a four boy photo shoot

We had the pleasure of working with Brian and Jen Stump of Twice Shy Design again last week to get some up to date photography of all four boys. Some favs from the recent shoot are below and plenty more are at this link. Enjoy!

Twice Shy Design also shot Uncle O & Aunt Elisha's wedding back in 2007 and has done some work with Beauty by Crystal.

put a label on it

In September I began looking for labels for LA (4.5-yr-old) as he was about to start school. I needed to find labels for his coat, backpack, lunch bag, etc. It was incredibly hard to find labels that were...

1. Dishwasher safe for his lunchbox/drink containers
2. Washer/dryer safe for his coat and backpack

That's when I stumbled across LabelDaddy.com. When I found a "school pack" package option I truly thought this is way too good to be true. They carried everything I was looking for and more for an amazing price!

When we received the set LA was so excited. I was overwhelmed by the quality of printing and thickness of the labels. So we spent an hour labeling. We labeled EVERYTHING!! His coat, hat, lunch box, crayon boxes, reusable lunch containers and his sweat shirts.

WOW, it is 4 months later and the labels have been washed MANY times and they look just as good as the day we received them. Outstanding! I have found many more ways to use them. No need to pull out the marker, I just grab a label. These things are the best!!!

I can't wait to order for labels for Boatboy (2.5-yr-old) and the twins next. If you need labels look no further. Label Daddy is awesome. You will be so pleased!

Check out all the ways you can make labels with many different package options!

Thank you Label Daddy for sending me these amazing labels in exchange for sharing an honest review on Blondes, Poop & Mascara.

First family of six photos!

Our dear friend Katelin Carter of Full Pockets Photography has been taking photos of our family for years now. Our first session ever with her is so fun to look back at now.

Last night we had her take our first photos as a family of six up at Mrs. Blonde's Aunt & Uncle's new gorgeous home in the burbs. Below are just a couple from her original sneak peek blog post.



All smiles! From left to right - LA, Mr. Blonde, Quatro, Mrs. Blonde, Trey and Boatboy



Can't believe how tall LA and Boatboy are getting.



To the smilers go the spoils. GIANT marshmallows!



Thanks, Katelin. We love you!

school is now in session

As if we don't have enough milestones & transitions in these Blondes, Poop & Mascara parts these days, we hit another joyous one 3 weeks ago. LA's first day of pre-school. Ask him and he'll tell you it's "school not pre-school!"

We've all been excited about this for such a long time. He'd been wearing his backpack every day for the better part of two weeks in preparation.

Though our little 4-year-old has spent some of his life with other people and in other groups (Sunday Church gatherings, house church, sports teams, etc) he'd never spent hours on end under the care of someone we weren't related to or know really well. So, there lies the struggle for me the Momma. He will be under the influence of two wonderful teachers from 9am-2pm, two days a week. This is a lot for this hormonal Momma. I know it is SO good for LA and he already LOVES it. There is still a little piece of me that just wants to keep him a bubble at home. I know with the arrival of the twins it is a much needed break for me and him twice a week!

What would back to school time be without some new kicks?! We received another pair of adorable and very practical shoes from Pediped in trade for an honest review of their product. LA loves his new Jake shoes from the flex line! What could be better than a pair of super cool casual brown shoes that function as a gym shoe. The soles are so comfy for gym class and sturdy enough for the playground. And, they wash up quite well! Trust me, we know. His favorite part of his playground at school is the sand area. Well, there or anywhere his little girlfriend Clair goes. Though according to him, "She follows me anywhere I go."

This is our second pair of shoes from the Flex line. We love them just as much as the first pair. The Flex line comes with insoles that can be removed as your child's feet grow. So, you get a long wear from these shoes.

As I have mentioned in all my other Pediped reviews, I love that Pediped says their shoes are "the next best thing to bare feet."

Check out Pediped collections and especially their new Grip n Go collection. I am excited to try a pair in the future!

If you are a fan of Pediped like me be sure to check out Kinderbliss. A new catalog and online shopping destination with beautiful and unique items for children from the founder of Pediped, www.kinderbliss.com.

fragility and magnificence

It's been so impactful. So tiring. So wonderful. So exhausting we're just getting around to talking about it in this cyber place.

September 2010 marks the most dramatic month in existence for us. We already knew it was going to be incredibly awesome and life-changing anticipating the birth of the twins. Little did we know, the birth of Trey and Quatro were but the tip of a glorious and painful iceberg that plummeted well below the surface of the status quo.

