Break Time

I'm taking a break from the computer!  I'm not taking a long break - maybe just a week. 

I'll be back soon.....

Sunday?

How can it be Sunday already?  It feels like Thanksgiving was just yesterday.  Today we dropped the girls of at Grandma's house so we could do some shopping.  We hit the mall and grocery store got alot of x-mas gifts and food.  Tonight the girls are sleeping over Grandma's house and we are gonna get 8 hours of uninterrupted sleep, thank God.  I can't remember the last time we got a good nights sleep.

Gone Shopping

Yes - I'm doing it.  For the 1st time in my life - I'm going to stand in line and shop.  I'm hoping to score some major cheap deals on toys.  So - I'll be at Toys R Us. 

Girls - You have no idea how much I love you.  I want you to be happy with Santa and his loot on Christmas day.  And although Christmas is way more than gifts...I'm no fool.  It's all about the list you've given to Santa for the next few years.  So this tired momma is gonna trade sleep for toys tonight. 

And my dear husband has already agreed to get up with the girls tomorrow.  :)

Exhaustion

Do you know what it's like to be sleep deprived?  I don't mean to go out drinking one night and then take the next 3 nights to recover.  I mean - every single night for a week straight I want you to set your alarm clock to go off in intervals of 2 hours then 3 hours. 

Go to bed at 10pm. 
Wake up at midnight. 
Go back to bed at 12:45. 
Wake up again at 3am. 
Back to bed around 3:30.
Wake up at 5:00. 
Go back to sleep around 5:45 and get out of bed for the day at 6:30.

This is a rough draft of what our week has been.  I think I'm delirious. 

When the girls were 1st home - I would stay in their room for 12 hours at a clip.  Changing, feeding, pumping, sleeping, changing, feeding, pumping, sleeping.........in 12 hours I would sleep 4.  I don't think I was even this delirious then.  I'm not sure what has changed.  But I'm too old for this shit! 

On a better note - someone told me tonight their neighbor had QUADS.  And then had another one.  Ok - so someone IS worse off than us!!!!  I'll sleep on that.  (I mean...who would have MORE after FOUR?).  I think sometimes I really am delirious.  Did I say that already? 

RSV

I'm too tired to post tonight.  Hailey was up again last night.  Finally at 3:30 this morning - I brought her downstairs to the couch.  Pete had to work so at least one of us should be able to sleep. 

I brought the girls to the doctor today.  Hailey was suppose to have an appt for a preop for her surgery on Dec 1st.  That's not going to happen now because they are sick.  When I brought them to the doctor 2 weeks ago - Emily had an ear infection, Hannah & Hailey both had a sinus infection.  We opted (with the doctors advice) to treat only Emily.  The other 2 still had pending c-diff tests.  The tests needed to come back negative in order for them to be on antibiotics for the sinus infections. 

The tests did come back negative.  But I talked with their doc and we decided to go the 'wait and see' approach.  If they got worse - I would bring them back and she would prescribe the antibiotics.  Well they didn't get worse...until the cough started a couple of days ago. 

To a mom of a full term baby - a cough is probably just a cough.  It means a child has a cold and it'll run it's course.  To a mom of micro preemies - a cough makes her heart skip a beat.  My heart was skipping.  They've never had this cough before.  And it wasn't croup.  And it wasn't the normal course for their sinus infections.  I know what the 'normal course' is because they've had at least 12 sinus infections between the 3 of them this year alone.  The cough is what concerned me.  So at the doctor today - she checked out Hannah & Hailey and sure enough - they have RSV. 

This is the virus that scared the shit out of us when they were infants.  This is the virus that the insurance company pays $13,000 PER VACCINE to prevent.  The girls received this vaccine their 1st RSV season.  We were denied the following RSV season (same as flu season) due to the fact that the girls had no other complications other than being micro preemies.  So we had them on LOCK DOWN.  No visitors, no trips, obsessive hand washing......the list goes on.  This lasted until they were 2.  Age 2 was the 'golden' age when we could release them from their bubble. We avoided the virus until now. 

