Imelda Marcos, look out!

Is it healthy for a 2½ year old to have a fetish already? She's got some is-shoes! Sometimes she insists on her 'dancing shoes' (shiny white patent leather, makes lovely clickety clacks when stomping on kitchen floor). Lately it's her 'slippers' that she insists on. Mary Kate &

Ashley shoes I got at one of the multiples clothing sales. The previous owner never got to wear them as they were too small when her mom brought them home from a trip. Well! we're making up for lost time, she's worn them enough for 2 kids! If we don't manage to convince her to take them off, she will SLEEP with them on. In the middle of the night she'll wake up crying because they've gotten too tight. However, when I try to take them off, she flexes her foot and tries to pull away to try and foil my efforts! IN HER SLEEP! If we do get them off before bedtime, she will crying out "my SLIPPERS! I neeeeeeeeeed my slippers!!!!" I mean they're definitely lovely shoes & I'm glad I forked out the $6 for them (a seemingly lavish sum at the time!) but does anyone really need footwear 24/7??? She seems to think she does.

Super Shona & Rescue Ryan!!

Tonight Murray & I got to go OUT! Shona (pronounced Shawna) & Ryan tried to explain to the girls that we were out on a date but Honey didn't get it.

Honey: What's a gake????"
Me: We went out to eat supper.
Honey: What kind of food you eat?
Me: Greek food.
Honey: What kind of Greek food you had?
Me: Chicken Souvlaki

Well who knew there was going to be a TEST when we got home??? Good thing we hadn't gone and rented a room somewhere!!! Sheesh! Getting grilled by a 2½ year old. We'll all remind her of this when she gets home from her first "gake"!

We really enjoyed some away time. Before you have kids, uninterrupted eating is one of those highly under appreciated things you don't even realize you should be enjoying. So if you don't have kids now, savour those meals!

Everything went really well while we were gone. I wasn't sure how they'd take to us just going off without them but they gave us a kiss & hug and didn't even bother to wave in the window. We were just dismissed! The dynamic duo said that they didn't get upset at all about us being gone so that was good. There were a couple potty accidents and Sweetie couldn't keep her eyes open and was sleeping in Ryan's arms when we got home but other than that no problems. They even said they'd do it again, ANY TIME. Thanks so much guys! We owe you even more now! (we're not mowing your lawn though)

Earlier today, I went to my FIRST EVER Tupperware party! Tupperware is just such a grown up mothery thing to do! It was high time I got to one. All those pretty colourful plastic things were sooooo appealing & the pictures make it look like organizing everything you own is just a matter of the right tubs... but I didn't fall for that! I did find a little something for Murray's birthday though. You should have seen his face when I told him THAT!

Individuality, is it possible around here???

A BIG complaint amongst adult multiples is that they were never treated as individuals growing up. Last June, I arranged for a few grown up twins, along with some parents of adult multiples to participate in a panel and we asked them all sorts of questions. Almost everyone said that for the most part, the kids were always just "the twins" and it bothered them that most people never bothered to learn their name or address them by it! One of my triplet mom friends recently wrote the following & I thought she'd done a great job of explaining it, better than I ever could and thought I'd share! I don't know if we'll be able to do everything she is planning but it sounds worthwhile. I'd love for them to each have their own room but I don't think they're ready to have control of the entire upper floor just yet!

Speaking of individuality, I would like to add a serious note here. Bill and I have read a lot on raising multiples and, thanks to our wonderful local Mothers Of Triplets and More club, we have a vast amount of resources and experiences to learn from. We are doing everything we possilby can to nuture A, B and C's sense of individuality. It is very important among families with multiples to make sure this is a priority. It instills a sense of importance and self worth in the children. By default they have to share many important things (birthdays, first days of school, most outings and visits, etc). Sometimes as a mother this breaks my heart. Our goals for this year are to make sure each child has her own space - that will be her desk area and her own toy bin upstairs when we finish their bedroom and playroom - and to find a way for at least one of us to regularly spend one on one time with each of them.

