The hits just keep on coming...

I was silly enough to think that William tossing his cookies once on Saturday and once on Sunday were just flukes. Well, yesterday I got a call about 30 minutes after dropping the kids off at their day out program to hear that Jackson decided to redecorate his classroom with his bile:( When I picked him up he was a happy camper and felt well the rest of the day. Now I am just waiting to see what happens today. Oh yeah, can't wait to see if Addison, the CFO or I get this bug.

On a funnier/not so funny note, I was preparing chicken Parmesan last night while the Triplets were "playing" upstairs. When I headed up after getting it in the oven I found this.....


The writing on the walls was not as extensive as I first thought but it is a good thing the CFO wanted to paint their room anyway:) They got their little hands on the dry erase markers.

Always forgive your enemies; nothing annoys them so much.
Oscar Wilde

It is not worth an intelligent man's time to be in the majority. By definition, there are already enough people to do that.
G. H. Hardy

Al

Blue Bell steps up their game

As some people know, I like ice cream. Check that, I LOVE ice cream. A little background.... Growing up my Grandmother and I would walk to Baskin Robbins and I would get a scoop of chocolate chip and a scoop of chocolate chip mint. I would later on work at that very Baskin Robbins for about a year and a half. I actually "worked" there before they hired me. My best friend is eleven months older than me and he started working there first. I would stop by after school and he would let me "work." Yes, I realize that it sounds stupid but I was working for free.

Once I started working there I would skip a meal and eat ice cream instead. Seriously. My ice cream "problem" faded away after that until we moved to Texas and I was introduced to Blue Bell. My addiction roared back with a vengeance. At last count we (I) have eleven half gallons of Blue Bell. I even justified buying an upright freezer so I now have more room.

On to Blue Bell stepping up their game. A friend from Texas and I were joking last year about the "chunks" of peppermint in the peppermint ice cream. There were none. Now there are!!! Well, maybe not chunks but there are crunchy pieces.

Ice-cream is exquisite. What a pity it isn't illegal.
Voltaire

I go running when I have to. When the ice cream truck is doing sixty.
Wendy Liebman

My advice to you is not to inquire why or whither, but just enjoy your ice cream while it's on your plate - that's my philosophy.
Thornton Wilder

Al

Do that again and I will do more than blow this whistle.....

Do that to me one more time....

I have had that Captain and Tennille song in my head since Sunday. The in-laws were in town this weekend and we all went out to lunch at Jason's Deli after Church. William was being a little whiny and said he had a headache. I asked him if his tummy hurt, he said yes. Uh oh, I thought. I told the CFO we were headed outside. We almost made it. Luckily the lunch crowd had thinned out and he puked in the walkway. No one was sitting at the tables on either side of him. It all hit the floor (avoiding us this time) and I cannot thank everyone at Jason's Deli for taking care of the mess.

Would it save you a lot of time if I just gave up and went mad now?
Douglas Adams

Al

I wasn't expecting that!

We went to the pumpkin patch with the in-laws and our BFFs this past weekend. The weather was cool enough that I had a t-shirt, a long sleeve shirt and a jacket. Most of the time you think of layers as providing warmth, as I did. But on occasion they... well... let's just say they provide protection:) It started getting a little warm when the sun came out so I took my jacket off.

William was being a little whiny but that is nothing new. We stopped to listen to some music when I bent down to ask him if he was OK. He said his tummy hurt and I asked if he needed to go poopie. He said no but I did not believe him. As I turned my head and he proved me wrong.... he puked on my arm. Just like everything else, he just stood there looking a little shocked but not crying. No big display, no loud noises, just the two of us with puke on us:)

I got him cleaned up then put my long sleeve shirt in a grocery bag (usually used for dirty diapers or wet clothes) and put my jacket back on. As usual, he just carried on as if nothing happened after a little TLC from the CFO. Oh well, just another day as a SAHD.


Any fool can criticize, condemn, and complain - and most fools do.
Dale Carnegie

Al

Sorry

It is funny that one of the things we really try to teach our kids is to say they are sorry. That is relatively easy compared to the lesson they need to learn, to truly "feel" sorry. Unfortunately for them (us) to truly be sorry for something, they (we) must realize how much their (our) actions or words have hurt another person.

