Hold over pictures

I've been trying to finish this post for three days but keep getting distracted and now something is wrong with my computer which is where all of my pictures are stored. Because I was having so many problems I decided to back up my computer to my external harddrive and my whole computer shut down in middle of that. Soooo, this may be some of the last pictures until I can figure out what is going on.
My mom was here this weekend and of course had to take naked bath pictures. It is realy hard to get good pictures in the bath because of the angle so we solved that problem by taking pictures of the kids running around outside of the bathtub. I don't know what it is. You take their clothes off and they just go wild. But these few pics will have to suffice until I can get my poor sick computer back on the mend.

Beckett pouring tea, not for, but ON Addy.

Eloise brushing hair. This girl needs to worry about her own hair because it is getting so long. All of the pictures of Eloise this weekend had hair hanging in her eyes. It is just hard to keep barettes in her hair with 30 curious fingers around.


Toddlers love ketchup so why not baby dolls? He wishes I would give him a bottle of ketchup.

I like when all three play together in tight quarters without fighting. When they are well rested with full tummies they are pretty tolerant of one another with sharing and don't get worked up if someone gets stepped on or bumped. Usually looks like this after lunch and after dinner.

Oh my life would but just a tad easier if Addy would just nap as long as the other two. A few days a week she does not nap at all, a few days she might nap an hour or maybe 1.5 hours and very rarely she will nap up to 3 hours like Eloise and Beckett. Because of that she gets lots of one-on-one time with me and many more afternoon snacks that the other two. The dogs will follow any child with that has a snack. They are pretty good about just sitting and waiting and sniffing. Unfortunatly the kids have figured out that feeding the dogs their leftover snacks is fun which just encourages the pugs to hunt down leftovers.

Okay, this picture of Pickles was staged. There is no way that sweet little old dog could hoist herself on the table. She could barely get her paws down. Pickles is Beckett's favorite. Anytime his is giving out kisses he runs to find Pickles and gives her one as well.
There is a love-hate relationship between Eloise and the pugs. She likes to feed them when she is done with her snack but if they come even close to her when food is around that she wants she screams, swats and kicks. I didn't even know I captured just that in the picture below. The kids were pulling my rain boots around on these little wagons and I thought it was pretty cute how they just left them standing up in middle of the floor. If you look really close you can see Eloise swatting at Bella with a magazine in the background.

