What a Guy!

When I signed Will up for preschool, I filled out lots of forms -- emergency contact forms, medical forms, and forms with other various info. On one form, it specifically asked if there was anything in particular teachers should or should not do with the child. I couldn't think of any special treatment Will required, but I did write down that I didn't want the adults doting on the triplets if they happened to be around. I wanted preschool to be Will's . . . somewhere he didn't have to compete with our babies for attention. Somewhere he was special because he was Will, not because he had triplets.

Last June I took all 4 kids to Lowe's. I pushed the babies in a double stroller and Will walked with me. As we walked around people started noticing that there were 3 babies and started oohing and aahing over the babies. "How old are they?" I'd answer "He is 3, the others are 7 months." I always start with Will, because usually people don't notice him & I don't want him to think that I forget. It breaks my heart, but usually he seems okay with it. The only time he has ever mentioned it was that day. When we got in the car Will asked "Mama? I was in your tummy, too, wasn't I?" "Yes, babe, you were.""Why does everyone love the babies and not me?" Wow. Here it is NINE months later and I remember every bit of how hurt I felt for him & I still get teary. I didn't have a good answer and I still don't. I just do my best to make sure he gets his share of love when I can control it.

So back to today. . . Will told me that other moms go to the class parties and he asked if I would come to the Valentine party. I told him I could but I'd have the kids with me. He still wanted me there. So I loaded up the triplets in the circus train and went in. I was able to park them with milk and graham crackers away from the other kids. I sat near Will and he chatted with his friends. It warmed my heart to hear this. . .
"Brandon, did you see haw pretty my sister is? Isn't she a cutie?" (I don't think he was setting up future romances, just pointing out his cute babies.)
"Taylor, I have triplets today. You can look, but don't touch them."
"Ella, come see my babies"
"Joshua, look! That's my brother Ben. He laughs if you make funny faces. Wanna see?"
"Jaxen, come here. I have two brothers and one sister."
"Lilly and Ben, we have THREE babies! Aren't they sweet?"

I think he pointed them out to every kid in his class. It was a challenge keeping the other kids from touching the wagon or getting too close, but Will made sure his friends kept to themselves. All that trouble to make sure I don't point out that they are triplets, and he goes and does that. I am so happy that he is so proud to be thier brother. It definitely warms my heart.

Vichyssoise Recipe

Leeks were the veggie this week and I made a tasty soup. I started by reading lots of different recipes for vichyssoise, then I just made up my own recipe based on those. This was very yummy and not much trouble. The proper French pronunciation is "vee shee swahzz".


6 small potatoes, wash, peel & dice
1/2 medium onion, sliced very thin
3 large leeks, discard tough outer leaves and dark green tops, slice lengthwise the white & light green parts
4 tbsp. butter
8 cups chicken broth
1/3 cup dry instant rice cereal for babies (I used this to thicken it a little bit)
2 cups cream
kosher salt & pepper


Melt the butter in the bottom of a big soup pot, the sweat the onions in it. After they are mostly clear, add the leeks. Sweat the leeks with the onions for about 3 minutes or until they are softened, then add the diced potatoes. Season the veggies with salt and pepper and cook for about 3 more minutes. Add the broth and simmer for about 45 minutes or until the veggies are all very soft. Puree soup in a blender and pour it all back into the pot. Stir in the cream. I tasted and added a little more salt and pepper. I also added a little bit of the rice cereal because I wanted the soup thicker. This soup is great served hot or cold, but traditionally, it is served cold.

Enjoy!! What veggie will be next? Any ideas?

ALLEN'S AT THE HELM (and babies' eyes are fine)

Sarah made the unfortunate mistake of leaving me in the house all alone with her blog. So here I am to post the update and scoop her!

The visit to the opthamologist went quite smoothly. We got to the office a little early and waited.

And waited.

