Sisters- Wordless Wednesday

Kate, Ella, Sarah, Maggie May 2008

Crazy Kiddos

Tonight Donna and Kari helped me with the girls' baths and bedtime routines. Nothing was out of the ordinary except for Kari being here, but bedtime was normal otherwise. We had dinner, they didn't nap all that great today, and nobody seems to be ill.... but for some unknown reason, when I put Maggie, Kate, and Sarah to bed at 7:30pm NOBODY went to sleep! Thankfully when Ella got to bed just after the little girls, she was out like a light almost minutes later. Sometime around 8:30pm the antics from M,K,& S's room had reached a new level. There was a noise that sounded like something was being beaten against the wall, but it sounded like it was moving. It turns out that they were each standing in their beds taking turns banging their heads into the wall. I had a little pep talk with them about getting to sleep and put them back down.


Closer to 9pm I no longer heard the banging noise, but they had begun yelling loudly, and I decided to find out what the fuss was about. Sitting in the office a few minutes before going in, I thought that it was certain this would be the night someone would fling themselves over the edge of the crib, therefore propelling me to fix up the toddler beds that I so dread moving them into.

However, this time when I walked in I found Maggie and Sarah both standing in corners of their beds so that they were as close to Kate's bed as possible. They are set up so that they don't connect or touch any other furniture because I don't want them climbing out onto each other, or anything else. The light was on. Apparently Maggie can reach the switch from her bed now. Kate was sound asleep on her back. Maggie and Sarah, on the other hand, were each yelling at the top of their lungs "KATE, KATE, KATE" over and over again. Oh, and they had taken their pants off and were working on their shirts.

When I got Sarah out of her crib to change her diaper, she was huffing and puffing like she'd been running a race. I guess she had- back and forth across her crib. They both insisted on having a pair or socks put on their feet when I put the pj's back on, and I obliged. I firmly insisted that Maggie not turn the light back on until morning, and she agreed. Tomorrow we'll see about moving her bed over, even just a couple of inches, so that she can't reach the switch.

Sarah was the next to bite the dust, and that left poor little Maggie all alone. She cried softly for Sarah for a couple of minutes, and then cried hard for her lovey after she dropped it over the edge of the crib, but once I realized what she was crying for I quickly replaced it. Now I'm happy to report that as of 9:30pm they are all asleep!

I guess this might be how people expect a house with toddler triplets to be at bedtime, but really this is not our norm.... thank goodness!!! I am so grateful that they love each other this much though. That part was actually heart warming!

Memorial Day 2008

Daddy's at work today, so the girls and I spent the morning at Donna's playing in her yard and pool. After looking at these pictures I realize I've got to suck it up and actually read the manual on my camera.... I could be doing so much better, if I only had a clue how the thing worked!?!










This evening we went over to Mimi and Pop's to swim, play on the swing set, ride the mule, chase the dogs, and have a grand old time. We enjoyed hamburgers and hot dogs on the grill with Nanny and Pop C, Mimi and Pop, Kari and James, and Donna.... it took all of us adults to watch the four little gals while they were swimming tonight for some reason! I hardly took any pictures, but I had to include this silly one of Kate. Her new sense of style is cracking me up these days.... mismatched socks and high top Chuck Taylor Converse tennis shoes that are at least 2 sizes too big for her, color pink.... worn all night at her insistence.


Kari and James are home for the week and a big party is planned for this weekend. We're so excited to have them here, and we're looking forward to seeing some of our friends we haven't seen in a while this Saturday night as well. Hey, for that matter, we're just looking forward to having Scott home again soon!



Lastly, on this Memorial Day 2008 our family would like to remember all the soldiers who have died in service to our country. Our prayer is that their families know how grateful we are to them for all the freedoms that we enjoy. Thank you from our family to those who are serving, have served, and to the family members of the service men and women of our great nation! We love and appreciate you all.

Hope that everyone had a wonderful Memorial Day!

First Dip of the Summer

We went to a graduation party last night honoring two of my first cousins and many of their friends on their completion of high school. What a major milestone in their lives.... and now that I am one, I recognize it is a huge milestone in the lives of their parents as well!

