We Got Rhythm

One of the fun things we did on the Big Trek was stop for the night at my brother Paul's house. It was a full-scale invasion, but Uncle Paul, Aunt Stacie and their two kids were good sports about it.

And their house was Nirvana for the kids. They have a snake, a gecko and a tortoise. The kiddos thought it was a zoo.

Then the boys went into the garage and found this:

Sam, Alex and Isaac check out the motorcycle.

Isaac, especially, was in awe. Later he fell and got hurt and when I asked him if he needed a kiss or a Band-Aid to feel better he sniffed and said, "I want to sit on the motorcycle."

*sigh* What's a mama to do?

The icing on the cake was the drum set that my brother has already threatened to send to us. Sam told us it was "too loud" and went elsewhere to play, but Alex and Isaac loved it. Check them out!

Next stop, the fire station!

© Trippin' Mama 2011

Peace and Quiet and Sewage

Ah. Peace and quiet.

We reveled in it this weekend, thanks to the best Christmas gift ever: a whole night of babysitting. (Thanks Sarah and Dustin. Glad the Lillputians didn't take you down.)

Jeff and I escaped yesterday afternoon to check into a hotel and soak in the hot tub before heading out for an evening of fun at our multiples club's holiday party. We stayed out well past our bedtime, knowing there would be no 6 a.m. (or earlier!) wakeup call from the kids. Then we slept soundly and much later than usual since there were no cries of "Paci!" in the wee hours.

Bliss.

At least until the late-morning call came that sewage was backing up through one of our toilets.

Hallmark doesn't make a card that says "Thanks for watching the kids. Sorry about the toilet."

But that's life, right?

Sometimes sewage happens.

You can get upset about it, or just mop it up and move on.

We chose the latter.

Though I did feel a little bit bad since the kids slept all night, but Sarah and Dustin were up tending an overflowing toilet.

That wasn't what I meant when I told them we were still doing a little potty training.

© Trippin' Mama 2011

Wordful Wednesday: Flamingos and Chocolate Nachos

My sister Mary was looking for a place for us to eat out while we were visiting for Girls' Weekend. She had a choice of good steakhouses and nice Italian places, but wanted to try something new.

So she asked around for a recommendation.

One of her employees told her that we just had to try the Flamingo, and we had to get the chocolate nachos.

It was a ways out of town, but Marlene highly recommended it, and Mary was sold on the idea of chocolate nachos, so off we went down Montana's backroads. Mary hadn't asked any questions about the place, so we speculated it was probably a typical all-American restaurant with burgers, pasta chicken etc...

We did not expect this:

No, your eyes do not deceive you. That's a shack and an old school bus painted pink. Also known as the Flamingo Restaurant and Lounge.

Just to clarify, here's the restaurant:

And here's the lounge:

Ha! We laughed and laughed. It was definitely not what we were expecting, but it sure was a lot of fun.

You've got to admit, the lounge is pretty cool, really, though it was full of spiderwebs and hot, so we opted for the fresh-air seating instead. Doesn't this pink Quonset hut just scream atmosphere?

 I'd say the joke was on us, but the food was fantastic, and it definitely was all-American. And those chocolate nachos? So good that the only picture I got was after we'd eaten half of the basket.

These were seriously good. Warm, crunchy flour tortilla chips sprinkled with cinnamon sugar, drizzled with chocolate and served with vanilla ice cream for dipping. Yum!

In the end the Flamingo got a good laugh and thumbs up all the way around.

Play along with Wordful Wednesday at:

© Trippin' Mama 2010

The Perfect Storm

I'm have a great few days with my mom and my sisters while Jeff keeps the home fires burning.

My niece Elyse, Judy, Mary, Mom & me at the Flamingo. (That's a story for another post!)

But I can't say it's all been relaxing. Take, for example, today's scenic boat tour of the Gates of the Mountains on the Missouri. We had a little weather issue:

The pilot, Captain Kyle, did a great job of trying to minimize the wind damage to the boat and the danger to his passengers. I took the video right after all the wind started. It lasted about five minutes, and we did start to worry a little when the metal frame holding up the "roof" started to pull away from the wooden boat frame and the whole roof was pushed to one side of the boat.

