The Jones Girls

The days are showing signs of summer coming.    Cold days are behind us now.    The sun is out and our weather is worthy of my girls swimming in their pool in the backyard.

With this in mind, it meant I had to do the dreaded task of reorganizing their clothes for the summer season.    I purchased a very nice used dresser from a friend of mine for Savannah’s room.    For the past few years, I was using the 3-drawer plastic drawer dressers for Savannah.  It was cheap and also I felt it was safer to use those in her room.

So I moved her 3 sets of plastic dressers out of her room and moved in her new dresser.  This meant I had to rearrange her whole room!!   What a task that was!!  It took me all day on Sunday to do it.

Then the past few days I have been going through the triplets winter clothes.  The clothes that were getting too small for them are going to a friend of mine who has triplets.  The clothes that are 2T/24 months are put away for the fall.  Maryssa can wear those.  Amanda and Miranda are beginning to wear 3T so they may not be able to wear them in the fall.  Time will tell….

I went through the size 3T clothes that were Savannah’s old clothes that I set aside for the triplets to wear.  It was so strange going through them.  I had just put these clothes away a year ago and I couldn’t believe I was going through them so soon for Miranda and Amanda to wear.   Most of the clothes were summer clothes – shorts, tank tops, t-shirts, etc.   I think there were only about 8 pairs of pants in the 3 gigantic bags that I went through.

I used one of Savannah’s larger 3 drawer plastic dressers and put the size 3T summer clothes and the 3T pants in that dresser.   The triplets are currently wearing 2T/24 months and if we run out of those clothes, we can break into the 3T stuff too.  

It was amazing to go down memory lane as I sorted through Savannah’s old 3T clothes.   As I fold each piece, it represented a memory.  

I also went through some of their special baby clothes that I want to keep for prosperity and for them to enjoy when they get older.   I have most of their outfits up to 12 months.    From 18 month to present, I am keeping all of their Holiday Christmas dresses, their Easter Spring dresses and their Halloween costumes.    I think it would be amazing to show them these clothes that I have put away for them for 18 years!!

I went through the shoes and sandals.   I ran across 4 pair of cute leather sandals that my brother, Ron, and I had gotten Savannah at Christmas time when we took Savannah to Puerto Vallarta, Mexico.  Those were wonderful memories. One of the sandals were Savannah’s favorite and they showed the worn sole.  The only one that can fit into those pair of sandals is Maryssa.  The larger sandals MIranda and Amanda can wear.  It will be so fun to see the girls wear those sandals this summer!!

It is so wonderful having 4 little girls!!    I am so happy that I spent time going through the clothes.   What a wonderful trip down memory lane it was!!

A couple of days ago something was seriously wrong with our dog Teddy.    He started yelping in pain if he was laying a certain way.  I tried picking him up and he would yelp.   It was scary. 

I had given him a few little pieces of ham to eat that day.  Maybe the ham irritated him?  Was her allergic to pork maybe?

Cliff pulled both legs and one of his legs wouldn’t straighten.   Cliff remembered that he accidentally bumped Teddy with the wheels of his office chair and he though maybe the leg got injured.   We didn’t think it was broken and we kept a close eye on him that day.

Throughout the day Teddy was deteriorating fast.  He didn’t drink or eat.    He layed lifeless on the floor.   He shivered and it really scared me.    He slept on our bed peacefully that night.

The next morning he was in the same, bad condition.    I put water in an eye dropper and administered it to him.   I was concerned he was getting dehydrated since he hadn’t consumed water in over 24 hours.    He took 6 CC’s of water.  

In a few hours he started walking around and wasn’t shaking or shivering anymore.    Then he drank some water and I gave him a few pieces of hot dog.   He ate it all up!!

I rubbed his tummy.    I noticed Teddy was “enjoying it” if you know what I mean!!   I need to backtrack for a second.   When we got Teddy, the Veterinarian said he only had one testicle, the other one never decended and it was still in his abdomen.    The Vet said that we would have to get it surgically removed when he got neutered.    We haven’t had a chance to neuter Teddy yet.

