Giveaway 2 of 2

Comments are now closed - check back Monday morning for the winner's name!

I have two fun giveaways for you this week! Both of these will run from today through Saturday at 10pm and the winners will be announced on Monday morning. Winners will have 48 hours to contact me and claim their prize before an alternate winner is selected.

These giveaways are in honor of the 1 Year Blogiversary Celebration going on over at Multiples and More! They're one of my favorite blogs to visit and if you've got multiples you definitely need to check them out. Anyone is allowed to enter these giveaways, even my Canadian friends!

Giveaway #2

Item of Choice from my Etsy Shop

Time to drool folks! The Etsy shop that I started back in mid-December is going great! I've been featured a couple of times on Etsy.com which most recently (yesterday!) resulted in a few sales. To celebrate how well the shop is going, I want to offer my readers a shot at winning some treats for themselves. 

Maybe you'd like these...

Or, my personal favorite, the peanut butter version!

Or how about these?

Or these?

There are lots of choices in my Giggling Sweets shop, so go check 'em out! Giggling Sweets Ready to win something? Here's how...

Do one or all of the following. Please leave separate comments for each entry.

1. Tell us what your favorite food to indulge in is.

2. Become (or tell me if you already are) a follower of this blog.

3. Facebook about this giveaway.

4. Tweet about this giveaway.

Giveaway 1 of 2

Comments are now closed. Check back Monday morning for the winner and my thoughts on the PTing questions asked!

 

I have two fun giveaways for you this week! Both of these will run from today through Saturday at 10pm and the winners will be announced on Monday morning. Winners will have 48 hours to contact me and claim their prize before an alternate winner is selected.

These giveaways are in honor of the 1 Year Blogiversary Celebration going on over at Multiples and More! They're one of my favorite blogs to visit and if you've got multiples you definitely need to check them out. Anyone is allowed to enter these giveaways, even my Canadian friends!

Giveaway #1

Jumbo Pack of boys Huggies Pull-Ups - size 2T-3T

About a month ago I had the privilege of being in on a Huggies Potty Training conference call. The call was "attended" by 5 other bloggers, a PTing expert and the creator of the Huggies Potty Dance song. In exchange for my participation in the call I was sent a pack of Pull Ups to give away on my own blog and a $100 pre-paid Visa card for myself. Sweetness! 

At the time of the call Tyler was still giving us trouble in the poop department. I asked the expert for any advice she could share and she did mention one thing that helped push Tyler along: we were told to reinstate treats/rewards for the other two once in a while so that Tyler was reminded of how cool it was to get rewarded. Well whaddya know - it worked. 

I also asked her about night time training and she mentioned that most children take 6-9 months to train from start to finish (night time trained), so we probably were getting close to the point where the boys would start waking up dry. Good news indeed! 

So are you currently potty training a child, or two or three? Are you beginning to think about? Still in denial that is has to happen? Maybe receiving a package of Pull Ups in the mail will be just what you need! Here's how to enter:

Do one or all of the following. Please leave separate comments for each entry.

1. Leave one PTing tip or question you have.

2. Become (or tell me if you already are) a follower of this blog.

3. Facebook about this giveaway.

4. Tweet about this giveaway.

Random Funnies

The fun (and sometimes embarrassment) of toddlers is that you just never know what's going to come out of their mouths... Case in point, a few recent remarks we've heard recently.

Chase: "Mr Nobody, that's 1. That's 2. That's 3. Go to time out Mr. Nobody." (Mr. Nobody is who sits at the empty chair at our table during meal times.)

The boys saying "bye Nick! Bye Nick!" when he leaves the house.

Tyler singing "Smelly Cat" while sitting in bed.

The boys praying to go back to McDonald's with a friend. They're obsessed I tell ya!

Tyler informing me that he would no longer be sad if he could eat a Whoopie Pie.

Sitting at Sonic, getting ready to order a Diet Coke and I hear the following from the back seat: "I'd like a Diet Coke with manilla (vanilla). Nope, that's it. Thanks." Think I've been too often lately?

