Portion Control

Here’s another item to add to my list of mini desserts. I couldn’t resist these tiny cones at Wegmans. Just perfect for my little minis, and a great way to keep my girlish figure for the summer. (Did I mention we have a cruise coming up?!)

And in case you’re wondering, the ice cream flavor I enjoyed on this occasion was premium Peanut Butter and Jelly. And it was good. It’s always a toss up between PB&J, Bordeaux Cherry Brownie, and Mango Coconut. But hey, when the cones are this small, why not have one of each? 

Raspy Ruby, and other sick week highlights.

Gotta love when the whole family gets sick. It’s been a long week. And now I’m reminded that I wasn’t crazy to keep the kids in quarantine after our RSV extravaganza a few months ago. I’m sure I’m sounding redundant (cause, really, you could just go back and re-read one of my old sick baby posts and get pretty much the same information), but when they get sick, everything gets turned upside down, and it takes over all aspects of my life. It’s like I have three needy newborns again! We have had Ruby on the nebulizer every four hours around the clock, and I’ve been sleeping with her on the couch when the nebulizer doesn’t stop the coughing well enough for her to sleep (and my own symptoms keeping me awake the nights before that). She’s on a couple prescriptions, which she resists like crazy every time I get near her with a syringe (my girl is STRONG), but I think we’ve figured out a tear-free technique that works, fingers crossed.  She has been a trooper despite the pain she must have been in. This was my sweetie right before she was diagnosed with a “whopping ear infection” (as the doctor put it). You’ll see I was suspicious when she kept playing with her right ear.

Her raspy voice just melts my heart. But the poor girl’s lungs drive me crazy. The coughing fits, that sometimes last minutes without a break, are so upsetting. I am so thankful she isn’t resistant to the nebulizer like she used to be. I took a couple treatments of wrestling, but now she does it like a champ. I love that machine for helping my babies. When she wakes up coughing in the night, she usually sleeps right through the whole 10 minutes treatment, or just plays with my fingers or tickles my arm. I would be lying if I said I didn’t love this quiet time with my girl. 

The boys have been pretty delightful despite their goopy noses (OH the constant wiping of noses!), and are thankfully wheeze-free, but we have definitely been tested by everyone these past few days. Several nights in a row with very little sleep can really do some damage. One night, at 3 AM Ruby and I were on the nebulizer. And since the boys woke up crying from Ruby’s coughing, they got to join the party in the living room as well, just long enough to give them medicine and calm them down. Alex thought it was a blast, giggling and running around like it was the middle of the day, but Bennett was distraught. I just looked around the room at the chaos, and wondered what had become of my life. Bennett got a special cuddle session with me after the others were back  in bed. When he finally stopped crying, I whispered to him “I love you” and he whispered it back. That is what I call a silver lining. A little while later, he was also in bed snoozing away. Ruby was up with me a little while later though, and flopped around like a fish out of water on my trying to get comfortable. Of course, when she was finally comfortable and sleeping, I was in the most uncomfortable position ever. I was happy when the sun came up this morning, and that night was over. Though, as tired as we were, Ruby entertained us quite a bit while on her albuterol high. That stuff turns my girl into quite the spaz.

Hopefully there are no more ear infections for us this round (ha!wishful thinking), and things will continue to look up. We have had our good moments through all of this. They are pretty happy sick babies a lot of the time, and definitely keep us laughing. Here they are being their cute sick selves.

Does it seems like a lot of my blog material revolves around sleep issues and sickness? Like I said, it takes over my life, and I write what’s on my mind, so that’s what is gonna be. Oh, and I think they got this from the nursery at church. Is it really worth it? I think not.

And, since I’m anxious to move this post down and not dwell on it anymore, another picture party is coming up soon, and you’re all invited!

By the way. . .

I made the minestrone soup that mentioned I might make in the previous post. I highly recommend it if you made the pasta sauce. This is all I did.

