Memorial Day Parade

I took the girls to a Memorial Day Parade today.  My friend Lucy lives right on the street the parade goes down so we had prime seating.  I remembered the parade I took them to back in March - they didn't score any candy because we were too far back and no one was 'throwing' candy at that parade.  They just kind of handed it out and since weren't sitting on the curb...we didn't get any.  With our prime spot today - I figured the girls would be able to get a little bit (probably just enough to make them happy little parade goers.).   But little did I know they would score a TON OF LOOT.  I'm not sure if it was because they are triplets and they were dressed exceptionally cute today (and all were matching) or if it was just the parade itself.  But they did score a lot of it. 

Dressing them alike wasn't planned for the parade.  I actually had no idea about the parade until I was on my way to the gym and my friend called to tell me about it.  So I turned around, came back home, got the kids and left.  The problem with dressing them alike is the attention it attracts.  The girls aren't very fond of the attention and they're starting to show their dislike of complete strangers telling them how pretty and cute they are.  Before the parade began - someone came up and SAT ON OUR BLANKET right next to them.  She started talking to them and Emily slowly turned herself around so her back was to the woman.  None of them said a word.  The woman left.  The people sitting directly next to us kept trying to get her daughter to come and play with the 'cute little triplets' but the girls were just content to sit on the blanket and wait for the parade to start so they didn't want to play.  During the parade - we were pelted with candy...and lots of it.  People saw the girls and for some reason felt the need to inundate them with sugary goodness.  There was also a guy that walked up with a camera and started taking pictures of the girls (he wasn't part of any news station or newspaper...just a random guy).  Someone that was sitting behind us but also part of 'our' crowd looked at me and said "That gets pretty annoying huh?"  Yeah - and it's only been 45 minutes. 

After the parade we headed to Friendly's for lunch.  More comments, and even an interrupted lunch by the manager who came over to say "Wow!  You don't see that often!"  My reply was "Actually I see it everyday."  People point and say "TRIPLETS!?", people stop other people their with to make them turn around and look, people come up and talk to us asking inappropriate questions.  I love people...for the most part.  But days like today I'm not a big fan.  The girls aren't big fans either - and it's no wonder why. 

Aside from all the interruptions...we had a fantastic time.  The girls loved the parade and we all had a nice lunch.  Hopefully they get to sleep early tonight since they didn't nap today!!!!

Not ALL better

I don't intentionally let this blog go unattended for days at a time.  I'm just BUSY!  And by the end of the night I'm tired and don't feel like even turning the computer on.  It's 8:44 and I JUST NOW finished my day and sat down. 

Tuesday and Wednesday Emily was sick.  She was throwing up and had a high fever.  Wednesday afternoon (yesterday) Pete came home sick.  Fever, throwing up and diarrhea.  He's still sick today and spent the day in bed. 

That leaves Hailey, me and LB.  Lord help us if I get sick..........

So since Pete was home sick I figured I'd take the girls out of the house today and let him puke in peace (I know...the niceness is just drooling off of me).  My plan was to keep them busy all day and be nap free so they'd go to bed early tonight. 

We got up, chilled out for a bit, gave them baths, got 'em dressed and headed to the mall.  We hung around the mall for a while and then came home just long enough to use the potty and grab the wagon.  We then headed to the park where we fed the fish, played in the sand and swung on the swings.  We'd have stayed longer but Hailey pooped her pants.  (see above in this same paragraph where we DID IN FACT come home to use the potty!).  So we left and came home.

I was frustrated with Hailey and when we got home LB was home.  He was about to go upstairs to take a shower but I said "You have to wait.  Hailey shit her pants." So as I'm bringing Hailey upstairs he says to her "What happened?"  Hannah was all to eager to answer that with "She shit her pants.  She just shit herself."  HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!  I think my stomach hurts still from laughing so hard.  No worries - I explained that she is NEVER to use that word again.  (After I was done laughing my ass off).  I think what makes it so funny is the innocence that comes with it. 

