Surgery Details/Recovery/Pathology Report

---This first part I wrote the day after my surgery, October 10th. ---

First of all, thank you from the bottom of my heart for all the comments, emails, thoughts, prayers, texts in the past few days...I truly, truly appreciate it!

I am out of the hospital and recovering at my parent's house. I had thought about coming to my parent's house to recover and then decided against it and to just go home and be with my family. Well considering how bad I've been, it was very nice to come to my parent's house to recover for a few days. I plan on going home tomorrow (Sat), although I wish I could stay here for a week. Okay, maybe not really, I do miss my girls but gosh it's so quiet, and peaceful here. I'm in my old room, in my old bed. It's like I'm fifteen again, although they're are no *NSYNC posters on the walls. ;) I must say it's been really nice. My mom and dad are spoiling me and taking very good care of me.

So here's what's been going on the past few days.

They changed my surgery time from 10:30am to 12:30pm, so it was nice not to have to leave until after the girl's woke up in the morning. Monday and Tuesday I was very busy getting everything ready. Tuesday I had my "bowel prep" and was on a liquid diet. It was horrible. I had to drink TWO 10 ounce bottle of magnesium citrate. All I can say is HOLY HELL that was the worst stuff on the entire planet. It was like drinking  acid, burned my mouth and throat. So I never went to bed on Tuesday night. I was WIDE awake all night and mostly just got stuff done around the house and then decided to go grocery shopping at 4am. I must say Walmart was interesting at that hour. No one was there and all the shelves were neatly stocked. I felt like I was in the twilight zone a little bit. Kinda weird with no one in the store. But I got all my shopping done and came home, cleaned some more and anxiously waited around.

I had one of our NICU nurses, and now a very good friend of mine watch the girls for us during the day of the surgery. I can't explain how wonderful it is to know, without a doubt that your children are in good hands. How peaceful it makes your heart. Not just anyone can take on five little girls!! I am so thankful for Stephanie in so many ways! She is such a blessing!

The hospital is about 1.5 hours away, so my mom met us and followed us over. The nurses got me settled in and started prepping me. When they were doing my IV, the nurse said that she actually had to do two IV's because I was having "robotic" surgery, which I did not know. Of course my heart started racing a little bit and I got a little more nervous. The nurses were so sweet though, I must say. They found this other nurse and called her over. She had the "robotic" surgery last year and said it was great. It is less invasive and faster than if it's done "by hand". Interesting to say the least. They said the surgery would be 3-4 hours. My wonderful husband kept asking "but what if the robot gets a mind of it's own and takes out your liver instead, or your heart, or"... Supportive, I tell ya! He is always good at making me laugh, but he takes it to the extreme. God love him. And then the waiting began. And we waited. And waited. 12:30pm came and went. 1:00pm, 2:00pm. Finally I was moved to the place you go right before you go to the OR, and a lot of people came in and went out. The doctor walked in and I have to say he was very nice. Much nicer than in the past. He actually put me at ease. We talked about all the possibilities and such. What he would do if he needed to take the ovaries. What he would do if he came across cancer. What he would do if he came across endometriosis. All the possibilities.

So finally they wheeled my bed to right outside of the OR. I said my final good-byes to Tim and my mom and in the OR I went. It was a pretty big OR and it was freezing of course. The anesthesiologist was a young girl and she was nice. I laid down and started talking to her. Of course it had spread through the hospital at the speed of a hurricane that I had triplets plus two more and all the ladies were asking me questions. The usual, "how do you do it?"...so we all just laughed and within a minute that was it. The next thing I remember is waking up. I don't even remember closing my eyes. The very last thing I remember was someone setting something up on the left side of my body. That was it.

When I woke up, the first thing I saw was the clock and I instantly felt a lot of pain. I was barely able to open my eyes and my throat hurt a lot from the breathing tube. The nurses kept telling me to wake up and open my eyes. I then heard one of them ask if I was getting admitted and then someone said that they would ask the doctor. A few seconds later that same nurse said that I was in fact staying. So I closed my eyes and figured there is no reason to stay awake. I was tired. The nurses didn't like that. Then I heard the phone ring and the nurse said that they were having trouble keeping me awake. I opened my eyes and said, "I'm not surprised that's my mom on the phone..." They said my mom and Tim could come back and see me. By this time is was about 8:30pm at night. I couldn't believe how late it was and that I was in surgery and recovery for so long. My mom and Tim showed me all the photos that were taken of my organs and told me that my ovaries were saved (I must say, my uterus looked really nice for having 3 pregnancies in 2.5 years and carrying triplets for 32 weeks!! I have been pregnant for 109 weeks and 1 day which equals 2 years, 1 month, 1 week and 1 day, so that uterus has had it's share of work! I think it deserved an award!). I was very glad to hear that and know that I was not going into menopause at 27 years old! Tim stayed for a little bit and then he decided he should go home and relieve his mom of the girls. My mom was going to stay with me at the hospital and bring me home the next day.

After I kept complaining of pain and so they decided to give me morphine instead of dulatid. I had to push the damn button EVERY 10 minutes around the clock and let me just say, I pushed that button EVERY ten minutes until 9AM, and yes, that means I didn't sleep at all! BUT, a lot happened between then and 9AM! And the worst was yet to come.

