well, look at that- i only posted five (now six) times in december. what can i say, busy month. christmas was great and the kids had a wonderful time opening, playing with and tossing aside lots of plastic crap made in china. my house looks like a toy store puked. suddenly, it is new year’s eve and for my last post of aught eight, i give you a meme courtesy of sweetney

1. What did you do in 2008 that you’d never done before?
I was interviewed on live television (twice) about parenting

2. Did you keep your new year’s resolutions, and will you make more for next year?
I had to check my archives from last January to find out if I wrote about any resolutions. Surprise! I didn’t update the first half of January last year so I don’t see any. I doubt I resolved to do anything. This year? I resolve to exercise more and I know everyone makes that resolution but I mean it. We got a Wii Fit for Christmas and I’ve been using it every day.

3. Did anyone close to you give birth?
Yes, my beach bum of a sister

4. Did anyone close to you die?
No one I’m very close to but my husband’s uncle died of cancer way too young.

5. What countries did you visit?
I think I left Missouri once this year. To go to Illinois. Sigh.

6. What would you like to have in 2009 that you lacked in 2008?
Infinite patience? Strong will and impulse control? A million dollars?
7. What dates from 2008 will remain etched upon your memory, and why?
The triplets starting preschool and the night we went to see Weird Al Yankovich which sounds like it would be a funny story but it is not.

8. What was your biggest achievement of the year?
Raising the kids with less help than before (because of Lily’s health issues, we’ve had in home nurses since for three years but in 2008, we transitioned to only night nurses). Getting along fairly well with my husband and finally taking a weekend away by ourselves. Doing some paid freelance writing work.

9. What was your biggest failure?
Giving into temptation too many times. Buying things I don’t need, eating crap that isn’t good for me, etc.

10. Did you suffer illness or injury?
Not really.  Momunity rocks (knock on wood).

11. What was the best thing you bought?
Me being we (as in my husband and I) bought a Wii Fit and an adjustable flash for my camera.

12. Whose behavior merited celebration?
My sisters who had tough years for totally different reasons, my parents who continue to give massive support, my kids for growing stronger, healthier and smarter and my husband for working hard and putting up with my sometimes crabby ass.

13. Whose behavior made you appalled and depressed?
Those who feel justified in personally attacking those who don’t agree with their political views. Heath Ledger’s overdose made me very sad because it was such a massive waste. There is also a former family member who shocked me with his callous and unexpected behavior.

14. Where did most of your money go?
Groceries, diapers/pull-ups, household items

15. What did you get really, really, really excited about?
Obama winning the presidential election, a new nephew, all four kids going to school

16. What song will always remind you of 2008?
A medley of songs from Yo Gabba Gabba!, Little Einsteins and Signing Times.

17. Compared to this time last year, are you:
a) happier or sadder?
happier
b) thinner or fatter?
Sadly, the same.
c) richer or poorer?
Same

18. What do you wish you’d done more of?
Traveling

19. What do you wish you’d done less of?
Yelling
20. How did you spend Christmas?
with my family

21. Did you fall in love in 2008?
in love still, no falling unless you count falling in love all over again when mike brings me something silly from the store, lets me sleep in or is extra cute with the kids

22. What was your favorite TV program?
Anthony Bourdain’s No Reservations

23. Do you hate anyone now that you didn’t hate this time last year?
Hate is such a strong word. I really dislike someone who messed with family. I don’t know her but I hate that chick Casey Anthony if she killed her little girl like it seems she did.

24. What was the best book you read?
Maybe not the best book but most addictive was the Twilight series

25. What was your greatest musical discovery?
your mom and MIA

26. What did you want and get?
some peace and quiet a few hours a week

27. What did you want and not get?
lottery winnings, fulltime nanny, new house with enough bedrooms to accommodate each kid. actually, i have pretty much everything i need.

28. What was your favorite film of this year?
Batman? Iron Man? I didn’t go to the movies much this year but we rented lots of DVD’s.

