365 DAYS IN OUR SHOES

Countdown to 4

2012-02-08T08:34:00.000-05:00

I can't believe my babies will be 4 this month *sigh*. They're not quite sure what to make of their bday yet. Each year we've had big parties for them but they don't seem to remember. This is the 1st year we are having a 'kid' bday party for them with their friends and cousins. We will be partying it up at the bowling ally where all the kids will get to play t-bowl and all the adults will get to enjoy pizza and soda while watching the kids bowl. (This was a very thought out plan. When I attended my nieces 5th bday party I noticed parents were dropping off their kids - AND LEAVING. This gave me heart palpitations and I swore off bday parties from that moment forward. However; after some thought and a few drinks...I realized that there must be a way around this. So in the invitations I made it clear that there will be pizza and soda for all the parents to enjoy while being able to watch their kids bowl and have a good time. So far the plan is working.....LOL).

The next day will be a smaller than usual party at the house for the girls. More pizza and soda and maybe a few pasta dishes. If you ask the girls what they want for their bday - Hannah & Hailey say they don't know. Emily though...she wants the following "Christmas cards, Easter cards, toys and candy." Yes - she is insisting on getting Christmas cards and Easter cards. So feel free to send some along to her. I have no idea where or why this idea is stuck in her head but I promise you she will go out and buy her own if she doesn't get any. I love her determination and persistence...it's admirable.

Pete and I were planning to buy the girls each a motorized car (the big ones you see at Toys R Us). However; I'm thinking we can find some used (I know one is coming to us from my cousin) and since they're so expensive we're going to hold off. Instead - we bought the girls a set of bunk beds (and again we are also getting a set from my cousin...thank God for hand me downs!). The new bunk we bought is going to be absolutely perfect because the bottom is a full size futon. This means that when the girls are sick I no longer have to make them sleep on the couch with me. I can sleep on the futon in their room and let them be comfortable in their own beds (they don't like sleeping anywhere BUT their beds and complain constantly when I make them sleep on the couch).

They got report cards at school. Seriously. I don't even know what to say about this lol. I'm happy about their marks and remarks though there is one area they are in need of improvement and that's socialization. They're having a hard time separating from each other in the class room and playing with other kids. If one is separated into another group - she will play but it'll be alone. They don't initiate conversation or play with others. I'm not surprised by this - and I'm not even sure if it's something that needs to be addressed or if it'll just play itself out in time. There is only 1 class for each grade in the school they're in. Separate classrooms is out (which is fine by me!). I may talk to the teacher and ask if it would be possible to let each one join the PreK 4 class once a week on their own. They can each spend a day with the students there and not be focused on where or what their sisters are doing in the room. But again - I'm not sure. This is my 1st time at the rodeo - I don't have all the answers! Hopefully the teachers will have some helpful feedback. The teacher in the PreK 4 room is a teacher they had (and love) at the beginning of the school year. They still see her everyday and are very comfortable with her. If this weren't the case I probably wouldn't even consider the idea.

The girls have been sick for the better part of 2 weeks now. It all started with the stomach virus and ended up moving to croup, then sinus infections and ear infections. Today is the 1st day they ALL seem better :) Man I can't wait for summer!

Miss Donna

2012-01-27T21:11:00.000-05:00

Donna - if you're reading this I MISS YOU!!!!! I have been thinking about you a lot lately. I think back to the day when you showed up at my door and you did nothing but help and listen from that point on. There was NEVER a moment when I felt that you judged me and when you were around I always felt as though you understood me. You knew how to juggle triplets like no other!!!!!!!! But more importantly you kept me sane more time than you know. :)

Bit of everything

2012-01-27T21:01:00.000-05:00

The girls will be 4 in less than a month. I don't know why but 4 seems to be taking a toll on me. I didn't mind when they turned 1,2 or 3. But 4...it's almost like I'm losing my babies :( They're becoming little people with their own opinions and their own personalities are really starting show. Mostly what I'm noticing is that they don't need me as much anymore. Emily especially. She's so damn independent it drives me nuts. It's the small things too - like the other day I handed them each a juice box. Before I turned around - she had her straw in the box and was drinking...no help required putting it together. I know how silly this looks reading it. But at the moment - it broke my heart.

I also don't see ANYBODY lately unless they happen to knock on my door and walk in. I work when the girls are in school and once I pick them up it's like time just flies by and all of a sudden it's time for dinner and bed. Those few hours everyday are what I am cherishing most though. I am able to spend time with the girls doing things I wouldn't otherwise have time for if I were still working full time. Today - we printed out some coloring pages online, colored them, put stickers on them and then cut them into little pieces with scissors *that they no longer need help with :( After that I painted their fingernails and then they put on makeup...a lot of makeup lol. Then I gave them a bath. Where they told me they didn't need me to wash them up because they could do it alone. It's all these little things that are making me realize that 4 is just too old!!!!!!

I want my babies back.

The stomach bug returns

2012-01-27T08:07:00.000-05:00

Well its been 2 years since the girls had the stomach bug. Hannah spent 6 hours puking last night. Not fun. Reset the counter.

We are almost 4!

2012-01-19T08:21:00.000-05:00

My my time fly. In about four weeks we will have 4 year olds. WOW

Proud mom

2012-01-09T22:00:00.001-05:00

The girls have music classes at school. Recently they had a Xmas concert. They had to get all dressed up and go out on stage with the rest of their class and with the Pre-K 4 students. During the concert there 3 kids that didn't sing a single word. Not one sound. I knew that the girls knew all the songs because they had been singing them for WEEKS alllllllll day long. But they must have gotten stage fright. I was still happy to see them with their class. They stayed where they were suppose to and they followed all directions. They just opted out of singing.

Today they came home from school and upon emptying out their bags I found certificates from their music teacher. They EACH sang a song in front of their class ALL BY THEMSELVES!!!!!!! Hannah was so excited to tell me how she sang "so loud mommy!". This is a huge step for them and I'm proud of all 3 of them.

I'd also like to give their music teacher a high five for acknowledging their accomplishment. She didn't have to send home a certificate but I'm sure glad she did :)

Moment of pure Love

2011-12-20T21:00:00.000-05:00

"So I had a moment at lunch time today with Hailey. When they were babies I used to rock, mainly Hailey, to sleep in my arms and now that they're little people she's quick to jump out of my arms. But I picked her up today and I told her how I used to rock her and for like 10 minutes she went limp in my arms and I rocked her and hummed xmas songs and she was falling asleep. I had tears in my eyes. I just wanted to bottle that moment up."

Love,
Titi

O M G

2011-12-18T07:45:00.001-05:00

Blogger has FINALLY gone mobile!!!!! They have an app for iPhone now and that means I don't have to log into the computer to blog.

Much more blogging to come....

It's Christmas time in the Lucco house

2011-12-07T13:08:00.000-05:00

My, my time is flying. The girls hit the road with daddy for Thanksgiving. Road tripped to New Jersey to have Thanksgiving with the Lucco's. The girls did awesome they didn't fuss in the car, no crying in the hotel, and no melt downs staying up later than usual. Titi came with and we took the girls to the swimming pool in the hotel. This was a must per the girls request. The girls have visited Santa multiple times at the mall. We all had breakfast with Santa at my (daddy's) work. The whole gang daddy, mommy, Grandpa, Uncle Joey, and Kristin all went to a tree farm and we picked a really big tree to be our first x-mas tree in our new house. That brings us up to date. Sort of, I'm sure I'm leaving out a bunch of stuff.

Mommy update - She had PRK corrective eye surgery so things are a little blurry right now.

Things to come- The girls all have green snot and are going to the doctor today. Here we go again.

Peace out, DAD

Santa

2011-11-14T16:11:00.000-05:00

Pete took the girls to see Santa yesterday. They all saw him - Emily & Hannah sat on his lap and I think Hailey stood next to him. That's progress from last year when it took us about 8 trips to the mall before they would actually go near him. On their way home Hailey said she needed to go back to see him because she forgot to ask for an iPhone.

Today after school we came home, made lunch, hit the park for a picnic and some play time and then headed to the mall to see Santa again. Hailey was standing in front of him (there was no one in line and no one around...we just stood around Santa and had a pow wow...lol) and said "I forgot to ask for an iPhone!" as if he was deaf. Then that was followed up by Emily saying "And I want a Cat. A REAL CAT!!!" Ohhhh my goooooodnesssssss!!!!!!!!!! I interjected and said how Santa doesn't bring REAL animals and this mall Santa caught on quick and agreed.

I must say - their excitement about Santa this year is very contagious. While walking through the mall they couldn't contain themselves. The laughter and giggling and skipping and screaming...all totally worth every minute.

Storm of 2011

2011-11-12T16:04:00.000-05:00

So as if being down and out for 3 weeks with all of us being sick wasn't enough...we had a snow storm on Oct 29th that wiped out power to most of the state. Yes - about the entire state of CT was WITHOUT power. Night 1 the girls were at my cousin Jens house while Pete and I were home (and freezing). Night 2 Pete took the girls to his parents house and I stayed with a friend. Nights 3 & 4 were spent in a hotel room. We booked night 5 in the hotel but by that point we decided to take off to VA and visit my niece. We had preplanned this trip but just decided to go earlier since we were a waste of space here anyway. Pete stayed in the hotel on night 5...the girls slept in the car on the 10 hour drive to VA on night 5. Nights 6, 7, 8 & 9 were spent in VA at cousin Christina's house. And finally night 10 was spent sleeping in the car on the 10 hour ride home. Let's break that down in list form:
NIGHT 1:   JENN'S HOUSE
NIGHT 2: PETE'S PARENTS
NIGHT 3: HOTEL
NIGHT 4: HOTEL
NIGHT 5: CAR
NIGHT 6: COUSIN CHRISTINA'S
NIGHT 7: COUSIN CHRISTINA'S
NIGHT 8:   COUSIN CHRISTINA'S
NIGHT 9:   COUSIN CHRISTINA'S
NIGHT 10: CAR

I was SPENT from the driving, sleeping everywhere but home, dealing with 3 kids on the road, eating out and just being misplaced. BUT we did it and we did it with ease. There were no major problems or complications. And I learned that the girls travel just fine. They did wonderful in the car!  Pete turned their car seats rear facing for the duration of the VA trip so that when they slept in the car they were more comfortable. They didn't complain about being rear facing either! I also learned that hotels should have a kid friendly FLOOR. And it should be a 1st floor. And it should be sound proof.

The schools were closed the entire week PLUS Mon and Tue the next week due to power lines and trees making unsafe conditions for the kids to be at bus stops or walking to school. And Halloween was cancelled!   Well that's what Mother Nature does - she just creeps up and disrupts the likes of what we call routine and schedule.

We're back to the grind and slowly getting back on track. Just in time for the holidays.....

Kryptonite

2011-10-25T21:12:00.002-04:00

I do believe that the little kid germs from school just may be my kryptonite! I. GOT. SICK. I never get sick with what the girls have but this time I got hit and hit hard. The good news is that we are ALL back on the road to recovery after 3 weeks of crud.

IT'S NOT EVEN WINTER

2011-10-17T16:21:00.000-04:00

Last week I had to bring the girls to the doctor. They were all sick. This week - THEY ARE ALL STILL SICK. Today they all had appts at the dentist. We kept those appts (since Hailey busted her face and chipped a tooth - we needed to be seen). And I made appts for them to see the pediatrician this afternoon because they are all still coughing so bad.

We left the house at 9:30 this morning. They were all seen at the dentist and had their teeth clean. NO CAVITIES YAY! Hailey's tooth may/may not change color but it's not going to affect her since it's her baby tooth. We left the dentist around 11:30 and went to have lunch at McD's (with a playscape). After lunch we headed to the doctor. They ALL have bronchitis. (Yup...all those moms at the playscape can certainly thank me now...ooops). Off to the pharmacy we went to fill prescriptions. Then finally home at 4:00. IT WAS A LONG DAY. I'm tired. The kids are tired. But they were very good all day long. I couldn't have asked for better behaved children under the circumstances.

With that said - they will be home from school again tomorrow. They haven't been to school since last Wednesday (Emily hasn't been since last Tuesday). So this is going to be a loooong winter...I can tell already.

Stranger Danger

2011-10-13T13:27:00.000-04:00

WTH is with society today? What part of "talk to my 3 year old" sounds "acceptable"?   I get it. There are 3 of them. I know this because EVERY DAY I WAKE UP AND THEY'RE CALLING ME MOMMY! But that doesn't mean it's ok for YOU to talk to them as if you're friends. It's been a fine line to walk between 'stranger danger' and 'being rude'. I tell them not to talk to strangers yet I'm telling them to say 'hi' when people talk to us. No more. Our new phrase is "I'm sorry but Mommy told me I can't talk to strangers." That's it. I'm not longer willing to be nice because I can't afford to be. I can't risk them getting comfortable enough to make me worry when we're out in public.

Every single day we practice (I drill) the following:

"What happens if someone asks you to pet their puppy?"
     "We say No Thank you - we can pet Marla at home. And then we run away fast and scream!"
"What happens if someone asks you to see their kitten?"
     "We say No Thank you - and run away fast and scream!"
"What happens if someone tries to take you?"
     "We throw ourselves all around the place and scream and yell and bite until we get away!"

I also tell them:
"Who's allowed to touch your boobies or vagina?"
    "Only me and no one else."
"What happens if someone does touch you there?"
     "I'm gonna tell Mommy or Daddy RIGHT AWAY!"
"What can you tell Mommy?"
     "Everything!"
"Who loves you more than Mommy?" (hehehehe I love being mom)
     "NO ONE!" Unless they're feeling giddy and then they'll say any name under the sun except mine! LOL but they get the point.

