Did You Know?

The human body gets rid of 11,000 gallons of urine in a lifetime? I certainly didn't either, but I learned that little tid-bit while driving home from picking up Kori today. Thankfully she didn't hear it as I don't want to think of the response that little nugget would have elicited. Ewwwww grosssssssss! Or something like that.

This is Jason's last weekend off. I am going to make us do things that "normal" people do on weekends off. We're going out to dinner tomorrow night and then to do a couple little errands. Not sure on Saturday what the plans are, but they are going to be something as a family before Jason heads off to off-duty for a few hours on Saturday evening. Sunday I need to either clean, go to the grocery store, or both. While both are fun options, neither sound too pleasurable at this juncture. Hopefully that will change as the weekend progresses.

Here's to fingers crossed for a fun, drama-free, family filled weekend!!!

On A Lighter Note

The kids are absolutely hysterical most of the time. I hear giggling from the living room a couple of days ago and look down (I was in the kitchen) to see Morgan laying atop poor Alexis (10-pounds lighter by the way) giving her a great big ol' "Mongo" (her nickname) hug! Alexis was loving it! Patting her back and egging her on. Morgan is the most loving kid, most of the time. She bumped her head the other day and while crying immediately ran to Kamryn for a hug to make herself feel better.

Morgan can also say "love you". It sounds like "lub ewe" and it will just melt your heart, I don't care who you are. She said it first to Jason a couple of weeks ago as he was leaving for work. It was hard for Mr. Tough Police Sergeant Guy to disguise the mistiness of his eyes on that one. She's now added names to it. "Lub ewe momma, lub ewe Kori, lub ewe daddy". Sooooo sweet! She also says "Who wants eat" when it's time to eat. It's a riot, she has such a deep funny voice when she does it. She also subs in bye-bye, night-night, Elmo when it's time to leave, go to bed, or watch an Elmo DVD (one of their absolute FAVES!!!)

Kamryn adds new words to her vocabulary every day. Her version of chocolate is too cute! "Cho-cat". She also says "fow-la" for flower and it gets a giggle from me every time. They are so dang cute. She has picked up the word fart as well, or as she says it "faht". Cute, but totally not appropriate. She totally busts anyone out who's done it too. Sometimes it's just "Ewwwww", but often it's "Ewwww Le-Li (Alexis) faht". Oh my goodness, how to not giggle at that takes some creativity. We're working on toot as I think that's more appropriate. She's a mocking bird so we're careful what we say.

Alexis is the least verbal of the three but she does her fair share of talking. She loves to give hugs and gives the best ones! (Shhh don't tell anyone!) She wraps her little arms around your neck and just puts her whole tiny body into it. So sweet! She'll kiss anyone but me too. I ask for one and get the sweetest little "Noooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo". What's a mom to do? She is best friends with our cat. I often find her cuddled up in the recliner with him. She doesn't pester or disturb him (only when she first gets up there and gets RIGHT in his face to say "Hi kiiiiiy" (silent t on that one). She gently scoots him over and sits motionless next to him. Very sweet!

Their favorite trick is to lay on there tummies on the fireplace ledge (is that a hearth?) and slide off. It's too cute. Since it's only a few inches off the ground I allow it as I don't think they can get hurt too badly. Choosing my battles on that one!

As for Kori, she's a riot too! Her sense of humor at time is so perfect and full of comedic timing! She is very dramatic as well (takes after Aunt Margaret) and often proclaims several times a week that either daddy and I have just "ruined her life" at that moment. Thankfully it quickly passes. Kori is the "cuss police". She always has been. There's no slipping up in front of her. She'll bust you out quick! Which is not a bad thing. Unless your Aunt Becky. Aunt Becky has a little bit of a potty mouth to put it mildly. I used to make her pay Kori a quarter for every cuss word when Kori was smaller. I think she added enough to pay for at least one year of Kori's college at a fine college, so that had to quit. A couple of weeks ago while riding in the car Aunt Becky let the B-word slip. Kori from the back seat quickly pipes up "Awwww Aunt Becky you said B-S-T!!!" I couldn't help it I laughed like a loon. She also uses A-S-T as well. Now everyone has kind of picked up on it and we sub the spellings in like that, it's too funny! She gets to exasperated with the boys at school too. "They can be so dumb mom". Duh, they don't improve with age either honey. I do however somehow manage to contain myself and refrain from telling her that. If only I'd kept my vow...no men, only cats. Shucks!

So that's a kiddo update if you wanted one...and one even if you didn't. They are so funny! There are still times every day that I look at them all and wonder where such beautiful, funny, smart little creatures came from. I also wonder non-stop how I got so LUCKY!

Worry

How do you not worry? I am a worrier. I always have been and it's only gotten worse since I've become a mother. I worry about getting sick, losing Jason, the girls getting sick, losing another family member. You name it, I worry about it. Trust me my ulceric stomach (is that a word?) will agree with me 100%.

My dad has neuropathy. It's a nerve thing with his legs/hip/back type thing. He has a hard time getting around. It's been going on for several months and certainly isn't getting better. If he has to be on his feet and around a lot he uses a wheelchair. If it's short distances or he's feeling so-so it's a cane or walker. It's quite sad as this is NOT how I imagined he would be spending his retirement. You work so long and so hard and THIS is your reward?

