::imperfect perfection x3::

MERRY CHRISTMAS--2011!!

2011-12-24T14:05:00.000-08:00

Wow---I know.

You may just fall off your chair or couch or wherever you happen to be when you see that I'm ACTUALLY posting on my blog! :)

What a long strange trip it's been...hard to get motivated to blog most of the time. But I wanted to share with you a Christmas greeting. I wish I could send a "real" copy to every single one of you (i.e. the two people who actually follow me....) lol but I just couldn't seem to get to it this year. I hope this e-card will suffice.

Thank you for your love and support over the past year and for time to come. Wishing you nothing but the best of love and happiness this Christmas and for all of 2012! Hopefully I will be able to get back here more often next year..... ;) Here are a few bonus pictures for your enjoyment! {{hugs}}

The girlies with their Great Grandma. Precious picture!

Mama and the girls (with crazy eyes....) :)

All three smiling...it's a miracle....

Thanksgiving 2010

2011-01-31T16:10:00.000-08:00

Here is a short recap of Thanksgiving. It was pretty low-key and we hosted at our house.

I asked the girls what they were grateful for. Here is what they said:

1. Ashleigh: "mommy and daddy....ummm.....ummmmm....."

2. Jordyn: : "ummmm....I'm grateful for...ummmmm......Jesus and Heavenly Father."

3. Avery: "mommy, nana, papa, all the nice food we have, grandma, grandpa, Tinkerbell, Snow White, Aurora, Ariel, Jasmine and Belle. And for hearts."

It was like pulling teeth for everyone but Avery, who is thankful last of all for "hearts". Um...? I don't know if she meant, like, our beating hearts in our bodies or just the "heart" shape?? Who knows. But it made me laugh. I know they are grateful for many things, but it's hard to come up with them when you are put on the spot. And when you're not even four years old. :)

For my list, I'm grateful for supportive family members who I can turn to when I have a question or need help with just about anything. I'm so blessed to have been given triplets to raise. It has been a wonderful and hard road to travel. But I've grown and learned so much. I'm learning more every day...mostly from the mistakes I make DAILY. I'm grateful for a roof over my head, a working (new) heater and food to eat when there are so many people who go without these basic necessities. I'm grateful for my talents which don't use as much as I should. I'm grateful for my Savior and for the opportunity I have to serve in His church. I feel the most like myself when I'm helping others. I have always had a strong desire for this and I hope I can do more in the coming year. I love living in California and I'm grateful to have the opportunity to do so, even though it's far away from the rest of my family. The list for what I'm grateful for could be never-ending, so I will stop here.

Happy Thanksgiving!! Let's be grateful for what we've been given every day!

{{ BOO! }} Halloween 2010

2011-01-12T13:50:00.001-08:00

I tried reeeealllly hard to convince my little angels to wear any other costume.

I even came up with some pretty clever ideas...

But, alas. They only had eyes for everything PRINCESS

*sighs*

Don't get me wrong, I LOVE Disney and girly princess stuff...but it's just so.....cliche, ya know?? Every other 3/4/5/6 year old girl dresses up like some sort of Disney princess, with varying stylized costumes. I don't want my girls or anyone else to think their "Belle" costume is better or worse than any other. And, most kids say stuff, not knowing they are being rude or mean...kids just say things. They are honest. Not that any of this happened, but it just makes me uncomfortable. That's why I always prefer costumes of the "homemade" variety. Guaranteed to be original.

Anyway, that was a long tangent. Back to the reason for this post----Halloween! And the girlies!

They all decided long before Halloween who they wanted to be.

L to R:

Ashleigh=Ariel (or, as she says, Ahrr-ienn); Avery=Tinkerbell; Jordyn=Belle.

It was fun to get them all ready---and of course they LOVED wearing make-up like mommy. I found some cheap-o slippers at the dollar store for them each to wear. But they didn't have yellow or gold or even red for "Belle" so I took the pink slippers outside and spray painted them with a gold metallic color. It actually worked. They looked more "aged bronze" than gold, but they were much better than pepto bismol pink. Jordyn's hair was super fun to do. It was weird doing such a "grown-up" style on her but I think it looked exactly like Belle's, even if I do say so myself.

Avery has always had a pixie-ish look about her, so her costume and hair fit her perfectly.

She looked so cute. I LOVE this picture. That sweet little pixie face!!

Then there is Ashleigh. My mom helped make the top and "fins" for Ariel and I made a quick sea-shell "bikini" using a toddler sized coconut bra, some scraps of fabric and some ribbon. I think it turned out cute. And no one else in the world has the same thing, that's for sure. haha!

That wig was something else. It had been stored in a box for several years, so it was looking a little haggard. My mom and I both worked on it to get it looking decent, but all that matters is Ashleigh loved it. I mean, LOVED it. She was convinced she was "Ahrr-ienn". And it was good comic relief for me. So, win-win. :)

It was a whirlwind week of fun and we are already looking forward to next year!

Happy Halloween!!!

Another Annual ::The Pumpkin Patch::

2011-01-11T14:04:00.000-08:00

The day after we went to Apple Hill, we all ventured over to our favorite (and closest) pumpkin patch: Dave's. The had completely re-done the layout and it was awesome. We were there on a Friday but I think on weekends they even had fair-like games (you know, like toss the ring on the bottle kind of things).

This year we were VERY adventurous----we climbed the hay bale pyramid with Papa, went through the hay-maze, rode on the hay ride pulled by a tractor AND the girls each rode a PONY!! Well, technically, Jordyn and Avery rode full sized horses. But the last one on, being Ashleigh, got the tiniest miniature pony. It was so so hilarious to see the other two on these giant horses then here comes Ash, trotting along on her shrunken one. One of the workers led the big horses but my mom and dad got to take Ashleigh around on the pony. The worker dude (whom I've dubbed "Juan") was basically trotting the horses. I had to run to catch up just so I could take a picture. Then there were my parents and Ashleigh....moseying along. Snails pace. Hilarious. But I feel like we got more of our money's worth for Ash. She was in heaven. They all were really. The other two were more like paralyzed with fear----but grinning the whole way.

After the horses, we went over to the the big blow up slide thingy. It took a little bit for the girls to figure out how to climb to the top, but once they figured it out, there was no stopping them. We literally had to peel them off of it to go home as it started to rain!

Here are a few photos and some short videos of our fun trip to the pumpkin patch:

The girls and Papa at the top of the hay pyramid!

Cornered in the hay maze :)

Loving the hay ride and the tractor

(even though the exhaust was stinky! P.U.!)

Avery atop her first horse. So proud of herself! (So were we!!)

Jordyn and her horse. They bonded instantly!

"Juan" the horse man galloping the girls

(he always poses....weird...)

Short clip of Ave and Jordy trotting along....then lapping Ashleigh on her pony. HA!
Sorry for the shakiness. I also wish I could mute myself. Sorry.

Ash bringing up the rear..... LOL!

The girls with their horses and Papa

(notice "Juan"? He's smiling for the camera!! hahahaa!)

Short video of them stopping for a hay break. Finally they slowed down!

Couldn't resist this shot. They are such big girls!!!

Climbing up the slide.

Jordyn

Ashleigh

Avery

Short video of a climb and a slide.

Don't you just LOVE Fall? I love love love it. We can't wait to go back next year! Thanks for joining us Nana, Papa, Grandma and Grandpa!

Annual Apple Hill Trip

2011-01-03T14:15:00.000-08:00

We were so excited to keep up our tradition of an annual Apple Hill visit this year! And we were even MORE excited that we could go with Grandma and Grandpa again! I think we are 3 for 3 so far! The weather was yucky and their trip out wasn't certain---but we made it by the skin of our teeth the 28th of October.

We ate some good grub, which of course included apple goodies.... :) But we still have yet to find a REALLY GOOD restaurant. So all you locals, comment! Tell me your favorite place to eat up there! Next year, we are thinking of going into the little town nearby and trying out some places there, TripleD style! (a show called Diners, Drive-in's and Dives, if you didn't follow that. Google it.) :)

We went on a scavenger hunt for lots of different things and I think we only had one thing left...I can't remember what it was but I think it was something silly like 'dew on a leaf'. Um, unless it's 7AM, chances are slim for that one. Anyway, we bought a big box of apples, a few jars of jam and relish, fed some animals and just enjoyed walking around getting some fresh air and having fun together. I hope we can keep the tradition alive in the coming years!!

Avery sitting like a bump on a...stump. :) A cute bump.

Mommy and Avery time.
Three kiddos feeding the "sheeps"
I'm sure they sheep loved being loudly "BAAAA'd" at.
AshAsh not paying attention..... Tiny headed Avery SEE YA NEXT YEAR, APPLE HILL!!!

The Rest of 2010

2011-01-03T14:13:00.000-08:00

I will be posting several entries so I can be all caught up on what happened the latter half of 2010. I can't believe how fast it went!! I feel like I am finally able to catch my breath. Phew!! Busy and fun! So enjoy the pictures and hopefully few words from me. ;)

Beach Babies

2010-10-15T09:43:00.000-07:00

We took the girls to the beach for the first time a couple of weeks ago. A long overdue trip! We are so close but it's *just* far enough to not be convenient. Does that make sense? And the water is chilly so you can't really swim...unless you are super brave. (steph? tj?) :) Not to mention the thought of one of the girls eating sand gave me the willies. But now they are old enough to enjoy it and I don't have to worry about sand-poisoning. (or something like that....) ;)

Tony had to go down to the Bay Area for an brief appointment one Saturday so I asked him if we could tag along to have a picnic on the beach. We had to be back in town by 2pm so it was just a quick down and back, but as you can see, we had SO much fun!!

Waiting for the first wave on the toes....brrrr!!

In order of bravery: Ashleigh, bravest. Avery, sort of brave.

Jordyn....chicken liver.

"BYE BYE, OCEAN!!" (Bay, technically)

Overdue Update

2010-10-06T13:20:00.000-07:00

Oh my. I know it's been a looooooong time since I've 'officially' written in the blog. It's just been a looooooooong year. I know everything is supposed to make us stronger, but when you are going through it, you feel more like mush than steel. Oh well. I guess that just makes you appreciate the transition more, right??

rrrright...

Well, here are a few things that have happened....

Probably most notably, Tony was on a business trip out of state and had appendicitis. He thought he just had food poisoning at first, but after he passed out in his hotel bathroom because of the pain, he figured it might be something more serious. He had to call 911 to get to the hospital, and after many hours and tests later, they sent him home because "everything looked normal". Well, after the pain meds wore off around 4AM, back to the hospital he went and a few short hours later he was on in the O.R. getting his appendix out. Thanks to the generosity of his "work family", I was able to get a flight out that day. And an even BIGGER thanks to the dear friends and family who took care of the girls in our home. I am so blessed to have people I can rely on when the going gets tough. I'm sure they enjoyed my 10 pages of "notes" on the girls. Hey, what can I say? We are high maintenance. And particular. :)

There were many firsts for me on that trip: My first solo flight, my first time using an airplane restroom (ick), AND it was my FIRST time away from the girls OVERNIGHT!! Can you believe it?? 3+ years later and no nights "off"(...that I can recall... When you are sleep deprived for an extended period of time, your memory can be completely erased. It's totally true.) Too bad my 'freedom' was spent on a fold out chair "bed" in Tony's hospital room. Oddly, I didn't hate it. It wasn't too much unlike home---with the nurses coming in and waking us up every few hours to do their thang. ha! We are glad everything went smoothly and that we still talk to our friends who stayed with the girls! *winks*

Phew! I made it!!

Waiting for my shuttle at the airport.

It wasn't that hot but it was sticky.

I call it 'Texas Glow' ;)

After the surgery, Tony wasn't allowed to do a whole lot for 6 weeks. He pushed himself as much as possible, but at the end of the day some days, he was in a lot of pain. We are glad he's back to normal and carrying the girls around. Pretty sure he thought that was the worst part---not being able to pick the girls up.

The next event was a relatively spontaneous trip to Utah to see family and friends. (spontaneous for me is about a month's notice, lol). Tony had a prior commitment on the Saturday of my family reunion, so my brother kindly flew out from Idaho so he could ride with me and the girls the Friday before it. I'm not sure if he knew what he was getting into, but about 11+ hours later, we made it to our destination, no worse for wear. Despite this photo we took at a potty break:

He's not dead...yet... :)

Here is another shot I took in my side mirror while I was driving: The sunset was SO red and orange that it looked like the mountains were on fire!

Tony flew out and met us that Sunday and we all drove back together the following Sunday. We had a lot of fun and the girls loved playing with their cousins. I only took a few pictures. I am sad I didn't take more. But I think my brother-in-law took a bunch at the reunion that I will post when I get copies.

Jordy and Ave with their buddy Hyatt

The girls and Bossy (Boston)

Ash at the park in her self imposed time-out.

My mom went to check on her and I just had to post this pic. Too funny. LOL

Sissies crossing the 'drawbridge' at the Castle Park

Another picture of her 'alone time'

We appreciate the generosity of family for letting us stay with them and disrupt every aspect of their lives. :) You know you love us! Ha!

Other than that, I've just been busy with just every day 'stuff' and trying to somehow get the household in order. It seems like the harder I try, the worse things get. I've also been super busy with church responsibilities. It's really fun and rewarding to provide service for others...I wouldn't feel complete without that aspect of my life. But it's super draining. Luckily I have tons of help and support from so many people. And I love working with the kids. That's the best part about it all!!

Tony and I celebrated our 7th wedding anniversary on the 12th of September. As part of his gift to me he totally cleaned the house in those two days we were in Utah without him---I mean, bathrooms, laundry, vacuuming, mopping, dusting--the whole gamut! It was super awesome to walk into the house after such a long drive to see everything so nice. Sadly, it lasted about a day...maybe two. But I guess that's just life when you have three young children. It didn't help that the kids and I came home with the "Utah Flu", as we call the sickness we return with every time we visit. It was really bizarre---started out with a bad cough from day 1. No other symptoms for a few days. The girls only had fevers for about a day. We had to double up on Ashleigh's nebulizer treatments, but overall, it wasn't too terrible. Just kept us down for about a week. I'm really glad it's gone. Then I had to play "catch up" with the house. Ugh. It never ends.

Lastly, and it's a pretty big step for us, the girls started PRESCHOOL!! We are only doing it twice a week for two hours, but I have a feeling that will be more than enough for them. :) We started a co-op with a few of the moms from church that have kids the same age as ours. All of them will be starting Kindergarten two years from now (because of late in the year birthdays). My kids make up half the class size! We will rotate homes weekly between the four of us. It's been really fun so far!

So many people have said "Oh that must have been so hard for you---x3!!" (regarding dropping the kids off at school for the first time.)

um...................

Should I feel badly that I can honestly say-----I thought the day would never come??! :)

HA! I'm serious! I love my children dearly, but MAN! I sooo need a little break. And they REALLY need the socialization with other children-- and just to be out of the house without mom. Not to mention the learning aspect, of course. My kids are smart, but they will be slightly behind other kids their age for a bit, just due to the fact I can't give any of them 100% of my attention. Everything at home is done in a group setting. Which isn't a bad thing, but they may be at a slight disadvantage never having that "one on one" time growing up. Every stage of their lives is experienced at the same time with someone else. Granted, they are their own best friends! And, don't get me wrong, there are many wonderful advantages to the situation too---always someone to encourage task completion and goal setting. Their own little team of 'cheerleaders'. It's fun. It really is. Here are some pictures of their first day of school:

Ashleigh Noelle

Jordyn Alessa

Avery Bella

In the car on the way there...Ash's change of hair and no Avery.

Sorry. Bad 'photography while driving' on my part. :)

Before they went in. (it was sunny) lol

Such big girls!! Time goes by so fast, but truly, I have felt every day of those 3.5 years! ;) But I wouldn't trade a moment of them for the world.

Well, now that I've thoroughly bored you (haha!) I think I'm done. :) Thanks for sticking with me on the long post.

Tweaking....

2010-10-05T16:43:00.001-07:00

Almost there....just gotta adjust the font colors, etc...

Man this is fun. And I'm being serious!

under construction

2010-10-04T18:19:00.000-07:00

I forgot how to do a custom background. I keep coming up with ones that aren't wide enough.

More studying needed.

I wish I would just be able to remember what I've done in the past instead of trying to figure it out from scratch every time. grrrrz.

{Ariel Jr.}

2010-07-14T16:56:00.000-07:00

Little Miss Ashleigh is obsessed with a certain Disney Princess-----ARIEL.

Everything she does, she does "Just like Ariel". I'm told this 100 times a day. "Look mom! Just like ARIEL does!" as she's "brushing" her hair or whatever else she can think of that "ariel does". Luckily, she hasn't tried using a fork yet...at least not that I've seen. Heaven forbid she tries. With that mop we call hair it'd FOR SURE get stuck and we'd have to shave her head to get it out. *crossing fingers* she doesn't try it.