I don't want to teach them these things. I want to teach them that the world is a safe place and full of love. But that wouldn't be fair. I have to teach them that home is safe and home is love...but when we're out we need to be cautious.

At home - if the doorbell rings - my girls come running to ME...not the door. If someone walks in - they're very cautious to approach until they know who it is. And I'm totally fine with this. I want them to know that the world ISN'T all good. I need them to be prepared for when they're independent and on their own. I can't protect them forever so I need to prepare them. I know how over the top this all sounds but when broken down into bits and pieces - it's really not. It's simply making sure they have the knowledge to carry with them when I'm not around.

New Day

2011-10-13T13:12:00.000-04:00

Yesterday SUCKED. I'm thankful for a new day. All of the girls are sick - 2 with croup, one with asthma and Hailey fell and busted her face yesterday. She chipped her front tooth also. What a mess of a day..................

But today is new. So we're just going to move forward. Nothing we can do to fix yesterday so we can only hope today is better.

Blog?

2011-10-09T21:36:00.000-04:00

Who has a blog? Me? I do? OH!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! My bad......

The girls have been doing wonderful in school. They don't really give me too much trouble in the morning anymore. When we get to the classroom Emily still holds on to my leg as if I can't see or feel her and I may just leave with her attached to me. But the tears are far and few between and they are enjoying the new activities, new friends and new environment. All in all it's going well.

We've been spending our afternoons going places and having fun. When I pick the girls up from school I ask them to 'give me their naps' and I 'put them in my pocket'. If they start to act cranky - I can take their nap out and give it back to them which means stopping what we're doing and going home to take naps. But I'm also smart enough to know that everyone has to have their moment so I don't jump on them the second they act up. I give them time to 'calm themselves down' and usually this is enough to get through the day. They've been doing well without naps so we'll see how it goes.

I'll work on another post about stranger danger. It's so hard to walk that line!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Happy Birthday

2011-09-29T08:05:00.000-04:00

Daddy here. The girls wanted me to post a very BIG HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO MOMMY!!!
We love you and think you are the best mom in the whole world. We love all the fun things you do with us, the walks, the park, the mall. Emily says she loves the mall the most. Thank you for making our lives super fun.

Love,
Hannah, Hailey, Emily

PS: Happy Birthday, I love you too. O-|->

Tattle Tails

2011-09-22T20:42:00.000-04:00

Yup...we have 'em. The girls will run and tell on each other about everything. Most times I say "Hmmm...sounds like something you can work out on your own." But there are instances that need some intervention - like hitting. Hitting seems to be a big thing lately. I'm not a fan - but not much I can do except try to curb the behavior. Hitting them back isn't an option (really doesn't even need an explanation does it?). But sometimes the tattling gets out of control. "Mommy!!!!!!!!! She did ____ to me!!!!" as they do whatever was done to them...and 10x harder I'm sure. It's funny sometimes but other times is just plain annoying. My patience wears thin and I think they sense that and feed off me....ugh.

School is amazing. They are coming home singing songs and talking about their day. They love it! Gym, music, the library...even the bathroom trips (there isn't a bathroom in their classroom - they have to make trips to use the potty!). The teacher has also told me that she separated the girls into separate groups. So although they're in the same classroom - they aren't always doing the same activity. I LOVE this idea and it seems to be working well for the girls.

Kisses?

2011-09-19T19:54:00.000-04:00

I dropped the girls off at school today and they walked away...no tears and NO KISSES GOODBYE FOR MOMMY! They just went to sit down at their table to get the day started. I could have gone over to them and kissed them goodbye - but I just know that would have started something so I left. But man...I guess I have to watch what I wish for.

STAND STILL

2011-09-17T13:53:00.000-04:00

If you've ever tried getting a child dressed then you know it's an event. There's always something more important to be doing besides standing there getting your clothes on. The other night I was trying to get Emily into her pj's. She was everywhere but where I needed her to be. I'd get one pant leg in and then she's pulling away to pick up a piece of paper...... Finally I yelled at her and said "EMILY! GET OVER HERE, STAND STILL AND GET YOUR PJ'S ON NOW!" She promptly stomped over to me, grabbed my face between her hands and yelled right back "IT'S NOT EASY!" Guess I never considered how hard it is to stand still when you're 3...............

4th graders!

2011-09-15T19:54:00.000-04:00

When I picked the girls up at school yesterday the teacher told me that the pre-k 3 class had a visit from the 4th graders. Apparently the girls didn't like this at all and proceeded to have a triple meltdown. Hailey informed me that someone tried to hold her hand lol. I am guessing that when you're in the 4th grade - a bunch of preschoolers look like live dolls. So they probably were trying to get the kids to go play or read and Hailey just wasn't having it (none of the girls were). But the teacher did say they're talking with other students, playing and they've managed to separate the girls within the classroom. So far - so good!

Missing Pieces

2011-09-12T12:32:00.000-04:00

I haven't been blogging - life isn't exactly where I want it to be right now. Not something I even want to get into on the blog though (not even something I want to get into in life...). But it's times like this when I wonder where I went wrong or if I went wrong. Was it destiny for things to be this way? Or did I make it this way on my own? Maybe a little of both. The fact of the matter is that 'it is what it is'. We wake up and move through the days, weeks, months...time passes. But somewhere - pieces are missing.

2nd week of preschool

2011-09-09T10:48:00.000-04:00

Well the girls did awesome this week at school. They really didn't want to go back when Tuesday rolled around (Monday was a holiday) but they were troopers and made it through the week. Tonight we have a school picnic to attend so that we can meet some of the other parents, teachers and children. I can tell already that I'm going to have a hard time keeping up with all of the activities and schedule. And the paperwork...................

Weekends

2011-09-03T06:21:00.000-04:00

The weekend is here! The girls started at dinner last night about how they didn't want to go to school today. "I don't wannaaaaa go to school tomorrow............." Lucky for them it's the weekend. And a long weekend at that since there isn't any school Monday. I'm sure Tuesday we'll be back to the screaming and crying. But this too shall pass (so I'm told....).

Paperwork will be the death of me. (After I die from the whining). I don't know why - but each one of them comes home with the same stack of papers. I only need to read it once...but I guess I can have a new copy if I have to reread it. lol I might ask that they designate one folder for all of their paperwork but I'm not sure they'll agree. If not - it's not a big deal - it just seems like it's a waste of paper.

Fundraisers? Hmmm. For YEARS AND YEARS I've been buying fundraisers. One of the jokes that started when we had the girls was that everyone was going to get hit with 3x the buying since they'll have to buy something from each girl. Get this. The school added a $400 'fundraiser fee' on to each tuition this year. Why? So that we don't have to do fundraising. Basically they just increased the tuition. I was really looking forward to all that candy and wrapping paper!

2nd day of preschool

2011-09-01T18:40:00.000-04:00

Not so easy. Much worse of a drop off than yesterday. Pete went to work at 7:15 and the girls CRIED "I don't want to go to schooooooolllllllll!" At one point Hailey said "I'll go to school TOMORROW...just NOT TODAY" to which Emily quickly replied "Not me mommyyyyy...I never want to go to schooooolllllll." Oh please add the 3y/o whine into all of these sentences. LB was home - so he came to school with us so that he could see where their classroom is (he's on the list as someone that can pick them up).

Once we got there - I brought them in the room and they were screaming again. I gave them all kisses, said I'd be back and started to head out the door...then the teacher said they need to be signed in. Just that small bit of hesitation was long enough for all 3 of them to get a death grip on my pants. I quickly signed Emily in but left the other 2 blank...figured it was an all for one/one for all deal. I peeled their hands off of me and headed out the door. LB was right behind me. Rough rough rough. Who knew kids could tear at your heart like this?!?!

When we went and picked them up - they were happy and once again agreed to go back tomorrow. Good thing cuz they're going back.

We went to the park for a picnic lunch before heading home for naps. Hopefully tomorrow is a little easier but it might get worse before it gets easier. Imagine how the teacher feels?!?!?!

1st Day of Preschool

2011-08-31T19:49:00.001-04:00

Where has the time gone? My babies aren't babies any longer. They're preschoolers! Somehow time is moving faster than I'd like it to some days. (Other days can't be over fast enough lol). Yesterday was bittersweet. The girls were VERY EXCITED to start their 1st day of school. We did a lot of prepping and planning to make sure they knew what was coming. However; they missed the part where they were staying and we were leaving. So we got them to school - they sat down at the table and we said our goodbyes. Triple nuclear meltdown!

When we picked them up (Pete took the day off so we could both bring them to school) they were exhausted. They must have played hard and had a good time because not only were they tired - they agreed to go back again! Yay!

We took them out to lunch at Friendly's after school and then came home for naps. They came home with tons of paperwork to be filled out...I need to get on that.

So it was a good 1st day :)

Hurricane Irene

2011-08-28T21:28:00.000-04:00

Well it's blog worthy because there hasn't been a hurricane in CT in 20 years. I don't remember the last one...and I'm sure the girls won't remember this one. This is a touchy age for them. They take things SO LITERALLY so we have to watch what we say. (Case in point...Pete said something about throwing one of them out the window and Emily burst into tears saying "I don't want you to throw me out a window!"). *disclaimer - he was JUST KIDDING* So I wanted to be very careful how I approached the hurricane with them.

1st - they aren't terribly afraid of thunderstorms. I do my best to take them outside when it's thundering and make a big deal out of how cool it is. So I didn't want to make a big deal out of the hurricane...but let's face it - I was scared!

2nd - how do you tape up windows, make an emergency kit, move cars and tie things down...all without raising some concerns to a few preschoolers? It's not easy. But it can be done!

We started by telling them we were going to get A LOT of rain. We kept it simple - just rain. They don't understand wind yet. Next - I told them 'guess what? Today is the day we make a spiderweb on the windows!" So I let them watch me tape up the big window in the living room and then the windows in our bedroom. Then - as we explained the lights going out and how we would have to use flashlights and candles...we talked about how cool it would be for their beds to be in our room so Pete and I didn't get scared when the lights went out. So we moved our bed, made room for their beds, and let them sleep in our room. Just for the night though - we don't wanna make a habit out that! They thought it was great that they got to sleep in our room so WE didn't get scared. :)

This morning - we still had power so I jumped out of bed, made coffee, bagels, Eggo's and boiled some water (don't ask why...I have no idea). All just in case we lost power. But we only lost power for a brief moment - then it came back on. No damage to the house here but some trees and power lines were down in the neighborhood. I guess we managed to get through this hurricane unscathed. Thank God!

Simple things

2011-08-27T08:03:00.000-04:00

I always try to find ways to keep the girls occupied. I love to take them outside and I love to take them to new parks...and they love going to the park. It's hard not to get caught up in the house doing housework while they're playing and keeping each other occupied. If you show up to my house on any given day (before nap) - you will find the table with breakfast left on it, toys on the floor, clothes strewn across the house and an empty coffee mug somewhere in the house. On nice days - you won't find us here though. I'm big on ditching the 'adult' responsibilities for taking the girls to and do something. We like to visit people where I use to work, hit the park (or 2), go to Grammies house and hang out with the dog, take a walk, go to the pool, visit our cousins (this is a fav), anything BUT stay home and get caught up in cleaning. I hate when my house is messy. But I have to remember that one of the reasons I quit my full time job was so that I could spend TIME with the girls. Cleaning the house while they're playing in another room isn't the kind of time I want. I want good, quality time with them! Not so that they can grow up and say "My mom spent sooo much time with me when I was little." Nope. It's so that when they grow up I can say "I am so glad I got to spend that time with them when they were younger." Time is something we all need/want more of. And it's the one thing in life we truly can't buy or get back. So I wanna make the best of what I have.

We were suppose to go to the Cape this weekend but our plans were foiled by the impending hurricane. Since Pete had the time off anyway - we went to the zoo yesterday. Have you ever read the book "Good Night, Gorilla"? We have been reading this book to them since they were infants. The bind on the book is destroyed and although the pages are made of a carboard like material - they're starting to get demolished as well. But the girls insist that we keep the book and they love when we read it to them. In the book - the zoo keeper is saying goodnight to all of the animals while the gorilla is letting the animals out of the cages. So at the zoo yesterday - Hannah was way too nervous to enjoy anything. She kept asking if they were going to get out of the cages. LOL At least she's paying attention when we read to her! When we were at the bear exhibit - the bear got up and walked toward us. Hannah & Hailey just about jumped out of the wagon and took off. But they did enjoy themselves and we had a really nice family day.

We took the girls to Friendly's for ice cream after the zoo. When I asked the girls what their favorite animal at the zoo was - Emily & Hailey said the tiger. I thought that was pretty weird since the tigers we saw were just kind of laying around and we didn't spend much time watching them. Hannah said her favorite was seeing the monkey's (those were very active and they had 3 or 4 different species so it was a pretty big exhibit). Then Emily says "I even gave the tiger a high five!" Pete and I started laughing so hard..........

She did give him a high five!

Whineeeeeeeeeeeee

2011-08-21T20:24:00.000-04:00

I really ~~dislike~~ HATE whining. But it seems to be ALL that the girls are doing lately. And it's driving. me. insane. They whine to get a glass of milk, to get a toy, to go out to play, to get picked up, to go to the bathroom, to brush teeth.....you get the picture! I think this might be what does me in! The whining is winning.