Well his legs have been swelling really bad over the last few weeks. Getting even worse this week. He went to the doctor yesterday and they are sending him for an EKG as the doctor seems to think that it's either heart or kidney related. Oh my soul! What?!?!?!?!? There is a slim possibility it could just be from him immobility at times, but probably the heart or kidney. And he's pretty certain the kidneys are functioning okay. Which leaves the heart. He's had some heart issues before. Open heart surgery when he was much younger. A heart attack when I was 10---VERY SCARY! He's heart has shown some enlargement over the past several years as well.

Now how do I not worry about this? His EKG isn't until MONDAY! That seems like an eternity. In my tiny mind I am still very young and so are my parents. Things like this not so gently slam me back into reality that this is not the case. I have gotten older, and so have my parents. I don't even want to entertain the thoughts of there ever being a time that I can't just pick up my phone and call either one of my folks, even if my mom does drive me semi-crazy at times. It scares the hell out of me to be quite honest with you. They are my support system, no matter what.

So last night my head was full of worrisome thoughts. Tonight, pretty much the same. I am just so scared. I've prayed, a million times as usual, and will certainly continue to do so. But how to keep from worrying? My sister is a "don't worry until there's something to worry about" kind of person. Man I wish I could be like that. Unfortunately I got my mom's "worry about everything that you can possibly worry about and then worry about something else" genes.

So I am thinking calming thoughts...not working. I've tried distracting myself and keeping myself busy...not working. Crying doesn't help, although I've given it a good try.

This on top of the fact that I received news this week that a brother of a friend of Jason's is suffering from a very rare and inoperable type of cancer. Sooooooooo scary! This is a young guy, with two small kids and a beautiful life. How can this be? One thing about the c-word, it doesn't discriminate when it invades someones life.

There is also an officer on the department who's wife is battling a rare stage 4 cancer that is also spreading and pretty much inoperable. They have a 6-year old and a 1-year old.

Man life is not fair!

Jealous?

Of how glamorous my life is? Well you should be! I mean, I get to wear my "Mom Uniform" every day. You know sweats or jeans (sometimes shorts depending on what I am doing) and a t-shirt of some sort. The standard ponytail or twisty bun thing with crazy unrestrained hairs wisping about. I'm all glam!

All kidding aside, my life is so humorous at times. Today I was finally sitting down to eat while the trio were eating their lunch. I didn't have breakfast this morning (well unless you count Diet Coke as breakfast then I did) so I was hungry. Made me a nice turkey/bacon/tomato sandwich and I was enjoying it a lot. About 1/2 through Morgan (who was standing up as usual in her high chair -- I usually strap her in but since I was sitting right there I didn't) anyway. She begins to grunt (loudly) and turn a bright shade of crimson...yep you guessed it. She's making biscuits while I'm trying to eat my lunch. Thanks Morgan!

The girls were super self-entertained this morning so I took advantage of it. Sprayed and wiped down all my tile back splash, the counters, the kitchen window. Do you know how much junk can get splashed/splattered on blinds that are by the kitchen sink? A lot! I cleaned them too as well as the window and the sliding door glass. I swept and mopped the kitchen floor. Then I fed the monkeys lunch. So then afterwards, I re-vacuumed under their chairs. How can a sandwich a Cheetos be so messy?

Oh well, they are napping and I am catching my breath.

My First!

Piece of homemade "pottery" from one of my children! Over the years my mom amassed quite a collection and I've just added my very own first piece! It's a small, well we'll call it a bowl. Kori said I could put jewelry in it, or loose change. Or if I fancied I could eat or drink something out of it. I assured her that I didn't want to ruin it with food or drink so I would find another use for it. It's multi-colored and so lovely!!! It's sitting on my windowsill in the kitchen right now so that when I'm at the sink (which seems to be a lot!) I can enjoy it.

I don't know how my mom ever kept a straight face on some of the pieces. She has a "hippo", an "elephant" a "dinosaur" (it looks like a white turd with a small tail, 4 very squatty legs, and a couple of eye holes. It has a creepy smile on it too. That was handcrafted by my sister Margaret. Like most of our family, she lacked in the "artistic" area as well. My mom still has them all in her kitchen on the shelves of her cabinets. She still dusts them and is so proud of them. That's what a mom does, proudly displays the artwork and craftiness, or in our cases, the not so craftiness of her kids. I never sculpted anything for her thank goodness. But in elementary school we had a wood shop that when we'd finish a section of our reader we could make a project. My mom had quite a collection of napkin holders, coasters, grocery list holders, lamps, you name it, all probably pretty scary. You'd never know it from her reaction though, she was always so proud. She enjoyed hearing about my new piece today.

Ahhhhh the joys of motherhood! Many more to come yet too!

Bartender Make Mine a Double!

It was one of those days! Wait, let me correct that statement. After their naps, it was one of those days. They goofed off in their cribs last night until almost 11pm and then were up about 8:45 this morning (I know that's not early, but they need their 11+ hours of sleep). Then they only napped about an hour and twenty minutes or so at nap time and that showed in the evening. Of course Jason was working off-duty before heading into work his regular shift (insert me banging my head here).

Let's just say I was counting down the minutes until bedtime. Alexis and Kori were great! Morgan and Kamryn...not so much. Kamryn was grumpy, whiny and clingy. Never a good combination. Morgan was just grumpy. It was a long night! At the end of it I didn't know whether to cry, drink or cry while drinking. Where oh where is my chocolate vodka crunch???