Somewhere around a week and a half prior to doubling the amount of sons in our family, something quite unexpected happened to me (Mr. Blonde) in my company. After a turbulent last year and a half where leaning out and cuts were taken to mortally anorexic extremes, I found myself honored as the recipient of a promotion. I often see things coming my way. Surprises aren't incredibly common in my life. This surprised me. Bigtime. I enjoy what I do, how I do it and who I do it with. I'm incredibly blessed in that way. And, if you're not an IZOD IndyCar Series fan, you should be. Check out a 2010 highlights reel I recently put together. How can that not be entertaining to you? Even Cubs fans could like it (Go White Sox!).

THEN, came our welcoming Trey & Quatro into the family. If you're just catching up. Their birth announcement is here. Their birth story is here. We continue to be amazed by them. I'm certain they feel the same way about their big brothers and their parents as well.

Less than one week after they were born, we got a call from Nana (Mrs. Blonde's Mom) at 6 in the morning. Anytime a phone is ringing that early in our house, it's typically going to be followed by bad news. This was no exception. Hearts raced with panic as we learned while working on an extension ladder at his job in downtown Indy, Papa (Mrs. Blonde's Dad) had fallen 10 feet to the ground. He lay there in a pool of blood caused by the gash on his face. Unable to move in almost any direction due to a busted hip and shoulder, he laid there fully conscious wondering how bad it really was. We're SO thankful for the lady prepping for a women's prayer meeting that saw the accident, for quickly responding medics and the staff at St Vincent Hospital for their immediate response to his situation. Two surgeries, a long stay in the hospital and extended stay in rehab later, he's progressing extremely well. In fact, he just got permission to leave his wheelchair last Friday. Keep at it, Papa! You'll be tossing around grandsons again before you know it!

A couple years removed from a toxic marriage, Mrs. Blonde's best friend Nicole and her new-ish boyfriend Steve stopped by unannounced one afternoon while Mr. Blonde was still on his paternal vacation. It was abundantly clear through their gitty squeals what was affirmed when she showed us the gorgeous gem on her left ring finger. Her: a divorcee with two toddlers. Him: a widow with four children of his own. Their story is 100% unconventional and even more beautiful. They wed on New Year's Day with Mrs. Blonde as the maid of honor. We are oh so excited for them and their families to be unified!

The month ended on the lowest note of all. Another early morning phone call. This time it was a call from Grandma (Mr. Blonde's Mom). Again, heart racing, it was so hard to understand her through the desperate sobbing. Uncle Greg had died suddenly at the age of 50. He and Aunt Donna (Grandma's sister) were less than a month into being empty nesters as they'd just seen their youngest daughter off to college. He'd just taken a fantastic job after struggling through the economic decline as an I.T. guy. And, while in Scotland on business, having been Skyping with his family (even his Mom) the night before, died in his sleep as a result of his Type I diabetes.

A few truly magnificent things to take away from Greg's life here:

* He lived his life 100% in the ways of Jesus. Not just because he looked forward to Heaven, but because it's a better way to live here and now.

* The man had influence. Consistent, powerful influence. Never arrogant, often comedic, but always sure of who he was, who his family was, who his friends were and who his God was.

* Despite his health problems the man did not complain. Seemingly ever. This was a familiar theme throughout all of his services and celebrations.

* His wife adored him! His children wouldn't hesitate to claim him as their hero. In short, he's everything I (Mr. Blonde) could dream to be.

At his funeral Greg's youngest brother Keith shared the best short story about his oldest brother. Keith had run into Greg and a friend over their lunch hour. Keith walked up and said hello to his brother. Greg said hello in return, introduced the gentlemen sitting with him to his younger brother, then turned back to the man he was dining with and asked, "And, your name is?"

In addition to all of that, as you already know, LA recently started pre-school and Mrs. Blonde's business, Beauty by Crystal, won on the A-list again.

See. It's. A. Lot!

It's cliche. And, it's true. This life isn't predictable. Live it now. Things happen in a flash and you canNOT control most of them. Couples find out they're having twins and have no idea how that's going to work. Men fall off ladders and survive when statistics indicate otherwise. Teenage daughters play moving 10-minute piano medleys at their Dad's funerals. Marriages go bad when husbands break promises leaving ex-wives and children in the painful wake of their selfishness...only to find the perfect man with his own story of loss.

Dwell on yesterday...fixate on tomorrow...and you'll miss out on living today.

