Because It's Been A Really Long Week...

It's not like I'm sitting here bored with nothing to do but I haven't had a lot to post about this week since I've been working at the consignment sale all week and I am flat out exhausted. I worked Monday, Tuesday, and Wednesday evening and then spent Thursday evening at Dinner Done! making meals with my church and Kaitlyn. That was a lot of fun and I may eventually have pictures from that night once I get them off my friend's phone :)

So, in the meantime I received my CD from my photographer today so I'm going to post some of my favorites. I know some of you may have had a chance to look through all of them but for those who didn't have time enjoy my selections!











Individual shots I love:











And the Christmas shot:



Kirk and I:





Hopefully this will help me narrow down my choices.

And a special happy birthday to the Phillips Quintuplets!! Check out her blog to meet the tiny new babies.

How Do I Follow THAT?

I have become addicted to staring at photos of my kids from the photo shoot. I just LOVE them. No, I haven't even started the narrowing down process but fortunately I do get the CD so I will always have all the pics with me. So, then the problem comes, I post gorgeous photos - what do I do next? How do you top that?

Realizing that I can't I have decided to go to the opposite end of the spectrum :) You know all the celebrities get dolled up for their photo shoots but then a week later you catch them on a cover of another magazine as the "worst dressed" or caught in their PJ's!!

Well, this morning was certainly one of those days we didn't want any photographers around. And yet, I snapped some pictures! Can you tell this is my work and not Kate's??!!

Crazy, lazy pajama morning:



Want to get Rachel's hairstyle?



Step 1: Have someone make you a bunch of yummy pancakes
Step 2: Pour syrup on pancakes
Step 3: Eat pancakes
Step 4: Take empty plate, turn upside down and place on head
Step 5: It's kind of a dump and go kind of look so there's not much else to do but smile and rub in a little extra syrup.

And yep, that's what I'm left with - hard and crusty hair. So, my previous post is what I'd like it to be and today this is reality...

My New Favorite Photographer (And I Know You Will Agree)

How do you photograph a family of 7? NOT in a studio! Give us ten acres to roam and a few hours and gorgeous photos will ensue. Well, with the help of an awesome professional photographer that is. Does that mean everyone was cooperative? Um, no. I'm pretty sure every photographer we've ever used has at least ten photos of Rachel crying. This is some random fact of life for us right now. I'm confident at some point she'll grow out of this. Right??

But, no worries - we still got some great shots! And, yes, we did catch Rachel smiling:



Here I can only include a sample but for tons more (184 to be exact) check out: Kate Headley.





And somehow I have to narrow this down for a special book - from 184 to 20. Yep, that's gonna happen :)



And for the better versions of these pics (and a few more) check out Kate's Blog.

Special thanks to Kate and all her work and also to Melanie and Jason who were a HUGE help when it came to all the wardrobe changes. And to Jeannie for recommending her friend :) And, yes, the new heading is also from Kate. I'm still working out the template kinks to make it look even better - please bear with me... (If you click on the photos you will get a longer and better image).

Counting Down

I just cannot believe it. It has been 23 months since they forcefully pulled three little girls out of my abdomen. Yes, all at once. Yes, on the same day. No, I still can't believe it.

And today marks the countdown to their second birthday. Just one more month with 3 one year olds! And while I'm excited to see them grow the thought hits me that this may be the last time that I'll ever have kids under 2. And that just blows me away. I know, crazy mom to even consider more kids now that I have 5 but I do. Even though I'm not fond of pregnancy and even though I'm not fond of babies (although they are cute) I do think about more.

Julianna Mabel a.k.a. "nanna"; "pumpkin"



Born first and biggest still acting like the oldest.

Talking up a storm - says complete sentences "I want down"; "All done shoes" or quite a number of other things she's all done with. Today she learned to say "pig oink" but also knows that cow's "moo" and dog's say "woof".

Love's Elmo and Hi-5 and playing "catch" even if you're not looking or ready for the ball! Though she does try to push and make sure you are. Enjoys drawing and can often be found just sitting down drawing. She loves to read and tells me often to "sit down" so I can read to her. Also LOVES her "bankie" and must have it with her at all times which makes for some very challenging outings - she's turning into Linus...

Rachel Gabrielle a.k.a. "chel"; "peanut"



Born the middle, always the middle.

Rachel is the sweetest, softest, smallest, crankiest kid I've ever met. She weighs nothing and talks just as softly. If you listen close she'll tell you what you want to know and it's very cute. I've never heard anyone say "shoe" so softly. Always makes me laugh. She says plenty, tries to say what Julianna says but she can't quite say it all. No real sentences but a lot of words. But when she doesn't get her way. Oh my word, you're going to know it.

