Mommy Bloggers

Last week I was interviewed for an eHow article on Moms who blog. I thought it was a pretty good article. Click HERE to read it.

Mommy Bloggers

Swim Lessons

Summer is almost here, and in Texas that means keeping cool by spending as much time in the pool as possible! I have always been extra cautious when it comes to kids and water---you just never know what could happen if you turn your back for an instant. With five toddlers and only one of me, it is impossible to be watching everyone all the time. Last year we didn't go to the pool very often (much to Riley and Kaiya's dismay) and when we did, we took lots of reinforcements. With swim season quickly approaching, we decided to sign the quints up for swim lessons! My hope is that by the time we go to Arizona this summer (where Mimi and Papa have an un-gated pool in the backyard), they will be able to swim well enough to get to the side of the pool if they fall in. Their first lesson was about a month ago, and they go to lessons once per week. There are 10 stations that they progress through. So far they are only on station 2, but they are definitely making improvements...and they totally LOVE it!

Ryder, Kyndall, Kassidy, Rustin, and Kaydence: First day---peeking through the window at the pool

Getting ready to line up on the first day---a little nervous and a lot excited!

Waiting for the teachers at their station

Everyone's favorite part--hiding in the lockers after getting dressed

Everyone got a t-shirt on the first day!

Swim Lessons

Open Wide!

About a month ago (I know, I know, I am really behind in posting!) the Quints had their first dentist appointment (ok, so I was also behind in taking them to the dentist...). They were so excited to go! Our friend, Darrell Park, is our family dentist. He, and the staff at Buttercup Dental were terrific---very accommodating with our large group, and the hygienists were great with the kids. We had a fabulous experience and everyone's teeth looked perfect!

Train table in the waiting room...we had to play on the way in AND on the way out!

Choosing a toothbrush--they didn't have all of the quint's colors, but they did have five different brushes, so everyone was happy

Ryder and Rustin had their teeth cleaned together---so cute!

Kassidy

Kaydence

Rustin showing off his clean mouth

Kyndall checking out her teeth in the dental tool

Dr. Park checking Ryder's teeth

Everyone's favorite part: picking something from the treasure box!

Check out those pearly whites! They can't wait to go again in 6 months!

Open Wide!

Easter!

Life has been so crazy lately that I have just been living from one deadline to the next! I have lots of catching up to do on the blog, starting with Easter! Everyone was so excited about Easter this year. The quint are at a great age for holidays! They love everything about them. As soon as one holiday comes, they start asking me what the next one is going to be.

The night before Easter we had our traditional "egg-dying" party. This is the first year that we let the quints participate. Egg-dying is not really my kind of thing---I have a hard time getting past the visions in my head of stained clothes, floor, etc. But I know the kids love it, so I try to hide my anxiety :-) I also do my best to take all precautions---putting trash bag art smocks on the kids, doing the activity outside on a trash-bag covered table, etc. The kids had a blast!

Easter-egg Dying Party

Kaydence

Rustin

Ryder

Displaying their eggy art: Ryder, Rustin, Kaydence, Kassidy and Kyndall (notice how they all choose to dye the eggs in "their" color)

The whole crew

Easter Sunday we dressed up for church. Thanks to my brother's wedding last summer, everyone had matching outfits to wear

Ryder, Kassidy, Kaydence, Kyndall and Rustin

Riley

Kaiya

Kassidy

Kaydence

Rustin

Kyndall

Ryder

The goofballs

Riley and Kaiya

Riley and Kaiya did NOT want to do this pose, but I thought it was cute :-)

Riley and Jayson

Too Cool

Jayson & Rachelle

After church, the Easter Bunny paid us a visit during naptime. At our house, the Easter Bunny color codes all the eggs (even for Riley and Kaiya) that way every kid gets the same number of eggs and the older kids can have their eggs hidden in more difficult spots.

