I Just Have To Brag

No, not on the kids (who have been sick all week) on my husband! He has been working super hard for months. Going in early but thankfully not staying late to get overtime at work. He comes home, helps me with dinner and the kids in the evening. Last night he even let me go out to see some other triplet moms and put all 5 kids to bed by himself. He's great!!

But, I'm not the only who thinks so :) Okay, yes, the kids too (they love him) but someone else. Around June Kirk began writing articles/tutorials for a few magazines. At first it was one, Advanced Photoshop and now it is two with Photoshop Creative being added in August. This month he turned in two, next month it is three. They keep asking him back. I told you he was good!

Anyway, I wanted to share his latest work with everyone. Be sure to check this out - I'm sure they change the front page of their website from time to time but check out that cover! Isn't it awesome? I think I've got some bragging rights?!! Don't miss the editor's blog on the bottom.

www.pshopcreative.co.uk

Good job, babe - I love you!

The Evolution of Trouble...

This week has been particularly hard. The girls have not been feeling well - Julianna has been the worst throwing up a number of times and waking up a mess for the past three days. Rachel and Alyssa have not been left out, not throwing up but making very big messes of their own. It makes for cranky babies and a very frustrated mama!

So, when I walked in on this I just let it be. I figure, she's happy and not crawling after me crying, right?? Well, her sisters weren't far behind...

A Glimpse Into My Day

I haven't put up any picutres or video of the girls in a while so I thought I'd share how crazy things usually are around here. My lap isn't big enough and I don't have enough arms to hold them all. Today Julianna wasn't feeling well so she was cranky and her crying caused her sister to cry and their crying alarmed the third and so she cried too. Then they all crawled over to me and tried for me to hold them all at once. They have to figure out that there are more of them than me!! Unfortunately, I realize this every day.

I did want to add a picture of the girls real favorite toy - none of that plastic stuff for them - no stuffed animals either - they enjoy the real live version: Lollipop!





And I do have a confession - I sometimes use the cat to make the girls happy. They get so excited to see or chase him that they forget why they were crying. Before you feel sorry for Lollipop he always has the means of escape but he almost never uses it nor has he ever scratched or bit any of the babies. He's been very good with them. In fact, he slept through most of the girl's "petting" - look at that lazy guy!

And here's some video of the girls moving all over the living room. Often I was the focus of the excitement so that made filming hard.

I LOVE IT!!

Today I got my birthday present and I couldn't be happier. On my birthday the carpet guy came out to give us a quote and measure for new carpet on the main level and today the guys came out to put it down and it looks awesome! It looks so good it makes everything else look bad :) I think we'll have someone come back and do the stairs so at least everything you see when you walk in the front door looks clean and new. The upstairs isn't so bad and the downstairs was new when we bought the house so we can leave those things alone but something's gotta be done about the stairs...

Anyway, I tried to take some pictures of the carpet before the kids toys once again fill the dining room and living room (at least they'll now be crawling on clean floors!!)

The living room - isn't it pretty? New curtains too - Kirk hung those on my birthday. I made the house nicer for my birthday - I'm so excited!! I've been celebrating for a month...



The dining room - had to make a minor change as to where the changing table was - the girls were standing up and trying to pull everything off the shelf that is now above the buffet.



Trying to get a close-up of the carpet - this isn't about the toy (although they do love this toy)...



The family room - now the couch looks bad but no, I'm not getting a new couch - I'll just have to find some ultra strength upholstery cleaner - any suggestions?



The office - Kirk is finally getting a new computer so we've moved things a bit to accomodate the new and the old. The kids are very excited - Kirk is too - I think their excitement level is a tie. Kaitlyn and Caleb will be using Kirk's old computer when the new one arrives - Kirk wanted me to explain why they were excited :)

Welcome to the World, Baby Shepherd!!

While I was at the Virginia Arboretum with Kaitlyn and her school on a field trip my good friend Kristy Shepherd was giving birth to her second boy in under 16 months. At press time the baby had no name. Yea, I don't get it either - they've always known it was a boy (I suspected before they really knew) and yet the child has no name! I'm giving her a hard time about that as soon as I see her :)

At 8.6 pounds he's almost a full pounds less than his brother! Here's a picture of the new arrival...



