New Photos.

Here are a few of the many photos that were taken last week by Jon Kampen of Kampen Photography. This is the 3rd time we've taken our kids there and once again, we were not disappointed. I did compress the photos so they would download faster which makes them a little fuzzy but you can see how cute they are. Also notice I changed the photos on the right side of my blog.

Wishing it were summer.

Since we are preparing for another big snow tonight I let the kids try on their new swim suits.Why do they have new swim suits in the middle of winter? Because with multiples you learn to buy things off season because they are cheap. The girls' bikinis were like $3 each and Ryan's was around $2. They have been running around the house half crazy.

Ashlyn and I made sugar cookies a couple weeks ago. It is my Grandma's recipe. She always has the best sugar cookies. They are decorated so perfect that when I was in grade school, some of my teachers saved them instead of eating them. At least that's what they said. If they had actually tasted them they would never have been able to not eat them all. Ashlyn doesn't exactly decorate them the way Grandma does but they look perfect to me.

How to not overeat during Christmas.

Having your gallbladder removed is one way. Probably not the preferred method though. If you're confused, don't worry, it's not you. I'm medicated right now. Just a little bit.

I, unexpectedly, had my gallbladder removed yesterday afternoon. I had an attack on Thursday and went in for an ultrasound on Friday morning. I had lots of stones and one was lodged in the neck of my gallbladder. Hence the pain.

So our incredible surgeon, Dr. Van, was able to squeeze me in for later that day. I was pretty miserable last night but am feeling a little better today.

So now I have to eat low fat for 4 - 6 weeks while my body readjusts. Dry toast and Turkey breast....yum!

The Pee Parade.

Sounds like a good time for the young and the old, doesn't it?

The little ones are still showing interest in potty training. Mostly because its a group effort, I think. Once one does something, the others follow. So for about 45 minutes every morning we've had 3 toddlers peeing a few drops and then picking up their potty and going into the bathroom to dump it. Then they put it back and the cycle starts all over again. Plus they have also wanted to wash their own hands. I'm sure you have all seen how a toddler washes their hands. So yesterday I had had enough and I told them that they can no longer go into the bathroom (their potty chairs are in the kitchen). I want to tackle one messy step at a time. Once they get the peeing down, to where they will actually empty their entire bladder. Then I will let them start washing their hands. Until then, we are using hand sanitizer and I spray their potty chairs with Clorox Anywhere Hard Surface spray every so often throughout the day.

Anyone who has done potty training knows that it can be extremely frustrating and times 3 is a nightmare. I know with Ashlyn it took about 2 months from the very start, to the end when she could be trusted to wear only underpants. So maybe 6 months from now we'll have it down.

Monday we are having the kids pictures taken and since it is so late in December, don't be surprised if they don't get mailed out until after Christmas. So if you usually get a Christmas card from us, don't think we forgot you.

Hey there, its me again.

Some of you may have noticed that I haven't posted in a while. Like over 2 weeks ago. Why? What have I been doing that is so important? Um......being a doting wife(ha ha), mother with the patience of a saint(cough), and an employee that has worn the soles off of her New Balance shoes. Well, not all the way off but the treads are starting to flatten.

When I come home from work, which has been getting later and later, I drop everything and grab a plate of whatever Lance has cooked up for the kids. Which is usually my first square meal of the day. If you can call pizza a square meal, its actually kind of round. One night he made a huge steak and I didn't even know about it. They ate it all before I got home.

The kids love to crawl up onto my lap....all 4 of them...and say "bite...bite". Then I say "no, mommy's food". Now Gaby says "no, mommy's pood". After my lovely meal I usually change into pajamas and park my butt on the couch. I have been soooo tired. I don't want to do anything. I do help put the kids to bed, which has to be some form of aerobic exercise and I'm thinking about making a video and selling it.

I then watch about 1.5 hours of TV and its off to bed. Where I have actually been sleeping lately. Thanks to a little friend called cyclobenzaprine. At least I think I've been sleeping. I used to take Ambien and unbeknowst to me, I was getting up in the night and doing things I did not remember the next day. Scary? Yes it is.

