Monday, May 10, 2010

Spring!


Happy Mother's Day to my amazing mom's who I've learned so much from!
I had a great Mother's Day yesterday. I woke up to a Starbucks Latte and the girls coming down the stairs with a rose in hand. It was so sweet seeing them half awake, walking in a straight line, each with a rose. Melted my heart. There truly is nothing as great as being a mother. It really is a gift and I'm so thankful for the opportunity to undertake the HUGE responsibility of parenting! Even with all the challenges, I know there's not a better job in the world for me. :) Here we are, trying to get some shots with my girls for Mother's Day... I love my babies!!!
Emily, Hailey, Addy
Saturday night, we had our triplet friends over for dinner. (These are the triplet girls who share my girls' bday) My girls are so in love with Chris & Carolyn's girls it is so cute. They each have their little "friend" that they always want to hold. Now all of their dolls are named "Sydney, Brooke, and Taylor" too. I love seeing them act like big sisters! :)
Sydney, Addy, Taylor, Hailey, Brooke, & Emily
Going for a walk in their girly baseball hats from Papa Hank. :)
I LOVE SPRING!!! Tulips in our front yard....
Here the girls are with Grandpa Joel and Grandma Gwen! They miss them a ton already!!!
Emily, Hailey Addison
Em - lovin' life :)
Hailey and Grandpa Joel bonding
Grandma Gwen and Emily
All 3 girls in the baby crib that I used to play with when I was little. My grandpa made it for me! Not it is REALLY being put to use!
Hailey, Emily, & Addy checking out the animals at the zoo. I never let them get out of their stroller when we go to the zoo because I'm afraid they'd all run in different directions. Grandma Gwen and Grandpa Joel were with me so we let them out. And even with the one on one attention, it was STILL a challenge keeping up with these 3!!!

Thursday, May 6, 2010

You Know You Have Triplets When...

I found this from a couple other triplet mom's blogs and couldn't believe how true some of these were! They made me laugh. So, if you ever wondered what it was like to have triplets, here's a glimpse into life as a triplet parent. :)

Your stroller has its own zip code.

Dinnertime is officially declared an Olympic Event

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

Your husband has seriously tried to motorize your stroller.

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

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

A regular sized pack of diapers lasts only 3 days.

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

You are obsessed with diapers.

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

You can throw French-fries to the rear set of seats without looking and none end up on the floor.

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

You feel like a sheepherder instead of a parent

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

You can carry 3 plates of food and 3 cups (or 4) to the table without spilling anything and you’ve never been a waitress.

A trip to Target for diapers is a vacation.

Your stroller costs more than your first car.

You can hold at least three conversations at the same time.

You no longer have a proper name you are either “The Lady With Triplets” or Moooooooooommmmmmmmyyyyyyyyyyyyy

You automatically divide or multiply everything by 3.

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

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

You know you are a MoM when you can sweep, talk on the phone, AND read to your children all at the same time.

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

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

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

You not only are familiar with what a 300 count box of Kleenex looks like when they are all removed from the box one at a time, but you know for a fact you can’t put them back because you’ve tried.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Oh, and you consider going to Walmart at 11pm “going out”

Because you’ve charted poops pees and food intake.

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

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

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

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

The awareness of silence strikes terror into your soul.

You know the black market value of a Runabout stroller.

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

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

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

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

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

You know what the word Peri stands for.

You use the word singleton.

You need a hitch for your stroller

You refer to your babies as A B and C

$15.00 baby outfits seem too expensive.

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

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

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

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

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

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

You know what a crib tent is!

You consider leashes a viable safety option.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Your pediatrician’s office recognizes your voice.

