A Final Performance

So here’s another sign that our triplets are growing up – they recently attended their last ever Bible study with me. (I’ve gone for 7 years and never been there without a kid!) As you have come to know by now, at the end of each semester, we are treated to a musical performance by the kids. I have to say this is my favorite one yet. I think it’s because the kids were so animated this time.

One other thing happened that I hope doesn’t make you uncomfortable if I share it. My pregnancy with these little guys was originally quadruplets for the first two months, as some of you know. We named that baby Riley and do things from time to time to remember his/her little life. In these videos, you will notice a little girl who isn’t having the best time (maybe because she got stuck in between my crazy crew). Guess what her name is? Riley. Kinda gives me chills like I am watching what my quadruplets could have been like.

So onto the performance. The first song they sang is called “Build Each Other Up.” I like this song because it has such a positive message for all of us. Some of the things I love about this video are seeing Jack’s personality really come out, the cute motions that they do, how intensely they do the up and down parts, and the way they strike a proud pose at the end.

(Click here if you can’t see the video.)

Next up was “Be Bold, Be Strong”. I like how you see cute little Lauren with her pigtails and lacy dress and then there is her tattoo that says “I Heart Models” (sorry, no time for the story behind that right now). Then there is Jack with his famous echo that others commented on later. I think for Drew this was his favorite, as he is big into superheroes right now and this song afforded him lots of strong poses. They all finished strong, too!

(Click here if you aren’t able to view the video.)

I’ll be honest, I don’t know what this next song is called. I think it’s “Be Like Jesus” but I also call it “The Train Song”. As you can probably hear me say, I didn’t feed Jack sugar that morning, but he sure did round up a lot of energy from the whole wheat cereal I gave him. And afterwards, someone saw us in the parking lot and said to Jack, “Oh, you’re the train guy.” I also think it’s cute the way that Lauren kept looking at her brothers and I like Drew’s reverse train. Keep your eyes open for the superhero pose at the end, and you can see for yourself how well their bellybuttons are healing after surgery. 

 

(You can also click here to see the video.)

Next is one I like to call “Boom Chocka Locka”. I had heard snippets of this song around the house, but hadn’t heard the whole song until this day. I think this was a fun lighthearted song that they all enjoyed singing (except for poor Riley). Jack shows such intensity when he lists the fruits of the spirit, I love it! There were some near misses of slaps to the face at the end, but they made it through. I don’t know if you can tell on the video, but at the end, they said, “Now that’s what I’m talkin’ about.” Well said!

(Click here if the video doesn’t appear for you.)

There was one other performance where the kids listed the books of the New Testament (have to admit I can’t even do that). But, sadly I cannot show it to you. There is some potentially embarrassing behavior involved, and I have to draw the line somewhere not to completely embarrass my kids, right?

Hope you enjoyed the show!

God bless,

Amanda

http://four-and-no-more.blogspot.com/

The Good, The Bad, The New, and the Dead

We’ve had a great fall this year and had a lot of fun with the kids. They have a way of letting you know which events they really like, too, by asking to repeat them over and over again. We have a few such activities that have started to become annual events for us – giving ample opportunity for more adventures to find us.

The GOOD

One of the kids’ favorite events that we have gone to several times is at the hospital where we just got 3 new bellybuttons. Every spring and fall, they have a big FREE carnival, complete with bounce houses, all kinds of wild and domestic animals and free lunch. In the fall they give out free pumpkins, too (unfortunately 2 of the 4 have now disappeared). At the face painting booth, the kids were excited to make their choices. Alyssa requested an iguana and Lauren a flower. The boys got a little more unique with Jack requesting Elmo on his hand (so that he can see it) and Drew asked for a house (complete with a sidewalk, tree, sun and clouds). It was almost worth the hour wait to see that!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Another highly requested tradition we started last year is a fall hike at a local park. It’s so exciting to go empty-handed now and leave the strollers behind! We went on a beautiful warm day with the leaves showing off their gorgeous colors. Back in the days when I was pregnant with Alyssa, the first shirt I bought her said “Hiker in Training.” Now I feel like we’ve lived up to it a little bit with our new tradition. We had a great time walking around, taking it all in, and nature put on quite a show for us (or we must have just been there at mealtime). We got to see a hawk make several unsuccessful bids to make a squirrel his next meal. We also got very close to another squirrel that was working very very hard to crack open a walnut for its chow.

