Wordful Wednesday: Bath Night Foods

One of the boys' favorite foods right now is yogurt.

They will yell, "Yogi! Yogi! Yogi!" when I serve it.

Which is only on bath nights.

You can see why.

Play along with Wordful Wednesday at:




© Trippin' Mama 2010

Potty Training: The Quest Continues

"So, Christy, how's the potty training going?" you ask.

Oh, you didn't ask?

Well, I'm sure you're dying to know.

No? You're not?

Well you can stop reading here then, because today's post is all about ongoing trials of potty training triplets.

Still with me? What a faithful reader! OK, we'll see how long you stick around.

We've been potty training for six weeks now, and overall I'm pretty pleased with our success. Our diaper use is down a bit, enough that I get a whole extra day's worth out of the Diaper Champ before I have to change the bag. Although that screws me up. I've always had to empty the diapers on Tuesday, and now that it's Wednesday it messes with my head. I know, it doesn't take much.

There's been a bit of a learning curve, of course. I have successfully proven that if you are potty training multiples this young you do not need more than one potty chair, unless you have more than one adult or more than one set of hands. Otherwise all you get is bare-bottomed chaos.

We have also proven that no matter how gross your mother thinks it is when you put your hands or even your head in the toilet, it will not make you sick or kill you. (Note to self: Clean the toilet again today.) 

We have been shown more than once that a child who cannot go on the potty in the course of 20 minutes will pee everywhere if left unattended for more than 30 seconds outside the bathroom. And then he and his brothers will play in it.

We know that M&Ms are an unbelievably good motivator for Alex. I hope they work this well when he's a teenager! If I had just Alex to train, I think he could be fully in trained in just a couple of months. Alas, that is not to be, but he does pretty well and often uses the same diaper from 10 a.m. until bedtime, so yay!

We have learned that even after six weeks, getting to use the potty is fun (for everyone except Mom & Dad, anyway) and it's worth screaming for your turn.

Thankfully the screaming has died down a bit. Unfortunately, since some boys must be given inordinate amounts of time to do their thing, if they go at all, it's not unusual to get to the third boy and find he's given up on waiting. Sorry dude, that's part of life as a triplet I guess.

I really need to switch to training pants, at least for Alex, because I think he would train faster if he felt wet. But I know that will add to my laundry load, so forgive me for being a little reluctant to jump on that train.

Some days we're really vigilant about getting on the potty lots of times. Other days we just try a few times because we're busy playing outside or mama's tired or there are errands to run. What I'm saying is consistency has not factored really heavily into our efforts here. And I think that's just part of doing anything with multiples. You need to be flexible and give yourself a break.

What we're doing works for us. Alex keeps his diapers dry most of the day. Isaac and Sam are still hit and miss, but are asking to go more often now -- sometimes even before they are wet -- so everyone is getting it at their own pace. For me, it's just been another change in the schedule, and I'm used to it now, so we'll keep plugging away until the job is done.

When we've accomplished this task maybe I'll use the diaper funds to redecorate the bathroom. I'm already tired of looking at those same four walls!

© Trippin' Mama 2010

How About Three More, Mom?

The other day I took the boys to pick Amelia up at "summer camp" as we call it now that school is out. She'd had a great day and was telling me all about her field trip.

When we got to the van she greeted all the boys with a hug and a kiss. Then she looked at them and said, "Mom, I wish we had three girls."

I thought I understood.

"Instead of three boys?" I empathized.

"No," Amelia said.

My voice rose at least an octave. "In addition to the boys?" I said.

"Yes!" said Amelia enthusiatically.

"Oh, honey, I don't think Mommy will be having another set of triplets. Sorry."

"But Mom, I need a sister!" Amelia wailed.

"Well that's just one baby honey."

Amelia pouted. "No, I need three."

At that point I wisely gave up the conversation. And pondered just how much we've warped Amelia's view of the world.

© Trippin' Mama 2010

From My Kitchen: Cookie Dough Brownies

Sorry to leave you high and dry on the recipe front during my hiatus last week. How about a little chocolate to make up for it? Chocolate fixes everything!

This recipe for Cookie Dough Brownies came out of a Pillsbury Bakeoff winners cookbook. They are amazing! If you've got kids, these make the best bribe. (Oh, c'mon. We all do it!) And since they start with a mix they are easy enough to make that everyone can pitch in.

