Friday, November 28, 2008

Boy Have They Grown!

Or should I say girl? :)

Today was the girl's 2-year check-up and I am happy to report the girls are healthy and growing.

Of course all kids grow - if they didn't it would be horrible but it's the process of that growth that fascinates us. I do nothing to make them grow save feed them and love them and they get bigger. It's like I put them down one day as tiny little people who couldn't do anything and now they are walking and talking. How does that happen?!

For their stats:

Julianna weighs in at 27.14 pounds putting her at about the 60th percentile for weight. Growing despite her lack of eating. I think she just drinks in her pounds :) Height is 34.5 inches putting her at about the 60th percentile for that as well. She has pretty much met or exceeded the 2 year developmental marks - she's doing just fine!!

Rachel is all of 22.10 pounds! Which means she is still hanging out in the 5th percentile. Wow, she is so small!! As for height she was 33 inches tall which puts her in the 25th percentile - smallest of the 3 in every way. On the interesting side the doctor indicated that is possible that while she is the smallest now she may hit puberty later and then actually be taller then the other two. Weird, huh? Apparantly the being smaller longer helps them grow a little at a time and then shoot up later. Something like that. But does explain how the runt turns into the tallest in the class.

Alyssa weighed 25.10 pounds putting her in the 35th percentile for weight. Otherwise she is the exact same as Julianna. Same height, same head circumfrance. I always knew they were twins!! Hee hee. It is weird how alike they are in so many ways - same hair, same eyes, same height and yet they aren't identical but still some people can't tell them apart. Oh well, given the similarities I can let it slide...

Other things: Julianna didn't really have any other "issues"; there's no pill to fix Rachel's crankiness - I asked :) As for Alyssa, she should be speaking more then she is. The fact that she doesn't speak in sentences is a tad concerning but the doctor said we'd wait two to three months and see if there is improvement. It's possible she's just a late talker. With no other signs of disability - she's very responsive and engaged (no autism) and she hears what we're saying so she's obviously not deaf. Anyway, if it doesn't improve we will have her evaluated. But, hopefully, it's more her sisters talking for her then any real issue :) Ever the princess!!

Thursday, November 27, 2008

Happy Thanksgiving 2008!!



I am thankful for:

- a God who loves me and keeps His promises
- a wonderful husband
- five awesome kids
- the fact that 2 Thanksgivings ago I spent my first day at home with the triplets and that was way harder then today
- the blessing of family, friends and all the things that I have

Happy Thanksgiving from the Nelsons - I hope that you had a blessed day and that you have much to be thankful for as well.

Tuesday, November 25, 2008

Christmas Giveaways

Unfortunately not by me but by this great blog: 5 Minutes for Mom that I have found through MaryBeth at Four Silly Sisters and they are giving away a TON of stuff this Christmas. My only hesitancy in posting this is my friend Kristy is on hospital bedrest and therefore has all the time in the world to register to win all the great prizes. But, oh well, maybe I can still beat her out on something :) There's still a little time to comment on their blog and have a chance to win something for yourself. If I don't beat you to it...


Christmas Giveaway Gifts 240x240



Check it out soon - I think you can't enter past the end of this week and the giveaways are in December!!

Monday, November 24, 2008

Fabulous Blog Award



Thanks to MaryBeth for nominating me for a Fabulous Blog Award :) You have to draw it out though so it's Faaab-u-lous otherwise it's not as fun...

Here are the rules to receiving this award:
1. You have to pass it on to 5 other fabulous bloggers in a post.
2. You have to list 5 of your fabulous addictions in the post.
3. You must copy and paste the rules and the instructions below in the post.
Instructions: On your post of receiving this award, make sure you include the person that gave you the award and link it back to them.

Here are my five addictions:

1. Fun-Dip - I am seriously addicted. It's very low in calories though quite high in sugar (though surprisingly about the same as one soda) but I LOVE eating fun dip. Who knows why - it's just fun to eat and I don't eat any other candy or chips or anything so I save all my "bad" calories for my fun dip :)

2. Crime dramas - ALL of them - CSI, CSI:Miami and New York, The Mentalist (love this new show), Life (love this show that started last year), 24, The Eleventh Hour - Law & Order is okay but it is getting WAY too political and I just don't need that. I'd like to say this is all for research but you do know that the stuff on those shows aren't real. Cops DO NOT have any of these techniques and equipment (per a cop I know, "One piece of equipment on those shows is equal to a year's worth of my department's budget"). That and you CANNOT see a person in a random reflection on a surface nor can you zoom in on a security video where the original video did not zoom in.