Can't wait to meet him in person. As soon as I figure out to get pictures off of my phone (I know it's not that hard but I don't have time tonight...) I'll get some pictures of Kaitlyn on her field trip today. What a blessing to get to spend the day with her. It is funny though, when they're finally old enough to do stuff with all they want to do is hang out with their friends! As long as she knows I love her.

My Crazy "Lazy" Day

So, Monday's are one of the days that Kaitlyn and Caleb are both in school and I'm home with just the girls. Usually these days are a bit more relaxing. Sort of.

7:30 AM - jump out of bed, still exhausted to get Kaitlyn and Caleb ready for school - today was picture day so no uniforms just "cute" clothes. Had a problem with Kaitlyn's shoes but hopefully she'll make do - she looks adorable!

8:30 AM - get the triplets up who have been awake for some time but would truly slow me down if they were allowed to be up and about. Usually I get them all up, dump them in their carseats with their bottles and head out the door (God only knows what we're going to do when they're off bottles in a few months - can't think about it). This morning, of course, Julianna is stinky and in need of a diaper change but not just a diaper change - a clothes change - everything. She's gross.

8:45 AM - we're ten minutes late but we're out the door! Kids make it to school on the dot - hopefully they weren't a minute late by the time they walked in their classes. That would be bad.

9:15 AM - back home. Today is laundry day. It must be done - it's been more than a week because I was too busy last week working on the club yard sale and didn't have time - everyone's out of clothes. I'm only saved because Kaitlyn did not need to wear a uniform today - Caleb's PE uniform isn't clean but I guess he'll deal. I apologize to him now when he remembers this in therapy years to come.

10:00 AM - girls are falling apart - not even close to naptime. One load of laundry going. I don't think I've mentioned the torch. Here's the thing, I'm 100% convinced that the girls have a torch that reads "I will torture mommy today" At first Alyssa held this torch and screamed A LOT till my ear drums almost burst. But then she handed it off to Rachel who would scream all the time (I know I've shared this). Well, Rachel has handed this torch off to Julianna because my sweet, easy baby has turned into a mommy hog. If anyone is on my lap she will climb me till I put her in it instead. She's usually whining and climbing me - mostly in a good mood but it's hard to attend to anyone else when she's constantly grabbing me.

Just before 11:00 AM - girls are going down for a nap!! Break time for me. I guess. At noon I decide I'm exhausted and want to nap too - it was a crazy weekend and I didn't get much sleep so I lay there and fall into a fitful sleep dreaming of more babies then I have and for some reason they are named in alphabetical order from A to Z - they are not all mine - I think I am protecting them so the world can be saved. Thank God that's a dream!

1:30 PM - we're all up and feeding the girls "lunch" - also trying to figure out why my washing machine has a distress code and the load that should have been long finished is still not clean. It says "F" - I don't know what that means so I search for the manual. Guess what "F" means? It means restart the machine and if you see this message again call a professional. What??!! This machine is brand new and doesn't it know I have four more loads behind this one?!! Thankfully this is actually the 2nd load of laundry today and the first load is still drying - the load that contains my daughter's uniforms. At least I plan ahead a little bit :)

2:15 PM - I'm cleaning the girls who are gross from their lunch. They haven't quite figured out how to eat banana. I'm thinking this will be a good blog entry and trying to remember everything I should write down...

3:00 PM - leave to get the kids from school. They are so happy to see me and that just makes my day. The cutest thing is the two of them holding hands and running to give me a hug. I love it. I just have to remind myself that someday the triplets will give me hugs as well...

4:00 PM - a real rest! The older two are playing outside in this gorgeous weather and the triplets are napping. Actually napping, not screaming while in their beds as is often the case.

