The storm is over

Wow, its Sunday the 7th of September already? Where the heck did this last week go? I really don't even know what day it is.

I haven't posted 2 weeks and so much has happened. The DNC went ok, not great, but we made it through. The CNN Grill, which took over our restaurant, was voted in the best top 5 things of the DNC. How cool is that? What an amazing experience to be able to be a part of all of it too! I met some really cool people too while they were here. Oh not to mention all the celebrities that came in, Ashley Judd, Charlize Theron, Charles Barkley, Caroline Kennedy and her family, Maria Shriver and so many more. The hours were long, but in the end it turned out to be a blast. Unfortunately, Brooklyn's now looks like a tornado came through and we are still cleaning up. That's not so cool.

I'm not usually one to toot my own horn or anything, but during the DNC, I did such an amazing job that a few people wanted me to go out to St. Paul and help out for the RNC. EXCITING!!! Well, the fact that I was asked, my trip was paid for, I was paid and I had a great time was amazing. The Republican party was another story, sorry, I'm voting Democratic. It was just a whole other world with Republicans. All in all, the experience was great and I'd do it all over again in a heartbeat. I did miss my kids and my husband, but I was so busy the entire time, I really couldn't think about them.

Oh, one more thing, I almost forgot about my sisters wedding! That was the day after the DNC. What a busy couple of weeks I've had! I'm so glad they're over. The wedding was great, she looked beautiful as ever and my kids did great. Only Ava was in the wedding, the boys sat with Daddy and watched and ate snacks. Ava did great, she and her cousin walked down the aisle holding hands, of course they didn't throw any pedals out, but they made it down the aisle. She was a little ansy and wouldn't stand still, but she did great. Grandma took them home after and watched them until we made it home. It was fun. First picture is of me and my best friend Desiree, second is of Emma and Ava, the flower girls. I can't believe I don't have one of me and my sisters! oops

Whew, I did mention that my stress level has gone down a little. But we are putting the house on the market this tuesday. UGH! Moving again, and we still haven't decided where. I'd love to stay here, but Daddy wants to buy some property back in Iowa. Oh, what do we do? I'm torn and lost about it all.

A Mommy vent

I know I started this to share things with everyone about our kiddos, but today, Mommy needs to vent a little.
It's 12:25am Sunday, oh I think the 25th of August? I just got off from a 12 hour work day from hell. To which it is only the 2nd of at least 8 maybe. Yesterday was another 12 hour work day. I've seen my kids, not to mention my hubby, a total of 4 hours this whole weekend. And to top that off, 2 of them were not on good terms! Gotta love that!
I wasn't going to share our argument, but really it was SO stupid! I had planned on taking the kids to church this morning, before I had to leave for work. I was going to leave him at home to do some things he wanted to get done around the house that he was not able to yesterday, because I was gone all day. Then I realized, hey, why not call up my folks (who meet us at church everytime we go) and see if they wouldn't take the monkeys to church and I could go get my toenails done (today would've been the only day I could before my sisters wedding on Friday). That's a whole other paragraph! But as soon as I get on the phone with my Dad, my hubby yells at me for calling them and "pawning" our children off on them! He's the one who said he needed to get a few things done, I thought I was doing something good, and my parent's would NEVER feel like we were "pawning" our kids off on them. UGH! So a stupid fight that should never have happened. Needless to say, my hubby went to church with the kids and my parents! I showed up later because the stupid nail salon wasn't open!
Which brings me to my toes! My sister is getting married this Friday, the 29th. Am I ready, ha! Far from. I am even the Matron of Honor! At least I have my dress and my Ava's. The boys, I decided will not be in the wedding, they are sitting with Daddy. Though I'm not sure how that will go. I'm not sure how the whole thing is going! I'm one for a set agenda and so far I have no agenda for it! Yeah, I'm kinda freakin out! Anyway, I'm hoping to get my toenails done wednesday, thanks to my mom.
I probably should have mentioned why all the craziness right now at work. Someone has allowed all of the Democrats into the state of Colorado and I happen to work right next door to where it is all taking place! I'm thinking Mother Nature wasn't too thrilled today about the whole thing, because she dropped a giant tornado only 22 miles south of Denver! Back to the DNC, CNN bought out our restaurant, Brooklyn's. If anyone is reading this, God Bless You, but take a look at the CNN website and just look at the CNN Grill. That's us, Brooklyn's. I took a few pics of the place yesterday and some today, it's a complete disaster! And we're open for the full swing of things tomorrow. So today was kind of like a "mock trial" of how CNN wants us to run things. They came in and have completely taken over our building. I am no longer a manager but someone who hears complaints from my staff and I have no idea what I'm doing! Gotta love it!
I'm guessing most of this is not making sense to some, but I'm drained. You ask, why am I still up? Good question, well, I am enjoying a nice strong alcoholic drink before I take a nap and my kiddos wake up. I'm hoping that the alcohol can counter-act my nerves and allow me to sleep. I had terrible nightmares about CNN Grill last night and I'm not looking forward to it tonight.
And not to mention, my nerves are completely shot knowing that I have 4 nights of this and then my sisters wedding. Why, why, why?
If you are really still reading this, thank you for listening! I'm hoping I'll still be around to write about how it all actually went! Oh, one cool thing that did happen today, Wolf Blitzer and Anderson Cooper came in for our "mock trial". That was pretty neat. AC is a pretty good looking older guy.

