The Georgia Guinn Triplets

So my dear friend April is expecting her second + 1 at any moment, so Nana and I decided to give her and Adam a day to themselves before little baby Daisy arrives.  Nana had found a great place just north of us, that is a minature animal farm! 

So on Saturday, I picked up the Grow's, while Nana drove our girls to the local mall where we picked up a former student of mine, Miss Danielle (I taught Danielle when she was in 8th grade!  She is now a preschool teacher! Boy does that make me feel old!). 

Here's me the taking the Grow's to the Tanglewood Minature Animal Farm...

We started out by putting them all in Jail! LOL! 

If Alyssa and Kimball ever get married, this will definately be in their wedding slide show!  LOL!

Here's Mr. Casien meeting the farm dog!

Here's Miss Danielle and Nana with Makenna and Alyssa petting the minature goats!

Makenna hugging the mini goats!

We all met a mini llama and her baby, which had the softest hair I have even felt!

The first time we went to the cow pen, they were all laying down and Caisen was IN LOVE with this cow (However, the second time through they were standing and he was NOT  in love with them then!  LOL! 

The turkeys however were NOT mini and only Issy and Brinlee were completely unafraid!

Kimball is ALL BOY, but when it came to the animals he was the most skiddish!  He spent most of his time like this!

Sawyer was also pretty shy around the animals, but I get him to hold a goat (Look at that baby goat!  They were so cute!)

Issy hugging the goat!

Alyssa getting some lovin from the baby goat!

Makenna gives the goat a hug, while the goat tries to bite her momma!

Caisen and the Goat!

Brinlee and the baby goat! 

Kimball did not get a picture with the goat, because he was too busy hanging out with the mini horses in the same pen! 

Issy could have sat all day brushing this goat and honestly I think the goat would have let her!

The only incident we had the whole time we were there was with this sheep, when he decided to head butt Issy in the chest!  He hit her with his full force and knocked her down.  She was upset and that was my que to get everyone out of that enclosure.  As far as I could see, she did nothing to upset him, but nevertheless, he was upset! 

After this, we had the highlight of the trip for everyone, BUT CAISEN!!! Pony Rides!

I think this is Alyssa. 

Issy going on her ride!

Sawyer and Nana Sharon!

this would be Makenna (again I'm guessing!)

Here is Caisen with his NO WAY I'M NOT DOING THIS FACE!

Brinlee going for a ride!

Cuteness!

Group Pic!

The END!

The girls have been entered in a photo contest that we would LOVE to win...

Please vote for them here!  You can vote as many times as you want!

http://www.laurabrettphotography.com/blog/2010/03/votemake-monday-atlantaalpharetta-child-family-photographer/

Well, we are now in the point of our life where the girls are growing up and I, for one, am HATING IT!!!  I am convinced that these littles are my one and only babies.  I will never again have that sweet little baby cuddled into me at night.  I will never make bottles again, or  change a million and one little bitty diapers!  It is crazy to feel this way!  So with each new stage, I get these feelings of sadness that I can't seem to shake off.   

This week was one of those weeks, when we let the much loved Choo Choo Wagon go to another triplet family for them to love. 

I have loved this wagon! 

We took it everywhere! 

Malls: Not a problem!

Halloween: Lets Cut out Eggs and stick the little chicks in them!

Indian Stores to purchase sari's:  Yep did that too!

We pissed off Neil Boortz with it, when we went to ride the Pink Pig!

We met Kiera, Lily, and Avery for the first time in person while riding in it! (We love Aunt Sandra acting crazy!)

We did a TON of MOD events with our wagon! 

More Halloween events!

Heck, if Disney wasn't so picky about wagons, I would have done Disneyland with it! 

So it was with a very sad heart, that I sold our wagon! 

Our very last ride! 

Here's the video! 

http://www.onetruemedia.com/shared?p=a75c6c9fd0cf4c83e1d1b8&skin_id=601

Okay seriously, I thought that when we had the adenoids removed and ear tubes inserted that we would be done with this whole illness thing!  BUT NOOOOOOO!!!! Now it leaves their little ears and now is firmly lodged in their lungs! 

