Just when you thought you had a clean floor....

She loves us, she really loves us! Why else would she bring 47 itty bitty more pieces of plastic to MY HOME????????? Maggie you're too good to us :)



Maggie dropped in for a visit on Friday but couldn't find any FPP's she liked at the store but found Barbie Peekaboo Petites to give to the girls who of course COULDN'T have been more pleased. They managed to put them down to play the game Maggie brought in her glorious bag of tricks and then moved on to some finger painting. Maggie asked where I wanted to do the painting so I said "uhhh YOUR house??????" but somehow we ended up in my own kitchen..... ;)))


The painting went pretty well and with minimal mess and they were so pleased with their new artwork. They even wanted all the old stuff taken off the line to hang up their gigantic butterflies.

While they were cleaning up, Maggie got down to business. A job opportunity is coming up in her office and she had thought of me. It was incredibly flattering to be considered for this type of position but if I was able to do the job in the first place, then I wouldn't have needed her way back when, right? and there goes my "we are never leaving this program" stand that I maintained for 3 years :P So I had to let her down gently, besides I'm actually looking forward to being free of responsibilities for a few hours each day, day after day after day actually!





It was kind of funny because this is the second job opportunity that has come my way this week! I might have to get a T shirt made that says "I'm not bored yet!" ;)))) ha ha! Maggie was very understanding of my plan for the "year of selfishness" and actually suggested I might want to extend it to two. Thank you Maggie for considering me worthy to join your awesome team and I will keep it in mind for future.

After Maggie left, Lovey got all creative with the tissue paper in the gift bags and created herself this queen outfit. She was very pleased with her new outfit (notice the matching choker!) and I was really impressed at how she put it together! Sweetie's usually the resourceful one with junk around here and dressing herself up but on Friday Lovey was stylin'!!!!!!!

Friday was a pretty busy day for us. I got the kids & I to the gym in the morning, then back to our place for our fun visit with Maggie. Then some lunch, a bit of clean up and then Mumma was there! I didn't bother to run any errands and just decided to have a rest instead. I went in my room & zonked out for half an hour and then jumped in the shower to get ready for the wedding gig. I got to the hotel right at 4 & met Shooter Shelley up in the bride's room where she'd already gotten started with her detail shots.

It was a great wedding and I only made a couple minor screw ups. Right after I got there, I dropped a clipboard of her pose ideas and sheets started slipping out everywhere so I made a grab for it and knocked over a vase of water on the floor of the suite- thankfully the bouquet wasn't in it at the time and there wasn't too much water in it anyway. Then during the ceremony she gave me her 2nd camera to go get some shots of garden where the wedding was and then I just wandered around taking shots from different places & angles. Meanwhile, Shelley's down there looking for her other camera!!!! But hey, if you're going to give a shutterbug a cool camera, you better give her a limit if you actually want it back! :)

The couple was very relaxed and willing to try the different ideas Shelley had and they weren't stressed about time or anything. We got kicked off the property of one place TWICE that night. Apparently we could have staged an elaborate scheme with a fake bride & groom and been casing the joint & photographing all the entry & exit points for our heist later on. So if you see me walking around with the crown jewels in the near future, you'll know I'm not just some pretty, photographer's assistant. I'm a mastermind jewel thief!!!!!!! muahahahahaha!!!

Aside from that, everything went great and I sooooooo enjoyed the evening. She insists on paying me but I don't know why. I have no idea what I earned for that little job and I don't even care. (she's going to send me a cheque or something I think) It is so much fun and I greatly look forward to each one. Murray thinks it's crazy that my idea of a fun night out is lugging gear for somebody but as I always tell the girls, different people like different things! (for instance, some people like getting up at 5am & running around in the woods for 3 hours before most people are out of bed) I hope she gets more weddings so I can hang out with her again. :) I was home by 10ish, pretty tired but happy!

Big Finale!

