Halloween -- Triplet Style

So last year we were the three little pigs ... it was easy and simple. The boys loved their costumes and we even made it on the evening news!

Fast forward to this year, we we were the three little bears. Errr ... not so much really because the boys REFUSED to wear the cute little footies that were bear claws and adorable little hats that went with the costume. Don't you love the terrible twos? So, here is what they were supposed to look like:

Here's what we looked like:

Well, at least Noel let us put on his bear head without screaming bloody murder:

This is where I would be posting a great family shot of our 2008 Halloween. Oh wait -- I don't have one! Grrrrr...

The House of Ewwww! Returns

The boys are sick ... again. Thankfully we are not dealing with vomiting and diarrhea. Just your typical snot-filled, phlegm hacking colds.

We have been experiencing all kinds of new and different diseases since we started our whirlwind adventure every weekend at "Immunity World" d.b.a Sunday School Church Nursery.

This one has been exciting, filled with 105 degree fevers, a trip to the pediatricians office, and pink carpet-staining antibiotics! OH! I almost forgot the best part -- they threw in an ear infection for Hayden and the beginnings of pneumonia for Tanner at no extra charge! So giving, so generous are those parents who insist on bringing their sick kids to church every week. That "well-child nursery" sign posted on the door -- obviously, that's optional.

Thanks to some hefty doses of Tylenol and wine (Tylenol for the kiddos, wine for the parentos), everyone seems on the mends today. But this week has been challenging ... and I've learned I am sucker for sick kids.

We started some bad habits this week, and I have a feeling I'm going to be paying the price for a while. Want only cookies for lunch -- okay. Just slices of pear for dinner -- no problem. Need to be rocked to sleep -- I'm your mommy!

And here is my grand-daddy of all faux pas ... I let Hayden have a pacifier (insert Halloween scream here). I know, I know ... but he seemed so much more comfortable with it ... and really really cute, too.Hopefully, I can undo the damage without leaving too much of a traumatic footprint in their lives.

Only Five More Days ...

I'll admit it. I was practically giddy as I completed my civic duty and voted early for my candidate of choice -- I think I even giggled out loud. Yes, I'm proud to be one of the thousand people in Ohio who voted early so that my vote can be disputed for months after the election.

However, I don't know if I was giddy happy or giddy slap-happy. Why, you ask? Because living in a swing state is HELL!

Every day I wonder how many trees were killed to send me a bazillion pieces of mail that tell me this person is pure evil ... and that person isn't really an American ... and this person is against disabled veterans ... and that person hates young children .... this person sends so many jobs to China that they poop Hello Kitty ... and that person kicks puppies for fun ... yada yada yada!

And if that isn't enough, the phone calls, oh Good Lord, the phone calls. I never knew I was this important, and maybe I shouldn't tell you because you might get jealous, but I have had everyone calling me this month. Hillary Clinton, Joe Biden, Sarah Palin, Ted Strickland ... even John McCain himself called me! Told ya you'd be jealous.

I would have loved to talk to these people when they called me and asked them a few questions I have, but unfortunately for them, they have the misfortune of calling right as the boys are going to bed. So I have to choose -- talk to the important person (I use that term loosely), or go try and stop the chants of "Phone! Hello? Phone! Hello? Phone! Hello?" coming from the three cribs that had been silent and peacefully moments before. Alas, I chose to go soothe the masses instead of taking the call. But, I have their words of wisdom saved on my answering machine for historical preservation.

And what is up with the door-to-door volunteers? Trust me, if I was going to vote for your candidate, I'm not now because you just rang my doorbell during nap time, woke up my boys, and therefore voided any chance I had today of a shower. I need to put up a sign ... I'm thinking about stealing this one from one of my fellow triplet moms:

Here's Your Sign

The other day at church, Dan and I were at our favorite breakfast place before church. We had them all dressed they same as we usually do when we go out (it is easier to keep track of everyone when they are dressed alike).

