stuff!

The Thanksgiving Feast

Happy Halloween

 Eddie, Eli, Sage

Halloween has never really been one of my favorite holidays.  Many of my friends like to get all dressed up and have Halloween parties.  I have participated in a number of these over the years.  Generally, I throw a costume together at the last minute.  Halloween has been more fun since I had children.  It is fun to get the kids dressed up and go trick-or-treating.  But still, as a general rule, I much prefer Christmas and Thanksgiving.

But this year was different.  This year, I SO looked forward to Halloween.  Last year, I spent Halloween in a hospital.  I did not get to take my son trick-or-treating.  Eli and I were able to participate in the Halloween parade that the staff put on for the kids at the Barbara Bush Children's Hospital and I remain thankful to this day that we were invited to participate, but it just wasn't the same.  Eli had to be brought to me by a friend and I had to be pushed in a wheelchair by a nurse while my friend helped Eli through the parade.

This year, I volunteered to organize the Halloween Party for the Mothers of Multiples Club, I had all of my kids' costumes picked out by the last week in September, and I arranged our trick-or-treating plans weeks in advance of the actual day.  The party was a hit, and gave us an opportunity to get the girls dressed up in costume, as that was a morning event.  Trick-or-treating was fun!  The girls didn't quite make it, so Jesse brought them home, but Eli and I walked around our friends' neighborhood with their kids and another family.  I still threw together a very last minute costume (literally, Amanda gave me some devil ears, a devil tail, and that pitchfork thing that the devil carries just before we walked out the door...thanks Amanda!)  But how fun it was to take Eli door to door.  To see his excitement as he ran up each driveway screaming "Trick or Treat!"  It was a very cold night, but I couldn't have cared less.

So much I am thankful this year.  My experiences last fall make me appreciate every second of my life and my children's lives.  I still think of my time in the hospital almost daily.  The worry, the discomfort, the fear.  It was such a profound experience.  I thank God every day for the way things turned out and I appreciate the smallest things, like trick-or-treating with my son, in a way that I took for granted before.  

 Esme (Flower) & Iris (Butterfly)

 Iris

 Esme

Eli & Sage

 Eli, Eddie, & Sage

 Eddie, Eli, & Sage

Dori

Come On Eli, Its Time to Potty...Update

Just over a week ago, Eli finally gave up Pull-Ups at night.  Night times were our last bastion of potty training.  The first morning he woke up wet and cold, but there has been only one more night accident since then.  Potty training has been hard and a long road, but we finally made it.  That's not to say we don't have an accident here and there, but, Eli is three, its to be expected. 

Way to go Eli!  I am so proud of you!!!  Now only two more kids to go...

Imagination Eli - What a Mind!

This past weekend we stayed at Colin and Nancy's (Jesse's bosses) camp in Falmouth on Highland Lake. It was beautiful. The cottage is cozy and the views were fantastic. Eli, of course, thought it was magnificent. He has been talking about the camp and going back to the camp since we came home on Monday.

So this morning he asked me if after I picked him up from school if we would go back to the camp. I tried to explain to him, in terms that he would understand, that we had just "borrowed" the camp for the weekend, and that we had to give it back to the owners because someone new was going to be "borrowing" it now. Well, this was not satisfactory to my little creative genius. Instead, he told me that he wanted to go to the camp and pick it up and bring it home.

This made me chuckle a little, as I imagined us putting a camp in our pocket and carrying it back to our house.  But this was not at all what Eli had in mind.  I replied to Eli, "Honey a camp is a type of house and that is too big to just pick up and bring home with us."  To which Eli responded, "Mom, lets get a bunch of cars and put it on top of the cars and the cars can drive it to our house.  This is a good idea, Mom?!"

What a genius little mind he has.  And what a funny vision that is, a camp on top of a bunch of cars driving down the road.  It is a good idea, Eli.  Maybe we should give it a try.  It is a nice camp...I wonder if Colin and Nancy would mind if we "borrowed" it just a little bit longer...?

