Time out!

Jackson REALLY doesn't like time out. Here is a 3 minute video to show just how much:)

Discipline is the bridge between goals and accomplishment.
Jim Rohn

Al

Balloons

I still don't like balloons very much but I am slowly getting over my strong dislike (fear) of them. Hey, I am doing it for the kids:) What do I not like (fear) about them you ask? How about them popping next to your ear. Suddenly you feel like you are in Modern Warfare 2 and someone got you with a flashbang... the ringing in the ear, the disorientation... Also, when I am loading the kids in the van if one of them is holding a balloon it seems to charge me up so the next metal I touch gives me a shock just shy of a tazer.

So I take the kids to the grocery store 2-3 times a week if they are behaving well. I say "well" because they are always "behaving". Sometimes they behave well and sometimes they behave poorly:) When we go to they store they can get a balloon and a cookie, thank you Publix! Yesterday it was windy and when we came out of the store the wind got a hold of William's balloon and off it went. Now it did not go real high as Publix puts a weight on it but it still took off and I made the smart choice to stay with the cart/kids rather than chase the balloon across the parking lot. Needless to say William was not a happy camper. I told them that if they got loaded up quickly we could go look for it in the van. We drove around the parking lot and Addison saw it in the bushes. I parked and retrieved the balloon much to William's delight.

Then at the light leaving the parking lot Addison's balloon popped. Neither she nor I were happy with that. Luckily the disorientation that ensued dissipated before the light turned green. William was gracious enough to give her his balloon.

Nobody can be uncheered with a balloon.
Winnie the Pooh

Al

Using paranoia to your advantage

I have always heard to use others' weaknesses to your advantage in a competition so that is what I am trying to do with the Triplets. Very recently the boys have had the tendency to want out of the tub when they see any dirt in the tub. They call it poopie because I have drilled it into them that you NEVER EVER poopie in the tub.

They LOVE playing in the tub but since I need to bathe three at a time I only have a limited amount of time in which to get it all done. Heck, even letting them play in the tub for 5-10 minutes each makes bath time about an hour and a half all together. So sometimes I need to "get it done" and I don't want them to play. This is when I use their bit of paranoia to my advantage. If I see something in the tub I point it out to them and out they come!

Yes, I sometimes feel a little bad but it is after all their decision:)

Consider what you think justice requires, and decide accordingly. But never give your reasons; for your judgment will probably be right, but your reasons will certainly be wrong.
Lord Mansfield

You've got a lot of choices. If getting out of bed in the morning is a chore and you're not smiling on a regular basis, try another choice.
Steven D. Woodhull

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Nap time

Kids have very funny sleeping habits. I feel blessed that our three still take naps. I plan, hope and pray to keep that up till they go to school. Some friends have mentioned that without naps they may go to bed earlier but with the CFO's work schedule and our social engagements going to bed earlier than 8:30 or 9:00 would be tough to stick to.

They usually take 1-2 hour naps on school days and 2-4 hour naps on other days at home. Yesterday their teacher told me that Addison decided not to take a nap. She is usually OK without one so I did not worry about it much. After school we headed to the zoo. Addison was out before we left the parking lot coming home.

The Triplets like to play in the basement/garage so when we got home I unbuckled everyone and headed upstairs to start lunch. After starting the oven I heard the boys but not Addison. When I went to investigate. This is what I found. Too funny!!


A hypocrite is a person who--but who isn't?
Don Marquis

Reality continues to ruin my life.
Bill Watterson (1958 - ), Calvin and Hobbes

Al

MLK the SAHD way

Unfortunately the CFO does not get Martin Luther King's Birthday Holiday off. But fortunately two friends did get the day off so I invited the families over for the day. One of their wives had to study for an upcoming test so she stayed at home as having six kids under four in one house is not very conducive to studying:)

The guys rotated playing PS3 Modern Warfare 2 while the odd guy out and the girls hung out with the kids. Miss Kelly was in town so we had one adult per kid coverage most of the day. Red, the Mom in the group, suggested taking the kids outside. The only problem was that I had not cleaned up after the dog for quite a while. The Nuke Doc stepped up to the plate and volunteered to clean it up. I warned him that it was probably a lot but he was undeterred. After walking "the grid" he came back in about thirty minutes later after filling two grocery bags. Outside we went. The kids asked for balloons but I was out. I need to restock my warm weather toys. But when they asked for bubbles I was more than happy to comply. Heck, it was bath day anyway:)

It was a great day! Miss Kelly always enjoys a little chaos on her visits:) You might think that being a SAHD of Triplets I would shy away from more chaos but I (we) love entertaining and having people over. Maybe I need to start having SAHD PS3 play dates.

Psychos will always be psychos; they don’t need video games to help them.
SCOTT RAMSOOMAIR

Video games are bad for you? That's what they said about rock and roll.
SHIGERU MIYAMOTO

Al

Human pets

The CFO was told by a friend that we are in the "Human Pet" stage of child rearing. That is, they can be trained to do "tricks." One of the tricks they do is that if you say "oh no" William will almost always say "what happened." It is hilarious.

People who have no weaknesses are terrible; there is no way of taking advantage of them.
Anatole France (1844 - 1924)

Al

Smart Triplet

Jackson figured out how to make his pinwheel spin with little to no effort.

