The Toones

done? or dumber?

2012-01-24T18:51:00.002-07:00

Okay. Here's the question thats been on my mind... since the girls were born I guess. I get a lot of comments like "wow! You got your entire family in one swoop!" or "You're done now right?" mostly from strangers but still.

Three has always been my number. Three kids were good for me. I wanted 3 kids before 30, I got three kids at 25. So now the question is... do I take this 3 for 1 pregnancy and walk away? Or do I tempt fate (and any other powers at work) and try for a 4th, risking of course getting a 4th, 5th and possibly 6th child out of it?......

The problem with this question isn't the answer, its the frame of mind to get the answer. For example, this past week I've told Jared at least 4 times that our family is complete, completely complete. But thats mainly because the girls have been on terrors and my job has been nothing short of demeaning, excruciating and overwhelming. However, back when I had 24 hour help I was on the fence, considering the possibility of having more. So, do you make this decision when you're delirious with joy? or delirious with frustration? I've found that raising triplet toddlers doesn't lend for a middle ground. Im either on one end of the stick or the other....

I just turned 27 so I guess I still have a couple of years to flop back and forth on the issue. It will interesting to see if I happen to be deliriously happy or exhausted at the time of decision making. To be continued...

cuteness

2012-01-24T18:26:00.003-07:00

Me and my Abigail

Before church this Sunday.

This is hilarious! No matter how fussy, no matter how distracted they love it when Jared tickles their back. It is so funny to watch. They lay down and they just freeze. And of course they dont want to take turns....

They love this song. We sing it all the time and they raise those chubby arms up and "shout horray!" I love it. They are too cute.

Today the girls gathered in their tent and "gabbed" it up. So cute. They were laughing and chattering away in there. The audio didn't catch a lot of the sound but I wanted to post it anyway.

18 month doctor update

2012-01-18T11:49:00.002-07:00

I totally forgot to mention the doctor's visit we had on Friday, the whole reason my grandparents came in for. HA! We were so relieved because we thought they would be getting a shot but turns out we were a few weeks too early for it, so we will get that one at the 2 year old check up. So it turned out to be a fun outing and a trip to the park afterward. So nice! Here are the stats... yes I have chunky HEALTHY girls! Thank goodness!

Charlotte: Weight 26.5 lbs

Height 32.75"

Abigail: Weight 29.10 lbs

Height 33.5"

Mia: Weight 28.3 lbs

Height 33"

Im getting serious about thinking about potty training this year. Im hoping that they will all be out of diapers by the end of the year! YEAH!!! (That'll save close to 200 dollars A MONTH!!) I also want to be completely off baby food (they still eat pureed veggies out of convenience for mom really.) I also need to work on getting them to drink out of a real cup and use utensils on their own. So many exciting things this year! My babies are so grown up.

Triple the tantrums... Triple the love....

2012-01-17T18:54:00.007-07:00

This has been an pretty awesome week. My amazing grandparents came down to help me with the girls for the whole week! It was such a treat for me. I love those two people so very much. And my girls LOVED having them here. Charlotte sure loves her papa skip. Mamaw is such a rock star. She played with the girls and told me to go upstairs and do whatever I needed/wanted to. I felt like I was on vacation. Then she would clean up my kitchen after practically every meal. They both just worked so hard and enjoyed the girls so much.

This weekend was great too! Jared was able to take off at noon on Monday so we had sort of a 3 day weekend. The girls loved having daddy around so much. We went to the park and they played in the tennis courts (which is an awesome idea for triplet toddlers). I don't know whats going on with the girls lately at night though. They are just waking up all the time crying. Its a nightmare. Last night they were doing this until about 3 am. We were all exhausted today. I hope this is a very short phase that will be over by tonight.

I had to get rid of my afternoon help. I am so disappointed that it didn't work out. Its not her fault, she's a sweet girl. But as soon as she comes over the girls go crazy. They start whining and crying and hanging on to my legs. If I even stand up they run up to me and hang on. Its awful. So Im having her come over only when I want to take the girls out to the park or to run an errand. Sad. Im literally on my own now all day. Im also off verizon now. Jared switched me over to Boost Mobile since he will be on his work cell phone plan. I have a smart phone. I swore I would never get one but I have one... I hope I don't hate it. So far its not too bad.

Finally, my brother in law got engaged and is getting married March 9th. We are so excited for him! Jared will be flying up there for that and my once again wonderful grandparents will be coming down to help me with the girls. We really wanted our whole family to be able to go and thought of every possible option but its just too much. Too much in every way. I really hate that we cant go but we will be there in spirit and thought.

Well anyway thats the updates for the week. Here are so pictures to enjoy!

Love Hurts:

Bahaha Its a hug, not a tackle. I think.

Thats a sweeter hug. Awe...

Watching thier movie in their awesome chairs.

We love snuggle time with dad!

Abbi throwing down before church, never a good sign.

Mia Baby!

Charlotte loved her beautiful dress.

Our attempt at a group photo....

The popular hang out spot lately.

Milestones all around!

2012-01-07T19:46:00.009-07:00

Yesterday was the girls' 18 month milestone. I know I always say this, but I just cant believe how quickly this is going by. These girls are just a bundle of joy. I have felt pretty bad this past week at how much Ive dreaded being technically "alone" with them, with no help. Yes, its ALOT of work and by far the hardest thing I ever imagined but it is so much fun and brings me so much joy. I watch them interact and play with one another and I just smile all over myself. I love these girls so much its ridiculous. I love how smart they are, their sweet personalities, how much they truly love each other, and everything else about them. They sign so much now that people ask me if they are deaf! (which they are not) Theyre just so smart. I look forward to teaching them so much more and learning so much more from them.

Abigail: 18 Months Old

Mia: 18 Months Old

Charlotte: 18 Months Old

Abigail had her shirt pulled up like a bikini with her belly hanging out. It was hilarious! Jared said "Im a Puerto Rican lady!" (If you've seen "Superstar", you get that joke). I died laughing.

These are the gorgeous dresses Grandma and Grandpa got the girls for Christmas. Love them!

Mia standing, Abbi sitting

Charlotte trying to take off her panty hose! hahaha She was so mad they wouldn't come off like she does to her socks.

Today was an awesome day for our family. Jared took the day off work (he normally works till noon on Saturdays). After the girls woke up from their nap around 2, we loaded up in the truck to run some errands and enjoy the beautiful 75 degree weather. After a few stops we went to this awesome park that has its own lake with ducks. Thankfully I brought some bread so we took the girls down to the water to feed them. They LOVED it! ha! It was so much fun. There were about 15 of them and they were getting too close for my comfort. Luckily we werent attacked. The girls wanted to chase them around but since I didn't think that would end very well, we tore them away for some more playground time. Then we decided to brave going to a restaurant with the girls. We went to our favorite BBQ place and the girls did great. We had a great time! We went to the grocery store afterwards, came home, got baths and got the girls down for bed (only 30 minutes later than normal). It was a wonderful family outing. And it was a milestone for me because I honestly don't like to do things too complicated with the girls. But I really need to get out of that. Thankfully, the girls did amazing and had such a blast. Jared and I want to make this a weekly thing. It will definitely help keep the girls from getting too stir crazy in our tiny townhome. Here are some videos from today that I thought were cute. Enjoy!

Pictures

2012-01-03T11:47:00.010-07:00

Like I said the girls really got tons of stuff. Little tykes picnic table, 3 tents, their very own chair with their names on them, Megalegos, puzzles, shoes, books and tons more. Blessed little girls!

Stockings ready for Christmas morning.

Awesome chairs. Thanks Mimi and Poppy!

The girls got 3 tents this year! HA! This is one that my sister in law Gwen actually made! Is she awesome or what?

They absolutely love their new table. They LOVE to sit in it.

Our attempt at a family photo. haha

My sis, mom, dad and me before church

Mimi, Poppy and all the grandkids.

All the grandchildren together.

A lady from our old ward back in alabama sent these Santa diapers for the girls! They were SO cute!! Thanks Sandy!!

tehehe I loved em!

Three little santas!

All bundled up for a walk with Mimi, Poppy and Sophie.

They love all the tents they got this year. Great for mom too!

And yes, this is what the majority of my living room looks like... Sigh... I want a house please.

Opening presents after the girls went to sleep Christmas Eve with Nattie!

Peek a boo Abbi and Nattie!

Shoes from mom and dad (i know, lame, but they really needed them and I knew the grandparents had the toy situation covered. haha)

Girls are napping

2012-01-03T11:18:00.004-07:00

I feel like Im always catching up with this thing. Im never on time. But I've got triplets so I guess that gives me an excuse. Thankfully, they are napping right now so Im taking this opportunity to catch up. Our Christmas holiday was awesome! I LOVED LOVED having my parents here for a little over a week. And the girls just loved it too. Yes I have tons of pictures and quite a few videos as well. I will get to those. But I want to write down some things first before I forget them.

Christmas like I said was great. We all got wonderful presents and ate tons of yummy food. We had my sisters family here for Christmas dinner which was wonderful. We all went to church that afternoon, came home and ate dinner, had a cute little Christmas program and then opened presents. It was crazy and hectic and full of people and I loved it. I love being with my family. The girls got awesome presents! They have been loving all their new toys.

After Maranda's family went back home we tried going to the Houston zoo AGAIN... last time it was so busy there literally was NO parking.... We thought, surely, this time will be different... UM NO! We drove around for 20 minutes looking for anywhere to park and nothing! I couldn't believe it. We drove 40 minutes AGAIN in Houston traffic for the dumb zoo and couldn't even park. I was so mad! I wont be trying that again. Hopefully soon I will live in a city that has an ASSESSABLE zoo!

Also, I lost one of my children for the very first time this past week. Whats crazy is there were at least 5 adults in the house so how in the world could we loose one?! I was in the kitchen doing something and came into the living room. Saw Charli... saw Mia... saw... wait... where's Abbi? i looked up quick and said "wheres my third one?" I remembered my dad had just gone out the front door and I panicked thinking she had slipped out without being seen. My dad went upstairs to look for her and I ran outside. I couldnt see her. I was relieved and even more panicked all at once. Then my dad yelled out, Shes up here! The scamp had gotten through the gate somehow and was in her room. Good grief. Give me a heart attack. I was so relieved she was ok but thinking about all the awful things that could have happened (toliet was up, fall down the stairs, outside in the street, ect) I thought I was going to break down. I realized I cant possibly watch 3 mobile toddlers every second of the day, not even with 5 adults to help me. From that day on "please watch and protect my girls when I cant see them" has been included in my daily prayers.

So other than that thankfully minor mishap, it was a great holiday. I loved having Jared home everyday and so did the girls. Im sad that its over now. Im by myself officially for the first time with the girls all day now. Yesterday went good but today is more difficult. I have a girl that comes from 3-6 in the evenings to help out but the girls didn't exactly warm up to her. Every time i would leave the room they would cry for me. Rough... Hopefully it will get better. Hopefully.

I will get to the pictures now and add more stories with those.

Christmas Videos

2012-01-01T19:40:00.003-07:00

So cute going for a walk all bundled up.

They loved playing with Natalie while she was here. She was a lot of fun!

My girls love to dance. And they love big boxes, so heaven for them!

Another game with Natalie. I thought this was hilarious. They just laid there...

Merry Christmas Angels!

Abbi does this all the time. It is hilarious and if she wasn't so dang cute I would think its beyond creepy. hahaha but luckily she IS freaking cute!

Im alive

2011-12-21T12:09:00.002-07:00

Several of my family and friends have been checking in on me to make sure Im doing alright without Lisa here. So sweet! Thanks you guys! I AM still alive and the girls are okay too. HA!

Here's the thing, they have been SO fussy these last two days. I think they miss Lisa. They keep signing for her. Its so sad. I have to say "Aunt Lisa went home baby girl..."

I try not think about the weeks and months and years ahead. Im focusing on having fun with my girls one day at a time. Luckily, my parents will be here tomorrow! YEAH! Thank goodness. They weren't supposed to be here until Friday but as my dad says "I shot up an S.O.S. flare" so they are coming to my rescue! haha I know. Im so pathetic. I am honestly so embarrassed I feel this overwhelmed. I am saying my prayers morning and night and those secret ones in my heart all day long. It helps.... but it doesn't help me grow 6 more arms. And I really need those extra arms. Anyway, no more whining... Thanks again family and loved ones for your thoughts and prayers (keep 'em coming please). I just love these girls so dang much I hate that Im not better for them. But Im trying.... everyday..... trying.

..........................

2011-12-19T07:15:00.000-07:00

She's gone. Lisa left this morning....

thats all.

Long live the Queen... Of Random

2011-12-13T10:44:00.003-07:00

Ms. Lisa Ann Toone.

Life Savor

Period.

