Independence Day

What? Worried I have my holidays mixed up? Don't worry, I am fully aware today is Memorial Day and not Independence Day. Try telling that to my children though. They think every day is Independence Day. I'm beginning to regret encouraging so much independence in my children. I've been praised by our Parent Educator (from Parents As Teachers) in the past for how independent I encourage the boys to be, by letting them pick out their own clothes 95% of the time, potty training them so early on, letting them dress themselves even though it can take 5 times as long and stuff ends up on backwards, etc.

All of that toddler independence is well and good, but I think it's going to send me over the edge. No, seriously. If I have to hear one more time "no, I do it!" I'm going to scream. If I watch one more child throw an outright tantrum because I "helped" him do something I'm going to cry. Maybe if I scream and cry the boys will see how silly they are. Ha! I just reread that - that definitely won't happen. Instead, I suppose, I'll struggle along with the terrible 2's which are quickly approaching the __________ 3's. Why the blank space? Well it's yet to be seen if my children will fall into the rare "terrific 3's" or into the more common "terrible 3's". I'm praying all this independence stuff will result in the 3's being a breeze.

Hey, a mom can dream, right?

Chase

Happy Memorial Day and a huge thank you to all the men and women who have served our country and are serving right now!

In Less Than 3 Months

In less than 3 months my babies will be 3. I've thought about this a lot recently. What is it about the age of 3 that seems SO much more grown up and so much further away from being "babies" than age 2 did? Last year when the boys turned 2 I knew it was a big deal. I knew it meant we were out of the baby stage and that they'd be learning new skills. At the same time though, they still felt like just bigger babies to me.

Today I look at my boys and see just that - boys. They look nothing like babies or even toddlers to me. They look like little men. They don't have chubby arms and legs anymore. I'm constantly having to pull their pants up because their waists are thinning. They're officially little boys.

The boys talk like crazy, like identifying letters and numbers, telling me what aisle at the grocery store we're in, announcing who has matching shirts, cups or plates at the moment and so much more. They're going to start 1 day a week preschool this fall. 4 hours for them means 4 hours for me. I have a hunch sending the boys off to "school" will give me an anxiety attack and at the same time make me want to dance for joy.

Anyway, these are just random musings from a mom who feels like her babies are growing up to fast and is at a loss as to how to handle it. Hope you at least enjoyed the pictures I added! This last one is of the boys waving good-bye to Nick as he headed to work. This happens on a daily occurrence. When the weather is too cold, the boys wave from inside.

When A 2 Year Old Dresses Himself

Parents are supposed to foster independence. Sometimes I think that toddler independence will be what kills me though. The constant "no, I do it!" drives me up the wall sometimes.

Chase's new favorite thing to do is getting himself dressed. We've let the boys pick out their clothes (95% of the time) for a few months now. Lately though that isn't enough. No, now they not only want to pick their clothes but they want to struggle for 15 minutes to put them on. Heaven forbid we try to help them too!

Yesterday, Chase proudly dressed himself. Here's what he looked like...

Just in case you didn't take the time to read my lovely photo captions, his shirt was on backwards, his underwear was on backwards (which you obviously can't see in this picture), his pants were unbuttoned and his shoes were on the wrong feet. Know how he topped it all off? Yep, he put his pull-over fleece on backwards too.

Tyler's coat was on backwards too. Know what this mom did? I took them to the McDonald's Play Place like that anyway! I'm sure the other moms wondered if I was even capable of driving considering I clearly couldn't dress my own children. That's ok though - my not even 3 year old boys can use the potty on their own and get dressed on their own, and for that I'm quite proud!

Therapy

What is it about holding a baby or having a child snuggle up to you that is so therapeutic? Sunday afternoon the boys and I visited some friends who had their second child a couple of months ago. Holding that sweet little baby girl was such a stress reliever!

Yesterday, a couple of times, Tyler came up to me, crawled into my lap and just snuggled in. That very act made me sigh with relief and it was like all the moments of stress, annoyance and anger just disappeared. How does that work? I'm not entirely sure, but I hope my kids continue to want to climb into my lap and just sit and snuggle because it's an amazing thing.

