How I love you, March 31st.

Oh man...every time I sign up to do a blog a day for an entire month, I get about halfway and start cursing myself. Needless to say, March 31st has never looked so good! I went home sick today and have barely moved off the couch, so I have ZERO motivation to do a blog. And how sad...The last blog of the month..it should've been some big ol' finale right?

Well, if that's what you were hoping for, you might want to stop reading....Now.

All I have is a HUGE thank you to everyone who's been reading this month, keeping me inspired, giving me ideas, etc. YOU GUYS ROCK! People often ask why I blog and it's always a strange moment when I realize that aside from writing to keep my friends and family in the know, I also love this "virtual friendship" so many of us have. So many of us who do not know each other in real life and probably never will (except for you Stacey and Darcy. It's on!) And yet, we all share something in common that allows us to sit and pore through each other's blogs for hours, totally "living" right along with one another! Bloggers are cool. It's just that simple.

So since I don't have the energy to come up with anything creative, and I'm too tired to get up and upload pictures from my camera, I'll just share a couple, admittedly poor quality cell phone pics I took today.

I just thought this was hysterical. Brian was changing Colton's diaper and the little man simply could not be bothered with the details. He didn't put his book down once. (Thank you Niki!) I realize this is probably one of those moments you just had to be present for, but oh well!

And if you liked the pictures of Hunter's eye and cheek yesterday, get a load of today. I was SO not expecting it to look 50 times worse. But oh, it does. If anyone's wondering, I DID call the pediatrician to be sure we were doing everything we needed to for it.

She's such a tough little bird, and honestly doesn't seem too bothered by it. Except for the fact that she does seem to love the attention she gets when she touches her cheek and ever so softly in her little tiny voice says, "Oww." Yeah, I'd milk it too Hunter. It's like she learned it from me!

Yep, in addition to the scrape, her whole under eye is all puffed out, the way an allergic reaction would be. Poor baby.

This little pink lounge chair is the cause of such mess. Except picture it out in the middle of our "lawn" and then imagine what it would look like if she were on her knees facing backward until she TIPPED herself right over. Yikes. I'll tell you what, though neither of us really saw it happen as we were busy showing 2 little boys how to hit baseballs off a Tee, my dad and I both heard a very, very loud THUD, followed by one crying little lady. Nevertheless, she's tough. (Like her mommy)

And there you have it! Another month's worth of adventures!

Thanks again for reading!

Such is life!

I always thought I'd be that parent who takes her kids to JC P.enny or Pi.cture People every month to have photos taken. I can honestly say that that has not happened yet. Not even once.

We once had photos taken by the granddaughter of a family friend, and she came to US. Those are in fact, the only photos we ever had taken of them.

So let me just tell you all how extremely excited I was one day while on Facebook. I had "LIKED" the page for Shannon K Photography, and ended up winning a free photo session with the family!!

We are so excited!

Which is why I nearly died when Ethan fell off the Toys-R-us bench and gave himself an amazing bruise over his left eye. I believe my words were, "ARE YOU EFFING KIDDING ME?? We're having photos taken in just over a week!!" Luckily, his bruise has started to fade finally. I think he'll be photo-ready on Sunday!

But just when Ethan's bruise started going away, Colton took a dive/slide in his trampoline and got "trampoline burn" on his little nose. Luckily, the scab came off just in the nick of time! Whew we're all back to normal and ready for our photos!

Oops. Not so fast.

This evening, this little beauty tried to climb up the back of her Cinderella lawn chair and did a major face plant in the hard, crunchy, brown grass. Uh oh...

In her words, "Ouch."

Heck yeah that's OUCH!! Poor girl!

Oh well! Cuts, scrapes, bumps and bruises. Look out Shannon! We can't wait to have our photos taken!

Sometimes I think I rock.

Like I said, somedays I think I rock. No really. Today, I DID rock. I really, really, really needed milk and bread and eggs and the only option was to take the Crazies. I say that because for some reason, the grocery store is always an invitation for CRANKY KIDS. Don't know why, it just is.

