Time for a little something more

Cole (a.k.a. "Frank the tank") has been getting cereal in his nighttime bottle for a few weeks now. After a rather long night in CT when Cole consumed 16 oz of formula (8 at bedtime and 8 at midnight) we decided we needed to "thicken up" that last bottle. During the day, though, he still has been getting 6-7 oz. every 4 hours.

HOWEVER...

Saturday, he started fussing 3 hours after a 7 oz. bottle. ARE YOU KIDDING? In the words of "Cool Shannon", Cole's ready for "Surf & Turf". Since I was a tad frustrated, I decided to attempt cereal. He was so hungry, I had to give him 4 ounces of formula just to calm him down first. I put him in the highchair (that he fills quite nicely, unlike A & E). Then I gave him about a dozen spoonfuls of cereal. I've no idea how much actually was consumed but a good deal of it dribbled down his chin & onto the bib.

I'll be honest, I'm scared out of my wits for the move toward cereal! I love the schedule of bottles. I'm used to the routine! With my other two kids, the cereal switch wasn't a big deal...you just adjusted the feeding schedule based on how long it was before they were hungry again. As far as how much they were given, well, I just gave them spoonfuls until they turned away. But now we're talking 3! Where do I start? How much do I give? How often? All three at once? One at a time? One bowl & spoon? Three bowls and spoons? Do they get a bottle as a chaser? An hors d'oeuvre?

For now, the saving grace is E. With all his extra needs, I'm not even attempting to make the switch now. BUT...if in the coming weeks, you don't see me very often...it's because I just couldn't hack the stress of the change...I'm at home, in a dark corner, curled in a ball, rocking back and forth, humming "Mary Had a Little Lamb"...

Murphy...gotta love him!

Have you ever felt like "just one thing" can't go wrong at a time? I guess that's Murphy's Law, right? Well, today, Eli was the unfortunately recipient of good ole Murphy! For awhile now, he's been a little under the weather...coughing, congested, wheezing a little, but it's January. This is what happens in the winter. Kids get colds. And thanks to the FDA, there's now nothing Mom's can do about it...until the child is 2 (& even then, it's questionable). So, aside from snorting saline drops, and a few random hits of Tylenol, I've just kept filling the humidifier and encouraging Eli that "this too shall pass". Even our nightly prayer time has become a little repetitive, "...and Lord, please help Eli to feel better in the morning...amen."

Last night, things just didn't seem right. Anyone who has had the privilege of meeting Mr. Eli knows that he smiles at the drop of a hat and rarely cries. Not last night. He was rubbing his head and face (okay, obviously I missed key sign #1...it was his EAR he was rubbing...hint hint) and when we put him down for bed he really protested (very unlike him...sign #2). Then this morning, when I got him out of bed (after sleeping through the night for 11 hours straight, let me add), he had "boogers" in his eye (sign #3). Silly me, I really thought it was just from his nose that he had smeared all the way up his face.

After a morning bath, he wouldn't let Lindsay or I leave him alone in a room. Not in the swing, the bouncy chair, the saucer, the jumper, the play yard, nothing...he just kept crying. That's when I called the doctor.

Sure enough, poor Mr. Eli has it all: ear infection, bronchial something or other (requiring the ever popular...now purchased...nebulizer), and a virus in his eyes (it's not pink eye, but might as well be). I left the doctor with 4 little pieces of paper in my hand and headed straight for the pharmacy.

As if life with triplets wasn't quite crazy enough (read: constant diaper changes, feedings every 4 hours, entertaining them and switching their toys every half hour or so) plus the addition of a Kindergartner and her homework and an almost 4 year old that is CONSTANTLY asking questions, we now need to add to Eli's daily routine the following:

Eye drops, both eyes, 3x/day for 7 days
Antibiotics, twice a day for 10 days
Nebulizer, every 3 hours, until the chest clears

And I'm supposed to keep all this straight HOW????

Super Dad!!!!!!!!!!!!!