There are a few things we are asking our friends and family to do to help us make sure that A, B and C all know that they are special individually. I think the single most important thing is to NOT refer to them as "the triplets" in their presence. I know it is an easy habit to fall into. I strive to refer to them by their names and speak of them as single children when I can. The only time I call them triplets is when they are NOT with me and someone asks me if I have any children. It's just easier to say "yes, I have 2 year old triplets" than answer 3 or 4 different questions.

"Another issue that multiples face is being compared to each other - I know I'm guilty of it. At each milestone of their lives (stemming all the way back to their births) I have had to check myself. One child walked sooner, was more of a talker, ate better, etc. As we are in the toddlers years now I often catch myself thinking things like "well, why don't timeouts work for A when they work so well for B?" and comparing other characteristics. Believe me, I know it's hard not to do. What is really difficult for me is answering questions about their personalities in front of them. Most of the time the answers tend to place an unintentional label on that child. I often get asked if one child is the "shy one" or the "naughty one". It really depends on the situation. Anyone who has children would understand that they don't react the same way in every situation and that they are forever changing and growing. I would never want one of my children to hear me call her shy, naughty, wild, or any other not entirely positive adjective and I would never want them to compare THEMSELVES to each other. "

I know if you are reading this then you know and love our little girls - A, B and C and want them to grow up to be confident and secure individuals. I have included links to a couple websites that discuss this matter a little further.

The Name Game!

We have graduated beyond naming stuffed animals "Bunny" "Kitty" etc. Nope, now everybody's got a name. Which is great! I like being referred to by my name as opposed to "woman" right"? so why shouldn't these little friends have names too? or a few? Honey had a little teddy that she decided was called Sophie one day. Then a little later, Grammie heard her calling it Beary instead.

Grammie: What happened to "Sophie" ???

Honey: She turned into Beary!

Sweetie had already decided that White Bunny was now to be known as Sarah so Lovey decided "Little Bunny" would now be "Baby Sarah". Sweetie must have decided Lovey was onto something and that coming up with your own names is a waste of time and creative energy so her little teddy is also "Beary". However, Lovey did end up with a couple of originals. Meet Coconut & Collie!

The Vet

While Grammie was here yesterday, I took Murph to the vet. Pretty much as expected, it might be this or it might be that & $95 please. Ok, ok, Dr H was pretty sure it's anterior cruciate ligament strain of some sort. He recommended we come back and donate another $300 next week err I mean, have some Xrays done to determine the extent of the injury. Since he's gotten so much better this week, we're going to let him rest for another week or so and see what that does. If the ligaments had all been ruptured the leg would be much more floppy around the joint with nothing holding the parts together (like my precise terms?). If that were the case, he'd need surgery but since it isn't, I don't think there was much that could be done for him anyway. There doesn't seem to be much pain, it doesn't bother him for us to touch the leg, probing around the knee softly doesn't make him jerk or wince or anything. We're only taking him for short walks so mostly he just lies around resting anyway.

I also learned that our lean mean lab is no more! He's all chunked up! His weight has usually been around 86 pounds but this visit it was up to 94 & Dr H said that ideally, a lab his size should be around EIGHTY! Too many treats or what?!?! A large part of it is due to the major decrease in his running over the last year or so. Now that he isn't barrelling through the woods for an hour every night & going for those 3 hour training runs on weekends, he's bulked up. I knew he'd gained a bit, his reflective safety vest can barely fasten but had no idea he was almost 15 pounds too heavy. Sorry Murph, time to cut back! If only the girls were on board with this plan!

Another Triplet Family With the Same Name?!?!?

Well how bizarre! I was googling to see if I could find links back to our own website or references to us and I found ANOTHER family by the same name who also popped out 3 kids in 2004. I guess we're not all that special! However Aunt M has assured me that ours are cuter, although she might not be all that impartial! : ))) I never did find any hits that were connected to us. I guess I won't bother sending in my app to CTU & just give up my aspirations of working with Jack & Chloe saving the world from terrorists.