But today, after their naps I put on my big girl panties and decided to just go. I finally had to tell myself to quit wishing someone will come visit and let me just "run out real quick." Give it up. You can do this. So diaper changes times 3, shoes on times 3 and out to the car we went!

Let me just say this. I did not bring any stroller with me because I really needed more space for food than what I could fit in the stroller. So we just went. All the while, I'm driving and planning my strategies, cuz trust me-you need them.

Plan A: Hope to god the yellow and red shopping CAR cart is available. I can fit 3 kids perfectly and still have ALL the basket room for food.

Plan B: One regular cart with 2 kids in the basket part, and 1 in the seat. This is obviously not ideal because it's a for-real certainty that they will either step on all our food or chuck it out of the cart.

So I drove up, and much to my dismay, I did not see my favorite cart.

I gave myself a little pep talk and just loaded em into a regular cart. We started our ascent into Safeway when all of a sudden, I saw it!! And I also saw a mother and her ONE KID headed for MY car cart! (In your dreams, lady.) Bring it on. I started pushing my cart of kids over to the car so fast so that I could beat her there. And, I did. :) Sorry lady.

Score 1 for mommy!

So far, things were looking pretty good for this shopping trip.

This is how we roll...

I told you. GROCERY STORE = CRANKY KIDS

On my own, I decided that I deserved a Starbucks for that endeavor. (Wasn't that nice of me?) And as I was waiting, some random dude walked by, then came back, and said, "This is a perfect commercial for Starbucks. Crying Triplets and 1 mommy having tea. They should buy YOU a drink!" I think I like this guy...

Anyhoo, not gonna lie. I'm feeling pretty bad-a$$ about my shopping trip today!

This is random, I realize, but check out Hunter's new hiding spot. I mean, I knew they liked to play in there, but come on. She'll stay in there and hide for 20 minutes and I'll be honest, I often don't know she's there.

Until I see a toe...

I miss Spring Break

I had to go back to work today after 2 blessed weeks off. I woke up every single day and played with my babies from sun up to sun down. I had all day to get stuff done. I totally dug the pace of the days.

But today, I had to go to work (which, I happen to love,) Nevertheless, it was the first day in 2 weeks that I didn't get to greet my monkeys in their cribs and feed them bowls of cereal and make French Pancakes and play on the cool toy strewn patio and jump, jump, jump on the trampoline. It was two weeks I got to pretend to be a stay-at-home-mom. I love it. I love every minute.

But sigh...all good things must come to an end. And I feel totally out of my groove now. I am so tired that I don't even care how messy the house is.

No really.

What? "It's can't be that bad?" Is that what you're thinking?

You are so wrong.

Let them be little

This weekend we celebrated the babies' 2nd birthdays for the 2nd and 3rd time!...I would like to say thank you to everyone who came to town to celebrate, everyone who prepared a dish to share, anyone who cleaned up after us, made cakes and cupcakes for us, and for all of you who gave my children a gift and made their second birthday so special. We love you all. Really.

And watching my kids enjoy each of their special days, whether by sliding in and out of the hot jacuzzi adamantly requesting "more" each time they landed in the water or running in circles through the house and patio with handfuls of Toy Story Balloons giggling uncontrollably, all I could think was "They're growing up so fast." And I get a little pain in my heart when I think that soon this "littleness" will be gone. Of course I'll love them at every age, but there's something really special about THIS age...there's something awesome about watching your babies learn new words and make new observations about the world around them.

I suppose I'm just a bit more nostalgic than usual, what with a new birthday milestone met....and all this reminiscing made me think of a song by Billy Dean, (which is on my playlist, by the way) called "Let them be Little." So perfect. So go ahead, scroll to the bottom, find the song and hit play, then come back up and sing along. So thanks for parties 2 and 3 Mom, Mary, Al, Auntie Donna, GG, Nana, Papa, Aunt Kristen, Jen, Nate, Ava, Rosey, Bob, Gerri, Ken, Dad, Genise, Julie, Auntie Kim, Cristina, Jake, Auntie Val, and Uncle Jim for celebrating with us and making their 2nd birthdays so special. These kids are lucky to have you.