So in true fashion for the past 20-months...I shall chant myself to sleep tonight with the phrase: Tomorrow will be better, tomorrow will be better, tomorrow will be better". **SIGH**

February 23, 1969

This post is belated as I didn't score much computer time this weekend. At any rate, Saturday would have been the 39th birthday of my beautiful sister Margaret. It will be five years this August (how can that be?) since she passed, and if anything it gets harder instead of easier.

Taken way too soon and missed so very, very much. I hope that she would be proud of me. I know that she would have loved my girls as she loved Kori so very much! She would love to have been around for the birth of my niece Mallory and then my trio. She would have been over the moon! We laughed, cried, argued, made up, laughed more, shared secrets, you name it, we did it! A sister is a forever friend, that is for sure and unfortunately I lost one of mine.

I've learned life isn't fair, but that sure doesn't help in situations like this. So to my sister...Happy Birthday! I miss you and love you so much! It brings me some comfort knowing that you are watching over us all. Free from pain and discomfort and full of tireless energy!

Seriously...

No school again today. I'm not sure why, unless the side streets around town are worse off than they are here in my subdivision. Oh well, Kori was once again thrilled. So for those keeping track, with the holiday on Monday, she had school two whole days this week.

I did get a chuckle this morning. At 6:12 a.m. the phone rang. It was Kori's school notification system calling to let us know that school was canceled. I hear Jason in the shower getting ready for off-duty. I think to myself, hmmmmm better check the news to see if the school district where he was heading to go to off-duty was having school. Uh no they weren't. I pop my head into the bathroom and tell him to cancel the shower his schools are closed too. His reply "Well then what the hell am I doing in here?" Beats me, should've checked the news I guess. I got a little giggle. We watched a little of the news before turning off the TV and getting some more sleep.

I had a rather enjoyable experience today. I went to the laundromat. Nothing is wrong with my washer and dryer, but I needed to wash my king size down comforter. I figured they have those big ol' commercial washer and dryers so why not. I borrowed Jason's IPOD (loaded with a VERY eclectic musical selection I might add), my book, my laundry supplies and comforter, a pocket full of quarters and I was off.

It wasn't very crowded and I quickly got to business. I had a lovely time reading and listening to some tunes in peace. Well as peaceful as a laundromat can be. I told Jason it was a rather enjoyable experience. He informed me not to get any ideas as he would become super suspicious if I started disappearing to the laundromat 2-3 times a week. What a good idea! I wouldn't want to do it all the time as lugging laundry back and forth would become tedious in a hurry I'm quite certain, but for the occasional comforter and some added peace, who can complain? So my comforter is white again (a dumb color with 4 kids, 1 dog and 1 cat I might add) my peace has been restored and I actually read a few chapters in a book, a real book that doesn't contain rhyming words, pictures, Muppet's, or flaps to be lifted. Life is good!

Off to check my homemade chicken pot-pie! Yummy!

Ice/Snow Day

Again...I need Spring in a bad way!

No school for Kori, bickering amongst all the girls (how can they learn that skill so young???)

Might have to have Chocolate Vodka Crunch for lunch today...**Sigh**

Bath Time

It's insanity at it's best! I do all four girls in my big ol' jacuzzi tub. It should be used for something right? I won't be lounging in it full of bubbles anytime soon. If I cram everyone in Kori's tub it's just a mess and the bathroom is way too tiny to dry and diaper, dress etc. So my tub it is. The girls absolutely LOVE taking baths! No matter the mood, it invokes cheering, squealing, general happiness all around. I'll take it.

Well Kori is 6 so she's a bit more, uh what's the word here? Persnickety, yes that's perfect. It goes something like this:

Kori: (Insert baby who is closest to her's name) don't touch me. I don't want you sitting over here by me. Move. Scoot over.
Me: Kori, please stop.

Kori: But I don't want her sitting here so close to me. (I don't know if she's noticed that she's in a tub with three other kids, but hey, whatever).
Me: Well it's kind of hard for no one to sit by or touch you. Please stop it.

Kori: OOOOOOOOH what is that floating in the water?????? (Said VERY loudly!)
Me: Huh? Where?

Kori: That, right THERE!!! (Loudly!)
Me: Kori I don't see anything.

Kori: Well I saw something. Was it a turd crumb?
Me: I don't think so. No one had any turds in their diapers to make said crumbs.

Kori: Huh?
Me: Nevermind, please stop.

Kori: (Squirts one or all of the girls in the face with tub toy -- has been told at least 1,234,406,231,927,231 times NOT to do that!)
Me: Kori, please don't squirt your sisters.

Kori: OOOOOOOOOOOOh (insert applicable name here) has a booger. Get it! Get it! Ooooh get it before it gets on me. (Duh you just shot them in the face with water, causing them to sputter, cough and gasp, which occasionally will cause a booger to be set free!!!)
Me: Okay, hold on a second. (Drying hands to get Kleenex).

Kori: Ooooooh hurry mommy hurry.
Me: Kori it's not an attack booger, you'll be fine. Please stop.

Kori: Whew! You got it.
Me: They don't call me the booger wrangler for nothing.

Kori: Huh?
Me: Nothing, start washing.

Then it's drying, coralling, wrestling, lotioning, diapering, dressing, hair combing, resting, drinking, uh, I mean picking up, wiping all the splashed water up. Bath time is over! Woo hoo! We survived another one.

This is just a peek at how it goes. It's usually filled with this type of drama if you will. When Jason is off or home he is the dresser/hair comber after I dry and lotion them. We call him the "dressing station". I always say "please proceed to the dressing station" and they toddle off to daddy.

