Applying for Saint Hood. :)

You thought I learned my lesson after that last Target fiasco, didn't you? Well I didn't. I was bored this afternoon. (Okay, well I'm never truly bored, so I guess I was just...in need of new scenery.) 9 times out of 10 that means a trip to Target. I really, really, really just like Target. I like strolling around, aisle after aisle, looking at all the neat things I've seen a thousand times before. I even like Target if I'm not buying anything.... Ah HA HA HAA! Aaah hee hee ee....Right. Like THAT ever happens!

So I anxiously waited for the trio to wake up from naps and then with an extra spring in my step, changed 3 diapers, put on 6 shoes and packed the 'ol Suburban full of babies. (And the quad stroller which I nearly forgot.) THAT would've really put a damper on my fun trip.

I did actually have important things to get today. Things like diapers, and hairspray and conditioner. So we found all those things and then concluded our trip in the dollar section. I got each boy a truck and Hunter a roll of wrapping paper. (Hey, she didn't know it was really for me.) Well, thankfully, it was the end of the road because they started whining. And crying. And fussing. And I realized then that I had forgotten their sippy cups. RATS.

I decided to get them a watered down fruit punch from the food court instead, but as we waited in the ridiculously long line, they started to melt down. Ethan was taunting me with the whole "I'm gonna drop my truck and you're gonna pick it up for me" game. Except he didn't remember that I totally win that game every time. Besides, surrounded by people in front of me in line, and behind me, I realized that this was no time for poor parenting...But alas, with every inch lower his grubby little hand hung over that stroller, his grip on his truck lessening, I knew I was about to be tested.

"Ethan, if you drop that truck, you will not get it back. You might want to hold on to it." And you know what happened next.

Thud. That truck hit the floor.

And I picked it up, and said, "I'm sorry you made that choice. Mommy will hold the truck now."

And you know what happened next. :)

WAAaaaaaaaaaa!

I could feel all eyes on me at that moment. But I was not about to give it back. After all, I made a threat and I was not about to go back on it. (Especially not in front of the watchful eyes of my co-shoppers.) So I turned to the people near me and said in most apologetic voice, "I'm so sorry that you now have to listen to this crying, but I'm not giving the truck back." To which some nice woman agreed, "No problem. He'll have to learn, now won't he?" Thank you lady. Thank you for at least pretending you don't think I'm the world's crummiest mother.

So anyhoo, we got our cups and I rolled us over to the soda fountain so I could fill up 3 watered down fruit punch cups. (And a Dr. Pepper. You didn't think I'd leave there without it did you?) While I filled them, all 6 Bunchkin eyes watching, the patience they had somehow exhibited for the most part started to disappear. They started howling for the cups. I couldn't put lids on fast enough. Then straws- "WTH? Where are the straws? Are you seriously telling me there are no straws here? Come on people! Am I on candid camera?"

So I took back the cups which I'd handed the kids already (that went over like a lead balloon), set them on the stroller and worked my way through the guests seated at nearly every table. (Leaving the kids a few yards behind because that stroller was certainly not going to fit through the cafe with that many people in it.) I walked my little self over to the Starbucks area and said, in my nicest but neediest voice, "Dear God, please tell me you have 4 straws over here for me." While she handed them to me, some other nice woman, who'd probably been watching us for longer than I realize said, "Wow. You must be applying for Saint Hood."

Every day lady.

Every single day.

As if that weren't enough goodness for one trip, as I rolled us through the parking lot, Colton started screaming. He tipped his cup upside down and ice cold fruit punch soaked his shirt and shorts. Awesome.

So there in the parking lot, I stripped off his shirt and pants, leaving him only in a diaper and flip flops. I can only imagine what onlookers thought of me then.

What can I say people? We're a rolling circus. Follow us and you're sure to be entertained.

And despite all that, I'd take em back out in a heartbeat.

I happen to love the chaos that is my life.

I really do. :)

Oh, and note to self: Put your purse up high when you get home, or your daughter will steal your credit cards and your checkbook. AND your starbucks cards. GASP!

"Who me?"

Well Helloooooo....

So the bad news? It's been 13 days since I last blogged. The good news? There are only 3 days left in April and I've already committed to ANOTHER Blog-a-Day in May with my friend Jen Lofgren (and pretty Sure Anabelle is on board too!) (Feel free to join in other blogger friends of mine!) Misery loves company, you know. :)

So what has been keeping me from my blog? Well let's see...we got a new member of the family, we went to the county fair, dyed Easter eggs, went swimming, celebrated my 34th birthday, tore through several Easter baskets, drove to Phoenix, hunted for Easter eggs (our first time), etc. Whew! So I'm just gonna ease my way back into my blog here....