Exciting Updates and Random News

So, this entry is just a chance for me to catch all of you up on what's been happening around the Stenbak household for the last few weeks.  I have been working an evening job, five nights a week, so needless to say, we have been super busy.  So here's whats been happening at our house:

Iris and Esme are growing like weeds.  They are now 9 months old.  We just had their well child checkup and the doctor described them as super healthy!  Both girls are almost 30 inches tall and are around 25lbs.  I think they outweigh most of their friends by at least 6 or 7 pounds!  In the last month they have started sitting very steadily and moving around the house.  They are not crawling yet, but they certainly get around.  Both girls can get up on their knees, but haven't tried yet to move forward.  It wont be long now and they will definitely be crawling.  Also, they can both clap their hands.  That is really cute to watch.  If I clap my hands they will mimic me.  They are both starting to move away from bottles and on to more foods.  Their formula intake has dropped dramatically and they are eating more and more table foods.  They can both eat finger foods now, like cheerios, black beans, bananas, and small vegetables.  They also really enjoy playing with toys and have even started stealing toys from each other.  I can't believe how big they are getting!

Talk about getting big, Eli started preschool this month.  He is attending Prides Corner Nursery School in Westbrook.  His program is Monday, Wednesday, Friday Mornings from 9-11:30.  He really loves his new teacher, Mrs. Philbrook.  We have already received the Scholastic Book Order form and received our first group of books.  It is so fun to see the projects he brings home and to see how excited he is when I drop him off in the morning.

Jesse celebrated 10 years with Portland Magazine this month.  He first started working at Portland Magazine just before we were married in October of 2000.  I remember when he was offered the job.  He was so excited, but a little nervous to tell them he would need his second week of work off because he was getting married.  His office threw a party for him with take out from Beal's St. BBQ and Ice Cream Sundaes.  Myself and the kids went in for the party.  He was then given the rest of the week off and Colin and Nancy, Jesse's bosses, graciously offered us their Lake Cabin in Falmouth for the weekend.  It is from there that I write this entry.  Also, Colin and Nancy announced that to celebrate 25 years in publication they would be taking Portland Magazine's full time employees plus one guest on a trip to Bermuda this coming March.  That's right folks, this March, Jesse and I will be taking an all-inclusive vacation to Bermuda WITHOUT our children.  My mom has already offered to babysit!  Let me tell you, I am all over that passport application!

This past Friday, I had my first night off from everything (work, kids, life in general), since my girls were born.  I had to take a business trip to Calais, Maine, which is about 4 hours from Portland.  Calais is located in Washington County, which is the down-east section of Maine, right on the Canadian border.  I drove up on Friday and stayed overnight at the Redclyffe Shore Motel in Robbinston, Maine.  The Motel sat right on the shore line.  I had a beautiful view from my room and from the restaurant.  I treated myself to a delicious dinner, a couple drinks, and chocolate raspberry cake for dessert!  I watched whatever I wanted on the TV and went to bed at 8:00.  But the best part was that I slept until 10:00 am the next morning.  I haven't had that much sleep in months!  It was WONDERFUL.

Lastly, I am currently discussing with my former law firm returning to practice after the first of the year.  What a wonderful year it has been being home with my kids.  I don't want to give that up entirely, so returning part-time will be perfect!  I don't know all of the logistics yet, but I am definitely excited by the prospects.

September has been a big month in the Stenbak Household!  And despite all of these goings on, I have managed for the first time ever to get all of my kids Halloween costumes figured out and ready before October has even fallen upon us!  I feel so organized.  I can't wait to see what October will bring!  Hopefully, I will be able to post some updated pics soon.

Weekends at the Cabin

Some of my best memories as a kid are the days we spent at our family camp.  There were always tons of us crammed into the one small building.  My parents, sister, brother, friends, my uncles, aunts, cousins.  All of us slept up in a loft on mattresses on the floor.  There was swimming, fishing, boating, tubing, marshmallows toasted on a campfire, walks down the dirt road.  The memories are so crystal clear.  I even remember the long car rides to the camp like I just took one yesterday.