A very nice lady came by our table and asked, "Are they triplets?" Dan and I nodded yes as he was trying to stop a sippy cup from flying across the restaurant and I was trying to save a waffle from being poked to death by a 'safety' fork.

The lady stops and pauses -- you could hear the hamster wheel turning in her head as she processed this information.

I knew it was coming. I was trying to send her mental telepathy messages not to do it, not to say it! Please, please, please -- take your two brain cells and rub them together!

But, then ... she says it -- "Are they all the same age?"

Here's your sign.

Deceptive Advertising

So, I'm looking for birthday cakes for the boys. My co-worker suggests maybe a "doughnut cake". It's the same concept as a cupcake cake but made with donuts instead.

I actually gave some thought to this idea until I checked out one of my favorite blogs, Cake Wrecks, and saw this deceptive advertising for doughnuts at Krispy Cream.

Wow, those pumpkin donuts almost look too good to be true, don't they?

That's because they are. Back to the drawing board!

A birthday is coming!

The boys turn two in December. Confession time ... I don't think I'm going to do a party this year. I didn't do one last year, and I just don't see doing one this year.

I mean, really -- do you remember your second birthday party? No? Thanks for proving my point.

We'll still have a cake, presents, take pictures, and invite family, but I don't see us doing a whole 2nd birthday shing-ding with games, goody bags, and a million kids running around the house. I figure this is the last time we can get away with not having a party, so I'm going to milk it while I can.

I think part of this is that I'm just not a birthday person -- never have been, probably never will be. I trying very hard to change this attitude for the boys, and those who know me know that I will be in full birthday party planner mode come next year when they turn three and will have a clue about birthdays and such. But this year ... why stress myself out?

So, we are about 45 days out (but who's counting?), and I am trying to decide on a birthday theme, mostly so I can start looking at cake options!

Last year for their first birthday, we did a baby Einstein caterpillar cake -- it was great because it was one big cake made up of 5 individual cakes, so each boy got their own individual "body" cake. The boys loved it and it was good cake, but I learned that this year I may want to choose a cake without so much colored frosting on it. Check out the carnage from last year:

So, I'm looking for ideas for cakes! Right now I'm leaning towards a choo-choo train with different cars so each boy can have their own "cake" again?

How do you do it?

15 Ways To Keep A Healthy Level Of Insanity

(While Working Full-Time and Raising Triplets)

1. At Lunch Time, Sit In Your Parked Car With Sunglasses on and point a Hair Dryer At Passing Cars. See If They Slow Down.

2. Page Yourself Over The Intercom. Don't Disguise Your Voice.

3. Every Time Someone Asks You To Do Something, ask If They Want Fries with that.

4. Put Decaf In The Coffee Maker For 3 Weeks . Once Everyone has Gotten Over Their Caffeine Addictions, Switch to Espresso.

5. In the Memo Field Of All Your Checks, Write "For Marijuana".

6. Finish All Your sentences with "In Accordance With The Prophecy".

7. Skip down the hall Rather Than Walk and see how many looks you get.

8. Order a Diet Water whenever you go out to eat, with a serious face.

9. Specify That Your Drive-through Order Is "To Go".

10. Sing Along At The Opera.

11. Put Mosquito Netting Around Your Work Area and Play tropical Sounds All Day.

12 . Five Days In Advance, Tell Your Friends You Can't Attend Their Party Because You have a headache.

13. When The Money Comes Out The ATM, Scream "I Won! I Won!"

14. When Leaving the Zoo, Start Running towards the Parking lot, Yelling "Run For Your Lives! They're Loose!"

15. Tell Your Children Over Dinner, "Due To The Economy, We Are Going To Have To Let One Of You Go."

So You're Ready to Become a Parent?.

MESS TEST Smear peanut butter on the sofa and curtains. Place a fish stick behind the couch and leave it there all summer.

