I'm sooo tired.

Well, we survived the week with Ben working out of town. We didn't even run off to Grandma and Boppy's for the days he was gone. The three days he was gone, I'm guessing I got all of 12 hours of sleep. The boys were wonderful... up until half way through the second day of Daddy being gone. With their new freedom of not having to play in a play pen, they have really been testing their limits with Mommy.
For instance... Owen. He climbs up on EVERYTHING. He likes to climb up on the couch where he can reach the phone/remote table (which I also have a docking station for my iPod so we can listen to music) and then he throws everything to the floor. He makes me nervous because while on the couch, he likes to get rough and tumble and won't just sit there, I'm afraid he's going to throw himself over the side or something.
Then there is Ethan... He likes to climb too. While his daddy was away, while the boys were sitting nicely eating lunch, I went to get them juice, in the two seconds my back was turned, Ethan had climbed up, crawled across the top of their table and pushed Marcus out of his chair.
And then Marcus. My biter. I have to say this for Marcus... at least he doesn't bite his brothers... he saves all his dirty little bites for Mommy. And he bites HARD. He bit me tonight when I was getting him ready for bed and he actually left a mark in my arm.
Speaking of nasty habits of the mouth... Owen spits. I don't mean he drools a lot or anything that is cutesy or baby-ish. His two favorite past times are spitting his milk/juice/water all over the floor and letting lots of spit gather in his mouth while cuddling and being sweet to mommy and then turning and spitting all over me. I have no idea where this spitting thing came from, but I am trying so hard to break the habit. Actually, I've been trying hard to break all of their naughty little habits. I'll tell you, it wears a mother out!

I'm sure after reading all I've just written, you'll have trouble believing me when I say that they really are, overall, good boys. I really do believe that they are testing their limits, and trying to see just how much they can get away with. And they are learning, they can't get away with much. I know they do listen because the things I repeat day in and day out they are starting to mimic. They shush each other, finger over mouth and all, they wag their pointer fingers at one another saying "No, no, no." It's already to the point where I can just say a name and give a look and the perp knows to stop what their doing and correct their misbehaviors. Such smart little monkeys.

Speaking of smart, they NEVER act badly when I take them anywhere. They never have. I hope and pray that that will be a lasting trend. I think they are afraid that if they act badly when I take them somewhere, they will be grounded to the house for the rest of their lives. Even when we go to the park or the zoo, they sit quietly in their stroller or wagon, at the park they play quietly in the grass, and explore a bit, but are sure to never stray too far. And just in case that should ever change, my wonderful sister bought them each Monkey Buddy baby harnesses. Yes, I am officially the mom who keeps her kids on leashes. Do I feel bad about it? Nope! It keeps the three of them where I know where they are, what they are doing, and what's going on around them. It is just something to help me keep my kids safe. I won't have to worry about my kids running off getting lost or wandering into harm's way... at least for now.

Seriously though. This whole testing limits thing has gotten old really fast. Anyone want to arrange a vacation for me (all expense paid preferably), babysitting, and my own personal bartender for a weekend? I could really use the break... When I haven't been busy with them, I've been way too tired to care anything about myself. Want to know something I'm actually a little embarrassed about??.... I don't even remember the last time I brushed my hair. That being said, I'm going to get the dishes done, take a nice hot shower, brush my hair, and get some sleep.

I had a witty title, but...

I actually had a fun title for this blog when I was thinking about the many things I was going to write about last night, but I believe the title is lost, floating around somewhere in Dream Land...

We survived our second blast of tornadoes this season, and having Ben here to help wrangle the babies to the basement made it so much easier and less stressful! Talk about crazy. The sky was sea foam green, the clouds were swirling, and I have to say, it was beautiful. After we got hit with the high winds and sideways rain, I went outside, just to see, and the air smelled like lemons and sugar. I think it's a shame that things are only so beautiful like that when Mother Nature is being so destructive. Three tornadoes touched down in Scottsbluff (we live in Gering, but it's really close to Scottsbluff)and we could hear the tornadoes roaring on the ground. Of course, we were in the basement. We had the boys in a pack-n-play in the basement closet. Owen kept throwing basketballs, and footballs for me to chase and throw back to him, and Marcus and Ethan were pretending the pack-n-play was a car and they were going on a trip. I love that they stay so calm and well behaved during such scary times. The flickering of the power didn't bother them a bit. I'm so proud of them.

In other news, Sunday we took down the baby "cage" or the play pen. I re-arranged and got everything done while they were napping, when they got up from their nap, they were running around the whole front room, screaming with glee. I think having the play pen up for so long has trained them that that is where their toys go. I have to say, I'm surprised at how clean the front room is staying with them being able to go everywhere. They seem to know to keep the toys in the area the toy box is. Again, I am so proud of them. They are so smart and learn so fast.

