Summer in Capital City

"You sure have your hands full!"

-Insightful Stranger

Pookie has laid down the ultimatum, either I start keeping the blog more updated, or she is going to put on the cowboy boots and start bloggin' for me.  I thought it would be a good idea to write a little something down, not because I don't want her to record what goes on when I am at the quarry, I think there she would add great blog entries.  I jumped to record the ultimatum because I think it was an empty threat and she will try to deny it if I let it slip by un-called.  So there you are Pookie, get to it.

The McTrips continue to grow and grow.  Declan is now around 16 pounds, Reid is about 15, and Stella is around 14 or so.  Reid continues to look just like Papa Jimmy (his grandpa), and Declan is still looking like his dad.  Bad deal for Reid, but maybe Declan will get stuck with my dancing ability and balance everything out.  I still haven't put my finger on exactly who Stella looks like, but she has Pookie's beautiful eyes and less beautiful temper when cranky.  When she goes nuclear, the trick is to put her in a dark, quiet room, and use hushed tones until she falls asleep.  Same trick works with Stella.

Summer appears to finally be upon us, we have been getting out with a little more frequency.  Note to anyone trying to think up a witty remark when encountering a couple with triplets:  Come up with something better than:

"You must really have your hands full!"

We know we have our hands full.  We didn't find a triplet stroller full of infants forty yards back on the path and just decide to keep them ("C'mon Pookie!  It'll be a breeze!").  Who the hell do you think loaded the kids into the stroller?  Someone who was unaware that caring for three infants at once was a bit time consuming?  I know these people are just trying to be friendly, but something about seeing a triplet stroller makes people think it is their responsibility to suddenly become Rodney Dangerfield.

And now onto the pictures!

Stella and Declan debating the merits of further quantitative easing in order to stimulate the floundering US economy.  Or, possibly, just babbling.

Reid and the Old Man chilling.

The boys on their play mat.  Real estate is scarce on the mat, if you want some, be ready to get kicked.

Rockstar napping in my chair.  He is as tired as he looks, but is hanging in there.

The Trips loaded up for their walk.  Notice the funky socks.

Dad's boys are getting pretty big.

Dinner time.  Dinner time comes 6 times a day.

Reid getting fed by Grandma Tammy.  Keeping an eye on her too.

Stella.  Notice the color coded lid on the bottle.  Organization is key people.

That's it for today, keep fit and have fun.

4 Months!

The McTrips at 4 Months



Yeah, just going to get right to the pictures, who's kidding who?

Bunnies and babies.  The kids celebrated their first Easter in Pincher.  As far as they knew, we were celebrating a bunny that was nailed to a wooden cross and then returned a few days later made out of pure chocolate.  What a ridiculous story!  The bunny one too.

Bumbo time. 

Declan in the Jolly Jumper. He is a fan of this jumper and his new jumperoo.



Reid was not impressed when he found out that "self-propelled" meant "propel it yourself".  Does this thing not have a motor?

Having some relaxo.  Stella is ok with Reid grabbing her shirt and shoving his fist in her face.

Or not.

Showing off the abs.  He already has more talent than the idiots from Jersey Shore.

Papa Jimmy and Stella watching TV.

The boys.  Reid might be getting ready for someone to drop him a snack.

Daddy's Little Sweetie, cuter than a bug's ear I says.

Congratulations to Gary and Vicki, everyone is looking forward to seeing you again soon!

Three Months - Babies, Babies, Babies

Three months have quickly come and gone, and I am having a lot of trouble finding the time to keep up the blog.  Believe it or not, having three infants in the house, a full time job and a course on the go doesn't leave a lot of time for bloggin'.

The trips are all as healthy as they could be, Stella gets in a daily lung workout after her 7 pm feeding pretty much everyday.  She doesn't jog or anything, she kind of just screams in your face until she tires herself out.  Good times.

Declan and Reid are both doing great too, they are a little more mellow than their sister and prefer to alternate between napping and searching for clean shirts to puke on.  They prefer to puke on their own shirt, but will settle for yours.

Pictures!

Little Stella, looking pretty cute with her chubby little cheeks.

Stella feeling smiley.

Travel Time.

Reid.  Dad's little meatball smiling at his Aunt Julie (soft J).  No, those are not my legs.

Reid keeping an eye on something.  Most likely a bright light somewhere.

Tuckered.

Declan smiling.  He just heard that Iginla finished in the top ten in scoring in the NHL yet again.

Declan after hearing that the Flames paid Kotalik $3 mil to do nothing on the farm team all year.  Nice trade Darryl.

And now a quick nap before a stroll with the family.