"LET THEM BE LITTLE"

i can remember when you fit in the palm of my hand.
You felt so good in it; no bigger than a minute.
How it amazes me you're changin' with every blink.
Faster than a flower blooms, they grow up all too soon.

So let them be little,
'Cause they're only that way for a while.
Give 'em hope, give them praise,
Give them love every day.
Let 'em cry, let 'em giggle,
Let 'em sleep in the middle,
Oh, but let them be little.

I never felt so much in one little tender touch.
I live for those kisses, your prayers an' your wishes.
An' now you're teachin' me how only a child can see.
Tonight, while we're on our knees, all I ask is:

Please, let them be little,
'Cause they're only that way for a while.
Give them hope, give them praise,
Give them love every day.
Let 'em cry, let 'em giggle,
Let 'em sleep in the middle,
Oh, but let them be little.

The so innocent, precious soul:
You turn around, an' it's time to let them go.

So let them be little,
'Cause they're only that way for a while.
Give them hope, give 'em praise,
Give them love every day.
Let 'em cry, let 'em giggle,
Let them sleep in the middle,
Oh, but let them be little.

Let them be little.

What will they remember?

You guys are the best readers EVER! Thanks for the encouraging words...I got lots of great suggestions to keep me going for the next 5 days. Dave, I'd love to post some recipes, but honest to God, I can't cook. No seriously. The best I can do is pancakes, which you'll see below, and anything that goes in the microwave. That's it! So I'm stealing all of your "Kimmy Recipes" now...Jen H., thank you for the ideas! I'm using one tonight!

Think back to your childhood...what do you remember? Games you played, places you went, foods you ate? Pets you had? That's what tonight's post is all about. It's Volume 1, because I know there's gonna be more. Here's are some things I hope my kids remember about growing up...

1. I hope they'll remember mama's French Pancakes... (crepes). I remember MY mom making them and it's one of the few things I actually cook well and luckily my Bunchkins love them as much as I do....it's the easiest recipe known to man. 3 eggs, a cup of flour, and a cup of milk. Blend with a whisk, then pour into a pan using a 1/3 cup measuring cup to pour. Rotate the handle enough to spread the batter around the pan, about as thin as a tortilla. Let it cook about 1 minute on each side. Serve however you like! We usually do butter, syrup and powdered sugar! If there are strawberries in the house, all the better!! Enjoy!

2. This is kind of a strange one, but I hope they remember our first house, specifically the hallway. I hope they have flashbacks of launching cars and trucks full speed ahead the entire length of the hallway. Or rolling balls, or running back and forth yelling "Go, go, go!" with crazy stuff on their heads!

3. On the same note, I hope they remember playing with one another in and out of the living room curtains. Even though the game inevitably ends with Brian yelling at them to "Get out of the curtains!" they have such fun mushing their faces into the sheers, with "Peek-a-boos" abounding. I could watch them all day. Brian, not so much.

4. I hope they remember their cool triple wagon. I hope someday when they're in college, (all at the same college, of course) the conversation will somehow come up, and they'll all talk about that wagon and how they used to pull each other in it and how they learned to climb in and out of it. It really is a cool wagon, "the train" as we call it.

5. I hope they remember road trips to Phoenix to see Nana and Papa and Auntie Kristen. Brian and I love taking road trips and the kids have such fun any time we go. I hope they remember the drive as much as they remember things they do while we're there.

6. Piper....their first dog. Brian's and my first dog. She is every bit a part of their life as any other human member. She loves these kids dearly (more so when they're not screaming or playing their recorders.) She was so protective of me when I was pregnant and now she watches over them..On the same note I'd like to think they'll somehow remember their first cats, Jag and Gracie because the kids love them dearly. Mostly, they love to yell "Meow" anytime they see one.

