I can’t say it was fabulous for the kids.  Marcus and Josie were clinging to my legs in tears as I walked out the door.  Mia, big surprise, immediately hit the books and didn’t care one way or the other whether I stayed or left.  For me,  it was as fabulous as I imagined.  I had my latte, got oodles of work done for my business and felt amazingly free.  It was a glorious two hours!  The second day of school went a little better.  Mia ran full speed to her classroom, I barely saw her purple shirt as she disappeared through the classrooms doorway.  Josie was in much better spirits, waving bye-bye as she sat down at her art project.  Mama’s boy Marcus still shed some tears but was perfectly content and proud when I picked him up 2 hours later.  There is something comforting about them all being in the same classroom (and making up 1/3 of the class).   It is nice to know they have each other and it made my leaving them in tears a little less painful.  Next week the kids start attending 3 hours on Mon and Wed.

Hooray for preschool!

Well, when it comes to the reality of parenthood, having triplets has been a slap in the face in many ways.  Ok, I totally get it…but I’m not grumpy ALL the time.  And I normally pride myself on being very nice to people when they make triplet comments, even when it is the 5th time I’ve heard “You must have your hands full” that day.  It is VERY rare for a bitchy comeback to come out of my mouth.

Therefore, I sincerely apologize to the nice lady at the pool the other day.  While attempting to change all 3 of my children out of their wet bathing suits (which by the way, pulling down swim diapers on a toddler is like peeling off tight leather pants, three times….not that I would know), and into dry diapers, clothes and shoes; my daughters ended up with either two right or two left feet.  Needless to say, they were a little “clumsy” while leaving the pool.  After attempting to get dressed myself I admit I looked a little “haggard” as I left the pool with 3 kickboards, an ENORMOUS beach bag and 3 toddlers in tow.  On the way down the steps Josie took a little spill and everyone in the vicinity heard her overdramatic reaction.  As usual, I try to look like the awesome put together triplet mom that I am and calmly sooth Josie as I notice her shoes don’t look right.  I bend over to try to fix her shoes as my pool bag contents spill across the ground.  A sweet mom of one comes over to lend a hand and picks up the wet disposable swim diapers for me giving me a “pitiful” look.  ”I know” I’m thinking, “its ridiculous I save these swim diapers but when you are buying for three and you swim as often as we do, they can get expensive (did you know they can go  through the washer and dryer several times in tact?  BTW, I assure you, I do not save the poopy ones)” .  Then it hits me, she  probably didn’t even notice the recycled swim diapers; rather she was probably thinking “wow, this poor mom has her hands ridiculously full, barely has her shorts zipped, and didn’t even get a chance to comb her hair.  She could really use a break today.”  As I realize Josie’s shoes cannot be fixed since she has both left feet, I surrender to the fact my girls are wearing the wrong shoes and return her second left foot.  At about this time the mom says “oh, that isn’t going to solve your problem because your girl’s have the wrong shoes on…they are both wearing only right or left feet.”  I smile up at her and “politely” say “Thank you.  I realize that but does it really look like I care?  Do you think it makes sense to attempt to fix this tiny shoe mix-up right now?”

At that, I grab my child and meet the rest of the clan at the van, not even looking to see the sweet young (stupid) mother’s reaction.  Whoops, just like that I became “that bitchy mom”.  Well, life goes on.  I’ll try to be more polite next time I’m ready to lose my mind.

So far, no major damage has been done.  Maybe a few bumps on the noggin as the kids jump into each other but they’ve been butting heads since they were in the womb…

On another note, the kids went to preschool to meet their teachers on Friday morning.  We parents received a “survival” kit the night before during parent orientation with tissues and chocolate to help us with the transition.  I’ve already made use of both but not to dry my tears and console myself with my impeding small dose of freedom.  Rather,  the kids noses happened to be running before they went in to meet the teachers.  I would hate to get the reputation of spreading sickies so soon into our preschool experience so I made sure to get their noses nice and clean prior to entering the preschool.   Meanwhile, the chocolate came in handy to calm my nerves during one of Mia’s temper-tantrums on the way home from her first day.   I can always use tissues and chocolate!

