Rain Boots Are Our Friend!

Today's weather was very nice so I insisted that we all get outside to enjoy the somewhat warm weather. The kids were so excited and not only found their rain boots but put them on instantly. Then they insisted that they wear their rain coats. I love the rain coats so I was cool with them wearing them even though the sun was out and shining brightly.

Once we got outside they LOVED running through and stomping in the puddles. We took a long walk and found some really big puddles for them to run through. They were all soaking wet by the time we got back home but they sure had a great time.We stopped and visited one of our neighbors and they were so polite and good. He had some gifts for them and they were thrilled. Especially KJ because it was a "Boy" necklace with a scorpion on it. So boyish and just what he needed.I love days like this. Spring is in the air and that is so exciting.

Home Safe... but cold

Aimee and I returned from our trip safe and sound. We had a nice time but it always amazes me how much I miss the other two kids when I am away with just one. For that reason it makes it emotionally hard for me to be away but I we still had fun. I have lots of fun pictures to post but I am too darn tired after the day that I have had today.

I returned to a very cold house. Then I quickly realized that the furnace in our house was not working. Therefore we spend the day in a 50 degree home trying to stay warm. We are trying to decide if we replace or repair our 15 year old furnace right now. We are not sure what to do but we hope to have an answer by tomorrow so we can warm up!

A Little Adventure

Tomorrow morning Aimee and I are off to visit a very good friend of mine. I have not seen this friend in over a year so I am really looking forward to the visit.
Last year Ella came with me on this exact same trip. As a mom of triplets, it is always nice for me to get this one on one time with my kids. It is actually a vacation to only travel with one of the kids. I also think that it is a vacation for the kids too.
I am sure I will have lots to update on when I get back.

Ella's Skating Debut

Today was Ella's turn to have a date with daddy. She decided that she wanted to go ice skating. Big thank you to Grandma Mary for taking Aimee and Kendrick and awarding Jon this date with Ella.
Jon said that Ella did a fantastic job at ice skating and from the video clips it looks like they both had a great time on the ice. Jon did not realize when he was recording the clips that you can not rotate the movie so you will need to tilt your head to the side to be able to watch these clips.

Even though they are not straight I still thought there were great and I wanted to share. I love how encouraging Jon is with Ella. Telling her that she is doing a great job and being so patient. Another good reason why he is such a great daddy.

260

This is the number of posts that I have done on this blog. I cannot believe that I am already at 260!!! I was amazed when I noticed that number today.

I get such mixed emotions about this blog. Some people think I am crazy for doing it, some people love it and talk to me about it all the time. I get nervous about who is reading it and exposing my family to harm because of it but then I remind myself that I am careful about what I put on my blog. I use this blog as a way to look back and show my kids what activities we did when they were small. To give them a glimpse of how we raised triplets and stayed sane. I really wish my mom would have had a "blog" when I was growing up. It would be great to look back and see all the activities and have a glimpse of "our" world through her eyes. I guess I don't necessarily need to make all of this "public" but knowing I have an audience makes me stay devoted to posting on this blog. It is kind of like when you are on a diet and you have to get on a scale for someone else to see.

This blog has become an outlet for me. It helps me to reflect on what is going on in my life and in my family's life. I have thought about changing the blog name and making it even more private which I might do one of these days but for now I am going to keep plugging away at this one. If nothing else just to remind me of where we have been and reflect on what we have going on now.

The other day Jon said he ran into one of our neighbors at the Gym. She told him that she really enjoyed the blog and that he must be a great husband and father because I write so highly of him. So for that neighbor...you are right. Jon is an awesome husband and father and even though he did not say much about it, I am sure it made him feel great that you took notice.

To my fellow blog readers! Please comment one of these days so I know my audience!!! How about if I say Pretty Please with sugar on top!!!! I would love to beat my old comment record of 7 comments!

So 260 and I am still plugging away. Who would have thunk it that night long ago when I started this blog journey. My only regret is not starting it earlier!

Friendship

On Monday nights we have our Gymnastic class with the our friends the B Triplets. Today it was their Birthday so we were invited out to dinner with them to celebrate. We headed over to Friday's for dinner. It was an amazingly fun night aside from the six trips to the bathroom during the meal.
It was amazing to sit back and watch all of the kids interact with each other. They all picked a buddy and they were telling each other jokes, telling secrets, and talking about their interests. They even helped each other eat. K (mommy to the B Triplets) and I have been hanging out together with our kids since they were about 1 year old. She too has GGB triplets so it is a perfect set up. My kids always enjoy their company and K and I always talk about them being best friends. These are my kids "oldest" friends and here is to many more years of friendships and celebrations together.
Tonight both K and I sat back in amazement to watch our kids interact. I asked her were the time had gone. I remember clearly when her kids turned 2 and she was in disbelief. Time is just flying by.
I had another realization tonight about having three-four year olds. I am really looking forward to this summer and how much fun it is going to be. It has been a long winter and I think we are all ready to be outside in the warm weather and swimming and playing. Every season of every year it just keeps getting "easier" around here. This summer will be no exception to that rule. We already have a camping trip planned and a week of vacation with just the "five" of us. We are all looking forward to it.

Birthday Parties

We are now reaching the age where we are invited to Birthday parties for our friends. It is so much fun to take the kids to these parties and watch them interact with the other kids. It is sweet to watch them sing Happy Birthday to their friends too.
This weekend we went to J, E, & M Birthday party. They are triplets that we hang out with a lot. They are three months older than my trio Their Mommy and I have been friends for a long time and we knew each other long before our triplets were here. She used to be my Youth Group leader when I was in High School (another post someday). As you can see from the pictures, it was a Gymnastics Birthday Party. The kids all had a great time and best of all was that Ms. Anne was there to help entertain the kids. It really was a lot of fun and if you ask Kendrick, the best part of all of it was eating the Birthday cake!

