Okay two days in a row, two big milestones for my kids

Yesterday Douglas started swimming. Today I took off the training wheels. thinking I would be putting them right back on.

Guess again..
Douglas took off, I held on to him for all of one time and he just got it, he can really do this, he was off like a mad man. I am so proud of him..

John Michael took a big more work but he got it as well. Before I knew it, within an hour my boys no longer needed their training wheels, they are really no longer babies are they..

Kalie hates her bike.. go figure, she never rides it. So maybe one day I can come brag on her as well.

Great day at the pool

Well the pool is open, we finaly spent a day there and I have to say that we had a great day.

Douglas was swimming, jumping in going under getting water in his eyes, the whole nine yards.

JM was putting his head underwater and swimming with swimmies, he would jump in but was not as crazy about the water in his eyes.

Kalie well she was good all day but refuses to place her head in the water at all.

At least all three of them would swim and not cling to mommy all day long. IN addition they were great kids all day long.

Well Crap...

I was right one step forward, two steps back. JM has done nothing but melt down since Sunday, Monday he was so difficult, he got upset and sat in his quiet down spot for about 20 minutes and cried, wimpered, wined, etc. It was horrid, nothing I could do would calm him down. I tried deep pressure, massage, burshing, and compression, nothing helped him to self center. Finaly I asked if he wanted to get under the covers, this seemed to work. I, in fact, rolled him up in blanket very tight and sat and rocked him for about 15 minutes. This helped to calm him. But all day long there were things, small things, that would set him off again. He was better this morning then all the suddon worse again. Nothing seems to be working for him anymore. First the biting and now he is hitting and sitting on his brother and sister. I am at my wits end right now..

We have therapy tomorrow so I will discuss this with the therapist and see what she says, but between now and then if you have any advice I am open to it.


now on to the really Well Crap news...

Last November I broke my ankle, Thanksgiving day, I have done re-hab and thought we were out of the clear. Well I had an MRI last week, as it has been rolling, still swells etc, and it has not healed, the bone still has a crack in it, my tendon is torn from top to bottom, and my ligements are so not attached to the bone at all (on both sides) so surgery it is.

I am going to wait till the fall, as it with the kids home for summer it would be very hard to do.

Thanks for reading..

What a wonderful day we had

We went ot church as a family this morning, okay so we always do that. Then after we all went to lunch together, close to my husbands new office. We were able to see where he will be working, which just so happens to be close to a Dairy Queen, so after the tour we all were treated to ice cream. The kids were so good the entire time.

At lunch they ate their entire meal, stayed seated at all times and were just great kids all morning. So I guess today was our one step forward. I am hoping that hte two steps back takes a while to get here.

We have big plans for the upcoming future, we will be traveling to Mississippi where we will go with my mother to a local camp ground that caters to children 7 and younger. We will stay in a cabin for two days, camping, having a camp fire at night, spending time in the day at the water park that is designed for younger children. When we return I will update with informaiton about the park etc, name location for anyone that is interested but for now I am not going to publicize where we are going for safety reasons. Okay I may be over reacting, but you never know.

A week from today Vacation Bible School starts at our Church and for the first time we are going to have a special needs class. We have several children in our church that have autisim, aspergers, SPD and Downs. One of the moms asked me If I would be interesed in teaching a class of special needs children, as most the children are in the same age group we deiced to not single them out but to have them in their class, however one mom (me and another mom) will be in these classes at all times to help the teachers and to assist if any issues arise. As we did nto want to burdon the teachers who know nothing about the issues that come with SPD etc.

So now our special needs children can attend VBS and their parents can be assured that they will be well cared for. The best thing is, word has gotten out in our community that our church offers this, enrollemnt for VBS is up by close to 35, with several of them being special needs. We are hoping that this will be a start for our church to reach out to these families, to show them that the church looks welcomes these families into our church and that we will do what we can to make them feel included and not singled out of any of the activities.

Good for us...

Update on biting and my husbands job.