I started the cyclobenzaprine for 2 reasons. One, to help me sleep and two, I have been having some muscle cramping for about a month now and have no idea why. I did go back to the rheumatologist and she is convinced that I have Fibromyalgia. I am still not 100% convinced and will probably keep searching for another, less permanent, condition. Preferably one that is curable with a tiny little pill, that has no side effects. Or maybe not a pill but something like.....I must not, under any circumstances, go anywhere near dirty laundry....or dishes either.

I really hate to talk about my health because I don't want anyone to feel sorry for me. Even the thought makes my skin crawl. I just wanted to let you all know so that you would understand if I don't always have the energy to keep my crazy life under control. I have to let some things slide. What do you think? Should it be keeping my kids bathed and fed and happy, or having a pristine house without dust bunnies in the corners and 3 baskets of folded (but not put away) laundry piled in my bathroom. And that's IF it gets folded. Thanks to my mom and Vicky, it sometimes does. I just can't be Mrs Perfect, even though I'd like to be.

If in the past or future I declined/decline an invitation or say no to something that I really should be doing, I either don't like you (rarely the case) or I just can't do it. So there, that's done. Now, who wants an update on the kids?

Potty training has been hit or miss lately. Mostly miss. We've decided that when we finally reach the end of this journey, we will reward ourselves with new furniture (preferable without urine). The carpet will have to be cleaned also. That's Lance's reward.

Gaby who was the one to start this endeavor and was showing the most promise has completely back pedaled. She either forgot how to pee in the potty or she is being obstinate. She is a German/Irish/Norwegian female, what do you think the answer to that question is?

Ryan is actually still letting us know once in a while that he has to pee and then producing pee in the potty. We thought he would be the last to be trained.

Brooke has had a couple of accidental deposits but mostly she just likes to be naked and strips as often as she can.

So I just go with the flow. At this rate they may be potty trained by 6th grade. Now that would be some BIG diapers.

Wow that was much longer than I planned. I guess its 2 weeks worth.

Potty Training Triplets......

...is not a one man job. I have spent the entire morning chasing half naked babies, pulling up underpants, scrubbing floors and chairs, wiping butts, dumping pee (still only Gaby's), and washing clothes. Gaby was fighting the thick cloth training pants so I broke out Ashlyn's old princess panties. She loved them but so did Brooke who has yet to figure out where the pee is supposed to go. She won't wear anything but the princess panties. I tried putting a pullup over it but she keeps ditching it as soon as I turn my back. So of course we've had a few accidents. Ryan is starting to run to the potty after he pees his pants and at least he will wear the plastic pants. Brooke is determined to wear the thin princess panties and doesn't have a clue why pee is running down her legs.

At the moment, Gaby is sitting on the potty because she cries when I put her to bed for a nap and says "stink". I'm thinking that she has to go but it's always harder to get them to poop on the potty than pee.

So this is day 2 of potty training purgatory. I'm expecting it to last either a short time and then we are back to diapers, or drag on for months. I would love any advice or funny stories.

Princesses and a Prince.....in training.

Because we were going stir crazy (meaning the kids were driving me nuts) today we decided to do a project. I found these printable crown cutouts off the Internet and Ashlyn and I put them together.As you can see, Ashlyn was the most excited about this. To explain the training part of this post, I am announcing that we are in the very early stages of potty training. I'm not too excited about this because my plan was to put it off until they were about 3.5 years old. From what I've heard, multiples seem harder to train and since Ashlyn was 2.5 when she was officially trained, I thought I'd at least wait until then.Gaby has other plans apparently because without too much encouragement she has started training on her own. She comes to us and smacks her butt and says "stink" when she has pooped. Then a few times she has went to the toilet asked to pee and when we take off her diaper she has already pooped. She has actually peed in the potty chair a few times by accident. Today when I was going to change her before nap time I asked if she had to go pee. She went running into the bathroom and sat down and peed in the potty. Then she says the cutest thing. She turns around and points to it and says "poot, poot". Since she got a treat for going potty Ryan and Brooke wanted to try. All they did was sit down and say "all done". Then of course I have to chase them and get them back into diapers. This morning all 3 got away from me and ran up and sat at the top of the stairs, all with bare butts. Can you see why I've put off potty training?This is what Ashlyn calls a dolphin. She's pretty good, isn't she? You should see her interpretation of Daddy. This is how the kids were sitting to watch Baby Einstein one day. You would think that they actually might like each other. Don't be fooled this lasted about 15 minutes and then someone was squishing someone else and you can guess the rest.

