Sicko December 20, 2008

In my lifetime I do not remember ever being as sick as I was the night before last. It started in the afternoon on Thursday and it ended this morning (Saturday). I spend Thursday night throwing up ALL night. I couldn’t even drink water because 10 minutes later it meant another trip to the toilet for me. I was so freezing cold that Chris had to run a bath for me in the middle of the night so I could try and warm up. I missed our nice night out we were planning with Dick and Sherri that night. Friday morning, while my stomach ache was gone, I felt like I had been hit by a semi-truck. My whole body ached and my head hurt and so I stayed in bed the entire day and slept. I literally only got up to go to the bathroom. I thank goodness that Dick and Sherri were here to watch the babies all day because I was worthless and Chris took Ava to go Christmas shopping. On Friday night I missed a fun night out to Chandra and Jeremy’s house with all my neighbor friends. I thought in the during the mass exodus of my insides, this is the flattest my stomach has been in two years! I am good for at least a 10 pound weight loss with this delightful stomach flu. See, there is always a silver lining to every dark cloud.

So today I am feeling better and everyone survived without me. I was wishing while I was laying in bed all day yesterday that I wish I could just have one of those days once every six months when I don’t feel absolutely miserable. I would just lay in bed and eat food and watch movies in peace. Maybe Santa will bring me that for Christmas.

Until next time, the mothership is signing off.

Waxing Nostalgia December 18, 2008

As I sat in the bathtub tonight I was thinking to myself “who am I and how did I get here?” Oh my god, I have triplets and a very high maintenance 4 year old. Oh my god, every piece of clothing that I put on my body smells like throw up. Oh my god, I just spent 2 hours making delicious nutritious homemade baby food from scratch with my super fancy babycook processor from France (sold through William Sonoma) and my babies all hate it. In fact, I actually had to scoop it out of Preston’s mouth before he projectile vomited it all over me like he did the night before when he didn’t like what I was serving. Oh my god, my 4 year old says “god damnit” and I don’t know where she learned it. Oh my god, she probably learned it from me.

Sometimes Chris asks me, “how do we have triplets?” with amazement and wonder in his voice. I simply say, “because we put in four embryos thinking, according the fertility doctor we fired, none of them would work”. But don’t take this banter the wrong way. Not a second of any day goes by when we aren’t grateful, appreciative and completely in love with these babies. I could not imagine what my life would be like if we had decided to only put in three embryos, or if we had chosen to selectively reduce one baby. Oh no, they were all meant to be ours.

But I do remember that I did have this entirely other life. Was it even me? Chris and I lived in San Diego. We owned a house a few miles from the beach. We could actually see the ocean from our balcony. We lived the life of leisure as I think of it now, Chris with his wine em and dine em pharmaceutical job and me with my freelance writing. We spent every weekend designing and installing the landscaping for our courtyard and backyard. We traveled to Costa Rica, Hawaii, South Africa, France, Bermuda, etc. and loved every second of it. We slept in past 6am. Life was all about us and we made the most of it.

We moved to Cameron Park and I got pregnant only a few months later with Ava. So many times it feels like we lived two different lives – our leisurly kidless life in San Diego and our family life here in Northern California. Both lives are wonderful and it is so easy to wax nostalgia and to fall into the “grass is always greener” state of mind. The truth is, that while Chris and I were leading our life of freedom sans kids in San Diego with our beach home and our wining and dining lifestyle, all I wanted was to have a baby. We tried for years to have one in San Diego and it was not happening.

So here I am at 10:30pm writing my blog when I should be sleeping, thinking about how I have lost much of my freedom and all my “me” time but I have gained a family and that is so much more interesting. I laugh at my kids all day. Today I laughed at Preston swaying back and forth to the music playing on one of his toys. How does he know how to dance already? Today I laughed at Violet who motors around the house chasing people down and laughing the whole way. I laughed at Elsa who just wanted to grab and hug her big sister the entire time Ava was playing her computer. I laugh at Ava all day because she is hysterical- in between being infuriated that is. That is worth at least a couple of beach houses and maybe a trip to Europe right there. Those moments are priceless.

Until next time, the mothership is signing off.