Sweetness

When your three 3 Year Olds...

Giggle
Play Together
Pray,
Say "I love you"
Say "Please, Thank You, and Your Welcome
Say "I'm Sorry"
Cuddle
Bear Hugs
Kisses
Show their emotions
Talk on the Phone
Listen very well (especially when others are watching)
Ask to talk to God
Pray
Love Each Other
Bear hugs in the morning
Watching them sleep
Holding hands

Stress Relief

Gosh, it has been a busy week around here. I am not really sure with what but my stress level has been high. I guess it is a lot of stuff going on at work right now. It is amazing to me how I can leave the office and feel so drained and stressed out. Then when I got home, put some comfy clothes on, sit back to enjoy the kids and amazingly my stress all disappears. I love their laughter and silly-ness.
The other night we were reading books up in the girls room. I was so tired and ready to crawl in my own bed. We have been struggling with bed time lately as I am sure the kids are ready to be done with their naps and they are just not tired at 8:30 PM (another topic for another day). All of a sudden I turned my head to see Kendrick with a silly green wig on. We all started giggling and he was so proud of himself for making us all laugh. It was a sweet moment.
Moments like these help me to really take note as to what it is all about. Life is not about the deadlines we have at work or all the things we need to get done. Life is about spending time together and enjoying each other's company. It is about making memories and giggling together. I am so glad that I have three little people to be my stress relief at the end of the day.

God Speaks

It is amazing to me that we now have already completed two months of 2008. As a busy mother, wife, daughter, sister, cousin, granddaughter, niece, friend, project manager, and woman, I cannot believe how fast time seems to be slipping by.

These past months, I feel that God has been speaking to me through so many different channels. I am not really sure how to explain what I mean other than saying that in those quite moments or even the not so quiet moments all of a sudden something will spark me to reflect about where I am at and what I am doing. I feel so incredibly blessed to be right where I am at, doing exactly what I am doing. Yes, life is busy and yes I get crabby but I can honestly say that right now I just feel happy about myself and about my life. However, I do have feel that I am struggling with a few things and that may be why God is speaking so loudly to me right now.

Here are some of the things that have sparked my reflection:

The other day I was driving somewhere by myself and I decided to turn on the radio and I was not paying much attention to what was on until this song came on titled Amazing Grace by Chris Tomlin. This song holds a special place in my heart as I sang this at my Grandma's funeral a few years back with my late cousin Michael. Now I am not sure why the radio was on the Christian Music station as I have never listened to that station before but it was and it was an incredible 4.5 minutes of Amazing Grace and reflection about life.

At church last week we had a guest Priest in who was running a retreat at our church. He has an incredible message about forgiveness and letting things go in our life. He talked about a woman who had come in for confession and spilled out that she lost two small children 4o + years prior to the present time. At that time her family forced her to "move on" without letting her have the time she needed to grieve her late children. This woman had been carrying around this anger towards her living children and husband for 40+ years because she did not want to forgive. What a lesson this was to not hold onto anger but to let it go and forgive.

Recently, a very good friend of mine (another mother of triplets) sent me an email about a devotion she had just done in her bible study. It was titled "The Real Me" by Renee Swope ( http://reneeswope.blogspot.com/ ) Here is a little of what this devotion said:

"...Who was I? What did I like to do? Unfortunately, I’d never taken time to answer those questions. Instead, I had tried to be who others wanted or needed me to be. But honestly, I wasn’t very good at it. I often had this uneasy feeling in my heart and a sense of just not being happy. I was also a constant candidate for burn out...

...Isn’t it easy to completely neglect ourselves to meet the needs of everyone around us, and call it self-sacrifice? It sounds godly, but in doing so we risk shutting down a place in our soul where God’s dreams and gifts are waiting to be revealed. It’s not self-seeking but God-seeking to intentionally get to know and become the woman He created you to be."

This devotion really hit home because as a mother, wife, daughter, sister, friend, it is so easy to get "busy" with life. I tend to be a people pleaser because I try and avoid confrontation at all costs. I am starting to realize that this is not always the right or healthy thing to do because in avoiding upsetting someone else, I upset myself. As the devotion said, I don't want to risk shutting down that place in my soul where God's dreams and gifts are waiting to be revealed. One of my biggest challenges in life has always been self confidence. I am not sure why this is a challenge but lately I have really been noticing it.

Just last week at work the Project Manager that I am working with just looked at me and said "No More Nicole...we now proceed with CONFIDENCE"! Wow, what a truly revealing moment for me. I am a highly educated, smart woman. I am the mother of three amazing children that happen to be all the same age. I have a husband who loves me and has the utmost confidence in me, I have parents who have always believed in me, I have many friends from all aspects of life. I have the biggest support system around me. WHERE IS MY CONFIDENCE? Just the other day I was cleaning out my junk drawer. I found a note from one of my friends that said this "Nik...you have always been marked for greatness, but you can't get there until you can make peace with yourself" WOW! This was another one of those moments where I felt like God was speaking to me again. This note was at least 8 years old.

One of my friends who happens to be 11 years older than me told me last week that confidence will come with experience. She said that she remembers feeling exactly the same way in her early thirties. This was great comfort to me. I know I won't gain all of this confidence in just one day but now that I am working on it I hope it will start to come.

God is speaking and I am listening. I want to be the woman, mother, wife, friend, etc. that he put me on this earth to be.