7. "GG" or "Gigi" (in your best French Accent) as Hunter calls her. I hope they remember their Great Gramma Russo who was over 100 years old. I'd like to think they'll remember her black walker/chair she used to let them ride around in and how they used to walk around the house with her canes. I hope they remember her white hair and how she'd always call Ethan "Etan", and how she used to sit and watch them play for hours. Yeah, I hope they remember GG.

8. Specifically, I hope Hunter remembers sitting on the bathroom counter while I get ready. I hope she remembers putting on "her makeup" (which, by the way she TOTALLY gets. Girl knows exactly where every item goes.) I want her to remember how we'd do her hair and paint her nails...

Okay there ARE more. Lots. And it were a different month, I'd take my time to at least come up a top TEN list, not just a top EIGHT. But it's March, I need to do a blog a day, and it's less than half an hour till midnight, so I need to go ahead and hit PUBLISH!

So thanks again for cheering me on! We're almost done with March! Yeehaw!

Struggling...

It's day 25 people. I'm running out of things to write about. If you have suggestions, please, leave them for me in a comment! ANYTHING! So since it's late and I'm stumped, I'll share some of my recent "group shots."

Still cracks me up how many times people ask me if they're identical....Really? Sometimes I wish I was ballsier and could say out loud what I'm sayin' in my head!!

2 Year Check ups...Clearly they have not been vaccinated yet.

They are still sane.

And about one millisecond after this photo was taken, Ethan swung his legs under the bench so far that it propelled him forward and yep, you guessed it. He swung forward and SMACKED his face on the floor with absolutely nothing bracing his fall. He now has an AWESOME bruise over his left eye. Poor guy.

(In fact, I think the reason this photo is a tad blurry is that Mary dove for him the second she saw the feet start swinging. But it was one of those moments you just can't get there fast enough.)

All righty then my friends. I'm trying really hard to be entertaining, but I'm really struggling! If there's anything you're dying to know about, let me know!!

UPDATE: On a separate note, let me give an update on our sleeping arrangements. Currently, 2 daring bunchkins have made the everlasting leap out of their cribs. Thus, we will be approaching the transition from cribs to toddler beds in the next few days. Tips on that are always welcome. (Stacey, I'm glad to hear it hasn't been total chaos for your trio! That gives me hope!)

Hello: My name is Daredevil #1

Hello: My name is Daredevil #2

Then and Now (& back to Colton's shoes.)

I've been busy watching the AZ Wildcats beat Duke, so I don't have much to say tonight. :)

But on that note, who needs words when you have pictures?

Every time a birthday is upon us, I feel compelled to look back....

A look back at how little we once were and how big we are now.

On the subject of Colton's shoe choice a few days ago....my Mother-in-law reminded me of this other photo of Colton in his Daddy's boots. So there, that should make all the men feel better, yes? That said, I appreciate all of you who agreed that little boys in mama's stilettos is darn cute!

Happy 2nd Birthday Babies!

Mary and I have traded laptops for the day so I do not have access to some of the photos I wanted for this post, so I'll save it for tomorrow.

So...my babies turned 2 today. Yep. All three of them. Despite my incessant begging to remain small and helpless, they have defied me once again and are growing into real live human people who have personalities, (funny ones), do what they're asked, and get smarter each day. Sigh...I love that they're growing up. I do. I love it because I still think they're here despite so many odds. Odds I think about almost daily....

Frankly, it was a bit of a miracle that I finally even got pregnant...

It was an even bigger miracle that I finally got pregnant with TRIPLETS....

It is an even bigger blessing that we did not "reduce our pregnancy to twins"

It is a miracle that at 5'2", 100 lbs. I was able to carry triplets, to 33 weeks, without a SINGLE PROBLEM or even a minute on bedrest.

It is the best miracle of all that I gave birth to 3 healthy babies who changed life as I know it.