I'd have to say that so far age 2 is not much fun about 90% of the time. At least for me.....I'm sure they are having a blast. This morning, I had to take a call from work and I couldn't hear so I went into the bathroom (my office). When I came out, Ryan and Gaby had dumped a box of hanging files containing our most important papers on the floor and were rolling in it like they had won the lottery.

I just pray over and over each day for patience. I know this is temporary. It will get better. And worse. And then hopefully better again.

I guess I haven't complained in a while.....

....so its about time I do, huh?

Does anyone else with multiples, or even small children of any ages, feel tempted to get rid of everything they own except a couple of mattresses to sleep on?

I am so sick of stepping (tripping) over things, finding strange things in random places, and taking things like pens, butter knives, and the remote away from my kids.

If you let them into a room they will dismantle it in 30 seconds like a pack of monkeys. Then they will use their secret powers to hone in on the most dangerous/incredibly fun item and have it in their clutches before I can say "don't touch that".

Argh!!

Happy 2nd Bithday Sweet Babies!!

To Gabriella, Ryan and Brooke:

I can barely remember the past 2 years, it has went so fast. You are doing new things every day and it makes me want to hold you and kiss you while I still can. As much as I want you to grow independent so I can have some peace, I know I'm going to miss these days, eventually.

This was one of the favorite toys received today. Can you tell?I didn't want to leave Ashlyn out. She is struggling over jealousy issues with them getting lot of gifts. I kept telling her that it was fun to see how happy they were and that Christmas would be here soon and then her birthday. At least the kids didn't mind sharing with her.

Just Another Day.

These photos were taken by my mom a few days ago and they do well to capture how nice the weather was here recently. Yesterday we had rain that turned to snow so our heat spell is gone. Bye, bye light jackets. Hello snowsuits.

Happy Halloween!!

You won't believe it but the kids actually sat here all by themselves, without prompting. Not for long though, as you can see. If your wondering....Brooke is a kitty cat(Ashlyn wore it 2 years ago), Ryan is a pumpkin (Ashlyn wore it last year), Ashlyn is a unicorn but didn't have the rest of her costume on yet, and Gaby was supposed to be a ghost but we decided she looked more like an Angel. What do you think?

So here is Ashlyn completely dressed.

Inexpensive Toy # 4.

Sidewalk chalk. Which they sometimes color with.But mostly fight over. Even though the box holds like 30 pieces. There is never enough when you have multiples.And apparently Brooke thinks it's lipstick.
This photo doesn't do her justice with her blue and green lips. At least no one tried to eat it. Yet.

How bad can it get?

Have you ever put your children to bed to keep yourself from beating them to within an inch of their life(I'm being overly dramatic, of course)? No? Have your kids ever opened a spigot full force and drained a half gallon of water on your counter top, which then drained unto the floor and into several drawers? Not only that but they were courteous enough to pull all the photos and Ashlyn's artwork off the fridge first so that was soaked also.

You might ask yourself, where was I when this was happening? I was loading the washing machine which took a total of 3 minutes. One minute per child.

And so far, at this moment in time, they don't even have access to all the things I've been hiding from them. Scissors, glue, tape, knives, markers, pens, pencils, make up, breakable items, things I'm saving for them like photos, their baby things. What happens when they find them?

And they aren't even 2 years old yet.

I am anticipating some serious damage done to any possession we hold value to. I am also anticipating.........boarding school?

On a sweeter note, we made caramel apples last night. The kids loved them except Gaby. She didn't like the stickiness.

Who needs a maid?

Since I have been home less I have had even less time to clean, so I enlisted a little help.
Apparently it was too much for them because they needed a little nap after they were done. (They aren't really sleeping on the stairs, that would be kind of dangerous).