Some days are like that.

When I started this blog I fully intended to write everyday. If you follow me, you know that kinda tapered off there after a week or two. I want to write everyday but sometimes the children simply will not allow it.

A busy day off.

When my wife gets a day off she still has to work, and in some cases more so than if she had actually gone to work. Yesterday the kids got a day off from school which worked well since they also had a dentist appointment. We took them to the dentist at 9:00am and they went through the routine resulting in a simple cleaning and no cavities, so good day so far. After wards we took the kids to Michael's to pick up some art supplies for me and some craft stuff for the kids. Then we took them to Toy's R Us to spend their allowance. Now if you have taken a single kid to the toy store to end all toy stores you would know that this takes some time. About an hour later we were able to leave with all the children happy. Once we were done with those tasks we went to the movie. The Lego Movie was very cute and the kids loved it. After that we came home I did laundry and cooked dinner and then the kids went to bed. I wonder what my wife and I would do with a true day off. Probably sit around and talk about the kids.

Triplets and the dentist

My kids have been to the dentist before and oddly enough had a great time. They had no cavities and good little teeth. They brush well and that other nonsense that goes along with tooth care. ANd today they go again. They are all excited to go they love their dentist what with the TVs and the video games throw in balloons and cartoon characters running rampant all over the place it's no wonder. And I am grateful that they have such a good time there. Could you imagine how difficult it would be to get them to go if they hated it?

When can the kids bathe themselves?

I have been giving baths to these kids for five years now and I gotta tell you I am done. When we first started giving them baths they could fit in a little plastic tub that you would put on the countertop. Then as they got bigger we moved them into the bathtub. As time progressed they just kept getting bigger and more willful. Up until about a year and a half ago we were still bathing all three at the same time in the tub but then they got to big. Now we do it one at a time, and let me tell you I spend half the morning washing children. Iris is great she really loves a good soak and will float in the water for as long as we let her. As for the boys I have seriously thought about throwing their laundry in the tub with them due to the amount of agitation they generate. If we could somehow harness the energy of children I believe that we could solve the world's energy crisis. However my question is when do kids take on that responsibility on? When will they want to bathe alone?

So when are you going to get a job.

I must hear this often enough that I feel the need to write about it. I would like to get a paying job don't get me wrong but at what cost do you know what average day care costs in this country? for triplets? I'm just going to say that it's more a week than what a lot of people make in a week. Now lets throw in gas for the drive to and from day care. Now lets talk about laundry. Who is going to do all the laundry for the triplets? Also in day care they don't tend to do all the grocery shopping or cook the meals. Wait what about a maid service I wonder if we can get some sort of pro bono maid service. Hey I'm going to need a chauffeur to get the kids around the town and school and their other activities. Do they make the kids do their homework at day care or do I need to also hire a tutor?
Now I have to somehow pay for all this while I have been "unemployed" for five years so what kind of starting salary do I need to get this thing going. More than I've been offered I can tell you. I quit my previous job because I was not making enough money to cover day care and all these other incidentals not to mention that the kids hardly ever get sick. So now five years down the road I still get asked these awful questions and I have about reached the end of my civility to strangers about this topic.

The kids want to know.

The children have reached the age of asking questions constantly. I mean you have seen all the jokes about the kid that never stops asking questions and results in the why loop. Yeah well try that times three. I don't like to yell at my kids but sometimes it's all I can do not to go running off leaving a Rob shaped hole in the door. I love that they are so inquisitive but can I get a break. How do I get them to understand that the answer to a question most likely will not change after a few hours. The main question now that they turned five is when can they get out of pre-k and start kindergarten. They either really want to know or like driving me crazy. Likely a little of both.

The post game commentary.

Today is the triplets birthday which fell on a Monday. Since that was the case we did the birthday experience over the weekend. It was good. Got up on Saturday and went to the Dallas World Aquarium and looked at all the wildlife and spent time with Mimi and Grandpa and Uncle Doug came in from Houston to spend time with the kiddos. After the DWA we went to Chuy's Tex-Mex, "which by the way is excellent for a chain"  And at Chuy's we meet with Nonnie and Poppie so all the grandparents were there for lunch and a good time was had by all. After lunch we went to Toys R Us and let the kids pick out their bikes and helmets.

Sunday we took the kids swimming and went out to lunch with Uncle Doug and then went over to Nonnie and Poppies and did the birthday cake then went and picked up their bikes and came home so they could ride around the neighborhood. After bikes we said by to the grandparents and had dinner and watched Cloudy With a Chance of Meatballs II.  It was busy if a little low key. And today their actual birthday they have to go to school. For that I ordered cupcakes last week and after I drop off the kids I will swing by to pick those up and drop them off at the school for the final surprise.

Valentine's Day prep.

