Our Own Flying Circus

Some humor for a break from the heat, Conversations with Axel:
Jesse: Tell mom what you told me outside, Axel.
Ax: I told Daddy he was fat.
Me: That's not very nice! Tell him you're sorry.
Ax: No, I won't.
Me: Why not?
Ax: Well, because he is fat.

Time to get in shape, as Axel is starting to be more honest than we need. He'll call you fat even if you're not.

I'm getting poor at this, aren't I?  In one of my grad classes the professor said, as he handed out the assignment description, "Now I want this on Monday, but if you're not able to get it done, say because you've got triplets going on, just let me know.  We'll work something out."  I hate to get special treatment for deadlines but I do need it usually!  Boo.  However, I have come closer to writing in the newspaper and they have real deadlines, not made-up ones I give myself, so that should help.

Mags had a follow-up this week with the ENT guy, who is very good-looking by the way.  He didn't see a lot of progress in his throat, but since he'd gained a little weight said we can check it again in a month before we look seriously at the surgery.  He still sounds pretty rattly a lot of the time, and it's hard to listen to a little person work so hard to breathe, but he seems okay with it since he doesn't know it could be easier.  I'm hoping we don't have to do surgery on a 12 pound kid, but it's a very simple procedure and would help him gain weight and be more comfortable.  Though the doctor is very comfortable with the procedure there is no pediatric ICU in Willmar, so we'd have to go to the U or Rochester or something for his recovery.  We'll know more in a month. . .

Eero, Rex, and Magnus are starting to notice each other and interact a little more.  Rex and Eero especially carry on their own little conversations at times when they're on the floor together.  Actually, Eero is talking at everyone all the time, but Rex usually answers him.  They hold hands and kick their legs and it's just too cute for words.  If they're on a blanket together but not right next to each other, they wiggle over to be closer.  I'm not a crazy baby lover, but it is pretty cute.  If I ever get the video camera in time I'll see if I can get that on here, too.

The boys made their big debut this weekend at the Kerkhoven town celebration.  I had been sort of gearing myself up to go.  It was their first real public appearance in town where lots of people were present, and I figured we'd be quite the spectacle, which we were.  It's nice, though, to have a place like that where lots of people can see them and we can be done with it all in one weekend!  I heard comments about how long it took us to get from one end of the park to the other as we got stopped for gawkers. . . so I guess it wasn't just me that thought that.  Saturday there were even a couple people who came running across the open area waving their arms as if I'd left a kid on the roof of my car and was about to drive away, but they just wanted to "see the babies".  I didn't even know them.  And the sun was super hot and bright on the poor kids, which they didn't seem to notice as they took their time inspecting them.  When we got to the picnic table area I heard someone say, "Oh, there's the triplets" and in unison all eyes were on us.  I'm constantly in a state of, "Do I have something on my face?"  People asked us why we didn't put them in the parade.  Next year we will, under a big top so we're dressed the part of the circus we are perceived to be.

Axel started swimming lessons last week in the Tadpoles class, him and six girls.  Pretty good odds - bet he'd love to have those in about 12 years!  This week they'll jump off the diving board, and I think he'll be the first one in line.  Water doesn't faze him at all, and I don't know if that's good or bad.

I'm over half done with my two classes, and if I am not a heavy drinker by the end I'll be in good shape.  Two grad classes in five weeks with four kids under three is a lot of numbers and a lot of work, but I have to finish this stuff before I forget it all or lose my nerve.  Also, I didn't go to a year of grad school to waste all that time and money.  But wow.  I've figured out that a can of Dr. Pepper and very loud Metallica does the same thing as a huge Coke from McDonald's.  And I'd like to thank the people at Cub Foods for making big chocolate cupcakes and calling them muffins so I feel like it's okay to eat them for breakfast.  I need things like that at 5:00 a.m.

Pictures at the end. . .

Triplets yes.  Identical, no.