“For you created my inmost being; you knit me together
in my mother's womb.” Psalm 139:13 (NIV)

Freckles

Wikipedia states:
Freckles are small colored spots of melanin on the exposed skin or membrane of people with complexions fair enough for them to be visible....

Yesterday when I picked up my sweet daughter Ella to get one of her famous bear hugs I noticed some spots on her face. The closer I looked there were more than just one. Then thinking I was crazy I asked Jon to come and take a look. He confirmed that their were spots and that our sweet daughter Ella is now getting freckles.

This should not have been such a big surprise to me because I have freckles and my mom has freckles too. I am sure freckles go way back in our family history. However, I was surprised because I did not expect freckles to just show up! Ella was embarrassed at first when I was pointing them out to Grandma and Grandpa over the weekend but then tonight while we were brushing her teeth she wanted to point them all out.

It will be fun to see who they show up on next!

Space

Recently, we were all in the car driving and here is what our conversation was:


Out of the blue KJ asked: "Why do we have to go really fast to get into space"?
Daddy: "Space is really far away and you have to go fast so you can get there"
KJ: "Can we go to space?"
Mommy: "Only Special People get to go to space"
KJ: "Well we are special Mommy so we get to go to space because God made us special"
Daddy: "Yes, you are special but to get to space you have to study really hard"
KJ: "I will study planes really really hard so I can go to space"
Daddy: "You will need to go to a lot of school so you can go to space"
KJ: "I like school and I will study planes really hard"
Ella: "I like school too and I am going to study playing really hard"

I guess we will have to replace his Spiderman book with some books on Space!!!

However, I think we are right on with Ella. She plays everyday!

A Healthy Update

I had my follow appointment from my annual MRI. The good news is that everything looks great! I was so relieved and now I do not have to worry about going on any medication for another 18 months. Yipppeeee. He wanted me back in a year but since I had a good report, we compromised on 18 months!
I had to wait over two hours to get in to see my Doctor. I was not surprised by this as he usually is running behind. Last year I had to wait about that long too. I don't mind because I really do trust and respect this doctor. Plus, the reason why he is always running behind is because he is so dedicated to his patients and what their concerns are. He has spent hours with me before answering my questions and taking the time to make sure I was comfortable about what was going on and what I needed to do for my health. Even my parents have met with him after I was diagnosed with the MS. He fit us in for a 15 minute appointment over his lunch but it ended up lasting for over an hour with his answering all of the questions and concerns that my parents had. They wanted a second opinion but I was not going to mess around so they met with him instead. After this session they were just as comfortable as I was with the diagnosis and treatment plan.
Big Thanks to Jane for watching the kids for me so they did not have to come along to my appointment with me. That could have been a disaster trying to entertain them for 2 hours while we waited for the appointment.

Icees

This weekend, I was able to finish up this session of "mommy dates" as Ella and I headed off to the mall for some one on one time. The mall was so busy as it was a holiday weekend but we managed to have a good time regardless.
I really enjoyed my time with all three kids. It was so refreshing to go out with one kid and just focus all my attention on them. I know that all three of them really enjoyed it too. Hopefully, Daddy will get his turn this week to finish up his "daddy dates"!
Here is a picture of Ella on Saturday night drinking her treat...an Icee. Daddy introduced those to the kids last week so now they are the new favorite.
Now it is Grandma Mary's turn to have some "Grandma Dates" with the kids. Jon's schedule for March looks great so she might get a chance to do this.
It is so great for the kids to get some individual attention. Thanks to Grandma Mary and Sue and Denny for helping us out with our "date" sessions. One of the best parts about these dates is that we have been able to make it to church every Sunday due to all of the help we have had. Yahoo. It feels GREAT!

What does love mean?

Happy Valentine's Day 2008! Thank you to all that sent us Valentine wishes and gave us Valentine treats! The kids love it all. They woke up asking if they could eat some chocolate. Today they have school so last night we had them get their Valentines ready for their friends. It is so much fun to watch them get so exited about holidays such as Valentines day. It brings back memories of when I was a kid and getting Valentine's at school and really enjoying them.
The other night in the spirit of Valentine's Day, I asked the kids what Love means. Here is what their answers were:

Aimee: "Mommy & Daddy"

Ella: "Being nice to each other"

KJ: "Hugs & Kisses"

I assured them that all of those things mean love and so many other things do too. I am thankful for this holiday and the fact that it helps me to step back and really think about and focus on all the people in my life that I love. In my busy days, I sometimes forget to slow down and smell the roses. This Valentines Day, Jon and I have made a promise to slow down, focus more on each other, and truly soak in these days of parenting preschoolers and the innocence of it all.
Happy Valentine's Day to all of you. May cupid strike at just the right moment!

Aimee goes ice skating...

Today Aimee got to have a date with Daddy. She asked if she could go ice skating like KJ did when it was his turn to have a date with daddy.Jon said that Aimee did a great job ice skating and she was laughing and having fun the whole time. Even when she would fall, she would get right back up and do it again. She worked really hard and as you can see she got very tired and napped when they left the ice skating rink!

Aimee and I had our Mommy date this past weekend. We had so much fun and I just love to get the chance for that one on one time with the kids. It is such a gift for me and for them. It must make them feel really special to get all of our attention set just on them. It feels good for everyone involved.
Big thanks to Grandma Mary for watching the other two so Daddy and Aimee could have their date. Also big thanks to Grandma Mary and Sue for taking the kids so Aimee and I could have a date. Everybody got some great individual attention time this past weekend. KJ was at Grandma's and Ella was at Sue's.
Next up for Mommy and Daddy dates is Ella. This date will take place this weekend so stay tuned for an update next week.