We've watched The Little Mermaid 4 times just today and she has been wearing this green halter dress for three days straight. I know I'm the mom, and I can choose what they watch and blah blah blah.

So I'm an enabler. So what? :)

I have to admit, it's really cute. And I love the music in the movie, so we sing and dance along to the different scenes. Can I tell you how humorous it is to over-hear three 3 year olds trying to sing the famous "ahh-ahh-ahhhhh, ah ah ahhh -ahh ahhhhh" part? It sounds akin to three corpses who've come back to life. But it's really cute. And I think it's helping them hone their pitch and singing skills. I'm ALL for that!

So I walk out of the kitchen to sing my favorite part with them (when she rescues Eric from the shipwreck and she's out in the water, sitting on a rock singing about her longing to be "where the people are" and the dramatically timed wave bursts up behind her. You know what part I'm talkin' about!) and I see Ashleigh on her little green folding chair like this (note the TV screen in the background):

"Part of yourrrrr......WOOOOOORRRRRRRLLLLLLD!"
The chair is her "rock" and she dramatically throws her head back right on cue with the waves. HAAAAA! I had to run get my camera, it was just too funny. She is such a drama queen. And she is convinced that she lives in the castle that they show at the beginning of every Disney show. She is going to flip when we someday make it to Disneyland. In fact she may pass out with overwhelming emotions. {referencing her dramatic ways} :)

Personally, I think all Disney shows are too scary for kids. There is a part in all of them that the girls cry about it being "too scary" and they run and hide. I mean, have you seen Ursula? She's freaky. (Katy, I always think of Lucy when I just say 'Ursula'. That probably sounds terrible to people who don't know what I'm talking about, hahaha!!!)

Anyways, Disney=Drama. It drives me crazy. But I guess they have to make stuff that the adults enjoy too. Oh well. I will enjoy my children's innocence and princess-obsessions for as long as I can. Because I know, all too soon, that will be gone and replaced by other things.....I don't want to talk about it. I'm in denial that my girls will ever grow up to be teenagers.....

Goin' in the TRASH!

2010-07-01T11:04:00.000-07:00

I wish my garbage bags were as glamorous as these:

....but then again, you are literally throwing your money in the trash.
(They are cute, none-the-less.)

Anyways, this post is not about cute garbage bags.

It's about reaching a breaking point.

This is what I deal with on a daily, or even hourly basis:

No, no. A tornado did NOT pass through here, despite the tipped over toys and chairs and miscellaneous items strewn about.

This is AFTER Jordyn put all the books and some of the toys away. Yes, this is after a good amount of cleaning.

On any given day, we will spend a good 30-40 minutes cleaning up their mess, only to have it destroyed again a couple hours later. I've tried explaining when they are done with one toy, to put it away before getting out another.

No. That would make too much sense, mom.

And instead of changing clothes 50 times a day, just get dressed ONCE, maybe TWICE if you get your clothes dirty.

And Ash, why don't you try to wear ONE layer of clothes instead of two tops, a tutu, leggings, legwarmers AND socks.....just to change again 7 minutes later. But I hate to stifle your individuality. Oh wait, YOU'RE THREE! Grr.

Can you tell I'm a little peeved?

Yesterday, I had had it with asking, begging, pleading and bribing my girls to clean up. So I said, "Fine. You don't clean them up? I will just throw them all away."

I proceeded to get a garbage bag and approached Avery, who was playing with a MagnaDoodle toy instead of cleaning, "Hand it over!"

She looks at me, sticks her bottom lip out, and in a pouty voice she says, "O-kay..."

She then starts picking up a few toys and putting them in the garbage bag.

I'm trying not to laugh, but I say to her, "Avery, you know that these toys are going in the garbage, right? You will NEVER see them again. They will be GONE Forever!"

She musters a sad, "mmhmm"

So I asked her, "Avery, why do you want to throw your toys away?"

Without skipping a beat she says,

"Cuz I don't want to clean them!"

...........

SHE WOULD RATHER THROW HER TOYS AWAY THEN CLEAN THEM UP!!!!!

I was dying. Then I decided that I was rewarding her by letting her throw her toys away. Now I'm back to square one and I'm still left with a messy playroom.

I need a large Mountain Dew. Or six.....

The Livin' Is Easy...

2010-06-17T17:20:00.000-07:00

It's summertime!

Last night we went to a Sacramento Rivercats baseball game
(well, we made it to the 7th inning stretch) Cutie Pies!!

Today we played outside in the splash pool. Life doesn't get much better.

Here's a short clip showing our mad jumping-into-tiny-wading-pool skills. Or something like that.....

HAPPY SUMMER!!

WISHES

2010-06-12T12:59:00.000-07:00

This picture will make much more sense in a minute. ;)

I was just tucking in the girls for naps and I told them that if they stayed in their beds and took looooong naps that they could have a cookie when they got up. (yes, bribery works sometimes. I prefer to call it incentive.) :)

Avery asked,

"Can you put a candle in it so we can blow it out?"

Thinking this was a little odd, I said,
"We don't put candles in cookies, sillies! We only blow out candles on our birthdays. That's what makes birthdays so special because we do special birthday things!"

And they all responded,
"And make wishes!!!!"

"Yes, wishes too!" I replied, with a slight chuckle.

Avery piped up, "I'd wish for a new doll!"

Ashleigh: "I wish for a new rainbow!"

"OK..." I said (restraining the laughter.)

Then Jordyn says, "I'd wish for a new sarr!!" {aka: car}.

She continued after pausing a moment to think,
"...a BLACK one wif yeyyow wheews!!" (with yellow wheels).

HAA-HAAAA! Good luck with that one, Jordy.

I don't know where they come up with these things. They are too funny.

In a rut...

2010-05-28T21:56:00.001-07:00

Nothing to blog about. Sorry about the delay. Just haven't been in the mood, I guess. The blog and I have had another birthday. Woo! And we got the girls zoo and fairytale town passes so we have been enjoying the sunny days there. It's been kinda rainy the past little while, but things are supposed to be nice and sunny for a bit. Yay! Finally! I feel so badly for friends and family who have been having snow! In May, people! That stinks.

I want to update the look of the blog. I taught myself some basic HTML editing, and how to do my own backgrounds, but I have forgotten how already. So I will spend some time working on that. I need to switch it all up and maybe THEN I will be inspired. : /

In the meantime, here are a couple recent pictures of the girls taken a couple Sundays ago before church. Enjoy!

Avery channeling her inner Vanna:

Jordyn perfecting the cheesy grin and pose:Goofy Jordy.
Ashy blue eyes.
Typical Ashleigh pose:

So Precious

2010-05-03T12:36:00.000-07:00

I was taking pictures for a new listing the other day and saw this little humming bird nest near the front door. I had to take a picture and post it because its darned close to the cutest thing ever. There is no frame of reference to show the size, but the entire nest itself is close to the size of a silver dollar (which, do they even make anymore?) and the two little eggs inside were like the size of two perfect, tiny, white jelly beans. Precious.

::For Gramps::

2010-03-31T21:57:00.001-07:00

My beloved Grandpa, Howard Vincent Schow, passed away March 29th at 2PM.

He was the kindest, funniest and bestest "good doobie" in the world. I feel so blessed to have been able to have him so long in my life and to have been able to spend so much time just being around him. I have not enjoyed being so far away these past 7 years and miss being able to spend time with him, especially saddened that I wasn't able to really say goodbye and that my girls will not get to know their wonderful GreatGramps.

He served in the Navy during WWII and lived most of his life serving the Lord, alongside his wife and eternal companion.

My most favorite memories of Gramps are playing Pollyanna before bed and then waking up to waffles made from scratch (from the Tupperware bowl in the pantry) with real crumbed bacon that was mixed into the batter. In a word: HEAVENLY. (especially when topped off with any of Gram's homemade syrups---maple, strawberry, raspberry, boysenberry, and apricot. Stinkin' Yummy.) But sometimes is was 'cream o' wheat' and toast....I usually skipped that and ate cheerios instead. But cream o' wheat was so Grandpa, too. And I will always think of him when I see some.

Here are a couple of my most recent photos of Gramps with me and the girls. I wish they would have cooperated for them and the camera...oh well. :/

Sweet Gramps just smiled through it all. June '08

(the screaming, the tears the running away...)

At least Gramps and Avery got along this day...

I see such a connection between the two of them in this photo...I just wonder what they are "communicating" to each other. Precious. (the other two....not so much)

March '09. This may have been the last time I saw him.

Avery is hiding this time around.

The following picture is so special, I almost didn't want to share it,

but I am because it's the ultimate depiction of love;
And my Grammy and Gramps last....

I miss you so terribly Grandpa.
But I know I will see you again.

It's a beautful day in the neighborhood....

2010-03-25T02:21:00.000-07:00

So my mom and I took the girls to the park. I played like a little kid (after I finished reading the Lands End catalog, of course. I didn't fall in love with anything...darn) It was fun. However, I fear I will be very sore in the morning....pictures of me doing the zipline not included....

(you see me wayyyyyy up at the top?? the girls got NOTHIN' on me....) :)

Jordyn

Avery. With her wild hair.

Ashleigh. Looking a bit uncomfortable....

Photos of the gorgeous Spring foliage. It's definitely sprung here.

Happy Spring, everyone! Now, go swing on some swings! It's sooo much fun!! :)

happy birthday grandma!!

2010-03-23T22:11:00.000-07:00

My parents and brother are visiting from Idaho and the day they got here was my mom's birthday. The girls waited at the door with their signs for Grandma. This was the best photo I got.... :) (notice the one slipper on jordyn...yeah no explanation for that. she just wanted one. whatever.)

We've had so much fun already. More posts to come about what good times we have had together!

Be My Valentine

2010-02-15T10:50:00.000-08:00

For Valentine's Day (weekend) we had the chance to see Disney On Ice "Worlds of Fantasy" with some friends who were kind enough to share their tickets with us. They had a suite to use and it was soooo awesome! I can't imagine trying to keep the girls in regular seats that long. They were able to roam around and they ate their weight in popcorn! It was a fantastic treat!

Then later Saturday night, Tony surprised me with a dinner out. It was a new place neither of us had been called "Pearl". It's situated on the river and you can see the downtown skyline in the distance. So pretty. The food was fantastic and the dessert was spectacular!! It was a heart shaped chocolate cake with a thick chocolate mousse layer all covered with chocolate ganache and then accompanied by strawberries and whipped cream. Yummmmmy.

It was a lovely day. I had a great time with all four of my Valentines. I hope you had a special day filled with love (and chocolate)!

Pictures:

The Little Mermaid:

Lion King:

I {HEART} You!

Bree's Birthday Fun!

2010-02-12T12:15:00.001-08:00

The girls' friend Brianna had her fourth birthday party at Fairytale Town a couple weeks ago and it was so cute and so fun. We had never actually been there before so I didn't exactly know what to expect but I knew they would love it. They had snacks and cake and ice cream inside the "princess castle" then everyone was free to run around the park all day. We sure had a great time and the girls did not want to go home for naps! Thanks for inviting us Bree and Fam! We will miss you!

Sitting on the big throne bench inside the castle:
Ashleigh was being photogenic that day: Too bright for pictures....

Avery riding the rabbit:

Jordy joined her:

Then Ash had to get in on the fun! (nice "cheese" face, jord.)

How often can you say you've climbed on a turtle's shell?

I will add more pictures as I get them. Somehow I missed getting some of the birthday girl!

MY New Look!

2010-01-18T19:52:00.000-08:00

Yes. I have been given doctor's orders to wear a mask. It was super fun getting my prescription in Rite Aid, looking like death AND wearing a face mask. I was not making eye contact with ANYONE and I'm pretty sure everyone was running in the opposite direction from me.

This is probably a more appropriate post for the other blog but I'm too lazy to log in and blah blah blah. I have the flu. Just the regular flu, not swine flue (although they don't really do the "test" anymore to see if it is or not) so really it's just a guess, but I'll go with it. I have to say it's pretty miserable. I don't think I've ever had the real flu before so it's a new experience and one I hope to never repeat. But I probably won't ever get the flu shot so it's a real possibility I'll get it again....but I've gone this long, right???

But for reals, I DID get a new look!

I've been long overdue for a hair cut (try a YEAR) so I finally had a chance to do it last week. I thought about doing Locks of Love but I chickened out. (I've only had shorter hair once in college and I totally regret it. even though this would have been for a totally worthy cause....)

I can't wait to actually fix it myself. Haven't had a chance since I've been "mostly dead" (name that movie!! a true depiction of my state....) since Saturday. Hopefully tomorrow! Here are a couple terrible and horrific before pictures. I wanted to take them when my hair was wet right out of the shower but I got to doing "mom" stuff and it was partially dry without any product in it....not a pretty sight. But oh well.

I realize now that I could have done the Locks of Love thing, but I figured if I started out by saying "10 inches ONLY, please" it would end up more like 15. SO here I am 10-12 inches later (and lighter!) anyway:

The base is my "natural color" (you can never really go back...) with full highlights throughout. It's fun and my pony is SUPER short....I don't remember the last time my ponytail didn't touch my shoulders! Big step, but I needed a change. That and my hair grows like a weed so I'll be back to long before I know it! :)

"Chugga-Chugga, Choo-Choooooo!!"

2010-01-14T11:11:00.000-08:00

I took the girls and Tony's mom to the Railroad Museum a couple weeks ago and we had a great time! We got yelled at once by a, shall we say, mature? museum worker wearing denim striped over-alls for eating our fruit snacks on a bench inside the museum. My first question is, how do they expect the kids to not eat at any point during the day? If my kids did not sit down and have a fruit snack they were going to start a riot. SO luckily we were done eating by the time we were repremanded. :) All in all, it was a fun day. And Avery had to use the bathroom every 5 minutes. I wish I was kidding. WHY did we potty train them? WHY???? Ugh. I really hate public bathrooms. I find that I'm yelling at them over and over again "Do NOT touch ANYTHING!!!!!" And what do they proceed to do? Touch everything. Then I wash their hands twice and douse them with antibacterial hand sanitizer. *shivers*

Here are some photos of the fun!

Whose Idea Was This?!

2010-01-06T12:58:00.001-08:00

Yes there are cookies in there somewhere. The girls are really enjoying eating them----minus the whole cookie part.

Ash's masterpiece:

Avery frosting. Looks like there will be no problems, right??

Just keep an eye on the sprinkles bottle in her hand in the following pictures.

Notice here=FULL

A few sprinkles...ok that's probably enough...

Nice green pile...er-cookie, Jord.

Pile of sprinkles growing.....bottle half empty...

Just a few more for good measure.....

And we're done! AND the bottle is empty....awesome.

All that happened in a matter of seconds. They really should make those sprinkle holes a little smaller, doncha think????

I spent the next hour on my hands and knees vacuuming and mopping up 4 MILLION sprinkles. And we had a dozen cookies to sit on our counter for a week untouched and uneaten.

But the girls sure had fun making a mess...as usual...

More Christmas Photos

2010-01-02T09:00:00.001-08:00

I uploaded this once on the original Christmas post but when moving things around I accidentally deleted it and forgot about it until I went to look at it this morning and saw it was gone! So here you go, sorry it's out of order!

Make a Smilebox slideshow

Oh My--They're THREEEEE!

2009-12-28T17:00:00.000-08:00

We've had a whirlwind few days---and I have a feeling it's only going to get crazier as the girls get older....oy! Who's idea was it to have triplets two days after Christmas??? Oh yeah...AVERY! Little stink. ;)

I had a day break between our insane Christmas Day and the girl's birthdays to prepare. I asked them several weeks ago what kind of cake they wanted and they said, "Ummmmm......SNOWFLAKE!" (Yeah, I don't know what that means either.) So a snowflake cake it was! It took a lot of thinking and researching as there were several different ways to go about it, but I decided that I wanted to do a genoise cake and roll it (basically a jelly roll---minus the jelly) with white frosting and 3D snowflakes all around. Then a couple of days before the big day, I asked the girls if they wanted the cake to be chocolate or white (I thought that chocolate cake and white frosting would be a pretty contrast, but I wanted them to be involved a little more. I regret that now....) Then Jordyn said "I wan bwu sate!" Translated= "I want BLUE cake". Then she said "Ashy wan rey-ed". Translated="red". So I quickly agreed to blue since red would definitely not look attractive.

Hmm. Blue cake? OK I can do that. Pale blue. Just a *hint* of blue.

So as I made the cake, I notice that because of the eggs and two extra yolks, the cake is a pale yellow. OK elementary kids----what do you get when you mix yellow and blue???? That's right! GREEN!!

And apparently the color intensifies as it's baked. What we ended up with was a great St. Patricks Day cake!!