He is destined for management:)

This country has come to feel the same when Congress is in session as when the baby gets hold of a hammer.
Will Rogers

So much of what we call management consists in making it difficult for people to work.
Peter F. Drucker

Al

Humor

We have a Cousin staying with us (she rocks) and she helps out with the kids a lot when she is not working 70+ hours a week. I almost peed on myself laughing yesterday morning when I overheard this exchange she had with William while he was holding a bag of M&Ms.

Cuz: What do you do to get those Ms?
William: Use your hands
Cuz: Sorry, what do you have to do to get them?
William: Open the bag
The Triplets get M&Ms for going to the potty:)

Two observations... 1. William has my humor. 2. I am in trouble:)

A person without a sense of humor is like a wagon without springs. It's jolted by every pebble on the road.
Henry Ward Beecher

It is not bigotry to be certain we are right; but it is bigotry to be unable to imagine how we might possibly have gone wrong.
G. K. Chesterton (1874 - 1936)

Al

Talk, talk, talk, talk, ....

It seems that someone is ALWAYS talking in our house these days. Check that, it seems that two to three someones are always talking in our house/van these days. It is usually a combination of one or two of the Triplets and me. They ask something then don't wait for the answer before asking it over and over and over.... More often then not one of the other Triplets also answers the question. Which for some reason really offends the questioner. Then the "whys" start.

So the other day leaving the gym I turned the tables and why'd them all the way to the van. Before we made it all the way they were all screaming and crying, it was great:) I asked them if they liked it and they said "NO." So I tried to explain how I don't mind and actually enjoy them asking why but they need to give me a chance to answer before the next why. I really don't mind them asking why if they will give me a chance to answer and actually listen to the answer. I think there are too many people in the world, including me, that don't ask why. Call them pot stirrers if you want but people who ask "why" or "why not" respectfully can drive change.

I am always doing that which I cannot do, in order that I may learn how to do it.
Pablo Picasso

Al

Bribery on tape

No, I am not above bribery

I have been against bribery in all forms, up till now. You know it happens in politics, government, private business, etc... Quid pro quo is the way of the world. But I wanted to be different! I was just kidding myself by calling them rewards. I finally got real with myself yesterday in the grocery store when I told William I would let him have a cupcake after dinner if he went all day without pooping in his pants AND he pooped in the potty. Of course he was more than happy to agree to that.

I decided to bring on the peer pressure by telling Jackson and Addison that they too could have a cupcake after dinner if William followed through on his end of the bargain. They also happily agreed to the terms and conditions. Right then and there I told myself "self, this is bribery plain and simple." The funny thing was/is that I am OK with that.

As most plans it worked and it didn't. I think William has a future as a lawyer or negotiator. William did as he promised. He pooped in the potty and did not poop in his pants. So after dinner everyone had a cupcake. William then promptly pooped in his pants. COME ON! Yes, he did what I asked but... can't he follow the spirit and not just the letter of the agreement:) So for that he earned being first to take a bath, a VERY short and cold bath.

All human wisdom is summed up in two words - wait and hope
Alexandre Dumas Père

Patience is waiting. Not passively waiting. That is laziness. But to keep going when the going is hard and slow - that is patience.
Unknown

Al

Monday, Monday...

I actually got ten hours of sleep last night, not including being woken up by Jackson at 3am:) I slept till 7am with the boys in their bed after that so I am a little behind this morning. G-Daddy is heading home today so we are busy getting everyone ready to get out the door to take him to the airport.

Check out the CFO's blog updates.

People who say they sleep like a baby usually don't have one.
Leo J. Burke

Al

New addiction

I have a new addiction, Call of Duty Modern Warfare 2. I thought the game was good until I got introduced to playing online. Believe it or not, if you have the game and high speed Internet you can play online for FREE. One time I was playing there were over 500,000 other people playing!

I was introduced by a good friend's brother. He said it and it is very true; "the story part of the game becomes boring once you play online with seven other people all trying to kill you." He couldn't be more correct. The warning on the game says that you may "experience dizziness, altered vision, eye or muscle twitches, loss of awareness, disorientation, seizures, or any involuntary movement or convulsion." All that AND it is legal! Sign me up:) That's not a warning, it is a sales pitch to guys.

So if I miss a day or two of blogging you can blame it on my new addiction. Not that I am playing instead of blogging, I am sleeping. I was up till 2:30 am playing the other night:(

If you are not criticized, you may not be doing much.
Donald H. Rumsfeld

Al

Happy Birthday G-Daddy

My Dad's Birthday is today! He came to town just in time for our HUGE snow fall, that has not happened yet but they did cancel school because of it. Go figure... when I was a kid they did not cancel school until 1-2 school buses slid off the road. We had it so tough:)

But I guess it does make sense to cancel school when there is a prediction of snow since people now give huge prestigious international awards out of Olso, Norway because of predictions of actions leading to peace:) It seems people really do value words more than actions.

When two men in business always agree, one of them is unnecessary.
William Wrigley Jr. (1861 - 1932)

Al

So you think you can dance

What's the name of the game?..... Manipulation!

In the video below (thanks to the CFO's new Flip) William displays a classic case of manipulation. Usually this would lead to time out and a possible trip to his room but I wanted to get this on video. William really did get some cheese to go with his whine:)

Confusion is always the most honest response.
Marty Indik

Al