This week, Shane had his annual trip to CES in Las Vegas. My mom came down to stay with us while he was gone. So between her and Lindsay, the kids and I were fine. The week seemed to fly by. Shane got home yesterday afternoon and we were ALL ecstatic to see him! Even the triplets seemed a little more hyper.

But this is where it gets good...

About an hour after getting home (souvenirs dutifully handed out). Shane decided he wanted to take the kids out so I could have some "alone time". He said he might take them to his parents, or even out to dinner. All of a sudden it hit me...he means all 5! Sure enough, he packed them all in the car, loaded in the stroller and grabbed the diaper bag. Before I knew it, he was pulling out to of the driveway...

...and there it was...

...silence.

Two hours later (around 7:30pm) they pulled back into the garage. All of them were accounted for...none were crying...not even Daddy. He had survived his first solo trip out with 5 kids! You'll never guess where he decided to go for his first outing...THE MALL! Yes, you read that right. Shane took the kids to the mall. I say he's the man!!!! Apparently, I'm not the only one, either. The 50 women that stopped him in the mall agreed! He said he only had two issues: 1) Zoe & Ty decided (at the same time) that they both had to go to the bathroom (the stroller doesn't quite fit in the family bathroom) and 2) the people at McDonald's struggled taking his order...they were distracted by the babies!

Road Trip!

Christmas is all about family, right? In the past, we've had our family time (the four of us) here, then moved on to Midland Park to Shane's parents. Then, when all was said and done, we'd drive up to CT Christmas night and have "Christmas Morning" there on the 26th. Even when they were in IL, Shane and I flew out on Christmas night...or maybe it was the 26th...I can't remember (but then again I can't remember what I had for dinner last night). It's tradition. And, it's a great way to get time with both families! Great plan...I think...

12/25/07...7am...

Only 3 kids awake, but 2 of them are not going to wait for presents! Predictably, the "Big Kids" loved all their presents. Shane LOVED his new drill (Men...give 'em a power tool and they're ecstatic. If I got a power tool for Christmas...I'd NOT be happy!) And the babies...well...they loved their bottles! =) Ava celebrated Christmas by rolling over! Now we're all officially rolling (although they choose not to use this skill very often).

10am...off to Midland Park...
More presents, more happy Big Kids, more oblivious babies!

With presents done at Nana & PopPop's, it's time to start thinking about the next step in the plan: CT. In the past 5 months, the furthest I've gone from my house is 20 minutes down 287 to the new Target. Shane ventured south to LBI with Z & T, but the triplets and I stayed home. But not for Christmas! I was determined to go to see my parents. I mean, it's not a third world country. If I forgot anything, they have a Walmart 5 minutes down the road! And with all their connections, Mom was able to get a bunch of the baby stuff on loan for our visit (i.e. a swing, a bouncy chair, an ultra saucer, an extra pack & play, etc.) The problem was, I hadn't packed anything ELSE yet...and packing for 5 kids and 2 adults for 2 nights in CT is no easy task. So, I sacrificed the post-presents nap and went home by myself and packed for an hour and a half. It's AMAZING how much you can get done when you're by yourself and you're used to having 5 others demanding your attention!

4pm...back to Midland Park...everything in the hallway for Shane to stuff into the car when we come home for the 15 minute "stuff switch" (i.e. dump the stuff from Nana & PopPop's and grab the stuff for Grammy & Granddad's). Made it back in plenty of time for dinner! =)

6:30pm...left MP and headed home...

7pm...on 287 headed north...kids all in PJs...

8:45pm (shhhh...it's supposed to take 2 hours, but Shane's a lead foot)...Made it to Grammy & Granddad's...

Not the most fun car trip I've ever taken up there, but not bad. The babies were great. Not a peep. Zoe & Ty, however, did the "are we there yet?" every 5-10 minutes! Ugh!!!!!!!! Our time in CT was great. The babies visited a bunch of their "supporters" and Zoe & Ty got some great time with Grammy & Granddad: Ice Skating, Kids' Museum, Hide & Seek, etc. We capped it all off with dinner at Uncle Tim's house. Z & T love Uncle Tim's cat...who hides the minute they get there...

