Our Little Pumpkins 1st Birthday Party

Well, now that's is over, I can say all in all it was a success. The babies loved their cupcakes and they were in baby heaven when we got home and could play with all their new toys. I cannot say however that it all went smoothly, mostly thanks to me.

The party was at Schnepf farms, who every year hosts a pumpkin and chili party. There are rides, a petting zoo, a train, pumpkin patch, face painting, etc. What a perfect location for an October birthday party, especially when the theme is "Little Pumpkins". The plan was I would leave early and take all the decorations, cupcakes, etc. with me. Tommy would leave later and get there a half  hour before the party starts with the babies. I did leave early and got their on time. The place was already very busy though and I had to make several trips back and forth to the car to get everything unloaded and then go find parking. Once I got to our reserved area, I check my phone and it is 11am. 30 minutes before the babies are supposed to get here, and hour before the party starts at noon. I receive a text from Tommy saying that he cannot find the keys. I check my purse and sure enough, I have BOTH sets of keys, which means he has no way to get there with the babies and we live about 45 minutes away. OMG!!!

The next few minutes were sheer panic, I admit I was a tad stressed at this point and also VERY mad at myself. Luckily, my mom and Maureen and Dennis arrived  at the same time and they could drive Tommy the keys, of course, given the distance, the babies would still be late to their own party.

The babies finally arrived at 1pm, an hour after the party started. Good thing we were at a farm full of stuff for people to do so they did not all have to sit and wait for the guests of honor. In addition to their late arrival (thanks to me), Mickey got sick right when they pulled in and threw up all over his birthday pants. They were, unsavable, to say the least. In all the commotion, Tommy had forgotten a second set of clothes. Oops! So, Mickey arrived pant less. At least the birthday shirt was spared.

 

After that, it was just non stop fun for everyone. The babies were loving all the attention. The girls looked beautiful in their tutus. They all got lots of toys and clothes. All 3 babies helped unwrap the presents, but mostly Jolynne who never likes to miss a thing.

The cupcakes were the most fun to watch. Mickey started in before we had a chance to light the candles and sing happy birthday and then he knocked his first cupcake on the ground, so he tried to take his sisters, then we gave him a second one and he knocked that on the ground too. He was a complete mess but atleast he did not have a tutu on, because the girls had orange icing all over their tutus.

Mickey had one more vomiting episode and threw up all over James. He seemed a little tired but it had been a chaotic morning so I was not to worried at the time. We found out the next day when day care called, he was much sicker. Our poor boy had a stomach virus and an ear infection. But, like I said that did not stop him from enjoying 2 cupcakes.

Schnepf farms was a beautiful fall location. I had Caketini in Gilbert make the babies cupcakes and  the cake pops, and then I made all the other cupcakes myself, which for those of you that know me, know I don't bake. Anything for my babies! I was able to find a cute pumpkin design on Etsy where I could make the banner myself and the cupcake toppers. It all came together nicely, but next year, we may be at home. That way, I cant forget the keys and the babies cant be late to their own party.

Thank you so much to all our friends and family that came and helped us celebrate and showered the babies with love on their special day. Special thanks to Maureen for helping me decorate and not stress out, to my mom and Dennis for driving the keys back to Tommy, to Christie and Kendall and Holland for taking such great pictures and keeping the babies entertained, and to James for being such a good sport when Mickey threw up his lunch on you. But especially thanks to my wonderful husband. I am pretty sure I had a few momzilla moments while planning this party. Thank you honey for being so patient, keeping it real, and helping me think outside my detail oriented mind when things did not go as planned. After all, its not the details that made the day so special but the people we shared it with and the babies, who were the reason for it all.

Happy Birthday again to Georgia, Joylnne and Mickey. I love you more than anything.

Walk to Defeat ALS

Every year, we walk to defeat ALS in my dads memory. There is not to many times any more that I actually talk about what happened to him. I like to focus on the good memories and the good times with him, and all the wonderful things about my dad rather than the way in which he had to leave the world. And I could probably write a book about all of it really. There is too much to say that will not fit into a simple blog entry.