While they are busy and can be stressful, they are all mine and I wouldn't have it any other way!

Time to work on my signature ice cream flavor I think...

Libby Lu

Oh man, why didn't I think of an idea like that. For those of you who haven't been or haven't heard of it, you are missing out! It's a virtual money machine! It's geared toward girls of various ages. I'm thinking once you hit oh, 12 or 13 it really wouldn't be cool to do, but under that is fair game.

Aunt Becky treated Kori to a make-over with Mallory on Monday. The girls and I decided we would tag along to check it out. It started with a little dress up. Kori wore some silvery sparkly pants (who doesn't love sparkle?) and a hot pink shirt that said Dance Club Diva or something to that effect. Mallory wore a pink fairy type dress, only to adorn it with her red glittery shoes (think Dorothy from the Wizard of Oz). These were her own, but accentuated the fairy costume loverly! They then went to a little station where the girls that worked there painted their fingernails, put some make-up/glittery lip gloss etc. on them. Then they got their hair done. They both got some hair-piece that had pink hair and little coils of hair that matched their own hair color pretty closely. Then it was time for dancing! That's right, I said dancing! The music went louder (it was already at a semi-obnoxious level for those that were wondering). Let the Chicken Dance begin! Kori, Mallory and the girl that worked there were off. Mallory's version consisted of some arm-pit digging, an occasional tushy-wiggle and a whole lot of clapping (we'll cut her some slack she's only two. It took her momma a little while to blossom into a rhythmic dancer so there is still time. If she gets her daddy's rhythm, God help us all!!!) Kori got it for the most part, give or take a few hiccups here or there.

Then it was on to "The Picture People" next door for some pictures. Completing the session, backpacks for each of the girls with the crap they got to pick out on their own to put in them. Did I say crap? I meant lovely trinkets. Lip gloss, hair scrunchies, jewelry, more lip gloss. A varitable plethura of good things for girls. Ahhhhhhh success!

The girls then tromped around the mall beaming in their hair extensions, glittery lips and eyes, and enough sass to make it all look good!

Man, why didn't I think about an idea like that. I could be a trazillion-aire like Mr./Mrs. Lu. Did I mention you can make your own lip gloss, shower gels, lotions etc. there? It made my sensitive skin itch just thinking about it! Kids however LOVE that sort of thing!

There was enough High School Musical, Hannah Montana, stuffed animals, clothes, shoes, jewelry, make-up, trinkets etc. to make any young girl beam from ear to ear.

I mean, don't they look happy! Still kicking myself on why I didn't think of this first!

Thanks again Aunt Becky!

A Letter...

Dear Kids:

You will not, I repeat, you WILL NOT make mommy insane. That being said I feel the need to go over a few things with you. Just to touch base and re-clarify things. This applies to all FOUR of you. Not just one or two of you.

When you wake up in the night and cannot find your binky/lovey, PLEASE just open your eyes. It is right there next to you where it landed when it fell out of your mouth/hand previously. No need to yell "Mommy, bimpie/lovey" over and over until I drag my sorry self out of bed only to find you laying there with your eyes CLOSED unable to locate it. (This only applies to Alexis and Kamryn).

If I tell you NO about something, this applies to you all. It does not mean that the others that were not specifically named when I said no need to race over and see if I meant that for them too. I did, believe me, I did.

I DO NOT LIKE TO HEAR THE SOUND OF MY OWN VOICE SAYING THE SAME THING OVER AND OVER AND OVER. (That's self-explanatory).

While I love to vacuum and find it very therapeutic for the most part, I do not need to do it in the kitchen after every meal/snack/drink/occasion you found your way in there for whatever reason.

If there is a basket of clean and folded clothes sitting in front of the dryer, LEAVE IT ALONE. There is no need to string it up and down the hall. I just try and utilize the space in that tiny laundry room as much as possible since I have laundry for 6 people to do in a laundry room the size of a small closet. So again, no need to help unfold and string up and down the hall.

It is not necessary that all of you try and squeeze onto my lap at the same time. One can sit on either side and a couple fit on my lap nicely. Trying to squeeze in only brings pain, bruises and discomfort my way and anger and frustration your way.

You can tone the jubilance down when you see daddy upon his awakening for the day. I am not generally greeted with smiles about to burst and jubilant chants when I greet you, let's make it fair here okay? Okay!

There is no need to take the magnets off the refrigerator, only to promptly discard them on the floor so that I step on them in my bare/socked feet. It's really just a nuisance.

These are only but a few things I felt the need to reiterate if you will.

I love you very much, but you will not drive me crazy. I am inventing a new ice cream flavor and I think I will have it perfected soon. I mean really, who doesn't long for a bowl of Chocolate Vodka Crunch? I need a bowl right now after the day I had...

Did YOU Know???

That Walmart price matches? I knew most stores did on items like electronics etc. What I did not know is that you can bring every ad from every store in town and get items at Walmart for the other stores advertised sale prices. How did I find this out? Well let me tell you!