Shirley was here today, hooray!! She is sooooooo good with them. Even when they're being turkeys, running away from her or having a fit about something, she remains unfazed. She can keep them busy and entertained & I am almost never needed to step in. She's had regular weekly visits since they were infants and is quite fond of them. I am so verrrrrrrrrry appreciative of her interest and devotion. When the girls were around a year and a half, she was telling a friend that she still comes to help out and the friend said "that's just for YOU now!" to which she replied "You're RIGHT!" This made me smile because she might think she's just here for her own benefit but I'm totally reaping! How did I get so lucky to have all these people who just want to do things and help us for so long? Having our 'regulars' makes the week so much smoother. If I can make it through Monday (Teena & Anna), then I can get to Tuesday (music class) and if I survive Tuesday then Wednesday's a snap (playgroup) and then we're past the middle of the week and Shirley's here first thing Thursday morning & stays til lunch so that's taken care of and then last but not least, GRAMMIE FRIDAY!



I decided to try and be more productive with my Shirley time today & got the sheets changed on our bed, made 2 banana breads, (one for her, one for us!) and....drumroll please, pistachio chocolate tunnel cake! Yes, I am a culinary whiz. Or at least, those of you who don't subscribe to the Kraft recipe magazine can think so! The cake is actually greenish so it's an interesting combination of colours and flavours. It was a big hit at supper though, the kids ALL liked it. Rare that anything gets a 5 out of 5 rating around here.



Have I mentioned that Murray & I are going out this weekend???? I'm soooo looking forward to it! While I was still getting EI during my mat leave, I put some money in the joke 'money to burn' jar every payday. Since we go out so rarely, that stash has covered every dinner out, movie theatres, movie rentals for the last 3 years (plus the odd gift certificate from bdays, Christmas). This will be our last MTB withdrawal so it's going to have to be a good one! We're leaning towards a fancy buffet, go out with a bang. It's a totally amazing experience to eat

uninterrupted, at a leisurely pace, while your food is still warm. Ahhh the small things in life!!!




Lovey has the strangest preferences. Tonight after a potty run, she insisted on sleeping on the cold floor. I had to sneak a plush fleecy blanket in underneath of her. Why would you want to sleep on cold threadbare carpet?? She holds on to a bad idea like no one I've ever seen though so if you don't act fast, she just wants it more!








Sweetie: another excellent potty report! We got through the day with how many accidents Sweetie? None! Then Daddy came home and we got distracted and missed one. However, she initiated most of the trips to the bathroom today all by herself. Could it be the lure of the new Cadbury mini eggs? I know I'd do quite a few things to get my hands on some right now. *sigh* Lent always seems like a good idea the first WEEK!! When I get up Easter morning, the heck with cereal, I'm filling up a bowl of those babies & eating it up with a spoon. Put that on the grocery list Rick! : )))



Honey: the people pleaser! The girls helped me change the bed today. Honey put the finishing touches on with the pillow shams. "Mumma's gon' be sooooooooo happy!" She lives to serve! This is when it would be nice if they were all identical!!

Rocket Man's famous!

Ok, well semi famous on the provincial running circuit anyway! Some of the running club folks were comparing notes on their website for their picks for the Boston marathon. All 3 of them picked Murray to be the 3rd finisher for our province at the big race. Pretty neat, now if we can just take out those other 2 competitors... ; ))) Murray suspects they also have the Garmin advantage, "it's pretty much a given" and also knows they're doing serious training so it would seem like sabotage is the only way to go...

In other news, he's gotten his acceptance card & his bib number so it's feeling more and more official all the time. He also discovered that he can set up cell phone #'s as well as email addresses for checkpoint notification. (advise groupies of his progress during the race) He's limited to 3 of each so you'll have to act fast if you want this high tech feature. Otherwise you'll have to do it the old fashioned way like the rest of us & type in the bib number online! AND it has been confirmed that he's in the First Wave, along with 10,000 others but ahead of 10,000 slowpokes. First Wave starts a ½ hour ahead of the Second Wave so that's a little less elbowing that Murray will have to do when jockeying for position.

Only 18 more days til the race, not far now!!

Monday-Teena= : (

I made my usual Monday morning call to our usual playmates but to no avail, no answer all day! Teena & I look forward to our Monday ritual and when something alters it, it's always a bit of a downer. I had to entertain my own kids all day myself! Ack! We managed, but the Teena way is MORE fun!

I thought I'd get them outside to play in the morning but it was getting too close to lunchtime to be worth going out by the time breakfast was eaten & cleared and everyone was dressed. Honey's sleep in til 9:30 threw things off a bit! Instead, we ate & then got ready despite Lovey's little tantrum.