Jesse's parents, Jan and Roger, have a cabin on Northeast Pond in Milton, NH.  Even though our lives are endlessly busy, especially in the summer, we try to spend as much time there during the summer as possible.  Being there brings back all those childhood memories for me.  I am thrilled that we have a place to bring our kids so they can have those same experiences.  

Here are some pics from a few weekends this summer.

Eli heading up to the Cabin from the Water

The View from the Lower Porch

Eli and I on the Dock

Jesse

Jesse and Eli on a Canoe Ride

Jesse and Eli Checking Out a Snail

Iris and Esme Napping on a Walk

Eli - So Proud of the Rock that He Found

A Day Trip to a Nearby Strawberry Farm

Esme and I

Come on Eli, It's Time to Potty...

Potty Training SUCKS! But then, so does changing diapers on a 3 1/2 year old. So, we must persevere - for now at least.

This past Sunday, we decided to start seriously potty training with Eli. We have been trying pull-ups for the past month or so, with no success. For those of you who remain lucky enough to not know what a pull-up is, it is essentially a diaper that works like underwear. It does not have tabs, so you have to pull it up like a pair of underwear. This means that every time you need to change the pull-up, everything else needs to come off. I guess the fact that it comes up and down like underwear is supposed to motivate the child to want to use the potty instead of the pull-up. If there is a parent out there that has actually had this experience I envy you.

Anyway, on Sunday, we decided to try putting Eli in underwear to see how that would go. I know a number of people who have had good success with this method. I am hoping that he wont like the feeling of being wet and that this will motivate him, along with a sticker chart and M&M rewards system, to use the bathroom, but I am not sure this will be the case for us. On day one, we had ok success - about 50%. Day two was better - about 70% success, but day three was a disaster. 0% success. I spent the whole day cleaning up messes and changing clothes. The last couple of days have been better, but being wet, or poopy for that matter, doesn't seem to bother Eli in the least. This might mean that he is not really ready and this attempt may be futile, but if nothing else, I think he is starting to become aware of when he does go to the bathroom and what that feels like. We will give it a couple weeks and see what happens. If it doesn't work, we will stop for now and try again in a month or so. I am trying not to stress out about it.

Sometimes, though, it is hard to keep the stress level down. First, it is not easy for me to remain calm when I am cleaning up puddles of pee all over my house. Sometimes I feel like my head might explode. Moreover, whenever we are struggling with something new, some new facet of parenthood, it seems that there is no shortage of superparents with magic children ready to tell me all about the ease of their experience with my latest struggle. Does this happen to you? Who are these parents out there that just breeze through child rearing? They are not people I know or who know me. Rather, they are the "well-meaning" (read annoying and self righteous) strangers who love to offer their advice when they happen upon me and my "insuperior" (read normal) parenting self. You know them, those people who approach you in the grocery store, or in the waiting room at the doctor's office, or any other random place. These superparents always happen to stumble across me just in time to discover my new parenting struggle and can't help but brag about how their children excelled at whatever issue I am now struggling with. Well, to you parents who have these magic children who have slept through the night at 6 days old, never cried, never whine, eats anything and everything, who are always well behaved and potty trained by 2 years old, in just a few days, I am sticking my tongue out at you the second you turn your back and walk away.

Fortunately, superparents, I can brush you off, because I have wonderful family and friend support who share their true experiences and offer supportive genuine advice. Who share stories of both their children's strengths and struggles and acknowledge the same in my children. And, I will meet a few strangers along the way who will reach out and do the same. So to those who share your stories of success and struggle, who offer advice not judgment, who lend a helping hand or a listening ear, who support us normal parents with normal children, I thank you. And to you, I smile as you walk away.

