Flogging Ted

The boys are back in the sandbox AGAIN! Funny part is, we don't even have a sandbox.

Maybe someone should try explaining that to them, because to date, I am just not getting very far with conveying that minor detail to them!

What my boys perceive as their own private sandbox is actually what the rest of us consider a FIREPLACE.

This hasn't stopped either of the baby boys from playing in it, however.

In fact, every time I try and explain myself to them about what a fireplace is actually for, I find myself basically talking to a bunch of munchkins that think I must surely be insane.

It's a sandbox. At least, they have been working super hard trying to give my poor fireplace quite a complex about possibly being one.

Yep, my fireplace has an identity crisis in the making. When they think nobody is watching, listening, or especially if whoever is on watch happens to have to go to the loo, the boys will their way into the fireplace.

Yesterday, they even managed to remove the very large, cumbersome, and extremely heavy fireplace fan from the hearth so they could have total access to the flue.

I wasn't even gone very long (potty emergency) and Kian and Kai had already managed to drag bits of log that they dug out of the soot, remove a goodly portion of soot that they didn't find particularly useful, and even bury bit of pirate treasure somewhere in there.

Don't worry, the weather is good, so there isn't any hope of a fire anytime in the near future, so their booty is safe...theoretically.

Today, they saw fit to play pirate and retrieve that buried treasure. It was done on the sly, as I was trying to get them out the front door to go and pick up big brother from school.

I wondered what was taking Kian so long to get to the door. Usually it is quite the rat race among the three of them.

But, here he came, running precariously down the hallway, arms full of all sorts of stuff.

It didn't dawn on me at first what the stuff was, or rather where it had come from, until I went to pick him up to put him into the van.

That's when I noticed that he was covered in a fine grey haze that seemed to hover around him much like "Pig-pen."

I picked him up, and got it all over me. Then I realized with growing dread, that he had included his most beloved Ted in his endeavors and somewhere along the way, Ted was covered in soot as well.

I managed to get everyone loaded up, and Ted isolated from his best friend. I was aghast at the thought that Ted really isn't supposed to be washed in the washing machine, but that I might have to try it.

It wasn't easy finding Ted and Teddy a sister Teddy for Vivienne for Christmas, so I KNOW that he isn't all that replaceable should he meet with an untimely demise.

So there I was, with Kian starting to whimper for his best friend Ted to come and ride with him in his carseat.

What's a Mum to do? I did the only thing that I could think of at the time. I dusted off the van seat where Kian had left a soot-cloud, and made sure that the sliding door shut behind me.

I took Ted out into the middle of the yard, and commenced to the only cleaning solution that I could think of on such short notice.

I flogged him. Yep, I beat him first right-side up, then head-side down. I beat him on each conceivable side.

Soot clouds puffed out of him with each and every strike. I felt so horrible, as I tried my best to shield my evil-doings from the three sets of very watchful and concerned eyes that watched me from their carseats.

But, Ted had to come clean somehow, and the thought of flogging him in the front yard seemed much more of a simple solution than risking disintegration and a most certain water-logged death in the washing machine.

I managed to get most of the soot, if not all of it off of Ted and his all of his shag and fuzziness.

A little soot still stains his red bow-tie, but for the most part, Ted survived his flogging.

I returned Ted to his rightful and most concerned owner and headed off to pick up Bregon at the Renzi Center.

I hope this incident may have helped the boys learn that the fireplace does NOT make a good sandbox...even if it was at Ted's expense.

A Kian In The Wall

Today, I made the mistake of thinking that it might be alright to run to the bathroom, AGAIN.

I really should know better after the last few times I tried to do something human and returned only to find my world in chaos.

Let's see, there was the time I came back and found Kian tailgating in my bottom oven while Kai was busy swinging from my dining room chandelier.

Then there was the time I came back from the potty only to discover exactly how quickly two little boys can disassemble an entire laptop keyboard using only a Lego airplane and their bare hands.

The sandbox incident probably doesn't even warrant mentioning, again, save for the fact that we don't even HAVE A SANDBOX! (Where adults are from, we call it the FIREPLACE!)

I don't know what I was thinking. I don't think I shall EVER go potty while on my watch AGAIN, EVER!

The coast seemed clear. Everything was quiet, and peaceful, and the babies all seemed innocently occupied with their various endeavors.