I love that 2 years later, I still remember every minute of their birthday, from the moment I woke up and headed to UMC, to how much lighter my body felt at 11:41 than it did at 11:40 and how much lighter yet it felt at 11:42. I remember the moment I finally held each of them, hours after they were born.

But to be honest, I don't have a great memory. I fear that one day, the older they get, I won't remember the details anymore. The little things. They're important, you know. They're what make the memory.

But alas, I remember them today.

So on their 2nd birthday, I greeted them in their room in the morning and one by one, I took them out of their cribs and sang "Happy Birthday" to each. And yes, I'll admit that each one of them looked at me like I was crazy. But that's okay. I might be. :)

And then I gave my kids the best gift of all. A bath. Trust me, it was a much needed gift. We needed to be clean before we headed off to Peter Piper Pizza to meet some friends. Thank you Mary, Dawn, Shorty, Kelly and kids...we enjoyed our celebration with you! Especially the cupcakes. Thanks Kelly!

And on their second birthday, I had a moment as we parked and prepared to go in. I was supposed to have called Mary when I arrived so that she could come meet me in the parking lot and help me bring them in. But I happened to be on the phone as we arrived, so I just figured I'd wing it.

I got Ethan and Hunter out on the driver's side of the car. Together, we walked around to the passenger side to get Colton. Now here's where I feared that I might be herding cats. One me. Three of them. Parking lot, cars, you get the idea.

But very calmly I grabbed Ethan's hand in my left hand and said, "Hunter, can you please hold Ethan's hand?"

And she did. (Always very obedient.)

Then, (and I'll admit that I figured this to be a long shot), I said "Colton, can you please hold Hunter's hand?"

And son of a gun, he did it.

And just like that, me and my little ducklings walked, hand-in hand-in hand-in hand all the way across the parking lot and all the way into Peter Piper Pizza.

I swear to you, I had tears in my eyes I was so proud. And wouldn't you know it? No one was there to take a picture....

So I took the liberty of doing a re-creation for you. :)

It's a pretty accurate likeness, you know. We have no faces because you are looking at our backs. You see, we are walking INTO PPP. Also, Hunter's left arm isn't really that long in real life, and Ethan actually does have feet. And that blob on the right, that's my Suburban, not a 15 passenger van. Aside from that, it's almost an exact likeness. :)

So yeah...happy birthday to Colton Samuel, Hunter Olivia and Ethan Bradley. You are the littlest lights of my life. 2 years ago at 11:40, 11:41 and 11:42 a.m. my world was made better by you.

I love you...

31 New Reasons I love Tuesdays

1. Bubblegum

2. Chocolate Chip

3. Rainbow Sherbert

4. Rocky Road

5. Strawberry

6. Mint Chocolate Chip

7. Chocolate Chip

8. Daiquiri Ice.....

.......

......

31. CHERRIES JUBILEE!

Thank you Paige for informing us of $1 scoop Tuesdays at Baskin Robbins!! I love me some Cherries Jubilee and $1.00 makes it even more delicious!! Tonight we hopped on over there (as a little pre-triplet birthday celebration) with Mary, Mom and Al. (Thanks for the ice cream, Al.) It was a perfectly delicious outing with three extremely well behaved children and 5 mostly well-behaved adults. :)

(Cellphone Quality pics...sorry, it's all I had)

He'll hate me someday. His dad already does.

I know, I know. It's mean. I shouldn't post these. He'll be mortified someday, right? Yeah, well I'm his mom. It's my job.

And yes, I'll let it be known that Brian disapproves of the fact that I not only allowed our little boy to walk around the house in my heels, but I also photographed it. I needed to state that. You know, for the record. :)

But I still think he's darn cute and more importantly, I was pretty damn impressed with his ability to walk in stilettos. Clearly, he's been paying attention to his mommy.

(Coolest kid ever?

Ummm...in these heels, it's debatable.)

Strike a pose

I love you, Colton. AND your sexy stilettos.