 Captain Kyle said it was one of his "most interesting" tours ever. And he's been doing this for a long time.

If that doesn't call for a margarita, I don't know what does!

© Trippin' Mama 2010

Getting Soaked in St. Louis

Yes, still more adventures from St. Louis. I told you you'd get the full scoop. It's just taking me a little time!

Sunday morning our early birds were awake at their usual time, which was 6:00 a.m. in St. Louis. So we fed the kids breakfast in the room and headed out at 8 a.m.

Unfortunately, there's very little open on a Sunday morning at 8 a.m. Fortunately, St. Louis has a great park, Forest Park, home of the St. Louis zoo. Since we were planning to go to the zoo Monday, we decided to explore the park instead. After all, it doesn't take much to make our campers happy. A playground with a few swings and slides will do.

We found a great playground. As my kids played on the slides I watched out of the corner of my eye as some other kids turned on the water fountain. The day was already getting hot and I knew we were headed for the water before we left. Luckily I had thrown a dry change of clothes in the van for everyone, just in case.

We started by getting a drink from the water fountains, which was as entertaining as it was messy. We had a few fights over "HIT DE BUTTON!" But within minutes they were getting soaked and laughing and loving every minute of it!

I just tried to keep myself and the camera dry!

After our fun in the water we had a picnic in the park before heading back to the hotel for naptime. All of the kids fell asleep in the car, which undoubtedly contributed to the less-than-stellar naptime and two boys escaping from their beds!

While the kids were "napping" Jeff joined my sister and her family for the Cubs vs. Cardinals baseball game. By the top of the 8th inning I was ready for a drink. The boys and Amelia had a blast running around the room and going in and out of the closets, but I got tired of trying to keep them out of trouble pretty fast! I couldn't really take them anywhere by myself, but we did OK, thanks to a few videos, some new-to-us toys and our color crayons.

Once Jeff got back we hit the hotel pool. I have no photos of that. To hold my camera would have been to endanger my children's lives. It was all the two of us could do to catch three boys (all wearing life jackets) who had no fear of jumping in the water. Once we got them to take turns, the job got a little easier.

We took the boys out of the pool so we could give them a bath before supper, and Amelia stayed to play a little longer with her cousins. Just about the time we got the boys out of their life jackets, they all made a break for the water. My brother-in-law Kyle was the only one on that end of the pool, and when he looked up and saw what was coming, a look of sheer panic crossed his face. He stretched his arms out as far as possible, but Jeff and I grabbed the boys before they could get back in.

I laughed out loud at Kyle's expression. I recognized that look of panic. I've had it off and on for three years, ever since we discovered we were expecting triplets!

After a bath, a LOT of pizza and time playing with their cousins, the boys went down to sleep without a peep. And they slept all night. I can't say the same for Jeff. Early in the morning I woke up to find he wasn't in the bed. I went out to the sitting area to find him curled up awkwardly on a four-foot sofa. He said he was too sore to sleep. That was no surprise, after he spent almost two hours lifting 26-pound boys plus their wet life jackets out of the pool over and over and over.

Just one more reason this was a trip, not a vacation. Fun, yes, but a lot of work, too!

© Trippin' Mama 2010

From My Kitchen: Let's Talk Turtle

When we were in St. Louis we visited Terrapin Park. It's a little park full of sculptures of turtles, large and small. I took tons of pictures that I wanted to share with you, but today is recipe day.

What's a girl to do?

Daddy, Sam, Isaac and Alex hanging with one of the turtles.

At first I thought, "What the heck. It's my blog. I can do what I want!"

This makes me think of a bad science fiction flick. Run, Amelia! Run!

But I hate to disappoint those of you who like my recipes, and I've already abused you enough with my sudden unexplained absence, so I decided to get creative. I was desperately wishing I hadn't already posted my Mock Turtles, so I would have a recipe to go with the turtle theme.

Alex checks out his terrapin friend while Sam offers back up. Isaac isn't so sure about this one!