Shout out to Jordan at Sophie's Ice Cream Station in Kerkhoven for the beautiful sculpting of Axel's cotton candy cone.  I'd recommend a visit there.  And I'd also recommend the chocolate birthday cake on a cone.  Yum.

You may be right

. . . I may be crazy.  Sorry again, weekly readers.  I've put another iron in the fire and just didn't get to the blogging.  Last Monday I started back to grad school and will complete two classes in five weeks.  That's two trips to Minneapolis a week and a lot of out-of-class work.  Today I finally feel caught up with things and all the babes are resting, so I've got time to sit down and do this.

It's nice to be out with adults and talk aout things that interest me as a person and not as a person who had triplets, though it's hard to avoid the subject.  We went around the room on the first day and introduced ourselves; people were talking about their families and where they live so I did the same.  I'm married, have a 3 year old boy and 4 month old triplets ("GASP").  I live out by Willmar so I got up at 4:30 to get to class this morning ("GASP").  Now I'm famous in my class, too.  The professor came in yesterday and said he was telling his wife he feels like he doesn't have time to do anything, but then he thought of me.  Yep, I said, it could be worse.  Also, thank goodness McDonald's has brought back their 'Any size for $1' beverages because I don't drink coffee and by Delano I really need a big Coke; hopefully then I don't hit traffic - nowhere to pee on 394.

I have an ed class in the morning and advanced graphic design in the afternoon.  Yesterday the GD professor gave us our next project which is to design posters for something happening at the Walker Art Center and let us out to go take pictures at the sculpture graden.  Umm, okay.  I will leave this basement computer lab to visit the famous Spoonbridge and Cherry (or Big Cherry and Spoon, as Axel calls it), even if my car thermometer says 102.

Eero, Rex, and Magnus are very good babies, and we're enjoying them so much.  I've decided that they are at the perfect size: big enough to hold their heads up and not be super fragile, but small and light enough to be super cuddly and babyish.  They've been on pretty similar paths all along, but are starting to seperate as to when they do things.  We couldn't ask for better sleepers - Magnus still can't eat as much at a time because of his throat issue so he wakes up once or twice. . . Rex wakes up pretty early to eat but goes back to sleep. . . Eero sleeps literally 11-12 hours without a peep.  I go and check on him when he sleeps late; he's either still sleeping, or lying quietly, looking around.  Very good babies.

When people hear we have triplets they say, "You must go through a lot of diapers."  We do change a lot of diapers here, true.  We received a lot of diapers as gifts and the hospital sent us home with a lot, so last week we bought diapers for only the second time.  Not bad.  Also, we've started using cloth diapers for the most part.  That is slick, and I think more people should consider using them.  The initial investment is big (unless you are given them by someone who's done using hers - thanks Mariah) but it saves a lot of money in the end.  Not to mention the garbage.  Using 15-20 diapers a day creates a lot of waste!  These are size adjustable.  I have a 'diaper bag' instead of a 'diaper pail', and at the end of the day throw the whole thing in the laundry.  Next day, clean diapers and no waste, except for a few wipes, but I'm looking into reusable wipes, too.  I highly recommend them.

Speaking of laundry, holy crap, we do a lot of laundry here.  I figured it would increase, as we now have six people here instead of three, but it's not just the babies' clothes.  It's all their blankets and burp rags and towels, now a daily load of diapers.  We have to wash our clothes more because we're getting puked on, and we also have to wash our sheets more for the same reason.  They like to spit up on our bed for some reason.  Axel is a muddy mess all the time, so his clothes get washed more, and still wets the bed sometimes so we wash his sheets a lot, too.  That is a lot of laundry.  On my list of home projects is a clothesline.  Then I'll be a real stay-at-home mom.

Happy Anniversary - six months ago yesterday I was helicoptered off to North Memorial.  It was -16 degrees that day.  Happy Anniversary to my ma, who would be celebrating her 33rd wedding anniversary today were my dad still alive.  Happy Birthday to my dad, who would have been 62 on Tuesday.

