Mid-Week Musings...

For all intents and purposes, I did intend to post last night... I just happened to fall asleep on the floor of Kiley and Kara's room while I waited for them to fall asleep. I think I was in there for 1hr 45 minutes before I lost count. Tom finally came in to wake me up so that I could go down to bed. Needless to say I didn't accomplish much.

Does that mean baby was growing more last night? I'm not sure... but I sure was tired!

Tom has Kiley and Kara tonight while I have Abby. Of course she needs to do a little more playing before bed. 2 more minutes! Tom took the girls outside a bit this afternoon to the park. The weather here has been just gorgeous! I guess we shouldn't complain but it would be nice to have a little variety once in awhile. I wonder if winter will ever come?

We are discussing the possibility of taking down the Christmas decorations tonight, the spread of love and ornaments everywhere is just getting to be too much for us. I think the tree at least will go along with the lights on our window... if not tonight. Tomorrow.

My room is being taken over by laundry... eeks! But on the plus side Abby hasn't wet the bed in...5 nights? I really don't understand how we can go for almost 2 weeks wetting the bed. every. night. Sometimes twice a night. (not to mention multiple daytime accidents) ... and then suddenly we are back to an accident once in awhile. I don't mind the non-accident phase though!

(Kiley)

In a few days we head down for another family Christmas... can't wait! The girls are so excited already to play with their cousins. It sounds like it will be unseasonably warm too. :o)

I think this means it's time for Abby to go to bed....

Christmas Eve

The night before Christmas... and all through the house, not a creature was stirring... not even a... wait... yep, Abby is still awake. She has had a harder day today with several significant meltdowns. I hope that she isn't coming down with something. It sure made the Christmas Eve service interesting... Tom sang in a quartet during the service and it was wonderful... I loved the bell choir too.

And one strange thing I discovered today, Kara is incredibly good at the matching game on our phones. In a last ditch effort to preserve our family-ness at the service we pulled out our phones to let Kiley and Kara play. Kiley doesn't really get it yet and just taps the phone. Kara however actually plays! She went through round after round after round of matching. She was quite upset when my phone died and she lost her game. She didn't want Tom's phone because it wasn't her game.

I managed to get the house back in a little order again, well a few rooms. It's a work in progress. I think it will take awhile. But it's a start. We also opened a few presents and made Christmas cookies for "Santa".

All I want for Christmas ... is for my husband to have a job he loves... and for me to cut back the time I'm working.

I miss being M.O.M.        it just isn't the same when you work full time. Sleep well everyone!

Through the Years...

Merry Christmas everyone! Hard to believe how much they have grown... 

Ponds & Puddles? "Ribbet!"

Tonight after work I picked up a little something at Target.... it went over so well that I am almost regretting the purchase and at the same time wondering if I should have another. Can you guess what that is?

I bet your first guess wasn't a froggy potty chair.... who knew?

 No work for me tomorrow. I can't wait to have a few days home with the girls. My house is so due for a massive cleaning!

Dancing Lights

My girls love the beautiful Christmas lights. They get a kick out of the racing colors and combine that with a little music and you get three very excited girls. Kara I have to say was the most thrilled with the display of lights we went to tonight. I think hormones got the best of me... I was nearly tearing up with Kiley snuggling on my lap, Abby snuggling up close at my side and Kara dancing around to the music. It was pretty special.

Abby had her therapy appointment, we went out for a little pizza and then Christmas lights... Tom had a church choir practice so I took the three home and bribed them to pick up the living room. (fruit snacks are wonderful things)... actually, I think they were more excited about playing play dough (which I let them do if they picked up)

Needless to say it isn't perfect and there is still plenty of crayon all over my walls, boxes and dvd cases strewn all over my living room. But it was nice to have a few small hands put away their toys. (goodness I need to sort through their toys before Christmas!)

I just realized tonight that I have taken 0...Zero... photos of myself pregnant with baby boy. I think things have just been too stressful and wild and crazy that I haven't had a chance. Perhaps over Christmas weekend I can get a few in if it is semi-nice. I was hoping to have some snow to do a few pictures in! So far no luck. It will probably be a brown Christmas this year.