These days I prefer to stand

I've probably talked to death about how there are never enough hands or laps or time with multiples but these days, it seems that laps are in the shortest supply. Let me back up. I posted about Beckett's puke episode last week. But about a week earlier he had some chest congestion and sounded like Darth Vader a few times. We of course freaked out and took him to the after hours clinic at our pediatrician. He had a cold. It never progressed to runny nose, fever, or cough and the girls never got it but we allowed some behaviors that we normally wouldn't. Then the whole puke thing. And we allowed more bad behaviors coupled with extra attention. Now we are in the midst of very painfully trying to break some these bad habits.
He only wants to eat if you are STANDING and holding him while feeding him. He wants his pacifier at all times not just at nap time. He knows that it is kept on the changing table in the nursery. If the gate is down he will try to go upstairs and try to climb the changing table to get at it. If I stop him and bring him back down without the passy, it is a total tantrum. Any toy or book is HIS and he thinks he has every right to grab, steal and swipe anything from anyone at anytime. If he is stopped or reprimanded, another tantrum.
But what had really tipped me over the edge is that I can't sit down without him immediately coming over and sitting on my lap. It would be one thing for him to just sit and snuggle but he hauls books every where he goes. Not only books but magazines as well. So anytime I sit on the floor to play with the kids or on the couch he is right on me with a book in hand waiting for me to read. If by some miracle one of the girls gets to me first, he will try to push them out of my lap. You can imagine how well that goes over.
There has been times that he has been playing in the living room and I sit on the floor of the kitchen to play with one of the girls or whatever. I think he can see through walls because he comes around the corner with a book. It is also a problem when getting the kids dressed in the morning or at night which I do sitting on the floor. It's an open lap. Doesn't matter that I'm leaning over trying to get a wiggly little girl dressed or diapered or lotioned. I've had him scream and cry the whole time I get the girls dressed. It's a wonderful way to start the day.
I don't want to sound like a mean mom but sometimes I want to sit down by myself. And some days reading books or magazines all day long can be tedious. Can we just play with the fake food or reptiles or cars or anything? We can if I stay standing.
So the funny thing about the whole lap thing with Beckett is that he usually wants me to read this one Triathlon magazine that he drags around. Actually this magazine is a favorite with all of the kids. They have piles and piles of books but they love this magazine because of the one picture on page 156. The first thing Becket does on the morning is race to this magazine and the last thing we pry out his hands at night is this magazine. Tonight I even had to pry it out of his hands to take a bath. We keep the bathroom door in their room open because so much heat comes out of that vent. They know that they are not to cross the line between the carpet and linoleum or whatever it is. Then when they are in the bathroom, they know they are not supposed to go on the carpet without their diapers. Tonight Beckett was standing at the edge of the linoleum totally naked not interested in taking a bath but only interested at staring and pointing at his beloved magazine that got left behind on the carpet. By the way, Addy thinks that she is allowed to go into the bathroom and cross the carpet line if she is not walking but crawling or pushing herself on her belly. Talk about pushing limits.
Anyway they all know how to find THE picture in the magazine. They go to the picture first, then browse a few more pages, go back to THE picture, scream and point, browse a few pages, go back to THE picture, scream and point and on and on and on. They fight over this magazine but Beckett usually ends up with it due to sheer passion and willpower.
Tonight something just TERRIBLE happened. No, the magazine didn't accidentally catch fire or get swept up with dirty cloths and run through the washing machine although that has crossed my mind. The picture got ripped out. I didn't do it. I didn't witness the incident but I'm sure lots of tiny little grubby fingers were to blame.

So now THE picture will go on the wall of honor with two other pictures that Beckett has been passionate about and we eventually had to hang up in the kitchen-
A winner of a bike race getting the traditional two kisses. We remind Beckett the only way to get kissed by two girls is to win a bike race.


From Oprah magazine- maybe it is the balloons he likes?

Our newest addition. This is the first picture that all three have loved. I'm pretty fond of it as well.
The kids are gaga over elephants A baby elephant is a bonus.
Triathlons? Enough said for Rich.
This picture is in Thailand. Our trip there marked the official start of our journey to to become parents. So glad we never made an offering at the famous fertility shrine in Bangkok like we had planned. Three works for us. It's tight but I can still fit all three on my lap, if Beckett will allow it.

I don't know if you can see it but this is what it says on the balloon picture that Beckett loves:

"They always say that time changes things, but you actually have to change them yourself." -Andy Warhol

Superbowl Champs

These pictures are from Sunday, the day the Packers brought the Lombardi Trophy home. Sad to say but we don't have any Packers clothes for ourselves or the kids so this is the best green and gold I could do. These pictures really have nothing to do with the Packers or the Superbowl but I just wanted to sound like the newscasters and everyone on the TV talking about bringing the trophy home again.
I don't often get pictures of all three playing together but our little natural leader, Addy, was serving food to Beckett and Eloise at the table.

Oops, little tantrum by Beckett when Eloise stole from his plate.

Yumm, this is why I'm so skinny. This is all I eat- fake food.

Love the picture of the girls standing next to each other. So different from each other.

I've taken back control of Addy's hair. Now I mist her hair in the morning with Johnson & Johnson's No More Tangles. It just curls right up with just that touch of moisture and is soo much better. I should have started it a long time ago but I'm not really fond of putting product in kid's hair. I may try just water and see what that does but I'm kind of enjoying her beautiful curls right now. She likes it too. Or actually likes to sit on my lap while I comb and spritz her hair. She thinks it is pretty funny.

Eloise's hair is getting really long in the front and back. Seems the sides aren't growing. I always try to put a barrette in the front because her bangs are really long. Pretty much a totally awesome mullet. But I'm NOT cutting it.
Inevitably when playing at the table, someone ends up sitting on it. I'm just glad they are sitting and not standing. Addy tried to spin circles while standing on it the other day.