Just another day...

We had a great weekend together. Well, I worked Saturday night, but we were able to spend most of the day together. Daddy had the monkeys watching the opening ceremonies of the Olympics, see picture. A very unusual seat, but hey they loved it!

Sunday we took them to church. Most of the time, Drake has a breakdown and doesn't want us to leave him in the classroom. But this time, all 3 went right in, let go of our hands and went straight to all the toys! Amazing! And when church was done, I went in to get them, and they were all playing with other kids! I was so excited. Oh and they didn't want to leave. It was great! My parents offered lunch after and so we met up with them at IHOP (their favorite) and ate. Usually the kids go down anywhere from 9:30am to 10:30am for a nap so they didn't get a morning nap. The boys did great, but oh Ava was possessed! Apparently she doesn't do very well without a nap. She was screaming and yelling and just not listening to us at all. She was ok and we all were able to eat, but I've never seen her act like that. The boys fell asleep on the way home and Ava was fast asleep as soon as we layed them all down. They slept for about 2 hours. So that was nice.

Drake got another hair cut, Ava still has yet to get one. This time, the lady cut way too much of his hair off! I loved his long hair, but it did really need to be cut. Just not that short! Its almost as short as Danes. :(

This is the last week I am watching my nephew. I actually couldn't be happier! I know that sounds awful, and I really do love him to pieces, but sometimes, I just love having my break from him. I will probably miss the help that he gave when we went places though. He was such a great helper, but he also tried WAY too hard at the same time. Which would only cause more stress on me. He's going into 2nd grade! Woohoo!

My other sister actually asked me if I could watch her kids (almost 3yrold, and an almost 2month old) from 8-5, 5 days a week! I wish I could say yes, but there is absolutely no way I could do it. Unless, I didn't go anywhere. But even then, my work hours will be increasing once the hockey and basketball season is here and me getting off of work at 3am and then waking up with my kids at 6:30am and doing it all over again...NO WAY!! I can barely do it now with my kids! I just feel awful having to tell her no.

Here's a great picture of Daddy and his boys Sunday.

Preparing for a trip to Iowa, a week early!