Ok - I finished changing them (Hannah decided it was ok to shit herself while I was cleaning Hailey) and then we went back outside to play.  We didn't really come back in until around 4:30.  The girls played for a bit and LB went to the store with Kristin to get stuff for the grill for dinner.  I gave the girls another bath (it was needed) and then we all (sans Pete) sat down for dinner.  Even Rosemary came over to join us for some food!!!! 

The girls went to bed no problems tonight but it wasn't until 7:00.  My plan to get them in bed early failed.  But it's ok - I'm hoping they sleep thru the night and wake up around 8:00.......hoping. lol

Tomorrow I'm working all day cleaning so the girls are going to Pete's moms house.  He will be home again from work I'm sure.  He's still pretty sick :(

Ok - see how time flies?  It's now 8:58.  I have 2 episodes of Las Vegas that I really want to watch!  So I'm watching them NOW!

All better!

Hannah is BETTER!  SWEEEEEEEEET!  And the other 2 are good so far............

Emily is a beast lately with her attitude.  She seems to think the world revolves around her and everyone here is here to serve only her.  The way she speaks to me is unreal sometimes.  "I need a napkin."  So I'll say "Excuse me?" trying to prompt her to use nicer words.  She'll say "I SAID I NEED A NAPKIN."  Ugh.  I really do use nice words when requesting them to do something so I'm not sure where she gets this attitude.............lol

Hopefully on the road to recovery

After 3 full days and 3 full nights of nothing but puking and diarrhea - I think Hannah is on the road to recovery.  She woke up today with her bossy attitude and was hungry/thirsty.  YAY!  She still hasn't peed yet but she only had 2 loose poops and that was earlier in the day.  Let's hope this is IT and the other 2 don't get it but....I'm a realist so I'm on the 'wait and see' list. 

This morning Pete and I split up so we could divide and conquer.  I took Hailey & Emily to church while he took Hannah to the grocery store.  After church I took the 2 I had to the mall where we met up with my friend Kim.  We didn't stay too long - then we met up with Pete and Hannah at home.  

Now after nap - it's time the them to go to Pete's parents for dinner and for my 'me' time.  I think I'm headed out with my older bro to go play BINGO!  Yay!!!!!! 

Tomorrow starts a new week.  I need patience.  This week really took a toll on me in terms of having patience with the girls.  We were stuck inside all week due to the weather.  Plus Thu and Fri I had 1 sick kid while the other 2 were full of energy.  THAT is something I wasn't prepared for.  It's gonna take some working on but I'll figure something out for when this happens again. 

Hannah is sickie

At 1:00 this morning Hannah woke up and was crying (per usual night routine).  We did the whole "ignore her and she'll go back to sleep" thing but eventually she said "I threw up."  So I got up - and I was pissed because I thought she threw up from crying.  But I changed her, her bed sheets, cleaned her up and calmed her down before putting her back to bed.  I went back to bed and about 25 minutes later she threw up again.  This is the 'f*ck she's really sick' moment.  And this time she needed to get a bath in addition to changing her sheets and clothes.  I think it was around 3:30 when I was able to fall asleep again. 

Pete went to work (lucky guy) and I got to stay home with the girls.  I was totally preparing myself for the worst.  But really it worked out ok.  All 3 of them sat and watched cartoons for almost 3 hours today (this has NEVER been done before!).  But today was a TV day for sure.  Hannah threw up (dry heaving) most of the day and eventually I called the doctor to have something called in for her.  They called in some Zofran and after she had 1 dose it worked :)

The other 2 were really receptive to the fact that Hannah was sick and they kinda just hung out on their own.  I expected a ton of competition when it came to attention but it didn't turn out that way.  They also were very kind to Hannah and getting her anything her little heart desired - though she was too sick to take full advantage of it! 

I'm hoping that this doesn't pass through the whole house but only time will tell. 

On a better note:  Here's a conversation I had with Emily yesterday (or the day before...I can't remember).

Me: "Emily would you PLEASE pick up your crayons off the floor."
Emily: "I need to think about it.  It depends on your attitude mom." 

