Home Improvements--Kitchen and Foyer

Over the past two weeks we have done some major inprovements to our house. We replaced the foyer 1960s brick tile with hardwood. We also painted this room a sage.

Here is a picture of our foyer from the front door.

Before

Before After

The white tile in the kitchen wasn't too bad, except for keeping it clean. Between the dog and the two year old...

Before

After

Before

After


Before

After


This picture looks out our front door. You can really see how bad the brick tile was here!
Before

After

Home Improvements--Bathroom

When I look at these old pictures, I am so thankful we were able to refinish this bathroom. I think it was the original bathroom from the 1960s. When the mirror and vanity were taken out, there was no dry wall behind them. Thanks to Jerry (and a little of John's help, I guess) the new bathroom is all done! We had new trim and woodwork done and all the cream color is gone! Thank goodness! We replaced the cream with white. The light fixture was so bad! Jerry was able to rewire the electrical so we could place the light on the wall above the much smaller mirror. We chose a light lilac paint since the bathroom is so small.

The first three pictures are the before pictures.

These are the after pictures

The best part about the finished bathroom is now I don't have to go up and down the stairs every time Jack needs to go potty!

We all Fall Down!

These boys are three peas in a pod! Even though they differ in age by 6 months, you would never know it. They love to play together and Jack asks each day when they are going to come over to play. Here is a posed picture of them sitting on the couch. Can you believe we got them all to sit still?


Today, since it was raining here, the boys came over to play with Jack and at one point played ring around the rosy.

The favorite part...we all fall down!!

Mmm...Nothing Like a Warm Chocolate Chip Cookie

Jack helped me make chocolate chip cookies this past week and I gave him the beater to lick for the first time. He asked for the other one and I figured might as well give it to him since pretty soon he will have to split the beaters with his 3 other siblings. I wonder how that will work, 2 beaters...4 kids?


This face was priceless. Jack enjoyed his warm chocolate chip cookie from the oven with his milk!

Dupage Doubles

I joined a mom's group for multiples this week. I went to the first meeting on Tuesday night. I think it will be good to get out once a month and socialize with other moms with multiples in the area. Most of the women I met had twins, but the group has 4 members with triplets. The meetings contain guest speakers or panel discussions, and in May, they are doing a CPR class. I should send John to that one! The group also has a stork club for the pregnant ones like me. I met a lady on Tuesday due a day after me with twins. It was nice to talk to her and some of the the others that have older sets of twins. They host two huge sales per year where I hope to get some nice, gently used items for the babies. There are mom's nights out, play dates and family outings and picnics.

Good Friends!

Jack's friend was over this week and I got some cute pictures of them playing. It is so nice that they play so nicely.



Jack's other friend, Carter, is his faithful friend, even though Jack beats up on him a little.

My two sweet boys!

Interesting Week in Texas

After arriving in Houston

Sarah, Jack, Abby and Julie

The four kids in Houston: Braden, Ambria, Abby and Jack
Aunt Sarah and Uncle John gave them cowboy hats!

Well, it was not what we expected in Texas, but I guess it could have been worse. The ride to Texas (about 18 hours over 2 days) went fairly well. The four kids in the van were good for the most part. Julie, my older sister, and I traveled with her 3 kids, (Ambria-8y, Braden-4y, and Abby-3y) and my Jack (2y). My younger sister and her husband live in Houston. Once we made it there Saturday afternoon, we realized it was actually warmer in Chicago and Grand Rapids! It was rainy and in the 50s on Saturday and Sunday. However, it did warm up nicely over the week to the mid 70s and low 80s. We went to the Rodeo on Monday--the livestock show in the morning and the actual rodeo Monday night. Jack's diarrhea started that day. I didn't think much of it at the time...

The livestock Show

Monday morning

Rodeo on Monday night

Tuesday we met my younger sister Sarah for lunch since she was working that day. We first stopped at Babies-R-Us for some diapers since I was going through them faster than expected with Jack's diarrhea. Jack was clingy and while I was holding him, he vomited. Right there in the store. Mind you, he has never in his short lifespan vomited. Ever! So we went home and the poor little boy was sick the rest of the week. The vomiting stopped finally on Thursday and the diarrhea on Sunday. The car ride home was interesting. We stopped a few times for Jack, but he couldn't make it most times. On a positive note, none of the other kids, nor Julie or I, got the bug. It could have been an eventful ride home.

Jack spent most of his week on the couch

As a parting gift, however, Jack gave Sarah- who is 22 weeks pregnant, and her husband John the bug. Sorry guys. I guess this may prepare you slightly for kids.

Other than the rodeo on Monday, we made it to the park on Thursday evening. Jack was somewhat better, but still not himself. I guess we will have to plan a return trip sometime. Thanks Sarah and John for having us--sorry for the germs!!

Park on Thursday night

Although considerably better, Jack still wasn't 100%

Good-bye Sarah and John

The kids are all dressed in their cowboy PJs on the last night in Texas!