Yesterday the boys and I took the Jeep to the mechanic to see why the check engine light was on again. As we were leaving the guy behind the desk was apologizing for the inconvenience of having to come back and I said "no problem!" and waved as I herded my children out the door. Jackson turned around and called "no problem!" much to the amusement of the two guys behind the desk.

I know there were a couple of other things I wanted to include here, but now I can't remember them! I'm thinking I should just keep a running post saved so that I can just add things as they say them and then post when I've got quite a few.

Be sure to check back tomorrow morning here - I'm going to have two fun giveaways listed! My favorite blog network Multiples and More is celebrating their 1st anniversary this week and in honor of the celebration lots of moms and dads of multiples will be hosting giveaways on their blogs starting tomorrow! You don't need to be a parent of multiples to enter my giveaways!
 

Bed Time Adventures

Friday night I was hating toddler beds and the new freedom my children had. This morning I'm happy to report I no longer hate them. I'm still not totally in love with them, as we'll have to see how nap time goes today but at least I don't despise the things anymore. Here's a quick recap of how the transition went...

Friday Night: Friday night we revealed the finished rooms and new beds to the boys right at bed time. In hindsight this probably wasn't the best move. Why on earth did we think the boys would calm right down and lay in bed when they just had been shown their new room and beds? Silly parents! And so began two hours of fun....

The boys would all jump out of bed.
The boys would come running out of their room and down the hall in a line, all giggling like maniacs.
Nick and I would try our best to not laugh or smile at them and would instead quietly march them back to their beds.
Repeat. About 100 times.

Then we changed tactics and just held their door closed. This made them very unhappy, because who wants to play in a totally dark room? Eventually Nick and I took shifts monitoring the door and listening for signs of trouble (we heard "no bitey, no bitey" a couple of times and had to intervene). At one point, while sitting in the chair outside their room I heard Tyler start to sing. At first I thought "no, surely he's not singing what I think he is... where would he have learned that?", but by the 3rd time through the song I was sure I was hearing right. Tyler was singing Smelly Cat. You know, the song Pheobe on Friends sings? Smelly cat, smelly cat, what are they feeding you? I cracked up! The teacher of this wonderful song? Aunt Laura of course.

Saturday nap: Nap time is a little tougher we're learning. Even with room darkening curtains the boys can still see plenty in their room, which means it's harder for them to just chill out. Saturday's nap time antics included Jackson suddenly deciding he no longer wanted the robots blankets but instead wanted the cars and trucks that Chase had. At one point Chase was laying quietly in his bed, about to fall asleep, when Jackson got out of bed, walked over and yanked the blanket off of Chase and brought it back to his own bed. Obviously Chase was not a fan of this move.

We also heard more "no bitey, no bitey!" from the boys and I had to tell them several times to stop bugging each other. We continued to take away blankies and hold the door shut, but the lack of darkness really hurt our cause. Finally, after 2 hours, I peeked in to see Jackson and Chase both asleep and Tyler sitting on the floor between their beds. I beckoned for Tyler to come out and I put on a movie for him. After sitting on the couch with him for about 10 minutes he was out like a light.

Saturday night: Bed time chaos only lasted about 40 minutes this night, which was a huge improvement. I think the fact that they were sleep deprived from the night before and from short naps that afternoon probably helped a great deal. Jackson was ready to go to sleep right away, but Chase and Tyler wanted to explore. Chase is having freedom issues and Tyler, well once you get Tyler going he doesn't want to stop. This night involved me again sitting in a tiny chair outside their bedroom door.

Sunday nap: It took them an hour and 40 minutes this time to all fall asleep. Tyler was the biggest hold out and trouble maker in the room. Eventually it got quiet and I tip toed back to take a peek and this is what I saw...

Jackson and Chase were sound asleep in their beds, while Tyler was asleep in the corner of the room. Totally made me laugh!

Sunday night: We had ZERO issues last night! They went to bed and all stayed in bed! We heard chatting for about 30 minutes, but at least they were in their beds. Woohoo! 