Or in the case of the Triplets, they sometimes need a little dose of their own medicine. William has the gentlest heart but the roughest body. He is much better but he still rough houses with other kids a little rougher than most like and ends up needing to tell someone he is sorry. Just to show his pain threshold let me tell you a story from last week....

I took William to the Doctor as he was the sickest of the three with a cough on the heels of a fever and runny nose. Just to rule out a bacterial infection we had some blood work done. William watched the Nurse as she pricked his finger and then squeezed it for what seemed like a minute to get enough blood. His expression never changed and he never even flinched.

So, needless to say, what he thinks is "fun" often times does not fit others definition:)

William and his best bud and favorite wrestling partner, Caleb.

I don't know if I continue, even today, always liking myself. But what I learned to do many years ago was to forgive myself. It is very important for every human being to forgive herself or himself because if you live, you will make mistakes- it is inevitable. But once you do and you see the mistake, then you forgive yourself and say, 'well, if I'd known better I'd have done better,' that's all. So you say to people who you think you may have injured, 'I'm sorry,' and then you say to yourself, 'I'm sorry.' If we all hold on to the mistake, we can't see our own glory in the mirror because we have the mistake between our faces and the mirror; we can't see what we're capable of being. You can ask forgiveness of others, but in the end the real forgiveness is in one's own self. I think that young men and women are so caught by the way they see themselves. Now mind you. When a larger society sees them as unattractive, as threats, as too black or too white or too poor or too fat or too thin or too sexual or too asexual, that's rough. But you can overcome that. The real difficulty is to overcome how you think about yourself. If we don't have that we never grow, we never learn, and sure as hell we should never teach.
Maya Angelou

Al

Why go camping?

One gentleman we met on a hike this last weekend put it well "at least you all are doing the right thing... not being stuck in front of a TV." That was after I mentioned that we are either brave or crazy. The best thing is that we have friends that are just as crazy as us to go camping with. Camping is not for the weak. Keep in mind this is car camping where there are bath houses and running water nearby.

Kids LOVE camping. OK, maybe not all kids but 95% of them do if you start taking them when they are young. I have recently changed from the 80/20 rule to a 95/5 rule:) Another great reason to go camping is comradeship. You fell like you are "in this together" with other campers. You get to meet and talk to people that you would other wise never be blessed with. For instance... this last trip we were able to assist a single mother of three on her first camping trip with her kids on her own. I helped with the tent and the Nuke Doc helped her get a fire going. We also helped each other with dinner as I had forgotten plates and she used our griddle for their hot dogs. The kids also liked playing together.

In short, we are hooked on camping!



Horse sense is the thing a horse has which keeps it from betting on people.
W. C. Fields

We need to find God, and he cannot be found in noise and restlessness. God is the friend of silence. See how nature - trees, flowers, grass- grows in silence; see the stars, the moon and the sun, how they move in silence... We need silence to be able to touch souls.
Mother Teresa


Al

Cold? Why yes, it's cold..... VERY cold.

A gift that keeps on giving.

Last Christmas one of the Triplets Great Aunts gave them a bell set. No, not sleigh bells, BELLS! Like the ones that bell ringers use. I am sure they would be a great addition to a more organized person's box of musical instruments. Unfortunately I am not that person:) They LOVE them and I let them break them out again yesterday. After talking to them about why it is not good to hit each other with them (repeated times) and couple of demonstrations (after they ignored my warnings) they started playing nice with them. Nice, that is, if you think ear splitting ringing is nice:) I even got some good pics. Addison even rocked out on the guitar after joining the boys.

Through humor, you can soften some of the worst blows that life delivers. And once you find laughter, no matter how painful your situation might be, you can survive it. Bill Cosby

It is a curious fact that people are never so trivial as when they take themselves seriously.
Oscar Wilde

Al

Hello, my name is Al and I'm an idiot

Yep, we did it.... We once again took the Triplets camping. No rain this time but it was a bit chilly. The highs did not get out of the 50's and the lows went into the 30s.
On the upside:

• You can always put more clothes on.
• You don't sweat so showers are optional.
• Three year olds get MUCH less dirty with long sleeves and long pants on.
• No mosquitoes.
• No snakes.
• You have a good, check that, a VERY good reason to build a big fire.
• You can actually justify staying up later by the fire.
• You can even justify SMORES as you need something to do while keeping warm:)

On the downside:

• It was COLD!!!!!!!!
  