I was moved to my room, a nice and big private room in the new section of the hospital by 9:15PM. I don't even remember the ride in my bed. I was still complaining of being in a lot of pain so the nurse said they would give me Toradol. Like that same drug I had right after Anna was born. That same drug that made me go out of my mind itching. BUT, since numerous doctors and nurses told me that I was having a reaction from the SPINAL, I thought it was no big deal to get the pain medication. Well, let me tell you, I was WRONG. VERY WRONG! I watched that medication go into my IV and within minutes I was having a severe allergic reaction again. Oh my word. So from about 10:00PM on I was out of my mind in pain from itching. I never went to sleep. I cried. I begged. I pleaded with anyone to help me. I wanted relief. I couldn't get anyone to listen to me. Finally around 5AM when I had been pulling my hair out for an hour (for real!) and scratching my eye balls, my mom practically lit a fire under the nurses butts to get me some help! I had broken a plastic spoon in half and was using the sharp (broken) edge to scratch my skin. Seriously, I was out of my mind and would have done anything for relief. I pushed that damn button for that morphine every ten minutes. I was itching every part of my body. The inside of my nose, my eye balls, my ears, my head...EVERYWHERE! It was miserable. I was SO tried. My eyes were swollen shut and so red that I could barely open them. All I could do was cry. My phone kept ringing and I couldn't even bear to talk to anyone for more than a minute. I was miserable. Just absolute miserable.

I had the blood clot things on both my legs. I had a catheter in so I couldn't barely move. Not to mention the pain from having four incisions that are two inches long and your guts ripped out from your vagina. Sorry, I know that's a little detailed but it's reality. I was a mess. I kept telling my mom that I am stronger than this. That I couldn't believe I was such a mess. That I was in so much pain. I had triplets for goodness sake. I have had endometriosis. I have had surgeries, IFV, 3 pregnancies...I can do pain, but this was different. This kicked my butt. I couldn't believe how much it was kicking my butt!

The nurses kept asking me what they could do for me. I must say, after so long and being SO tired, I was a different person and I wasn't very nice. I was so frustrated  I was just SO done! Like I said, my eyes were swollen shut and puss was leaking out of them. That was painful. The itching continued. By 9AM, my morphine was gone and I was back to dulatid. It was no way as good as morphine, but I didn't care. The pain was the least of my worries. The itching was what I needed to stop. They took the blood clot things off. They took the catheter out after I begged them. But then it's so hard to pee. You just can't find your bladder. I tried to pee for an hour. Finally after awhile, I made some progress. I was seriously a mess. Finally around lunchtime, I was able to be discharged. I decided before we left the hospital that there was NO way that I could go home. Absolutely no way! I was still itching out of my mind but it was getting a little better as each hour passed. My eyes were seriously so infected from all my itching that they were so swollen and leaking. It was nasty. I could barely move or stand up. 

I got to my parent's house and I don't think I was in the house for more than ten minutes before I was in the shower. It felt so good to get clean and it helped the itching so much. I literally dried my hair, ate some Chinese food and went to bed. And that's where I stayed for two days. I woke up to eat, use the bathroom and take medication. My dad stayed home on Friday to take care of me, which was wonderful. One of my good friends visited me on Friday night too, which was great but I'm sure I looked like a hot mess. Oh well. And the only other thing I did (my dad of course drove me) was go to the eye doctor in town to make sure my eye balls weren't going to fall out. Basically the eye doctor told me that I just had a severe reaction to the medication but that my eyes were not scratched or infected. He gave me two different drops and said they should improve. He was so nice and I was so glad to know that my eyes were okay.

I stayed at my parent's house until Saturday evening. I should have stayed until Sunday but I was guilted into coming home. It's not that I didn't miss my girl's and Tim, but I was in no shape to do anything. It was nice to get home in a sense but it was also overwhelming. I couldn't even raise my voice or it hurt. 

I had help with the girls for the first week, but by the following Thursday, I was back to being on my own. I took it slow (as slow as you can with five kids!) but I got better and better as each day passed. I am glad we had some meals brought to us and that I prepared things before surgery which made things easier. My stamina definitely took a while to come back.

UPDATE AS OF NOVEMBER 6th:

I have been feeling pretty good. Compared to the first few days after surgery, I feel great! The past two weeks I have had a few setbacks, but nothing too bad. My four incisions are all healed and look fine. I really didn't care much, since my entire belly is covered in scars from babies and previous surgeries. I had a little bit of leaking from one of the incisions but it finally is healing and closing up. The pain is finally subsiding. I do have some lingering pain above my belly button, but I am guessing that is from the scar tissue and the fact that I am still healing. I forget that it hasn't been that long. 

I went for my follow-up last week and received the results from the pathologist. I was so nervous and prepared myself for the worse. Although, I figured the doctor would have called if there was cancer present. So, I was super glad that I got the wonderful news that it was nothing past stage 0. Praise Jesus! What a blessing that was to hear. SO now I don't go back until the middle of December when I will be totally cleared! 