3. Reading - about forensics and cops - this is actual research and I am totally addicted. Reading Christian fiction on the subject - generally suspense/intrigue. Reading my Bible and studying theology when I can. This is something I know I need to put into my schedule more. Unfortunately reading takes a back seat to a lot of things. And, of course, I like to read blogs and search the internet for research.

4. WRITING! I LOVE to write novels. And for those of you who are wondering I am finally getting into my next novel and I can't wait to start sharing it - it will even grittier then the last. And writing on my blog - I prefer fiction but at least it's some form of writing.

5. The Grocery Game. Oh my word - it is so awesome! I posted a lot about this a few months ago and at that point I was saving some and doing pretty well. I didn't do it for a few months but recently I have gotten back into it and I have been saving a fortune. Maybe not a fortune but for a family of 7 - I have been saving quite a bit:

For example - last week I spent $128 but I saved $92!! This week I spent $91 but saved $80 - that's almost 50% off of my original order! And I'm buying things I really need. It's like stocking up at BJ's but not paying the actual price. For 4 24 oz. boxes of raisins I spent $6.00 instead of the original price of $16.00.

If you haven't signed up I highly recommend it. But be sure before you do that you have a store in your area that doubles and/or triples coupons - this makes a really big difference. It also helps if there buy one, get one free means that the items are actually 50% off so that you only have to buy one. This has become more and more fun - every week I get seriously excited about clipping coupons and seeing just how much I can save at the store. Last week I actually had to have a manager override my sale because I had saved too much!! So, yea, you could say I'm addicted :)

Here are the blogs I nominate (my friends Cherie and Cadi have already been nominated but I do agree that they have fabulous blogs!!):

1. Misty at Triplet Blessed
2. Denise at Goosey Lucy, Turkey Lurkey and Chicken Little
3. Kristy at The Shepherd Times
4. Amy at Tales From the Higby Gang
5. Misty at The Urech Quads
6. Cyn at The Chambers' Chatter

I'm sorry I couldn't narrow it down to 5!! And there are so many other fabulous blogs out there but I picked these 5 in the hopes they would participate :) Thanks ladies for letting me share in your lives via the Internet.

Friday, November 21, 2008

Thursday, November 20, 2008

Trip To The Bathroom

This isn't crude I just want to share what it's really like to have 3 two year olds plus 2 bigger kids.

So, I have to go to the bathroom. It happens sometimes and I can't help it. As much as my girls will fuss while I am "gone" I have to go!! After I head to the bathroom inevitably someone needs to find me. While Rachel and Alyssa are content searching and crying, Julianna walks around yelling "Where Mommy? Where Mommy? Where Mommy?"

Until I answer her. Then she finds me. So do the other two. All of them must sit on my lap.

Rachel first - just so she can play with the switch next to my toilet which operates the bathroom fan (I'm just thankful it's not the light because that gives me a headache with the on and off).

Then Alyssa must also play with the switch. So, two kids standing on me playing with the switch.

Julianna is waiting patiently. Mostly just saying "Mommy potty" or "Mommy poopy, Mommy peepee" (this is regardless of what I'm actually doing so no, I'm not being crude).

Rachel and Alyssa climb off. Julianna says, "My turn" and climbs on.

Inevitably, either Kaitlyn or Caleb will interupt me as well. Caleb wants a snack. Kaitlyn needs me to spell a word or help with homework.

Seriously all I'm trying to do is pee!!

When I am finally able to get all the kids off me/out of there and am done. I am followed out by Julianna saying "Mommy potty; Mommy all done" Sometimes she adds "yuck" and points to the toilet. After I run my hands under water with at least one child attached to my leg I am off to rescue Rachel from whatever tragedy has occurred in the five minutes it has taken me to go the bathroom.

Today it was also Julianna who hurt herself - tripped and knocked her head (ever so slightly) into the tub - instead of wailing for twenty minutes like Rachel or Alyssa she puts her hand on her head and says "Hurt head" and shows me where.

I like this part of talking! The less screaming and yes, I do think Julianna is two months older then the other two despite being born on the same day. Yes, they were born on the same day - it's called triplets.