• Snot flows freely in the cold.
• Gloves are NOT easy to get on or keep on a three year old.
• Three year olds are NOT easy to keep in a sleeping bag.
• Potty trips were VERY tiring. On the upside the Triplets wanted the CFO to take them:)

On a separate note, I actually wore long pants for a whole day. That might sound a little strange but I usually only wear long pants if the high is below 30.

I got into an argument with a girlfriend inside of a tent. That's a bad place for an argument, because then I tried to walk out and slammed the flap. How are you supposed to express your anger in this situation? Zipper it up really quick?
Mitch Hedberg

Somebody told me it was frightening how much topsoil we are losing each year, but I told that story around the campfire and nobody got scared.
Jack Handey

Al

I knew it!

Like I said yesterday, I was jinxing myself. I awoke at 5:30 am this morning to the sounds of whining, crying and coughing..... and that was just Jackson. I then rolled over to see William staring at me. I wonder why it doesn't freak me out or scare me to wake up seeing one of the Triplets staring at me? I guess I am just use to it:) I put William in bed then went to the other side of the bed to see what Jackson's issue was. He was asleep on the floor. He pointed to the bed. As I have a two kid limit in bed I guess I was odd man out, oh well.

I got up to start my day only to be joined by William a few minutes later. He will be a VERY tired boy later, as will I:) I took William to the Doctor yesterday for his cough and was pleased (sarcasm) to hear that it only lasts about two to three weeks. I usually take the Triplet that is the sickest. This time William came out on top. Addison actually pitched a fit because she was not going to the Doctor. They LOVE the Doctor. I am glad "Bruiser" William went because he did not even flinch when they pricked his finger and drew blood. Nope, no reaction at all. He just watched with interest as she squeezed the blood from his finger for what seemed like a couple of minutes. What was his reply when the CFO asked him if it hurt? You guessed it.... "it hurt a little bit but not that bad." I feel bad for the kid that picks a fight with him:)

I seldom end up where I wanted to go, but almost always end up where I need to be.
Douglas Adams

I have no regrets in my life. I think that everything happens to you for a reason. The hard times that you go through build character, making you a much stronger person.
Rita Mero

Al

Sleeping in

I know I am jinxing myself but I have been spoiled lately as the Triplets have been letting me sleep till 6:30 or 7am some days! I do miss waking up early and having some time to myself. If I wake up that late I am rushed to get things going. Especially if it is a school day or we have somewhere I want to be at a certain time.

I try not to say "have to" as there are very few things in this world we "have to" do. I use to always tell employees/friends that they don't "have to" go to work, they could quit. They don't "have to" stay late or come in early, they could find another job. I say those things with some jest but also with a lot of sincerity.

I try to use the philosophy on the Triplets although it is a bit lost on them now. We "get to" go to Church and School. Come to think of it, I also say it for my benefit:) Like I often say.... I am good at playing dumb.... and sometimes I'm not playing:) If I can actually "fool" or "trick" myself into changing my attitude about something does that mean that I am smart or dumb? The one playing the trick is usually viewed as smart and the target of the trick is viewed as dumb. But if you trick yourself then you are both. Hmmmmm

The reason people find it so hard to be happy is that they always see the past better than it was, the present worse than it is, and the future less resolved than it will be.
Marcel Pagnol

Al

Great party man!

Lock in with the Triplets

Our minivan has been slipping gears so the CFO took it in today so the Triplets and I had a lock-in. William was pitiful again this morning so we watched TV a good bit and played some. After lunch and breathing treatments everyone took a good nap and awoke as new kids. Everyone was good to go tonight so I hope we are on the back side of this round of crud.

Of course the dealership couldn't duplicate the problem so we will wait for it to get worse. Can't wait for it to go out on me in rush hour, in the rain with the Triplets. Such an optimist I am:)

I have been slacking on taking pictures lately. I will try to get some new ones ASAP.

