Go Southwest, Young Man

We’re on the road, a little late, but it’s all good!! We have 19ish hours of driving ahead of us. Stopped for Starbucks and away we go! Ty & Steph promptly fell back to sleep once we got on the road. I don’t expect to see much of Tyler this trip, except of him sleeping. He seems to sleep his way through road trips, must be nice!






Steph’s now awake and journaling, a pastime she enjoys, so it keeps her busy. Jon is insisting on driving, which I expected, but I’m glad we took off early morning, so we can see some of the country as we head from Ohio to Texas, it’s much better than trying to sleep overnight through the hills and bumps!!

Yesterday, I had to take Tyler to the doctor one last time, a day before that, he got stung by a bee, it swelled and then he had trouble breathing. We knew he had a local reaction allergy to bees, but each time he gets stung it’s getting worse, so it was time for an Epipen, just in case, especially with him being so far away. So I was able to spend his last day home, just me, him and his girl, Kait, whom I love! So it was a very nice day.

Last night we had to take the littles to my friend’s house, she’s keeping them through the weekend and then my other friend is keeping them the rest of the time for us! THEY ROCK!!  Anyways, it was time for the littles to say good-bye to Tyler. We’ve talked about this and they’ve been commenting that they would “miss Ty-Ty when he was at Texas,” but I wasn’t quite sure if they got that he was not going to be around, as in not seeing him for a long time. He’s in the front yard playing with them when it was time to go, they say their good-byes, Tyler’s crying, the littles are crying. I wasn’t expecting this, I don’t know why, I just didn’t think about it like this. We get the kids all buckled up and they want to see Ty again, he comes back to the van to say good-bye again. More tears from all 4 of them and then I start, it’s so hard! Then the little stinker that Dylan is, he tells Ty that he wanted to see him cry, so he could laugh! Little shit! Lol Then we’re off. The little ones are crying and holding their bananas. This goes on for a few minutes. Then Dylan is doing the fake cry and squeezing his eyes tight, trying to squirt out a tear…lol Then he finally stops. They are his little buddies, they worship the ground their big brother walks on. He’s going to miss them and they’re going to miss him! I told them they’d see him at Christmas, so for the rest of the time I was with them, Ayden would ask how long until Christmas, I say 4 months, he says in 4 months he gets to see Ty-Ty again…awwww…breaks your heart, doesn’t it?

It’s going to seem like a long 4 months, but I know the time will go fast for all of us. We’ll be busy with fall activities and school. Tyler will be busy adjusting to college life and baseball and enjoying being on his own. I’m honestly not worried about him being on his own. I’m mainly worried about him not getting up with his alarm for class!!!! That boy could sleep through a train barreling through his room!! Frustrating! But I’m hoping when he’s on his own, that he’ll just take care of business and get up on time!

I’ll miss him and his antics, I’ll miss his “click,” he does this LOUD, obnoxious click with his tongue and I’m sure it will be missed in time! Lol I’ll miss watching him wrestling around and cuddling with the little ones. I’ll miss his beautiful smile and his cocky little way he looks in the mirror in passing and says that I created perfection! Lol He doesn’t have a self-esteem problem, does he?!? Lol I’ll just miss him. But I’m so proud that he gets to go out and experience the world, see new things and live his life. We’ll see him, we’ll talk to him regularly, so it’s not like we’ll never hear or see from him again, it just won’t be daily, which is the next chapter in his life, the natural progression of things….and I’m okay with it…at least right now, check back with me when we’re driving back to Ohio without him…







OhhhhhhKlaaHoma - Where the winds come whipping down the plains…



Day 2 of our 5 state trek. We made it to the edge of Missouri last night, lots of little stops add up quick! Too many Starbucks (Wait! There are never too many Starbucks!!!) But my sweetie was nice enough to scope them out for our trip! The best one – RIGHT NEXT TO OUR HOTEL!!! How awesome is that!?! Every hotel should have one either right next door or in them! Our hotel was okay, it was soooo humid in the room, the blankets felt damp, it was icky! But we crashed early, so it’s all good. Ty slept on and off most of the day yesterday, he was actually awake more than I thought he would be! Lol Not much to see on that first leg of the journey, so a bit boring, but still it’s not Ohio!