Next year should be interesting...huh?

Madness of December

You might notice that there are not that many posts here in December. I guess it's the craziness of December: the card sending, the baking, the shopping, the wrapping, the decorating, the re-decorating after Z & T un-decorated, the eating, the caroling...oh wait...there wasn't any caroling! =) In all seriousness, I really made an effort to make this Christmas as "traditional" as possible. It's not a "Super Mom" thing, so don't even go there. Z & T are old enough now that they are really aware and interested in all the Christmas traditions. That includes Christmas Cookies. So, we baked them! For me, it means Christmas pictures, so we took them. For our family, it's Christmas Eve "appetizers", so we did. I just wanted this Christmas to feel normal. I could have sat back and said, "I just had triplets, we're not doing ANYTHING", but where's the fun in that? Instead, I only had a few meltdowns. And I have to say, looking back, I'm glad we did all that we did. (I'm chalking the meltdowns up to hormones!)

Both "big" kids did have Christmas "shows" and they were wonderful. But nothing held a candle to the Church production of the Pre-K class singing in front of the congregation (but we'll get to that later)...

Ty is in the Little Lambs program at my weekly CBS. The entire children's program retold the Christmas story and sang a few songs for the grownups. I didn't have high hopes, I must admit, since Ty wouldn't even keep the cute little lamb ears on last year. But this year, under a great teacher (thanks Salli) he dressed as a shepherd and kept the head-gear on the entire time. He and his buddy Myles are in the same class. They tend to goof off together (hard to imagine Ty as a goofball, I know) so Salli smartly separated them. However, once on stage, they managed to wiggle past all the girls between them so they could be next to each other. And yes, they even managed to goof off a little! Not too bad...

Zoe's class (along with the other Kindergarten class) presented Max Lucado's The Crippled Lamb at the last Chapel service before Christmas break. She was a little nervous before school that day, but was every excited, too. She did a great job! Even Daddy made it to the performance!

The Christmas Highlight, though, will be the WAG Pre-K class' rendition of "Joy to the World" and "We Wish You a Merry Christmas". The kids worked very hard to learn the words and motions for both songs. They did a great job...especially Zoe, Karalyn & Luke. Ty held his own. And I have to give a shout out to Sammy who made it up on stage for the first time...WAY TO GO, Sam! There were a few others that participated in their own way (I don't think Charlotte moved the whole time) but the true show stealer was my nephew, Noah! We should have known it was going to be interesting when he commented about playing the drums as he was climbing the stage steps! He danced, wiggled, sat, spun, smiled, waved, pulled on his shirt, jumped, and giggled most of the performance. At the VERY end, he discovered the microphone and began inching his way closer and closer...completely pushing cute little Karalyn out of the way until he was DIRECTLY in front of it. Needles to say, the entire church was in an uproar! The tears shed were of laughter. Thanks for the ab workout, Noah!

Christmas Blessings

Merry Christmas to all of you...

...from all of us!

Four Months...where'd the time go?

Yes, we've made it 4 months. The triplets went to the doctor for their checkup and here's how they stacked up....

Ava - 11 lbs. 5 oz. (finally on the chart in the 5th percentile...the only one that knows she's a preemie and a triplet!)

Eli - 14 lbs. (50th percentile)

Cole - 16 lbs. 6 oz. (75th percentile)

To celebrate their day, Cole rolled over! That only leaves Ava in the non-rolling club. They also moved into their new room. No longer are they sleeping in Mommy & Daddy's room. Nor are they in the same bed. Each has their own sleeping space and they seem to love it! Their last bottles are at 8:30 and then it's off to bed. Thankfully, they all (usually) sleep until sometime between 7:00 and 8:30 (that's when I'm usually waking up Eli).