Happy little people.

Nap time.




Until next time people.

An Overdue Report From Babytown

Diapers, Diapers, Diapers

Another three weeks have passed, and things are much the same in Babytown.  The kids are growing everyday, and everybody is as healthy as could be.  Both of the boys have cracked the ten pound mark, and daddy's litte girl is almost nine pounds already.  For triplets born 6 weeks early, these are big numbers.  The boys have outgrown the newborn diapers already, and we have a whole bag of onesies and sleepers that are too small.  Craziness I tells ya.

Pookie, Grandma Tammy and the kids went down to Pincher Creek for the weekend, so Papa Jeff and Drunkle Dusty were left unsupervised.  I'm not going to say we behaved poorly, but we got to the first bar at 1 pm, and the next thing I knew it was 1:30 pm the next day and I was still having trouble getting out of bed.  I am going to chalk this up to sleep deprivation, possible food poisoning and Dusty buying drinks irresponsibly. 

It's just me and my bird dog (who is afraid of birds, rubber balls and the vacuum), so I thought I would finally get around to writing a blog.  I know I should just post the pictures and forget the actual writing part, humour me.

The house is eerily quiet, which is at the same time extremely relaxing and extremely uneasy feeling.  Believe it or not I think I prefer having three babies crying than a totally quiet house.  I must be going mental.

Little Stella is getting bigger all the time, I think we startled her with the camera flash with this one. 

Reid decked out in his Batman gear.  I think Reid looks like Papa Jimmy.  Notice the perfectly round "McCrimmon-esque" noggin. 

Super Declan.  Declan is officially the biggest baby, outweighing Reid by one ounce.  This little fella has gone from 3 lbs, 14 oz to a full 10 pounds in two months.

Little Stella, straight chillin'.  Notice the fuzzy socks and the "Can I help you?" expression on her face.  Priceless.

All three superheroes.  I don't know why Stella looks so freaked out, she's usually much calmer.

Declan again.  The consensus is that Declan is one that looks the most like me.  Poor kid.

Pookie taking the kids for a walk.  Notice the pimp minivan our wonderful neighbours have abandoned in front of their house.  The POS hasn't been started since last summer, it is there strictly for aesthetics.

A typical evening at the madhouse.  Three kids getting fed at once and me drinking beer in my pajamas.  I think that's the dog's ass in the bottom right corner.  Grandpa Leo is supervising.

That's it for today, keep it real kids.

Pookling Pictures

A Vicious Cycle

Things continue to move along here at the ranch, the Pooklings are getting bigger by the day.  We had a couple milestones this week, a positive one is  that the kids have grown out of most of their preemie clothes and are now wearing regular newborn clothes.  A not so positive one was Declan projectile vomiting all over dad, the chair, and the wall.  This was the first time one of the kids managed to arc a puke all the way to the wall, which is a good two feet.  Atta boy Declan, that is some serious distance for a fella your size.

The weather has been too shitty to take the kids anywhere, so all of the pictures we have taken have been in the house.  With any luck, we should have an outdoor shot or two by mid August.

We are still on the three hour feeding schedule, so there is not a lot of sleep going on.  The kids are eating faster but we have increased their amounts by 500% over the last 5 weeks, so it still takes an hour for two people to feed all three.  They are now eating about 3-4 ounces of formula per sitting, eight times a day.  If you think about it, they are eating about 25% of their bodyweight everyday, an Oprah-like pace.  They are pretty sweet kids though, so we don't bust their chops about it.


Now, on to the the pictures.

This is what Stella looks like after guzzling 125 mL of food.  Once again, Oprah-like.

The kids chilling in their swings.  They love these things.

Everyone hanging out in the playpen.  Declan was not impressed with Reid giving him a backhand.

Pookie tried to get a group shot with all three in their new outfits.  Stella refused to cooperate.

Reid getting all strapped in to his Baby Bjorn.  He never actually got to go anywhere, but seemed to enjoy the process anyway.  I thought it was kind of a cruel joke, like when I told Rocky we were going to the park and then took him to get neutered.  Both of these cruelties were Pookie's idea.  Just saying.

Drunkle Dusty strapping in Reid.  Right after this Reid and Dusty switched places and Pookie took Dusty for a stroll. 

That's it for now, my apologies if you have emailed or called and I haven't gotten back to you, we have been stupid busy and I'm not good at, you know, getting back to people.


Until next time.

Two Weeks and Multiple Diaper Incidents Later...

I Think He's Done.......Holy Christ He's Exploding!!!