Little did I know, they were apparently plotting and planning in silence amongst themselves.

Did I mention that multiples do not have to necessarily speak to know what the other is thinking? Yes, this happens all the time at my house.

Well, while I was in my bathroom, I heard a funny noise. It didn't sound like the fireplace screen, and no piano keys were plunked by the sound of it, so I didn't think anything of it, really.

When I came back into my living room, I took a quick headcount and came up one short.

That's when I noticed that half of the Rose Petal Cottage (the one with the door) was on its side, AGAIN.

It's not the first time someone has thought to tip it over to upset Vivienne.

In fact, just yesterday I found myself having to rescue the stove, one of the baby cradles, and the armchair from misuse by her errant brothers.

But this time, it was different. It was rather like the time we caught Kai sitting on the back of the piano attempting to play Santa by trying out the chimney in that half of the cottage.

But really, this was different in that they actually had done something.

As I approached the play corner in the back of my living room, I noticed that the frame of the play house appeared bent somehow.

Then I realized that Kaiden appeared to have just stepped out of what appeared to be the door of the cottage even though it was on its side.

Something just wasn't right. Then I realized what was wrong. Kian was inside the house, only he really wasn't on the actual right side of the inside.

You see, its has two sides that fasten to the frame, with the printside on the outsides respectively and the two unprinted sides are interfacing.

The boys apparently had thought it must be a good idea to give the window a try. There was only one little problem.

The window is open only on the outside part. The inside layer is meshed over and impossible to climb through without tearing or ripping it.

So, the boys had actually made it through one layer, only to find themselves INSIDE the walls, in between the two layers.

Apparently, Kaiden had figured out how to climb out of the predicament somehow. Kian, who isn't a very good climber, wasn't so lucky.

In fact, fortune just was NOT on his side at all. He had managed to get himself stuck, and was in full blown hysterics by the time I arrived on the scene.

Kian was actually stuck in between the two panels of the play house wall. Thankfully it is made of canvas!

Kai had tried to make Kian feel better by handing him a rather large motorized school bus, a Thomas the Train Engine car and a red racing car to play with while stuck inside the walls.

It was quite a sight to see, and rather resembled a bad horror flick where the heroine ends up inside the walls of an old house while the villain is chasing her...

It is funny now, after the fact, but at the time it was awful. You have to understand the logistics of this tiny window and the fact that Kian has a rather large head.

When I stood him up and went to try and pull him out the way he had managed to get inside, I found out exactly how large his head really is!

He had apparently just barely made it through that window, and now that he was refusing to put down those toys, he really wouldn't fit!

I had to take away the toys, which made him cry harder, and then I had to raise his arms up over his head and take him out that way.

If only I had been thinking, I would have simply unzipped the back and let him out that way, but in all the hysteria and chaos, I didn't think of it until afterward.

Nobody got hurt, and the play house was easily set back to right. But I think that the boys really learned that climbing through windows just isn't a very good idea!

Bregon: Defender of Little People Everywhere

This weekend, Bregon and I once again headed over to Dallas to see, "The Wedding Singer."

We have seasons to the Dallas Summer Musicals so that he has something to look forward to over the summer.

We usually stop in Mesquite and check out the used bookstore in front of Town East Mall before heading over for a bit of shopping and lunch.

While eating, I noticed that Bregon was distracted and seemed preoccupied with something.

I figured that it was going to end up being a cute girl that he was eyeballing, but as it turns out, it was a little boy.

The boy was about two or so, and appeared to be separated from his Mum as he was toddling all over the food court area alone.

Bregon apparently had noticed and was watching to make sure that this little guy didn't wander too close to the escalator or into trouble.

Eventually, a Mum did appear to claim her little boy. Apparently, she had been stuck in a very long line at S'barro's and he had wandered off while she was ordering or something.

But, not to worry, her little boy was being watched over by an eagle-eyed, very aware Bregon brother who is quite accustomed to the folly of his younger siblings!

At first, the incident seemed isolated, but later that evening, while we were having dinner and watching a kid's hockey game at another mall, a similar incident occurred.

We were seated at of those open area restaurants where the only thing separating the table from the outside mall is a wrought ironed fence of sorts.

A little boy of about two came wandering past, holding only his sippy cup. He was lone, or so it seemed.