Well the biting seems to be getting better, we addressed it in therapy. The therapist gave him a oral sensory item to bite instead of his brother, sister and friends. We also went over what he is to do, i.e. when he feels angry instead of biting he is to say I am very mad at you right now and bite the toy.

It is sort of a chew toy for kids. Funny right, but it is working he has done the I am mad at you ting two or three times already and bites the toy. He is getting there I guess.

Our therapist agree that it is a result of a change in our routine, no more school and well the fact that we have been talking about daddy getting a new job and no longer being at home.

If you are not aware my husband curently works out of the house, he has for the past three years and while this was great when the kids were much younger now it makes life difficult. He expects them to remain quiet, them not to have friends over and us to be sent to the basement while he is working. In my opinion this is not fair to the children, while I understand that he is on the phone and does not need the noise, expecting three five years old to stay in the play room all day and not play with their friends is not good either.

So he got a job, he has one more week at home, school has ended and well life is changing for us, so he is lashing out. what fun...

5 years old and biting all the sudden

We have a new thing in our house, John Michael has started biting his brother and sister, I thought this was a two year old behavior and not a five year old behavior. He just took a chunk out of Kalie Rose, drew blood in fact over a play phone. She had it, he wanted it. So instead of coming to a compromise he bites her. What the heck is up with this. Of course that was an immediate time out behavior, no counting needed on this one. So to time out he went.

When he is in trouble he will not look at you in the eye, I tried to talk to him about the biting and he would not even look at me. I am at a loss as what to do and would love any suggestions that anyone has.

I am not sure if I should have them bite him back??? or just punish him every time he does it.

When I was a child my cousin was a bitter and well they had me bite him back, it was more traumatic for me to bite him back then him biting me was so I really would like to avoid that option.

Changes in Life., coming our way

Well it is official, my husband accepted a new job yesterday. For the past three years he has worked from home and yes that has been very difficult at times for me and for the children. He thinks we should be quiet and well stay in the play room from the time they get up till he gets off work. Really would you want to do that. So for me, he started to looking for something new and he has found the right opportunity.
The company is a Christian based organization, which is a good thing for us. It is also family focused, again a good thing. He will work about 24 miles from home, so not a bad drive and will be doing something similar to what he is now. (short ramp up time)

all in all it is a good change for us, yes it will take some adjustment, no more running to the store alone while he keeps an eye on the kids as he works etc. But this is what we both want and need for us and our family.

As for the kids, Kalie is having a hard time with it, every time we tell her she says no daddy stay, she loves her daddy so much but she also said now we will not have to sell him (no idea where that came from)

We are going to work on changing our routine and schedule some, which is going to be traumatic for JM a tad, as he is so routine oriented. We will have to see what happens and how things go. Wish me luck

Graduation Night

The kids graduated from Pre K last Thursday night, It was a very emotional night, who am I kidding, week for mommy. Next year we will embark on kindergarten, I can not believe that they are old enough to be in school. Where on earth has the time gone.

We had such a great time at Concord Baptist Preschool, we will miss the teachers, staff and our friends. Graduation night was so much fun for all of us. The Children got to sing four songs for us and then were given their diploma's. In addition to a great video of the children that they made for the parents. Each child got to tell what they learned in school this year, and their favorite thing about school.

Kalie Rose said she likes doing worksheets and playing dress up with her friends
John Michael likes Spiderman, not sure how he learned that in school, and music
Douglas likes helicopters, and learning about God.

Mom Wars..

Why does it seem the media likes to protray that moms are against each other and that there is a constant battle between different styles of parenting.
For example working moms vs stay at home moms, or attachment parenting vs cry it out. I know there are differences in parenting and that not every form of parenting works for every family. In stead of playing the differences as being a bad thing, why can they not be a good thing. Why can we not use our differences to make parenting easier for all of us.

In stead of fighting over what is right or wrong why not accept that not everyone is going to do things the same way and that we should use our differences to make life easier for all of us. Stay at home moms should work with working moms to help take their kids to practices etc that their own children are already going to.