To make matters worse, it tasted disgusting. Holy heck it was gross. I decide to do a bright white Swiss Meringue frosting. I used, in both the cake and the frosting, the SmartBalance 50/50 butter cubes----50% butter 50% SmartBalance spread (canola I think) instead of 100% butter. I thought it would work. Nope. No, it didn't. Because the cubes were, I'm sure, artificially colored yellow, the frosting ended up sort of cream colored. And because of the non-buttery consistency of the "butter", the frosting became thin and deflated. And did I mention gross??? The cake tasted funny as a result and wasn't as light and airy as a genoise cake should be. Let that be a lesson to all you bakers out there. It's not worth it to try and cut the fat. Just use butter.

But at least the meringue snowflakes turned out OK---until they sat for a while and became soft and limp....I had to keep propping the snowflake points up so I could take pictures.

Oh well. Here are some pictures of the big day! Just be glad you only have to LOOK at the cake....hrumph.

The girls got quiet books from Gramma and Grampa, pj's from Nana and Papa and a set of princess plates, silverware and cups from Mommy and Daddy. We are saving the gifts from Aunts and Uncles for another day. We learned our 'presents' lesson the hard way on Christmas. Sometimes even a little is still too much. But how happy will they be when we whip out more birthday presents in a couple days?? I would be! Thanks to everyone for your generosity. We love our three little miracles!! HAPPY THIRD BIRTHDAY GIRLIES!!!

YES, two of them are not wearing pants...pretty much normal around here.

It's Christmas!!!

2009-12-26T08:21:00.000-08:00

I hope everyone had a wonderful, joyful and marvelous Christmas. I hope we all remember "the reason for the Season", the birth of our Savior. I hope we all got more than we wanted or deserved! I know I did!

We had a great day, albeit a little over-stimulating for the girls---mostly Avery. We started out the Holiday and Nana and Papas on Christmas Eve where we opened one gift each and ate dinner. We delivered some treats to people and looked at some pretty Christmas lights on our way home. I wanted to start the tradition of going on an actual walk to see the lights, but Tony is sick (great timing, right?) and by the time we headed home it was pretty late and time for me--I mean, the girls, to go to bed. I stayed up until around 3AM getting things ready for breakfast in the morning and trying to set up presents and all that jazz. The girls woke up at 7:15 (a mite earlier than usual, of course) and I kept them out of the family room until 9:15-ish with the help of Micky's Christmas movie and daddy and eventually Nana and Papa. I think this will be the first and last year I will be able to get away with that long of a pause. But we always waited for family when I was little so I plan on continuing that tradition with my own family. And when they get older, I will instate the "you must give mom a good back massage before you can see any presents" rule when they get older. My dad had a pretty good idea and I think I will try and keep that tradition alive, too! :) After we opened our loot, we ate breakfast of Potato and Basil Frittata, Mini Dutch Babies with cinnamon sauce, mixed fruit and your choice of hot cocoa, spiced cider, herbal tea and/or orange juice. I wanted to get the bacon wrapped smokies done, but I wasn't able to get to it. I made them after the girls went down for naps and Tony and I munched on a few for a nutritious lunch. :) After the girls woke up, we went to Nana and Papa's for MORE presents and a Prime Rib dinner. Avery was pretty much catatonic at this point, so we left to go home early and *hoped* for an early bedtime. Needless to say I wasn't able to leave their room until 10:30. Oh well. There's always tomorrow! :) Here are a couple videos and pictures of our fun day! Love you all and Merry Christmas!!

Do YOU Believe??

2009-12-14T09:27:00.000-08:00

We took the girls on our first, and *hopefully* annual, ride on "The Polar Express" train earlier this month. It was so awesome to see the excitement and wonder on their faces. I know that sounds cliche', but it's SO TRUE! This Christmas truly seems magical. You know the song "Christmas Through Your Eyes"? That's how I feel! I'm looking at Christmas through my children's eyes for the first time! And it's so exciting to me!

This is the first year that the girls are actually starting to 'get' Christmas. We've started to introduce Santa, and they are excited to see him! I wanted to get a Santa picture this year, but we decided not to push our luck. They still like him at this point and I want to keep it that way! :) We put up the Nativity and I explained to them what each piece was and that Christmas is when we celebrate the baby Jesus' birthday. Then I said that we give presents to each other instead of to Jesus, because that makes Him happy. Then we threw in the Santa part. (which, for the record, I'm not totally comfortable with. I really don't want to disappoint them when the "truth" comes out---I hate lying to them. But I suppose it's fun to take advantage of their innocence...just kidding!) It's part of growing up and I don't want them to miss out on the purity of Christmas during their childhood years.

So, in preparation for the train ride, we watched the Polar Express movie together. We decided they were just a little too young to really enjoy the show, but they saw the train and Santa and the whole jingle bell thing and it did it's job. We talked it up for about a week before we went. We did a little 'countdown' to the "Polar Express" ride and I even got them new coats to wear (which we needed anyway, but it helps to provide props).

The day finally arrived! We got all ready to go, coats and all, hopped in the car and----we waited in line FOR-EVEEERRRRR! Has anyone ever waited in line with three, 3-year olds?? Wow, not fun at all. Avery was sitting on the dirty ground, Jordyn kept trying to get kidnapped by wandering off and Ashleigh was actually really cute saying "Hi" to all the people around her and winning their hearts (as usual). That is, until two stupid elves came over and she clung to Tony's leg in fear. Thanks, juggling elves. Thanks. But soon after, the line started moving and we got to our train car. When I purchased the tickets online, they were about 15 tickets away from selling out the entire season. When I clicked on the only day left with more than one ticket (there were three), before I had a chance to check out, there were only two left. And, on the website, I swear that kids under 3 were free and just had to ride on an adults lap. I knew it would be difficult, but two could ride on Tony's lap and one on mine. So I bought Tony and I a ticket each and selected 3 under three tickets. When I received the tickets in the mail, the information said UNDER TWO were free. I was panicking that we'd get there and then they'd turn us away because they were too old to ride on our laps. We thought we would just get on "stand by" for as many additional seats as we could, but when we asked, they said they were "over-booked". Not sure how that's possible or why they would do something like that (other than to make a Ba-jillion dollars, which for sure they did) but when we gave them our tickets to exchange for boarding passes, they didn't say anything. Obstacle one, passed! Phew. Now on to obstacle two. I don't normally care what other people think, but I was really concerned that we would be packed like sardines next to some other families on the ride and they would be looking at us holding our three "obviously older than TWO children" on our laps (taking up every ounce of extra space) and think we were big cheater-cheater-pumpkin-eaters. I had visions of the girls crying and screaming to get off the train (after it was already moving, of course) and just having everyone glare at us, wanting to throw us out the windows. Positive thinking, I know! But I have to mentally prepare for the worst so I can come up with possible solutions to any problem in advance. Having triplets has improved my problem solving skills in many different ways, preparedness is one.

We boarded our train car and looked for seats, preferably away from everyone else. We saw that the seats were in groups of four, with two seats on each side facing each other. We picked a section that was all empty. We sat down, got situated and noticed that no one was choosing to sit in our section. No surprise. I probably wouldn't either. Then I noticed the guy coming around clicking the tickets (like in the movie) and I started to panic. He was, for sure, going to tell us to get off. That would be embarrassing. He came, I can't find the tickets, I found them, he clicked them and then says to me, in a sympathetic tone, "Once we start moving, you can move them to these seats," pointing to the ones across from us. He moved on to the next section and Tony and I looked at each other, puzzlingly. Then the train started moving and I had a sudden realization that we have all FOUR seats to ourselves! I literally started tearing up. How was this possible??They were "over-booked"!! It was truly an answer to my prayers. I was so concerned over my innocent mistake and I didn't want to punish the girls for it. I could finally relax and enjoy the ride. I wanted to etch every moment of this experience in my mind, not only so I could remember it, but so I could re-tell the story to the girls when they got older of their "first ride on the Polar Express"!!!

Here are some photos of our exciting day:

Waiting Anxiously in Line:

Jordyn
Ashleigh
Avery

Finally in our seats!!

Yummy! Cookies! (the hot chocolate was a little too hot)

watching the world go by out the window.......

Ash looking at Santa for first time in person:

"I can hear the bell! I believe!"

Bye bye, Polar Express!

***I BELIEVE***

PawPaw and MawMaw Visit!

2009-11-19T11:20:00.000-08:00

I'm a little behind in my posts (yeah, I know. what's new, eh?)

My parents came to visit the first week of November and we had such a fabulous time with them. The girls had been preparing for weeks for their visit. We would count down the days by asking them, "Guess who's coming in (x amount) days?" and they would say "ummmmm.....PawPaw and MawMaw!!!!!!!" (Or as Jordy says, "Sampa and Sammaw" She's getting better...) We did this for probably two weeks until they FINALLY got here! :)

We had LOTS of projects to work on, like making the girls dresses for a friend's cowboy themed birthday party, building our pantry and just making sure we spent tons of time together having fun. On Thursday we went up to Apple Hill for the second time. We went with them two years ago for the first time and just loved it. I hope we can make it a yearly tradition!!

We are so happy whenever our PawPaw and MawMaw get to visit. We hope to see you guys again, soon! Here are some fun pictures of our week together:
(sorry some of them are squishy. don't know what happened)

Fight!!

2009-11-17T09:14:00.001-08:00

This blog post is dedicated to my girls, all the doctors and nurses who helped them arrive in this world safely and continue to thrive and to all the other little babies who have been born too soon.

I've already mentioned that today is the "National Prematurity Awareness Day" and the March of Dimes "Fight for Preemies" blog post day in this post.

Here are several photos of my babies when they were in the hospital. I couldn't help but cry as I looked through these photos. Such a happy, sad and scary time. And we were some of the 'lucky' ones....

D-DAY 34 weeks and 2 days

(I've had several people ask, so here it is)

Together for the first time since the womb. Avery and Jordyn came home that day, but Ashleigh took a turn for the worse and was in critical condition for two more weeks. Such a bittersweet day.

We are doing well now and have "caught up" in virtually every area.

We are so blessed to have been given the best medical care that helped my babies

live and THRIVE!

We are so grateful for The March of Dimes for all the research they have funded and education provided to help save preemies and untimately prevent premature birth.

Halloween '09-- "PURRRRRR!"

2009-11-16T10:40:00.000-08:00

Yes, we were kittens this year. Mostly because I had been stewing over costumes for months without any inspiration. My mother in law bought the girls these cute halloween stripey pants and shirts with two black kitty cats on them and I decided to take the easy way out and paint some whiskers on the girls and call them "kittens". I made some dorky ears out of paper and stuck them to some headbands (of which only one broke that night, surprizingly. And AFTER trick or treating! miracles!) I pinned some black knee-highs (that I bought when the girls were tiny to make headbands---and never did) on their bums for tails.

This is what I consider their first "real" Halloween because before, they were totally oblivious to the costume and didn't really get the whole Halloween thing. This year, they were excited to be kitty cats and say 'trick or treat' and hold out the bags for candy. They get the concept---even if they do call their costumes their "Halloweens". Whenever they see their outfits they say, "Mommy! My Halloweens!!" So funny.

Jordyn LOVED the make-up. Which makes sense because she is ALLLLL girl. Ashleigh wanted the make-up, but everytime I would go to draw on her, she would move her head and say "No!". So that is why it looks as if she got into a fight with the eyeliner because, essentially, she did. Avery was good for one cheek, then decided halfway through the other, she was done and wanted NOTHING to do with whiskers, noses or anything else. So she is only half-whiskered. Oh well. It was dark anyway.

We headed out to do some trick or treating in Tony's parents neighborhood. The girls had some cute pumpkin lanterns because they really hate the dark. "it dark out siiiide", they said. We convinced them 'guide us' through the neighborhood with their lanters and they felt brave and proud to do so! We hit about 5 houses. They would go up to the door, all excited to say "Trick or Treat!", but then the door would open and they would run and hide behind us all....UNTIL Jordyn realized that she could get chocolate and she got real brave, real quick. Several times, the homeowner would put one or two in her bag and she would look down at it, then look back up and say "More!" like the person was an idiot to only give her one or two, when clearly he had a whole bowl full of candy in front of her face. Embarassing. But cute. We worked on our Thank-You's even if they were said while running down the driveway to the next house. Oh well. If they will even look at 'strangers', it's an improvement.

We proceeded to go back to Nana and Papas house and the girls plopped down just inside the entry way to scope out their loot and gorged themselves on EVERY SINGLE piece of candy in their bags. It was their first real taste of candy, and they especially loved the suckers. SUCKERS! They are the worst thing for kids under the age of maybe, 6. I think even some adults should be banned. Seriously there was sticky from here to Timbuktu. Lovely. But they enjoyed it. And I was happy to let them finish it all in one night rather than drag it out for weeks. They didn't have too much, so I was OK with it. Maybe I'm a bad mom. lol.

Here are some photos of our first "real" Halloween! BOO!

2009-11-16T10:38:00.001-08:00

Pumpkins For My PUNKINS!

2009-10-29T15:47:00.000-07:00

Blog for Preemies

2009-10-15T10:13:00.000-07:00

We, like many of you, are big advocates for the March of Dimes and prevention of premature births. Before it actually happened to us, I thought that being born a few weeks (or more) early was "no big deal. That's what the NICU and doctors are for, right?" But until you actually experience the NICU and crying over the scariness of having a baby who's lungs don't function (amongst other things) or seeing the other babies who have it much worse than yours, you can never understand. It's true that medical advancements have increased the chances of saving the lives of many preemies, like our girls (Ashleigh in particular), but prematurity isn't something that should be taken lightly. Even though, on the surface, things my seem OK, you just never know what impairments each premature child might face in the future.

That is why I am posting the following article for you all to read so we can all be cognisant and aware of this prevalent #1 killer of newborns in the US.

Fight For Preemies
http://www.marchofdimes.com/fightforpreemies
November 17, 2009
Objective:Every year, 20 million babies are born too soon, too small and very sick ― half a million of them in the United States. November 17 is when we fight.

Do you know a baby that was born too soon, too small, unable to suck, unable to breathe on his own?
Premature birth is a health crisis that jeopardizes the lives and health of nearly half-million babies each year. It is the #1 killer of newborns and can lead to lifelong disabilities.

Worse: the number has increased 31 percent since 1981. It can happen without warning and for no known reason. Until we have more answers, anyone’s baby, could be born too soon.

Medical advances give even the tiniest babies a chance of survival, yet for many babies premature birth is still a life or death condition. It’s the #1 cause of death during the first month of life. And babies who survive face serious health challenges and risk lifelong disabilities.

The rate of premature birth has never been higher. In half the cases, we simply don’t understand what went wrong. We need to fight for answers. And, ultimately, preventions.

November 17 is dedicated to raising awareness of the crisis of premature birth.

The March of Dimes invites bloggers like you to get involved.

• Learn about premature birth at marchofdimes.com/fightforpreemies

• Put a badge on your blog during November, Prematurity Awareness Month®

• On November 17, blog for a baby you love and to help others

We need to fight - because babies shouldn't have to.

Move over, I'm crowded....

2009-10-08T21:11:00.001-07:00

After an hour of naps today (and JUST as I was laying down to close my eyes) I heard someone crying "Mommy, Mommy!" This is not unusual since we've moved. The girls have become ultra dependent upon me, especially when it comes to nap and night times. I have to sit on the floor in their room, usually holding someone's hand (Avery) or holding a body (Jordyn, grr) and retrieve falling paci's (ashleigh and avery---another bad habit), until everyone is asleep. I throw in an extra 5 minutes after the last twitch of movement just for good measure. Learned that the hard way.

So, there I was, laying on the couch about to take a snooze, which I knew would be short because by the time I finished the dishes and eating my lunch, they had already been sleeping for an hour. Here's my confession. When I heard the "mommy-ing" I ducked down behind the couch cushions so whomever it was (Avery) wouldn't see me. Horrible, I know. But you can't run to them every time they make a peep. I'm trying to teach them to soothe themselves...again....

Well, I heard the pocket door slowly slide open a little, little footsteps coming, pausing, then retreating closing the pocket door again. I waited a while, fully expecting to hear toys being dumped out of the toy box and bickering over who stole what from whom, but there was just silence. Worrisome silence. Then I remembered that I needed to hurry and make sure they went on the potty, if they hadn't already gone elsewhere. So I slowly opened up the pocket door and peered through a crack...and nothing! So I thought maybe they were playing in their room, getting out shoes and things as they have been known to often do. I crept down the hall, avoiding the creaky floorboards (yes, brand new, and creaky. grr) and peeked into their room. I can see Ashleigh's and Avery's bed from the doorway and they are empty!! But I don't hear any noise...I turn back around and look in the playroom again and all is quiet. I panic and check the front door thinking they've escaped---but no! Still locked!

I decide to peek around the corner towards Jordyn's bed and the closet, thinking maybe they are inside the closet (which is also not uncommon). I beheld the cutest, most beautiful sight (so of course I ran and got my camera)

Jordyn had some bed-crashers! That's her in the blue pushed to the back of the bed.