Our boys are five months old!

Rexy - very good at tummy time

E - always deep in thought

Mags - everything intrigues him

Freaks

I've heard regularly about this blog that people enjoy reading it because I "tell is like it is." How else would I tell it . . . like it isn't?  That sounds like a lot of work.  Besides, I couldn't make this stuff up to be any funnier or more outrageous at times than it actually is.

Let's start with a spin-off of Axel's quote of the week, Conversations with Axel:

Me: Don't put that in there.
Ax: Why?
Me: Because that jukebox takes only US quarters, not pickles.

and

Me:  Did you pop that balloon?
Ax:  No, I just put a big hole in it.

Moving on. . . Saturday our triplets (and we) met our first other set of triplets in the mall food court in St. Cloud, two girls and a boy who were about two.  None of them were in a stroller, which was sort of amazing because we always needed a stoller with Axel to contain him.  Our triple rig drew them over, as it did for most other mall shoppers we encountered.  While I spent a few minutes in a fun kids clothing store called Crazy 8 (AWESOME deals) Jesse manned the stroller by a bench, and the store clerk would tell me every time more people stopped to inspect the contents of the giant stroller.  A photographer from that area gave us her business card and offered her services for free so she could have triplets in her portfolio.  The best is when people stop right in front of the stroller and block the way so we can't move until they do.  Although, I don't know if that was better than when people just yelled out from across the mall "Hands full!"  Yes, thank you.  We even had people stop and watch us load everyone in the Escalade just to marvel at how long it took.  Ah, the traveling freak show that is our life.  Later in the day we went to the Munsinger Gardens to enjoy the lovely day and feed babies.  If you are in the St. Cloud area, I'd highly recommend it as a pit stop for its scenery and landscape ideas.  And no one there seemed to care how many babies we had.  Of course, there are peacocks there for viewing.

We celebrated their first Fourth of July, as is popular in this area, by going to Spicer for the parade and festivities.  They all enjoyed the parade very much, except for the part when the fire trucks blew their horns.  People asked us if these were the quads from New London.  Umm, no. Can you count?  We went home for the afternoon and returned for the fireworks that evening without the babies.  Axel has been counting down to fireworks day, but for a long time wondered why there were no black fireworks.  We finally convinced him that they'd be hard to see at night, but don't be surprised if he invents them someday, because he can't seem to let it go.

From this . . . :)

. . . to this . . . :(

Yesterday I took Axel to get a haircut, which is shorter than it's ever been.  Great for summer, but not for me.  I may be traumatized, as I was a fan of his blonde curls, but I suppose they'll grow back.  Ironically when I brought him home Jesse thought he kind of looked like a girl.  How does that work?  We cut off long curls and he looks like a girl?  Either he is meant to have long hair, or we just can't get used to it.

After the haircut we went into Wal-Mart to buy a belt for Jesse to wear to work.  Since it was nice we walked through the plants in the garden center, as they are going on sale now.  There was a row of beautiful potted red geraniums for $8.50.  Next to it was a row of beautiful potted red geraniums for $14.  This is not a typo.  They were exactly the same, except marked differently.  I grabbed one out of the $8.50 row and went to the register, where it rang up at $14.  I told her I got it out of the $8.50 row, but the old bag at the check-out said it needed a red tag on it.  It was in the $8.50 row, I said, what's the difference?  This one doesn't have a red tag, she said.  Yes, thank you.  What is the difference between the two rows? I asked.  The one row hadn't been deadheaded, another employee came to say.  So instead of deadheading nine geraniums, they set up a different row and put red stickers and different signage.  Surely that took as long as deadheading the other plants.  Stupid Wal-Mart.  I've seen emails with the "People of Wal-Mart" shopping, but their employees are a breed of their own, too.