New Years Eve 2015

The days between Christmas & New Years were filled with urgent care visits, pediatrician appointments, antibiotics, & lots of napping! Donna & the boys all ended up with a round of bronchitis & 2 of the boys had double ear infections to boot. Luckly everyone got a z-pack & was on the mend by New Years so we were still able to make our trip to Grandma's house.

We did the typical New Years Eve festivities, just a bit earlier so the boys could get to bed on time & continue to get the rest they needed.

Where did this CHILD come from & where is my baby?!

Garren LOVED sparklers & had no fear at all, 

Caden & Kellan loved them but were a little nervous holding onto them.

The boys love to toast with drinks of any kind & even with food sometimes, so we got them some sparking grape juice to bring in the New Year with. They thought it was pretty special.

Cheers!

News Years Day we exchanged Christmas gifts with Grandma. She spoiled us all as usual.

The boys have become gift opening experts! They got remote control cars, hooded towels, clothes & sticker books from Grandma.

They helped Grandma open her gifts too!

The boys requested an Ikea trip while we were there & really who could resist a trip to Ikea???

Excited to shop!!!

And FINALLY we had a tiny bit of cool weather roll in so we broke in Grandma's new fireplace with a fire & some marshmallow roasting. Grandma did this whole patio pretty much herself, digging out the grass, putting in a drain, leveling the ground, & laying the stones. My brother in law built the fireplace/grill for her & we helped her cut the stones around the edge. Grandma is seriously a rockstar!!!

New fireplace

New patio table

New lounger

Dinner & a fire :)

Swingin'

Grandma & the boys

Grandma & Kellan

First time roasting marshmallows...

Garren

Kellan

Caden

2015 was a pretty awesome year for us & so far we've had a great start to 2016! 

New Year's Rambling

We didn't do anything spectacular New Years Eve. Donna got home from work about 6:30, we ordered some pizzas & let the boys stay up a little past their normal bedtime. The boys are those kids you hear or read about that only wake up earlier when they stay up later, so we don't go down that road very often.

Donna & I both ended up falling asleep with the boys when we put them down. Donna woke up about 10 & got me up but I fell back to sleep on the couch while she watched TV.
WE ARE SO EXCITING!!!
At 10 til midnight she started hollering at me to get up while she popped open a bottle of champagne, we toasted the New Year & sadly the first thing that went through my head is 'it's no longer the year my dad died.'

I will admit that the Holidays were hard. I thought I would be ok, I'm taking a pretty good dose of an anti-depressant/anti-anxiety medication, that paired with some essential oils had kept my emotions from running overboard but the week of Thanksgiving the tears started flowing & it's been difficult to keep them at bay since. Holidays were always special times & everything about any holiday reminds me of my dad & I just really, REALLY miss him a lot.

Losing my dad unexpectedly most definitely made 2014 the worst year of my life! It made us reconsider everything we thought we knew we wanted, like choosing a place (city & state) to settle down & raise the boys. After my dad died we wanted to be closer to my bonus mom to be able to help her out. We wanted a fresh start someplace unfamiliar to forget all our woes, I wanted to be as far from everything that reminded me of my dad as possible. Any of these possibilities also had to coincide with there being a position for Donna to transfer too. None of the options we thought we wanted panned out, which was good since we were making emotional decisions. In the end we stuck to what we had originally decided before our lives were turned upside down & we signed a contract on a new house here, central to all our parents & close enough to visit frequently.

Building a new house was a good distraction from my heartache. It kept my mind busy for several months & gave us all something to look forward to. At the end of the day my heart was still crushed though & when it was time to move, I just missed my dad that much more. It's hard to make big changes or plan special events knowing he's not here to be apart of it.

2015 will bring the hurdle of getting past the first anniversary of losing my dad. It also holds in store some great possibilities for Donna, myself & our boys. I expect it to be a good year with positive changes for our future & I'm excited for the growing, learning & changing the boys will do this year, especially starting school!

I'm not really making resolutions but would just like to overall be better. Handle my grief better, be better organized, have better follow through, eat better, be healthier, better my time management, live better. 

I hope you all had a good 2014 & I hope that your 2015 is even better :) Happy New Year!!!

Happy Happy New Year!!!

We spent New Year's Eve with my Dad & Bonus Mom, I honestly can't remember not spending New Year's Eve with them? Anyways, it's always a fun evening with good food & company.