Brown up 1/2 lb. spicy turkey Italian sausage. Add about 2 quarts of chicken stock. When it comes to a boil, add about 4-6 oz. pasta of choice (I used whole wheat rotini). When the pasta is to a nice al dente, about 10 minutes, add about 3 cups of your chunky, pre-made pasta sauce, and a can of kidney beans. Let simmer about 10-15 minutes, season to taste with salt and pepper, and you’re done! Don’t forget the fresh parmesan, and garlic bread.

This tasted especially good today with all the sniffling going on around here. ALL of us are sick. It’s a blast, let me tell you. Luckily, my cold is manageable so I can take care of the babies (though KC sensed how hard my day was yesterday, and offered to stay home today, thank heavens!) Hopefully the faucet noses, long nights, raw throats, and endless coughing will be a thing of the past soon!

Maple Minis, Five Minute Fresh Bread, etc.

It just dawned on me this morning that I have been in the kitchen a lot lately. I think with Elise being gone, I have had more spare time to fill than usual. I mean, I do love playing with the kids, but one can only play with blocks, or sing “Ring Around the Rosie” so many times before you start feeling like the walls are closing in on you. And it hasn’t helped that the rain has been relentless this past week. So as I’ve been perusing blogs, and seeing recipes that intrigue me, I thought, why not give them a shot? A couple of these recipes are now staples in our house.

I’m sure a lot of you have heard about Artisan Bread in Five Minutes. If you haven’t you really should look into it. After hearing rave reviews from my friend Genevieve, and my mother-in-law, I gave it a try. It so easy, you’ll be amazed. I mean, I am all about feeling and working with the dough, but why not have a quick and easy, and not to mention delicious, version to reach for when you’re short on time? I’ve been using this website’s recipes of both the white and wheat breads. There are other recipes there I am excited to try when I get the chance. And you really can keep the dough in the fridge for days, and it bakes up nicely (after a good, long, warm rise-which I do in my oven with a pot of boiling water in the bottom) whenever you’re in the mood for it. This is so easy, in fact, we’ve gone through several loaves in the past couple weeks. Once we ate it with bbq pulled pork, mashed potatoes, and salad, and again with cream of celery soup. A perfect compliment to both meals, and truly melted in the mouth. Here is the wheat loaf I made this morning from dough that had been in the fridge since Monday night. I have to say, as much as I love a good wheat bread, the white version of this bread is heavenly. especially a few minutes after leaving the oven with butter. I’ll try make the wheat when it’s for everyday purposes, and the white for more special occasions.

Feeling the need to detox a bit (we were in a little rut, having a lot less fresh produce than I would like), this pasta sauce was making my mouth water. I love my former neighbor’s recipe blog, and want to make everything she posts, but this seemed like a great use of my little spare time. The first batch I made was pretty chunky, which I love. The next batch, I followed Cindy’s advice, and blended up the tomatoes. Both are great for different reasons. In fact, I think I’ll turn the chunkier version I have in the freezer into a minestrone soup by thinning it out with broth and adding pasta, some kidney beans, and meat. I didn’t add meat to mine while initially cooking it, because I didn't have Italian sausage at the time, which sounded really good, and I like to make meatballs when I’m feeling up to it. I’ve been using this recipe for years (which I’m sure I tweak every time I make them depending on what I feel like that day). I like a recipe that goes a long way, and this was a good one. See, I have some in my freezer just waiting to top some angel hair pasta when I’m in the mood.

I’m not much of a jello person, but the picture of these darling jello blocks caught my attention, and I had to know more. Too bad the kids aren’t taking to it like I thought they would, because like I said, jello isn’t what I reach for when I want something to eat. But it was fun to make nonetheless. I even made them a second time with a different color scheme and cut them out with a cookie cutter. I think I just wanted to play, more than enjoy the final product, and I really did have a good time.