A Normal Life

Way back when Nick and I were trying to get pregnant I would drive past parks full of little kids and their moms, or women pushing strollers down a sidewalk and be so envious. I wanted that life! I wanted to load my little baby into her (yep, my fantasies always involved having a little girl. Ha!) stroller and go for a walk with another mom friend. Then a couple of years later I'd be spending beautiful spring and summer days and evenings at the park with our active toddler, having picnic lunches and suppers. They'd be independent enough that I could just sit and watch her go down the slides over and over. Ahhhh, that was the life.

Then I found out we were having triplets and I thought I'd never enjoy those picture perfect dreams I had. Sure, I got to go for walks when the boys were babies but it always looked like a big production to others. In my dreams I wasn't counting on people stopping their cars in the street just to gawk or yell questions to me. I'm not saying I minded it all the time, but every once in a while a mom of multiples would love to just go for a walk with her kids and not be noticed.

When the boys got old enough to take to parks and were walking, I definitely did not get to just sit on a bench and watch. I was constantly chasing after kids, keeping them away from the high parts of the play ground equipment, moving them back inside the fenced in area or telling them to take the mulch out of their mouth. Now that we're pushing 3 (gah! I don't like admitting that!), I feel like I'm constantly in head counting mode when we're out in public.

Last night though, I had that glimpse at the "normal" life I was longing for years ago. We picked up a pizza and some drinks and headed to a new-to-us park for a picnic dinner. The boys all walked independently from the car to the picnic area and didn't have to be told to stay away from the road. They all picked the same table (instead of each picking a different one and having to be coaxed to sit at the same one) and sat down and immediately said grace. We all ate and they were saying adorable things that were making Nick and me laugh.

After dinner they played for over an hour at the playground. At one point Nick and I were sitting side-by-side on a bench just watching our kids play. I think that was a first! It was a wonderful moment and I was definitely storing that memory in my heart for a later time. The boys also enjoyed playing together on a little merry-go-round and playing with some other kids.

(Taken with my cell phone, the only camera I had with me.)

As I sat there watching my boys play together I thought of all those dreams I had for my life as a mom. A year ago I would have questioned if I'd ever have "normal" moments with my kids when they were young. I'm here to tell you though (especially you moms of infant multiples or those expecting multiples) that you will get your normal life! It may not be normal all the time, but if you look for them you'll see the normal moments sprinkled throughout.

Brave or Stupid?

Yesterday afternoon I had to go to the Post Office to mail a couple of things. Problem number 1 - I also needed to swing by a store and buy packing tape to seal one box and a padded envelope for my other package. Problem number 2 - the post office closed at 5pm and it was now 4pm, and dealing with loading and unloading the Choo Choo multiple times isn't exactly quick.. Hmmmm... It was then that I made a decision that would either cause me to rejoice or haunt me in my dreams; I was going to venture out without the Choo Choo and without leashes and head to a store that doesn't have carts big enough for kids to ride in. Yikes.

I quickly had the boys all use the bathroom and put on their socks and shoes and we dashed out the door. The whole way to Walgreen's I told the boys what we were going to do and that I needed them to be good boys. They were told to hold hands in the store, they were not to touch anything in the store and I didn't want to hear anyone say "My do it!" (I do it).

We pulled in and I gave them one last pep talk before unloading. They all stood on the sidewalk like I told them to as I unloaded everyone from the car and then we all held hands and slowly (emphasis on "slowly") walked into the store. They were in awe at all the stuff and the fact that they weren't trapped in a cart or wagon! They stayed with me all the way to the mailing supplies section and did great not touching stuff. Then we walked to the Easter aisle so that Tyler could pick out his special treat for doing so well pooping on the toilet (did I mention lately we had a HUGE breakthrough with him last week?). I also let Jackson and Chase pick a treat for doing so well lately as well (can't be easy on a 2.5 year old with diarrhea to always make it to the bathroom on time).

We stood in line, paid and got back in the car where we then headed to the Post Office. At the PO we stood in a line 8 people deep and the boys again did fantastic. They stayed right with me, chatted with the people standing behind us and were just so good. When I was done paying for my shipments and I told the boys it was time to go, Chase turned around to face the counter and all the people still in line and yelled "Bye post office!", which cracked everyone up.