Marie, my bonus mom made tacos & her famous taco dip for dinner & she hooked us all up with our favorite alcoholic beverages for the evening, lol...

The boys played, played & played some more with their new Thomas track & all the tracks Aunt Meg & family have left at Grandma & Grandpa's

After we got the boys dressed in their pajamas we decided to take them for a walk to see the Christmas lights that were still up on my parents street. The boys LOVED them along with the fireworks someone was shooting off on the next street! It's good to know they like fireworks since they haven't been to an actual fireworks show yet :) 

It was a bit of a struggle getting the boys to fall asleep with all the fireworks & hoopla going on outside but we finally did. I finished up some laundry & we watched a multitude of New Year's Eve programs (because my dad doesn't believe in watching commercials & changes the channels back & forth) :) I think we all struggled to actually stay awake but we did it, we twisted the New Year, kissed and went straight to bed, lol...

We had a great New Year's morning with my parents, we enjoyed a great breakfast & lunch before getting on the road to come home. It rained ALL THE WAY & the 3 hour drive seemed to take 6. Everyone including the cat was happy to be home! Now I just need to find space for all these new toys the boys got!!! I purged before Christmas, I may need to purge some more...

Hope you all had a fabulous New Year too!!!

What Adventures Await in 2012?

With 2011 behind us now, I can't help but think about what this next year has in store for us. It has already started out with a whole lot less worry than last year, which is very nice!!!

The things we are looking forward to this year are... Our boys becoming mobile, I know EVERYTHING will change when that happens but I think it will make things a little more interesting too!!! I look forward to celebrating 12 years together with Donna :) We are hoping to get back to FL on a permanent basis. We were pretty sure having "a" baby would make us want to be closer to family, having 3 babies most definitely makes us not only want, but need to be closer to family. We are looking forward to the boys first birthday and the party to celebrate them. And we are looking forward to the memories and traditions we will create.

clockwise from the top left;
Garren, Caden & Kellan

As far as resolutions, I don't usually make them. Now that I am a full time stay at home mom to triplets I need goals. Not just work out & eat better goals (although it wouldn't hurt) but organization & self motivation goals.
It is very easy to get caught up in how much work it is to get 3 babies ready & out of the house & to do it in enough time to actually get somewhere & do something before they need to eat again. So I am pushing myself to get out of the house at least twice during the week. One of these times will be a little easier, I plan to have lunch with Donna on Fridays so she will push me to keep those dates :) The other day I will go shopping or run errands or just go to a park for a walk, anything really to just get out of the house.
My other goal is to get everything I have stored away in the closets with the intentions of selling on eBay or Craigslist listed & sold. The boys are growing out of so many things, not just clothes, but bouncers & bumbos & soon their carseats & swings. We are running out of space & only accumulating more stuff.
I do also need to quit eating like I am still pregnant or nursing triplets. While I have lost more weight than I gained during my pregnancy, I am sure it is only a matter of time before it catches up with me. Besides, if I eat healthier then Donna will too & very soon our boys will be taking notice of we eat & will want what we have. So if I start everyone else will follow :o)
There you have it, three resolutions. I will report how well it is going at the end of the month...

 Happy New Year again to all our friends, family & readers!!!

Farewell 2011...

What a year!!! I have to say probably the best yet for Donna and I.

2011 has brought us so much to be thankful for.

Modern medicine for one. It is what made our boys possible, not just the fertility treatments but the prenatal care I received & the care our boys received when they were born 11 weeks premature. Also modern medicine made my dad & my dear friends cancer detected & treated early, requiring neither of them to have to endure chemo or radiation.
I'm thankful for all our family & friends who helped us prepare for the boys arrival with gifts, love & time. (aka help)
I'm thankful for family, friends, facebook & random strangers that made it possible for us to raise the money we needed to get our boys their plagiocephaly helmets.
And of course our beautiful baby boys!!!

The year did have it's ups & downs of course. The scare we had with my dad falling off a ladder, which led to his cancer being diagnosed. The loss my cousin who was serving in Afghanistan at just 21 years old & the loss of my uncle who became ill suddenly & passed away the next day. These were devastating for our family but have only made our bond stronger & shown us not to take anyone or anything for granted.

I hope that 2012 brings everyone happiness & good health.

Be safe in your endeavors tonight & Happy New Year!!!

We are home with our party animals tonight
(who are sleeping by now of course)