Let's begin with the new family member. Because 8 mouths simply weren't enough to feed (2 adults, 3 kids, 2 cats, 1 dog) we agreed to another member of the family. Realize of course, that when I say 'we agreed' what I mean is 'I agreed' and the husband nodded his head like a good husband does. :)

You see, the kids had seen a fish at their Grampa and Genise's house (a Betta) and pretty much thought it was Nemo straight from Sydney Harbor, right before their eyes. Fast forward a month and here on my countertop sits a Crowntail Betta of our very own, courtesy of G and G. One guess what the kids named it. Yep. At last count, the national fish census reported 323, 467 fish named Nemo. We were number 323, 466. Some other kid got a lucky Nemo fish right after us. :) Nobody went for my idea to name her Dorie. I mean come on. She IS blue. :)

Next up? A sleep time update. This one will be short and sweet. They're still in cribs. :) There, now wasn't that easy? And as such, they still sleep from 8-8 and from 1-4 for naps. Sleepy kids=Happy mom. I KNOW! Somedays I'm still disappointed that I gave up on them so soon in toddler beds, but then again, I do love me that long nap...Plus, thanks to my FB friends who steered me in the right direction, we have opted to forgo the whole "toddler bed" thing and go straight to twin beds. So while I'm not ready to put them in twin beds right this minute, I did finally find some bedding I'm actually happy with. I was really struggling with how to proceed with their "big kid room" (OMG, did I just say that?) because I have issues with coordination and symmetry. (Do you remember my crib placement ordeal??) I was really having problems with the idea of putting something really 'themey' for boys (Toy Story, Trucks, etc.) right beside something really flowery or pink. I honestly could not find anything for both boys and girls that coordinated. Until today. The picture below is what I found. It made me smile, so I bought em. And this is what our little nursery turned big-kid-room will soon look like:

I love the colors of both sets AND it allows me to do whatever I want as coordinating pieces on the beds, or on the walls. (Teddy Bears, Dinosaurs, Trucks, Flowers, etc.) The genericness of the bedding allows me to decorate with pretty much any accent pieces else I want. And so, another dilemma solved today. Love it when that happens... :)

Moving on, WE HAD PHOTOS TAKEN! Real ones! Of us! :) I will show you all of them at a later post, but for now, I'll show you a few. (If you're a FB friend, pretend you haven't seen them.) And if you're in my area, and want photos of your very own taken, call SHANNON. Do it. Now! She's with Shannon K Photography and well, she pretty much rocks...

And that is all I have time for in a blog tonight! But don't forget...May 1st is just around the corner! :) Get ready!

Sugar and Spice...

And EVERYTHING nice!

Oh yes,

Worry not, friends.

I have not been secretly hiding a pregnancy from you for the past 20 weeks.

My sister and brother-in-law just found out they're having a GIRL!

I am going to have a niece!

My Hunter girl is going to have a girl cousin!

This makes 2 boys and 2 girls in the "grandchildren/cousin" department.

Those are just good numbers don't you think?

We can't wait to meet her! (and come up with a name for her!)

I say that like I get a say or something...hee hee..

Anyhoo, congratulations Mary and Emilio and Baby Girl Montes!

She's a thumb sucker already!

On a side note, (a funny note) I just heard Brian tell Colton that he thinks "talking Elmo" needs to go to the bathroom for a VEEEEERRRRY long time. I'm pretty sure this means that if Elmo says "Elmo wants to tell you a story. Elmo wants to think of just the right story to tell you" one more time, Elmo is going to "accidentally on purpose" lose his batteries. Or get thrown through a window. Yeah. Probably the second one. Poor Elmo.

Public Apology

I'd like to make a public apology to anyone who was at my Target this afternoon from about 12:00 to 1:00.

Yes, that was my kid you heard screaming.

It was my kid you saw banging his head on the shelves.

It was my kid you saw lying on the cold, dirty, white tile floor screaming.

All we wanted to do was go to Target and see our friends Anabelle and Jaxon and enjoy a celebratory "Welcome Back to Tucson" starbucks and shopping trip. Today was a reminder how unpredictable kids can be. Their moods are ever changing and constantly perplexing.

We all had lunch (some of us had a liquid starbucks lunch) and everything was hunky dory. Great moods, happy kids.