Jared's dad will be here on Thursday. I have to say it will be a very bitter sweet visit for me. He is coming to take Lisa (my sister in law) back to Utah before she heads up to college in January. We asked Lisa earlier this year if she would consider living with us for a little while to help me with the girls and I have to say I did NOT think she would. But she did. And that decision has affected my life tremendously. Since I found out I was pregnant, I have had live-in help from my family. The girls have ALWAYS (since birth) had family here helping me. And I was TERRIFIED at the thought of not having that anymore after the move to Texas. Lisa has brought me more comfort and a sense of peace then she will ever know.

Its sad how very unqualified and incapable I feel of being with these girls all day by myself. I am actually afraid. Not because I think they will kill me or each other or something crazy like that. But the thought of not being able to spend time with each one equally or not be able to go the park and do normal things. I cant do a lot of things a mother of one can because I simply cant be in three places at once. I can keep three toddlers out of the street or chase them in three different directions. Im simply limited in what I can do alone and that makes me feel dependent on others so much that its scary for me. So Heavenly Father has blessed me with the best kind of help a mother could ask for... family.

These girls love Lisa. They sign "aunt" for her. They laugh and giggle when she comes into their room every morning. They watch her eat her cereal while they eat their oatmeal. They bring her their toys to play with. They love to play peek a boo with her. They are just such great friends. You can see that. And its precious. We owe Lisa so much more than we can afford to pay. I wish I could keep her here so that my girls could always have that extended family love.

I've learned a lot about Lisa with her living here these last 6 months. She loves reading more than most and writes stories all the time. She loves peanut butter pretty much more than most normal people. She hates socks because her feet get claustrophobic. And hates long sleeve shirts because apparently her arms get claustrophobic too... Yea whats up with that? We share a love for old movies and musicals. We have gotten to were we read each others minds and finish each others sentences. She loves blue mini coopers. She likes to stay up late which doesn't go well with getting up at 8 am. And she is the Queen of Random. Meaning, she says the most random things at the most random times. So I gave her the aptly suited title.

In all seriousness, we will miss her so much. The girls will wonder where she went but we will never let them forget the sacrifice she made to put her life on hold for six months so that their mother didn't go crazy. She has been a companion for me, adult company throughout my day full of toddlers. She picked up the slack when I was sick as a dog. She was always there to pick up that third baby. What will I do without her? Lisa, you will never know what you've done for me and how crucial your presence was here at this time. Blessings will certainly be coming your way, I will never stop praying for them to. Thank you. Thank you so very much. I love you forever.

Almost 18 Already?

2011-12-13T10:21:00.002-07:00

I just can't believe the girls are almost 18 months! January 6th is the big day. I know I keep saying that it goes by super fast, but its true. It really does. Its almost like I dont have time to be sad about them growing up, its so fast. I said ALMOST.

I have been catching up with photos and videos lately so I've neglected to blog about the girls new tricks and advancements. First of all, our signing is going so great. They know so many signs and they are even putting them into sentences. Impressive. For instance, they were signing for daddy one saturday morning and I told them he was in the bathroom. So they did the sign for bath. haha So now every morning they sign "daddy" then "bath". I have to say No, daddy's at work. and then they will do the sign for "work." Its so neat to be able to communicate with my girls this way. Its special. They are also learning to actually speak some. Mia is the best with that. She has said "Bow" (cause there's one on top of our tree) "Boston" (our neighbors kid), "thank you," "bath" "mama" "dadda" and Im sure there are more. She is such a funny chatterbox. She will "read" books all the time.

Milestones they are crossing:

I am painstakingly merging their two naps into one. (Groan, tear, sob). I delayed doing this as long as possible because honestly Charlotte isnt ready. But the other two really are, so i guess she better get ready. The last two weeks have been HELL during the second nap. Not only are they NOT sleeping, they were screaming practically the whole time. Nightmare. So then of course by the time I got them out they were cranky, my nerves were shot and I just wanted to run around pulling out my hair. Then on sunday they actually DID sleep during their afternoon nap, but then it took them an hour longer to get to sleep that night. Well that did it. I made the decision to cut it out. So now the final plan is to get them to sleep from 12-3 (cross fingers). But right now Im pushing it keeping Charlotte up till 11. She is so sleepy and so cranky that she cries for 20 minutes before passing out. Bless. Sometimes I think this is all for the birds.... Baby step I suppose.

Also coming up is nursery. Yes, nursery. I have very mixed feelings about this as well. First of all we never stay for all 3 hours of church. We go to sacrament and come home. Church will starting at 11 in January so obviously with this new sleep schedule, it just doesn't work. I dont know what we will do. Looks like it will be sacrament only for a few months at least until they get the hang of this. Second, I fear for illnesses. (yes Im THAT mom) I know as soon as they run around with the other snotty nose children, disease will spread. And I don't want that. Eeek! Very mixed feelings indeed.

Finally, Lisa is leaving to go back to Utah on Monday. I have absolutely NO mixed feelings on this. I hate it. I am completely sad she is leaving and thats that. More on Lisa later.

Onto cheerful notes, the girls are loving the Christmas decorations everywhere. They love the snowmen I have hanging up. They blow them kisses and give them hugs. Precious. They LOVE the Christmas tree too. Abbi is too scared to touch it though. And Charlotte is strange about it-she wont climb the stairs anymore because she's afraid of the tree at the top. But when Im holding her she practically lunges for the tree to grab anything she can... I dont know. And Mia loves the bow. Tehehe they are so funny. They love the Christmas music we have playing nearly all day long too.

They are all in all very happy healthy babies. We are just experiencing some teething and changes in our schedule that we will all have to adjust to. Its a constant adjusting battle.

The Most Wonderful Time of the Year

2011-12-09T13:57:00.006-07:00

So our halls are decked and I wanted to document the decorations. Tehehe

Up first is our "downstairs" tree. My girls pretty much have the downstairs to roam free (except the kitchen of course) so putting a tree down there was out of the question. But I still wanted to feel Christmasy so we put a cheap table tree and decorated it. haha pretty tiny, but i love it.

Our stockings are hung!

Boughs of holly

Presents are wrapped. I always like to put something with the wrapping like a candy cane or cinnamon stick. This year I did a cute little ornament. You can't really see it in this picture. Sorry.

And the grand finale is the real tree. Its upstairs and it blocks Lisa's door, but hey we made it work. Its the only place really to put one and up here the girls cant get into it at all and they love waking up seeing it all lit up. Its so cute. They are a little scared to touch it but love to look at it. They do the sign for "tree" after they wake up EVERY time. So funny. And yes I get crazy every year making a ton of bows. So thats my handy work atop our tree. hehehe

These last few days my sweet Mia Bia took a vacation. Yes she is no longer with us. Instead, we have grumpy Mia. Not as much fun but I love her just as much. I honestly dont know whats going on with her. Anyway, she decided she wanted her "babies" in her tummy, so we squeezed 3 in there. It was hilarious and made me think (how did i get three babies in MY tummy?! Geez)

Here is the Mia I was talking about.... grumpy and for no reason.

Heres a video of Mia NOT smiling at all which is very UNlike her. But it was just so cute the way she was snuggled up to Lisa. Enjoy!

Christmas Time!

2011-12-08T14:07:00.003-07:00

Since my last post Christmas has come in full swing around here! I have all my Christmas Decor up and most of my presents wrapped under the tree. YEAH! I will get some photos of all that later. Here are just random pictures that were on my phone. This is Mia bundled up with Lisa. For some reason its freaking cold downstairs during the day. Upstairs gets warm but not down. So we bundle up alot. Anyway, she was sitting completely still wrapped up in a blanket and it was just precious.

On Saturday our ward had a super cute Christmas Breakfast Party. They did a Polar Express thing that was impressive. The girls met Santa and the Conductor of Polar Express. They were so cute. They told everyone to wear PJs, it makes sense if youve seen the movie, and I got to say I had the cutest babies there. Tehehe not that Im biased or anything. Also, Mia said "Boston" during this party. Our good friends, the Hoopers, have a little boy named Boston who sat next to us. I told Mia, "This is Boston." And sure enough she said "Austin." So freaking cute! She also says "Thank you" and "Bow" (because there is one atop our Christmas tree).

Charlotte was unsure about Santa but they all were so good. No tears!

Check out this awesome painting of the Polar Express. Impressive.

I took these two pictures the day after we bought our Christmas tree. The guy said to trim the trunk and then soak it in a bucket of water overnight before we decorate it. We dont have a bucket. So what did Jared do? Ruin my .99 cent Halloween bucket. It just looked so funny bringing Halloween into Christmas that I had to take a picture.

Videos

2011-11-30T10:37:00.006-07:00

Grandma reading to the girls.

While my parents were here we wanted to go to the Houston Zoo. So we got ready and went on Wednesday, the day before Thanksgiving. Traffic was INSANE! And when we got to the zoo parking lot there was not ONE spot to pull into. So after the 45 minute drive there, we decided to abandon the zoo (I was SO bummed) and found this awful park for the girls to get out of their car seats and run around. They didn't seem to mind that it was the worst park ever and that they didn't get to see the animals Mom promised. All well. Guess Im "thankful" they're too young to know the difference.

Abbi on daddy's shoulders.

Abbi sitting with Aunt Lisa.

Daddy throwing Charli.

Poppy taking Mia's picture.

Thanks to my wonderful mother who packed up all of her Thanksgiving place settings, our table was gorgeous for the big day. I just loved it! Thanks mom!

Lots of videos to enjoy!

Happy Thanksgiving

2011-11-30T10:22:00.002-07:00

The holidays just started and Im already behind in my blog posts. So here is my attempt at catching up! ha

From the last time I wrote we have had visitors in town and its been so awesome. I love having family here! First was Grandma. Jared's mom came to visit for a week and the girls loved having her here. Its so cute to watch them wake up from a nap and look around for Grandma. Sadly, she wont get to come back for a few months but the girls will be so excited to see her again.

Next we had Mimi and Poppy here. They stayed for a week as well and were here for Thanksgiving. We just loved having them here. I swear these girls LOVE having company in the house. What was a big treat was what they brought with them.... SOPHIE!!! The cutest dog ever! I love/miss that dog. The girls went nuts for her and wore her smooth out. Poor Sophie was looking for a break whenever possible. HA! My sis with her kiddos came up for a day so we got to see them a little bit this trip. Hopefully we will see more of them for Christmas.

Thanksgiving was so great. My grandmother made her amazing stuffing and sent it up with mom. YUM! Thanks mamaw! My parents bought an indoor turkey fryer so we were able to have fried turkey... YUMMO! It was delish. And of course we had tons more food that lasted for days. I just love Thanksgiving. However, this year we had a bug going around the girls. Mia was sick while Cindy was here and then Abbi and Charlotte got it when Mimi and Poppy were here. Abbi had a real hard time with it. In fact, Friday night she cried and screamed for hours. We tried everything we could to calm her but she just sounded like she was in so much pain. So in a exhausted panic around 2 am Jared and I loaded up and went to the ER with her. They ran a test for RSV, checked her ears and did a chest xray for pneumonia. Luckily all those were negative but they did see some bronchitis. So they gave us some nose drops to help her breath and sent us home. We got home about 4 and had to get up around 630. We were so exhausted. It was a rough weekend with no sleep and Abbi sleeping in the bed with us. Thankfully last night she slept the whole night through in her crib! YEAH!

It was a great holiday filled with family. If the girls hadnt gotten sick it wouldve been perfect. Thankfully they are recovering and so are we and gearing up for Christmas visitors! Grandpa will be here the 15th of December (but sadly to take Lisa home) and then Natalie (my beautiful niece) will be here to help me with the girls for a week and then Mimi and Poppy will be back with Sophie! YEAH! Like I said, I love holidays. I love families. I have videos and a few pictures to post but they are still uploading. Soon to come!

Morning Walks

2011-11-10T09:33:00.003-07:00

I try to take the girls on a walk everyday. They love getting out of the house and fresh air is always good! So we usually go on a stroller ride and then I let them out to walk around the side walks for a bit. Thats their favorite part. I just love how each of them walks. So cute. Mia's dainty and girlie. Abigail has more of a strut. She sticks out her chest and marches around. Charlotte's I guess is the most "normal" walk. But she likes to walk like shes going downhill sometimes and gets ahead of herself. Anyway, here are some random videos of us walking around.

Stroller

2011-11-10T09:23:00.003-07:00

HORRAY!! We FINALLY got a triplet stroller! And its AWESOME! I bought it in pieces so it took a while for everything to get here. But its here. What it is is a double stroller with an attachment called a "joey" seat. I got the idea from another mom of triplets who raves about this stroller. With Lisa leaving in a month I felt like I absolutely had to have a way to be able to push everyone at once. And as expensive as it was, Im so glad we did it.

