They turn 4 and the ears fall off!!

First let me say that I have missed you soooooo much! It's been crazy busy around here with 3/4 of the household having birthdays this month, finishing up Christmas shopping and life in general. I am now 29 for the 8th time. My oldest daughter is now 16 (as of today!!) and my 3 youngest are now 4! OMG! When will the time slow down?

Plus I haven't had much blog worthy lately. At least I haven't thought so - until. Today.

Let me preface this by saying that a majority of the time, my littlest ones are good listeners, more so when we are out in public. I think it's the threats that they get before we go anywhere to behave or the wrath of mama will rein down on them. Not really, but they do get the lecture of don't do this, don't do that, be good, we know better, blah, blah. So today about brought me to my knees.

Since Ayden, Ryley and Dylan turned 4 (on Sunday) they seem to have forgotten how to listen. Not sure what happened when this magic day appeared, but WOW. I thought 4 was going to be sooooo much better than 3. I have been waiting for this day for months! 4 is the golden age - or so I was led to believe by others that have gone before me. 4 is fun. 4 is very doable. Ummmmmm, I beg to differ. 4 has brought some of this gaggle o babies to forget that I'm in charge. That what I say goes. 4 has brought more timeouts in the last - what - 3 days then it has in months. 4 has sprouted me a few more gray hairs. 4 has stolen my children's listening ears. I WANT THEM BACK!!!!!!!! 4 is now the new 2 - I'm convinced of this.

Anyways, back to my story. Today was the triplets 4 year well checks. Nothing out of the ordinary. I expected nothing less than full cooperation. I ASSumed that it would be like every other visit we have, a little loud, but nothing we can't talk loudly over to get through the appointment. Was I ever wrong. Next time I'm drinking a shot of something strong before attempting this again!! We go in, check in, arrive 20 minutes early and hope to be seen early. Not so much. Get the vitals and weights done. Which by the way - Ayden is 35.5lb and 41.5 inches. Dylan is 33lb and 40.5 inches. Ryley is 33lb and 40 inches. Good job kiddos!! Anyways. We continue on to the hearing and sight room. It's going downhill pretty quick here. We don't care for our arm "hugs" and have to do the boys twice each. Eye test gets Ayden done, but he's not looking at what he's supposed to and whatever. Then it's time to see the ped. So off we go to the examination room. They have now graduated to the paper robes. Why I don't know. It would have been easier to be in their undershirts and skivvies than those huge ass things. Dylan is hating his and wants nothing to do with it. I manage to get them to all sit on the table for a photo op in their nifty gowns. Dylan goes first. Ayden next. Ryley last. All is well. We have some issues to get followed up on and checked, but nothing major.



The noise level is slowly building despite repeated stink eye from me and shushing. Everyone has to pee, we go to the potty and pee is just everywhere. WTF! Ryley has wet underwear, I'm cleaning up pee all over the floor. They have just gone out of control. We get back in to the exam room. **I FORGOT TO MENTION THAT THEY ARE STILL IN UNDIES AND T-SHIRTS ALL THE WHILE** Then out of no where it happens - my children turn in to wild animals!! I can't even tell you what switched them on, it happened so fast it made me spin around in place, a blur of children escaping down the hallway and out in to the lobby IN THEIR UNDERWEAR AND T-SHIRTS!!!!!! (I can't believe I forgot the part about them being half-nekked!) I'm shocked they didn't just run right out in to the snow!! The ped yelling to the nurse that's being passed by these animals to stop them - me saying feel free to smack a butt or two as I'm running past her to catch my spawn. Parents in the waiting room looking at me like - ya, I KNEW this is what having multiples was like!! I have proven the stereotype to these people. They will see other multiples and remember my naked children escaping in to the waiting room and laugh. Me not so much. I wrangle them back in to my possession and get them back down the hall to our room. Evil eyes to anyone that let three 4 year olds run right past them and do nothing but laugh. It's all fun and games people...

We're back in our room. They whisk Ryley off to do her eye exam - probably to get us the hell out of there. She's freaking because of her wet butt. Deal with it baby - nothing I can do about it right now. Get the boys dressed and lecturing them on the behavior unbecoming of a Stuckey child and that they are not going to do that again. Apologizing to the ped when he finally musters up the courage to enter our room again. He says it's a ped's office, it doesn't surprise them. I said it does me and this is NOT how my children act. I don't think he bought it. Trade Ryley for Dylan and give her the shortened version of the above lecture. She, as she reminded me, didn't enter the waiting room, she stopped at the doorway. Get them dressed. Think I've got it under control enough to leave. Pay and away we go. I cannot believe it. It was crazy. It was not something I'm used to.

I want 3 back!!!!!!!!

But on another note. I got their preschool pictures back. We also had their 4 year pictures taken. They turned out cute. It was a bit of a struggle to get them to cooperate for the pictures, but it's done.

Enjoy some recent pics of the children.