I cannot wait to have 4 days home with the girls! I think they are as ready as I am. My sister is coming to stay with us awhile this weekend to help me out a little (yay sister!!). I just didn't know where to start on my home... so many projects and I'm just so tired
after working all day!

Abby is still up... hopefully she decides to go to bed soon... for my sake!

We must eat! (But do we have to go to the grocery store?)

I think I need to bring my camera with me everywhere.. seriously. I mean... how can it get better than driving three kids through HyVee in a giant.bright.pink (and yellow) shopping cart shaped like a race car. Did I forget to mention that my children are in no means shy.

Kara's favorite thing to do is say hello, and get people to say hello back. So if you are a secret spy trying to blend in, stay far far away. This girl loves to get people's attention. Cranky old man? Busy business man? Fancy pants woman on her cell phone? You can't resist the power of "Hi!" from Kara.

Kiley also enjoys shopping. Her list consists of whatever she can grab faster than I can move away from. Powdered sugar, glass jars of pickles, taco seasoning mix.... watch your things when you are checking out. You never know what you might make it home with! It doesn't help that Kara opens the doors of all the freezers as you walk by thereby distracting me enough for Kiley to grab things.

Abby has become my little shopping buddy, I love going with her most of the time. She likes to look at things, really look at things now and finds the time alone with Mommy wonderful. It's fun to have a 'buddy' to shop with once in awhile. She is learning how things aren't free, that we need to pay for things, and that money takes work to get. I really want her to appreciate what she has and what it takes to get things. I would love to try and avoid my girls thinking they will get everything they see. So far so good!

And if you think of a way to get Kiley to stop throwing trash and other things down my stairs... I would appreciate it. Eventually no one will be able to get in the front door!

Back to Planet Earth...

Ok... I admit it. I miss blogging.

So... first things first. Why the updated name change. Well... as fantastic as Irish Triplets are... we are on to baby number 4 and I doubt he will be as thrilled to be left out of the equation. Yes that's right, baby boy coming this way (really). ((Just in case you didn't already know)

And let's face it... 4 kids under well... 4... can make for a lot, of sleepless nights. Speaking of which, I've been up since 4am this morning, worked all day, had 2 doctor's appointments and then cleaned our basement. I'm tired. This is just an intro post anyways... who actually reads those?

So if you have been missing the blog updates, silly stories, craziness around our increasingly smaller home (and larger family) I will be back. After all, who doesn't get a little enjoyment out of people's faces when they ask if this is your first baby... and you reply, "Nope, Fourth!"

Buzzz

I am the most dedicated blogger in the entire world, I spend countless hours thinking up grand stories and colorful details that will both tickle the senses and shock your weary fingers to life.

I just neglect to sit down and write them most of the time.

Mid July... can you believe it. We have suffered through the torrential rains, smothering heat and already it is mid-summer. I am enjoying a lot of time home with the girls, though I am not the best 'stay at home' mom. I like to GO places and DO things. The girls and I tend to visit the zoo at least once a week and parks almost every day. We go to the mall, to various other events around town. The days we are stuck home, all day... are hard.

Thus we are on the go.

Tom has started getting off earlier which has helped a great deal. Amazing how that hour can make my day so much easier. Our newest family activity is biking. So in addition to walks we now take all of the girls and go for bike rides almost every night. I love it.

Potty training? Abby is pretty much... done with it. We have the occasional accident but it's usually when we are too excited to think about going. Kiley & Kara have also been showing a little interest in it too (Which would be awesome!!!)

We have a new puppy that isn't doing so well being potty trained... I keep reminding myself that it takes time but it can be frustrating. Feebee wasn't so difficult!

Well the flies are driving me crazy, and since I have been up since 530 I am ready to lay down for a bit. Then it's getting ready for camping this weekend!

Rain or Shine?

It took a little while before I found this funny. I guess next time I won't just 'believe' her when she tells me that she got her shoes on. Though technically... she did get her shoes on. I have no idea where the mates of either of these pairs are either.

Crazy day around here. We had a bunch of errands to run and wow the girls were, shall we say a tad crazy? I wonder if Kiley and Kara are teething and that is part of the issue. I need to get a few other pictures up here. We have been busy visiting the zoo, playing in parks, going out for ice cream. A LOT of walks. (We can take up to 3 walks a day that are up to an hour long) The girls have taken to taking turns walking with me. It's cute but it wears me out a little faster because it is just hard to gain momentum when this sweet little thing reaches down to pick the rocks out of the asphalt every few feet.

