Category: Family Life

The day-to-day juggle: kids, marriage, and everything in between.

Queen of the Juggle > Family Life

Boys 2nd Birthday

Posted on by Sherri




I’m writing this a little later than the birthday but it’s taken me a few days to let it soak in that the boys are 2. I’m proud of and emotional about it.

We celebrated the birthday early on September 7 since the girls were here for Labor Day. I had ordered ice cream cakes from Marble Slam Ice Cream early. Each cake was heart shaped and had their names written on them. So cute. Ryan had chocolate, Ben was strawberry and Gary was sweet cream ice cream. I had also bought another small cake for the rest of us to share. Since the boys love ice cream I thought ice cream cakes would be fun. Kaitlyn and I picked them up on Sunday, September 6 and put them in the freezer.

I had to work Rib Cook-off, so I was gone a good part of Sunday and the girls, for the second year in a row, ran around the cook-off doing whatever made them happy while mom worked in the village. Good for everyone. They had a good time roaming and I enjoyed the company of my clients.

It’s so great to live here because it feels much safer with fewer people than Vegas. I also had those girls “tethered” to their cell phones every 30 minutes, with the requirement that I see their faces every hour. Probably anal but hey, it worked for all of us. Everyone had a good day and off we went at 8p to get on home.

On Monday Sept 7 (Labor Day) there was a lot to do. The girls wrapped gifts and Chip did a little last minute shopping. The girls and I had gone to Trader Joes and Toys ‘r Us on Saturday after I picked them up at the airport to shop for the little guys. We had fun shopping. Chip wasn’t with us so he took the opportunity to go shop a bit on Monday morning. We also needed candles and the paper goods to make it a party. Chip chose Mickey Mouse. A great theme with ears as well as intertwining the Mickey Mouse Club cartoon with a party. The boys really enjoy the song “Hot Diggety Dog” from the cartoon. We celebrated early Monday between breakfast and nap time so that both the boys and girls would enjoy the celebration before the boys nap and the girls departure. The boys had an absolute blast! The cakes went over very well. Each little boy had their own approach. Ryan tried to take Ben’s strawberry cake even though he had plenty of his own. Didn’t matter. Ryan wanted Ben’s cake. Gary dug right in, as did Ben. Each one liked the cake. After the Ryan/Ben struggle with the strawberry cake we cut a piece of everyone’s and shared it among the 3. All of them enjoyed the experience. Then it was into the “zone’ in our family room to open gifts. Kaitlyn and Gillian started the gift opening showing their brothers how to open gifts. It was a mixed reaction as to what to do with the gifts. Ryan and Gary wanted to hang out. Well Ben did to, but he’s far more understated.

We moved on to the gifts. 14 in all. No gifts were directly given to each boy. At this age we thought it would be the best if we set all the gifts in the family room and just let them go. Each gift and opening it was a new experience to the boys.

It has forced me to reflect on the days that have passed since the little boys birth. So much has changed, so much has happened, both positive and negative.

First, the positive: these boys are just amazing. They have grown up so much. I enjoy hearing Ryan say HAP PEE. He says it so succinctly. So warm and true. Ryan is like a parrot who just wants to say everything when you tell him what things are. In his sweet little voice after you read a book to him he says “awwwdon”. It’s very cute. “glogbaw” (golf ball) is another favorite. He’s got his letters down and in particular says the letter “O” with lips in a perfect circle. Loves to call them out. Ben is exploring more and more. Lots of babble, but not nearly as many words as his brothers. He’s getting braver every day. Happy little guy for sure. Still in love with the blanket and the bottle. Gary is as curious as ever. His mind is going a hundred miles an hour all the time. All the letters are old hat. He in particular loves to say the “Q”. You just cannot believe how clearly he can say that letter. “Car” is still the main word of choice.

Curious little boys

Posted on by Sherri

The little guys are just as busy as ever! Ryan is catching up with Gary on the letters and can say a fair amount of them. Gary knows all of the alphabet and some colors as well as a few shapes. Ryan can also say some shapes, but hasn’t grasped colors yet.

All the little ones are crazy for the computers and ipods and anything else electronic they can get their hands on.

Gary said “mama car” and “bye ball” in the last few weeks.

Ryan is saying more 2 syllable works. Like “W” and “umbrella”, “checker”, and “hot dog”. He definitely knows when he wants to “eat!”. Ryan’s the best at pointing out his own or others with “caca” and “skinky”.

I was thinking the other day that they are just little sponges, doing and learning so much. We’re still waiting for Ben to catch up, but he compensates with his climbing and eating. They all eat a lot, but Ben totally chows!

