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