The big gymnastics show was last week and it generated quite a bit of excitement! Sweetie didn't want to participate but the other two were raring to go! It was a well attended event and we had a hard time finding a spot to sit in the bleachers. Once we did get up there, it got hot pretty quickly. The youngest kids went first so we didn't have long to wait to see our "stars". They ran through a whole bunch of equipment, starting off on the balance beam. Lovey had to walk across the whole thing backwards by HERSELF! You could tell she & Honey were pumped up, they were practically hopping with excitement and halfway across, Lovey stopped, turned to look for us in the stands and gave us THE biggest smile and a happy wave, then continued on. Unfortunately, there wasn't anyone positioned at the end of the beam to let them know when they got there and she fell off the end but didn't hit anything on the way down so just landed on the mats.

Honey worked her way around the circuit much as you'd expect, carefully and thoroughly but not without great enthusiasm! All through supper she talked about the show and was "so excited about the show!" and wanted to hurry so she wouldn't be late for the show etc. I thought Sweetie might change her mind but she was steadfast against it so we didn't push it.

Once their part was over, they sat with their coaches and watched the rest and it was pretty amazing to see the competitive teams fly around on the bars and for the floor routines. Wow. Sweetie sat up in her seat and her jaw dropped as she saw some of the moves! (this was in between complaints of boredom and being too hot, too sleepy, too thirsty etc)

Earlier in the day we'd gone to see the movie "Up!" at the theatre with Teena, Boo, Yvonne's two girls (she had errands to run for her big conference) annnnnnnnnnnnnnnd Babycakes!!! Summer vacation means she has more time to hang out with us so she was able to come to the show, and then helped me take my girls shopping for new sneakers and came home with us for supper and came to the gymnastics show! We got to hang out with all our favourite friends today, a very big bonus!

Our Last Indoor Playgroup (weather permitting)

Playgroup is moving to the park now that summer's here so today was our last day indoors (unless it rains some Wednesday). In the fall we'll be all done with playgroup although Nicolle made me promise to come visit occasionally.

To end the playgroup season with a bang, we had an icecream sundae party and man was it WILD in there today. and that was BEFORE we gave them any candy or icecream! The noise in there was a whole new level and since school's out, the bigger kids were there zipping around and adding to the craziness. and then we gave them the sugar.... LOL

The girls enjoyed this tasty treat (so did I for that matter!) and Lovey got upset when she set her bowl down and someone put her dishes in to be washed! I had to get her another one since she'd been unfairly robbed.

Kindergarten = Splitsville

Well we now know what's going to happen in the fall :( We contacted the school last week to express our desire for the girls to be placed together in the same classroom this upcoming year. I'd talked to a twin mom who had verbally requested this for her boys when they started at this school a few years ago and her request was ignored. She didn't do anything about it that year but later put it in writing and the school kept them together since then. Not wanting to have that happen to us, we wrote a letter and sent it. The principal didn't respond until Monday when she phoned to tell me they were putting Honey & Sweetie in one class and Lovey in a separate class "right across the hall" and she added "so is that fair?".

I was dumbfounded. SPLIT THEM UP??????? Leave ONE girl ALONE?????? FAIR????????? I didn't even know what to say. There were many long silences in this conversation. I was terrified to say anything that might make it worse but couldn't imagine going this route. I mentioned that we hadn't wanted them separated at all and that this 2-1 split was not an optimal way for them to start. She then told me that while parents can make requests, she was telling me the same thing she tells all the parents, it is up to the school to make the decision in the end. OH MY GOSH. Not only is this the worst scenario I can imagine, she's now telling me I have no real say and there's nothing I can do about it!!!!!!!!!!!!!

I can't believe the number of times parents of older children have advised me, "you are the only advocate for your kids. you've got to be the one to fight." I wasn't expecting to have "issues" to contend with before they set foot in the place!!!!!!!!!!