Oklahoma has been fun to see so far, cows in lakes keeping cool, flat land as far as the eye can see and it’s just cool to see from this Ohio girl’s perspective…Everyone is refreshed and excited to get to Vernon, I can’t wait to see where my boy will be calling home for the next 2 years, find out what his baseball schedule is and get him all settled in. I’m hoping he’ll be home December 9, when the first semester ends, but it will basically depend on his baseball schedule, if anything, he’ll be home through Christmas and then have to leave right away to head back to Texas. We’ll figure it all out. The littles will be so happy to see him for Christmas. I told him he will just walk through the door and surprise them!!

We have about 6 hours to drive today and then we’ll be there. The nice thing is that there is a hotel right across from the baseball field at the college, so it’s nice to know when we come down for a visit, that we’ll be so close! I can’t wait to come down to see him play ball at the college level. I’m so excited for him and this opportunity he has. I’m excited that he is going to college and planning his life! I’m gonna miss him like crazy, but I’m excited for him!

















Day 3, Move In Day.








Today is the day - Today’s moving in day!! He was so excited and antsy to get moved in and get this show on the road! We first stopped at all the necessary places to make sure he’s registered, pay any last minute fees and get the keys to his new home for the next 2 years. It’s tiny! He got there first, so he chose the bed by the window. He has a lot of stuff! LoL But he is one of the furthest kids here. Tyler is moving in to the athletic dorm, so he is with all baseball players, convenient, eh?
So after going back to Wal-Mart AGAIN, we got all the necessary cleaning supplies and any last minute things he would need. We finally get back to the business of moving in; Tyler unloads the van, while I start the cleaning like only mom can. It wasn’t too bad, but I feel better leaving him there with the place starting out clean…He shares the bathroom with 3 other guys, so you get the idea….

So far so good on the tears, none yet. I’m excited for him! He’s so excited and can’t wait to get us on the road home! I don’t blame him; I was excited to get on with my life, so I know exactly how he feels! He got his Christmas present early, a flat screen TV and now he’s set!

I plan to come back down to see one of his games this fall season, so it’s not like I won’t see him until Christmas. He’ll be home about December 9ish, so it won’t be so bad!

We took a tour of the area after he was pretty much settled. There really is nothing around here, not too much trouble for him to get in to, we hope! Lol This local Wal-Mart doesn’t even carry organic food…we were looking for some items and the guy we asked said he’d never heard of it! Lol We went in to the next big town and found some grocery store that screamed healthier food, so we hopped in there and we found what we were looking for, but that store is an hour away, surely not in walking distance like he needs being without transportation of his own.







We may see him tonight, he kicked us out of his room so he could get settled and unpack and just be in his new space. We’ll see him tomorrow to add/drop a class that he needs to have. Then that’s it…we’ll be heading out after lunch with him…He officially starts his college life and baseball life that evening…

Tyler ended up staying the night in his dorm, he and his roommate spent the evening rearranging and organizing the place, it’s more spacious than when we last saw it. The whole dorm smells like teenage boys live there!!






The drop is complete.

It’s 1:03 p.m. Texas Time. We’ve just pulled away and left Tyler to start his new life as a college student away from home…I didn’t cry as much as I thought I would, I think it may hit me once we get home and he won’t be there. He’s so excited and happy to be here. I’m excited and happy for him. He’s in a good place and seems to be all set up to have a great college experience. He’ll be so busy with school and baseball, there won’t be much time for anything else, plus Podunk doesn’t have much to do! Lol But it’s cute and perfect for him.