The verdict on my outing? BRAVE! I was thinking about it last night, and really how else would I know if the boys or myself are ready for something big (like ditching the Choo Choo or making solo trips to the Zoo) if I never try? I know there have been times in the past when I've tried something and it's gone terribly (i.e. taking them sans Choo Choo to story time at Pottery Barn Kids - the going in was fine, it was the coming out that was risky) but I guess that's just my way of finding out it's not time to make that move yet.

Hmmmm.... now what could my next brave/stupid move be?

(Chase being silly yesterday)

Must Be A Mom Thing

The other day as I grabbed a water bottle I had been neglecting for much of the morning and took a drink of the now room temperature water, something dawned on me. I used to think it was so gross that my mom could drink room temperature water! IF I was going to drink water, it had to be ice cold. Apparently I've now adapted fully into motherhood. It's like I've come to terms with the fact that my eating and drinking comes second, so if I don't have time to constantly be refilling my cup or water bottle, then I better take what I can get! Funny thing is, I realized that morning when I drank my room temperature water that the "taste" didn't bother me anymore.

Know what else is a mom thing? Crying at the silliest little things. My brother, sister and I used to tease our mom all the time for crying over commercials (both Hallmark and non-Hallmark commercials), movies and books. We thought it was so silly that she would cry over these things! Know what this mom did the other day? I teared up three times while watching The Tigger Movie. Yup. I cried over the story of Tigger wanting to find his family. As I sat there, realizing I was tearing up for the 3rd time I thought "good grief, what is wrong with me?!"

After doing some thinking I've discovered I'm much more of a crier now than I was pre-kids. I tear up when other people are crying, extremely happy, watching TV, reading a book, looking at my boys, etc. It's like my hormones have never rebalanced after pregnancy. Oh well, I'll just chalk it up to it being a mom thing. When my boys make fun of me for crying (I'm sure they will at some point) I'll just tell them it's their fault!

And now, for your general amusement, here are some random pictures. Some of these can be found on my 365 Blog as well.

 

Tyler

 

Tyler

 

Jackson - so peaceful!

 

Tyler

No sleepy shot of Chase because after I took this one of Ty, 

Jackson's eyes flew open and I bolted from the room!

Marriage Enrichment

Several months ago Nick added a new line item to our monthly budget. The line item reads "Marriage Enrichment". The amount designated? $10. It's a cheesy title and not much money, I know, but stay with me for a minute.

When we were just a couple of DINKs (double income no kids) we had plenty of time alone and even went out on dates once a week. It was wonderful and probably why Nick dragged his feet so long in the "let's have kids" department. Well, that and the road trips. I think we both miss the mini-road trips. Anyway, I have especially become increasingly dissatisfied with how often we get out. It's expensive though lining up a sitter and then going out to eat or to a movie or what have you. We're cheap. We admit it. We're ok with the cheapness though because it's allowing us to pay down debt early and hopefully pay cash (or mostly cash) for a van sometime in the first half of 2010. That's a whole separate post though.

So after many conversations and complaints about how we never do anything together, Nick came up with the Marriage Enrichment plan. I was skeptical. How would spending $10 a month and staying at home help us much? Turns out my husband is a genius.

The Marriage Enrichment rules are simple. We alternate who is in charge of the $10 and planning each month. It's an unspoken rule, but we don't tell each other what the plan is until the day/night comes. It's kinda fun!

November was our first one and Nick was in charge. He took the $10 and bought a book that we've used a couple of times. It's got some interesting quizzes that you take together about how you think things are going and how you think your spouse thinks things are going. The quizzes have led to awesome discussions and some real change in our relationship! The book link is below and as you can see, it's quite cheap at Amazon.com right now.

December I was in charge and I decided we'd have a throw back night. A night to honor all the fun we had before the boys arrived! (I know, I know - we still have fun now, but it's a different kind of fun.) After the boys went to bed I went and picked up some Chinese take out and we played Monopoly.