Then, luckily for you, I remembered this delicious Turtle Cake that I used to make quite often. I guess it got crowded out by other things, but now that I've rediscovered it, I'll be making it again soon. It's a bonus that it starts with a cake mix, so it goes together in a snap. And who can resist the combination of rich, moist chocolate cake and buttery carmel? Not me!

And not these guys, either! (See how seamless this whole Turtle Cake/Terrapin Park post is? No, really. It's a work of art!)

Amelia, Sam, Isaac and Alex go for a s-l-o-w ride.

So without further ado, here's the recipe for some chocolate-caramel decadence.

Turtle Cake

1 box German chocolate cake mix

1 14-ounce bag of Kraft caramels

1/2 C. butter or margarine

1/2 C. evaporated milk

1/2 C. chopped walnuts or pecans

Prepare the cake mix according to the directions on the box. Spoon half the batter into a 9x13 pan and bake at 350 degrees for 15 minutes. Allow to cool for about 15 minutes.

Melt the caramels, butter and evaporated milk in a small saucepan or in the microwave, stirring until smooth. Pour over the baked cake and sprinkle with chopped nuts.

You can omit the nuts, but that's really what makes it a turtle cake. Without the nuts, well you've still got a delicious cake, but it's not technically a turtle cake anymore. Still, since you've made it this far in this madcap post, you've earned the right to do whatever you want. Throw caution to the wind and leave those nuts out if you so desire!

Pour the rest of the batter over the caramel layer and bake for another 15 minutes. Allow to cool before serving.

Seriously. I thought these would be cute shots, but now that I see them full-sized "ominous" is the only word that comes to mind. This bugger looks poised to eat my flower-picking darling!

This time of year I like to cover the cake and keep it in the refrigerator so the caramel doesn't get too runny. But don't worry, unlike its namesake, this turtle cake moves pretty fast -- at least in my house!

And now for those of you still with me (thanks, Mom!) the last of the gratuitous Terrapin Park shots.

Here's Amelia just moments before she slid right off the turtle's back and to the ground. It was a good six-foot drop. Some other dad at the park who was on her side of the turtle threw his iPhone and ran to catch her. He missed. Amelia scraped up her back and bruised her knee a little. Thankfully the iPhone survived so we didn't have to buy the guy a new one!

Amelia hams it up for the camera. See, no harm done!

Isaac makes friends with a hatchling.

Alex checks out the turtle eggs.

Sam welcomes a little turtle to the world.

Just think, if this were the good old days, you would have at least gotten invited over to eat the Turtle Cake while I tortured you with slides of my vacation. I guess everything isn't better in the digital era, now is it? :-)

© Trippin' Mama 2010

Meet Me In St. Louis

My recent absence was due, in part, to our trip to St. Louis. (I say trip, because you can't really call it a vacation when you're chasing kids, washing dishes, and fighting with nap time, can you now?)

This is my only picture of the famous arch. What can I say? I had my hands full!

We were motivated to make the journey because my sister and her family from Montana were going to be there. It was still a bit of a haul for us, especially given all the stops along the way, but a heck of a lot closer than Montana! Alex's sudden refusal to go in his diaper added a little time to our journey, but I kept telling myself that it was worth the diapers we are now saving!

Here's a pic of all the cousins together. Believe me when I tell you it was the best out of seven shots.

Our trip included vists to the park, the zoo, and playtime in the hotel pool. So really, nothing we couldn't do here at home, but still a lot of fun.

A teeter-totter that's just right for us! Sam and Alex balanced out Isaac and Amelia almost exactly.

Our trip also included two boys climbing out of their pack & plays at nap time. When Sam came walking out of the bedroom it was one thing, since I knew his crib was too close to the other beds, so it was easy to climb out onto a queen bed. But when Alex came out I knew I was in trouble. I scolded him and he ran right back into the bedroom and started to climb back in. Yikes! Since Alex and Sam nap in pack & plays during the day at home, this is very bad news.

I have put them back in the pack & plays at home for naps, but I keep a careful ear out now for sounds of an escape. I'm sure it won't be long and I'll have to give up the separate naps and put them all together in their bedroom instead. I just hope I can teach Alex to quit screaming upon waking before that becomes a necessity. Poor Isaac will never get all the sleep he needs!

