So glad to finally have the time to write a post again.  It's a late Sunday night....the kids are currently at my parent's house...which is typical since I work during the day on Mondays.  It's quite nice to have the entire night off from the kids once a week.  Jamson and I get the chance to go out to dinner, clean the house a bit, prep for the week (meals, LOTW worksheets and other activities), bills and maybe relax for a bit.  And not to brag, but that's also on top of a Friday or Saturday date night.  I absolutely love my parents and siblings for being able to give us the chance to still have time for each other.  I wouldn't be alive and sane if not for them :)  In fact, just a couple of weeks ago, Jamson and I got back from a long weekend trip to Orlando while the kids hopped around from my parents to siblings.  I got the taste of Disney World and Universal Studios.  I've never been to Orlando, and I wanted to check it out before taking the kids there.  We had such a great time and definitely look forward to going back next year!

This fall season has been a little different from the past three falls.  I'm able to take the kids out of the house (by myself :) to places such as My Gym, the Y, and on play dates...maybe even to Target if I'm really in the mood.  I love that they're a little bit bigger and not so susceptible to catching colds/etc.  And I try not to be too protective of them when it comes to that anymore.  Knock on wood, we've been blessed to be keeping away from the hospital or any serious conditions in awhile.  My Gym is such an awesome environment for them to interact with other kids.  If you've never heard of them, just click here to go to their website.  The owner worked out a great discount for me that I really couldn't resist...and the staff are awesome that the kids look forward to going there.  We go there about once or twice a week.  And just last week, I took them to the Y for the first time...which they also enjoyed.  I try to offer the kids different things than just sitting at home so they don't get bored!  Plus, with the cold weather and not being able to play outside, they need to get out of the house or we'll all go crazy.  When we're at home....I enjoy keeping them busy with different activities.  Our pediatrician always reminds me to keep TV at 2 hours max a day and I actually really try to follow that.  Granted, there have been days when I'm just so exhausted that I have to resort to the TV.  Fortunately, only the boys are into watching TV.  My girls can only handle it for about 10 minutes and they're off to destroying something else.

Some things to keep my kids entertained that I've done the past few weeks:

• Learn how to use the chopsticks by transferring poms from one cup to the other (since Jamson and his family uses them a lot!)  I actually even did a sushi themed lunch one day to go with the chopstick theme :)
• Lego time!  Not only do the kids love this, but I love love Legos!  This will keep them absolutely busy for a good hour or so.  We've introduced the regular (smaller) pieces to them and they enjoy that better than the jumbo pieces.
• Bean time!  This was something I introduced to them about a year ago after my friend Leslie told me about it.  It was more for sensory purposes, and they still love it!  I just give them a bunch of different spoons, cups and what-nots to scoop and transfer with...and that's another hour of entertainment.
• Cooking....we made pizzas, they help me snap off ends of green beans, help mix batter, decorate cookies...anything I can get them involved w/out making such a mess.
• Play doh.  My kids can do this all day long if I let them, but we wouldn't have any play doh left by the end of the day since they somehow manage to get all over the floor.  This is such an easy, no-prep activity...but I try not to use too much in case they get tired of it.  
• Look and Find books.  Similar to Where is Waldo?, my kids love doing this!  It can get a bit crazy with five kids, but it gets their brain really working so I'm sold.
• LOTW worksheets from Confessions of a Homeschooler and other home-made worksheets.  I'm so thrilled that the kids love worksheet time!  When we first started it in August...we were only doing 2-3 worksheets, but they are so into it, that I sometimes have to have 5-10.  It can be from tracing numbers, letters, their names; do-a-dots; cut/paste; coloring; cutting patterns; stickers; matching; painting; free drawing; and patterning.  I'm not really the kind of parent who has to have their kids constantly learning, but if my kids are enjoying it...why not take advantage of it.  And to be honest...I just love the whole planning part of it too.  It feels like work to me in some ways.  
• Story time.  They really enjoy it when I read to them or when we listen to audio books.  
• Just laying on a blanket and just talking to each other.  I think sometimes I get so caught up with chores around the house...and so when I sit there and really just focus on them, they love it!  It gets their imaginations going...and I learn so much more about my kids who are changing and growing each day.
• Ipad, 2 Iphone, Itouch.  Yes! We have a total of four!  Believe it or not...they have learned so much from those. But it is definitely a privilege to use these.  I even use them as a reward.  It's quite amazing how good they are with using them too at their age :)
• And many others...but I would be on here all night.....