To SO many amazing friends and family...Thank you! Thank you for meals. Thank you for doing dishes. Thank you for phone calls and texts and emails and stopping by. And, babysitting. Going to see Mrs. Blonde's Dad while he was in the hospital. For understanding why we couldn't make the gatherings we typically do. Without all of your support, we wouldn't be experiencing God like we are in lives. We're richer because of you!

Twins: the birth story

Wow! Two weeks ago today, I doubled the amount of sons I have!

Thursday, September 9th I began having contractions every 15 minutes starting around 9am. They were quite sporadic. I thought it was strange. "Could today be the day?" I went in for my normal weekly check-up at 2p that day. I was dilated to 2cm. My doc said things looked good. He even said maybe we will have babies tonight. We were pretty excited!

Let me remind you (& myself) this was the hardest pregnancy I've ever had. I was in severe pain all day. Everyday. I hit 37 weeks and wanted these babies OUT! So when I started contracting I was so ready.

Jump ahead to Friday, September 1oth at 1am I was woken up by contractions. Amos was up, dressed, finished packing the bags. I took a long shower. Then, I got tired and went back to bed. After Amos realized I was asleep he laid back down (fully dressed and ready to go!). We snoozed until a little after 6am when the big boys woke up.

So I called my doc in the morning as I was having contractions again. He wanted to see me...soon. We got in at 10am. I was so determined that today was the day. My Mom and Dad had the big kids already so we were ready to pop these babies out. Once to the doc's office they hooked me up and saw that I was having contractions but they were very spread out. So they checked my cervix to see that I was now at a 3cm. But, again, progression was slow. I was so tired and discouraged that I was only at a 3. The doc told me that he thinks "your uterus is so stretched from carrying twins and already having had two babies that sometimes it does not work as effectively as a normal uterus." My thoughts: "Oh, great!"

Then he said, "I am going to call the hospital and you should head over there to be monitored. So Amos and I grabbed some lunch, a pumpkin latte, parked in a nice sunny location, chilled for a bit and talked, then headed to the hospital. Before we went in we walked around the parking lot five times and I did squats. No joke! Once we got to triage and got hooked up she said the same thing. "You are having them just not close together. If we don't see your body progressing we will have to send you home." I felt like crying. While waiting for the doc on call to come in and check on me, Amos and I went for a walk. I did squats again in the bathroom. :) I wanted these babies out!

Doc showed up and checked me. 4cm! Progress! We got admitted to a laboring room and hooked me up to a slow pitocin drip. You know what this meant! BABIES! Soon! I was so thrilled and so SCARED!

Would I have a c-section?

Would the boys be ok?

We prayed. A lot! This was going to happen through God's strength in accordance with His plans. Not ours. We also got so many amazing messages via text, Facebook and Twitter! Thank you, all!

From 3pm to 11pm I slowly progressed and then it was go time. I started the pushing in my room. Six seconds into the 1st push, it was apparent Trey was ready to move and move quickly. The nurse said, "Woah! Alright...we're good. Let's get over to the O.R." Yep! Definitely go time!

Off to the OH SO COLD and frightening O.R. There were about 16 people in there including Amos and me. A NICU team for each child. A few nurses. A med student in rotations (which I personally approved - SO glad the doc asked me prior to) PUSH! PUSH again! Out came Trey. He looked great! Amazing!! Then seven minutes later our sweet little Elliot came out with just three pushes! I was so excited to hear them both scream and cry. It was the best sound ever. Healthy baby lungs!

And then there was two. We were taking care of two babies. I was/am nursing two little babies. (Mr. Blonde note: After Quatro was born, I actually said out loud to the entire troop in the room, "Wow! There really are TWO of them!" /laughter/) We were holding two little miracles.

Beyond their delivery, things have been perfect. We stayed two more days at the hospital with our new little men. The staff were all so amazing as they have been for the birth of all our boys. It's only been two weeks, but they've continued to hit all their benchmarks. They cry like they're supposed to. Toot like they're supposed to. Pee like they're supposed to (Trey shot Mr. Blonde once already - won't be the last time I'm sure). It's all so crazy, so tiring and so wonderful! I still am in complete awe that these two beautiful boys were formed in me by the One who formed me! I love getting to know each of them!

We have so much more to share. These last two weeks have included brought about much more than just our two new guys. Like my Dad sustaining major injuries. LA's first full day of pre-school. My best friend's engagement. I also have some great reviews coming up on Pediped shoes, Eleven shoes and Label Daddy!