Also, way back before we started having kids, we started visiting a local pumpkin patch every year (I went there as a young kid, too). Through the years, my Mom, sister and Dad have been able to come with us. This year my Dad joined us. We were able to enjoy our normal routine of taking a hayride out to the pumpkin patch, checking out the log cabin built in the 1850’s, petting the farm animals (and feeding a goat), and sitting in the “Cinderella carriage.” The kids seemed to have the most fun with the straw maze and bales of straw all stacked up for the kids to climb on. The triplets (minus poor allergic Jack) were able to try their first elephant ear this year. The first time we got one for Alyssa there a while back, she said, “Who would want to eat the ear of an elephant?” It was a big hit, though, and the kids had a great time.

THE NEW

This year we also got invited to a fall party at the place of one of my old high school friends. It was fun to see people I haven’t talked to in 20 year (where does the time go!?) and watch our kids play together. We also got to go on a hayride there and eat some good chow. But I think the highlight for us was seeing our first ever pumpkin cannon. Here’s a video for you to the “Punkin Chunkin” in action for yourself.

THE BAD AND THE DEAD

Some of you may remember this post about the annual field trip the preschool takes to the apple orchard. I don’t know what it is about that place, but I’m beginning to think all the preschool field trips there are cursed (good thing this year was the last one!). We were running a couple minutes late to leave the house and ut oh, the van door didn’t open. The battery was dead. In the garage. Someone had left the lights on. Poor Dave got a panicked call in the middle of a class he was teaching, asking him how to get the van into neutral. Long story short, my awesome neighbors rescued me. We never did get the van in neutral (and I even had to borrow one of my kids’ flashlights, because the batteries in mine were all dead, too!). We had to take a shelf off the wall just to pop the hood. The other side of the garage was full of all kinds of stuff we had to move out of the way to get my neighbor's truck in the garage. Our batteries were on opposite sides, so we strung 2 sets up jumper cables together. But we did get to our field trip – just in time for the trio’s class to get off the hay wagon and end the field trip. <sigh> So, I let the kids play on the playground for a bit to make up for it. Despite being told not to, they ended up stealing some apples off a nearby tree and 2 of them chomped away. When I told them we had to apologize to the cashier and pay for them, I immediately got tears from the nonconvicted thieves. Secretly, I was glad to see their repentant hearts, but I felt for them, as I remember well that pit in your stomach when you have to make amends. One kid told me he was afraid that the police would be called and haul them away. But, eventually, we made things right again and I bought some goodies for the neighbors that rescued me earlier. Always an adventure when we are around!

I have a ton of pictures from all of these events that I was going to put in a slideshow, but, let’s face it, I’m not going to get to it. I still have stuff from this summer I want to blog about like visits from family, the boys’ new room, the basement finally got finished (a YEAR ago), swim lessons, the big birthday party… Someday……

Hope you are enjoying what’s left of the fall and getting done the most important things – spending time with family.

God bless,

Amanda

http://four-and-no-more.blogspot.com/

I’ll Take 3 New Bellybuttons, Please

At Lauren, Drew and Jack’s last checkup, we discussed with the pediatrician the umbilical hernia that each of them had. We had been taking a wait and see approach over the last few years, but at this point the waiting period was up. At the 4 year point, they no longer had a chance to heal up on their own. He left it up to us when we wanted to pursue the “s” word. But, since we’ve already met the out-of-pocket maximum for our medical insurance (thanks to the kind of year we were having), this year was looking like a pretty good time to us. We decided to at least meet with the surgeon and get more information before we decided, though.

