Getting ready for family pics!

Besides the craft show I am getting read for (my first), we are also going to be taking pictures tomorrow morning at 8:30 am. Yeah, a little early BUT at least we will get it out of the way while the kids are still "fresh" rather than waiting later in the day. It is a fundraiser for our MoM group. We pay $75 & get a 30 minutes session. We will also get a CD full of pics, no copyright issues so we will be able to print freely!

Last year we coordinated sweaters & colors, winter white & red. Red is my favorite color. This year we are doing the "classic" family yuppy picture. We are all wearing white polos & jeans. The girls' polo shirt has a pink pony which I think is cute & Ian's is in blue. Todd's pony is blue & mine...well, this momma didn't buy a real polo for herself. I got a Target special. Isn't that how it always goes? It's the small sacrifices, right?

Seriously, Todd already had his shirt & I got the kids' on clearance at Lord & Taylor. WOOT! That is the ONLY reason I splurged on the name brand shirts. I think that w/ jeans is going to look super cute.

The weather is suppose to cooperate as well. Sunny & just the right temp, somewhere in the upper 60's, lower 70's at that time of the morning. Now, I wish my son would cooperate. I've been desperately trying to keep them bite & bruise free all week long but you know how it goes. It will happen when you need it not to. Ian has managed to get a big mosquito bite on his face, right next to his eye. I've been doctoring it & had hopes today when he woke up that it would fade out nicely by tomorrow.

THEN...he had to go hit himself in almost the exact spot the bite is at. So now I am going to have to contend w/ a BIG bruise. It's gonna look like we beat him. Never mind the split lip he gave himself on Wednesday OR the one he gave Sofi that same day. Looks like we are bound to have face markings. Maybe I should paint their faces? Better yet! Use makeup to cover up the marks & bruises. HA! We'll see how bad his face bruises.

This is what happens when we let the kids have free reign w/ the books.


And the cat toys...


Learning how to put puzzles back together, at least they are in the right spot. They can get them in to the place but this is how I found it this morning. Too cute!

R.I.P. "Bossman"

He's gone. Boss was the heart of our family. He was given a 2nd chance when Ian got him 11 years ago. A skinny little puppy that was malnourished turned in to a beautiful dog & best friend as well as a "little brother". Our family will most definitely feel this loss for a very long time.



May God be w/ your doggy soul.

A trip to the dermatologist

Today has been quite a day. The morning started off beautifully. We were on time leaving to get the the dermatologist. Ian & Sofi were safely tucked away w/ Grandma & Papap. The weather was beautiful. Everything was GREAT!

Until...

We were 5 minutes away. Just 5 minutes AND...she pukes. Everything. I don't think anything was left from breakfast. We were doing so good. She was crying so I pulled over & did the best I could to clean her up. Thank God we have 3 car seats b/c I managed to get most of the puke off of her (she had a hoodie on so that was easy to take off) & put her in another seat. Off we went.

We literally got there w/ 1 minute to spare. Our appointment was at 9:45 & I signed us in at 9:44. She did fantastic while we were there. The dr came in & looked at her little spot. Turns out that she has something called a mastocytoma. It is a mass of cells at the surface of the skin. The good thing, it should fade out completely by the time she is 8-10 yrs old. YAY!

While she was there, she drank PLENTY of water & ate some goldfish. I got her in the car & off we went. She fell asleep almost immediately. She woke up as we approached the subdivision. Wish she would have just slept until we got home. 2 blocks away from the house, she pukes again. Yes, in a different car seat. If you know anything about having 3 car seats in a row in a CRV then you know this was shear hell.

I had to take all 3 seats out. I cleaned them up & had to manage to cook dinner all while the kids napped. I feared they would not nap well due to the days events but thankfully they slept long enough for me to get the seat covers in the washer & dryer. I got the seats back in the car (I've become a pro at this) in a matter of minutes as compared to my 1st few times which took like 90 minutes.

Everyone seemed happy & the reset of the day went well. Unfortunately, my brother's dog, Boss, is in really bad shape & is dying so after an already long day, I went to say my goodbyes. Boss is & has been such a good best friend to my brother. He has protected him on several occasions & accompanied him to several places that other dogs couldn't imagine going. Boss is a staple in our family. He is the dog that accepted Todd & put the other 2 dogs in place when they growled at him. Even more sad, our babies never got to meet him up close. He would have been good w/ them. I hope he goes quickly. God, please take care of Boss & my brother. Ian (my brother) is so, so sad. It is breaking my heart.

Boss, thank you for protecting Ian. For being by his side when none of us could be. Know that you have touched all of our lives. Go in peace & know your spirit will live on. We LOVE you!

Our 1st Trick or Treat!

Last year the kids were barely 7 months old. They were impossible to keep in costume, let alone take out trick or treating. We lovingly passed along the costumes to Susan & her trio. Glad they at least got 1 good picture out of it b/c we surely didn't get any good pics last year, haha!