Festive Times at the Woolseys December 10, 2008

Nothing says Christmas like an impromptu

Santa crotch grab

Preston James

Violet June

Elsa Marin

Triplets eating Baby Mum-Mum rice snacks

Hunting down the Woolsey Christmas tree

The Hosseinis and mom joined us on our search for the

perfect Christmas tree. We had to settle for less than

perfect since we had many onory kids on our hunt with us

Ava’s Christmas tree that she worked very hard to decorate

this year

It has been an eventful week. I can’t seem to catch my breath between Christmas shopping and taking care of four kids. Chris has been able to take some time off of work and so we have cut back on Nanny Laura during the day and use her at night more for our xmas parties.

Last night Chris and I had our annual neighborhood progressive dinner which was so much fun as usual. Our three hosts went all out and provided such a nice spread of drinks, food and holiday cheer. We got home at around midnight and proptly fell asleep but then I woke up a short while later with a stomach ache which not even a good dose of Pepto Bismal could cure. I tossed and turned and moaned and groaned. I tried to think of why this was happening to me when I stopped drinking way before I normally would. My conclusion is that it was a combination of wine, two helpings of delicious Indian food at Ed and Heidi’s house and some crazy hard liquor cocktails at Dawn and Fred’s. It sure was fun going down though.

Today we had Santa’s Brunch at the Kott house which is always so much fun each year. Everyone brings a delicious brunch item and Santa makes his appearance so the kids can all sit on his lap and tell him what they want for Christmas this year. Ava told Santa she wanted a bike. Phew, that is good since that is what Santa is bringing this year. The babies did fine, although there were so many people there and it was a bit overwhelming for them. My visions of babes playing with each other and exploring the Kott home on all fours vanished quickly and I knew right away that it would be a challenge just to get them to let someone else hold them. They did great though. Our friend Gianna held either Elsa or Preston the entire brunch. She didn’t take Violet because she claims that Violet doesn’t like her. Oh Violet – my particular Violet, just like her big sister.

Ava at the Nutcracker

The fun didn’t end there for Ava Rose. Gigi got tickets for her and Ava to go see the Nutcracker ballet today as well as a meet the characters and get autographs afterparty. It was a HUGE hit. Ava was well behaved, which is a breath of fresh air of late, and had fun posing for pictures with all the ballerinas. She is determined to be a dancer in the Nutracker one day. And she probably will be because according to Ava, “I can do anything as long as someone teaches me”. What a great Gigi to take Ava for such a special day.

On a random note, the triplets have left their mark on my teeth. I went to the dentist for my routine cleaning – I haven’t been for two years mind you – and three of my teeth on the bottom front of my mouth are starting the lovely process of decay. Apparently one of the side effects of pregnancy, especially when pregnant with higher order multiples, is that your gums can swell and actually cover the lower part of your teeth, trapping bacteria in there so when you are no longer pregnant and think you are moving on with your life unscathed by the physical trauma of carrying three babies in your body at the same time, you find out that your teeth have slowly been rotting away. As I was sitting in the chair literally being tortured by my dentist’s sharp pokey object pressing into my decayed area, I actually had visions of all my teeth having to be pulled out like my grandmas were. I was traumatized. So, I guess I have to go in this week for my fillings on the front of my teeth. Sigh.

In other news, Violet sustained her first major injury, and the first triplet injury insofar. Bright and early last week she crawled up to Ava’s chair, stood up and proceeded to fall backwards while still holding the chair. The chair slammed into her little nose and she screamed and started crawling away from the chair really fast like it was coming after her. Her nose later bled. It was so sad. Her nose hurt her for a couple of days, and now she is back to her normal Junebug.

It is during this time last year that I was just settling down in my bed for a little self-induced bedrest each day. I was so miserable but I went to all the Christmas parties, barely fitting into maternity dresses and hardly able to walk or even stand for very long. As I celebrate the holiday season this year I am very grateful to not be pregnant with triplets and to be able to enjoy my healthy babies and have my body back again to take me comfortably through the end of the year. Christmas festivities are in full swing. Shopping is happening, dinner parties are starting, and decorations are all up. I hope everyone is having a great season so far.

Until next time, the mothership is signing off.