Here's a picture of the graduates

While we were there, my girls had their first dip in the pool for the summer. I guess technically their first dip this year was in the ocean on our trip to Hilton Head Island, but last night was their first time in the pool. They had a blast climbing from the hot tub (while it was warming up- NOT after it reached it's final temperature) to the pool and back. The pool had a great big walk in area so they were able to play without too much assistance from us adults.... they've all got a bad case of do it my own self -itis these days. Armed with their floaties and the watering cans they played until they were purple and shivering.

Ella

Sarah

Maggie

Kate

They all love the water, and hopefully by the end of this summer they will be little water bugs. Maggie woke up this morning saying, "Go swim Mimi's pool." They usually love going to church on Sunday's, but they were all a little disappointed when we put on dresses instead of swimming suits today.

After lunch they did get a chance to take another quick dip at Mimi's before we came home for naps. Between swimming last night and then again this afternoon, I am reminded of just how tired and hungry swimming always makes a person. They girls ate like a pack of wolves last night after we got them out of the water and have slept very, very well both last night and this afternoon.... including big sis who had pretty much given up napping altogether since sometime last fall.

Woohoo summertime is finally here!! This post is part of the Huggies Little Swimmers blog blast over at The Parent Bloggers Network. Check out some of the other family summer adventures posts here , or enter one yourself for a chance to win a cool summer prize pack from Huggies!

Birmingham~ Just the Two of Us

***Finally edited to add party pictures***
Since I've posted some cute pictures of the girls recently, I'll back track now and explain my blogging absence for almost a full week... I'm going to blame it on traveling for the weekend and regrouping at home once again. This is going to be a long post and mostly just written so I'll be able to remember the events, so don't read if you are only interested in hearing about the girls.

On Friday last week I felt like a caged bird. The feeling was overwhelming. I was just about to explode with the grumpiness, fussies, and disgusting incidents (I'll tell about that one later) that were taking place here, and I just generally needed to get out of my everyday life for a little break.

Friday afternoon I was finally in the car headed south to meet Scott who had been working for his Reserve unit all week long. The girls were in very capable hands, and best of all I was on my way for a weekend long siesta during which I was only responsible for myself.... not concerned with who stole which toy, why so and so was crying, what was for breakfast, lunch, and dinner for the little gals, etc.

Scott and I went back to the city we previously called home for a weekend getaway. Birmingham was just as wonderful as we remembered it. All the great restaurants, parks, shopping, things to do, and last but certainly not least the FRIENDS we had left behind made us wonder why we ever left... and then we remembered the four little blessings who were home with an entire crew of people who are blessing us daily with their assistance, and we know we made a good choice... not to mention all our friends here at home. It was nice, however, to visit Birmingham and our old buddies again even for just a short while.

Once we got into town on Friday night we headed to Taziki's for some excellent Greek food- a pleasant meal... just the two of us. Then we went out to our friend's parents' cabin by the lake where we were all set to stay. It was just after dark, but the cabin is off in the woods so it was very dark going in. I should also mention that their entire family enjoys hunting, and there were animal skins/furs all over the cabin. Otherwise, it was a very charming, old, wooden barn with a tin roof that had been completely remodeled on the inside to include a bathroom, small kitchen, living area, and a loft bedroom. After checking out the downstairs, we trekked upstairs to put our bags in the bedroom, and that is when I heard it.... er, them! It sounded like an entire herd of mice or something was moving between the ceiling and the tin roof. I think I would have been okay if they had been running scared because of the noise of us intruders, but they didn't stop moving around for what felt like forever- obviously they were not scared! When our friend Jimbo stopped by to make sure we were settled in and had found everything, I begged asked if it would be all the same to him if we just stayed at his nice, not out in the woods, in-town home. For a bachelor, he keeps a very clean pad and even had clean sheets on the guest bed, and blessedly didn't mind our last minute change of plans. As it turns out, all the noise at the cabin was flying squirrels, but I would likely have not slept one wink out there and am so glad we opted to stay at Jimbo's instead.

On Saturday morning we slept late and then went into downtown Birmingham. We were headed to an old bookstore that we used to spend hours in (pre- children) when we talked with one of the guys Scott taught while he was giving flight instruction. Jody and his wife met us at the Pepper Place Market. It was very neat and something that we'd never done while living there. Every Saturday morning from late spring through the summer they hold an out door market where local farmers bring the goodies from their crops to sell to the public. There are also little gourmet food tents, jewelry and art tents, and home made ice cream and lemonade, and live music. It was delightful, and I found myself wondering how much fun it would be to bring the girls back sometime to enjoy it! Afterwards we did spend a few hours in the bookstore... I read while Scott scoured the place.

