Everywhere I look, I see this Unicorn Frappucino Starbucks is now making. Apparently, it’s a very limited edition (I think it’s only available through Saturday). The pictures I’ve seen look amazing. I mean, who wouldn’t want a pink and blue drink that changes colors when mixed. A drink that is so full of sugar that it’s allegedly equivalent to eating over three large Snickers bars. A drink that is sweet, sour, has both vanilla and mango flavoring, and is topped with cream on top. Me – that’s who. Although it looks pretty, I was not interested in it in the least, but I knew someone who would be. Taylor is obsessed with all things pony and unicorn related. She loves the majestic creatures, and everything they stand for. She can (and does) incorporate ponies and unicorns into any conversation we have. I knew this would be right up her ally. Even though I wasn’t necessarily excited about the idea of her drinking so much sugar, I figure you only live once and she’s good about knowing her limits. She will stop eating / drinking when she’s full or if she doesn’t like something. She was also greatly in need of some Mommy / Taylor time without our small sidekicks. When I told her that we’d be having a Mommy-Daughter date as soon as Todd got home, she looked sad. I asked her why and she said “I love you Mommy. I want to marry you some day, but I don’t really want to get married today.” My poor sweet girl already associated the word “date” with romantic relationships and marriage. She also, is already standing up for herself and expressing her feelings, so I’m incredibly proud of her for that. Don’t worry, my love. You have a long time to go before you date for real. Maybe Daddy will reconsider his no dating until 35 policy by then. Once I explained the other meanings of the word “date” and explained what we’d be doing, she excitedly got ready, appropriately donning her unicorn dress and Starbucks color-changing hair clip. The girl knows how to accessorize.

When we got to Starbucks, we waited in a long line until it was our turn. She walked up to the barista and so sweetly said “May I please have a Unicorn drink?” The lady smirked and said “Awww! Aren’t you cute. I’m so sorry, but we’re all out!” I kind of gave a nervous laugh and waited for her to make the drink. I assumed she was just doing that annoying thing some adults seem to do with kids and tell them they don’t have what they are asking for just to get a rise out of them and make their own day more entertaining. Sadly, it was no joke. They ran out of ingredients. Taylor’s beautiful blue eyes welled up with tears that never fell. She regained her composure and said “That’s okay, Mommy. We won’t quit.” Two Starbucks locations later, and we got her drink! This location had just run out of the blue part (which I think is the sour part) but she didn’t even care at that point. Much to my surprise, she loved that silly drink! She is off the fricken walls right now, but it was a special treat and everyone needs to splurge once in a while. I’m so glad we had a little time together.

As for the peanut gallery: The boys spent a lot of time fighting with each other today. They fight over identical things that we have multiples of. Today’s hot commodities were their blankets and pillows. At one point, they had clearly run out of things to fight about so Jackson threw an epic temper tantrum for the sole reason that Joseph has two feet. I kid you not. It was a mentally exhausting day. When we got home from picking Taylor up from school, they excitedly climbed into the spare car seats we keep in the garage. They strapped their chest clips and sighed heavily as if they were finally relaxing after a hard day of work. I snapped a picture of them, in all their glory. I then jokingly told them that this would become their new time out spot and they’d be spending a lot of time down here if they couldn’t make better choices. I snapped a picture as I told them, and I think you can infer their thoughts from their faces.

Happy Easter, plus a few days! Once again, I apologize for the lack of blogging but we’ve gone through a lot in our little family in the past few weeks. All is well now, and I will do a post all about our drama at another time. Thanks so much to everyone who reached out to me and sent encouraging words, prayers, vibes, etc.

Taylor’s spring break from school was the week leading up to Easter, so we spent lots and lots of time outside. The weather was insanely gorgeous and we soaked up as much of it as possible. A few of the days, we had nine kids playing in our front yard. We will never have the biggest house or the fanciest things, but knowing that my house is a fun place for the kids and their friends is all I need. We will never have a shortage of bubbles, sidewalk chalk, or laughter around here. In addition to the nine kid impromptu play dates, we had playground play dates, picnic lunches, ice cream outings, and even visited the Easter Bunny at the mall. It was busy, yet relaxing, and everything a break should be!

 

The kids woke up on Easter morning to find that the silly rabbit had dropped jelly beans all over the living room table, as he was hiding eggs. They inhaled sticky little fistfuls of jelly beans and had York Peppermint Pattie egg drool running down their little chins before I even had my morning coffee. They hunted for their eggs, proudly showing off each of their finds. They tore open their baskets with great excitement and were truly joyful with each and every item they received (even the essential fillers like hand sanitizer and sun block that the bunny tossed in). Seriously, I’ve never seen a small boy so excited and chanting about his own “pink soap!” The entire morning was one magical moment after the next. At one point, Taylor looked out the window and quickly grabbed her brothers (by the back of the pajamas) to show them what was on our front lawn. You see, earlier in the week, we planted jelly beans with our friends. We told the kids that the Easter bunny would help them grow into something magical on Easter morning. Strangely enough, they grew into lollipops! The kids were in awe and quickly ran outside to collect them, although each boy surprisingly chose one to eat and didn’t even bother to collect the rest. We had to encourage them to scoop up more for later, like big sister was doing. It was quite different from the way we anticipated the lollipop collection to go.

We spent the afternoon with my family; eating delicious food, having more egg hunts, opening up more baskets, and playing in the bounce house that my parents insisted on purchasing. We are definitely making sure they get their money worth on that investment! Everyone came home happy, full, and ready to pass out from the sugar consumption. It was definitely a win-win for the day! Since the weather was uncharacteristically warm, we had to switch up the boys outfits at the last minute. Luckily enough, they fit in the 18 month (yes, they are three and a half) shorts I had in our donation pile. I do have to say, they looked pretty darn dapper, and Taylor looked simply gorgeous as ever. The pink hat from the dollar section at Target truly completed her look. I hope everyone had a wonderful holiday, regardless of what you celebrate. These kids are in summer mode already and are having a hard time concentrating on anything other than being outdoors and playing!

I honestly feel like I’ve given my kids the best gifts ever by giving them each other. Yes, they bicker. Yes, they get irritated with each other. Yes, they have throw down brawls on occasion that can make a grown man cry. However, more often than not, they are playing with each other. They are making up silly songs and fun new games. They are talking about us behind our backs and using their cuteness and creativity to figure out how to swindle an extra dessert or later bed time out of us. They are making pacts and professing their love for each other. They are enjoying each other, and I am enjoying watching them. I love their bonds now, and can not wait to see them further develop in the future.

Today is National Siblings Day, and my love bugs were so happy to hear that. They embraced each other, said a bunch of I Love Yous and ended the evening with donuts outside. Cute, right? Let me now tell you what Taylor did to her siblings this morning.

 

Big sister decided (for some reason unbeknownst to me) that she wanted to convince the boys that it was their birthday today. It was actually quite easy to do since their concept of time still isn’t the greatest and they take anything she says as the truth. Why wouldn’t they? They worship her. So, this morning when she told them that today was their birthday and that they’d be celebrating at a bounce house party place, they believed her. When she told them that they were having a Minions and Nemo themed birthday party and there were going to be large, character balloons everywhere, they believed her. They even believed her when she told them that there were Minion cupcakes on the kitchen counter for after lunch and beautifully wrapped presents hidden throughout the house. There were not. The poor guys were quite pissed, and rightfully so. Of course, I was blamed for birthing them in September instead of April, but that’s just something I will have to live with.

Their big sister might have been a practical jokester today, but at the end of the day, they still love her. They still insisted on giving her “twin kisses” as soon as she was on their level. There’s not much better than having siblings.