Or to quote a very observant woman we ran into the other night, "They're twins except there's three." Yep, that there is.

Wednesday, November 19, 2008

Rachel

I am worried that Rachel is getting a bad rap. While it is true that she screams about half of the day and you haven't seen a temper tantrum until you've seen Rachel lay on the floor and scream. But when she's not screaming she is actually a very, cute, sweet and extremely pleasant little girl. She also has the cutest giggle.

So tonight I asked Kirk to video Rachel in one of her favorite places - on my lap, with a book. One of her favorite activities lately is to point to everything in a book that she knows, page after page after page.



Sorry the snipet is short and for all the background screaming - Julianna and Alyssa were acting more like Rachel tonight then Rachel :) They would not be appeased without being held so they had to stay in the hallway so we could hear Rachel. Another good reason the video is short - welcome to my life.

On a side note, I am once again asking for prayer for a friend of mine. For some reason all of my friends have decided that Hotel Fairfax would be a nice place to visit. I think they were envious of my way cool hospital room that I spent 6 weeks in and wanted it to give it a try. While my friend Laura and her daughter Ellie are now all home and doing well, my friend Kristy has decided to take her place. At 25.3 weeks pregnant with baby boy #3 she was admitted to the hospital today for severe bleeding. While he would be considered viable at this point our hope is that Kristy would be able to carry him for at least 3 more weeks - I'm praying for more. Sounds like another trip back to my old "home". Such memories.

But I can't end this post without posting a great picture Kirk took of the girls all together and all smiling!! WHAT are the chances??

Sunday, November 16, 2008

My Babies Are TWO!!

How did it happen? How is it possible? Two years have gone by since the girls were born weighing 4.8, 4.12 and 5.2 pounds - they were so big for triplets but yet they were so incredibly small. They have grown so much in the past two years in every way.

It's so hard for me to believe this is them! They don't even look the same...



Both pictures are left to right: Julianna, Rachel and Alyssa



I can't believe how little hair they had!!





Just enough hair for a small bow...



The girls with a bit more hair...



And these are the girls today - waving bye to their mom, telling me they are growing up, they are getting bigger, they aren't my babies anymore.



I am grateful to have made it through two whole years and on the other hand I can't believe that two whole years have gone by. Happy 2nd Birthday Julianna, Rachel and Alyssa! I can't wait to see you grow through so many more years ahead.

P.S. I didn't make the b-day cake - a friend in my moms of multiples group did and she did a great job! Everyone loved it! Huge plus of a moms group is all the cool moms you meet - even if they "just" have twins :)

Saturday, November 15, 2008

Elmo Party!!

Today was the girls "real" 2nd birthday party. It was nothing like last year - we didn't rent a hall, we didn't invite everyone we knew - just the girls 2-year-old friends and their families but still we had a really good time.

Last year we celebrated the end of their first year and said thank you to the 40 or so people who helped in some way during my bed rest, hospital stay and the girl's newborn stages but for the past year it's been 95% Kirk and I alone. We've had some babysitting but I have no daily help - just me and the babes. But that's okay - we do well for ourselves and I'm enjoying watching them grow up.



More tomorrow on their actual birthday but I wanted to share the fun we had with them today and thanks to all who came out to our "simple" party! Two years ago now I was eating my last meal before midnight and anxiously awaiting a chance to meet the girls. I had turned down the doctor's "offer" to go another week - which as many of you know I probably could have carried them to 40 weeks if they weren't physically removed and mentally I just couldn't do that... Oh well, seemed to turn out fine the babies being good weights and all :)

Thursday, November 13, 2008

Pros and Cons

Two years ago today my good friend, Joanna, came and visited me in the hospital. At that point all visitors were bright spots in my dreary days but Joanna wanted to get me out of my room. She didn't want me sitting there doing nothing (what else could I do?) - she wanted me to at least get out and see something! God bless her :)

So, she tracked down a wheelchair and we loaded my humongous self into it and began "walking" the halls. What a sight we were! She was a few months pregnant with her second child so she had a tiny little bump and then there was me - about 20 months pregnant with a singleton OR 8 months pregnant with triplets - looks about the same. We had to check out breast pumps so we went up a floor to the 7th floor of the hospital. That 7th floor also happens to be the maternity ward. And what did I hear? Teeny, tiny newborn babies crying.