Saying Prayer

2011-11-10T09:21:00.004-07:00

We say prayer as a family every night and recently Charlotte has really taken to it. Its so cute. When she's super sleepy, during her movie before bedtime she will fold her arms and look at me. As if to say "Im ready to go to bed now, mom. Can we say prayer now?" So stinking cute. During prayer she will sit really still, arms folded until prayer is over. Next thing I know she will be saying "Amen." Its just so cute. Sorry for the crumby video quality but its too sweet not to post. Enjoy!

Sell Out

2011-11-09T13:42:00.005-07:00

This time last year I wrote a post about how I was going to keep Santa Clause out of our Christmas traditions. Since then, I have had a change of heart. No it wasn't all the wonderfully "supportive" comments I received that convinced me. But having the girls at an age where they are aware of whats going on has made me realize that its not just about the over commercialized jingle crap. Yes, I am beyond sick of all the marketing junk towards little kids and the tearing away at the true meaning behind Christmas. But there is a reason why people listen to Christmas music as early as June and light up when they see a growing Christmas tree farm in September. Because there is a special spirit that is only around during the Holidays. Its kind of magical. And where I treasure principles of honesty and truth, there's something to be said about imagination and magic. And I just cant take that away from my girls. So call me a sell out if you will but I just have to leave Santa in Christmas for my babies.

Also I am looking for tradition ideas. What does everyone do for Halloween? Christmas? Thanksgiving? New Years?

Photos!!

2011-11-05T13:42:00.015-06:00

Here are all our photos from our photo shoot about a month ago. Theres about 40 of them so Im warning you now **Extremely gorgeous babies**

Love my girls

2011-11-01T13:47:00.004-06:00

Here are just some random photos/stories about the girls lately. Let me just put in a little note here that most of these gems are courtesy of Lisa, the most wonderful person ever. So, grandparents, soak them up now. Cause when Lisa leaves in December there will be a huge decline in adorable random photos.

Starts out with a tipped over box of toys. (Charlotte and Abigail).

Gradually turns into Charlotte squeezing into the box.

Finally ends up being a Charli-in-the-box. This girl gets herself in the funniest predicaments.

I wish I had a camera in the girls' room. Seriously. I put Mia down for a nap and when I get her up she has these human bite marks on her arm. Either her or her sister is biting her like crazy. Also, twice I had to run in there because Abbi was just screaming. Turns out she was climbing on her bumper pad and banged her lip on the railing of the crib. Got a pretty good bloody fat lip from it. So I took her pads out of there. Everything's been good since. But I sure wish I could see whats going on in there half the time.

I so LOVE this face Abigail makes. I call it her bulldog face. So funny. (Shes the one in blue by the way)

Mia was actually "talking" to Uncle Chris on the phone. We had to snap a picture of it. So funny. Guess in a few years they will be asking for a cell phone for Christmas huh...

We went to Sams last week and I just thought they looked so grown up with their shoes on and everything. I can't believe how adorable they look. And how very grown up they look too. This is Mia.

Mia and Abbi checking out their shoes... what the heck are these things?

Ready to eat?!

2011-11-01T10:04:00.002-06:00

The girls get so excited when its time to eat. They come running and start grunting. Its hilarious. I tried to video it a couple of times and had to share it. Love these girls, and they love their food!

Happy Halloween!!

2011-11-01T09:28:00.006-06:00

Cutest fairies on the block! Yep the girls were fairies for Halloween this year. You may recognize these costumes from the 9 month photos they took. We decided to recycle them for Halloween. I got to say I was a little bummed this year. I felt like Halloween should have been more fun now that I have kiddos to share in the excitement. But they are still so little, they dont get whats going on yet. I want to carve pumpkins and make candied apples and take them trick or treating, ect... But when you go to bed at 7 pm and the daddy doesnt get home until late, it makes it hard to do any of the fun stuff. So I almost nixed the entire holiday. We had to skip the ward trunk or treat on Saturday. The girls were so cranky, Jared had been out of town for 4 days! and they didn't take a 2nd nap that day so I was NOT about to take them out that close to their bed time with just me and Lisa... no way. It wasn't until the actual Halloween day that I decided, ya know what?! We are dressing up and at least taking pictures. And maybe visit a house or two. And Im honestly glad we did. The girls got to dress up for Halloween, got a change of routine and even got to go to bed 30 minutes later than normal! haha (I know, we live dangerously). So anyway, all in all a good Halloween. Next year I will be better though. I will be more in the spirit of the holiday and help the girls enjoy it more and get creative. Plus they will be older and more excited about it too. The grown ups even stayed up a little later than normal watching Ghost Adventures. BAHA we love that show. Hope everyone had a safe and happy Halloween!

Here are so goodies from last night!

Getting ready!

My three fairies

Mia (green) Charlotte (pink)

Abbi (blue) and Charli

Mama Mia is ready!

Charlotte says "I look so pretty!"

Umm mom... we're not really dressed for a walk...

Family Photo!

We stopped by Kent and Karlee's house and they took our photo. Thanks guys!

Trick-or-treating our relief society president

Walking up to the door

Trick or Treat!!

Let's go get some more loot! (AKA candy)

That was fun! Lets do it again tomorrow....

Bahaha this one is a goody! Mia's hair after trick or treating and before baths.

Our weekend...

2011-10-23T19:25:00.002-06:00

Just a quick recap of our weekend. Im exhausted. We took family photos yesterday (saturday) and this really great national forest. It had this cool old barn and just great places for cool shots. But oh my heck. This has been the most difficult photo shoot we've done. The girls did NOT want to sit still for 2 seconds and certainly wouldn't all at least look at the camera at the same time. Oh me... we were chasing babies left and right and front and back for about an hour and a half. They loved every second of it though. If I wasnt so stressed trying to make the most of each pose, ect.... I could have enjoyed it. But I stress... its my nature... haha Anyway, hopefully we got some good shots. I should be able to look at them tomorrow (Monday). Thanks mom for the photos! Youre the best!

Also, I just want to add that church today was a total craze fest. I would say one of the top 3 worst behaving in sacrament meetings ever! We had the primary (young children) put on a program for us and I think the extra energy and excitement made my girls nuts! Charlotte would just scream as loud as she could, not cry just scream like she was trying to sing with the choir kids. And they were all so wiggly. My goodness we were ready to get out of there and put them girls to sleep for nap time. A couple two rows behind us even took Charlotte for a few minutes so we could have somewhat of a break, so sweet. Whew.... I know they are learning. They are learning sacrament is for being reverent and still. But Im afraid we have a loooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooong way to go....

Splash pad

2011-10-23T19:09:00.005-06:00

We were able to go to the splash pad last Saturday with Jared and the girls once again LOVED it! They are so cute in their swim suits and just tottering around. I love these girls and i love to see them having so much fun.

Mia's running for her daddy!

Brave Charlotte. She loves going through the "scariest" looking fountains.

All aboard!

Charlotte, my little engineer.

Hold it! I wasn't ready!

All my ducks in a row. Abbi in lead, then Mia, and then Charli.

Mother Hen gathering her chicks. (thats how I feel all day seriously)

Whoa! That was close!

Family photo!

Under the sprinkler with daddy

When in doubt call for daddy! (Abbi is doing the "sign" for daddy)

Every man (woman/baby) is an island.

Abbi getting her nerve. haha

PLAY TIME

2011-10-23T18:58:00.004-06:00

I love this picture. It tells the story of my life really. You have Charlotte playing and entertaining herself with her Pop-up-Monkey. You have Mia climbing all over me trying to get my attention. And then you have me looking at Abbi very seriously, telling her we shouldnt get angry when we don't get our way. And she's looking back at me very intently, either understanding and agreeing or plotting her revenge... not sure. BAHAHA! LOVE IT either way!

Charlotte loves reading books. Her favorite "sign" is Story.

Charli in a box... teheh

Charli getting book time

How's that pretty girl in the mirror? CHARLI!

Play time with mommy!

Helping out the Boss

2011-10-23T18:47:00.006-06:00

Sharing our toys

Abbi contemplating stealing that purple ring back.

Me in the back giving Hudson a puppet show. I think he enjoyed it! TEHEHE

Hudson LOVED this leapster toy. Christmas present idea Karlee!

Oh Dear! He found Charlotte's fort!

Sweet little guy.

So Jared's boss happens to live just three doors down from us, which is quite convenient (hopefully for both of us) in case I need random things and vise versa. Karlee, boss' wife, went out of town for a week and left Kent, boss man, alone with 2 kiddos. Brave girl. Anyway, we had the pleasure of watching little Hudson for a couple of hours so Kent could do some work stuff. The girls actually handled everything pretty well. Abbi was a little jealous when he would play with her toys but mostly just curious. We got some great photos of the sweet guy enjoying himself with all the ladies. tehehehe (future arranged marriage?.... possibly!)

Goodies

2011-10-15T13:43:00.004-06:00

This is my new favorite of all three of my girls. Chillin at the splash pad.

This is my new favorite of Charlotte. Doesn't she resemble Dori from Finding Nemo just a little bit?! HA!

And this is my new favorite picture of Abbi. Maybe of anyone. BAHAHA I still laugh when I look at this picture!

A video of Charlotte. Pretty darn cute.

I still have lots of pictures to post but for now, I need to shower while the girls' are taking a nap. Until then.

15 months

2011-10-13T14:28:00.003-06:00

I can not believe these girls are 15 months already. My goodness time really does go by fast. Well of course we had a doctors' appointment, every time we reach a milestone "birthday" we're at the doctor seems like. They had to get 2 shots each, which they were NOT happy about. Plus it was right during their afternoon nap so they were extra.... sensitive. Poor babies. Luckily they only have 1 more shot at their 18 month checkup and thats it until like age 4 or something like that... So YEAH!!!

Here are their stats:

Charlotte

Weight 24 lbs and 14.8 oz (80th percentile)

Height 31.5

Abigail

Weight 27 lbs 3 oz (95th percentile)

Height 31.5

Mia

Weight 26 lbs 4.8 oz (90th percentile)

Height 31.5

So they are all the same height but different weights which I think is very interesting considering they eat the same things at the same times... haha But all well. The doctor says the girls look "fantastic." The only negative comment was that Mia and Abbi's teeth had some buildup on them. Charlotte's looked great. I brush their teeth every night but I will go up to morning and night now. Mia and Abbi give me about 15 seconds to brush and then they are DONE so I guess I will have to get a little more forceful with them. Cant be having any cavities! Well thats it really. I have some cute photos Lisa took today that I will add later so keep checking!

Greats are great!

2011-10-11T18:28:00.011-06:00

We were incredibly blessed this week with a visit from my grandparents and my great aunt Lavoice and great uncle Dean. They drove all the way from Utah to New Boston to Houston to see these girls. We were honored to have them here and enjoyed every second.

Charlotte recognized Papa Skip right away. She reached out for him and it was so sweet. The other two warmed up pretty quickly as well. They loved all the attention they were getting from all the sweet grandparent kisses. Thank you so much you guys for driving out here to visit our girls!! We love you!

Mamaw Peg with Abbi

Uncle Dean with Mia

Enjoying the great grandparents.

Uncle Dean with Charlotte

Abbi getting Uncle Dean's nose and Charlotte checking out Papa Skips' camera.

Abbi and Uncle Dean

Abbi teaching Papa Skip how to sign "Daddy" haha

Papa Skip reading to Abbi

Papa Skip getting a book for Charli

Aunt Lavoice playing with Charlotte

Getting Charli loving

Awe... Aunt Lavoice and Charlotte

Aunt Lavoice getting Abbi loving

Reading to Charlotte

Getting loving from Mia

Here's a video of play time with everyone. Its pretty boring unless you know the people in it.

Mimi's visit

2011-10-11T14:28:00.014-06:00

While Mimi was here the girls had their very first park experience. (I know I am totally lame). But honestly, it has been so bloody hot here I haven't wanted to take the girls out in the heat. But we got some rain this weekend so it was actually pretty perfect. The girls LOVED it and they were the only ones there so that made it much more fun! They climbed through the tunnels, down the slides (with our help) and went on the swings. Charlotte would go limp as soon as she was in the swing. It was hilarious. Her arms and head would just dangle. HA! That girl is crazy. They all were just squealing with delight.

After the park we were able to borrow my neighbors entrance card into the community splash pad. Once again, we were the only ones there so the girls could run around and just enjoy it. Oh my goodness they just LOVED it! Charlotte was FEARLESS! She was the first one to just run through every fountain. Mia followed behind and Abbi was much more apprehensive. She needed some encouragement. But she loved it too.

Video Time:

Mimi playing patty cake with the girls.

Having fun at the splash pad.

The girls LOVED the music to Rio. They were dancing up a storm. This was the next day so they weren't dancing AS much. But its still so cute.

Im so sad my girls wont eat avocado anymore. But they wont. Mia was making the funniest face when Mimi was trying to feed it to her so we HAD to video it.