So, speeding forward, I noticed as I was rubbing Teddy, that the 2nd testicle was down there!!  It had descended!!    I called the Vet, and the Vet confirmed that Teddy’s testicle had probably descended and he was experiencing the normal signs of extreme pain and agony of the testicle descending.    The pain is similar to passing a kidney stone which is excruciating pain.  I passed one…that is a whole different story and one that I will never forget!!  So my heart went out to Teddy.

When I had taken Teddy to the Vet the first time, the vet told me he was only about 2 years old.  I had thought Teddy was abut 8 years old because he has a little grey around his ears.    I read online about decending testicles for dogs and it mentioned that this usually happens in male dogs at about 8-10 months.   So I bet Teddy is only a year and a few months old!!    He is just a pup, my sweet little doggies!! 

Whew!!  What a scary ordeal for Teddy and for us.  He is back to his normal self now.  

I tell you last night was one scary night!!   

I was awakened to hear a deep barking sound, like a seal.    I went into the Triplets room and saw Miranda sitting up gasping for breath.    I was so worried for her.

I immediately got Cliff and he and I sat together with her on the den couch while I set up a breathing treatment for Miranda.    We have a nebulizer for the girls whenever they have any breathing problems.  I put Albuterol and Pulmicort in the nebulizer.  Then a mask goes over her face and she breathes in the misty air that is mixed with Albuterol and Pulmicort.  

She struggled to breathe, the poor baby.    I read online that when a baby has croup you need to take them outside in the cool air or run the shower, let the room fill with steam and sit in the room with the child.  The cool, moist air helps soothe the breathing passages.    Croup is caused by swollen and irritate air passages and it makes it very painful and difficult for the child to breathe which is what causes the deep, barking sound.

Miranda also had a fever of 103/5.   Cliff gave her some Tylenol and had her rest on his shoulder all night to help her breathe easier.   He let me get some sleep.  What a great husband I have!!  xoxoxo

All of the girls have been passing this respitory virus around to each other.   Amanda got it first.  It lasts about 10 days.    Amanda and Savannah both threw up because of the large amount of mucus this virus causes!!    Maryssa has the deep cough.

I am so sick of the sickies!!!

Savannah’s bottom tooth, next to the tooth that just came out last week, is ready to come out any minute.   Tonight she wants her sisters watch her pool her loose bottom tooth out.  She wants the girls to see what her tooth looks like outside of her mouth!!

So, the Tooth Fairy will be making another visit under Savannah’s pillow tonight I guess.   Wow, my little girl is growing up right in front of our eyes. Wow!!   She will be a toothless wonder!!!!!

I took Savannah bowling today at La Habra Bowl 300 Bowling Alley.   They had a free 2 hour bowling session for the kids to efforts to try to gain interest for yough bowling leagues. 

Each lane had 3 bowlers.   They had coaches helping all of the kids learn how to throw the ball.  The lightest ball was too heavy for Savannah so she crouched down and pushed the ball.

The first game she came in 2nd with a score of 67.  The 2nd game she was the winner and bowled a 76!! 

She was tuckered out after the 2nd game.    It was a lot of fun seeing her get so excited as she was able to get some pins.

I am going to start taking her every Saturday and if she really enjoys it I will be enrolling her into a youth bowling league.  It is $4 a week and includes 2 games of bowling and a snack in between games.   They also said if the triplets can hae enough attention span, they would be able to bowl and join the league too.  So I will be bringing the triplets along with Savannah next Saturday!!

I wanted to share with you how I maintain some sort of “smooth operations” in our house.  I have had so many people ask how do I handle the clothing for the girls and how do I deal with so many toys for 4 little girls.

I have their matching outfits hanging in the closet together.  They have a large closet the length of one wall and there are bottom and top hang rods to hold all of their outfits. 

The triplets really don’t have a preference in what they wear.  They really like to match identically with outfits.   Especially Savannah who is now 5.  She really likes being a part of the crew!! 

I learned from my multiple moms club to dress them in bright colors and in identical outfits so if any of the girls are missing or lost I know what to look for in a crowd.    I only dress them alike when we are in big public places.   Otherwise they dress differently.  

Miranda is my shoe Diva and LOVES shoes.   She has to pick her own shoes out and changes shoes all day long.   I see a lot of $$$ for Miranda’s taste in clothes as she gets older.