Oh my word was I freaked out. Having 2 kids already I KNEW what was coming except for the multiplied times three part. I wasn't ready. I knew I wasn't ready. As much as I wanted the girls OUT of me I also wanted to keep them IN! Who was I to have triplets? Some strange person said that when women are blessed with multiples it was because God knew they could handle it. I thought that was true till it happened to me. What? There was NO way I was going to survive having three babies at once.

To say the least I was panicked. I had three days left till my scheduled C-section (unless they came sooner but by that point I was pretty sure they weren't coming out until I kicked them out!). Hearing those babies crying was the first time I began to realize that I was actually going to have three small babies to care for. At once.

Everyone asks if I was shocked when we found out it was triplets. The truth is it was more about denial. I did not believe for one second that I would actually give birth to triplets until that day. That day I heard the babies crying and I had no idea what I was going to do.

Of course you know the rest of the story - three days later my babies were born. Healthy and pink. Alyssa did have to be literally dragged out of me - they did NOT want to leave. Maybe they were as scared as I was!

And then those little stinkers beat me to the recovery area. I remember being numb - at least my legs were numb but the incision was already starting to hurt - and I looked to my left and there in a tiny bassinet were three sleeping babies. And what did I think at that moment? Thank God they are asleep!

I will never pretend that those days were easy. That I had no more days filled with panic - I remember having 2 just in the week since they were born - once when I was left alone with 2 babies in the hospital (and that was just 2 babies!!) and the other when I was trying to pump in the middle of the night on one of the two nights I was home and the girls were still at the hospital - I just lost it - I didn't think I could handle three at once!

You know what?

I was right. I couldn't but somehow, one day at a time - literally one feeding at a time I got through. My mom helped, other people helped but mostly it was me putting one foot in front of the other and getting through one day at a time.

So, as the girls approach 2 years I figured I'd list a few of the pros and cons of my past 2 years with triplets:

Pros:

- naptime and bedtime - okay, I'm partially kidding - there are other things!
- giggling - there's nothing like a toddler giggling
- lazy days when I can just lounge on the couch and watch a good hour of Sesame Street or Hi-5 with the girls
- there is always someone to cuddle with - when one girl wants to be independent another takes her place on my lap
- on the same note - I can always get a hug! There's a lot less waiting for a good mood to come around - I just ask the next girl :)
- I never tire of just watching them play together - when they hold hands, when they "talk" to each other, when they share, when they toddle in a line - it never gets old
- I also never tire of counting them - may sound odd but I still have to pinch myself at dinner when I look around the table and count 5 kids! And to count three toddlers - it's clearly so amazing
- when they are being silly - all of them dancing together or copying Kaitlyn in whatever she is getting them to do - or when they are chasing Caleb
- watching them grow as individuals and as a group - two years ago these girls were faceless names - who knew what they would look like or what they would be and now they are individuals - they are "real" people and that has been so cool!
- looking forward to these girls growing together - going through times when they are enemies and best friends and when someday they are grown and share everything with each other - most days I wish I could be them!!

Cons (these are probably more obvious):

- my inability to hold three babies at one time has been magnified now that the girls are bigger and my arms haven't changed
- constant screaming over who has what toy - Julianna is temper tantruming right now because Alyssa has a recorder that Julianna really wants - Julianna is trying to "trade" a blanket that Alyssa doesn't want so she can take what Alyssa has
- screaming at naptime and bedtime - they are more knowledgable as to what it means to go to bed and therefore are protesting all the more
- the complete lack of ability to get anything done while the girls are awake - certainly nothing on the computer
- there are rarely any super great days by which I mean no one is cranky - with one child your day is based on that one child's mood - with 3 they all have to be in a good mood and that rarely ever happens
- there is a LOT of wear and tear on your body when you tote three kids everywhere - up and down the stairs, into and out of naps, into and out of the van (twice a day at least) - I can't believe I'm not a size 0!!

As I write this I'm surprised that my list of pros are longer then my list of cons which of course everyone knows there ultimately aren't any cons to having kids (even high order multiples) there are just rough days were you are bone tired and realize that you have no choice to get up and do it all over again. But for that the rewards are enormous and then somehow a minute turns into an hour turns into a day turns into a month turns into years and before you know it the unsurvivable is behind you. For me, two years have past and I can't help but look forward to so many more years to come.