It all started last Sunday when Issy started with a cough and a fever.  By Monday morning, she was so sick that I had to take her into the ped!  Ped said her ears looked GREAT!  But her lungs had pockets of fluid in the bottom of them, so get got more breathing treatments, a round of antibiotics, and a steroid (which turns her into hyper active crazy child!) 

Skip to Wednesday and Alyssa is following in her footsteps, so as soon as the ped's office opens I plan to call in for her, but Nana messages me on facebook and says that Makenna needs to join her sister too, so we head back to the DR with Alyssa and Makenna...more breathing treatments and a round of antibiotics for them, but THANKFULLY NO steroids!  (not sure what I would have done with THREE crazy littles running around here!) 

On Thursday, I am so sick I can barely keep my head up.  Friday, I head out to the DR.  One listen to my lungs and slaps a pulse ox on my finger...reading 79.  Then, she sends me straight to the x-ray for a full chest scan...Well, turns out I have THREE pockets of fluid in my lungs...She started talking hospital stay and I freaked out!  Mom had just left to catch a plane to see Poppa in Canada (and there was no way I was gonna let her NOT go see poppa!) 

I begged the dr to do something...so she said that we would try a breathing treatment, but if I was not in the 90s I had to go to the hospital....Luckily, after the treatment, I got the number 92!  Good enough to get out of there!   I left with a shoot of steroids in my hip, a rescue inhaler, a steroid inhaler, breathing treatments, an antibiotic, and tamiflu (just in case the flu was what started this!)  I am a walking pharmacy!  And STRICT instructions to head to the ER at the first sign of breathing distress. 

Friday Night, I took a bath, and when I got in the shower to wash the bubbles off, I blacked out!  No clue how long I was out, but it scared me, and I begged Frank to take off!  He is such a sweetie and he called in. 

He has had the girls ALL DAY LONG!  I have been locked in Nana's room all day, only coming out every now and then for things like eating and I did give the girls a bath, because that's one of Frank's "I don't do" things. 

I can NEVER express how thankful I am that Frank took off to care for me and my littles today!  I could never have done it without him.  I LOVE YOU DUDE!!!! 

Luckily the girls are feeling MUCH MUCH MUCH Better today.  (Which does make it a bit harder for Frank, because they are in that feeling okay, but not okay enough to go out yet, which makes them a little stir crazy!) 

Here's a link to the VIDEO of what it looks like when you have all four of the ladies in the house sick!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bNp30BXVS8Q

And now for something a little lighter...

A great craft to do with littles to keep them entertained. 

You need:

Colorful gift bag stuffing paper (technical term!) 

Glue

Construction Paper

1. Have the littles rip the paper to shreds...They love this!

2. Throw so glue on the paper

3.  Let the stick the shreds on the construction paper...

The results are amazing! (and you'll learn a lot about their personalities)

This is Alyssa's and it is just like her personality!   Just stuck to the surface by the barest of pieces and floating the rest of the way off the paper.  I joke that Alyssa is like a pixie...Just gracing the world with her presence at this moment...Always fluttering off to her next place to land.  She is a prince through and through...Her favorite outfit of the moment is any of her princess dresses, the more frilly the better! 

Makenna is our resident artist.  She has a lot of her Aunt Suzy in her...One summer when she gets a bit older, I want to send her to Louisiana when Aunt Suzy has art camp by herself to attend.  She would have a BLAST!!!!  She is all about the look of things.  Her placement was VERY neat, unlike her sisters, she did not cover all the glue, but instead pieced it together the way she wanted it.  It is really beautiful! 

I don't have a close up of Issy, but she is neat like Makenna.  However, she doesn't really have the artist flare her's is more methodical...Placed in position to cover the glue, but with no attend to the details that Makenna has...She's going to be an engineer or some other very detail oriented profession. 

The girls have also started a new phase...Its called "I DO IT ALL MYSELF, MOMMA"  Now at times is this a great phase...like putting their cups in the sink, cleaning up around the house, turning on lights, etc. 

However, when it is something they truly need help with or momma is in a hurry and needs to get things done, it is not so fun...Like washing hair or leaving the house without it taking an hour and a half to get out the door! 