I am thinking we will visit my brother and sister tomorrow since they are calling for rain once again! UGH! The girls just don't like being cooped up for long. And who can blame them? We let them free and then luck them up again.

Oh and Abby's EKG came back normal (as I figured it would) but had to satisfy the doctors. She was a trooper through it even if she cried during the whole thing on my lap. I love how much more connected we are these days. Two years ago she wouldn't have bothered even coming to me.

Winky the pony, evil baby (thank you Toy Story 3) Rainbow, Starburst, the Tooth Fairy... all a few of her most recent characters. Barbies are required to talk, ponies must have pretties in their hair and the larger light pink convertible is for grandmas (???) Things are much more interesting around here.

She likes to insert the word "imagination" into as many conversations as she can... showing off or learning the meaning? Sometimes I wonder. :o)


Kiley loves to inhale .... and Kara loves to exhale or 'poof' things. It makes dandilion puffs an interesting game. They are slowing down a little on the amount of sand that they eat. (seriously) So at least the diapers have gotten less grainy as of late. Kara loves to hold my hand and walk around with me now (love!) The other night she walked all the way from the school to our home (like ten blocks!) Poor little thing was panting by the time she got home but she wouldnt let me pick her up!

They are also obsessed... with their giant blankets.

The other day we visited my parent's place. I had to pack up the three kids, two blankets and one dog. (discovered I was a diaper short after we got there) So I'm unpacking the girls, trying to untangle the blankets, when the dog Smores (big dog) takes off with my purse! It was unbelievable!

Ok... enough for one night. :o) Sleep sleep sleep! (abby was up at 6:30am... i think she knows which mornings I can sleep in)

Birthday's and Things!

Yay for Mickey Mouse Clubhouse... ok at least it's not as obnoxious as some of the shows can be!

Kiley and Kara are babbling more and more now. Little personalities now and we are starting to see the terrible twos on the horizon (more temper tantrums) Dada, baba, Mama, Bumpa (grandpa), shoes, kitty... those are a few of the words off the top of my head that they can now chitter chatter with.

We just had a wild, crazy, fun, whirlwind, weekend. Tom's family came over to visit and I have come to one conclusion... we need a bigger house! Perhaps that will be in the future, I can't wait to start looking again though the thought scares me just a little. We celebrated Abby's third birthday and she is loving her birthday presents.

It was wonderful going to the Science Center and eating out at a pizza buffet. But mostly we just really enjoyed spending time with family.

What did she get? I'm glad you asked...

Barbie house, Barbie computer, Barbie furniture, Barbie Bike... Barbies... Princess towel, Princess Dresses, a baseball set, ponies, Barbie cars... and a tunnel (did I forget anything? I lose track!) Do you see a theme here?

So she did very well and is a very happy Barbie Princess... girl...

But what I think she enjoyed the most were the people that came to celebrate with her, and blowing out her three candles (the first attempt ended up with a nice layer of shiny spit) Her birthday cakes were strawberry (her favorite this year) and she had balloons too. It was a good time and now we have a whole year to look forward to the next bit.

We bought a zoo pass for families, I believe it will prove VERY useful this summer. We have already been there twice. It is just nice to run around and look at the animals when we aren't sure what to do with the day. We are hoping to go down to a bigger zoo this Summer but we'll see how it goes! We have a lot of plans to get in this summer.

Yum...

Kiley and Kara ate Desitin out of the tub... TUB... and guess who opened it.

I also had to dig chalk out of Kiley's mouth...

Apparently my food isn't good enough?

Worms and things

Abby and I share a kindred heart for worms apparently.. we spent part of our walk today rescuing them from water puddles and returning them to their mommies in the grass...


Kara is obsessed with the heaviest baby doll that we have (weighted to feel like a real baby) It is amazing to watch her lug that thing up the stairs and carry it around with her. It even went to church with us last Sunday.

Kiley is my cuddler and my attached baby. She loves to hold my hand, sit in my lap, be read to, played with, cuddled. She also loves to stick her tongue out when she thinks something is funny... or just to be funny.