Non co-sleeping moms could advise co sleeping moms, when they ask, on ways to help transition their child to their own bed rooms and do so without criticizing.

Not all parenting styles are going to work for all families, we have to chose what works best for us and at the end of the day go to bed knowing that we are doing the right thing for our children and our family. Instead of beating someone up for not doing the same thing, rejoice in the differences and help eachother when we can, instad of making eachother feel bad for not doing things the same way we do.

Just random thoughts at mindnight when I can not sleep and well thought maybe if I write this down I will stop thinking about it and go to sleep..

Thanks for reading my ramblings.

Kalie Rose at Gymnastics

Kalie Rose had her "performance" tonight at gymnastics. I was finally able to get a few pictures of her at work. She is so cute, and please forgive the blue panties sticking out, she has this thing about wearing panties under her leotard. Lets hope that when it comes to time to go to the pool she will wear her bathing suit minus the panties.

Thank you Mom!

There are not enough words out there that can express how important our moms are to us in our lives. Becoming a mom has taught me that no matter what I do, I will never be able to thank my mom enough for all that she has done for me, heck for all of us.

I have never admired anyone as much as I do my mom, she is strong, brave and has more courage than anyone I know. She allowed me to make my own mistakes but she was there to pick me up when I did and help me to get back on my own two feet.

I have been blessed with an awesome mom, I could not imagine my life without her in it.

Thank you Mom, for all you have done, and all you have yet to do.

My life with Triplets, I wrote this when the kids turned two..

My life before triplets was very full, well maybe full is not the right word, and busy is more like it. I was very successful in my work, which meant I was very busy.
Traveling to Vegas, New York, Dallas, Orlando, etc, it seemed as if I always had some where I had to be and someone I had to see.
I was "hurried", successful and dressed in the best. My life was my career, and no this was not by choice, the choice was made for me.
The child I longed to have, the baby I dreamed of day and night did not seem to be meant to be. So I worked, I traveled, I went to concerts, sporting events and saw the world. Yet there was still this longing inside of me that would not go away. All my friends envied me, they wanted to be me, and all I wanted was to be a mom.

I dreamed of a life with a child, of how wonderful it would be. However to be honest I never dreamed I would not continue to work. Oh how that changed.

Then one Sunday morning in September of 2003, I peed on a stick, one of my favorite past times it seemed, and there were two lines, the next day the blood test confirmed that it was in fact true. I was pregnant. Three short weeks later at the first ultrasound I learned that our family would be growing gy three and not one.

Overcome with fear, excitement and joy I read everything I could. I learned life as I knew it wa over and I could not have been happier. I quit work at 12 weeks, went on bed rest at 19 weeks and I never looked back.

Now two years later after the birth of my babies, my life is truly full I can say it is complete and full. Not hurried, not rushed but busy and full.

My clothes are stained, smell of baby food and spit up. My nails no longer manicured and I do not remember the last time I put lotions on mu hands.

I gained so much by becoming a mom, and even more by becoming a mom of triplets. I lost, gave up, meetings, angry clients, angry bosses, long lines, airport delays and layovers. Working 12 and sometimes 14 hour days, lonely hotel rooms, always being in a hurry to get somewhere and going no where. Before my life was passing me by, I was going through the motions. Now I watch sunsets, and yes the sun rise at times, I have days that we stay in pj's all day long, i dance in the living room to nursery rhymes and act silly to get a laugh and I smile a lot. That is the big difference in my life. I smile now more than ever.

I can not believe how fast the past two years have gone by. I can not believe the friendships I have gained, the joy that having triplets has brought my life I would not go back to before triplets for anything.

Off Topic, hey I am allowed.. A great health blog

I was doing some research about sun damage to the skin, as most of you know I have been an avid sun worshiper for as long as I can remember and well lately I have been thinking that this may not be so great for my skin.