The Catch Your Breath Kind of Day

Today has been going well. It is one of those days where you feel like you are getting a lot accomplished. Interestingly enough, I overslept this morning and woke up to KJ asking to watch some TV. When I realized that I was to be somewhere in 10 minutes, I flew out of bed, threw on some clothes, and hurried out the door. Jon was home so I was able to do this.

Then we headed to Swimming lessons and we were lucky enough to have Grandma Mary attend today. She was very impressed with the progress that the kids have made since the last time they were at swimming. I have to agree with her. They have come a long way. Thank goodness for the YMCA and the deal we can get on swimming lessons there!


The check engine light came on in the car last night for Jon when he was driving home so we had to get the car in first thing thing morning. We just got the call and it is going to be about $400 to fix it but we were okay with that since we felt it could be a lot worse. We have not had any issues with this car for so long that we were kind of due for a fix up. I love HONDA'S! They run so good with little problems. We feel they are a great value for cars. I knew something was up with the car so I was glad we were able to get it into the shop and fixed in one day!

The past two days the kids have not napped. I was nervous about it but when I did not struggle to get them to bed last night it felt like HEAVEN! So now we have quiet time but we do not force them to nap. We will see if this continues to go well.

The best part of the day was the conversation we had about going to space in the van this afternoon. I will post about this later. Also, my dear parents offered to babysit for me tonight so I could attend the Multiples Club meeting for this month. It was pamper me night and I had an awesome chair massage and then the second best part of my day...I won the registration for the multiples convention this year. It has a $60 value! YIPPPPEEEEEE!

Okay, that is enough random thoughts for the day. Today was a great day!!! Alleluia!!

Aimee the Song Bird

Here is another video clip of Aimee singing. I love how she uses her tongue to get the words out! To funny! Oh and for the record, she does not have her ears pierced she just likes to wear sticker earrings.

Mouse In the Corner

This video was taken at my Friend Sue's house. Here is a glimpse of the kids interacting with each other.

Pretty

Last night in the middle of the night, KJ got sick all over his bed. As a mother I have to say that the worst thing we have dealt with yet is the stomach flu. If we have to get sick then I would much rather take a cold and running nose rather than the stomach flu. I HATE the stomach flu.

We are still not sure why he got sick as he has been his happy old self all day today but none the less, he did not get to go to school this morning as we did not want to spread the stomach flu to all of his classmates.

The girls went off to school though and they had a great time as usual. The craft that they did today was a door hanger that says "Jesus Loves Me". The used water color paints at school to decorate their hangers. On the way home from school, Jon said that he over heard the girls arguing about their "door hangers". When he asked them what they were talking about, Aimee said that she thought her hanger was prettier than Ella's hanger because she painted more of it. Jon then explained to them that both of the door hangers are pretty and that they had both done a great job on them. Then Aimee pipes up from the backseat and says "Ella's hanger is pretty, daddy, it is just not VERY Pretty"! Jon and I had a good laugh over this one.

This morning, I was late to work as I was trying to help Jon get Kendrick all cleaned up from the rough night and also get the girls ready to go to school. I told Aimee to get her clothes that I had put out and that I would help her put them on. A few minutes later I noticed that the bathroom door was shut so I opened it and Aimee then exclaimed to me to "Get Out" as she was trying to get dressed and then she shut the door right on me. I stood in shock for a minute as I could not believe that my little baby girl that just a month ago needed some assistance in getting dressed is now needing privacy to get her clothes on and off.

Jon watched this whole thing and then laughed at me. He told me that this has been going on all week. I asked him when our kids went from being 3.5 yrs to 20 yrs old? He was teasing me all about needing to let go blah blah blah and thought he was pretty smart until I responded to him and exclaimed that I needed another baby. My babies are gone and I need another one!!! Let's just say he stopped laughing and told me I am crazy! I just smiled.

Hopefully tonight things will be a little more quiet in this house. I have big FEAR of the stomach virus as it is not pretty not even just a little bit.

Ice Skates

This is the start of one of our future Hockey Players! KJ went out with daddy yesterday to do some Ice Skating and "Hockey Playing"! Jon said he did pretty good for his 2nd time on the ice. I was happy to see that Daddy was smart enough to remember the helmet since I forgot it last time. Jon is such a natural teacher that he does much better with all the "firsts" than I do. I was not blessed with many patients so teaching the kids "new" things can be very challenging for me. I just thank God that Jon is very patient and natural at being a good Coach!
Kendrick had some wipe outs but the good news is that he could stand by himself this time. I grew up as a "hockey sister" so hockey was very much a part of my life. It is a great sport so I do welcome any of my children to play hockey. Next, Jon will take one of the girls out to teach them how to skate and play hockey!

Weekend Update

My friend Sue sent me an update today on what the girls did this weekend. I wanted to capture it on the blog for the girls when they get older:

Here is what Sue reported:

When we were getting ready to go to the party, I told the girls that Josh has two cats and a dog. Aimee piped up "we have two cats, but one hits". Denny says who does the cat hit, she replies "kids". Just matter of factly.

They played pictionary and they were so pleased that Josh would give them words that they could draw (or we were told what they were drawing so we could guess). They were on Jakes team. Then we did the guess which penny and Aimee was so much into it with Josh always guessing the wrong hand and then being very dramatic about it.

When we got home, we read stories. I read them the Ugly Duckling for the first time and they got so emotional about it. (The other animals and the ducks brothers and sisters and finally the mom shuns the ugly duckling). We talked about being nice to everyone and loving everyone no matter what they look like or even if they are mean. Ella told me she loves Kendrick even though he is mean and sits on her tummy. Hard not to laugh during such a serious conversation.