29. What did you do on your birthday, and how old were you?
Celebrated my nephew’s 1st birthday then my own with my family and turned 34

30. What one thing would have made your year immeasurably more satisfying?
I have no idea

31. How would you describe your personal fashion concept in 2008?
Yoga pants, they aren’t just for yoga

32. What kept you sane?
SSRI’s and my family

33. Which celebrity/public figure did you fancy the most?
Brangelina

34. What political issue stirred you the most?
2008 Presidential Election

35. Who did you miss?
those who are gone
36. Who was the best new person you met?
Did I meet any new people this year?

37. Tell us a valuable life lesson you learned in 2008.
Put childproof latches on the freezer as well as the refrigerator. Turn the door knob around so you can lock the kids in their bedroom and keep them from roaming at night.

38. Quote a song lyric that sums up your year.
“There’s a party in my tummy, so yummy! so yummy!”
. . . . .

Happy New Year’s Eve, everyone!

well, that wasn’t very nice of me to leave you hanging and thinking we were still in the hospital. bad me. or, maybe my 2.4 average readers already know we’re out and don’t really care. either way, hi! lily is doing much better. the last day she was in the hospital, jack split his head open at my parents’ house so now i get to tell them they broke my kid. i had to go pick him up, take him to the same hospital where lily was, get his head glued back together and later left with both of them. it was the first time two of them were at the hospital at the same time since the NICU.  since then, the boys have had runny noses and general malaise but a quick pediatrician run today shows the tubes in their ears are working just fine and they don’t have the plague, just the same persistent and irritating virus that put lily in the hospital.

christmas has snuck up on me but i’m also getting sick of it all so i’m glad it is almost here and over. i have present guilt because we didn’t have enough money to buy everyone fabulous presents but in these tough economic times… the kids are covered but everyone else? i’m sorry i couldn’t do better. but! maybe christmas doesn’t come from a store, maybe christmas means a bit more (we’ve watched the grinch who stole christmas and every other christmas special plus wizard of oz this week. it is bite ass cold and there’s not much to do).

hope your days are merry and bright. fa la la la la la la la la.

still at the hospital but lily’s health seems to be improving. today was an interesting day. i had my 2nd television interview as the city editor for being savvy st. louis  and it went well- once i got there. i woke up early after sleeping surprisingly soundly on the pull out chair next to lily’s bed. it is the kind of sleep surface that wakes me up every few hours with searing pain in my hip or shoulder from laying on a very lightly padded surface. it is close to sleeping on the floor. in addition, nurses and respiratory therapists are in her room every two hours and her feeding pump or IV beep all the time. when my alarm went off, i was temporarily confused and couldn’t remember where i was or why i had to get up but i soon shook it off and headed for the “parent shower” which is a lot like a dorm shower in that you have to take your stuff with you and walk back and forth but at least it isn’t a shared shower (shudders). i did my hair and makeup as best as i could, kissed lily good bye and promised i would be back. her nurse promised to turn on my interview for her to watch.

there was an ice storm in our area last night and i emerged from the warm hospital into the bitter cold to find my van completly iced over and my doors stuck. i pulled on them with all my might and was finally able to open the back and climb over the seats. i’m sure it was a comical sight for all. i pushed the driver’s side door open with all my might and was finally able to scrap the thick layer of ice off my windshield. with 20 minutes to drive to my six mile destination across three different highways, i made it just in time.

when i got to the studio to appear on Great Day St. Louis , i learned i was the lead guest on the main set with a segment twice as long as my first one. eeps! the interviewer, carol, was wonderful and guided me with her questions. just like the first time, it seemed like it was over in 30 seconds and went better than i had hoped. apparently, my family is still awed that i speak so well in public when i’m not being my normal, distracted, anxious self. i didn’t even fidget! my husband is so sweet about me doing these interviews- he complements me to the point of making me blush and is my biggest fan. i don’t know if i could do this so calmly without his repeated reassurances and my oldest son’s enthusiasm (he thinks it is the coolest thing ever and records the appearances to show the triplets).  i’m still not sure how i ended up doing all these interviews and getting these amazing opportunities. i know that i asked the universe for a free lance writing job and i got one through savvy source which has led to these appearances. next up, universe, can we win a vacation?

after i returned to the hospital, there was a knock at the door and lily and i were suddenly looking at a group of very cute, uniformed St. Louis Blues players. they were at the hospital giving out autographed “christmas gifts” to the hospitalized kids and took their picture with us. the players thought she was adorable even though she refused to smile at them. it was awesome to meet them and they were really nice guys - much taller than they look when you are watching them from the stands on the ice. i only wish they had given me some free tickets but who knows if i would have been able to go given how the family health issues have been going.

i think lily got sick this week on purpose. this is the third year in a row we’ve been here right before christmas and these wonderful groups of people come through the hospital everyday to give gifts to the kids. she must have remembered and wanted the extra christmas presents! it is truly inspiring and humbling to see families, school children, charitable groups and even sports teams take the time to meet with kids and brighten their day. i’ve seen choirs singing carols to the children and kids carrying around wagons giving away toys they donated to sick children. i’ve also been going to the ronald mcdonald house family room to use their computer, make hot tea and even wash a load of laundry. the room is staffed entirely by volunteers who also give their time to make patients’ families’ lives better. i am inspired by all of these people and promise that when we get past this stage in our lives, we’ll be back here giving out presents and trying to make sick kids smile. i encourage you to find a way to give back this holiday season- go visit a nursing home, children’s hospital or just put a few extra bucks in the salvation army bucket. it will make you feel like a million bucks and everyone could use a helping hand now and again.

i guess i should go join my sleeping daughter and lay down on the uncomfortable chair. sweet dreams.

so the boys did get tubes in their ears and their adneoids taken out last monday. the surgeon said that their adneoids were huge and were probably causing a lot of their problems. the boys slept for three hours after their initial “waking up from anthesthia scream fest”  and woke up to eat everything in site. unfortunately, they caught a nasty cold the next day and have been recovering while sick. yesterday, lily got hit with the same illness and now i’m typing this from the handy randy ronald mcdonald room at the children’s hospital. she finally fell asleep after hours of being tweeked out on continued albuterol treatments. her chest xray showed no pneumonia which is great but she’s still breathing hard and pale. i hope we get out of here without a long hospitalization or catching anything else. please cross your fingers.

wait, where was i? oh yeah, hi there! i apologize if this deeply offends any of you but i have been sucked into a Twilight hole. i’ve been devouring the books. i went through a period after my oldest was born when i couldn’t read books. i would try but couldn’t concentrate, was tired or slightly crazed. it happened again after the triplets and the twilight books are the first books i’ve been engulfed in for a very long time- probably three years. i am very grateful to read again and it is making me happy. happiness ain’t a bad thing ergo,  twilight is good.

it’s the holiday season… i have bought exactly two christmas presents. they are good though. a while back, my ebay account was compromised and i had to jump through substantial hoops to get it reinstated. i tried email twice and received replies a week and a half after each was sent directing me to live assistance. i attempted to use live assistance four or five times before it actually functioned and i chatted with an overly polite young man whose real name was not kenny. after verifying  my maiden name, previous address, blood type and the name of my best friend in grade school’s dog’s name, my ebay account was reactivated. hours people. all to bid on a spectacular toy for my husband that i will reveal in the future. i’m probably making it sound better than it is. it isn’t expensive and was made the year i was born.

the holidays make me miss people that have died. i suppose it is only natural because memories of parties, gifts, revelry stand out and the people and places jump front and center in my mind. this morning, i kept finding things that belonged to a friend until it seemed comical and i sighed, “okay, i get it” and then questioned my sanity with a knot in my throat. have to think of those people who are gone but still feel so real- they are a part of it all too. i explained in detail the a christmas carol to my oldest son the other day and we had a long discussion about the ghosts of christmas past, present and future. he was, like i was, most interested in the creepy ghost of christmas future. i may have to rent the george c. scott version of a chistmas carol to watch with him. it may give him nightmares- maybe i should stick with the muppet version which i just remembered i bought last year! score another one for ebay.

speaking of decades old christmas classics, this has been making the rounds on the internet. a betamax xmas lets you watch your favorite 80’s shows holdiay special. watch natalie get handcuffed in the facts of life christmas! check out the fairly creepy stop motion animation of odd rudolph spin offs! you can click on the tv guide and adjust the rabbit ears! i’m watching alf sing about roasting cats to the tune of the 12 days of christmas. i’ll leave you to spend your afternoon in awe.

have you finished your christmas shopping? was it painful? will you do mine?

so um, yeah. i tried to post from the road but couldn’t log in. we got back saturday and i still didn’t post because i was tired, the house was a wreck and it was time to put up the christmas tree.

for the first time in 3 years, i have failed National Blog Posting Month. but! i got close and am proud of posting for 27 days straight through a chaotic, kid-filled month. i will try to post more in december than i did in october but less than i did in november. deal? deal.

this year, i am thankful for:

an easy post topic, the obligatory thankfulness list on thanksgiving

aleve

my family’s improving health (knocks heavily on wood)

COFFEE

my kids. as a wise man once said, “how can you love someone so much who drives you utterly crazy?” i love ‘em.

twitter

my husband’s ability to make me laugh. husband in general.

DVR

my parents

sugar free fudgesicles

my sisters and brother

celebrity gossip sites

my husband’s job

burt’s bees products

friends

a home

flickr

chocolate

my blackberry

new babies that aren’t mine

coffee again. and hot earl grey tea.

my beloved camera and laptop

barnes & noble

love

coffee

this has been one hell of a day. i watched six children for much of the day and that level of shrieking takes a lot out of a person. i love them all very much but why must they be so very loud?

we are hittin the road in the morning to celebrate thanksgiving with my husband’s wonderful grandparents. i sure hope i can post from my blackberry in their small town. if not? epic nablopomo fail.

what will happen? will i be able to post? will my three year streak of posting every day in november come to an end? this and other questions on our next episode of soap.

matt asked me to write more about the trials and tribulations of being a mom. he loves it when i talk about being a mom in the suburbs. based on his request, here’s another exciting parenting recap.

today, the triplets and i went to the ear, nose and throat doctor. it was the first time i’ve taken them by myself to the hospital/doctor’s buildings where they were born without a triplet stroller, wagon or some restraining device so i was a little nervous about if they would play follow the leader and hold hands. they can do very well at walking together and holding hands but it is a tenuous situation where sometimes lily decides her brother’s hands is evil and cannot be held or jack decides it is a good time to stop and spin in circles. i didn’t have much choice because they have, sob, outgrown their triplet wagon. they are just too big to be strapped in and i’m faced with increasing independence which can be scary for all of us.

when we got there, i realized the boys had fallen asleep in their car seats so i parked, roused them awake and convinced the triplets to hold hands. we walked through the parking lot, down the long, “wheelchairs as obstacles” sidewalk, through the crowded lobby, in the elevator, down the winding hallway until we were finally at the ENT’s office. it was about a ten minute walk with me cheering the three year olds on in a slightly too loud voice. “come on guys! you can do it! follow me! this way* (insert sweeping hand motions)”. i have become a cheerleader for preschoolers.

we finally arrived at the office and i began the process of stripping off coats, hats and gloves. the kids were now wide awake and bouncing around the room. i checked in at the window- early i might add- and she handed me a stack of 15 forms to update the boys’ files because i hadn’t been there in a year. fine, i know the drill. i sat there and tried to remember how many ear infections they’ve had since their last sets of tubes fell out until i finally scrawled, “too many to count”. the kids were alternately hugging other people in the waiting room and climbing the chairs trying to reach the marionettes hanging from the ceiling and pointing at the giant wall map.

it was pretty much chaos. as i turned the paperwork in, i realized i hadn’t brought my purse with me because i was holding hands and didn’t want it falling down my arms. i explained this to the office administrator who took my forms and she pursed her lips at me. i explained that i had given their insurance numbers on the phone to book the appointment two months earlier, that the surgeon has performed multiple surgeries on each one of my four children and personally knows me and that they were welcome to call and verify benefits. a few minutes later, as i was peeling one of the kids off a wall, she poked her head out to tell say, “I know this may be a pain but my office manager said you need to go get either your license or insurance cards.” Ain’t. No. Way. I told her I would like to speak to the office manager and explain that I didn’t want to leave with three three year olds for 20 more minutes to get their insurance cards. She stammered something about verification and said she’d find out. I wasn’t asked to go out to the car again.  As we waited, I entertained the entire waiting room of parents and kids by reading a book on 100 different types of trucks. Afraid of public speaking? Have a few kids at once and watch yourself transform into an extrovert who will do anything to get them to shut up in a room full of strangers.