I even went as far as going to the dermatologist. I am happy to say that she said that she envied my skin and it showed no signs of my sun worshiping. (good for me and good for my tan) I still wanted to research more on sun damage and what to look for etc. In doing so I found healthy fellow, which is a site dedicated to your health, diet, exercise and Natural Health. I spent so much time here reading the post this morning that I forgot to eat breakfast.

http://www.healthyfellow.com/

I spend a great deal of time researching natural cures for things that are bothering me and my family. After all I would much rather not put anything harmful in my body or in my children's bodies. With all that is going on with them I can not be to careful.

Take a few minutes to check out Healthy Fellows blog you will not walk away disappointed.

http://www.healthyfellow.com/

Kalie Rose _ Ear drum rupture

Kalie Rose is such a shy girl and so embarrassed about everything, so bad in fact that when her ear started hurting she did not want to tell us, then when it started draining she also did not tell us.

Needless to say when I noticed the goop dripping from her ear I freaked out. Now Kalie is no stranger to ear infections, in fact she had tubes that have since fallen out, however she is a stranger to ear drainage. So of course I freaked out.

We ran to the doctors office to learn that the pressure from the build up of fluid in her ear canal resulted in her busting her ear drum, which it turns out is a good thing in this situation. As now her ear is draining the fluid and it will reduce the pain.

So we are on a course of antibiotics and ear drops, then it is off to the ENT to have things checked with more detail.

Her not telling us and being so shy is associated with her SPD, she is a combination of an avoider and seeker, she avoids some things, even was thought to have selective mutism for a while but that fear is now gone.

oh well another day, another doctors appointment and now it is off to school this morning. Five more days left.

Ankle update

Well this is aparently not about the children, hey I have a life other than them.

I went to the ortho yesterday and he has decided that I was not able to avoid surgery, after consulting with a different doctor this morning and getting the same conclusion it looks like I will be having my ankle operated on in the fall.

So why the fall, I have no desire to be in a cast all summer and going through surgery and therapy, so we are going to wait till the kids are settled in school next fall and have the procedure done.

We will do an MRI next week to determine what extent of surgery will needed, he is thinking we will have to graft ligaments from another part of my foot in order to repair it to where it needs to be. So wish me luck.



As far as the trio goes, it is just another day in our crazy household. End of school, and all the changes that come with that.

Gotta run to gymnastics now.

Pictures, Pictures and more Pictures of the kids

Antics of Monday Morning

After four days of no school today was very stressful for some reason for the kids. I am not sure if it is because they know that school is almost out of if it is the weather but they were in rare form this morning. Kalie woke up in a mood and needing extra attention. We sat in the rocker and did brushing for about ten minutes to get her to reality. Then Douglas started in with the lights and his helicopter being missing. 30 minutes later and it was John Michaels turn. He is not as easy to calm down as he other two so this took time. We started with deep pressure and wrapping him tight in a blanket and ended with brush therapy. I think that by the time I got them to school they were doing great. But oh what a morning it was.

Lets hope that when I pick them up that they are okay..

Today is a busy day for us, I have a dr appointment this afternoon to have my ankle checked from my fall last November. We are doing an MRI to make sure it healed properly. Keep your fingers crossed. I am not looking forward to the possibility of surgery to repair it.

To seperate them or not

That is the question of the day. It is one that as a mom of multiples I have so many mixed feelings on. They will be going off to school next year, kindergarten, we are very excited about. The issue at hand is do I put all three in the same room or do I separate them in to individual rooms.


When they were born I was elated to know that it was not up to me if my children would be in the same room or not, it was in fact up to the state and school district. I was livid and thought there is no way a school is going to tell me if my kids will be in the same room or not. I also thought they will be in the same room, that there is no way they would be ready to be separated.

Now here I am with all the advice from the doctors, therapist their teachers right now and everyone says the same thing, separate them. They all have different needs and everyone thinks that it would help them to be more sure of them selves and not depend on the others as much.

I have till late June, early July to make the decision, but right now I am leaning towards putting them each in their own class room, but then again I have several months before school starts so who knows what I will do.