TOY TEST Obtain a 55-gallon box of Lego's (or you may substitute roofing tacks). Have a friend spread them all over the house. Put on a blindfold. Try to walk to the bathroom or kitchen. Do not scream because this would wake a child at night.

GROCERY STORE TEST Borrow one or two small animals (goats are best) and take them with you as you shop. Always keep them in sight and pay for anything they eat or damage.

DRESSING TEST Obtain one large, unhappy, live octopus. Stuff into a small net bag making sure that all the arms stay inside.

FEEDING TEST Obtain a large plastic milk jug. Fill halfway with water. Suspend from the ceiling with a cord. Start the jug swinging. Try to insert spoonfuls of soggy cereal into the mouth of the jug, while pretending to be an airplane. Now dump the contents of the jug on the floor.

NIGHT TEST Prepare by obtaining a small cloth bag and fill it with 8-12 pounds of sand. Soak it thoroughly in water. At 3:00 P.M. begin to waltz and hum with the bag until 9:00 P.M. Lay down your bag and set your alarm for 10:00 P.M. Get up, pick up your bag, and sing every song you have ever heard. Make up about a dozen more and sing these too until 4:00 a. m. Set alarm for 5:00 A.M. Get up and make breakfast. Keep this up for 5 years. Look cheerful.

INGENUITY TEST Take an egg carton. Using a pair of scissors and pot of paint, turn it into an alligator. Now take a toilet paper tube and turn it into an attractive Christmas candle. Use only scotch tape and a piece of foil. Last, take a milk carton, a Ping-Pong ball, and an empty box of Cocoa Puffs. Make an exact replica of the Eiffel Tower.

AUTOMOBILE TEST Forget the BMW and buy a station wagon. Buy a chocolate ice cream cone and put it in the glove compartment. Leave it there. Get a dime. Stick it into the cassette player. Take a family size package of chocolate chip cookies. Mash them into the back seat. Run a garden rake along both sides of the car. There, perfect.

PHYSICAL TEST (Women) Obtain a large bean bag chair and attach it to the front of your clothes. Leave it there for 9 months. Now remove 10 of the beans.

PHYSICAL TEST (Men) Go to the nearest drug store. Set your wallet on the counter. Ask the clerk to help himself. Now proceed to the nearest food store. Go to the head office and arrange for your paycheck to be directly deposited to the store. Purchase a newspaper. Go home and read it quietly for the last time.

FINAL ASSIGNMENT Find a couple who already have a small child. Lecture them on how they can improve their discipline, patience, tolerance, toilet training and child's table manners. Suggest many ways they can improve. Emphasize to them that they should never allow their children to run wild. Enjoy this experience

Just for Triplet Moms!

Most people probably don't even give a second thought to this dilemma that faces me daily -- how do you go shopping by yourself with three 22-month old boys?

At most grocery stores, they have the "car carts" ... you know, the shopping cart with the little two-seater car in the front and a place for another child in the basket:

But, other stores are woefully behind in getting this kind of shopping cart. So, unless you are up for trying to pull a three-car choo choo wagon and push a cart ... or push a triple stroller and pull at cart, you are S.O.L. (I was raised that properly young ladies use acronyms instead of real cuss words.)

That was the case ... until my beloved Target store (pronounced tar-j) created this thing of beauty for all of us triplet moms out there. Can I just tell you that they have just increased their revenue about ten-fold because the Shelly household will be doing all their shopping there from now on! Trust me, Tanner is more excited than he looks in this picture!

Flu Shot Time!

We have been lucky to get a special series of shots October - April the last two years that helped prevent the nastiest of bugs for preemies, RSV, but we will not qualifiy for the shots this year (we had to fight insurance last year, so there is no WAY we will get it this year).

We also kept the boys on lockdown through the same months to help prevent RSV, colds, flu, and anythign else that may compromise their preemie lungs.

This winter, with no Synagis shots and going to Sunday School, we are looking forward to many snot-filled days and nights ahead of us with the boys this winter. We can't wait to see all the fun diseases they bring home from church!