These littles are growing up and it is making me so sad!  I want them to stay little! 

This weekend the girls and I celebrated a up until this year, rarely known holiday in the world of education known as TEACHER FURLOW DAY!!!!  And since I was off (and not getting paid for being off), I decided to head out with the girls!  (Nana and Aunt Sandra headed the other direction to Birmingham for a race!) 

I thought our weekend might be in danger, when Friday we had the 3 inches of Snow, but Saturday morning by 10 am, it was clear enough for us to hit the road! 

And we did!  We arrived around 4pm and checked in.  We got dressed and headed down to the waterpark.  We stayed in the upper lodge, so we had to take the bus down to the waterpark area.  For the girls, the bus ride was the best thing ever!  They sang "The Wheels on the Bus" everytime we got on it! 

We arrived at the waterpark at around 5:30...We LEFT the waterpark at ALMOST 9 pm (and we did not eat dinner that entire time! )  The girls would not come out of the water!  I thought they would stay in the kiddie areas, but not my girls...We spent almost the entire time in the WAVE pool!  Yes!  I was in the WAVE pool with three little girls by myself for almost 3 hours! 

(And because I was the only one there, there are NO pictures to show you how much fun they had!  Next time, I'll have to bring a waterproof camera to snap some pics!

We came back to the room, ordered pizza and crashed!

Us getting ready to crash and YES that's right!  I took them somewhere without a tent!  I let them sleep on a bed (well two beds pushed together!).  They did really well.  I did learn that Alyssa is gonna be an early bird and she may have to have her own room so that Makenna can get the sleep she needs!  LOL! 

The second day, we headed to the lift to go up to Ober Gatlinburg (the ski resort!)  On the ride up, they packed us into the tram like sardines, so the girls could not see anything.  Heck they were yelling at me to get closer and I had to inform them that there were three little girls in front of me, who needed some room to stand! 

Waiting in line!

Issy looking drunk while waiting in line. 

Alyssa would not get away from my leg, so she not pics of her!

At the top, we ate lunch and watched the ice skaters.

We did the animal encounters, which I have a video of and will post as soon as I get it downloaded.

Then we headed back down the mountain! 

As soon as we got back to the room, we went swimming again!  More riding on the bus and tons of fun in the wave pool (although it was SO cold!) 

Today we awoke to this, which made me decide to try and get out before the roads got bad!

Yep, it was crazy!  So I finished packing (including a quick room escape and elevator ride for a girls without momma!) Luckily she did not get far! 

We did a quick breathing treatments and hit the road!

I just noticed that I did not get a single pic of Alyssa on my digital....Hopefully, I got some on the video camera! 

It was a great time!  I can't wait to do it again!

If you have lived in the South for any extended time, you know that we NEVER get snow.  We get ICE, SLEET, a Mixture or ICE, SNOW, and SLEET!  You will walk outside to "play" in the snow only to hear it crunch beneathe your feet and if you made a "snowball" (aka ball of ice) and chunked it at a window, they you could break it! 

But for the FIRST time in my 31 years on this earth, I have seen REAL snow in the South.  Soft, Fluffy, Pretty Snow!  And the girls, nana, and I had a blast!

It was so soft you could eat it!

We even went sleding in the South!  Can you believe it Sleding!

Nana Sleding with the girls!

We made Snow Angels!

My job was sled puller and carrier!  I got a workout today pulling these girls on the sled!

After a while, these little Southern Girls got COLD, so we went into the house to warm up a bit and dry off. After dinner however, we headed back out into the cold for a little more fun in the dark!

Issy in the dark!

Alyssa in the dark...the second time around, Alyssa was not as into the cold as she had been earlier so she and Nana headed inside for some hot chocolate!

And this final pic, just sums up how much fun today was....Makenna is completely content!

And now I have to get off the computer and get packing...because tomorrow, I am driving just me and the girls to a Indoor Waterpark resort to celebrate the holiday known as Teacher Furlow! 

Check on the photo section for more pics of the girls hanging out!

Well since the girls do pretty much everything together, we figured surgery should be the same. And since they're identical its no surprise that the girls have identical adenoids and ear canals which meant they all three needed ear tubes and their adenoids removed. 