When I first told the kids that I was taking them to visit a doctor who was going to look at their bellybuttons, they all giggled. They thought it was the funniest thing that I would take them to someone to look at their bellybutton! But, then they started to figure out why their navals would need to be looked at, and they started to get concerned. Despite that, the first visit with the surgeon went pretty well, aside from Drew telling him repeatedly that he didn’t want a new bellybutton. The surgeon confirmed that all 3 of our kids having umbilical hernias probably was due to them being born prematurely. However, we were still the first set of triplets he had operated on for this. (Sadly, this isn’t the first time our family has created a first for a doctor.) But he did say their hernias weren’t that big and we could wait if we so desired, but confirmed they would not improve with time. There was a small chance they could cause them pain later, but most likely they wouldn’t get worse. He also told us to consider the reaction of other kids who might make fun of them for their large outties. So we talked about the pros and cons and wondered what we would like our parents to do if we were them. We decided to get it over with rather than wait for an unlikely but potential emergency, especially since it would only get harder for them to take a weekend off as they get older and involved in more activities. What sealed it for me was the night when Drew told me that he had pain around his bellybutton. His hernia was the largest, and I sure didn’t like to see my kiddo in pain if we could get it fixed!

We scheduled the surgery ASAP, to avoid all the rescheduling and added misery that would inevitably happen once cold season was in full swing. So our weekend of fun began on Sept 3rd (guess not many people wanted to deal with surgery during Labor Day weekend). Earlier in the week, I did some preregistration over the phone. When they found out we had recently had a Hand-Foot-Mouth Disease epidemic in our house, they wanted to reschedule. After some pleading on my part that they weren’t contagious anymore and this would cause some huge problems for our family, they finally consented to go ahead. But every sniffle from then on freaked me out, and I was scared that we would have to reschedule again after I begged them to go on! We even kept the kids inside the day before their surgery, just to keep their allergies at bay.

Two days before the surgery, I took the trio on a tour of the hospital for them to see where they would be and ask any questions. I waited until just before then to break the news that the were having surgery, to hopefully avoid any unnecessary anxiety. They were a little crazy, though, running everywhere during the tour. I hoped it was just nervous energy and not how they would act for the big day. Our tour guide was so helpful and assured Drew that he had a very nice surgeon. Drew responded with, “Is he nicer than God?” Overall, the kids took the news of their impending bellybutton fixes pretty well. Once they saw the toys they would get to play with at the hospital, and I promised them no shots (they knock them out and then put in the IVs), it was no big deal. I have to say that I was glad to hear about no needles, too. I had a surgery when I was 5 and was literally traumatized by needles for the next 20 years (until I went through fertility treatments and had to get over it)! My family can heartily verify this and are probably laughing as they read this. Another thing I learned from the tour was that each kid got to take 2 things into surgery with them, like teddy bears. That helped ease some anxiety, too.

Every day after that, the kids asked me if they were supposed to eat breakfast (they were a little confused on the timing), but otherwise, they didn’t talk about the surgery too much. The morning of the surgery went pretty smoothly and Lauren, Drew and Jack did better than I expected with the whole not eating part. Alyssa was a good big sister and ate breakfast when they weren’t around. She seemed to do pretty well with everything, too, and her only concern was that their new bellybuttons would be scary looking. But she seemed happy enough to go off to school for her normal routine and have her chicken nuggets for lunch. So, we were glad that she was in good hands, and as the bus pulled away, Drew and I headed off to the hospital (he was first in line). 

After dragging a very impatient kid through registration, we were soon in our to our pre-op room. Then Drew told me very sadly that he missed his family. But soon enough, there were 5 of us in our little room and it was back to chaotic instead of quiet. The kids had to do some preliminary prep work and change into scrubs. Drew especially didn’t want to put his on (maybe because they were peach?), but we assured him he looked like he worked at the hospital and we called him Dr. Drew. While the nurse was checking his siblings’ vitals, Dr. Drew took his title very seriously and coached his siblings through how to take deep breaths to make their pulse ox readings go up to 100% (When you are four years old, 100 is the coolest number ever!)

Things were going pretty smoothly until a fight erupted while the surgeon was having us sign papers and 2 nurses were taking vital signs and updating charts. Dave had to break up the shoving match, and the surgeon just looked at me, grinned, and shook his head. Other than that, the kids did fine with all the waiting and didn’t seem too nervous. We passed the time with lots of toys, cartoons and coloring. There was also a nurse there to help ease anxiety and make us comfortable. She was so helpful, and brought all the kids their own masks to get used to what would happen in the operating room (they wheeled them in, put the mask on and knocked them out with gas). They also got to pick a flavor of chapstick to put around the mask to make it smell good. This was a huge decision for them, but I really think it made them feel more comfortable and more importantly gave them control over something. Another really thoughtful nurse got a mask and chapstick for Alyssa, too. So we are well equipped to play hospital now, especially with all the gloves, masks, gauze and surgeons hats they sent home from the tour.