Life. Is. Good. :)

Until we left the food area.

I honestly can't even begin to figure out what set Ethan off, but boy would it be nice to know. He did the limp, noodle body thing for me while he began what would become the worst tantrum I've seen him have in 2 years.

Well, luckily along with Anabelle, my mom and sister were also along for the "fun" so they were able to watch Colton and Hunter while I attended to the tantrum. Let me just tell you, I tried every freaking trick in the book to get him to calm down. (Except bribe him with toys or candy. I'm SO not gonna start that habit! :) Although Jaxon was kind enough to share one or two nutter butter cookies with him. And still- he screamed and cried the entire time we were shopping. THE. ENTIRE. TIME. He alternated between a very sad cry and a very ticked off scream.

I dragged him by one arm while he flailed all about dragging his weight across the floor. I carried him. I put him in a cart. I held his hand while we walked. I hugged him tight, I ignored him completely. I spoke calmly, I spoke sternly. I sat and rocked him in the patio furniture section while onlookers passed us by, giving me the "we've been there too" look. (Which I appreciate SO much more than the "can you please control your crazy kid" look.) I might as well have been invisible to him.

He was happy being unhappy.

Normally I'm so okay with their tantrums, but something about the longevity of this one really threw me off. Honest to God, I was sweating from a combination of his warm, ticked off body latching onto mine and the sheer stress of picking him up, dragging him, putting him in and out of carts, etc. I could not focus. I could not even recall the things I'd gone there for in the first place. And even if I HAD remembered them, there was no way I was going to be able to actually shop for them. So I got 4 items and that was it.

And wouldn't you know it. The tantrum miraculously subsided THE MOMENT we approached the check out lanes. You've got to be kidding me.

So to all you Target shoppers whose peaceful Saturday shopping trip was ruined, I apologize. :)

To add insult to injury, all was well until the moment we got home.

Wouldn't you know, as we attempted to make our way inside the house, from the garage into the laundry room, the three of them pushing one another in the doorway, it happened. In one of those slow motion moments where you can't stop the inevitable from happening, Ethan stumbled backwards, trying to catch his balance, but not before planting his little hiney smack in the center of the giant dog water bowl.

And I thought the crying at Target was bad.

Needless to say, naptime today has been glorious. (In our cribs, of course)

The Sleep Thing. Still.

"So how's the sleep thing going?"

Let me tell ya, I've started to dread the question (no,not really) because I know that I'm about to admit, again, that I got beat by 3 kids. So in case anyone else has been wondering but not wanting to ask, here's the lowdown.

They're back in cribs.

Yep. Naps, bedtime, ALL the sleep times. :)

It's not forever, but apparently it's for now again! Here's the thing- and this IS selfish so do try to control the eye rolling after I say it. :)

I am SO not willing to give up the 3 hour nap just because they want to play in their room. Like I said, I know that's selfish, but unless you've raised triplets you just can't imagine how much I cherish that 3 hour chunk of the day.

And it's not because I don't want to see them or play with them, it's just the opposite actually. The problem is that I would play with them all day long and never get anything else done. And I actually have another job AND a house to keep up. So I really NEED the nap. (Well I need them to need the nap. I just need the time.) :)

So here's our plan of attack- we're gonna keep them in cribs a little longer. At least until they regularly escape. Which they have not done for a week now.

In the meantime, we will buy 3 twin beds (and three new mattresses). Which is the other reason we're gonna try and keep them in cribs for a little while longer...give us some time to afford 3 beds and 3 mattresses! :)

So that's Operation Sleepy Time for ya.

I'm thinking about these beds....cuz they're cheap. :) Gotta love me some I.KEA.

(And I apologize for the lack of kid pictures. I haven't taken any new pics in a few days!)

Blog Under Construction

I don't have a really interesting post to do tonight, but that's not to say I have neglected blogging. In fact, it's quite the opposite. I've spent the week working on new "Pages" for my blog. (The tabs at the top). I can't tell you how many times I get emails from perfect strangers asking questions about our infertility journey, about triplets, about cleft lips and palates, about cranial helmets, etc. I love it. I love these emails and I love answering questions. Honestly, I am never, ever annoyed by questions or emails from strangers.

But I always feel like I'm scrambling to come up with all the answers, over and over again. So I decided to create some pages on my blog dedicated to the things I get asked the most. So take a peek at em when you're bored. So far I've done:

One about our journey through infertility to pregnancy.