I think a lot of people thought I was really nervous and worried...I wasn't at all.  These girls have been through so much during their short lives that this was nothing!  I was more concerned with the afterwards from the surgery...Three little girls who don't feel good can be a big time challenge. 

So after the cancellation during the ice storm we rescheduled for this friday...Bright and early yesterday morning we got up and headed to the hospital...it was pretty smooth getting there except that I couldn't find the insurance cards, which were supposed to be in my wallet...Instead they had fallen out into Nana's car, so we had a moment of panic in finding them, but other than that...we arrived with little fanfare.  We went right into admissions and as soon as we were admitted they took us back. 

They had never had triplets before and their idea was three different rooms...Yeah RIGHT!!!  Makenna when into her own room and Issy and Alyssa went together...Makenna stayed as long as it took to get her prepped and then we joined her sisters. 

Alyysa waiting patiently.

Issy coloring!

Makenna all dressed and ready to go!  She was such a trooper!  The Nurse who took her back was great!  He told her she was going on a ride in her race car bed..She was driving it out of the room and down the hall on her way out!

Driving her bed out into surgery!

When Makenna was rolled back!  She was happy and playing...Issy however dissolved into tears, because Makenna was gone! 

Wish this picture was crystal clear, because it is too cute!

Nana and Alyssa waiting for the DR

Playing around!

Alyssa getting ready to head back...Funny thing is that she looks already doped up, but isn't!  Alyssa wasn't as happy as Makenna about going back...She put her blanket over her head and was saying through little tears...Bye Momma, Bye Daddy, Bye Nana!  Issy again dissolved into tears. 

Issy getting ready to go!

Issy like Makenna was real excited to drive her race car bed back!  If you notice, the hospital gave all three girls a stuffed half bee/half bear called buzz buzz.  They LOVED him and took him to surgery with them! 

Makenna came back from recovery, before Issy had gone back, so we played trade off in the rooms...

Makenna just back in the room with her popcicle!

Makenna was out of it...and she was too funny...  She kept asking for kisses....Kiss my eyes..Kiss my nose...Kiss my cheek...etc, etc, etc. 

Watching tv

This is how Alyssa came back...She was playing possum.  She did not want to look at the nurses or anyone.  She was also the most effected by the meds. 

eating a cookie

Which eventually progressed to this...

Alyssa also drank a metric ton of water and juice after surgery and as soon as we got her up and ready to take her IV out she began vomiting.    She ended up vomiting once there and once when we got home. 

Issy came back much like Makenna...Full of pep and ready to go!

Getting ready to take the IV out!

Alyssa and Daddy

Makenna and her popcicle!

Issy and momma...

And just to bring back a ton of old memories...The adults banded again to know who belongs to who! 

Since Granny and Paw Poley bought us the Wii, they girls have been very interested in bowling on it.  So since poppa was home and is a pretty good bowler, we decided to introduce the girls to what real bowling is like. 

When Nana and Poppa told the girls we were going bowling, Alyssa was very excited.  She did her little Wii bowling hand throw and said "weeeeee." 

So we headed up to Stars and Strikes Bowling Alley.  This is a new alley right by our house.  It is REALLY nice.  It has the normal bowling on the left side and glow bowling on the right, a full arcade, air bumper cars, and laser tag.  It also has a resturant where you can get filet migon and any kind of seafood you want. 

When we arrived, the girls were SO excited!  They could barely contain themselves.  Since all the "serious" bowler were on the normal side, we decided to head to glow bowl side...plus its really cool to see all the pretty colors. 

The magangement was amazing.  They got us all setup!  The owner even typed in all our information into the computer for the game to begin.  

And then the fun began...the girls used a bowling ramp to bowl down the alley!  Alyssa LOVED it!  Isabelle was the best bowler and she liked it!  Makenna liked it for about the first 15 minutes and then she was ready for something else!  

We had a great time bowling, but we learned some REALLY important lessons:

1. Everyone bowls with bumpers, so if the girls want to bowl before their time, they can.

2. We must bring something for the girls to do, while the others are bowling, because they get antsy. 

3.  Bring Sippy CUPS!!!!

And the result was that Issy beat everyone with a score of 100.  It is really bad when a 3 year old beats you by almost 40 points! 