For the rest of the week, or at least until Thursday night, it's just me and the boys. So we're already missing Daddy. He's working out of town, and I'm trying to be positive about it, but I already feel overwhelmed knowing that even in the evenings, I'm the only one here with the boys. I'm also very paranoid. I am convinced that every person who walks by our house on a daily basis is casing the place and watching for when Ben's car isn't around and I'm totally expecting someone to try barging in tonight, probably pretty late. There is just something unsettling about knowing that if something were to happen, it's all up to me to protect those three little boys. Of course the voice of reason is in my mind somewhere, struggling to be heard, saying "Everything will be fine, nothing is going to happen." I know I have the option of packing up the boys and heading up to my parents' for the duration of Ben's out-of-town-ness, but I'm trying to face my fear of being home alone at night with the boys head-on. I can do this. I'm strong. If anyone would try to intrude into my home and put my little men in any harm, they'd be sorry. I can be Hell on Earth if needed. Right?
I also keep telling myself not to be such a baby. There are women who are raising kids without a man around and doing just fine and they're houses aren't constantly being broken into. There are women whose husbands are deployed, or who are working much further away. I'm lucky that he's only gone for three days and two nights.

I resolve to not be a baby. Maybe I'll use this opportunity to let my three little dumplings sleep all snuggled up with Mommy... Then again, they are a lot like me, they move around A LOT in their sleep...don't want anyone falling off the bed.

ABRUPT SUBJECT CHANGE::
We have a little patch of yard we turned into a garden this year. Sadly, two out of three tomato plants were killed in the first tornados of the season, but the rest of our garden is thriving. Onions, radishes, corn, peppers, watermelon, and up the side of the garage we have grapes, plus thyme, oregano, lavender, cilantro. I'm the most excited for the radishes to be ready for picking. I adore radishes. I also love our garden because it draws the prettiest birds into our yard. Yesterday after a visit to my grandparents, the boys and I came home to the biggest, most beautiful blue jay in the backyard. Ben said it was back again this morning when he was leaving for work. We also get a lot of robins. I like robins, I feel like I can relate to them. They're out hunting for worms to feed their hungry little babies back at the nest. Their maternal instincts make them brave. They don't shy away from people if there are worms to be found. They are fearless in order to put food in their babies' bellies. What good momma birds.

I'm getting good at this...

I'm getting pretty good at getting the boys out and doing things with them all by myself! First was our trip to the zoo. Yesterday I took them to see their Gramma (Ben's mom) at her office. Unfortunately, Marcus was being a bit grumpy and was scaring most of her co-workers away. But they had fun using the remote to control the fan in the office, and Marcus fell in love with the copy machine. 16 months and he's already pushing paper!
Today I took the boys to the Family Fun Day at the small little airport here. Ben hurt his leg at work yesterday, so he didn't feel up to going, and my sister in law was going to go with us, but ended up having stuff she needed to get done. So we got up this morning, I fed the boys and put them all in matching outfits (white tees with overalls). Daddy helped my load the boys in the car and off we went.
I guess we got there a little late because we missed the big jet flying in, but that was alright. It was such a fun day. The boys got to see a lot of different planes and airport equipment. I think we'll have to go every year. Especially when the boys get older. I discovered that in the little planes, they give kids ages 8-17 free rides.
The boys got to see helicopters, and the nice remote control airplanes.
Little girls would just come up to the wagon and start talking to the boys and flirting with them, which I thought was adorable, and then I thought, "Where are these girls' parents?!"
So many people were curious about the boys and there were a few people who thought they were little girls. My response to that was, "No, they're just really pretty boys."
I love that I'm taking the opportunities to show the boys this big world we live in, even if I am doing it by myself. It's a bit of work, and by the time we get home I could use an ice pack on my arms, because they all want their turns of mommy carrying them. I love that they love being held still, I just wish they weren't getting so heavy. I'm sure I looked like quite the pack mule today, at any given time I had one diaper bad slung over my shoulder, a child on my hip, pulling a wagon with two more children in it, and another diaper bag in the compartment on the back of the wagon.
I think the boys were disappointed that the airport didn't sell snow cones like the zoo does, but they soaked up the scenery.
The Air Force had a recruitment booth up, and they were already trying to recruit my little men. They were trying to entice them by giving them toys.
I also found out that our small town is expecting it's 4th set of triplets! My boys were the first! 4 sets of triplets in just over a year and a half! And all in a tiny little midwestern town!! CRAZY!!!

That's what I have for today! Thanks for reading!