I must say it is really nice to know that there is NO way I will ever be pregnant again. It's still weird to think that because I am only 27 years old, but it will be nice never to have a period ever again! Whahoo! It's crazy to think that chapter of my life is already over, but then again, it was meant to be. To think if I had never gotten pregnant with Anna, I may have been sitting here writing that I have a much higher stage of cancer. It would have been awhile until I had another pap smear and things may have been very different by then. All of my children have been miracles, and I am thankful for each of them. Anna could have very well saved my life and saved her and her sisters a lifetime with their mother.

I am very happy all of this is behind me and there is nothing to be worried about. It seems like everything went so slow waiting to have it done, but now it doesn't seem like that at all. I am glad it is all over. Once again, thank you for all the thoughts, prayers, texts, emails and everything. I truly appreciate it!

The Liebster Award!

This post has taken me FOREVER to write...I literally have been working on it for two weeks and I am SO glad to finally be done with it!!

This past week I was nominated by two other triplet Mommas for the Liebster Award. So sweet of both of them! Thank you to The Farrell 5 and And Triplets Make 8.

For those of you who are not familiar with the Liebster Award, it is a fun way for smaller bloggers (under 200 followers) to be recognized for their contribution they make to the blogosphere.

The rules are:

• Thank the Liebster Blog presenter who nominated you and link back to their blog.
• Post 11 facts about yourself by answering the 11 questions you were asked and create 11 questions for your nominees.
• Nominate 11 blogs who you feel deserve to be noticed and leave a comment on their blog letting them know that they have been chosen.
• Display the Liebster Award logo.
• No tag backs - you cannot tag back someone who nominated you.

Since I was nominated twice within the same week, I am going to answer both sets of questions, make 11 questions, and then nominate 11 blogs to answer those questions.

So here are the first set of questions that I was asked from The Farrell 5:

1. If you could re-live one day in your life so far, what day would that be? Phew, that's a hard one. It would honestly be a toss up between a few days; our wedding day (for obvious reasons), Christmas Day 2010 (the first day I held each of the triplets), Emily's birth (it was a glorious VBAC and I would love to re-live that again!) and the day I graduated with my Master's Degree.

2. What is your greatest accomplishment?  I would have said my Master's Degree. That got smushed when I became pregnant with triplets. It was an accomplishment just to get pregnant. And then carry triplets to 32w2d's, that was awesome! And then to get pregnant on our own twice, that was super awesome. So after all that, I would say taking care of five little girls under 2.5 years old by myself, day to day, is quite an accomplishment, that few experience and I am proud of it!!

3. What is your favorite meal? Anything Italian. Or pretty much any seafood. Normal seafood, I'm not talking squid and nasty stuff like that.

4. What is your favorite book? Another hard one. I would say most of the Nicolas Sparks books. I couldn't pick one, I love them all. I also own every single one of them.

5. If you were to change careers, what would you do? I don't think I could pick one. I would love to be a NICU Nurse. Or a police officer. Or anything in criminal justice. Or an adoption counselor. With my social work degree, I chose to specialize in mental health because I love finding out why people are the way they are and what brought them to where they are (whether that be homelessness, mental health, criminal activity, ect.). It's just very fascinating to me. The more severe the mental health, the more fascinating to me...I know I am weird. I LOVE 48 Hours and anything on Dateline ID for this reason. Murder mysteries, kidnappings...I love it all.

6. What kind of jobs have you had? I started babysitting at 13 years old and did that all through high school. I nannied all through undergrad and most of grad school. I worked at my mom's day care center. I worked at Best Buy for a half of year (I was on the only girl with sixteen guys in the Home Theater dept ;)). I was the first person in my undergrad social work class to get a social work job, before graduation at a place called Interfaith Works. Loved my job at Interfaith Works, but during my last year of grad school, I had to quit to focus on school, my internship and getting pregnant! I had 3 internships through school, one at the county's Pre-Release Center (a place where inmates begin to re-enter into the community), then I was at Child Welfare Services (it was okay, but I hated my boss with a passion) and then my last year I was at our county jail, which was my favorite job I've ever had. I had the BEST boss, who became a good friend, and she was an amazing social worker who taught me so much. In fact, I jut received an email that she was leaving her position this month and if I wasn't at home with five little kids right now, I would do almost anything to get her job! It kinda breaks my heart that I can't!

7. What is the best thing about where you live? I think the best thing about where we live (about 40 minutes to the northwest of DC) is that you can be down on the National Mall in 40 minutes or you can be white water rafting in the Appalachian Mountains within a few minutes too. You can be a the White House or Kennedy Center or go play in mud and hike, and we live right in between both. The beach is 3 hours away too, which I can't imagine not living somewhere where there is no beach!

8. Tell us something about you that most people don't know. Hmm, I HATE wire hangers. My mom and my sister always said they were going to come over and take all my plastic hangers and switch them with wire. *shivers* Also, the hangers that I hang the girls clothes on, like three matching outfits, have to have matching color hangers too. I cannot have a white hanger and two pink hangers for three matching outfits...I couldn't sleep if that happened! ;)

9. What is your favorite thing about being a mom? Just the simple everyday stuff. Yes, it's mundane. Yes, it's hard. Yes, I have lots of bad days. Yes, I'm busy and some days I kinda complain about it.And yes, I am far from a perfect mom and my children, household are both far from perfect. But really at the end of the day there is no where I rather be than at home with my family. My little girls mean the most to me than anything in this world. Sometimes I just can't believe that this is MY life. God surely blessed me.