I'm absolutely amazed that they went back to sleep after already sleeping an hour! Not sure what possessed them to climb into Jordyn's bed, or how in the world they fell asleep this way, but it was great! I went and laid down, thinking I would have 10 or 15 minutes....but then I am awoken by three happy faces 45 minutes later! Hallelujah!

And to top it all off-----They were still dry! Yippee!!!!

Pics

2009-10-07T15:25:00.000-07:00

There are some pics of the new house on the other blog. Check 'em out if you'd like!

End of Day 3

2009-10-07T08:00:00.000-07:00

So, yesterday ended rather well. There was only one accident the ENTIRE day, and of course it was a messy #2. I can't blame her...those sneak up on adults too. Sorry, TMI. I'm trying to be as clinical as possible all while documenting this for posterity. :)

HOWEVER....

We all woke up wet this morning.

Oh well.

I guess I need to reward them for waking up dry. Hopefully that will work.

Day 2 (And 1/2 of day 3)

2009-10-06T14:14:00.000-07:00

Well, I see marked improvement!!

Yesterday (day two!) all of the girls woke up dry both in the morning and after naps. I had to do a song and dance (figuratively...AND literally, unfortunately) to get them to sit on their potties after waking, since I KNEW they hadn't gone since before falling asleep. It took a bit, but finally they ALL sat down at different points and went! Success!! Ashleigh is pretty much trained at this point. She got it the first day and doesn't even need reminders to go. She even went #2 without me asking. Jordy also did a #2 yesterday. Apparently Avery needs more fiber in her diet... She is the hardest of all of them to get to sit at all. But, she figured it out yesterday and kept her big girl undies dry from nap-time until this morning. Yay!

Day three.

Ashleigh and Avery woke up dry. Jordyn did not. Not sure what happened, because she's usually pretty good. She must have been awake and silent in her room for a while and just forgot about the potty. But, she went later on and no one has had an accident since. No one would go before naps, so I'm a little worried about what might happen in the next hour or so until wake up time. I will just need to make sure and hurry in there at any signs of life. Wish me luck!

I'm not sure when they are considered officially "potty trained", though. I can't imagine being at the point when they will sit on the "BIG" potty and just go when they need to. I still feel like I have to ask them 8 THOUSAND times an hour if they need to go....I guess I'll 'just know', right???

I'm hoping..... :S

First Day of Potty Training

2009-10-04T21:02:00.000-07:00

OH Joy.

Can you hear the excitement in my tone?

We are going with the cold turkey method. No diapers or pull-ups in the house. Just the 33 pairs of big girl underwear I purchased and 3 little IKEA potties. We won't be leaving the house for 3 days. Hopefully 3 will be the magic number!!!

We have a "Potty Time" dry erase board with each of their names written across the top. Everytime the go Number One they get ONE star and TWO chocolate chips. If they go Number Two, they get TWO stars and FOUR chocolate chips. It's cheap and I had it all on hand.

We've reached the close of our first day and each girl has five "#1" stars, we've gone through about 10 pairs of underwear and only about 5 accidents (with three kids, I expected tons more).

We shall see what the night brings....I think I may need to buy some more sheets.....

I {{HEART}} Fall

2009-09-29T13:22:00.001-07:00

It's always been my favorite
time of year.

Every year, I look for new Fall photo opportunities. Everything is so full of vivid color. I love seeing the leaves on the ground and crushing them with my feet when I walk. I love the hint of crispness in the air and the smell reminds me a bit of home---you know, the smell of burning fields? haha! But it's totally true! I just feel so happy and alive! Which is slightly ironic because, in essence, everything is in preparation for winter hibernation. Go figure.

The girls and I went for our first neighborhood walk yesterday. It was in the upper 70's and there was a cool breeze. Perfect for walking! We rolled over some crunchy leaves and it just felt so fall-ish. I love our new neighborhood. Everywhere you look there are tall, mature trees. It just 'feels' nice. Don't get me wrong, our old neighborhood was fantastic and totally quiet! But there weren't many trees and there weren't any parks within walking distance. Here, there is one just a couple of blocks away. We are very excited and I can't wait to take some new fall photos outside. We have a gloriously tall tree in front and a really cool fence next door that has a large tree stump and cool river rocks in front---totally picture perfect! All we need are some pretty fall-en leaves and VOILA! We are just a few weeks away, I think! Fall was the inspiration for the new pictures I took for the Blog header. Do you not just LOVE the header?? OK, I'm biased, but it's my favorite, to date. I can't believe how GROWN-UP and all SUPERMODEL-Y the girls look. Totally gorgeous. I love them (I mean the girls this time...but I love the pictures, too!)

Also, Fall brings our wedding anniversary (September was picked for a reason!) and Tony's birthday. I already did a post about the anniversary but Tony's birthday was Sunday. His family came over and we celebrated with a BBQ, football watching and cupcakes. They were a new creation for me and Tony said they were "one of my best efforts" (which is his highest compliment). They were banana-chocolate chip with a brown butter frosting. If you've never had brown butter frosting, you are totally missing out. It is perfectly Fall-ish to me. So good on everything, but really good on pumpkin things and anything spicey (like cinnamon, not pepper, lol). Try it. You will be in love. Back to the birthday---too bad the Steelers lost. There's always next week. We really need Troy back. Like, REALLY. I hope he heals faster than they expect. The rest of the evening was capped off with a viewing of Footloose the movie. An oldie, but a classic. We sang the songs for the remainder of the day.

I also love Fall fashion. I love the colors, I love sweaters and I love boots. Did I mention I love boots?? Love. I wish they weren't so danged expensive. Someday. Oh and hats. I need to expand my Fall hat collection. Again, someday. I know that is superficial, but it's how I feel!

So get out there and enjoy your Fall weather (and food and fashion). :)

Lost in the shuffle.....

2009-09-24T23:47:00.001-07:00

No, I'm not talking about my lack of blogging....wait....maybe I am.....yeah, I guess technically I am...

I have failed to mention that Tony and I celebrated our 6th Wedding Anniversary on the 12th this month and our 5th Eternal Anniversary on the 11th. We weren't able to go out (YET! Unless you count going to the grocery store with the girls...which sadly, is a fun 'outing' for us) but Tony did bring home some lovely things for me and our new house (and most were on clearance! I LOVE that he saved some money, too!!!!)

-a clothes steamer with attachments for cleaning! Awesome!

-a toaster

-a couple silicone trivets and kitchen towels by MARTHA

-a couple sauce pans

-'The Princess Bride' movie on BluRay-which he hates but knows I love.
("Anybody wanna peanut??")

-some gorgeous red roses

-And a TO DIE FOR chocolate cake---I think it was called "Chocolate Kiss". It had layers of chocolate cake filled with strawberry glaze, strawberry cream frosting, topped with chocolate ganache and chocolate covered strawberries. Oh-MAH-Gosh. SOOO delish. It could be a new tradition! :D

Thank you HONEY for being a very supportive and hardworking husband and father. I don't deserve you!

I love you.

Seriously? A MONTH???

2009-09-24T23:00:00.000-07:00

I honestly do not believe that it's been an entire month since we've moved in. Yet, it feels like a millennia (mostly at night). I don't want to jinx it, but just in the last week, the girls have been sleeping through the night, even with colds! They REALLY have had a hard time adjusting to their new house and beds and room. I'm sure it's so scary to have nearly everything you find familiar taken from you. Poor babies. But I figured the '21 day habit' rule would apply, and it's pretty much held true! It's been so nice to get a solid 7 hours of sleep each night. Although, I've been sick too so I have been waking up stuffy and coughing a little, but I'll take it over lying on the hard floor in their room just praying that their eyes will close and they won't pop their little heads up to make sure I haven't left the room!!! :/

But the girls have been overjoyed to have their own space to stretch out in and explore. I can already see growth in their motor skills and even their interactions have improved. We have also tried potty training for a couple weeks now and they are hot and cold. Some days we have 8 or 9 'stars' per child on the 'Potty Time' chart, and then there are days when there are none. Sometimes I can't get them to sit on it no matter WHAT I try. But I'm not going to force it because I don't want it to become a punishment. We had ONE good morning in 'big girl underwear' until one of them decided to NOT use the potty---which was 5 feet away. They immediately went back into diapers. Probably not the smartest idea, but I just couldn't handle it that day. I will try again in a couple days when I can just commit to doing just that (ha ha, right?) No really, we are just going to stay home for three days and I will be following them around 24/7. Sounds fun, right??? I wish I had the money to just hire someone to do it for me!! (I sound like one of those 'Real Housewives' people now....shame on me!) Ugh. I dread. But it's necessary. We already bough 30 pairs of underwear (we can discuss the usage of the word 'pair' when referring to underwear and pants another day----makes NO sense to me AT ALL....)

We are no where near being unpacked. As we speak, Tony is still packing boxes and boxes of 'stuff' that we still have at the other house. We have to get everything out by tomorrow because it is being painted and then next Tuesday there is new carpet coming in. I just am so overwhelmed because we can't find time to get it all done. It's so daunting. I'm not good at balancing all the demands I have---kids, husband, two houses, church callings and other volunteer positions....when will I ever figure it out??? We just barely brought things like dishes, measuring cups/spoons, and mixing bowls over last week (Thanks to my mom and sister, Shaunie! A post to come about their visit coming soon!) Our poor garbage man with our over-flowing cans of paper products!! Good thing we also have recycling pick-up here!
I've really tried to get into the habit of having the girls help clean up their playroom before naps and nighttime every day. We've done well so far, but the past couple of days I just can't seem to get it together. I'm letting the stress of it all get to me again. But I will gather myself up and start again tomorrow. At least that's my goal, anyway!

One thing I've learned is that hard surface floors are a lot more work than carpet. Not only do you have to remove the debris by sweeping or vacuuming, but then you have to mop it. And our floor has a matte finish to it so every droplet or toe-print is visible! Annoying! Not only do I, first, vacuum it, but next, I steam mop it to sanitize and THEN I have to mop it with a special 'polish' cleaner. Just to do the main living areas takes me an hour! Uh, yeah...I have that kind of time...NOT! Needless to say I went from doing that everyday to every other day (or, to be more honest, I have decided to lower my standards a bit and live with the never-ending foot prints and droplets. I can only stand so much 'driving-me-crazy-ness' that I have to let some things go. shh. don't tell...)

But all in all, it's so wonderful. And someday it will be all put together and decorated.

I dream of that day.

Just don't ask when that might be..........

MOVING DAY

2009-08-26T04:29:00.000-07:00

Don't want to mention it again...

2009-08-13T23:32:00.000-07:00

But there are a couple of updated house pics on the other blog. I am hoping that maybe I won't need to link to it in the future...I hate to do these silly posts...as if anyone is really interested, hahaaa!

::House Update:: (And my 100th POST!! YAY!)

2009-07-20T17:33:00.000-07:00

Check out the 'other' blog for the latest set of photos! Thanks everyone!

Father's Day Continued.....

2009-06-30T22:14:00.001-07:00

((Apparently you have to click on 'view full screen' to see the Father's Day thing I did for Tony. Sorry. Don't know what happened.))

I also wanted to pay tribute to my own father. He and my mom were recently here for three weeks or so to help us on the house. Words can't express my gratitude to both of them for their manual labor (yes, watching the girls is manual labor, too...trust me...)

We were able to do SOOO much thanks to my parents. We would have been lost had they not come to help us get the house ready and watch the kids. Every time I go to the "new house" to work, they say "help sampa (grandpa) clean?"---they still think Grandpa is over there, haha. too cute. I just say yes, because they don't get that 'Idaho' is a LOT further away...oh well. When we take them over there for the first time, we might have some explaining to do....lol. We love you guys and can't wait for you to come back soon!

Here is a really cute video of my dad giving the girls "horsey rides". I don't know if anyone else knows what these are, but usually it's done ONE child at a time! It's pretty short. And very cute. (However, the "horsey" will be filing for worker's comp---he nearly didn't make it! hahaaaaa)

Belated Father's Day wishes to my Father in Law as well. We are so grateful for the support you give to Tony and I and for making all of our dreams a reality. We can't thank you enough for all you do for us and the girls---They love their PaPa!

I want to express my gratitude to all of the other "fathers" in my life--my Gramps, uncles, extended family members and friends. You are all such great people and role models. I appreciate everything you have shared with me throughout the years.

THANK YOU, THANK YOU!

HAPPY FATHER'S DAY (a little late) :)

Happy Father's Day, Tony!!

2009-06-20T22:40:00.001-07:00

Such Bad Little Girls....

2009-06-19T23:34:00.000-07:00

Seriously??

Seriously.

Why do my children have to be SO NAUGHTY??? Is it because there are three of them vying for the same attention? Do they feel that have to out-naughty the other two sisters?? I'm completely convinced that multiples get into more mischief than singletons. Maybe this is an exaggeration, but seriously, people with multiples, is this what you have found too???

Everyday, they are getting into something they shouldn't. I mean, they ARE two years old, and we always hear about "the terrible two's"...but really?? It's not just messing up things---which they do plenty of---it's destroying things. Or getting into things that could literally kill them. The other day, Ashleigh had climbed up the cabinets, got a butcher knife out of the open drawer and had it in her hand when I walked in the room! The latch went on the next day.

We can't have nice books with any sort of pop up or texture or even paper pages---they are gone in two seconds. They even peel apart the cardboard books. Ashleigh even tears apart her fruit snack wrappers--have you ever peeled the foil from the paper on a gum wrapper? Well that's what she does with the fruit snacks.

They pick apart the seams in the toes of their footie pajamas, ripped out a zipper from a mattress cover, and the other day (same day as the paint incident, by the way...) they got into a box of my MK make-up and squirted face cream all over the carpet in their bedroom AND later on, got a box of mini cereal boxes off the counter, proceeded to open EVERY little box and spill the entire contents onto the kitchen floor:

Just a few days before, they did something so bad and dangerous, what else could I do, but video it! haha

That's an entire Costco size box of garbage bags. We've had a battle with them for a while, but they usually only get one or two out...not 150 and make SNOW ANGELS in them....can you hear the absolute delight in their mischief?? Beside the mess it makes (have you ever tried to re-pack one of those boxes once the bags have been unrolled? IM-POSS-IBLE!), I worry about them suffocating, as I've seen them try to climb in those bags. Ugh.

A lock promptly went on that cupboard too.

Ahh, the joys of two year old triplets.

At least they are cute....

"Is that....paint?!?"

2009-06-16T08:04:00.000-07:00

"Why, yes! Yes, that IS paint!"

(A gallon of paint, to be exact. And, yes, that is my car. The driver's seat, actually.)

That was my response to the nosey man, with a 6 year old child in tow, who was in line ahead of me at the car detailer. It's as if NO ONE has ever seen a little paint spilled before....

It's just paint people, keep walkin'! :)

As you can imagine, I drew a crowd.

It all started when I was on my way back to Lowe's (with offending paint can on the floor behind my seat) to buy a few more supplies, including a small tube of blue paint to be used to tint the paint that was currently still in it's can. I only had an hour until the girls got up from their naps and had to relieve my mother-in-law from her kid-watching-post, so I knew I had to be super duper fast. I was just about to the off-ramp when four cars in front of me all slammed on their breaks, of course causing me to slam on my brakes. It was enough to lay some rubber down, I can tell you that much. So traffic picks back up soon after, and I went on my way.

About 50 yards later, I smelled something faint. I thought, "man, the car in front of me smells funny...slamming on their breaks must have done something to their car..."

The smell started to get stronger....and stronger....

I thought, "that smells like............OH CRAAAAAP! PAINT!!"

So, I'm sitting at the stop-light (of course it's red) freaking out. I mean really freaking out. I decide I need to put the car in park and just turn around to peek at the damage---hoping that maybe just the lid popped open or a trickle of paint had come out. So I peered around my seat onto the floor and all I see is the pale green 'I-wish-it-were-blue-er' paint oozing out of the now empty paint can. I turned around, put the car in drive and as the light turned green, pulled into the nearest parking lot, which had a nail salon, wireless cellphone place and a 'taqueria' (whatever that is... prob didn't spell that right). I opened my door to survey the scene.....and the paint just flows -like freakin' Niagra Falls- out my door and onto the pavement.

AWESOME.

I call Tony and he tells me to go to the Chevron, which is just down the road. I take a picture (of course!) then leap over the dripping paint (thinking, 'why did i wear jeans today') and ironically notice a sign next door that said "psychic readings". Great. Why couldn't they have told me this was going to happen?? I pondered running over there to see what the outcome of this lovely catastrophe might be but, but knew time was of the essence, so off to the Chev I went.

I pulled in and noticed a .75 water/air machine along the side wall. I looked in my purse for quarters and, as luck would have it, all I had was three. Perfect! Of course there was a broken down car parked on the side that would reach my driver's side easiest. So, just as I was getting back in my car (after seeing if the cord *just might* reach around, which it of course did not) a truck with two guys pulls up next to me. They get out, don't notice right away, then the driver says to me, "Is that paint?". "Yes." I say. Then he proceeds to come closer, crouches down and touches it (as if not believing me that it is, indeed, paint) calls his friend over who also crouches down to touch it, and says "oh boy!".