Picture Overload:

Abbi being unsure about it.

Charli is so brave and fearless.

The girls loved being in the fountains. They had so much fun.

Mia is in the purple, Abbi in the pink. Look at those thighs!! tehehe LOVE THEM!

Mia walks with her arms up like this cause she's still not steady on her feet. I love it! Its precious.

Enjoying the water.

Abbi wants her daddy's help!

Mia is in yellow. Abbi in the orange.

Playing with our sisters.

Mia's gonna get you.

Charlotte in the green.

Mimi and Abbi

Yeah mom! THis is AWESOME!!

Beautiful Abbi

Im surfin'

They just go limp. It was hilarious.

Go Abigail!

YEAH Charlotte!

Wahoo Mia!

Cindy's visit

2011-10-11T13:57:00.003-06:00

So I again didn't get a ton of photos of Cindy with the girls. But these two are jewels. The girls love their grandma and we always enjoy her visit. She was able to stay for a week and will be back in November for another visit.

One of the girls' video teaching about sounds. And they love the part where it sings "Da Da Da Da..." You can kinda hear it when I say it. The girls go around saying da da da da and its too cute.

The girls are starting to play ball and its too cute. Abbi was really getting into this day and so we had to video it.

Family Invasion! YEAH!

2011-10-11T13:50:00.004-06:00

This has been one busy week. Cindy (grandma) flew in to visit from the 1st to the 8th. My mom (mimi) flew in the 6th and left the 10th. And MY grandmother/papa skip came with my great aunt and great uncle to visit on the 10th and 11th. HA! So we had a lot of wonderful visitors that came from all over to see our precious girls. I had a ball visiting with family and the girls just loved all the attention. Today is the first day we haven't had guests so I am in clean up mode. First things first, uploading the tons of photos and videos and getting them posted. So lots of fun to come!

10 inches lighter!

2011-09-25T20:11:00.006-06:00

BEFORE

AFTER

This past weekend I finally made a hair appointment! My hair had gotten so long, unintentionally too. I just hadnt made it to the salon with the girls and all. Anyway, decided to just get rid of all of it and donate it to locks of love again. (I did it the first time a couple of years ago.) I like my hair cut, Im just going through the "ok now how do i fix it" stage. You girls know what im talking about it. I wont leave it this short, id like to keep it around my shoulders. But its fun changing up my hair. Ive never been one to keep it the same for a long time and certainly dont mind cutting off 10 inches at a time.

As promised

2011-09-22T13:28:00.005-06:00

Here are the updates on the girls. They are all progressing and learning so much everyday. Its SUCH a joy to be their momma. I have the best job in the world. They keep me entertained, busy and exhausted. But they teach me so much and make me want to be a better mommy and woman too.

They are 100% angels and I just still can't believe I have triplets. Three of them. Its unreal. Watching them grow up has been and will be my greatest thrill.

Here are some videos to enjoy and each girls' own personal blog post.

Charlotte

2011-09-22T13:10:00.006-06:00

Oh Charli. Charlotte still seems to be my biggest handful. Thats okay I guess cause she isnt a terror or anything. She is still the most independent one. I sometimes have to actively engage her to play with everyone. She is totally fine entertaining herself though. She knows a few signs. Daddy, please, eat, more and bath.

She is my best walker. She started first and has really caught on. She hardly ever falls now. She loves the "thinker" toys, I call them. The ball that you put the shapes through the matching holes, the stick you put the rings on. She loves playing with the toys that she can totally concentrate on. Its so awesome watching her master those challenges. She will look up when shes done like "did you see me mom!?" I give her tons of praise and kisses and she just loves it.

She has found a little "fort" inside my coffee table. She loves to climb in and look around. I think she loves it cause only one baby can fit in there and its a little getaway. Shes my little instigator. She will pick up a toy and walk up to my glass top coffee table and look at me like "im fixin to do something bad!" (Like bang on the top). I look at her and say "Think it through Charli. I'll take away that toy!" And she laughs and she proceeds to bang on the coffee table. Stink. I take the toy away as promised and she throws her head back and grunts. It would be funny if she wasnt intentionally disobeying me.

She still wakes up during the night sometimes. Mostly she will stop crying after a minute but lately she goes for a while until I go up there and "tuck her in." I wonder if she isnt having nightmares or something. hmmm... She loves to be rocked. She loves that one on one attention so much. And I just love to get it to her. She will bring a book to you to read to her and climb in your lap and turn the pages for you. But during the group reading time she wont stay in her bumbo but for a few minutes until she is ready for something else.

Mia

2011-09-21T09:47:00.009-06:00

She is taking the longest to walk. She will walk a few feet from one person to another but crawls everywhere else. But she loves when you walk with her and hold her hands. She looks up at you and laughs. She loves to play patty cake, but mainly cause at the end when we "throw them in the pan" I tickle her. She laughs and laughs. Her smile is the most beautiful. She has the most precious little dimples on both sides of her mouth.

She is such a chatter box too. She will "talk" for several minutes to someone. She is so funny. She will move her mouth like she's really making words come out. Sometimes she moves her mouth without even making sounds. So it looks pretty hilarious. She's the best sleeper of the three. Shes out first and wakes up last 95% of the time. She LOVES getting in the car and going somewhere. When I walk outside with her and open the truck door she just SQUEALS!

She's also the main biter of the bunch. Thankfully she has cut back quite a bit but still if someone has bite marks on their arm, its pretty much from Mia. She also loves her baby einstein movies. She especially loves the songs and music. She will sway her hips and dance along. She even cried for quite a while after the Ol McDonald song was over. She loves to have her picture taken. But she doesn't realize yet that you don't need to be RIGHT IN the camera. HA!

She wants to be the center of your attention. She will crawl into your lap and look you right into the eyes. She wants 100% of your attention and doesn't take kindly to the other two trying to take any of it. Its not all the time, but when she wants your attention, she wants it now. She knows a good bit of signing. She can sign daddy, mommy, eat, more, bath and milk. Of the three she likes to play alone the least. She wants someone to play with her or she starts playing with one of her sisters toys just to get in on the fun.

She loves hugs and reading her books. She is such a mommy figure too. She loves to rock her babies and take care of them. She loves to push her stroller and give kisses. Im still trying to get her to try to build towers or play with shapes but she'd rather just play patty cake or something. And thats ok with me. I love it too!

Abigail

2011-09-21T09:33:00.010-06:00

She blows my mind more and more everyday at how smart she is. She has really picked up sign language, more than the other two girls. She can sign mama, daddy, please, bath, eat, more, hurt, bed, sleep, and milk. She knows where just about every body part is. She is walking around like crazy. She loves to be cuddled and snuggled. She loves to "love her sisters." When I say "Awe, love your sisters" they all will lean into one another and hug each other and give kisses. It is the MOST PRECIOUS THING. Mimi taught them how to do that and Im so glad they still love doing it.

Abbi loves to watch her baby einstein videos. She watches them more intently than the other two and I know she is learning so much each time. I just love watching her watch the movies. She gets so excited when she sees something she recognizes and gets so intense when she's learning a new concept. She also enjoys her story time more than the other two as well. The others will try to escape their bumbos after a few stories but Abbi always just sits and waits for the next book. She just loves being read to. She's like a sponge and she really takes every advantage she can to learn something. Its amazing to watch. Also, she lets me fold her arms during prayer for the entire time. The others will let me for about halfway through but Abbi does it the entire prayer.

She loves her "T." In the girls' play room I have the puzzle mat pieces with the alphabet in them. As soon as I put her down she walks right over and picks her up T every time. She carries it around everywhere she goes. Its hilarious. This morning Charlotte sat next to Abbi, took her T and crawled off. Instead of throwing a fit, Abbi grabbed the "L" and crawled over to Charlotte, laid down the L and grabbed her T, then took off. Charlotte looked around after being mugged and then just grabbed the L like Ok, whatever. BAHAHA It was awesome! So very diplomatic of her. She out smarted them. She is such a happy baby. She hardly ever fusses about anything. Ever. Abbi also loves to dance. She has some pretty good moves too. I dont know where she picks them up. She will move one shoulder up and down. bahaha its hilarious. She'll sway her hips and puts a little Omph in it. So funny.

And is a daddy's girl to boot. She gets so excited every time Jared comes home or when he walks into the room. When he's at work she will just be walking around the living room signing "Daddy." This morning I went to give her a kiss as I was getting them up for breakfast and when I leaned down instead of kissing me she starts signing for daddy. How do you like that?! HA! I love it. I know I sure was a daddy's girl so good for her. Its precious.

Movie Night!

2011-09-14T14:05:00.003-06:00

2 weeks of HECK!

2011-09-11T18:55:00.010-06:00

This has been an intense and crazy and hectic 2 or so weeks. So time for some major catching up! Two days after my last post, my mother in law came to visit for a week. We so enjoyed having her here to play and get reacquainted with the girls. For some reason I dont think I got one picture of her visit. I remember Lisa taking tons of pictures so I think in my head I thought, Oh good, pictures are being taken. But after reviewing MY photos, zero. Whoops. Sorry! I'll do better next time.

I didnt take this picture but Cindy is actually in it! haha The girls LOVE watching Music and Spoken Word. They are so cute.

About a day and a half after Cindy left, my mom and dad drove into town! My dad has been stationed in Iraq this year and I hadn't seen him since about April. He is only here for a couple of weeks and then goes back. So he and my mom drove out to see us and my sister and her family. I was SO excited to have them here! We went to the Children's Museum in Houston and took the girls swimming for the first time. I got a few pictures and videos. I miss my family so much..... I just loved having them here.

My daddy feeding the girls.

Mimi and Poppy loving on the girls!

We took the girls swimming. Here they are in their SO CUTE bikinis. They actually liked the water even though it was freezing! Of course its 110 degrees for months but when we try to take the girls to the pool, its windy and overcast and chilly. HA! We didnt stay in long because they were cold and shivering. But they laughed and splashed too. It was so cute! Here is Abbi on the left and Mia on the right.

Mia above

Charlotte below

Abbi wrapped up. Keep me warm daddy!

Mia and Mimi trying to get warm.

After my parents left (on Sunday) we had a couple of days to regroup and get ready for our next guest, Chris! Jareds brother has been living in Saudi Arabia for the last year and was coming to visit on that Wednesday. I cleaned everything I could and got ready for the next round.

However, Tuesday morning started out rocky. I heard some noises in the girls room about 730, as usual. So i got up, got ready, made breakfast for the girls and then around 8 went into the girls' room to get them. As soon as I walked in I was hit with the most AWFUL STENCH. It made me gag it hit me so hard. I thought someone had pooped through their clothes or something. I turned on the light and Abbi sits up and I see the most vomit I have ever seen from a baby. Its all over her crib. EVERYWHERE! That sweet baby looks at me and I say "Abbi what happened, Angel?" And she starts doing the sign for "bath." I couldve thrown myself out the window. I felt so awful for letting her sit in that for WHO KNOWS HOW LONG! I grabbed her up and immediately bathe her. Poor thing. Broke my heart. The rest of the day went fairly normal. Abbi acted kind of tired but not sickly. I laid the girls down for bed around 7 that night and I took a shower cause I smelled like vomit from that morning.... I was in the middle of drying my hair when I hear a baby crying, Mia. Jared went in to check on her and I heard on the monitor "Ashlee, get in here, she threw up." Poor Mia was in a panic! She had vomit up her nose, in her hair, ALL in her crib, the floor, just everywhere. I got her in the bath as quick as possible. Charlotte and Abbi are freaking out cause its like 830 and the lights are on and so much is going on. I cleaned up the vomit (so much for MY shower) and Mia while Jared and Lisa kept the other two calm. We put everyone back in their cribs, turned out the lights and thought that was over.

Charlotte started getting fussy a few minutes after we laid everyone down again. Not crying just whining. After about 5-10 minutes of that, Jared went back in there to just get her to settle down. We thought. He came in our bedroom with Charlotte COVERED in vomit. AGH!!! So into the tub she goes. As Im bathing her, Jared says "Mia just threw up again!" Not 30 seconds later Lisa says "Awe Abbi just threw up a TON!" Are you kidding me?!! Babies are screaming, Jared is gagging, the nursery smells like.... hell. Thats the only word I know that can describe it. I am panicking. So I finish up Charlottes bath and start dressing her, she vomits again. Crap. So I ditch the bathing idea. We will just wait till morning and they stop vomiting. Clean pjs are a must though. This routine goes on for hours. I call the doctor around 1100 that night. Lisa, Jared and myself are all downstairs on the couch watching Music and the Spoken Word over and over with a roll of paper towels waiting for the next vomit spew. The girls are exhausted and throwing up flem and stomach acid at this point. I am drained. I am in such a panic. Theres about a five minute break between each vomit episode. The doctor said to just hydrate them as much as possible and let them sleep. We decided to call Kent, our boss who luckily lives 3 doors down, to give the girls a blessing with Jared. Abbi FINALLY stops around midnight and Lisa lays her down. I stay up with Mia until about 130 and lay her down. Charlotte keeps going until about 3 when Jared lays her down. Ive done about 5 loads of vomit laundry, cleaned the nursery 3 times, sprayed half a bottle of febreeze everywhere. Exhausted isnt even the word for it.... Its physical and emotional. Desperation. Thats a better one.

