you know you are behind on laundry when....

*you ask your 3 year old to run upstairs and put on some big girl panties...later that night when you are getting her p.j.'s on, you see she has been wearing a bathing suit bottom all day long.

*your children are taking turns jumping into the dirty clothes pile and saying "WHEE!"

* your daughter's legs are cold and she cannot find any clean pants so she puts on a dress and puts her legs in the arm holes to keep warm.

MERRY CHRISTMAS, EVERYBODY!!!!

conversation with claire.

claire: "i know the most righteous kangaroo."

me: "the most righteous kangaroo?"

claire: "yes."

me: "wow. who is the most righteous kangaroo?"

claire: "roo."

me: "and what makes roo righteous?"

claire: "he just loves God so much, and is so much nice."

there you have it, my 3 year old has an understanding of rightousness and apparently roo walks with God. who knew?

new (but boring) post

i have been waiting for something funny or entertaining to happen for me to blog about. so far, no luck. so today, i will share my day thus far. actually, i will back up to last night. i stopped by our house (the one we are building) and had to hike down to the place where the key is hidden. it is dark, and cold, and steep and to my surprise....newly graded!! i start out thinking that i will walk down on the retaining wall. i discover that the steps are too tiny for my foot to fit. no fear, i will descend the mini mountain (in the dark and cold, remember). step 1: i realize that i am sinking into the freshly spread dirt. this is not a small amount of dirt, either. step 2. i realize i am launching downward. the rest is a dirty blur, really...except for the loudish snap/crack noise. i am not going to lie to you...no part of it was coordinated. after looking up (picture on all fours) to see if the neighbors-to-be witnessed my fall; i crawled over to my house and tried to catch my breath. there was a decent amount of pain involved at this point. i was surprised to see my foot was still attached. fearing i would have to spend the night at the bottom of the incline, in the frigid temps...i was relieved to find my cell phone safely in my pocket. (you never know after such a high impact fall!) i call my trusty neighbor to please retrieve me. with her assistance, i hop into the warmth of her basement. i appreciated her looks of concern until a meanish smirk appeared. she comments " i wish i could have seen it". followed by some sort of cackle. the pain subsides a bit. i attribute that to my past in athletics. i decide i am ok. i am thankful i can walk on it, because we are leaving for disney in 2 days. could you imagine 3 triplets, 4 strollers and a wheelchair? no problem, it is fine....fast forward through the night. i roll over in bed and catch a glance at the alarm clock. 7:35 am. anna's school starts at 7:50 am. i quietly curse brian's name (for he forgot to set the alarm) and rocket out of bed. nope. not so fast. the foot is not great this morning. i hobble around, bribing anna with money if she will please put her socks on and brush her teeth. she reminds me it is library day. crap. i know the location of one book, but the other book is MIA. she reminds me again that last week she did not get to check out new books b/c we (me) did not remember library day then, either. nuts. i tell her to hop in the van and i will come back home, locate the book and bring it to school BEFORE library. i hop anna into school, hobble back out (f.y.i no bra, no brushed teeth. not good) head home and get the girls breakfast. hop into the shower. it is now 8:20 and the girls start school at 8:55 and i have a dr.'s appt. in grandville at 9:15. no problem. dress the girls, do their hair, put on shoes, put on coat, warm up van, dress self, do hair...out the door. typical fight about whose day it is, followed by my speech of it is too early for this fighting, everyone is taking a nap today...yada yada yada. backing out...lauren is snack girl today. back into the house. throw some goldfish in a storage bag. lauren cries b/c "that is not a good snack" and ashley's mom made fruit kabobs. if i had a kabob right now, i would poke it in my eye. drop off at school, off to the doctor. flu shot, pnuemonia shot, more blood work. dr. to lindsay "why are you limping?" l replies "i wiped out last night." dr. removes sock, notes the greenish top to my foot and says "that doesnt look good." off to urgent care for x-ray. off to lab for more blood. head back to get the girls. realize anna forgot her hat and gloves..detour at her school. get girls, locate missing library book..back to school. now, i have turned on the fireplace and sit down to blog. the girls are finding "teensy-tiny" things to hide in various places. anna's bus is about to arrive...that means that is all. have a great day!! i will update when i hear the x-ray results.