-Mrs. Blonde

Oh Brothers Where Art Thou?

<-- Trey & Quatro being monitored while hanging out in utero together.

Prior to the birth of the twins, Trey & Quatro, brother was a term already used quite often between LA and Boatboy.

"Hey brother, come here!"

"You're handsome brother!"

"Brother hit me!"

"I love my brother all the way up to the stars and moon."

With the entry of the twins, the term is being used in, it seems, every other breath. I suppose growing up a member of the Four Brothers Blonde it will continue...forever.



Our last family photo of four, LA and Boatboy came to visit short after admission to the labor room.



...and provided some pre-birth dance entertainment for all those in the room.



Trey (in foreground) & Quatro under the "incubator" (as Papa called it) less than an hour after coming into our lives.



L-O-V-E this photo. Some of you likely already saw it via our Twitter account. One of my (Mr.) favorite ever, actually. A proud (& GORGEOUS) Mrs. Blonde with her two new guys.



Oldest brother LA came to the hospital to meet his two new little brothers. Including learning their names which he insisted for 9 months were Baga & Momen. 'Cause he's funny like that. He even convinced Boatboy that's what they were to be called. We thought he would take to them, but he was so much sweeter and into them than we had originally imagined. Some very very cool moments. -- So sad, but Boatboy didn't get to meet his new little brothers until they came home as he'd had a cold.



Sleep deprived and proud Mr. Blonde showing off half of his fleet of sons.



The twins in their take-home outfits.



LA & Boatboy playing with animals together while their new brothers were getting aclimated into their new home. This photo was taken right when Boatboy grabbed LA's nose and said "HONK!"



Boatboy making sure Papa is giving him as much attention as is being given to Trey.



LA stealing some cuddle time with Quatro while Nana is holding the wee one.



Boatboy says "I wanna see!" "I want to help!"

It's the coolest thing to grow up with a brother. Mrs. Blonde did it. So did Mr. Blonde. But, neither of us had more than one. All our boys get to each have three brothers! That's so cool! Stay tuned for a photo of them all together...at some point.

TGIF

It's the end of the week!



Bring it on, weekend!

32 weeks!

It's always SO nice to get to see these boys and get good reports. It never gets old!

At 32 weeks they're each measuring at 33 weeks. And, are each 4 1/2 pounds. That's NINE pounds of baby, folks!

Click on the ultrasound image to the left to get a magnified view of their tiny boy cuteness!

Smile! New baby pics!

After yesterday's pregnant-with-twins drama, today's overly positive reports were great to hear from the OB office.

The twins are growing extremely well! They're actually measuring one week ahead of singletons! Ugh! :) Their hearts were fluttering nicely. And, they're all snuggled up next to each other in my belly. "You're baking some good babies in there!" the doc told us.

Enjoy the pics!

last "Family of Four" photo highlights [Part 2]

You saw Part 1 of our last Family of Four photo session earlier this week. This is Part 2 of our fav shots captured recently by Katelin Carter of Full Pockets Photography.



This is our favorite picture of the two boys from the entire session. They were playing peek-a-boo with "Dadda" and jumping up and down on an old park bench and caught being their playful selves so well in this shot. We're lucky the bench didn't break!



Family of Four (well, six if you count the bumps in Mrs. Blonde's belly visible here to the left of Boatboy).



For what we can recall this is the first hands-on-pregnant-belly shot we have on file. We didn't know Katelin took it until we got the final disc of images. Fitting that such a photo was taken of the last pregnancy we'll ever have (at least we're saying that now...nothing's done until it's done).



The boys



All teeth!



The family portrait classic. Everyone walking away from the camera. Why do we like this so much. Can't see any faces. Can see everyone's cans. Yet, we still like it.

NUTS scare!

About a month ago, our lives changes forever (no, this post isn't twins related) when we learned through a series of increasingly agitated responses that our 2-year-old, Boatboy, is officially allergic to peanuts. We were told by the doctor it wasn't severe but it wasn't mild either. We were to read labels copiously, check at restaurants where we dine regarding the food preparation and carry Benadryl around just-in-case. And, we've been good at it. Boatboy even asks when I'm reading the side of a box, "No nuts?" Up until Monday, we had experienced no reactions to peanuts because we've been very cautious.

Today was not one of those days.