And how could I not buy these adorable mini doughnut pans when they were on clearance and Wegmans? I mean, I already have a mini cheesecake pan, mini tart pans, and a mini muffin pan, so it just seemed necessary to have them. (A mini dessert party is definitely in order so I can get some use out of these novelty pans.) Thanks to Corinne for posting this Whole Wheat Doughnut recipe (I wanted to do the wheat version, since it will just be our little family eating them, and it seems like much less of a junk food when you add a grain, right?), I made these cute little doughnuts this morning, and finished them off with a maple glaze, my mom’s favorite. The kids each ate two or three at lunch.

I feel funny writing down these simple baking projects as if I’ve never baked before and this is a huge accomplishment. Well, let’s just say, I’ve taken quite a few steps back in the baking department since I got pregnant a couple years ago. There was a time that it was rare that I didn’t bake everyday. If I had the time and the metabolism, I think it would still be a daily activity. But as for right now, while I have cute babies to kiss all day, these little projects will do to fulfill my craving to simmer, sauté, knead, and whisk.

I Scream, You Scream

It was a long Sunday. For everyone. I don’t know what was in the water yesterday, but every kid in nursery was screaming for a good part of the two hours. My kids even had a god nap before we got there. I think one distraught kid set all the kids in a downward spiral. And they seem to be starting a bit of a clingy phase that I hope is just temporary as they figure this nursery thing out. Church is turning into a very exhausting event. It’s always nice to come home and recuperate.

Since the kids apparently had such an over stimulating day, I thought a little treat was in order after dinner. (And really, does there every need to be a reason for a Sunday night dessert, besides that it’s Sunday night?) I thought an ice cream cone (containing one tiny scoop) would be a perfect, and time consuming treat for my babies. And I was right. They were in heaven, and enjoyed themselves for a good long time. Every one of them ate those ice cream cones until there was no trace of them left.

Ruby got the licking down right away, and didn’t say a word as she ate. She seems to take her ice cream very seriously. But the moment the last bite was in her mouth, she immediately said “more, more!” That was the only word important enough to break her silence for.

Bennett was in some kind of dream world, talking and smiling nonstop as he devoured his drippy mess. He was so excited, he kept holding his cone in their air like the Statue of Liberty.

And Alex played with his cone as much as he ate from it. And he was caught licking a drip of ice cream that went down is arm. He wasn’t going to let any of that good stuff get away from him.

It was priceless. I think we’ll be enjoying ice cream a lot more this summer.

It’s fun to watch movies on overcast days.

And since it’s raining over here, I thought I’d share a few videos with you.

I thought this phase has passed. Lucky for all of us, Ruby’s still got her scoot on. The boys joined her at one point, but I didn’t capture it on film. I miss her early scooting days.

The blocks have are still a hit, and have been helping with shapes. Ruby is the stacker around here. She makes the towers, and the boys knock them down most of the time. Doesn’t seems all that fair, but she usually doesn’t mind.

When the babies are playing, it’s pretty common to find that they’ve shut themselves in the playroom. The prefer it that way, and hey, I’m not complaining. It safe in there, and they always sound like they are having a blast. But if I try to join in the fun. . .well you’ll see.

I introduced the babies to the wonderful world of feature length films. I’ve tried in the past, but their attention span just couldn’t take it. Well, the time has come, and I gotta say, I’m loving those great Disney movies with my little ones. I even found that one day they all left to go to the play room, and I was on the couch still completely captivated by Ariel, Sebastian, and all their friends singing “Under the Sea.” On this day, Toy Story 3 caught Ruby’s attention.

These boys, and Ruby when she occasionally feels like it, cannot get enough of letters and numbers. Anytime they spot letters wherever we go, it triggers a full reciting of the alphabet. I guess there could be worse things to be obsessed with.

Enjoy, even if you aren’t having a gray day like we are.

Reminded

I took the babies to the grocery store today. I was just picking up a few things, which is good because it all had to fit in the basket underneath my stroller (Penny and Elise are in Utah partying with the fam, so we don’t have the luxury of using the cart she is pushing). I was mostly out to kill time anyway. I was having one of those days. You know what I’m talking about. The nap was shorter than I had hoped, my eyes were having a hard time staying open, the babies seemed a bit more whiny than usual, and as I was picking the macaroni and cheese off the floor during lunch, more food was thrown on or around me. I was feeling a bit cabin fever-ish, so I thought, as tired as I felt, I better get out of the house before I lost my temper. . .again.