We are Still Here!

We made it back from Texas on Saturday and we are getting back into our usual routine. We had quite an exciting week to say the least!! Then we came home to a mess! We had painters finishing up the painting of the downstairs here on Saturday. However, it was all worth it, the floors and paint look great. We are finishing up the bathroom this weekend-- thanks to Jerry. I plan to post pictures in the next day or two.

Jack's New Bedding

We are planning to move Jack out of his crib in the next few months, so we went shopping for a new comforter. We decided on the sports theme with the hopes that is will last for a long time. Plus, how can he not like sports in this house? Just ask his PeePaw that question!!
Here is a link to the quilt we bought http://www.potterybarnkids.com/products/zb86/index.cfm?pkey=cboys%2Dquilts%7Ck

Home Improvements

This past weekend we did some shopping for some home improvement projects. We decided we are going to get rid of the hideous tile in the front hallway and white tile in the kitchen. (FYI-with a dog and a two year old, it is near impossible to keep the white tile clean!) We have been wanting to get rid of this since we moved in so we decided it was time to do the project while Jack and I are gone next week. The chemicals used are pretty potent and I should not be around them. We also figured this project will probably never get done if we wait for the babies to arrive. We are replacing the tiles with hardwood to match the hardwood on the first level. I'll send before and after pictures when it is finished. It is a nice thought that I will leave for Texas and come back with it all done!

The final project is the downstairs bathroom. We are going to refinish this as well. We are going to change the flooring to hardwood. We picked out a pedestal sink and toilet along with a new mirror. I think it will be a major improvement once done!

Texas or Bust!

The last few days we have been getting ready for a trip to Texas at the end of the week. Jack and I are driving to Houston to visit my younger sister, Sarah and her husband John. Jack knows we are going to Texas, but I am not sure he understands we will be in the car for 18 hours! We are traveling with my older sister and her three kids all in one van! It should be an exciting trip. Since I got the ok from the doctor to go, I started to pack last weekend. Here is all the junk we are going to take so far (my stuff is not packed). Everyone knows I am NOT a light packer, right? Well, you do now.





We should have plenty of pictures and stories when we get back next weekend!

Jack's Class

Since I have been writing so much about the babies, I thought I would finally take some pictures of Jack. I have been slacking on my picture taking, as most of you know, I usually send picture albums each month. So, here is what Jack and I have been up to on Mondays. The class is called Sweetie and Me and it is put on by the Western Springs Rec center. He loves the crafts, especially anything that involves glue or paint. And, of course, he loves the snack time and circle time where they sing about the color of his shirt. He loves to follow Miss Kimi, his teacher, around asking for crackers...he knows who serves his snacks!


Painting with Balloons

Jack loves all the 'girl' toys that we don't have at our house. He loves pushing the baby dolls around. Let's hope he'll be a big help as a big brother to his new siblings!

Mr. Mom

Ultrasound and first appointment at Northwestern

I had my first appointment at Northwestern today and my ultrasound yesterday. The babies looked and measured well. By dates I am 9 weeks, one day. Baby A measured 8 weeks, 3 days (19mm). Baby B measured 8 weeks, 6 days (22mm). Baby C measured 8 weeks, 6 days (22mm). The heart rates were in order of the babies: 188, 185 and 180. See the pictures below. They really don't look too much like babies yet, but will in a few weeks.

Baby A

Baby B
Baby C

My appointment with the maternal fetal specialist today went really well. She talked to John and I for about 45 minutes on what to expect and the risks associated with triplets. There were some good points. The first being I may not have to have a c-section. They deliver enough triplets that they are comfortable doing a vaginal delivery as long as the first baby's head is down. The second is I will not automatically be on bed rest at 20 weeks. They only put you on bed rest if you are showing signs of preterm labor. The third is the amount of ultrasounds and appointments (the drive downtown can sometimes be horrible with traffic). I won't see them again for 4 weeks when I will be 13 weeks. From there I will most likely see them at 16 weeks, then every 2 weeks. The biggest concern with triplets is preterm labor, so starting at 18 weeks, they really start to monitor me for signs of labor and will be checking my cervix at least every 2 weeks. My next ultrasound will be scheduled between 18-20 weeks. The doctor told me this one will be 3 hours long! One hour for each baby! I will probably schedule this in the next few weeks. Of course, if at any time they can't isolate the heartbeats with doppler, they will send me for an ultrasound so there is a possibility of having more ultrasounds before the big one at 18-20 weeks.

On the way out of the appointment we met up with another mother that is having triplets. She is 20 weeks along and was really nice. We exchanged numbers. She told me this practice has 6 mothers with triplets right now. It is reassuring to know they see quite a few moms with triplets. She also told me she has had about 12 ultrasounds...so I guess this will be an individual process. It was nice to see her and talk with her for a few minutes.

It is scary to hear all the things that could go wrong, but nice to know that we will be in excellent care and are very comfortable with our doctors.