But I will say that as a child to watch their father suffer the way he did was almost unbearable and the last couple nights, watching this man who I thought was made of steal, slip away from us after only 4 months of being diagnosed with ALS, is something that I am still not completely over and probably never will be. You see, we don't know what causes ALS and we don't know why certain people get it. There is evidence that it could be from repeat trauma to the head, like from playing sports, which my dad did and he had many concussions when he was younger, but further research needs to be done. Once they find out what causes it, we can work on finding out how to cure it. But until then, it is a death sentence. If you get ALS, you will die. And I am being very blunt about it because it is reality and it was my dads reality and it was our families reality, and it always will be to some extent.

Raising money for ALS will not bring my dad back but he did say after the one walk that he participated in that it was the best day he had since being diagnosed. All those people walking and cheering, full of hope, full of determination, brought him hope. And so we do it every year because there are so many that are still suffering and every minute, more people are getting diagnosed. That being said, it is very hard on me emotionally because as I mentioned earlier, I would rather focus on the happy times, and the walk brings up a lot of not so happy memories from when my dad was sick. I am not sure if I will be able to continue doing it the future, but it was important to me that my babies were there this year.

We could not keep the people away and I should have counted how many people asked to take their picture. Definitely a first for me to get that much attention because of them. I mean we get it, but this was just crazy. The nice thing about it was though, the people would then ask my tie to ALS, and who was George and I get to tell them that he was my dad and that this little baby Georgia is his granddaughter and she is named after him. It really was special.

The babies did great as usual. There was no crying at all. They were all smiles. Then right towards the end of the walk, Georgia and Mickey fell asleep in the wagon. It was adorable!!! Jolynne was not tired at all, she was ready to play with everyone and no way was she going to miss out on anything!

Our team raised $445 and the total raised by all teams was $306,343.88 and they are still accepting donations. Thanks again to everyone that supported us this year and especially to those that donate and walk with us every year. To me that says you truly understand the importance of why we do it and it means the world to us.

Making Time For Each Other

I feel strong enough about this subject that I wanted to inject my thoughts into my wife’s blog. We have triplets – infant triplets, no less – and that makes our life like organized chaos at times. There are schedules and routines. The babies require a lot of attention. Georgia, Mickey, and Jolynne are absolute treasures and I love doing everything with them. One of the best feelings in the world is when I walk into the nursery in the morning and they are all awake (talking to each other and happy) when suddenly they realize Dad is there…and they all grin ear to ear. The babies do take a lot of energy out of you and there are times at night when I am so exhausted all I want to do is sit in a chair and not think/do/say anything. Honestly, the physical exhaustion reminds me of being at West Point and trying to find pockets of time when I didn’t have to go do anything. Those moments were crucial to staying sane. Those are the times, though, when I try to do things for my wife. I will often rub her feet (ok, sometimes she has to ask me); I try to ensure the house is cleaned up, dishes are put away, laundry done, and formula made so she doesn’t have to worry about it; and I try to make her feel attractive because she is so incredibly amazing in every way.

            We recently went across the country with everyone and had a ton of help. It was quite a bit of fun and we were able to create memories that will endure the rest of our lives. We were able to take the babies to the beach a few times and spend a lot of time together. However, there were also commitments for us without the babies. My wonderful mother-in-law was sweet enough to come to Florida with us and watched the babies so we could visit with the bride/groom at their house (we went there specifically for their wedding – Kara being the Matron of Honor). We were able to go on a dinner cruise for the rehearsal dinner. My parents came in that night to also help with the babies and spend time with us. Saturday night I went to the wedding with Linda (my mother-in-law) and we joined Kara who was already there. That’s three nights essentially without the babies. It isn’t easy and would not have been possible without three grandparents and my sister (Ryan) joining us. Yet, incredibly, I still get asked by people how we’re able to do those things. Really? I didn’t realize it was a secret but here goes…It takes planning and work, but I don’t believe our “To-Do” list is only the babies.

            It has become almost cliché for couples who become parents to suddenly stop doing all the things they used to do together before kids. To a large extent it is true. Kara and I used to go out to eat literally every Friday night. There are lots of little things we could do that are simply not an option when you have kids. We understood that going into this adventure and we firmly believe the babies are the absolute number one thing in the world to us. But do you know what #2 is? It is my wife…and our marriage. I believe our marriage is important enough that we need to still make time for each other. I enjoy having 20 minutes of uninterrupted conversation each day…I like having long conversations with her every week. With good planning and a solid support system, we like to occasionally have overnights by ourselves every few months. It is also part of our plan to have a few weekends to ourselves every year.