10. What is your favorite age (of kids)? I love when each of my babies are first born. That first month is just the best! The smell of them. The little noises. The little fists, stretches, when they are all bunched up. Oh, what is better?! But then when the start smiling and laughing, that is great too. And when they say "mama" for the first time or "I love you mama", what could be better than that? When they come running to YOU. Only want THEIR Momma! That's great too! And when they can TELL you what they want/need...it's like the heaven's are calling. Finally able to TELL you what they need/want! I swear it is so much easier that Claire can TELL me with real words what she wants/needs!

11. What is your favorite baby or kid product? Hmm, another hard one. Maybe the Baby K'tan. I can get things done that way, hands mostly free. Especially since having Anna. She is such a fussy baby and loves to be held. I wear the Baby K'tan at least once a day. Next I would say the Radian car seats that the triplets have. It made us be able to put three in a row which is a life saver. Also, the coo choo wagon. It's the simple things that make life a little easier when you have multiples. Oh, and a sound machine is a must for babies, I think.

And here are the questions I was asked from And Triplets Make 8:

1. What is your favorite type of shoe? That's totally simple; the flip flop.

2. What's one goal you have for yourself in the next five years? To potty-train my children. And get really good at sewing so I can make lots of little dresses and other things.

3.What type of candy is your favorite? Reese's pb cups. And cold, right out of the fridge is best.

4. What is your favorite season? I can't pick one. I like something about them all. Really. Winter is great because I LOVE snow and I love to ski. Also Christmas, and my birthday are in the winter. Spring is blah, but it's fun look finally look forward to warm weather, but other than that it's my least favorite season. Summer is nice because you don't have to load the kids with layers of clothes and jackets. Less to bring and less to carry. Love the beach and putting my toes in the sand. I love fall though the most I guess. The food, the holidays, all the festivals, probably number one favorite season.

5. What do you do in your free time? What's that?

6. Why did you start blogging? I started blogging in college, in grad school, I believe. I was so bored sitting in one of my classes and I can remember sitting and reading a few blogs. I think about that girl who started blogging and it's so different from the woman I am today. I was so naive and just wanted to vent. I wanted to know what others were doing to get pregnant. Why I wasn't getting pregnant. It was a way for me to connect with other people struggling with infertility. I found so many encouraging blogs and met some wonderful women, and families that I still have contact with, both in the blogosphere and in real life. People have found my blog from all over the world. I have had random people come up to me in the strangest of places and say they read my blog. I absolutely love when that happens! :) It really makes me day! I am so glad I started blogging because I had no idea that my journey would take me from infertility to five little girls in 2.5 years! I love that our family that doesn't live near us can read our adventures and see photos of the girls growing. I love that I am creating a meaningful memory book for my girls. They can look back and read why I did something a certain way, know my feelings and God forbid anything ever happens to me, they could really "know" their Momma by reading our blog.

7.What 3 words describe you best? Geeze, this was hard, I hate talking about me. Caring, organized, persistent. 

8. Are you allergic to anything? Yup, sulfa/sulfur products, latex and rubber.

9. What did you want to be when you were little? Ironically, how weird is this...all I ever wanted to be was a NICU Nurse. For as long as I can remember. And the reason I am not a NICU nurse is because I failed Chemistry twice. Well, actually failed it once, and withdrew the second time. But social work is my true passion for sure.

10. What is your favorite TV show to date? Oh my, there is no way I can pick one. I watch a lot of TV and DVR a lot of shows to watch in the middle of the night while feeding Anna and while the girls are napping. Let's see, I'll name a few: Survivor (never missed an episode ever, since I was 14), CSI (only the original), Revenge, Big Brother, The Bachelor/Bachelorette, The Little Couple, Life Below Zero, Dance Moms, Sister Wives, Breaking Amish, Extreme Weight Loss, Biggest Loser, I'm Having Their Baby, Pretty Wicked Moms, Housewives of OC and New York, Giuliana and Bill, The Kardashians (I just make fun of them the whole time!), Dateline, 48 Hours, Brooklyn DA, 20/20, Duck Dynasty, Swamp People, Smash...I'm sure there are even more!

11. What is an interesting fact about you? I can hula-hoop really well and have won many contests over the years.

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These are my questions for my nominations:

1. What is your favorite vacation spot?
2. Tell us about your children's names and what made you chose the name you did.
3. Are you planning on having anymore children?
4. Do you prefer your nails painted?
5. What's your biggest pet peeve?
6. Tell us about you best friend.
7. If you could be any animal, what you would you be and why?
8. What's your favorite way to spend a Saturday with your hubby?
9. What was your first car?
10. If you could live anywhere, were would it be?
11. What's your least favorite food?

And here are my nominations:

1. l + k + e
2. The Isham's
3. 30 Fingers, 30 Toes
4. The Burton Family
5. Born in our Hearts
6. Twins, Plus One
7. The Life of the Georges
8. Happy Wills Family
9. The Koob Triplets
10. Refrigerator Memories
11. Alexander Triplets 

I'm guilty of....