Loves dirt (yea, weird but she really does), Elmo, shoes, looking at books and sleeping. She is a REALLY good sleeper and I hate waking her up but it sure is fun to cuddle with her when she's sleepy. Rachel also loves to draw but I have more work to do with her to teach her to only draw on paper and NOT on other things!!

Alyssa Elaina a.k.a "ssa"; "princess"



Definitely the baby!

Alyssa has got the cutest curls and this really cute girly run - I need to get it on video - it's just so dainty. She really doesn't say much at all - at least nothing that I can understand. She can say "no"; "oh no!" and "yea" but that's about it. She is interactive with all of us so I'm just hoping she is normal and talking a tad late. I'm fine with it (unless something is actually wrong) since I'm already nervous about all these kids talking to me at once!!

Likes: TV - anything and everything - she just loves to sit and watch, Elmo, books, eggs and banana pancakes (not necessarily together but she can pack away the pancakes!). Loves to give hugs - she puts her little arm around my neck and squeezes - super sweet. Also loves "talking" to people but again, I can't understand her. Great dancer!!

*** In case you're wondering the first "nicknames" of the girls are what they call each other - it's about all they can say or at least it's what Julianna can say therefore it's what they're called! ***

Two years ago now I was laying in a hospital just waiting. Waiting to meet these little girls and wondering what they would be like. Now I'm counting down to their second birthday. It just doesn't seem possible. Then I was missing the babies I knew (Kaitlyn and Caleb) and wanting to be home with them rather then sitting in the hospital for three little girls I didn't know. But, of course, today I love them just like my older two and I couldn't imagine a day without them! I can't wait to see the women they grow up to be...

Fun Blogging

I have a few new blogs that I wanted to share with you. It's amazing who you can connect with on Facebook. I know, it seems so teenie bopper but yet I've been able to talk to friends I haven't talked to in years and figured I never would again. And just last week I connected with an old friend who has moved to Colorado (yes, I'm still jealous - I love that state!)

My friend Beth has 2 kids already, a 9 year old daughter and a 6 year old son. But they felt they weren't quite done (no, they aren't having triplets - that's my story!!) and so they decided to adopt. I love the idea of adoption and even though I now have 5 kids in my house I still hope that someday I could adopt one or more children to add to our brood. But, I doubt I'll follow in Beth's courageous footsteps.

See, Beth and her husband have decided to adopt FOUR kids from Ethiopia. They had been slated to adopt 2 older kids: 7 and 5 but then got a call that the older children had twin siblings less then a year old that needed to be adopted with them. Beth and family said yes! They are going from 2 to 6 overnight.

Anyway, I thought you might want to follow their journey along with me as I find their story so amazing and uplifting. Beth - I'm praying for all of you!

The Long Road to Soddo

And on a fun note - a new set of Quintuplets! Well, not yet but soon - I'm just having fun reading her blog and counting down with her till she has her new little babies:

The Phillips Family - Adding Quintuplets!!

On a different note - will you subcribe to my blog? If you go to your Google account you can just subscribe to blogs that you read and get updates on them immediately. Helps so you don't miss any exciting things going on around here! :)

Pumpkinville Part II

I know I promised video and more pics yesterday but hopefully you saw how exhausted I was :) It's certainly been a long weekend.

So, I'll post today some pictures from the playground portion of our trip to Pumpkinville. This is video of them enjoying that spinning thing at the park - does that have a name?



And then the pictures that made me just a tad nervous! These girls will climb everything...





A few other cute pics:

Today, This Is How I Feel...

(She just couldn't make it all the way to the bed...)

Pumpkinville

Whew! What a day! I didn't think it was possible but today I am even more exhausted. Comes with spending the entire day at a pumpkin patch and the entire evening setting up for our moms of multiples yard sale. But today it's a good exhaustion - the kids had a great time at the pumpkin patch and the sale is going very, very well (which makes me happy since some crazy person put me in charge!!).





The difference between last year and this year was HUGE! Kaitlyn and Caleb's school goes to Pumpkinville every year and last year the girls were too small to notice or care about anything. So this year the girls just had fun. Even Julianna can say "fun" but she can say a lot of things... Like "cow" which is what she called just about every animal she saw today. She thoroughly enjoyed feeding the animals which was going fine till her fingers got just a bit too far into the donkey's mouth. No damage done but it did scare me a bit when Kirk had to jump in and pull her hand out!!



Of course this is picture worthy!





What are they looking at? A huge tortoise of course! Turtle? Heck, I don't know the difference...



On to the hay ride. The girls enjoyed this and sat so well the entire time.



I love this picture! Finally a good one of me with at least one of the girls :)





Caleb with Kaitlyn's teacher, Mrs. Pierce - funny how he hung out with her all day instead of his own teacher!