high school reunion

my 10 year high school reunion is coming up in 2 weeks. i still have not sent in my response card, because i cannot decide if i am going or not. 98% of the time, i am definitely not going. brian says we should go because i may never see these people again. most of them i have not seen in these past 10 years anyway...will i regret not seeing them for another 10? i would like to see the guest list...that would make my decision easier. i would also like to observe the reunion from a secret room. my motives for going....#1. i am curious. i wonder who will go, what they will look like, what they are up to. that is it, really. one reason. i enjoyed high school...but the me i was then is not the me now. i have nothing to prove. (oh wait, i could show everyone that i discovered eye brow waxing. if only someone had told me back then!!) i have not invented anything. i do not own a helicopter. my claim to fame is that i had triplets. i am not sure i am up to the people pretending they did not know i had triplets (it is hudsonville...everyone knows), followed by "did you KNOW you were having triplets??" (nope, they just kept coming) and "were they natural?" (nope, i had a c-section). i hardly recognize the girl from the class of 1997. will i still feel the need to be the bubbly, joking," keep the conversation going" girl. (ok, so sometimes i still do). i am sure everyone feels like a different person than they used to be. if not, that is a bit sad. so...should i go- should i not? your opinions are appreciated. too bad i can't share some pics from back in the day. wooo-baby. you would be proud to say you knew me.

last saturday, while brian and i were running some house building errands, the girls spent some time with their beloved harlene. on the way to church on sunday...we drove past the georgetown cemetery. lauren says, " harlene's mom is buried there!! she tooked us to see her.". claire says, "yeah, we had to drive in there, because we were not sure which rock she died on." after stuffing our laughs for sensitive claire, i tried to explain that i don't think harlene's mom died IN the cemetery and she informed me, "yes, harlene told me, she DID die on one of those rocks." i guess we will leave it at that.

summer pics (finally)

here are some photos from this summer. of course, it went so fast. i am also unable to recall when my girls started to look so grown up. when i think that their next birthdays will make them 4 and 6...i get a little panicky. i don't have enough memories for that many years to have gone by (it doesn't help that i remember almost nothing of their first year). these ages have crept up on me (i was probably doing laundry when it happened). i hope the next couple slow down, but i doubt they will.

cravings.

claire opened up the refrigerator and said "i want something hel-fee (healthy)".
lauren walks into the pantry and says "i want something chocolaty." it is obvious that lauren is my child, but claire must be a product of one of my alters who almost never surfaces. have a great day, everyone!!

in addition....

i am also tagging people with blogs that i read. so....emily l., jen m. and stacy m. (sorry em, i stole your sister!!) hope to hear from you soon.

a game of tag.

my dear friend marissa "tagged" me. so here it is:




1. You have to post these rules before you give the facts.

2. You must list one fact that is somehow relevant to your life for each letter of your middle name. If you don’t have a middle name, use the middle name you would have liked to have had.

3. At the end of your blog post, you need to choose one person for each letter of your middle name to tag. Don’t forget to leave a comment telling them they’re tagged, and to read your blog for the rules.

A: anxious. i am anxious to move into our new house. ( i am quite sure this one will stay miraculously clean.)

N: naughty. i deny this, but my sisters have used this word to describe me in my childhood. again....denied.

N: nuts. mostly, i am only a couple of whines away from pine rest. (i get 3 days there under our insurance coverage. i checked.)

