Q and A - The Answers (Part 2)!

This is the second (and final) day of answers to last week's Q&A post. I'll be back to regular posting tomorrow! This Q&A was fun, and I'll definitely do it again in the future.

22. If you were to have another child what would you want the gender to be?

• Obviously gender isn't something that is in my control, but I would love to have a girl. I hate walking by all the cute dresses at stores and not being able to buy them!

23. How do you feel about the products that are made in China (regarding the current dispute over products made there and the lead content)?

• In an ideal world I would buy products made in the USA. Not only do they seem to be safer but it supports US jobs. However, that being said I can't afford most US made items on this budget. Hopefully in the future I can do that more often. For now I try to not worry about it unless I see a recall for a specific item.

24. What are your feelings of Wal-Mart and Nike (with the child labor laws and cruel sweat shops)?

• I'm not entirely sure what you're referring too except that stories frequent the Internet about such things going on (sometimes I'm not entirely sure the "story" is true though). Either way my response would be the same as the previous question.

25. Do you manage to eat healthy with your budget?

• Considering I've lost 30+ pounds on Weight Watchers in the last year I would say "yes" I eat healthy food! Because I don't have money to spend on ice cream, cookies, candy, etc I send more time focused on lean meats, veggies, rice and pasta. I also make a lot of soups and the majority of those are quite healthy. I've never understood the argument that it's too expensive to eat healthily.
  

26. Will you ever move back to Michigan?

• Again, I'm not one to predict where we'll move to next but I'll go out on a limb on this one and say I doubt it.

27. Do you think you will have more children and when do you anticipate having said children?

• At this point I would love to have more children. In an ideal world we would have another baby and then adopt one more. I never saw myself as having a "large" family (I had planned on 2 or 3 kids), but I just don't feel done. As for the when, Nick and I had agreed when the boys were very young that we wouldn't even discuss it until the boys turn 2, so I guess we'll find out this coming fall how Nick feels and if I feel the same way still.

28. What has been your greatest joy since having the boys?

• That is so hard to nail down! The very act of just watching them grow and learn is amazing. Sometimes I find myself just sitting at the kitchen table and watching the boys play together or plot together on how to tip over the slide. It's just amazing to watch!

29. How far along were you when you found out you were having triplets?

• I was 12 weeks along. My doctor had offered to order an early ultrasound for us because she knew were excited to be having our first. There was zero thought that there could be more than one baby in there!

30. What was your first reaction to the news and what was your family's?

• Disbelief I think! We had thought it was just twins for about 90 seconds before the ultrasound tech found baby number 3. At that point I started to cry (tears of joy and fear) and Nick started to laugh. I was in shock for about a week after that and then the shock would just come in waves. Our parents didn't believe us at first. It didn't help that we told my parents 2 days before April Fools Day (the day of the ultrasound) and Nick's parents on April Fools Day!

31. If you left for a few days, would you be able to tell the boys apart on sight alone if you walked into the house and they were all sitting on the floor watching TV?

• Yes, I believe I could.
  

32. How many people can tell the boys apart by sight alone?

• Five for sure, but probably more. Nick, my sister, my parents and myself all can do it pretty quickly. I suspect my inlaws would be able to as well, but they don't get out here very often so I can't "test" them! Others are pretty good at picking Tyler out or picking Jackson out. The people who have the easiest time are the people who either spend a lot of time here (Nick, my sister and I) or people who spend a lot of time studying the blog (grandparents).

33. Did you and/or do you still receive any "freebies" from companies that help with the cost of raising three identical triplets?

• This is a common misconception that there are companies out there just dying to help out a family with higher order multiples! There are a few companies out there that offer "freebies" if you send them copies of birth certificates. For example I sent copies of the birth certificates to Huggies and received some coupons to be used towards diapers. They weren't for free packages but they were decent coupons that helped defray the cost of some of the diapers we bought for a couple of months. Pampers does the same. Enfamil (the formula we used) sent us several cases of liquid concentrate formula - that lasted us all of a month. It was helpful but certainly wasn't what many people think we receive!

34. Are you more or less organized in life after having triplets?

• More, for sure. I was semi-organized before but I feel like having triplets forced me to take it to another level. If we don't pick up the house every night things would spin out of control very rapidly. If we don't stay on top of the laundry it would become a mountain. If I wasn't organized in the kitchen our budget would never work.

35. How many loads of laundry do you do in a week?

• I'd say we average 5 loads a week for the entire family. It's not as terrible as most people think.

36. If you got pregnant with multiples again would you panic?

• I think there would be moments of panic. Like, how do we sell our house in this market in order to move to a bigger one? How do we afford to buy a van now? The panic would only be fleeting though. I had the same panicky thoughts when I was pregnant with the boys and yet things continue to work out.

37. Does the fact that you don't have a regular "date night" with Nick put a strain on your relationship?

• I wouldn't call it a strain, but it does stink! We definitely miss having that time alone together and wish we could get out more. At the same time we know the boys will only be this little once and before we know it we'll be free to go out a lot more often.

38. What is the most annoying question asked by strangers when you're out with the boys?

• I don't get annoyed by the questions. I feel like I'm in the minority with that... I read a lot of whiny posts on the mom's of multiples message boards I frequent. It seems like most MOMs are annoyed by comments and questions. I honestly don't care. I will tell you this that it amuses me to no end when someone asks me if the boys are close in age! I actually had a bagger at the grocery store ask me that a few weeks ago... It was hard to not laugh right there.
  

39. Do you like the attention the boys get when you take them all out?

• Yep! I love showing my boys off and feel like I don't get to do that very often, so when someone wants to ooh and ahh over my boys, I let 'em.

40. If TLC asked you to do a TV show about you (like Jon and Kate or the Duggar Family) would you allow them into your home?

• That's a tough one. I think a lot would depend on what they were looking for exactly... a one time show special or a series? How much time is actually spent filming in the house? How easily could we get out if we wanted to? Are we in desperate need of financial assistance and would this provide that? There are a lot of things that would need to be discussed and considered. Regardless, unless I have multiples again (see question 36) that's not likely to happen!