Eloise's turn.

Addy supplying the pregame entertainment.

Hey Uncle Isaac, just calling to make sure you are ready for the big game down in Texas.

GO! PACK! GO!

Happy Birthday to a Superhero

This post is a little old but I've been very busy... well not busy so much as not motivated to do too much. Kind of a combination of the winter blahs and cabin fever. But I've perked up a little bit now that the Packers won the Superbowl, spring is around the corner (yeah right, we probably have 3 more months of cold), it is time to start house shopping and we started to plan our summer vacation. So back on track.

Two weekends ago my Dad and Bambi had a family party for Oliver's birthday. At that age it is hard to pick which is your favorite- Star Wars or Superheros so his party was a combo of both. He had spent the weekend at Papa and Bambi's and when Sarah and Jim showed up for the party he started to cry because he thought they were bringing him home and he hadn't had his "party with my cousins yet!" So sweet. I think he is over wanting to send them back to Texas.

At our house the kids sit in a feeding table but at Papa and Bambi's they sit in booster seats at the table with everyone else. They are also not used to a table with a tablecloth and the table being set. That's probably why Beckett is peering over the table to figure out what is going on.
I know, sounds like we live like a bunch of animals at our house. The truth is that they they eat in the kitchen at the feeding table, we eat at a different time and we only have a little tiny table in the dining room because the rest of our furniture is in storage. When we move we are going to have to change our eating schedule AND get a new table where the whole family can eat without fear of ruining chairs or scratching the table. That is code for we are going to have to sell our dining room furniture that I spent months looking for. I actually was thinking we were going to have to move to booster seats and trays immediately because they are pretty close to each other in the feeding table and Addy was always getting picked on with hair pulling and poking. I've since changed up the seating arrangements and now the middle person is no longer assaulted.
At Papa's when they catch sight of the booster seats around a real table they think it is time to eat and want in immediately. Sometimes before every one else is ready.

After dinner was the big show. Four years old is a great age for birthdays.



Good choice, one of each kind.

Beckett can be an extremely picky eater and Rich and I are a little concerned that is is not really gaining any weight. We had no idea he liked cake and ice cream. Most of the food he prefers are what I call diet food- things like peas, black olives, cucumbers, rice and juice.His lack of ability to gain weight comes from Rich but his ability to throw back a few pieces of cake with ice cream comes from me.Who cares that he didn't eat any real food. I eat cake and ice cream for dinner as often as possible

