this one ended in tears

Do they all 3 play well together?

On occasion, and when it happens it is fabulous!

...and I couldn't resist

A better tomorrow

Look at that head control!

I am quite happy to report that my 28 month old maniacs are healthy again. For the most part. I am also happy to report that we are sleeping again. For the most part. I try not to say these things too loudly as we might be shaking things up again pretty shortly. I have in my draft box an email to the dietician. I have been hesitant to hit send but we are working on sending the white flag up the pole. If you will. It appears that Mya is on strike from making ketones, so we pretty much quit. I was excited the other day as I finished my ice cream to think that before long I will be able to share it with her. Last time she tried ice cream she wasn't too impressed, but we will work on that. We are super excited about packing up the gram scale and the oil and doing away with a few extra meds. I haven't told her yet that her favorite neck pillow will get to make a reappearance. And until I hit send I get to pretend that there aren't new medication decisions on the horizon. Maybe tomorrow. Today I want to talk about my maniacs. Here is what happened in July:

Ella got a 'tude

We did not see fireworks

We learned how to say our last name

We were visted by every one of our aunts and uncles

Ella started eating food without bribery

Clayton decided he is against poop

We went outside maybe twice

It was HOT

Today's reality

We didn't work on therapies this week. That much was evident when PT showed up this morning. My response: We were focused on keeping her breathing. Then the hacking cough and gagging began and she said she completely understood. It happens all the time. It takes her longer to get over things. We busted out the suction. She seized for a good amount of time and basically slouched her way through the rest of the hour. Then she slept for the next 5 hours. When she finally woke up I thought I could lay her flat for a diaper change and she would be okay for that amount of time. I was wrong. By the time I got her changed she was choking on stomach contents, hacking and coughing. I turned her to her side, hesitant to put her back in her blue chair she had occupied for the whole morning and into the afternoon. I started her 4 o'clock feeding and got the crazies up from their nap. As I finished 2 diaper changes I turned to find formula and mucus spilling out of her nose and mouth. We struggled to clear it, fighting breath holding, gasping and positioning. I tossed the rug and the ottoman to bring her into range of the suction, got her cleared, her color returned. I started an episode of Barney to calm the troops and started stripping her soaked clothes, mopping goo off the floor. I started soothing the tears. Holding her over my shoulder usually does the trick when we are unable to calm her. But not today. Something has her very ticked off. Is it her throat burning from throwing up? Is it her crazy diaper rash? Is it her inability to relax? Is it something else entirely? I will never know. For the next 3 hours she fought sleep and cried in pain. Barney only lasts so long and the compassion of the two year old for the everyday cry of their sister only goes so far. At one point I stripped baby's stroller from both of their tantrum filled grasps and literally threw it into our bedroom pulling the door closed with the had that was not holding Mya to my shoulder. I should probably be more tolerant I thought, but not tonight, and not when the shuffle was happening within feet of the exposed fireplace brick. No time for stitches my friends. Bernie gets home and Mimi stops in for dinner. We take turns holding her and eating dinner, holding her and getting kids ready for bed. So now it is night and she is tucked into bed. She has calmed down, but she is not tired. And why should she be? She slept all day. Tomorrow we will play this game again. I pray tonight she gets some sleep. I pray we all get to sleep.

The other day the tickle monster had Ella and Clayton laughing so hard they couldn't breathe. Their joy is enough to fill your heart and usually I can separate these two realities that are our normal. But for some reason I glanced at Mya in that moment and was overcome by the knowledge that she will never know that joy. The anticipation of fighting and wanting to be tickled and laughing so hard you cry. Today she did not smile. Today was about finding comfort and keeping our breath. Here's to a better tomorrow.

I don't do snot

...happily

Okay. So I would recommend if you are going to have a sick toddler, that you not have three sick toddlers. Really. Not a lot of fun. At all. They are whiny and snotty and poopy and pukey and oddly confrontational. But mostly snotty. I would truly rather change 5 dirty diapers than wipe snot. But you know what's grosser than snot? Sucking snot into a vacuum and watching it congeal inside the clear plastic tube and collect in the bucket. Way grosser. My two ladies are on the tail end of their 10 days of amoxicillin. Ella got the yummy pink bubble gum kind and thinks its great. Mya unfortunately does not get to experience that childhood right of passage. The conversation with the pediatrician went something like this:

Dr: You want yummy bubble gum Mya?
Us: UMM she can't have that on the diet.
Dr: Oh yes, that's right. I will order her the capsule.
Us: Actually we would prefer tablets, its easier.
Dr: Chewables?
Us: No, just regular old adult tablets.
Dr: Okay. Lindsay! Will you call the pharmacy and order Mya the capsules instead of the liquid?!
Us: Tablets please.
Dr: Ella, you want bubble gum?!