When it was time for Drew to get on the bed to take his ride to surgery, he said “I’m going to be really scared.”  He snuggled his teddy bear tightly, but was soon distracted him when we told him his bed was like a race car. I walked down the hall to the operating room with him, but it was really hard to hug him goodbye. But, since he wasn’t crying or scared that helped me. The nurses said he did really well after I left, too.

After that, Jack and Lauren seemed to have fun playing with the new toys all by themselves. At one point, a nurse stopped by and told us she just loved hearing our kids in the hallway. She said they sounded like happy chipmunks with their little voices. The surgeon came out and told us that Drew did great and soon it was Jack’s turn. The nurse told me later that they didn’t think he could do any better than Drew, but he did. He cracked everyone up by the way he held his mask on during the whole trip down the hall and didn’t remove it until he was asleep from the gas, too.

After that, it was kind of a crazy circus keeping track of everyone. Lauren was about ready to go into surgery (but happily singing “Life is A Highway”, playing with toys and watching Toy Story by herself). Then they told me that Drew needed me in recovery. When I got there, he was groggy and crying and in pain. Since he can’t have morphine (due to a bad reaction to a similar medicine), they were having trouble finding something else to control his pain. I felt so badly for him because I’ve experienced the same thing, and then he freaked a little when he saw a syringe coming towards his IV (he thought I broke my promise of no shots!). He also wasn’t too happy about the splint on his arm to protect the IV and pulse oximeter, but one of the nurses eventually talked him into leaving it alone. But the 2nd dose of pain medicine did the trick and he slept some more and was fine.

Jack came out soon after that and was put in the bay straight across from Drew (it was cute to watch them later waving to each other). Most parents don’t see their kids before they wake up, but I got to since I was already there for Drew. It was tough to see him so awkwardly unconscious. Whereas Drew woke up right away, Jack slept 45 minutes and woke up a little too wide eyed from the meds, but otherwise chipper. The nurse was very amused by him using words like actually all the time and the way he scarfed down 2 popsicles right away. It was hard to sit there and watch the nurse do her job while I waited my turn, and I couldn’t wait to give him a hug. But at least Dave was in recovery with me at that point to watch our boys sleep.

Lauren came out then and was placed next to Drew, but slept for a while in a position that couldn’t have been comfortable. Drew was asking where she was later and was comforted to know she was right next to him. They told us that she did even better than boys at being in the OR and she chatted away even when they put the mask on her. She told them all about her bed at home and the playhouse in her room and the Barbie house inside. They finally had to get started so they just gassed her out as she talked. She slept peacefully for a while after surgery, too. When she woke up and too full advantage of the offer eat some pudding (breakfast of champions, huh?). It’s amazing how little you say no to your kids on the day that they have surgery.

About that time, Drew’s pain started to break through again as he moved around to get dressed. His IV had already been taken out, and they had to call the anesthesiologist back. Fortunately, the ibuprofen they gave him worked after 10 minutes (especially for the sake of the other patients right there). I was so glad that we got to have the grandparents back in recovery to help with kids at that point. (Hospital policy is to only have one adult per child in recovery, but they gave us the rock star treatment and accommodated us once again.) It was getting a little chaotic with kids getting IVs out, getting dressed, filling snack orders, visits to the Treasure Chest and Jack bopping around talking to everyone (he was discharged before Drew’s pain took off).

Once Jack took his wagon ride out of there, it was soon time for Lauren and Drew to be discharged all at once. Before we left, one nurse told us it was a very exciting day for them as well to have the triplets there. We were so grateful for all the wonderful care they gave to our entire family, and all that they did to make it as positive of an experience as possible. Drew said several times after we left how he missed all the fun that he had at the hospital (and he’s the one that was in pain)!