So as we were leisurely strolling around, we got the usual smiles, and comments (“Triplets?!”, “You have got your hands full!”, “Now, I need one those!” (referring to the stroller) ,”What a blessing.” and the like.), when a was tall, nice looking, middle aged man saw us from down the aisle, and walked toward us. He commented on my “great contraption” (again, the stroller), and I gave my usual, “Yes, it’s very handy” type response, and was about to just keep strolling along. Then he asked if they were triplets, to which I, of course, said yes. He just looked at the babies and got quiet, and feeling like it was getting a little awkward I was about to say my usual “well, thank you. Have a good day.” when something told me to just wait and listen.  A moment later he told me that 18 years ago, he and his wife also had triplets. I knew right then there was more to the story, or else he would have been much more enthusiastic and excited as he spoke to fellow parent of triplets. We went onto say that they were born premature, and one had passed away shortly after she was born, and the two that lived both have Cerebral palsy. He told me a a lot of details about what had happened, and that they decided to deliver at 28 weeks because of complications. He then paused, and just looked at my babies as his eyes became teary, (and I must admit, so did mine). He perked back up a little and told about something he and a friend had come up with to transport all three around, and how cool it was. We talked a bit more about our kids, everyone’s names, and ages, and then I thanked him for sharing his story with me. I told him I was having a bit of a rough day managing the three, and hearing about what his family has gone through was what I needed in that moment to remember how I got to this point and all there is to be grateful for. I do remember this multiple times a day as I watch these sweet babies of mine , but sometimes my brain gets a little foggy amidst my frustration and little conversations with a stranger like this one can turn me right around.  He shook mind hand, said he was glad to meet me, and to tell my husband he was also happy for him. I wish we could’ve talked longer. I pray for that kind man and his strong family.

That was definitely one of those moments for me, when I realized I came to this place at this time for a reason. I needed perspective, and I got it at Wegmans, of all places. The Lord works in mysterious ways.

Now, I’m off to get my refusing-to-sleep babies out of bed. I can’t wait to kiss their faces for the ten millionth time. It never gets old.

Bowled Over by Love

Another game I played as a child, that has also been passed onto my kids is “Darling!” Anytime the moment strikes me during the day, I hold out my arms and say “Darling!” to one of the babies and usually they come running from wherever they are, and give me a big hug, sometimes followed by a kiss. They have really taken to this game, and now initiate it themselves, except when they say it, it’s more like” Daw-eeee!” Sometimes they want to play it over and over. We’ll hug, they’ll take a few steps back, and run to me again. It a great game.

This morning, I walked into the living room where they were all playing happily. I crouched to their level, and to no one in particular, said the magic word. Alex and Ruby both started charging. Ruby made it first, with her arms wrapping tightly around my neck. Alex stalled a little, kind of looking like he lost his chance, until I put my arm out to show him there was room for him too, which he accepted, and hugged me too. Then seconds later, before I really even knew what was happening, Bennett barreled into the middle of the cluster of babies with a huge smile on his face. He was not going to miss out on the Darling action this morning. My teetering tiptoes gave way, and we were all laughing, jumbled up on the floor as if Bennett was a bowling ball and we were the pins. Sometimes it really feels like there isn’t enough of me to go around, but we make it work in our own way, even if it means I get beat up a little bit. A very small sacrifice, in my opinion.

What does a mommy say?

My mom has made up a lot of adorable little kid songs to sing with us when we were young. That is a talent I don’t possess, so I just borrow hers. The babies start lighting up and doing actions the moment they hear the first words of any of the songs. There is one where I ask them question, and they answer. It goes a little like this:

What does a duck say?
Quack, quack, quack!