They were happy to head to their swingset again but haven't quite figured out how to power the swinging themselves and have very particular demands on how I should do it for them! "No! No! DIS way!!!" I was hoping to harvest the crop that Murphy's been planting all winter that is now starting to come up through the snow... but didn't get far in between the slave drivers' orders!

Speaking of our firstborn... *sigh* something's wrong with his back leg. He was running around outside on Saturday afternoon with Murray & the kids and he's really done a number on himself. He can't put any weight on it and avoids using the stairs. We've had to carry him a bit but he can get in and out of the front door ok so far. It's probably some sort of strain or sprain so we're hoping he keeps improving. He does seem a bit better than the did on Saturday when he just sat at the bottom of the stairs and cried to come up. We're keeping an eye on him & with any luck we'll be able to avoid the vet. Every time we take him there, it seems to cost us a hundred bucks for them to tell us it might be this or that and to keep an eye on it & let him rest.

While the kids played, he laid on the grass & barked at stuff that went by but didn't get up or chase anything which is more a sign of discomfort rather than the obedience we'd like to say we've taught him!

After some time in the backyard, we moved to the frontyard and they decided to try out their bikes but aren't quite strong enough to make the pedals go on the gravel driveway. I got them to bring them over to a slightly elevated section of the lawn and they did much better with a little gravity assistance! They kept getting mad though when it got hard again. They also wanted to climb the trees, or rather have me lift them up to sit on a branch and hold hem in place. Since doing that 3 at a time isn't the safest, they had to take turns sitting on the branch. You can imagine how well that went over. Waiting's not their strong suit, probably because they have to do so much of it. What's a mum to do? There was a fair amount of squabbling today, in the garage, in the bath..... you name it, we had a screaming fit there.

This 2 seater toy doesn't make for a happy Lovey. Then when she did get a turn, it was lonely there! The other two had moved on to something else and she had to power the spinner all on her own.

Potty Talk: Good day for Lovey, no accidents at all! Sweetie on the other hand had at least 3...

it's like they're taking turns just to mess me up! Just when I think I know which one needs to be watched & reminded more often, they switch it up. All the money we're saving on diapers is probably going right back out in laundry detergent & electricity bills!

Carpet Capers....

Murray must have been exhausted, he went to bed early last night, planning to leave at 6am to go running for a few hours before church, and ended up sleeping in til 9am. So much for that idea! I ended up going to church on my own since the kids weren't ready, he wasn't ready etc. I might as well have stayed home since everybody just wanted to know where the girls were!! *sigh* at least I know where I stand! lol

Murray had the Belgian waffles going by the time I got home, yummmmmmmm! but his intense concentration left the living room carpet completely vulnerable to the girls' artistic expression. They found the bag with their paint & decided not to interrupt daddy & set to work on using the floor as their canvas. At least two of them did anyway. Honey was quick to point out "I din do that paint Mummy!" Murray tried to scrub it out with a rag but there was too much so we decided it was time to shampoo the carpet. Lovey must have heard we were going to do a clean up anyway and felt that there was no need to get to the bathroom to have a crap. Sweetie, our other roving reporter was heard to announce "Dere's ALOT of poop in here Mumma! Gosh!" Luckily no one had run through it or driven any trains through this batch so removal was quick & easy. We're trying not to get frustrated with her, we don't want to make things worse. It's hard not to though when she's so stubborn and 5 minutes after you've asked her about going to the bathroom, she pulls a stunt like that!! Deep breaths....deep breaths! Sweetie, however, had another good day! Yesterday she had an accident while we were out for a couple of hours and as Murray was putting her in the car to go home, she grabbed her pants and was upset as she said "oh Daddy, I peed in my diaper!!". Today she had only had one accident too so that's promising. But then, I've thought that before so I'm trying not to get too excited.

Once Murray got everyone outside, I put the carpet cleaner to work & everything looks spiffy... for now anyway. We headed for my parents shortly after I finished and I immediately crashed for a nap while the kids played downstairs. I was exhausted and apparently the nap wasn't enough because I'm still tired! Goodnight!!!