We’re headed out of town as I type. I’ve never seen so many cows and pick-up trucks in one area. Minivans aren’t that common! SUVS and pickups is the name of the game around here…It’s pretty down here, open fields and cows and we actually saw camels!! We saw more of Wal-mart than I ever care to in my lifetime! But it had what we needed and it’s in walking distance for him and I feel good about that, I can send him Wal-Mart cards and Subway cards and he’ll be happy!

½ hour down, 19 to go, we’re going to tag team the drive home and see if we can get home early. Sending a kid off to college and getting him set up is EXPENSIVE!!! Definitely have to save up for the next 4 kids to get out on their own…


Wednesday:

We made it home earlier than planned. We tag-team drove until 3 a.m., then had to pull in to a rest stop to catch a few hours sleep; 6 a.m. we were on the road again. It’s really not a bad drive, pretty much a straight shot and not too many hills or curves, so it was a nice drive. We got home about 2 p.m. on Wednesday, got cleaned up and then picked up the littles.

The emotions took over once we pulled in the driveway and walked in to the house. I just cried like a baby, seeing Tyler’s truck in the driveway and knowing that he wouldn’t be coming through the door any time soon, that we wouldn’t hear his music from the basement and YES – I even miss his “click” already!!! As long as I don’t think about it too much, I’m okay. I’m sure once we get in to our new normal, things will get better. We will be in contact with him regularly, we can text, we have facebook and email and obviously the phone to talk. He’ll be home early December and depending on his plans with his girlfriend, Kait, we’ll see him some of the time and probably be with her the rest, her plan is to get a job down in Austin, since she will be going to school down there anyways. Then he doesn’t start second semester until mid January.

Tyler called last night and I was able to talk to him for about an hour. He is lonely. He’s second-guessing the decision to move so far away. There really is nothing to do down there. Plus he doesn’t really know anyone yet. He said he wasn’t expecting to feel so lonely. Breaks my heart for him. But like I told him, once school starts on Monday, he’ll be busier with school and baseball will be more involved, yesterday morning was their first practice and it was rough, kids throwing up from the heat and intensity! I didn’t think baseball conditioning would compare to football practices! He made it through, it’s just hot down there and all the running, etc they had to do. He did get sick in the shower after practice, unexpected for him. But he’ll get used to it and learn a system to get through. He had his water bottles, so he was staying hydrated.

I miss that boy! But this is the next phase of his life and he will be fine. Once college life gets going, he’ll make new friends, get to know the baseball boys better and hang out with them. It’s just a hard transition from friends and family to not knowing anyone and no way to see friends and family on a whim…But I have faith that he’ll be fine. He’s in kind of a mini boot camp and this will definitely be good for him. Like he said, he couldn’t handle it if it was 6 weeks, but it does make you mentally stronger and who doesn’t need more mental strength! We’re going to get a web cam for our end, his girlfriend sent him one for his end, so it’ll be nice to see him “in person” and the littles can’t wait to “see” him again! They miss their big brother! Stephanie even cried as we were pulling away, she’ll miss him. Even though they act like they don’t like each other, I know they do. I hope they will communicate with texting or something and stay in contact; I will try to encourage it.

4/5 days until school starts and we can all get back in to the swing of things. The summer went by extremely fast and we had sooooo much to do, to prepare for Tyler’s big move to Texas. Now that there is 1 week left of summer, it feels like THE longest week there ever was…

I knew moving him would be hard and driving away without him - I just didn’t anticipate coming home to the “empty” house would be even harder…So all of you that may be reading and have kids going to college soon, especially the ones that won’t be close to home, the return home will be so much harder than the goodbyes at the dorm…

If you’ve read this far and it’s a jumbled mess, forgive me, I’ve just been trying to get my thoughts out and some of it may not make sense to anyone but me! Lol

Just some misc. pics...

I just bought a vacuum

My son's first vacuum, that is! How excited is he going to be when it arrives! Tyler going away to college is starting to become more real every single day that we get closer to school starting. We have less than a month. I finally have the list of things he can and cannot take with him to school, for his dorm.