Thank goodness they all can blow their noses, and we won't have to be suctioning them with that horrible bulb thingy that never does any good anyway! The boys also LOVE to wash their hands at the sink. I bought that J&J kids soap that is blue so you can see where you wash. They love that blue soap!

We do have one other line of prevention -- our flu shots. We at the Shelly household are pretty serious about flu shots. Dan got his a couple weeks back, I get mine today, and the boys get their shot on Saturday. We also have it in our Nanny's contract that she must have a flu shot before November 1st, and my parents get a flu shot every year as well.

This will be the second year for flu shots for the boys ... last year we had to have two shots -- augh! I love our pedi office because they allow you to special request thermisol-free flu vaccines. Honestly, being from a scientific background, I don't know if I buy into the whole thermisol/vaccine controversy, but I figure it can't hurt to do the thermisol-free vaccines when I can.

So, think of me today at 10am when I'm getting my shot, and think of the boys on Saturday at 9:15am when they are getting their shots. I have to go back to work after my shot -- the boys will be getting ice cream and lots of TLC!

Shameless Plagiarism

This post is literally copied from one of my favorite blogs to read: Biscuits and Gravy. This clip is from one of my favorite shows and demonstrates what my life is like some days ... times three!

A Helping Hand?

We really want to make sure the boys grow up with an understanding that when someone needs help, they can make a difference by assisting or even comforting that person.

We've been working on the phrase, "Help, please" for a few weeks now.

We've also been working with the boys on making sure they comfort their brothers when they are crying. Usually, we tell them to give whoever a hug ... they usually give a hug or pat each other on the back or head.

I guess we've still got work to do in explaining that helping does not mean making the situation worse:

Yes, that is Hayden pulling Tanner's hair while Tanner is stuck in the kitchen stools. My favorite part of this picture is Hayden's whole "What? I am helping!" look on his face.

What the heck is playing on your blog?

This was the question posed to me by a reader.

I know my song list is such a mish-mash, isn't it? My musical taste is so broad that I had a hard time picking out songs for this blog. I figured that I would try and choose songs that I could listen to over and over again, that are "G"-rated (I'd love to post some Kayne but I think that would prompt some comments), and that have some kinda of meaning for me.

I hope to keep adding/deleting songs as we go along, but for now, here is why I choose the songs I did:

The Rainbow Connection ... This was my father/daughter dance song for our wedding. I wanted something original (if I heard "What a Wonderful World" for a father/daughter dance one more time, I think I was going to lose it), and I wanted something that we could dance to even after a few drinks (shout out to my Dad for the premium open bar!).

100 Years ... if you don't get misty-eyed listening to this song, you have a heart made of stone. This song gets me every time and reminds me always live each day for everything it is worth!

Under Pressure ... Okay, let me make this very clear -- I liked this song BEFORE Vanilla Ice ruined it. This is a great song to sing in the car when no one is around!

Fix You ... Wow, this song is so emotional for me. When Dan and I were going through our miscarriages before we had the boys, I listened to this song over and over and over again for inspiration and hope.

Wide Open Spaces ... This was the song playing when I got my first apartment after college. I love this part, "As she drove away, she heard her Dad say, 'Don't forget to check the oil.'" That is SO my Dad.

Anna Begins ... A great song from my undergraduate days that reminds me to never take any relationship for granted.

Please Forgive Me ... One of Dan's favorite songs. It reminds me of when my parents still had the Lake House in Indiana. Dan and I would play this CD while out in the boat when we anchored in Allen's Creek.

In Your Eyes ... Hello? Have you not seen "Say Anything"? I used to swear that I would marry any guy that held a boom box playing this song over his head.

Same Old Lang Syne ... This is my favorite Christmas song. I love this song, and everyone needs a little Dan Fogleberg on their play list!

Peace Train ... A great and relevant song back in the 70s and now ... scary how if we don't learn from history we are condemned to repeat it.