Gee, thanks, misters.

They want to stand there with me and disccuss it at length, while I'm freaking out and just wanting to get in my car, back it up next to the hose and pressure wash some of the paint off before it dries! So I, politely as possible, say "I gotta back the car in to reach the hose". Then jumped in and did just so. I hurridly put my quarters in (cursing the broken down car on the other side of the hose for making a horrible situation just that much harder) and pull out the hose where it says water. I pull the lever and there is just air coming out. Stupidly, I waste my time thinking, "maybe it just takes a bit for the water to come out" which of course, it didn't. So I grabbed the other hose (praying that my 75 cents paid for use of both the air AND the water, since I had no more quaters, and I cought a break! It did! The bad news was, I probably could have spit with more pressure. Oh well-I had to work with what I had. It was at least thinning the paint down, so that was good. Then, over the lound sound of the water pump, I hear a voice behind me. One of the guys working on the broken car next to me took pity on me and was trying to offer me his sweatshirt to wipe the paint off with. (he must have seen me pathetically wiping globs off with some extra diapers I had in the car. yay for prepared mommies!) lol! I told him that I wouldn't take it, realizing then that this man spoke very little english. He said something like "not need it" and I said ok, feeling horribly guilty that this poor man was going to be out a sweatshirt, thanks to me! But then the surprising thing happened, he took his sweatshirt and started wiping the paint off. Unfortunately, while we were discussing the sweatshirt offer on the table, my hose shut off. Dang it! The man is trying to tell me something, but I can't understand him. He points over to the car wash and is really trying to get me to go over there. In my head, I'm thinking, "heck of a lot of good an exterior car wash is gonna do..." but he is insiting. I think I even asked him "how much?" (like I'm in Tijuana trying to haggle over a pair of earrings!) He looks at me funny, and I continue to pull into the car wash. But when I got closer, I noticed he had a hose in his hand. Light bulb! {this guy must think I'm an idiot...which, at this point, I would have to agree} But he proceeds to hose off and scrub my car down for me, until a car pulls in behind me and my car wash blocking SUV. I run over to him and explain the situation, then hurry in my car to pull through and let him by. I decide I need to get to a detailer, throwing my Lowe's trip COMPLETELY out the window. I pull around to talk to my little friend and he is NO WHERE to be found!! I felt guilty, but I had to leave. Oh I feel terrible about that still. But I know he will be blessed for helping me - a perfect stranger-

with such a horrible mess!

I get back on the freeway, get to the car detailer and now try to explain the disaster to them. Again, everyone that come up to the car, leans down, touches it, and then has some sort of "ohh no..." or "ouch!" kind of response. The nosey man in line, whom I mentioned earlier, tries to make me feel better by saying "At least it's not milk..." Um, thanks. I think I'd rather take milk, which I realize can be horribly hard to get out (especially the smell) but still possible. If this paint dries, my car is ruined!! I would have to replace the seat, carpets, and basically the whole driver's side door!!! Yeah! Wish it WAS milk!!

(very)Long story short(-ish) [ha ha] they were able to get pretty much all of the paint out in two hours (after having to remove and re-attach most of the driver's seat) and $60 bucks later. SO I guess I'm out $85, including the cost of the paint. Dang it! If only the color had been right

in the FIRST PLACE!!!

BIG thank you to Tony's dad who picked me up from the carwash to get home to the girls, and to Tony and Joe who took time out from their busy days to go pick the car up and bring it home all cleaned up! You help, as always, is very much appreciated!

The 2nd Phase

2009-06-12T22:33:00.000-07:00

See a couple post-demolition shots here!

I know--post overload!

2009-06-09T00:47:00.000-07:00

Just wanted to let you all know that I've posted "The Before's" on the other blog.

Enjoy!

10,000 VISITORS?!?!

2009-06-08T17:28:00.000-07:00

WOW! Thanks everyone for all the visits! I feel sad I missed my actual 10,000th visit, but blogger was being dumb...again....

Thanks again, one and all!!!

::Two Kinds of STRESS::

2009-06-08T15:00:00.000-07:00

I've decided that there are two kinds of stress in life:

1. The "WORRY" stress. This is the 'life and death' kind of stress. The kind that truly scares you.
My pregnancy/kids' births/infancy(toddlerhood, etc etc etc) falls under this category. I can say that that was the most stressful "worry-stress" moment of my life; and I have a feeling that will never go away.

AND THEN:

2. The "PRESSURE" stress. This is the stress you feel when needing to complete a certain task or accomplish any kind of goal or something like that.

This is the kind of stress I'm going through now.

I have never had more "pressure-stress" than I have right at this moment.

I came upon this theory in the shower today (I so needed a moment to take a break from everything. The girls were finally asleep. I took about a 20 minute nap and then a long 40 minute, much needed, shower.) I thought for a moment "This is the most stressful moment of my life." Then I stopped and realized that wasn't exactly true and proceeded to come up with the theory that there is more than one kind of stress that we all experience. The stress I felt with the girls was equal to the amount of stress I'm feeling now, but they aren't comparable in any other way--totally different! But nonetheless, both extremely stressful.

But, we have checked several things off the list this past week and made so much progress (thanks to sooo many people---you will get proper thanks in an upcoming post :) )

-kitchen, bath and hallway cabinets-- IN!
-re-purposed old cabinets for garage storage
-appliances purchased! (all except for microwave)
-sinks purchased
-faucets, check!
-granite purchased and being fabricated as we speak---er, type
-master bedroom painted
-tony's office painted
-my closet re-structured
-pantry added on in kitchen, drywalled and mudded
-wallpaper prepped for texturing and ready to be primed (loooooong story!)
-several spaces primed and ready for painting
-lighting and outlets added throughout house
-plumber scheduled
-flooring scheduled for the 22nd

SO, a lot! But still SOOO much left to do. And oh-so-little time.

I couldn't have done any of it without help from our families and friends! A most gracious thank you to all who have had a hand in this project. I will repay you with something, I promise!!

I will be posting the before's on the other blog today, hopefully! (cross your fingers....) haha

Blogger Bugs

2009-06-08T10:15:00.000-07:00

Sometimes I hate blogger---- it randomly doesn't let me sign in!!

I've been trying for over a week to do a post, and it wouldn't let me! It would just process and process then say "this page cannot be displayed..blah blah". Grr!

But it's working today, finally! I am working on a few posts so check back on both blogs soon for updates with the girls and on the house.

Thanks for everyone who voted in the poll! I think I will post both since that's what the majority suggested. So, thanks again!

Have a great Monday!!

PLEASE VOTE IN MY POLL

2009-05-19T12:53:00.001-07:00

I have had a lot of requests for pictures of our renovation, but I don't know if y'all want me to post "BEFORE'S" and "AFTER'S" when it's all completed, or if you want "real time" progress shots???

Let me know so I can get them posted. They will be on the OTHER BLOG instead of here, just so you are aware!

so, VOTE!

thanks!! :)

...Avoiding on Purpose...

2009-05-14T12:07:00.000-07:00

Redundant? Perhaps....

I have been on a blog strike.

I haven't even signed into Google in days. Don't be offended that I haven't been reading your blog posts. I care about you, but....

I think I am in denial....Actually, I know I'm in denial.

My life is in the middle of turning upside down. It will be fine when it actually reaches the "upside down" point, but right now, it's like I'm stuck sideways and all of my "stuff" is just flying around. The worst part is, I don't know when it will normalize again.

The past two (I guess, three) years have been a perpetual state of limbo. I never knew what to expect on any given day---from finding out we were having triplets, to fears of losing them during a rough pregnancy, to fears of losing them after their premature births, to not knowing how I was going to make it through any given day, and, although a lot has changed and my previous fears have subsided, new ones have developed. It's a really hard transition to go from pretty much a solid boring routine with no surprises to COMPLETE CHAOS! I've completely changed as a person. At this point, I just go with the flow and take almost everything that comes at me in stride (almost). :) But it still annoys me....

However, I couldn't be happier with my life. I have the best husband and wonderful, cute children that make it all worth it. But we all have our moments, right?

So, as expected, just as I'm starting to get the hang of 'not-getting-the-hang-of-things', everything changes----again!

As I mentioned previously, we are renovating and remodeling our much needed new home..... slowly but surely. Then I will need to pack up my current house--which, by the way, has been COMPLETELY neglected. (I guess I have just shut down knowing that it will all be sorted through and packed soon enough that I figure there is no point in doing it now...even though it causes much more additional stress at home.) So not having a for sure or even kind of an idea of when we are moving is really, really hard. Especially when everyday I try to keep my children from climbing the walls and getting into things that don't have a "place" and destroying it. For example a cook book that I was reading on the counter today is missing a page of the index and the back cover. I don't understand why they feel the need to completely dismantle EVERYTHING. But I'm getting off track again....

To make things worse, just as I feel I've gotten close to someone, they are leaving. Gosh. I can't even talk about it. I've been rather lonely since I moved here 6 years ago and find it hard to reach out to others. Having my girls and being indoors most of the time with them has not helped, but I definitely blame myself and my own "social anxiety" for my lack of close friends and loneliness. So when this person reached out to me and basically "forced" herself into my life, it was the best thing for me. I needed that push. (I don't mean forced in a negative way---she just wouldn't take a "no, we're fine" for an answer. I couldn't be more grateful) She didn't even know me and yet she offered to come to my house and help me clean. She folded massive piles of baby clothes and even DUSTED, for heaven's sake! {{What am I going to do without you??}} OK. Can't talk about it anymore. I am unable to see what I'm typing through the tears. I love you and I'll miss you. End of that pathetic sob story. :P

So, I have these ebbs and flows of emotions where sometimes I feel so positive about it all and sometimes it's downright depressing. But I'll make it through these events and feelings, just as I did before. Everything happens for a reason. I couldn't believe anything more.

Happy 2nd b-day, BLOGGY!

2009-04-25T00:57:00.000-07:00

I forget that we have the same birthday, my little blog!

I am sorry I neglect you...often....but I will try to be better! I promise!

We've shared laughter, tears and we've even had a fight or two.

But, I LOVE YA, BLOG! Even if I don't always show it....

It's Official!!!

2009-04-22T20:36:00.000-07:00

WE'RE MOVING!!!!!!!!

Woohoooo! It's been something we've been working on for six months now, but we are now getting to the point where it's a reality and we can share our secret with everyone! It's been killing me to keep quiet until we were really sure it was happening. :)

We are remodeling a three bedroom house in the same area we are currently living. Actually, it is Tony's childhood home. It will be fun to breath new life into this home and make it 'ours'. Tony will have his own enclosed office, the girls will have a large playroom, I will have my own small craft/sewing area, lots of little perks like a walk-in pantry and most importantly---a backyard for the girls!!!

I've been dreaming of decorating or building a house since I was a little girl. I will say that it is a lot more stressful than I ever expected it to be. I don't want that to sound ungrateful or snotty, because I am so so soooo appreciative for this opportunity. But there is so much more involved than I ever expected. And there is so much pressure to pick THE PERFECT everything. Stuff that is stylish, durable, timeless and the determining factor is price. It HAS to be a good value. We just don't have an unlimited amount of money to put in to this project so that has been the most time consuming part-----the constant and never ending research! Do you people know just how many PAINT COLORS THERE ARE IN THE WORLD???? I knew there were a lot, but seriously?? There is a paint color for every person in the world....if not more.....so not kidding. I stood there in Lowes (and Home Depot) for an hour, just looking at the paint sample cards.....and I picked probably one hundred different colors....from BOTH places! But I think I've narrowed it down to about 20---and somehow, I will probably use all 20! haha.

The kitchen cabinets were ordered last week, we picked out our gorgeous granite counters and today we ordered our flooring!! Oh boy, it's thrilling---but nerve wracking. I just can't wait to get all the work done and move in! Hopefully this summer.

I will go into more detail about the specifics and projects on my other blog, but I wanted to share this news will all of my blogging buddies! Maybe this will explain partly why I've been so stressed lately...like I said, partly....

Life

2009-04-20T13:16:00.001-07:00

I'm having a rough one today.

My throat hurts from screaming at my children.

Yes, screaming. Judge away, if you must. I don't care.

I'm sure most of you have more control than I do, but I've reached my breaking point.

I repeatedly told my children to stay away from the blinds and the curtains but they just won't listen. Apparently while I was out of the room trying to get something accomplished, they found a marker under the couch and proceded to draw on the blinds, window, couch, lamp shade, pillows, couch again, their outfits, hands and finally their faces.

I was too enraged to take pictures, and I'm sure I'll regret that.

So much to do and I can't do anything. I'm so frustrated and sick of all of it. I love my children, but I'm going insane.

An honest post from me.

SO out of the loop.....

2009-04-04T08:45:00.000-07:00

I've been unable to be on the blog for almost two months and I feel so disconnected from everyone and the world around me! Sadly, this is how I communicate with a lot of people and it's killing me! Not to mention it's probably going to take hours to back-read everyone's blogs! (IF YOU ARE NOT ON MY BLOGROLL TO THE RIGHT---PLEEEEEEAAAAAASE GIVE ME YOUR BLOG ADDRESS!! I AM MISSING A LOT OF BLOGS AND I MISS YOU!!)

Life has been unbelievably crazy and it is only the beginning of the craziness. You probably won't hear from me again for a while, but I'm going to try and post some pics of our recent trip to Utah. (We just got back last night, so give me some time to get reorganized and my pics downloaded) :)
It was so great to see family and friends. Thanks to everyone for helping out and spending time with us. We loved every minute!!

Later!

Avery Look-Alikes

2009-02-06T12:25:00.000-08:00

So, maybe Avery has a very common look---or I don't know what. But I, and a lot of other people, tend to find or see kids that remind them of her.

Here are two of the best examples.

1. There is a painting called "Snow Angels" by Robert Duncan and the little girl in the painting looks a lot like Avery. My sister and dad told me about it. See for yourself:

2. There was a web video circulating about 18 months ago, which was then turned into a commercial, that so many people have said reminded them of Avery (besides the fact that the child is a boy, but Avery had boy hair for a long time when she was a tiny baby). The laugh and everything was dead on. Eerily so. I'm sure you've seen it, but it's really cute, so watch it again. I DARE YOU to try not to laugh. I remember the first time seeing it (pretty sure on Ellen?) and thinking "wow--that is AVERY!" But it wasn't...obviously... :)
www.youtube.com/watch?v=cXXm696UbKY

(I tried to post the video here, but I'm not smart enough...sorry.)

Weekend Fun

2009-02-04T11:55:00.000-08:00

This was a fun weekend, aside from the colds we all have. Avery and Jordyn and Tony seem to be on the mend. Poor Ashleigh, who always gets the worst of it, and myself seem to be in the thick of the sickness. Yippie.

Saturday Tony had a black tie awards banquet for his work that we attended. It was fun to get all dolled up. Stressful to find appropriate clothing and such, but still very fun. I look forward to several of these types of events in the coming years. You can read more about my adventures in clothing and accessories for the night here.

Then Sunday was the Super Bowl. Tony is a huge fan of the Steelers. His dad was born and raised in the Pittsburgh area, so it's in the blood I think. We went over to the LaPlaca's house in the afternoon for food and the game. The girls were a bit mellower than usual because they were sick, and that was fine with me (and everyone else!) It was a fun time. We are glad that the Steelers are the champs again! Here are some pics of the day:

Big head. Tiny feet.

A face only a mother could love......

"CHEEEESE"

Ashy crashing the party...
'GO STEELERS!'

Ashy and Momma in our Steelers black and gold!

I Made a Boo-Boo....

2009-01-28T09:56:00.001-08:00

Hi Everyone!

In my haste to update the blog, I forgot to copy and paste my BlogRoll before that widget was deleted. Yikes!!

So here's your chance!

If you want to be super cool and awesome, give me your blog address and I'll add you to my NEW, AMAZING BlogRoll!! :)

Just kidding. You are all super cool anyway.

::but I want to blog-stalk you:: heeheehee

So leave it in the comments section or on the new ChatBox. (Or do both! I'm anxious to see how this ChatBox thing works!)

I know I could just go to the blogs I somehow remember, look at their lists, copy those blogs down, add them to my list and blah blah blah. But why go to all that trouble when you guys could do the work for me?? ; )

Thanks for helping me correct my mistake!

Have a great day!

Ch-Ch-Ch-Ch-Changes...

2009-01-27T15:09:00.000-08:00

New Year=New Blog

(Even though 2009 is not so new anymore. Where did January go? Can anyone tell me???)

The girls are another year older and it's about time to update the blog background and header. I've been working on this for a year off and on, but just haven't gotten it right--until now! SO---I'm unveiling the "new" blog! Although, don't get your heart set on anything fantastic. I am just really slow. :/

I've decided to try and update the header with more recent pics as the year goes on...maybe with the change of seasons. No promises, because blogging has to take a back seat to my crazy life more often than not. But I'm gonna try!