5:30 PM - mad dash for dinner - just leftover tonight from all the good cooking I did last week. Working on planning meals monthly and freezing them so I bought 2 new cookbooks: Don't Panic - Dinner's in the Freezer and Once Monthly Cooking. I'm very excited about this. Also using my crockpot and shopping with the Grocery Game which tells me where and when to purchase foods on sale and what coupons to use. The problem, of course, is the time to write all these grocery lists down and to take the time to cook. So far I haven't made it past one day's worth of groceries and dinner...

6:00 PM - shove food down our throats - this isn't a normal thing but we had a PTF meeting tonight at school and we had to be there by 6:30 - at least the kids ate their mac and cheese :) Oh, I also ordered another cookbook called Beyond Macaroni and Cheese - obviously that one hasn't come in the mail yet!

6:30 PM - PTF meeting - love it because someone else is playing with the babies and I can sit still for a little bit - sort of anyway. The girls were in 3 different directions except when dad brought out the keys - then they were fighting...

7:45 PM - back home from the meeting and time for bath for all 5 kids. Kaitlyn decides she is too old for a bath and gets a shower instead. Mom runs around gathering bedtime clothes as well as clothes for tomorrow to make my life easier in the morning. Some of the clothes retrieved from the 6 baskets of laundry waiting to be folded tomorrow. Thank God Aunt Karen will be here to help :)

8:45 PM - all kids in bed - time for mom to finish the laundry, make the lunches and finish the blog entry I started many hours ago.

Maybe I'll be in bed by midnight. And that's a day in my new life. Wondering what else I do on my downtime? Besides checking the clock every few minutes when the babies are up :) I spend my time counting teeth!

The new total:
Julianna - 6 still but I swear I can see the buds of 4 more - just waiting for them to break through.

Alyssa - still has her 4

Rachel - the big news!! She has 2!! That second tooth popped right in after the 1st one - so cute in her massive smile.

Six Flags

Yesterday, after getting up early to participate in my moms of multiples club yard sale our family set off for Kirk's company picnic at Six Flags. It is by far the best picnic ever in the world. Okay, maybe not but I love it. We pay little for a whole day of fun including lunch and drinks around the park. And the best part is the lines are short and I can ride my all time favorite roller coaster: Superman. I just love that one.

In between the "adult" rides we spent our time in the kid area making Kaitlyn and Caleb happy.

The four of us in front of my favorite ride...



Kirk with Chris and Joanna who came with us on our day out.



Right before Kirk left to pick up the triplets...



Eating lunch. It was a beautiful and perfect day but it did get a little bit cold from time to time like when the wind blew thus the reason Caleb is shivering a bit in this picture. Didn't stop them from eating the ice cream though!



Kaitlyn and Caleb on the very mild train ride. They also enjoyed a number of other fun kids rides. Mom liked some of them :)



And once again I know I like Six Flags better than Disney and was so glad to ride real costers again and I can't wait till next year. Thanks to JoRonda who watched the girls while we were gone. And the triplets are 10 months old today! Can't believe it's been that long! The countdown is now on for thier first birthday.

No More Gummy Smiles

It's official! Rachel has her first tooth. It's hard to see and barely there but I can feel it and see the tip breaking through the surface. Just shy of ten months she finally gets her first tooth. It's funny how teething and motor skills have nothing in common - that child is a monkey and certainly acting her age where mobility is concerned! I might also add that she's turning into a more pleasant child and is the only one of the three who doesn't follow me around everywhere I go.

Okay, I tried taking pictures of this a few days ago but I have to share my frustration about feeding the girls. They are eating better and really love Gerber puffs. This isn't the problem. The problem is that baby food is way too runny and their feet taste way too good while I'm trying to feed them. Recently they have stopped chewing on their feet except when I try to put food in their mouth.

I tried to capture how things get - I'm not sure if you can tell how messy Julianna is. I swear today she was wearing a sleeper and managed to get food all down her bib, behind her neck, in her hair, on the toes of the sleeper (because she puts them in her mouth) and all down her leg. In this picture I was trying to get her leg because it was so covered.



Rachel can go either way depending on whether or not she likes the food but is rare that she covers herself in food.