Luckily - they are older and their immune systems are stronger.  But I'm giving them their bubbles back for xmas.  And xmas is coming early. 

http://kidshealth.org/parent/infections/lung/rsv.html

Sleep

I got 4 hours of it last night.  Hannah & Hailey were in our bed - both were coughing so bad they were choking & Hailey threw up.  Then they were up 5:00 this morning.  That's WAY TOO EARLY.  But it is what it is.

So we got through the morning.  My mom came to visit and made us all breakfast.  Then at 11:30 we went down for early naps.  The girls slept 2.5 hours and I slept for 2 hours.  It was much needed for all of us!

After naps we headed to the park with LB where we fed the ducks and played on the playground.  When we got home Pete was here so we hung out, ate dinner and then they put more ornaments on the tree.  I watched lol. 

Oh at some point I gave the girls a bath this morning.  And Emily also fell down the stairs head 1st.  My mom went down the basement stairs and all 3 of the girls wanted to follow.  No problem - I yelled out 'one at a time!' because I know how they can be.  Then I quickly realized that yelling wasn't going to cut it so I wandered over to supervise.  What I saw was Hannah and Hailey at the top of the stairs and Emily came from behind.  She pushed Hannah so that she could go 1st down the stairs.  Well Hannah fell back against the door and bounced back into Emily which in turn pushed Emily head 1st down the stairs.  I did some super human mom move and somehow grabbed Emily's feet so she didn't fall all the way down the stairs.  But she did manage to smash her face against one of the steps (they're carpeted thankfully) and she busted her lip open.  There was blood everywhere, she was screaming, the other 2 were standing there in shock, and I was searching for the ice pack in the freezer.  Couldn't find ice so I grabbed a popsicle (well 3 of them).  My mom cleaned up all the blood off the stairs, I cleaned up all the blood off the kid and all was well.  Except she has a pretty big busted lip now. 

Sunday

How is it possible to run out of time!!!!  There's always just so much to do. 

But there's always time to put up the Christmas tree - which we did today.  :)   Well really Pete did it with the girls while I took pictures from the couch lol.

CERT

CERT = Correctional Emergency Response Team

CERT ≠ Cell Extraction Response Team

Early post today

The girls woke up twice last night.  That's better than 3 or 4 times so I'm not going to complain about it.

I will complain however that they woke up at 5:30.  Grrrrr - It's SATURDAY.

Pete took the girls shopping with his mom and dad.  The girls got new winter boots, hats and slippers (and 30% off for being triplets).  They're all at his parents house - and I'm home 'cleaning'.  Lol - or blogging. 

Andy is coming over to babysit tonight so Pete & I can go to a game night at a friends house.  I'm tired and already don't want to go simply because I want to sleep.  I know I'll have fun though.  So we're gonna go - and after the fact I know I'll be more than happy that I went.  I do it all the time.  I make plans - and then don't want to follow through and usually it's because I'm exhausted. 

Which is why I don't make plans!  Well not often anyway.  This time I'm happy Pete is included in these plans because often times we're separated by default.  Someone has to be home with the kids.  So I'm thankful for Andy (and made him PB fudge to prove how thankful I am) and I'm thankful that there's a game night tonight. 

What I'm MORE thankful for - is that my trio are healthy enough for us to leave them.  That's a major accomplishment in itself these days. 

Off to clean - for real this time.

TGIF

The girls and I had to go to my brother Pete's graduation today.  He graduated from his CERT training (correctional emergency response team).  The morning was smooth as ice.  The girls even willingly took early naps.  It was when they woke up and I only had 45 minutes to get them out the door that they decided to have meltdowns all at different times.

Hailey didn't want to wear her dress.  Hannah wanted the tights Hailey was wearing.  Emily didn't want to wear black shoes.  The meltdowns kill me.  When I'm time restricted - it's hell.  It just turns into a screaming match.  I scream at them - they scream at me.  Nothing works.  Somehow the lunch that I put in containers to bring with us got lost (I found it under the table behind a bag AFTER we got back).  So the kids had crackers and grapes for lunch (their snack that I brought). 

Of course once we got there - they were angels.  That's ALWAYS the case.  Put on a nice show for those around us - but act like little hellions for mommy at home.  Don't get me wrong - I'm thankful that they can put on their wings when we're in public.  But really - the horns need to go permanently. 