I really love my job as a stay at home mom.  I know that there will be a time...maybe soon....when I will have to go back to work.  But I will never regret not having fun with them.  I like to think I've made the most of what we have.  All of it thanks to the Lord!  

    

Hello again....

I can't believe it has been yet another SIX months since I have posted anything.  I intended on at least posting once a month (mainly for mine and the kid's keepsake) ...and yes, my lousy excuse of being busy with my five kids is all I have.  So here I am, back at it...and hoping to try harder to post more often.

Here's a wrap up of things that went on with us since my last post:

The kid's turned the big 3 in May!  Whoever called it "Terrible Two's" is so wrong....it's definitely the Terrible Three's and NOT Terrible Two's.  Since turning three, they have been keeping me on my toes with the fighting/bickering with each other, the constant loudness, the never-ending back talking, and the curiosity with every bit of surroundings.  They were discharged from First Steps (Speech for all and OT for Gabi) at three years old and not doing too bad without the therapy.  They have created their own little language that I am still trying to figure out.  But it's so much fun to watch them talk to each other in their made up words even though not one bit of it makes sense to Jamson or I.

The summer kept us busy with a visit to MN and preparations for my sister's wedding that took place in August.  Also in August, Jamson accepted an offer to a new job working from home.  The kids love having him at home.  Because the boys have decided to move into the girls' room since Thanksgiving of last year, and no intentions of going back to their room, we turned their room back into an office for Jamson's use.

I had also planned to do a little bit of homeschooling with the kids this school year.  Mostly because I wanted to do something that kept me busy, structured, creative, and organized :)  The one thing I really enjoy about being at home with them too is all the fun, creative things I get to do with cooking/baking and crafts/activities.  I'm really enjoying being able to use my artistic side.  Plus, I'm my own boss who can make up my own schedule..you can't really beat that!  For their school activities, I found this awesome preschool curriculum from Confessions of a Homeschooler blog called Letter of the Week (or LOTW).  It pretty much says it all!  Since we decided to hold them off from actual preschool one more year, I thought that doing a little bit of school work at home would keep them up to par for next year.  

I also started working part time (about 15 hours/week) at my friend's salon.  It's been almost 3 months and still loving this decision I've made.  I love the girls I work with, and I get to interact with adults again!  Who knew going to work would be something I looked forward to.

As the summer ended, despite plans of still doing some home school with the kids, I decided to put them into part time preschool to get them out of the house and around other kids.  I wanted this to be a way for them to learn more social skills than anything and for me to have some "me" time.  I found an awesome coop preschool that is affordable, so they enrolled in October (on a trial basis).  Unfortunately, going into their third week, we are deciding to pull them out.  The coop structure it such a wonderful idea, but for our family, it doesn't seem to work at the moment.  I'm really going to hate leaving behind the families I've met so far.

And finally, we have started potty training a few weeks ago.  Ariel is now wearing her "big girl underwear" with accidents only when she's not around me.  She still wears pull-ups to bed at night.  Addison was actually the first one to potty train and wear big girl underwear, but after we started preschool, she started having accidents more and more...and I've decided to put her back in pull-ups.  I will try again in a couple of weeks.  Brayden is not quite in big boy underwear, but he is using the toilet for #1's most of the time.  Gabi is interested in using the toilet, but not quite there yet.  Micah, on the other hand, has NO interest at all!  It's been about a year now since we haven't gotten diapers for free from Operation Blessing so it is really helping to have some kids potty training.  But my friend Leslie told me about buying cheap diapers from Amazon Mom (through Amazon.com)..which I do now...so I definitely recommend this to other moms out there.

Well, that's a summary of the last half year!  I'm thrilled for the rest of the year with the holidays coming.  I plan to do so many fun things with the kids.  I love this time of the year with Halloween, Thanksgiving and Christmas!  They're such great holidays to do so many fun creative things for the kids.  I've just recently found a ton of blogs and sites that have so many great ideas I can recreate and use with my kids.  Will definitely have pictures to come in future posts!
   