And I can't end this post without wishing a special happy birthday to the Urech Quads and Sandrof Triplets who both turn 2 today!! If you remember the Sandrof boys are my girl's future husbands :) As soon as TLC slates a special for triplets marrying triplets we're there. As long as it's not triplets marrying triplets having triplets - ha!! But if that happens - their mamas can certainly help them out. I know I've learned a lot in these past two years and I have no doubt that my good friend Cherie has too.

Wednesday, November 12, 2008

Birthday Playdate

Think there were enough birthdays in November? Think again! Today I hosted my moms of multiples (mostly twins) club playgroup. All of us have kids the same age - about 2. And strangely some of us REALLY have kids the same age. One set of twins on November 15th and another set on November 17th. Seriously, what IS it about multiples born in November?

So, to celebrate we had a birthday playdate. Five moms, eleven two-year olds (the oldest were born in September, one set in October and the rest of us in November).

Here's some pictures.

Outside eating cupcakes. I just love baby faces covered in icing :) What I don't love as much is babies clothes covered in icing.















And inside for presents!









I have some more pictures but now it's getting late and I guess I do need some sleep!! We had a great morning and I think the girls are sort of getting the hang of seeing other kids their age. And their mommy just can't believe that age is two in just four days.

Happy Birthday to Mikayla and Savannah, Cole and Connor, Reagan and Keenan, and Carly and Mitchell! We had a great time celebrating our birthdays and the girls got some really fun new puzzles that Rachel has already taken to hoarding and fighting over :)

Monday, November 10, 2008

My Only Son Is FIVE!!!

Five years ago today I gave birth to an 8 pound 6 ounce baby boy!! After five hours of non-labor (Pitocin just didn't work on me) and then 3 hours of actual labor (they broke my water) I had my second child at 4:15ish in the afternoon. At the time I kind of wanted a girl for Kaitlyn to have a sister. Today I am extremely grateful that he was a boy :) Kirk's mom passed away just five months before he was born but we were able to tell her it was a boy - another reason I was grateful he was a boy! Imagine if I had told her wrong.

Anyway, my little guy is growing up. He is just a joy to be around. Makes me laugh all the time. Just today he asked if we could measure him again (it's been like 3 months) to see how much he's grown. I told him that he probably hasn't grown much so he asked me, "then why did I turn 5?" How funny is he?

Some pics from his party today - he had a great time. He just loves Chuck E. Cheese!

Caleb's 5! What a cool cake:



Make a wish...



Everybody loves Chuck E. Cheese! This is the best photo I got after shooing out all the kids from the other party. Everything was great but they need to work on seperating parties - or other parents have to pay more attention!



Caleb and Chuck E.



Caleb and his classmates (yep just the 3 of them but they have a great class!):



Lots of gifts! Can you tell he was excited about this part?



A new DS game from Uncle Daniel and Aunt Kim - thanks guys!



Wondering where Kaitlyn was? She was there but spent all her time playing except when it came to "helping" with the gifts!!



Caleb's friend, Liam was there but for the most part he was camera shy!



Like I said, everybody loves Chuck E. Cheese:



The favorite ride of the night - this is what it looks like ON the ride:



This is what they looked like when NOT on the ride (all of them but Rachel is what we captured on film - thanks Janette):



And I just couldn't resist getting video of the girl's dancing - they just had such a great time!



A very happy 5th birthday to my only son. May you grow to be a young man who loves the Lord and serves others. You have truly been a blessing to me and I thank God every day for allowing me to be your mom! I love you bud!!

Saturday, November 08, 2008

November Is Party Month!!

Click to play November Birthdays
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Now you see why I'll be eating cake all month!! And Wednesday is my multiples playgroup birthday party - then I'll get all the twins born this month too (and there are quite a few of those!)

Happy Birthday everybody!! And a special on to Brooke, Ryan and Gaby who are celebrating today.

Please note: ALL pictures are the properties of their respective owners and used soley for this birthday card. Also, I didn't list all the names in order of their photos just in case you were wondering :)

Friday, November 07, 2008

Want To Know Your Future?