If you get nauseous over puke stories- skip this one

Thought I'd give fair warning because I know not everyone likes bodily function stories as much as I do.
Last night we had very short baths or really none at all because Addy had a massive explosion in the bathtub before everyone could get scrubbed up. Lately she seems to have gotten over her fear of poop in the bathroom. Any sort of lint or strand of hair is still dangerous but she really loves the bath. But last night was a different story. I don't know who was more scared, Addy or Rich. He started yelling and scooped Eloise out and scared her so much she cried for 20 minutes. Beckett loves poop in the tub. He likes to stand by the bathroom door and point and tell anyone who will listen about the poop in the tub, in his own language of course.
I don't really care that they didn't get clean because they are not really dirty but it is just an annoying addition to my nightly cleaning to add all of the bath toys and bath mat. And once I start cleaning the tub I end up cleaning and organizing their bathroom. I know, my fault, nothing to do with the poop.
So last night I headed up to bed around 11:30 and as soon as I got about half-way up the stairs my stomach sank. I could smell puke.
When I looked into the kid's room I could see Beckett sitting up in his crib and from the light of my phone I could see his crib was a total mess. Poor kid was covered in wet and dried puke as was the entire length and width of his crib. I stripped off his sleeper and pajamas and brought him into our room to get a good look at him meanwhile he still hasn't made a peep. Oh my goodness. The whole back of his head was matted dried puke. I got Rich up and we tag teamed cleaned him up eventually putting him in the shower.
I stripped off his sheets and mattress pad but it still smelled in the room so I ended up pulling out the mattress and wiping that down. I won't get too graphic but there was at least two meals on the sheets. I had to scrape everything off before I put it in the wash machine. From what I could make up from the scene I think he got sick a few times earlier in the night and went back to sleep. We have baby monitors on in two rooms and neither Rich nor I heard anything. He didn't cry at all. I'd still be crying if I was covered in that much puke.
From the smell I knew there was still puke all over in there but every time I went in, Addy would sit up and look at me and I didn't want to risk having two kids awake in the middle of the night so I figured cleaning his crib was sufficient and would see the rest of the damage in the morning. While I was cleaning Beckett kept trying to go back into his room, I think to go back to sleep.
I wanted to put him back in his room to sleep but Rich thought that was a bad idea. We have a pack n' play in our bedroom where Addy naps so we tried to put him in there but he wouldn't have that. He ended up sleeping in bed with us which probably hasn't happened since they were really little and eating in middle of the night. It was a tight squeeze with 2 adults, 2 dogs and 1 toddler in a queen bed. Not a terribly restful night but I think he was pretty happy up until about 5 am at which time he would only wanted to be held and that is when it seemed that he had a fever.
When the girls got up I checked out the rest of the damage and he got puke on 2 walls, Addy's crib and sheets, the carpet and dripping down one wall into the air return vent.
He had a fever of 99.5 which quickly went away with Tylenol and no more vomit. Beckett did spend much of the day either on the floor with a blanket and pillow, on Rich's lap reading books or crying because he wasn't on a lap. It was a long day for everyone but we got two packages in the mail from Aunt Laura with presents which helped. Beckett now walks around playing the harmonica and even felt well enough to chase Addy and try to steal the recorder she was playing. Can you tell we got musical instruments?
All day Rich and I kept thinking we were smelling puke. Rich even thought his Chipotle burrito smelled. After Beckett's shower AND bath tonight, his head is still stinky. How many baths is it going to take to get rid of the smell? I had to wash the sheets, mattress pads, lovies and stuffed animals twice. I assumed he was the same. Guess not.
So that is it. Our first real puking incident. It wasn't terrible and could have been much worse. I think the anticipation of waiting and knowing that this would happen one day was worse. Actually, the worst part was during the day because we all were tired (except the girls) and knowing that he didn't feel good and trying to make him more comfortable. He ate a little dinner and drank tons of juice so I think he is on the mend. I probably should have given him something like non-staining apple juice rather than blueberry in case we have a repeat...
-One last thing, sorry no pictures this week, I left my camera at my Dad's house. You probably wouldn't want to see pictures of this anyway.

Thundersnow

Our first big blizzard was not just the biggest of the century so far but there was thunder and lightening to boot. Cloud to ground lightening is very unusual but also a little freaky when you see it. I was watching TV last night and out of the corner of my eye saw a huge flash which I thought was a transformer blowing. All I could think of was last year when we lost our power during a snow/ice storm in Dallas. My biggest concern then was of course how to keep the kids warm but also I was freaked out about losing all the frozen home-made baby food and how was I going to give bottle with no thickener because I had no power to grind the rice cereal? How times have changed. We didn't lose power by the way- because it was lightening in a snowstorm. Freaky.
I know a good portion of the country got hit with this storm and I don't think that Milwaukee was hit as bad as say Chicago. I think we got 14 inches overnight but the big problem was the wind with the blowing and drifting snow. You can look out the window and part of cars barely have any snow and then others are just totally buried. My dad and Bambi had 3-4 foot drifts against their front door and literally had to shovel themselves out of the house.