Finally, we recently discovered an awesome park near our house.  It is the only park like it in the country.  Amazing play equipment, beautiful landscaping and several levels of fun.  They are using it to research future parks that bridge together nature and play for young children.  This dragon is the highlight of the park and my kids FAVORITE play equipment.

According to Mia, these monsters have very specific names.  She identifies them as above on every page.  It goes without saying that this is one of her FAVORITE books.  Luckily, I am not in the book!

And here is a video of the kids dancing at the Children’s Museum

This is a really neat age to have multiples.  At 25 months, my kids are really starting to play together.  In fact, they don’t interact with other kids their age as much as they interact with each other.  They are constantly playing “choo-choo’s”, fish,  dancing together, and just hanging out in the same vicinity.  I am able to take them places like the Children’s museum and pool by myself because they don’t wander very far from each other.  They like to stick together.   They also are really into names right now so they call each other by their first and middle name “Josie Mary”, “Mia June” and “Marcus Max”.  It is darling.  As soon as one of the kids wakes up in the morning or after naps, they look for their siblings…”Marcus Max?”  They are very lovie right now so they usually hug/kiss each other as soon as they see each other in the mornings.  It is really adorable to see such a close bond between siblings and something I treasure as a mom to multiples.  Of course there is the other side…”Marcus’s turn”, “Mia’s turn”, “Josie’s turn” that reverberates through the house at increasing decibels when a fight is about to break out.  But, let’s not focus on that…..

Splashing through puddles on a REALLY HOT morning walk quickly turned into something else entirely:

Fun at the park:

Our local bounce-house

A water break at home:

I’m working on catching one of Mia’s famous tantrums on video.  They are priceless.  This girl has a very strong and independent personality.  I personally find the tantrums pretty humorous and have to keep myself from laughing.  Usually I just let them play-out.  She moves on pretty quickly and I actually will take a tantrum over whining any day!

The most amazing happening to date…. yesterday I took the kids to the pool by myself (which I’ve been doing all summer) and I actually had the opportunity to lay-out on my beach blanket beside the baby pool while my children played with each other for 20 minutes!  Honestly, is this really my life?  The past two years have been so challenging and surreal that the normalcy of my current life is breathtaking.  Lately, my children have been angelic.  They play together, they are very loving, they sleep consistently and they listen.

A few people have asked about my disciplinary style.  Honestly, I don’t really have one yet.  I suppose I mimic the “style” used in daycare/preschool settings.  I give tons of positive feedback, try not to put them in situations where they could misbehave (they have very few things that are “off-limits” in the house and I rarely take them to places where children’s normal behavior could be seen as “bad”), and I RARELY use time-outs or “No’s”.  I mostly do TONS of redirecting and keep a pretty laid back demeanor.  Rather than saying “Marcus, do not hit Mia with that golf club”, I say “Ouch, that hurts Mia, let’s hit the balls with the golf clubs.”  Honestly, I think I was just blessed with really well-behaved toddlers, two of which are girls.  I would say my infants were REALLY difficult and this is my payback. They took forever to sleep through the night, were extremely fussy and needy.  They would never have just fallen asleep in their carseat or played by themselves on a blanket.  And I couldn’t take them anywhere…they would just cry the entire time.   Now, we stay pretty busy.  I usually take the kids on outings to the mall, the grocery store, gymnastic class, the museum, or the pool, every day.  Once the atrocious 3’s come around, I may be dealing with very different children so take everything I say with a grain of salt.  I however, am savoring my toddler triplets.  They are a blast!

Ok, maybe running through the fountains at the mall isn’t great behavior.  But, no one was around and it looked so fun!

Even though life has been much smoother lately, I still need a break!  Last week Max and I took a lovely vacation to Vegas with my sister and brother-in-law.  It was just the right amount of relaxation plus excitement!  Big thanks to the grandparents for watching the kids for us!  And, a HUGE thanks to the Gravitt’s for letting us stay at their awesome condo at the MGM signature.  I highly recommend this hotel!