So we leave for Iowa next thursday night and our plan is to leave at bedtime. So instead of putting the kids down in their cribs, we're hoping and praying they'll fall asleep in the carseats. They do great, but the longest they've ever slept in them is about 30 minutes. So, I don't know what to expect from that.
I've tried to come up with a set of plans, I'm such a planner and if things don't go the way I plan, oh I go crazy. So I've tried to come up with something and I think we might end up just winging it. I don't know how my kids will react to a 13 hour drive in their carseats, so planning something would just be silly. Not to mention, it would just make me go insane. And once we get there, I don't have a clue what we'll do. Chad and I will be extremely tired and they will be ready to venture out into the new Iowa world. I'm hoping that Grandma Tina and Aunties will be of great assistance at that point. I know it'll all go smooth, and if it doesn't, oh well. We do what we know how to do and go one step at a time. Right? We hope in the right direction most of the time! :)
I'll keep you all posted!

New news

Ah, so much has happened since my last post. Or has it? Oh, I can't remember everything! Somewhere along the road of my triplet pregnancy I seemed to have lost my memory, my train of thoughts and who knows what! I've gained some of it back, but not much, so please bare with me!

We've had some pretty hot days around here. We broke the record of 16 days over 90 degrees! It went to something like 22 days! And they weren't right at 90 they were in the upper 90's with at least 3-4 days of 100+! Makes for a lot of time inside. Which brings me to...

My kids are outdoorsmen! Everytime they have they want to spend it outside! Which is ok for me in the mornings because I like to take them walking/running around our lake. They do pretty good for about an hour and then they want OUT! And every time we pass by the park, I know I'm mean for not letting them play, they cry out and try to climb out. Mommy is just hot and ready for the a/c at that point.

Last week I met up with an old friend from work who's daughter is about 4 months younger than these guys. We had lunch at my restaurant and then went over to The Aquarium. The Aquarium is a giant fish tank full of all sorts of different fishies and stuff! We had gone when the kids were like 4 months old (they had no clue where they were at that point!) and decided to go again before they get too old and we have to start paying for them. They loved it! They were in such awe and amazement that they just couldn't stop looking up and all around. It was so cute.

I decided, well, because it wasn't that busy at that little area, to let all 3 out of the wagon. Thinking I had my girlfriend there, which she was a HUGE help, things wouldn't be so bad. Well, my 7 year old nephew was too into the whole place that he wasn't paying attention to any of the kids and Ava, who has a mind of her own, took off with a crowd that had passed thru! My girlfriend, Candice, grabbed her, thank God, as I attempted to put the boys back in the wagon. Oh, you would've thought Drakes world had just ended! He pitched a fit, a very high pitched fit and would not stop! I was mortified and try to scurry out of there with a screaming child as fast as I could! Thankfully we came up to a giant fish tank that we walked under and he fell silent in amazement. He calmed down after that and we were able to enjoy the other attractions, the tigers, the octopus, the stingrays and a whole bunch of sharks.

Lessons learned: take an extra pair of open hands; keep kids in wagon; and give paci much sooner!

Daddy's b-day party at Grandmas

Happy 34th Daddy! Happy 14th Steph!

I always get a kick out of telling people that we have 6 people in our house, to which we only have 3 birthdays! Dad and Steph are exactly 20 years apart! Kind of neat for Dad,

not always for Steph. Oh well, some day it will mean more to him.

So for their b-days we went to Grandma Kath's house, which if you remember was our old house. She has made it such a great home! I don't miss the small spaces, but with her stuff, it makes it look much bigger! And then I walked out in the backyard, I almost cried! It's a real yard and its fenced and the deck is huge and...I wanted the house back! Nah, but I really miss the space outside and being able to not have to worry about a street and no fence!

Ok, I'm done whining over that. We had a great time. My family came and we got to see a few old neighbors we haven't seen since we moved. We ate a lot, its almost a given when we have family bbq's. But its always a good time. The kids loved it! They especially loved their new cousin Noah. Each one got to hold him, Ava even kissed him! So cute! But that's as close as we'll get to another baby! LOL

I just realized I didn't get any pictures of the b-day boys...oops!