Last night was our January night and Nick was in charge again. He bought supplies for S'mores and we cooked S'mores on the S'more maker I had forgotten we even had! They were delicious of course and then we took another quiz from the above book and had more great discussions. 

Bottom line: If you don't get out often, or if you only get out occasionally but your marriage still isn't quite there, consider adding a Marriage Enrichment night each month. The fun of trying to come up with something creative for $10 or less, plus the element of surprise may be just what you and your spouse need!

Oh, and here are a couple of cute pics from yesterday ;)

 

Jackson & Chase

 

Tyler, Chase & Jackson

 

I Love Having Triplets

Let me be clear about my title - there is zero sarcasm in it! Last week it dawned on me that I absolutely love having triplets. Given the chance to go back in time and be told I could have just one baby or three, I totally would pick three.

My life is like a nonstop playdate. I don't have to worry about the boys getting bored or lonely. I get to sit back and watch my kids play with each other. Every so often I'm asked to join in, but usually they're content to play with each other.

Granted, the nap time and bedtime parties are getting a little old but at least they're being cute and chatting with each other.

Yesterday Tyler was on the toilet and Chase pulled the stool up right next to him, sat down on it and said "What you doing Tyler?" Stinking adorable!

I love looking into the living room and seeing the boys all snuggled up on the couch together, with their blankets, watching a movie. I love walking back to the playroom and finding them all lined up on the futon reading books together.

I love the hugs they've started giving each other. A couple of weeks ago Tyler (I think it was him) bumped his head when he tripped in the living room. Instead of coming to me for a hug, he went to Chase for one! I was delighted to see Chase give him the hug back and not try to push him to the ground in a tackle instead.

This past weekend I got to chat with a mom of 9 year old triplets (her kids were in the wedding). She agreed that having triplets is the best experience and she'd do it again in a heartbeat too. There's just something amazing about watching three little people go through the exact same stages at the exact same time.

Sure, life is challenging at times. But life sounds plenty challenging when you have just one kid too (obviously I'm not speaking from experience here). Honestly? I'd wish triplets on any of my friends :) It's an amazing experience not enough mom's get to enjoy! Life has been amazing the last 2 and a half years and I can't wait to watch the boys grow in their friendship.

A Love/Hate Relationship

Have you ever had something that you really can't decide if you love it or hate it? Maybe it's because said "thing" pulls a Jekyll and Hyde act on you all the time. Or maybe it's because said "thing" one minute appears to love you and the next is screaming like you've ruined it's life. Any guesses as to what I'm talking about?

If you said teenage girls I suspect you might be correct, but I'm actually talking about 2 year olds. I'm having a love/hate relationship with this age. I can't decide if I'm really enjoying it or if I can't wait until we're out of "this stage".

The boys say and do the cutest things now! I swear, every day they do something that tops what they did the day before...

Yesterday, when Tyler got hurt bumping into something (I suspect he wasn't really hurt, because it was his fake look-at-me-now cry), he didn't come running to me for sympathy. No, he turned to Chase and Chase gave him a hug. Sweetest. Thing. Ever.

Two days ago Chase pooped in the toilet. There was a "big poop" and a "baby poop" and Chase looked down and said "awwww, a little baby poop!" and then proceeded to ask if he could hug it. (It's ok, you can laugh - I did.)

A few nights ago Nick and I listened to the boys giggling in their room long after we put them to bed. They were playing a guessing game where Chase would say "how 'bout this one!" and then make an animal noise. Tyler and Jackson would then shout out the answer. I have this one on video, and will be sharing it with you tomorrow!

When Tyler gives you a hug, he rubs and pats your back like he's soothing you. It's adorable and so endearing!

Then the other side of the coin though involves tantrums over Nick taking Chase to the potty instead of me taking him, not letting the boys play on the Wii, not letting them dunk their hands in their milk cups, not letting Jackson have his blanket at all hours of the day, not setting up the humidifier, setting up the humidifier, not giving someone medicine, not serving the "right" lunch and on and on and on.

Can you see why I would be so confused?

Cookie Decorating With 2 Year Olds

Turns out the boys are still a bit young for cookie decorating. I'm thinking the decision to let them decorate gingerbread men with their older cousins (ages 3 and 5) was not one of my smarter moves of 2009. Oh well. Live and learn!