What does a horse say?
Neigh, neigh, neigh!

What does a cow say?
Moo, moo, moo!

What does a mommy say?
I love you!

The kids absolutely love participating. There are other verses during which they’ve learned a lot more animal, and vehicle sounds, but the second to last sound (Train: choo choo, Rooster: cock-a-doodle-doo, Owl: whoo whoo) always rhymes with “I love you”. How I’ve LOVED hearing my little ones say that all-important phrase in their sweet voices. They might think it is all part of a game we’re playing, but I’m just glad that those three words are always echoing through our home as we sing the song each day. Bennett was the first to say it, and now it’s a regular part of his vocabulary. (If you listen carefully, you hear him say “What does a mommy day?” after he says it.)

We say that more times than we can count everyday. This Mother’s Day, I felt more grateful than ever to have that title. I’m sure the gratitude will just grow throughout the years. I can say with every ounce of honesty that there is nothing in the world I’d rather be doing with my life.

Now, the day wasn’t perfect. Ha! In fact, it was one of those days where I needed to take few time-outs in my room. The house was definitely in need of some TLC, the laundry was piled up, the kids woke up too early, and the naps were a joke.

Of course it wasn’t all bad. We did make it to church, and they did go to nursery. Without me! (And I’m just going to take a second and apologize for what I said about the nursery a couple posts back. The leaders were there, and wonderful. They deserve a medal for what they do each week.) I got a lovely rose from the ward, and was able to enjoy a lesson in Sunday school as I sat by KC for the first time in years. As the third hour was coming to an end, my tired babies had had enough, and we left with Alex doing the ugly cry a few minutes before church let out. Just what I had suspected when I was nervous about skipping naps, but maybe they’ll get used to it. (I was still checking on them periodically, knowing they were very tired, knowing we might have to leave early, so we made it longer than I thought.) When the babies were finally all napping at home (No babies, a 10 minute nap on the way home DOES NOT count as a real nap! When will you learn?), I got a little nap myself.

We had a lovely dinner with the Ribeiras. Jeff made some melt-in-your-mouth roast and potatoes, and KC helped with our portion of the meal, artisan bread, and corn on the cob. I made a Carrot Cheesecake Trifle for dessert, an idea I’ve been concocting in my head for a while. Since I love to make dessert, I considered it a gift that I got a little time to myself to play in the kitchen.

I know that a lot of people believe that this is supposed to be a mom’s day off or something, but that just doesn’t fly around here. If I’m here, I’m helping. I don’t expect KC to do all the work, but he does help out a lot every day, and that’s what matters to me. He did give me the most gorgeous vase of flowers that just brightens up the room. And I may have bought myself a new robe and said it was from him. So, even with all the ups and downs, the day fulfilled it’s purpose by making me feel appreciated, and more importantly, me appreciating what I have even more.

I did get to talk to my mom, and KC his, when we had a moment to spare. How we love them. Especially now that we have children, and truly know what they went through and how much they love us. Since the kids were born, this is the longest amount of time that I’ve gone without seeing my mom, and I get homesick for her. I still need her in my life. Probably as much as my kids need me, just in a different way. I’m sure I started out the same way my kids are, learning to say “ I love you” because my mom said it to me over and over every day. And just like my mom always made it known to me, I hope my kids always know how much I love them.

Since this is about as successful as we get when taking a group picture lately. . .

. . .we gave up tried some individual shots.

It’s good to be a mom.

Why?

Why is it, that when the kids are in bed, and the day is finally quiet, that I can’t stop thinking about the mistakes I’ve made. Not life-altering mistakes or anything, just a lost-temper here, or a bad judgment there. Things I would change if I could. I just dwell. Why didn’t I learn from the past when I felt like this before? I suppose it’s because I’m human.