I can't believe this is happening. I'm so excited for him, but yet I'm dreading the day at the same time. I know he'll be okay on his own. But he'll be so far, it's 19 hours straight through from here to there. Will we see him at Christmas? We don't know yet. He might have to stay there, alone, at Christmas, because of baseball. I might just drive there and spend it with him...lol I just might.

See - I did forget something...

I forgot to update on how Dylan did with his meatoplasty surgery. I'm happy to report all is well in the pee pee department!! He did great with the surgery and recovery! He was supposed to take it easy the rest of that night, because he had a caudal block, so he was numb from the waist down. That wasn't about to stop this kid! He was crawling around the living room and slithering around to get to where he needed to be and FAST!! By that evening he was up and running around, even bouncing on things (ouch!) and it was like he never had anything done!

He was missed greatly by Ryley and Ayden. It was sooo sweet how once Ayden and Dylan were reunited, Ayden took on the role of nurturer to Dylan. It was so sweet to witness.



But he is peeing normally now and my bathroom is thankful for that! Took him a week or so to stop overcompensating, so that was a whole different kind of mess, but now he just let's things go naturally and it's a lot nicer in our bathroom!!! :P

In other news - STEPH GOT HER TEMPORARY LICENSE!!!!!!!!! Now she has 6 months of driving practice and class, then she can get her license!! Not sure if I'm ready for her to be behind the wheel, so I think Jon and her dad will be helping her with this at first. I was a nervous wreck driving with Tyler and I think I'll be even more so with her...lol

Summer Happenings

I can't believe it's been over 2 months since I last blogged or even visited here!! It's been a crazy busy couple of months, let me tell you!!

Where to start, I guess from where I left off. We did the March of Dimes Walk in May, with our last ever ride in our beloved Choo Choo Wagon...We met up with a fellow triplet mom that reads my blog and we walked together. I think she thinks she scared me away, because after that, I haven't blogged since! lol Not true Gina!!







Right after the MOD walk, was our NICU renunion and it's crazy it's been about 5 years since they were there!! A lot of kids turned out of it, then we released pink/blue balloons in memory of the angels from the NICU. Teeny tiny little babies to all these big kids!!





My laptop fried right after the MOD walk and I was so afraid we lost all photos from the past 6 months of our life, including Christmas! Luckily the techy's created something that can get stuff off our computer and life was saved around here! I got a new laptop for work and I've been so busy with that ever since! I am loving being back to work and being able to still be at home with the kids, have a somewhat flexible schedule and making some money! I officially ended my babysitting career at the beginning of June and while 95% of the kids I sat for were wonderful, there is always that 1....But I digress, I'm enjoying the freedom that comes with not being tied to the house. We can just get up and go if we want to, not that we do much, especially with me working in the mornings, but the option is there, if we want it!

Baseball started up and finished and then started up again. Tyler is wrapping up his summer ball and the triplets will be done with their season in a couple of days. While we love baseball, having it consume our life is hard at times, especially if there is something we want to take off and do. But since this is the last summer for Tyler playing summer ball, possibly, around here, that will free up the summer somewhat. The little ones will still play, but it will be a set schedule, it'll be during the week for a few years and Jon won't be coaching, so he won't feel obligated to skip out on a family vacation or get away, I'll be making sure of that!!! lol Been there, done that, got the T-shirt! This time around, we will be making time for family stuff, other than baseball. Granted we will still make efforts to not miss out on games, especially since we'll have 2 players on the same team, but you know!

Oh one very important thing happened since I last blogged! TYLER GRADUATED FROM HIGH SCHOOL!!! Gosh am I behind the times!! I'm so proud of him and can't wait to see what the next chapter of his life holds for him. Since he's been out of school, he's either playing baseball, traveling to baseball, working or out doing stuff with friends, we hardly see him. Which I guess is preparing us for life without him around all the time, which will be in a few short weeks. We head to Texas with him mid August and it's getting here so incredibly fast, I can't keep up!! We are having his graduation/going away party at the beginning of August and it just seems like a daunting task that I'm putting off. Feeding all those people, I've started buying and will try to make as much ahead of time, as possible. We were going to have it catered, but I'm too cheap for that, when I can make it myself for less!! lol So that's what we're doing!