LA, Boatboy and I ran to Target just down the street to pick up diapers and a "special treat." They chose fruit snacks. Typically they want strawberry but this time they ventured out and picked kiwi-watermelon. Sounds delicious right?! Same generic brand. Different flavor. The boys know they don't their snacks until we get to the van. Once we got to the van I ripped open two bags and handed each their bag. I then drove 500 feet across the parking lot to quickly cash a business check. It hadn't been even 60 seconds since his first bite and Boatboy started coughing like he was choking. In a matter of seconds between just thinking he was coughing and handing him his cup, he starting puking all over the van. I quickly said to my familiar bank lady, "My kid is sick! I will be back later!" And, ripped out of the bank.

Scanning the box ... "may contain traces of peanuts and tree nuts" And, no Benadryl in my purse. I had tears in my eyes racing back to the house thinking...

"How is this happening?!"

"How did I not check the box?"

"I always check the box."

"The normal strawberry target brand that we always get do not have any peanuts in them!"

1 minutes later we were back in the driveway. Snatching my vomit-covered son I ran in and dosed him with the medicine. Van still running in the driveway with my almost-4-year-old, LA, still strapped in this prego was ready to race to the ER if necessary. Astonishingly! - The coughing stopped in about 45 secods. Thank God! We went back out the van and sweet LA was so worried. He said right away "I will get the strawberry fruit snacks next time!" So precious!

Lesson learned.

ALWAYS check the box and ALWAYS carry Benadryl. In a peanut butter loving family, this is especially quite a journey we have ahead of us. It was definitely one of the scariest moments I've ever had as a mother.

I'm so thankful to God we were close to home and this happened with me and not when Boatboy was with someone else.

last "Family of Four" photo highlights [Part 1]

I wanted to share some of our last Family of Four photos with you from a recent session with Full Pockets Photography. It was megahot out the morning of these photos. But, thanks to a willing aunt & uncle to assist, the wonders of blowing bubbles and bribery of marshmallows, we had a blast!

It is crazy to imagine there are going to be two more little guys in our next family photo session!

I've broken this up into a couple posts along with some other updates you'll see this week from Blondes, Poop & Mascara. We love you, your photography gifts and your friendship, Katelin!



Love this one!!



We found a trail we'd never been down. So, of course, off the boys went.



LA lovin' on the twins. Not a posed photo. :)



Boatboy carrying a stick bigger than him. Again, not a posed photo.

More to come later this week. Hope you all are well!

Wordless Wednesday

New shoes for LA: Pediped

Once again (1st review: 3/09 | 2nd review: 8/09) Pediped has graciously sent me another pair of fabulous shoes for LA (3.5-year-old boy) to try out. I am always excited to receive new shoes in the mail even when they aren't for me. Because I LOVE hip shoes for my 2 little guys. And, if you haven't heard...we will be adding TWO MORE little guys to our family sometime in September.

Pediped has come out with their new 2010 Spring/Summer collection and introduced a new technology that blows me away. This Spring/Summer it is all about washable and keeping the feet dry and odor free! Say goodbye to dirty and smelly shoes in our home (Can you imagine what it's going to smell like after basketball games with four boys in the house?!)! DRYZ is a specially-formulated, odor resistant insole that controls both moisture and temperature. A version of these insoles sell online for $15.99 but are included free in this pair-a great deal, but is included in the Spring/Summer collection!

We were able to review the super cute and sporty Adrian in Chocolate Brown and Tan from the flex line. These shoes are MACHINE WASHABLE!! And if you are like me I have tried to machine wash other shoes before that don't claim to be machine washable and they turn out awful. These shoes are made with clarino, a wash and wear fabric that tolerates a rough wash and tumble. I threw LA's in the washing machine after a day full of mud and let them air dry. They result was perfectly clean shoes without shape or fit problems. There weren't even any hanging threads. Thank goodness because these shoes have to be passed down to 3 other brothers!

Pediped has always offered their exceptionally soft, flexible soles and uppers to help provide healthy foot development. Ultra flexible flex zones provide maximum flexibility and support natural foot motion. Shock absorbing cushions on each heel protect against impact and distribute pressure through-out the foot. Each pair comes with an additional 2mm insole to customize the fit so it's just right for each child. LA loves his shoes. As soon as I opened the package he got really excited and put them on himself right away! The downside was that his little brother (Boatboy, 23-month-old) immediately said "Want some too!" I felt so bad! But, I told him he would get these too. Luckily, that worked!

Go check out Pediped's amazing new Spring/Summer Collection. Follow them on Twitter too @pedipedfootwear. Let me know what you think.

Thank you once again Pediped for allowing me to review a pair of shoes in exchange for my honest review.