Saturday Savings.... tomorrow.

I didn't get to the grocery stores yesterday, so no Saturday Savings post today! Before you get all upset and start to hyperventilate though, rest assured there will be a Saturday Savings post tomorrow (Sunday) late afternoon.

Let's Get Ready to Rumble!

So my post yesterday that was just chalk full of love and sweet moments came back to bite me later in the day. Here are the cliff notes of what went down at about 4:15pm.

Chase is happily playing with a toy.
Tyler comes and steals said toy.
Chase decides to bite Tyler's shoulder in retaliation.
I decide to rescue Tyler from the clutches of Chase's jaw.
Chase is less than thrilled with this and decides to try to bite Tyler's feet.
I then hoisted Tyler up higher so that Chase couldn't reach his feet.
Chase then decides to turn on Jackson (who had since wandered into the kitchen to see what all the fuss was about).
I then set Tyler down and rescue Jackson, considering he is completely innocent in this ruckus.
Tyler is now angry about being set down and decides now would be a good time to head butt the back of Chase's head. Repeatedly.
I set Jackson down and do my best to separate the mob.
Separation does not work, so instead I observe a squirming, whining, crying pile of arms and legs.
About 30 seconds later Chase discovers Tyler has dropped the toy in all the chaos, so he scoops it up and takes off.
Tyler takes the opportunity to wrestle with Jackson. See?


At about 4:35pm Tyler wanders back into the kitchen and decides he must play with my slipper right now, even though I'm wearing it.
I calmly take the slipper back and tell him he can't have it right now.
Tyler now acts like it's the end of the world. See?


Ahhh what a fun 20 minutes it was! Hey, at least I got a picture of Jackson "playing" with one of his brothers!

Today is the last day of Cans for Comments! We're up to 35 comments. Let's finish strong!

Playing Together

I've long awaited this day; the day the boys start to play together. There have been glimpses of this happening since the boys were 6 or 7 months old really. That's when the famous "Wild Playtime" video was shot which shows Jackson and Tyler rolling around on the floor together. Since then there have been a handful of other moments where two or all three of the boys were doing something together. Usually though they're like ships passing in the night - which is amazing considering the size of the house!

In the last couple of weeks though they've really started to play more! Here are a few of the moments I was lucky enough to catch on camera.

Tyler wrestling Chase to the floor

And again....

Chase pushing Tyler on the turtle

Tyler and Chase reading books together

Huh. I just realized all these pictures are of Tyler and Chase... I promise you Jackson plays too! I'll have to work harder at getting pictures of him in the action...

As of the writing of this post we're up to 30 comments! Wow! Today and tomorrow are your last days to comment in Cans for Comments week.

Video Clip of the Week - The Bear Says...

As of the writing of this post, we're up to 22 comments in the Cans for Comments week!

In a break from tradition, this week's video clip does not include the boys. Instead it includes one of their toys!




I don't know about you but the last time I checked the bear growls or roars, it does not sound like... You know what, I don't know what that sounds like!! Any suggestions?

And for the record, the helicopter does a fine job of telling my children what an Ape and Cat sound like! Big swing and miss on the bear though.

17 Months

As of the writing of this post, we've had 15 comments in the Cans for Comments week! Keep it up!

Wow, how time has flown! I can't believe the boys turn 17 months today. For some reason 18 months seems like a big milestone to me and we're fast approaching that! Here's a quick little recap on what's new with the boys....

• They're starting to play together more, which I think is just way too cute! I have a couple of pictures to come of that happening, so watch for those.
• They're beginning to figure out that crayons are for coloring and not for eating. It's not 100% there yet, but we're getting closer. Last time we colored only Jackson sampled the crayons.
• They're getting creative when it comes to trying to reach something up high or climb up onto something (like the couch).
• They're all growing like crazy! Even Aunt Laura commented last weekend that it seems like they are visibly bigger every week.
• They all can eat with forks and spoons now. It's not 100% of the time, but enough that we give them mushier, runnier foods like oatmeal.
• They all give wonderful hugs and kisses that will just melt your heart and they love to blow kisses!
• They are all still rear facing in their car seats, even though we "legally" could turn them around.
  

