Tuesday, May 25, 2010

pictures are worth 1,000 words

i try to make sure i have my camera with me (or my cell phone) at all times so i don't miss a thing. i know someday, life will slow down a little and i will be able to look back on all our memories and fun times (but for now i have 2 full photo boxes of unorganized pictures=) there aren't any huge stories from this week...(other than a bird landing on my head as i was trying to be a good citizen and release timmy the turtle at the park...apparently the bird didn't like that idea!)...so just enjoy the pics and thier captions!


LOVE this picture of daddy and his boys!


This was our fun family trip to krogers on saturday night! Since josh was with me, it was no problem to get the kids in the store and in the cart....not sure how i'm supposed to do it solo though...think if i call ahead they'll meet me outside with the cart??


this is after our weekend morning walk with hadley and erin! the babies had so much fun just crawling around in the van! thank goodness for stow and go seats!!



the boys and the "illegal" remote. They have a whole box of remotes for them...but know exactly which one they aren't allowed to have! and zach even knows how to point it right at the tv and watch it change!




we went to jungle jims with my mom and brother, so each baby got their own cart! they are all doing "Soooo big!" =) it was fun until the end when they were ready to go! we ditched a shopping cart and they got carried the rest of the way! i was def. sore the next day!




this is how avery and i got our cart to the car.....she LOVED pushing it!!





one of our fun outdoor options....saw this shaded tarp and had to have it!! and the babies appreciate not having to crawl on the itchy grass!
we tried out our pool for the first time yesterday! it was so cute and so much fun. they loved that they could get in and out by themselves! we will be spending many summer days out in the water!!


...my studs





colby and avery LOVED splashing. they were cracking up at eachother!



avery's piggie tails!


i gave the babies each a bowl and cooking utensil after dinner one night....avery and colby immediately sat down and acted like they were mixing! and zach ditched his and went to play with his toys. guess he's not going to be the chef for the family!





avery snugglin with cooper



My mom celebrated her birthday on May 20th...and we helped!! The babies were very happy to help her open her present!
then we went to dinner at carrabbas! the babies did great! zach was eating ceasar salad! they loved the bread...and enjoyed their noodles and chicken fingers too! and they all finished their meals with the lemon from our water glasses =)







and here is mamaw and her grandbabies...



hangin out at a birthday party for josh's cousin's sons....


avery wearing mommy's jewels


papaw and colby



zach telling grandpa that he's "SOOOOOOO big!"
we had a quick visit from one of my triplet mom friends and her beautiful triplet girls! colby was really excited to see them and gave them all kisses as soon as they got here!


and here we all are lined up on the couch!




Friday, May 14, 2010

spring time!!!!!!!


(this is the first good pic of all 3 i've taken in a LONG time!...won't tell you my secret though ;)

Zoo Day Triplet Style
What do you get when there are 4 mommies that all had babies in 2009 and all are really good friends?? A trip to the zoo with 4 mommies and 15 BABIES!!! (4 sets of triplets and 3 big brothers!!) We had a blast! And while we still got lots of stares and stupid comments (one being a lady that came up to me and asked "Why are you with them??" in a very concerned tone. I replied "because they're my friends". Luckily she walked away after that!)
Of course we all had our triplet strollers....but the big brothers needed a ride too...so they got the choo choo wagon! Angela was super mom and pushed her stroller AND pulled the wagon! It worked really well until we came to a hill....then we had to buddy up.


Here are all of us mommies....these girls are some of the nicest, most wonderful people i have ever met! I'm so grateful for our babies bringing us all together!!

And here we are eating lunch....the babies are chowing down on turkey sandwich bites!!

And while the zoo was having thier big "zoo babies" promotion....i think we won with the best zoo babies around!



My little monkeys
The babies make me laugh all the time! They are so funny and so rotten!! They think that if i say 'no' and they look at me and give me a cute, sweet look and smile that they can still do it! Not the point at all! And if i try to use a serious voice and change my tone...they laugh! Awesome. Glad my parenting skills are top notch! When i was teaching i had a "look" i could give my students and they could feel my eyes drilling a hole in them. they would even say "Stooop" after a while if they didn't quit whatever they were doing to deserve the "look" because they didn't like it! Well my sweet little princess was getting the look the other day....and smirked and gave it right back to me! UGH!