Stephanie is going to the vocational school for cosmetology and she's excited about that! I hope the fresh start will be exactly what she needs to get motivated in life! did get kudos last night, in our healthy eating habits makeover. So far this summer, her hair has been about 3 different colors, so far normal colors! But I won't be surprised if it's purple or pink sometime! lol Whatever gets her through school and graduates, that's my mantra these days...

Let's see, what else? I feel like I'm missing something big, but I don't think so. Just working, hanging with the kids and waiting for a hot summer to arrive. So far it's been a very mild summer. We have the big pool up and have only used it for a week...So that's a let down. Last summer we didn't put it up, because we were gone so much with Tyler's travel ball and it was HOT! This summer we're home and it's mild...go figure...The kids are really getting it with swimming on their own, especially the boys, they are swimming under water and just little fish! I will still probably have them in swim lessons over the winter for something to do and make them stronger swimmers. I would love for them to be on the swim team, like Tyler and Stephanie did, it's great exercise and makes them so much safer in and around water! Roo loves the water too, but she's just not as in to going under yet or being tossed around the pool, like the boys are.






Oh our garden is rocking!! We've been getting a bunch of cherry tomatoes and Ryley is in heaven, she eats those things like grapes! We're waiting on the million regular tomatoes to turn and that will happen at the same time, I feel. But I plan to attempt salsa, so I can't wait!! We have been getting a ton of hot peppers and we have onions galore! It's a great little garden and so far a huge success. Maybe next year, it'll be bigger!




School starts in about a month and I think we're ready for it. Since it's been such a mild and somewhat rainy summer, it feels like fall most of the time anyways! The kids are a bit bored and miss school.

It's still hard to believe that in 1 month, we'll be driving the oldest off to school and getting him settled half way across the country...It's amazing how fast the time has gone, these past 18 years!! But I know he'll be successful in whatever he does!

I can't believe that Stephanie is going to be a junior in high school..that time just disappeared! She's growing up waaaay faster than I'd like, but that's the nature of the beast, I guess! She can do whatever she sets her mind to, she just had to believe that for herself!

The triplets will be 5 in a few short months. That is hard for me to grasp. Their time is going faster than I can keep track of. We are so busy all the time, THEY are so busy all of the time, the days just blur together! They are so bright and funny and I just love this age, it's so innocent and literal, I wish they would stay this age forever...

Well, I think that catches you up, not as much as I thought I'd have to say, but I know I'm forgetting stuff...as usual...Enjoy the pictures!!

Oh ya! We had a dog - for a week!! We named her Bella. She found us, through my MIL's house. She was lost, her owners contacted us and decided we could keep her!! We were excited, she was perfect for us - except she didn't like kids!! We found that out as the week went on, so we found her a perfect new home and one without children, it was sad, but for the best. But it showed us that a small dog would be fun for us and the kids. So in September, we should be getting a new puppy! We're excited and it should be an adventure!!

Sorry for the novel! Enjoy the miscellaneous pictures from the summer so far!

How does your garden grow?