He wandered dangerously close to the glass partition that served as a sort of divider to keep adults from falling down to the lower level which happened to be overlooking the ice-rink.

Bregon picked up on the little boy before I even noticed him, and was excusing himself to go and try and help find his Mum when we realized that she was sitting further down in the boxes watching the hockey game below.

One of the little boy's siblings noticed that he was gone and had come to fetch him before Bregon could get up from his seat.

People always say how attentive and good Bregon is when he is out and about with his siblings.

They come up and complement him all the time, actually, on how good of a big brother he is.

Apparently, his big brother skills have become second nature to him, and he now watches out for every little person in his site!

Vivienne: My Little Trendsetter!

Apparently, Vivienne is going to grow up to be quite the little trendsetter.

She is starting very early at the tender age of two with her great fashion-sense and all!

If you aren't already familiar with Vivie, she is very much into shoes. She adores them.

She loves shoes so much that she doesn't even care if they fit properly or rub or give her blisters, she wears them anyways.

She likes to wear them all day, everyday, even while she is sleeping.

Most recently, she has insisted upon wearing shoes with her footed pajama's.

She doesn't even mind who's shoes she is wearing, either. She has been known to steal her brother's tennis shoes when he isn't looking.

I am not quite sure if her stealing shoes is what actually started this, or if the fashion statement just caught on.

But what I do know, is that now all of my little people insist upon wearing shoes with their footed pajama's.

Have you ever tried to put shoes on someone wearing footed pajama's? It's not easy, let me tell you!

The feet in footed pajama's are very bulky because of the seams, so it isn't the same as wearing socks or anything!

But, my trio each insists upon wearing their shoes as much and as often as humanly possible.

I say this because, to a two year old, there is one thing that is far more interesting that being allowed to wear your shoes everywhere, anywhere and with anything.

That is the actual temptation that is there while wearing one's shoes to take them off.

That's right, toddlers apparently are very obsessive compulsive and feel that what is done must be undone or something just isn't right.

This nasty little quirk leads to tears most of the time. Yesterday, Kian woke up for the morning in hysterics having quite forgotten that he had managed to remove one of his coveted shoes and actually tossed it over the bed rail.

This led to uncontrollable sobbing interspersed with the words "I'm hungry" and "Shoeses" repeatedly.

It took me a while, but I finally realized that food was NOT going to appease my savage little beast once I got him into his feeding chair and breakfast was served.

Nope, he just continued bawling, and sat there glaring at me with the one bare footed pajama foot in the air as high as he could get it.

I got the message, and ran upstairs to find the missing shoe. Once it was placed upon his foot, the howling and tears stopped short, and he began to enjoy his breakfast.

Of course, this meant that since Kian had his "Shoeses" on, then Kai must also have his light-up sandals on as well.

Of course Ms. Vivienne had managed to resist all temptation and still was wearing both of her snazzy new sandals that vaguely resemble mine.

My baby girl has started her very first fashion trend! I'm so proud of her...I think!

The Piano Incident & How It Was Resolved

Tonight, as my children were having their daily piano together time, the inevitable happened.

Kian slid off of the end of the piano bench and managed to find a way to hit his head on the leg of the piano.

There were many tears to be shed as it turns out. Husband and I jumped up to scoop him up and try and comfort my poor little Kian guy.

Kaiden and Vivienne decided to try and comfort him in a different way, however.

While Husband, Bregon and I were all loving on him, Kai and Vivienne decided to gather things that they thought would cheer him up and make him stop crying.

It was so sweet and cute in their own ways respectively. Kaiden brought Kian one of their toy Revel cups that they like to sit their sippy cups down inside of as to act more grown-up.

Kian still cried, even though he gratefully accepted his brother's offering of a cup.

Vivienne, in the meantime, had headed over to the dining room where their feeding chairs are located.

She grabbed Kian's fork off of his tray, and set about to find something to put on it.

Kian's bowl was almost empty and Kaiden's was nowhere to be found, but her bowl was still pretty full of mashed potato's.

She grabbed her bowl and brought it back into the living room, fork in hand, to try and cheer up her very sad brother.

The scary part is that she was dead serious about being allowed to feed him her mashed potato's from that fork!

He was pretty sceptical about all of this, too, and rightly so. Her aim isn't always the best!