Today we took everyone to the fair, so I haven't had time to go through all my pictures from St. Louis. Tomorrow I'll tell you all about the turtles and Amelia's fall. That story really needs a few pics to go with it!

© Trippin' Mama 2010

We've Got Our Shades, So Let's Go!

So I may have been gone from the blogosphere for a few days, but believe me, I was NOT on vacation! We probably pushed the strollers 11 miles in three days. That's a far cry from sipping a margarita on the beach.

Although when I stop to think about it, pushing strollers is usually what we end up doing when we're on vacation.

Anyway, we had a great time despite the major workout. We picnicked at a state park, went to the zoo, and celebrated the Fourth of July at a parade.

Of course we had to have our shades for this beautiful weather: 

Sam

Isaac

 Alex

The playground was the hit of the state park, but while we ate, Jeff found a little frog. Amelia wanted to like it because it was "so little and cute," but she didn't want to get too close. It was funny to watch her.

The boys just eyed the frog suspiciously. Until it jumped. Then they all started saying, "Ribbit! Ribbit!"

I honestly was a little worried one of the boys might grab the frog and try to eat it. Anything that moves too slowly around here these days is in serious danger of getting eaten.

To add to the fun, Amelia and I camped out in the yard on Saturday night. It was perfect weather for sleeping outside, though the fireworks did go on until 11. I didn't really think that one through, did I? Amelia slept anyway, which was all that mattered.

Mom & Amelia
 

We ended our long weekend with a parade on Monday. I was sure Sam was going to freak out at the noise, especially since he sat through the last thunderstorm with his hands over his ears. But he never batted an eyelash. Not even when the Revolutionary War reenactors shot off their muskets right in front of us. I nearly wet myself, since I was facing the boys and didn't see it coming, but it didn't bother Sam at all.

The boys loved the music, and Amelia said the best part was when they threw candy. (Of course!) I got a little teary-eyed when the veterans paraded by us. The crowd cheered and men tipped their caps while the Sousa marches play. It was the kind of moment that makes you proud to be an American.

Throw in a kiddie pool, a couple boxes of sidewalk chalk and a few pounds of sand in everyone's shoes and shorts and that was how we spent the Fourth of July. How about you?

© Trippin' Mama 2010

Float Along with Us

I'm playing along at the Writer's Workshop again. This week's prompt: Tell us about your trip!

Smith River, Montana

May 2003

It was Memorial Day weekend 2003. We were in Montana to "float" the Smith River. Basically, you get in your raft and steer while you let the current carry you downstream for three days.

My sister and her husband, who live in Montana, had painted this idyllic picture of a lazy jaunt down the river with warm, sunny days, good fly fishing and gorgeous scenery.

The night before we put into the river it was 38 degrees. And we were camping. In a tent.

Floating the Smith River no longer seemed like such a great use of my vacation time. In fact, freezing to death seemed like a pretty good possibility. I hardly slept that night, and when I did I had disturbing dreams about being trapped in a meat locker.

Who would have guessed that by 10 a.m. the next day it would be 80 degrees and sunny? That's spring in Montana for you.

Although we never saw a fish, the trip was wonderful.

We had two perfect days of kicking along the river, stopping here and there to have lunch, hike and fish. We spent the nights in campsites with some of the best views in the world. The scenery almost made up for the open-air toilets. Almost.

At least there were toilets, even if I did have to announce to all of my fellow campers that I was headed for the loo so no one would come down the path and accidentally join me.

And the scenery was beautiful.

On our last day it started to rain, but we had just a short ways to go, so we put on our rain gear and smiled our way through it. And we were lucky enough to get this picture, because who doesn't look good in waders?

I like to call it "Montana Gothic." It's destined to become a classic.

© Trippin' Mama 2010

Just Relax

Sometimes you just need to relax...

Hang out...

And have some fun...

Which is exactly what the WBH and I are doing this weekend.

All by ourselves.

Yep. We have been sans kiddos for more than 24 hours now.

And at last report, the house was still standing and so were Jamie and Sarah, who gave us this time off as a Christmas gift.

Talk about a gift worth more than gold!