I got a little glimpse into mine :) Here's an article that myself and two fellow triplet mammas wrote for our moms of multiples club newsletter (little long but you'll enjoy it - especially if you happen to have triplets my girl's age or younger):

In the Prince William Moms of Multiples Club there are only a few sets of triplets. Three sets are all girls and all three sets were born on or near the other sets birthday. On November 16th, 2001 the Guber family welcome three beautiful little girls. Three years and two days later (November 18th, 2004) the Sleczkowski family welcomed three beautiful little girls. Two years after that and exactly five years to the day after the Guber family (November 16th, 2006), the Nelson family welcomed three beautiful little girls. A special bond is often formed among triplet moms but for us we have the unique experience to have our girls share birthdays and therefore we give each other a unique glance in to our futures. Take a sneak peek into what we have learned and what we still have to come!

On November 16th, 2006 at just under 36 weeks I gave birth to three little girls. Julianna, Rachel and Alyssa all weighed right around five pounds. Big girls for triplets and they did very well; coming home with me after just two days in the NICU. I thought those little girls were a handful then but I had no idea what was to come!
Then they slept a lot and stayed where I put them. While I struggled to feed three babies at once, hold three babies at once and care for three babies at once amidst constant tears (some of them my own) they were much more manageable and containable.
Now it is such a different story. Yesterday it took me almost an hour to write one short e-mail because I had an endless stream of girls climbing into and out of my lap. Each of them wanting me to read a book or color with them or play with them. I don’t have enough hands!
While I am thoroughly enjoying watching the girls grow into their own personalities I find juggling these personalities is a huge challenge. Alyssa is independent for the most part which currently makes her the easiest of the three. Not that she always has been. At one point her nickname was “Loud” and we wondered if she would ever get easier. Now I wonder if she will always be easy!
Rachel is a much more emotional child. She needs to eat and sleep as soon as she needs to eat and sleep but this isn’t always possible with two sisters the same age. So, instead of verbalizing her needs she prefers to throw herself on the ground and scream.
What is Julianna doing? If Julianna gets wind of anyone else crying she invents a need to cry and throws herself at me so that I pick her up instead of her sisters! On the good side, Julianna is a chatterbox and loves to talk to us all the time. Right now this is sweet since she’s the only one really talking. But what will it be like when all three of them are chattering at me? Will there be any peace?
And the diapers! The diapers are never ending. We go through almost 15 diapers a day. Not a lot right now but add it up per month and that’s almost 450 diapers a month! That’s quite a load. I wonder if I will ever be out of this stage?
But more then all that is the fighting. If one girl has something the other one wants it and they will fight until someone wins or I break it up. What is the biggest thing they fight over? Me. So, I often find myself holding two and having to look down at the third and apologizing that I don’t have more hands! How can a mom’s heart not break when she can’t comfort all her kids? When I drop all three off or pick all three up from nursery I can’t welcome or comfort all of them at once.
Two years ago I wondered what it would be like when they were walking and talking. Now they are walking, running and climbing everywhere. Now they are “talking”, screaming and crying at any time of the day. If there’s a good reason to fall down and cry they will find it.
Now I wonder what will life look like in two more years? Will it be any easier? Will they get along as sisters? As friends? Will they ever stop wearing diapers? Well, I know the answer to the last one, eventually, but right now it seems as far away as today was in November of 2006…