The meltdowns didn't cease for the day.  Once we were back in the car after graduation - Hannah finished her fruit snacks and wanted more.  I was driving.  I couldn't give her more.  She wanted more.  I was driving.  She wanted more.  Get it?  She screamed ALL THE WAY HOME.  It was a 25 minute drive.  She earned herself a time out and NO more fruit snacks.  So then it went from 'I WANT MORE FRUIT BITES!' to 'I DON'T WANT 'IME OUT'!  over and over and over again.

When we got home, parked the car and all got out - she was still screaming.  By this point my blood is boiling.  So now picture me - trying to stay calm, praising Hailey and Emily for being so good, getting all 3 of them out of the car...and as we're walking across the parking lot Emily is running and falls pretty hard.  At the same exact time a big truck drove by and scared the sh*t out all of them.  So now I have Hannah & Hailey practically pulling my pants down while Emily is on the ground bleeding 3 feet out of my reach. 

I'm not gonna lie - I wanted to throw Hannah because she was on my nerves so bad.  I pretty much peeled the 2 of them off me in a hurry to get to Emily.  She was fine - but skinned her knee and her hand.  Ripped her tights too...the only pair I have for her!

Get inside - put Hannah in time out (I only put her in for 2 minutes but she ended up staying 5 because she didn't hear her own timer go off due to crying).  Gave Hailey more fruit snacks and made a cup of coffee. Found the grilled cheese containers under the table.  Fed it to them. 

Then counted down the minutes till Pete came home...........................................

Another long day!

Man this week is just kicking my butt.  I feel like I've done nothing but run!  Today was a great day with the girls though.  For 2 nights in a row they've slept all night without waking up.  Pete helped the girls and I get out of the house on time today.  I had a doctors appt for my wrist - then headed to the PT dept and the whole process took just over an hour.  And the girls were GREAT.  No complaining from them! 

After the appt we headed to the mall to see SANTA.  I wasn't sure the girls would even go near him but we agreed that we could just wave and say hi.  We were at the mall 1/2 hour before it officially opened (it opens early for mall walkers but most stores aren't open).  So we headed to D&D to get some breakfast.  Then we were off to the middle of the mall for a photo shoot.  Yup - a photo shoot.  It's decorated with a lot of xmas stuff and since I've been a frequent flier at the mall this week I knew that it wouldn't be too crowded.  We were just finishing up some photos and SANTA himself was coming down the escalator!  The girls were a little hesitant at 1st but I put on my happy face and acted like a fool right there in the middle of the mall.  I was acting SO EXCITED to see SANTA!  OMG IT'S SANTA!  I CAN'T BELIEVE HE'S HERE!  OH I CAN'T WAIT TO SEE HIM AND TELL HIM WHAT I WANT!  And since kids get all their vibes from us - all 3 of them got really excited.  Santa saw how nervous they were so on his way by (we were right at the bottom of the escalator so he had to walk right by us) he stopped and asked the girls for a high 5.  It couldn't have been more perfect.  They all gave him a high 5 and then we made our way over to his station where Emily sat on his lap and the other 2 were happy to stand in front of him. 

I love it when a plan works out..............(said by Pete). 

Time

Where does it go?  It's after 10:00.  I'm tired (what's new) and there's still so much to do.  Pete and I are just getting home so I'm keeping this short.  The girls and I have to get up and out by 7:30 tomorrow morning.  So I need to get off the computer and get ready for tomorrow.  :)

Oh Emily

Emily is so needy when she is sick.  The past two days she has been a hand full.  "I can't do it" when you ask her to do something or "I can't move" when you ask her to stand up.  "my bunny" every five seconds.  "I need to sit on the couch".  So glad I get to go to work. 

Sleepy

I'm really sleepy lately!  Probably cuz the girls are just waking up so many times at night.  Although last night they slept ALL through the night.  We went to bed at 9:00 (yeah that's right!) and we didn't get out of bed till 6:30.  Whaaaaaaaaaaaat!!!!!!!!!!!!

But I'm still tired.  So this post is short and sweet.

HAPPY HAPPY HAPPY BIRTHDAY to MEME and her identical twin sister SHUSHI!!!!!  *(so yeah - I can honestly say YES - IT RUNS IN THE FAMILY). 

Sunday Funday MEday!