We are past the two week mark, and things are still going pretty well.  Pookie continues to run on no sleep, yet be more energetic than I am.  The kids are growing rapidly, and somehow the math doesn't add up.  They eat about 24 ounces of formula per day, take at least one or two four pound craps, and still pack on the pounds.

Grandma Tammy and Drunkle Dusty continue to be a huge help, and I started work again at the beginning of week.  I almost feel guilty leaving every morning when I know how much work needs to be done around here, but someone needs to finance this operation.  These damn kids high-five every time they ruin more than two diapers at a single change, and drink formula like Dusty drinks scotch.  Needless to say, Papa Jeff will be a-workin'.

The high point of the week was definitely Dusty desperately throwing things out of the recycling bin so he had a place to puke.  Reid had a large, uncovered colon blast that Dusty never saw coming.  He didn't quite leggo his eggo, but Reid seized the opportunity to take a whiz all over the table while he was recovering.

The babies were lucky enough to meet their Great-Uncle Ron, Aunt Linda and Great Grandma Elva on the weekend, a little picture is below.  Four generations hanging out on one couch.  Good stuff.

We are all wishing Grandma Elva a very speedy recovery, she fell on some ice this week after the visit and broke her leg.  The Pooklings loved their cuddle and are looking forward to having Great Grandma back as soon as possible!

As we feared, the family member that has gotten his nose most of joint has been Rocky the Retriever.  He has no idea what has happened to his world, he just know we suddenly sleep in two hour shifts, and getting an ear scratched means waiting in line.  Little does he know that these kids are going to be big enough to poke him in the eye at will within a year or so.  Poor guy, he went from Michael to Tito in one fell swoop.

All good in the 'hood, I'll keep you people posted.

Grey's Anatomy sucks.

Week One in the Books

Honey, How Did He Manage to Get Shit On His Hat?

Week One is officially in the books.  The Pooklings have been home for a full seven days, and thanks to plenty of Grandma help from Pookie's mom and mine, things seem to be somewhat under control.  There have been a couple setbacks, mostly due to Calgary's extremely dry air causing nasal congestion ( or nose boogies, if you will).

Little Stella had some nose nuggets so hard that it was causing her a lot of stress to breathe, but after a couple emergency room visits, countless drops of saline solution and two humidifiers, we seem to have it under control.  Those trips were definitely the worst part of the week.  I have always felt we took the art of picking our noses for granted, and when you see someone with a blocked nose that lacks the coordination to take care of business, you realize how lucky you are.  Something tells me these kids will be pros in no time.

Unbeknownst to me, Pookie does not require sleep to function effectively.  Beknownst (whaa?) to me, I do require sleep.  Feeding, changing, and solving every little problem the Pooklings have takes about an hour if all goes smoothly and there are at least two people on the job.  If one of the kids decides to give their lungs a workout and really let you know what is what, it can take take three.  The cycle begins every three hours, so at best there is a two hour break, at worst there is no break.  With four people in the house this is manageable.  If it was just Pookie and I it would be all but impossible.

Pookie and I had the kids out for their first outing today, they had to go down to a medical center for a vaccination.  There were four old birds in the waiting room, and they literally swarmed us at the counter.  Yes, they are triplets.  Yes, they are adorable, thank you.  Yes, I am the father (who else would I be?).  They were all sweet old ladies, but it makes it very clear that we are really going to be a spectacle when we leave the house.  The kids must be really getting used to abuse, they didn't even really mind the needles.  More angry than hurt for sure.

Our little people are growing fast.  Reid is the biggest at 6 lbs, 1/2 oz.  He has gained almost 50%  of his bodyweight in less than a month.  He is one cute little meatball.  Declan is also gaining like crazy, he is weighing in at 5 lbs, 10 oz.  He has gained more than 50% of his body weight since birth, and is not showing any signs of slowing down.  Stella, delicate flower that she is, weighs 5 lbs, 2 oz, which is still great growth.  The Pooklings are thriving.

Taking pictures has been a steady exercise.  The kids change so quickly that pictures seem to become dated within a couple days.

The Pooklings check out their new playpen.

Bath time for Stella.  She actually seems to like bath time now.

Reid rocking his LSU touque from Uncle Dusty.  Both of the boys make this face at us, I think it is hilarious.

Declan, also rocking his LSU touque.

Stella.  Too sweet for her own damn self.  Also an LSU touque, thanks again Drunkle Dusty.

One day's worth of bottles.  Jeebuz.

One days worth of laundry from the babies.  If a shitacane rolls in, you could be in more trouble than this, ask Grandma Tammy, who has the quote of the week:

"O my God, he even got shit on his hat!"



Until next time.