KJ's My Star

This afternoon and evening, I was lucky enough to have a date with my buddy, KJ. We had such a great time and it is always so refreshing to be out and about with just one kid. I love to focus my attention one of my kids and I know they love it when they get all my attention too.
We started out going to visit one of my very good friends who is suffering from a severe case of Postpartum depression. I feel so bad for her and what she is going through. We had a nice visit and I hope that I was able to help her with some of the hard feelings she has going on right now. It is hard to watch your loved ones and close friends go through something like depression. It is hard to understand and it is hard to know what to say. I promised her that I knew she would get better and that she was well loved and supported. Wow! Postpartum depression is a nasty nasty disease. KJ and I successfully entertained her little girl and we also helped lighten the mood for her family who is trying to help her out.
After our visit we headed to the mall to go on some rides and visit Build A Bear workshop. KJ really enjoyed his time with me and I equally enjoyed my time with him. The mall was very busy but we made the best of it. It is always amazing to me how the personalities of the kids really change when they get one on one time with Jon or I. He was so happy and he really enjoyed having all of my attention focused just on him.
When we finished at the mall we headed home where KJ had an Ice Cream sandwich and fell fast asleep in the chair watching his Cars movie.
This morning as we were getting ready to go to church KJ came upstairs and asked me "Mommy where are the sisters"? This was funny to me because we never refer to Aimee and Ella as "the sisters".
We are going to take turns with all the kids for some one on one time. I am anxious for my time with the girls.

Bright Smiles

We headed over to the dentist today for our bi-annual appointment. I was not sure how the kids would react so I took "Auntie" Jane with us to help me out. The kids were a afraid at first and no one wanted to be first. Then they took two at first so we had KJ and Ella go first. They were both brave and did a great job of opening their mouths for the hygenist and dentist. Aimee went after Ella was done and she did a great job too.
The dentist told me that their teeth are in great shape and to keep up the good work. I was really happy to hear this news. As their mother I always worry that I might be falling down on my job in the teeth area. She said that KJ has a narrow jaw line on top and that he will have to see an orthodontist when he is around 8 or 9 but for now all looks great. The girls have nice jaw lines and they should have no space problems for their upper jaw lines.
Yahoooo we have that done now until August!

Weird Virus

Yesterday, we had ECFE class and when I went to get the kids out of the gym after Parent Education time, KJ was laying on the mat. He came over to me holding his head and told me that he was not feeling very good. He said that he wanted to go home "RIGHT NOW"! He did not even want to walk out to the car so I carried him half way until my arms got tired.
Once we got home, he curled up on the couch and he was moaning that he did not feel good. I took his temp and he had a low grade fever so I gave him some Motrin and he went fast asleep. He woke up about an hour later and he seemed to be a little better but not quite 100%. Then he went down hill again. This time I gave him some more medicine and that did not seem to help at all. It was very alarming how sick he appeared so I called the doctor. They wanted us to come in so off we went to the doctor.
Once we got to the doctor KJ took a turn for the worst and both the doctor and myself were equally concerned about him. He just laid in my arms and he was lethargic. We did all sorts of tests on him but everything came back normal. As his mother, I was very concerned as I had never seen him so sick.
While I was at the doctor my mom called to tell me that Ella had spiked a fever so we headed home to take care of her too. I braced myself for a long night of sick kids. Ella was up most of the night and Kendrick did okay but he was up a few times too. The amazing thing about all of this is that when both of them got up this morning, it was like nothing had ever happened. They were both back to normal, hungry, and happy! What a weird virus that was!
So I am sorry to the Stac(e)y's that I was supposed to meet out. I was so sad that it did not work out as I was so looking forward to catching up! So far Aime seems fine so we are all happy about that. Sick kids is always hard and never any fun!

Living Room Camping

One of the many things I love about Jon being a daddy is his talent of dreaming up fun ideas to do with the kids. When I got home from work on Thursday, I was informed that there was going to be a camping trip right in our living room. I suggested that with all we have going on over the weekend that it might not be a great idea. Jon said that the kids had been talking about it all day. How could I say no to that.
After dinner, I started the baths and Jon got the tent all ready to set up in the living room. Then once we had all the kids bathed and dressed it was time to set up the tent. They loved it.
Once the tent was all ready to go we piled the kids in with the air mattress, blankets, and pillows. They also wanted to bring all of their stuffed animals with them too but we told them two each was all they were allowed in the tent due to the lack of room!Ella soon realized that her hair would stand straight up from rubbing it on the tent sides so they had a good time doing that for awhile. Poor KJ wanted his hair to stand up too. We pretended that it did.
We then turned the lights off and Daddy told some friendly "Ghost" stories to the kids. It was such a fun night. They really enjoyed the living room camp out so I am sure we will be doing that again. The best part about it was that there was not enough room in the tent for all of us so I got to go up to a nice and cozy bed! That was daddy's idea and it might have been the best one yet!