No time to regroup however, at 345 am I wake up and RUN to the toilet just in time to throw everything I have up. About twice an hour. That went on until 1130 that morning. I couldnt even get out of bed to help with the girls. Jared was starting to get sick himself, not throwing up but coughing, ect. If Lisa hadnt been here.... I cant even think about it. Jared was taking care of me, Lisa and Jared took care of the girls. And Chris was landing that afternoon. We had to pay to have a taxi drive out to get him. It was just insane. Luckily, after Chris got here he was able to help Lisa and Jared got some rest with me. The girls didnt throw up crazy anymore, we limited their diet and they didnt want much. Anyway, we made it through it. It was just such an awful night. It took them a good week to get over it and back to normal. I was better in 24 hours, thankfully.

After that Chris stayed until Friday and we are still just recovering from the illness and guests, ect. We loved having all our family here but grateful for the break to clean up again and rest up. I have pictures and videos to post and also fun stuff about the girls. They are learning and growing so much lately. I will post all that later too! This was just to catch everyone up on the last couple weeks. Sorry it got so long.

Mia Bia

2011-08-22T19:11:00.001-06:00

Mia does the cutest thing lately. We have a family picture hanging on the wall and she LOVES to look at it. When I ask her "Wheres a picture of your family?" She just LAUGHS and looks up at it. I got it on video a little bit. She doesn't laugh quite as hard here in this video, but you can see how much she lights up. What an angel.

Sunday

2011-08-22T18:57:00.005-06:00

My favorite picture of Abbi, maybe of anyone. She's looking up at her daddy. It was a precious moment.

Charli don't eat the ball... tehehe

Charlotte in pigtails.

Abbi in pigtails.

Mia in pigtails.

Mommy and her girls before church. Mia, Abbi, Charli

Charli Bean

No smile Mia?!

Abbi, my sweet angel.

The girls watching Music and the Spoken Word. How sweet?!

Aunt Ran's 30th Birthday

2011-08-22T18:42:00.004-06:00

So on her way to Galveston for her cruise my sister was able to stop by for a couple of hours. So i decided to throw her a quick impromptu surprise party. I got her a "Old Woman Starter Kit" complete with Poise pads, Ben Gay, Polygrip, ect. I also got her a REAL present.... gift card to Barnes and Noble since she's a book-aholic. It was nice for the girls to see their Aunt Ran again. Happy Birthday big Sis! 3-0 isnt TOO old... tehehe

Ran with Mia

Ran with Abbi

Ran with Charli

Opening presents

Peanut Butter Cupcake, HER FAV!

Mimis visit

2011-08-21T15:53:00.004-06:00

We love our Mimi and are so excited that she's coming back in two weeks WITH the POPPY!!

Mimi, Mia Abigail Charlotte

Come on Abbi you can do it!

Loving on sweet Abbi

Get her girls! Dont let her leave! tehehe

Trying to get caught up

2011-08-21T15:22:00.008-06:00

I have been so busy lately. The girls had a pretty crazy reaction to the MMRV shots they got. We had fever and red dotted rash and very cranky sick girls. Also, I gave a talk in church today and so I was preparing for that during my free time. Also, my mom came into town for a few days! It was so awesome. I so love being with my family. I just hated her not staying longer (or forever!) ha. Plus, my sister dropped by for a couple of hours yesterday on her way to Galveston to set sail on a cruise (jealous... yes!). Also, my anniversary is coming up on Friday AND my mother in law is coming for a visit on Tuesday so lots to still do. Anyway, thats whats been going on and why i have neglected my blog this week.

I do have lots of pictures to post so that should make up for it.

MIA:

Looking for her belly button

Cool clapping photo

ABIGAIL:

CHARLOTTE:

Aunt Lisa and Mia

Plaid girls Charlotte, Mia, Abigail

Cuteness that couldn't wait

2011-08-10T19:07:00.002-06:00

I took these videos today and after watching them I had to post them tonight instead of waiting. I am so in love with these girls, its ridiculous. I just eat them up everyday and I soak up every moment I can. I love, love, love these girls. I know ten years from now I will watch these videos and just cry missing my chunky babies who would crawl around and chase each other, and throw food on the floor (after I've mopped for the 2nd time that day), and who would give me the most excited look when they see me. My heart just physically jumps. Im so in love. Here are two videos to show you the preciousness I get to be around all day everyday.

Oh my heck

2011-08-08T18:34:00.002-06:00

I am EXHAUSTED! Oh my goodness... Im not sleepy I just feel like I've ran a marathon. Let me explain.

Today is the first day we went without bottles. I was so excited/nervous and a little sad surprisingly. I got up this morning and made the girls yummy oatmeal (the real kind, not the instant) with a pear puree and scrambled eggs and sippy cups of milk. They loved it. Eggs all over the floor and chairs. Then for lunch we had ham, cheese, bread, banana, gerber puffs, more sippy cups of milk and water. Ham everywhere. Spilt milk on the floor. Then for dinner I made a rookie mistake. I made pasta and coated them in marinara sauce and sprinkled with cheese. Sounds yummy right? MARINARA SAUCE EVERYWHERE... pasta everywhere. They wouldn't even eat the pasta, just suck off the sauce and throw the noodles. So I made a grilled cheese (cause sauce WASNT going to fill them up.) Charli doesn't like grilled cheese and that went everywhere. So thats 3 times I was cleaning up the girls, the kitchen, the floors. Three mop times. Three sweep ups. Three booster chairs to clean up three times. Oh my heck. Is this what it will be like everyday?! Cause if so I WILL TAKE THE BOTTLES PLEASE! I've been cleaning all day it seems and it stinks!

But the girls did ok with it really. Before bed I gave them some rice cereal with a 3 ounce bottle to make sure they were full and Abigail had a hard time understanding where the rest of her milk was. She was pretty upset there wasn't more. But hopefully she will adjust soon. Anyway Day 1 of Operation no bottles went well.... but i'm seriously considering hiring a maid.... Not really but wouldn't that be HEAVEN!

Videos to Enjoy. The girls were very happy today.

D-A-D-D-Y!

2011-08-08T09:09:00.003-06:00

Mia Left. Abigail Right.

Charli, Mia, Abigail

These girls LOVE their daddy. I love that they love their daddy. He is a wonderful father and loves to read to them and sing to them. Its such a joy and blessing to have and watch their relationships. Here are some precious photos I took just the other day of them loving on their daddy and listening to his story.

Yeah for Grandparents!

2011-08-08T09:06:00.002-06:00

Mamaw Peg and Papa Skip came to visit us this weekend. We LOVED it! They stayed at a hotel but came during the day and played with the girls. They love our girls so much and they warmed up to the grandparents quick. They love visitors, especially ones that give them so much love and kisses and attention. Thank you grandparents for making the long drive to see our babies! We love you soooo much.

12 month check ups

2011-08-04T19:14:00.004-06:00

We took the girls to the doctor today. The poor girlies had to get 4 shots a piece AND have their thumb pricked for a blood test. Agh! Check ups are the worst. Absolute worst! I asked every nurse that came in if it was possible to put those needles in mommy's arm and spare my poor babies... turns out, can't happen. I tell you what, if it wasn't for a darn good reason (like my kid NOT getting mumps or rubella) then I would NOT be getting those shots. But since it is, we went.

First time meeting our new pediatrician and I really like her. She's super nice, smart and a cute little lady. I asked her about Charli's eye. She said we will just watch it. There's not much else we can do right now since the MRI came back normal. So hopefully thats a good thing and it will just take care of itself. Maybe my Charli Bean is just extra talented. I was also going to ask her about the feeding schedule that I have for the girls but wasn't able to. She beat me to it. She said "I want the girls off bottles." I was slightly shocked. But she said no more bottles. And to cut back on milk. Alot. I give the girls 6 1/2 ounces 3 times a day. And she told me to only give them around 12 ounces a day and up the meats/veggies/fruits. I had mixed feelings about it because that means the girls will be eating like a real person. ha! Like 3 meals at the table. No more bottles... no more babies... I was relieved because it will be easier for us but surprisingly sad because that means they aren't my babies anymore. They are little people. Anyway, we will get that started this week.

Here are the stats:

Charli- 24.7 lbs 30.5 inches

Abbi- 26.5 lbs 30.75 inches

Mia- 25.7 lbs 30.5 inches

Here is sweet Charlotte cuddling with Aunt Lisa on the couch. The nurses said they would be cranky and/or sleepy after their shots. Charlotte was sleepy, Abbi and Mia were cranky. HA! This is a perfect example of why Lisa is a Godsend.

Before church... and "say hi"

2011-08-01T09:17:00.004-06:00

Here are some photos of us getting the girls ready for church. I hoped the girls would be good since Jared was giving a talk in church (it was very good by the way) but I had my doubts because they took a very poor nap that morning. I was right. Abbi especially was very cranky, Mia was just having a hyper time and Charli was actually very good. But by the end of sacrament my arms were exhausted and my nerves were shot. I was ready to go home!

Mama Mia

Abbi (already in a good mood, cant you tell)

Charli wanting NOTHING to do with that headband.

Mia in her wonderful mood did NOT want her picture taken. HA!

Sleepy girls (who just woke up from their "nap")

Abbi, Charli, Mia (look at Abbi's and Mia's face. BAHA!)

Such pretty dresses.

Abbi

Abbi and Mia (not happy girls.)

Mia gives me a look that promises to be a wonderful sacrament meeting.

But on to a sweeter note, Abigail has learned to say Hi! Very exciting. She just did it this morning. I quickly had to get it on camera cause these girls do things one day and never again. So here are two ADORABLE videos of my super smart baby girl Abbi!

Random Photos/Commentary

2011-07-27T19:13:00.004-06:00

I found Charlotte doing the cutest thing. She was collecting all the orange shapes and putting them in her stroller. I dont know why I thought this was just the most precious thing ever. She would pick one up, place it in the seat and walk/push the stroller a little ways until she saw another shape. I just had to take a picture of it.

All her treasures she wanted to push around the living room. So adorable!

Mia likes to crawl under the jumperoo. I think it feels like a tent to her. She got so tickled when I took her picture.

These girls are so freaking cute. This is them watching one of their videos. They get so involved. Precious.

Wow!!

2011-07-21T19:13:00.005-06:00

I just had to post about the AMAZING day the girls, Lisa and I have had! The last 48 hours have been so fantastic. They slept so great last night. I laid them down at 7 and didn't have to go in there all night long. They woke up at 715 happy baby girls. Charlotte and Abbi have been waking up around 530 or 6 every morning lately so that was such treat for Jared and myself. And then today! My goodness. They had such wonderful naps (yes we went back to two naps a day). They slept from 10-1145 this morning! And I didn't have to go in the nursery once! (usually Im in there rocking someone back to sleep from 1030 until everyone else wakes up.) And then again at 220 until about 4. And I didn't have to go in there once. Amazing. I cant remember the last time they did so well. And because they were so well rested they were just happy energetic babies. Such a treat. OH MY GOODNESS! I just LOVE these girls so much. I could just eat them up. I got lots of kisses and snuggles today. My life is so very blessed with beautiful perfect angels.

Also, I started putting whole milk in their bottles yesterday. Well 3 ounces each of that and formula. The girls don't even seem to have noticed. HA! So thats good.

And finally I have to share this video and two pictures. The pictures are of Mia and her crazy funny hair. Its getting so long lately that is just flips out. Anyone seen "That Girl"? Its totally what it reminds me of. So cute. And the video is of Abbi. Lisa and I had music playing on the tv during playtime and Abbi stood up in front and started dancing. It was hilarious. Luckily I got a sneak peak on video. ENJOY!!

Videos for your viewing pleasure

2011-07-20T19:05:00.002-06:00

Here the girls are enjoying playtime in the bath. A great way to keep them happy during those witching evening hours when my girls can sometimes be..... cranky. HA!

Here are Mia and Charlotte playing. Charlotte was in the jumper and decided she was tired of just going up and down. So, she started turning in circles. It was hilarious. And she got very dizzy. HA! And Mia was jealous of the attention I was giving Charli and tried to steal my camera. Diva...

And since Abbi didn't want to be apart of the other video, I gave her one of her very own. The girls want to walk so bad and love it when you help them walk around the room. Here's Abbi getting some help from Aunt Lisa.

Yippee!!!