Don't Dream It's Over ... Originally performed by Crowded House, this was our last private dance at our wedding. While everyone was outside lined up to send us off, Dan and I got one final dance together in private.

No One to Blame ... Because no one is to blame. Good reminder that we need to take responsibility for our actions.

Rocket Man ... This is my parent's song and I love it, too! I always love to hear my Mom sing this song when it comes on -- it is so obvious how much she loves my Dad. I hope Dan and I are like that after 40 years!

Sweetest Thing ... This is a little known "B" side track by one of my all-time favorite bands. I mean, after all, isn't love the sweetest thing?

American Pie ... My connection to this song is a little dorky, but you know the part when it goes, "The players tried to take the field, but the marching band refused to yield" ... when I was a Shakerette on Miami's Marching Band, we would play this song on all of our bus trips to games and the whole band would sing that part really, really loud. Ah, memories!

Outside Baths

We have started a kind of summer time tradition at our house on bath nights.

It is such a pain to bath the boys in tub upstairs ... EVERYTHING (including whoever is bathing them) gets drenched, you have to clean the tub up afterwards, etc, etc, etc. Wow -- I sound really lazy, don't I? But I invite any of you over some night to bath three 22-month old boys and them tell me what you think.

So, we started doing baths outside. What, you ask? Yup -- outside baths. We have a Step 2 turtle shaped sandbox on our back deck that we fill with hot water from our laundry room sink, we strip the boys down, and do outside baths. The boys love it, and it is so much easier for us!

It started out as a kiddie hot tub that the boys would get into to warm up after getting out of the pool in the summer. One night, Dan and I were like, what if we just soaped them up out here? "Genius!" " Thank You!"
For those of you wondering (and I know you are out there), our back yard is very secluded in the summer time. The only way the boys could be seen prancing around our back porch in all their nakedness is if the kids who live next door played on their completely unused, probably unsafe play set in the way-back corner of their yard. (Those of you who are good at foreshadowing have probably figured out where I'm going with this ...)

We are having an Indian Summer and temperatures were in the high 80s on Saturday. So, Dan and I were like, outside baths -- score! We got the turtle all ready, stripped down the boys, and had a great time on the porch ... until the neighbor kids and about 3 of their friends came out and went down to the old play set. Dan and I might have not even seen that they were there if we hadn't heard them scream out, "Look! The triplets are NAKED!" Actually, I think the whole neighborhood heard them, too. Certainly the boys did because they went running over to the porch fence and shoved "themselves" (read between the lines here people) through the slats to happily wave and show everyone that they were indeed naked.

Dan and I are looking forward to getting our Parents of the Year Award by our Homeowners Association.

My Wonderful DH!

In the world of online boards, we refer to our husband as "DH" ... it stands for "Dear Husband". I will confess that many of my online friends make the "D" and "H" stand for other words, but this is a "G"-rated blog, so I'll let your imaginations figure out that one!

This weekend, my "DH" truly was a dear husband. We had our big Triplets & Quads Club sale on Saturday. After 4 hours of setting up for the sale on Friday night, I had to be up at 5am on Saturday and worked all day at the sale. We sold a bunch of old toys and clothes and made some good money, but I came home at 3pm practically half-asleep ... seriously, I probably should not have been driving. Anyhow, after being home with the boys all day by himself and equally exhausted I'm sure, he sent me straight upstairs for a hot shower and a nap. I could have cried I was so grateful. I slept for an hour, and afterwards, l literally felt like a brand new person.

How frackin' lucky am I to have such an awesome DH? (ETA: The frackin' is a tribute to Dan who is a major fan of Battlestar Galactica -- a show that in my humble opinion has totally jumped the shark, but I digress.)

Road Rage Experiment

It normally takes me 20 minutes to get into work, but with traffic it takes almost 30 minutes. When I tell people in other cities like Boston, Chicago, and Atlanta this fact, they laugh at me -- they would kill to have our traffic "problem". People here in Cincinnati don't realize how good they've got it in terms of traffic.