Saturday morning the gang (that's Jason and the girls and I) head off for Walmart. The plan is to get there, get our stuff, get home, get lunch, naps for the girls so they'd go down for bed at a decent hour so we could begin "Date Night" (see previous post). Well we got there, got our stuff, got in line, all was good. No crying, screaming, shrieking, melting down, nothing. It was going goooooooood. UNTIL we got in line. There weren't many checkout lanes open, no surprise there. We had to get in lane #15 because that's where the electronics people sent Jason's new video game to so he could pay for it up there. So there we were. We were in line just after noon. At 12:20 we're still in line and not moving much. The girls are still doing pretty good considering but Morgan is getting a bit restless, who can blame her? So Jason gets her out of the stroller and and holds her. That's good for a few minutes. Then he lets her walk some. Alexis is now voicing a little displeasure. It's now about 12:30 or so. I figure out what the lady in front of us is doing. She has a whole cart full of stuff, a million ads and she's getting her stuff for cheaper than the rest of us. Kudos to her for going through the effort to do that. Boo to her for doing it on a busy Saturday morning. Morgan has been returned to the stroller. She is entertaining herself with the zipper from Alexis' jacket. Alexis is "chatting" with an employee who was entertained with them. Kamryn is playing with a square container of gum because the noise was entertaining her. Finally at 12:40 we get to check out. Mrs. Price Comparer is off with her basket of goodies for just over $130.00. I would have given her the difference to get the hell out of my way. I politely and with just a hint of sarcasm inform the checker that I am sure that my stuff is on sale SOMEWHERE and I think I can come up with some sale prices for him. He chuckles and says that same lady comes in every week and does the same thing. I made a mental note to scan her face forever in my memory so I NEVER make the mistake of getting in line behind her again. She had SIX boxes of Cheerios...OH MY SOUL!!!!!!! What is she going to do with SIX boxes? Well her cholesterol will go down and her heart health will go up...at least that's what the commercial says. **Sigh** I hate Walmart!

I would like to note that I had to add a dollar or so to my total because Kamryn got the protective plastic covering off of the container of gum I had given her to entertain herself with. Rats! I was going to just put it back and forget it happened, it would serve Walmart right. But that's not right and that's not the person I am. So I am now the proud owner of some Strawberry gum that is fortified with ecchinacea (to fight of germs) and green tea for added zing. Great! Wrong! It tastes like sh*$!!!! Great, $1.00+ for gum I didn't need or want, that I now have and it tastes...well it tastes bad. Lets just leave it at that! I hate Walmart!

Whew! We're on our way out. Only one problem...Morgan doesn't want to give up Alexis' jacket as she's having a great time with the zipper. Well rats! Too bad, cause it's too cold to go out without jackets on. So we pry the zipper/jacket from her and get it on Alexis who doesn't want it on. Get Morgan's coat on and off we go. Morgan and Alexis are screaming at the top of their lungs voicing their displeasure. I am pushing our cart full of goodies and Kamryn. Jason is behind me pushing the screaming banshees and Kori is walking beside me with her sack (she got a new Hannah Montana barbie playset) over her face proclaming "This is soooooo embarassing!". Me being the mom of 4 kids, triplets no less, I put on my best smile and get the hell out of dodge.

**Sigh** Did I say how much I HATE Walmart?

A Date!

Holy smokes, Jason and I went on a date last night! We saw a movie, that was not rated G, or PG! We ate some food that was OURS to eat and we each wiped our own mouths! Unbelievable! We also had a couple of drinks that did not contain kiddy ingredients! It was a great night! It was nice to reconnect. I actually wore real clothes, nothing that remotely resembled sweat pants or a sloppy old t-shirt. And shoes....hello! I wore my high heeled boots that I haven't worn in ages! Look out feet! I thought that would be miserable after only a few minutes, but that was not to be the case, thank goodness! So all in all it was a great night and I was so thankful to have the opprotunity to do it! We are going to try to do it again before the trio turn 5. :-) Thanks for Ashli and Emily for providing our babysitting services! Tis a wonderful thing to find teenage girls wiling to hook a couple up! We left after putting the trio down, confident that A and E could handle them after that. Kori was up for about another hour before going to bed, so all was well at the Rusley house.

Kori has recovered from her illness last week. It was a long time coming and I am so thankful to have her back and feeling better! I HATE having sick kids!

Jason headed back to work tonight. I sent him off with a full belly and a full lunch box for work. He requested backed ziti pasta, but with chicken and alfredo sauce instead of hamburger and red sauce like I usually do. I made myself a small batch of homemade vegetable soup as I am the only one who truly likes it...well the trio does and they will have it for lunch tomorrow. Jason and Kori, not such big fans of it. I also made a homemade apple pie that was super yummy!

NASCAR season got started with the Daytona 500 so all was right with the world for me today! Rejuvenated from date night, satisified with good food and racing to boot! What more could a girl ask for!

Happy Valentine's Day!

Hallmark's dream, my husbands nightmare. Thankfully for him it's a holiday I dislike greatly, so I expect nothing. I got some flowers yesterday which was nice. He's working off-duty today but will be home in a bit. We'll have dinner, watch some tube, play with the girlies. Pretty standard evening for us.

Kori is on the mend. Her fever has been gone since this morning, which is great! Took her to the doctor yesterday to be told, after swabbing her for strep and influenza (both negative thank goodness) that it was viral and just had to run it's course. She'd been so sick, I'm just glad she is feeling better. I hate having sick kiddos! She's been in bed pretty much all week. Yesterday was the most she'd been up and around. Today she's been working on homework and bumming because she missed her Valentine's party at school. I have assured her there will be more.

I was in charge of the craft and drinks for the party so I took them up to her school yesterday when I got her missed work. I felt bad I couldn't be there to help, but motherly duty calls huh?

So I'm off to finish up dinner. Nothing says I love you on Valentine's Day like a frozen Stouffer's lasagne huh? Well I "dressed" it up with some garlic bread and a salad, so that will have to do. I think I'll throw some monkey bread in the oven. Jason and the girls love that.