Fun times

Well, Marcus is pretty much walking now. It's funny though, because instead of taking actual steps, he shifts all his weight to one leg and then swings his other hip forward. Think of any John Wayne movie. I swear, he looks like he is trying to walk like an old west gun-slinger. It is the cutest thing!

Let's see... the boys love going to the zoo. We went last Wednesday, and their favorite part was the snow cone we all shared.

We've also set up a little kiddie pool in the back yard. The boys think that it's a pretty fun thing, but they only have fun in it if I get in with them. If I'm not in with them, they pretend to hate it. Once I am in the pool, I become Owen's favorite pool toy. He grabs my feet under the water, bends my toes, makes me fold my legs then extend them again. He also takes my hands and makes me splash. Marcus thinks he's a pretty big man because he's figured out how to blow bubbles in the water. I think I may have a swimmer on my hands! He's such a goof!

The boys have always played and interacted with each other, but I've really noticed them trying to socialize with each other, and with Ben and I. Their vocabularies are expanding everyday, and they have already started putting some words together. I am a very proud mommy! They've been saying simple words like "yeah" and "hi" for awhile. Ethan's favorite thing to say lately is "tickle tickle!" It's so cute. I was getting them out of their cribs the other morning and Ethan looked right at me and said, "Tickle me!" He's recently also uttered to me "I busy" "BAMBI" and "Lo you" which I take to mean "love you."
They are all also making acknowledgements to when I hand them something or help them with things. They mumble sounds that somewhat resemble "thank you."

They LOVE music and to shake their groove thangs! haha. But seriously, they should teach dance lessons! It's so fun to watch them react to different kinds of music.

Also, Owen has learned that if he wants a toy someone else has, he has to wait for it. The other night Ethan had a toy, and Owen wanted it, so Owen laid on his tummy next to Ethan (much like a teenage girl will lay on the floor while talking on the phone) and he just watched. As soon as Ethan got bored and moved away from the toy in question, Owen popped up and grabbed the toy! It was pretty funny!
They also seem to have figured out the game "Monkey in the middle" to an extent. Ethan and Marcus will run/crawl around Owen in circles chasing each other and laughing, and Owen just sits there and acts totally oblivious to his brothers. So, it's not really anything like "monkey in the middle" but it's still fun to watch.

Tonight Owen and Marcus were having the best time. Marcus would sit in front of Owen, and Owen would stand facing him, and bend down over him trying to touch his head to Marcus's head, and Marcus would laugh and laugh, and then he's stand up and grab Owen's shoulders, and they would touch foreheads and laugh, then Owen would gently push Marcus and Marcus would fall down, and then Owen would pat Marcus on the head. They did that for almost half an hour.

I wish I had more video and pictures or them doing these things, but every time I pull out the camera or camcorder, they start posing.

Anyway, that's what I've got for now. They do about a billion adorable things everyday, and if I wrote them all in this one blog post, it would get a little too lengthy!

They do grow up so fast...

Haven't updated in months, as in my typical fashion...

So the boys will be 16 months on the 20th. It's amazing how much they are learning and absorbing. Owen has decided to be the big brother of the pack, he's so funny. He struts around the house and you can just see on his face that he thinks he's mister big guy. He acts tough and won't be caught dead wanting Mommy... unless his brothers are playing with Mommy... or if he's tired.... or if he doesn't feel good, or someone stole his toy... or if his cousin is around...

Ethan is a complete and total Momma's boy. If he's contently playing and having a good time and I walk by without picking him up... OH BOY! When I'm not holding him he is trying to crawl up my legs, or yelling for me to come get him. Even if he's being held by someone else, if I'm near by he's throwing himself out of whoever's arms in my direction. It's so nice to be needed and so loved, but goodness...can't I have a minute to myself?!

Marcus. Our little butterball. Marcus is content and happy about 97.8% of the time. There are times though when he acts as though he is so starved of attention. Mainly, he only complains that his food's not on the table in front of him fast enough. Of course, once his food is in front of him, he insists on inspecting, feeling, and playing with it before he really eats any.

All three of them are growing and thriving. They have their own little table they sit and eat at. They eat all "human" food now. No more bottles, formula, mush or baby food. They love hot dogs. They also love chicken, noodles, turkey, bread, green beans, bananas, strawberries, cherrios, cupcakes, applesauce, sorbet, macaroni, spaghetti, yogurt, and pretty much anything else that's set in front of them. They were a little freaked out by eggs at first, and then Ben put ketchup in their eggs (a completely horrid and disgusting idea to me) and they loved it. Thank goodness for Ben having differing tastes than me when it comes to eggs, because it got the boys to eat their eggs!