We got home about 45 minutes before Alyssa got off the bus. Once she got home, it was almost like things were back to normal. Lauren didn’t understand why she couldn’t ride her scooter after having a fresh incision before she even entered the house. Kids were chattering. Fights were breaking out. New works of art were being created. And the house was full of exhausted adults who didn’t realize how emotionally exhausting the day would be. But being home just made life seem normal again. We even were blessed with a good night sleep the first night, when we were sure someone would wake up needing pain medicine.

Our only challenge now is to get the kids not to touch their bellybuttons too much. They love to lift their shirts up and say, “Do you want to see my bellybutton?” That will make the kids at preschool run out of there like they are in a horror movie! The day after his surgery, Jack told me that his bellybutton was getting coo-ul. But they are doing great now. We are off all pain medicine and all the bruising is gone. We are just waiting for the incisions to heal up all the way.

It could have turned out so differently and so many other things could have gone wrong. We are so grateful to those who prayed for our family and to God for protecting our babies. Even though I was hoping during this first post about bellybuttons that the hernias would heal up without surgery, God provided every step of the way from finances to wonderful help and support. Our lives are truly full of blessings and we are so very thankful for that.

 

God bless,

Amanda

We’re Gonna Rule the School

Today it was back to school day for Lauren, Drew and Jack. As the oldest kids in preschool, now, that means they get to rule the school.

We did our usual routine of taking pictures for the first day (you have to capture those new backpacks and haircuts, right?). And even though I am just trying to capture 3 smiley faces at once, I always find one picture that seems to capture their personalities. (You can look at last year’s pictures here and see if you agree.)

For the individual shots, they got bored with waiting their turns and took off on their scooters and bikes down the driveway. So, we were far from early on the first day, but at least we got these pictures out of them:

First, we have Drewski….

then, Jack Attack….

and, finally, Laurenowski

They handled the drop off like real pros, and I had to stop them to give me a hug goodbye. No tears or clinging at all! They went right into their Monkeys class as if they had been there all year. (Yeah, ignore this post that says they won’t be Monkeys anymore. Oops.)

At pickup time, they came out to give me a big hug and seemed to have a great day. They couldn’t wait to show me their papers and tell me that they got to have animal crackers and brownies, played on the playground and made new friends.

I love these crafts that they made with the story they heard:

Anyone who knows me, knows that I’m a sucker for anything with my kids’ little handprints on it. It was so sweet, and you’ll have to read that poem that was on it:

That almost brought me to tears! Can’t believe that’s it for first days at preschool for us. It went fast, but I’m enjoying this phase with my “big kids”, too.

God bless,

Amanda

Look Out, Reggie Jackson

Well, Amanda told you about how the girls got to take a ballet class last summer. Well, the boys got to take a sports class, too, last summer. Unfortunately, we don’t have any pictures of them in action, because the day Amanda was going to go photograph them, the class was cancelled. Amanda was a little sad that she didn’t get to see them at their first class, but when you have more than one child, you just have to miss some events, unfortunately.

This class was in the style of parent/child, so I (Dave) went with the boys and got to coach them along. They were among the youngest ones there and did pretty well, considering. The class was an “Intro to Sports” class which introduced toddlers to throwing, hitting, catching, kicking, etc… Now, to those of you who have been around our family, you know that Drew is the sports lover and Jack is the one doesn’t have the love of sports…yet. Although, as this video shows, when they were one and a half, they sure did fight to the death over a ball. [Click here if you can’t see the video below.]

Oh how we wish their fights were that tame now! Anyway, the boys were a little like Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde at sports class. One absolutely loved playing with all of the balls, so when he got to learn all about new things to do with balls during his class, he just loved it. The other couldn’t care less if he was throwing a ball, sitting on a ball, or calculating the circumference of a ball. A typical day at sports class last year went something like this:

Drew: “Come on! Throw me the ball, Daddy!”

Jack: “I’m bored, is it time to go yet?”

Dave: “Great kick Drew! Jack, get back here!”

Drew: “I kicked it really good, huh Daddy?”

Jack: “Can I throw the baseball at Drew’s head?”

Dave: “Way to swing that bat Drew! Where’s Jack???”