Now that Avery is also a walker....she has moved on to climbing! Yesterday, i went to the kitchen for 2 seconds to grab a banana and knife and turned around and avery was ON TOP of the table! She escaped the buckle and got out and was just hanging out in the split second i turned around! (Too bad it wasn't a safe situtation...or i would have grabbed the camera!)
She also used the new window safety bars to help her up on to the windowsil!

She's started exploring the cabinets too....she and zach were playing peek a boo around the doors the other day....ADORABLE!!

And Zach got tired of standing to look out the window so made himself a little seat!

Also, here are my monkeys when we were playing outside. The seat of the table is supposed to be used as a step right??



They had a blast playing outside! Once the weather will decide whether it wants to be warm or cold, we'll have more days like this! They looked so cute sitting at their picnic table!



And LOVED sliding!


Mother's Day #2
I had another wonderful mother's day. Although Zach didn't get the memo that i wanted to sleep in and woke up at 6....we still had a great day. Josh's family came down for lunch, then my awesome brother cooked a delicious dinner for mom, grandpa and i! The babies had a lot of fun running around mom's house too! Lots of new things to explore!



Finally....
This is a list i found that i passed on to my triplet mommy friends. they were all hysterical...not b/c the thought of the things on the list are funny...but because it's our reality. If i haven't done the things on this list....i know someone who has!

You Know You Have TRIPLETS When:

Your stroller has a steering wheel

Your Costco 2% rebate check comes in at $300

Dinnertime is officially declared an Olympic Event

You are the only parents who can utter, “Stop playing with that, it’s not YOUR penis” with a perfectly straight face.

You arrive at your doctor’s appointments early just to read the magazines in peace.

Root canals are a great chance to catch up on your sleep.

You laugh at singleton moms that are struggling to get their stroller out of the car.

You wonder how come singleton moms need a diaper bag the size of a suitcase, while you travel with enough for your babies in a bag half the size.

You can unload three babies from car seats and put them in your stroller WHILE you are laughing at the singleton mom getting her stroller out of her car.

Your husband has seriously tried to add GPS and motorize your stroller.

Men whom you have never met ask to 'test drive' your stroller.

There is no room in your refrigerator for food, all available space is occupied by pre-prepared bottles of formula.

You look at a closet full of diapers and think “I’m running low”

A regular sized pack of diapers lasts only 3 days.

Every morning you mentally prepare yourself for the worst before your enter “that” bedroom, (naked toddlers, wet bed sheets, diapers on the floor and three little voice saying “poop, poop”)

Your biggest dilemma is how to keep those dang diapers on.

You've either used, or considered using duct tape on diapers.

You are obsessed with diapers.

You can throw French-fries to the rear set of seats without looking and none end up on the floor.
You consider wearing jeans being 'dressed up', and it's a formal event if you're wearing make-up

You can change diapers standing up, while in line, at the Children’s Museum.

You feel like a sheepherder instead of a parent

You have people asking if you run a daycare because that’s what your yard looks like.

You can carry 3 plates of food and 3 cups to the table without spilling anything and you’ve never been a waitress.

A trip to Walmart for diapers is a vacation even at 1:am.
You don't think twice about going to Target with bed-head
Your stroller costs more than your first car.
You have a stroller addiction.

You can hold at least three conversations at the same time.
You no longer have a proper name you are either “The Lady With the Triplets” or Moooooooooommmmmmmmyyyyyyyyyyyyy
You consider the commute to work Mommy time
You consider your shower Mommy time.

Your shower is now the most precious time of the day, if you get one.

You find yourself singing songs from Yo Gabba Gabba while at Walmart

You can quote Monster’s Inc. verbatim.
You do your grocery shopping in stores with aisles wide enough to accommodate your stroller

You automatically divide or multiply everything by 3

Complete strangers take pictures of your kids in their stroller... and they wonder why we call them the Paparazzi???