All of us parents have children who are good at some things and struggle with others (even the magic children of the superparents, I suspect). There are plenty of things Eli has been really good at, that he has picked up very quickly. I think learning to use the potty may not be one of them. But I have full confidence he will get it, even if not at a magically rapid rate. When I get really stressed out I try to take a deep breath, call on the strength and support of my normal parent brethren, and remember that this too shall pass. I will not have a 17 year old still in diapers, and if I do, god knows he will be changing his own!

Westbrook Fair Fun!

Yesterday we went down to Riverbank Park, here in Westbrook, for Westbrook Together Days. This is our annual city fair. It is a pretty small event, nothing compaired to a state fair. There are no farm animals or serious fair rides, but it does have some children's rides, food vendors and local performers.

We were not there very long. We don't stay anywhere very long these days if we have all three kids in tow. But we walked around for about an hour. On our walk down to the park, we passed a couple with two young children who gave us 10 ride tickets on their way out. As a result, Eli went on his first fair ride. This is the first time we went to any sort of fair/carnival that he has been old enough and tall enough to go on even the smallest kiddie rides. On our way into the park he saw this small red train chugging around in a small circle. Immediately he started asking to go on that ride. So that small train became his first fair ride! Of course, we forgot to bring the camera, so the only pictures we have are the ones that were taken from Jesse's phone. So the pics are not great, but at least there are a few!

He also went on the Ferris Wheel with Jesse, but there are no pics of that because I was off getting food while they went on the ride. And, he went down the big bouncy slide twice - even though both trips down he held onto the side for his dear life!  My first baby really has become a little boy. Maybe a trip to Santa's Village will have to be in the plans for a summer adventure.

Puppy also enjoyed the slide (Puppy goes everywhere Eli goes).

Freecycle Makes Summer Fun!

Our latest Freecycle find!  A "new" tricycle for Eli.

I am really looking forward to the day that Eli can ride a bicycle.  I dream about going for walks while he pedals alongside us and then later on the family bicycle rides.  But, alas, he is a bit on the shorter side, so I think it will be another year before a bicycle is a practical buy.  But, he is now big enough to comfortably ride a tricycle.  He hasn't quite figured out the pedaling yet, but he is starting to get it.

I find myself very impatient for these milestones.  I just want him (and the girls for that matter) to hurry up and start being able to do things.  But at the same time, I want time to slow down.  My first baby is such a big boy.  It seems like yesterday a nurse placed him on my chest.

Eli is such a cool kid.  For the most part, he is well-mannered, very sweet, and very kind.  He is good at sharing his toys.  He loves to show his bedroom to everyone who stops by.  And, he has recently really started to interact and play with other children.  It is hilarious to listen to the conversations he has with his friends.  His most frequent topic of conversation these days is his "two baby sisters."  I feel so lucky to be his mom!

Stenbak Updates

It has been a busy few weeks around the Stenbak household.  Esme and Iris had their 4 month check up (a little late).  Both girls are doing so well!  Iris was 16 lbs 8.5 oz and Esme was 16 lbs 1.5 oz.  Both girls are above the 90th percentiles for their weight and in the 50th percentiles for their height.  A little short and stout...the apple doesn't fall that far from the tree.  It's hard to believe they were ever premies.  Tomorrow they will be 5 months old.  WOW, how quickly the time has passed.

The girls are doing all kinds of things now.  They love to look at each other.  It is fun to watch them interact.  They will coo back and forth like they are having a conversation.  Iris rolled over today from her belly to her back!  What a big girl.  And both girls can belly laugh.  I love it when they giggle.  It is so funny.  No matter how I am feeling at the time, I can't help it but start laughing myself!

Look How Much We Have Grown!

The Census job is going well.  I was promoted in my first week from Enumerator (a census taker) to a Crew Leader Assistant.  I still do some enumerating (counting people) but mostly I organize people and paperwork.  It is a pretty good job and I can do most of it from home.  But it will not last long.  We have a deadline to complete Non Response Follow Up (knocking on doors of those who didn't mail in the form), which is the phase of the census I am working for, by June 27th.  So I am on the search for a new part-time opportunity for the summer.