Jackson:

Jackson's favorite things right now include blankets, bananas, blankets, Baby Signing Time, blankets, slides and did I mention blankets? He continues to add more words to his speaking and signing vocabularies, which is handy and cute at the same time. Here's another thing to add to the list of things Jackson likes: baths. Right now he's crying at my legs because he wants a bath right now, but bath time isn't until tonight.

Jackson has also become a cuddler lately, which I love! He's content to just sit in my lap for long periods of time now (we're talking 20 minutes or more sometimes), which is nice.

Tyler:

Tyler loves to climb! I'm constantly finding him climbing up onto something new. This past weekend he figured out how to climb up onto the couch without stepping on anything to get there. Then, to make matters worse, Nick caught him trying to climb up the back and by the time Nick reached him Tyler's head was dangling over the back! (Our couch is not up against a wall and had Tyler fallen it would have been onto a tile floor.) I figure he'll be the first to attempt climbing out of his crib...

Tyler remains the smallest of the boys (he's behind J&C by 2 pounds), but he doesn't let that stop him from trying to show the other two who is boss. Tyler enjoys tackling his brothers to the floor and wrestling them. Chase usually doesn't mind, but Jackson is hit or miss.

Chase:

Chase is developing quite the silly little personality. He used to be our serious little studier but lately he's been so funny! He enjoys running into a room, giggling mischievously and then taking off. Nine times out of ten he's not actually up to anything, he just wants us to chase him.

Chase also enjoys pulling clothes and packages of wipes out of drawers, which is a no-no but doesn't seem to stop him. Chase too likes to climb, but is not yet as proficient as Tyler.

Cans for Comments!

Oooh! A double post day here at Three Times the Giggles!

All this week I'm doing Cans for Comments here on my blog. For each comment left this week, including comments on older posts, I will donate one non-perishable item to a food bank.

This was an idea I shared on Mom Revolution last week and I encourage you to take part on your blog!

Let the commenting begin :)

Time to Move the Knives

The boys are getting more and more creative when it comes to reaching high up places. The other day I turned around and saw Tyler standing at the sink. I'd like to think it's because he's just dying to learn how to wash the dishes, but I doubt that's the case...

Saturday Savings

Hello lucky weekend readers! Today I'm starting a new blogging tradition: Saturday Savings. On the Saturday's following my weekly grocery shopping trip (I shop most Fridays), I will blog about what I bought, how much I saved, how much I spent and how I did it. I know my grocery budget has been a source of curiosity for many of you, so I hope you find this interesting and helpful!

First, the back ground. We are a family of 5. Our boys fly through 3 gallons of whole milk a week (on average) and consume about as much food as 1.5 adults. Our monthly grocery budget (including cleaning supplies, paper products, health and beauty products, etc) is $310.

Yesterday I shopped for what is hopefully the last time this month. Just in case we run low on milk though, I set aside a few bucks for next weekend. I spent $43.22. Always wondered what $40 can buy you? Check it out!


In order to buy all this, I shopped at 4 different stores and used many coupons. Here's what I bought for my $43.

Quilted Northern 9 pack
4 Gallons of Whole Milk
1 Gallon of Fat Free Milk
3 pounds of Red Delicious Apples
3 pounds of bananas
2 pound box of Elbow Macaroni
Butter
Jolly Time Popcorn (3pk)
Family size box of Frosted Flakes
2 Jars of Skippy Peanut Butter
Head of Iceberg Lettuce
1 pound roll of 80% lean ground beef
10 pound bag of chicken leg quarters
Birdseye Steam Fresh Veggies
4 boxes of Green Giant veggies
1 pound roll of ground turkey
2 boxes of Nestle Hot Cocoa Mix
2 boxes of Puff's Tissues
2 boxes of Hormel Pepperoni
Package of Bar S Hot Dogs

I shopped at Walgreen's (toilet paper), Aldi (milk, apples, bananas, pasta), Hy-Vee and Price Chopper for all of that. Aldi doesn't really have sales on the items I bought, so for the sake of my "before" price I have estimated what those same items would cost at Hy-Vee.