And we got capsules. And if you spend your evenings prepping meds for a child who cannot swallow them you would get why that leads to 10 days of frustration. Here is a little trick we learned: don't crush pills. Ever. Put them whole in the syringe. Pull in some water. Walk away. In 10 minutes your pills are dissolved AND in the proper form to dispense. Voila. Genius. I shutter to think how many mornings and nights we crushed our hearts out and tried to suck all the little wet medicine dust off the side of the little wet cups. But capsules! You have to pull the stupid little things apart, spill half your powder in the process which apparently develops static cling of the pharmaceutical variety inside the capsule the moment it is opened, then somehow dissolve the powder and get it in the child. Its madness. Twice a day. I would really almost rather suck snot. Almost.

Today was going to be a great day

After therapy we were going to try out a playgroup. When daddy got home we were going shopping for Clayton's new shoes. Not to go as planned. We made it all the way through the fill-up at QT before I noticed the snot dripping from Clayton's nose. What! It's June July (when did that happen?)! So much for 24 hours of symptom free-ness, a pre-req for this particular playgroup. But it is 104 outside and we were all packed up with no place to go, so onward. To the mall. It is already full of germs so people should just plan for that. Don't touch anything. Let me first say that you cannot put a little wheelchair man on an entrance door if it weighs 400 pounds and has no sort of opening assistance. Or apparently you can. I don't even think it was any wider than the 3 doors next to it. But we bumped our way inside, my two little people hanging on to the stroller and my stroller occupant. I clipped Clayton's heel with the tip of the stroller in the process (start downhill spiral for the day). You would have thought I drew blood. Clayton, I am not carrying you through the mall. Or maybe I am. Clayton asked to return to the car, Ella requested a walk around Dillard's. The AC had me siding with Ella. So our walk around Dillard's was quite brief as my son was offering zero assistance in being held, my arm can only hold his 25 pound self for so long and Ella pushing the stroller is a potential catastrophe. A nice couple helped us out the door suggesting I grow myself a few more hands. If only.

Arriving home it was confirmed that Clayton is indeed getting sick. And Clayton sick is like adding a fourth and fifth needy toddler to the mix. One of them requires to be held at all times, one of them refuses the juice he is screaming for and the original wanting whatever toy his sister decides to play with. For lunch I landed on peanut butter crackers and watermelon. What could go wrong? Well for one the peanut butter was the crunchy variety. Clayton managed to lodge a chunk of the crunch in his teeth and sobbed his way into the kitchen. How did you get hurt on that I am wondering when I locate the problem. Crises averted he returned to eat his watermelon. And found the only seed in the whole flipping seedless thing. The seed apparently ruined the fruit for him entirely. So here is the problem with a sick child wanting to be held in a house with other kids: sometimes that is impossible. I explained this (right) to the tears: okay buddy after I get you changed I am going to hold you okay, but first I have to throw this diaper away and wash my hands, and Mya needs me to stop her food from beeping and Ella just finished her lunch and is covered with watermelon juice and crunchy peanut butter so I need to wipe her hands, oh and you both need juice, and a rag for your nose, and mommy really really needs to pee. But right after that, I am all yours. Hopefully, so hold on a bit (right).

I think people imagine you have a lifetime's worth of todays when they hear 'triplets'.

Is it?

The latest favorite phrase: That's my ______!

Ella and Clayton have been awake from their nap for a while now. I can't bring myself to go in and break up the party. They are yelling back and forth at each other 'That's my night night!'. And giggling. I can picture the exchange. The blankies go over the crib rail and back again. When I go in there the sheet will be stripped from Clayton's bed and will be laying on the floor on other side of Ella. His quilt (Yes it is 100 degrees outside. We still require a quilt and a blankie. TWO blankies? TWWOOO blankies!) will be stuffed between the crib and the wall. Ella's will be in front of her crib. When they see me they will point at the one on the floor. Night Night! We get a little rowdy this time of the day.

And here we go:

C: That's my night night!
(I open the door)
C: That's mommy!
A: That's Clayton!
C: Mommy open door ( I am beginning to dig the narration of my day).
A: I did open the door.
E: Oh no oh no! (sock in hand)
A: You want your sock back on?
E: Dok on!
C: That's my mope (milk)
A: Sure is. You guys want some diapers?
C: No need diaper!
A: Oh, I think you might
E: No diaper, no 
C: No poopy, no poopy
A: That's okay bud, we can still change you
C: That's my poopy!
A: That it is buddy.