After we'd had all the bookstore browsing time we wanted, we went to visit with a couple of friends from our old Sunday school class and supper club. Chip and Beverly, along with their girls Evan and RaeNi, entertained us for the better part of the afternoon. Beverly said Evan was very excited when she heard we were stopping by until she discovered that we didn't bring the girls with us. It was so nice to catch up with them and spend some time relaxing by their pool, but we had to promise to bring Ella, Maggie, Kate, and Sarah with us next time... or else!

We got in a little exercise around some old concrete ponds in a professional park where we used to walk our dog Bandit late in the afternoon. It was nice to walk along the same paths and reminisce. It feels like 100 years have passed since we moved back home instead of the 26 months actual time, but a lot has happened in those 26 months.

Finally, Saturday evening we attended a party for Todd and Leslie hosted by Jimbo and his parents. The fabulous 70's party that was the excuse we used to get away the reason for our trip was a pre-wedding bash like no other. We were in awesome costumes found and purchased by Scott specifically for the evening.... though part of his costume has been around since our Ft. Campbell, KY days right after we first got married. Edited to add: When I rambled on and on earlier about our costumes, I forgot that I had already changed from my outlandish 70's dress to my back-up outfit due to cool weather by the time this picture of the two of us was taken. This is the best I can do for one of Scott and I.

I waited to post this specific weekend recount in hopes that someone would send me some pictures of the two of us from the evening, but I've decided my chances are not too good for that to happen. If I come upon any pictures I'll be sure to edit this post and add them. I failed to bring my camera, but I really wish I hadn't because Jimbo's parent's place is extraordinary! They have an elephant head mounted in their kitchen, among other things.

Jimbo, the Bear, and Scott (with wig)

Scott and Todd wandered around with a camera for a while in between jeopardy rounds with the DJ, so like I mentioned already, hopefully I'll get my hands on some photos!

**Random Side note: Ella took her first steps at Todd's house on New Year's Eve when she was 9 months old. She only took about 8 wobbly steps at the time. I'm sure she would have taken more, but Todd was so excited that he scooped her right up after only a few!**

The lovely couple

Todd and Leslie are a beautiful couple, and I'm happy that we were able to help them celebrate just a little before the wedding in a couple of weeks. Unfortunately, we won't be making another trip to B-ham for the wedding. Sigh...

On Sunday we got up bright and early and had breakfast before going to Leeds First United Methodist Church. Our welcome there was as warm and familiar as ever. We have so missed seeing all the faces of our friends and church family there over the last two years. Of course, the first thing everyone wanted to know was "Where are the girls?!?" After promising again and again to bring them back sometime for a visit, I guess we'll have to put that on our calendar for sometime in the up coming months. I would have loved for everyone there to meet Maggie, Kate, and Sarah, and see how much Ella has grown and changed, but really Scott and I needed the break for ourselves. So, I promise, next trip they'll be with us you guys.

Afterward, we had a great lunch with friends Mandy and Garland and then got on the road to home. Our whirlwind weekend was over, and the time spent, invested rather, in ourselves and our marriage was incredibly worth it. All the way home we talked about how much fun it was going to be to spend time with the girls in the coming days, and that is pretty much what we have been up to.

I guess the moral of this very long, rambling, recap of events is that while getting away is both necessary and enjoyable, we are continually blessed by the little ones we get to come home and love.... and we need to take them to meet all our old friends someday soon!

Lost It's Energy

Ella just came running to me with a pen she was using to write a very special letter to our Compassion sponsored child Sabina. She said, "Help mom, this pen just lost it's energy!!" I told her maybe she should throw it in the trash can if it was out of ink. She decided to give it one more try. After scribbling in circles for a few more seconds, the pen began writing again. Her response, "Whew, I managed to bring the energy back."

Now if her continued efforts only had the same effect on MY energy.....

Look Out Summer....

.... 'cause here we come!! We spent the afternoon with the girls over at Mimi and Pop's house.


We shook the dust off the old hammock.