I feel your pain, Dorinda. Let me tell you what challenge awaits you by age four. On November 18, 2004, my identical triplet girls were born. Potty training has been difficult these six months. I decided to let them tell me when they were ready. So at age 3 ½, I noticed signs of interest. I thought I could train them at the same time.
Wrong!
I went out and bought three potty-training chairs and let my girls play with them but they refused to sit on them. Instead, they fought over sitting on the toilet because big sister uses it. Then I attempted potty training individually. But while I am with one triplet in the bathroom, the other two were getting into mischief. My middle triplet, Marie, started the whole process of wanting to sit on the toilet. This gave me hope. But my hope was dashed one day, when she smeared poop on the potty seat as she got up from the toilet and big sister saying it needed to be cleaned pulled it away. Marie, not realizing that it was missing, sat down again and fell in. That was a two-month setback. Then I tried to save our toilet by instituting the 2 square counting method to wiping. That didn’t work for us either. Poor Marie still learning to count and rip things would tear off more than 2 squares or rip a corner, see it as wrong then throw it in the toilet and unravel another strip. By the time she got 2 squares perfectly ripped to wipe, half the roll would be in the toilet. Then she flushed. We almost flooded our bathroom by this method so we had to change the rule to a small wad.
During that time, my youngest triplet, Natalie, became interested in the toilet and would tell me when she pooped and wet. One afternoon, as I was trying to get my girls down for a nap after reading some books, I heard the phone ring. I left the bedroom to get the phone. While on the phone, I heard Natalie call in a frantic voice that she had pooped. I hung up and entered the bedroom in horror to see poopy heel prints on the floor, the mattresses and on Marie and Natalie’s hands and feet. Then I noticed poop inside and in between a stack of two reading books. Marie and Natalie had taken their poopy diapers off in that short time and managed to create this stinky mess.
My first thought was how to go about cleaning up this mess. I started with cleaning Marie and Natalie up. My smallest triplet, Amber, was miraculously clean. I put all of them in timeout in the small unaffected areas of the room just to keep them from further mischief and proceeded to clean the carpet, inspect books, and strip the bedding off mattresses. I fought back tears as I cleaned.
One month later, I finally got Natalie to graduate to cotton training panties so I thought I was saving money on diapers. What money I thought I was saving was going toward the water bill for now I was doing more laundry. Natalie has a habit of changing into a new pair of panties every time she went into the bathroom. She would even throw the dirty pair out of the bathroom. After a week, I was in an adjacent room and suddenly saw a pair of panties flying past the door. Natalie must be in the bathroom, I thought. Two months after Natalie started little Amber gives the toilet a try. She gets frustrated when she sees her other sisters wet in the toilet and get a reward, but she can’t do it yet. My heart went out to her. But after another month, she started to figure it out.
Except that Amber has to watch it happen. So she sits without a potty seat and wets like a fountain. Half of the time it lands on the floor. The first time Amber did this, she slipped on the floor as she got off the toilet. As a result, I had to buy a bath mat, which I once thought was just a bathroom decoration to now preventing future slipping.
I am tired of being in reactive mode. When will the potty training ever be over? Will I ever have my house and bathrooms back to normal? I just can’t imagine what it would be like at age 6.

Ah yes, those early years. . My girls were born on November 16th, 2001. It was the best of times and yet the worst of times Actually, much of those first few years are a blur to me now which I guess could be considered a blessing. I remember being asked (often!), that if I had one wish, what would it be. My answer was always that I would love to have a third arm because two arms was just never enough to feed, care for, clean up, chase after, hug and play with my beautiful Olivia, Chenin and Kate. Yes Dorinda, now with the girls turning seven this month, it continues to be a juggling act to keep peace and sanity, especially with three very diverse and different children. As for the talking all at once, you betcha! When my girls got placed into separate classes, they no longer automatically knew everything that was going on each other’s lives…at school that is. There is always quite the commotion when we are driving in the car or at our dinner table where each girl absolutely MUST tell the others how their day went, who said what, who likes who, how mean the PE teacher is, what’s for homework and who played with whom on the playground at recess, and so on. Oddly enough they rarely face their father and I when they chatter on about their day and first tell each other. Sometimes they take turns, sometimes they don’t but bottom line it is a wonderfully noisy time, full of girlish chatter about this and that. Dare I hope it continues so that we are spared the moody silences of teenhood?
And ah yes, the potty training phase. Again, much of that time is a blur but I do remember a few things. I remember the day that Kate decided she would just rather pee in my brand new shoes than go down the hall to the bathroom. I remember while bathing all three in the tub, one had an “accident” IN the tub which sent them all screaming and scrambling to get out and me laughing myself to tears. I remember the Desitin Art on the floors and I remember the feel of a discarded wet diaper under my bare foot. I remember giving stickers for potty successes and allowing them to be stuck onto the toilet seat lid so that the reward could be closely associated to the deed. I remember what that lid looked like when we finally finished potty training all three of them. We got a new toilet seat and lid.
So you see ladies, you are not the first to travel this road, nor shall you be the last (bet you’ve heard that a few times). Just know that even more fun lies ahead. For instance, lets talk about the clothes. When they were younger, they shared everything. I bought, they wore, end of discussion. Not so anymore. I don’t dare go on a clothes buying mission without all three in tow because invariable the material won’t be “soft” enough, the color is no longer a favorite, the graphic too babyish, someone grew an inch overnight, or they just don’t like it, which translates into never EVER being worn. Not only that, but if someone points out something that they like, the very next question is, “can this be only mine?” Or, “do I have to share this one?” Once said article of clothing is home in the closet, heaven forbid a sister want to wear it and the owner happens to be in a crabby mood. No most definitely means NO and no amount of begging or pleading, even from Mommy, will change that. Their many desires, their many interests and the many requests to help out at school, girl scouts, dance, 4-H keep me hopping and my calendar full. Honestly though, I wouldn’t have it any other way and I don’t think Dorinda or Jennifer would either. Here’s to the future and the unknown! I wonder what life will be like a few years from now…