We dressed the kids up right after dinner, 5:45ish & were out the back door by 6pm, right on schedule. I'm glad we listed to Daddy & went on our "regular" walking route b/c we had lots & lots of neighbors waiting to see the kids all dressed up! We didn't do the traditional knocking on the door thing b/c getting the wagon up the sidewalk was difficult & b/c we are also very weary of H1N1, colds, & anything else that can be passed along to the kids. Daddy did a WONDERFUL job of making sure nothing had peanuts (we are waiting until they are 2) b/c I sure forgot all about them.

Gabi in the most perfect picture of the night!


Sofi, the real devil but what a perfect angel!


What a handsome little devil!


Mommy & the kids. Yep, Ian takes after me, horns & all.


Daddy & the kids. Notice no angel wings?!?


All 3 together in the dressed up wagon. I wanted to put "Heaven" & "Hell" but Todd wouldn't let me. He said the neighbors would talk FOR EVER. HA!

2 Angels & a Devil

This is a preview of the kids' costumes. Let me tell you how impossible it was to get a picture of all 3 together. I don't know how this family portrait thing is going to go based on what we went through yesterday. Maybe the preparations for Daylight Savings Time is interfering & causing my babies to be unhappy. What ever the reason, it was not possible to get a good pic of all 3 together. Could it be the age?

Sofi being the perfect angel!


Gabi on the run!


Ian really shouldn't be the devil but since he is the only boy, it fell in his hands. He's too cute!


The 2 BEST group pics. HA! What a joke!



These are pics of the meltdown that happened after we came in. Yeah, not so much fun. Taking 3 19 month olds out of the backyard after being inside for 3 days straight due to rain...not such a bright idea.




I will say this much, they are DAMN cute! I think this is a great costume & they actually stayed in them the whole time. The only issue, Ian's horns. They just wouldn't stay put & not b/c he was taking them off. Oh well...we'll still have fun on Halloween!

Scribbling fun w/ Dad!

Putting a crayon in the kids' hands has been a challenge. The #1 reason? It goes directly in to their mouths. Another triplet mom posted about this not too long ago & hers were 19 months old. I was hoping it would be a magic number for age so we decided to give scribbling another shot last night AND...they mostly scribbled! Sofi was intent on tasting the purple crayon but otherwise, it was very easy to tell them "no" & they would assume scribbling.

Daddy did a wonderful job "modeling" the behavior!



Hmmmm, what are they drawing?


Mom, this is pretty cool! I like pink!


Look at me go!


Sofi's finished masterpiece.


Gabi's piece of artwork!


Ian's version of the Mona Lisa.


We are going to try & keep this up by doing it a few times a week instead of flashcards. This is Daddy's special time w/ the kids when he gets home & he seemed to enjoy it as much as the kids did.

Selective reduction...hmmmm.

I just finished reading some HORRIBLE comments on a blog. H.O.R.R.I.B.L.E. Absolutely evil. How can people be so cruel when a family is grieving the loss of their children? I just don't get it. No parent should ever lose a child. This is coming from someone that came *THIS CLOSE* to losing her son.

(DISCLAIMER: I am not one to discuss controversial topics & that is b/c I am living in one so this is going to be a very bias yet honest post.)

When we found out we were going to need medical intervention to get pregnant, it didn't take long to commit to the process. We both wanted to have children, our own children. Not that there is ANYTHING wrong w/ all those countless children that need adopting, we just weren't there yet. We still had faith that we would have a successful pregnancy. After all, we did get pregnant on our own.

As a matter of fact, in my 20's, if you had asked me about invitro, I would have told you that doing it was "playing God". How could a person do what nature wouldn't allow? And isn't nature the same as God b/c after all, God is in control of everything, right?

Yes, He is. He has allowed man to learn enough to manipulate science to our advantage. To bring a dead man back from a heart attack. To attach a limb that belonged to someone else to another living person. To give an old man new life, a new heart or lung/s. To give an infertile couple the opportunity to bear a child together. Yes, He is most definitely in control. He allows us to be able to figure out medical technologies & allows "miracles" to happen. After all, didn't Jesus cure? Why would God not allow man to do the same?

We knew we had a chance of triplets. A 1% chance to be exact. After all, we decided to put back 3 embryos. Just like everyone else out there, we never imagined we would fall in to that 1%. SHIT...let's be honest here. We never expected to have to do IVF. We got pregnant on our own the very first time. Yes, on our own. Unfortunately, a series of medical issues made it almost impossible to get pregnant again w/o help which lead us to IVF.

Our 1st attempt. That's all it took. We even have pics of the kids when they were only 8 cells. 8 friggin' cells. Technology is amazing & we were able to experience part of that. What we didn't know is all 3 babies would implant & stay put for another 34 weeks.

The 1st hard decision came to us early on, after the 2nd ultrasound. Would we want to selectively reduce? Um, no. Not a chance in hell. I knew through research that reducing to twins would have not made much of a difference in the outcome of the pregnancy, maybe a few weeks. It all depended on how my body handled pregnancy.