Triplet Play Date

We had a triplet play date today with the Dudley trio.  We've seen them once before but it's been way too long - and we need to do it more often.  She has BBG trips and they ALL had a blast.  We went to McD's for lunch - and then headed to Bounce U where they ran NON STOP.  The girls were quick to fall asleep tonight :)  And I enjoyed the company of an adult :)

Dogs ARE our friends

I don't know where the time goes.  I didn't realize I hadn't blogged since Tuesday and now it's already Friday.  Time flies for sure.

The girls and I have been having fun and enjoying the weather.  During the day we usually have been walking to the park once in the morning and then again after their nap.  There is a huge sandbox there so they haven't even been playing on the playscape - just playing in the sandbox.  And feeding the fish in the pond on our way out of the park has become part of our routine also.

When we walk - no matter where we're walking - we pass many many many dogs.  I've learned that people with dogs on a leash are very fond of their pups and no matter what kind of reaction the girls have we get the same response "Oh MY dog is friendly - he/she won't bite!"  But the fact is that I'm not worried about your dog.  It's simply that Hannah and Hailey have such a fear of dogs that they freak out when a dog comes near them.  So I always walk up to the dog in advance and make sure to grab the lead at the collar and make friends.  BUT I'm one step ahead also - we now carry a bag of dog treats.  And the YUMMY ones!  So I ask if my girls can give the dog a treat and explain we're trying to get over a fear of dogs and giving them treats seems to help.  I haven't had a single person say no yet.  And the girls have been awesome.  They look forward to seeing dogs on our walk!  Now instead of  the whining and crying when a dog is close - they are scrambling to find their bag of treats so they can get it ready.  They won't get out of the wagon to pet the dogs yet but I'm sure that time will come.  I'm just happy we found a way to ease the fear a bit.  :)

The girls are talking so much more lately.  The conversations are really intriguing.  They're realizing that not everything has to be taken literally (mostly Hannah is catching on to this).  But they also have quite the imagination.  Today Emily asked Hannah and Hailey to do something and they said no.  So she picked up her phone and said "Hi Santa.  Hannah and Hailey aren't listening to me."  LOL

Mother's Day

It's been a busy weekend (when are our days not busy?).  Mother's Day was special - we had breakfast with my family at the diner, then headed to church, then had a BBQ and then off to the in laws for dinner over there.  Packed full of fun and family! 

Yesterday the girls and I walked to the park in the morning before nap.  Then after nap we walked back to the park and beyond...for ice cream.  After that - we had a quick play date with a neighbor and then it was off to Alex's softball game.  BUSY DAY  But bedtime was smooth :)

Today the girls are going to Pete's moms house and then when I pick them up we're headed to the doctor for Hailey's check up after surgery.  She's really amazing - never complained once about her incisions.  They seem to be healing well so I suspect today's appt will be rather quick. 

Hannah can't walk?

This morning Hannah woke up and couldn't (wouldn't) put pressure on her left foot.  After some deliberation - I decided not to bring her to the ER and wait for the doctors office to open at 9:15.  They got her in to be seen at 11:00 by which time she was walking of course.  But she wasn't walking normal...more like a shuffle walk.  We headed over to have an xray after the appt with the doc and that came back normal.  So it looks like she may just have a virus in her hip...but who knows.  We went through this same thing with Emily about 2 years ago.  Never a dull moment.....

The day went like this:

Up at 6:30 - Pete showers 1st then I jump in the shower.  The kids usually wake up and come crawl into bed with me and that's where they stay until I'm finished getting myself ready.

7:00 Pete leaves for work

7:30 The girls get up out of my bed and I get them dressed and ready for the day.  On bath days we stay in our pj's until after bath. 

8:00 Downstairs for milk (they still like it warmed up so that's what I do) and a bowl of dry cereal.

8:45 Bath time for them, I drink my coffee while they 'soak' in the tub.  After bath I dry their hair, cut their toe and finger nails (usually only every other week this gets done), get them dressed, they head back downstairs to play while I clean up the bath mess.  This whole process usually takes between an hour to an hour and 1/2.  We don't rush because we don't have to :)  But today we did cuz we had to be to the doctor by 11:00.

