Three kids, One Me, No Wagon

I have been spending my few quiet moments reading my camera manual and trying all the settings. This is one of the photos I snapped this week before I knew what I was doing with the camera. I am a bit disappointed that it wasn't in focus, but nonetheless, I love this picture. It is a snapshot my favorite people being completely happy and reading books -- something all five of them love to do. Kids from left to right: Will, Ben, Jon and Maddie.

Just before I got this camera, Maddie started playing "camera". She would hold a toy camera to her eyes and shout "Chee!!" I suppose she picked this up from Will, because I don't remember saying cheese to her. Now, I tell her "Cheese?" and she gives me a toothy smile while she says "Chee."
I haven't been in the mood to blog this week, but mostly because I've been busy. In my down time, it was nice to just sit for a minute without thinking of how to wittily write about normality. On Wednesday, the kids and I met Dad for lunch and he took Will back with him for a few days. Will hasn't gotten much chance to play outside here because it has been so hot or storming. With my parents he won't have to share attention with three little ones, and Dad will keep him busy and outside.

Wednesday and Thursday I realized how strangely quiet it was when the babies napped. I don't think I realized just how much the energy level in the house changes by not having all four kids home. I already miss Will a lot, but it is surprisingly easy to entertain one age group -- even if there are three of them. The babies and I sat around reading and singing. And when I needed to do laundry or eat a meal, I put some big boxes in the living room for them to play in. After 30 minutes of crawling in and out of the openings, and peeking through all the windows I cut, all three sat next to each other and looked at books. See? So simple.

Yesterday we had our warrantee home inspection with the builder. It is so hard to believe we have been in this house a year already. Time has sure gone quickly. When we moved in, the babies were just learning to pull up, and their noses came to the top of the window sills. They could barely see out. Now, if I'm on the phone and look away for a minute, I find them standing on the window sills. This week, Ben pushed a chair over and unlocked the back door. Next, he pushed it out of the way and walked to the knob and twisted it open. Yikes! I am so thankful I saw that happening -- now we need to get the upper locks put on so he doesn't escape.

Last night, our moms of multiples group of about 10 ladies with twins/triplets got together. Usually we go out for dinner (no kids) once a month, but last night we all brought our own dinner and had a nail spa all to ourselves. I didn't know what to expect, but when we arrived, the salon was closed except for our private party. Inside, there was at least one employee to spoil each of us. I had my first professional pedicure and I loved it. Imagine sitting in a massage chair for nearly an hour while your feet are being massaged and made pretty, all while sitting and chatting with girlfriends. We all had a lot of fun, but I may have to do it more than once every 30 years. With some of these girls, I can gab and laugh for hours so that's what we did after the spa. I finally went home and crawled in bed around 2am. I think I'm too old to be doing that very often, but to have that much fun just once a month, I am willing to lose a little sleep.

Insane as it sounds, I woke up this morning craving McDonalds for breakfast. I laid in bed trying to drag myself from the depths of my slumber thinking about an egg muffin and coffee and how I could pull that off with three little ones. As I showered, I ran through different scenarios in my head, and by the time I was drying my hair I was convinced I could wing it. I got the babies up and dressed, fixed sippy cups and a diaper bag, and pulled three boxes out of the coat closet. In each of these boxes was something I dreaded using, yet saw as another lifeline to the outside world. I had purchased one for each of the triplets a few months ago, but I had not used them yet. Today I would try.

The problem with McDonalds with one adult and 3 toddlers is that it is too small for the wagon, and I didn't think I could get over the curb with the train. After I got six little shoes on six little feet, I put a backpack on each of the boys and sinched them to fit. I put the little pink purse across Maddie's shoulder and chest, and tighted the waist strap on it to keep it snug. The dreadful part? I never wanted to be a mom who used leashes for her children, so this was a bit of a challenge to me to deal with. On Maddie's waist strap was a spot to clip a strap that I could on to. On each of the boys' backpacks was a ring to clip a similar strap.

I want the kids to learn to hold my hand in a parking lot and not think they can run free with a tether to keep them close. What I did was put the tethers around my wrist just in case they got away, but I held their hands as if they weren't connected to me by a strip of nylon. After I got them strapped, I set them next to me in the parking lot, and grabbed two kids' hands with my left hand and the other one with my right. I was hunched over as we stumbled across the small parking lot and I wasn't comfortable crossing between the cars lined up at the drive-thru. One man saw my handful and backed his car up a little and made it clear he was letting us through safely. The few people in the restaurant were the employees, manager, and a few senior citizens in for what I would guess was their daily coffee with friends. Have three little cuties toddle in and people notice. Usually they ooh and ahh and tell me how blessed I am and how cute they are - yada yada yada. We got into MickyDs and got to the counter to order and there was a sign saying the credit card machine was down due to the storm -- they were only accepting cash. After all that work, I was a bit frustrated since I don't carry cash. I took a deep breath and thought about my options. I asked the employee if I could write a check, and she said no. Luckily, the manager overheard the conversation and told me to order what I wanted and we could square it away later. Tears sprung to my eyes pretty quickly because I was happy he was trying to help me -- it wasn't that easy getting from home to the counter, and it was nice of him to realize that. I think he wanted me to just deal with it later this weekend, but I wasn't comfortable feeling indebted, so I wrote a check and told him to keep it and I'd bring cash later and we could swap. While the kids and I were eating he came over and told me he could just take the check as payment so I wouldn't have to come back. The three kids sat and ate very politely. It was a very pleasant meal with happy little kids, a humbled mama, and others stopping to wave or smile at the kids. Toward the end of our meal, the high school basketball team walked in. I think there were about 15 big tough guys. Maddie waved at one, and about 6 of them melted on the spot. These macho not-quite-men turned into big giggly kids that kept waving and making silly faces just to see my toddlers grin. It makes a mama smile when her children can bring such joy to others.

The morning was going so smoothly, we stopped by the tire shop for some new tires. The kids sat in the chairs in the waiting room reading about Dumbo, Pinnochio, and Bambi and smiling and waving at all the strangers. It went well. I've accomplished something new with the triplets and I'm proud of how well all four of us handled it.

This mama is worn out already (probably something to do with staying up late), but I need to go pack a weekend bag for us all while the kids nap. Tonight we are going to my parents to get Will. Have a great weekend!