They had their 18 month appt today, and a few shots. I hope they don't develop chickenpox from the vaccine like Abby did. I'm not sure I could handle that over Easter weekend. It's supposed to be rare so we will see! Kara is 24lbs... Kiley wouldn't let them put her on the scale. (I think she is 26) I might try weighing her myself tomorrow.. lol

Tooth Fairy Abby

Abby was pretending to be the tooth fairy tonight. She brought me a present from Santa, a giant yellow rubber duck (in a box)


It was extremely funny. I don't think we understand the Tooth Fairy tonight... but she was a fairy in a dress bringing gifts from Santa.


lol


It's funny how there are some nights that all I want is for Abby or the girls to go to bed... and then once they are asleep all I want to do is crawl back into bed and cuddle with them.  like tonight lol, it's almost that feeling you have when you are little and overwhelmed or scared and just want to crawl back in bed with your mom because she is 'safe'

I love that world where tooth fairies can bring you presents from Santa......


May I remember that in the middle of the night when Abby or Kiley or Kara are scared and want to crawl into bed with me... and may I snuggle down with them, even if they kick me in the face when they are squirming. lol

Snakes and Swings

Abby found a worm today... she thought it was really cute. She even held it for a little while before she decided it needed to go home to it's mommy and found it a little dirt spot.

We also found 2 garden snakes on our walk (one on the way, one on the back) ((Maybe it was the same one)) She also thought this was cute and we investigated it. She later told me it was the Mommy worm... hahaha

Kara wanted to try the big girl swings today, in fact I had all three on the swings at one time. I wanted a picture but getting all three to stay on long enough for me to snap a picture on my phone is pretty tough. We played a lot in the nice weather today :o)

Tomorrow is supposed to be really nice and the rest of the week... not so nice. I'm thinking I might take the girls to the zoo despite the fact that I have a test to study for on Wednesday. It is getting harder to get motivated ... ugh. But I try to remind myself that no one will let me study when they are awake .

Barbie Bike and Rocks

The other day we had a very hard time leaving Toys R Us with Abby because she saw the infamous Barbie Bike (A bike Barbie can ride on with you) A pink plastic Barbie bike. She was quite upset we wouldn't buy it for her and was very distressed. (melt down!)

SO we talked to her after her period of grief about how she would need to save up her money to buy the bike for her Barbie. That she would have to work for her money and that we would put it in the piggy bank. My mom also talked to her about how she would have to do little jobs to get money, like picking up rocks in the backyard so that Daddy wouldn't hit them with the lawnmower.

(this is the bike, you can hook it onto your handlebars so Barbie can ride with)

Well I had forgotten about the rocks but Abby sure didn't! Today while we were out playing in the backyard I noticed she was looking around the yard and picking up rocks. All on her own! I didn't even need to bribe her or convince her why she needed to do it. So she earned $1 towards her Barbie Bike. :o)

I think it is important to teach the concept of things and money early and continue on as they get older, gradually working up. There are certain things she won't earn money for (picking up her toys, room etc) Because those are just part of living in our home. But I hope that she can start thinking about how things cost money, and to get money it takes work. :o)

Perhaps I will make up a chart she can color in as we get closer to our goal. Something we can both be checking as she earns her money. (And make it more real for her.)

Road Trip

A photo from last Thursday, the girls all playing out on the backyard patio. What fun it will be this summer!

Mommy Date

I was going to just head off to bed but decided I had better get this down in writing... lol

Abby and I had a mommy date this morning. Surprising how much fun that can be with an almost three year old. She really is becoming more and more my little companion. Another issue... she is starting to really really love shopping. I don't know if it's the getting out of the house or the spending time with me... or getting things. But she gets really excited when I tell her we are going shopping. We started off in the mall because I needed to get her some sandals that match her little dress. I decided to have her do a little free photo session at a place here in town, I just wanted to see how she did with another photographer....

But back to shoes. Turned out there was a sale that you could buy one and get the other pair for a dollar. Great for a parent. Well I convinced her on the first pair but couldn't get her to wear the second pair. Why? She wanted the cheap plastic giant purple flower sandals. Did we get those? If they had been anything other than 29 dollars for a pair of cheap plastic giant purple flower sandals. So no... we did not. I got her a cute little pair of white sandals with gems and another brown leather pair (that she still refuses to put on)

We then went looking for bows and wow that was a job. Why don't they sell pony tail bows? (i had her hair in pigtails) Good grief!