We waited at water's edge for the pool to be ready. The cover was only removed yesterday, but it is already looking great! I guess ready is a relative term- I like the water to be around 78 degrees, but it was only around 68 today. I'm sure that somewhere between the two will be quite good enough for the girls. They were really itching to get in past their little feet even today.... fortunately I had the "still needs chemical adjustment" argument on my side.

We helped Mimi move some drinks from the storage room in the cabana to the refrigerator... one or two at a time times four.

Then we played and snacked in the shade on a blanket. It was a glorious day!

I am so looking forward to the days of summer. I love the temperature outside right now, but seasonal allergies are particularly hard on Ella and Sarah this year. I'm ready for it to be hot so that we don't have these stuffy heads and watery eyes to worry with. Look out summer, here we come!!

Wordless Wednesday- Swinging

Church Camping Trip

If I had to describe our church in only one word, it would be FAMILY. Some of the members of the church are literal family of ours by blood or marriage, but many are family by choice. It is such a blessing to me that we moved home and back into the church family that I grew up in before the girls were born. As always, God's timing was perfect because he brought us back here after we knew we were expecting again and before we found out about the triplets. I can only imagine the stress and urgency that would have been involved in getting our house sold, packed, and moved had we only known what was growing inside!!!



Back to the story.... Every year a large group from church gathers at Tugaloo State Park for our annual church camping trip. This tradition didn't start until after Kari, Adam, and I were already grown, so mom and dad never attended... until now. Mom, Kelli, and I took the girls over for dinner on Saturday night, and it's a good thing we've already made our beach trip because after the hours drive home with my four banshees in the car I don't think any of us would have willingly made a longer trip with them to anywhere. Enough of the bad stuff... on to the good stuff. Cousin RyleeAnn (born just 5 days before the girls) and her daddy were among the first to greet us.


When we arrived the girls wanted out to go and find Kay-Kay. They called her and sang her name all the way down the road on the way there, and eventually they found her. We loaded her up with all her little girlies... my four plus RyleeAnn, and sweet, baby cousin EmmaGrace for a quick picture or 20. I am completely sure she didn't mind!!


The girls took a walk down by the lake to check out some geese with Mimi, Sherry, and Cindy.





When they got back it was almost time for supper. I didn't manage to get a photo of everyone who was there, but here are some shots of the crowd standing and lounging around at dinner time.... we're a very relaxed bunch.





While waiting for me to fix their plates both Maggie and Ella got to take a turn holding baby EmmaGrace. This is Maggie's "I'm Too Cool for School" face... notice the tongue hanging out, so cute!!




After supper all the kiddos headed out and found their bikes. Several very generous little ones offered my guys a chance to test out their bikes, helmets, and motorized vehicles. The campground was not safe while Ella was driving, and yet we gave each of the little girls including RyleeAnn a turn riding on the thing with her! The girls wanted me to say a special thank you to Michael who offered up both a bike and his power wheels for their use... he's great boyfriend material already.




We are blessed to be surrounded by such a loving group of people, and what an awesome feeling to be raising our children here among them. Thank you to all the campers for letting us crash the party. We had a great time hanging out at Tugaloo, but next year I suspect that we'll be renting a cottage or bringing our tents to stay.... because it was FUN, and didn't I mention the late night drive home already?!?

Triple Spring Wordless Wednesday

Kate

Maggie

Sarah

Happy Blogging

I started our little family blog exactly one year and one week ago today. Since I was at the beach and computer less last Tuesday, I didn't have a chance to celebrate this milestone.

I am tickled with all the new people I've "met" thus far through blogging. I've thoroughly enjoyed commiserating sharing the journey with so many of my fellow same age group triplet moms. It amazes me how much we all seem to have in common regardless of our particular parenting styles, geographic locations, ages, etc. It is both exciting, inspiring, and frightening to read the hilarious antics of The Amazing Trips, Lots of Scotts, and so many others and imagine what life might be like in a year or two for us. I've even added a few "in real life" friends to the blog roll over the past year, and with four kids in the house sometimes the blog is the best way to keep in touch with folks... even the ones I should be picking up the phone and calling instead!