Last night Pete and I went to the annual margarita party at camp Chabbot. And as always it was wonderful (we even played Quelf!). I love the fact that I can feel at home with my cousins. Whether they're here at my house or I'm at theirs - it's the same feeling...accepted and loved. Oh and they didn't whine so that made it even better.................................. :)

Busy week coming our way this week. I'm working Mon, Wed & Thu and we're leaving for the Cape on Thursday afternoon - returning on Sat (or Sun - we haven't decided yet). And the girls start school next week! I'm nervous and excited. I'm sure it'll be more positive than negative. I think the girls are more than ready for school and school is hopefully ready for them! We shall see....

Grrrr

2011-08-17T20:34:00.001-04:00

I posted yesterday and today....on the other blog! LOL I need to find a way to combine them into one I guess. Anyhow - here's the link...........

http://luccotriplets.blogspot.com/

Cousins

2011-08-11T08:23:00.000-04:00

Have I mentioned before how much I love my cousins? I hope the girls really enjoy their cousins as much as I do. Yesterday we took a trip to go hang out with Daniel and Christopher for the day. Daniel (who is 13) I thought would just disappear into his room for the day and sleep or play video games. But he didn't leave us at all! As a matter of fact - he played with us and hung out with us all day. Even going outside! When the girls took a nap - Christopher was watching TV and Daniel and I played a quick game of mad gab (fun game but hard!). He showed me some hilarious videos on youtube and we started a words with friends game (scrabble on our phones). He's a pretty cool kid and he's an awesome older brother.

Christopher and the girls played all day too. Actually - it was mostly Christopher and Emily playing together while Hannah & Hailey played together. If Emily walked away from Christopher he would come get her, take her by the hand and say 'Come on!' and off they would go again. He didn't mind them playing with his toys and he wanted to JOIN them with whatever they were doing! He didn't take nearly as much down time as he has needed in the past and there was NO FIGHTING ALL DAY LONG!!!!!!!!! 4 toddlers could have easily turned into chaos and a huge headache. But these kids were amazing. With Daniel's help I made it through the day with no bumps, bruises, broken bones or lost children. But I think I enjoyed spending time with Daniel most. He's a good reminder for me that not all 13 y/o kids are horrible! LOL

HAPPY BIRTHDAY PETE!!!

2011-08-07T13:36:00.000-04:00

Funny stuff

2011-08-05T18:13:00.000-04:00

I don't know how I forgot to put this in yesterday's blog but it's worth it for sure. So earlier yesterday the girls and I had to run some errands. Breakfast WAS offered but my 3 munchkins decided not to eat. Normal this isn't a problem - there's plenty of food here to munch on during the day. But I'm getting them ready for their school schedule and that means they need to eat breakfast earlier and not have anything until snack time. Since we were going to be back before snack time - I didn't bring one with me. First we had to go to the bank. That took an hour...ONE FULL HOUR. The girls were good. So then I was debating if we should even go to Target because they had been so good at the bank - I didn't want to push my luck. But we needed to go to Target so we went. Soooooo I've got all 3 in the carriage and I'm looking at something. Hannah says "Mommy my belly hurts." I say "Oh sorry to hear" and go back to shopping. Then she says really loud and pathetic "But my belly hurts so bad because there's nothing in it!" OMG if I could have crawled in a hole I would have..................

Play dates

2011-08-04T19:15:00.000-04:00

Today we had a play date with the Dudley crew - they have triplets that are 4 months older than the girls but they also have a TEENAGER! He came along for the day as well - and everyone had a great time. The kids actually played TOGETHER today which is really great. I'm noticing that the girls are really playing more with other kids the more we get together.

After our play date - we headed over to the neighbors house - the one who has 2 boys. We needed to tell Pete that we were headed over there so he knew where we would be. Emily knocked on our back door and when Pete opened it she said "I'm going to Matthews house." Pete said "What?!" And Emily said "I'm going to Matthews house, that boys house." Haha Pete was quick to say "Ummm - you're not allowed at boys houses....unless Mommy goes." Mommy was going anyway but it was a funny conversation.

Then it was time for dinner, baths and bed. No naps for the girls today so it was a long day. They went to sleep NO PROBLEMS!

Change

2011-08-02T20:11:00.000-04:00

The definition of insanity is doing the same thing over and over again and expecting different results. So without change - we would all be insane (because if you DID do the same thing over and over again and got the same results - it would bore you to insanity itself). Change is good. I like change. But sometimes 'change' means changing from a fluid lifestyle to a ridged strict daily regiment. Very much like what happened when we gave birth to the girls. No more coming and going as we pleased, having people over whenever they wanted to show up, leaving for the night on whim...so on. BUT what we did was change. We changed our ways to fit the needs of our new family. And by doing so - we now have 3 happy, very regimented toddlers. (toot horn here...while patting self on back).

I think we need some change again. And school might just give us what we're looking for. If I could PAY for anything I wanted...it would be time. God if I only knew how valuable time was before I had kids I wouldn't have wasted so much of it doing only Lord knows what.

Here's to change...............

On a side note - I'm missing my family. Especially my cousins up in MA. So change might mean skipping out for a day or two to get up there.

BEACH BUMS!

2011-08-01T21:17:00.000-04:00

Yes my girls are going to be beach bums...and I am more than thrilled about this! We spent the day at the beach yesterday and they did amazing. Emily kept saying "Mom - we need a boat." We played in the sand, water and on the pier. We threw seashells into the ocean and even checked out some crabs that some other kids caught. Oh and we saw a ton of jelly fish (aka: gooey fish). It was definitely a fun trip and there will be more beach days to come!!!!!!!!

Beach days and walks

2011-07-31T10:54:00.000-04:00

The girls and I have been walking with a neighbor and her kids - 2 miles everyday (sometimes we'll go twice to make a total of 4 miles...for those of you who can't add). It's got dual/multi purpose. 1st and foremost is to get my butt in shape. I'm GOING to lose these 15lbs that I've put on since last year. I just wish they would come off as quickly as they went on! 2nd - I get some adult time! How does that happen?!?! Well the kids are kinda quiet while they're riding in their wagon. So that leaves time for some adult conversation (when we're not panting and huffing and trying to catch our breath of course). 3rd - it gets us out of the house for a nice walk and nothing beats a nice walk...except maybe an early morning walk on the beach but since we don't live on the beach......

Speaking of the beach - the girls and I are going today. Pete is taking a trip to Boston with his sister today so the girls and I are on our own. My mom is headed to her friends beach house today and asked us if we wanted to come along. SURE DO! So we'll be beach bums.

Yesterday we hit the mall to have lunch with Uncle Kim. That was a lot of fun - and as always the girls were very well behaved. It helped that they knew they would be going to the candy store for a special treat.

Oh and on the special treat note - the ice cream man came by yesterday. Greattttt. Woke the girls up out a dead sleep from their naps. No problem - we had their ice cream $ on standby on the fridge. So we run outside just in time to catch him. AND I SEE HE INCREASED THE COST OF THE ICE CREAM THAT THE GIRLS ALWAYS BUY! They like to get the funky spongebob or bugs bunny or some other funny face looking ice cream. They were $2.50 each. Which I was already complaining about. But yesterday they were $3.00 each! NO THANKS! We bought ice cream sandwiches for $1 each and the girls enjoyed them just as much. We'll save the extra $ for the candy at the candy store.

Now I'm off to wrangle my kids and make sure they leave their whiny attitudes at home so we can actually have fun at the beach.................

could be worse

2011-07-28T15:47:00.000-04:00

I've been so down in the dumps lately. Nothing and I mean nothing has been working to get me out of it. I'm considering a trip to the doc. Days like today though remind me why I quit my job and stay home with my girls. Time goes by so quickly and I'll never have another chance and raising kids so this is my one and only shot at it.

We're feeling the financial hit of me being home with the girls now. I'm working (cleaning) but I'm not making even 1/4 of what I was making before. The $ is good when I work but work is slow. I never thought I wouldn't go somewhere because I wasn't sure I could afford gas $ would even be part of my internal thoughts...but it is now. I know we'll manage and we'll make it through this. And I know it's not forever - but it just doesn't ease the pain of the here and now of wanting/needing things and not having the $ to just go out and buy them.

Last night I washed the girls potty seats for the last time. They're going to have to use the big potty from now on. They won't have potty seats at school and they have regular bathrooms - so the girls need to learn to adjust to getting up on the seat and wiping themselves and so on. I was kinda bummed cuz I realized they have had these seats since they turned a year old. 2.5 years now :(

They also had their 1st hair cut yesterday. I'm not thrilled with it but then again...I'm only good for throwing their hair up in a pony on top of their heads so really...it's not a big deal. Just adds to the fact that my babies aren't really babies anymore. Oh - and someone could have told me that I'm suppose to keep their hair from their 1st haircut. I had no idea....but Pete's mom showed up so she could see the girls get their hair done and she kept it. Good thing...I would have let it get swept away!

Then today I woke up and realized I want to go see my grandmother but I really don't think I can afford the gas $ to get there and back this week (me feeling sorry for myself again). Plus she smokes (a lot!) so I would want to just stay for a little bit and then go out to lunch or something so we're not stuck in the house with the girls.

I spent a good hour on the computer finding out how I could con my way into a public pool in 2 nearby towns so the girls and I could go swimming. The rules in every town are just about the same though...you have to be a resident or with a resident to use the pool. It never occurred to me that my own damn town has it's own damn public pools. I have no idea what's wrong with my brain sometimes but rather than try to explain it - I just move on. I finally checked our own town and we have 4 public outdoor pools. 2 of them have wading pools! So I called one and they open at 10:00, they have a park and it's FREE. The girls and I packed a lunch and some snacks and headed out. We travel really light so we put our suits on before leaving, grabbed 3 towels, the sunblock and our lunch bags. Off we went. It was SO. MUCH. FUN. The pool is only 12"-18" deep and they have a lifeguard on duty! Not that I would let the girls just go and swim alone...but I felt better that someone else would be watching my girls with me.

One thing I don't do is carry my phone on me when the girls are in water. I've heard way too many horror stories. So when there's water...it's all eyes on them and not my phone. We took a break from swimming so we could eat lunch and during lunch I checked my phone. I had a message about a dear friend we've been talking to via FB. Her 8y/o daughter Hailey lost her battle with cancer this morning. God it hit me so hard - it took my breath away. And of course it made me realize that life is fragile and can't be taken for granted.

So these are the days that I am grateful to be able to spend as much time with my girls as I do. I guess God has His ways of reminding us to keep our minds and hearts on the good and not to focus on the bad. My girls are healthy, beautiful and full of love.

A day "off"

2011-07-26T10:24:00.000-04:00

Lb and Kristin are off to NC for a week and they needed a ride to JFK this morning. I volunteered to bring them to the airport (before I knew they were flying out of JFK at 8:00am!) and made plans to have Pete drop the girls off at his parents house before he went to work. We left for the airport at 4:30 and didn't hit any traffic on the way there. I simply dropped them off and turned around to come back thinking there would be a ton of traffic. To my surprise there wasn't any traffic (my direction) and I made it home in no time. The drive was awesome. 2 hours of just ME.

I just finished a 2 mile run (a new outdoor route I found recently) and now I'm headed for 3 hours of house cleaning for some mula. No one will be home at this house so I'll be able to just listen to my music and enjoy my day 'off' lol.

Emily's funny quote of yesterday:

Pete told her "Don't jump off the couch!" and she replied "Don't watch me!"

Divide and conquer

2011-07-24T21:01:00.000-04:00

Many times Pete and I split up to get things done. New plan! We're going to start splitting the girls up as well. He can take one while I take 2 or vice versa. This ensures the girls get some quality alone time and it leaves some 'special' time for the other 2 as well. Emily actually went with Uncle Joey today for some special time. Pete had to work on his car so I took Hannah & Hailey to church and then to a new park. Pete's parents have also agreed to take just 1 of the girls whenever we'd like. I think it's a great idea. IT'S TIME FOR A BREAK FOR MOM! Even if only 1 goes someplace - 2 is much more managable than 3!!!! (I'm going to delete this post before the girls can read....) lol Plus this leaves the girls to enjoy some alone time. I'm so ready to let the girls have some fun away from home. I don't worry about when people take them anymore.

Emily and Hannah are battling a cold right now (it was Emily 1st now it moved on to Hannah and still lingering with Emily). That leaves Hailey next (maybe?). But I have to say - their little bodies seem to be doing so much better with going longer between illnesses and fighting them off better. Let's hope this summer cold just stays a summer cold and leaves our house fairly quickly :)

Princesses

2011-07-22T14:56:00.000-04:00

My girls aren't into them. I'm not sure it's because we don't watch much TV and they've never really seen a movie with them (or even watched a full movie all together yet for that matter). Maybe they're not going to be into them? Maybe it's too early? All of the gear and toys geared towards their age range seems to be going from Mickey and Dora to all Disney Princess stuff. When we were at the Disney store today I noticed they didn't have any back packs or lunch bags with Dora and they only had 1 that had Mickey and 1 that had Minnie on it. I know it's not a big deal - but it does almost seem like Princess stuff just might take over the world. Not sure we'll be on the boat though. I let the girls choose their own lunch bags and back packs. Here's how it went...

HOT HOT HOT

2011-07-22T14:40:00.000-04:00

Today's actually temp was 102 - the heat index I think was at 110? In any case...we were at actual triple digit numbers so outside play wasn't on the schedule. On the off chance that the rest of the world went to the library - we headed to the mall. 1st we had to stop at the bank (and had to go inside to the desk), then headed over to Walgreens (same parking lot) for some stamps, then we were mall bound. Once at the mall we hit up Starbucks (coffee...???? I think I will!). Then it was off to the candy store where the girls scored some Swedish fish. And then it was off to the Disney Store...where the girls walked out with brand new back packs and lunch bags for school. I'm seriously going to have to supplement my income more.