One about my triplet pregnancy...

One about tips and tricks for people who are currently pregnant with triplets...

And I'm working on the one about cleft lips and palates....(under construction) :)

On a side note, can I just say OMG! I just watched Extreme C.ouponing on TLC and I am obsessed. I see a new 'job' in my future....though I have no room for a stockpile like some of those ladies! Do any of you do extreme coup.oning? Any tips you'd like to share? Cuz lately, the older the kids get, the more I feel the strain of the grocery bill. I'm willing to try anything!

Also, I can't wait to show you some of the photos we had taken this weekend with Shannon K Photography! They are awesome! Shannon is amazing! We are just thrilled with the photos she took. So I'll show you one...a sneak peak if you will...

I love my life. :)

Photo by: Shannon K Photography

Perhaps we should regroup.

I am big enough to admit when I have been defeated, outsmarted, outwilled (a new word, I believe I just made up). Just roll with it.

So friends, family. I have been defeated. I have been outsmarted. I have been outwilled.

But not for long....

Luckily, I am smart enough to recognize that a new battle plan is needed.

You see, what had happened was....

The first official naptime in our big kid beds, after the first official bedtime in our big kid beds, was a total disaster. And by that I mean, there was nothing about it that was either restful, quiet or resembled anything that looked even kind of like sleep.

To make matters worse, the 2nd bedtime was just as horrid. So much for my kids being good little sleepers.

I won't even go into details. Just imagine through the roof above, you hear jumping, crawling, banging, yelling, crying, more jumping, more crying, more playing. It really was THAT bad.

So Brian and I thought we'd put the rails back on at the lowest setting so there was 'something' that prevented rolling out and also provided 'implied' restraint. (ie. there's a rail there for a reason. Don't even think about going over it.) It So didn't work. All three kicked a leg over and practically walked out of the cribs. At this point, it had been about 2 hours of nonsense and I'd had it for the night.

So I looked at them, and said "Fine! No independence for you!" and raised all three railings up once again.

So yeah, they're in cribs again. There, I said it. WHAT A LOSER I AM!! I just really need to run on over to good ol Babies R Us and buy SOME kind of railing. In all honesty, I think they were having a bit of a security issue with having no railing to keep them in, coupled with the confusion as to why I was letting them be in their room without anything forcing them sleep. Because the MINUTE the crib rails went back up, they were silent and sleeping soundly through the night...Aaahhh. Like the good little Bunchkins I remember...

So there you have it.

The sleep update I had so hoped to avoid.

Now I'm off to buy bed rails and new toddler bedding sets (to entice them into their big kid beds. ) Wish me luck...

(not necessarily THESE sets...)

Sleep Status

Sorry for the delay! Many have asked how the night went, so here is the update. I left off last night with them sleeping quietly. Honestly I thought it was going to be so dramatic, and it was so...not.

I imagine it's because in general, these kids love to sleep. We really worked hard on this. From the moment they came home from the NICU, they slept in their own cribs in their own room. Never in a bassinet, never in our room, never once in our bed. We tried very hard not to create bad habits that would later be hard to undo. We taught them early on how to be self-soothers by not coming to them when they cried, getting rid of pacifiers by 8 months and keeping a very strict nap/nighttime sleep routine. So they are good sleepers because they learned to be, not just because we're lucky. :)

So on the one hand, I'm not all that surprised that they went right to bed in their new big kid beds because they genuinely like to sleep. However, fear not. The night was not without its hangups.

At 1:00 in the morning, I heard the first thud followed by crying. Sure enough, Ethan had fallen off the bed. (unfortunately, our cribs turn into toddler day beds, with no railing at all to keep them in. So I hugged him (no talking to him) and put him right back into bed and covered him up. He went right back to sleep.

At 3:23, Colton fell off. Same routine. I got up, hugged him and put him back on his bed. He went right back to sleep.

At 4:00 I heard crying, but no thud. Sure enough no one had fallen off, but Colton was apparently having a bad dream or something (probably about falling off his bed!) So I just let him cry because I could tell he wasn't really awake.

At 5:45, another thud, and crying again. this time I went in to find that again, Ethan had fallen off and was standing in the middle of the room crying. Colton and Hunter were BOTH standing behind him, rubbing his back. OMG, they melt my heart. I put them all back in their beds and despite the fact that they normally wake up between 8 and 8:30, I had a feeling they weren't going to sleep for long because they had noticed that the sun was starting to come up. Hunter had soaked her diaper and her sheets were wet, so I changed her, and then she brought her pillow over to Colton's bed and lay down beside him. So I left them in there and went back to bed myself.