Today was a planned ME day.  Once we were all up (bright and early thanks to the girls) Pete took a shower and got himself ready while I got the girls ready.  I saw them out the door by 8:15!!! 

They all went to Pete's parents house for the day.  I stayed behind and got a TON of stuff done.  I cleaned for 3 hours (more like scrubbed with my bottle of bleach).  LB was here and helping to clean as well. Then I took a shower and got out of here to head to a basket ball game.  Alex's game was amazing!  She didn't score but she sure did have some assists.  She's a great player and considering she's only 8 and this was her very 1st game - I think she's got a promising bball career ahead of her! 

After the game I headed to the mall to use a coupon at Yankee Candle (I love that place).  Then it was off to have some coffee at Rita's.  After coffee I headed to Target and then to Walmart - both places to return stuff.  Then I hit up the grocery store.  Back at home - where dinner was in the process of being cooked by my older brother.  I did more cleaning (making beds with clean sheets and just odds and ends - there's never an end to cleaning). 

Pete and the girls came home around 6:45 - a bit of a late night for the girls.  So we hung out for a bit before giving them baths and getting them in bed.  They were in bed by 8:00 and sleeping soundly. 

It was a GREAT day.  It did make me wonder what I did with all my free time before kids. 

Weekends

What are weekends?  They fly by so quickly when they are here that I almost miss them!  Hannah woke up a couple of times last night - she's been having a lot of nightmares lately and since she sleep walks - we get up to check on her to make sure she's not climbing into bed with one of her sisters.  (She'll get up out of bed and think she's getting back in her own bed but really is getting in bed with one of the other 2). 

Once we were up - we had to get dressed and get moving.  We all ventured out to get the oil changed in the car (there's a McD's next door to the dealership and it has a play yard).  After we came home from that it was time to take naps.

Nap time came and went and then - the girls went to a Princess Birthday Party with LB (but not for LB).  lol
They were so excited to talk about it when they came home!  They had a lot of fun although I'm told they were a bit shy at 1st.  That's usually the case anyway.  But they warmed up and they came home with lots of loot from the party.  There was a pinata and instead of the girls grabbing candy when it broke open - they grabbed the whistle blowers.  And they were certainly not shy to show me how they work when they got home.  Hannah was blowing that whistle right up until bed time.  I think we'll have to find more for their stockings :)

Friday

We had to get up and moving today.  Hailey had a doctor appointment so we dropped Emily and Hannah off at Grandma's house and took Hailey to the doctor.  She was loving her one on one time with us.  After the doctor we took her to Friendly's she loved it, no sisters to compete with.  I had to go into work so we picked up Emily and Hannah and went home.  I headed to work and the girls took a nap.  After nap Michelle took them to the park and CVS.

We did it.

wow we made it through the day.  Emily still has a fever and now I, daddy doesn't feel good.  Hannah and Hailey were not that crabby today even with sinus infections.  Emily got up in the middle of the night.  She was hot so I gave her medicine and a sip of water and we laid on the couch.  After we all got up we went to Costco to get much needed supplies.  We had lunch there and I let the girls try Sprite.  They didn't like it they took one sip and said to thank you.  I think the bubbles bothered them.  This Costco is right next to a Coco Keys indoor water park with a huge slide that comes out of the building then back in.  Emily was sleeping in the car as we got there and then all of a sudden we hear from Emily "That not scare me".  She was looking at the water slide she didn't take her eyes off it as we drove by.  After we got home the girls took a nap and so did I man I feel like crap.  Mommy took them to the park after nap and then she made dinner and then we gave them a bath and then we read books and then we put them to sleep.

Fevers

Last nights sleep cycle wasn't any better than the night before.  Except this time - Emily woke up at 3:00 with a fever of 102.1 - after some Tylenol and sleeping on the couch next to me - I took her temp again at 8:00 and it was 103.2.  Since she already had an appt at the doctor at 9:30 - there was no need to call.

I got all 3 there and figured since I was there - they can check out Hannah & Hailey as well because they've been kind of congested and stuffy for a few days.  Turns out they ALL had fevers (I don't take their temp unless they're burning up), Emily has an ear infection and the other 2 each have a sinus infection. 