Of course, the boys thoroughly enjoyed their time with giant bowls of frosting on the table... Jackson alone had probably 5 or 6 spoonfuls of the sweet stuff!

 

 

Tyler had fun too and I saw him sneak a couple of spoons of frosting. I think he had more fun though watching his cousins decorate their cookies.

 

Chase wasn't into the whole "spoon it on in big globs" way of decorating. He wanted to try out the special decorating squeeze bottles. He wasn't really strong enough to squeeze much out though, so really he ended up just jamming cookie up the tip.

After their lunch of frosting and cookie bits, we gave the boys some meatballs for dessert... Oh boy was Jackson a mess by the end of all of that!

 

Being Refined

This past weekend I learned something. I'm being refined. I'm walking through fire and I'll come out the other side better than I was before. Let me back up a bit though...

This weekend we started a new sermon series at our church called After the Fire. The bulk of the sermons will be about the things we should have and should still be learning about the recession and how we can change our own habits. This first sermon (which you can watch here) was about being caught in the fire and relating that to all the folks in the Bible who walked through fire (some quite literally) and then finding hope in the ashes. I wasn't sure how much I'd get out of this sermon series as I feel like the economy hasn't affected Nick and me that much. We were already living on a budget, already had a good amount in savings "just in case" and Nick still had his job. I was surprised then, when the end of the sermon spoke so much to me as a mom.

Towards the end the pastor was mentioning how just because you are a follower of Jesus does not mean you are exempt from bad things. He said we all will walk through fire at one point in our lives. The fire may not be a total devastation (like a huge forest fire), but we will walk through fire. That got me thinking and at first I thought "well, I still haven't walked through fire so I wonder when it's going to happen". Then I thought a few minutes longer and it dawned on me.

In my life as a SAHM I am walking through little brush fires on a weekly (and sometimes daily!) basis and I am coming out the other end better than I was before. Brush fires - like a particularly trying morning with a crabby, tantruming 2 year old. Brush fires - like an entire day with three disobedient, tantruming toddlers. You get the idea.

Just a week ago today, after putting the boys down for their nap I collapsed on the couch in tears and wondered if I was truly cut out to be a SAHM. The boys were wearing heavily on my patience and I had completely lost it on them just 15 minutes earlier. After having a couple of hours to regroup I came out more resolved to step up my patience. You know what? I've had that pep talk with myself A LOT over the last 2 years and I have to believe that each time I've had it I have come out more patience in the end. Huh, I guess I'm walking through the fires and coming out better than I was before!

Two Ah-ha Moments

I know, I know. You all were probably hoping for a Trick or Treating recap. I've decided to let Nick guest post here on Three Times the Giggles, seeing as he is the one that took the boys Trick or Treating, but when I asked him last night to write his post he said something about the spirit to write not moving or some such nonsense. Don't worry - I'll hold him down and force him to type tonight. For now I'll give you this little "treat" though!

Yep, those are our little sweets! Alright, I'll lay off of the puns now. Chase is the blue, Tyler the brown and Jackson the red. And yes, I made those! I'm quite proud of how my first major sewing project turned out! Big thanks to my friend Krista for coming up with the M&M idea for me!

Ok, on to my Ah-ha moments...

Ah-ha Moment #1: The boys have been frustrating us lately. The last two weeks especially. I know, I know... they're 2. Even my normally patient husband has been nearing the end of his patience - after only being with the boys for a couple of hours! Last night they were at it again and I sat there looking at them destroy the living room (when they were supposed to be putting their toys away) wondering what had happened in the last two weeks and it dawned on me...

The boys have really started becoming independent. We have them drinking out of cups without covers, climbing in and out of the car themselves, buckling the top buckle on their car seats, picking out their own clothes and just last week all three figured out how to pull down pants and underwear and climb up (and down) onto the big toilet. They've learned a lot!