By drastic contrast Alyssa is very, very clean. She opens her mouth for every bite and doesn't spew it out like Julianna. A princess all around - even in her eating.



I just had to share because it was driving me crazy this morning. We use wipes to clean them off - Alyssa takes me half a wipe, Rachel usually just one but Julianna takes 3 or 4 - I kid you not. I don't even know how she does it so quick except that she likes to help the food into her mouth with her hand and then takes that covered hand and rubs in on her clothes if she's covered or leg if she's not.

Every Morning

Earlier and earlier the babies are making their presence known. I hear them dancing and squealing and all their crib toys going on. I'd like to say it's cute but not being a morning person I'm not thrilled about it! However, it does make it easier to get all 5 kids up and out the door to school.

Here's what I usually get upon entering:

Rachel's up and ready to go!! Look at that (still) toothless grin. We don't know when the teeth are coming either...



Julianna was asleep when I opened the door but it took her about 3 seconds to get into a standing position and declare in her own baby way that she wanted out.





Alyssa takes a little longer to pull herself up. Have we mentioned that she now has 4 teeth? Looks so cute in her little mouth.





And the cutest thing at the end of the day - all 3 girls looking outside watching their brother and sister play. I know they can't wait to join them as they play.



Sorry for the delay in posting - it's been an interesting week getting back into the swing of school. I meant to post yesterday and wish my parents a Happy Grandparents Day but I got behind on that too!

A few fun quirks about the girls:

Alyssa has taken to patting anyone who holds her. Very funny. I pick her up and she pats me on the shoulder over and over again. Kirk swears he'll get video of it.

Rachel grunts whenever she crawls. We can hear her coming a mile away because of all the grunting. You think something's wrong but no, she's just making loud, funny noises. I also caught her climbing into the walker today - that child will try to climb anywhere!

Julianna was able to get out of her straps in the stroller today, turn around and pull herself up to standing position. She was very proud of herself and very angry with me when I made the straps tighter. Hey, I'm pushing a triplet stroller while trying to grocery shop - last thing I need is a child trying to kill herself while in that stroller.

And those are some fun things to remember about them in the years to come. Which, I might add, I am very much looking forward to.

The Order of Things

Have you noticed that things have to be done in a certain order? Of course, my life is scheduled, scheduled, scheduled. The most common question we get is: how do we do it every day? Of course, the babies are there every day so we don't have much of a choice :) but beyond that we rely on our daily routine - naps and feedings are about the same very day. It's crazy.

Beyond our schedule we have noticed that we must do certain things in certain ways. For example, in the stroller the order is from front to back: Rachel, Julianna, Alyssa. Rachel must be in front to avoid screaming, Julianna is fine in the middle where she can pull up and laugh (lately though she spends most of her time attempting to turn around!) and then Alyssa just hangs out in the back seat. Has to be like that.

For other things, Julianna is the last baby that I get out of bed every day, always. If I don't do it this way she'll be done with her bottle before I even get Alyssa and Rachel strapped in. So, she must be last. She must also be last in the getting down from the table department - mostly this is because she's the grossest and I am just putting it off!!

In all other matters we must move delicately around Alyssa. She is going through this faze where if she can't see an adult (doesn't have to be me) she freaks out and thinks she has been left alone. So, sometimes it's easier to take care of her first and put her in front of a toy but others I do her last so that I am ready to play with the girls after her change. She's a fickle one!

Come bath night the girls must be in order from left to right: Alyssa, Rachel, Julianna. Julianna is NOT allowed in the middle. This is a mistake - she will steal toys and harass her sisters. So, she must be on the outside - but not on the left or she'll be near the drain and let all the water out! So, she's on the right. Rachel still fights but she's less aggressive than Julianna but is still too active to be near the drain :) Alyssa ignores the drain but loves the water falling so she can sit down there on the left. Julianna can still attempt to climb over Rachel to steal from Alyssa but it is a bit harder.

And for no reason at all the girls are in birth order in the middle row of the van - Julianna behind the driver, Rachel in the middle and then Alyssa. Right now we can all squeeze in there but I think are days without a bus are numbered...