Emily's fever held steady between 103 and 104 (at one point it was 104.5) for the rest of the day.  This is WITH Tylenol and Motrin.  In the summer this would have been a no brainer - throw her in the pool and cool her down!  But today - it was only about 40 degrees so the pool wasn't an option.  Rather than risk the tub (a dangerous activity with 3 cranky toddlers and only one set of adult hands) we had some 'water play' fun.  I gave them each a bucket of cold water and opened up a box of macaroni.  Who knew they could cool off AND have fun at the same time?  They enjoyed putting the macaroni in the water and taking it back out again.  It was only time to call it an end to the fun when they started throwing hand fulls of water at each other LOL. 

On that note - in the pics on their blog you'll see a blanket on the table.  I keep a sheet and blanket that I use for pretty much EVERYTHING.  The blanket was on the table today because I knew how much water would get spilled and I needed something big enough to soak it all up (without having to stand over them with a towel).  When they paint or color or use play dough - I usually use the sheet.  I'll throw it on the ground outside or on the floor in the living room.  I'll use it to cover the table in the kitchen or even in the grocery cart at the grocery store (ok only once I had to that but I was glad I had the blanket in the car!).  Point being - this keeps me from having to worry about any mess they make.  They can make a mess all over themselves (they're washable!) and all over the blanket or sheet because I don't care if those get stained.  It saves our carpet and table from mass destruction!!!!! 

Hopefully they'll all wake up feeling better tomorrow.  It's been a rough week and it's only Wednesday. 

sleep?

The girls have been waking up every night, several times a night.  Last night I told myself I would make sure I remembered when they woke up.  Here it is:

I went to bed at midnight.  Right before going to sleep - Hannah woke up (she had a nightmare).

1:00 - Hailey woke up

1:30 - Emily woke up

4:00 - Hannah again

4:30 - Hailey again

5:30 - All of them were up for the day

It's like having newborns all over again.  I'm exhausted.  Pete's exhausted.  And to top it off - I think I have the flu now. 

Guess when I got my flu shot?  TODAY!  I tried to get it before but my insurance company wouldn't pay for me to get it at CVS so I had to make an appt at work at occupational medicine.  Today was the 1st appt they had.  I called 2 weeks ago. 

I'm going to look at the bright side...throwing up will help me jump start some weight loss. 

Snow

We woke up to a coat of slushy snow today.  I grabbed 3 buckets and a shovel and went out to get the kids some snow that we could play with in the house since it was way too cold out (and way too early).  The 1st thing Emily said was 'I eat it?'  Lol...yeah - you can eat it baby...but never eat the yellow snow. 

Pete had to leave for work by 7:00 today so it was an early start to the day.  After he left we played with the snow, ate (snow and breakfast), played with toys, ate more (the girls ate like little piggies today!) and eventually made it to nap time. 

After nap we colored eggs.  We had some egg coloring kits hanging around so we put them to use on this cold snowy day.  Who says eggs can only be colored on Easter?  We're an 'outside the box' kinda family! 

After we colored eggs we took a short drive to get out of the house for a few.  Then back home where Pete joined us shortly after.  We all had dinner and then it was time for baths and bed. 

The girls drove me NUTS today but I think it was me not them (for once).  Eh - tomorrow is another day.

Again!

I forgot to do the blog last night!!!! 

The girls and I went to Chuck E Cheese yesterday for Christina's bday party.  It was a good time for everyone and it tired the girls out so they took nice naps.

Last night after they went to bed I was just hanging out in my pj's.  My uncle text me at 10:00 to say 'meet me at Rookies'.   Rookies is a sports bar that's right down the street from me.  So I changed out of my pj's and met him there!  The rest is downhill from there.  Let's just say I had a great time - although I'm paying for it today.  And a big thank you to LB for coming to get me and saving me from walking home :)

Today...was a blur. 

The girls woke up, ate, took naps, played, and went to bed.  Not all at the same time but that pretty much sums it up. 

Ooops

I did post yesterday - just on the wrong blog.  Sorry!  But here it is:  http://luccotriplets.blogspot.com/

Today was another lovely day with cranky kids.  Emily is unreal lately.  She claims to not be able to move when she's on the floor. She'll say 'I'm stuck, can't get up.'  Or 'Can't move, help'  Sometimes it's funny but most times not really because she usually does it when it's time to do something. 