The babies were all quite charming - we had long conversations with another couple and their 3 year-old daughter while the babies roamed around and brought smiles to the olderfolken in the room. Sarah and I were (MORE HER THAN ME) nervous about the eye dilations after the Jon&Kate episode, but our nurse was very rapid and they used a spray to get the chemical in their eye. No tears were had (OTHER THAN AS A REACTION TO THE BURNING SENSATION BUT THAT'S TO BE EXPECTED).

More waiting.

Then we move back into the exam room.

And wait.

The Doctor came in and was good with the kids - and for the most part they were good for him. He had neat toys to check their vision tracking and made lots of squeaks and sqwaks and squalls that kept the kids attention away from the HUGE LIGHT SHINING IN THEIR FACE. Jon won "Patient of the Day" award for his patience and Maddie won the "Fuzzy Coconut of the Day" award tho' we're sure we heard a louder kid next door. MAYBE NEXT TIME ACADEMY.

The final diagnosis - all eyes perfectly healthy and no need for glasses (YET - YOU BABIES HAVE GENETICS AGAINST YOU. FIGHT THE POWER).

And then we came home, had lunch, and got the kids down for NAPS. Three tired babies made for quite a day. They did very well having missed both a morning nap, and their usual earlier lunch. Sippies full of milk made up for it. All in all - a good time! Let's not do it again!

No jackets needed (it's FEBRUARY!!)

(Nope, not my photo, just a picture of how pretty this park is.) What an absolutely GORGEOUS weekend!! I am still getting used to the fact that it is warm here in winter. When I lived in the Panhandle the winds alone made for bitter winters. When we moved to Kansas we got the wind and snow. Here -- wow, it is balmy. This weekend we had temps in the lower 70s. Saturday, Allen and Will did yard work while I worked on the kids' room inside. We are still finding boxes to unpack, but my biggest unending obstacle is the clothes that all four continually out grow. With Will in 3s and 4s, but the babies in clothes from 6-18 months, it is so hard to keep up with whether the clean laundry goes in drawers, closets, or storage. I am sure in a few months, when the littles ones are in similar sizes, life will be a tad bit easier. We'll see.

Sunday we went to a park after lunch and spent the afternoon there. Allen wore shorts, t-shirt and sandals, and the rest of us were in pants and short-sleeves. No jacket required. The park we went to is in a forest with miles of paved walking/running/skating/bike trails. It was wonderful to see it in full use. There were hundreds of people enjoying the day on the trails, but in the open fields we could watch people reading under trees, playing fetch with dogs, playing soccer, tossing frisbees, throwing footballs, and kids just running because there was space to do so. The playground was covered with kids reminding me of ants at a picnic -- scurrying around chaotically, but with a definite mission. Will enjoyed the playground, but he seemed more fascinated in the walking, or rather the stopping. We constantly heard, "Hey, come look! Wait up! Don't leave me!" I was frustrated a little because I am not good at stopping and going at his pace when the little ones are with us. They often get fussy if the wagon isn't in motion. I need to work on this -- he will love science so much more if I stop and look and talk about the leaves, seed pods, spiders, and squirrels that he likes to investigate. After walking and playing at the park, we all just found a soft patch of green grass to sit and play in. Ben, Maddie, and Jon enjoyed the softness on their toes, and Will hunted for sticks. Allen and I just basked in the sunshine, watching our kiddos, and counting our blessings. We took them all the grocery store and then rushed home for and early dinner, bath and bedtime. We somehow made it through the afternoon without naps, but they all went to bed early without much trouble.