But we got the photos in, after a lot of work from mom. The verdict? Cute photos... still convinced I could do better if only I had someone that could be as silly as me and know how to make her smile like I can. (At one point the 'meep monster' was attacking the photographer) Don't know if she appreciated it but at least I got her to smile and laugh instead of cry!!!

So we went out and got ice cream and shared a cheese burger after that. I'm not going to lie, that was the best thing ever. Even Abby told me that "Mommy, I had a lot of fun with you."

What I didn't include in the above story was how hard I we had to work to prevent meltdowns and tears. Ever since she has been sick things have been more difficult for both of us in maintaining a 'neutral level.' But despite all of that, all of the frustration, the looks I got at the shoe place because my three year old is melting down... all worth it as we shared a cheeseburger and icecream. Best 5 dollars ever.

Apples and Pears

If I planted a pear tree it would grow me apples right now..

That's right apples. But at least it's a fruit right?

So at last I come back to this keyboard and put down a bunch of words and phrases and goofy kid quotes with a silly photo tucked in for good measure. Since everything else I have tried to do tonight has gone ridiculously wrong I gave in and decided to blog.

We spent the day with my inlaws, we drove down to visit because a dear person had come to visit from a far far away land. So I packed my cranky three-some into our minivan and caravaned down with all of the crazy semi drivers. The drive was fairly pleasant though I'm sure that the girls are tired of watching Dora Fairy Tale Princess... or you would think so.

Kiley and Kara are on the upswing and for the most part seem to be doing quite well now. They finished their last dose of medication today and head back to the ENT tomorrow afternoon to recheck everything. Good grief I hope we are done with ear stuff for a little while!

They played and played and enjoyed exploring a new territory and digging out all of the toys from the toyroom porch. They even took really good naps and all in all we had an enjoyable day. Two singing bunnies came home with us and have been a source of entertainment (probably more the adults even than K&K lol) There is something so fascinating about them!

Ok... not this type of singing rabbit. But he is so cute I had to include him... look at him!

Kiley loves to walk around and take me by the hand to discover places, Kara on the other hand would much rather explore without me and yell when she needs me to come find her. 

I thought of two other words K&K know: Bumpa (did i mention that one before?) and Hi!

Abby is still not back to 100%.... at this point I would say that she is about 40%

I sure hope that antibiotic kicks nasty illness soon.

I think that if I had a day off, with just Abby, and she were having an out of the world good/awesome day. We would play Barbies. And we would both be happy. (And for some reason that thought makes me tear up)

We have been having a lot of hard days. 

And I have been praying for patience a lot... and a quiet spirit, and a loving spirit. Because I can't do it alone.  

Busy!

Ok I'm making myself write on this darn thing if it kills me. As you all probably know my kids have been sick, I've had a lot of clinical hours and we are getting to the final countdown to graduation. Combine this with a few health annoyances on my own end....

All of this equals one very tired mom.

After 6 days of fever I finally decided enough was enough and brought Abby in... they diagnosed her with Bronchitis and a sinus infection and put her on an antibiotic. Goodness I hope that means the end of this! I cannot handle many more days of sick kids. Thankfully I have had a lot of help from my mother and mother in law. (and the grandpas too... we can't forget them)

I'm starting to watch K&K's verbal development a little more and really trying to push them to use more words. Out of nowhere I suddenly was like... they are 17 months old... and speak like 12 month olds! (where did the time go?!) I know our pediatrician warned me that with the combo of a lot of ear infections and them being part of the multiple club ... they were at a higher risk for it.

Want a complete list of the words they say? Kiley: Baba, Mama, Dada, Ba (Bath), Mum ... and bumpa?
                                                                   Kara: same... with no thrown in
So ... what? Well it's not a (Oh my gosh!) worry type thing. It just means... hey pay attention your girls are not picking up words like they should be on their own and you need to get working with them on this.