Our 4th of July

We had a great 4th of July. Daddy had to work for a little bit in the morning and then Mommy had to go to work in the evening, but the day was great.

We took the monkeys on a walk around our lake and let them play at the playground. They had such a great time. They really are a bunch of monkeys! Not a lot of kids were, which made it great.

Daddy's a great photographer!

I just love it when I come home and see new photos of the monkeys! Daddy had a great time catching these shots. I especially love Drake's smile!

18 month checkup

We had our 18 month well baby checkup today. And Mommy had to do it all by herself. Thank goodness for good babies!
I just love walking into Kaiser with the train in tow and have everyone turn to watch us walk in. I hear all the whispers and some people actually do pipe up and ask, but Mom was in a hurry this morning so we didn't catch eye contact with anyone! Is it just me or do you other MOM's sweat like crazy? Too much info? Sorry, maybe it's the stress of loading/unloading, walking a 1/2 mile because the truck is too big to park close or that I'm just sick? Who knows, I sweat!
Riding the elevator is always a work of art, as soon as the door closes (and hopefully no one boards with us) we have to manuever the train so we can get back out. As we approach the desk, everyone in the waiting area is just in awe and once again the whispers begin, the lady (whom we have come to know well) hands me 3 packets of info that I am supposed to fill out and give to the doctor. I'm still on the first page and the kids' names get called. Ok, hurry up and pack all the stuff and head into the exam room. All the while the kids are just being so wonderful! Like I said before, thank goodness for good babies!
Nurse comes in and checks each one of them while in the train and then I have to get them undressed for their weights. I'm a smart Mommy and put Ava in a cute skirt with a diaper cover and then a onsie underneath! Way to go Mom! But I'm a pro and it takes only seconds. And thank goodness they love to be naked! The boys were a piece of cake, shirt and shorts, done.
Dane: 20lbs 13oz (2%) 2'9" tall (66%) I believe he weighs more than that, he was being sqeamish on the scale
Drake: 22lbs 5oz (9%) 2'9" tall (73%) He had to get checked twice for height because he wouldn't sit still-I believe he is a little bit taller than Dane
Ava: 20lbs 15oz (8%) 2'7 1/2" tall (47%) There really is no way she is heavier than Dane, but Daddy seems to think its possible
After all that is finished, our doc comes in and checks everyone out. Every part of them is great until he looks at their ears. My sister and I even had bets on who would have an ear infection this time around! We both won! He started with Ava, who at this point could not sit still, and he couldn't even get a reading on his ear thing. Hers were the worst. Then Drake, and he pulled out a ton of wax, sorry TMI! Still no reading for him either. And last was Dane...no reading! Hmmm, I asked is this why they aren't talking? Possibly he says! I feel so awful at this point, but my kids never really gave any signs! Only the runny noses! He put them on medication and said that if they don't get better after ALL the medicine is gone, we might be looking into doing tubes. I had them when I was younger, so I guess it all makes sense.
After all that is done, prescription sent, its shot time!! And I don't mean the shots of alcohol! We were supposed to get 4 each, but since we have to come back in 4 weeks for ear checkups, we'll do 2 now and 2 then. Sounds good to my little ones! They did so good. A bright orange and yellow bandaid on each leg and they were good to go. Only cried for a few minutes. Then they were back to being monkeys again!
Thank goodness for good babies!!

