Quick Shout Out

I heard through the grapevine that one of my readers is going to become a dad of twins today. I just wanted to say congratulations and good luck. Feel free to leave comments here or email me directly if you have any questions (that goes for the rest of you, too). I'm no expert, but I have been through it and so far we've all survived!


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Enjoying the Sunshine!

After a long winter we were finally able to get outside and play and soak in some sunshine this weekend. The kids had a great time playing on their little slide, drawing on the driveway with chalk, eating sticks and mud, and just getting dirty. All things that kids should do! Here are some pics of the fun we had:

Cute Kids

The kids were being especially cute this morning. When I brought them downstairs they were pointing at the TV and making their "I want that" sound. So I obliged and turned on some baby einstein for them. They immediately sat down on their little couches and watched quietly while I made breakfast.

In The Beginning

I'd like to go back and start posting about how it was for us in the beginning.  These are stories that I would love to have for the kids to read once they are older.  I think you'll also enjoy them.  

Let's start at the very beginning.  The wife and I were in the middle of remodeling our bedroom - new laminate flooring and everything - and getting ready to go to a photography conference/vacation in Las Vegas when she got the first positive on the pregnancy test.   She immediately stopped all painting (which meant that I had to do it myself - not that I mind).  She made appointments with her doctor to confirm, did the blood tests and whatnot.  When she explained the values to me from the two blood tests something didn't sound right to me.  The number was supposed to double in a certain amount of time and when I did the quick math in my head it was a little more than it should have been.  But I kept these thoughts to myself.  

Then we left for Vegas.  I had seminars to attend, and she had naps to take.  Lots of them.  She was sooo tired.  She did go out on her own during the day to explore a little, but not much.  I remember a couple of nights waking her up to go out.  And we had to avoid the smell of coffee like the plague.  That was a tough one being that there was a Starbucks in the lobby of our hotel!  But we managed, and had a good time.  Gambled a bit, shopped a bit, went to see the Hoover Dam and the Grand Canyon.  It was a good trip.

After we got back I had a day or two before I had to get back to work and was working on re-acclimating myself after the time change.  It was my turn to take naps!  During one of the naps I had a strange dream that we needed a bigger house because we had three kids.  I didn't see the kids, there was no reference to how old the kids were, just that we were looking for a bigger house because we had three kids.  I shook it off as nothing and went on with my life.  

Then we had the appointment for our first ultrasound.  When we got into the room the tech asked me if I wanted to sit down and offered me a stool.  I opted to stand next to my wife.  She started the ultrasound and asked G if she was experiencing any morning sickness or any other symptoms.  G explained that she was a little nauseous at times and was very tired.  The tech then said "well that explains the nausea" as she was looking at the screen.  I vaguely remember her counting, and when she got to three I think I said, "three what?" and then turned around to look for that stool.  The shock had set in.  

The details are a bit fuzzy now, but she finished the ultrasound, asked if we needed anything and then took us out to wait for the doctor.  That day the doc was pretty backed up, so they didn't have a room for us to wait in.  We waited on a bench in the hallway.  People kept walking by asking us if we were okay.  We must have had some pretty stunned looks on our faces.  I remember giggling in an awkward kind of way thinking, how are we ever going to do this.  We can't care for three babies.  Triplets!  It seemed like we were sitting there forever, but in a way it was a good thing.  By the time the doc was ready for us reality had started to set in.  Or at least acceptance.  We were going to have triplets!

Mobile Video Entertainment System

Last week we had the "video entertainment system" installed in our mini-van.  When we bought the van a couple of months after the kids were born, I didn't think we'd need it.  And, I guess technically we don't need it now.  But after just one weekend of travel and one trip to the grocery store with the kids, I'm glad we got it (the kids really liked watching the movie while I was loading groceries into the back of the van).

The system we got comes with two ceiling mounted screens, an in dash player that controls the system, two wireless headphone sets, and a remote control.  Oooh, it also has aux input jacks for stuff like video games.  Of course, at 18 months, it will be a while before the kids can use the system to its fullest potential, but it's nice to know those things are there when the time comes.