Still, it amazes me what horrible drivers are in my city when they get into traffic ... tailgating is the norm, turn signals are optional, merging is just a suggestion, and all lanes are equal (high speed lane for passing only -- HA!).

People get so mad at each other while driving ... fingers flying everywhere, tapping brakes on purpose in heavy traffic, etc. And what happened to the little "thank you" wave or gesture when you let someone in or you cut someone off?

I thought I would try a little experiment driving into work this morning. I kept track of two things.
(1) I let every single car in front of me who wanted to merge, sneak in, or just plain cut me off ... and I counted the number of people who waved to me after doing so.
(2) I noted the number of people who tailgated me (tailgating was defined as I could not see their headlights in my rear view mirror ... pretty darn close in my humble opinion!).

So ... here are the much anticipated results:
(1) I let 24 cars (yes, 24 -- aren't I a nice person?) in front of me, and 2 waved.
(2) Number of tailgaters ... 5, so not that bad except for the one jerk who kept scaring the crap out of me because he would not pass me and tailgated me the whole way through downtown!

Pretty sad, people. Some interesting notes on my experiment:
(1) The drivers that cut me off had cars that cost more than my house ... Lexus, BMW, Mercedes were big offenders (shout out to the Acura MDX that did wave).
(2) Most of the cars that tailgated me were beaters that I'm surprised they got off the cinder blocks in the front yard that morning to drive around town.
(3) Most of the "cutter-offers" were older, professionals while the tailgaters were young, college -age students.
(4) Most of the drivers that cut me off had a certain political affiliation prominently displayed on their car. I don't want to start a political commentary here by saying who it was, but I'll give you a hint ... "W".

What will I be when I grow up?

Dan and I have big dreams for the boys. We hope that they find a career that they are passionate about and love.

Of course, we often play the game of assigning a profession to them for the future based on their personalities of today. (For example, this month, we are sure that Hayden will be an NFL linebacker, Tanner will be an electrical engineer, and Noel will be a triple threat -- actor/singer/dancer.) We try and supply the boys with books about different "Mommy and Daddy jobs", and give them dress-up costumes and hats so they can play pretend fireman, construction worker, etc.

We want to encourage creative exploration ... but we aren't so sure about the career aspirations of Noel with this dress-up costume.

Our son, the miggity-miggity mac daddy

Q: What really scares me about triplet boys?

A: Three 16 year-old-boys gets their license at the same time and the ensuing insurance premiums. Ack!!

It's the Great Pumpkin, Charlie Brown!

We did our trip to the pumpkin patch this past weekend. It was warmer than we expected with temperatures getting up into the low 80s (hence the boys flushed checks). But, that did not stop them from having a great time.

Warning ... picture overload about to occur!

On Our Way!

With Nana & Grandad on the Tractor Ride to the Pumpkin Patch!

Tanner carefully picking out his Pumpkin!

Noel accosting an innocent scarecrow!

Hayden playing King of the Hay Mountain!

Phew ... We are Exhausted!

Sunday, Sunday

I'm a self-proclaimed coupon queen. Literally, I feel that a shopping trip has been unsuccessful if I don't save at least 35-40% of my grocery bill from using coupons. It takes a lot of time and effort to carefuly go through the Sunday paper and match coupons with the sales, but it is worth it in the end to save so much money. I guess you could kinda call it my hobby -- Dan just calls it my obession. Eh ... either way it is still money in the bank.

The boys try and help sometimes. Since they can't use scissors yet, we just let them tear the coupons out of the paper. So far, it's not working out too well.

Look Out Corporate America!

With the latest downturn in the markets, we have taken a financial hit like the rest of America.

As we were trying to refigure our budget last night and make our paychecks go farther, we realized we aren't utilizing our biggest assets ... the boys!

We are still working on their resumes, but we did try on some professional work clothes for the interview. Look out Proctor & Gamble -- here come your next Board of Directors! Will work for Pampers!