2011-07-16T09:34:00.001-06:00

I hadn't been to a Weight Watchers meeting for 4 weeks with moving and everything. But I went today and got GREAT news!!

Current weight 145.6!!!!!

Total lost 22.8 pounds!!!!

Im so excited! I did it! I got down to my wedding weight. Very exciting. I want to stay in the 140-145 pound range. Im totally happy with that! YEAH!!!!

Shoes and head bumps

2011-07-13T19:09:00.002-06:00

Mimi got the girls shoes for their birthday. So for church on Sunday I thought it would be cute if we let the girls try them out. Our first pair of shoes!

Charlotte was very apprehensive.

As you can see, Abbi immediately took off one and started working on the other. Needless to say, by the time we got to the church parking lot, the shoes were history. By sacrament, no one had any on. ha! Maybe next time.

Our sweet Charlotte took a tumble the other day. She fell head first right on the corner of our new entertainment center. It was awful! The worst bump or bruise any of the girls' have gotten yet. She cried so hard and loud. Broke our hearts! So sad.

Here's a side angel. It raised up pretty big.

My poor baby. I will be purchasing edge protectors this week! This will NOT be happening again.

This is the bump a couple of hours later. The swelling went down and it didn't look near as gruesome.

She still has that red mark but it looks much better.

Nap time

2011-07-13T18:50:00.002-06:00

HELP! I have been trying to adjust the girls' naps. They usually get a nap around 1000 am and then again around 200 pm. Both around an hour in length. However, I felt like it was time to condense it down to one nap. Honestly, nap time is the most stressful time of the day (ironically). I cant get too busy doing something because if someone starts crying then I have to be close so that EVERYONE doesnt wake up. And if they do, then I have to get someone to help and then its just hectic.

Anyway, so ive been trying to get one 2 hour nap around 1130 (because thats as long as the girls can make it. They are SO tired by then.) But it has NOT been working out. They wake up about an hour into it and are MAD about it. They are cranky from 930 until I lay them down and then when they wake up and then again in the evening. Man, it has just been a nightmare! Please help! Any suggestions!? Tips?! (Besides to stop complaining and count my blessings.) I think I may just be done with trying to get one nap out of them. Its worse than it was before.....

For Poppy

2011-07-08T20:41:00.001-06:00

And I just had to add this picture of Charlotte because its hilarious. TEHEHE

Then and Now

2011-07-08T18:44:00.010-06:00

I've been working on this post for a little while now. I still can't believe my baby girls are one year old already. They are officially toddlers. It went by so very fast. When Jared and I made the decision to start having children we never dreamed about what we could possibly be in for. When the ultrasound tech told me she saw two babies, I was hit with a flood of fear and anxiety. When she told me 3 seconds later that she saw three babies, I just put my hands to my face and sobbed. I went from being nervous about having 1, to terrified about having 2, to completely overwhelmed and "soaked to the bone" with true fear in every sense of the word about having 3. But with the help of the amazing family and friends that we have been blessed with, we made it to year one. And we now have 3 beautiful, perfect, healthy, adorable little angels that have just consumed our world and our hearts.

At 6 weeks old:

Mia

Abigail

Charlotte

This past year has been such a busy one for me. Learning to be a mother takes patience, practice and time. Learning to be a mother to three babies takes patience, a miracle, practice, and a lot of support and help. Thankfully, I've been blessed with all these things. The girls have developed so much physically and personality wise this year. Its been amazing to watch. Here are some of the highlights.

9 months old

Mia

My ham. She is definitely the youngest child, if only by 15 seconds. She has always been a pretty good baby. Her personality now though is just precious. She loves attention. If she wants a toy, she grabs it, even if her sister has it. If she wants in my lap, she crawls in, even if her sister's already there. Her smile is radiant. Her laugh is infectious. She was the second one of the girls to crawl and learn to stand. She has always had the longest hair. She loves to watch her DVDs the most. She giggles and squeals every time the beginning starts. As of now, she's the best napper. She has 5 teeth. She loves her sippy cup. I can always make her smile. She has the most beautiful pictures because she just loves smiling. She loves her sisters. She will chase Abigail around and they will be just laughing. And when Charlotte is standing solo against the couch, Mia will crawl up to her and stand up beside her. Kinda like saying "Hey whats up sis?" She gives the best hugs and snuggles. She can squeeze your neck so tight, it just melts every inch of me. And she just LOVES it when I saw "mama mama MIA!"

Abigail

My sweetheart. Abigail started out being the biggest handful. There were times I just couldn't handle all the screaming and fit throwing she could dish up. That all seems like a completely different child now. My Abbi now is precious. She is patient. She LOVES to eat. She gets so excited when we put her in her booster chair for snack time. But then when there's just two people at feeding time, she will wait until Charlotte and Mia have had their cereal before she gets hers without complaint. Precious. She loves kisses and hugs. She actually minds me when I say "No." She loves to squish up her nose and snort. Hilarious. She has 4 teeth. She was the last to crawl and stand but now does both perfectly. She is so laid back that she's just happy all the time. She loves to learn. She will point to things and I will tell her what it is and she will watch my mouth so intently. She soaks everything up. She's not the best napper but I think its because she just loves to snuggle. She will stay so perfectly still when I rock her but as soon as I get up, her head pops up like "Wait mom!" Ha!

Charlotte

My adventurer. Charlotte has always been so independent. When she was a newborn she was such an easy baby. Never cried, just slept and ate. Angel. Her temperament has done a 180 since birth but she is still very independent. She struggles with finishing her bottle, sleeping and teething. She doesn't want you to help her when she stands. She doesn't have any trouble entertaining herself. In fact, sometimes I have to encourage her to join in playing with me and the other two girls. She isn't a fan of all the kisses I like to take from her. She doesn't like to snuggle either unless she is sleepy or doesn't feel well. She certainly doesn't obey yet. I will say "No Charlotte" and she will look at me and smile that sweet innocent smile, then turn around and continue on exactly what she was doing that I just forbade. Turkey. But she sure does love her mama. She loves to play "Patty Cake." She was the first to crawl and stand. She has 9 teeth. She is so brave, I swear this girl is afraid of nothing. She loves to dance. I will chant "Go Charli, Go Charli" and she will throw her hands up and move those hips. Hilarious!

I dont know why I got so blessed. I know I certainly don't deserve it. Even now when I think about them, my heart and eyes swell up. Im so in love with these girls. My life will never have more purpose or meaning than it does right now. I thank God for the three precious miracles He has loaned me.

Directions

2011-07-05T19:50:00.003-06:00

So here are the Birthday posts! I did a ton of them so its best to start at the bottom and work your way up to the top.

**Also, as a side note, if you enjoy adorable photos of my girls you should check out my sister in law, Lisa's, blog. She is keeping one going while she is living here and takes great shots of the girls. She's the best. www.tripletauntie.blogspot.com. **

Last of pictures

2011-07-05T19:37:00.003-06:00

Opening presents!

Enjoying the new toys with cousin Natalie

Abigail enjoying her new doll with Aunt Lisa

I seriously was so excited to find this book. Natalie LOVED it when she was a baby and now my girls will too!

Charlotte checking out what's going on.

Charlotte preferred to chew on the toy boxes to playing with the actual toy...

Love our new toys! Thank you everyone!

Finishing up the night in our new pajamas watching our new dvd! Perfect day!!

Cupcake time!

2011-07-05T19:26:00.004-06:00

Abigail started out timid and slow. However, she quickly became a mess. And everything around her.

Charlotte took a huge bite at first and got a lot of icing. She wasn't sure what it was after that. But then she got to the cake and got messy!

Mia LOVED her cupcake. She was the first to really dig in and enjoyed every second!

Birthday pictures

2011-07-05T19:18:00.002-06:00

The cousins. (Left to Right) Nick and Mia, Natalie and Charlotte, Nathan and Abigail.

Abigail LOVED seeing her cousins. She wasn't shy AT ALL. She crawled right up to Nathan and went in for a kiss. Ha!

Super yummy chocolate cupcakes.

All the girls' loot!

Presents and balloons!

My cousin, Lisa, told me how to make this "birthday wreath." I just love how it turned out!

Table decor

Birthday Videos

2011-07-05T19:16:00.000-06:00

Mimi and birthdays

2011-07-05T18:46:00.002-06:00

Mimi came to visit! I was telling the girls all day "Mimi's coming! Mimi's coming!" They were SO excited when they saw her too! They recognized her and just got all excited. Just precious. She flew in on the 30th and left today (5th). We all had a blast with her here. I was so sad when she left....

Also, the girls had their 1st birthday party!! We decided to do it on the 4th since Jared was off work the whole day and it was only 2 days before their actual birthday, which is really tomorrow. It was a such fun day! We had a pink/green/white color scheme. Very pretty. My mom bought the girls super yummy chocolate cupcakes from an amazing bakery in town for their birthday cake. My sister and her whole family drove up from Austin so we had a house full. Mimi, Aunt Lisa, Aunt Ran, Uncle Geoff, Natalie, Nathan, Nicholas, and our family. I just LOVED having my family there. (We so missed you poppy! and the Toones of course).

We started our party off with cupcakes first. HA! The girls usually get a snack after they wake up from their morning nap at 1130. So we decided to let the cupcakes be their snack. It was hilarious! After we sang Happy Birthday and blew out their candles we let them just dig in. They were all timid at first but when they realized how yummy it was... whoa! Chocolate was EVERYWHERE... literally. Im still finding chocolate in random places. So it was off to the tub AS SOON AS they were done eating. It quickly became a chocolate bath. We cleaned everything up (babies included) and ate some grilled burgers and hot links. Then it was present time! The girls got some seriously great loot. Aunt Ran got them an awesome blow up panda that is like a punching bag, seriously a ton of fun. Also she got a pop up thingy (hard to explain) and a jack in the box. Mimi got the girls SUPER cute clothes including pjs, their first pair of sandals, a book each, a dvd each, AND the DVD player that saved our lives on the trip up here. Grandma and Grandpa Toone got the girls a baby doll, a toy cell phone, a toy old fashioned phone that you drag and money. Mommy and daddy got the girls 2 more baby dolls and a book called " Head to Toe". LOVE THAT BOOK!

After presents it was time for a nap. The rest of us played games and watched movies until they woke up and then played with the birthday girls and their new toys. It was a perfect day. The girls so enjoyed seeing their cousins. It was a great memory. It was sadder than I thought it would be to "let" them turn one. I can't believe we survived and surpassed their first year. It went by so fast. Im so blessed. The pictures are next!

We're still alive.

2011-06-27T20:27:00.002-06:00

So we are in Houston. I haven't blogged.... mainly because I didn't have anything positive or cheerful to say. This has honestly been the hardest week of my life. Harder than when my parents drove away after dropping me off at college. Harder than being pregnant with triplets at 33 weeks. Harder than even leaving them in the NICU for 2 weeks. I actually had a panic attack the day before we left. I was just sobbing telling Jared "I cant do this.... I cant do this...." I had to leave my home. My family. My dog. My help with the girls. My comfort zone. My little bubble. My sanity bubble. I literally felt like the walls were caving in and I thought Jared was going to have to pull me out of the house forcibly. Terrified is an understatement towards how I felt.

The girls did so well on the drive out to Texas. It took about 6 hours (about 20 hours total) longer with all the stops we did for them. But I honestly could not have asked anything more from them. They were troopers. Even in the hotel that night they slept in those awful cribs the hotel leant us. We bought a DVD player for the trip and it SAVED us. We played those 30 minute Baby Einstein movies over and over for them. They loved it.

When we arrived, the panic set in again. We are living in a townhouse. That means I have stairs. Stairs... Soak that in for a minute. Carrying three babies up and down those stairs several dozen times a day... good grief. But its just so much smaller than I imagined it too. We are so packed in here. And, despite Jared's reassurance that the place was clean, it wasn't and still isn't anywhere close to MY standard of clean. And I had NO time to clean it before our stuff overtook every square inch of the place. Therefore, it still hasn't been done. Ive spent the last week trying to dig out of this hole we were buried in. Its such a slow process though since I have the girls. The first 3 days were bad for me. I was beyond stressed, emotional, drained, overcome with "to do" lists. I just sobbed most of the day saying "I cant do this... I cant do this..." Needless to say, I made it through the first week. I still hate living in this place. Its not at all suitable for our needs. Jared is on summer sales schedule again so he leaves at 1130 and doesnt get home until about 1030 that night. Its a nightmare. NIGHTMARE! This just isn't functional to our lives anymore. It sucked when it was just me at home all day long ALONE. But now we have three babies. Its just... I get so emotional when I think about it.