            I didn’t get married for just for heck of it…I didn’t get married because of any pressures to do so…I didn’t get married for any reason other than the fact that I think Kara is the most unbelievable woman I had ever met (and still is) and I couldn’t imagine my life without her. I plan to keep making her know that, any chance I can. And that is going to occasionally mean the babies will be with someone else so we can spend time together just the two of us. In the long-run, our marriage will be healthier and stronger…which will lead to happier times at home and happier babies/kids/teenagers. So I guess the short answer to the question of how do parents of infant triplets get out of the house and go do stuff together is this: we make it a priority and utilize the wonderful family/support network we are fortunate to have. No secret formula to it…planning and committing to it. So for everyone reading this blog, whether you have kids or not (or whether your kids are grown up and not there every day) – whatever the situation happens to be – make time for your significant other. I do…and will continue to do so.

Our 1st Family Vacation, Part 2: Babies first time at the beach

It is indescribable how wonderful it was to take the babies to the beach. I grew up living about 20 minutes from the ocean and it is something I miss a lot now that we live in the desert. There are things I love about Arizona as well, but nothing can match the beauty and calmness of the ocean, and the peacefulness of it all.

Getting to the beach, like the airport was a bit of a process. Luckily, it was walking distance down this sand trail behind the house. We decided again to bring the strollers because the sand was fairly firm on the trail, which was a mistake because we got sand all over the wheels and it was challenging to get the strollers through certain patches. We lathered the babies up in sun screen and cover ups and brought some toys for them to play with. We sat them on the sand and immediately they started crawling and rolling around in the sand. It was very difficult for them to stay put. The sand was like white powder, nothing like what I was used to in California. It reminded me of the Bahamas. The babies scooped the sand in their hands and crumbled it in between their fingers. Jolynne tried to eat it. For that reason we choose to take them closer to the water where it would be harder to pick up handfuls of sand because it was so wet. We sat all three babies right on the edge of the water and watched their little faces as the water came up around their feet and little baby butts. They blinked a few times and stared down in amazement. What is this stuff and where did it come from? They continued to play with their toys, splash the water and crawl around the sand like little explorers.

We were able to take them to the beach at least twice during our vacation and out to dinner a few times. It was so wonderful to be together as a family. Something I have dreamed of my whole life and I thought about frequently during my pregnancy. I can't wait to take the babies so many places and this is just the beginning.

We were in Florida for a wedding though and I had other responsibilities while I was there as the Matron of Honor, a role I take very seriously. I take most of the roles I have in life very seriously, including being a  mother, a wife, a daughter, a sister and a friend. The younger me, maybe not so much, but Ive loved and lost and learned a lot about life along the way. The babies are and always will be my number 1 priority (there should be no question about that but based on a few comments, I sense there might be) Luckily, with the help of our family, Tommy and I are able to balance other important relationships in our lives as well, including our closest friends once in a life time occasion and our own relationship.  The next blog on this subject will be written by my husband. I will let him explain but for now, a few pictures of the babies beach experience. It was such a beautiful day.

Our 1st Family Vacation, Part 1: Traveling with 10 month old triplets.

We just got back from an amazing vacation, our first as a family. This trip was a very special one for me because it was so that I could be the Matron of Honor in my best friends wedding. Well really,we are more like sisters. So I wanted more than anything to bring the babies to meet her family and her daughter and my mom to meet her mom. Luckily my mom was able to join us and go with , as well as, Tommy's parents and sister to help us with the babies and enjoy some time in the beautiful Siesta Key.

Getting there was easier than we imagined. We were a little terrified at the thought of a 4 and a half hour plane ride with 10 and a half month old triplets but the babies did so great. The biggest part of the process was getting through the airport with all of our stuff. We decided to bring 3 umbrella strollers instead of the long triplet stroller because we were not sure it would fit in our rental car and because it breaks apart into 4 separate pieces when you fold it up. We thought taking 3 little strollers with 3 of us would be easier, but looking back, I wish we had taken our chances with the triplet stroller. We also had a large cart to push carrying all our carry on bags and 3 car seats, so one of us was pushing 2 strollers. They moved pretty well but the problem more came on the way back, which I will explain later. You would think we might have gotten a little less attention with the 3 strollers instead of the triplet one but it didn't really make a difference. The babies received lots of oohs and aahs and my mom was loving every minute of it. It was fine actually, no one was rude and everyone was very helpful.