After the hunt: Kaydence, Rustin, Kyndall, Ryder and Kassidy

Riley and Kaiya

For Easter dinner, we went over to our friends, the Woods' house. The Woods kids spent a couple hours in the afternoon filling over 100 Easter eggs and hiding them in the yard for the quints to find. The kids were so excited about going on the hunt! They ran around filling their baskets with eggs until Kaydence discovered an ant in her basket. When we opened one of the eggs, it was crawling with ants! Instead of candy, the kids had filled the eggs with Cheetos's, which are apparently highly desired by ants and quints alike. We had to abandon the hunt and herd everyone back inside.

Rustin's basket of ants

Ryder's reaction when he found out his Easter eggs had been invaded by bugs

The kids all got new jammies in their Easter baskets. Rustin and Ryder got Buzz and Woody jammies---they LOVE them! Rustin will go up to Ryder and push one of the "buttons" on his chest and Ryder will say, "To infinity...and beyond!" and then Ryder will pull Rustin's "string" and Rustin will say "There's a snake in my boots!", then both of them will dissolve into gales of laughter. They are hilarious!

Easter!

Pampers Campaign

Thanks so much to everyone who entered to win the $50 gift card from Pampers! There were so many great ideas of how to pay it forward that it was really difficult to decide a winner. In the end, the statistician in me took over...I assigned each entry a number and I used a random number generator from Random.org to select the winner. The winner has been notified via email.

Pampers Campaign

Pampers Little Miracle Mission Campaign

In celebration of its 50th birthday, Pampers is recognizing how much parenting has changed over the years, and is sharing their belief that every baby is a little miracle that deserves to be celebrated, supported and protected, by unveiling its Little Miracle Mission campaign – a program that delivers acts of kindness to miracles and their families while encouraging parents to support others.

The brand recently kicked off the Little Miracle Missions campaign by delivering a giant act of support –donating care packages to Neonatal Intensive Care Units (NICUs) across the country. Celebs Joey Lawrence , Ali Larter, Mark Consuelos and LaLa Anthonywere on-hand in New York City to personally deliver a care package and thank you basket to Mt. Sinai Hospital and their staff.

As part of its Little Miracles campaign, Pampers sent me a $50 gift card to "pay-it-forward". I was challenged to find someone in need and use the funds to help in some way. I decided to help a family in my community who recently had a little baby boy. The family has been hit hard by the economy and their home is being foreclosed on. I have been so impressed by this mother and her faith and optimism despite the challenges they are facing. This sweet mother always has a smile on her face and feels blessed to have this miracle baby, despite the extra financial burden.

I used the $50 gift card to buy diapers and wipes, then I added a few more things on my own to create a baby care gift basket. My mom who was also in town pitched in as well. After all the many wonderful things that people have done for me, it was great to be able to give back. I love the spirit of kindness and community spirit that Pampers is creating with their campaign.

But this is not all...Pampers would like to give one lucky Wilkinson Quints reader a $50 gift card to help YOU pay-it-forward also! If you would like to be involved in this mission to help celebrate parenthood, all you have to do is leave me a comment letting me know what you would do with the $50. On Sunday evening (May 15th) I will choose the "winner". Some ideas are to use the money to purchase diapers for a family who could use them, use the money to prepare meals for a family, or even use the money to host a larger fundraiser for a family. I'd love to see what creative ideas you all can come up with!!

Even if you do not with the $50, you can still participate in the Miracles Missions programs, and support little miracles across the country, by logging on to Pampers Facebook page (Facebook.com/Pampers). Pampers will issue different missions throughout the entire year to celebrate all aspects of parenthood, and with the help of parents, family and friends, they hope to touch the lives of every baby born in the next year.

The gift basket

The whole family went to deliver the gift

The quints LOVED seeing the little baby---only 6 weeks old! Holding him brought back so many memories of my own babies! I can't believe my "babies" are almost 4!

Let those creative juices start flowing and leave me a comment (along with your email address) telling me how you would use the $50. Don't wait....the contest ends Sunday, May 15th at 7 pm CDT.

Pampers Little Miracle Mission Campaign