We miss the kiddos, but we have enjoyed having some time to ourselves to reconnect, have entire conversations without interruption, and eat hot meals. It's the first time since the boys were born that we've had more than a couple hours for just the two of us. That is without chores to do, bills to pay, or errant children to tuck back into bed. It's been nice.

Vacations are always nice.

And homecomings are even nicer.

Amelia's New Favorite

While visiting Aunt Susie and Uncle Andy, Amelia discovered a new food that she LOVED.

Now, if you know Amelia, you know that food is not her thing. She'll even take a bite or two of a treat and walk away without finishing it.

But this, this was a big hit.

Cereal. With chocolate.

Amelia: The new poster child for Special K's chocolatey delight.

Courtesy of Aunt Susie, Amelia fell for Special K's Chocolatey Delight.

Left to her own devices, Amelia would have eaten only the chocolate chunks (of course), but with some persuasion, she ate the flakes, too, and found she liked them.

Up until this point we've avoided chocolatey cereals in our house, but I may have to give in on this one once in a while.

At least it isn't Cocoa Puffs.

"Vestigating"

Amelia called today. She was at the zoo and had to tell me that they heard a noise while they were there and, "had to 'vestigate."

The noise was "rahring," according to Amelia.

Turns out they were feeding the lions, and they were all roaring for their food. Amazingly, Amelia was thrilled by this instead of terrified.

She rushed through what she wanted to say to me so she could get back to having fun. Clearly, she's having a great time!

Tomorrow Amelia and Daddy are coming home. I can't wait to see them and hear all about the trip and share pictures with all of you.

Quite A Trip

Ever since we got back, everyone has wanted to know, "How was your vacation?" But as anyone who has traveled with small children and four tons of equipment knows, it's not really a vacation...but it was still quite a trip!

In my previous post, I offered video evidence that you can travel with 9-month-old triplets and a three-year-old and get a little quiet time along the way. Honestly, everyone traveled great. We fed bottles as we drove and played a lot of peek-a-boo from the back seat to the middle seat to entertain the little ones. But they were all real champs about the 2,000-miles of driving.

I'm realistic enough not to expect a repeat of that, but just glad to have survived this first venture relatively unscathed.

I made a few adjustments to my seven-page packing list when I got home. Some things I wished we'd had and a few that we shouldn't have bothered to pack. Next time I'll cut the amount that we pack by a third and get MY golf clubs in along with Jeff's.

At the top of my new list is: SHERPA.

Seriously, it would have been worth every dime to get someone to help schlep all our stuff! Every time we arrived at a new destination -- something we did FIVE times in the course of ten days -- we hauled three high chairs, two pack-n-plays, one child's tent, blankets, pacifiers, diapers, a suitcase, toys and more out of the van. Then we unpacked and assembled for the night. A day or two later we reversed the whole process. More than once I thought a Sherpa would have been a good investment.

On the plus side, we certainly didn't need to count any calories while we were traveling!

Here are a few more pics of the family.

Jeff and his siblings show off the twins and triplets: Jeff with Alex, Susie with Sam, Amy with Clare, Allie with Isaac, and Jacob with Isabel.

Amelia and her godparents, Dave and Amy.

My Uncle Virgil and Aunt Illa with the boys: Alex, Sam and Isaac.

The Saga of the Seven Car Seats

Note: For those of you not facing the problem of seating triplets in a vehicle, there's way more detail here than you want, but I know it will be helpful to other parents of multiples. If you head to the bottom of the post you'll learn how we came to be toting seven car seats at once.

A couple weeks before our big trek to the north country, Jeff and I realized that the boys were getting too long for their little pumpkin seats. It was time for an upgrade. I surveyed the local multiples group for their suggestions on car seats that would fit three across in our sexy Toyota Sienna.

Several moms suggested the Sunshine Kids Radian car seats. We loved the fact that they are FAA approved for use on airplanes, that they fold for easy carrying, and that they get a great safety rating because of their steel frame. We didn't love the idea of them weighing 25 lbs., because we knew we'd continually be pulling one out to allow access to the back seat.