Overall, we had a good time, but it’s pretty evident as to who likes sports in the family. While Jack will often fall asleep with sunglasses on,  Drew will often be found snuggling with his little mini basketball. Since he was very young, he has always had the disposition to play sports. Before he was two, he was dribbling a ball and hitting kick balls with a bat when we pitched them to him. When taken to the toy store and given his choice last summer, he picked a ball. His choice of tattoo at a picnic was also a ball.  Balls are just his thing!   Needless to say, we see lots of sporting events with Drew in our future!

Over the winter Amanda saw that there was a baseball league that Drew could possibly play in. Even though the league was a developmental league for kids ages 4-6, Amanda emailed the league commissioner and asked for an exception. Thankfully, he agreed to let Drew play, but I (Dave) had my reservations. Being very competitive myself, I didn’t want to see my son be the worst one on the team, because he was so young and little. However, I was happy when he was placed on the New York Yankees, and he ended up with Reggie Jackson’s #44. (We gave Jack the choice to play, too, but he chose a summer class with the girls. More about that later.)

So, the first practice came and went, and after practice was over, I was about to have Drew quit. Shy by nature, he didn’t really know what to do, and he was very scared. He was the shortest kid out there, and the others seemed to know what they were doing (somewhat). On the drive home I decided that instead of quitting, our backyard was going to be our spring training center. We were going to do stretching, pushups, sit-ups, squats, sprints, batting practice, fielding practice, and drills. Well, maybe not all of that, but I was determined for him to get better. But, I wanted him to want to get better, so Amanda and I made baseball a lot of fun in the backyard with him. If he didn’t want to play, no big deal. By the time I was a sophomore in high school, I was totally burned out with baseball. My coaches made it be like a dreadful job. Plus, I wanted to do other things, like play basketball with my friends and get better at tennis.  So, I quit baseball. If our kids want to play sports, that’s great, but if they don’t, that’s fine with me as well.

The way Drew’s league is set up, the team has one practice during the week and games are on Saturday morning. During the game, the coach will throw about 5 pitches to the kid, and if they don’t hit it by then, they’ll get out a tee, where the kid will hit it. So, everyone hits the ball, everyone gets on base, and there are no outs. The last batter gets to hit a grand slam no matter what. So, each 1 hour game lasts about 2-3 innings and ends up with a score being around 40-40.

 

When the other team is up to bat, all of the players are positioned around the infield. Whenever someone hits the ball, it’s usually a mad scramble to get the ball. The first game was pretty hilarious when a kid hit the ball and about 8 kids ran to the ball like bees to honey. Drew had some trouble hitting the ball the first two games, so all of his hits came off the tee. To his defense, the 2nd game was played in about 45 degree weather (the wind chill made it around freezing) and Drew was still learning how to use an aluminum bat. These bats are around 14 oz., and he was use to 5 oz. wiffle ball bats. (Plus, his mom is convinced he hadn’t completely regained his strength yet from being so ill.)

As the season progressed Drew got better and better. He learned how to swing the aluminum bat really well, and he rarely had to hit the ball off of the tee. He has quite a strong arm for a three year old, and his coaches told us that he was the most improved player on the team. At the end of the last game, Drew received a nice little trophy, and he was blessed to have 2 great coaches who really cared about the kids. So, was I glad that Drew played baseball? Looking back I think he really enjoyed it, and he still loves to play in the backyard (and practicing sliding in the kitchen), so I think it was a success. Next year, he may want to do something totally different, so we’ll see where Drew’s athletic abilities and desires take us then.

Take care,

Dave

Monkeys and Giraffes No More

Can you believe it? Another school year has come to an end. That means some end of the year celebrations!

First, came the last day of the Bible study that the trio and I attend. They get to be in the Monkeys Class and I get to hang out with an amazing group of ladies in my own class.  The kids did another performance like they did last December. They didn’t dress up this time, but the boys got some more use out of their Easter duds and Lauren got to wear the same outfit Alyssa did for her last performance as a Monkey. It all worked out so that Dave could see their live performance, too.

They started off being very thrilled to recite the Pledge of Allegiance – to the “United States of the ‘Merica” as they call it.  See if you can spot the 2nd set of triplets up front as I pan to the left. [Click here if you can’t see the video.]

They also sang “Daniel in the Lions Den” (my favorite one to practice – love the “Roar roar!” [Click here if you can’t see the video.]

And, well, there were other videos. But I can’t put them on the internet. Let’s just say they include behaviors that would embarrass them for life!