With these new skills and independence Nick and I have foolishly thought that meant they would listen better. Ha! Foolish new parents! Along with the independence came attitude and testing in all their awesome glory. So last night instead of helping to pick up their toys (like they have been for the last 10 months or so), they were running around like crazy people, turning the TV off and on (which I told them 15 times not to do before finally unplugging it), dumping baskets of toys out (which they got a time out for each of the 5 times) and laughing when I asked them to do something. No wonder our patience is running in low supply! I think we need to go back to the state of mind we had before the boys started learning all these new tricks. Then we won't be so surprised when they don't do what we ask... and ask, and ask, and ask.

Ah-ha Moment #2: The other day I was reading one of the many free magazines I get (I now get Parents, Parenting, This Old House and Health magazines all for FREE thanks to my constant deal hunting!) and there was an interview with Jillian Michaels from the Biggest Loser. Two things she said really stuck out to me:  

"We sell ourselves short when it comes to capability and potential. We read on the treadmill. We walk... People have no concept of what the human body is really designed to do. They have no concept of their strength! And they function in a zone that is well below what their potential really is." And this... Best form of Cardio: Running. "This is the most effective form of cardio," Jillian says. "I hate it more than anything in the whole world, but it tightens up problem areas in the lower body, and it burns a ton of calories."

She's right. I do sell myself short. I watch her and Bob every week train 400+ pound people on the Biggest Loser and they are all working so much harder than I ever do. About a year ago I also traded in running for walking, yoga, pilates and this spring threw in the 30 Day Shred DVD. Those are all good, but I never do any of them consistently enough. And if I'm really honest with myself I've done LOTS of walking over my 7+ years of Weight Watchers and it's never helped me lose weight. I only lose weight when I exert myself more.

So this morning I loaded Week 1 Day 1 of the Couch to 5K program onto my iPod and took off! Couch to 5K is a nice easy way to ease yourself into running and by the end of the 9 week program you should be able to run 30 minutes straight (or a 5K!). Anyone want to join me? You can find the details of the C25K HERE and by searching Couch to 5K on iTunes you can find some free podcasts (there are also some listed on the above link). I hate the music on my podcast, but I figure it's only 9 weeks and it's nice to have the guy break in and tell me when to run, walk and when I've reached the halfway point. I'll keep you all up-to-date on my running and would love to see comments from those of you who will join me!

The Future

Monday afternoon Nick and I took the boys to two stores they'd never been to before: PetSmart and Best Buy. No, we aren't buying a pet but we thought the boys would enjoy looking at all of the animals and fish. We were right - they loved it!

Next door to PetSmart is Best Buy, so we ventured over there to look at new phones for Nick and me. While our data was being transferred to our new, sweet, free phones (because you know we're too cheap to pay for anything) the boys were having a ball looking around Best Buy. Probably their favorite part of the trip though was when one of the employees handed each of the boys an older model cell phone to play with. Better yet, the boys were told they could keep their new phones!

On the way home the boys sat in their seats happily playing with their new phones, saying "hello", talking to various family members and pushing the buttons. Several times Nick turned around to talk to the boys and got zero response. I finally told him to get used to it, because in 14 years or so they'd be in the back of the car texting (or using whatever the cool form of communication is then) and not wanting to talk to their parents.

Posts just don't seem complete without a picture, so here is one I took yesterday with my new phone!


I've heard from 2 of our 3 PJ winners! Kristin, I need you to e-mail me at threetimesthegiggles@gmail.com by 9am tomorrow in order to claim your prize! If I don't hear from you by then I will pick an alternate winner.

Laugh or Cry

When raising children one must often make a conscience decision. Do you laugh or cry at whatever just happened? I've been trying really hard to choose "laugh" lately, even though I want to cry (or get mad at the very least). Here are two recent examples...

Lately Jackson and Tyler have had a hard time making it to the potty on time between the hours of 4pm and 6pm. It's really quite remarkable how many times the two of them can pee on the floor in those 2 hours (we're talking 4-6 accidents between the two of them in a 2 hour span). I don't know why they have such a hard time in the late afternoon/early evening, but they do. As a result dinner has been late several times because of all the, uh, activities here.