...using the TV to quiet my littles, especially when I'm alone all day with all five.

...giving Anna whole milk, on accident. Just barely an ounce with about 3 ounces of breast milk. Felt horrible and guilty for days...way longer than she felt "sick".

...not leaving the house for days, maybe even a week at a time.

...taking a nap almost every day.

...not answering the phone, because I don't feel like using another ounce of energy to talk to anyone.

...choosing the longest lines at the store just to have a few more minutes to myself.

...giving PB&J a few days in a row for lunch.

...bribing my girls with french fries. They don't get them often and it's a perfect way to get them to leave the park, come inside, leave the pool, ect...

...being jealous of the "freedoms/hobbies" my husband has while I manage everything.

...not nearly spending enough time taking care of myself, like I should.

...feeling guilty about everything I do as a parent, most days.

...skipping meals because I just don't have time to eat and I don't have the energy to make something.

...eating way too much sugar! Just ask anyone who knows me!

...wishing I was brave enough to go away alone to do nothing but relax....on a beach...in the quiet. Too much guilt about leaving my babies with anyone but their Momma.

...feeling like there will never be enough money and getting sad when I can't do/take/let my girls experience something because it costs too much, right now.

...really not liking what five kids in 2.5 years has done to my body.

...fantasizing about the day I get to take my five little princesses to Disney!

...not remembering what life was like when I just had three little babies.

...not praying enough.

...eating summer tomatoes like apples. CAN.NOT.GET.ENOUGH!

...wanting my house to always be perfect, or at least seem that way.

...being scared of change. For example, making the plunge to move to PA.

...getting mad at our dog or cat because it's jut one more thing to take care of!

...listening to the conversations my neighbors have on the phone, while they are sitting on their deck. Ha!

...leaving wet laundry in the washing machine too long and then having to re-wash it.

...not having enough patience.

Just some photos from the last two weeks...

On Memorial Day weekend (Monday) we went over to my MIL's house to have a little BBQ. Even though it was a little cold out, the girls enjoyed playing in their sand box pool for awhile and then we brought in their new picnic table to eat on! They loved it!

Natalee helping Daddy pour some more sand in it.

Nana bought them a new picnic table! I know we will be getting a lot of use out of this!!!

They LOVE pushing the deck swing back and forth a hundred times! Their giggles are precious!

And these photos were too funny not to share. A few days later we all went for a walk around the neighborhood and the girls just looked so cute I had to take some photos of them. Emily had her hair up for the first time. They had no intentions of standing still since we were all ready to leave.

And here are all FIVE on our walk...

We've now been to the park twice (two days in a row) since Anna has been born. I must say, I pretty proud of myself taking all five by myself. But really, I swear it's easier now with five then it was with four while pregnant. I fell like I have so much more energy and we can enjoy life again. 

I'm so looking forward to having a fun summer with all my little ladies! 

Anna Kate's Birth Story: Morning of Delivery and 37 Week Photos!

On the morning of Anna's birth, I was barely nervous at all. I was more anxious to get to the hospital and get things going! Before leaving we took some photos. I thought I would be a lot more of a mess leaving the girls but really I wasn't. I was a little sad, but what could I do, I had to go!

Last photo of our family of six!

Here are my last belly pictures EVER....at 37 weeks! Really I think I look pretty good, considering how exhausted I was. I only gained 25-27 lbs this pregnancy.

We left for the hospital at 9:10AM. Arrived at the hospital at a little before 10:00AM. Came in and waited, waited and waited. I was really started to get nervous and just a little emotional but finally around 11:00AM, we got to go back to pre-op. The nurse looked really familiar and she thought the same when we met. We realized right away that we had met at our mutual friend's house for a fall party with all of our kids. SO crazy, and I remembered talking to her the whole time! How awesome it was to see a familiar face and know I would be taken care of! She was so sweet.

Got changed. Had my IV put in. Met with Dr. R. Met with anesthesiologist. Met with the general surgeon. Dr. R and I talked about the hysterectomy and things surrounding that, I reminded him that I do not want percocet due to it making me so sick last time with the girls. I also asked about leaving on Friday evening and immediately was shut down on that. So, as of then it was Saturday for a discharge. :( We also talked about he fact that Anna might have to go to the NICU because she is only 37 weeks. He said a neonatalogist would be in the room (ironically the same one we had with the girls, Dr. S) to watch her breathing and make sure all was okay. Honestly I didn't think much of it. Every birth I've had a neonatologist  there and I honestly just figured he was telling us this because he had to. Really I brushed it off. How naive of me. I should have known better.

Please excuse the blurriness and stretch marks, but a part of me will always remember that big belly!

And just like that, the clock struck 12 and we were off to the OR....

NICU Reunion 2013!!!

Sunday, April 21, 2013 was the annual Shady Grove Adventist Hospital NICU Reunion. 

I always, always look forward to this event because it gives me another chance to see and thank our nurses and doctors for all their hard work and tender care of our precious little girls. This year, I didn't see as many of our nurses and doctors that I had hoped for, but that could be because their was A LOT of people there and the room seemed to get smaller (and hotter) as more and more people came in. We saw some friends that we've met along our journey, another triplet family that we have finally met in person, and saw lots of twins!