Nobody can go back and start a new beginning, but anyone can start today and make a new ending.
Maria Robinson

Al

Ahhh, the comforting hum.....

of the air compressor for nebulizer treatments. Yep, the Triplets all have a runny nose, a hacking cough and a fever. We hope this is the swine flu so we can go ahead and get through with it. We knew it was only a matter of time. We did nebulizer treatments last night to help with their breathing.

It took me back to our days in Dallas, TX. When the kids were younger we had to do nebulizer treatments when they got colds. We did them every four hours (sometimes through the night) and they would FIGHT you! Back then we still kept track of when they ate, what they ate, dirty diapers, wet diapers, and medicine.

The hum of the nebulizer almost puts me to sleep every time. The good thing is that they now hold the face mask and they don't fight you, too much.

I always find it more difficult to say the things I mean than the things I don't.
W. Somerset Maugham (1874 - 1965), The Painted Veil, 1925

Al

The crack down begins....

Why is it that just when you feel the battle is turning your way your opponent(s) counter? It also amazes me that we sometimes have to fight old battles over and over again. Yep, you guessed it, the Triplets have been trying to move the battle lines.

Please do not think that I see raising the Triplets as a "battle." If you haven't already guessed it I use analogies like well.... like a good cook uses butter. That is to say, liberally, often and everywhere. I have even been known to use an analogy to try to explain an analogy. Sad, I know:) So I LOVE analogies and I love military stuff. Come on! I may be a SAHD but I am still very much a man.

Back to my point. Last week at the YMCA William bit a kid. To make matters worse he did not "keep it in the family." COME ON! We have already fought over this piece of dirt! Oh well, back to our original battle plans..... He then proceeded to bite one person each day for a week. The CFO finally broke him over the weekend after he bit his Aunt RaRa on the fanny. William has also been known to smack strangers (only women) on the fanny as he did at a restaurant one night. I won't give the details of how we "redirect" behavior that we don't feel is appropriate (major understatement) but lets just say he realized biting was not in his best interest:)

I also continue to battle chronic cases of the "whine flu" at our house. I am handing out time outs like beads at Mardi Gras and "free upgrades" are much more frequent. Don't get me wrong, I still love my "job." But let's just say I am really earning my pay right now. Who knows, maybe I will get a promotion out of this:)

What difference does it make to the dead, the orphans and the homeless, whether the mad destruction is wrought under the name of totalitarianism or the holy name of liberty or democracy?
Mahatma Gandhi

Never, never, never believe any war will be smooth and easy, or that anyone who embarks on the strange voyage can measure the tides and hurricanes he will encounter. The statesman who yields to war fever must realize that once the signal is given, he is no longer the master of policy but the slave of unforeseeable and uncontrollable events.
Sir Winston Churchill

Al

Potty training update #2

Jackson wanted to wear big boy underwear yesterday so I conceded even though we had a play date. I figure this is one of those things that I "get paid" to do. As I have mentioned before I not only see being a SAHD as a calling, I see it as my job. Every job I have had has the things your REALLY do not like to do. The CFO says that when those things come up you have to "eat that frog." I forgot what book that was from but I like it. So..... I ate that frog.

I packed heavy for the play date with extra shoes (sandals) and two sets of clothes for Jackson. Everything was going great until panic struck when Jackson called from the top of a tower "I need to go poopie!" I jumped into action.... Unfortunately Addison also said she needed to go and she got to the pottie first. By the time I ran back to the back pack to get the other potty seat adapter thingy Jackson had overshot his mark. I felt bad. I consoled him and assured him that there was nothing wrong, accidents happen. He said he wanted a pull up on. The rest of the day he was perfect. Oh well, another day:)

Almost only counts in horseshoes and hand grenades.
Unknown

Al

Hello tiny traveler...

Potty training update

Addison is the winner!! Like most other things, she nailed it first. She is now in big girl underwear full time. Even during naps and at night. We have a few accidents here and there but not much. The most notable accident was the other morning when I was assailed by a torrent of warm pee early one morning. Addison was sleeping on my side of the bed but she had graciously allotted me about eight inches to sleep on:) Her accident startled both of us.