Somehow, she managed to scoop up some mashed potato's and even steer the fork into Kian's mouth without putting out his eye or worse!

Scarier still, it worked. Kian had stopped crying and accepted the mashed potato's gratefully.

Well, almost gratefully, as he decided at the last minute to peg Vivie in the head with that Revel cup. What are brother's for, anyways?

We had a good giggle over Vivie feeding Kian mashed potato's until she ran out and began to whimper herself.

By that time, it was DEFINITELY time for bed! It's amazing how my tiny trio each know exactly how to cheer the other up when the they are sad!

The Webb Family Singers

I do not know what is up with my children. Maybe it's because it was Bregon's piano festival at school today, who knows.

It started early this morning, with a phone call. Bregon had quite forgotten about his piano festival and the fact that he should really dress for it.

Yep, he was calling to see if I could run his suit up to the school office for him because he accidentally forgot to wear it this morning.

A quick phone call to my Daddy and my problem was solved. I wouldn't have to worry about trying to figure out how to maneuver the limo-sized stroller into the closet-sized school office!

Bregon must have been practicing this morning, because all day long, the babies took turns plunking out whatever tune happened to be running through their heads at the moment.

Kaiden and Vivienne even felt it necessary to express themselves with their feet, too.

So, all day long, I had very musical little people! When I went to pick Bregon up from school, he was not only still wearing his suit, but he was also sporting a shiny new gold medal from his piano festival.

He is so very proud of himself and his showing at his first piano festival, and he really should be!

He even would not let me stop so that he could change out of his suit before going to the Renzi Center today.

I think he really just wanted to show off his cool suit and shiny new medal, but do ya blame him?

He had a great day at the Renzi Center, too. It was percussion class day, and his teacher really likes the way Bregon picks up everything so quickly and can play so many different instruments well.

When I got Bregon home finally, he had to show off his medal and his comment sheet from the festival to everyone, babies included.

Next, it was time for him to practice for his first piano recital, which is Thursday night.

He managed to get through his piece once before he was swamped with siblings all wanting to help him play the piano, too!

The next thing I knew, all four of my children were sitting on the piano bench at once. How they all four fit on that one little bench, I shall never ever know!

But, there they were, and they were playing along. Each of the children appeared to be playing something to complement the others, somehow.

That in itself is quite a feat, really, considering! Then, I noticed that the babies had started singing along as well.

Of course, they were all singing their favorite song...or rather a part of their favorite song. Everyone at my house prefers to sing only the vowels in "Old McDonald Had a Farm!"

There was a bit of Mozart thrown in for good measure, but most of what I heard was, "EIEIEIEIEIEIEIEI" then Kai very quietly ended it with a resounding, "OH!"

Watch out world, I think I may have something here. I can hear it now, "Presenting: The Webb Family Singers!"

Snot An Excuse For Fighting!

Last Thursday, I woke up with a sore throat. I just blew it off thinking that maybe it was the weird weather and all.

Then, the babies all woke up, and I KNEW that I was in trouble. Everyone had a runny and green nose.

At first, I thought maybe that it was all caused by the pollen and that maybe it was just allergies.

Boy, was I wrong! I had it, Husband ended up with it, and all three of the babies ended up getting it.

Nothing would contain the ever-running river of green snot, either. I tried Claritin, Triaminic Strips, and even Benadryl and Motrin.

The Motrin did help with the low fever, and the Benadryl was a huge hit because it happened to be grape flavored and the babies, as luck would have it, ADORE grape!

Unfortunately, all the medicine did, it seems, is cause the babies to fight. Not just a tiny bit of baby bickering, either, but all out brawling.

At my house, we usually do not have three of everything. Sometimes the boys will each have a car, but it would be a different color or style but similar.

But, as luck would have it, we have only ONE Little People Garage. And that, my friends, is the root of all that is snot evil.

I have never, EVER seen my tiny trio fight this badly over something so silly. After all, this is the sort of toy that really is more fun if you have a buddy to share it with.

This is just not to be so at my house, though. Nope, come Friday, I noticed all three of the babies standing at their respective sides of the train table, with the table clear of everything save the Garage and the cars inside it.

Then, it started. Kaiden pulled the Garage over to his side of the table. This led to Vivienne pulling the Garage to the end of the table so it would rest in front of her.