Things NOT to say to a mother of multiples

Unfortunately, there are some people who just don't know what to do when they run into triplets, so they ramble off stupid questions. Here is a short list of questions we have encoutered over the past two years:

"Oh come on, do you really need three?" ... I hope you don't have one!

"Do they all have the same father?" ... Yes, but they each have a different mother.

"Do you watch Jon and Kate Plus 8?" ... When I find the time

"Were you fertilized?" ... Yup, used Scott's Tuff Turf!

"Did you have help?" ... Yes, my husband.

"Look, Ma! Them are Triples!" ... Ahh, to live on the border of Appalachian!

"Do they run in your family?" ... Yes, they run all over the place!

"Are the natural?" ... Nope, made of plastic!

"You look pretty good for having triplets!" ... Ummm, thanks?

"That's what you get for messing with God." ... ????

"I'd shoot myself if I were you!" ... Yeah, I'd shoot myself if I were you, too.

"Are you done having kids now?" ... Nope, next time we're trying for quads!

"How did you get triplets?" ... They were having a big clearance sale at Target, so I stocked up.

"Did you do drugs?" ... No, but I do now.

"Do they know their triplets?" ... No, we're keeping it a secret, don't tell them!

And of course, "You've got your hands full!" ... Better full than empty!

One of my triplet moms made a great video about how you are practically stalked everywhere you go ... it would be funny if it weren't so accurate!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1GE6zQ8FWok

Wheel - of - Fortune!

I remember back when I was pregnant with the boys, I used to say things like, "My children won't watch TV until they are 3 years old, and then it will only be an hour of PBS each day.", and "I'm going to make all my own baby food from scratch and use only organic."

I used to wonder why every triplet mom would burst out in hysterical laughter when I said these things. I don't wonder any longer ...

Having three infants, now toddlers, the same age presents many challenges that parents with one child or children of different ages just can't relate to. It's not that I'm trying to say that I get to play the Triplet Card when it comes to making excuses, but I've learned that you shouldn't try and referee when you don't play the sport. I had no idea what it would be like to raise three boys at the same time ... heck, I still have no idea what I'm doing half the time ... and many of my "ideals" went out the window when the boys arrived.

That being said, I really think I still do a pretty darn good job as a mom. They rarely hide from me anymore when I come home from work ...

The boys have a great variety of foods each day -- they eat hummas for goodness sakes, they always get a fresh fruit and a vegetable with every meal, but is it organic and homemade? Ahhhh, no. I do the best I can, but I figure no toddler has been corrupted by having Gerber sweet pototo casserole instead of homemade ... yet.

Maybe TV is where I have really slacked off. It started with Baby Einstein videos when we were trying to redirect three screaming infants who all wanted to be feed at the same time, and it has evolved to having our daily dose of Wheel of Fortune every night. The boys watch practically no TV during the day, but every night at 7pm Wheel of Fortune comes on ... the boys get into their pjs and we have our milk sippies while snuggled on the couch as a family. We all clap along with audience when a puzzle is solved, and it is beyond cute when the boys point to letters on the puzzles as they appear and happily shout out "O", "T", and "S". When Wheel ends and Jeopardy comes on, the boys know it is time to go upstairs to bed. Just my daily reminder that I need to be flexible ... when the tree doesn't bend with the wind it breaks.

What Me? Blog -- Never!

Yeah, well, never say never. I have always said I won't do a blog because I really don't have much interesting to say ... at least not in the fun, witty way that all of my fellow bloggers seem to be able to do. Plus, I am so clueless about how to "do" a blog, like posting pictures, etc.

Still, I really wanted a way to document our lives for my boys. I have been very lax about getting baby books filled in and pictures in photo albums, so this blog will be like my poor substitute for being a scrapbook mom!

I'm going to skip all the "how we got here" stuff (most of you are already in the loop anyway), and just jump right in!

Enjoy!