Before sales and coupons (without tax): $73.38

After sales and coupons (without tax): $40.85

My biggest savings thrills?

Skippy Peanut Butter - normally $2.38 a jar. It was on sale for .99 a jar, plus I had two coupons - one for .60 and one for .40. I bought two jars for .98!

Frosted Flakes - normally $4.38. It was on sale for $2.48 and I had a coupon for $1 off. I paid $1.48!

10 Pound bag of Chicken leg quarters - normally $8.39 but on sale for $3.99! That's only .39 a pound for chicken - almost unheard of.

Hot Cocoa Mix - normally $1.89 each. It was on sale for $1 a piece, plus I had a coupon for $1 off two - so I paid $1 for both boxes.

Hormel Pepperoni - normally $1.99 a box. It was on sale for $1 and I had two .35 coupons, so I only paid $1.30 for both boxes.

So how do I score such great deals? Three ways: keeping my eyes open (the toilet paper was an unadvertised sale), shopping at Aldi (milk and bananas are always cheaper there) and using The Grocery Game.

The Grocery Game is a service I pay $15 every two months for. Each week I log on, look at the list for my particular store (I subscribe to two store lists for the $15) and make my shopping list based on that. The list is color coded - black is an alright price and you only should buy it if you need it that week, blue is a great price so stock up and green means that item is free when used with a coupon!

I started using The Grocery Game late this last fall (November I think) and I know it has saved me money. I'm still spending the $300 a month but our choices of food in the house are much better now! We used to eat a lot of rice and beans towards the end of the month, but now we can eat more chicken, pasta, veggies and fruit.

If you're interested in trying The Grocery Game you can sign up for a one month trial for only $1. If you do that here's what I recommend doing... for that month continue to make your grocery list as you normally would and THEN look at your Grocery Game list to compare. I did that and realized I was missing lots of deals and spending money on things I thought were deals but really weren't.

If you do end up signing up for The Grocery Game, please consider telling them I sent you - it'll get me some free credit for my subscription! Just enter my e-mail address: discjockeyhelen at yahoo.com

A Little Table

Months ago someone from church handed down their child activity table to us. We stuck it in the basement, knowing the boys weren't ready for that yet. Last week tables became the topic of choice in a yahoo group I'm in (for parents of triplets born within 6 months of each other) and it got me thinking that maybe the boys could handle it now.

On Sunday afternoon Nick brought the table up from the basement so we could try it out. After Nick left to head back to church, my sister Laura and I decided to find a spot for the table in the playroom. As we headed back to the playroom while the boys sat excitedly at the table in the living room, I told her I was interested to see what they did when left alone for a moment with the table.

When we looked into the living room about 90 seconds later this is what we saw...

Yeah... not good! We quickly moved the table into the playroom and began teaching the boys the table was for sitting at, not climbing on. There were lots of tears and tantrums over it, but by the time Nick came home that night the boys weren't climbing on the table anymore.

On Monday we tried coloring at the table! Things went well and the boys are fantastic artists. Biding for an original Jackson, Tyler or Chase starts at $10!

Tyler, Chase & Jackson coloring

Tyler

Chase in front and Jackson in back

Considering Mom Revolution does not have many loyal readers yet, I'm going to continue to plug the posts here as well... I encourage you to check out yesterday and today's posts especially! Mom Revolution

Video Clip of the Week - Sweet Boy!

My Tyler is such a sweet boy! Actually, all three boys are very sweet but Tyler did something sweet this morning....




This is not the video I was hoping to get this week, but when Tyler blew me the kiss I knew it had to be posted. It's moments like that, that make all the whining and crying worth it.

No More Monkeys Jumping On the Bed

I regret to inform you that I will be delaying the Video Clip of the Week by one day. I am trying to catch something exceptionally cute and funny on camera and am having a hard time with that! I thought I had it earlier this morning but it wasn't quite up to my standard. In the mean time, here are some pictures of one of the boys' favorite new activities: Jumping on the bed!