The cookie dough layer doesn't use any eggs, so there's no food safety concern. They do keep best in the refrigerator, but I like to leave mine on the counter for about 30 minutes or pop them in the microwave for just a couple of seconds to soften everything up before I serve them.

Here's the recipe:

Cookie Dough Brownies

Brownies

1 (1 lb. 5.5 oz.) packaged fudge brownie mix

1/2 C. water

1/2 C. vegetable oil

1 egg

Filling

1/2 C. margarine or butter

1/2 C. packed brown sugar

1/4 C. sugar

2 tbsp. milk

1 tsp. vanilla

1 C. flour

Glaze

1 C. semi-sweet chocolate chips

1 tbsp. vegetable oil

Grease bottom of a 9x13 pan. Combine brownie mix, water, oil and egg. Beat 50 strokes by hand until just combined. Bake at 350 degrees for 33-35 minutes. Cool completely.

Beat butter, brown sugar and sugar until fluffy. Add milk and vanilla. Add flour. Spread over cooled brownies.

Melt chocolate chips and oil in microwave, stirring frequently until smooth. Spoon over filling and spread to cover.

Store in the refrigerator.

These are rich, so I cut mine a little on the small side. You can always have a second one. I give you permission. Just don't blame me when your shorts no longer fit.

Enjoy!

© Trippin' Mama 2010

Monkey See, Monkey Do

Children are excellent mimics. The emulate our actions and words, both good and bad. It never fails to make me laugh when Amelia or the boys imitate Jeff or me. Well, almost never anyway. They do occasionally pick the wrong thing to mimic. Oops. Surely they got that from television?
One day as Amelia and I were driving home we had to slow way down to squeeze between cars that were parked practically in the street near a neighbor's garage sale. Suddenly Amelia said, in perfect imitation of her father: "Really people?" Her intonation was perfect. I laughed out loud.

Recently the boys have started picking up anything with a handle--buckets, toys, trucks--and putting them on their arms while telling us goodbye. The sneaky little devils often employ this technique outside when they want to head off somewhere they know they aren't supposed to go. Hey, being all cute and saying goodbye doesn't make that OK, mister!

 Here's Isaac heading out with his truck just last week:



Since Jeff doesn't carry a purse, this is proof that I do get out of the house once in a while!

© 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

Did You Miss Me?

I've been gone from blogland for a few days. Several of you have asked if everything's OK. Everything is fine. Great, in fact.

It was an intentional hiatus. No power outage. No Blogger issues. Not even a long vacation where my Internet access was limited.

Just a self-imposed break.

What about my challenge to blog 365 days of the year, you ask? It's out the window. Because one of life's great lessons is that if something isn't working, you should change it.

I liked the challenge of blogging every day. Some days it made me stop and capture a story that I might not have bothered with otherwise. I liked the creative challenge of coming up with something.

But I don't think it made me a better blogger. In fact, I think the opposite was true. There got to be too many days when I posted something that was not as well written as I would have liked. Or I posted something other than what I really wanted to because I didn't have time to pull the photos together.

And more importantly, blogging every day didn't make me a better wife and mom. I won't blog when the kids are awake, so I have to squeeze it in a naptime or wait until after bedtime. By the time the chores are done it is late. By the time I write, it is even later. That leaves little time to spend with Jeff without being constantly interrupted by the kiddos. So when we go to bed, we often lay awake and talk for an hour. Less sleep does not make an energetic, enthusiastic mommy when the boys wake at 7 a.m.

Oh, and one other little thing: I've started working again. (Yay! More on that later.) I was fortunate enough to get a job doing strategic communications consulting on a part-time basis, mostly from home. I need to put some time and energy into that, too, and again, it has to happen in the evening or during naptime.

So, it is time for a change. A four-day hiatus was just the thing. Blog 365 is out the window and I'm moving on.

I'll probably still blog most days, because I really want to capture this time in our lives and because I do love to write. But I am giving myself permission to close the laptop and make a decent post a great one by finishing it tomorrow. I am putting my husband and my kids ahead of my blog

  

I'm trying to avoid becoming that guy we've all seen on vacation. You know, the one with his video camera glued to his eye the whole time. There's a difference between recording what's happening and being so absorbed in recording it that you forget to live it while you're there.

I intend to live every minute of this crazy, amazing life. And I intend to capture the stories and images, too, but when and how I want and in a way that works for me.

I hope you'll continue to join us for the journey.

© Trippin' Mama 2010