I've also started a personal blog "I'm No Expert" so please check that whenever you feel you have the time! It will be my crafty (or not so crafty-depending on the situation), creative and other miscellaneous postings blog. (I will still post about our kids and our family on this blog but everything else will be on the other one. Clear as mud, right?)

I don't know how I'm going to keep TWO blogs updated when I haven't been able to keep up with ONE, but I'm going to make it a goal! Let me know what you think! I'm excited for this fresh new start in a brand new year!

Chatty Kathys

2009-01-20T10:53:00.000-08:00

I started this post back in October. Here is what I wrote back then:

"It's almost like someone just flipped a switch. ---Literally--- yesterday my girls were not very verbal and used a series of annoying 'grunts' and 'whines' and all manner of chalkboard-scratching-like noises. But all of the sudden--they are saying words! Not just 'mama' and 'dada' and 'night-night'. Things like 'blanket' (bin-tet or binty), 'box', 'open' (ope-ee), 'stuck' and other seriously cute things, some of which we had no idea they even knew. Jordyn is still quite behind and just doesn't know how to form her words yet, but she does try. Avery's voice is the absolute most adorable little tiny high-pitched pixie voice. Even though she says 'ope-ee' a bazillion times, over and over again, the sound she makes is so cute we just have to laugh. My favorite thing is when they say each others' names. Or rather, *attempt* to say each others names. Oh man. That is so cute. And their names are not that easy to say."

Obviously, things have changed IMMENSELY since then. I wish I would have been able to finish it but I will continue it and update it! They are all talking soooo much. I just love hearing it. Even if some words don't come out--how should I say---PG rated??

Avery has got a bad potty mouth problem, except she doesn't know it. Poor baby. I'm afraid she will have to stay home from church until she can learn to say certain words like "FROG" or "FINGER" or "FATHER". Which are all pretty commonly used words. I'm sure you can just imagine my little two year old running around repeating over and over again "#$%#", "%&%^&", "#$%*&"!!! I promise, we are working on it. Another Avery issue is that many words are the same. Such as: "cracker" and "tractor" are both 'track-too'. Or purple, paper and pillow are all 'pah-poo'. She is so funny. A lot of things she says have an "uh" before it. Like, "uh--dada!", when she sees Tony or when one of us comes back from somewhere, it's "uh--back!". Always said in an exclamatory tone. The other day she tripped and fell on her back and yelled at the top of her lungs "I fall!!" It was so funny that that was her first sentence. Tony asked her if she was ok and she said "NO!" :) It's so fun to hear them actually conversing with us and each other. They are growing up, there is no denying it now! For a long time everything that she couldn't move, including herself when she was in her car seat or highchair, was "Stuck!" We explained to her that when she is in her car seat she is supposed to be stuck. I don't think she gets that yet...

Ashleigh is our "sentence" maker. I put sentence with " " marks because she just puts a long string of nearly all the words she knows together like, "mamadadasissyback". Or she will even make up a string of sounds, then add a 'real' word on the end like "Ahda baba doda, dadda!" She totally knows what she means to say....it's just up to the rest of us to figure it out! She has the funniest personality and the most hilarious, guttural, old man laugh. I need to figure out how to get that on here before she stops doing it because it is something that I need to document. It will seriously brighten your day. I wish I could make it my cell phone ring tone. I have yet to figure that out as well.

Jordyn, as I mentioned before, was a slow talker. I was days away from having her in speech therapy. Honestly. Then, out of the blue, she just began talking! Granted, she has a tough time actually forming her words, but she is trying. It has been so great to hear her funny little lisp-y voice. Her favorite thing to eat is anything adult and non baby-y. Sandwiches have been her favorite thing FOREVER. When she was tiny and not even on solid food yet, she would stare at every bite of a sandwich we would take. One day, when I was sitting down to eat a sandwich (with her, of course) she said "Sammy!!" It was so adorable we just laughed. We never told her to say that. She just came up with it all on her own. She also loves to point out everything she can name and yell it out over and over again until you acknowledge her smartness. "ball!" "ball!" "ball!" We have to say "Yes Jordyn! That's a ball!" before she will stop. It's so funny. And I think she feels so happy to be able to say words now and can't help but practice as often as she can. UPDATE: I forgot to mention that when she drops anything or trips (which happens quite often) she says "Oh Dear!" The other day she was standing on a bucket and began to lean trying to reach something and the bucket tipped and she fell flat on her tummy. Instead of crying or saying "owie" she exclaimed, "Oh DEAR!" Makes me laugh SO hard. I have no idea where she heard that, but she's picked it up and made it a regular part of her speech.

It's interesting that there are some certain words that each of them say differently. For example, Avery says "diaper" like "ah-boo". Asheligh says it like "bah-poo" and Jordyn says it like "bopper". Or, another funny one is "garbage". Jordyn says it like "sah-bay" (like she's french or something, lol). Avery says it like "darby" (which, incidentally, is the name of the girl's camp I went to as a teenager) and Ashleigh says it like "sobby" or dobby" which is kind of a combination of her sister's versions. It just is one of the many ways I receive confirmation that they are, indeed, different people! They may have been born at the same time, but they are surely very unique from each other. And I LOVE that.

But then there are words that one or two of them may have said correctly to begin with, but because one of her sisters couldn't say it, it would be copied with the 'incorrect' version. "Cup" is a prime example of that. Avery and Jordyn both could say it correctly. But Ashleigh could only say "tup" so now they all say "tup". And "cookie" is "tootie" for everyone now.

So, sometimes, they influence each other for good. But most of the time, they influence each other for bad. HAHA! Isn't that kind of a metaphor for life? I think most people are more easily influence to the 'bad' side than the good. But the good influence does happen and that fact makes it seem even more triumphant when it actually does occur. I don't mean that to sound pessimistic. Quite the opposite, really. We all just have to try harder to influence each other in positive ways rather than allowing ourselves to be so easily swayed by negative influences that seem to be all around us. I'll *try* to tell my kids that....wish me luck!! :)

The Festivities

2009-01-10T21:22:00.000-08:00

fes·tiv·i·ty
n. pl. fes·tiv·i·ties
1. A joyous feast, holiday, or celebration; a festival.
2. The pleasure, joy, and gaiety of a festival or celebration.
3. festivities The proceedings or events of a festival.
Noun
1. happy celebration: a spirit of joy and festivity

That pretty much sums up our holidays perfectly!

It all started with an all day Christmas Eve cheesy Lifetime movie marathon (for me); then once the girls were in bed for the night, I changed into my warm 'star' fleece pj's, curled up with a blanket and enjoyed a glass of (milk-diluted) eggnog complete with whipped cream and nutmeg sprinkled on top. Tony and I watched a couple more Christmas movies together and I just looked at him and said "This is the perfect Christmas Eve." I was so content and happy. And it was so good to feel that way. We didn't have to GO anywhere and we didn't have to DO anything. Sometimes, especially around the 'Holidays', we get overwhelmed with what we feel we have to do and forget to just enjoy the Season altogether.

I truly believe that the reason for my content-ed-ness this year was because I simplified everything. Nat reminded me of a saying I learned a long time ago: K.I.S.S. "Keep It Simple Stupid". That's exactly what I did! I put up minimal Christmas decorations, which is way different for me---my most favorite thing is to decorate for Christmas--my house is quite bare otherwise. We don't have room for a tree and even if we did, it would have been knocked down in 3 minutes flat and the decorations that I would have spent countless OCD hours hanging would be misplaced or worse--broken forever. We didn't put up any lights outside and we didn't do many gifts. I didn't really do neighbor gifts either. I appreciate so many people and there is just no way I can do something for everyone. I was stressing all month about it and just decided that the extra stress was not necessary. I did make a wreath for the front door and I put the three crucial parts of my Nativity up next to a mosaic mirror table top tree and that was it. Truly nothing else was needed.

Here are my sad, yet perfectly adequate, decorations:

Christmas day was spent at Tony's parents house. The girls really enjoyed opening presents this year. They even assisted others in the opening.....

So Helpful.....

Serious Concentration....

No one went overboard and we even got them some extremely practical gifts, as evidenced in these pictures:

My Future "Merry Maids" The Haul:
The Aftermath:

Just as we were recovering from this fun day, we had another fun day of celebration----The Girl's Second Birthday on the 27th!!!!

We went over to Tony's parents house again and played all day then opened presents and had cake. Here are the pictures from their special day:

I decided to do cupcakes this year and put them on a platter in the shape of a '2'. They were strawberry flavored white cupcakes with strawberry frosting and some were topped with a strawberry flavored meringue cookie in the shape of flowers or butterflies.

They tasted absolutely divine.

They actually ate their cupcakes this year!

In order of Birth:

Ashleigh

Jordyn

(Miss Priss asking for a towel because she got frosting on her finger)

Avery

(removing all of her frosting)
Nana and Papa got the girls hats and gloves....
Ashleigh decided that the hat must go on her toes........and they will probably be able to wear these until college!
Strike a pose.

They wore them for the rest of the night!

Then Grandma and Grandpa sent some presents and the girls had a ball opening them and playing in the one-foot-deep pile of wrapping!

What a fantastic and lovely Holiday we had. Thank you everyone!!

I am so grateful for everyone who thinks of us, helps us out, supports us and is just there for us in case we need them. It's been such an awesome year full of growth, challenges and accomplishments. I can't wait for this next year--- 2009 is going to be an interesting and exciting year for us!

Stay tuned!

My BABIES are TWO!!!

2008-12-26T08:07:00.000-08:00

I can't even believe it! What a long strange trip it's been....

and it's only just begun!

(A bunch of cliches, yes, but all so applicable!)

Here is a small sample of our exciting journey thus far......

{ MERRY CHISTMAS! }

2008-12-24T08:11:00.001-08:00

We wish you all a very Merry Christmas!

I hope everyone has had a wonderful year and I hope that 2009 is everyone's best year yet.

-LOVE and PEACE-

The LaPlacas

I make a motion.....

2008-12-20T12:59:00.000-08:00

.....To postpone Christmas until February.

Anyone second the motion????

**It's not like I've had 11 months and 20-some odd days to prepare for it this year**

grr.

* STARRY, STARRY NIGHT *

2008-12-04T10:25:00.000-08:00

I must confess, I don't love the tree I decorated. I like parts of it, actually I love parts of it, but as a whole, I think I screwed it up. I was thinking about it as I tried to fall asleep, but then when I actually did fall asleep, it was only to wake up a few hours later and agonize over it in my mind for hours. I can see in my head what I did wrong and if I could, I would completely start over. Too bad the Festival starts in 31 minutes. Oh well. I hope someone buys it and they can re-do it, if they want to. The hard part about doing a 'Festival' tree is every ornament, garland, etc. etc. on the tree has to be permanently wired on. Last year I did the 'hang it on, then go back and tighten each one on with wire' thing. It was hard, time consuming and I'm sure some were completely missed. So this year I tightened each one as I hung them. It was quicker, but the drawback was that once they were hung, they were staying....forever. That was my first mistake. The second is maybe I have too many ornaments and things on the tree. I have seen these trees that are so packed with ornaments that you can barely even see green from the tree and they look so cool and elegant. Unfortunately, I do not have the 'touch' to do it myself. I am TRULY not looking for people to say I'm wrong and that it looks great. I REALLY, REALLY feel I messed it up. I wouldn't have been up all night re-doing it in my head if I thought it looked fine and just wanted compliments from people. Maybe I'm being too hard on myself, and we are always our worst critics, but oh well. There is nothing I can do about it so I'm hoping that it reaches out to someone and they just have to have it! :) It looks OK, but I think it could be better. I guess that's all I'm tryin' to say.

SO--After that glowing review (haha) Here are the pictures
of the 2008 Festival of Trees 'STARRY, STARRY NIGHT' tree:

I put luminaries at the bottom instead of wrapped boxes.

They aren't turned on in the picture below. That's another story
for another day. Thanks to a nice man, they are working now. :)

(Pardon the mess around it. Everyone was just setting up and there were boxes everywhere.)

2008-12-03T20:13:00.000-08:00

I just got home from spending 5 fun hours decorating a Christmas tree for the 2008 Festival Of Trees so if you live in my town or surrounding area, PLEASE go see the awesome trees. They are even better than last year! I'm WAY impressed. The proceeds go to the Cathedral Square Homeless Program so it's a really worthwhile cause.

Go visit! It runs from Thursday until Sunday at the Downtown Mall.

Pictures to follow soon!!

TURKEY AND SPOOKS

2008-12-01T11:48:00.000-08:00

OK, I confess.....
My title is a little misleading. This post will contain no talk of spooks or turkey.

But it DOES entail another 'smilebox' slide show of this year's Halloween and a short recounting of Thanksgiving.

Sorry to get anyone's hopes up....

Here's the slide show (Smilebox is my new fave. So cute and easy. And free. FREE!!)

Make a Smilebox slideshow

Thanksgiving is a great time to reflect upon all the things that we can all be 'thankful' for. I don't even think I can list them all. But the the thing I am most grateful for is my family. Without them, I would have nothing. I have a great and oh-so-helpful husband, adorable children (who are healthy!) and a loving extended family that is always there to lend a helping hand or postive reinforcement when I need it. This Thanksgiving was especially hard to be away from my side of the family for some reason, but I know I will see them soon. {Well, sometime in the next year ;) } But I love them all and I am so THANKFUL for them.

I hope everyone has a great rest of the year and Holiday Season! I can't believe that Christmas is 24 days away and the girls will be TWO YEARS OLD just a short two days later! Holy Moly. Where does the time go??

I must aways remember to cherish every moment, because it truly just flies by.

FALL 2008

2008-11-11T10:13:00.001-08:00

Make a Smilebox scrapbook

BECAUSE YOU LOVED ME

2008-11-06T19:01:00.000-08:00

Or, more correctly, Because I Love HER!!

My husband is so amazing. He took me out for a once in a lifetime, wonderful night--- including a fabulous fancy dinner and, yes, I am almost not believing it, he took me to see CELINE!!!

I have waited since...well...forever for that. In fact, I didn't believe I would EVER be able to see her in concert. I wanted to see her in Las Vegas so badly, but the timing was just bad and when her show ended there, I thought for sure that I had missed my chance.

Last Christmas my husband put a surprise in my stocking. I could see it poking out for weeks, but he WOULD NOT let me open it. He wouldn't really even give me clues as to what it was! But when I opened it, I didn't believe what I saw! It was the receipt for tickets to see Celine Dion! And she was coming here to town!---albeit it was in October of '08! He had purchased them as soon as he heard she was coming and planned my surprise for weeks and weeks. The near-year waiting for the concert to arrive was totally excruciating!!

But I made it and boy, am I glad I did!

She was just as awesome as I imagined. Tears welled up in my eyes as she took the stage because it was a moment I had dreamt about and never thought would come to fruition. There were songs I wish she would have sung and some I kinda wished she didn't, but all in all, it was soooo beyond fabulous. Especially the finale when she sang 'My Heart Will Go On'. She wore a beautiful flowing dress and was surrounded by suspended platforms filled with flickering candlelight. The room had this beautiful ethereal glow and we felt sort of 'transported' as her crisp and clear angelic voice truly pierced to my very soul.

Music is such a huge part of me and makes me very emotional. It seems that when I look back on my life, (as cheesy as it sounds!) I remember a Celine song to coincide with every important moment----some happy, and some sad. I remember playing her cd's in my 'DiscMan' on a continuous loop when I would go to bed at night. I used her songs to either help calm my tears, or to help me 'cry it out'. The words and her voice inspired me and gave me hope---and continue to do so today! Yes...she is a bit crazy----but that's one of her most endearing qualities! She has a kind heart and her family is the most important thing in her life. How can you hate on that? And it doesn't matter if you are a fan or not---you MUST admit that she is talented. Even though that word doesn't seem to even begin to describe her. At least to me, it doesn't.

I am so happy and privileged to have been able to go to the concert, especially with my best friend. (And, YES! He is a big fan, too!) Dinner was great as well. We ate at the hotel where we stayed on our wedding night (since this was a christmas/anniversary gift). I think what I ate was called Duck Wellington. It was so tasty.

Thank you, Tony, for making a dream come true! It was a magical evening!

Here are some really blurry shots we took with Tony's cell phone and some pics of the concert I found online. Enjoy!

****

2008-11-04T11:12:00.000-08:00

Much Anticipated Bloggy Awards!

2008-10-27T16:52:00.000-07:00

I won!

(See sticker to the right>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>)

And now I get to do my own nominations!