The girls also went on an "up-down" or moonbounce and played on the playground (more on that tomorrow) but the favorite part of the day? The huge slides. They just loved it! Julianna giggled all the way down and then ran back up.









We ended the day with the girl's very first whole apple. Rachel really, really liked it. She kept dropping them though which seriously distressed her. Fortunately there were more to go around.



I will post some more tomorrow about our adventures today but for now I have to get a few hours of sleep in before I spend another six hours working at the yard sale!!

Elmo Shoes

I have to admit that this has been an exhausting few weeks. Between consignment sales and school and babies life is on high speed and I am tired. You know it's bad when little things get frustrating like your son smearing paint on the cabinets or the babies covering themselves in mashed potatoes after I have spent an hour making the mashed potatoes (yes, they were real). The positive note is that the real mashed potatoes went with the pulled pork that I made at Dinner Done! Sooo good.

Once again I come to the blog tired and a little frustrated and overwhelmed but instead of listing it all out for everyone to read I figured I'd share a few pictures I haven't shared before including the girls in their new "Elmo shoes" which is just way too cute.





Unfortunately I don't have a 3rd pair for Rachel (these pairs came from a twin mom) but for some reason she doesn't care and protested when I tried to put them on her feet - hopefully when I find her size she won't complain too much!

A more exciting post to come on Friday when we head to the pumpkin patch but for now I hope these pictures of my crazy girls makes you smile!!

My Models

How Time Flies

Two years ago yesterday I began having serious contractions. Of course I had a lot of contractions through out the pregnancy but these were the kind I couldn't ignore although I really, really wanted to! It had been a long day - I had even left the house (I know while on home bed rest) to go to a baby shower at Kirk's office but I really, really wanted to go. I had a good afternoon but I think it was just too much for my body and the contractions just wouldn't go away either by lying down or sitting down or walking. They were always there and I felt horrible.

So, after a few hours I broke down and called the doctor. She said, "Remind me why you're high risk."

I said, "I'm carrying triplets."

She said, "Get to the hospital now. Do not wait, do not stop for anything. Get here now."

Her urgency made me a tad nervous. I didn't think these were labor contractions but still continuous contractions in a triplet pregnancy could lead to real ones at any time. So, Joanna came over to watch the kids and Kirk rushed me to the hospital. I remember having contractions the whole way there. I remember going in by wheelchair into the hospital and the front desk looking at me like, "oh, you're in labor, you need to sign in - get in that line over there." Meaning the line for the registration to be allowed in to the hospital.

I looked at the lady behind the desk and said, "I'm 29 weeks pregnant with triplets and I shouldn't be having contractions."

She said, "Oh, head right up the elevator to triage."

And I never left the hospital pregnant again. It was the most long and grueling six weeks of my life. Time slowed down and I really didn't think I would see the light of day again!

But somehow that is now two years ago. I can't even fathom how quickly time has gone by since that moment. A moment burned in my brain that seems just like yesterday but moves further and further away all the time.

Now it is once again October and I am in those last six weeks once again but this time my babies will be turning 2 and I just can't believe it....

They Were Supposed To Be Eating Dinner...

Caleb-isms

It has been a rough few days. We have been super busy and I haven't been home a single night. Just lots of things going on right now. All that is fine but add to it a sick cat and me just cleaning up stuff from every end I'm just a little over the top stressed.

So rather then post about all my cat's, well, you know I decided to instead list some of the funny things that I could remember. Problem is he cracks me up ALL the time with what he says and I swear I'm going to remember and then, of course, I forget. I hate that! So, I'm going to try and share a few.

This morning Caleb stood up on the bench at breakfast and said, "Mom, I just got my first brain bruise!" I think his oatmeal was a little hot...

On the way to get Kaitlyn this afternoon, Caleb was telling me how our days go by faster. So he tells me that when we get older our days go faster. He tells me they are the longest in the first year. "When I first came out of your stomach, those were the long days now they go by so fast." Hmm, how did he get so smart?

The other day he told me that when he was in my stomach he liked the taste of toothpaste. When I brushed my teeth he could taste the toothpaste in my belly! Cracks me up.

And the other day the kids went to Chuck E. Cheese and there they had this little booth that you could get your picture taken and then it would print out a card with your picture in it. Kaitlyn got one that said "Diva" on it. Very cute. She had one token left and she wanted another one but decided that instead she would allow Caleb to have one of his own. I know, how sweet is that? So a few days later we were coming home and in his own random way Caleb asks me if I remember when he waited in line to get his picture taken and I tell him I do (I say this a lot and half the time I really mean, "I have no idea but continue with your random story"). He says this past time he was an astronaut but next time he's going to duck so he's not in the picture. Okay, maybe it's not that funny to you but it cracks me up! What's the point of the picture if he's going to duck??!!