Almost a year and a half

I'm blown away at how quickly time is flying by. I almost wish I still had my sweet little 4 & 5 pounders! Almost is the key word there. I loved every minute back then, but I am enjoying watching them grow and learn now.
Things have been a bit chaotic this last month. We're hopefully on the mend with our 2nd bout of the sickies. It's so tough too when the monkeys are sick and me! I am on my 2nd round of strep throat since the kids were born! Before them, I wasn't sick for years!! Tells you that these kid germs are AWFUL! We had our very first bout of the flu earlier this month, and I'll tell ya, that was the absolute worst experience of my life!! Although I'm quite sure it will be worse as they get older. No fun!!
We've been to the zoo a few times already. It's such a nice place to go where we get out of the house and Mommy can visit with friends and the kids can run around outside. We do go outside at our house, but it's so frustrating because we don't have a fence. So we're constantly running around corralling them. I understand what a border-collie does now! LOL We have such big plans for the yard, we just have to ask the HOA if it's alright we do it. Only bad thing about an HOA. But it's also a good thing!
We're finally starting to mumble some words. I always thought girls would learn quicker than boys, but Ava is not proving that to be correct. Drake (who has done most things first) is spouting out a few words...S&*t (yeah, he says it!), go, hot, kitty, Hi and he says woof, woof when asked what a puppy says. Dane says go, Hi, hot, kitty, and laughs hysterically when he sees a cat or dog. Ava sometimes says Hi and hot. All 3 will say Momma and Daddy too. They love cats and dogs and older kids just mesmerize them. It's so cute!
We're still on 2 naps, although we have managed a few days where we only have one and they do fine. Before they got sick again, we were taking them to church every Sunday. They do alright, but Drake did have a meltdown this last time. Bawled his eyes out when I left, broke my heart! But he then sat with a girl and almost fell asleep on her lap.
Life is great for us!
Although we are grieving for the loss of my nephew's Daddy. On Saturday night while riding his motorcycle (a little too fast) he hit another vehicle and was killed almost instantly. It just breaks my heart to think that my 7 year old nephew just didn't have enough time with him. I never thought I would be this shaken up, I mean I never really liked the guy, but he still gave me a precious nephew. Damien is taking it ok and he is understanding it, but I just can't get over the fact that his Daddy can't see him grow up. I just can't fathom it, I mean we all take for granted the things we have, but don't realize it until its gone! 7 years is just not enough time! At least he's got an amazing Guardian Angel watching over him!

Remembering...

My older sister (she's preggo with 1 baby) called me yesterday asking about my symptoms of pre-eclampsia and it just brought back so many memories. Memories that I really hadn't thought about.
So I'm remembering...
I had such a wonderful pregnancy. Although the getting "fat" part was a bit tough to get used to. But it was like night and day for that. I went to bed feeling fat and woke up having a small bump! The thought of having three little hearts, 6 tiny hands/feet, and 3 little souls inside of me was the most amazing feeling ever. Ok, besides the day they were born. I was told I had a wonderful aura all around me. Life was so easy with being able to carry them everywhere I went. Now it takes me at least 45 minutes to get everyone ready! I was such a happy pregnant woman.
My sister asked me what my symptoms were and I really had to think about them. I remember getting a headache that lasted a week, right up until I had the kids. I told her I probably could have had the trio a week before, but I waited to go to the doctor until my next appointment. Which was only 3 days away. But they admitted me that night with pre-eclampsia. I even drove down to my appointment by myself, probably should not have as my eye sight was going due to the pre-eclampsia. Oh well, I made it home after I stopped at work and had a cup of soup.
Chad actually drove me down to the hospital with my bags.
We were definetely not ready for that! We really didn't have a plan set at all. Talk about scrambling. I wasn't supposed to have them yet!
But I thank you sister for allowing me to remember things that I had forgotten!

