Sometimes moms of singletons slap me in the face (ok, not literally).  This morning I rushed out of the garage in the stroller as a last resort.  The kids would not nap, they were screaming in hysterics and the cleaners who had just arrived were probably ready to call social services.   My mood was not pretty and I must have been wearing one of my best bitch faces.  Then, this greets me on my trail:

I wish I could have taken a picture from the front but these gals may have thought I was a little weird (cause taking a picture of them from the back is totally normal).  They were probably in their early thirties, giggling, wearing make-up, and acting as though life were a breeze.  I imagine they would be down at the pool lounging on the steps and fixing their babies hats in about an hour.   I couldn’t help but be jealous and think  ”That should totally be me!”.  This is exactly why I don’t join any mom’s groups (unless all the participants have at least 2 kids under the age of 4).

I almost started to cry since this is a pictorial of what I dealt with all morning:

And this is how I felt:

Oh, and let me remind you what I look like strolling around the neighborhood:

So I’m ranting right?  Well, the byline of my blog is “musings from a triplet family” so hear me muse.

Truth be told, there are some major perks of having triplets which I will delve into in another post.   But today I really needed to remind myself of a few of the top reasons why triplets are better than having singletons (we triplet moms do this often..it is a popular topic on our board):

1. Instant celebrity status - Do I ever get sick of hearing how awesome I am and what a saint I must be?  Not really.  It helps boost my moral when I really need it…like today.

2. In four years, I will be at the pool watching my children play together with a margarita in one hand, a magazine in the other telling my mom-friends how awesome life and children are.  In the meantime, their 5-year old will be begging them to play with them, their 2 year old will be climbing up the life guard stand and their infant will be crying and grabbing for their engorged drooping breasts.   At this point I will announce “Gosh, why doesn’t everyone have triplets, its fabulous!”

So take that.  Maybe I wasn’t smiling this morning but now I am!

My new reality:

Our trips to Target; thank goodness for big carts!  The cart says not for children under 2 but my kids do just fine all buckled in.

Our first bloody nose.  Marcus and Josie were having a blast wrestling until I saw blood on Marcus’s arm.  I had to search for the origon becuase Josie didn’t seem to be phased.

After the struggle of installing cabinet locks in the bathroom upstairs this weekend, this is what greeted me Monday morning.  I guess it is time for a new gameplan.

In other news, walking is now Marcus and Josie’s main mode of locomotion.  They are practicing direction turns, running, and jumping from high locotions (I think once they walk, they think they can do anything).  Mia has also taken a few steps by herself so she isn’t too far behind.

AND, this is a little late notice but our blog was featured on the Multiiples and More website last week.  Check us out by clicking here!

There was a time it was not worth even attempting to take my kids into the bathroom while I showered and got ready for the day.   It would take two trips to even get them all in the bathroom and then someone was bound to need something within 2 minutes.  Therefore, if I wanted to shower (and there were plenty of days I wanted to but could not), I always had to wait till the kids were napping or down for the night.  Now that the kids are very mobile (Josie and Marcus are walking more every day) and can entertain themselves for a brief period of time, I will sometimes let them play in the bathroom while I shower.   As standard as this is for some parents, for me this very simple personal freedom is a huge step in my quest for a tidbit of independence from my children.  Although they cause quiet a bit of trouble, tearing through the cupboards and playing hide and seak in daddy’s dress pants (sorry hun, that is why they are so wrinkled), it is worth it!

Wait, do I have three boys?   Most of Marcus’s clothes were passes down from Aunt Tracey, who has two boys with lots of clothes! Marcus probably has 2-3x the pajamas the girls have. Therefore, when laundry doesn’t get done on time the girls end up wearing Marcus’s pajamas.  The girls don’t seem to mind but I admit on these days, I often call the kids by the wrong name.

As a follow up to my recent grocery store rant, yesterday while loading the kids into the van, Mia pooped.  Wouldn’t you know I had one diaper left in the van stockpile.  I attempted to change Mia’s diaper without completely taking her out of the carseat and the darn sticky tab ripped off!  I hate it when that happens!  I didn’t want to run back into the house and grab another diaper but I happened to have duct tape readily available in the van (long story).  Anyway, the duct tape worked like a charm and that darn diaper stayed put the rest of the evening!  This must be straight out of “the diapering manual for dummy dads”.  Classic.

Our house is a fortress with a definate water line.   The triplets have free reign of most of the house.   This isn’t because we don’t believe in “imprisoning” our children, suppresing their natural tendecies to explore and roam.  It is becuase our attempt to baracade them has failed miserably many times.  Their most recent aquisition is Max’s haven, his office.  Like our living room, this bookcase now also has a “waterline”:

The territory we’ve been able to maintain is the hallway leading to the stairs and the master bedroom.  The kids get the alcove and their two rooms

In other news…Josie is our official first walker.  I’m a tough judge of “firsts”,  I don’t count taking steps while falling into someone’s arms or a couch as true steps.  Yesturday, on her 1st birthday, Josie took her first true steps.  Go Josie; if your feeling the inlination to walk yourself to the car, climb into your carseat, and buckle yourself in, go for it!

I used to be able to accomplish a few chores like laundry or dishes while the kids were awake.  Now, they want to help with everything.  Whether it be folding the clothes or climbing into the dishwasher to get that darn sippy cup straw that is always missing, these kids want to be involved.  Here they are helping with their favorite chore, taking clothes out and putting them into the laundry basket.  Of course they love to take the clean clothes off the hanger and carry them around the house.

Sure, they cause more trouble than help but it is all so much fun!