All morning we have been watching people dig their cars out or clear their driveway only to have them plowed back in when the plows (really garbage trucks with plows on the front) come through. We live 1 block away from a shopping area with a grocery store, Starbucks, Panera, and Chipotle so there is a lot of foot traffic in front of the house. There is one lane plowed right down the middle of the street with cars plowed in on either side and everyone is walking right down the middle of the street. There is something about a blizzard and the day off that people just want to get OUT so lots of people with Starbucks and playing with dogs and of course shoveling and snowblowing. Also lots of young people walking back from the store with lots of beer and liquor. Ahh, those were the days. Those are also the ones who really didn't start to dig out their cars until late in the afternoon when the news was starting to warn people the temperature is dropping and the cars are going to get frozen in. A girl knocked on the door tonight at about 7:30 and asked to borrow a shovel to get her car out.
Typically there are lots of cars parallel parked on both sides of our street but I noticed one side was a little sparse last night. Then this morning I noticed a sign that said "No parking when snowfalls 4 inches or more" which would explain it. Those poor people that didn't pay attention. We watched these cars get tickets but the person giving the tickets had to shovel in front or back of the car to get the license plate and then shovel off the windshield to put the ticket on the car. Then we watch a huge bulldozer and tow truck stop in front of these cars. When I say "we" I mean the kids. They have been wild all morning watching the dogs, snowblowers, garbage trucks/plows and even just the shoveling has been mesmerizing to them. Back to the tow truck. Wait I should check the Truck Book that I read non-stop to Beckett to make sure I have the name correct. It was not a bulldozer but a front loader that I think they were going to use to dig out the cars and then tow them. But for some reason they didn't and just conversed outside the cars for awhile and then drove away. Too bad for the kids but probably good for the owners. I mean it would have probably been a full 30 minutes of tongue-wagging, draw-dropping entertainment for the kids but a bummer to come outside with a shovel ready to dig out your car and all you find is an empty spot. Guess they will have to shovel out their cars themselves. I took these pictures with my phone from a window.
This last picture is the car that almost got towed- twice!!

This is a good day to be in a rental house with a two car garage. When we were looking for a place Rich was completely adamant that we had to have a two car garage. He was so right. Our front steps, sidewalk and driveway are completely clear and ready to go. And I'm exhausted. Just kidding- the management company had been plowing and shoveling all night. Not that we have anywhere to go or could get anywhere because some of the streets are still pretty bad.
This afternoon Rich took a trek to Starbucks and said it was just packed, the roads are mess with stuck cars and the floor of Starbucks is "disgusting" with slush. I thought that was a hoot. Our kitchen floor could be "disgusting" with thrown food, milk, juice, utensils and the dogs running around in it and I'm not sure he would notice. Or maybe he does and doesn't say anything knowing I will tell him to do something about it.... Hmm, interesting.
My family has been calling to see how we weathered (haha) the first big blizzard in WI and this is basically what I tell them, not to be sarcastic or anything.
-As long as I have milk, diapers, food and the power stays on, the blizzard or large amounts of snow are only good as far as I'm concerned. We don't go anywhere in the cold and generally don't NEED to be anywhere and the snow just adds an entertainment factor to our daily schedule of playing, eating, changing diapers, and thankfully napping.

But, next year and maybe even yet this year for a last spring snowfall we will be on our own and we will buy a shovel and most likely the proud owners of a new snowblower. The house hunting has started.