Going through security was fairly easy. My mom who is a principal at a local Charter School ran into someone that works in security whose kids used to attend her school, so we still had to have all our liquids checked but it was quick and easy. My mom is always running into people she knows. That's why we bring her with...ha ha. Just kidding mom! We did bring a cooler with 6 bottles, 3 for the take off and 3 for the landing. We also had one serving of baby food for each baby for the middle of the flight and all their medications. We used these ice blocks you can buy at target and freeze to keep everything cold since you cant bring ice through security.

Getting on the plane was pretty easy too. There were extra seats available so all the babies got to ride in their car seat. We had to sit in three separate rows because car seats have to be by a window and only 1 car seat per row. Jolynne was with me, Georgia with my mom and Mickey was with Tommy. The babies had their bottles during take off and Mickey and Jolynne fell asleep right away. Georgia decided she wanted to stay up and play for awhile with my mom but fell asleep mid flight. None of the babies cried and they behaved so well. The flight attendants were very helpful with helping us install the car seats and get situated.

When we got there Christina was waiting for us. There was little confusion and no cart to carry our stuff so we had a to use a wheel chair to carry the car seats, and though we did have some trouble installing them in the mini van we rented, it all worked out. We got the beach villa around 8:30pm. The babies were up until probably 10:30pm that night and I don't think ever fully adjusted to the time change or their new surroundings. Although they did well during the days, the nights were a little rough and they did not sleep well the entire trip. I think part of the problem was the cribs we rented were porta cribs, a little small, as the babies are borderline to big for them now compared to when I placed the order.

The house itself was very nice. 3 levels, a garage and entry level, and main floor with kitchen and living area and the 3rd level had 3 bedrooms and 2 bathrooms. The biggest concern was it was all tile so we had to be very careful carrying the babies up and down the stairs and making sure the floor was covered where they played. There was also a lot of big heavy furniture so we really had to keep a close eye on them. Mickey and Jo really like to crawl underneath things and they even tried to get into the fireplace so we blocked it off with pillows.

I cant wait to write about the babies first trip to the beach and other adventures. Stay tuned for Part 2 of this blog and Part 3 where I will talk about the difficulties of getting home from Tampa.

We had a ALOT of stuff!

 

Just got through security..

 

 

Mickey crawling to mommy!

 

And gazing out the window....

 

Jo sleeping on the plane...

 

 

Hanging around the house!

The joys, the pains, life with 10 month old triplets!

Its been awhile since I have posted. The older they get, the busier I get, which for the most part is amazing. I am in awe of them.Their silliness, their smiles, their laughter, their babbles, their funny faces and even their cries. I am complete mush and wrapped around everyone of their little fingers. Lately, as they have been hitting so many milestones, they have also been very sick, with lots of viruses and ear infections which makes it difficult for Tommy and I to take them out anywhere. The weekend of their baptism, we were planning on attending our friend Aly's 1st birthday but they were sick. There was also a Club Med family picnic that I attended on my own due to the babies being sick. So disappointing but I know there will be other opportunities to get them out and around in the future.

The constant ear infections and colds are really starting to take their toll. Its all part of the deal, I understand but so hard on them and us. When they are sick they are very clingy and when there is just one of us, and three clingy babies, well you can imagine the amount of tears...and broken ear drums. We are spending a large amount of money every week on doctor visits, seems like we are there at least twice a week with one or more babies, and it is taking us away from work as well which is frustrating. Did I mention we pay the day care even when they are not there for sick days and right now on average they are there 2-3 days a week, so we might as well be part time day care, but we pay for full time.

When the babies have fevers we have to make sure to keep their pain and fevers under control with Tylenol or Advil. Georgia's fever was103.7 one night. When they get high like that we give them baths even if it disrupts their sleep and they sleep in our room. We wake them every couple hours to check their temps. Lots of nights where sleep is just not an option. Then we try to go to work the next day and act like a normal functioning person. Ha Ha. Luckily, I think I am used to it at this point. If I can make it through the first few months they came home, I can make it through this. The worst part is seeing them so upset and in pain and not being able to help. I just want want my babies to feel better.

On a more positive note, Mickey is crawling now and he is all over the place.. I am terrified for what lies ahead. He has also started pushing his sisters over and laughing and crawling on top of them and growling like a bear. Oh boy are we in trouble! I think when they get older the girls are going to be pretty tough considering everything they went through in the NICU and having such a rambunctious brother.