Still not knowing what to say or what I could say, I merely asked why our wishes weren't enough for her to place them as we requested. Another long pause. Maybe she'd been hoping I'd meekly just say "ok" to this suggestion? I let my question hang and finally she said that there was one new arrival they hadn't yet placed and that she might be able to swap this child's spot for Lovey and have the 3 girls together afterall but ONLY after she talked to the kindergarten teacher as it wouldn't be fair to do that without getting her consent. Then, IF the teacher was willing, they MIGHT put them together. I said that would be great and I'd talk to my husband and let him know and that we'd wait to hear from her.

By the way there are going to be 5 classrooms for the K grade next year so it's not like there isn't any wiggle room in there!

After I hung up I called Murray right away. He immediately disagreed with the 2-1 deal and tried to phone her back but just got the school voicemail. He then sent an email reiterating that we wanted them together so they'd be "more relaxed and better able to learn." He also went on to say that if any sort of split was necessary that we'd rather they all be separated rather than have one devastated.

She ended up phoning him back and explained to him that sometimes with multiples there is one child who does better than the other(s) and this discourages the other child(ren) and they give up trying to "compete" with their sibling. So she convinced him that total separation was for the best after all. I'm still not convinced and am sick at the thought of them going off to real school, separated from me AND all their sisters all in one fell swoop. I can't even imagine the hysterics when we have to break it to them. Lovey got separated from the other 2 at the orientation and was terribly upset at that 30 minute session. They've all mentioned several times that they want to be together but I've never told them it would be that way for sure so hopefully they'll become accustomed to the idea when we tell them later this summer.

How detrimental to their educational experience could it be in KINDERGARTEN for heaven's sake????????? I can't see that they'd be scarred for life, and there are bound to be other students in the class who will be better at some areas anyway, won't that be a bit frustrating too? I know it was for me. That darn Kyle was always trying to beat me on tests at school but he didn't always succeed and it kept us all on our toes. We hated to be the one with the lower mark so we worked harder & studied harder.

Hopefully I'll get used to the idea myself but it's going to take some doing! I know there will be benefits for them and that they'll be able to be individuals and not just "the triplets" all the time. They do everything together, wake up together, eat together, play together and are rarely on their own. Having their own class, friends, teacher and experiences will be a nice change for them. It's just one I was hoping we could introduce a bit later, after they'd had a chance to get used to their new surroundings with the comfort and support that they're used to and is available to them.

Now that this is settled and out of my hands I just have to make the best of it and try to figure out how to spin it into a positive light so the girls will come around to this idea....

:(

Father's Day Fun!

We had a great day with all our dads! Rick was still here Sunday morning so we got to give him his present on the proper day for a change (not that anyone but me cares about that!). All the cottages in their area have a sign with the family name on it, nailed to a tree, on the garage, hanging from a post etc. So when I found out they'd finally bought a property of their own, my first thought was that they'd definitely need their own sign! I got in touch with a scrapbooking friend of mine whose brother in law makes wooden ones and was able to order one in time for Father's Day. I think Rick was pleased with our idea!

We then made it to church and then after lunch, the girls gave Murray his presents. He got a new bible (he lost his on his last trip), a new hacksaw and a new bbq cover. As usual he was pleased with everything so the girls were happy! Lovey was unable to contain herself as he was opening hers. "Daddy it's a BIG surprise!!!!!!!!" and then in the next breath she burst out with "it's a NEW BIBLE!!!!!!!!!!" before he'd even cracked the wrapping paper. LOL

After he opened his gifts, Honey wanted to have a game of checkers and then Lovey wanted a turn too. While they were doing that, Sweetie & I ran an errand at the mall and she was thrilled to be with me on her own. I'd asked each of the other two since Sweetie had had a turn recently but they wanted to stay with Daddy.

After getting back from the mall it was time to go to M&D's and we made it there just in time for supper, T BONE!!!!!!!!!!! Woohoooooooooooo!!!!!!!!!!! After supper the girls were very keen on helping Grandad open his gifts. You'd think they'd have gotten enough of that this week but they don't seem tired of it yet.... Dad also seemed to enjoy his new gear :)