As far as I can tell - I haven't had much time to play with it yet - the screens can operate independently of each other.  One can be playing a DVD while the other plays a video game or listens to the radio.  It's a pretty cool setup.  Makes me wish I wasn't the one driving everywhere!  I'd love to be sitting in the back with my playstation saving the world from zombies or something while we drive the hour to Grandma's house!!  Maybe I can convince the wife to drive....

Easter Weekend

We had a great Easter Weekend filled with family, fun, and food. We started out at the annual Hynes Industries Easter Egg Hunt on Saturday morning. The kids had a great time hunting for eggs, even though most of the eggs were gathered up by the older kids before we could get there. It was quite chilly, but the kids didn't seem to mind much.

After the hunt we had some play time with Grandma and Grandpa.

Then it was off to my in-laws' for more family, fun, and food! Unfortunately we all had colds by this point, so we did not attend Mass this year, but we did get to go outside for a little egg hunt in the front yard. The kids really enjoyed picking up the eggs without any competition!

I'm already looking forward to next year. We've got our eggs and will more than likely be practicing our hunting techniques throughout the summer!!

Oh crap, the gate is open!

Friday morning we had someone out to look at our sump pump because it wouldn't stop running. Apparently when I came up from the basement I neglected to close the gate at the top of the stairs. Mommy finished up the kids' breakfast and let them have the run of the house a usual. After about five minutes I noticed that E was making her "something is out of it's normal place" noise, which is a slightly high pitched, rapid whine. Upon investigation I saw that she was pointing at the gate, apparently letting me know that it should not be open. Nobody tried to go down the stairs, thank goodness. And thank goodness for babies with type A personalities!


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Bang Trim

We recently decided to try to trim the girls' bangs since they were constantly falling into their eyes and bothering them. Mama held the girls and I did the trimming. The girls didn't mind it too much, just enough to squirm a little and make me cut at odd angles. So, the bangs are not exactly straight. Oh well, I tried. We will have to touch them up before we get some professional pictures done!!

Switching to Chrome

I've been playing with Chrome, the new browser brought to us by the peeps at Google.  So far I like it.  It's simple.  My only gripe so far is that the simple upload tool for Picassa Web Albums (which is run by Google) doesn't work in Chrome.  You'd think that something run by Google woud work with something created by Google.  No such luck there.  Guess I'll have to continue using Internet Explorer to upload my photos.

Weekend Playdate

This past weekend we had the privilege of meeting up with Paul and Christi, and their triplets, Paul, Logan, and Ella, for an afternoon playdate. All six kids were a little hesitant at first, but then quickly warmed up to each other and had a great time playing together.

Everyone enjoyed playing with shoes.

Especially Logan (pictured here wearing my shoes!!)

More "shoe fun."

E and Ella playing with puzzles together!

Everyone had a great time on the slide!!

Thanks again to Paul and Christi for inviting us into their home. We hope to do this again real soon!

New Domain

I just registered a new domain for the blog: http://www.tripsdad.com The old address will still work and everything on the blog will remain the same. I just wanted to have a true web address.

Dealing With Multiple Schedules

Probably the most difficult part of raising triplets, or any multiples for that matter, is keeping everyone on the same schedule. Right now, as I type this, my son is awake but my two daughters are not. They all share a room, and if I go in to get him, the girls will wake up. If you have young children you probably know that waking a sleeping baby could turn disastrous. I prefer to let them wake up on their own, rather than risk having a very cranky baby (or two) for most of the day. So, as long as the boy is happy in his crib (not crying), he's gonna stay there until his sisters wake up.

Then comes breakfast. He will more than likely be hungry and eat most of what I give him. His sisters will probably rather wait a short time before they eat. So, do I make the girls eat when they're not ready, or make him wait until they're ready. Feeding them at different times is most definitely out of the question, since that would not only result in my being in the kitchen all day, you also can't leave two eighteen month children unsupervised for any length of time and expect them to be free of tears or blood.

And then there's nap time. One is almost always ready for their nap two short hours after they wake up. The other two, not so much. And putting them down for naps at different times is out of the question because that would throw the entire day off schedule. So we make the one who wants the nap wait a little while until we see the signs of sleepyness in the other two. Sometimes this is easier said than done.

I'm sure there are many other examples of how difficult it is to keep three little indiciduals on the same schedule. If you have any stories or tips on keeping multiples on the same schedule, feel free to share them in the comments section.