Actually, not a whole lot of jumping happens... yet. That's probably a good thing though as I imagine when the jumping does begin, so will the injuries. As you can see from the pictures though, the boys have a blast! Yesterday we experienced a serious meltdown/tantrum from Jackson because we wouldn't let them into our room to play. We've created little addicts!

Starting Them Early

For those that haven't heard me say it before, my husband is the best. Ever since we got married he's been the official cleaner of our home. It's not that I don't know how to clean or even that I refuse to clean. It's that he refuses to let me clean! In the pre-baby years I would come home from work on Friday evening to a completely clean apartment - everything from the dusting to the toilets.

Since having the boys Nick has to do "segment cleaning". That's what he calls it anyway. Basically he cleans one bathroom one night, and the other one a different night and so on. Every night when we do our daily pick-up of the house he insists on taking the harder of the two jobs: the kitchen! Like I said, he's the best.

Considering how blessed I have been by the helpful nature of my husband I decided early on that I want to raise my sons to be helpful too, so that one day their wives can be as lucky as I am. When we set up the boys' playroom I told Nick I thought we should start having the boys help us clean it up every night. We started it like a game, where we'd hand the boys a toy and tell them to put it in a certain basket. When they accomplished that we would clap and cheer so wildly you would think they'd just driven in the winning run of the World Series. In general now we can just ask them to put toys in baskets and books on the shelf and they will. Every once in a while though we need to hand them something to get them going. It's a beautiful arrangement.

The other night Nick decided it was time to teach the boys the fine art of sucking up food off the floor. In the picture above you will see Chase (at least I think it's Chase... I'm not really sure) learning how to use the dust buster! The other boys got to try it out too and loved it of course. Our goal is to have them trained to clean the toilets (and not play in them) by the time they're 2.

Don't forget to check out the new posts on Mom Revolution! I'd love to see some of my blogging friends doing Cans for Comments with me next week!

A Couple of Awards

First, a big thank you to all of you that left such kind and encouraging comments on my Friday afternoon blog entry. It meant a lot to me to read those!

Alrighty, on to the fun stuff now! A couple of weeks ago I received my very first blog "award". I was honored but didn't realize I was supposed to pass it on to others (clearly I only skimmed the post and didn't read the rules)! Last week I received my second blog "award" and realized then that I was supposed to pass these things on. So here we go!

A couple of weeks ago I received this award from Ethan, Zach and Emma's Mom.

So when I think of lemonade I think of a cool and refreshing drink, therefore I'm passing this award on to other bloggers who have cool and refreshing posts to read!

The Lemonade Award:

So here is the award and the rules.

#1 You must link back to the person you received the award from.
#2 You have to nominate 10 bloggers who are deserving of this award!

My top 10:

1. I've recently become a fan of "So Very Blessed". Absolutely adorable kids (6 of them!) and of course 3 of those kiddos are triplets - something I'm always a fan of!

2. Longtime readers of this blog already know I love, love, love The Meanest Mom!

3. Libby at Brossettelewis always keeps me entertained with the stories of her 4 kids, two of which are TTTS survivor twins!

4. Cakewrecks. Need I say more really?

5. This weekend I found what could be my new favorite blog to stalk. Money Saving Mom! In about 5 minutes time I signed up for two valuable coupon books, two samples of granola bars and a 2 year subscription to Parents magazine... ALL FREE!

6. She may not have a traditional blog, but boy is Brenda's little boy cute!

7. Reading "Our Ordinary Miracles" gives me a glimpse into the future I think. Laney's triplets are about a year older than the boys and they keep her on her toes!

8. Amy at Tales From the Higby Gang cracks me up with her posts. She's got 5 kids and 3 of them are triplets who are about a month older than the boys. Talk about hectic!

9. Pam at pyjammy's blog is always a favorite stop of mine... she's got identical boy triplets too!

10. My pastor's blog is always good for a deep and meaningful read. Check out "Seeing Gray".

Ok, and on to the second award!!