E: enjoying life. i am enjoying having kids in school, and cooler weather and getting ready for what is to come. blessings, blessings all around.

ok, that was harder than you think. the 4 people i am tagging are....emily p., emily f., kelsey and erin. prompt responses, ladies!!

life.

i have been checking out some of my favorite blogs, wishing that people would update them...hoping to read something new-- then i recalled that my own blog has been lacking as well. there is not a whole lot to report. the past few weeks have been flying by. i find that the girls, school, awana, soccer, bible study and building a house does not leave a lot of extra time. (btw- if this blog doesnt make much sense, it is because i am on hold with the insurance company and they are "working hard to get to my call". i am caller #33. the hold music is a bit distracting.)
here are some snips from our life the past weeks:

yesterday (and today, actually) the fighting and whining in our house (and car and backyard) has been ridiculous. every friday, anna has a memory verse to learn for kindergarten. yesterday she put that scripture to work. she walked in the middle of a spat, spread out her arms and informed her sisters that "even a child is known by his actions." emma replied, "ANNA, that makes me's sad." it still makes me chuckle, though it did not inspire a change in attitude!!!

the girls "3" school teacher informed me that claire requested prayer for the wood floor in our new house. they had come along with me that day to look at flooring samples and i commented that this would be a hard decision. apparently, claire thought she should take it to the Lord!!

anna has started her first year of soccer. she scored the first goal of the first game, but now everytime one of her teammates scores she says "i got another one!!". at the last game, brian's mom brought m&ms. during their water break anna had a couple but then needed to get back out on the field. after a couple minutes of playing, she requested to sit on the sidelines for a break. turns out that she was worried her sisters were going to eat all of the m&m's while she was playing. not real competitive, i guess.

that is really it around here. our house is getting there. the windows are in, the roof is on and the siding starts today. since claire has asked for blessing on the wood floor, it should all come together nicely!!

who said it?

while playing in the mall play area, an elderly woman walked up. one of my children (you can probably guess which one) says..."mom, did you know really old ladies can do their hair? she is almost dead and look how fancy her hair is!" lucky for me, it appeared that the jazzy senior's ears didn't work too well.

i have been attempting to get some pics on here for your viewing enjoyment- but computers are also not my spiritual gift....stay tuned.

humble thyself

two quick stories about my lessons in being humble today.
first, i was in the shower (it seemed like it was still dark out...it was too early to be awake, for sure.) anyway, lauren throws back the curtain and starts chattering at me. she pauses for a second and then says " why you got stripes?" i look down and see she is pointing at my stretch marks. nice. my stripes have not faded... no bikini for me, i guess.
second. we are preparing to move this weekend and life has been hectic. the laundry has been neglected, so it became my mission for the last few days. i went to start another load and realized that i could see the bottom of the hamper!! i walked into the kitchen and said to the girls " yeah mommy, i am all caught up on laundry!" feeling inspired i walk into lauren's room and find a hamper crammed full and then walk into our bathroom and see the clothing destruction from the girls' 3 baths this morning. as i pick it up, anna walks up and says ,"guess you cheered too early." apparently so.

love of self.

so this morning, after the girls got out of the tub for the 4th time- they gave me a little mood brightener. lauren is still not dressed (a.k.a nakers) and she wedges her foot into a too small easter shoe. (picture drizzela from cinderella trying to fit into the glass slipper). she finally gets it, (though her foot is bent in half)puts her hands on her hips and says (insert shrill voice here) "i am NOT going to marry you anymore, claire. i am going to marry myself!" i am giggling out loud at this scene, thinking that something about her 1 shoe-ed, naked self feels so superior that the only option for marriage is herself!! anna scoffs at this and says, "lauren, you just don't get life." apparently from 3 to 5, you figure life out. that gives us a little time to inform lauren that sibling marriage is not the best choice. i am guessing michigan law will back us up.

we are on the move!!