**Sidebar** I think I would have seriously considered selectively reducing if it were more than 3. Maybe not, but most likely...yes. 3 was hard enough to carry. I know if there were 5 or 6, it would have been the most painful decision in the world but we would have most likely reduced. For the health & safety of the remaining children as well as myself. After all, what would be the point of having that many if I wasn't around to enjoy them or if we had to lose them after they were born. Of course, many have this same point of view when told they are pregnant w/ triplets.

The pregnancy in itself wasn't bad. I felt great most of the time, like most pregnant women, never mind how many babies were in there. I had a tinge of morning sickness & feeling bloated but for the most part, all was well. Until I pushed myself too hard one day & my cervix decided to shorten. Our 2nd bout of serious medical intervention happened the very next day. I had an emergency cerclage. Would a woman pregnant w/ only one have done the same? Um, yes. So I was carrying 3? And?

The next time I had issues, it was easily handled w/ albuterol on a daily basis. I have friends that had singletons go through the same thing. Still not any different. Then I had rotavirus at 30 weeks 2 days along. 3 days of puking my guts out put some strain on the cervix. I was a fingertip dilated although not having regular contractions. After 3 days, I was put on a terb pump (not absolutely necessary but did it as a precaution). I stayed on the lowest dose until I delivered.

My babies were in the NICU. I knew from the moment that we were told there were 3 that this would happen. I knew there was a chance they would be vented or on CPAP. I knew they might not take a bottle well. I knew there could be issues w/ their hearts or even brain bleeds. After all, I had PLENTY of time to research prematurity online. I knew the average gestational age at birth for triplets was 32 weeks, 2 months premature.

I still put it in God's hands. I knew He would guide us through. When Dr. Adam told me to do something, I did it. I listened to her b/c I knew she was the closest thing to God that I had here on earth. Every step of the way, I trusted her. I also completely surprised her. When she gave me sitting privileges, I decided against them, knowing that those 30 minutes of sitting up a few times a day would put pressure on my cervix. I didn't want these babies to come any earlier than they needed to. I would & still will do anything to protect them. This meant laying down on my left side all day long, only shifting to my right side when I fell asleep at night & after I woke to pee, I would lay back on the left side. It was a sacrifice well worth making.

**Another sidebar** Todd also sacrificed, as did our families. We all still do but I think that is part of having children b/c truth be told, a family can experience much of what we did during the pregnancy & birth of one baby. Todd was & is still amazing w/ all his efforts & sacrifices.

Back to the NICU. We were told not to expect them home before their original due date. That meant 6 weeks in the NICU. Well, how about 10 days for Sofi, 10 days for Gabi & 14 days for Ian? I'd say that is pretty impressive & while I know that isn't the norm, I am very thankful to God that our babies came out so strong & healthy.

It wasn't easy leaving the hospital w/o my babies. It wasn't easy being at home with THREE preemies either. Nothing was easy. Nothing was worth complaining about either. WE *knew* what we were getting in to when we saw & heard those 3 heartbeats. We fell in love immediately & knew we would do what we had to do to survive.

I'd never ask for help beyond what we have received from family, friends & strangers alike. It is amazing the beautiful people you will encounter because of special circumstances (my online community at Just Mommies had a clothing drive for us & we are still using things we received). And, while I understand we will always be a freak show when we go out b/c we have triplets, I will gladly handle & respond to any comments & questions thrown out at us b/c I am the luckiest woman in the world. I have THREE beautiful children AND a wonderful husband. God gave them to me to take care of & raise in His light & that I shall do.

I won't judge others. I will pray for their sorrow & losses. I will understand that just like we were presented w/ the "Will you selectively reduce?" question, they were too. Just as we said no, so did they. Until you have walked a mile in our shoes, don't judge. So many are quick to say adopt but if it isn't in your heart, it isn't in your heart. Period. If those people believe in it so much, then they should practice what they preach b/c it is sooooo much easier to spit the shit out than to live by what you say. THAT is the honest to God's truth.

This may seem like it is coming out of nowhere but it has been brewing for quite some time. I think there is a saying that goes something like this..."If you don't have anything nice to say, then don't say it."

So true. If you don't agree w/ what I have done, then don't read my blog or anyone like mine. We have had enough challenges in our lives. If you have read through all this & feel compelled to leave a comment, regardless of the content, I welcome your thoughts, so long as you can present them in a mature fashion.

I will gladly answer any reasonable questions in regards to the procedures we went through. What our thoughts were & how we made it through all the pain b/c let me tell you, there was 2 years worth of crying, mourning the loss of a baby never born to Earth & waiting patiently for our turn to arrive. So many sleepless nights when we knew yet another month was going by w/o a positive pregnancy test. So, so many.

What I have said comes from the heart. Thank you all to those that have supported us through your words or physical presence in our lives. You have no idea how much you mean to us. Thank you, thank you, thank you. I only hope that through my actions, I can pay it forward.