Our New Routine: With the toddler beds we decided to implement a new routine at bed time. We used to put away toys, go potty, get dressed, brush teeth and then watch 10 minutes of  a movie. Now instead of a movie each of the boys gets to pick a book out and we read in their beds. They seem to really like the new routine and it gives them a little chance to lay in bed for a bit and just relax.We also have set up a clock in their room. They know when the clock says 7 in the morning they can get out of bed and during nap time they can get up when it says 3. When they keep the clock plugged in it works beautifully.

All in all? Not too terrible so far. Now we just need to get nap time figured out and I'll be one happy momma!

From Baby Room to Big Boy Room

This week we made a big change. We moved our little boys from their cribs into toddler beds. Before we could do that though, I wanted to transform their room from babyish to one that was bright, colorful and definitely for older boys! Wednesday night Nick and I conferred over some paint samples and decided on colors. Thursday afternoon I took the boys to Home Depot to buy the paint and supplies we would need. Right after dinner Nick and I dismantled the boys' cribs just so we could move them into the playroom. (Random rant here: why can't they make cribs half an inch narrower so that they'll fit through a standard door?!)

Their room before we moved the cribs...

Temporary housing

After we got the boys' down for the night on Thursday, Nick and I tackled their bedroom. Of course this all had to happen during March Madness much to Nick's dismay, so we had the laptop set up in the room so that Nick could watch the K-State game while painting. Thursday we painted the ceiling and the first coat of red before heading to bed at 12:30am. 

Progress is being made

Friday morning my sister came over to watch the boys so that Nick and I could tackle the room together again, and it definitely made life easier. By 4:00pm I was painting the final coat of a small section and by 7pm we were ready to hang the curtains back up, anchor the dresser to the wall again and get the boys' toddler beds moved in.

I need to confess, as it dawned on me that I'd never made a bed before for our children I got a little teary eyed! Nothing says "hey, your kids are growing up" like putting pillows in pillow cases, tucking in a flat sheet and putting a comforter on top of a little bed. 

The boys were ecstatic with their new room and new beds and Nick and I were thrilled too! Tomorrow I'll update you as to how we're doing with the whole staying in bed thing.

Tyler and Jackson checking things out for the first time

We let them each pick where they wanted to sleep. It should be noted that Jackson and Chase switched from where they originally picked.

Tyler in his sports bed

Chase trying out the robot bed (which Jackson now sleeps in)

Jackson trying out the car bed which he then turned over to Chase and now regrets.

Spring Has Sprung!

The signs of spring are all around us finally! The other day we played outside for hours and it was wonderful. We ate popsicles and played with bubbles!

Chase

Ty

Jackson

Tyler sharing with Chase

The flowers that Tyler helped me plant last fall are even up and blooming now! Here's "farmer Ty" standing proudly next to the first flowers to pop open!

Today is room make-over day here. Tonight we're hoping to switch the boys to their toddler beds, but first we're transforming their room from  a baby room to a toddler room! The big reveal will happen on Monday morning, or Sunday if I'm too excited and can't wait. Oh, it may even happen tomorrow. We'll just have to see. Fingers crossed that the boys do well in beds! We haven't had any climbing out of cribs since nap time on Tuesday, thanks to some serious pep talks and threats of blanket removal. 

Why 2 Year Olds Should Not Stand To Pee

*sigh* I knew this day would come. The day I'd really be annoyed that my loving husband decided to teach our darling boys how to pee standing up. Let me back up a bit though... Almost 2 months ago, while I was away for a short 36 hours, Nick decided to teach the boys how to pee standing up. Needless to say I was pretty annoyed when I called home and Nick told me what he was doing. I believe I whined something like "But Niiiick! The mess is going to be terrible!" He assured me the boys were doing a good job hitting the toilet but I was skeptical.

Turns out Nick was right. Chase and Jackson have been awesome at it! They rarely miss, so the mess has been minimal. Tyler hasn't really cared for the whole standing thing, so I haven't pushed it. In the last week though he decided he wanted to stand too. He seems to have a problem though...

