Dressing Alike

I know it seems incredibly early to be thinking about spring and summer clothes but trust me, it's not. The girls have enough clothes for winter so if I buy clothes it's now for summer and I am struggling with a dilemma. Should I dress the girls alike or not?

Before they were born I had decided not to dress them alike very often. I had no idea how alike they would look and didn't want to confuse anybody plus I didn't want the extra pain of having to change one girl's clothes just because someone else threw up or pooped and got their clothes dirty.

Since then I have somewhat changed my mind. While it is still a huge pain to change all three if they get their clothes dirty they usually only wear one outfit a day so it's less of a problem. Also, they don't look anything alike so we can tell them apart no matter what they're wearing.

I have also found that grabbing the same outfit for each girl means I only have to think about their clothes for like 5 minutes whereas if I dress them differently I have to carefully examine each outfit to see how it relates to the other. Sound weird? Well, if one girl is wearing pink and the other is wearing red or blue people will assume that the other one is a boy. Not a big deal at home but when we're out - big pain.

To help me answer this question I have created a poll and really want your opinion. Should I embrace that they are triplets and display it to the world that they are or should I make them individuals and dress them differently. I could also coordinate and that is similar outfits but not exactly the same - same shorts, different tops - same clothing line different style. Commenting that it's up to me isn't helpful so you have to vote!! And vote often :)

Laundry Day

The girls are oh, so helpful.



This is what laundry day in our house looks like. I don't even remember how many loads this was but it took me 2 days to wash and fold :) I know I could do a load every day but I hate laundry so I do it all at once every other week (and some in between when needed).



And this is how our house looked tonight when all the power everywhere went out for over an hour. I've never seen my house any blacker! It was freaky. It certainly proved one thing: Alyssa is scared of the dark. I mean petrified. We suspected this when she spent the entire second nap screaming her head off - something she doesn't do any other time that she wakes up. I started putting a night light in which ever room she was in and it seems to have helped. Go figure.

Right now I am just eternally grateful for lights...

Bathtime Fun

After a little protesting by Julianna the girls are out of their bath seats and into the tub. I wanted to capture a little bit of the fun (no obscene pictures I promise) of the girls in the bath along with the older two kids who still enjoy being in their own bath!



So silly! Love the hair Julianna...



The older kids are having fun:

Fun With Balloons

So the girls are always cute (okay, except when they are screaming but you get the point) but yesterday they got balloons from Harris Teeter and just loved them - so I had to grab a few shots.

The balloon is actually stuck to her head - it followed her all around the play room.





Alyssa's looking a little posed but I swear I had nothing to do with it!



After chasing Rachel around forever - I finally got a few good shots. Has to be even! Although I guess I shorted Alyssa with just one good photo :)





These are the outfits the girls wore to Harris Teeter - complete with bow and even a pink jacket. I was still asked if they were two girls and a boy or all girls. What do you think? And please, please tell me which one is the boy?? Also, a cute older couple thought they knew my parents because they knew someone who's daughter had triplets and were shocked to find out that there could be more then one set of triplets in Northern Virginia! So cute :)

"More" Please!

A big first today! At lunch I was feeding the girls these Gerber Graduate Lil Crunchies and they loved them. I actually fed them the Zesty Tomato flavor and I can't believe they devoured them since neither of the older kids like tomatoes. I do keep trying with everyone since I LOVE tomatoes.

But that's not the big first. Today Julianna and Rachel both signed "more" - they loved these things so much they couldn't help but tell me they wanted more :) We're still working on the sign for please but now at least two of them have added "more" to their "all done" - yes, they have that one down quite well. Thanks Gerber for these great snacks...

Uncle Michael Is 30!!

And he's single!! If you know any single girls between 25 and 30ish please let me know. I'd like to marry him off :) Happy Birthday Michael and welcome to your 30's. I hope the next decade is even better then the last.

Over the summer we had a chance to visit him at his house and took some pictures. Doesn't he look so natural holding 3 babies?? I never got these pictures up then but I thought they'd be a great way to wish him a Happy 30th today.





All 5 kids having fun :)

It's All Fun And Games...

Until someone gets hurt! I'm not apologizing for another video because this was just too cute to pass up tonight. But I will apologize for the stuff on the floor - the girls were playing with the empty BJ's boxes and scattered them. That and they're addicted to playing with spoons. Someday I'll get video of Rachel and her spoons. She falls asleep with them and wakes up clutching them... Silly girl!