And you remember Donuts with Daddy, right? Well, around Mother’s Day, I got to have Muffins with Mom at preschool. I was presented with 3 lovely necklaces that each of my kids had made for me. They each chose the pattern on the front and put their fingerprints on the back. (Watching them try to keep the surprise from me was probably my favorite part!) Jack liked his so much that he wore it himself for a while.

And finally at preschool, the trio celebrated the end of being in the Giraffe class. They had a celebration a slide show of the year and some cake (or fruit snacks if you are Jack and happen to be allergic to eggs). Grammy was able to join us as well.  They had a great time and we were so blessed to have fantastic teachers in both of their classes that they miss already!

Whew! I can’t believe that I made it to the end of their first year of preschool. It was a lot of work for me, too! But they really learned a lot this year, and we were so glad that we did!

Coming soon are details about Alyssa’s last days of kindergarten and some of our summer plans.

God bless,

Amanda

Sick & Tired of Being Sick

When we hit January this year, I have to admit that I thought to myself “this winter isn’t so bad.” We were definitely braced for the worst, knowing that the triplets were in preschool for the first time and Alyssa was in kindergarten = a whole new school full of germs to be exposed to. We had a cold going around in December, but it really wasn’t too bad – so far.

Then about mid-January, the respiratory and stomach bugs started to hit. But, when you have little kids, having colds in the winter almost gets to be like breathing. It was a little annoying, but nothing like some of the past trials we have been through. Besides, sometimes we actually get naps out of the kids when they’re sick, even if it is in the strangest places (like Lauren sleeping on the stairs).

Then March hit. First, it started with Jack and Lauren getting pink eye. Then, a few days later, all  4 kids were on antibiotics for strep throat (we highly recommend the little grocery store clinics for such occasions on Friday nights).

Then, a week later, Drew started really getting sick (while we had all 4 kids at the dermatologist treating the Molluscum epidemic that is also sweeping our house). He got a runny nose, developed a croupy cough (which sometimes made him throw up), and got feverish by bedtime. The poor guy took 3 naps on Saturday and had a 102 fever all day. On particular nap, he just collapsed on the couch while still standing up.

Sunday morning, he woke up with a rash all over. It looked just like the one Alyssa had when she had roseola, so I figured it was that. He was feeling better by then, so then we just watched and waited for Lauren and Jack to get sick, too.

Monday morning, it was back to our normal routine and trying to pretend we weren’t tired with the switch to daylight savings time. But as we got to lunch time, Drew started to fade again and get pale. He fell asleep right away at naptime and was a limp noodle the rest of the day. He didn’t eat much and after dinnertime, and his breathing got labored. I left a message for the pediatrician, and we waited.

We were trying to at least keep Drew hydrated, and we had a good laugh after Dave accidently mixed up Drew a glass of orange Metamucil instead of orange Gatorade. The canisters do look pretty similar. Drew actually said it was “the best Gatorade ever” before we even caught the mistake, too.

The doctor called back and after hearing that Drew was taking more than a breath a second (I have learned this as a new rule of thumb), he said to have him checked out. So it was off to take Drew to the ER again. He was given 2 breathing treatments and some steroids right away, which calmed his breathing down, and he was doing a lot better. His fever had come up to around 101 again, so the nurses gave him a popsicle, which he thought was the greatest. He was also treated to a Mickey Mouse movie. Also, on the way to the bathroom, he got to meet 2 real live firemen, and they gave him his very own fireman hat. So despite being told his throat and ears were pretty red, having blisters all over from his Molluscum treatment, a rash from roseola, a 102 fever and an X-ray showing possible early stage viral pneumonia, Drew was still smiling and very excited about his very own bottle of Gatorade that he got to bring home. That kid is tough!

So, since Drew was doing a lot better, we were released to come home. I dropped him off around 10:30pm for Dave to put him to bed and then headed off to the pharmacy. Of course, there were issues with all 3 of his prescriptions, so I was there past midnight. When I got home, I found out that Lauren had thrown up soon after I left. I think Dave got the rougher end of the deal.