well, early saturday morning we got our 2nd offer on our house- and this one appears to be a go!! they have inspections on wednesday and we need to close by august 9. i am feverishly trying to find a place for us to go while our house is being built. i woke up early this morning- ready to find us a home, sort and organize and find storage rental all in one day. i went thru 1 house today and it could not have been nastier. seriously, even if they paid me to live there- i would not. after 1.4 minutes in the house these shrill, involuntary noises started coming out of my mouth. it was so bad. anna summed it up by getting back in the car and saying, "well, i dont think THAT is a good fit!" ditto. maybe tuesday will bring more possibilities.

i just returned from another rental option- i told brian that i feared a tiny piece of my soul would die every time i walked into it. we have elected to steer clear of the soul killing rentals.

happy (belated) 4th of july

ipod woes

so, i just got a new cell phone that can also work as an ipod. the problem is the earbuds that they sent me are too big for my ears. i am not kidding. brian even tried to cram them into my ears and it is not working. i am hoping that over time my ears will stretch out, like when people put bigger and bigger earrings in to stretch out their lobes. with enough persistence, i am hoping to have earbud ready ears in no time!!

van conversations

here are 2 conversations the girls had yesterday on the way to and from swimming lessons....

claire was once again recalling an incident from last year in which a boy pushed her down the slide at playworld.

claire: "yesterday, that boy pushed me so hard. i dont not never want that boy to push me again. right anna? right, anna? right, anna?"

anna was not listening (mainly b/c we hear the same story every day)

anna: "that's nice."

claire (outraged): " that IS NOT NICE. THAT HURTS SO BAD. DONT SAY THAT, ANNA! (mumbles ) i am mad at you."

anna ( who is never wrong and is now sporting a smirk):" weeelll, it is nice if you want to go flying fast and land in a pile."

the next conversation was about the pacifiers that we sent to disney for the sad babies. emma was inquiring when she could get hers back. (nuts to the babies) when anna had to give hers up we told her she could have it back when she got married. she informed me that she no longer would want them back and i said that was a good idea b/c moms and dads dont use pipies anyway. she said, when i am a grandma great (great grandma) and i move into one of those really small houses (sunset manor), i will want it back then. i asked why and she replied...it will give me something to do there. i love that girl.

beware of altered blog.

to those of you who are confused by the following post entitled war of the hart's....my husband altered the content to make it look as though i was the perpetrator and not the victim. try to look past his statements, as i deny them but have no time to re-type this.

war of the hart's

for the past several days, my husband, who is usually passive and a peacekeeper, has been waging war with me. Unfortunately, I started the war so I am totally to blame. today, for instance- i got into my vehicle with my half a dozen children and the van was near 200 degrees. i had not had any caffeine yet and based on the behavior i had witnessed in the morning, the outing did not look promising. after the usual fight about seating and whose day it is and was and who will sit in which remaining seats ( you get the idea)- we are off and out of the subdivision. i realize that though the air is full blast- i am not cooling off. in fact, i feel as though my insides are burning up. i consider driving us all to the e.r. and then i realize that brian, my devoted and loving husband, has turned my seat heater to high. if i hadn't done the same thing to him several times in the last couple of days to start the war, he would probably feel bad reading ths. the tricky thing about those heaters is that you do not realize they are on until you feel like one of those rotisserie chickens. after being victimized for several days by my spouse (and b/c i am not one to back down from a good prank challenge, expecially when i started it) i decided it was time to get even. this may not seem fair since i started the seat heater prank and got my husband many more times than he got me, but i like to torture my husband with pranks, at least a little. while i was cleaning the girls room, i found anna's pebble collection. i took 5 smallish, not too sharp, pebbles and placed them under the sheets on brian's side of the bed. usually brian works on his computer until the wee hours of the morning- so i accepted the fact that it would be a late night, but worth the wait. i even skipped my dose of ambien to be sure i stayed awake. a few minutes later brian came and sat on the edge of the bed to set the alarm clock. i thought it would be over right then, but the comforter was still covering the rocks and he did not seem to notice. in he crawled and nothing. i say " you are a bit to close to me, can you scootch over to your side please?" over he goes and nothing. i am struggling at this point to keep my giggles quiet...but i quickly realize this is not turning out as i had hoped. there he lies on his stomach- ready to drift off. i am thinking, "he is so skinny, there is no way he cannot feel that." finally i ask, "are you comfy?" he whips his head around and says "why?" i start chuckling and he is not amused. he questions me a few more times about what is so "frickin" funny and because i am a vault- i tell him not. he lays back down and finally feels a pebble, then finds two more. he replies "you put rocks in my bed". that was it. what a let down. i had much, much higher hopes of how this prank would turn out. no drama, no thrashing around, no uncomfortable groans. nothing. shoot. maybe next time. p.s. in the morning i found the remaining 2 rocks on the carpet. i makes me feel better to think that during the night sometime he was digging around to see what was poking him in the thigh. i will cling to that.