We were about to head home when I got a text from Uncle Andy that there was FREE ICE CREAM where he works! Detour! We drove to his workplace (another bank) and enjoyed some free ice cream, snacks from the vending machine (thanks to uncle Andy) and I even got a car wash! Whoooo hoooo!

Now we're home and I think we'll spend the rest of the afternoon cleaning up toys and playing games. The girls are walking around with their 'pack packs' and lunch bags filling them with everything they can think of.

Lake fun!

2011-07-22T14:31:00.000-04:00

(I'm just going to act like it hasn't been so long since our last post and move right along...).

One thing Pete and I have been wanting to do is take the girls to the beach. The one day we planned on it....it rained. It's not a trip I'm willing to take on my own. I don't think it needs much of an explanation as to why.

My cousin Jen invited us to her place yesterday where they have a lake not too far from her. Soooo we jumped on the opportunity to hang out! OMG IT WAS SO MUCH FUN! I was full of anxiety about the girls + water + people....I thought it was going to be a pain to keep an eye on them or to even get them in the water. BUT to my surprise it was the complete opposite! There wasn't too many people there, the lake water was clear so the girls were happy to get in and with the help of Jen - I was able to RELAX. The girls were happy to come out to me (in water up to their necks!) and swim back in with some help. And while they were in shallow water - they were crawling around on their hands with their full body in the water! For 3 and 1/2 hours they were fish! We didn't even need buckets and shovels because they were happy just swimming.

The day wasn't only about swimming either. Cousin Christopher actually WANTED TO PLAY with the girls. Rather than parallel play - he was totally interacting with them all day! It was a super day all around and I'm hoping to go back very very very soon to do this all over again.

Oh and the girls slept all night - no peeps out of them. I'm guessing that all that water play tuckered them out. I know it did me in...I went to bed at 9:00 last night and didn't move until 6:00 this morning. Ahhhhh what a good nights sleep can do for a mom is truly amazing.

Compliments

2011-07-12T21:54:00.000-04:00

I took the girls to a store today that we hadn't been to before. It's called The Chalkboard and it's focus is materials for teachers. We were looking for something very specific that I knew this store would have so rather than having to shop around we went straight to the source. I must have chosen the perfect day to go because today the store was offering 10% off everything, free raffles every 15 minutes and tons of free stuff on our way out! We bought 2 things...a border for our newly painted chalkboard wall and a map of the United States. But we walked out with a ton of stuff. The store was packed (and it's not a very big store) and the girls were pretty good about using the 'one finger' rule (touch anything you want but with 1 finger only...this eliminates me from saying "don't touch that" 30 million times and gives them the opportunity to explore without breaking). We were in the store for about 30 minutes...and you can be assured that 30 minutes in a store with 3 kids who have bathing suits on ready to hit the park could be a challenge. Especially since this was our THIRD stop of the morning. We had to stop at the school to drop off paperwork, stop at the bank and then The Chalkboard. Each time the kids get out of the car (our bank doesn't have a drive thru ATM in this town). On our way to the cash register someone said "Triplets?" And I though 'great...this was going so well....' But this time was different because she said to me "I am absolutely amazed! You would never even know they were in the store because they're so well behaved!" *BIG cheesy grin from me followed by a "THANKS!" These are proud mom moments for me. Because sometimes I forget that they are 3 and there are 3 and I take these moments for granted. They WERE in fact being good and I was really appreciative that SOMEONE ELSE took the opportunity to tell them that. It's important for them to hear some positive feedback from people other than myself.

We did finally make it home to drop off our stuff, hop in the wagon and walk to the park to enjoy some time in sandbox and splash pad. This was followed by a walk home, lunch, nap and then picnic dinner at the community center.

Oh and I should just confess now - while 'teaching' the girls the states...I missed the boat on Illinois. So when they stumble in school - it's because they were 1st taught Idaho, Indiana, Iowa.....

If someone taught ME the states...this wouldn't have been a problem! LOL

Compromise

2011-07-06T09:59:00.000-04:00

Life is about compromise. And if you don't learn to go with the flow and let certain things go - it'll just drive you crazy to have to get out of bed every day. One thing I was looking for in a program for school for the girls was 2 days a week and only 3 hours on each of those days. Then next year I was willing to do 3 days a week followed by full time K. But...it is what it is and I can't change school systems or their programs. So - what we have found that we seem to like a lot is St. Brigid school. They don't offer a 2 or 3 day a week program but they do offer part time. It's Mon - Fri from 8-11. I think I can handle that since I suspect the girls will be home sick for most of the 1st year anyway! They'll wear uniforms (some of you might cringe but I'm ok with this since it's LESS clothes that I'll have to buy them when school shopping!). They meet in the gym every morning for morning prayer and then they go to their classrooms. There is only 1 class for each grade (through 8th). This might eliminate the 1 vs 3 classroom debate (unless we choose to switch them over the public school). In the 3y/o program they leave their classroom to go to gym class, music class and library on different days of the week. By taking them out at 11:00 vs 2:00 (they would leave at 2:00 in the full time program) they are only missing out on lunch, outside play and nap time. These are things we can do at home together though...at least until we decide they're ready for a transition to full time. I like the office staff and the principal seems like she'll be running a tight ship in that school! I didn't get a chance to meet their teacher but she'll be calling me this week sometime. One thing I liked very much was the number of years each teacher has been in the school. The girls will share a room with up to 20 students their age, 2 teachers AND 2 aides. We haven't come to a decision just yet but it seems like a wonderful option to explore. We shall see..........

What do we do?

2011-07-01T21:35:00.000-04:00

What have we been doing in all of our 'free' time? I wonder this myself sometimes but somehow - time flies. Monday's and Friday's are set aside for work for me. I clean on those 2 days (in addition to cleaning on some weekends but it doesn't take long so I'm not away for long). The great thing is that I don't have to 'clock in/out'. I get there when I get there...and I leave when I'm finished. The girls spend time with Pete's parents while I'm working and it's working out very well. The great thing is not being rushed to get out the door in the morning in addition to getting home early :)

We met a neighbor who has 2 boys. One is 4 and one is a little more than a year old. She is amazing and we hit it off pretty quickly. Her older son asks if his 'friends' can come over all the time and the girls love hanging out at their new friends house because he has cool toys. We haven't invited them over to play here yet but we will soon.

There is a splash pad at the park that we walk to all of the time. That's another great thing about where we live now. Having the 3 of them in the pool by myself would be impossible this year because they don't know how to swim and they don't know how to be patient either! But the splash pad offers them TONS of independence and it's PACKED FULL of kids! However; they don't actually play with the other kids yet. Actually they get pissed off when the other kids are in their way. Emily & Hannah just wait their turn but Hailey...boy oh boy. She is one smart cookie. She has learned that although mommy doesn't cater to her owl screeching scream - others certainly do! So if someone is playing where she wants to play she will scream "MOMMY! I WANT TO PLAY HERE AND THERE ARE PEOPLE IN MY WAY!!!!!!!!!!!!" It's not a tantrum type of scream...but a scream is a scream right? And here's the thing - she's NOT talking to me. She must have done this once expecting ME to make someone move. But I'm sure that didn't happen...what happened was whoever was in her way moved before I did anything. Who wants to hear a 3 year old scream about how you're in their way?!?! Soooooo that's what she does EVERY SINGLE TIME now. I'm letting this one go. Eventually she'll come up against someone that has a louder voice than her and won't give in to her. She'll learn................

We also spend a ton of time out in the yard. Who knew a yard could be so much fun!?!? We grill probably 5 out of 7 nights a week too. We play in the pool, with the hose, on the slide and just have fun.

The girls help around the house too. They each make their beds, pick up toys and help set the table when it's time to eat.

Oh - and their new 'thing' is they want a puppy. With a bed and a leash. One day...but I just don't think we're ready yet. I know I'M not! And since I'M the one that would get a majority of the responsibility...we're just gonna have to wait. LOL

Feeling overwhelmed...again

2011-06-28T14:37:00.000-04:00

I am doing some research trying to find a preschool for the girls to attend. I'm not looking for much - just 2 days a week for maybe 3 hours each day. Something to break up the week for them, a place that will slowly guide them towards getting use to a curriculum and schedule and school and all that stuff. I called 5 schools today.

The 1st school happened to be a magnet school. They will only open 15 spots in the fall and then the children that applied are chosen by lottery. That's out.

School #2 wants over $9,000 per school year per child. That's out.

School #3 wasn't extremely nice but said they could 'check and see if they might have 3 open spots for triplets in the upcoming school year." Thanks. I'll hold my breath waiting for your call.

School #4 is a Catholic school and seems to be reasonable in price. Only $3,200 for a 2 day program. They would attend 2 days from 7:50 - 11:15. Lunch would cost more so I'd feed them at home. It's only 32 weeks but at least they 'get in the program'.

School # 5 wants over $5,000 for their 3 day program. That's out.

I guess I called 6 schools...cuz I'm waiting for 1 more school to call me back. They didn't have a website so their tuition fees weren't listed. They also didn't answer the phone and I had to leave a message. Maybe their staff is actually caring for children and saving on the cost of tuition by letting the answering machine take messages rather than hiring a Yale graduate to direct my call and charging me 1/2 million dollars for my 'child's education'. But who knows.

You would think I should say screw it and not worry about putting them in school. I'm a stay at home mom anyway so what's the point? Here's the point. I can't offer them the things that a school can offer them. I can teach them what they need to know - sure. But I'm ONE PERSON. And I'm not a toddler or preschooler. They KNOW that when I'm 'pretending' to play - I'm pretending. I'm not really in their little world. When they play with other kids...they ARE in a different world. My innocence is lost to that. Every adults innocence is lost to that kind of play. They NEED other kids. They also need the curriculum. I'm not about to set up 3 desks and have 'school' time during the day here. This is HOME for them...not school.

Ugh...just feeling so overwhelmed. On one of the pages there is a preschool 'test' that kids can take. My kids would fail. Why? Because they actually don't know all of their shapes. They can't differentiate between sizes. They can't count to 20 yet and they certainly can't point at 20 dots and count them all. Light/heavy, wide/narrow, fewer/more...identify pennies, nickles, dimes and quarters...the answer is no to all of it.

I know there are kids that go right to kindergarten and I'm sure they turn out just fine. I just want my girls to have every advantage available to them to keep up or get ahead. Doesn't every parent?

More funny stuff

2011-06-27T20:20:00.000-04:00

Sunday we went to Rose's Berry Farm to have breakfast and then pick raspberries. LB came along so it was kind cool that each of the girls got some 1/1 time. We ate more raspberries than we brought home. It was a really nice day and we all had a lot of fun!

I'm noticing the girls (especially Hannah) becoming more aware that they can 'lie' to get things. For example: The girls get mints after going potty at Pete's moms house. When we came home today Hannah said to me "I didn't get any mints at Grandma's so I need a prize now please." Hmmm...
They're also good for saying that "Daddy said we can _______" or "Mommy said we can__________" when in reality neither one of us had even been asked anything. I know this is just the start of a very trying time and very fine line. I know they're exploring and I have to give them space. But at the same time I don't want them to think it's ok to lie. Right now I'm just explaining to them what they're doing. "Hannah - I know you had mints at Grandma's house today. If you say you didn't - when you really did, that's called lying and we don't do that. Did you have a mint today?" "Yes." "Great! Thanks for telling mommy the truth." Hindsight I probably should have given her a prize anyway but I didn't. I don't know why - I think she sidetracked me with something else lol.

And today's funny comment is (per usual) from Emily. After getting home from being at Pete's parents - I asked Emily where her attitude came from (she was just being miserable). She replied:
"I just forgot to leave my attitude at Grandma's house."

Funny stuff

2011-06-23T20:36:00.000-04:00

The kids are definitely more vocal with their feelings and I'm all for it. And sometimes the things they say can be pretty hysterical.

Today I asked Emily if she needed help with something. She said "Nah - it's ok mom. I got this!"

I asked one of them to do something and the 1st thing I heard was "BUT MOM!!!!" and right after I hear Hannah say "NO BUTS!"

I told the girls to stop playing on the stairs. Hannah came to me in the kitchen and said "Emily didn't listen to you...she still on the stairs." and from the other room I hear Hailey shout "Worry about yourself Hannah!"

They repeat EVERYTHING!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Grandparents

2011-06-22T20:03:00.000-04:00

Yesterday Meme and Shushi (my grandmother and her identical twin sister) and Grumps came down for a visit. The girls had a BLAST. It was nice to see them all spending time together.

Today the girls went shopping with Pete's parents. They took the girls (and the van lol) to Khols and then out to lunch at McD's. This is the 1st time they've gone shopping with someone else (without Pete and myself!).

Tomorrow...I'm taking the girls to see their 1st movie. Should be fun! (hopefully)

Weekly posts and BUBBLE GUM

2011-06-17T08:07:00.000-04:00

Maybe it'll be an easier goal to post weekly rather than daily. I swear I had more time when I worked a paying 40 hour a week job.

I am obsessed with gum chewing. I chew gum all the time...and the girls are obsessed with watching me and asking me to blow bubbles. So yesterday I gave them each a piece of gum. We started with yummy strawberry gum. They all sat down in a circle and put the gum in their mouth. We talked about how we only chew it and don't swallow it. We don't take it out of our mouths and we don't play with it. If it gets in our hair we'll have to cut our hair off. When we're done chewing gum we put it in the garbage. With all the rules out in the open - they chomped away for a good 10 minutes. It was great! They didn't say a word for 10 minutes straight! Then they wanted to try the minty gum. So I said that when Daddy got home we'd show him we can chew gum and we would use the minty kind. So they all spit their gum out in the garbage and figured it was worth the wait for Pete to come home.