For the next 2 days after that, Drew seemed to improve. Then at 3:30am, Drew woke up coughing. I tried 2 of our high octane breathing treatments that the pulmonologist gave us for Jack (the 1st thing they gave him at the ER a few days earlier), and it only slowed him down a little. So finally 2 hours later at the ER, his coughing stopped. They had to give him 2 ephinidrine breathing treatments, which meant we weren’t going home that night. I was so scared on the drive there, thinking they would have to stick a tube down his throat or something. It was so good to see him stop coughing finally with the medicines they gave him.

Meanwhile, Dave was left with the realization that at 5am, he wasn’t going into work that day. I gave him some options of ways to farm out the kids and told him the first deadline was to get Alyssa on the bus. He called my mom at 5am, and as she said, “It’s never good news when the phone rings at 5am.” She was a real trooper to come over and cover the fort, while Dave rushed in to get some plans ready for a sub. When I called home with my first update on Drew, I was a little surprised to hear her answer the phone. Thanks to her help, it all worked out, and Dave was able to get home in time to get Alyssa on the bus, then took Lauren and Jack off to preschool. It was kind of fun to watch him take over my job for the day. I think he only had to hear “Mommy, doesn’t do it that way” once.

Then, Dave made it over to the hospital shortly after Drew was admitted to his room. At one point, they were considering admitting Drew to the Peds ICU, because he was so sick. He had about 5 breathing treatments in 2 hours and was on 3L of oxygen, and his levels were still only about 95%. Once he started feeling a little better, he didn’t want to have his oxygen canula in his nose, but by the end of the day, he was breathing on his own and still holding at 95%. So the doctor’s concluded that he had a really bad virus and once it turned a corner, he was doing a lot better.  A follow up X-ray also concluded that he didn’t have viral pneumonia, too. So, we went home about 30 hours after arriving. Drew was so happy to show off the balloon, book and stuffed animal he got from Grandma and Papo, though. He was so very excited about the 2 egg omelets he got to eat for breakfast.

Lauren got a really bad cold, but recovered pretty well on her own. Jack got sick with the same virus shortly afterwards. We had to call the pulmonologist and get some steroids and do some breathing treatments, but he was able to stay out of the hospital. Thank God for the preventative medicines he is on!

Then Easter weekend, Alyssa got strep throat again. Why do my kids always get sick at times like the night before Easter? Well, we went to our friendly drugstore clinic again, and she had tested positive for strep there less than 30 days before, they insisted on culturing her specimen (instead of the quick test, which give you results right away). So, that meant no antibiotics yet to kill it until the results came back several days later. Poor Alyssa handled it pretty well, despite not feeling well on Easter. So on the day after Easter, Dave was off on Spring Break and helped me to march all 4 kids into the pediatrician’s office. Only Alyssa tested positive for strep, and our doctor helped ease my fears from the clinic lady  who said she needed her tonsils out!

Things calmed down after that, and aside from bad spring allergies, we hoped the warm weather had helped us back to good health. We even got wild and crazy and started painting the boys’ room – which we had been promising to do “after Christmas” and you now know why we didn’t get to it. (More about their room later – I’m still working on the furniture.)

Last weekend, Alyssa finally got to go to a much anticipated slumber party. It was literally 2 years in the making, as she and her friend had talked about a sleepover when her friend turned 5. Well, the night before the friend’s 5th birthday, the slumber party was in full swing. I had sent Alyssa over there without much of a voice, but I really thought it was bad allergies. I felt so bad when I got the call at 9:30pm: “Your princess has a fever.” She was up to 102 and not feeling so well, as you can imagine and pretty disappointed. She had to miss another birthday party the next day, as she was still pretty puny. But, a day later, she was doing pretty well. We were lucky that none of our kids got it, and the birthday girl and her family at least escaped the fever, but did get some sniffles.

And guess what, now I have it. I have lost my voice and don’t feeling like doing much of anything but sitting. I think my kids are amused by my new “voice” but I have to say I feel pretty lousy. The funny thing is, that yesterday I was getting suspicious that something was about to happen. You want to know how? I was getting caught up on my laundry! Before each of the major things above happened, I got caught up on my laundry. I think it’s God’s way of keeping His promise to not give me more than I/We can handle. But you know what, I’m going to stop trying to catch up on the laundry for a while. I’m done!

God bless,

Amanda