big 5

happy, happy birthday- miss anna! yesterday, june 28, anna turned 5. what did she think of this momentous occasion? "i have been waiting a long time to be 5. when i am 8 can i do flips on the balance beam?" our sweet girl- who is always looking ahead to what is next...what is bigger...what she is currently missing out on. for those who have the pleasure of knowing her, you are aware that she is wise way beyond her 5 years (must be all that waiting she did!). a beautiful heart, amazing perceptions, a contagious giggle and a few new freckles....we can't wait to see what she teaches us this year.

better you than me.

today at costco i had about 20 people (not really that many) say "are they ALL yours?" or "please tell me that those are not all yours" or one of my favs "are they twins?" seriously, it is not hard to count to 3. these comments are not what bother me, but more in the way they are delivered. it always involves a scrunched up nose and a furrowed brow. and it is always followed with "better you than me". i hate that. i could understand if one of the children were throwing super-sized bananas or punching random employees, but it is when they are being sweet and obedient and saying hello. at the airport yesterday, this family was talking about me and the girls as though we were not 12 inches away. apparently when you have multiples, your ability to overhear is lost. i no longer make eye contact when i hear "look at them! they must be twins." i am unable to tell if they are speaking to me or about me. either way it is a conversation i would rather not have. who says to a total stranger, "i bet you wish that hadn't happened!" i think the "that" is my beautiful girls. and no, so far i have not wished for any of them to not be here. ( well, not permanently, anyway.) i guess they do not know how loud and high pitched lauren can be, and that it makes us laugh every time she talks. or how claire can befriend anyone and loves to wrap around my leg and say "i love you, momma". and how emma would prefer to spend her days curled around you like a koala bear and cannot start her mornings without being cuddled and having her back scratched. and anna- she is like speaking to an adult sometimes. i could have conversations with that kid all day. life is certainly always busy. sometimes i feel it is bigger than i can handle. but they are so cute and growing up so fast...it is better me than them for sure.

hello friends.

it has been a while. much has happened since we last posted. the weather turned hot, time spent outside has increased (hence the lack of blogging) and the triplets turned 3!! may 13 was their big day and they celebrated at the farm, pony rides and all. they seem to have accepted that they were indeed born on the same day. lauren still tells people she is 5 and then checks to see if i am looking. anna is quickly approaching 5 and so excited to start kindergarten. here is a quick story for you. lauren is a rather loud child. and there is a bit of a sharp tone to her voice. one day while she was talking, anna blurts out "lauren, you are a fog horn". harsh, but accurate. lauren lives for meat and dessert. but she calls it buzzert. after dinner, i broke out a strawberry cream cheese pie. our sweet fog horn bellows... "this buzzert is bulicious!" you have got to love that girl. here are some random pics from the last couple of months.

unfinished business...

this wretched blog has become another example of the things in my life that i am unable to get done. i wish i had more to tell you- but unless you want more public restroom stories....this pot is dry. hmmm- what to write, what to write. did you know that i cannot bite down into a piece of pizza? something about the sauce creeping up in between my teeth. i have always and will always, rip my pizza into pieces and pop them in my mouth. i wonder how many of you knew that? random, i know. here are some more random facts about me.