Just wanted to share my observations of these multiples - I am learning new things about them and the world of multiples in general every day. It's so funny to see them fight!! Happy Labor Day!

A Year Ago

A year ago today I was lying on the couch celebrating my 30th birthday. At that time I had no idea what my babies would look like and at just 24 weeks I had no idea if they'd even make it. I was still recovering from the whole 3 girls shock and just beginning that horrible time in my life known as bed rest with triplets.

A year later I am 31 today and life is very different. Even after repeated attempts for Kirk to direct me to the couch or not do something with the babies/kids it has become impossible. With 5 kids including 3 babies I am unable to give up motherly duties for very long!

So, last year I wasn't allowed off the couch and was desperate to do so. This year, I'd give anything to be required to be there again :) Not quite, not for that long and not in the hospital again but just for a day. Anything. Happy Birthday to me.

We've Taken Over...

Today was a big day for us, we were able to kick our big sister and big brother out of the house and have mom all to ourselves. Mom thinks it's a big deal that they have started school but we know better. She just wanted to spend more time with us!



Of course we got right down to playing...



Julianna took over the camera right away. She always does.



Rachel got in on the fun.



I didn't participate in the crazy fun and refused to wear the silly glasses mommy tried to put on me. No way was she capturing me in those things...



Not while I was looking anyway.

Mommy says Kaitlyn will be gone every day at school but Caleb just 3 days. Caleb said school was "a thousand fun and a thousand is a lot" so I guess he liked it. Maybe we can convince him to go every day. If only we could convince mom to stop putting us in bed... So far I've tried throwing my head back onto the floor and screaming along with screaming in a toy but still, despite my protests she makes us nap. Any ideas? I am open for suggestions.

Oh, I guess I should include pictures of Kaitlyn and Caleb...



On their way out the door. We're almost free :)



Kaitlyn at her desk.



Caleb at his desk.

Kaitlyn and Caleb: we hope you have a wonderful school year and we will miss you during the day. A little :) Love, Alyssa! Oh, Julianna and Rachel too. I am the baby, after all, isn't it all about me anyway?? Uh oh, mom's back...

"Vacation"

Finally got the slide show done - just a few snapshots of our vacation. This is a bit ironic for me since today is literally the last day of summer vacation. Kaitlyn begins 2nd grade tomorrow!

And, even though we weren't planning on it we have enrolled Caleb in preschool :) He will be going 3 full days a week - right now, Monday, Wednesday and Thursday (the school only has chapel on T/TH so I wanted him to go to that at least once a week). He'll be going to the same school as Kaitlyn so pick-up and drop-off will be easy. And it gives me some time during the week to get stuff done - like writing!

So, here's to the end of summer...

Our Favorite Toy

Okay, so I promised a slide show and I'm getting to it but I had to share the cutest thing from today. The girl's love this toy - I mean love it - fight over it - must all crawl to it when they see it except Alyssa who really can't crawl yet.

Hard at work...



Hey, who let Julianna in here?



And after about 4 tries we finally got Caleb to look at the camera and smile!

And We're Home!

Our last day of "vacation" was Monday and we spent the day in the pool, sort of relaxing - I managed to finish a novel - of course I crammed in the end of the book Monday while my mom and soon-to-be sister-in-law took care of the kids and then stayed up too late but I finished! - and packing.

Tuesday we got up at 5, crammed the van and my parent's car full of the rest of the stuff we had to take home (thus our contemplation of a larger vehicle which would be a full-sized van but that's scaring me to death right now!). We were on the road at 6:45 AM - a bit late for me.

The girls did amazing in the morning - we hardly heard a peep. They fell back asleep for a bit and then cried around 8 to eat. After their bottles they were quiet and napped again. Wow! Heaven. Of course it didn't last. They were a wreck by the afternoon and by dinner they'd been in their carseats for 4 hours straight and were losing their minds. We stopped for dinner, changed all their diapers (they really needed that!) and took a break. By the way, no Hardees this time - McDonalds had 3 high chairs and a changing table as did Ruby Tuesday's. Go figure. They took their last bottle at 8 and slept most of the way home which wasn't until 11:30 - 16 1/2 hours after we started!!! Long day.