This past week, I did something I never imagined possible last year.  But now that my kids are two,  life has become more manageable…at least for the time being.  After teaching my 6 AM bootcamp on Wednesday morning, I came home, packed for the beach, loaded the car and the kids and we set off for a whirlwind.  We met my sister and her family and the Grandparent Pietrons at the water park in Greensboro.  Josie was by far the most brave, eagerly flinging herself down the kiddie slides only to run back around the “on” ramp to repeat the adventure over and over again.  Marcus apprehensively gave the slides a shot while Mia decided to pass altogether, opting to float in the pools instead.  After about two hours, the kids were exhausted.  We dressed and got back into the car for a 3.5 hour drive to the beach. People think I’m brave for tackling long drives by myself with three 2-year-olds, but honestly, I find driving long distances relaxing.  The kids sleep for half the time and watch videos for the rest of the trip.  Meanwhile, I sit back and listento a book on tape.  It’s actually a pretty peaceful three hours.

GaGa and Pop-Pop Gravitt took all 4 of Max’s sister’s kids to the beach for  a week while Max’s sister and husband vacationed in the Caribbean.  How fabulous (and brave) is that?  To top off the craziness, the triplets and I crashed their party for a few days.  A few years ago, prior to the triplets, I would have found it slightly appalling to take a trip to the beach with 7 children age 10 and under.  But life make you grow; I’ve expanded my horizons.  Spending time with so many children was actually lots of fun.   All the kids had a blast at the beach and the bigger kids found the triplets entertaining.  Mia (big surprise being the social butterfly of the group) took to Alex and Rachel right away.  She happily became their little puppy for the weekend.

Rachel, Alex, Zach, Matthew and Mia

Josie, Marcus and I

Josie

Mia and Marcus

Josie

Indeed, we have had some fabulous family trips this spring and summer.  A trip to the mountains, three trips to the beach, a trip to the waterpark and we probably have a few more trips up our sleeves.  In fact, in a few weeks, Max and I are off to Vegas.  No kids!  I can taste that pina-calada already!

No words needed.  Have a happy 4th!

Tuesday was the triplets 2 year check-up.  I must say, I’m pretty proud of my little guys.  Taking 3, 2-year olds to the doctor could have been complete choas but the kids did great eagerly waiting their turn for the doctor’s full attention.  My children and I absolutely adore our pediatrician.  My sister recommended him and I think he is fantastic (and it is not just because he is a huge UNC fan).  Truth be told, he doesn’t dote on the kids or spend time being silly with them.  But for some reason, my kids are completely at ease with him.  We also have the same stance on about everything, which is pretty laid back and mainstream (yes I vaccinate, my kids started on Motrin the day they turned 6 months old, I’m waiting to potty-train until my kids ask me, I don’t worry if my kids don’t eat enough veggies, etc.).  Anyway, here are their 2-year stats:

Jocelyn - 25.6 pounds (35%), 33 in (30%)

Amelia - 24 pounds (20%), 34 in (50%)

Marcus - 25.2 pounds (25%), 33 in (25%)

Amelia appears to take after the Gravitt side of the family in several ways, including her height. She just keeps getting taller… She also already has 3 of her 2-year molars!  Mia is almost done teething!  We have a few things to work on like cutting back on milk consumption with Josie (she drinks 30+ ounces a day) and potty-training at some point (not anytime soon though) but overall, we got an A+ visit.

On Tuesday afternoon, we took the kids to their first professional photo shoot.  I wasn’t impressed.  I’ve always been a huge fan of capturing the kids in their natural environment by taking them outside for photo sessions and letting them go.  When the kids were infants, a photographer came to the house which worked ok.  I just never have been a fan of the “posed” pictures.  And indeed, it was a very “artificial” experience.  While my kids ran through the studio, climbing on props and digging through bins of seashells, blocks and balls, we frantically chased them around and tried to get all three of them to stay still on the stark white set for long enough to snap a picture or two.  The only time we could get at least two of the three to glance up at the camera was when the photographer let out a loud yelp, which resembled a dying animal.  It was weird, chaotic and unnatural.   But, we did manage to get a few photos of the kids in one place.  I think in the future though, I’ll stick to the outdoor photo shoots.  Here are some pictures from their party and a few short videos.

Marcus attacks his cupcake:

Opening presents: