I do everything in 3's nowadays. Even if it's not in 3's - The number is usually divisible by 3.

• I wash about 15 loads of laundry a week.
• Since the boys have come home, I've washed 3 things I shouldn't have, that have lead to 3 times the work. 1. A disposable diaper (HUGE, HUGE MESS!) 2. A pocket full of confetti (Thanks vacation bible school!) 3. A grocery list that when washed turned into a novel.
• I make, wash, and feed 126 bottles a week.
• That's 504 ounces of formula a week. (that number will go up soon)
• I change 130-140 diapers a week - give or take a few leaks and an upset tummy or two.

3 New Meanings Since Triplets

• A good night of sleep = 4 consecutive hours of sleep OR 6 non-consecutive hours in a 24 hour period.
• A good day = I get 2 good burps per feeding, no vomiting, and at least 1 "good" dirty diaper per baby per day. (YES - moms worry about the quality of the poo!) OH-and a shower is a nice bonus!
• Spare time = I think I remember that word from my previous life, but I can no longer recall its meaning...

Keeping with the 3's

Everyone needs to set goals. How else will you know if you're making progress in life or just floating along? I've learned from work, goals should be SMART - That is Specific, Measurable, Attainable, Realistic, and Timely. So, here are my 3 SMART goals:

1. Lose 30lbs in 3 months (This would put me just under my pre-pregnancy weight)

2. Spend 45 minutes of quality time with each of my 4 children everyday. By this I mean, not feeding time, or bath, or some other task I'm trying to accomplish. Just 45 minutes of holding, loving, talking, reading, etc. with each of my boys. Some days I get so busy, wrapped up in chores, that I don't do this. And that makes me sad. I came up with 45 minutes by taking 3 hours of my day (180 mins / my 4 boys = 45 mins each) for them.

So I'm thinking my 24 hours look something like this:

**24 minus 6 for feeding = 18 minus 3 for quality time = 15 minus 4 for caring(baths, soothing, paci patrol, clothes/diaper changes, etc.) for the all 4 boys = 11 minus 5 for cleaning, laundry, washing/making bottles, cooking dinner and feeding my 2 big boys = 6 hours for Wade, sleep, bathroom/shower, pictures, blogging, me time (with a little paci patrol sprinkled in).**

3. Last, but not least, I'm going green! Disposable diapers supposedly take 500 years to biodegrade in a landfill. No, I'm not going to cloth diapers- not even an option! So, to offset the diapers, I'm going to start recycling aluminum cans, tin cans, and plastic. If Jon and Kate plus 8 can do it - so can we! Every little bit helps. So, here's to baby steps. As our light bulbs go out, I'll probably start replacing them with the more energy efficient bulbs and we've already put a filter on the sink so we can stop buying plastic water bottles. I'm feeling greener already!

Oh, not a goal, but I'm also going to start saving the box tops for education for Taylor's school. I throw a ton of these away and it doesn't take much time to clip and save them. Why not? The school gets $$ so maybe they'll need less from me!

Alright, so I got my hair cut off (10 1/2") just before the boys were born. I posted the picture, you all saw it... short, but not that bad. Well, I just couldn't leave well enough alone. I went and did it...I got the worst hair cut EVER! at a local salon that shall remain nameless. I went somewhere other than my salon to try to save a little green and it ended up costing me more because I had to go to my salon the next day to try to salvage my hair. So, lesson learned. Looking at the bright side, I use less shampoo now and it takes me about 2 minutes to dry it which conserves energy - so it fits in to my green plans. And after all, it's just hair and it will grow back! ...It's taken me 3 days to be able to say that, but I'm really over it... really.

On to happier news...

The boys went to Dr. Ellison today (whom we absolutley love)! We actually got there with about 5 mins to spare, versus being 10 minutes late, and then we had to wait 2 hours! Go figure. The boys were hungry and got a little fussy, but the appointment went well. The boys are growing at almost double the expected rate, which is 1 ounce a day - so 1lb every 16 days. They gained almost 1 1/2 - 2 pounds in 14 days!

Carter - 20 1/2" - 8 lbs 8oz - 14 1/2" head
Brayden- 20 1/2" - 8lbs 5 oz - 14 1/2" head
Tucker - 19.75" (he didn't shrink, they've measured wrong somewhere) - 8lbs 2oz - 14" head


To give you an idea of how good the boys are doing, they were actually due tomorrow! We still haven't taken them out anywhere aside from the dr. and walking around our block. The dr. said we can begin to venture out some now, but I'm still afraid we'll expose them to something and have sick babies. Neither I nor the babies are ready for that. So, we may wait just a little longer...

Tucker

Brayden

10 of the 30 little piggies I get to love on

Taylor and Carter

l to r - Brayden, Carter, and Tucker kicked back watching the news