They had all sorts of activities for the kids which was really fun. There was a Sesame Street moon bounce, which of course was a big hit since "MELMO" was on it, but the girls didn't have much interest in it all of the sudden, even though they love Pump It Up where they play on all the inflatable stuff for two straight hours.

The big highlight was getting their arms painted with butterflies. They were memorized at the sparkly butterfly on their arm. My heart was so happy. They are really getting so big and so interested in so much more.

Natalee!

Maddy!

Claire!

We got our annual NICU photo, and you just wait ten minutes and it's ready...and yeah, I FORGOT MINE! I was so sad and all of the sudden remembered last night when I got in bed! I emailed on of the nurses so hopefully someone will find it! Booo!

There were lots of snacks, such as pop corn, chips, pretzels, ice cream, veggie sticks, fresh fruit and drinks for everyone, which was really nice, considering my kids didn't eat much lunch and we were going on no naps to attend the event.

A very happy Emme-girl!

Claire shoveling chips in her mouth!

There were some crafts and a guy singing weird songs to everyone, a DVD of parents and stories in the NICU and to be honest I didn't see much of, due to my own choice (I had mixed emotions on it...Our time in the NICU is not something I like to relive, because my heart is scarred forever, but I have slowly learned to turn the page in my life and learned how to just live with the guilt I have. We each, as parents, have our own story, along with our precious children, and it is NEVER forgotten, but I just couldn't bare the emotions of listening to the stories (even though happy endings) in a room full of people. Every time I tell our story, mostly Natalee's story, my heart breaks more and more for her. I look at her and all she does today, 2.5 years later, with her little scars scattered throughout her whole body, and I never forget those emotions and feelings of almost loosing my little girls numerous times over again...and I was a lucky one! Miracle children should be celebrated, absolutely, but I just don't know, I thought it was a little weird for the time and place. I knew if I really watched it, I would be an emotional mess and so many feeling would come back to me on our own story, so I guess that was just my issue....and maybe I am can't even put this into words right now in the correct way, but oh well.)

I would have loved to see more of the nurses and doctors there too. I know the NICU still has to be run, of course, but I don't think they get enough thank you's from those who will never forget their help to save our precious children. The kind words, the kind touches, the sweet gestures, the calls/texts in the middle of the nights, the overall care and concern, it is never forgotten. I have distinct memories of nurses and doctors telling me something and/or showing their true concern, and those are the moments I remember with smiles. My children will surely always know that when Mommy and Daddy couldn't care for them, there were very special people that did, with tender and loving hands, just as we would have cared for them. My girls will always know their stories and know how lucky they were to have such wonderful angels care for them, as I am forever thankful. It was such an important and critical time in my girls life, and they will know how blessed they are.

So...anyway, it was a wonderful day, and although the evening was a little hard due to no naps, it was well worth it to celebrate the life of our little girls!!

Ready or Not.....Again?!?

Those who were reading my blog back when I got pregnant with Emily, will remember this post...Ready or Not...

Anyway, onto the good news...

Our family is growing by two more feet once again!

We are very excited to be adding one more surprise (and the very last!!!!) blessing to our family due to arrive in mid June!

I'm 12 weeks and have been documenting everything since I found out on a separate post so I didn't forget anything about this last pregnancy!

Details to come...so stay tuned!

Every good and perfect gift is from above. James 1:17

I'm so thankful for...

I'm so thankful for....

all the hand prints that cover my glass windows, tabletops and doors.

all the smudges on my walls from little hands holding on.

all the piles of laundry waiting to be done.

all the shoes scattered about near the door.

all the times I jump up to soothe a scared little one in the middle of the night.

all the food scattered under four high chairs after a meal.

all the toys scattered about the house that I constantly trip over each and every day.

all the diapers, wipes, formula, milk and food we need to buy each week.

all the laughter and giggles that come from their rooms late at night when they should be fast asleep.

all the worry that comes with raising children.

all the time it takes me to get four children out of the house bundled up to play.

For none of these things I could have been thankful for if I wasn't a mother. And for that, I am forever, ever grateful.

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Wishing everyone a happy, healthy and safe Thanksgiving! Enjoy time with family, friends and of course good food!

Your Questions: EXTRAS

{ I know you have the Diapers for Divas (it was set up for the triplets, right?). Is that still how you get diapers? }

We don't still receive diapers from Diapers For Divas. It lasted a long time which was so wonderful and we are so thankful! Here is the post that I wrote when it finished up at 16 months.

We go through about one box of size 4 diapers from Walmart every 6 days. Sometimes it lasts 7 days, sometimes only 5. Each box is $19.99, so that's about $80-100 dollars a month, which honestly I don't think is that bad. 13 cents a diaper I think it is. Target brand is a dollar more but if I remember you don't get as many in the box. I can't remember. 

Why spend extra money on the name brand? Stupid, if you ask me. Walmart is JUST as good. Trust me, I have tried all the diapers out there and even though I swore Kirkland (Costco) brand would be the best, they ALWAYS leaked for my girls. Soo...we stick to Walmart brand and it works for us!