We went out to lunch with Owen and my brother Peter.  He called to see if we wanted to go to Stew Leonard's and surprisingly enough - it was really entertaining for the kids!  So we grabbed some food and ate in their dinning area then headed home.  The girls took naps - and it wasn't too long before Pete came home from work.

Off to meet my sister and niece for dinner at McD's (they have an indoor play area...gross but it lets them get out some energy).  We spent too much time there and ended up getting home really late.  So they're finally sleeping.  They did sleep all night last night so hopefully it's the start of a trend lol

Really?!?!

After the girls kept us up all freakin' night last night (for NO GOOD REASON) other than 'I want mommmmmyyy!' just to turn around and say 'I want daddddddyyyyy!'  Mostly Hailey.  She drives us NUTS with her attitude.  She will win any screaming contest hands down.  Even against me!  And she does not give up for anything.  GRRRRRRRRRR

Then this morning - as tired as I was since they were up until 12:30 screaming and then woke up at 5:30...I stumbled my way to getting them clothes to wear.  Well Emily refused to wear the shirt I picked out for her because it had pockets or polka dots or some crazy thing.  I picked it out of the laundry basket of clothes that I had just washed...she wore this SAME shirt 2 days ago!  It was JUST FINE 2 days ago.  GRRRRRR

So we manage to get through our morning and they woke up from their naps in pretty decent moods.  We waited for LB to get home from class and then we headed to the mall.  We had to do some shopping for Christina since tomorrow is her bday.  Well for some no good reason the mall turned into meltdown city for Hailey.  GRRRRRRRRRRR

We get home and Pete had dinner ready.  We ate, changed the girls into their pj's (another argument from Emily because she didn't want the pj's I chose) and then it was time for bed.  Bed time has been a battle lately.  The girls just cry and ask for me then ask for Pete and although we leave the room and say good night - they end up at the door screaming and eventually we have to go back in their.  GRRRRRRRRRRR

It's not easy to just let them cry because there are 3 of them and if even one of them is sleeping - while the other one is screaming...we don't want the one that's sleeping to wake up.  Plus Hailey is an angry little child so she becomes self destructive.  GRRRRRRRRRRR

Letter to my toddlers

Dear Hannah, Hailey & Emily,

I'm sorry.  I apologize for not knowing that even though the color red was acceptable for a shirt color yesterday - it no longer is acceptable today.  I am sorry I put your left foot in your pants 1st instead of your right.  I'm sorry I gave you the purple cup when you really wanted the yellow one, only to change your mind (after I caved and gave you the yellow) back to actually wanting the purple because that one is 'yours'.  I didn't know.  I also was unaware that sharing a couch cushion with you was conditional upon your mood. 

I'm sorry I took you to the park with 'too many' slides instead of the park with 12 slides.  And I assure you I didn't know that the Dora pajamas were too tight.  I'm sure they'll fit just fine tomorrow though!  I didn't know you wanted your socks put on before your shirt and I will do better to remember next time the order in which you prefer to get dressed. 

I apologized to the mailman, neighbor and neighbors dog on your behalf today.  Apparently they are no longer your friends (they were your friends yesterday so we were to assume that this was still the case today).   My bad. 

I will throw away ALL of the purple pop pops and the broken ones as well.  They shall be replaced with only the best of what you want....for the moment. 

Should you all decide to change your mind about anything else, or deem it necessary to point out my oversights via nuclear meltdowns - it will be ok with me.  Because I love you :) 

Love,
Mommy

Happy Halloween

Trick or treat!!!  The girls had a blast going trick or treat.  We took our 3 Princesses to 3 of our neighbors houses, yes only 3 houses.  We wanted to give them a taste of what Halloween is all about but they didn't need to circle the neighborhood.  Then we brought them to Grandma's house to spend the night so we could hit the town.  Well, Titi and Bobby took the girls trick or treating down 2 whole streets.  The girls had the best time.  Emily and Hailey got right to work they said trick or treat, got their candy and were ready for the next house.  Hannah had a little trouble she would just stand there after getting her candy.  Don't know what she was waiting for but all 3 of them filled their buckets and were so proud of their loot.  Of course being 2 year olds they can't eat all the candy so I'll be glad to eat it all, lol.