Feeling a little self indulgent....

I read a blog from this triplet mom pretty much religiously. Her kids are almost a year older than mine and its fascinating to me to see what I have to look forward to in the future and see how she handles certain situations. Anyway, I was reading up on it today and she posted all these yummy recipes that she had made that week. She loves to cook and I dont know how but she still manages to create these awesome meals.

So that all seems pretty random, I know. But it got me thinking about the parts of me Ive "given up" or put on hold since the girls have come into my life. Im a natural home body. I am perfectly fine renting a movie and ordering take out as a date opposed to getting dressed up and fighting crowds. Ive always been that way, except during that Robert phase, but anyway. So not being able to go out now doesn't bother me too much. My parents have been my best friends most of my life so Im not missing out on "hanging with the girls." Never really did that growing up either. I dont miss school, which took up 90% of my life before the girls. So it would seem nothing has changed with the girls being here.... hahaha

But I miss cooking. I love(d) to cook. I loved making different things with all the clean up. I would find all kinds of recipes for different occasions. Now, I hate cooking.... Hate it.... I hate the clean up, the prep work, the grocery store, planning a weeks worth of meals. I am so exhausted by the time I get the girls down at 7, then I have to make dinner for Jared and me. Then clean it up. After Ive been cleaning up all day long. Anyway, thats my life now and whatever. But I just hate that I dont like to cook anymore. I miss that freedom and TIME when I had to spend hours in the kitchen doing something fun, and not scrubbing peas off the wall. This girl whose blog I read puts her kids to bed around 5 or 6, so she still has "daylight" I guess to play in the kitchen, but at the end of the day I would rather sit, relax, and watch something pointless on tv instead of being in the kitchen creating another mess.

I love my girls more than anything. I know a lot of moms worry about losing themselves or aspects of themselves being so involved in motherhood. I've never had that fear. I guess there's not much about me that I thought would change once I became a mom. But this, I didn't expect. And I honestly think once the girls are a bit older they will be able to be in the kitchen with me, making messes together and learning and oh Im so excited for that stage. But right now, I hate being in that kitchen making 6 meals a day (the girls get their own separate meals) and then cleaning them up. AGH! It just made me sad thinking about something that I used to enjoy is now my least favorite thing to do.

Moving on now...

My baby girls

*Please dont let your child play with plastic bags!* haha She is only allowed to do that under my strict supervision! I promise.

Rain, Rain Go Away, Come Again Another Day. Little Mia Wants to Play!

We've had a whole week of rain. And its not like the girls go out and play in the front lawn or anything but it sure has put a halt on our daily walks around the neighborhood. We've ran a few errands so we've gotten out of the house a little. Surprisingly, they've acted ok. Ive tried to keep them entertained as much as I physically can. They loved it when I put on a video of theirs, pulled out their special chairs, popped popcorn and make a soy/fruit smoothie. Loved it! haha They thought that was such a treat. First time they've had popcorn as a snack. In the meantime we run up to the windows when the rain is coming down and watch it for a little while. Then we hide in our tents so we dont get wet! haha They are so much fun (as long as they aren't biting each other or hitting each other in the head with legos....)

Oh Charlie Bean.... this child is so much work. She is by far my most "into everything" child. Recently they all have learned how to climb on the couch whenever they want. Which is fine, really. Except for this Bean. Now she wants to climb on all the limbs and the back of the couch, which she KNOWS is NOT allowed. In all honesty, it took everything I had not to bust out laughing during this whole episode though...

She climbs on the couch, so proud of herself, smiling. I smiled back and said "good job Bean!" She then, with her smile and eyes still on me, stands up and straddles the arm of the couch. I said "No baby, dont sit on the couch that way." So she stands up again, and (with smile and eyes still on me) proceeds to climb up the back of the couch and then HANGS OFF THE BACK! I look at her, holding in my laughter, and said "You're going to fall Charlotte and it will hurt. I told you not to do that" She's looking at me and all i can see are her eyes and fingers hanging on. It looks like she's hanging on a cliff. She KNEW she had gotten herself in a pickle. So being the sweet, rational mom I am, I grab the camera instead of her. I wanted her to figure this one out hoping it would deter her in the future.... she landed in the box of stuffed animals. She just laughs like "Oh yeah!" Little stinker!

done? or dumber?

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

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

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....

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!

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

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

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

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!