Pete comes home and we were at the park. When we came home - they immediately grabbed the gum and opened and chewed and chomped and they were so proud to show their Daddy they can chew gum. I missed the part of the lecture about not running with gum in their mouth. Emily and Hailey smashed heads, Hailey gasped and down went the gum. She started choking. She got it up pretty quickly though and after we had the 'don't chew gum and walk' lecture. lol

Ugh

2011-06-11T18:52:00.000-04:00

Where on earth does the time go? It's going by so fast :( This week flew by. It was HOT so the girls and I spent a lot of time outside in the water. I'd say the pool but they don't really like the pool - or the slip n slide. They prefer to play with the hose instead! It's fine - we're all having fun so that's what matters.

Today we went up to my cousin Kate's house for a picnic. Lots of family and lots of fun. But more importantly - the girls played with Kaleigh, Daniel and Christopher ALONE. They didn't require Pete or me to by right next to them! They went outside and played up in Kaleighs room...all without the need for us! Some would say it's bitter sweet. I see their need for independence as huge leaps though. Just in the last blog I was saying how hard it is to get them to be comfortable around other people. So today was great! AND IT WAS RELAXING! I'm sure the shot of tequila helped........

Bad news came my way today though. A friend - someone I worked with at UConn - was stabbed and shot to death by her ex-husband. He then shot himself. Both of their teenage sons were home at the time and I can't even imagine the repercussions this will cause for them. I don't understand why people think it's ok to hurt other people. Even sadder is that she knew this was going to happen. She told everyone around her that he was going to kill her and that there wasn't anything anyone could do. And she was right. No matter how often the police were involved - it wasn't enough in the end. I don't even know what to say or how to feel. She wasn't a 'best' friend but she was a friend and I'm sad that the world had to lose her so early. But I think I feel more emotion for her sons. They lost both parents in one hateful, senseless act of violence. There are no excuses that could make this less painful to accept. It's a bitter part of reality that there really are downright bad people in the world. I guess I'm sort of numb to it right now.

Tired

2011-06-07T21:01:00.000-04:00

I'm exhausted. Physically and emotionally. Emily has been attached to my leg and every time I turn around she's asking if I'm leaving. It's not healthy...for her or me. I love these kids with all my heart and soul. I'm thankful (more than ever) that I am able to have this time at home with them. But I must find a way to break away and get them to realize there's a world outside of mommy. There are only a handful of people they will stay with 'willingly'. My mother-in-law, my brother Joey and Pete's sister Rosemary. Ok that's not even a handful! Hannah & Hailey also have no problem staying with my brother Andrew. The problem isn't that I can't stand the screaming and yelling when I leave them - I know they'll calm down after a while. It's the fact that I can't stand to put that kind of pressure and chaos on someone else. I'll figure it out.

We've been getting a TON of outside play due to the weather being so nice. The girls love the pool, slide and slip n slide. Today I put a bucket outside with water in it just to switch things up a bit. I didn't put bathing suits on them because we weren't actually going 'swimming'. But I knew they'd make themselves all wet and I really didn't care. BUT I did ask them if they wanted to take their shoes off. They all said no. I assumed they understood that meant NOT to get their shoes wet. However; I look over to see Emily stepping into the bucket WITH her shoes on! I said "Emily! Those are NOT water shoes!" She said "Yeah they are. Look see - they're wet now. I put them in water." This kid......

Family

2011-06-06T09:31:00.001-04:00

June 1st - 3 tornados tore through MA. I have family in Monson - one of the towns that was hit directly. So Thursday I drove up there with the girls. I brought some supplies but had no idea what would be needed. All I knew was that my cousin, her daughter and my aunt were alive and all ok, no one had power, my aunts street was pretty much non existent any longer and that everyone in the town needed help. So I brought lots of non parishible food, water, gatorade and some shovels. Unforuntately I couldn't get to my family. The streets were unpassible via vehicle and it was too dangerous to walk with the kids. So I left what I brought at my cousins house (which was fine).

Friday I still had to drive to VA (I already had a plane ticket to fly back on Sat night and the car needed to get down there). So I drove to VA, had an awesome visit with my niece and her family down there and then flew back on Sat night.

Sunday I drove back up to MA to help my aunt pack up her house. Her house is still standing...barely. She's one of the lucky ones to be able to have 'things' to retrieve. But she has to get all of her things and get out - it's restricted access only.

I'm headed back there today. More to blog about but for now...I'll just post these pictures:

http://www.boston.com/news/weather/gallery/2011tornado_aerials/?s_campaign=8315

Trip

2011-06-01T15:59:00.000-04:00

I'm making a power trip to VA this weekend. Leaving Friday morning to drive down there and then flying back Saturday night. I will be accomplishing 3 things:
1: Delivering a car to my brother-in-law
2: Seeing my niece who we all miss very very very much
3: Getting some ME time! (10 hours in the car officially constitutes as 'me' time in my book).

The car needs to get to VA and it needs to be there soon. Joey and I went back and forth as to what to do and who should drive it down there. It was a battle because we ALL want to see Christina. She can't come up here right now (or I would take her for the whole summer). So if we want to see her - we need to go down there. Joey has to work. Pete has to work. A vacation isn't really an option this week. Soooo - off I go!!! (I'm excited about this actually. But bummed that I'll have less than 24 hours to spend with her). We are hoping we can make a family trip down there sooner than later. But for now - I'll take what I can get :)

Memorial Day Parade

2011-05-28T17:00:00.000-04:00

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

2011-05-26T20:58:00.000-04:00

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!

2011-05-23T21:14:00.000-04:00

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

2011-05-22T15:32:00.000-04:00

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

2011-05-19T20:06:00.000-04:00

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

2011-05-16T19:45:00.000-04:00

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

2011-05-13T20:12:00.000-04:00

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

2011-05-10T07:59:00.000-04:00

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?

2011-05-06T22:33:00.000-04:00

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!

2011-05-05T20:41:00.000-04:00

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.

2011-05-03T21:43:00.001-04:00

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

2011-05-01T20:29:00.000-04:00

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

Surgery

2011-04-27T21:00:00.000-04:00

Hailey had surgery today. She did wonderful! We had to be at the hospital for 7:45am. We told all of them in advance what the plan was. We were having a 'special' day with Hailey while Hannah & Emily had some special time with Grandma. We dropped Hannah & Emily off to Pete's parents at 7:15 and headed off with Hailey.

She was a trooper! She had the cartilage on her neck removed (this was originally thought to be a skin tag but turned out not to be) and she had the nevus sebaceous on the back of her scalp removed. I was able to go into the OR with her and be with her until she was asleep. They put her to sleep with a mask before putting her IV in so that was great in itself. Once she was in the recovery room we were allowed back in to be her while she finished waking up and got ready to come home.

The ONLY time she cried was when they took the EKG leads off of her and took out her IV. That was it! For the rest of the time she was very cooperative and although she was apprehensive (and asked to go home before the surgery) she was a trooper. We got her home and she wanted to EAT. And eat she did. She ate a whole grilled cheese sandwich (her request) and 1/2 bag of Cheetos.

Hannah & Emily are staying the night at Pete's parents and we are going to spend some real extra time with Hailey tomorrow. She seems to be dealing with this fine. She hasn't complained at all and actually seems to be soaking up the extra time she's getting.

Happy Easter!

2011-04-24T20:09:00.000-04:00

What a fun day we had! The girls really were into Easter this year and it was all so much fun. We put together baskets (sand buckets and pails really) last night. Then we filled a whole bunch of plastic eggs and hid them all over the living room and up the stairs.

Usually when the girls wake up - Emily is sleepy and groggy and needs about 30 minutes to open her eyes. But this morning Pete and I were in bed and we hear Emily at the gate to their bedroom "Mommy! Daddy!" I say "yes Emily?" She screams "THE EASTER BUNNY CAME!" Haha there were 3 eggs right outside of their door so they could see them when they woke up. It worked :)

We got up and went on an egg hunt then they went through their baskets. We had some breakfast, headed to church, had lunch here with my family then took naps then headed to Pete's parents for dinner with them.

The best thing about lunch here today was that Joey & Andy did ALL of the shopping...AND ALL OF THE COOKING! Plus - a majority of the cleaning up. LOVE IT!

Now it's time for some R&R before bed.

Vegas 10 years ago

2011-04-22T20:02:00.000-04:00

10 years ago today Pete and I were in Las Vegas. Getting married. 10 years has brought us many many many changes. We have since moved 3 times...from Plainville, to New Britain, to Cromwell to our current destination of West Hartford. We had some pets which included a boxer named Dexter, 3 cats...Frisky, Smokey and Gizmo and then Little Lilly the gold fish..the only one left. School. We had many jobs between the 2 of us and we spent many weeks on vacations. Hawaii, Florida, Virginia, Cape Cod. 3 years ago we had the girls. That alone brought with it some major life changes.

Before we had the girls we talked about what kind of parents we would be. What we wanted to take from our parents and rebuild on with our own kids, things we wanted to start new, things we definitely wanted to leave behind. Obviously we never thought we'd be doing it times 3!

We have been through some really rough times as well. Especially the past 2 years. We found ourselves out of energy and patience for each other. We needed to use this energy and patience for everything else that was going on around us. We found ourselves living together but not living with each other. We soon realized we were losing each other to those around us. And we stopped, talked and found a way to fix it.

10 years of marriage is hard work. It's not all romance and bliss. There are days when we can't stand to talk to each other. There are many differences in how we think things should go. There are times when we want to just give up and walk our separate ways.

But 10 years of marriage is also how we became strong enough to make it through these times together. If someone asks me how I feel when Pete's around I can easily say "I feel that I can conquer the world with him by my side." We support each other while giving each other the space we need to be individuals.

There are days when we drive each other absolutely crazy. But without these days...we wouldn't be able to be crazy about each other.

I love you Pete. And here's to the 'next 100 years'......

A week off!

2011-04-21T08:41:00.000-04:00

I took a week off from blogging...sorry! I don't want to fall too far behind because there's too much that would be missed. The summer is here and we are having a lot of fun!

We took the girls fishing for the 1st time over the weekend. There was a fishing derby at a nearby park so we headed over there and let the girls fish. They had fun but it was cold and windy so we caught fish and left! Hailey caught 2 fish, Hannah caught 1 and Emily got to reel one in (LB was kind enough to catch one and let her have the pole lol). I think we'll enjoy it more when it's not so cold.

After the fishing derby we came back to the house for some lunch and cake for Andy's bday...Happy Birthday Uncle Annie!!! (This is really what the girls call him lol).

Mon & Tue I had 5 kids for the day...I SHOULD INDEED have my head examined. It wasn't really bad actually. I had my 3 plus Alex & Carl (both of them are 9). It works out better to have a buddy of the same age so the 2 of them kept each other busy for the time they were here. Monday we went grocery shopping and then hit up 2 different parks. Tues we all went to the mall for 4 HOURS. Needless to say they were all pretty tired by the days end :)

The girls are getting very creative and imaginitve these days. They very much enjoy making up stories about things that are going on. For example - at this very moment they are sitting on the bench in the kitchen. I asked what they're doing and Emily replied "Waiting for the neighbor to come over. She's taking our picture." They like to go upstairs and empty the linen closet of all towels and washclothes. Then they take them all into the hallway so they can 'shower'. They play doctor, they pretend to have tea parties, they cook and clean and have fun! This is a very fun age for me to be home with them. I love that I'm here to see all of this and be part of it with them.

Alarm

2011-04-13T14:40:00.000-04:00

From yesterdays post - someone left a comment about the alarm. And I don't think I've posted about it but it's something I want documented for sure.

I'm not sure how long we've been doing this but it's been quite some time now. When the girls are in time out - we set the alarm on our phone to go off when their time out is over. When we have to leave somewhere - we give the girls the option of 'leaving right now? or in 5 minutes?' which of course they always choose the 5 minutes. We set the alarm on our phone and when the 5 minutes is up - time to go. If they even start to argue I remind them that THEY made the choice to leave in 5 minutes. We could have left before :) But usually there isn't any arguing (if so it's going to be from Emily).

If I need to get someplace in a hurry and I don't have time for them to dilly dally around getting ready - I set the alarm and say "You have 5 minutes to get your shoes on, have what you're bringing in your hand and be at the door." I set the alarm on my phone. When the alarm goes off - whoever is ready GETS A PRIZE! Yay!!! Whoever isn't ready gets help from me. I don't yell at them for not being ready but they do miss out on the prize. (Usually a handful of mini marshmallows or a twizzler). You would think it would cause a meltdown to give one a prize and not the other. Sometimes it does. But that can usually be averted with some soft words of encouragement by reminding them that they CAN get a prize...next time. And that next time they can try harder to get ready. When the same situation occurs - I remind them "Hey...you didn't get a prize last time. Try really hard to get ready on time today so Mommy can give YOU a prize!!!" I know it sounds so freakin' Marry Poppins but trust me...it works. And when I find something that works - I don't mess with it.

I love the alarm. For the amount of times it 'creates' a meltdown - there are 20 times when it saves us one. It also ensures that someone doesn't get left in time out too long! LOL

Unexpected things

2011-04-12T14:41:00.000-04:00

I do my very best to prepare the girls for things that we're doing, things that will be happening and making sure they're aware of what's going on. But I can't always predict things and there are many times when unexpected things come up. How we handle them depends on the situation but I'll tell you this...they are amazing at keeping up and keeping cool.