Snow Babies

Just last week the girls were walking on the grass in the "spring" - today we got about five or so inches of snow which for us is a good amount. I LOVE the snow so we had to take the girls out for their first trip outside in the snow. I hope you don't mind all the pictures and video :)

Hanging out in the snow:



The girls on the sled:

Poor Rachel

Today the girls turned 14 months. All three of them. You know that and I know that but most people don't know that. Recently I have been asked if I have twins and a singleton. When I give them a confused look I get "well, that one looks different" or "she's too small to be the same age".

While it is true, that she's smaller then the other two and that Alyssa and Julianna look more alike they are not older then Rachel. Alyssa is actually younger.

So, I was already pretty frustrated when I got to Giant and discovered that my new awesome triple-wide stroller is too big to fit through the front door. I had to unload all three girls, corral them, fold down the stroller and try to get them in the front door. Thankfully someone took pity on me and helped me in. Then I had to reload them all and make my way to the pharmacy to fill a RX. Of course, I'm running out of time - I have to be to the kids school in 30 minutes plus get some groceries. Not going well.

"Oh my goodness, look at this!" An older lady stops by the stroller. Nothing new, happens everywhere. I smile, what can I do? I'm kind of stuck in line.

"So, what do we have here? Two boys and a girl?" The lady is looking up and down the triple wide stroller. They are ALL wearing identical pink shoes and identical pink and green striped shirt (I meant to take a picture but forgot). Most of me is wondering which one is the girl.

"No, they're all girls." This is why triplet moms need to practice that fake smile. Probably moms of all special needs kids or any other human being that attracts attention for any reason.

"They're not twins are they?"

What?!

"They're triplets."

"Oh, but that one looks so different." Thank God Rachel has no idea people are talking about her.

"Yes, she does." What else do I say? I've had people question us severely as to why Rachel looks different and how she could be so much smaller. Kirk says I should start saying "You're right! She must not be a triplet, she's too small!" I should of said, "No, they're not triplets I had one every five months for 15 months." I wonder how long it would take her to figure out that math (and biology).

The lady's friend walks up, stops, looks over the stroller, asks, "Is it hard to have three at once?"

"Um, yes." Again, what the heck do I say?

I got stopped no less than 6 more times before I tried to make my exit from Giant. I go through the self-serve because it's the only one big enough for my stroller. No one helps. The lady manning the self-serve aisle sees me try to exit (hey, maybe these doors are wider) and says, "I don't think you'll fit." Does she offer to help? No. Thank God, a very tall man knew how to dismantle the doors so that the sliding doors open out and I could fit through.

To say all this, I'm no longer shopping at Giant. At Harris Teeter, I can get in right away, they have cookies out front and people trip over themselves to offer help. I swear they do. I get help out to my car, people grabbing milk for me, surely someone would've helped me that works there if there was a door issue.

Happy 14 months to the girls. And I still miss my mom who has been gone a year tomorrow from her "help-with-the-triplets" post. Bummer but I have managed to survive thanks to the help and support of quite a few others.

As for milestones, Rachel and Julianna are waving quite well. Rachel was actually quite sweet in the store waving at everybody - this is unusual for her because she is usually anti-social and very into mom or dad. As the self-dubbed "princess" Alyssa has a harder wave to learn and hasn't worked on that yet.

They have all left crawling behind and are walking/running everywhere they go. More pictures soon.

Don't Look Down!!

This awesome photo was done by my husband in photoshop. The tutorial was published in Photoshop Creative which is sold at Borders bookstores everywhere. Doesn't he do a great job??

On a weird note this my 200th post. How weird is that?? When Kirk first brought the idea up for a blog I had no idea what I would write about or when or who would read it. Now it is a daily part of my life and the only way I or the girls will remember my pregnancy and their early years. Go figure.

2nd Blog

I mentioned that I was beginning another blog for writing and I have currently posted the Prologue as well as chapters 1 and 2. Please feel free to check it out and read as you'd like. My goal is to update with a chapter a week so that by the end of the year I should have a complete book. Since I have already completed 2 novels I have a pretty good idea as to how but I also know that life gets busy with triplets, a graduate course and a writing course.

This is my way of making me write and I hope that you make me stick to it!! I won't keep up without people reading so please read and please comment and yes, I will figure out a way to copywrite. Not that I even think I'm that good but you never know.