The Dog Days of Winter

Winter in WI can get long and I'm still too chicken to take the kids outside much in the cold weather which makes us all a little stir-crazy. The other day it was fairly warm- in the 20's and I thought I could get them bundled up in their beautiful down snowsuits and take them in the choo-choo wagon to the post office down the street and then to the park. But through a series of events which I'm sure you can imagine I was plain exasperated so I ended up putting them into the car and googling the nearest Starbucks drive-thru.
I never realized how important drive-thru's are to my sanity. Unfortunately there are significantly fewer here than in TX. I don't have to get the kids dressed appropriately for the weather and I don't have to get them in and out of the car, yet we can still get out of the house with a purpose. That purpose being getting me caffeine. They are pretty happy in the car for about 45 minutes but much longer than that I run the risk of someone falling asleep which is a killer to the schedule. So I do everything I can to stop them from sleeping like talking loud, pointing out trucks and buses where there are none, taking away lovies (this is mainly Eloise the little lovie hog), and poking them in the feet. The poking is last resort because it doesn't really work and is dangerous when I'm driving.
Although we are not technically under RSV restriction like last year we still have to be careful and curtail some of our normal activities. For example, I took the kids to the Milwaukee Art Museum (the scene for this weeks American Idol) in the morning and there were tons of school kids there. The triplets were in the stroller and not touching anything but elementary school kids LOVE multiples. They stop and point and stare. And I guess the school kids like the same exhibits as the triplets- American Folk Art because of the large number of animal pieces so it got a little crowded. Taking the elevator was a little scary too because each time we shared with a group of kids.
I also got one of those famously strange comments from a teacher that day. As we were all leaving the elevator she said to me, "I'd take my 35 over those 3 any day." I know people are not trying to hurtful but I didn't think that was very kind to my sweet babies that were sitting in the stroller with their eyes wide open not making a peep.
Anyway, I've been trying to come up with ways to keep us entertained in the house and each day is a challenge. One day this week I dressed all the kids in clothes that had dogs on them. I know that sounds silly but a great way to avoid a meltdown is to say, "Eloise, do you have a doggy on your dress?" She would stop in her tracks and look for the dog and generally forget the previous insult. I need to keep that in mind when buying clothes in the future. Who am I kidding, I mean when my mom buys clothes in the future. Did you catch that Mom?
I also remembered we had a few pop up play tents that were put away because we don't have the space to keep them up an a regular basis. I set them up in the nursery and hall.
These pants were coming unsnapped all day but it did not appear to bother him. He was going wild popping in and out of the green car tent popping open the snaps with each step.

Hey Eloise, can I get a picture without 6 lovies in your mouth?

Guess not. This is what happens when you take away lovies (which is why I take them away to keep her awake in the car.) Mean I know but if you think that is mean, you should see me when they don't nap and I have 12 hours straight with no break. That's mean.

Hmm, maybe I can play now that I have my lovies back. Addy and Beckett were hysterically running in and out.

You can see the dogs on both girls dresses. Look at her face. These are not the dogs days of winter.


I'm trying to incorporate more art projects for entertainment but I'm not yet willing to try try finger paints just because of the mess factor. This day they were using stickers which I think was very good for Beckett's fine motor skills. He was very careful about putting each sticker on top of the previous until they were all stacked up. Addy was so mad that they were were in one pile. She took his paper and unpeeled every one from the stack and spread them out on the paper.

This is more Beckett's style- climbing.

And this- dreaming about a house filled with croissants and trucks.

And this. Just kidding. Rarely these days does he want a barrette in his hair like the girls. He may have gotten over that phase or Rich had a secret talk with him.

He pulled that barrette out of Eloise's hair. Her hair is getting really long and really looks ridiculous without a barrette as you can see. She probably could use a little cut but I refuse. You can also see that we have a new favorite toy. Little jars. Really the girls only like the Aveda lotion jar to carry around. The other is a cheapo travel thing that they will accept in a pinch. But this day Eloise refused to put either down. She was struggling to carry around both with the tops off so I guess she figured out an easier method of transport.

Once one of the girls get their hands on them they will not put them down for fear the other will take them. Addy even napped with both of these they other day. I actually called my mom in desperation looking for more little jars because they are so popular.

The rest of these pictures I've named the What Do I Want To Be When I Grow Up series. Beckett is crazy about stacking blocks. But he only wants them to be stacked up high one on top. I can see where this is very good for motor skills but very bad for his frustration level because once the girls see blocks stacked Addy comes to help which makes him mad and Eloise (or The Wrecking Crew as Rich calls her) tries to knock it down with the stroller. A genius engineer works much better when his sisters are not bothering him.


The talking dolls have a little panel on their chest that when you push it, or theoretically hug them, activates the talking. It reminds me of the mannequins you use during CPR class; it has the same feel and noise. When Addy is playing with the talking baby dolls she frequently is found doing something that the nurse in me calls pumping their chest or what looks like giving chest compressions. So this was the sequence of events...
Addy is running with the doll in the stroller. I'm guessing she is taking her to the hospital or someone called a code.

Starting compressions

Rescue breath

Help has arrived. Addy saved her and the Eloise is giving her orange juice. Addy knows better than to give chest compressions when someone is awake and drinking orange juice so I'm guessing she is trying to get her to talk.
Think I miss working? I mean, working at a hospital?