So here's the lowdown (I plagiarized Nats words because they are so perfectly written):

1. The winners (whomever I nominate) get to put this same little sticker thingy on their blog. It's like the cool club or something.
2. Link back to me, because it's all about internet traffic and about getting more visits to your own blog and to other's. A giving tree of sorts.
3. Nominate 5 other blogs. (This part is going to be hard for me because there are so many stinking good ones out there that I read.)
4. Link up to said awesome blogs.
5. Leave a message on those blogs so they can get all flustered and butterfly-y and blush-y like I did when Nat left a comment saying she nominated me.

And the nominees are: (((drum roll.....)))

1. Katy- Everyone I know 'oohs' and 'ahhs' over her blog and all the "stuff" she creates on there and how great of a photographer and writer she is---including myself! She's also a great friend on top of that. So that is why I am nominating her.

2. Nat- She nominated me and she's received a Bloggy already, but I love reading her posts. She makes me laugh so hard. Her kids are adorable and they get into mischief all the time. Love her.

3. Lianna- A good friend I've known for over 12 years. We've recently reconnected and I've loved reading about her cute family on her blog. She has blown through obstacles with a smile and a positive attitude. She is such an inspiration to me and everyone she knows!

4. Casey- She's another triplet mommy who somehow finds the time to post several times a week, if not every day. She is someone who can understand exactly what I am experiencing and that is such a comfort! Plus, her cute girls crack me up.

5. Gen- She is a quad mommy---need I say more??? I've never actually met her in 'real life' but we belong to the same HOM (high order multiples) group, as does Casey. Her kids are adorable and she seems so kind and optimistic! I hope to meet her some day soon...

Please don't be upset if you are not included on this list. I enjoy everyone's blogs, from simple to extravagent. I love you all and you all deserve awards for being great friends and people who inspire me to be a better person!

I Finally Did It!

2008-10-15T16:08:00.000-07:00

This is going to come out entirely wrong, but I promise I will explain what I mean.

I finally showered on my own!!

That truly is the most accurate and succinct way of putting it.

Now before your mind starts processing...WHAT I MEAN IS... Yesterday, for the FIRST time since the girls were born, I didn't have to have another person in my house to be with my children while I showered!! WOO HOO!! (technically, I tried it once before, but the girls were all strapped in their little seats in the bathroom with me and I had to have the sliding shower door open so they could see me. They screamed the entire time. I was lucky to get the shampoo rinsed out of my hair that day. I swore that I would NEVER do that again.) I've always had to make plans in advance for when I wanted to shower. Either I had to work around my husbands unpredictable schedule or arrange for my mother in law to come over or something. And a lot of the time felt I had to 'hurry' so everyone could get back to what they needed to do.

But today I got them all to sleep and I thought I would give it a shot.

Jordyn was asleep on the couch.

Ashleigh and Avery were asleep in the crib.

I was alone!!

Freedom!

I know you are probably thinking, 'doesn't that happen every day?' No. It is only by a few miracles that all three of them sleep at once, for the same duration, at any given point in the day. Even if they all fall asleep at the same time, usually Jordyn will wake up and cry for me or need me there with her long before the other two wake.

I sprinted into the shower, occasionally opening the door to listen for screams. But I didn't necessarily rush because I didn't want to ruin the chance that I just *might* have a leisurely shower free from children. I heard nothing but the sweet sounds of silence! I got out of the shower and put my ear up to the monitor to see if I could even hear the rustling sound of their feet on the mattress. All was quiet! I peered around the corner to see if Jordyn was still asleep. She had shifted positions, but was still sound asleep. Yippie! I had to text Tony to tell him my news! He replied, "Atta girl". I was so ecstatic. So I decide to push my luck a little further....

I proceeded to give myself a mini-facial, I painted my finger nails, did a hair treatment and then I finally heard a noise behind me. In bounded Jordyn. Happy and awake. And I was truly happy to see her! I even painted her toe nails for being such a good sleeper.

I know this probably all sounds so minuscule to you, but to me, I feel like I've won a war! Or a battle. Is that too negative? OK, maybe I feel like I've won a gold medal! =}

VICTORY!!!

I'm tuckered...

2008-10-09T10:06:00.000-07:00

I can't seem to wake up today! I feel like this little girl:

I hate when our schedule gets off. I use the word 'schedule' loosely, because it changes every day. But sometimes it happens on purpose and sometimes not. OK, most of the time not. But yesterday I had a 'girly' doc appointment and my doc had never seen the girls. She was the one who first told me there were three in my tummy when I was 8 weeks along. I hadn't seen her since, so I wanted her to meet the crazies. Unfortunately, when I called back in May, they only opening she had was in October at 12:15---smack dab in the middle of naptime. So I decided that we would just have one nap instead of the usual two--which we do sometimes in emergency situations. At the docs office, they were just OK. Not outstanding, but OK. We only had one juice cup spill all over the carpet in the waiting room. And their books only hit one person three times. Jordyn had a separation anxiety temper-tantrum, but other than that, they were OK. So my doc came out and met them, I had my appointment and we went home. They were all in bed by 2-ish and slept until 4-ish. Just perfect, right?

Well, Tony had a softball game that night and wouldn't be home before the girls would go to bed (since 1 nap=early bedtime). I started getting them ready to go to sleep---brush teeth, change diapers, say prayers and give night-night hugs and kisses and Ash and Ave went down in their crib. Yes, I said crib. Remember this? Well, I'd had it with the whole climb in and out thing so I came up with a solution:

Welcome to 'Giant Crib Land'

(I hooked them together and stuffed a down comforter in between mattress gaps. It still smashes down [even with two pillows under it] so if you can think of something firmer that will fit in a 6 inch or less space, let me know.)

Well, this idea works pretty well, but they do play a little more. At least I'm not worried about them 'visiting' each other and hurting themselves...as much.

Anyways, back to the story. So I get them in their crib around 8:20. A little later than I wanted, but when I'm alone, the process takes a little longer. I hear them talking and giggling, but this usually happens for a while then they settle down. Now I could focus on getting Jordyn to sleep. Yes we have issues with that, but it's what we have to deal with. So I'm trying to calm her down and get her to sleep but she is just not having it. Which is weird because she only had one nap and usually they go to bed pretty quickly when they are exhausted. It's now 9:45 and the other two girls have JUST gone silent and Jordyn is still wide awake wanting to color and do all manner of non-sleepy-time things. Grr. Tony gets home and sees she's still awake. I continue to try until Tony finally goes to bed just before midnight, leaving me with a still very awake Jordy. I finally get her to sleep at 1AM. Meanwhile, I'm laying awake thinking of 'stuff'--the many numerous thoughts that plague me when I have nothing else going on and if I get to 'thinking' when I lay down at night, I will do so for hours. So, unfortunately, I did. I finally drifted off around 2AM and awake to a wailing sound coming from the girls room at 3AM. This is not unusual because Ashleigh has, what I assume to be, night terrors. She will cry this loud, piercing cry about 4 times then be silent again. Well, this time she wasn't stopping. And it was getting hysterical. So I sneak away from Jordy {{praying}} she won't wake up, because if she did, there would be NO sleep that night. I tip toe into the girls room hoping not to wake Avery (she is used to the Ashy screams so she sleeps through it). When I peek in, I see Ashleigh standing directly over Avery screaming at the top of her lungs. Avery pops up to see me. So I hurry and get Tony so we can each hold one and try calming them down. We go into their room, pick them up, assess that there isn't really anything wrong, and put them down. Ashleigh protested a little, but calmed down. For about a half an hour. Then she cried again. This time only a couple times then she went back to sleep. Thank our lucky stars that Avery went back to sleep and Jordyn never woke up. So back to bed for me (again, laying there for about an hour). Finally I'm sleeping. Jordyn isn't bothering me and all in all, the rest of this night shouldn't be that bad. Then at 6:30 the street scrapers come by. Most of you don't know what that is. Let me try and explain. Here in Cali, people put their lawn clippings and weeds and whatever other garden excesses they have out in the street. Then a big loud truck comes by and scoops up the piles with big metal pinchers, and then, like a bulldozer, the pinchers raise up and dump their loads into the back. Now, Imagine what big metal scrapers sound like on asphalt. Ahh, yes. At 6:30AM. Lovely. So I'm awake. I finally get back to sleep when Avery decides she's not tired anymore and wants company from Ashleigh so she cries and cries to try and wake her up around 8AM. I cover my ears and hope to make it to 9. Ash wakes up and they both want out. Luckily Tony went and got them on his way out the door. They play loudly inside the gate while Jordy and I get 20 more minutes of 'sleep'. Finally, they wake Jordy up with their loud banging of every one of their loudest toys and I have to get up. Ugh.

I'M SOOOOO WEARY!

Naps for all, today!

HAPPY 31st BIRTHDAY, DADDY!

2008-09-30T14:30:00.000-07:00

For Tony's birthday, we watched some football, had crockpot roast, mashed potatoes and cake. Can it seriously get any better?? (especially the cake part--- It was a chocolate swirl two teir cake with chocolate coconut icing and coconut flakes and toffee bits throughout. It was pretty yum-yum.)

I have a video of Avery saying 'happy birthday da-da' but it won't let me upload it for some reason. I'm really sad about that. It is so cute. But, oh well. Here are some photos instead:

cake

Ashy (in a lovely outfit designed by herself) and daddy doing 'touchdown'!

We all wish daddy the bestest year yet!

I CAN'T FIX IT.

2008-09-29T17:57:00.001-07:00

That is the theme for today. I said this over and over again, in a quite defeated tone, and I do not know where to start. Here is just a sampling of what my trials have been lately:

1. The girls keep stripping their clothes off. They do it to either:
a) themselves,
b) each other or
c) all of the above.
Which, in and of itself, is not that big of a deal EXCEPT for the fact that as a result of the 'stripping' their diapers come off as well. And they are not potty trained yet. Nor do they see a problem with peeing/pooping/whatever else-ing everywhere...then playing in it. I know. Gross. I began with keeping them out of snapping outfits. Pants and onesies are out of the question. I even tried putting pants on over the outfits or even under them. Yeah right. That was figured out in a day. I switched them to zippers, but they figured that out too. So, I put them in only snap-crotch outfits with snaps on the back neck. Eventually, they figured that out, too. I then decided to sew up the snap crotches. Diaper changes were harder because the whole outfit had to come off each time, but I was willing to do it if it meant I didn't have to change two cribs at least three times a day (that's 6 sheets and mattress pads for those of you keeping track). Problem solved, right? Well, guess what?? They figured that out too. If they pulled on their sleeve, the neck snaps would pop and they could shimmy out. GAHHH! I decided to try zipper outfits again, except I turned them around backwards. They have to be one size bigger because instead of cutting the feet out (which I did do in some outgrown outfits) I turn the feet around backwards, too. This worked fine until they just stood in front of one another trading unzipping favors. I was pulling my hair out at this point. Finally...I had to do something drastic. Do not report me to social services. I promise there is no restricting of movement and there is no torture involved...it just looks really bad. Here it is:

That's right. When in doubt, go to duct tape. We always said in jest 'we should just duct tape them closed'. Well....be careful what you say folks. We call this their 'silver backpacks' or their 'space suits'. I know it looks horrible, but people, you need to know I am at the end of my rope!!! It is seriously my only option besides sewing their outfits on. Then un-sewing every diaper change and re-sewing. Not going there....yet...don't hold your breath. They have been able to undo 'old' duct tape (I try to lift up just the very center part over the zipper to unzip for diaper changes. We've gone through too many rolls to waste tape on every diaper change. They've figured out how to wiggle under there and un-tape enough to unzip.) We are still new at that so maybe they'll lose interest. Yeah, right....

2. (YES, we are only on TWO!!) A couple weeks ago our darling daughter, Ashleigh, decided she wanted to join her sister, Avery, in her crib. Their cribs are in the middle of the room, back to back. So she just hopped over and climbed in. I took a picture but I can't locate it at the moment. I'm sure you can imagine. She only did it the one time and that was weeks ago. Well, yesterday, again, my darling daughter, Ashleigh, decided she wanted to take her climbing a step further and climb OUT of the crib all together. I could hear some unusual noises (non-naptime noises) like a weird 'tink-tink'-ing sound. I realized that sound was plastic hangers 'tinking' against each other. And the hangers are WAYYYY out of reach for anyone in a crib...So I jump up and rush in there. Oh the mess. I was too mad to take a picture. But let me try and describe what I found. I will start with the fact that our home is two bedrooms. So we have crammed 5 people's ever-growing belongings into every nook and cranny possible. The girls' room was also the guest room (we moved the extra bed out a couple months ago for more space) and it is also my craft room/miscellaneous room. I have bins of gift bags, tissue paper, ribbons, etc. etc. for crafting and all of that. So after she climbed out, Ashleigh decided to pull out various sizes of gift bags and they were strewn about. They were surrounded by three emptied boxes of thank you cards and envelopes....scattered everywhere. There were piles of (previously folded) clothes and costumes and blankets and stuffed animals...and AAAAACCKKKKKK!! We've never needed that room to be 'baby-proofed' before. Besides, where would we put all of it anyway?? So I had to add cleaning up the room to the list of my normal-everyday-barely-able-to-do chores, including things like actually feeding them...ugh. I dread that. I know that sounds horrible. But they are so messy and of course I feed them really messy things like pasta and sauce. Anyways...I had to scurry and somewhat baby proof the room in the time between them waking up for a nap and when they went down again all while trying to feed them and clean up all the other necessary blahs involved with almost 2 year olds. I called Tony nearly in tears and he told me later to just get out what would kill them instantly. LOL. So scissors and needles and other poky crafting items...sewing machine...outlets...ugh. So I kinda did that as best as I could with the limited space and storage utensils I had. I tried putting them in the same crib for naps today and they cried almost an hour but have finally settled down. I will let you know what I come up with next. I'm thinking toddler beds pushed together kinda like one gigantic crib. I'll have to be crafty to cover up the gap between and make it so they can't just climb out. But that's for another day.

I think I'll stop here since this post is already a novel. I'm sure I've already lost readers. :) But I needed to vent. I seriously don't know how to fix it. Any of it. But we'll come up with something and be OK. We always do....

First Trip To The Park...

2008-09-16T15:12:00.000-07:00

I know, I know. You think I'm crazy that we just had our first trip to the park a couple weeks ago. But I tell you, chasing three in a large open area is not my idea of fun. Also, I had to wait until they were out of the 'lets put everything in our mouths' stage...well, at least two of the three are out of that. Ashleigh will put anything in her mouth. I don't know how to stop that. But, I digress. We had a great time. Here are some pictures of the fun:

<<<<< Five GLORIOUS Years >>>>>

2008-09-10T13:39:00.000-07:00

Yes, we've now been married for five years. And yet, it feels like longer.... :D

No, truthfully, it is weird to think we've been married five years. In that short span of time, just like in all marriages, we've had ups and downs, tears and laughter and we've acheived the greatest thing ever imaginable together---raising our three beautiful daughters.

I can't imagine Tony not being in my life. He's a great influence on me, like helping me to come out of my shell and to enjoy the little things in life. I am happy and content even to just sit on the couch and watch TV with him. He makes me laugh, he's the greatest and most helpful dad and he is my best friend and the one person to whom I can tell anything.

{{Thank you, Tony, for 5 wonderful years together. I look forward to experiencing more of life's great challenges and adventures with you. I LOVE YOU!!!}}

Using Stanley for Evil....

2008-09-05T20:34:00.000-07:00

The girls have figured out how to push Stanley the Snail (referenced here) around and use him to climb up and reach places they aren't supposed to. Here are some photos of the action:

Because of this little trick, they got into the bag of teeny-tiny-itsy-bitsy clear and black rubber bands I use for their hair. A bag of about 500. Not kidding. Literally 500. ALLLLL over my living room floor. They are SO easy to find....not! And OF COURSE they did this as I was getting dressed and about to leave the house---yes, getting dressed AND getting them in the car, pretty much simultaneously. I was overjoyed, as you can imagine.

Picture:

Clear AND tiny. Bad combo.

Oh, and did I mention this was the SECOND time this happened?....today???? Ahh, yes, it was. Apparently I didn't move it far enough out of reach the first time. Yay for me.

And, boy, am I glad I'm not still finding rubber bands every day........

Fun With our G & G

2008-09-03T12:22:00.000-07:00

My parents came in to town last week for a visit. The girls took to them right away and they had a grand 'ol time together.

We hung out at the house, we went to the fair and all had a bbq at nanna and papa's house.