So after bowling we headed over to the arcade and the girls discovered the wonders of the arcade world....TICKETS!!!!  They have a family package at the bowling alley that includes an hour of bowling, 6-$5 arcade cards, pizza, shoe rental, a large pizza, and a pitcher of soda for around $40 dollars, so we had $30 worth of arcade tokens, we spent the entire time playing all the ticket games, because the girls LOVED getting the tickets! 

After all the time we spent playing and gathering tickets, we came home with three little foam icecream cone shooters and a bouncey ball a piece...It was completely worth it...So much so that we went back less than a week later and did it all over again!  LOL!

Okay let’s start out with the news….Frank’s sister, Aunt Suzy has received a diagnosis of Scleroderma, which is widespread connective tissue disease that involves changes in the skin, blood vessels, muscles, and internal organs. There are different types and even within the types it can affect each person differently. At this point, she has just been diagnosed, so we are not sure what level she is at. She has to see another doctor for a second opinion and then goes to Huston to see a specialist there. Unfortunately, the next opening is in JULY!!!! So I guess the prayers would be for healing, for an opening with the Huston doctor sooner, and peace from worry for the entire family.

The girls were saying their prayers after I told them at Aunt Suzy was sick…We do the traditional, “Now I lay me down to sleep” prayer, but at the end we pray for our family by saying “God Bless” and then listing names, until I get tired and say EVERYBODY ELSE IN THE WHOLE WIDE WORLD. When we said our prayer, Makenna said Aunt Suzy, Aunt Suzy, Aunt Suzy for everyone time we went through the names. She also asked me last night, if Aunt Suzy had to get any shots. I told her that she did, and Makenna said, “Oh No, That’s SO SAD!” So Aunt Suzy, you know you got one little girl praying for you like crazy!

So now onto the not so serious stuff…

We had what is known as the Great Snow/Ice Storm of 2010!

The girls had a great time playing in the snow, but momma was the only teacher in the entire area who was praying that it stayed away! Because we were scheduled for ear tubes and adenoid removal times 3! Well the morning of the surgery it iced! I called the hospital twice to check and see if the surgery was on go! They said it was, so we headed out to the 007 type mission to reach the hospital.

The night before my dad had driven the suburban down the hill from mom’s house and parked it, so we could get out on the main road…My mom’s car is a front wheel drive, so we could make it down the hill. So we loaded everyone into mom’s car, drove 5 miles an hour down the hill to the church, got into the suburban, and made our way to the hospital trying to avoid all the ice and crazy men who think snow = 4 wheel drive! We arrived and entered to find the surgery center locked. The receptionist came an unlocked the door with a look of surprise! Didn’t they call you? NOPE, well the doctor tried to make it, but couldn’t.

So instead of being upset, we headed to IHOP for smile faced pancakes!

I also am gonna have to hand it to my MIL! When she told me she was getting us a Wii for Christmas, I was a little less than excited! I HATE video games! When we had the play station, the video games caused quite a bit of fighting between Frank and I, because he would play all night long and then complain about being tired! Needless to say, I was WRONG, because Grandma Carolyn made one very SMART move! She got me a Wii Fit Plus to go with the Wii. I’m addicted! If we stay at Nana’s, I will drive back to our house after the girls go to sleep and do my Wii Fit workouts! I am doing about 80 minutes a night now! It is great! I am NOT really a fan of being insulted by a video game on a daily basis, but I somehow it motivates me! I have NO BALANCE, NO RHYTHM, and VERY LITTLE hand eye coordination, so the Wii is not set to my strengths! But I am enjoying it! Now all I need is the Wii Active so I can get a little more variety in my workout and I will be set!