Today my parents spent a day here and it was so nice to have them. I was unable to unpack all 7 of us and they even helped me clean the house so when they go tomorrow I should have life more under control. Maybe. For a day anyway.

It's too late today to do a slide show of the vacation but I'm going to work on it. To tide you over here's a great pic from today with grandma and grandpa:

Family and Friends Part II

Days 7,8, and 9: Friday we spent home with the triplets while soon-to-be Aunt Kim took Kaitlyn and Caleb to Chuck E. Cheese :) Then my extended family descended upon the house anxious to meet the triplets. We spent a few hours with them talking and opening some new gifts for the babies - thank you! - before Kirk and I made the long 4 1/2 hour drive across Florida to Ft. Lauderdale.

We arrived around 12:30 AM and for the life of us could not find a hotel! We drove around for almost an hour looking for a place to sleep and then, of course, it starts pouring. So miserable. But we finally found a Best Western to crash at - we were hoping for a little better but were getting nervous we couldn't find any more hotels in Southern Florida before dawn :) Yes, I wish I had a navigational system - I am working on that either alone or in a new vehicle but since our new vehicle would have to be a bus (almost) I'm not sure about that!

The wedding was beautiful and it was great to see another member of my wedding party who I haven't seen in almost 11 years. I think we've seen her since the wedding but if so it was a good 10 years ago and my memory doesn't go back that far. Most days my memory can't remember yesterday...

So, a few pics from our weekend - today we spent at church and my brother's house - forgot my camera...

My Great Aunt Carolyn with Julianna



My Uncle Jimmy with Rachel (my dad's oldest brother)



And my Uncle Ricky and Aunt Heidi with Alyssa (my dad's next oldest brother and sister-in-law)



The blushing bride, Kristy Fisher turned Kristy Hamilton :)



Me and Kristy - she looks a lot better! See what 5 kids does to a person?!!



The happy couple: Paul and Kristy Hamilton - congratulations guys I couldn't be happier for you both! Love ya!

Family and Friends

Also known as days 5 and 6 - yesterday we spent with Kirk's family most of them meeting the triplets in person for the first time. It was nice to see Kirk's sister and brothers again and their kids and their grandkids!





Julianna with cousin Cheri and Aunt Lori



Rachel with cousin Amber



Alyssa with aunt Sherri




Today we visited some of our old college friends Tim and Wendy Boone. Wendy was also in my wedding 11 years ago and we haven't seen them since!! Life is crazy - while on our cruise almost 2 years ago we ran into Kirk's ex-girlfriend who knew Wendy who sent us our current address who wrote us who still lives where we used to who invited us to dinner tonight! Got to love run on sentences :) Anyway, it was so great to see them again and their 7 year old daughter, Mylanie (prounced like my lady but with a Georgian accent). Strangely, Mylanie and Kaitlyn looked a lot like twins!




The Boone family: Tim, Wendy and Mylanie


Mylanie, Kaitlyn and Caleb on their cool spinning chair



And the "twins": Kaitlyn and Mylanie - so cute!



And, if you remember the girls are 9 months old today. I can't believe another month has gone by. The biggest question we get asked lately is how do we do it? Some days I really don't know how we make it from morning to evening in one piece but some how we do and those days become a collection of days and eventually 9 months have gone by.

The girl's milestones haven't changed a lot recently - Julianna and Rachel are pulling up and doing it more and more each day. Julianna has begun cruising, has stood for a few seconds on her own and can sit down from standing quite well - she is everywhere and it's so cute when she pulls up in her pack and play or we go in to get her up and she's sitting up waiting rather than laying there helplessly. So close to walking! Yea! As for Alyssa she's begun crawling a little bit but still enjoys sitting in the middle of the room and although she wants to climb up to see things doesn't feel it's worth the effort!

Here's to another month...