The Lucky Number 3

I heard this term today from a book on tape I am listening to and it struck a cord. For us, 3 is a lucky number. It seems that lately, I have been noticing a lot of reaction about having triplets.
I guess it does seem a big deal to people that don't live it everyday so I try and be polite to people and there reactions. However, sometimes it just strikes a cord with me on how clueless or insensitive people can be about the things they say or even just their reactions.
For example, we have our kids in swimming lessons and my three are the only kids in the class. Their teacher Ms. M is wonderful and it really appears that she enjoys having them in class. The very first day of class she told me that none of the other teachers wanted to take the triplets so she volunteered. I really did not want to hear that no one wanted to teach our kids but I just blew it off. My kids are good kids. They behave and they listen to the teacher. I do not believe that they would be hard to have in class and from what I see they always have good sessions and they are making great progress. However, after class is over Mrs. M always makes a comment to me why her and her husband stopped at two (kids) and she acts like they are so much work.
This really bugs me for more than one reason but the biggest reason is that it is not that Jon and I had a choice about how we were given our kids. I believe that we have what we have because that is what God thought would be best for us. With that being said, if I could do it all over again and I had a choice, I would not change a thing! I can't imagine my life any other way.When we first found out we were expecting triplets, I remember that we were excited, nervous, scared out of our minds, and anxious about the future. At that time I think I just stuck my head in the sand and said a lot of prayers. However, I do remember peoples reactions to our news of having triplets. It was mostly positive but also some negative.
We have some friends in particular that I just could not be around anymore. All they would talk about was how we were going to afford this and do that. It was very frustrating and it made me very anxious. I have learned since then that no matter what everything just always works itself out. We did afford the diapers and formula, we are making it all work out from activities to preschool bills. I also learned that instead of worrying about all of them turning 16 and getting their drivers licenses on the same day, I just need to worry about what we are going to have for dinner tomorrow night. It is worthless to worry about stuff that is so far into the future and I simply have no control over.
Tonight we went to a local private school to visit the preschool there to see if we have any interest for next year. I was once again shocked at how much attention was given to us. A lot of stares and comments. Being in a situation like that always makes me feel like we are from outer space. Even the principal of the school came up to me to ask me "how do you do it everyday?" in which I smiled and said "it is such a blessing"! I fear that as my kids get older they will start to notice the stares and the comments. I dread the day that being a triplet makes them feel different or weird.Now I am the first to admit that having triplets and bring three very small and very needed babies home from the hospital was not a walk in the park. Truly, I do not remember a lot of the baby stage. Those many nights of getting up at midnight and again at 4 AM for the feedings were hard. I look back on those days and I think that Jon and I really bonded during that time. We were such a great team but it was hard...it was really really hard.
I do remember always being so envious of all my girlfriends that were having one baby at a time and all the love and attention they could give that baby. I am still envious of that and I think that is what drives me to want another baby. I would love to have the one on one experience. Lately though all of those girlfriends are on to their second and third babies and they are now struggling with how to manage more than one kid. This is where life is easier for us. When we are done with a stage we are done and then we move on. Not to mention that our kids always have someone to play with and experience life with.
I wish I was a triplet! I would have loved to have two other siblings the same age going through the same stuff. Jon and I have discussed at length the dynamics of being a triplet. We both agree that there will be times in their lives that they hate being a triplet but there will also be times that they love it. We believe that they will look back on their lives and in the end they will appreciate the bond they have with each other.
I don't want to just focus on the negative though, as there have been a lot of sweet and encouraging comments from people. One day a lady at the grocery store came up and asked me if they were all my babies. When I explained that they were triplets she smiled and said "God must really trust you to give you a blessing like that"!
I also find that a lot of older men are fascinated by the triplets and I love when they smile and reply with comments like "awesome" or "adorable" or "You are so lucky"!I have to say that I could not agree more. Three is a very lucky number. Jon and I still scratch our heads in disbelief on how we ever got so lucky to have three healthy, amazing, and wonderful kids. We often joke that we won the "baby" lottery. God is good, really, really, really good!

Lil' Chefs

There has been a lot of interest around here lately with cooking and baking. These kids ask on a daily basis if they can help me cook or bake something. Even though this can make life a lot harder for me with developing the patience and the extra clean up, I know that it is good for the kids to help with the cooking. I secretly hope that this will also aid in getting them to eat a little better. I figure if they give a hand in preparing the food then hopefully, they will be more likely to try the food. I am not a great cook. My mother is an excellent cook but when I was growing up, I never took an interest in it and now if just feels like I don't have a lot of time for it. However, this is on my list of things that I am working on. I want to get more comfortable in the kitchen so when my children are grown and bring their families home, I can make some awesome meals for all of them. One of the favorite games to play right now is restaurant. They love to take your order and then go and make the food. The funny thing is that they will ask you what you would like and then when you tell them, they will usually say "We don't have that"! It is fun to watch them get all excited about making the pretend food and then serving it up to you.
Grandpa Al was sure proud of his three little chefs. The kids spent the majority of the evening running back and forth to get all the pretend food everyone was ordering. We all took turns going to their restaurant and ordering up food. They even got our friend Jane down on the floor to eat at their restaurant.

My Grandparents built a restaurant back when my mother was a baby. They ran that business for many years and the restaurant still stands and runs today with the same name. I am sure they are up in heaven smiling down on these kids playing restaurant! Who knows, maybe they will be chefs one day and then they can prepare and serve the family meals!

Make Up & Earrings

We have had a make up and earring explosion around here. We have two full blown princesses in this house. Luckily for Christmas, Grandma Mary gave the girls each their own cosmetic bag with brushes, lip gloss, mirrors, q-tips, lotion, etc.. The girls just LOVE these bags. Of course the rules are that they have to be siting at the table when use this stuff otherwise it would be all over the house. Jon caught Aimee the other day with all her make up set up on the foot stool. She was happily applying her "make up" for the day!
When we were at the mall last week we walked by a Claire's store so I decided to take the girls in to let them look around. We found some great sticker earrings that we got and we also bought some clip ons. What I quickly discovered was that the Clip On Earrings "clipped" a little to tight so the girls ears would hurt when we would take them off. I took the clip on earrings back but the girls like the stickers just as much.
I am such a girly girl myself that I think it is a lot of fun to take the girls "shopping" for girly things. Jon took KJ to another store that was more "boy" stuff. However, I do feel bad for KJ because he is surrounded by all of us girly girls all the time. He just told me the other day "Mommy, when I turn into a girl, I wanna wear hair bows, nail polish, earrings, and lip gloss"! All I can say to that is...he is gonna be one heck of a catch for some lucky lady someday. He will be all trained in with this "girly" stuff.