1. my most embarassing moment. there have been so many. knocking over an entire trash container of empty pop cans when i was a freshman ranks as a top one. the 8 million pop cans went right into the middle of a group of (heartless) senior guys who were eating their lunch in the hallway. i attempted to run away, but the (cruel) teacher made me walk in the middle of this group and pick them up. here is the part that will make you wince. this group of guys (probably 20 of them) started throwing the empty cans at me while i picked them up. jerks.

2. time i laughed the hardest...well, the last time i laughed so hard that my stomach ached was when my neighbor attempted to prove something by trying out my speed skates. to be fair, she lacks the athletic prowess that comes so naturally to me! anyway, she strapped on anna's bike helmet and tried to sturdy herself. please note: these are no ordinary skates. aside from multi-colored neon laces, they had german bearings. we are talking danger fast here! it was a pathetic start, which she blamed on some pebbles on the sidewalk. she started to gain some speed down the driveway only to have to ditch into the grass to avoid oncoming traffic. it was sad and hilarious. my cheeks still felt fatigued the next day. it taught me an important lesson....some of us are not as gifted as others.

3. most helpless/scared/sad... when the doctors came in and told me that emma had a stroke. seeing them recesitate her. wondering where God was going with that situation.

4.i am most annoyed by: people who cut me off in the grocery store ailse (it is not easy to stop a jumbo cart) and then stop right in the middle of the aisle. completely oblivious to the fact that i want to ram them in the back of the ankles.

5. nothing tastes better than coca-cola from a fountain. mmmmm.

6. i am still scared of "back basements" because my sister and her friend used to wrap emily h. and i up in gymnastics mats and tie us to a pole or on top of the freezer. nice. more therapy for me.

7. i used to tell people that i was the real orphan annie. sad, isn't it?

8. i now, at times, tell my children that there are kids in this world that have no food...so they should eat their's and be grateful. i swore i would never do that.

well, i think i will stop this list now. it is a post. something to read. good enough.

have a great day, everybody!!

hold your judgements

ok, before i begin- let's get a few things straight. i have received a few less- than- friendly comments on our "inadequate blogging". first of all, i told you that would be the case. secondly, if you have seen my basement- i should not be blogging at all. especially because there is a "for sale" sign in our yard, and our house has a better chance of being condemned than selling! i have also noticed that the only comments we receive on our blog are from other bloggers, they know the hurt of 0 comments and take a stand against "blog-gawkers". so for those of you who are checking our blog 20 times a day (i.e. jeff), this will be your jackpot.

claire, lauren and emma are going to be 3 in a few weeks. shocking, isn't it? i remember breaking life down into weeks those first few months. when the girls were 8 weeks old, i remember thinking "i have made it 8 weeks...in 8 more weeks they will be 16 weeks old" weeks/days/moments at a time made it seem less overwhelming. when i was pregnant with anna, i could picture her at different stages in life. i did not do that with the girls. too many unknowns, i guess. now, i often find myself in moments of "i didn't think of that"....and those are what makes my life so rich. here are a couple of examples...

-3 big bike riders, cruising down the sidewalk. (lauren in a size 6-8year old helmet- she has a larger size head!) i didn't seem like they would ever be independent of me, and just like that....

-i assumed that because of the close proximity in the womb, they would be more alike. not so, completely separate personalities, voices, noses...(so far no one has sported one like mine- may their luck continue).

-who knew that i would know whose hand i am holding without even looking down. it gets me every time.