Yesterday I went through the drive through of the bank to make a deposit. (I've actually NEVER taken them into the bank...I think I go in maybe once or twice a year myself). The ATM refused my deposit and said my acct was restricted. We had to GO INSIDE THE BANK. UGH It's a Monday morning, there are tons of old people that just love to pinch cheeks and the girls have never been in a bank before so they won't know what to expect.

Ok - brief explanation to the girls and inside we go. They were really good. We got into the office (we couldn't stand in line to see the teller - we had to be 'personally assisted') and I sat them all down. I got my business taken care of and they were pretty good about it. (I won't say amazing because they thought the chairs were monkey bars and decided to hang all over them like little monkeys but they are 3 y/o so some rules don't apply).

Long story short about my acct is that there was some fraudulent activity on my card to the bank froze my acct. It's taken care of now and whoever tried to steal my $ should have actually just asked me for some cuz I don't keep any in the bank :) I HAVE TRIPLETS - I'M BROKE! Haha...joke is on them. Situation cleared.

Scene: playground. The kids are playing. I ALWAYS say to them "Do you want to leave right now or would you like 5 more minutes?" Of course they choose 5 minutes and I set my alarm on my phone. This WORKS and I don't mess with the system when I find something that works. I don't have to drag them out of the park kicking and screaming and threatening them. They hear the alarm and we all leave. But on this particular day Hailey pooped her pants. (Later she told me because she wanted to keep sliding down the slide...ugh!). No 5 minute rule applies when you have a kid with a load. I looked at them and said "We have to go right now. No warning, no timer, no alarm. Right now." Hannah said "But I need 2 more minutes please mom." I replied with "Hailey pooped her pants. We can't stay - we need to go home." They all said "Ok!" and off we went. No tears, no crying.

A year ago these 2 things would have caused me anxiety, panic and I would have had 3 meltdowns on my hands. I love how far the girls have come and I love that they can handle the instant changes to fit our needs. I love that I can take all 3 of them out with me and not worry about 'needing' help. Some days - I prefer to take them alone anyway.

I'm proud of my little kiddos :)

Just funny

2011-04-11T21:55:00.000-04:00

The girls are say SO MUCH MORE these days. And they say the funniest things in and out of context. So here are a few:

Emily "Mom! You didn't STOP at that stop sign!"

Hailey "You can't fool me..."

Hannah (at Denny's after we ate breakfast) "We can't leave yet. I need to clean off the table."

Today I was cleaning the bathrooms. I told the kids to play in their room until I was finished. I walked by their bedroom and caught a glimps of them HUDDLED in the middle of the room. I then hear Hannah whisper "Let's go tickle mommy. Shhhh" WHATTTT?!?! They HUDDLED!!!!!!! I'm in deep doodoo....

This weekend the girls planted a raspberry bush with Pete. They are suppose to water it every day. I have watered it. This is why we don't have a pet. But I will enjoy the raspberries just as much if not more than they will so I'm ok with this.

We were also at the park over the weekend and the girls made a friend. She was wearing the same shoes as Hailey so they named her "Matching Shoes". My girls were running around the park yelling "Hey Matching Shoes..come on!" Today we were on our way to the park and they said "Is Matching Shoes gonna be there?" I swear it sounded like they were part of an Indian tribe.

One on One!

2011-04-07T21:38:00.000-04:00

Today was BUSY. Pete changed his hours at work so he leaves before we are even out of bed for the day. That means I have to get myself ready before getting the kids ready and getting our day started. (It also means he's home earlier...usually by 4:30 so I'll take the good with the bad). Today was packed full.

We got up, got dressed, ate breakfast (sort of) and we were out the door at 9:00. The girls had Eggo's in hand as we left. We were planning to go to Walmart but time we wasted too much time getting out so we headed to Target instead. Shopped and then hurried over to B&N for story time at 10:30. Andrew met us there so he could hang out for story time today as well.

We left B&N by 11:30 and then headed to Pete's parents to drop off Hannah & Hailey. Emily had an appt with the eye doctor today so were dropping off the other 2 and getting some quality one on one time. Well Emily was taking it to the extreme for sure. The ONLY thing I needed to do was come home and drop off the stuff we bought at Target. She insisted on staying in the car. Which meant I literally had to throw the stuff on the table and leave. Hey - it was her day so who am I to argue!

I was planning to take her to a different mall than we usually go to. It has a train we can ride around the mall and some games that she likes to play. But she said "I want to go see the Easter Bunny." Oooook. I knew the E.B. was at the mall we frequent so that's where we went. The whole time walking in she kept saying what she wanted to tell the Easter Bunny and what she was going to get in her basket and on and on. One thing she's been asking for the E.B. to bring for a few weeks now is a whistle. (It's the small things in life that they like). Well as soon as we saw the Easter Bunny she said "I don't want a whistle anymore. Let's walk this way." And she pointed in the opposite direction. LOL I knew this would happen so I picked her up and we waved from a distance. And lucky for us - no one was visiting so the E.B. was kind enough to wave, blow kisses and be very loving from a distance. Just what Emily needed :)

We went about the mall doing what Emily wanted to do. Then it was off to the park to play. We hung out at the park and I realized how hard it is to keep ONE kid occupied! Usually I bring them someplace and I don't hear "Mommy!" the whole time we're there. But today - Emily kept saying "Come on Mommy! Come up the stairs Mommy! Come down the slide Mommy!" I obliged like the good Mom I am.

After the park it was time for the eye doc. That whole visit when well! It took an hour and 45 minutes but she didn't cry and we got a good report (for her). She will need glasses but not yet. She has an appt to go back in a month to follow up on her periods of not being able to see. But most importantly - her retina's are attached! No problems there and that's what we needed to hear. Her being a preemie and being born as early as she was - this is a HUGE risk factor. *sigh of relief*.

After the eye doc we went and picked up H & H and then headed home..with Titi in tow! Pete and Rosemary fed the kids dinner and put them to bed so I could go work out at the gym. Once I got home - my brother Pete showed up unexpectedly so he stayed here to watch the girls while Pete and I left for a bit. Rosemary was originally going to stay. Not too often we have more than one person available and ready to watch the girls for us!!!!

Now - it's time for sleep.

But I will end this post on a sad note. I don't blog much about my family life and that's because there are some major problems that are/have been going on. These problems are years in the making and I'm finally realizing there's nothing I can do to help nor fix them. With that said - I have stopped talking to my mother. And probably to my sister. This might be permanent - it all depends on them. But right now it's what I have to do. It's really affecting my attitude and how I am in my everyday life. Pete and I have our own family now and I can't be responsible for anyone but our family.

Clean teeth!

2011-04-06T20:21:00.000-04:00

The girls all saw the dentist today for a cleaning and they did wonderful! No tears at all :) And more importantly - no cavities. After we left the dentist we headed for Friendly's for lunch and ice cream...followed by walking around WH center. We found our way to a toy store in the center and had a lot of fun checking out some new stuff that we might want the Easter Bunny to put in their baskets.

After lunch and our walk around - we headed home. I gave them all a bottle of bubbles and grabbed the bucket of sidewalk chalk and off we went to play outside. The did ok with the bubbles - they're getting better at keeping more in the bottle and less on the ground. I drew large letters in the driveway with the chalk and we played a game of who can go stand on what letter. I would yell out a letter and they would run to stand on it.

We came inside - covered in chalk and bubbles and decided a bath would just be the best way to clean up. So I threw them in the bath and by the time Pete came home we were exhausted. Pete made dinner and we all sat down to eat and then it was off to bed for the girls.

Hailey's surgery is scheduled for the 27th of this month (providing she stays healthy and doesn't get a cold before then!).

GRRRRRRRRR

2011-04-05T14:32:00.000-04:00

Sometimes I hate Blogger! I had an entire post written and accidentally hit the back button and it didn't save my damn post!

Ugh - I also don't like rewrites. They're not the same and don't have the same flow because now I'm mad.

Basically - we have a lot of appts coming up. All 3 are seeing the dentist tomorrow. Emily is seeing the eye doctor Thur (she's been complaining of not being able to see periodically). Hailey is having surgery (hopefully this month). Once that is scheduled we need to make an appt for her preop. Hannah & Hailey have an appt to see the eye doc later next month. If not both of them - I suspect that Hailey will be needing glasses right away. We'll see. (hehe pun intended!)

Kite flying & Cousins

2011-04-04T20:28:00.000-04:00

Over the weekend we took the girls down to the school yard to fly some kites. O.M.G. HOW MUCH FUN! I remember back when I was a kid - kite flying was one of the BEST memories I have of my childhood. I remember being out in the fields next to where my grandparents lived. This was one activity I remember always doing with my cousins Kate & Jen and also with my older brother Andrew. And for some reason I can remember losing kites all of the time! I think we would let them go by accident and they would end up in the trees.

So when we took the girls to fly kites it brought back this rush of memories that was so great! I love that we were so close to our cousins and we spent so much time together. Both of them are still very close to my heart and I still love spending time with them. (I'm like a little kid when I know I'm going to visit them....).

Today - the girls and I headed up to MA to visit with my cousin Jen and her kids (and in a roundabout way her hubby too since he was working from home today). The girls love hanging out with their cousins and when it was time to leave Emily of course didn't want to go. I remember that feeling (I have no idea why I remember the actual feeling of having to leave my cousins house when I little but I do). I have a feeling it's got a lot to do with the fact that my uncles are KIDS and my cousins and I are still KIDS. I mean...we rode big wheels, went for a swing on the tire swing, and rode on the kid tractor...IN THE HOUSE today. WE being my cousin and I! Yeah the kids did too but it's not as much fun just watching :)

Basically - I love my cousins and I hope that my girls get to have the same kind of friendship with their cousins as I do with mine.

Story time

2011-04-01T21:13:00.000-04:00

We went to story time yesterday at B&N. Then today - we just hung out at home and chilled out all day. Snow on the ground and a kid with the sniffles (Hailey) so we stayed in :)

3 YEAR APPT

2011-03-30T21:37:00.000-04:00

The girls had their 3 year follow up today. NO SHOTS! Yay!!!! They all had their hearing and eyesight checked. Looks like we'll be making an appt for all 3 to see the eye doctor soon since they didn't pass the eye test. They've seen the eye doctor before so we're not surprised by this news. Their hearing is great and they can all touch their toes (guess that's part of the check up lol). Here are their stats:

Emily: weight - 29lbs which is 40% Height - 37.5in which is 50%. She great 4" since last year!!!! And she gained 5lbs. Imagine growing 4" and only gaining 5lbs?

Hailey: weight - 23.8lbs which is not on the growth chart. Height - 36" which is 25%. She also grew 4" since last year and she gained 2lbs.

Hannah: 24.4lbs which is not on the growth chart. Height - 36.25" which is 25%. She grew 4" and gained 2lbs.

So all 3 of them grew 4" since last year!!!! The doctor isn't worried about their weight. We went over their diet and they eat well - they're not picky with what they eat and we offer plenty of variety. It's just that they are very active, have high matabolisms and seem to have a good gene pool for being petite.

I had a lapse in 'mom' judegement today. We were getting to the doctors office RIGHT on time so I wanted to make sure we didn't waste any time getting inside. Every time I take the girls somewhere, I get them out of the car one at a time, put them down next to me and say "Stay here - don't move." I say it with a stern, you-better-listen-to-me-if-you-know-what's-good-for-you kind of voice. In my haste to get them inside - I took Hannah & Hailey out of the car, put them down without saying anything and then looked at Emily (who was taking her sweet time getting out of her car seat) and I said to her "C'mon - we gotta hurry and get inside...we don't wanna be late." Well what I didn't realize is that Hannah & Hailey heard last statement and took it as 'Go on ahead without me'. By the time I got Emily out of the car and turned my head (I mean...it literally couldn't have been more than 30 seconds) Hannah & Hailey were walking accross the parking lot ALONE. This place is MOBBED with cars. And they're walking through a main part where people driving are looking for parking spaces...not looking for wandering 3 year olds in front of them.   MY. HEART. SANK. A split second. That's all it takes.

Luckily for me - there were no cars coming. I said "Hannah" and she heard, realized what was happening and she and Hailey came back to me. I could see the look on Hannah's face. She was going through her head "Uh oh..I'm in trouble. I shouldn't have walked in the street. Oh no. What was I thinking. I could have been hurt. Oh no." I could tell she KNEW what she did was dangerous. But I also knew she didn't do this on purpose. She didn't run away from me. She didn't run accross the parking lot. She was simply walking to the doctors office. But she had forgotten to take me with her. I didn't yell at her. I got down to their level and said "Listen - it's very important that you ALWAYS wait for Mommy. It's too dangerous to walk through the parking lot without me." She knew this already - but she's 3. And it's MY job to make sure she's not walking alone...not hers. Hailey was an innocent bystander in all of this. She was playing follow the leader...in this case Hannah.

After the office visit we came home, ate lunch and the girls took naps. It warmed up nice outside so we went out to play! I set up their t-ball game and they all took turns learning to swing a bat and hit the ball. At one point they were all playing in their playhouse. I was sitting on the grass. Hailey came to tell me something and as she ran away from me she looked back at me. Well Hannah was running towards me...but looking back at Emily. Yup. Just as they each turned forward they smashed heads. Hailey's nose went smack right into Hannah's head. I was up off the ground before it happend. I HEARD the crash. Then I saw the blood.