Link again: Dorinda Writes

Check This Out...

I've mentioned these bows before and now the girls on their website. Yea!! And I think it's the best picture there but I'm a little bias.

No Slippy Hair Clippy

Daily Struggle

Every day I spend my time struggling with whether or not to let the girls play by themselves and cry or if I should stay with them and make sure they are fine (crying still ensues). When all three are crying at my leg, do I leave them and walk away or do I pick one up at a time? Or two at a time? But then I leave one or two out and they are still screaming and I am out of hands. At what point do I really start disciplining?

Having just one at a time meant that one could get all my attention and I could pick them up as needed. Of course, I discipline and they still cried it out at times but not at this age - at least I don't remember that!!

At dinner we have this issue where we must feed the girls to get them to stop screaming while we make dinner but by the time we are ready to sit down and eat they are done and begin screaming in their highchairs. So, we can listen to them scream in their chairs or let them down to scream at our feet. Kirk got video of this one night but I seriously doubt anyone would like to see it! So, of course I struggle with this too.

As I ponder what to do I am also considering all the things that I was not told before I had triplets. I know there are books on the subject of things that you need to know before having a child but so far I have not come across a book on what to expect when having triplets.

A few things you probably wouldn't find in a book about having triplets but probably should:

- the biggest shock by far is that you must know how to blog. If you are unfamiliar with this form of technology then how will you keep your friends and family informed? How will you remember your children's growing up years since obviously you won't have enough time to write it down anywhere else?

- you have to be able to understand a number of strange acronyms - quick what's a MOM? No, not a mom but a MOM (Mother of Multiples). What's an HOM? High order multiples of course. VHOM - well, you get the idea.

- if you find yourself pregnant with multiples you should quickly begin pasting a smile on your face and nodding. "You're having triplets?" Smile and nod. "You have your hands full!" Smile and nod. You will find yourself doing this more often then most other things pregnancy books will have you concerned with.

- you must remember basic biology even if you failed it in high school. What are fraternal twins? What are identical twins? Are triplets actually twins? (no) Can you have triplets "naturally"? (yes) You must also understand what "natural" is.

- none of your appliances will ever be big enough, set money aside to replace all these things - water heater, washer/dryer, dishwasher, fridge, add an extra freezer.

- you will be tripping over kids stuff for the rest of your life - organize in advance - I mean like now even before you have one kid let alone three!! If I could go back I would certainly have started with a better organizational system but alas, I am left struggling to keep up with everything on a daily basis. Fortunately, my husband is forgiving - you should find a forgiving husband too :)

- free time is extremely hard to come by - take advantage of bed rest (if I could go back and tell myself one thing - it would've been this - that hospital stay does eventually end!!) - so, with all my free time I will go write a book and let all the triplet moms in on my vast knowledge!!

Hey, at least I can laugh even when I'm struggling!! It's a gift :)

Is It Spring?

So, I know it's technically January but oh my word it's so nice out. More like a cruel joke because we know it's going to get colder again. I do love winter though so it's okay - I'd like a good snow :) But until then we will enjoy the weather and let the girls out for a walk. And today was the first time ever they walked on grass. A big first!! Woo hoo :) So, forgive me for yet another video (no sound - on my camera again)

Before the "big" walk - still love this stroller!! FYI: Alyssa's in the middle to keep Julianna and Rachel from fighting. She's not as grabby :) In Harris Teeter the other night they each had a cookie - I'm shopping and I hear Alyssa crying behind me - I turn around and Julianna has two cookies and she's eating both. That would be the only negative to this stroller...



Caleb after a block - his leg hurt. Yea, right - he just wanted daddy to carry him.



Julianna's in love - she walked everywhere - have to watch that one and the street!



Rachel had no idea what to do - didn't walk, just crawled - too funny :)



And Alyssa. Well, everyone who knows her knows she's the princess and princesses don't really walk outside and get their feet dirty! I snapped this picture as she was walking to me to pick her up - she would NOT touch that tree. In contrast notice Rachel (above) pratically eating the dirt!



And another video - sorry, it's too fun. I mean it was their first walk in the grass! Sorry about the slight glare. Take notice again of Alyssa's princess like quality - she just sat there!!