Last weekend we all went to a BBQ at Michelle Engleman’s house from Grand Sierra. She’s fantastic! Anyway, I’ve realized a few things. a). God bless anyone who opens their home to triplets who only have 1 child and he’s grown. b). It’s far more exhausting now than it ever was when they were newborn. Now everything is game since all 3 are mobile. Since they are sponges and learning everything, everything needs to be touched, pulled and/or eaten with no realization that something could be dangerous. c). It’s exhausting to run after them and ensure their safety but I still would not change anything…ever.

Little boys update…they’re almost 2!

Posted on by Sherri
Life has been crazy with so much going on between work, home and everything else that I haven’t really had a chance to write an update on the little guys!

Gary – what a kid! He knows almost the entire alphabet! On his way to bed, he stops in front of the Oreck vacuum and says every letter. He follows it up with saying “vacuum!!!”. He also greets almost everyone with a huge, very loud “HI!”. Or, better yet, when you’re leaving him he says “byeeeeeeeee”. It’s too cute!

Ryan – what a sponge! Ry-Ry is just saying so many words. He’s particularly good with 2 or 3 syllable words. He says umbrella really well. He also can identify Ben by name and points to him. He says hi, bye and car. Ryan is all about the remotes and phones too. Once he gets a device he will NOT give it up to anyone for anything. He’ll even eat and get it all gooey, but if you take it away, god help you. The screaming begins and takes quite awhile to quit. The phone is really bad. Any gadget he just loves. Daddy tries to sit on the sofa and play with his itouch and boy they come running for it, but Ryan truly wants it. I honestly think that Ryan will be the first one potty trained because he now says cah cah and skinky. Most of the time he’s spot on! He’s still the most temperamental too. Tantrums are not unusual and he’s well aware of time out now. He tends to still be the bully. We’re working on that.

Ben – little Ben-Ben. We are a little concerned with his lack of speech. He just doesn’t say much. On occasion he’ll say car, but doesn’t really respond when we ask him to repeat words. He still loves cars and often plays alone. I think he might be an engineer. He checks everything out and loves to buckle stuff. Sweet, sweet little boy. Ryan pushes him around and he cries. In fact he does a lot of sympathy crying when one of the other boys are crying. Ben is the best eater. Oh my gosh, I sometimes cannot believe how much food he can eat at a meal. Ben also still is quite attached to his blanket. Talk about low maintenance. He’s such a happy boy. In the evenings sometimes Chip will run back and forth across the family room flapping his arms and saying eeeeeeeeeee. Ben jumps right in, flapping his arms and mimicing the eeeeeee. His giggle is SO funny.

All the boys are now scurreying up the stairs to bed and nap. They also walk down the steps with help when they get up in the morning and after the nap. All 3 are so much more hungry these days. They get up, get dressed and then it’s breakfast. Probably within 20 minutes! Right now the breakfast food of choice is Frosted Mini Wheats in milk to soften them up a bit. Daddy is still taking them on walks every day. During the walks Chip tells them the names of things. They all know tree, mailbox and car. Ryan and Gary say them, Ben doesn’t. When Ryan and Gary say all these words, it’s after one of us ask them to say them. We’re not into phrases or spontaneous conversation, but I’m sure it won’t be long.

Monday fun with the girls!

Posted on by Sherri
On Monday both Chip and I took the day off and spent it with the girls. It was a really full, but really fun day.
We started off by heading to the library in Spanish Springs. All of us checked out books, it was really nice. When the girls first arrived we went to get library cards and had to go to the Sparks library, which was pretty unimpressive and not in a great neighborhood, since the Spanish Springs branch is closed on Fridays and Saturdays due to budget cuts. Since we can return books to any library branch in the county, we were able to visit The Spanish Springs library this last Monday. It is simply amazing! Beautiful facility, great staff and cool technology to not only check books out, but to reserve them, search and use the internet.
After the library we were off to Circus Circus to play at the midway arcade. We had a really fun couple of hours. The girls really had a great time playing games and winning some stuffed animals. Chip and I had a little fun ourselves playing games with the girls. My dear friend Kenna really hooked us up with coupons and discounts for the Midway. It was so fun! We ended that adventure with some ice cream and headed even further downtown.
Next was the Truckee River downtown. Chip and Gillian went nuts in the water! Kaitlyn and I hung back. Kaitlyn did get brave a few times…she enjoyed the sunshine with me. I had all the keys, wallets and cameras in my bag, so I didn’t get really wet. It was really fun to watch everyone else! There were a lot of people of all ages hanging out. We all decided that it was really fun, but would be even more fun to tube or kayak down the river. So that’s on our list for next time. We spent a couple of hours there and then had a quick snack at Silver Peak Tap House.
The last fun thing we squeezed into the day was an Aces basesball game at the new stadium in downtown Reno. Gillian was just so into it. Watching the game, the players and of course all the food. Later the food came back to haunt her, but it was worth it. She even went and got an autograph from John Hester. The game was a blowout. 8-0…ACES WIN!
It was a long, but fantastic day. Chip and I really enjoyed the day and was so happy that grandma took care of the boys.