**Let me just stop here and say something very important. My in-laws have LITERALLY saved me through this entire process. My father in law flew down and packed up all of our stuff. Just so you understand how much stuff we have... we filled a 26 foot UHAUL (the biggest one they offer) TO THE BRIM... insane. So he packed us in and unloaded us. He also drove us to Texas and helped so much with the girls... I mean he is a hero. And then there is my precious sister in law Lisa. She has volunteered to live with me for 6 months before she goes to college. She has been my saving grace. Literally. She is so great with the girls. She can do all that I do. She is my desperately needed second set of arms. She is amazing and I will NEVER be able to thank her enough for the peace of mind she gives me. In laws are amazing.**

So with Lisa's help I am now in charge of unpacking, cleaning, cooking, remembering everything, grocery shopping, paying bills, running errands, and for now handling the girls all day long without Jared IN ADDITION to what I did while living at home. Its overwhelming. Im trying everyday not to let it keep me in bed all day and not get up. Its hard. Its hard on a marriage. Its the most difficult thing Ive been asked to do and Im still making peace with it. Now you know why I haven't posted in a while. I think I will stick to cute pictures and videos of the girls until I can get my attitude and thoughts in check. Until then.

Wow this post got long. Sorry.

Mia has a new trick!

2011-06-21T20:33:00.001-06:00

During the move Mia picked up on how to say goodbye, so we thought we'd put it up here for everyone.

Enjoy!!!

Deep Breaths

2011-06-14T09:12:00.002-06:00

Well we decided to go ahead and do the MRI for Charlotte. Actually jared decided. I couldn't make a decision about it to save my life and Jared was really convinced we should go ahead with it. So here we go. I am super nervous about it and feel so awful for my sweet girl. I will have to wake up at 400am to feed her a bottle and then after 5 she cant have anything until after its over. The appointment is at 1100am and they will have to sedate her. Then she wakes up, they make sure she drinks her bottle ok and then we wait till Thursday for the results from the neuro. THEN we leave Friday for Houston. I am beyond stressed out. My whole body is on anxious alert. I just need to calm down, deep breaths. It will all work out. Please pray for my sweet Charlotte. My sweet little Charlotte. I can't believe she has to go through this, she's only 11 months old. Ridiculous....

Hell and back

2011-06-11T15:46:00.005-06:00

This past week has been the most emotionally draining, exhausting, and depressing week I can ever remembering having.

From the top:

Jared left for Houston on the 2nd. It was only going to be for 2 weeks. I could do this! I could be a single mom of triplets for just two weeks. My grandparents drove in to help and all would be fine. Except my sweet grandparents, who are SUCH a huge help to me when the girls are awake, unfortunately aren't much assistance in getting and keeping the girls asleep. Which meant I was on nap and night time duty. The night before Jared left we were both up ALL night long with the girls. Charli and Mia DID NOT SLEEP! It was insane. But Jared assured me that that was a fluke and the next night would be better..... umm nope. Honestly, the entire time he was gone I slept maybe 45 spurts at a time. After 2-3 days of getting no sleep or recuperation I was a zombie, and a grumpy one at that. I had no energy to play with the girls. I was supposed to be packing and getting ready to move but I just tried to take naps during my "spare" time. Every day was survival mode and it was AWFUL!

Now, 7 days later.... 7 days of next to nothing called sleep.... I finally got around to calling the nurse about Charli winking her left eye just to see what she thought might be causing it. She asked the doctor and he wanted to see for himself and asked me to bring her in. So I did. Showed him pictures of her doing it and he said "Wow! You weren't kidding!" Then he left to show the pictures to a different doctor. Came back and said he wanted to call a neurologist to see if Charlotte needed to be checked out. WHAT?! ARE YOU KIDDING ME?! A neurologist?! I said exactly "A neurologist? Like for her BRAIN?!" I did not see that coming. He explained that a baby this young should not be able to have that kind of muscle control to wink only one eye. That when they squint its always both eyes, not just one and so this was very unusual. I asked him what could be causing it that would lead him to straight to her brain. He said it could be seizures, or nerve swelling... or a mass on the brain...... >Heart stopped<........ I choked back vomit (literally) and said "Mass? Like a tumor?" He said he didn't want to suggest anything because he didn't know and that would just call her and see what she thought. Worse case being she wants to see Charli within 24 hours. With tears ALREADY streaming down my exhausted face I just nodded. I held Charlotte so tight the next 5-10 minutes waiting for him to come back. I couldn't believe it. I called Jared and quickly related what was going on. We were both on panic alert. Doc came back into the room and said "She wants to see you tomorrow morning at 830 am." I couldn't hold it back anymore and started crying. Not sobbing. Just uncontrollable tears everywhere. I was too exhausted, too tired to process what this could all mean. Holding Charlotte was the only thing that kept me conscious. I left the room with the directions in my hand, called Jared and cried some more. He kept asking me if he should fly home right away. It was going to cost 200 bucks just to change his flight. I didn't want to spend that money because we are moving and needed to save everything we could. But what if I go tomorrow and they give me the worst news of my life. I would need him there right? I just told him I couldn't make that decision and he said I'll be home tomorrow. I was relieved.

That was the worst 12 hours of my life. I never ever want to repeat the fear and panic I had on my heart and mind all night and morning. My body was pushed to the edge and I wasn't sure I could take anymore. I met with the neuro. She examined Charlotte and I showed her photos and videos of Charli doing it. Miraculously, she almost immediately ruled out all the scary stuff. It wasn't a seizure. It wasn't a tumor. It wasn't a swollen nerve in her brain. A million pounds was lifted of my shoulders. However, the doctor doesn't know WHY Charlotte does the winking so she suggested we do a MRI and made an appointment for Wednesday. Jared and I are still debating whether or not we will go through with the MRI yet. Still weighing the pros and cons. Well this post got really long but I wanted to keep the friends and family that having been praying for our sweet Charlotte posted on the latest. Thanks again for those! I feel like I have literally been through hell and thankfully came out the other side.... what a week.

Here we go!

2011-06-05T16:23:00.003-06:00

So all my girls are very mobile. They have been scooting around and certainly can get from point A to point B in a short amount of time. However, just recently we have been having actual crawling activity going on. Well you've all seen Charlottes' version of it.... we are still working on correct technique. Now, Mia has joined in. But she is doing it the right way. HA! She just started today and I got it on film for the daddy. (He's in Texas already getting us set up before I come out with the girls and my awesome helper! (yeah you rock Lisa)) So here ya go Jared! Your baby girl is crawling!!

Rub a dub dub... 3 ADORABLE girls in a tub!

2011-06-05T16:13:00.003-06:00

I had a beyond horrible day the other day and got SUPER desperate for relief. I had never put them in the tub together all at once but thought it might break up the time and fussiness before bed and sure enough they had a ball. They splashed and played with the toys. I'll be keeping this in mind for future melt downs but I think I will still be taking them on one at a time for actual baths.

Mia-Charlotte-Abigail

Don't you wish you were me...

2011-05-31T19:09:00.003-06:00

Just another night putting the girls to sleep.... No. Honestly, they don't always act like this when I lay them down. They don't do this for their two naps during the day. Only at night. Tonight, however, they were cuttin' up pretty good. I must say though, within the next 5 minutes two of the three babies were asleep. Charlotte took another 45 minutes but she had a 10 minute cat nap around 430. So she wasn't as sleepy. Anyway, watch..... feel sorry for me..... (haha jk!)

Bad week for Abigail

2011-05-31T18:47:00.003-06:00

Poor Abigail has had a rough week. First of all, both of her front two teeth are cutting through at the same time so she is very sensitive and sore. THEN, she bumped her head on the hard wood floor. I was letting all three girls stand up against the couch. Charlotte was leaning over so I grabbed her with both hands and as soon as I did that, BAM! Abi slipped through and her head hit the floor. I felt so sick about it all day. Poor baby cried SO hard! Agh I felt awful for her. THEN, during the morning feeding I saw bite marks on her arm. It was a perfect impression of TWO FRONT TEETH.... the only baby I have with both her front teeth is Charlotte. So.... not sure why Charli is biting her sisters but I will be doing some investigating. Poor Abi...

If you look closely you can see a red/blue mark on her temple...

Bite marks on her forearm....

Crazy Sleeper

2011-05-31T18:43:00.002-06:00

Mia Bia likes the blankets over her head. She was like this at 700 am. No tellin how long she was like this... haha

Look at these chubby LEGS!!! HAHA

2011-05-31T18:41:00.002-06:00

Abigail-Mia-Charlotte

(Literally 3 minutes after I took this picture, Abigail fell to the left and landed head first on the hardwood floor. See "Bad week for Abigail" post.)

Movin' and Snarlin'

2011-05-29T15:19:00.002-06:00

I told you I would get a video with Abi doing one of her cute things. Well, here you go! She loves to squish her nose up and just blow out. It is hilarious. See for yourself.

Here is another one of Abi making her face, but it also shows Charlotte doing her FREAKING hilarious crawl. She refuses to crawl like a normal baby. She crawls like she's an injured solider. You'll understand after you see it.

Aquarium

2011-05-29T13:06:00.005-06:00

Somehow, someway Jared and my mom convinced me to load up my three kiddos and make a 2 hour drive to Chattanooga and visit the Tennessee Aquarium. Let me just emphasize what a home body I am and how much stress ANY excursion puts on me.... So again, Im not sure how it happened but it happened. Overall, the trip was a success. The girls loved seeing the fish and all the people everywhere. They were able to stay on their same eating schedule. The naps in the car didn't go as well as I hoped, and they were incredibly tired when we got home just in time for baths and bed, as was Mimi, Jared and I. But it was fun to take the kids out and let them experience something as cool as an aquarium. However, it was over 90 degrees. Incredibly crowded due to Memorial Day visitors. And I felt like a pack mule as almost everything I owned was in the back of our pick up truck. I was prepared for ANYTHING! I was tired, sweaty, sore, hungry, and ready to pass out anywhere. But I honestly dont regret going. The girls had a ton of fun and we were able to take a trip with Mimi before Jared leaves on Wednesday. It was a great memory. Thanks Mimi for talking me into it!

Here are pictures of our trip and a video! Enjoy!

Let's go mom!

Cutest little twins around!

Whoa! What is that?!

Charlotte thought the fish swimming around was the most awesome thing!

Family Photo

First Mia was out...

Then Abigail... So cute.

We wore them smooth out! (And they wore us out too!) = )

Charli the Sailor Girl

2011-05-29T12:51:00.002-06:00

Charlotte has been making the silliest face lately. Whenever she is in the sun she squints up her eye and it is hilarious. She wont leave her sunglasses or a hat on so the poor girl just has to endure the sun. Well it makes for a funny picture anyway.

*As a side note, she has been making the same face indoors lately. So it now kind of has me worried that something is wrong with her eye. I'll be asking the doctor about it soon.*

I want....

2011-05-26T19:07:00.002-06:00

I want to wake up every morning to laughing babies, not crying ones.
I want to move into my own house, not a rented one.
I want to know exactly how to soothe my girls every time they throw a fit.
I want to feel, for at least 60 seconds, like I'm actually capable of taking care of three babies.
I want to get along with my husband every single day.
I want to not have to ever worry about anything and everything.
I want to be a culinary genius.
I want to never ever for one single moment begrudge my calling as a mother to triplets.
I want to have time enough to breathe in really deep and let it out. Then do it again.

Ok. Im done whining.

I got sunshine.

2011-05-26T18:53:00.005-06:00

They love playing outside. We lay out a blanket and their toys and give them a snack and water. They just have a ball. Its the simple things.

Me and Mama Mia

I just have so much fun with these three. Today I was on the floor with them and they just launched themselves at me. They were pulling my hair and climbing over me. They interact with me and each other so well now. Its a blast. They mimic what I do and they pull at each other's shirts to get whatever design is on them. Its just priceless.

Well it happened. I knew it would one day. And its here.... today. Charlotte stood up. Thats right folks. She can now stand herself up in her crib. I was just getting used to them crawling around and now she's standing up. I can not believe how fast this goes by.

almost there

2011-05-23T12:52:00.003-06:00

Just had to post very quickly that I lost 1.6 pounds this week! YEAH ME!! That means Ive lost just under 14 pounds!!! 16 pounds is my next goal, its 10% of my body weight. Then just a few more pounds to finish it off! Only 9 pounds total more to go! Sorry im just so excited Im getting so close to my goal weight!!!!

YEAH!

As a side note, can I just say this is what I looked like this time last year?! Very pregnant with triplets and only a little over a month till delivery. Now I have 10 month old triplets. Good grief. Time completely changes with a year.

Remembering

2011-05-23T07:49:00.003-06:00

Last night Jared and I watched a program on the discovery channel that was all about the tornados that swept through the south in April. I was brought to tears a few times just thinking about how close we came to having our lives completely destroyed. We actually had an F5 tornado behind our house. The meteorologists actually call that the finger of God. There was a story about a woman who was home alone and her three children were taking their afternoon nap. Her house was literally picked up and swirled around and dropped off a block away from its origins. Miraculously, she and her children were still alive.