Spoke too soon

What a week this has been! We can't really complain, considering the kids are 16 months and this is our first symptoms of the flu we've had!
Monday, while I was at work, all 3 decided they were going to throw up. And not to mention, Daddy was feeling almost as bad as they were! It's one thing when you've got 3 sick kids, but when you're sick too, that just throws you over the edge. So Daddy was up for most of the night cleaning up and making the kids feel better. Go Daddy!
Unfortunately it is now thursday and really nothing has changed. Tuesday night was the worst night. We each got up with one of the kids at least 10 times. What makes it worse is that they didn't throw up, but they were just dry heaving. Poor little things!
And it's so hard to figure out what to feed them. I know they can't handle food, but their little bodies need nutrition. Ugh! I just feel so bad for them. No one has thrown up today, but oh man their diapers are awful. I won't go into detail about it, but I do have a funny story.
So, Dane and I had a doctors appointment on wednesday and my mom came with me to help with the kiddos. They seemed like they were feeling alright, so we thought we could take them to lunch. To Chili's. It all went fine, the table could've been bigger, but oh well, until we were leaving. My mom goes to pick up Drake and realizes that she just stuck her hand in diahhrea. Yes, all over himself! It was a horrible experience. I took him to the bathroom only to realize that this would be a huge task. So we just put him in the car and made the poor little guy ride home in a dirty diaper. It's totally my fault, I shouldn't have taken them out. Needless to say, his carseat got washed immediately and he got himself a bath.
Oh and Stephen stayed home from school today with the same thing!
Ugh, I hope this virus goes away soon!!!

Sickies

Poor Daddy had to deal with 3 sickies over the weekend. I wasn't much help because I had to work all weekend, but I tried to do whatever I could. Thankfully only Dane was puking. The other 2 just have some runny noses, but still seem to be quite irritable.
Dane hasn't thrown up yet today (knocking on wood)! He still seems out of it, very tired and quite cuddly. All 3 don't seem to want to eat anything. On average, I make 2 grilled cheese sandwhiches for them and they scarf it down, no problems. I'm struggling to get them to eat just one today! And breakfast was 1 waffle, usually 3-4! I myself am not feeling the best, but I can at least take something to help rid myself of the symptoms. And I hate having my kids living off of Ibuprofen, but hey, it always helps them sleep better during these times.

Oh, we got a new ride Saturday!! I'm so excited as is Daddy! A brand-new 2008 Toyota Tundra crewmax. It will seat all 6 of us very comfortably. Plus it will pull our camper without hesitation. I'll have to take pics and put some on here! It sure has some giddy-up to it, I touched the gas and through us back a bit! Very exciting! I'm just glad I was able to keep my camper (sorry I'm spoiled now, no tents!) and get rid of the Expedition. I like it but it was just going down hill.

I'm praying for some healthy babies soon!

WEATHER!!!!

This is definately Colorado for ya...almost 80 degrees outside yesterday...4 inches of snow today!
I love where I'm from!
I only wish it would've waited at least 1 more day to snow. I had to work yesterday so I wasn't able to enjoy the sun. It is kind of nice to have a snow day today, I could use the laziness.
To my last post, I'm feeling much better. I have the next 2 days off and I'm going to enjoy them. I've got to somehow figure out why my license has been suspended, an unpaid speeding ticket perhaps, I don't know. But obviously I can't be driving with a suspended license.
We did have to put our 2nd dog down. All within 6 months we've had to put 2 dogs down. It makes me very sad. I really wish we didn't have to put our "1st born" down, but she just couldn't be trusted with the kids. She was my dog, Burton was Chads. He's still pretty broken up about it, but Burton was not well. Arthritis of the back and stomach issues. I do have to say, it's pretty strange to come home and not be greeted by him. But they're both up in doggy heaven playing together.
Ahh, my kids. I think they must be going through a growing phase right now. They aren't eating a whole lot, they're not sick, and they want to sleep all the time! They're so smart. They just amaze us every day. I can't wait for them start talking, or can I?

All I want to do is...

Cry!
I can't even get a single tear to drop! How miserable does that sound? I know my life is no where near as crazy or hard as many others, but right now I'm having a meltdown.
I hate complaining to others, but writing it helps me to unload.