Darn them and their twin language lol. They understand what WE are saying with no problem, they comprehend a great deal. It's the SPEAKING part they don't do. They know those words and perhaps a few more... but we probably only here them here and there, and not all in a day. National Speech and Language Assossciation says they should be starting to put two word phrases together and know at least 10-20 works plus names...

From everything developmentally it's not the number... it's the track. Are they doing this, but just slower rate then kids? Nope. I can't remember the last time they picked up a new word.

But anyways. I'll talk to the pediatrician about it, we'll work at it... they'll be fine.
-----

And then Abby, oh my gosh is that kid learning like crazy! She problem solved today and it was amazing to watch. She took the kite I made her, grabbed a Tupperware container, placed the string in the Tupperware, placed a rock at the end of the string and then dropped the kite over the edge so that it would swing in the breeze. She was so excited.

We also met a little girl in the park today, her and Abby played so well together I thought they were the same age because they both acted similarly. then I found out the other little girl was an entire year younger. Wow.

(funny story: Abby-sitting on the couch near me. I hear little toot sounds and ask: "Abby are you tooting by me?" she replies, "No mommy, my bottom's just making noises")

hahahahahaha

We are enjoying the nicer weather

Butterflies and Babies

The weekend draws to a close and I feel a little sad. I enjoyed the time with my girls and I hate being gone from them for such long hours. But I only have a few more of these left and I will be finished with yet one more thing so that I can graduate!

Kara was very fussy this afternoon when we went out to my grandparents place, I hope that she isn't coming down with something and that it is just teeth. There were several points where she just cried and cried and cried. Kiley was a little fussy too but not quite as bad as Kara.

Abby is still doing well with potty training, she had a bit of an accident out at the farm but that was my fault for not showing her to the bathroom when we got there. Oops! Naughty mommy!

We re-arranged the girl's rooms and I'm wondering if that was a mistake? The room downstairs IS bigger and fits two cribs and dressers much easier than the upstairs room. We discovered heater vents and opened them up so it is warm enough for them to be down there. My main motivation is that Abby is now closer and I can put her back to bed easily. I also wanted it to be easier for her to play in her room and to have a little sanctuary where she can go if she's overwhelmed.

Of course ideas usually are better when they are just ideas. We did switch things and I'm so thankful for the help of my parents  & brothers and sister. (they made quick work of it) But now I'm feeling a little bad because the twins cried and cried when I left them down there... and Abby cried and cried because she wanted to go back to her room, she doesn't have her butterflies... etc.

Perhaps I made a mistake.

At least the snow is starting to melt... and warm weather won't be far away...

Spring???

Spring is coming and none too soon! My twins are restless and ready to run, and run, and run... and did I mention run? Of course our backyard right now is 1/2 giant snow drift and 1/2 giant puddle. Mix in a little dog... and you get the picture folks.

Besides we haven't found the swings yet and the little shopping cart is only just beginning to appear.

We did go for a walk this afternoon, Abby walked part of the way, splashed in puddles and then rode the rest. The twins... well they complained, stole each other's hats... and then pulled each other's hair. Seriously they were just out to get one another

It was a wee bit windy... and at the end of our walk Abby freaked out and ran inside because she was afraid of the wind. I still don't know why.

Potty training by the way is still going very well. We have now discovered that urine makes the water turn yellow... and that it isn't good to drink. (Don't ask and I won't tell) One or two accidents here and there, usually just when we get distracted going over to someone's house and forget to go.

Abby asked me the other day where her new baby sister was.... I told her she didn't have one and she was very sad. Watch out mother's of unattended babies... my daughter is trying to claim one! Perhaps because she keeps seeing all these babies I'm doing photos of lately....

Kiley and Kara are getting molars in and are like bipolar teenage girls (look they even want to drive!)... Happy! MAD... Happy! MAD... SAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAD.... HAPPY!

MAD.

(Kiley shutting Kara in the dog kennel)

Ibprofin takes the bite (look at me I'm funny) out of it but they are still pretty miserable. Hopefully they poke through soon so we don't have to endure this much longer. Kara still has a massive spoon fettish... she calls them "UM" So if she comes to you for "UM" it's probably a spoon not "MUM" which is food.