I am really enjoying being home with the kids during the day.  Honestly, I wasn't sure how this was going to go.  I never thought I would make a very good stay-at-home mom.  I thought I would be going crazy by the end of the week.  While there are some weeks like that, most are pretty good.  I am really starting to get a routine.  Like any job, there is a learning curve, and we are definitely on the upswing!  I think it is going to be a really fun summer!

I joined the Greater Portland Mother's of Multiples Club.  Just before Mother's Day we had a Spa Night.  It was really very fun.  Our meeting was held at Cherry Pie in Portland.  We got the choice of a few different mini spa treatments.  I chose a parafin treatment for my feet.  It was wonderful.  It was also nice to connect with other moms who have a similar family situation.  And the icing on the cake, there was a door prize, and I won.  A free Mani/Pedi!  Now I just have to find time to schedule it!

Here are some pictures from Mother's Day.  We went to Candia to celebrate with Jesse's parents, but first we stopped into the Prenatal Care Unit at Maine Medical Center where I lived all last fall to drop off some flowers for the current patients.  I know how much it sucks to be in the hospital on a holiday and I know what a wonderful thing all of these women are doing for their babies even before they are born!

Flowers for Prenatal Patients

Esme

Iris

Look at Iris Checking Esme Out.

The Proud Grandparents

Iris Covering Eli's Yawn

Our "New" Sandbox

So, for the record, I hate sandboxes. We have had one for all of 1 hour and the first time Eli came inside he tracked sand all through the house. While I find a sandbox less than endearing, Eli LOVES them! So, I being the good mommy I am, made a request on freecycle for a sandbox and we found one. Yesterday, the three kids and I all drove out to Steep Falls in the minivan to pick it up. It’s huge, bubbly plastic, and shaped like a tugboat. Of course it didn't fit in the minivan. So myself, and the woman who gave it to us strapped it to the roof of the minivan. What a sight that must have been -- a gold Dodge Grand Caravan traveling down Route 25 with a giant blue and yellow plastic tugboat sitting on top of it! This morning we packed back into the minivan and made our way to Lowes where I bought 500 pounds of sand. Eli couldn't even wait for me to put the sand in. He got his sand toys and sat in the box as I unloaded the bags. There he played for the next hour. It was about 50 degrees, windy and cold, but he was oblivious, having a super good time. And, he has been an absolute pleasure this afternoon. In fact he has told me I am "wonderful" at least three times since he got up from his nap. And, the macaroni and cheese lunch I made for him, not typically his favorite, was "delicious." I guess a sandbox isn't all bad after all.

I Wonder What the People Behind Me Were Thinking

Eli, Happy at Play

Easter Weekend

What a beautiful weekend we had here in Southern Maine. Temperatures were in the 70's both Saturday and Sunday. We had a wonderful Easter day. Jesse's parents came to our home to spend the day with us and then took Eli home with them for a couple of "special Eli days" with Grammy Lil and Papa.

Iris taking a little snooze...

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Iris

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The Easter Bunny visited our house Saturday Night, leaving Eli an Easter Basket and hiding the Easter Eggs we had decorated earlier in the week. He was so exited to find his new stuffed lamb waiting for him Sunday morning and had such a fun time finding the eggs hidden around the house.

Eli checking out his Easter goodies

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Eli finding the Easter Eggs

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Papa and Jesse with Eli and Esme

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Grammy Lil with Iris

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My beautiful family

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Pretty girls all dressed up and chillin' on the back porch

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An Easter Brunch of Quiche, Fruit Salad and Hot Cross Buns
Served Outside

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Eli eating a freshly frosted sugar cookie

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Eli sitting in the back of Grammy and Papa's car waiting to get on the road for his adventure.