Tuesday afternoon was a gorgeous day and we were playing in front of the house. Tyler said he had to go potty and his brothers didn't want to come inside, so I took Ty's shoes off at the door and sent him inside. He'd been gone a long time when I leaned in and said "Do you need help TyTy?" I could somewhat see him crouching on the floor of the bathroom, so I figured he was struggling with putting his clothes back on (something he likes to do himself). I took a few steps into the house so that I could get a good view....

Now picture if you will, Tyler squatting right in front of that dish towel and rubbing it in circles. I laughed. I had to! He had obviously pooped while standing to pee, and then realized that shouldn't have happened. Instead of coming to get me, he went to the kitchen, grabbed a dish towel and was trying to clean it up himself! I thanked him for trying to clean it up and told him to just leave it for me to clean. This all happened at about 5:15, so I made an executive decision: I was going to leave the mess for Nick to see, so that he'd know what he's "done".

Nick pulled into the driveway about 10 minutes later.

Me: I need you to go look at the bathroom.

Nick: Why?

Me: Just go look.

Nick: Which one?

Me: The boys'.

A few minutes passes...

Nick: What happened in there?!

Me: I believe Tyler was standing to pee and didn't know what to do when he suddenly had to poop too. I think you need to give him a little pep talk.

Nick: Oh dear.

Me: Did you see the dish towel?

Nick: Yeah. Why did you cover some of the poop with that?

Me: Oh that wasn't me! That was all Tyler! Apparently he was trying to clean it up.

Laughter from both of us

Me: You stay out here and play with the boys while I clean up the bathroom and finish dinner.

Nick: Feel free to toss that dish towel. 

Video Clip of the Week - Double Feature!

As a way of saying "thanks" for your patience in waiting for me to post today (like you really had a choice), I'm pleased to offer you a video clip double feature!

Toddler Prayers: For the last couple of weeks (since the boys had the stomach flu) we've heard the following tacked onto our mealtime prayers...

Please help bellies feel better, so we can go to Chick Fil A and McDonalds.

In Jesus name, Amen

Sometimes that prayer will then be followed by a song they learned in church or even part of the Signing Time theme song. Good times! Anyway, it cracks Nick and me up on a daily basis, so on Sunday (yup, that's fresh snow there in the background) I whipped out the camera to catch it on video. They kind of talk over each other, but you get the idea.

Singing Games: My sister, Aunt Laura, is a dance teacher. A couple of months ago she taught the boys a little "game" she plays with some of her youngest students. The boys love the game and apparently while Aunt Laura was watching them this past Sunday she played the game with them again. This video features Jackson (on the left) and Tyler (on the right) showing off. Oh, and I should mention this is also the song that Chase was singing the other night that ticked the other two off.

Sailing, sailing, over the ocean blue

Tip, tip, tip

Fall over and kick your legs

Get back in the boat! Get back in the boat!

Remember, you can always watch these and other videos on our YouTube channel! Click here for that, or access it on our "Favorite Sites" page.

Naughty Boys

Yesterday was one for the books in terms of naughty behavior from my angelic children. Most of my morning was occupied by simultaneously breaking up fights while dealing with the ball-droppers at Bank of America (we've been working on a re-fi of our mortgage for 3 months now). After getting off the phone at one point, I walked into the living room to see Jackson and Chase throwing 2 sweet potatoes around the room and tearing up bits of toilet paper and throwing those in the air like confetti. AHH!

Then last night... oh last night. Long story, semi-short - Jackson and Tyler thought it would be hilarious to climb out of their cribs and come running out to the living room, laughing their little heads off. Over. And over. And over. Nick and I tried a few different tactics when dealing with them. We tried not talking and just putting them back. We tried putting them back and then shutting the door. We tried putting them in time out. We tried holding the door shut, thinking if they realized they couldn't get out of their room they wouldn't be so anxious to get out of bed. Nick and I swapped posts several times in the doorway and finally we found something that worked. We took away their coveted blankets.