As I scoop them both up, one under each arm like I'm carrying 2 footballs, I yell at Emily "Emily get in the house now!" She had no idea what was happening but she knew it was urgent. Emily gets in the house, I toss Hannah on the floor and grab the 1st thing I could reach out of the freezer. It was a cup...one of the ones that has some liquid on the side so you can keep a drink cold. I toss it to Hannah and tell her to put it on her head. In the meantime I grabbed a towel and had Hailey holding her head back while I'm trying to stop her nose from bleeding.   Hannah had a big knot on her head which was fine - ice would do the trick. I thought I held enough pressure on Hailey's nose to stop the bleeding so I switched out the towel for a real ice pack which I found in the freezer. Told her to put it on her nose and used the moment to calm down and switch laundry. But I guess I didn't wait long enough cuz I heard Hailey say "Ewwww". I look up and find her nose gushing blood again. Ugh. Back to the towel...more pressure...more time.

We iced the wounds, cleaned up the blood, talked about looking in FRONT of us when we're running and then headed back outside. We walked around the block and then headed to the park for some time on the playground. It actually was a pretty good day :)

3/29/11

2011-03-29T21:27:00.000-04:00

It's hard to find titles to these posts sometimes. I'm not feeling creative so I'm just gonna give it today's date.

The girls and I started off the day being lazy. Our new routine in the new house is that Pete gets up 1st. He takes a shower and gets ready for work. The girls wake up usually before he's left so they'll all come into our room and climb into our bed. We'll put on the TV and let them watch Mickey Mouse or Dora and I'll get up and get myself ready for the day.

After I showered and dressed today - the girls still wanted to stay in bed. So I climbed back in bed with them and we just chilled for a while. Finally one of them had to pee so we all got up. We had some breakfast and the plan was to go to the post office today. We were going to mail out a package to Cousin Christina and get some stamps to mail out our thank you cards. But then Pete text me and said that Lord & Taylor was giving away $15 to the 1st 200 customers today. And our plans changed :)

I gave the girls bath, got them dressed and we headed to the mall. We got our $15 to Lord & Taylor and then went about our normal mall browsing routine. I say routine because the stores that we frequent had employees that knew us. Disney, Build-A-Bear, Pink, the Candy Store & Gymboree. We don't buy things at these stores. We say Hi to Mickey (and I'm waiting for the sunglasses to go on sale. Right now they're $4.50 each - but last year I grabbed them for $1.99). We go into Build-A-Bear and they get all excited to see 'their' bears on the shelf. So they say Hi to their bears (while screaming to me "Mommy! Look! It's my bear! I have that one!!!"). We browse the Pink store. I love that store. We hit up the Candy store for some 'gooey fish' aka: Swedish fish. And we've been going to Gymboree because they have THE most adorable bathing suits for the girls that I LOVE. But - they are a 2 piece (picture shorts and a t-shirt but bathing suit material). And each piece is $22. So that's $44 x 3. I can't afford to spend that much $ on bathing suits!!!!!!!!! So I'm waiting.........because I just KNOW that they will go on sale. THEY MUST. And they have matching pink/white polka dot sun hats but those didn't go on sale either and the store only has 2 left now. So we'll just wait and see. In the meantime - the girls enjoy browsing with mommy.

Usually at some point we make a pit stop to the bathroom. This mall has a kids bathroom, with a tiny toilet and sink just for toddlers. They love it so I love it and it keeps us all dry and happy.

The Easter Bunny will be at the mall Friday. Looks like we'll be back there this week :)

After the mall we headed to UConn and had lunch with Kim. She was kind enough to buy them a WHOLE BAG OF CANDY......EACH. So we took ONE piece and agreed that they could leave their bags with her and each time they visit they can have another piece of candy.

After visiting Kim - the girls went to Pete's mom and stayed there while I went to the gym. Emily fell asleep late so when I got there to pick them up around 4:15 she had just woken up. Then it was home for dinner, some play time and then bed. Hannah & Hailey went right to sleep since they didn't take naps. But Emily was wide awake. So I went and got her and we baked cookies. And we ate cookies. With milk. And had some good quality time. Then she went to bed and fell right off to sleep. Tomorrow I'll be sure to tell Hannah & Hailey that whatever Emily is talking about must have been a dream. There's no way I would have gotten just ONE child up out of bed to help me bake and eat some cookies.......

Library

2011-03-28T19:40:00.000-04:00

Today the girls and I headed to the library. Followed by naps and then painting some egg cartons.

Somehow Emily seemed to be all grown up today. 1st was this morning when I noticed she put her pants on backwards. Usually I don't say anything about how they put their clothes on. I'm happy if they do it! But for some reason I said "Look Emily - your tag is in the front. How about you turn your pants around and put the tag in the back?" Her reply: "Mom - just cut the tag off. I don't need it." Way to think outside the box kid :)

Then later tonight we were cooking dinner. Emily said to me "Mommy - you making Mickey Mouse pasta?" I said "No - I'm making steak tonight." Her reply "Awww Man!!!" as she runs off. So funny!

T-Bowl

2011-03-26T21:09:00.000-04:00

Well yesterday after the girls woke up from their 2.5 hour nap - I knew we had to do something or else they'd be up all night. So we scooped out some bird seed into 3 separate containers and headed to the school yard. We fed the birds and then played on the playground for a while before walking back home. The girls were so excited to feed the birds...they kept saying 'C'mon birdies! Here's your food!' Well on the way back...we saw a bird pick a worm out of the ground and eat it! So funny! The girls were like "No! Your supper is over there!"

Then today - we went and hung out with Lucy, Alex and BriBri. We found our way to T-Bowl and had SO MUCH FUN! The girls loved it! I would have never thought to bring them bowling. But Lucy suggested we go as something different to do (usually it's off to the mall). They didn't have bowling shoes that fit the girls so they ended up wearing their own shoes but that's ok. Better for me :) With bumpers up and brief tutorial...they were good to go!

After spending most of the day with Lucy and her girls, we headed home for dinner and bed. The girls were quick to fall asleep after a long day filled with fun.

This is a really fun age to be around the girls. They love trying new things and it's the simple things that keep them entertained. You should see their face when we see a water fountain. It's great! They love to push the button and have me hold them to drink some water. I wish I could get that excited over something so small!

mall

2011-03-25T14:00:00.000-04:00

The girls and I stayed pretty busy yesterday. 1st we went to story time at B&N. Then they went to Pete's moms for a bit (so I could work out). Once I picked them up - we headed to the mall for the rest of the day. Well a good majority of it anyway. We didn't get home until around 4:30 and we had left the house at 10 so that was a pretty long day. Rosemary watched the girls last night so Pete and I could go out. Then it was home to bed. Busy day but fun.

Today we just hung out. The girls are sleeping right now...once again they asked to take naps. The weekends are usually pretty busy so I might keep them home today rather than taking them out somewhere. We already colored and played with some bird seed. We also baked a pumpkin bread...yummy! (Well I haven't tried it yet - I'm just assuming it's yummy).

I had a woman tell me at the mall yesterday that the kids weren't mine. She said it was impossible for me to have had 3 kids at one time. Actually I'm not sure she insuated they weren't really mine - I think it was more along the lines of she thought I was lying about their ages. We were at the candy store and had more important matters to tend to. Like what color tootsie pops we all wanted!

Day at home

2011-03-23T21:21:00.002-04:00

We spent the day in today. Well - except for a walk around the block (twice) with our umbrella's. It's snowing again ugh. But I did post a new video on their youtube so head over and see my proud mommy moment :)

Mystic Aquarium

2011-03-22T20:34:00.000-04:00

My brother Andrew took the girls to the Aquarium today. They had a blast...and so did I! I was able to get my hair done, go to the gym and get some grocery shopping done. I even managed to make a really nice dinner. All in one day! I need more days like today...........

The girls had fun telling me all about their trip - they mostly enjoyed the Penguins. Andrew had fun as well. This was his first solo trip with the trio. Not an easy undertaking...especially now that they're potty trained. But he managed like a pro. They even stopped at McD's on their way back for lunch! He said the girls were very well behaved and there was no fighting. This is what I love to hear. :)

Tomorrow we're expecting more snow *gasp*. Welcome to New England. 70 degrees last week...snow this week. Luckily LB & Kristin are in FL enjoying some time with Mickey Mouse (making sure Disney is ready for us in 2 years!). They get to miss out on the snow.

Night away...

2011-03-21T19:00:00.000-04:00

...from the kids! Pete's parents took the kids last night. What a nice break that was - but it was nice to get them back. What in the world did we ever do before we had kids?!?!

Tomorrow I'm getting my hair cut/colored (for the 1st time in a year). My brother Andrew is taking the kids...alone. To the Aquarium!!!!!! They are going to be in for a big surprise because I didn't say anything to them yet.

And I just might find my way to get a pedicure when I'm done with my hair!!!

GRRRRRRRR

2011-03-19T14:16:00.000-04:00

So much for Hannah only peeing her pants in the afternoon. We were at the park this morning and she looks at me and says "I peed." Simple. Matter of fact.

Friends!

2011-03-18T20:53:00.000-04:00

The girls made a friend - though she was only visiting the neighbor for a couple of weeks...they all got along great. Her name is Sara and she is 2.5 (but BIGGER than Emily!). She and her grandmother were staying with one of our neighbors for a couple of weeks. While we were outside the past few days - she came over to play! Today when Emily woke up (from her nap) she said "Can I go get my friend?" AWWWEEEE!!!!

Hannah has been having A LOT of accidents lately. She peed at the table during dinner tonight. She's been peeing in her pants mostly in the afternoon before dinner. I do ask them to sit on the potty several times a day and she will...but she doesn't always go. I'm not sure what changed or what's causing this but hopefully it's just a stage and she gets over it soon. When we're out - they all tell me when they need to use the potty. And I can even make them hold it for a while if we're not conveniently close to a bathroom. She has no problem with that. It's only when we're home that she's having accidents. She hasn't had one single accident while we're out. Hmmmmm

Spring Fever!

2011-03-17T14:17:00.000-04:00

Today is absolutely beautiful! My brother Andrew came over and we went to story time with the girls. Then we headed right to the park! I love this kind of weather!!!!!!!! The girls were soooo excited to be at the park. And their excitement is contagious.

They're sleeping right now (they were so tired!). When they wake up - we'll be outside the rest of the day for sure. But you know...the sun is getting warmer so I'm thinking we're gonna have to put on SUNBLOCK from now on!!!!!!!!!!! Love it!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! (In the middle of summer I'll look back on this post and cringe because I'll be sick of sunblock by then lol).

Good girls

2011-03-16T19:47:00.000-04:00

My girls are very well behaved (when we're out in public...). When we're home that's a different story all together lol.

Today we went to story time at Barnes & Noble. Being behind as usual - I grabbed the girls each a peanut butter granola bar on my out the door. We get to B&N, park in the street, puddle hop our way over to the book store and make story time with 20 seconds to spare! The place was pretty crowded (probably about 15 kids today). So I sit the girls down, open their bars and they sit quietly eating. I noticed the 'look'. OMG what did I do now? (We don't usually visit this particular B&N for story time so this was our 1st appearance here). So I'm thinking - and my mind is going a mile a minute. 'The girls are quiet. We didn't push anyone out of the way. WTH is it?!?!' Then it dawns on me.........holy shit I gave them something with peanut butter. There are other kids around...what the hell was I thinking?!?! Now I know why I'm getting the 'look'. Ok so I make a mental note not to do this again. And I also decide that we'll skip the craft after story time and get a head start on the rest of our plans for the day.

With that said - when it came to craft time (the girls are used to stories then crafts...) I said to them "We have to skip crafts today. But we'll do it next time." They all got up and said "Ok Mommy." And we left. (Yeah...I'm sharing a bragging moment). Off we went to visit Kim at work - who had some yummy cupcakes for the girls to eat. Then it was off to the mall (we spend a lot of time at the mall because we live only a 5 minute drive from it!!!).

Hailey's Boo Boo Bear needed some repairs as did my cell phone. I had a feeling it was going to take FOREVER in AT&T so I prepared all of us. I told the girls our plan was to go get Hailey's bear fixed, get some Swedish fish from the candy store and then go to the cell phone store. We got the bear fixed. We got the candy (each got their own bag to 'fill' and carry around). Then I said "Ok - you CAN'T eat your candy till we get to the cell phone store." I did this so that I would have some much needed SILENCE when talking to the employee at the store. We walked from one end of the mall to the other - and they didn't touch their candy. I even stopped for a coffee! All they kept saying was 'Not yet right Mommy?' And I kept saying 'Almost!!!! We're almost there!!!!' We get there, I say go ahead and eat your candy, sign my name on the list to be helped and go about my business of paying my bill with their kiosk. Well I didn't hear them call my name (trust me...my kids were chomping on candy so it wasn't them being too loud!). So I try to sign my name on the list again but the machine isn't working (figures! This is why I'm here in the 1st place!). So in my frustration I say 'This thing works about as well my damn phone.' More to myself than anything. But to my surprise I got some help :) Well...not much help. I was told they couldn't swap out my phone and that I needed to go to the Apple store.

There is an Apple store in the mall. I didn't debate going there. The girls were already being so well behaved that I couldn't make them sit through one more boring store. So we leave AT&T and my plan WASN'T to leave the mall. We hadn't visited Mickey Mouse at the Disney store yet. BUT when leaving AT&T I see a young man with a black hooded sweatshirt, hood up covering his head and he was carrying a black back pack that was full. This would have NEVER concerned me in the past. I probably wouldn't have paid any attention to the kid. But we left the mall :( It's a sad world we live in some days. I was thinking in my head "Why on earth am I leaving?" But at the same time I was saying "Because it's better to be safe than sorry."