Georgia is the only one not crawling yet but she is very close. Won't be long now. They have started eating some finger foods and drinking from sippy cups. I cant believe in a little over a month they will be a year. What a life changing, wonderful year it has been.

I will end this post with some pictures from the baptism on August 26th when they turned 10 months., A very special day for us. The minister was so honored to do their baptism and her first triplets. She almost couldn't talk she was so excited and in awe of the babies. The sermon was titled "grief works". How appropriate and really struck me. A very powerful message about how everyone grieves differently and because of love we feel loss. But grief works and even when we think we cant get through something, we do. She even quoted Simon and Garfunkel and I knew my dad was there. Just as I knew he was there when I brought all three babies home from the hospital. Anyway, my point is it was a perfect day. We are so very blessed!

 

Coming soon - More from Georgia, Jolynne and Mickey as they take their first plane ride, their first beach trip and their first trip to Sedona. Sure to be lots of fun times ahead and lots of great memories to blog about!

9 Months Later

On July 26th, the triplets turned 9 months old. Its so hard to believe. They are growing and changing every day right before our eyes and a few short months from now they will be a year old. You would never guess they went through what they did. They are so cheerful and curious and full of life.

At 9 months, Georgia is 18 pounds 3 ounces. Her length is 25 and 3/4 inches and her head is 16 and 3/4 inches. Georgia has become the talker as of late. She is always chatting with us about something while she is eating, bathing and just hanging out. She is sitting very well and likes to roll around on the play mat. Recently she is learning how to hold the sippy cup and pick up pieces of food and bring it to her mouth. Georgia has two teeth on the bottom but we think more are on their way very soon. She's a very smart baby and we think her first word is ba ba (bottle). What a surprise!

Jolynne, our peanut, is 16 pounds 8 ounces. Her length is 25 inches and her head is 16 and 1/2 inches. Jolynne is the mover of the bunch. She scoots all over the house. She loves scooting up to the dog and the back door and staring out the window. She has also recently discovered the doggie door. Luckily we keep it covered and there is no way she can get through. I'm sure she would try if she could. Jo sits very well also and loves taking her sister and brothers toys. She can do this because she can move towards them and they have not figured out how to move away. The dog has though, she has to chase after him, scooting of course, I think Pepper is scared of her. Jo finally got her first tooth on bottom last week. At her last appointment with her surgeon, he was blown away by her progress and we were told she didn't have to come back for a year. We are slowly weaning her onto regular formula and all her tummy issues are almost behind her.

Mickey is 17 pounds, 10 ounces. He is 27 inches long and his head is also 17 inches. He is much longer than his sisters. Mickey likes to flail his arms and legs everywhere. He loves to stand on his legs, assisted of course. Sometimes I wonder if he will walk before he crawls. He gets frustrated because he wants to crawl but cant figure it out. He will get into position on his belly and then swing his arms and legs but not pushing himself anywhere, and then he puts his down and starts to cry. I feel so bad because he wants to move so badly! Mickey gets a kick out of watching his sisters. He has the most teeth. He has two on bottom and he just got two more on top on the side. Mickey's reflux has gotten so much better. We only have to give the prevacid every other day and it is half the dose. Sometimes I think the girls have worse reflux than he does at this point. My how the tables have turned!

Our triplets have adjusted well to day care. They start playing immediately when they get there. Its pretty awesome to see the smiles on their faces when we come in at the end of the day. They all got their first colds a couple of weeks ago and I joined them. Their daddy was spared somehow. Jolynne had it the worst and was teething at the same time so we had a few sleepless nights that week. We officially switched out their infant car seats for some convertible car seats a couple weeks ago. I was looking back at how tiny they were in those infants car seats when we brought them home from the hospital. its crazy that 7 months later they had really outgrown them. They were too heavy for me to carry and we had such a hard time squeezing them in and out. They are much more comfortable now. August and September we have lots of family activities planned. The babies will be baptized on August 26th and then in September, we have our first family vacation. Its a very special one to because we are going to Florida so that I can be the Matron of Honor in my best friends wedding. We have rented a house on the beach and it will be the babies first time (obviously). Then when we get back from Florida we are headed to Sedona and Oak Creek Canyon. Lots of firsts coming up! Can't wait to share the wonderful memories we continue to create together as they grow.

How sweet - Mickey and Jo holding hands.

My girls!

Playing with their new balls