You feel so so so BLESSED…..and tired. :)

Wednesday, April 28, 2010

Patience Patience Patience

Have I mentioned that potty training 3 two year olds is no fun at ALL?! ahh! I'm getting so sick of it! Two in a half is a TOUGH age to parent. Ryan and I just sit down at night EXHAUSTED after they finally fall asleep. Crazy that I feel more tired at this stage than I have since they were born! Not sure how that works but they just take more patience, energy, and everything lately! Ahh! The potty training is going great for Addy. She is dry most of the time and just occasionally has an accident - like maybe one or two a week. Emily is doing pretty good too...but again, occasionally just doesn't make it there. (And it's probably because I forget to ask her to go cuz I can't remember who went when). And then there's sweet Hailey. She soooo wants to wear underwear like her sisters. So we let her "try." But then she usually has an accident right away and then says "Last chance Mom?" And "I promise." She totally wants to wear the underwear but doesn't want to "do it." It's just way more frustrating now because we KNOW they can all go on the potty. It's much more "acceptable" for them to have an accident when they didn't know HOW to do it at all. They WERE trained at one point but then they, especially Hailey, regressed. So then it's REALLY frustrating when they just wet themselves! I blame myself like maybe they weren't ready and stuff when we started but then at the same time, they were all trained for like a week! So I KNOW they can do it! It's just waiting for them to TOTALLY want to do it! I feel like the constant cleaning up of poop and pee is just never going to end! This stage is just a tough one for us. Discipline feels like it doesn't work very well. They are always taking each others toys and think they can do everything by themselves so EVERYTHING takes longer to do. Basically, I feel like Year Two is all about the parents developing LOADS of patience!!! Seriously! I find myself often taking deep breaths and asking for His help all the time. We'll get through this year, right? :)
Dealing with them has made me reflect on how God must feel with us so often. That He wants us to "get it" and just obey Him and listen and yet SOOO often we fail and sin again and again and you'd think He'd get extremely frustrated with us! But thank goodness that God IS love!! He loves us through it....which is incredible...and when I think about how He reacts to my disobedience with extreme patience, then it makes it a little easier to have more patience with my girls. By the way, I just wanted to put in a blurb for the book "Crazy Love" by Francis Chan. www.crazylovebook.com My small group just finished it and we HIGHLY recommend it! It was one of the more challenging books that I have read in a long time, not hard to read, but hard to digest the material! Very convicting and VERY good!
Anyway, it's not like it's all bad though. I just needed to let you know how things were going. :) Because they're unbelievably cute and so conversational lately that I laugh a lot throughout the day. Sometimes they act so serious and so grown up it's so funny. I am always amazed how quickly they learn and the phrases they come up with. The other day they were playing and I asked them what they were doing and they said "Organizing." Since when did they learn what that was or how to say that word?! And they say "Actually Mom..." And "Not quite." So grown up. Anyways, my parents are flying in from Denver today which will be GREAT since they haven't seen the girls since October. Can't wait to see them!
Here Grandma Kathy is giving Emily and Hailey their first haircut!

Emily and Grandma
Em - a little concerned but oh so brave..
Grandma and Hailey
Hailey loving the salon. :)
Hailey

Tuesday, April 20, 2010

"Ta-Da!"


So...we wish we could just have you all over for dinner in our new kitchen...but since I realized that would take a VERY long time, we'll resort to posting some pics and we hope we can have you over SOME day!!
Here are the pics, before and after, from the same vantage point.
BEFORE:
AFTER!


BEFORE: - dining room


After!

Before:
After!


BEFORE:

AFTER:
"The guys!!!!!!"
The girls really got to love all the workers but especially "Mr. Brian and Mr. Jon" because they were here practically every day. They seriously were the best! I would HIGHLY recommend The CabineTree to ANYONE in the area. They have an A+ customer service rating and we would give them the same rating! They finished our project so fast, were AMAZING at what they do, worked with our budget, and made the whole project so much FUN too! We are so grateful for all their hard work and for putting up with 3 girls running in and out of their "work zone" all the time. :) The girls still ask about "the guys!" We had a GREAT experience from beginning to end! And we're sad it's over! Oh wait - no we're not. :) :)


Here the girls are enjoying their new kitchen. (HEA)