Wednesday, November 05, 2008

Stair Babies

I swear I didn't pose them.



At one point I had all three together but I couldn't get my camera ready fast enough.



And while Alyssa has only added "Hi" and "Bye" to her vocabulary recently she is very practiced at pretending to snore! How do they know these things?

The hats don't match these outfits but they sure do love them :) Of course, it's less fun to just wear them then it is to take them off and have me put them back on but hey, they were happy for a good 20 minutes or so while daddy talked on the phone!

Wondering how my writing is going? It's not. I have realized in the past few days that I am just too stressed over this election. I can't believe we have allowed a man into office who cares nothing for unborn babies. I am just sick over it.

A friend of a friend said it pretty well:

Silly Goose Monkeys: WARNING: Political Rant Straight Ahead

Thank God these girls are still here to make me smile! (My big kids too but they weren't being as silly tonight with their hats and the stairs...)

Aren't they cute when they're "sleeping"



Rachel's smiling with some dinner left on her face - oops! - hey, at least she was eating :)



I just like this picture.

Monday, November 03, 2008

Playing With Leaves

In the spring we took great shots of the girls under our cherry blossom tree. Today we took pictures of the same tree with the fall leaves. I love it!! The fall colors are so beautiful.



I hope you can hear Alyssa "talking" - I've been trying to catch it forever. She still has very few words (though we have added "bye" to her vocabulary) but she "talks" all the time - always makes me laugh because I have no idea what she's saying!

Saturday, November 01, 2008

Mental Exhaustion

Has anyone else experienced this? Not just physical exhaustion but the mental tiredness with it? The one thing that I had never thought of in parenting was answering a thousand questions a day. And I don't mean the little kid asking "why" every five seconds although that does happen. I mean the question after question of "can I play this?" "can I do that?" And then I have to pause and think. I don't know, should they do this now?

The thing is my discipline technique is whatever my answer is stays my answer. No begging or pleading for a new answer. Yes is yes. No is no. This is great, in theory. Until my head aches from the whole thought of answering just one more question!

It doesn't help that I have 3 one year olds (almost 2!!) begging me for things to. Since Julianna is talking a lot she is constantly asking me for things in understandble English. "watch Hi-5" "eat cereal" "want juice" and the list goes on. Rachel throws herself on the floor and cries if she doesn't get what she's asking for though her words aren't as understandable. Alyssa is still in the "uh-uh" stage and has no words.

Just wears on my brain and my body.

So, what do I do? Find even more ways to mentally exhaust myself! Like getting up at 6 AM on a Saturday morning and heading out to another writing conference - this one was more like a workshop though but it's another kick in the pants to get my tail in gear and do more writing. Which involves, well, my brain!

And to further make myself crazy, my new writing friend, Terri, has roped me in to writing a novel this month. Yep, a totally new novel. Because apparantly November is National Novel Writing month. Who knew there was such a thing? Yea, me either till about 2 days ago. But the deal is you write 50,000 words in one month. No real editing involved - you just write it and hopefully end up with some form of novel at the end of it. Apparantly about 100,000 people around the world are doing this. Last year only 15,000 people completed the task. Gee, I wonder why?

Because I'm too mentally exhausted to know better I've signed up :) Will I finish? I don't know. But us moms of triplets seem to be extreme overachievers anyway like my blogger friend, Amy, who runs marathons - she also has 2 kids and triplets.

So, wish me the best and bug me if you want. We'll see if I have anything worth anything at the end of this month! You can see how well I'm starting out - I'm blogging here instead of writing. But I did spend all day learning about writing - doesn't that count?!

And oh yea, I have 4 birthdays to get ready for this month. Just add it to my list.