You have diapers in your purse, in the glove compartment, your desk drawer and in every room of the house – just in case.

Every square inch of seating in your vehicle is taken by car seats.

Your vacuum cleaner never makes it back into the closet.

You can sweep, talk on the phone, AND read to your children all at the same time.

Your monthly grocery budget is greater than the annual budget for the State of Rhode Island.

Four hours of sleep is “fully rested” and falling asleep over the kitchen sink is a “fulfilling nap”

The first thing you ask upon arriving home is for the poop and pee report.

2 minute tasks take 30 minutes because you have to keep returning to the play room to break up fights, peel the kids from the wall, change a diaper you can actually smell from the next room, break up more fights, remove a child from the top of the couch, perform surgery on the VCR because there is an UFO inside of it, fill sippy cups back up with water because whatever was in them disappeared mysteriously (only later when you sit down on the couch you will find where it went) remind them not to jump on each other, break up a few more fights and change more poopy diapers.

You not only are familiar with what a 186 count box of baby wipes looks like when they are all removed from the box one at a time, but you know for a fact you can’t put them back because you’ve tried.

You curse stores for only having two of something in a package, or for only having two of something on their shelf.

You buy Baby Motrin, Cough Syrup, etc, 3 at a time, and the clerk looks at you funny, while the whole time you are wishing they sold it in gallon containers.

You pull 3 tickets for Car seats at Babies R Us to take to the register, and when you get there the clerk says, “Ma’am, I think you picked up too many of these or they must have been stuck together”

You’ve fallen asleep in any of these places: The shower, washing dishes, sitting on the floor reading them a book, with your fork on the way to your mouth.

You agonize over what it will be like when they get to school and you have three teachers to visit on parent night, three different sets of homework, and your babies aren’t even out of the NICU yet.

Instead of a wallet full of photos you carry around a CD because it holds 700 megabytes of them.

700 megabytes is 1 night worth of photos.

Everyone in the neighborhood knows who you are, even though you’ve never met them before.

The grocery store clerk has commented on the 6-9 gallons of milk you buy each week, telling you it would be cheaper to buy a cow.

You know how to prop bottles with wadded up receiving blankets.

You’ve ever truly considered strangling someone who said, “you’ve got your hands full”, "are they all yours", or “I’d shoot myself”.

You’ve ever been so sleepy that you can fall asleep with the baby lying on your chest and fail to wake up despite the fact that the baby is screaming directly into your left ear.

You are both shocked by the rudeness, and amazed by the kindness of strangers in the same 60 seconds upon entering Walmart.

Walmart is probably your favorite store, since its open till Midnight, diapers and formula are cheaper there, and they have triplet carts. Oh, and you consider going to Walmart at 11pm “going out”

If you’ve ever charted poops, pees, and food intake in an Excel schedule.

You know at one time you did have a spouse, but now you can’t remember

You have to wash the dinner dishes by hand because the dishwasher is full of bottles and sippies.

The singleton mom in front of you at Walmart buying one can of formula and one bag of diapers complains about the price and you have to restrain yourself from hitting a complete stranger.

The clerks at the grocery store have to regularly restrain you from pummeling any singleton mom that takes the last multi seat-shopping cart.

You are both revered and hated by the staff at your pediatrician’s office.

You don’t see anything unusual with the fact that you know not one, but several, triplet moms.

You no longer have to wonder what a “poop painting” would look like.

A complete stranger walks up to you in the mall and says “my niece has triplets, her name is _________ do you know her?” and you can answer “yes I do”

The awareness of silence strikes terror into your soul.

You know the black market value of a Runabout stroller.

You know the black market value of a Choo Choo wagon.

You know what a Choo Choo wagon is.

You consider cereal dumped on the middle of the floor, not to be bad parenting, but rather a unique picnic breakfast!

All kids are aware that any sippy cup left unattended is fair game.

Whining is heard not just in stereo, but in surround sound!

You go to an amusement park with your triplet stroller only to realize YOU’VE become the source of amusement, or you go to the Zoo and find the other visitors watching your kids more than the animals!

Your peri says you look like a beached whale at 24 weeks.