It grows when someone else plants it!! lol My back went out, yet again and so I have been unable to do much of anything! It sucks, but what can ya do? This has been a problem since the triplets were born, I have muscle separation from that pregnancy. So I have no abdominal muscles, which in turn causes my back to be weak. I need to get it fixed, but there's no time or money for it yet. Anyways, my back's been out since Friday and it sucks. We wanted to get the garden going, so Jon took charge. I think he would much prefer that I just be completely knocked out than so helpless and in the way! lol But I have to be a part of the planning and the supply purchasing, I just have to be!! So we go to Menard's and get all the stuff we need, some tomato plants and peppers. I already have seeds for the lettuce and onions. He bought the wood to build the raised bed the other day. The kids are excited about their garden! It's cute and small. It'll be fun. Wish I could have done something to help besides watch.. We also picked up a teeter totter. It spins around in circles and goes up and down. It's like a rollercoaster. It's a lot of fun until someone gets hurt. Which happened quite a few times in the first hours after having it in the yard. It might go back to the store and a safer one to replace it! Dylan is a little daredevil and loves it. He also doesn't like to stop when someone wants off. People that want off also don't realize they have to wait for it to stop before getting off or letting go!! Ayden had the most serious injury, he hit his chin and I thought for sure he needed stitches. But we got a second opinion from a nurse friend and so he was bandaged up and good to go. Right now I'm watching them have a blast with it. So far no injuries or kids sent flying through the air. So we'll see. It's for 3-12 year olds. I sure can't see a 3-year-old using this thing, my 4 1/2 year olds can barely reach the handles from the seat!

The Decision Is Made

We finally know where Tyler will go to college!! He's going to Vernon College in Texas to play baseball! He got a full-ride!!!!!!! Wahooo!!! We just have to pay for meals! He was so excited when we sent him the text at school! We have all let out a sigh of relief to know that this part is done! He signed his Letter of Intent last night and I dropped it in the mail this morning. We are so excited for him!

Just 23 more days until graduation. It's amazing how fast the years have flown by. Reminds me to cherish all the moments I have with the other 4 and with Tyler. Before I know it, he'll be half way across the country...Crazy...

How's Your Meatus?

I don't know how mine is, but I can tell you how Dylan's is - it's webby. The urologist likened it to having your thumb over the garden hose and making the "spray" go other directions than naturally. I pretty much knew what he was going to say - he has meatal stenosis. Meaning I have the joy of cleaning up his pee from all over my bathroom! He pees straight out and to the right, it's sheer joy to clean my bathroom 10 times a day!! It's gotta be fixed, so we can add that to the list of things to do. That will happen some time in May, outpatient, but he is going under for it...Joy. He could have it done in the office under numbing cream, but at this age, wiggle and the lower success rate of it not growing back; we opted for the other option of going under and having a couple stitches put there and the much higher success rate of it not being a problem again. Plus with his age, I worry that too much activity with his package will leave a memory that will last. He was already a bit apprehensive having the urologist looking down there and touching him. But he's a trooper, he was spelling words for the doctor as soon as he walked in and being his charming self! lol

Dylan and I got there early, hoping to get the paperwork filled out and possibly seen a bit earlier. I don't remember this waiting room being so microscopic, have they moved? It's standing room only in there and smelly. I was quite surprised at how small the place was. I remembered the examining room area, but not the waiting room, guess it must of been the new-baby-fog I was under back then. We ended up waiting about an hour before we were seen. Nice. Luckily Dylan can make friends with anyone that will pay attention to him, so he was a happy camper! lol

I did find it interesting, since I had time to sit and listen/observe the people in the room. There was this one lady that was too good for the rest of us and she made sure we knew it. She sat down in an open seat, I chose to stand near where Dylan was instead of squeezing in between people I didn't know. Some people cleared out. I was able to sit near Dylan and fill out the paperwork. She sat in the middle of one row of seats. The room started to fill up again. She didn't move, there was a seat on either side of her empty. A mom and son walked in and she shuffled herself in her seat, as if to say, don't even think of sitting next to me. Nice. Mom sat next to me and I offered to move, so her son could sit next to him, he was about 10, but she said he was fine to sit in the other spot. I just thought it was quite rude of the snob to be that way. But it's also fascinating to me at the same time how people operate.

In other news, Tyler just walked in with his graduation announcements - It's really happening! My baby is really almost done with high school and will be moving across the country for school. I won't say which one yet, until he has signed, but it's hard to believe. He has his cap and gown as well, but I told him he's not allowed to put that on in front of me because I'll cry. I can already feel it...May 24th is the day. It's getting here so fast...