We told the boys we were going to set the timer and if they stayed in their crib the whole time then they'd get their blanket back. Nick took the first shift and they only lasted 4 minutes (we were shooting for 10 initially). Then I took a shift because the boys were seeing me as "the bad guy" last night, where as they'd just giggle like crazy when Nick was around. I stood in their doorway, not speaking but ready to put boys back in their beds, and decided to count how many times I put Ty back (Jackson was just standing in his crib flipping out about his blanket and telling me to go away). In 6 minutes I put Tyler back in his crib 22 times. Almost 4 times a minute! Jeez kid!

Finally we decided to lower our expectations a bit and make the boys only last 5 minutes before getting their blankets back. Tyler finally got his back around 9:40 (almost 2 hours into the ordeal) and then sat in his crib and watched Jackson act up. Jackson got his blanket back a couple of times but then climbed out immediately after in hopes that we'd let him sit on the couch. No way kid! So we'd take the blanket back and start the 5 minutes over again.

Finally, by 10pm (over 2 hours had passed) he was so flipped out and so tired he didn't know what to do anymore, so I grabbed him and his blanket and we sat on the edge of my bed for a few minutes to calm him down. A couple of minutes later I told him he was going to bed and he was to stay in bed. And he did. Whew!

So what was Chase doing this whole time? Just sitting in his crib, cracking up and egging the other two on. Towards the end, he started singing which annoyed Tyler and Jackson (they yelled at him to stop singing). Nick and I were shocked he never tried to climb out last night. Guess he's more chicken then I thought!

Now yesterday afternoon I also had to take Ty to the doctor's office. During lunch he suddenly freaked out and said his ear hurt, so I made an appointment for right after nap time. Poor kid has never been that obviously in pain. The doctor said his right ear was horribly red and bulging. Aww!

When we headed out for the doctor appointment, we saw this in our front yard.... Snowman carnage!

Less than 24 hours earlier it looked like this...

At least it's melting fast! Oh, and apparently the constant lifting last night was a bit of a workout, because I woke up this morning with a sore back and arms!

My Lifeline

Very early in my pregnancy, before I even knew we were having triplets, I joined a group of other women on a message board who were all due in September and October of 2007. The bulk of us were pregnant with our first and we were from all over the country. We posted daily with each other to complain about pregnancy ailments, odd cravings and how often we were using the bathroom. As time has passed (we've now all been posting together for 3 years!) the group size dwindled a bit; what once was a group of 25-30 women is now down to about 15.

These women have been my lifeline. During the early months, when I was always stuck at home, it was nice to have adults to "talk" to. We've rejoiced as a group when one person bought her first home, and when another met and married a wonderful man, and most recently when three new babies were born into the group. We've mourned as a group when pregnancies were miscarried. We've prayed for each other when someone has a concern or health issue. How funny and how cool at the same time that so many of my greatest friends could be scattered all across the country and that I'd never met them in person.

A few months ago we started talking about doing a big get together. Another woman in the group lives in the Kansas City area too, and with KC being in the center of the country and relatively cheap to fly into we decided it was the perfect location! Late last week 6 women descended on Kansas City for 4 days of fun. One flew in from Washington DC and two from California. One drove from Michigan, one from North Dakota and one from Texas. Oh, and did I mention everyone brought their 2 and a half year old? We had 8 moms and 10 kids... only one of which was a girl!

We played outside when it was warm...

Which wore my children out...

We headed downtown another day for some fun at a free fairy tale exhibit and lunch at the Crayola Cafe (which was the closest we got to a group picture unfortunately)

Friends were made and popsicles were eaten

Then the snow came and it royally messed stuff up. How does it go from 65 and sunny one day to snowing 4 hours later?! Due to the crazy road out to the lake house the out of towners were staying at, it was decided Saturday morning that they should find a hotel.

This is as close to a group shot of the kids as we could get.... 3 of the kids were already headed home, unfortunately!

All in all it was an awesome but tiring weekend. And a little tip to those of you thinking of getting together with other moms you've met online: do it without kids! Crabbiness, bedtime, missed naps, hungry 2 year olds, etc definitely put a damper on the adult's fun. Don't get me wrong, it was great to see the kids all playing together but they will definitely not be invited next time!