Valium is my friend

I have accomplished another year of the MRI! I panic the most the first 5 minutes so when I was stuck in the machine, I just thought about my 4 favorite people and kept telling myself over and over what my kids said about being good and I made it through it.
I was very relaxed from the meds though so that helps too. I won't have results for another month until my appointment but as far as I am concerned the hard part is over.
I also envisioned so many people praying for me and that was of great comfort too. So for all of you who said a prayer, THANK YOU!

Tomorrow is D-Day

Okay so maybe I should have wrote that tomorrow is M-Day. What I mean is it is the hardest day of the year for me. I have my annual MRI! It is such a hard process that takes a lot out of me. The good news is that by this time tomorrow, it will all be over.
I went to the pharmacy the other day to get my prescription of Valium so I am all ready to go tomorrow. I laughed when the lady told me that the total for my prescription was $1.71! I exclaimed that at that price I should get myself one of these prescriptions more often! Everyone had a good laugh including the Pharmacist.
In all seriousness the MRI tomorrow is hard for a number of reasons. I am very claustrophobic so getting put inside a tunnel is hard in and of itself, however, I have to have scans of my brain and my spine which each area takes about 45 Minutes so the whole process take about 1.5 hours. Furthermore, once they have me laying on the table to do the scans, they place a cage like mechanism over my head. This is what I have the hardest time with. Even with medication to help me relax, it is very hard for me to relax through this process. I bring someone along with me to not only drive me but also to sit at my feet and rub my leg.
This means I need to have back up at home to not only watch the kids while I am gone but also to watch them once I get home as I am usually out of it for the rest of the day.
I probably sound like a big wimp because I know I feel like one. I am generally a very strong person. However, this is just one of a few things that scares the wits out of me. So I have been trying not to think about this all that much this week. Every time I do my stomach hurts and I have some anxiety. However, tomorrow it will be done with and then I can stop thinking about this again for another year.
I know life could be so much worse. We could be in a situation like this, where I am sure they wish the least of their worries were getting through an MRI session. This family is dealing with a lot so please pray for baby Gwenth that she continues to be strong and grow into a healthy baby girl. Please pray for the mom that she can get the transplant she needs so she can continue to be the wonderful mother to Gwenth that she is. Please pray for the dad that he continues to have the strength he needs to support his family.
Please pray for me for strength and courage tomorrow and I face one of my biggest fears. Tonight as we were tucking the kids into bed, they told me that I need to be brave for the doctor tomorrow. They said that it doesn't hurt and that maybe I will get a treat if I don't cry. So sweet and innocent. I love them and my husband too for all the support they give me. I can guarantee that tomorrow when they put me in that machine my thoughts will be of those 4 amazing people. God is good even if he tests my strength!
Wish me luck!

Excuse this house

I am feeling so much better today. I still have a sore throat but life is good. I wish Jon could say the same. He is now not feeling all that great! This is not good news for him because I am working the next few days so he is going to be solo with the kids. I sure hope he feels better tomorrow. I can't wait for this nasty bug to get out of our lives!!!

*************

Today I was tasked with one of my least favorite things to do - the Dentist. I was going to cancel my appointment because of my illness but when I woke up feeling so much better I decided I better go as Jon was around to watch the kids and I had already cancelled once.

It was a successful visit as I do not have any cavities and I do not need any work done in my mouth at this point in time. It was also a successful visit as the Dental Hygienist and I had a great conversation about kids and life. All of her kids are now in their 20's so she is a veteran to this parenting stuff. She shared with me some great perspective today. She said "when the kids get older, they are not going to remember a dirty laundry room or dishes in the sink, they are going to remember all the memories they make with you and your time"! Now, I know that this is a no brainer but it was a great reminder to me to not worry so much about "picking up" but to slow down and cherish the time I have left with my awesome awesome children! This is definitely an area that I can improve on and one that I plan to focus on to devote some more quality time with my amazing children!
This also reminded me of a poem that I got from a friend of mine from MOPS:

Excuse This House
Some houses try to hide the fact that children shelter there;
Ours boasts of it quite openly, the signs are everywhere.
From smears on the windows, little smudges on the door;
I should apologize I guess, for the toys strewn on the floor.
But I sat down with the children, and we played and laughed and read;
And if the door bell doesn't shine, their eyes will shine instead.
For when at times I'm forced to choose the one job or the other;
I want to be a housewife.....but first I'll be a mother.

By Cindy Jacobs - Limited 1990

Thank you Cindy!

My Little Gemini's

Okay so I know I do not have "babies" anymore but I thought this was interesting. Here is my kids horoscope..It looks like being a "go-go" mom was/is the right thing to do with these kids. We are always on the go. They also LOVE to read!

Gemini: May 21-June 21

The Twins

Your babies are blessed with quick, engaged minds and they need constant stimulation. Read to them several times a day, and make sure you have lots of little objects (rattles, squishy toys) for them to play with. Satisfy their natural curiosity -- and fend off restlessness -- with pop-up toys, puppet shows, storytime at the library, and frequent field trips (such as to the supermarket or a fish store). A true chatterbox, your little ones may be the first in their baby groups to speak. Even if it sounds like gibberish, pay attention: In their minds, they always has something crucial to say.