With four kids, at least one child has to sit in the back seat. And with the triplets still facing backwards, it makes sense to put them three across the middle and for me to join Amelia in the back row so I can see the boys and tend to them. In order for me to get back there, we have to flip up a seat in the middle row, which means pulling a heavy car seat out every time.

Still, we thought we'd try them since everyone who has them seems to love them.

(By the way, Diapers.com has the best return policy around. They pay return shipping, make the arrangements for UPS pickup, AND there's no restocking fee.)

The verdict? The Radian 80s we tried were very nice seats, and they were narrow enough to fit well three across the middle row. But, they are very tall. A tall car seat, when placed in a rear-facing position translates to LOOOONG.

Jeff had the driver's seat farther forward than he would like, and the middle row was pushed back farther than I would like in order to accommodate the length. I found myself saying, "I wish our van was six inches longer."

Hmmm...how about shorter car seats instead?

So, we ordered three Cosco Alpha Sport car seats. We already have one of these for Amelia, and it's a nice compact, lightweight, FAA-approved and safe seat. It also is three inches shorter than the Radian, which means it gives us a little more wiggle room since we have to use the back seat.

Unfortunately, while we were getting a seven-page list of stuff together for vacation, we didn't take care of the car seats as soon as we should have. And the selection online is so much better than in the stores. That means shipping. And shipping time. (Almost every place I looked offered free shipping for an order as big as three car seats, and most that I called offered us some kind of multiples discount, too.)

By the time we had assessed the Radians and realized they wouldn't work for us, we were on a tight timeline to get seats here. I talked to the sales rep and he said they would arrive here on Wednesday, but we were leaving Thursday morning, and what if they didn't arrive? We could make do with the seats we had, but we really felt that Sam, Isaac and Alex would be safer and more comfortable in bigger seats.

So, we had the new seats shipped to my brother's house, which was about 500 miles into the trip. They were to arrive there on Thursday, and we stayed there until Saturday, so we had a little leeway. And we decided we'd rather have them for part of the trip than none of the trip.

We could have left the baby seats behind, but they are preemie seats, which are good for babies as small as three pounds. A fellow triplet mom gave them to us and we would like to return the favor by passing them along to another family. So, we picked them up when we passed back by my brother's house, shoe-horned them in and continued on our merry way, laughing about having SEVEN car seats in the car at once.

Here's a little video of the car seats in action. (Notice that there's a baby seat in the front passenger seat. Don't worry. There was never a baby in it.)



And there you have it. Proof positive that it IS possible to road trip with four kids, including three babies, and even get a little silence along the way!

Home Again, Home Again

We are home.

We are tired.

We got home about 9:30 p.m. on Sunday. We got everyone to bed at 11 p.m. Amelia slept for 12 hours straight without waking up. The boys slept all night until 7 a.m. And then they napped for 6 hours and still went to bed at a decent time.

Exhausted!

The trip was a lot of fun, even if it was tiring for everyone. I have lots to tell you including how we ended up travling with 7 car seats (not all of them occupied, thank heavens!), but it will have to wait just a little longer.

Right now I need to deal with the 4 tons of stuff that we scooped out of the van and deposited in the garage.

And, I need to make peach crisp with some yummy, but slightly bruised peaches I got at the farmers' market this morning.

The one activity is an antidote for the other.

Destination Vacation

Three almost-nine-month-old babies.

One three-year-old.

One THOUSAND miles. One way.

And we arrived with all of the children and most of our sanity.

Everyone traveled very well, even on the first day when we went nine hours with only one stop.

Alex, Sam and Isaac take to the road like seasoned pros.

Amelia crashes out.

Of course, we attracted a lot of attention along the way with our triple stroller strapped to the back of the van. I wish I had a nickel for every person who passed us and tried to peer into the van to see what, exactly, we were carrying. We'd make a nice dent in the kids' future college costs!

Isaac, Alex and Sam dine al fresco at a rest area.

Amelia is enjoying vacation immensely. She's all about McDonald's on the road and has had lots of fun playing with her cousins. The morning after we arrived at Jeff's parents (our final destination) after three days of driving, she woke up and the first thing she said was, "Where we going next?"

Now THAT'S a real trooper for you!