{ You mentioned your laundry, I want to see a picture of the mountain of laundry that 4 children under 2 must make! I know my laundry is crazy with only 2 girls, I can't even imagine 4! And very random question, did you even find shoes for them? You blogged about it a while ago, and I was just wondering. What size are they all in for shoes? }

My laundry is crazy but it hasn't ever piled up to where I should have taken a photo, well I take that back, last week when I had strep and stayed in bed for three days, everything in the house got done but the laundry and the amount of laundry I had waiting for me took three days around the clock to do. I kid you not. Sheets, blankets, regular clothes, bibs, towels, everything in the house it seemed! I do about 1-2 loads each day, if I don't it gets very overwhelming, very quickly. I don't think it's too much to stay up with because I don't mind doing laundry. I like things organized, hanging in the closet and put away where it should be. That's just me. But have laundry baskets full of clothes stayed put for a week...hell yeah, who's hasn't!? 

And yes I got the girls a pair of white shoes from Walmart about a month ago (I just looked to see if I could find a photo of them but no luck). They are pretty good for now, but I will most likely buy them another pair when it gets super cold. Natalee wears a size 4 or 5 and Madelynn and Claire wear 5 or 6.

{ Do you ever get asked questions in public? If so what kinds? Rude or nice usually? }

We always get asked questions in public. It's not nearly as bad as it was. Thank goodness. We are like celebrities wherever we go and sometimes it gets a little overwhelming. I have written about this many, many times over the past 22 months but it just isn't as bad now that the girls are older. When they were babies, we got some very mean, rude and uncalled for comments from strangers that left me speechless. But now, it's just more along the lines of, "wow you have your hands full", "did you have them all?", "I've never seen triplets!", "you must be busy", "they're all yours?", "are they quads?", "are they two sets of twins?" and the famous "do you have help?" and "how do you do it?"

Like I said in one of my other posts, I normally just say, God gives us choices every day and I choose to praise my blessing he gave me. I may have sat in the corner and cried at times but I get up and keep going! How could I not!? I have strength, hope and faith. Each day is a blessing with my children. I have been BLESSED!

I normally just try to answer the question and KEEP MOVING! I constantly hear people comment about our family, "oh look at all those kids!", "do you see those triplets?" and I just tell Tim to keep walking, keep walking!

Sometimes people can be really nice and sweet, especially when they notice me from the blog world. That's the best and nothing makes my heart smile more.

So, really we can't go anywhere and not get asked at least one or two questions. Even people we see on a regular basis, ask questions all the time. It's okay, I know people are just curious. I would be too. I look up to people who have way more kids than I have and what other moms of multiples do, so I firmly believe it's in the way you go about asking the questions. Just remember that. When some of our friends or family go places with us they get a small glimpse of what we get when we go out. I remember last year when we went to the beach and Nathan came with us and he was shocked at all the attention we got every time we left the hotel room. We are so used to it now, it's just our normal.

Nothing gets me more mad though as when people compare. I know everyone does at times, but when I may be having a bad day struggling with something and someone says how they are busy with their 2 kids who are close in age...I just laugh. It isn't the same. I carried THREE babies in my belly at ONE time! I gave birth to THREE babies at ONE time. I have THREE children the same exact age. I just smile and nod my head. 

People have said, "I had a bunch of bad luck"....LIKE WHAT!?! I almost punched that lady. Again, my kids aren't excuses or a burden. They are nothing short of a blessing and a miracle. Each and everyone of them. They were meant to be here. They are gifts from God. 

Your Questions Answered: About Tim and I

{ How often do you get out for dates with your hubby? }

Not very often. But it's not like we couldn't if we wanted. My MIL, SIL, sister, best friends and parents would babysit at anytime! We are very lucky and fortunate to have them all around. We never really have the money to spend on ourselves to a dinner, unless it's a special occasion, like our anniversary or a birthday. But then again, we normally would prefer to stay home a cook an elaborate meal together anyway. That's just us. We love to cook together and cook something that is better than just our little average weeknight meals. And to be honest, I don't think our relationship suffers because we don't get time outside the home alone that often. We have plenty of time together because we make it a priority to do so, no matter what.

{ What does your husband do for work and if you were working, what you be doing? }

My husband, Tim, works for a small electrical company that does work for Lockheed Martin, mostly at the headquarters but occasionally at a few other locations around the DC/MD/VA area. There are only 3 employees and the boss. He really likes it and has been working there since before we were married. My dad introduced him to the boss, since he had known him since he started working at Lockheed, and Tim started the next day. We are forever grateful he has such a wonderful job, that he likes and is so flexible. If I was working, I would hope that I would be doing some sort of social work job, since my Master's degree is in Social Work. I would love to be working at a jail, or a private practice under another LCSW. It would have to be something that was interesting and within mental health. I LOVED working at the jails and with severe mentally ill criminals. I miss it a lot, but I know I have many, many years ahead of me to work outside the home.

{ How do you financially plan for 4 kids? }

This is a loaded question.