Good News, Bad News

The good news is that I am now on my way to recovery as I went to the doctor today and found out I have Bronchitis and an eye infection. Three prescriptions and $60 later I am now at home with my kids asleep for nap time.
The bad news is that my mom, who took care of all of us this weekend is now in bed sick! Nothing can make a person feel worse than getting their own mother sick! I just hope she has a quick recovery.
The good news now is that Jon will be back home soon and as far as I know he is feeling GREAT!

Feeling Down Low

We have had virus run through our house the past couple of weeks and I have been lucky enough to catch the tail end of it. I feel really icky. Thank God for Grandma as she is doing most of the work today with these kids. Currently, KJ and I are watching Elmo and the girls and Grandma ran to the store to get stuff for dinner. (The above picture shows KJ with ink all over his face and me lounging in the chair trying to gain enough energy to get up and wash it off his face!)
We have been very lucky with illness this past year so I cannot complain but it is still hard to be sick. I hope to feel better tomorrow.
I need to be better by Friday as I have another MRI episode coming up. From my talks about it last year, it is no secret that the whole process is very hard on me. I cannot imagine going through it not feeling all that well. YIKES!
On a happier note, we are back into our routine. The kids have started all their activities again and it feels great to get back to some normalcy. I have started to call around to some Preschools in the area for next year and I have to say that we have some sticker shock on the prices. Some are as expensive at $1200 a month for all three kids and that is just for three mornings a week. YIKES! Anyway, my desire is to get them into a Christian based program so we will see what happens. I plan to do some more calling around on Monday.
Oh and by the way...all you lurkers out there, Leave me a comment so I know who my audience is!!!!

Snowmen Family

The kids were invited over to Sue's house last Sunday. Sue let them go out in her front yard and make some snowmen (people?). They loved it so much that after we left Grandma and Grandpa's house that night they wanted to drive by the snow family to say hi.
There is nothing like Team work to get those snowmen made!
We really have been enjoying our time outside this winter season. It is so much fun to watch these kids get all excited about the snow and being outside.

Wow...we are so blessed.

Two S's and a P

On Saturday, we could not decide if we wanted to take the kids Skating or Sliding so we decided to do both since the park we went to has both a skating rink and a sliding hill. We started off with Skating. This is something new to the kids. I was really happy that I had my mom and my brother there for support. The girls did great with the skating and Kendrick did okay but he really could not stand up on his own. I think the disadvantage that he had was that his skaters were true Hockey Skates and the girls had some skates that had longer blades and they are considered more of a beginner skate. Both Ella and Aimee were able to skate by themselves with out holding on to anything just for a short distance but it was still very impressive.Kendrick had a heck of a time standing on his own and our backs were killing us so we decided to move on to sledding! Next time we take them skating we are going to bring some foot stools along for them to hang on too so it won't hurt our backs so much.

We had a blast sledding. However, the kids get so tired out walking up the hill that we always end up pulling them up. I know I am a sucker but I also like the work out of it so I don't mind so much. Uncle T and I raced with the kids. It was fun. It was also great to see my mom is her 70's gold snowsuit sledding down the hill with the kids. We all really enjoyed it.
When we were done sledding then the kids wanted to play on the play equipment at the park so we spent some time doing that.Overall it was a lot of fun and when we got home the kids ate a huge lunch as I am sure they were hungry from all the energy they spent at the park.

Blast From The Past

I am making a photo book for KJ right of when he was one year old. As I was going through some old disks with pictures on them I found this short movie. I had to share. First of all this is really before he was talking good so it is neat to see him again at this age and second, he is a complete mess and I can honestly say that not much has changed on that front.

Enjoy!

Perspecitve from the Backseats

Last night as I was driving the kids home from an afternoon of fun at Sue's House, they started to talk to me about what Red, Yellow, and Green mean.
It all started when Ella asked me what Yellow meant. It took me awhile to catch on but then I realized what she was talking about. I then explained that Yellow meant proceed with caution (okay in reality most of the time it means speed up to get through the light). Then KJ piped up that Green means GO and Red means stop. For the rest of the drive home I had all three kids yelling at my from the backseat what I should be doing. This was funny for about 2 minutes until Ella started to get upset that I was not following her rules (telling me to stop at Green and Go at Red) it turned ugly quick.
Ella proceeded to argue with me about what color the lights were and what I should be doing. Considering it was bed time and I was exhausted not to mention that the kids were exhausted too this was not fun. Anyway, the crying and fussing by Ella was going on for a few minutes and then KJ piped up from his car seat and said "Ella, PLEASE" This is exactly what I would say to her when I want her to stop fussing, crying, or throwing a temper tantrum. I laughed so hard when I heard him say this that I pulled the car into the garage and sat for a minute to compose myself. It was really funny!
The things these kids pick up, it is seriously like looking right into a mirror!

God Is Great, He Brought Us 2008!

Happy New Year from the Erickson 5! We had such a fun evening ringing in the New Year. Jon and I started an annual New Years Eve Party many years ago and we have kept that tradition alive. This year Jon was not able to attend but we still had the party and EVERYONE had a great time. The kids were so funny because they kept asking who's Birthday it was. Also, I had bought a box of noise makers and hats for all the kids (and adults) to have. It was the best $10 I spent as the kids are still playing with all that stuff.I have good vibes for this year, when I woke up this morning I had "God Is Great, He Brought 2008" ringing in my head! Then I had the realization that in exactly 6 months my children will be turning 4 Years Old and that is so hard to believe.

Last night one of my very best and dearest friends gave me a magnet that said:
"If I am not happy is this time, in this place...I'm not paying attention"I love that...My motto for 2008! This year is going to be great. So many memories to make and fun to be had. Life is good....really really good!
Happy New Year!