10:15 We leave for the doctor.

11:15  We see the doctor.  She gives us a req to have xray which is in a different part of town so we head right over.

12:00 We arrive for the xray.  We get the xray around 12:30 but have to wait even longer for it to be read so we don't leave there until 1:00. 

1:15 We drive thru McD's for nuggets and fries before we head home.

1:30 We arrive home but only long enough to use the potty and get the wagon.

1:45 We're back out the door with McD's in hand.  Kids are in the wagon, I'm pulling them while they eat...and we head to the park.  From the park we walk to Baskin Robbins for ice cream.  On the way home from the park we stop and feed the ducks in the pond. 

4:15 We get home just in time to 'beat Daddy home' and start getting ready for dinner. 

5:30 We eat dinner and head back outside for a few just long enough to put away our wagon and  pick up a few things in the yard.

6:30 Pj's and bed by 7:00. 

7:30 I leave again to go to a friends house.  They just bought a house and are in the demo stages of rebuilding.  I didn't do much in the way of helping tonight but it was nice to get out for a bit.

9:30 I'm home and now it's 10:30 and I'm ready for bed. 

Oh - I also called the American Red Cross to make an appt to donate blood.  The person who answered the phone said "Thank you for calling the American Red Cross.  This is Katrina..."  LOL 

TALK DIRTY to me!

Yup - I started my cleaning business again.  Seems there's a lot of competition out there so I need an edge in advertising.  So my ad starts with TALK DIRTY to me!  And people seem to like it :)  I won't be putting it on Craigs List though lol. 

I won't be cleaning full time....that would defeat the purpose of being a stay at home mom.  For now I'll be cleaning 2 days a week.  My goal is to mainly clean businesses.  I can clean businesses on nights and weekends when they're closed.  When I clean houses people usually want to be away from home while I'm there so I'm cleaning during the day.  But for now I'll take what I can get and make some $ to contribute to our ever growing list of 'needs'.  The girls will visit Grandma when I'm cleaning also.  I won't take them with me (not fun for them!).  What I like about cleaning is that I can do it on my own schedule and when I'm done - I can leave.  I don't have to clock in and clock out and make myself look busy until it's 'time' to leave. 

Shut the F^ck up...please.

The girls and I were very busy today.  But rather than chronicle our day - I'm going to blog about some things that people say....that they SHOULDN'T. 

1st - we walked to D&D this morning (well I walked...they rode in their wagon).  This is a great trip for us as it's 1 mile there and 1 mile back.  I get my exercise and they get donuts.  This will be a trip we make often since there's also a Baskin Robbins in the same plaza :)

Anyway - while in line at D&D the girls were playing around the stands that hold the line divider.  I have no problem with what they are doing since they're NOT doing anything wrong.  However the guy working behind the counter felt it necessary to say in a scolding voice "Oh my God - you guys need to be careful!"  Ummm...no.  I'm sweating, thirsty and about to spend money at your store.  You are NOT going to overstep your boundaries.  So I say to him "As their mother I can tell you we're all set...we got this.  They are just fine with what they're doing."  In my head I followed that up with "Now get my damn donuts and shut the F^ck up."  But I didn't. 

Then we went to 2 hospitals today to visit people.  At one hospital a drug rep walked by us while we were standing at the information booth.  This drug rep came back and handed THE GIRLS each a bag of fruit snacks and then said "I'm giving these to you because you're the most beautiful girls I've seen all day!"  I'm sure he meant well.  But look at it from my point of view.  How the hell am I suppose to get these girls NOT take shit from strangers?!?!  As if that wasn't bad enough - before I could get a word in - the woman giving me the info I requested said "Oh - those are like gummy...you better make sure they can chew them."  No shit lady.  Thanks...now shut the F^ck up.

Now - I'm not saying I don't appreciate the things people give to the girls. The lady at the information booth gave the girls balloons on our way out.  Plus - I, myself, took a pretzel from a complete stranger at the parade we went to.  But with all due fairness - she ASKED ME if the girls could have it and she handed it to ME.  I explained to the girls today that they NEVER eat anything from anyone unless they ask me 1st. 