Thanks for coming to see us! Here are some photos of the visit:

Birthday and Mother's Day----BACK POST

2008-08-26T10:15:00.000-07:00

I started this on May 26th but never finished it. Sorry so late. So here goes:

I had a fabulous birthday this year. I am 27 years old now! Weird. Getting older doesn't really bother me. It's just weird to realize you are a certain age, whatever it might be. It's kinda fun to me, actually. I've always been one that couldn't wait until I was 'older'. I hung out with older kids when I was younger and always idolized my older sisters. I guess that is all still true. I married someone older and I suppose I can always take solace in the fact that he will always be 3+ years older than me. :D (Love you, dear!) Thank you for the beautiful roses. They were a creamy pink with a hint of a darker pink in the center around the outer edges of each petal. Here is a picture, even though it's hard to tell the colors:

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For mother's day, we made the treck home to see my own mother! It was sort of coincidental that we were there that day, but it happened to work out really perfectly. My two sisters and their families came up from Utah and my two siblings in I.F. were there, so it was the first time in a long time we were all together in one place. We went to our home ward and had a great great time with everyone. I made a fancy cake that turned out really cheap and chintzy looking but it tasted absolutely fabulous, even if I do say so myself. It was a chocolate/white swirl with chocolate ganache on two layers and a raspberry filling on one. Here is a picture even though I really don't want to share it because it turned out so badly. I planned on piping some chocolate swirls and putting some flowers on top but I had spent so much time doing it and was just too tired to finish--so I quit. It looks like a horrible and cheesey baby shower cake. I was trying to make it feminine and masculine because it was also a birthday cake for several people. Well, it didn't work out how I wanted, but it tasted good and in the end that's all that matters, right? Oh, regretfully, here it is....

Happy Belated Mother's Day to all the mothers and women caretakers out there!
You are all special and amazing!

Seriously Naughty

2008-08-20T13:42:00.000-07:00

My girls are sooo bad lately. Who am I kidding. They've always been mischievous; but overly so recently.

Here are a couple pictures of some of the naughty things they've been doing lately. Mind you, this is only a sample. If I tried to capture it all, I'd be taking pictures all day....

Climbing on top of the side table....and usually dancing. Apparently, hilarious.

Our biggest problem as of late, is getting completely undressed in our cribs. I should have censored this photo, but you have to see the whole picture to really get it. I surprised her and the face is priceless. (so is Ashleigh's in the background)

There will be more blog posts to come on this one.....

The girls decided to 'help' mommy organize her magazines...thoughtful, aren't they?
(notice that 'innocent' ashleigh is no where to be seen...she is usually the instigator)

I love the pure joy of naughtiness on their faces. Jordyn is purposely turned away I'm sure to prove her UN-involvement. Uh-hem.

Oh the joys of toddlers. Three at once. Yippy skippy. :)

Random Photos

2008-08-20T13:35:00.000-07:00

:::::Some of our Favorite Things:::::

getting 'cozy' under mommy's blanket
eating messy messy pasta (jordy with a fork, of course)
riding our rocking animals: zoe the zebra (not pictured), betty the butterfly and stanly the snail
wearing hats--any and all kinds.... EXCEPT for the ones mommy wants us to wear.
playing on daddy's strong legs; especially when he lifts us in the air----all at the same time!

Happy 08-08-08!!!

2008-08-08T09:44:00.000-07:00

Let the games begin!!

(horns playing):

dah-dun-dun-da-dah-duh-dadiddyum-dah-dun-dun-da-dah-dunnnn

dah-dun-dun-da-dah-duh-dadiddyum-dah-dun-dun-da-dah-dunnnnnnnnn

dun-diddyda-diddlyadun-deeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee

dun-dah-deeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee!!!

OK, that was a poor attempt at the Olympic trumpet song.

I tried to think of a more succinct way of typing it, but that's all I could come up with....sadly.

Speaking of sadly, here is a picture of a cake I made to commemorate the occasion:

(Only a few thousand mishaps along the way. I made the biggest mess I've EVER made while doing this cake. And that's truly saying something.

I don't know why I bother...But I guess practice makes perfect. At least it will taste good. This I know for sure. Just close your eyes while you eat it.)

Now, I leave you with a few Olympic facts and meanings behind the popular symbols of the games:

The Olympic Motto is "Citius, Altius, Fortius" which means "Swifter, Higher, Stronger".

This motto is used with the Olympic Symbol: the five colored rings.

The rings are interlocked to represent the sporting friendship of people from all over the world.

The five colors of the rings (black, blue, yellow, green, and red) were chosen because at least one of these colors appears in the flags of every nation of the world.

The Olympic flag was first used in Antwerp in 1920, the five rings appear in the center of a white field.

The Olympic flame symbolizes the link between the ancient and modern games. By tradition the flame is carried by torch overland from Greece (except when it needs to travel over water) by a relay of athletes/people from participating countries. The games begin when the torch is used to light the flame signalling the beginning of competition.

At every Olympic Games opening ceremony an athlete from the host country takes the oath,

"In the name of all the competitors l promise that we shall take part in these Olympic Games, respecting and abiding by the rules which govern them, in the true spirit of sportsmanship,

for the glory of sport and the honor of our teams"

That Last Title Sounds Totally Bratty----

2008-08-05T14:44:00.000-07:00

So I would just like to explain...

I normally kill everything (including the herb garden I planted at the same time as the tomatoes.)

I'm actually amazed that none of my children have died while in my care...

So, it is astonishing to me that I actually have a garden with alive and edible things!!

I didn't mean it to come accross like I was the best thing since.... fertilizer or something. My thumb is so black. So...that's it. It just bothered me everytime I saw it.

Thanks for listening :D (or reading, rather)

Update: I must give credit where credit is due, and the probable reason why my plants are still alive is because my husband waters them no less than 80% of the time. (I do remind him from time to time, but for the most part, he is right on top of it.) So, truly, HE is the one with live, edible tomatoes. He doesn't even like them (that's putting it nicely) but he knows I do and that's super nice. Everything in my life is a big collaboration with someone, somehow. I was wrong in not mentioning it specifically! So THANK YOU, DEAR! :)

From MY garden!!!

2008-08-02T18:04:00.001-07:00

Holy moly! I grew heirloom tomatoes! I mentioned a long time ago that I actually planted some and now I am seeing the fruits of my labor---pun intended! And they are soooo delicous! My pots are growing above my head and are pretty much out of control. I don't know what I'm doing, but there are tomatoes growing on them so I must be doing something right.

I've had two big ones and two cherry tomatoes, plus these three:

I made really good bruschetta one day and yesterday I made the best guacamole (even if I do say so myself) using a green zebra tomato! And, lucky me, my husband hates avacados. :D I ate it all yesterday with the best chip-match. I just grabbed them in the store because I thought they'd go well with guac. And boy, do they! Here's a pic:So, if you need chips to go with your guac, these are awesome!! (if you are reading this, Kettle Brand Chips, please send me some more!!) :D

I must say...

2008-07-30T10:51:00.000-07:00

...to all the readers that have come out of the woodwork! YAY!! I am so glad you posted something! I LOVE LOVE LOVE to hear from you guys! I should do a "WHO'S READING MY BLOG" post more often!! he he he :)

I know there are more people lurking that will never tell me and that's fine. :P
I know who you are... JK. Feel free to lurk. I do it too.

Please, if you have a blog that is not on my bloglist to the right>>>>>>>>>

Give it to me! You can put it in the comments portion (because I have it set to approve every comment before it's posted. Just tell me if you want it deleted) and I can do that! There are lots out there I'm sure, so please tell me! I would love to be up on what's going on in your lives as well!

Oh and thanks for meeting us the other day Uncle Lee and Aunt Louise. I feel awful that I forgot to take some pictures. But as you saw, there were a few other 'things' going on. :) (by 'things' I obviously mean 'cranky girls'). It was so great to see you! I hope you had fun on your vacation----even if you did roast!

Thanks everyone! Have an awesome day!

I've been keeping track---

2008-07-23T10:48:00.000-07:00

And I've had nearly 100 visits to the blog since my last post. That's a lot. HOWEVER>>>> only ONE person has done my memory thing. SO, I ask....

WHO IS READING OUR BLOG????

I've been hearing a lot of stories about people impersonating people (especially targeting people with multiples) on other websites/blogs/chat rooms/message boards going as far to steal their photos and stories and basically pretending to be them. It sort of freaks me out. On one hand, I think, what harm could it really do? But on the other hand, I think, what kind of sicko-s would do that?? It's just plain weird and creepy.

So now I ask...should the blog go private? Or not? There are so many reasons for it to stay open---we want to welcome any visitors to our blog and would love to share what's going on in our world. But I also don't want to be taken advantage of in any way. My family is the most precious thing to me and to think of them being exploited for someone's sick enjoyment is just heartbreaking.

So what should I do? I don't think I know 100 people that would visit my blog, honestly. So either start posting to the 'memory' entry or I might have to go private....which I don't want to do!!

I am going to put up a poll so, please, even if you are just a lurker, VOTE! I really want to know what you think!

TAG TO ALL...Memories

2008-07-21T09:17:00.001-07:00

I've seen this on a few blogs and I always say, 'ok, I'll do it later' and don't get around to it. So I'm doing it here for you to procrastinate upon as well. If I didn't post on yours, please tell me and I'll go do it immediately (or sometime in the next month or so) :D

Here are the directions:

1. As you comment on my blog, leave one memory that you and I had together. It doesn't matter if you know me a little or a lot, anything you remember!

2. Next, re-post these instructions on your blog and see how many people leave a memory about you. If you leave a memory about me, I'll assume you're playing the game and I'll come to your blog and leave one about you.

So please comment---it will just take a second (as I said, I PROMISE to be better at commenting!) I can't wait to hear what you remember about me!

Back Posting...

2008-07-21T09:12:00.000-07:00

I will be doing a few back-posts over the next little while. See, I start a post and just save it because I have to wait for my lazy bum to download a picture or something, and months pass before I get it done and post it.

Soooo, if you are bored and have nothing else to do, occasionally check earlier months for posts that may be new. If I remember, I will change the date to a current one so no one misses anything interesting (interesting might be a stretch...we aren't that exciting over here).

Just so you know, there is a new post in the 'june' section.
You're welcome ;)

INTRODUCING>>>>>>>>>

2008-07-20T07:29:00.000-07:00

The newest member of our family:

Miss Sophie Olivia Romero! Weight: 6lbs 13oz Height: 18 inches

She was born to my sister Maegan and her husband Ryan on Friday. She joins big sisters Sydney, Sabrina and big brother Skyler. Isn't she just so beautiful??

Congratulations Romero Family!! We love her already!

Independence Day

2008-07-06T15:18:00.000-07:00

Wishing you all a happy 4th of July weekend and a renewed sense of pride in our country and appreciation for our freedom in the coming year! Here are a couple pictures of our day:

HAPPY DADDY DAY!

2008-06-15T16:53:00.000-07:00

I just wanted to post a message to the greatest daddy in the world! We are so lucky to have such an awesome guy in our lives.

Here are some of our favorite things daddy does:

1. He does our laundry (and that's A LOT of laundry)

2. He cooks us dinner most nights

3. He cleans up after himself

4. He sings and dances for us to make us giggle

5. He gives us the best kisses

6. He rubs my head to calm me down (from Avery)

7. He works hard so we can live so comfortably

8. And best of all, he loves us more than ANYTHING in the WORLD!

(I could go on and on about how wonderful Tony is, but I'll stop here)

WE LOVE YOU DADDY!!! We are glad you are ours!

"I'LL BE THERE FOR YOOOUUUUUU..." (singing)

2008-06-01T15:32:00.000-07:00

FRIENDS!!

The girls had their first 'official' play date with one of my best friends' little girl, Atlee, when we were in Idaho. They live in Montana now, but Ashley and I were roommates for a couple years in college. We got pregnant at the same time and were only a week apart in due dates! Obviously, I had mine before she did. :) But I consider them the exact same age and couldn't wait for them to all get together. Of course, there wasn't a whole lot of interaction between them aside from the girls stealing her toys and occasionally knocking her over, but I think they liked having another person to play with...or boss around depending on which one of my kids you ask. :D Atlee is so cute and I am so happy we were all able to get together, Ash! I can't wait to see what your little boy is going to look like! I'm so excited for you!

Nothing brings folks together like FOOD! :)

AWWWW! HUGS!

(yes, they are the same age, my child's gargantuan cranium is just that much bigger)

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We had our good friend Boo over for dinner when his wife was out of town and the girls took to him right away. Even Jordyn, 'Miss Stranger Danger', climbed up on his lap and just chilled with him for a good 20+ minutes. She later realized she was not with mommy or daddy and screamed. But up until then it was great! Haha :)

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When we were in Idaho, we also stayed with our friends the Silcocks who live in Declo. They were such gracious hosts and we couldn't have asked for more. I know that we brought craziness upon craziness to their home, but they were so understanding and helpful. The girls loved playing with Shaeley, Colby, Cal and luckily they didn't have much contact with new baby Axle (because we are just learning 'soft' and tend to be that not so much). I got my first sunburn of the year (luckily minor) watching Colby's t-ball game, and we were lucky enough to be there when Shaeley had a dance recital. Both did so great!! Here are a couple pictures of the Declo fun! :) (apparently Avery was with Julie, Ax and Shaeley because none of them made any pictures...sorry guys!)

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We also had a chance to see my grandparents, albeit briefly. We left the night before around midnight, drove through the night and arrived at my grandparents house in Ogden, Utah around 11 AM the next morning. As you will see by the pictures, the girls were thrilled. I can't blame them. Poor things. 11 hours is a long time in a car seat (minus a couple quick diaper/outfit changes).

Ashleigh up....

Ashleigh down....

Ashleigh outta here....

....All while she and Jordyn screamed and Avery just stared at Gramps.

I didn't even get a picture of Gram in all the chaos. They were tired and it was a new place with lots of breakable items just within reach. We said hello, drank some OJ for breakfast ('cuz of course we weren't allowed to leave without eating something). :) I love them so very much and it means everything for them to see us and the girls, even if for just a few minutes.

Auntie Tia

2008-05-05T06:38:00.000-07:00

We love our Auntie Tia!

We are sooooo happy you came to visit us! Thanks for everything T! Can't wait to see you again. Maybe by then we will be able to say your name and not just the occasional (and frankly accidental) "T". :D Have fun on the road and enjoy the last leg of the tour!

Ashleigh and Tia having fun

Avery and Tia sitting with their blankie cuddling

Jordy and Tia cheezin' it up

WE LOVE YA!!

HAPPY BIRTHDAY, BLOG!

2008-04-25T22:26:00.000-07:00

Happy Birthday to you, Happy Birthday to you!

My blog is a year old!! I can't believe it! I've had such a fun time blogging, even though I am not that great at doing it regularly... :S

I know I've mentioned it before, but I'm working on a new background/layout for the blog and it's coming along. I just want to do a couple more things and tweak in here and there before publishing it.

I am going to do some 'retro' posts in the coming weeks so keep checking for some fun new things!

::imperfect perfection x3::

MERRY CHRISTMAS--2011!!

*Thanksgiving 2010*

{{ BOO! }} Halloween 2010

Another Annual ::The Pumpkin Patch::

Annual Apple Hill Trip

The Rest of 2010

**Beach Babies**

Overdue Update

Tweaking....

under construction

{Ariel Jr.}

Goin' in the TRASH!

The Livin' Is Easy...

***WISHES***

In a rut...

So Precious

::For Gramps::

It's a beautful day in the neighborhood....

**happy birthday grandma!!**

Be My Valentine

Bree's Birthday Fun!

MY New Look!

"Chugga-Chugga, Choo-Choooooo!!"

Whose Idea Was This?!

More Christmas Photos

Oh My--They're THREEEEE!

It's Christmas!!!

Do YOU Believe??

PawPaw and MawMaw Visit!

Fight!!

Halloween '09-- "PURRRRRR!"

Pumpkins For My PUNKINS!

Blog for Preemies

Move over, I'm crowded....

Pics

End of Day 3

Day 2 (And 1/2 of day 3)

First Day of Potty Training

**I {{HEART}} Fall**

Lost in the shuffle.....

Seriously? A MONTH???

MOVING DAY

Don't want to mention it again...

::House Update:: (And my 100th POST!! YAY!)

Father's Day Continued.....

Happy Father's Day, Tony!!

Such Bad Little Girls....

"Is that....paint?!?"

The 2nd Phase

I know--post overload!

10,000 VISITORS?!?!

::Two Kinds of STRESS::

Blogger Bugs

PLEASE VOTE IN MY POLL

...Avoiding on Purpose...

Happy 2nd b-day, BLOGGY!

It's Official!!!

Life

SO out of the loop.....

Avery Look-Alikes

Weekend Fun

I Made a Boo-Boo....

Ch-Ch-Ch-Ch-Changes...

Chatty Kathys

The Festivities

My BABIES are TWO!!!

{ MERRY CHISTMAS! }

I make a motion.....

* STARRY, STARRY NIGHT *

{{FESTIVAL OF TREES '08}}

TURKEY AND SPOOKS

FALL 2008

**BECAUSE YOU LOVED ME**

****

Much Anticipated Bloggy Awards!

I Finally Did It!

I'm tuckered...

HAPPY 31st BIRTHDAY, DADDY!

I CAN'T FIX IT.

Thanksgiving 2010

Beach Babies

WISHES

happy birthday grandma!!

I {{HEART}} Fall

BECAUSE YOU LOVED ME