Hanging out outside with good friends Braden and Tyler. (This is one of those pics that they are going to hate us for when they are in high school with these boys!) :) :) - Addy, Braden, Hailey, Tyler, Emily
And my sweet mama Addy.... She's a natural! :)

Tuesday, April 13, 2010

Turkeys

Check out these turkey's! FIVE of them were in our front yard the other day! It was crazy! The girls were screaming "Gobble! Gobble!" out the front door and the turkeys were "gobble-ing" back at them. Great entertainment at 6 a.m. :)

And here are some more "turkeys".....
Who should get their hair cut first? Emily or Ryan? :)

Thursday, April 8, 2010

Triplet Girlfriends

Brooke & Emily, Addy & Sydney, Hailey & Taylor

So this morning we went to one of my triplet mom friend's house. Her name is Carolyn....and we have so much in common it's kind of scary.
1 - we both have triplet girls - 2 identical, 1 fraternal
2 - our girls were ALL born on October 3rd. Ours in 2007, theirs in 2009!
3 - She assigned her girls "colors" when they were little too. Addy and Sydney (the fraternal ones) are both purple. Emily and Brooke (the smallest ones) - are both green. And Hailey and Taylor are both pink!
4 - Both of our triplet sets were spontaneous!
5 - Our hubbies LOVE golf
6 - We love shopping :)
7 - Carolyn and I have birthdays 5 days apart!
8 - Carolyn and Ryan both went to the same high school.
9 - Their good family friends live basically in our backyard.


There's probably more things we just haven't figured them out yet. I just feel like it's wild and we must be meant to be friends or something. Seriously, that is just SOO random to have triplets, 3 girls, same combo, and on the SAME day! I love it! :) Plus, Carolyn is young and fun and a GREAT mom already! I feel like we even parent the same! So neat to reminisce as I watch her parent...and I think she loves seeing what she's got ahead of her by watching my girls. Ohhh boy. :)
Addy, Emily, and Hailey were so cute with Sydney, Brooke and Taylor. Addy is especially nurturing and motherly. When she was holding Sydney, she even snuck and gave her a kiss on the forehead. Soooo sweet! Emily was more interested in playing with their 2 dogs....and Hailey had fun hanging out with/smothering "Miss Carolyn" and her cute necklace. :) So funny.
Anyways, it was a fun morning and such a blessing to know someone going through the same things! Can't wait til next time!
And, the kitchen is basically done! The electricians come tomorrow to hang a light and screw in some outlet covers and then that's it!!! It only took 4 weeks and 5 days! Pretty good! We LOVE it! :)

Sunday, April 4, 2010

Homesick

So excited to introduce to you my very own NEPHEW! I've never HAD a NEPHEW before! Bryce Daniel Peters was born to my brother Craig and sister in law Laura! He entered the world the morning of April 1st...he is such a tough boy already as he has to stay in the NICU for about a week...but we are SOOO thankful he's progressing well and doing good! It is seriously KILLING me to not be with my whole family in Denver this weekend to celebrate baby Bryce....

and to celebrate my other brother Kyle getting ENGAGED to an incredible woman Heather on the SAME DAY! We all thought it was April fool's! :) But we're soooo excited that they weren't kidding around! Heather is a gift straight from heaven for Kyle and we are sooo excited for you two lovebirds too! I just want to give everyone a big squeeze and BE THERE to celebrate all the occasions and especially..
our Risen Savior! Yes, I am homesick right now for my whole family in Denver...so many exciting things are going on and I hate to not be with them. But at the same time...on a day like today, Easter Sunday, I think about how I should be more homesick for Heaven. :) Christ did and continues to do so much for me - a sinner. Because He died and rose again, He has given me eternal life in heaven someday...as well as joy and hope and peace and love on this earth now. :) What a loving God to serve! Happy Easter everyone and Congratulations Brothers!!! Welcome to the world Bryce and welcome to the family Heather!!