Jackson is a close second but I have yet to go a whole day with him in big boy underwear. He just needs me to bite the bullet and he should be fine after a few sock drenching episodes. William is in third as he shows some interest but is VERY inconsistent. The toys I had bought to reward them now sit on the mantle with little interest from the kids. I am back to M&Ms and chocolate. Heck, if it would push the boys over the top of this mountain I might even through in a soda:) Just kidding, sort of:)

I have learned a few things along the way....

• It is VERY important to have at least as many potties as kids/adults.
• Leave some extra cleaning towels at each potty for clean ups.
• Don't put the toilet paper in the potty before they get to survey their results.
• It is VERY important to teach them not to get up before you have a chance to wipe them.
• Cheerios are good for target practice but.....
  
• It is MUCH less messy for boys to sit down.
• Give everyone a 5-10 minute potty warning before leaving the house or going to bed.

People who get nostalgic about childhood were obviously never children.
Bill Watterson, Calvin and Hobbes

Al

Birthday party the Remix

One of our good friends' daughter has a birthday right after the Triplets so we got to enjoy Birthday parties two weekends in a row! They painted little wooden ladybugs, played "tape the spot on the ladybug" and they hunted for ladybugs (easter eggs with dots on them) filled with candy. One of the best things about the birthday parties with our friends is that BOTH parents usually attend. We feel blessed to be surrounded by people that WANT to be active in their kids' lives.

Mr. Brad is giving the final instructions on the "Ladybug Hunt"



Everyone enjoying the fruits of their labor.

It takes a long time to grow young.
Pablo Picasso

Al

Have potty, will travel.

I mentioned the other day to the CFO that I am looking forward to the days between potty training and when we need Depends where the odor of urine does not constantly hang in the air. The house has pull-ups and diapers EVERYWHERE, Pottys are EVERYWHERE, peed on PJs hang on the doors, and we have a potty in the van. Good golly!!! I am now an expert on quickly weighing a pull up or diaper by hand and being able to determine if it is dry or wet. It's a gift:)

I am bending many of my rules of proper etiquette these days. I even let Addison pee in the parking lot at the Zoo the other day.

Never let your sense of morals get in the way of doing what's right.
Isaac Asimov

Al

Thursday better be better...

Let's just say that Wednesday wasn't my best day so far as a SAHD. I was first awakened around 1:30 by Addison SCREAMING Daddy! Daddy!...... I go upstairs to see what the issue was and she says "I want to go downstairs" obstentially to sleep in our bed. I gave in and talked to her about how her little legs can carry her down the stairs without waking me up by screaming. I then woke up at 2:30 when she started kicking me like a mad kangaroo. After a "talking to" both she and I went back to sleep until 3:30 when Jackson started SCREAMING my Daddy, my Daddy! I went back upstairs for more of the same. I told him he would need to sleep on the floor next to our bed. He was OK with that. I also reminded him that he could do all this without me.

As each of my kids is a bed-hog I had about one foot of our King size bed in which to sleep. Good thing I am skinny. Everything was going well until 6:30 when I was awoken by some warm.... wet... OH CRAP... PEE!!!!!! Addison quickly said "I'm sorry, I had an accident." NOT the way I envisioned my morning starting. Did I mention I am also loosing my voice due to being sick and I am reduced to whistling and clapping to get the kids' attention? I washed the pee off me and started the washer with the sheets and mattress cover.

We went to the Zoo for a play date which went well except for the continuous clapping and whistling by me:) Jackson pushed my limits a few times resulting in several time outs but only one "upgrade." So I thought I was out of the woods until the Triplets did their customary "I need to go pee-pee" in the middle of dinner. Keep in mind that Wednesday nights are on a tight time schedule anyway because of Church. In a minute I hear William say "uh-oh, I have a poopie." Yep, he pulled his pull-up off with a poopie in it. Well, it started off in it:)

Oh well, just another SAHD day:) But all in all when I look back at the day I have a smile on my face and I know that God is at work here.

The kids LOVE putting their shoes on now. But you have to keep a keen eye on them. Notice anything funny about the picture below?



Two left shoes:)

God places the heaviest burden on those who can carry its weight.
Reggie White

What we are is God's gift to us. What we become is our gift to God.
Eleanor Powell

Al