Well, what can you do? There are plenty of things. You start preparing for the tooth fairy funds and go from there. Haha! Just kidding, kinda. Anyway, we firmly believe that no matter how much money you have, it will never be enough, but we don't want to base our happiness on money. We don't base our happiness on things. We base it on our happy children, our love between us, and our family as a whole. We have a great home, food on our table and we are able to live a comfortable life. Do we worry about bills, sure. Who doesn't?  Do we wish there was more money, sure. But it's okay the way it is. 

To be completely honest, and this might sounds terrible to some, but the future is the future. Things will work out. Money is not everything. But we budget and do the best we can for now to hope for the best in our future.

Will our children go to college? Absolutely, if that's what they choose. They will have to choose something, but education is very important to us so I hope they go to college. It's something I value and I want my children to have that same value. How they get that education will be a variety of ways. Yes, I firmly believe that it's a parent's duty to help your child go to college, at least the first four years, and our children will have an education savings account. Very important to us. Once they want to go further than four years, I think we may help, but that will most likely be up to them, as it was for me. We shall see. It's so hard to predict the future and wonder what our financial situation is in 15-20 years. 

So, in the meantime, I do things to help our financial situation stay the way it is or become a little better. Am I cheap? No, but where it counts I am. But do I budget, clip coupons and buy on sale? ALWAYS! I can't ever buy something full price. No. NEVER!!! I will have guilt for a month and nothing is worth that. Tim and I make sacrifices every day for our family, but what parent doesn't? Do we splurge on some things, yes. I like to shop for my home. My husband prefers to have Sunday NFL Package. So we compromise. But if it came down to food on our table and keeping the lights on, the NFL Package is going first. Ha. 

I make out a weekly menu for the week, and even though I normally have to go to the store once for something I forgot or came up during the week, I think it saves a lot of money. Buying bulk at Costco if you have the room. Example: A package of thighs of chicken - around $10 dollars for 8 packs of 4 thighs each. How do you beat that? Around $15-17 for two pot roasts. Kirkland Mayo in a tub the size of my head for $3.99. You can't even get 1/4th of that at the grocery store for $4.99!

When things are on sale, I make a lot of my homemade stuff and freeze, all the time. Chili, spaghetti sauce, ect...

I shop a lot at Walmart. No shame there. I love Walmart. And those commercials about how you can really save at Walmart versus a grocery store. Totally true. One example. Philadelphia Cream Cheese. Check it out for yourself. I kid you not. But, recently on things that I know are the same price at our grocery store, I get there because they have the whole gas points reward thing and well, we eat A LOT and so therefore I can save A LOT on my gas by buying there. 10 cents per $50 you spend...let's just say over the course of a few months, those points easily add up to over two dollars off of each gallon of gas. And our SUV, not the best with conserving gas, so any assistance is welcomed!

I shop Goodwill, thrift stores, Tot Swap, and yard sales for great deals on things I can fix up or just random things for the house or for the girls. If the girls need a black shirt to go under their halloween costume, I'll check Walmart and Goodwill or another thrift shop. Why not? The only time I won't buy used is if it's something I can get the same price somewhere else brand new. No shame! I love a good deal.

Tim and I were just talking about diapers for four kids the other day and I was saying at most it costs us $80-100 dollars a month in diapers. I don't think that's bad at all, to be honest for FOUR children. Now I buy Walmart brand because that is what works for us. I buy wipes at Costco, that are Kirkland brand and the box lasts us at least 3-4 weeks.

When we moved from Poolesville and left our $400-650 dollar monthly electric bill behind, our new home is built so much better since it's newer and so the electric bill is maybe $100 dollars. And then on the budget plan, it's very reasonable. If you aren't on a budget plan, I highly recommend it.

Tim and I do not have Iphones, Ipads, or any expensive gadgets. We don't need to waste our money on things like that. And we don't care to. We rather go on a vacation or save the money to take the girls somewhere. We aren't missing anything. ANd I don't need one more thing in my hand or buy for my attention. No thank you. We have a nice camera and a video camera. That is important to us. Documentation of our family and the events over time for our children. Like this blog. Free and so memorable for my children. Priceless. 

{ What beliefs do you want to pass on to your children? }

Another hard one. I feel like I am answering essay questions in college again. It's so hard to put into words all the things I want to pass down to my children. First, I would say the belief of God and faith. Second, the importance of family. Third, the importance of love, responsibility, and honesty. Do onto others as you want them to do onto you. Teach love and friendship and how to care for each other. Put others first before you, but don't forget that it's okay to put yourself first at times too. I want to teach them to be happy, healthy, productive women to contribute to making our world a better place. There are so many things.

Family is one of the most important things I want my girls to know. My MIL is one of five girls and I see the love and friendship that her and her sisters have (they are spread out over ten years) and I only hope my girls will be as close as them, always. I love it. It's so neat and I hope my girls will see how close they all are and want to be the same. It may sound morbid, but I honestly think how any day could be our last and I am so glad my girls have each other, since one day I won't be here. What a beautiful blessing to have siblings. There is no better gift. 

I could write a book on all the things I want to pass along to my children and what I hope to teach them in their lives, but honestly, I can't put it into words right now. My day is wasting away and I need to finish so many things before this hurricane hits.

Tomorrow, I'll have any extra questions that anyone has had. And hoping I still have power by then! I'm sure we will, so I am not too worried!