This post rambles. But I have to say that my girls are good girls and I'm thankful for that. I'm pretty hard on them but days like today make me realize that we do what works best for us.

Naps/No naps...who knows

2011-03-15T19:56:00.000-04:00

Yesterday the girls didn't take a nap at all. And they did quite fine. Not much whining and they weren't too tired by the end of the day. They went to bed at 7:00 and fell right to sleep and they woke up at 7:00. So 12 hours of sleep and you'd think that was plenty. But then today - they seemed exhausted so I put them down for a nap at 11:45. They were sleeping by 11:46 and they slept for 2.5 hours! I guess it's just hit or miss. Tomorrow - there won't be naps. We have plans :)

We visited our local library yesterday and what a treat that turned out to be. They have tons of books (duh) but they have a HUGE play area for the kids. There's kitchen stuff, a train table, lego table, baby dolls, dress up clothes for the kids, a HUGE doll house, and even a puppet theater! Needless to say we didn't read any books. The girls enjoyed their time playing with all the toys. But I think I might make this a weekly trip and get some reading done for myself.

We stayed home today because we had a lot of people coming to visit. 1st was the guy who was suppose to fix the basement stairs. He ended up taking out 2 support beams (not intentionally) and my brother Andrew almost fell through the floor in the kitchen. Guess we have more of a mess to 'fix' now.
Then Miss Donna came to visit - WE MISSED HER SO MUCH! I was really happy to see her. You never know how much you truely miss someone until you don't get so see them for a while. Miss Donna is just one of those people who I know I can be myself around and who doesn't judge me. She has seen me at my worst, seen my house at it's worst, seen my kids at their worst...and yet she continues to visit :) Love her! Then my sister came by. She took the kids for a walk and Hailey ran into the street. Grrrrr. This kid is FEARLESS and DARING at the same time. She also knows how to push my buttons. My brother Andrew came and then the cable guy came! While they were here - Pete came home early (he had to be to work by 6:30 today so he got out early). Then LB came home. We even had a brief visit from one of the neighborhood kids who lost their cell phone in our yard while waiting for the bus this morning. (We found it and returned it). During the chaos - I left to go to the gym for a much needed work out. Then somehow - through everything...we all managed to sit down and eat a family dinner. Steaks on the grill YUM.

What a day! But it was fun. Filled with people and things going on. The girls managed to get a few walks in with some backyard play too.

And we have cable now *sigh*.

Busy Bodies!

2011-03-12T20:03:00.000-05:00

That's what we've been for the past 2 days. Yesterday LB was home so we started the day by taking the girls to Denny's for breakfast. That was followed by trips to Michaels, Old Navy, Marshals, Target and then McD's for lunch and play time in the play scape! Once we got home - we played outside for a better part of the rest of the day. It was gorgeous out!

The girls went to bed around 6:30 but I wasn't here. I was out with some friends enjoying some 'me' time. :)

Today - the girls and I went to the St. Patrick's Day parade. It was their 1st parade and although it was windy and chilly - we had fun. I brought blankets so the girls were sitting up on a cement wall and I kept them covered. Someone offered to buy the wagon from me. NO! Someone else bought the girls a pretzel. Thank goodness! They had been asking for one and I said yes because the vendor was on his way over to us. But what ended up happening is that people started going up to the vendor so he didn't quite make it over to where we were. I couldn't leave the girls and we couldn't leave our spot (it was really crowded). So when this woman bought them a pretzel - I accepted with a smile :)

We came home after the parade but only long enough to use the bathroom and eat lunch. Then it was off to the mall where we needed to buy some BDay cards and belts for Hannah & Hailey. Their jeans are always falling off their little butts! No more of that..........

After the mall we came home and Pete was kind enough to feed the kids and put them to bed while I went and worked out!!! Yay! More 'me' time!

Story Time

2011-03-10T13:42:00.000-05:00

I took the girls to Barnes & Noble for story time today. They really enjoy it and they sit quietly for the whole book that's being read to them. After the story they do a craft of some sort (today it was coloring a skunk) and then we usually go to the cafe for a snack. Usually I bring one with us (today they ate their snack on the way lol). But they had pizza pretzels! It was a big, fat, soft pretzel filled with pizza on the inside. The girls shared one and they loved it! What a great idea...though I'm not sure I could recreate it at home.

Back at home and they're napping again. And again they went to bed on their own. They napped yesterday and still went to bed without any problems last night. They also slept the whole night so I guess maybe they're not really ready to ditch the day time snooze? I don't know.....

Today at Barnes & Noble a woman said something pretty rude and obnoxious to me. I'm use to this really. But there are some days when I just don't have the patience to hold my tongue. Today was one of them. It started with her pointing to Hannah & Hailey and she said "These 2 are obviously twins but what is she?" as she pointed to Emily. I simply said "They're triplets." Because at this point I already don't like her tone so it's not worth my time speaking to her. Now I'm back to giving them their pretzel and trying to be happy and this woman says to me "Oh you must have done that drug thing. Well I hope you're happy cuz you got what you asked for!" Now - if you don't have multiples then you're jaw is probably on the floor. But if you have triplets or more...then you are shaking your head saying 'yup...been there done that' because this isn't new to those of us who have to explain our offspring on a daily basis.

I shot my head up and replied "Yes - I asked God for a child to kiss and hug and He gave me THREE. I asked for a perfect little angel and He gave me THREE. I asked for a child to call me Mommy and He gave me THREE. I see you don't have any and it's probably best that way. Have a nice day."

I don't get why people can't just accept that A: it's none of your fucking business how I conceived. B: it's certainly none of your fucking business if I have my hands full and C: if you don't have something nice to say then don't say a fucking thing at all. I'm still pretty irritated. I shouldn't let people get to me like this but it's so hard not to. Some days I'm worn pretty thin as it is. Things like this are what can put me over the edge. I'm simply trying to have a good time with MY kids. I'm not bothering anyone. I didn't ask anyone where they got their leather bag or shoes. Imagine "Hey - what animal did that come from?" or "Hey - did you know that those shoes were made in a sweat shop by some 8 year old?"

Shit just leave me the fuck alone when I'm out with my kids. Or tell me they're cute or that you like their hair. Tell me how awesome it is to have 3 at the same time. Tell me I'm a saint for taking them out in public and having to deal with assholes every turn we make. Tell me they're well behaved...better yet - tell THEM they're well behaved. Tell THEM how cute they are and how lucky they are to have friends for life. But leave it that PLEASE.

Boo Boo Bears

2011-03-09T13:20:00.000-05:00

My cousin Jen had a great idea. I was saying how every two minutes the girls are coming up to me complaining they have one boo boo or another. It's constant. And yes - I'm their mom and yes I should be kissing all their boo boos and making them go away. But I have other things to do too! And trust me - they have A TON of boo boos. So Jen suggested we get a BOO BOO BEAR! A special bear the girls can go to when they have a boo boo. The bear will kiss their little boo boo goodbye and make them all better.
So yesterday we headed to the mall. My intent was to let them make ONE bear at Build A Bear. But since we 'rolling deep' with 2 of my brothers + my sister - the girls conned their way into getting their OWN bears. So far so good though! Each one has had about 30483643 boo boos since getting their bears and each one has gotten 100% better after getting a kiss from their bear! Imagine that!!!!!!!!!!

No worries - I'll continue to kiss boo boos when needed. But at least I'll have time to do some laundry in between now.

We got the water out of the basement and permanent sump pump installed today. Hopefully we won't see any more water down there FOREVER.

I have been trying to keep the girls up all day without naps. They seemed to be giving up naps on their own really. They sometimes sleep for only an hour, other times they don't sleep at all. So rather than fight with them - I'd prefer to just keep them up all day and put them to bed a bit earlier at night. However today - they all climbed into their beds on their own. Emily said "I just need a few minutes mom." And they've been sleeping for about an hour now. I guess some days they'll nap and other days they won't. We'll see how it goes.

Getting there

2011-03-07T12:48:00.000-05:00

I'll get back to blogging when things settle down a bit. We have been beyond busy. The girls had croup which I ended up taking Hannah & Hailey to the doctor for. That was on a Friday - only to have to bring all 3 of them back to the doctor the following Wednesday. They all have ear infections and all have sinus infections. They also have this horrible cough that is just persistent and keeping them up at night. The doctor finally agreed to give them cough medicine.

With 3 sick kids, one new house and lots of stuff to do - God thought I needed more so He filled our basement with 3" of water today. We had a ton of stuff down in the basement. I was able to take some stuff out and hopefully it'll dry. The girls train table, my grandmothers end tables, and an old wooden toy box are what I'm hoping to save. The couch, treadmill, cribs, bed frame - all are probably going to be a complete loss.

If I could get away with throwing a complete tantrum and stomping my feet while screaming - I would do just that right now. But since that won't do any good...I'm gonna put on my snow boots (cuz it's not like I even own rain boots) and go help push this water out of the basement while the kids have fun at Pete's moms house for the day.

Crazy Week

2011-02-28T13:55:00.000-05:00

Kids Bday was the 22nd

Thur we had some family issues (my side...as usual).

Friday was suppose to be my day to clean and prepare for the big party Sat. But Hannah & Hailey were sick. Both had croup and needed a visit to the pediatrician. In addition to that we had some unexpected (though welcome) company on Thur night. So Friday was a bust.

Which left Saturday to to clean & prepare for the party, have the party and then clean after the party. Luckily for me I have the best friends and family in the world. The preparation was done. Not by me. I didn't cook a single thing or put up a single decoration. Nor did I even have to clean up after the party since that too was taken care of.

The girls received some amazing gifts but more importantly they spent time with people that are the closest to me. I hope that one day they have the special bonds with people that I have with some of my friends and family.

HAPPY HAPPY HAPPY 3RD BIRTHDAY!!!

2011-02-22T20:28:00.000-05:00

My 'babies' turned 3 today!!! What a day of fun we had to celebrate too. Pete took the day off from work and we started the day with little gift bags filled with small goodies for the girls. They also got to open their new big wheels! (Which are too big but we'll work on that lol).

We headed out early and went to Bounce U for some jumpin' fun. Then it was off to Denny's for birthday breakfast. After breakfast we headed to the bakery so the girls could each pick out a cupcake for their special day. Then home to nap and get ready for the family to come over for pizza and cake!

Just as my mom was leaving we saw there were two packages on the doorstep. We opened them right away and to the girls surprise it was a gift from their cousin Sofia! They each got their own doctors dress up outfits! Along with a beautiful sign that was hand made...and made with love for sure. So I decided to immediately start a new birthday tradition. I found a place to hang the sign and each year on their birthday I will take a picture of the girls standing under the sign. And each year we can see how much they've grown :)

After the party we gave the girls a bath. We have another new tradition with that as well. After they take baths they wrap themselves up in their horse blankets (hand made by my cousin) to keep warm while I dry their hair. It's so much warmer than a bathrobe! And much more comfortable too. I love looking at my babies all snuggled up in their blankets with their hair all wet just waiting for me to blow dry their hair. I love their wet little noses, little toes, bright eyes and big smiles.

Happy Birthday my beautiful babies. Although you're growing up - you'll always be 'my babies' in my heart.

Today was a good day. A very good day indeed.

FRIENDS & FAMILY

2011-02-18T13:08:00.000-05:00

Yay we have internet back!!!!!! No cable yet (I'm TOTALLY fine with this - if it were up to me we wouldn't have TV's in the house).

So much to post about but this post is simply about the fact that I am blessed to have such wonderful friends and family. This move was no simple task. However - at one point in time...there were 15 people standing in front of me asking what I wanted them to do next. 15

This help wasn't just about picking up a box and moving locations. Everyone helped in ways they could and ways that were necessary. I have 2 cousins that traveled hundreds of miles to help out. One them took my kids OVER NIGHT. She came to pick them up and she even came and dropped them off. THEY HAD A BLAST. It was a mini vacation for them. They were greeted at her house with a pool full of bird seed (yes BIRD SEED). Hidden beneath it all were insects, snakes, frogs...(all fake of course). They went on a scavenger hunt to find these things and loved every minute of it. They played with the water table inside, snow outside - they even went sledding down a big huge hill and of course loved that as well. They spent time with their cousins and even went to bed without a problem when it was time. It's easy for me to take an extra child for the day. What's one more? But flip that around....and it's a HUGE task.

Without the girls under our feet we were able to accomplish moving the entire condo in 2 days. With the help of our family and friends of course. People helped pack, move, unpack, clean, paint, make trips to the store...even cook! We were delivered a homemade lasagna dinner complete with salad, bread, chicken cutlets, and more pasta on the side (for those of us that don't like cheese!).

Kim (Hailey's Godmother) gave the girls (more so ME) the gift of redecorating their entire room. From curtains, to bedspreads and even pictures on the wall. She did the work herself and the room looks amazing. When the girls came home - they were EXCITED. They've NEVER been excited about their room. It's not a place they play - simply a place they sleep. But since the makeover - they want to go to their room just to hang out!

So - from the bottom of my heart:

THANK YOU!!!!!!!! To everyone that helped and made this move possible. It was more than I could have imagined and I am so grateful to have wonder friends and family in our lives.

We're here!!!

2011-02-16T06:46:00.000-05:00

We are moved! We just don't have internet, phone or TV yet. Will post more details about everything once we get internet and I can use the computer and not my iPhone to type!
Girls are doing fantastic!