So to you all...Happy Heart Day!

Still Sick

Tomorrow it is inevitable that we will be venturing to the doctor. Still fevering, still achy. Still feeling like crud. I sure hope she's better soon! It looks like she'll miss her Valentine's party on Thursday too. She's bummed about that. She hasn't even been watching TV. Just resting or sleeping in bed. Whoa, that's sick! Praying she's better tomorrow. She's up right now. Feeling okay. The Motrin has kicked in. She slept for a couple of hours earlier so she's not too tired right now. She better get tired, because I sure am.

That's about it for us. Thankfully tonight is Jason's last night for working. He's off for four days. I could use an extra set of hands/legs/eyes...well you get the picture. We'll see if he comes through for me. I have my doubts.

We're supposed to have a date night this weekend, but we'll have to see how Kori is. It might have to be postponed for another weekend. Such is life...

How To Get Killed In Your Sleep

Me: (To Jason) Man your schedule this week has been killer, I'm pooped.
Jason: Well how about this, you go to work and I'll stay here.

Me: That's a good way to get killed while your sleeping.
Jason: Well I wasn't saying you don't work, I'm just saying I'm not here because I'm at work.

Good thing I'm not a violent person. Not something to say to the mother of your four children, three of which were born at the same time.

Don't let him fool you, there's plenty of other things that make him unavailable at times.



Disclaimer: No need to worry or fear for his safety, he is and will be fine.

Dear Germs

This is an open letter to you to get the heck out of my house and don't return for a VERY long time. I've seen enough of you this cold and flu season and I've definitely had my fill.

Signed,

One Very Tired Nurse Mommy

All kidding aside this morning Kori woke me up about 7:30. Said her tummy and throat hurt. I feel her head and sure enough it's very warm. Give her some Tylenol, tuck her back in bed and call the school attendance line to let them know she will be out sick today.

She eats a couple of waffles for breakfast and says her throat is still sore. She just lounges the morning away. She played her Leapster a bit but mostly just lounged in bed watching TV. She ate some lunch and seemed to perk up a bit until around 4:30.

At that point she said she was very tired and just wanted to rest. Strangely odd for my child. She will go, go, go usually, even if she's not feeling great. I check on her after a few minutes and she's just laying in bed. No TV on, nothing. I try to feed her dinner but it's a no-go. She's not hungry, nothing sounds good, just so very tired and wants to rest. I make a deal with her that I won't pester her about eating as long as she drinks for me. Deal. Some water in her makes me feel a little better. Around 6:30 she's about asleep so I tell her that I'm going to go and give the trio their bath and I will be back ASAP. She acknowledges and rolls over. Says her tummy hurts. Doesn't feel sick, just hurts. She is pale with flushed cheeks. In mommy-prep mode I give her her wastebasket, just in case. It's safely stored beside her bed.

Check on her about 7:00 after splash-fest, I mean the trio's bath. She's totally unaware I've even given them their bath and she's just really out of it. I give her Motrin. After about 45 minutes she perks up a little. Eats 1/2 a piece of toast and then some yogurt. Not much, but I'll take when she'll give me. About 9:30 she's ready for stories and sleep. Gave her Tylenol before bed thinking it will keep fever at bay. No such luck. I just checked on her as I was giving Kamryn her binkie for the 5th time and she's burning up. More Motrin. Sigh...I am so tired of germs.

The worst thing about being a mommy is sick kids. Not having to take care of them, just seeing them so sick. I hate it. Wish I could be sick instead of them.

Keeping my fingers crossed the littles don't get it.

I'm exhausted. There was some family drama with my nephew yesterday. He's safe and fine now, but it was stressful for a bit on Sunday. Too much grumping between him and my brother. He left, called my mom, I picked him up and brought him home with me so that he and Jeff could both cool off. Had to get him up at 6:00 a.m. for school today so he'd be ready when Becky got here to take him. Slept poorly before that. For some reason my girls have been waking up a lot between the three of them for about the last three weeks. It's not uncommong I'm up several times a night soothing or giving Kamryn her binkie that she can never seem to see laying just a few feet from her.

Now today tending to a sick one, three active ones, alone, I am tired. But not asleep because I worry too much. I hate fevers. I have fevers that don't react to anti-fever meds. I hate drama.

I need a V-8. My mom wears on my patience sometimes. I love her dearly and don't know what I'd ever do without her, but some days she makes me feel like I can't do a thing right. I know that's not the case, but when your already having a crappy week, it just makes it seem to be the case. Today was a "I'll Say Black, You Say White" kind of day. I hate those days.

I pray that the girls finally sleep without waking anymore tonight. I pray that Kori is feeling better. I pray a lot...God is probably tired of hearing from me. It's the only way I get through I think some days.

Jason put in for a new job, but didn't get it. A little bummed but not surprised. It would have been days for a month and then 4-12 for a month rotating back and forth. I'm just so sick of nights I can't see straight. It has officially been a year since he put in his transfer and nothing. I'm tired of only having his nights off to spend time with him. I'm just grumpy all together, as you can probably tell, but I truly am sick of nights.

While I'm grumbling, do you ever feel invisible? Most of the time I feel talked at, never really talked to by most. Now granted, I stay home with three toddlers and interact mostly with my 6-year old, my sister and my mom. Man I sound pathetic. Friends, except a couple, pretty much disappeared once they heard I was having triplets. No loss, they apparently weren't real friends anyway. That being said, I know I don't have a lot to offer as far as conversation goes. But sometimes I'd like for someone to talk TO me. Listen to what I have to say. Man I'm in a mood...I'm going to bed.