They are also eating really well out of bowls with utensils. Who knew? Guess I should have trialed that sooner. Oatmeal has been the popular dish of the last few days. We are also officially out of bottles HURRAY! No more pushing in the nipples and spilling their juice/milk! We are still doing a bit of experimenting to see which they like best. In a way I miss the bottles because they were a fantastic comfort thing for the babies- they cried, i gave them a bottle (I know bad...)

Abby is still very insistent that we go swimming soon, I'm thinking of looking into swimming lessons for her but  haven't found one I like quite yet....I'm also enjoying painting on Abby's wall... I like crafty things, they are like little stress relievers... lol (I think it's turning out really cute... I have some work to do yet on it tho)

The letter P!

Poo in the tub... poo on the stairs... screaming babies and a phone call from my husband telling me the computer repair guy was stopping by in an hour.

There are toys everywhere, a giant dishwasher box is sitting in my entryway, table is covered in breakfast and last night's supper, you get the picture.

I cried...

Then put the babies in the highchair with a snack and turned on Cinderella and cleaned like a madwoman. The house was presentable by the time he arrived with his tools... right in the middle of lunch. The twins were covered from head to toe in spaghetti and dancing to Mickey Mouse Clubhouse. Abby promptly began to ask the repairmen tons of questions, "How do computers work?", "What is that!" "Abby help too?"

He got his share of my kids before he was out of here! But the computer is fixed, we had porkchops for supper and  I got the girls down for their nap.

We spent the rest of the afternoon playing with my Grandma (The girl's great grandma) at this Science Center near our home. The girls love it and Abby just has a blast. Perhaps we will have her birthday party there or something similar. She would have a blast lol.

Trials and Tribulations... or just a car ride with three kids

We survived the gauntlet of six(ish) hours in a car with three small children. I believe we were all on the brink of a sudden plunge into craziness as we pulled into my brother and sister in law's house. With the exception of one or two or three stops... ok maybe more than that... we drove straight here. One of the stops I'll tell you about if the time arises, a few were bathroom breaks and one was at a rinky dink diner that we pulled into to do a neb treatment on Kiley.

Poor thing was really wheezing and working hard to breathe, it was try a neb or head on into a clinic/er. Thankfully after pinning Kiley down and holding up the mask to her face she got the medicine in and fell asleep not long after it kicked in. She seemed to be doing better for the most part after that. We did have to do one more once we got here and her older cousin was very concerned about the fact I was pinning Kiley down and holding this steaming noisy mask up to her face. I read later on the package of directions: "Try to breathe in deeply and calmly... oops...

Currently Abby is sitting on the couch with me... and no one else because she happened to wake up... again and didnt want to go back to sleep. She is telling me about how the storm made a mess and wants to know how we are going to clean it up. I'm not really sure where she picked up the bit about the storm, knocking down trees and such. Of course the heater kicked on and she told me that the train was coming?

But back to our trip, we were able to meet our beautiful new niece and Abby was able to see her other cousin whom she has been dying to see for the last few weeks... and who turned out to NOT have taken her swimming pool. (Where she gets these ideas...) She was a little scattered yesterday and I had very low hopes for our potty training... just too long in a car even with frequent stops and then she was too excited to be coming to see her cousins. We'll probably work on it more when we get home again.

Abby is now warming my feet with her feet... because they are cold. Hers are the cold ones.

Kara was the best out of all three yesterday, just haaaaaaaaapy and playing and loving life. Her carseat was stuck facing the back too! Silly little girl. She even did her little "Hah Hah Hah" and evil genius growl later. Oh and her new cousin... she looooves to go see her and pet her head and say "niiiiiiice" Kiley didn't ever really notice her but that is ok, I'd rather her not be around the new baby much just in case.

                                                           *Kara*
Well Abby is telling me it's time to get off my computer. I'm not sure what we will be up to today other than that I hope to do photos of Baby L :o)

Going Strong

Accident Free ALL DAY

What a quick study my little girl is lol

We'll see what tomorrow brings but still awesome!

Beginning of the Potty Wars

Oh no, I'm one of those parents.

Abby is potty training and I'm so excited! I have the princess panties, training pants and travel potty all in hand... along with a bucket of candy for victories. Checking out all the potty things it had a similar feeling to shopping for a new baby... hahahah

And she took me completely by surprise! I had been giving all three of the girls a bath (since they were really cranky and bored) I had taken the other two out and were getting their diapers and clothes back on when Abby walks out of the bathroom.