They are color coordinated per girl.  I also learned this from my multiple moms club:

Amanda – yellow or light green

Miranda – lavender or blue

Maryssa – pink or red

The key to keeping things going smoothly is I am very organized with their clothes and toys.

They have a big dresser (that has the changing table on top of it, you have probably seen these) and it holds their matching outfits, short sets and PJ’s.  A lot of their outfits don’t match as a lot of them are from Savannah’s old wardrobe.  Savannah had enough clothes for triplets…LOL!!   I have another 2 drawer dresser that holds their footie sleepers and other misc. clothes such as jackets, etc.

The time that is most difficult is when they are transitioning between sizes.   I just got another dresser to hold their outfits that they will be transitioning into for this summer.  The weather is still touch and go with warm clothes so I am not ready to put away the warm clothes to make room for the summer clothes quite yet.

They have 7 tubs of shoes that are all organized by category of dressy, sneakers, sandals, slippers, mary janes, and play shoes.  These are in the closet.

They have 7 different toy boxes.   6 of the 7 toy boxes are in the den and one toy box is in the Triplets room and a toy box is in Savannah’s room.   

This makes it very easy to teach the girls about cleanning up.  They know where the toys go by the different categories of the toy boxes.  We do clean up every night after dinner and before baths.

The toys in the den are organized so that one toy box will have the huge leggo blocks, another will have the wooden blocks, another will have pretend play kitchen stuff and stuffed animals, another will be for cars-trucks-balls-musical instruments,-musical toys, another for large 2-3 foot stuffed animals like Elmo and Curious George.

A toy box is for dolls and doll clothes and it is in the Triplets room.   Savannah has her own toy box for bigger girls toys such as Barbies and dolls. 

Savannah has her own room.   She has her own dresser for her clothes and her own closet to hang her clothes.  This makes it much easier because she likes to pick out her own clothes for the day and she can dress herself now.  She also has her own book shelf with books.  All of the girls go in there and read books together.

In the den there is a book shelf for books, coloring books and crayons, arts and crafts, play dough, paints, etc.  They have an art easel and each has her own art apron.   They love to draw on Doodle Pros and it really keeps things clean in the den.

Organization is the key to my busy and crazy household!!   Realizing that I am super organized and scheduled, God knew that I could handle triplets and a singleton.  He put my abilities to excellent use!!

I am so excited. A friend of mine who was Amanda’s Occupational Therapist invited Columnist NewieSuzie of the La Habra Star to our Mother & Daughter Tea.

Apparantley Ms. Suzie enjoys having tea luncheons at tea rooms so that is why Deborah invited her. Deborah also knows that I am always trying to promote the MMM Club and the La Habra moms club and gain interest for new members.

So with this in mind, it gave me a wonderful opportunity to give a little exposure to our Multiple Miracle Moms Club as well as my La Habra Moms Club in the newspaper article.

I had an interview with SuzeNewzie of the La Habra Star on Sunday and again this week. She is doing an article about our family and the different organizations that I support and am involved in. She is also including pictures. It will appear in next Thursdays edition of the La Habra Star.

Here is what the article will say:

La Habra
Renown Baby specialist Dr.Benjamin Spock (now deceased) said in his famous books, “When a mom has twins “Get help” Wonder what he would have said to Kimber and her husband, Clifford Jones, who have two year old triplets, Amanda,
Maryssa, and Miranda, born on Daddy Cliff’s birthday, and a 5 year old girl, Savannah, born on the 6th anniversary of Cliff and Kimber’s 1st date. One of the triplets, Amanda, was born with club radial hand and she is a true miracle in the making!

Kimber learned from the Multiple Mom’s Club of Orange County (MMM) to dress the triplets and big sister in like bright colors so if one was missing out in the park, she would immediately know which one was gone. Savannah likes to dress like the triplets, too.  All their clothes are color coordinated.

The busy La Habra mom, who often finds her girls have crawled in bed together, is vice president of the La Habra Mom’s Club. They have Monday
through Friday outings and play days with 30 club moms Monday through Friday.  She said they are always looking for new members so contact her by e-mail at KJones@TheJonesGirls.com

Kimber also belongs to an online Radial Club Hand Support Group located on the Yahoo Group pages.

Kimber says “If you think my hands are full, you should see my heart.”

I am a proud mommy today!! Woo hoo!!

-Kimber