Tomorrow will be better, tomorrow will be better, tomorrow will be better...

Do You Ever...

Feel like your running in a race and no matter how fast you run you are ALWAYS so far behind the rest of the group. Well welcome to my life! It's been a crazy few days around here. Jason has been working off-duty and such, leaving the childrearing, house running to fall solelyon me. I'm just going to say...I am tired.

Before I start the whining and nagging, the girls are beginning to talk up a blue streak! They will repeat just about anything. That's why Kamryn can say "fart". It sounds more like "faht" and it is cute, but I am discouraging this as it will not be appropriate on the rare occasion we make it out in public.

Morgan now says "love you". It is sooooooo sweet! She said it to Jason as he left yesterday to get the income taxes done. Oh my soul, I swear my heart was melting!

So they are doing good in the verbal communication skills. Following directions...not so much. No matter how many times I redirect them, tell them no, swat their hands, they continue to throw the diapers everywhere, turn the TV on an off, turn the lamp on and off etc. etc. etc. You get the point.

No matter how fast I feel like I get out of the gate, some days I'm always running in last place...

Just In Case...

I'm here, I'm alive and we're all fine.

Jason has been off so we've been sharing computer time. I have also been busy planning this years vacations.

I promise that for a longer update tomorrow!

Goose Egg

While the trio had a super day, Kori had an "incident" at school. Apparently she was in P.E. and they were playing a game. Well in the course of said game Kori and David, a boy in her class, collided and crashed heads into one another. The P.E. teacher did not send Kori to the nurse because "he didn't think I needed an ice pack". Apparently the substitute (Kori's teacher was out sick today) didn't agree and sent Kori. The nurse called the house and talked to Jason as I had already left to pick her up from school.

Jason said the nurse told her that there was a mark by her eye and that she put ice on it and sent her back to class. Well it was towards the end of the day, so I figured, no biggie. Well she came out and her hair was blowing in the breeze and I got a glimpse of some bluish type bruising. Well once she got in there's a knot about the size of a ping-pong ball with a blue and purple bruise around it. She said it was sore and she had a headache. No kidding! It got more and more purple and blue as the night progressed but her headache went away. It only hurt if she frowned or touched it. I advised her to resist the urge to do either.

Daddy convinced her it was going to look "cool" all blue and purple as she was a bit apprehensive about it at first.

I asked her if she cried and she said "Yes a lot. It hurt very badly and I wanted you to be there for me". Oh my breaking heart! I gave her lots of hugs and kisses and she assured me a strawberry shake would make it feel somewhat better. She likes the ones from QuikTrip so off we went on our way home. Hey, a shake an hour or so before dinner never killed anyone right? I'm sure it's just what the doctor ordered!

I took pictures and will try and post them tomorrow.

Wow!

It was an awesome day today, for the most part. The trio were kind to one another. No biting, screaming, tackling, (enter pretty much any verb here). None of it! All day! It was fantastic! They played so well with each other. Now don't get me wrong, they aren't demons or anything, but some days they just don't mesh well. Today they were all three hitting on all cyllinders! You gotta love it!

No one threw sippy cups and breakfast or lunch. (There was one incident at dinner, but who can complain huh?) They ate what they were given and gobbled up seconds. It was an all around super day! Jason was even outside with them when I got back from picking up Kori from school. He took all three of them out by himself. What a man! They were having a blast walking/running up and down the sidewalk. Kamryn was in heaven! In the fall when the weather was nice she wasn't walking and would watch Alexis and Morgan go to town, now she's out there with them. It was so great to see!

I must admit sometimes I look at the three of them and am amazed that they came from me. I still find it all very surreal on most occasions! I forget sometimes that there are three. Well not really forget, but it sometimes just isn't an issue. They amaze me everyday! They are getting so verbal and have started to answer me back when I ask them questions. Do you want milk? Yeah. Did you poopie? Yeah, stinky. Things like that. I love this stage! Today Morgan was sad that Elmo was going off. I told her that we had to say goodbye to Elmo for today. She so sweetly replied "Bye Elmo a-day". It just melted my heart! If you give them their cups or their food they sweetly say "thank you". Oh man, weak from the cuteness I tell you! Alexis was denying me any kisses today and when I would ask would scrunch her face up and say "Noooooooo!" It was so sweet. It was a super fantastic awesomely wonderful day and I thought I should blog about it because more often than not I am whining about how I got my butt kicked in Parenting 101 for the day. Today was NOT one of those days.

Look out tomorrow. I must admit, I'm a bit afraid! :-)

Where Did It Go?

The weekend that it. Man it went by fast! Saturday Kori decided for some insane reason to get up at 7:20. She informed me that if I would unlock her satellite receiver box she would "watch TV quietly in bed". Who would argue with that so early. Unfortunately the trio woke up less than an hour later. This after sleeping horribly due to their colds etc. I finally got to sleeping good at just after 4am...only to be awakened at 7:20...sigh.

Oh well I got up and got my day started. Got all my housework done and laundry too! The house is spotless! (Well it was for a brief short spell before being made not so spotless by my family AKA "The Crew". ) Now it's just semi-spotless. I conned Jason into moving the cars out of the garage and using his leaf sucker/blower thing to blow all the dirt and crud out of our garage. It was just gross and was always getting tracked in the house. Well he took it one step further and after blowing out all the gunk, power washed it too! Hooray! It is nice and spotless at least until the next snow storm.