This past Monday night I decided I wasn't going to let these potty time escapades get the best of me or my dinner preparation. My plan of attack? Start dinner at 3:30pm in hopes it was done sometime between 5:30 and 6. Good thing I did too because it took me nearly 2 hours to get dinner into the oven! In those two hours we had 10 trips to the potty, 3 puddles on the floor and I got to rescue a sippy cup from a toilet. All I could do was laugh. And be glad I started dinner when I did!

The next night Tyler did something that had Nick and me rolling with laughter...

Yeah. That would be a large piece of poo you see there on the floor.

We were in the middle of dinner when Tyler suddenly jumped up and frantically said "potty! potty!" so I grabbed him and rushed him in there. I could tell he was starting to poop (something we've been working hard at getting him to do in the toilet rather than his underwear) so I was frantically trying to rip off his pants and his underwear. As I was doing this he also started to pee, so he was spraying everywhere before I finally got him on the toilet. That had me giggling enough and then just as Nick came to see what I was laughing at I noticed the poop on the floor. That sent me over the edge and Nick cracked up too. We told Ty he was so close!

What will you choose to do today when your kid does something crazy/obnoxious/frustrating? Laugh or cry? I'm choosing laugh again; it seems to make the days better.

It's Outta Here! - Video Clip of the Week

I so enjoy being proven right. I told Nick this summer that we should get the boys a t-ball set for their birthday. He shot the idea down and said the boys were too young and they'd probably just use the bat to hit each other.

This past weekend he was proven wrong. Attached to the new bouncy house is a t-ball set, and it's probably the favorite part of the bounce house right now! I'm not sure who taught it to them, but in this week's video you can hear Jackson yell "It's Outta Here!" every time he hits the ball!



Health update: The boys have a dr. appointment this afternoon. The cold moved quickly into their chest and I'm hearing way more rattling and wheezing than I'm comfortable with.

Bitterness, Party of One

My life is not all cupcakes and roses, in fact rarely are those items even present in my life. Yes, I'm blessed with three healthy, hilarious and adorable boys. Yes, I have a wonderful husband who does way more work around the house and with the kids than it seems most husbands do. Yet even with those tremendous blessings I allow bitterness and discontentment to work it's way into my heart every now and then.

I'm bitter about driving 2 small cars, one of which is very old, when families with fewer kids (or even the same number of kids!) get to drive sweet minivans.

I'm bitter about not having a nice camera to take pictures of my kids with. Photography is something I am so interested in and yet I can only do so much with my little point and shoot and Photoshop. It kills me to hear of people with a nice DSLR sitting in their closest for months, still in the box because they just haven't gotten around to opening it. Kills me! (And yes, I heard someone say that.)

I'm bitter about wearing clothes on a regular basis that are 8-10 years old. Yes I have a few newer pieces but obviously not enough to prevent me from wearing old, holey clothes still. I only have a few things that are suitable for leaving the house in.

I'm bitter about constantly mopping pee off the floors and cleaning poop out of underwear. It's been almost 4 weeks now of potty training and I've had enough. Thankfully Chase is "done" and Jackson rarely has an accident but Tyler will probably be a long trainer like Jackson was, so it's depressing to think I probably have another week of mopping pee off the floor 6 times a day.

I'm bitter that Nick and I don't get to out alone very often.

I'm bitter when Nick gets to head off to work, complete meaningful tasks, have the satisfaction of completing those tasks and gets to engage in adult conversation.

I'm bitter that we live what seems to some people as "so far away" from the church and most of our friends. (It's only 10-15 minutes but when a variety of stores are only 5 minutes away I guess 10-15 is an obscene distance to travel.)

I'm bitter that I have to come up with something for dinner every single night. What I wouldn't give to just be able to have pizza delivered or say "let's just go out" once in a while!

Ugh. What a downer of a post. Let me try to bring some perspective to my life...

• Last month we paid off the remainder of my student loan - 4 years early!
• We're making headway on paying off Nick's student loan and when that's gone the only debt we'll have will be the house.
• We have money in savings and don't need to freak out over dumping $850 into a car one week (which we did 3 weeks ago).

Because we don't have a texting plan, cable, a new car, a bigger house, eat out, order food in or have new clothes we don't have to stress about money like many people do. I guess I'd rather whine about not having those things once in a while than to whine about not having enough money to keep the bill collectors away.