At work: March happens to be the busiest month of them all. With only 5 days off for the restaurant, it just frightens me. I won't have to work all of them, but the other managers may have to! I can't imagine it and neither should they! My big boss has asked me to work at least 2 more days a month, which to some may not sound like a lot, but to me it is. I don't see my husband as it is! Thank God I work at night so I can at least see my kids. But we do what we have to in order to have a nice life. Did I mention any kind of raise? Probably not because I wasn't offered one. Nor was I told how good of a job I do or any kind of bonus in which most restaurants offer. Don't get me wrong, this job is probably one of the easiest I've ever had and the people I work with make it the main reason I can't leave.

At home: My marriage is rocky. Like I said before, my husband and I see eachother as he comes home for me to go to work. How healthy of a relationship is that? I know that once the busy season is over we'll have more time together. It's just frustrating and he's got to feel the same way. I just received a letter in the mail saying my license has been suspended! Apparently for a ticket almost 2 years ago! I have no idea and it's just adding to my frustration!
Our 2nd dog is now having to be put down. We had to put our first dog down last year because she did not like the kids and we just couldn't trust her. Well Burton seems to be having some real arthritis issues to where he can barely move at times. He doesn't eat much and is skin and bones. My husband just took him to the vet to relieve his pain and because we live in a "hippy" county, the vet told us she would rather us give him pain meds for the rest of his life and wouldn't put him down!! Or she offered to send him to a rescue! We're not looking to get "rid" of him, we're trying to ease his pain and suffering. I'm blown away! So, as I sit here right now, he is outside with diahrea for whatever reasons and really can't move. His stomach is growling so loud I can hear it inside but yet he won't touch his food. Tell me that's not animal abuse!
The kids are doing great. Stephen is doing wonderful in school, a few missing assignments but he's doing extra credit to bring those grades up. His first year of wrestling has ended and he did great! Nice to see him doing really well at things he likes.
Dane finally has cut his top teeth making him a bit happier these days. Although he has become more of a bully. I don't know what to do when he pushes or pulls someone off of a toy, but the other 2 can't fight him back, he's too mean. And he does it all with a blank look on his face!
Drake has turned into a momma's boy! He has to be with me every minute he is awake. Pulling on me, climbing on me and crying whenever I leave the room! Cute at first, not anymore!!
Ava, well not sure what is new with her. She's still the Princess and loves to give her brothers kisses and hugs. She's the smartest of the 3. She knows what I'm saying and does it with me or does what I ask her to do. Very cute!
Still no words yet from anyone. Few signing too. But I'm not going to push them unless the doc says something is wrong.
I must go get ready for another long day of work.

Back on track

Daddy went home to Iowa for his grandfathers funeral last week and things were just out of sorts all weekend. Mommy was not able to get time off and we were not wanting to take the trio out there driving, the weather was horrible!
It was a nice "break" but it was just so weird not having him here. He left on wednesday and was only supposed to be there until Sunday, but due to extreme weather, his flights were rescheduled for Monday morning. Thankfully he had scheduled that day off. I still had to go to work last Thursday and Friday, so that was tough having to find someone to watch these monkeys. Not to mention I was in charge of 4 kids! Strange feeling, I don't think I could master being a single mother.
But we kept ourselves busy. Stephen pretty much spent the weekend with his friends, which was good. Thursday the weather was beautiful here and we made a trip to the park. They loved being able to run free outside. Thank goodness Mommy is fit to run and chase them though!
Friday we met cousin Emma, and Auntie and Uncle at Sweet Tomatoes for lunch. That was fun except they really didn't eat much. Too many distractions and people to look at. Saturday we went to a playdate/lunch at another triplets house. They enjoyed themselves so much. New toys and new kids to play with, although the other trio was a year older. And then on Sunday, we went to brunch with Grammy and Papa. It's so funny the looks on their faces as SO many people came up to us. They've gone places with me before, but when we're eating, we're pretty much sitting ducks or a zoo attraction. They enjoy it though.
A fun eventful weekend, just too bad Daddy wasn't here to enjoy it with us. But thankfully he's back and things can settle down a bit. Back to our usual routine, rarely seeing Daddy!