Amy, at Tales from the Higby Gang gave me a hug last week! Follows is a list of 5 bloggers that have impacted me lately (there may be a repeat or two from the above list - if your name is listed twice feel free to just pass on one award... doing two at once is super time consuming I've learned!).

1. This person may not update their blog very often, but he's getting better... he is a HUGE support to me though, so how could I not pass a hug on to my husband?!

2. Jen at What Really Matters is being added to my blog roll today. She's been leaving comments on my blog recently and some of her recent posts have been a real encouragement to me!

3. Ethan, Zach and Emma's Mom at The Mommy Diaries has been an entertaining read lately, and I love her Mosaic Mondays!

4. The Meanest Mom may be funny, but she's got a serious side too, as evident with this touching post...

5. Kathryn at The Indermuehle Family inspired me this week to set up the boys little table! You'll see pictures of that later this week.

Pushed to the Limit

Blogging has been a great source of release for me. Not only do I get to brag about my kiddos but I get to continue to utilize my writing skills. (For those unfamiliar with my background, I was a radio ad copy writer before and during my pregnancy.) Brace yourself now for a little venting from this tired mama.

Yesterday I reached my breaking point. In the early months of having three tiny babies in the house I reached that breaking point several times, but it's been quite a while since it happened. The last two days have been horrible. The boys somehow reached a state of being over-tired, were super crabby and driving each other and me crazy.

I expect Wednesdays to be bad; it's a long day here at the house. Nick leaves for work at his normal time but then doesn't get home until well after the boys are in bed for the night. Usually on Wednesdays I just tread water until bed time and then I collapse on the couch for a few minutes before cleaning up the house. This past Wednesday bed time couldn't come fast enough and I thought with relief "at least tomorrow will be better". Unfortunately I think it was worse....

It turns out the boys woke up quite early yesterday morning. I didn't know this until I spoke to Nick mid-day, but it sure explained a lot. Tyler and Jackson had been crying, whiny and clingy all morning and were driving me up the wall. Chase, thankfully, was in pretty decent spirits. I prayed for a nice long afternoon nap so that the boys would be in better moods in the afternoon. No such luck though! The boys were up and ready to go less than 90 minutes after I had put them down. I knew I was in trouble then.

The afternoon consisted of one precious moment - Chase was chasing (hehe, that sounds funny) his brothers around the house and when he would catch them he would hug them from behind. Awww! From there things went down hill.... Tyler thought the chase game was fun but decided to kick it up a notch. He thought it would be fun to chase Jackson, tackle him and then try to bite him if he tried to get away. This upset Jackson a great deal and then it upset Tyler when I pulled them apart. This "game" went on for a good 30 minutes. By the end of the 30 minutes Tyler and Jackson were wound tightly and rarely stopped crying and/or whining. It was then that I decided today was not the day to try to go without a Diet Coke.

By 5pm I was at my wits end. I called Nick at 5:10 to make sure he wasn't running any errands then I broke down crying. When Nick arrived home 10 minutes later I was kneeling on the living room floor crying, while the boys whined around me - until they saw Nick. Then all was well in the world.

I had a moment of irritation when I realized Nick never sees just how bad things get here because as soon as he comes home, all is forgotten and the boys are full of giggles! I then remembered I should just be thankful the crying and whining had stopped.

If you've made it through this whole post, than congrats. I promise to be in a better blogging mood on Monday, when I'll be handing out a couple of blog awards!

Blanket Sucker

Jackson went through a brief phase of using a pacifier (they gave it to him while in the NICU and he continued to use it for about 2 months after that) and a brief phase of sucking on his thumb (that lasted all of a month maybe). He's on to something bigger and better now.... his blanket!

Yep, Jackson is a blanket sucker. It's actually quite funny to watch as he tries to cram just as much of his blanket into his mouth all at once. I don't remember when this "habit" started or how long he's been doing it. If you attempt to try to take the blanket away from him, you better be ready for a fight and some tears. If you pick up the blanket off the floor, you better be ready for a wet, slobbery and smelly piece of fabric.

Jackson is somewhat particular about which blanket he will suck/chew on. Nick and I have tried to give him a couple of different blankets that we thought would be totally acceptable. Our blankets were only met with tears though as they apparently were not the right kind of blanket.

Video Clip of the Week - Head, Knees & Toes

Technically the name of the song is Head, Shoulders, Knees and Toes but the boys routinely leave out the shoulders when frantically trying to smack body parts.

Let me back up a bit though.... for Christmas the boys received a Baby Einstein Sing and Play music CD. It's full of fun children's songs, some of which I'd never even heard before but have apparently been around forever. The first song on the CD is Head, Shoulders, Knees and Toes and the boys have decided it's their favorite. Seriously. When we walk into their room in the morning to get them, they all jump up and start alternating between smacking their heads and pointing at the CD player. Same things happen after nap time. No joke, I must hear the song 25 times a day. Thanks Aunt Melissa and Uncle Craig! (Insert appropriate sarcasm here.)

Here's a little clip of the boys enjoying the song. Typically more dancing happens but I think they were distracted by the CD player.

Tyler is in white, Chase in Green and Jackson in Yellow

Introducing....

I've recently become more inspired to help others as evident by one of my New Year's Resolutions. I'm excited about this resolution and I'm even more excited about recruiting others to join me.

I'm pleased to announce the creation of Mom Revolution! Even if you're not a mom you're welcome to join, but be aware that much of the verbiage will be aimed at moms.

What can you do to help the people in your community? Are you doing something already? If you have an inspiring story or idea, I want to hear it! Maybe you can be a guest blogger on Mom Revolution.

By being Life Changers we can be World Changers!

Mom Revolution

Forks!

In the unbelievable excitement of my husband returning home last Thursday night (he had been gone since Monday morning), I completely forgot to blog on Friday! I'm sure any mom of young kids who has been left to fend for herself for 4 days can understand my excitement. At any rate, I apologize for leaving you hanging!

While Nick was gone, we had a break through at the dinner table. One night I gave the boys mac 'n cheese with peas. I ambitiously decided to stick a fork in each bowl and see what would happen. Generally the boys like to just chew on the forks while shoveling food into their mouths with their other hand. Not tonight though!

The first thing Mr. Chase did was pick up that fork and put it in this mouth... with food on the fork! I couldn't believe my eyes. I cheered him on and told him to do it again while signing "more". He giggled and did it again. My child actually scooped some food onto that fork and put the fork in his mouth before the food could fall off again! I just kept cheering him on and before I knew it dinner was over and he had eaten probably 3/4 of his dinner using a fork.

Here are a few pictures I snapped of Chase using his fork. Now to teach his brothers how to use theirs!

Pudding Time - Part 2

Yep, we did it again. We gave the boys chocolate pudding! Our first pudding event is rather well known, considering the heading picture on this blog. However, Nick was not present for the great pudding event and I knew it just was not acceptable for him to go through life never experiencing that so the other night I made pudding for desert.

I told Nick we had three options. We could either put them in the middle of the kitchen and really let them go to town, or we could leave them at the table and give them small amounts to play with or we could play it safe and spoon feed it to them. He wisely chose option B.

The boys had a ball and the mess was minimal in comparison to Pudding Time Part 1.

Chase is signing "more"! Don't worry Chase, I'm sure we'll do it again....

Video Clip of the Week - Jackson's Cookie

Mud

“Chase, what are you eating?”

“Chase?”

“Is that mud?!”

“Chase, don’t eat mud…”

“Tyler, you don’t need to eat mud either…”

Perks

There are several perks to living in the Kansas City area. One of which is that winters are mild in comparison to New England (where we grew up). Not only does winter end a lot sooner here but you get these "gift" days thrown in that are like spring or even summer!

We've had two days like this recently... the first day it was 64 and then the next morning it was 1. Yup. 1. Then just this weekend it was 68! The next day it was 20. Anyway, when you've been trapped inside with three growing and rambunctious kiddos for several days, a warm day is definitely a gift from God.

Here are a few pictures of our trip to the park and our playtime in the back yard. Lots of fun was had by all!

(Warning: An extreme number of pictures follows!)