I politely informed my husband that dinner was not going to be prepared from our house on Saturday night. I was giving myself a much deserved break from cooking. We got some bar-b-que sandwiches and salads from a local place and cleanup was a breeze! The girls were clean and jammied and 3 of the 4 were down at 8:45. Kori watched TV in her room for a bit before turning in as well. I was acutally showered and ready for bed by 9:30! Will wonders never cease. I watched TV and read for a bit but was sleeping soundly by 12:45, which is EARLY for me!

Today was a gloomy and rainy day. Thunder woke Kori up at 9am and the girls followed not too long after. I felt nice and rested after a good nights sleep. Jason played basketball after work and didn't get to bed until after 10 am. He got hit in the head at basketball and has a large knot on his head. Men, they sacrifice their bodies for a silly game. Not me!

Kori and I had to run to Walmart to pick up some pictures of her for her "Awesome Crusader" poster. She is the "Awesome Crusader" from Kindergarten this week at school. It's a confidence and self-esteem building thing they do at school. Her classmates make a book with pictures they draw and things they like about her. She gets to eat donuts with the principal and vice principal on Wednesday. It sounds like she's treated exceptionally well for the week. So we needed a picture for her poster. I downloaded a couple last night and we picked them up today. Along with the fixings for some "Superbowl Nachos". That was Jason's dinner pick.

Jason took off tonight to watch the game so we had nachos and just vegged. It was nice. Kori and I made some sugar cookies for dessert. I made the girls a meat/cheese quesadilla with the seasoned hamburger and cheese from the nachos. They seemed to really enjoy it! They all had seconds, so that can't be bad. At least it was something different.

Kamryn bit Alexis AGAIN today. I am at my wits end! This time it was right in the middle of her back. Short of beating her, I just don't know what to do. I think I'll call the pediatrician tomorrow to see if they have any ideas. I've tried "no bite", sitting her in "time out", swatting her hands, I just can't seem to get it to stop. I know it's done out of frustration when things are going as she would like, but still. She can't keep using her sisters as human chew toys. **Sigh**

Well I guess I better turn in. I really intended to get to bed early again tonight. Oh well, it's still somewhat earlier than usual I suppose!

Another Conversation...

Kori came home from school on Wednesday proclaiming that it was going to snow "a lot and we aren't going to have school tomorrow". I told her the weather can be tricky (our weathermen almost NEVER get it right) and not to count on it. She went to bed quite assured that it would snow and school would be off. She was looking forward to how she would occupy her time on her snow day.

Thursday morning came and I looked outside. NOT A SINGLE FLAKE! What? How could that be? There was to be anywhere from 1-8 inches, depending on which "weather" person you had watched the previous night.

I go down to wake Kori up and our conversation went like this:

Me: Good morning, time to get up.
Kori: Huh?

Me: It's time to get up. (I open her blinds a smidge to coax her out of her warm cocoon and give her a kiss on the cheek).
Kori: Mom didn't you get THE message?

Me: What message?
Kori: The one where my school calls and said it's closed due to the snow. (Said in a very condescending "duh mom" type manner). (Kori's school has an automated notification system that calls when school is closed by the way).

Me: Nope, it didn't snow Kori, school is still on.
Kori: Not even a little bit?

Me: Not one sincle flake.
Kori: (VERY aggitated) Oh man, I hate our stinkin' weather people they never get it right. This stinks!

She grudgingly got up and got going. I told her that a valuable lesson had been learned. The weather is unpredictable and don't count on snow days until you know for sure it's snowing. She just looked at me and rolled her eyes before heading off to the bathroom.

I just snickered...I love being right.

Ready For Spring

Well after a LONG night with restless, grumpy little ones who were sleeping poorly, it was off to the doctor with two of the trio. Morgan and Alexis were super congested and such today so I went ahead and took them in. A big thanks to Aunt Becky for tagging along with us and being an extra set of hands since our appointment was in the middle of nap time.

Just a cold for Alexis that will have to run it's course. Ears looked good, lungs sounded good. So good news pretty much for her.

Morgan's lungs were wheezy but I already have a nebulizer machine and the medicine so I had already started her on breathing treatments before we even went into the doctor. Left ear was VERY red and bulging. No wonder she was so grumpy and not wanting to fall asleep and stay that way last night. Her ear must have been killing her. So Amoxicillan for her two times a day for ten days and hopefully she'll be all better.

Kamryn bit Alexis this evening right below her eye. I am so frustrated and don't know what to do to get her to quit using her sisters as a giant teething ring. Grrrrr! Open to any suggestions as long as it's not "bite her back" I just can't bring myself to do that.

Kori had her "100 day" celebration at school today celebrating her 100th day in Kindergarten. Lots of good snacks and activities to do. They were to wear an article of clothing or accessory that contained 100 of anything. We (or should I say I) glued 100 "jewels" to a shirt for her. She looked adorable! I took pictures and will post them in the very near future. It was a fun day for her. They've been looking forward to it for a while now.

Other than that not much happening for us. I started some housework after the trio went down. Kori supervised me from my bed while watching "The Incredibles". She just loves my big ol' bed. She gets all comfy and tries to convince me that is where she belongs. Nice try my little love muffin, not happening!

Tomorrow I plan on continuing my housework and finishing up some laundry. Man my weekends are just packed with fun festivities!