Sounds of Triplets

I've been having fun with Kirk's camera and the fact that it actually records sounds. So, I took some fun video of the girls the other day and finally got them to upload (bigger files takes more time!) so here they are to share. I hope I'm not overdoing the video thing :)

I had to get video of Julianna playing - she cracks herself up. Be sure to watch for Julianna and Alyssa playing together - it's adorable! Plus, the sounds of baby laughter. Sorry their noses are runny :)



And this is Julianna talking on the phone - sooo adorable! Notice Rachel attempting to take it away :)



And as promised, some video of Rachel making her annoying crying sound. At least I tried. She starts out so unhappy I'm thinking this is it! Everyone will see how fussy Rachel is but then she shows us all it's just an act...

What??!!

As I set up my blog mostly to share pictures with family and friends I am not as embedded in the blogger "world" as some. I post to keep my parents up to date and put up fun things and pictures. Apparantly that is enough to get a blog-type chain letter :) I don't think that I will die a horrible death in the next week if I don't do it but none the less I have chosen to participate though I think I will only tag 4 people instead of 5 and it's possible they may not participate. Not my fault :) So, thanks to Misty and Cherie I am "it".

Link to the person that tagged you and post the rules on your blog.


Share 5 random and/or weird facts about yourself on your blog. or

Share the 5 top places on your “want to see or want to see again” list. or

Share 5 things you never pictured being in your future when your were 25 years old.

Tag a minimum of 5, maximum of 10 random people at the end of your post and include links to their blogs.

Let each person know that they have been tagged by leaving a comment on their blog.

The tagees have a choice of which they want to do.

5 random and/or weird facts about myself:

1. I've written 2 novels but haven't gotten the nerve to submit either for publication.

2. I am addicted to clothes - mostly kids clothes - I just loving dressing all 5 of them!!

3. Part of me wants more kids - how weird is that? I mean I already have 5!! And that is exactly 5 more then I ever thought I would have.

4. I am totally addicted to all kinds of crime shows - all of them (I hate reality TV - I want something well written - kind of follows #1 and the whole writing thing)

5. At the end of this month I begin taking a Master's course in Criminal Profiling which is the beginning of my journey to a Master's in Forensic Psychology (either that or a really good novel). This course is being added to my writing course that I am now halfway done with. Yes, I'm crazy!!

So, there you have it 5 random things about me that you probably never wanted to know anyway!!

I will add that I am beginning a new blog: www.dorindawrites.blogspot.com - this is probably #6 on the list :) Basically I'm going to post my novel there one chapter at a time and hopefully one week at a time. Chapter 1 isn't there yet but will be this week so check in if you're interested in fiction at all!! Keep in mind it is my first draft and will need tons of revisions. Feel free to make comments especially if I've gotten some facts wrong.

Also, I must apologize but I only have 4 people to tag instead of the required minimum of 5 - again, I know of no severe consequences so don't feel bad if you don't feel like doing it!

So, Mandi, Ute, Kristy and Sally you are now "it"!! Have fun :)

Better Late Then Never...

I am fully aware that Christmas is almost two weeks ago and I promised pictures of the kids playing on their toys but I never really got around to posting it. So, better late then never...

Caleb's biggest gift was a big hit - the Fisher Price Smart Cycle - notice Alyssa enjoying the TV - she's watching Caleb's game from her new chair :)



Go Caleb! You're doing great!



Here's Alyssa on her chair. She likes to sit on it and it's very cute - also by Fisher Price :)



And the girls like to do this all the time - I think Rachel's bound to be a tomboy - motorcycles and 4-wheelers??



More pictures and video soon! I'm still playing catch-up and the house is not yet organized but we did take down the Christmas tree and decorations today. Christmas is officially over :(

If I Had Quads...

It's been a while since I took pictures of my girls and their best friend Lauren. Surprisingly Lauren is just 10 months but in this video she looks like she is the same age. So, this is what it would be like if I had quads... Not a lot different really :) (Any quad mom reading this is balking right now!!)

And, yes, the girls have enough toys. This is even after we tried to clean up. Actually Julianna and Rachel are playing in a toy I had put to the side so they wouldn't play in it (and to free up some space) but yet, they got into it anyway!! And this would be an example of why my house is always a disaster.

Speaking of which - here are my new year's resolutions (3 days late - I'm behind already!)

1. Spend less - this is my biggest focus
2. Become more organized - I think this is on my list every year but hopefully #1 will help with #2 - it's an all over thing
3. Work on my novel - I'd like to say finish it but come on, I have to think seriously!!