After we were called back, sans documentation, we waited more for the doctor in one of the rooms as I danced and sang to keep the kids from playing with the doctor’s instruments (what IS IT with otoscopes? i’m buying them each a damn otoscope for christmas because evidently, it is the best toy on earth. until it is in your ear, then it is a tool from the devil that must be shouted out).  The doctor, whom I’ve met countless times, has performed half a dozen surgeries on my kids and have talked with on the phone, was in an odd mood. When one of the kids balked, he told him, “You have to, this is my office and you have to do what I say.” It was funny because he is such a mild-mannered man and he didn’t say it in a cutesy-kid voice- it was more like “You will do this now because I’m telling you to and it does not matter that you are three.” The man performs surgeries on NICU babies everyday and is known as one of the best ear, nose and throat doctors in town. There is a months long waiting list to see him as a new patient and he’s been putting tubes in ears since I was a kid. He doesn’t have any kids of his own though- that says something. I think he’s smarter than me and I really like him, he’s just a little odd.

After examining both boys, Dr. decrees, “only one good ear out of the four of them” and the other three fluid filled. He asked me if they snored and I honestly answered I have no idea since I put them in their room awake, they fall asleep and I let them out again when they wake up. I don’t hear them snore in the car though. Doctor thinks their adenoids made need to come out when he does the tubes since the fluid isn’t draining and this is their second round of tubes. He shall see when they are sedated and on the table if they need to come out but if they do, he says a “special tool that cauterizes after it cuts” will be used to remove the pesky adenoids and there “won’t be much pain” which probably means pain and lots of recovery room screaming followed by ice cream and short memories. I hope. I am tired of ear infections  and ready to move on past this stage, especially since the fluid build up is causing further hearing/speech delays which leads to more tantrums.

Surgery is in a bit over a week so I have time to obsess over possible general anesthesia complications and get teary about my babies having surgery and then do a happy dance over the possibility of an ear infection free Christmas and winter.

* Best comment from a stranger today as I guided the kids through the building, “It’s like herding cats!”

Since they started preschool and more intensive speech therapy, the triplets have started speaking more words and some complete sentences. They each have their own linguistic quirks with Lily knowing far more vocabulary than her brothers but the boys speaking more clearly. I can see the boy/girl differences in the way they communicate very easily as they continue to learn more words. Lily wants to talk all the time. She sits in the back seat and shouts, “Mommy!” until I say “What?” and then she does the “Uhhh, I don’t really have anything to say, I just want to talk and want to know you can hear me” thing.  Because of her trach, she is somewhat hard to understand even though she can speak quite clearly. Having an airway end in her throat instead of her mouth makes pronunciation a little difficult for her so Mike and I spend a lot of time saying, “Huh? What?” and trying to interprete what she’s saying. The other day I could not figure out what the heck she wanted until I finally realized she was asking me to “crash nuts” which meant “Mother, please crack this walnut for me.” That one took a while to decode.

The boys usually only talk when they have something specific to say and then say it very well. Ethan only routinely says a few select sayings or words, “Excuse me (if you or he have burped), Want cookie, Want juice, want cake, want candy” makes up most of his converstations. Jack is somewhere in between and occasionally comes up with randomly funny phrases. I asked him yesterday if he wanted to go to the grocery store and he shouted back, “Yessss! Amazing store!” so now the grocery store is the amazing store. It is a pretty amazing place- I think Jack and Ethan would eat every single thing in the candy and cookies aisle if let loose in a preschool version of Supermarket Sweep.

So yeah- speaking, communicating, being 3 yr olds and post fodder. Jeez, isn’t November over yet? I’m really getting sick of posting everyday.