"I pee'd in the potty... just like mommy!" Sure enough... she did! So I thought, hey why not try panties.

About 20 minuets later she went into the bathroom and did it again! I was thrilled.

She has certainly had her share of accidents but going potty is on her mind and she has gone quite a few times. If she's willing to try I'm willing to give it a go. It's not the ideal time for me but we'll make it work. Ach she is growing up!

K&K are sick too with this nasty virus that makes them cranky, I think I have the same thing so we are all miserable together. Hopefully we are all healthy by the time we are off to meet our new cousin/niece!

Spring come soon!

Goodness I think I've meant to blog now twice... and kept getting distracted by those loveable hugable girls.

Another day of lecture (Oh I'm counting them down) The long hours of learning about various forms of cancer... but the day got so much better when I took my girls out for a walk this afternoon. The weather was almost in the 50's and we headed off to the park. Of course everything is a muddy mess but Abby was able to swing for a bit. I parked both babies in front of her, so that every time she would swing close they would giggle.

Sadly that was about all we could do at the park with it so wet and me not being able to push a double stroller through very wet snow very far. But I think they all enjoyed the outing and Abby chatted the whole way there and the whole way back. I had forgotten I think how much I love going for walks with my girls, I can't wait for Spring!!!!

Abby went to bed pretty well again tonight... she played for awhile but eventually decided she was tired. I sat down there by her door for about an hour.

Kara isn't feeling well again... haha... unbelievable sometimes. It must be a virus since she is already on an antibiotic. Hopefully she isn't sick this weekend when i travel off to see a friend...

On a positive note... I've lost pretty much all of the spoons that were in the drawer. Or should I say they have been hidden by a certain troublesome twosome... looks like I'll go hunting before bed.

(Photo of the flowers Tom gave me for Vday- at sunset... ahhh) lol

Saturdays are Nice

My girls are all growing up so fast! The antibiotic seems to be kicking in and the noses aren't green, the babies are slightly happier, and this all makes the mother happier. :o)

Abby has been telling us many things about mermaid shoes and her princess ducky and several other long long long stories. In fact ... I can hardly find a time where she is not talking. Hahahaha. It's cute though and a lot of it is very entertaining.

Abby's latest thing is rubbing noses with you. I laughed when she did it with me... so now she laughs whenever she rubs my nose with hers. And get this! Bedtime... struggles right? Well last night she was so so so so sad I went upstairs (instead of sitting outside her door) I told her goodnight and tucked her in like 5-6 times. I had even tried deep pressure with lotion thinking maybe she was having a harder time falling asleep because she was too wound up. Nope, no luck. Finally I just let her cry till she went to sleep. Well tonight I told her that as long as she stayed in bed I would sit outside her door. She was out in 20-30 minuets. No struggle, no getting upset, no fighting her... etc... just wonderful Abbyness.

We'll see if it works again, the real test is whether it lasts a few days. But I would love for it to work!

The weather has been beautiful, almost 40!!! I had to open the windows to air out the house some. SO nice. I cannot wait for Spring. I hope we can take a walk tomorrow sometime ;o)

(don't they just look thrilled- This is from the other day when Abby, Kiley, Kara, Feebee and I went walking... I think it wears me out more than it does them)

K&K Tidbits: 

Kiley is always the first out of the crib in the morning and at naps... why? I don't know... perhaps it's because she is almost climbing out when I get in. Kara on the other hand thinks it is funny when I 'chase her down."

(Kiley)

Kiley loves loves loves to spin in circles. She will spin and spin and spin until she is so dizzy she just 'stands there' wobbling... or she falls down.

Kara loves to carry around blankets and will actually carry them up against her face or in her mouth. Sometimes she'll just lay on the floor holding it or burying her face in it. (so cute)

(Kara and one of her many many many blankets)

They both weigh 24 lbs now ... hard to believe isnt it. :o) My little munchers!

I've discovered they are hiding my spoons... I found some in the clothing drawers in their bedroom... and one under the sofa... and another in the toy box... I also saw them sneaking them out of the drawer the other day. Apparently they can reach them now... no wonder we never have much for silverware...