You know what the word Peri stands for.

You use the word singleton.

You need a hitch for your stroller

Your stroller dictates what kind of vehicle you can drive

You refer to your babies as A, B, and C

$15.00 baby outfits seem too expensive.

You buy a single weeks worth of formula, and the clerk asks you if you are stocking up.

You laugh at singleton moms for sterilizing pacifiers. You can’t stop yours from sucking on each others fingers, nose, ears, toes etc, so you just shake your head because you know those germs are building up their immune system.

You pick up a dropped paci, and just blow the dust off rather than rinsing it because after all, 5 minutes ago they shared it with the dog, and you didn’t get to it in time before they put it back in their mouths. What’s a little dust?

You intentionally feed all 3 kids from the same spoon and bowel even though one is sick, because you can’t bear the thought of 3 consecutive 2 week cold sessions, you’d rather have them sick at the same time.

You enroll them in or join every activity and playgroup you can, you visit every playground in a 10 mile radius, sometimes more than 1 a day, just so you can be out of the house from dawn to dusk so you have less to clean up.

When discussing child proofing and singleton moms say “you just have to tell them no, you can’t child proof everything” and you laugh and say “Wanna Bet?”

After 20 minutes in the car you realize you are not only listening to the kids tape, but you are singing along with it, and there are no kids in the car.

The $250 travel system stroller that singleton moms complain about being too big, look like toy strollers to you.

You’re not sure if what you squeezed on your toothbrush was toothpaste or diaper ointment, but you’re too tired to care, and too tired to check, so you keep brushing anyway.

You say to your husband “if you wake up these babies I’ll kill you” and you mean it.

You say to your mother “if you wake up these babies I’ll kill you” and you mean it.

You say to your dog “if you wake up these babies I’ll kill you” and you mean it.

It doesn’t matter, you ARE buying them out of ProSoBee, and the other moms can just get over it.

All of a sudden everyone you know, knows someone with triplets.

Crib Tents? You can’t afford NOT to buy them.

You know what a crib tent is!

You consider leashes a viable safety option

You burst into laughter at the site of a diaper Genie… AS IF….!!

You celebrate the birthdays of the people who invented the spill proof sippy cup and the auto repeat replay function on DVD players.

You bought a dog (or have thought about it) to cut down on post meal cleanup time.

On the way to rescue a paper towel roll on the verge of destruction you suddenly realize that it might buy you 5 minutes to check your e-mail.

The next day, the kids wake up too early, you open their door long enough to throw in a couple of rolls of paper towels and you go back to bed.

You discover Nirvana when you finally convert to that all one color/all one size/all one style of socks, system.

Your home has become a complex maze of gates, locks and barricades.

Your kids have never actually walked through the zoo or store, because getting out of the stroller is NOT an option.

You are not horrified at the idea of “waking a sleeping baby” to eat. After all, it is time to EAT so sayeth the master schedule!

You seriously wish someone would sell Orajel in a toothpaste-sized tube. Is this little tiny tube supposed to be a joke? And that’s with the one day supply of infant Tylenol… don’t they know I need a 10oz bottle?

You delivered 17 lbs of baby, and didn’t set any records.

Your nickname for a period of time was Bessie.

You spend more time pumping than sleeping

You don’t think the Suburban is a large vehicle.

When hearing of a new pregnancy, you first question is “just one?”

You call one baby a singleton (before your triplets arrived, it was just “a baby”)

All your friends have multiples.

Your main connection to the outside world is through Facebook and triplet blogs

Some of your best friends you have never even met in person.

You send 7 invitations to a birthday party, and you have 15 kids show up, and you were expecting more.

You don’t want to potty train because the though of trying to take all 3 to a public bathroom yourself sends shivers up and down your spine.

You make formula by the gallon and it lasts only 24 hours.

Your pediatrician’s office recognizes your voice.
It's considered a 'date' if you husband goes with you to the Mother's of Multiples garage sale.
You refer to your babies as the "blue one" or the "green one" (color coded infants to tell them apart)

You start to question phrases like: "God will only give you what you can handle"

and you just pray a lot more in general!