At 7:00 I heard them yelling at me. So I agreed to be awake for the day.

I got up, opened my door and saw this. :)

Then I went into their room and saw this.

Yeah, I may need to do something to prevent THIS from happening again. :)

So my assessment of the night is this: I firmly believe they would've slept right through the night until morning had they not fallen out. So the big dilemma right now is that they need to learn to adjust to their new beds and the lack of railing. Many have asked whether or not I'll go buy bed rails and my answer right now is 'Not yet.' Which is not to say I won't, but I want them to try and adjust to the beds for a little while first. (As Brian tells me, we learned how to sleep without falling out of OUR bed so they will too.) And honestly, Hunter did it so I'm confident the boys will too, in time.

That said, I am writing this entry at naptime- currently it is 1:58. I put them in their room, in their beds at 1:00.( There is a baby gate in their doorway. ) They are STILL running amuck up there. I can hear them on the monitor doing God knows what. I'm positive however that it is NOT napping. I went up twice to redirect them to their beds but I'm resisting the urge to go up again. I'm going to play it out and just see how long it takes before it's quiet. Then I'll go see what kind of damage they did and where they each ended up. :) And don't worry. I WILL take a picture. :)

Now you want to know my favorite part of the whole night time fiasco was? When we woke up, and I said to Brian, "So only 3 falls, not too bad." You know what he said? "They fell?" I swear to you, he could sleep through a tornado. Good thing I love him. :)

***UPDATE on the day's nap. Yeah, it never happened. Disaster. Too much fun swapping beds I guess. I'm SO not giving up on the 3 hour nap. I NEED it! I don't know if they still do, but I definitely do. Breathe.....tomorrow's another day, right??? :)

Good night babies, hello big kids.

First off, I DO realize it's a new month and that I don't HAVE to blog. BUT....today was a big day. Today, right before my eyes, my babies turned into big kids. Daddy turned their cribs into big kid beds today. Sniff...sniff...tissue please. We knew it was necessary earlier last week, but I was really hoping we could make it to Friday since interrupted sleep is pretty much a guarantee and I didn't want to have to be up early for work. So today was the day.

After nap time, Brian went up and took the side rails off.

Mary and I took the kids up to their room to see their new beds and get "the feel" of things. They were super excited at this new development. They took turns bed hopping and checking out everything new in each other's beds. Every so often we'd say "Okay, night night" and they would in fact lay their heads on their pillows. So that gave me a tiny shred of hope that they would still understand that their beds, albeit an invitation to freedom, still meant sleep time.

So they did pretty well in the day time. The interesting thing is this-once Ethan's crib became a bed, he wanted nothing to do with it. He cried when we put him on it. He immediately crawled off and went to Hunter's 'bed.' Luckily, she seemed okay with lying on his bed. We brought over her pink pillows and 8 woobies and and we encouraged her to try out her 'new new bed.' All the while, I'm pretty confident that when it's actually night time, he would go back to his bed.

Ethan on his new bed, checking out the new singular view finder that Aunt Mary brought over totally unaware that it would instantly become THE MOST COVETED TOY EVER. Yeah, those fights went on the whole night.

And then it became bed time.Reluctantly, Brian and I did our usual routine of "Okay everybody, let's go night night! Everybody goes night night!" And up the stairs they all marched. Same as usual, (except that tonight I brought a baby gate with me...)

Ethan was the first one up the stairs which worked out really well because I wanted to see which bed he would head to. And sure enough, he went straight to Hunter's bed and crawled on. Fortunately, she went right to his bed and lay down. We blew kisses, said goodnight, (took a picture) and left the room. And then we waited. Upstairs in the hallway, Brian and I sat. With the camera and a watch. And we waited. And waited. And waited. And finally, after 15 minutes of absolutely no movement, we went downstairs. It remained completely quiet for 28 minutes. Then we heard Ethan standing at their bedsides saying, "Where are you?" Well that invited a few minutes of laughing and chit chatting, but with one reminder yell from dad from downstairs to "GO to Sleep!" They all lay back down and are still quiet. So it's been 51 minutes so far and there is no sound coming from their room....

Perhaps this won't be as bad as we imagined?? Is that really possible? Anyhoo, I'm just going to sit back and listen for the Thuds of Bunchkins rolling off their beds. Goodnight friends.

(Notice the sign above Ethan's bed in the middle)