The last one I can remember is a another conversation from today which strangely came right after the conversation about days going fast (I swear I wish I had a tape recorder every time he talks!!). We went from days going fast to falling asleep on the moon. Huh? He says "how would you know when to sleep on the moon?" I am having trouble hearing him (he's in the way back of the van) so I ask him if he said something about sleeping on a rocket. He says, "mom, you'd fall out of bed if you slept in a rocket!" This turns into a whole conversation about how people who are on the moon know when to go to sleep and wake up. This I have no answer to.

I hope you at least get a smile from Caleb's little stories. I know there are funnier ones that I'm just not remembering. But thinking about him talk makes me laugh. Thinking of cleaning up more cat excrements does not so we just won't go there.

Boys Among Us

On my side of the tracks it seems there are only girls. With the exception of my friend Kristy who is currently on bed rest with what is probably her third boy all of my friends have girls. In fact, tomorrow night I am getting together with all the other triplet moms in my multiples club (there are 4 of us) and between us we have 11 girls and one boy - in the triplets - I obviously have an additional girl and boy and one other mom has another girl so that makes it 13 girls and 2 boys. Get the picture?

But today I found the boys!

Thanks to Kelly with Christian, Jordan and Hunter; to Jeannie with Mason, Tyler and Ryan and Cherie with Christian, Jack and Tommy for letting some girls crash your party! We had a great time :)

I'm Not Ready

I am loving the fall feeling in the air. I am loving that the nights are cooler and we will soon be wearing pretty sweaters and more figure-flattering jeans but for the first time ever I'm not ready for the kids clothes to change! My girls are NOT big enough yet :) I buy a size bigger so they can grow but apparantly they have just not grown enough.

This is a video I took trying to get Alyssa dancing by herself since I got the other girls but as you can see my efforts have failed. Wonder why? Be sure to check out their clothes - is that sad or what??

Today I Went To A Concert

More Triplets

A while ago we were out in public and someone commented upon seeing us, "There's something you don't see every day!"

Kirk quickly responded, "well, we do!"

While multiples continue to be fascinating to many and somewhat uncommon (to the point that many people have said to me, "I've never seen real live triplets before!" - meaning they had on TV) those of us that have triplets begin to realize just how many of us there really are.

I must admit before I had the girls I knew my friend Ute with triplets and then my friend JoRonda. Of course I had heard of other sets but never gave a second thought to how many sets of triplets there were. Even while pregnant I knew very few other triplet moms.

Since giving birth to the girls the list of triplet moms I know continues to grow. Thus the addition of more triplet blog links. Just under a year ago we were finally done with our triple decker stroller so we put it on Craigslist for sale.

We quickly got a reply and a girl named Jackie who also had triplets was on her way out to buy it. Amazingly she also has triplet girls. And as it is with many other moms of triplets or higher an immediate bond was formed. After all, how many of you get together for dinner with the people you sold/bought things to/from on Craiglist?

But that's just what we did tonight. Unfortunately, Jackie and family have moved on to Chicago but they were back in town for a week and took time out of their schedule to come over and eat dinner with us! We had a wonderful evening and I was so excited to see them and their girls: Sophie, Katie and Juliette again :)

Because of the large size of our group we chose to eat outside on our new table and it worked great! The large benches accomodated our families very well and I can't wait to entertain more before the weather gets frigid. And Jackie and Sebastian were gracious enough to bring us all KFC to share. It was great!



All of our girls together. Look how sweet their girls look? And mine are fighting... Don't worry, those sweet faces will be fighting soon enough! Yes, we warned them...



Their girls L to R: Sophie and identical sisters, Katie and Juliette



Our girls. By now everyone should know this but just in case from L to R: Julianna, Alyssa and Rachel.



The whole family playing on the floor. Remember those days? I certainly do! Recognize their clothes? Yep, the girls wore those last year :)

Family Photo

A new family photo from home! A rare occasion. Wondering how all the girls are looking forward? They are watching Hi-5 of course. The first thing Julianna asks for every morning and every time we are in the family room.

Why the family photo? My friend Joanna - who is having her third girl if you haven't already heard - found out yesterday. "Best friend" Lauren will soon be a big sister. Hopefully to Alyssa Jane. Yea, another Alyssa!! Anyway, Joanna has nominated me for a show on TLC called Home Made Simple. They contacted her back and we are in the process of sending in photos to determine if our family and our crazy house could be on the show. Who knows, it's quite a process but I'll let you know if anything comes of it. The hope is to get some organizing help as well as some triplet room help! After the swap between Kaitlyn and the girls we have yet to finish the girl's room...

Twins??

(Yes, it's a new "do" - shorter and straighter!)