Later in the day we went to the library.  I'm standing at the counter waiting for the librarian to get off the phone.  The girls are handing on the counter like monkeys swinging from a tree branch.  But they were being quiet and weren't doing anything WRONG.  The GROWN ADULT guy standing behind me in line says "Oh I think it would be more fun to CLIMB UP ONTO THE COUNTER!"  The girls stopped dead in their tracks, looked at him, looked at me, and went back to swinging.  But he didn't leave it alone.  He kept telling them to climb onto the counter.  Then he walked over and tried to show them HOW to get up on the counter.  I had to intervene.  So I said "They will get into trouble for doing that.  And they know they will get into trouble."  So he took his place back in line and said back to me "If I were their older brother - you wouldn't like me too much."  I soooooo wanted to say "I don't like you now so shut the F^ck up!"  But I didn't. 

Then the librarian gets off the phone.  She's getting me my library card and says "Twins."  Not a question...a statement.  So I say "Triplets."  In the same tone of voice.  She says "Well I don't see the 3rd one."  Ummm...does this mean she doesn't exist?  Lol  Then she looks around her computer, sees 'the 3rd one' and proceeds to say in the same matter of fact tone "I guess you're done."  Wow!  Thanks for helping with that life decision for me!  Now shut the F^ck up!

During our travels today someone also called Emily fat...to her face.  It was "Oh look at her...she's the fat one!"  The Lord must have held my tongue and my arms at the same time because this woman is still alive.  I quickly replied "She's healthy.  And she's also only in the 50th %ile for weight.  She's also tall.  She's beautiful and she's smart."  Now shut the F^ck up!  I can't react in these situations because then the girls will react and that's not what I want for them.  Every minute of every day has to be a lesson.  I guess today's lesson was patience. 

I'm used to the comments.  I'm numb to the regular insults.  But sometimes I wish I could speak what's on MY mind to these people. 

I guess I just know that I'm more aware of what I say sometimes.  I know that advice isn't always wanted or warranted.  I know that some days I do in fact look like the nanny more than the mom.  But I'm human.  And most times these comments hurt.  When you see someone that has 3 kids...would you say "I guess you're done."  No.  You would NEVER look at a grown woman and say 'She's fat!' in front of her face.  So why do it to my child? 

The girls are smart.  They pick up on EVERY SINGLE THING THAT I SAY OR DO.  EVERYTHING. 
If I can model patience and understanding then I hope they will have some of that to carry with them.  But at the same time - I need to find a balance so they don't get walked all over.  They MUST find a voice of their own and be able to speak what's on their mind.  Finding that balance will be difficult but I won't stop trying.

But I might tell some people to shut the F^ck up along the way....

Oh boy

Where does the time go?  I don't intentionally mean to leave the blog unattended for days at a time.  It just happens that way these days.  We had a great weekend.  It wasn't busy! 

Hailey is recovering from her surgery just fine.  She doesn't complain at all that anything hurts and we haven't had to give her any of her medicine since the day she actually came home from the hospital. The other 2 are very careful to be gentle with her. 

My friend Lucy is moving (they bought a house!!!!) and so we spent some time there Friday and Saturday helping to move.  The girls were so funny because she bought them toy golf clubs and while we were at the old house, which was almost empty, the girls thought their golf clubs were vacuums.  So while we were cleaning...the girls were going all over the house 'vacuuming'.  LMFAO

Saturday we helped out a bit more but not until after the girls woke up from their 4 hour naps.  That was nice :)

Today we had Carl's 1st communion so we headed to church...where Emily & Hailey were beasts.  They are always good in church.  The one day we NEED them to be quiet - they weren't.  Ah well.  After church we came home so the girls could eat and sleep and then I cleaned the house while Pete mowed the lawn. 

Then it was time for a BBQ!!!!!!  I love having a house and being able to have a BBQ outside with friends and family! 

The girls are driving me NUTZ lately with their attitudes.  Lately the new thing is NO.  It's not the word itself...it's HOW they say it.  GRRRRRRRRRRRRR