It made me think about the awful feeling I had in my gut when Jared drove off to DC not two weeks before the tornados hit. It felt so wrong and I was just so depressed when he left. He was having the same feelings and decided to come home just a week after being there. He came back on a Sunday. The tornados came on Wednesday. Heavenly Father watches out for His children. There is no other reason to explain it. I was just so humbled watching this program thinking about how we had literally been spared. So very grateful for prayer and for the power of the priesthood. If an experience like that doesn't prove God exists.... nothing will.

Sweet girls

2011-05-19T07:45:00.002-06:00

Charlotte has learned to sit up in her crib. Its so sweet and yet frightening. Another thing to worry about... her falling out of the crib. She is also chewing all over her crib. Looks like a rat got a hold of it. HA!

Charlotte is also the best crawler of the bunch. She is so very mobile.

Mia is doing the cutest thing lately. She will ball her fists up and just grunt. She loves it when you do it back to her and it becomes the funniest game. This is Mimi doing it with her.

I have to get Abi doing her cute stuff on video too. That is my goal this week. HA! I seem to always have Charli and Mia on camera, but not Abi. Poor girl.

Ramblings of an exhausted mommy...

2011-05-18T20:38:00.003-06:00

Oh being a mother to three beautiful girls is NEVER a dull moment. Lately, the girls are rioting their naps AND aren't wanting to watch their movie they get in the morning after breakfast and in the evening during baths. Let me just say, before the judgement begins on putting my kiddos in front on the tv.... they are educational videos and they only serve a function so that I have time to eat breakfast myself AND keep the other girls entertained while I bathe someone. Now that they are boycotting these two activities I have just about zero time for myself or for rest. I think its just a phase, well HOPE it is anyway. Charlotte now has 6 teeth! Four on bottom and two on top. AND you can see that a third top one is coming in very soon. Unbelievable. She is also by far my most mobile. She just pulls herself around the entire room. Also, strangely enough, she has been rejecting the foods Im giving her. Starts gagging and everything. I think its official.... I have toddlers. Or at least pre-toddlers. Good grief. Mia and Abi are starting to get just as mobile. Mia and Charlotte can both sit up on their own really well. Abi still just doesn't care enough. They are starting to really play and interact with one another and ME. Its just the sweetest time. I can't believe we have almost survived the first year!

Im so tired right now I don't even know half of what Im saying so I will just let you enjoy the photos. Videos to come and hopefully more coherent writing. HA!

Charlotte just laughs when you tickle her belly! The best sound ever.

I love these two photos. Sweet Abigail wearing daddy's hat and just beaming at him. Precious.

Again with the flash, I know. I so don't get my camera AT ALL. But I just love these two girls. Abi is on the left, Mia is on the right CHEEZIN' it big time!

So funny but everyone wants to crawl under this chair in the living room. Like it has hidden treasure under it or something. We have pulled every one of the girls out from under it several times. Pretty cute though.

Abigail.

Mia

Charlotte

And finally, I came in the nursery around 630 and found Abigail like this. I just laughed so hard. She is one funny chick.

Vid-De-Os!! tehehe

2011-05-09T19:07:00.003-06:00

**Warning! Excessively ADORABLE girls following!**

Week something or other...

2011-05-09T18:34:00.002-06:00

Not sure what week im on and Im too lazy to look! haha I missed last weeks' weigh in due to the near death experience of the tornado and all. But I went today thinking I had gained for sure. I mentioned we scarfed down everything in our fridge and freezers to save what food we could and we ate out a ton because we didnt have electricity for 8 days. So I was expecting the worst.

HOWEVER! I lost 2 pounds!!! WHOA!!! I couldnt believe it! WHEW!

So Ive lost 11 1/2 pounds so far. 11 more to go! Half way there! Im TOO excited!

More beautiful girls.

2011-05-09T18:18:00.001-06:00

I know this pic of Abi is really bright cause of my flash but look how happy that baby is! I just love this picture. I must be doing something right.... haha

Ms. Mia Bia showin off her two teefers!

Charli was dancing and banging her hands on the tray for more food. She was being very silly at snack time today.

My girlies playing together. Notice Charlotte in the back in the crawling position. She's SO ready to get moving! She's almost there!

Beautiful girls!!

2011-05-09T12:54:00.003-06:00

Sleepy girls! We put Abi in Mia's crib that morning to play. Mia wasn't sure she liked it. HA

Abi-left Mia-right.

Mia is trying to crawl in her crib. They are all SO close! She has the craziest morning hair too by the way. HA!

Charlotte getting Poppy lovin.

Abi is really into fish faces these days. We read "Brown Bear" to the girls a lot and make a fish face when reading about the goldfish. Abi just loves it! She is pretty much always making the fish face! haha

So much to catch up on

2011-05-09T12:43:00.004-06:00

A lot has happened in the past week or two. Let me catch you up.

My dad left on Sunday for Iraq. He will be gone until September or possibly as long as December. It was so sad to say goodbye to him yet again.... Sophie is seriously in depression. She mopes around all day and just sleeps. So sad.

Also, the girls are getting so much more mobile. They "crawl" all over the place. Charlotte even has 4 teeth now. Two top and two bottom. And Abigail has one of her top ones coming in. They are just getting too big so fast!

And finally, the big news, our family is on the road again. This time, we are heading to Houston! Jared was offered a great job from our amazing friends as a branch manager for Stampede Pest Control. Good things: Im only 3 hours from my sister! Jared gets to do what he's been wanting to do! In 2-3 years we HOPEFULLY will be able to transfer to San Antonio and buy a house! I will be back in Texas! Bad things: we have to leave our home here in Alabama with my parents. We have to move EVERYTHING and three babies 13 hours away. Jared will be working full time and he won't be able to help very much at all with the girls anymore. So Im scared. I so wish Jared would've been able to find a job here in Alabama. That for sure would have been my first choice. But something about moving to DC just didn't feel right to me. Houston feels much better. We both agreed it was just the better situation for our family at this time. I hope all goes well with this new adventure. Im trying to find a place to live right now and then we will be on the move. Im thinking about 2-3 weeks we will be in Houston. SCARY!

One week and counting.

2011-05-04T08:45:00.003-06:00

At exactly 1130 this morning it will be one week without power here in Alabama. The first couple of days we didn't have ANYTHING! Now that we have a generator we have most stuff. Except we don't have heat or AC, the use of the oven or microwave and our dryer. So we can't wash clothes, cause we can't dry them. And we are cooking everything on the grill, which is actually very tasty (and healthy).

Monday was super hot. In the 80s and muggy cause it was getting ready to rain (you southerns know what Im talking about). And without AC it was INCREDIBLY miserable! Yesterday and last night it was freezing cold. In the 40s. So now I have jackets on the girls and in my sweats. Crazy. The news said last night that 95% of residents will have power by this morning. The other 5% won't because they were the closest to the tornado damage.... guess what percentage I fall under.... Yep! That 5%. Hopefully it wont be too much longer. Im running out of clothes.

Also, unrelated, my girls' pictures are finally ready from their 9 month photo session. Just go to this link www.amybostonphotography.photoreflect.com and click on Ashlee Toone at the top.

HOORAY!!

2011-05-02T08:58:00.003-06:00

In the midst of the storms down here, we are all celebrating the death of this awful man. Usama Bin Laden is DEAD! HOORAY! Its a historical day and a wonderful omen to the progress we are making on the war on terror. He masterminded the September 11th attacks and was the most wanted man in America. And we finally got him. Great day for America!!! Hooo Raaa Seals!!!

Pictures

2011-05-01T10:13:00.005-06:00

*If you click on the pic, you can enlarge it.*

Entire homes, gone. Our road, Capshaw, was hit the worst in this county. If you leave to go to the store or anything, when you come back you have to show your drivers' license that you actually live on this street to a policeman. They are guarding the entrances so that spectators can't look around and hinder the clean up crew. Its insane.

Why we wont be getting power back anytime soon. This is everywhere.

Funnel clouds.

This sight will seriously put the fear in you.

Our tree line today. About half of it is gone.

Our neighbors. You can see the trees that blocked the street all the way up.

So many trees down. You can see that they are still leaning in one direction. Toward the tornado.

This guy got a tree into the back of his house. Luckily, no one was hurt and its still livable conditions.

The Day of the Tornados...

2011-05-01T09:11:00.003-06:00

You have all seen the news by now and know about the insane bout of tornados Alabama experienced on Wednesday. This is what happened at our home (its a long one).

We knew we would get some pretty good storms that day and possibly a tornado. The weather was windy and dark from the start. Around 11 am I thought I better put the bottles on to warm in case the electricity goes out. We carried the girls outside to see the crazy weather rolling in and play with Sophie a bit. They loved the wind blowing. It was fun. We went back inside because we could see the lightening over the trees. I was playing with the girls on the floor and Jared went back outside to take pictures. At 1130 I could hear..... nothing..... silence. But the coloring was off. Green. I had seen it before. And lightening was everywhere. I told Jared to get back in the house. From the window we watched. Then, you could see it. You could see the black spot behind the trees. Jared said, I think we need to get into the hallway. Then you could hear it, the hail, mother natures last warning that a tornado is eminent. I said, yep its here. Jared grabbed two babies. I grabbed the other and sophie and ran into our hallway. Lights went out. Sophie was freaking out but the girls were more confused than anything. You knew exactly when it was here. The pressure in the air changed. Even though every window was shut and the doors were closed, wind came gushing under the doorway. It was cold. The hail sounded like a hundred men with nail guns on our roof. The wind noise was like being surrounded by those huge fans you hear in gyms. I started questioning if we picked the safest place in the house. Jared must have too cause he suggested we run to the half bath in my parents hallway. I agreed and we picked up our most precious possessions and made a run for it. Closed the door and played patty cake with the girls......... It was over.

It was almost exhilarating. Jared's first tornado. Gives you an adrenaline rush. Then we looked outside. Our patio furniture (heavy iron) knocked over. Trees completely uprooted. People's random things in our yard. And that was just 1130 am.

Electricity still out. My parents came home at 400 pm. It had been raining on and off. Mom says, its no where near over. She was right. You could hear the tornado sirens going off at different times throughout the day. Turns out those were all tornados near the area. Dad and Jared were outside surveying the sky and boiling water to warm the bottles on the grill. Mom and I were grumbling about how we would probably miss American Idol tonight. The sirens go off again. You could see it. You could hear it. Another one was here. We grabbed the girls, blankets, pillows, and put on our shoes (always put your shoes on, you could be walking on glass when its over.) All 8 of us (sophie included) huddled into the tiny half bath. Dad said, if the roof goes put the girls on the floor and huddle over them. It was the first time I have ever seriously panicked about having three babies and only one of me. I didn't have enough arms to hold onto them. Luckily, this one didn't sound as bad as the first. But the damage was clear. More trees gone. Shingles from roofs falling from the sky. Telephone lines down. And that was only the second one.

We barely got our bearings from the second one when the radio (battery operated) was telling about yet another one heading toward Limestone County. This one was two little cells that formed into a "supercell." It will be a big one. 600 pm. We saw this one forming. From a very short distance you could see debris whirling around in mid air. Huge, heavy things that looked like bits of roof and walls. Dad came running inside saying Its here! Again to the bathroom. This one was the worst. Our home withstood the insane punishment. I held my baby tight and prayed.... It was over. This one landed less than 1/2 a mile from our home. The tree line was cut in half. Entire subdivisions and neighborhoods disappeared. Trees on top of neighbors' roofs. There were no words.

The tornados were gone; it was completely black. The stars were out so bright that night though. You could hear chainsaws everywhere. People trying to claim back what was left of their home. Ambulance sirens. Police sirens. The mass devastation was palpable. The next day we were able to survey our own damage to our home.... Nothing. Not one shingle was missing. >Humbled Silence< Not one window was broken. It was a miracle. Nothing short of a miracle. Just a block from our home was an entire neighborhood that no longer exists. Its just gone. Alabama lost over 250 people that day. Looking around at entire homes that vanished, its obvious that if the last tornado had shifted its tracks even the tiniest bit, that humble little bathroom we hunkered in wouldn't have had a prayer. My family was protected that day. My home was too. We still don't have power. But thanks to our amazing family in Georgia we were able to get a hold of a generator (yes we had to go to Georgia to get one. There are none left in Alabama or Tennessee). So we have hot water, lights, even tv if you can believe it. But just look out the window and you can see my neighbors still trying to literally find and pick up their lives. Its truly humbling.

If you get NOTHING ELSE from this post! Please! please! please! get prepared! Start getting your food storage. Start stocking up on things like toilet paper, paper towels, water, propane ovens, ect ect. Because you cant get your hands on those things when the devastation hits. I promise you that. It will happen again. To someone. Be prepared. Get prepared!