Our last weekend before school

Posted on by Sherri

This is our last weekend together before the girls head to Vegas for school. It’s been really fun! Kristy visited with Tiffany. Keith and Chris came over for a bit on Saturday too. Nice to hang out.

Gary did his first somersault on Saturday. The boys are talking so much! Ryan can say marker and some other 2 syllable words if you ask him.

Ben got his finger pinched in the patio door, took off some skin and it looks painful. He seems to be ok though.

Ryan’s been having some tough times with temper tantrums, but hopefully he will get over it soon.

Finally after over a week the boys stopped with the stomach bug. I swear to god in 8 days, we did like 10 loads of pukey laundry. Brutal. Truly brutal.

More sickness…OMG! Ryan colors for the first time and Sherri gets to see the RTO at Montreaux

Posted on by Sherri

Wow, what a week! We just tackled the Swine Flu less than a month ago. Then here we go again. Ben first…puking and all the rest of it. Both ends. Poor kid! Lots of vomit in bed. Then Gary, then Kaitlyn. I’ve done more laundry of pukey sheets than I can count. The carpets in the boys room are looking pretty nasty. Nights are worse than the days, although Ben was really not having a good couple of days. Poor kid. He just was so puny. Grandma really loved on him a lot.

It has been a tough week for all of us. Family friend passed, more attorney stuff for both mom and Chip and I, financial worries…all of it. A lot of pressure. All of that along with another flu bug really pushed all of us to the limit.

Luckily Gary was the last one to vomit last night in bed, Kaitlyn is on the upswing and so is Ben and Ryan. Chip had a small bout and fortunately for me I didn’t get it (knock on wood) and neither did Gillian.

The bright spot of the week was that we sat Ryan down yesterday the table and he colored with crayons! We’ll save the first drawing and probably even scan it. These precious moments do take the edge off of the trying times. Chip got it on video and I took pictures (see attached).

The other bright spot was that I had the opportunity to attend the Legends Reno-Tahoe Open golf tourney at Montreaux. What a beautiful place with very large homes. I was invited by Bevin from RSCVA. Michelle Engleman from the Grand Sierra and I were her guests. We were invited to hang out in the Lakeridge Golf Course hospitality suite. It was a fabulous afternoon that began with a tour of Michelle’s new house in University ridge. It’s a beautiful one story home. I also met her husband Aaron. Great people. So we enjoyed a wonderful afternoon, having great wine and complimentary food all afternoon. Little did I know that mom and Chip were at home struggling with Ben and the other crappy stuff that came up this week. When I woke up on Friday and talked to mom and Chip I felt pretty guilty that I had a fun, carefree afternoon with friends. That didn’t last long when Kaitlyn began feeling the bug and Gary and Ryan followed right after. By 7p on Friday I was exhausted and frustrated and drowning in sheets and blankets full of vomit. By 4 a.m. I was on the phone with the nurse line making sure I didn’t need to do anything else for Kaitlyn who was really hit hard by it. It’s just the way the cookie crumbles I guess. Saturday was a little better, still lots of sick monkey laundry. I was happy to just take a shower and do a little running around.

Today is far better, just reflective on the state of life right now. It’s a bit rough and changes are in order for me and how I handle daily life. I’m grateful that the kids are on the upswing and thank goodness we have each other. It causes me pain to know the girls will only be here until Aug. 19 – 10 more days and we’ve had 10 days of sickness.

Boys – Babble, babble and finally…WORDS!

Posted on by Sherri
These boys are so picking up on words. Gary always attempts to say what is being said to him. He has the biggest vocabulary. He just wants to hear what everything is. He’s so good with colors, cars and naming body parts. Gary especially says hieeee when we come in or get him out of his crib. He also says byeeeeee when things or people leave the room. It’s SO cute!

Ryan is closing in fast and says a ton now too. The other day he said “marker”. I was really impressed. For such a long time Ryan didn’t say much. He and Gary are really close now.

Ben on the other hand is still the quiet one. He said car and hi a couple of weeks ago. He’s really good at babble, but doesn’t seem to mind not knowing how to say many words.

Lately it’s been so strange to watch the boys. They are so little people now and no longer babies. I can’t believe they will be 2 in about a month. My heart is full that we’ve done all that we have to raise happy, healthy kids. We certainly havent’ done it alone. It’s also incredibly emotional to know that those baby days are gone, even though they were incredibly difficult at times. The little guys are so interactive now and they just love to see new things, be outside, play in the pool and play with each other. We do have situations where (like yesterday) Ryan clocked Gary with a big truck and literally split his lip open. UNBELIEVABLE. Now we do time outs too. They get it. Glad that they do, but sad that we’ve moved to that stage.

I actually bought some big fat crayons for them the other day to see if we can get them going with those. Back in May when Christina was here we tried but the boys just wanted to eat them. Here we are a few months later and I think we will be able to show them.