Most of all, I am thrilled to have documented an entire year's worth of precious pictures, milestones reached, and funny things that these girls say! I'm afraid I was blessed with my mom's memory... let's just say neither of us is going to be winning any memory contests anytime soon! I'm starting work on my Blurb book right away so that I will have a hard copy version of this year's blog for each of the girls to keep. Then, one day when they want to know when they did this or that, what they liked/ disliked at this age, and all the silly things that went on in this house when they were small we can all sit down together and look it up in a book because goodness knows I certainly won't be able to tell them without it!

Happy Blogging!! Here's to another great year...

Big Bully Sarah OJs

Whew, we have new personality traits creeping out almost daily, and some of them are prettier than others. For the last couple of weeks we've been avid bird watchers out our office window seat. There are a couple of bird feeders in our back yard, and the girls love to sit and watch for them to come and eat. We've seen plenty of cardinals, finches, and other little birds which I could not identify.

We've also seen our share of big bully blue jays... or as Sarah insists on calling them for some reason "big bully OJs". The blue jays can be so mean to the other birds- keeping them away from food, knocking them off branches, pecking at them, etc. It is hard to watch.

It is immensely more difficult for a mom to watch her children behave that way! On Friday Sarah was very rough with the other girls (as she often is these days), and at one point just walked up and clocked Kate in the head with her fist. Understandably, Kate was upset and Sarah was instructed to apologize to Kate, or "tell Kate you are sorry". Being the stubborn child that she is, Sarah ended up in her crib for time out while Kate and I sat in the rocker awaiting her apology. I am pretty sure that everyone else in the house (including Maggie, Ella, Mom, Dad, and Kate herself) said "sorry Kate" before Sarah managed to squeak the words from her pursed lips. She was so stinkin' mad to be stuck in the crib and made to say sorry... she clearly wasn't (sorry, that is), but I didn't really know how else to handle the situation. It took almost 30 minutes, but when she finally said it and was free to go, it wasn't long before she was at her rough and pushy self again.

I'm sure they'll all take turns with different behaviors, and I certainly don't want to label them and then have them live up to my expectations, so I say all this knowing that in another day or week or month it'll be someone else's turn. However, Sarah is our passionate child for the moment. In the same breath that she is yelling NO at the top of her lungs, she can also form the words, "kiss, kiss" for taking care of any of her sisters' injuries. She loves to hug and kiss everyone, which often ends badly in squeezing. She makes sure that Maggie and Kate have their pacis and lovies when needed. She loves to feed the other girls from her spoon... again, it often ends badly when they are hurt by the utensil she is wielding. However, most all of her bullish behavior can be attributed to pure zest and exuberance.... well, except for the stubborn streak.

So my sensitive, overly passionate award this week goes to our very own big bully OJ Sarah.

Celebrating Mothers

I gave myself a Mother's Day blogging break last week, and now I'm very behind on all the wonderful stories that need to be told from our household. I'll try to catch up over the next couple of days. Here goes...

Scott is out of town this weekend, so on Friday he and the girls helped me celebrate Mother's Day before he left. It started with a little sleep in... Scott woke up with the girls, did breakfast, got them dressed, and everything. Then they all came in to wake me around 8am because I had to get ready for my Mother's Day massage at 9am, which was awesome! When I arrived back home I had a present and cards to open that had been lovingly signed by each of my special little people and prepared/purchased by my sweet husband. The girls were all intrigued by the idea of Mother's Day, and I got lots of extra hugs and kisses that day.

Scott left out very, very early Saturday morning, and the girls and I have been on the go ever since. I haven't had much time this past week to write anything for the blog even if I wasn't taking a break, but this morning I did some searching to try and find some pictures for our Mother's Day post.

I can't believe how much the girls have changed from just this time last year! This was the Mother's Day picture from April 2007 that I spent hours capturing and making into cards for all the wonderful mothers in our lives. This year I've been much more self absorbed, I guess, because I haven't made or bought the first thing for any of the special mothers in my life yet... sorry ladies, they'll be a little late this year!


But here are some pictures of just a few of the special moms in our lives (this list is certainly not complete, but it was the best I could do with the time allowed by my little people).

Finally, here are a couple of my favorite shots from the winter with the girls and I.... I love these little beauties more than words can express!

Dear Ella, Maggie, Kate, and Sarah,

Thank you for making me a mother four times over. I love you all and could not ask for more loving, kind, sweet, funny, adorable, compassionate children to celebrate life with every day! Thank you for helping me become a better person by making me a mommy.

Love always,

Mom