The girls have been so much better behaved this week, now that their schedule has finally settled into place! It is amazing how well they do when they are in their routine! They have been playing princess dress-up all week in preparation for our Disney Trip in 10 weeks!!!! Nana even setup three HUGE moving boxes in her living room, which are now their castles! They are too cute! They will dance in their dresses and being a princess is now VERY important! You want to act like a princess at all times! SO momma and nana are using it to our advantage…Princesses eat their carrots and their corn (note: This works GREAT for Alyssa, Makenna depends on her mood, and Issy still won’t try the carrots!). Princesses sit on chairs not stand. Princesses use their inside voices. Wonder how long before they catch on that we are doing this? LOL!

Well, that’s it for now!

A proper update for December!

Well, I can honestly say that December has been the month of ups and downs for our family! Thankfully most of the time it has been up!

Poppa came home for a month long visit and boy did we get spoiled! My dad absolutely amazes me with the girls. I don’t know how many grandfathers could handle the day to day care of my girls, but I do know this fact, if something were to happen to Frank, myself, and nana, my dad could care for these girls day in and day out without blinking an eye! He does EVERYTHING with them. He took them to Walmart more times than I could count. He has control over them like neither nana or myself can muster. He makes them clean, disciplines them with love (and a bit of humor), and will do ANYTHING they ask! This break, he managed to construct a beautiful gingerbread house (while letting them consume massive amounts of Frosting!), took them to the bounce house and sandbox by himself, and even taught them how to bowl!

While doing this, he managed to fix my leaking sink, hang (twice) and then remove all the lights on the outside of the house, help us begin to clean out our garage, fixed the icemaker and water dispenser on my fridge, and various other projects for Nana and Aunt Sandra.

It is so much fun having him around and the girls were SO SAD when he left. Makenna kept asking Nana to go and get Poppa, Alyssa wanted to go with Poppa to Tinkie, and Isabelle was pretty much distraught over his leaving. Luckily it won’t be for long and when he comes back this time, we are heading to DISNEY!

Christmas was crazy, fun, and exhausting all rolled into one! The girls participated in their first Christmas Program at school! I was SO SAD that I could not be there, but Nana and Poppa were! It looked like they had tons of fun!

We did our usual journey to the Pink Pig for the ride around tent in the cold weather! It was a lot of fun this year, because the girls had such a great time!

However, we did not make Stone Mountain or the Lake Lanier lights this year, because my Granny became very ill and we were not sure if she was going to make it. Nana drove to Louisiana to be with her, but luckily that woman has some spirit left in her and she pulled through and even came home from Christmas! During this time, my uncle, Sam was also received a diagnosis of Kidney Cancer.

We were able to make it to Louisiana for Christmas! It was a great time to see all the family! The girls had so much fun seeing Granny Guinn and Pa Poley. They love them so much! It is amazing to see how attached they are to the grandparents! They also got to hang out with all the Aunts and Uncles and cousins and Great Grandparents! It was a crazy schedule! Santa was able to find out in Louisiana, so the girls were VERY HAPPY!

Santa brought them a TON of stuff! They got their asked for gift: Issy, a train set; Alyssa, a pink truck; and Makenna, a jack in the box! Then they got Spike the dinosaur, dress up clothes, a few books, roller skates, umbrellas, puzzles, and much much more! Granny Guinn got them a sleeping bag, a doll with a box of dress up clothes, board games (which we’ve had a blast learning how to play), and money! Nana and Poppa got them personal DVD players, a microphone, a bed for their baby dolls, a stage, and more! The Aunt spoiled them rotten at usual! Aunt Suzy made a HAND PAINTED Canvas Pirate Map for them to play with! They LOVE THEM! I’ll have to try and remember to take a picture so everyone can see! The final gift from Aunt Sandra, Nana, and myself were three tea sets for the girls! They are porcelain and are one of those treasured gifted that they can only use on special occasions. They love them, especially now that they are in a display case at Nana’s house for them to see.

We came home and I have learned an important lesson. Potty training and traveling with three little ones is for the birds! They did not want to potty in their diapers, so they would throw fits to stop! We did and the trip took FOREVER! We did get to meet another set of triplets who live in MS! Zachary, Michael, and Andrew were so much fun to play with!

WoW! This has gotten long and I still have Aunt Suzy to talk about, our failed attempt at ear tubes, and the GREAT SNOW STORM of 2010! Oh well, it will just have to wait!