Our Crazy Turkey Day.. No REALLY I mean it!!!

Well, it's now the end the day on Thanksgiving 2008. It was wonderful seeing friends and family and meeting my cousins new 6 week old daughter. The day started for us at 7:15 with blah blah blah chatter from the triplets and newborn cooing over the baby monitors. I fixed a bottle and started Cody's feed while Jerry started making the triplets breakfast, then I fed the triplets while Jerry showered up for the day given they yelled "Mommy feed" when Jerry tried to feed them. We want this to be a good day.... so ok, mommy will feed. We then let the triplets have a rare treat.... getting to shower with Mommy. They always take baths before bed, so a shower is a treat. "It's raining in the shower," they said I'm guessing 50 plus times as they tried to wash themselves. I lathered them all up and then rinsed their 3 slippery little bodies. One by one, I passed them off to Jerry who diapered them and put them back into their PJs. We wanted to keep their Thanksgiving outfits clean until time to leave. We proceeded to suction snot out of noses as Jadon and Addison have had runny noses for well over a month now. It's either the longest cold I've ever encountered or allergies... whatever the cause... it's a PAIN. "Good boy, good boy. Gotta get the boogies. You are such a brave boy... gotta get the boogies out." Babies response, "AAAAAA NOOOO BOOOGIES.... AAAAAAA." After the suction trauma, we consoled them with candy and then moved on to brushing three sets of teeth. "Open, No, don't bite the toothbrush. Let me she those teeth. No, don't bite it.....good girl.... brusha, brusha, brusha....". They spent a little time on their potties trying to tee tee poo poo. "Sit down, are you done? No? Then sit down! Now!... Ok, I'm let put your britches back on. Then SIT DOWN!", but with no success today and went on to play and fight over mommies brushes and other fun bathroom novelties. "Give Jadon a brush... you have two brushes, give Jadon one. We have to share NOW PLEASE.... thank you." Each had a large hair band that they would wear as necklaces... Kaylee grabs Addison and is pulling her around the bedroom by the neck with Addison screaming. "KAYLEE!!! LET GO OF ADDISON NOW!!! ONE... TWO... thank you." I then hold and try to console Addison. At this point it's close to 10:30... and we have to decide do we want to dress them and load up about 11:30 and drive around an hour to try and nap them given the Thanksgiving festivities fall during our normal nap time or wait an hour and have them skip naps all together... We decide to dress and drive. Someone poops (not on potty) can't remember who, then after convincing them to put on their "pretty dresses" and "handsome clothes" it's time to fix hair. Addison has been carrying around my brush and is unwilling to give it up. If I let her keep it, she will mess up her ponytail and bow with the brush once her hair is fixed. We gently remove the brush from her hand, but a meltdown still occurs... then a battle. Addison doesn't want her hair fixed and she is hard headed. Well, we battled Addison for who knows how long and needless to say after placing the ponytail and bow in her hair multiple times, she finally entered the car with ponytail and bow in tact but with tear stained cheeks.

We drove around about an hour and Jadon fell asleep 10 minutes from our destination. No sleep from the girls. The party was great, good food, and good friends. Mom, Dad, Jerry, and I were each responsible for one baby and all in all, the babies were pretty good... no meltdowns. I had Kaylee during the meal. She insisted on trying everything on my plate then spitting it back out into my hand, "don't like." I think all the babies ate bread. As we were getting ready to leave Addison poops and only wants Daddy to change her. As it's been a good day despite the morning hair episode and she is exhausted, I decide not to go into battle and call in her Daddy to do the honors. We load up around 4:00 and decide to drive around and give them a chance to nap. The girls nap a while and we are home around 5:30. Somewhere during this day (it's all a blur) we managed to give Cody his bottles and keep him happy. Thank goodness he is such a good natured little guy.

When we left this morning the kids were dressed, shoes on, hair fixed, ponytails, bows, lacy socks. I look at them now. Addison has no socks and shoes on the wrong feet, hair halfway in a ponytail and halfway like bedhead. Kaylee has one shoe and sock on, hair looks like she put her finger in a light socket while Jadon has only socks on and is screaming for applejuice. Jadon is crying and crying and yes crying for applejuice which is IN HIS SIPPY CUP (sorry all bold... I just think I yelled this 10 times), but for some reason he won't drink it.... if he could only tell us what the problem is..... arrrrgggghhh....."just go to timeout until you can stop crying." He settles himself and comes back in saying, "Good boy." We have 3 tired fussy babies. I take Kaylee upstairs to change her poo poo and put her in PJs but she now doesn't want to take off her pretty dress. Battle weary, I now plead... PLEEEAASSEE be a good girl PLLLEEEAAASSEEE. After a count of three she complies. Jerry changes the others into their PJs. We suction noses again. I won't go into detail on that meltdown and exhausted, we decide to put in The Tigger Movie. Ahhhhh, quiet... I have Jadon, Addison, and Cody in my lap and Jerry has Kaylee. All is good up until Addison accidentally headbutts Cody and now he is screaming. I pass him off to Jerry and now have Addison, Jadon, and Kaylee in my lap, but it's quiet again. It's 6:15, can we do this until 8:00???? Please, can we do this until 8:00. We had decided to skip baths since they had a shower that morning so we just have to keep them quiet til 8:00. I don't know about 30 minutes go by and Jerry and I sit back and smile at each other with a knowing "Life is good kinda smile." I ask if he can get the camera since I have all the triplets snuggled in my lap and would like to capture the moment. He takes a couple pictures and I tell Kaylee to get her finger out of her mouth, but after the 3rd picture Kaylee proceeds to vomit (yes, vomit) as she has gagged herself with her own finger (see photos) (WHAT!!!!! NOOOOO!!!!! KAYYYYLLLEE!!!!! YYYUUUCCCKK!!!) I snatch her up, strip off her clothes (the smell is overwhelming) and throw her in the bathtub. Well, so much for no baths, however I have to say bathing only one baby is pretty easy. When Kaylee and I rejoin the group, it seems everyone has grown tired of Tigger and Pooh and are now running laps around the kitchen island. I start this blog as they seem to be playing ok for the moment and then realize we haven't fed them dinner... well, Jerry and I weren't hungry or planning to eat so dinner so it just slipped by us. It's now 8:00 and I proceed to pull out goldfish, yogurt, cheese, and crackers. Ok, everyone is now fed. Not the best dinner but it will do for tonight. We point our brood in the direction of the stairs and start the verbal onslaught of "Upstairs! Go!! Now!! Faster!!!" "GO!! One, Two... thank you!! Go" until each baby is upstairs and in the room. We then sit in the floor and I proceed to read them their "Nite Nite Books" using all my funny voices. They listen and laugh and we finish with our bedtime prayer and I thank God for such a wonderful Thanksgiving with my beautiful family. As I close the door Kaylee shouts out "Nite Nite Guys."

The funny thing is, I'd love to tell you this day was unusual, but it pretty much represents every day in the Hopkins home... crazy busy, mind numbing, ear shattering, nerve rattling, BLISS.... I love my life.

God bless everyone, we had a great Thanksgiving. Oh, it's 9:15.... I have to go make Cody's last bottle of the night (and clean today's bottles and make tomorrows bottles and... and... and...). Yes, we still have one baby to put to bed....