Rough day...

I'm frustrated right now trying to figure out whether Dane is having teething issues or if he's got some other ailment. He's got 4 teeth coming in on top, 2 of which are ready to come out. He's got a history of ear infections, but he's not pulling on his ears. But he's also screaming bloody murder during naps and waking in the nights. I would hate to take him in to the doctors and have them tell me its just teething, but then again would hate myself if I did take him in and he really does have an ear infection. UGH!
Oh and the kids think its funny (hilarious) to wipe their trays completely clean of their food. UGH!!
Drake also thinks its great to stick his finger down his throat and make himself gag.
Oh and I've already changed 6 poopy diapers!! Come on, why today? Is it bad to say that I'll be glad to be going to work later?

Catching on quickly...

I've noticed that in just the past week or so these guys really starting to catch on. They're starting to pay attention to their surroundings more and wanting to learn more.
Here's what they know:
Dane: he doesn't sign anything although he has full potential to. I've seen him do it before, but I think he's just lazy or knows that after awhile if he still doesn't sign "please" or "milk" we'll eventually give it to him.
Hehe, this might sound crazy and sorry to interrupt myself, but one of the kids' toys just made a noise and scared the crap out of me! Phew, I'm better now. I'll get back to what I was doing. Really, I'm not crazy.
Drake: he can sign "milk", "please", and "thank you" which also could be him blowing kisses. He seems eager to learn new things. And he picked up on these fairly quickly.
Ava: she is signing "milk" and "please". She too picked up on these quickly. It's pretty cute too when I sign a new word to them, she looks at each of them to see if they are signing it. Not sure if that means she can do it and won't unless they do it, or she's just making sure they are watching.
The signs we are trying to learn now are:
-Mommy
-Daddy
-more
-thank you
-all done

I have also been trying to teach them of their different body parts, eyes, ears, nose, mouth & belly. So far we all know where our bellies are and where their ears are. They love Mommy's nose. They give eachother hugs and kisses, but don't usually give us kisses when asked.
I've also started having them put their toys in their toy box and within one day, they started doing it. I was so shocked. And it's so cute watching them go around and pick up toys and put them in the box. They tend to put anything that's on the floor in there though. But they love it!
I'm having a great time with them and I just can't wait to see what they'll do next. They amaze me each and every day!

Sibling rivalry...

Is it too early for them to be having sibling rivalry?
Maybe it was just today, but Dane and Ava were at eachothers throats. If it wasn't Ava stealing Dane's toy, it was Dane pushing her off of another toy. They just could not share. Is this just the beginning? The 2 that look the most alike and they are going to fight constantly. AAAHHHH!!! Drake just kind of lets Dane do his thing. Every once in awhile he'll fight back. Drake and Ava don't seem to mind one another. I wonder if it's because they seem to be the most independant. Oh who knows. I just don't want to have to keep breaking up fights. I'll tell you though, I have sat here and watched a few, Ava is one tough girl. She holds her ground, but then again, so does Dane! I haven't witnessed any biting, which because I said that, they'll start, and I haven't really seen any hitting. It's all been mostly pushing or putting their heads on the other and pushing.
Still, life with triplets...Priceless!!

Naps...

So I figured out how to get them to take 2 naps still. Apparently I was letting them sleep too long for their morning nap, so they were just not tired enough to take another nap later in the day. But way too tired to not go to bed until 7pm. The trick is to wake them up during their nap. I only had to do it once so far, the rest of the days they've been waking up on their own. I just can't believe that they need that much sleep, but hey I am not complaining. I love having my time to myself. And make that 2 times a day.
We'll now just see how long their morning nap continues. I don't see it going away any time soon. They are cranky after only being up for a short period. I don't see why, I mean, good grief you just woke up from sleeping for almost 11 hours!!!