Updating this blog has been easier said than done!  With my kids almost three years old, they have been so much more fun to be around with...and definitely more rewarding, but always keeping me busy.  About a month ago, we got back from a big family trip to the Philippines.  We were there for two weeks visiting family.  Our main purpose was for the children and siblings' significant others to meet my grandparents.  My grandparents are in their late 80's so visiting with them was very important to us.  Fortunately, they were still well enough to remember us and get to know the kids.  We were also able to see other family members that we rarely see.  It's quite amazing to see how different our lifestyle is from theirs.  Definitely a good reminder of how fortunate we are.  Here are some pictures from the trip:

3 a.m. at the Indianapolis Airport

Addison with my sister and her fiance (the kids were split up between Jamson and I, my brother and his wife, and my parents)

sleeping on the long flight...the kids did so well!

lunch with some of my mom's side of the family

at Quiapo shopping for cheap gifts and souvenirs

tricycle ride

the kids visiting with my grandma

family picture in front of Taal Volcano (this was our view from the restaurant)

family picture with some of my dad's side of the family

family picture with my grandparents, siblings, and parents

my grandma hugging Micah (with tears)

Besides the trip, Jamson and I have been busy keeping up with our growing quintuplets.  Not much growth in size, but they're definitely not babies anymore.  The never ending talking (or shall I say noise :) and curiosity (or shall I say chaos).  They've turned infants to monsters!  Moms...please help!  I can't believe they are able to back talk at this age.  "I didn't do it!"  "No!  I don't want it!"  "No way!"  I'm not even sure where they learned this.  Or how about the constant fighting with each other.  I feel like I've become more of a referee than a mom.

But the advantage of having them at their age is that they are able to understand more.  I can actually hold conversations with them.  Ask them what they want to eat or do.  I can ask them to do things for me like feed our cat, put away their shoes, put on their own clothes, put dirty clothes in the laundry, put dirty dishes in the sink, grab a diaper/wipes, get mommy's cell phone, and more.  I might as well take advantage of this now while they don't realize that this is actually not fun!

We also recently visited the dentist for the first time.  And thank goodness for no cavities!  Although, night time routine of flossing and brushing is always time consuming.  I'm lucky to have five kids who fight to have their turn with flossing and brushing though.  

Just recently, I also decided to keep my kids with me at home for one more year (or until financially able)!  I was almost sure that they would start Pre-K 3 this fall.  But it was one day a few weeks ago that I was taking them for a walk when I realized how fortunate I am to be able to stay home with them.  They will only be this age once and eventually, they will be going to school for the next 16 years.  They'll grow old and not want me around so much.  Right now, I'm their most favorite person in the world regardless of having me around ALL the time.  It makes me feel good...it makes me feel that I'm doing something right.  There's not a day that I am not happy to be home.  I know that this is the opposite from how I felt about a year ago.  When your child comes up to you and tells you "I love you mama" or wraps their arms around your neck with a kiss on the lips out of nowhere, that feeling of frustration immediately goes away.  I remember being pregnant and picturing my children piling up on my lap...it's been a dream come true!  I'm loving every second of it!  Being a mother to my quintuplets has been the best job I have and will ever have.

      

Our family had a wonderful holiday!  I hope that everyone did as well.  The kids got more gifts than they needed, then got sick over New Years with a stomach bug (throwing up and diarrhea).  Here are some pictures from Christmas Eve and Day.

Now that the holidays are over, we are in the process of packing for our big family trip to the Philippines to visit some of my family in a few weeks!  I'm very anxious and excited for this trip.  I've even started packing...7 luggages and 2 hand carries starting to fill up!  We're expecting to be bringing at least 8 luggages and 3 hand carries.  To all my blog friends:  Please let me know if you have any suggestions or tips on how to make this international travel go much more smoothly with 5 2-year olds.  I really need some tips on different activities for the plane ride, maybe some sleeping meds to give them :) that are not harmful, and different gadgets to bring with me to make things easier.  Fortunately though for Jamson and I, we will have 8 other adult family members to help with.

But besides packing, we've been keeping ourselves busy with different activities that keep us sane as we are stuck in the house from this crazy winter weather.  I've noticed that the kids really love doing different crafts and activities aside from playing with their toys, which I'm very glad about.  We've done color sorting of beads, play doh, spoon shake and pour with beans, Christmas and Valentine crafts, and shape search.  I'm really working hard on getting them to learn their colors...which has been tougher to teach than letters, numbers and shapes.  I've also been having trouble with nap time since they are able to climb out of their cribs!  I'm just hoping the crib climbing is a stage, but in case not, we plan to move them out of their cribs by summer time.  In fact...as I'm writing this blog post...I hear Micah running around when he's supposed to be napping...ugh.  Well enjoy more pics and until next time.