Let's see...Two boys are walking now! Owen and Ethan. Owen's been walking for a long time now, and Ethan likes to follow Owen around the house holding onto his hips now. Cutest thing. Of course, whenever they do something so unbelievably adorable, as soon and I grab the camera or video camera, they stop. Marcus is working on walking, but hasn't quite figured out how to move and balance himself upright yet. He'll stand up and start to lose balance so he spreads his legs further apart. He seems to think the further his legs are from each other, the more sturdy he'll be. Such a cutie.

They LOVE playing outside, which I love, because feeling cooped up inside all day everyday is depressing. We like to go on walks to the park, but that kind of stopped when we were there and a dog-napping took place. If someone will steal a dog from someone's yard in the middle of the day... yeah... Maybe we'll start going on longer walks to nicer parks.

A BIG THANKS to Jeff (sorry, I do not know his last name). Jeff, a co-worker of my father-in-law, gave us an old car. We're a two car family!! That means Ben can go to work, and I'll have a car with the car seats here. I don't have to feel "stuck" anymore! Plus, it's a huge relief to know I'll have a car at all times in case of an emergency!

It has been such a long time since I have updated this. To any readers, I'm sorry it's been so long. I actually forgot I even had a blog. Well, the boys are 10 months old now. Owen is so close to independently walking. He wants to get up and go so badly and he gets to frustrated that he can't just walk or run. That doesn't stop him or slow him down in the least, he is one of the fastest crawlers I have ever seen. He pulls himself up on everything. He also is trying to climb and jump. I'm worried that within the next month we will have to get him a toddler bed, I think before too long he will be climbing and jumping out of his crib.
Ethan is not far behind Owen in mobility. Although, after so much time in the jumper, he thinks that when he's standing he has to bounce up and down. It's cute, and he loves the up and down motion of bouncing, but we are trying to break him of the habit of bouncing all the time by much less time in the bouncer. So far we can get him to pull himself up on the back of the couch and stand with no bouncing. He, more than his brothers, reminds us of a puppy, he likes to follow closely at your heels, he like to try to chew on shoes, if he's up for play-time and anyone is eating, he will sit at your feet and "beg" for food. He is so ticklish, and when we tickle him, he throws his head back and laughs and laughs, and after being tickled for a minute, we just wiggle our fingers over his tummy and he acts like that tickles just as much as if we were actually tickling him. It's impossible not to laugh with him.
And Marcus.. he is our little teddy bear. Whether its first thing in the morning, or bed time, he always has warm, loving smiles for us. He rarely ever cries, and he is always content to play with baby toys rather than to find trouble. But, don't be fooled, he is just as rough and tumble as his brothers, and not always the little angel he seems. When he thinks no one is watching he steals toys from his brothers and when they try to take them back, he punches at them (usually square in the nose)!
Even though we try to discourage them from playing in the kitchen (because it's small and there are so many things they could potentially get hurt on) that seems to be their favorite place to be.
They've had their first Halloween and first Thanksgiving. I'll have to upload pictures to the computer, but they had so much fun eating Thanksgiving foods. We put plates on a blanket down on the floor for them. We let them try some Turkey, sweet potatoes, mashed potatoes and some cranberry sauce. They were so proud to be eating what everyone else was having and even more, that they got to feed themselves. They didn't like that they were put in the tub directly after dinner, after they filled their bellies, they had a little too much fun with food. They essentially turned the floor into a mashed potato slip-and-slid, they shoved food into their diapers, smeared it into their hair and up their noses. I wonder if that is one of the reasons babies have such silky soft skin?
All three are teething!! It's frustrating and exhausting for Ben and I, even though they are being tough little soldiers about it all.
Well, that's about all I've got for tonight! I will try to be more diligent in updates.

finally getting back around to this...

Alright... so since April...

The boys are 4 months old now. They are getting so big! They smile, giggle, wiggle, "crawl" using their legs and faces. Owen is cutting his first tooth, and I'm sure the others will be following suit shortly. They are all, approximately, between 11 and 12 lbs each.

Apparently, while Ben and I were on a little vacation, Owen said, "Mama" although I have only heard him make that kind of sound when crying. I've been trying to get him to say it again ever since we picked the boys up for my parents' house.

The boys are now eating rice cereal, stage 1 baby veggies, and drinking juice and water, along with their bottle feedings. So far we have tried green beans, which only Owen seems to not mind, and sweet potatoes, which none of them are too fond of.

We are going on walks almost everyday now. The boys really enjoy walks, sometimes it's the only way I can get them to be calm. I will try to post pictures if I have time tomorrow in between unpacking, walking, playing, feeding, changing and bathing, PLUS clipping nails...