-they speak. a lot. i never thought beyond the "meet my needs" cries of the first year. along with the whining, they sing and laugh and count. (honesty check, usually there is a least 1 whining while the singing is going on), but a van full of giggles makes it worth it.

anna likes to talk about "how i got to be the mom". she says God knew her and i would be a good fit because she love milkshakes and i drank a lot of them when i was pregnant with her! and because i love her best and most. it is true..my girls and i are a good fit (minus our occasional 'piece the wrong way'). each one of them brings a part that makes up our life and completes it. i wonder if i will be back to 8-week junks of life when they are about 13.....

i want to soak up the sun....

photo taken on April 12.

i just watched the 10-day for forecast...and for about the 49th day in a row, it shows no sign of improvement. bummer. i have been doing some "last minute deals" searching and feel ready to hop on a plane and head anywhere where there is sun (and no snow). would anyone like to join me?? it can't be winter in the spring everywhere. f.y.i. emma (my sweet, darling 2 year old) is not invited. she is laying with her body in the hallway and her toes in her room (so that she does not violate the "do not leave this room during your timeout" rule) and screaming "I WILL BE GOOD! I WILL BE GOOD". it has been her theme cry today, but has proven false every time. claire and lauren are occupying themselves by also standing in the hallway and reporting to me everytime she lifts a toe off her carpet. claire is chanting "get her mom. she is so bad". anna is making known her desire to attend all day school because she just got home and she is "already so bored" and "sisters are so loud and whiney". a happy household today. even though this post is rather negative- i do still love them and would not trade them (well, maybe emma for a short time!!). sunny location, here i come. have a great day!!

merry christmas!!!!.....

o wait. happy easter. those who reside in michigan with us understand this title. we had an indoor spring break, due to the weather. we braved playworld (along with most of hudsonville/jenison/grandville), the mall, and best of all....chuck-e-cheese (a.k.a. chunky cheese). it took the girls a good 30 minutes to realize that the rides could move if you inserted a gold coin. it was rather uneventful, as hart outings go. anna hopped up on stage with the dancing/singing chuck-e and was slightly assaulted during one of his pre-recorded hand movements. she didn't seem to notice. we sat down to eat pizza (kevin, i know you are gagging right now) and we noticed emma was missing. she showed up with the coin dispenser operator who informed us that she was trying to break out the front door. thank goodness for those blacklight stamps they place on your left hand!! we also walked through the mall and found a big, bored bunny. anna was feeling beautiful in her winter plaid jumper and hopped right on his lap. the other girls were not so sure, so it became a family photo. emma's red socks and all!


f.y.i. westshore mall was almost empty during spring break, who knew!!

anna and chuck-e	claire on the clock ride	proof...lauren outside the bathroom

here are some easter photos:



the cousins.





left to right:
emma rose
claire elisabeth
anna rae
lauren elise

life in panties

whoever said that life would get easier once the girls were potty trained, lied to us. apologize as you feel compelled. the triplets have mastered the potty. they also need to "mark their territory" at each and every public restroom. several times at each restroom for lauren.
here is a true story: a couple of saturdays ago, we headed out for our usual saturday trip to sam's club. we picked up the necessities and went for a slice of cheese pizza (cut into 4!) and a vanilla ice cream (with 3 extra cups- yeah big portions!) one of the three saw the potty sign and it was on. all 4 needed to go. anna is not such a problem because she can take care of herself and has an adequate fear of germs. this is not the case for the others. despite my tendency to exaggerate...this is all true. we head in and the clip board indicates that the facilities have not been tended to in a while. i am lifting emma up on the potty and meanwhile the sight of the potty has made it impossible for claire to hold it. she is wet and crying. while i am trying to convince claire that it is ok to be naked in your snowsuit and that it isn't a big deal to have pee in your boots; i look over and see lauren lying on her stomach, head on the nasty floor, licking the tile like it is an ice cream cone. where is emma in all this? i push open her stall door to find her splashing in the toilet. you may find this scenario humorous, but as i type- i still have not cracked a smile. meanwhile- brian is happily munching on his 4-berry ice cream sundae. i think i prefer the diapers.

not sure who is who?? left to right: emma,claire,anna and lauren.