Sometimes I feel that I came from a different age and I guess I am so last millennium because we as parents got a note home asking us to "help" our children make their valentine's day card catchers. It was suggested that we use a cereal box or something similar. Which annoyed me and makes me ask a lot of questions. For example what is going on in the class that keeps them so buy that they have arts and crafts homework? Is the reason because they don't want that many kids with scissors at once? And if so why was I required to provide scissors for my children? Does the classroom not have enough construction paper to complete the project? Is it a question of glue rationing?

I seem to remember that when I was in school one of the projects that we did around valentine's day was to make our card receptacle. I seem to remember standing up to cut out shapes and coloring the heart shaped construction paper then gluing it to said receptacle. We would put them up in the class room and for the entire week they would collect all the valentines and then on the big day we would get to open them and eat any candy.

I just don't understand how schools work anymore to be honest, my children are in Pre-K and if they don't have time to make a construction paper valentine's day box in class what the hell are they doing?

The history to be.

When I became a SAHD I joined facebook as a way to expunge all the new parent baby pictures and to have a place to document their infant years. During that time I have picked up many different projects to aid in that endeavor. I have learned all the baby stuff as well as cooking and photography to help. My father in law pointed out that this is going to be wonderful for the kids since they could at any point go back and look at their development through the internet. It was not my intention in the beginning to make a life long documentation of the children but here we are five years later and I am now writing a blog about them. I do this so that when I am with friends and the what not that they have a place if they wanted to see all the kids pics. It's the modern day version of carrying pictures in your wallet and now the blog is all the stories that I would otherwise bore you with during our chance meetings. I don't write for the kids and I don't write for anyone really, to me it is a cathartic purge. Sometimes the line between parent, and person tend to blur. I meet people all the time who will never know that I am a father of triplets and those that do can follow the pages I have created to mark their passage. And everyone else finds out when they meet us in public. On the other hand it's funny how invisible I become with out the kids. People I see everyday running my errands don't even recognize me without the kids and in a small way that's a blessing.

The impending valentine's day and Birthday conundrum.

When the kids were still inside the momma I really wanted them to be born on valentine's day but alas they held on for three days after wards. Now we have to do the valentine's day cards and presents and all that rot and then the kids have a birthday. Which is going to be fine for the boys in years to come but the girl awe lord the girl. She may not know it yet but with her birthday being so close to valentine's day she is going to have a difficult time dating. Because do the kids not only "need" to have a SO for their valentine's day but three days later their birthday. I don't see this being a problem for the next few years but once the puberty strikes then woe and behold this will become issue one. Good luck guys.

Snow Days.....

I need a little help since I will be trapped in the house all day with my kids. The snow has shut down north Texas for the second time this winter. Thankfully we have plenty to keep them entertained but there is a certain freedom to kicking them outside for a few minutes of peace but now that is denied to me as well. Some will say let them play in the snow and I say that I have my reasons for not wanting my children to get cold and wet.

Gifted and Talented testing.

So I have been jumping through the hoops getting the kids tested for G/T in our school district. We went the first round and made it through. Yesterday did the second round which took much longer. I sat outside the principal's office for three hours yesterday with at least two kids the entire time while one was being tested.  God forbid that they all don't get in or some get in or one gets in. This is a lot of ifs going on in my mind. But we as a family won't know till march so there is that.

The feedings.

The children are odd when it comes to eating and drinking. I have three very different issues when it comes to feeding the trips. Iris hardly drinks anything, it is a struggle to get her to finish a class of apple juice. I don't really understand why it's such a struggle. On the other hand she eats very well.

Bobby only eats a complete breakfast. He eats breakfast very well but as for any other meal he only picks at it. a nibble here and a nibble there. And forget about dinner.

Cooper is always hungry. The boy would constantly graze if given his choice. He will eat as much as a grown man and still keep eating. We have yet to find his "full" point. We have taken him to buffets and he ate steadily for the entire time that we were there, it was surprising to witness.

Thankfully the kids will eat or try anything put before them at least once, although I find it really annoying when they make up their mind about something before they even try it. Sometimes they become capricious about food they have loved for ever and sometimes they ask for things that they have never had. Everyday it's something different in this house.

The Superb Owl in our house.

We are not a football watching family in this house. The kids might like it, we don't know we have never watched it with them around. But they are starting to get to an age where they are going to start noticing things like this and it's impact on society. You know the adds and all the hype building up to the "big game." I personally find the games mostly boring and dangerous to play as a child. I dislike the risk vs. reward.

My wife and I have talked at length about if we would or would not let the children play football and so far our thoughts have been no on the subject but that is only because the kids have not expressed any interest in the game it's self. That could be because it's not a big deal in the home. But if and when the kids express interest in the game we will cross that bridge when we get to it.

Instead of doing the whole super bowl insanity thing we tend to have video game playoffs, last night the kids took turns whooping each other on Capcom vs. Marvel fighting game. And the first time my kids play that game they fall into the trap of finding that one cheese ball move that backs you into a corner and just beats you endlessly till they win. We all know the type of move I'm talking about. We had a nice dinner after and story time and then to bed for the kiddos. All in all a great day.