So here starts another week. I was watching re-runs of Jon & Kate plus 8 last night, and they were talking about how awful the visit to the eye doctor was with their sextuplets (yes, thats 6 -- the 8 includes the older twins, too). Well, they went on to describe how painful it was for them, as parents, to watch the kids being "tortured" with eye drops, and they seemed to go on and on. Tomorrow, we take the triplets to the eye doc, and I hope it isn't that bad. I was at the hospital with the babies when the docs there checked their eyes, and I had to leave the room. It isn't supposed to be painful, but anything coming at your eyeball is uncomfortable, so they scream. Since the babies were premies and on oxygen, there is a chance of retinal problems or crossed-eyes. That's why we're going for a check-up. Today, I will spend a long time filling out three sets of medical forms. You know the kind where EVERYTHING is the same for all three except the names. Arg! I love it when the offices say "Fill out one and we'll copy it, then you can write in their names. . . "

Conversation with a Four-Year Old

Momma, I am going to make you a giraffe because you are my friend.
Will, tell me what "friend" means.
A friend is a buddy. . . .Yeah, a buddy. . . . Momma, do you know what a buddy is? A buddy is someone you love and you want to take good care of.
(heart melting at the simplicity and accuracy of his definition)
Who is Figaro?
Did they play Mozart music on Little Einsteins? (referring to Mozart's opera -- Marriage of Figaro, because I have no idea where he got the name but it seems like a Little Einstein lesson.)
What are you talking about?
What are you talking about?
The cat in the Pinocchio book.
Oh, I forgot about that one.

Hail to the Kaisers

Wow! Was the storm inside or out last night? The chaos of the noise pounding the roof and windows, the squeals of excitement and trepidation from four children, the barking of the dog, the scurrying of the cats. . . it definitely felt like an inside storm and I was exhausted. I went out and got a big hailstone and showed Will -- he thought the hail was pretty neat.


It has been a busy few days. We went to the in-laws for the Super Bowl since Allen HAD to see the game on a big screen, high-def TV. I wasn't even sure why he had to watch it. Everyone knew the Patriots would win, right? I finally watched the last two minutes of the game. I heard it was a good one, but I know the last few minutes were pretty exciting when the Giants upset the game. I am glad I only had five bucks on the game. But while the family watched the game, I got a little scrapbooking done. I completed one layout, but it was fun.


We got home Monday morning, and I've been scurrying to get things back to normal. Whatever does that mean, anyway?? Here are a few of the layouts I have completed recently.

New Month Resolutions

February's Resolutions:

1. Get back to FLYing with FlyLady

2. Scrap often

3. Celebrate the everyday things

I decided to focus on just a little at a time instead of doing all my new year's resolutions at once. That way, I can develop habits without being overwhelmed by 20 new things at once. January was my month of making healthier food choices. So far I've lost 4 pounds by snacking and dining healthier & drinking more water. For February, I am trying to get back to FLYing with FlyLady. The FlyLady site defines her as one who weaves her way through housecleaning and organizing tips with homespun humor. Before we left Kansas the FlyLady routine is what kept our house from being completely embarrassing. I did have once that I remember when I had family coming, but the babies had just come home. My friend Vicki came and saved the day by helping me scrub the place clean (thanks so much!) Well, I kept it clean & now I need to rescue this new house from myself. Actually it isn't that bad, but I've become complacent about some of the boxes around here that still haven't been unpacked. And the kids' rooms need to be decorated so they look more like children's rooms instead of like storage rooms. So, here we go . . . .

Scrap often . . . January's goal was to unpack & organize my scrap supplies. Once I got that accomplished, I was back to having my stress relief. When my scanner gets reset or my camera battery is recharged, I'll post my latest creations. Whee! Last night I got a layout done and I was so pumped up that it took a long time to come off the rush enough to sleep. I love that feeling - to me it is addictive.

And to celebrate the everyday. . .

Here are the babies at snack time. It is dangerous to interfere when they are drinking their milk. Wouldn't this make a cute ad for Nuby sippy cups? If someone puts down a cup and it isn't empty, it definitely gets nabbed by someone else. Here Jon has taken Ben's cup.
Maddie isn't thrilled that the cup is empty.
Ben doesn't care.
This morning, Ben and Jon team up to move the chair a few feet from the table. "That should cause Mom some grief when she seats us for lunch."
Will enjoys telling jokes now. They seem to be like this: "How do you eat a light bulb?", "I don't know, Will, you tell me." "With watermelon! Hahaha!"

Ummm. . . ok?

Have a funny day!