I have a short temper, it’s true, and having triplet toddlers can be very fueling at times. It’s just difficult to maintain a ladylike composure when food that I’ve lovingly prepared is thrown on the floor, or at me, without them even taking a taste. When someone with a very dirty diaper decides they want to wrestle with all their strength (and they are getting strong, let me tell you) mid-wipe, when I feel like I don’t have an ounce of energy left. Or when there is a chorus of constant whining for no apparent reason, causing my brain to start rattling. These things, and others, don’t always get to me, but when they do, it’s incredibly frustrating. I do believe that these are opportunities to learn, and grow, and pray, and forgive myself when I do, um, lose it. I can see this is something I really have to work on, since I’m most definitely going to keep making mistakes.  I just really wish I was born with a tad more patience so I wouldn't feel so bad when my babies are silently sleeping away like little angels.

What I should be doing in my precious quiet time is turning my thoughts to the good parts of the day. Like Alex kissing me on the lips 10 times in a row saying “kith” with a huge grin in between each one. Bennett crawling into my lap and pulling the blanket onto both of us and staying for a while. Ruby looking out the window while we’re driving, and with her giant smile exclaiming, “Wee, wee!”  over and over, as if the parkway is an awesome roller coaster ride. Of course I could go on about the things they do that really do make me feel like I’m the happiest and luckiest person alive. I don’t want to waste this time beating myself up with negative thoughts while I should be enjoying every minute. Seems like a much better use of my time, don’t you think?

I better learn how to deal with all this now, before things get really tough. They’re not even two yet. Yikes! The learning opportunities will be endless! It’s gonna be fun.

Now it’s time to say goodbye to all our company.

We had the pleasure of having KC’s dad and sister Michelle come play with us for a week. They left on Tuesday. The time really flew by. The weather was great most of the time, so we were able to get out with the babies a lot. It was nice to expand our options a little with more adults to help me out, instead of just sticking to our regular daytime activities. And thanks to the kind downstairs neighbors, we were also able to get out without the babies a few times too. I had a blast shopping with Michelle, and trying a few new restaurants with everyone. Anyway, I’ll let the pictures do most of the talking.

They LOVED the blocks Grandpa gave them. Especially Ruby.

The Arboretum was a hit again. They felt so free in their little leashes instead of the stroller. Alex felt a little too free without a leash (Clyde wanted to give hand-holding a try), so Ruby loaned him hers to give Grandpa a break.

You’d think with four adults in the living room, things like this wouldn’t happen. She was munching away on pita chips while we were all oblivious to what was going on behind us. Most of the time there are bungee cords around the table (a genius idea from another triplet mom) to prevent things like this from happening.

Watkins Park again. The Peacocks were especially showy that day.We even played on the playground. It’s no surprise they had a blast. The energy these kids have!

We broke out the bubble machine they got for Easter.

Michelle helped me paint Ruby’s toenails. My girl was so still and patient as I worked quickly and carefully. I think she even enjoyed being pampered. And she couldn’t stop looking at them afterward. This is something I wouldn’t have even tried a month or two ago. I can already tell she and I are going to have a lot of fun together.

We tried the nursery again, and not ONE of the THREE nursery leaders showed up. And all the toys were stashed away in the closet, so we had to set up the whole place. I’m starting to question this supposedly wonderful nursery system. I mean, it was hard enough to convince myself to start going, and now I wonder if it’s worth it. We might as well have just stayed at home where I only have to take care of three kids. Okay, I’ll stop complaining. I’m sure it was just a fluke. At least we got out of the house.

Another fun day at a local park.

Thanks for coming you guys! You were so helpful with all the baby toting, and were such great company. The babies were spoiled by all the attention, and I can tell they miss you too.

In case you wanted to see more pictures of our eventful week, here ya go.

*Side note: Our dishwasher was out for an entire week, right when they were here. This has made me very grateful for a few things:

-disposable dishes

-a second dishwasher in the house (I took a couple loads down in laundry baskets throughout the week)

-renting (the landlord took care of everything)

-a WORKing dishwasher

Seriously, no dishwasher, one year old triplets, and houseguests makes for quite a frustrating scenario. It’s so freeing having a magical machine to wash the dishes again.