Kian of course just naturally felt compelled to follow suit and pull that Garage across the table to rest comfortably in front of him.

This went on for about five minutes of that Garage being relocated and slid across that train table.

Finally, Kaiden ended up falling on his behind and crying over losing the Garage. Kian had given up and had taken his stance in the middle of the living room to loudly voice his disdain over the situation and was screaming.

Vivienne, the obvious winner of the Garage fight, was crying as well. Why she cried I shall never know or understand, but she was.

This was the tame fight. Over the weekend, the snot flowed freely, as did the grape flavored medicines and the fights increased and got worse.

Sunday afternoon, it all seemed to culminate. Kaiden was sitting on his favorite side of the train table, and had wedged himself into the drawer that he thinks makes a nice seat.

Kian, had taken up residence in the drawer on the opposite side of the train table and was innocently playing with the Garage by himself, running the cars up the ramp, and down the elevator.

Vivienne decided, for whatever reason, that it would be a great idea to climb up on her end of the train table and stand next to the Garage and land her helicopter on the landing pad on its roof.

This, for some reason, angered Kaiden, and inspired him to try and trip his baby sister. If he couldn't play with the Garage, then why should she?

Kian wasn't too bothered by anything, until the Garage slid from Vivienne falling into it. Yep, Kaiden somehow had tripped her with another car, and she had caught her balance on the Garage making Kian think that she was trying to steal it away.

Kian began to cry and pull the Garage towards him which set Vivienne's balance off and down she went.

She fell flat on her back among the various cars on the table. Kaiden decided that she should stay down, and climbed on top of her to keep her from getting to the Garage.

Blow after blow followed until I was able to separate the three of them safely and rescue Vivienne from her rather prone position.

She and Kai both have little bruises on their temple so that it looks as if they are about to sprout a fresh pair of horns.

Kian came away without any bruises, but he was inconsolable for about thirty minutes afterward.

I am torn. They do not normally act like this over their toys. In fact, they are pretty good and used to sharing for the most part.

All I can think of is that it is being sick that is making them fight like little heathens. I just do not know. But I do know that its Snot an excuse for fighting!

A Childhood Legend Revealed

Ever since I was a very tiny girl, I have always had this fascination for a particular house at the end of the street where I spent the early part of my childhood.

This house wasn't pretty, or spectacular, but more it was the most dilapidated house on a block full of well-kept, pretty houses.

I am not sure if its state of disrepair is what caught my little girl eye, or if it was the idea of what it might have once looked like when it was newly built and freshly painted.

Anyways, this particular house also had an equally old and rusted Volkswagen bug sitting out front that somehow had faded to match the exact pinkish cream that the siding on the house had aged in to.

Maybe it was the Herbie that had caught my eye, I just do not remember. But I do remember asking Mama each and every time we passed that old house, all about it.

I wanted to know who lived there and why it looked so very old when everything else on the block looked so very new.

I was always told that there was a little elderly man who lived there and that he wasn't able to keep the house up like everyone else on the block.

We must have passed that house daily, if not more on our way to Grandmother's house and to the grocery store.

If I had been allowed to, I would have ridden my bicycle down to take a closer look at that house.

Alas, I was much to young, and forbidden to cross the street under any circumstances unless I had one of my babysitters or older friends with me, so I never did get to go and get that closer look.

Over the years, probably more out of habit than anything, I still find myself wondering about that little elderly man who lived in that house.

All those years of passing by that house, and I never ONCE got to see who lived there. It was if the house was vacant.

As a little girl, I had always wanted to get to walk down that far so that I could take the man his paper from the end of his driveway and maybe get to meet him somehow.

After all, I was allowed to take my other neighbor's their newspapers (and leave them on their front porch or doorstep if they weren't home) if I was out riding my bike or playing and found one at the end of the drive.

Today, as I was driving down Creswell, on the way home from taking Bregon to his classes at the Renzi Center, I looked up out of habit at that old house.

It stands there still, to this day, looking almost the exact same as it did when I was a toddler nagging my Mum about its owner.

I nearly wrecked the car today, though. For what should I see outside of this house today that would cause such a shock?

It was a yardman, working on the lawn of that pinkish white house. And there, standing out in front of the house, giving what appeared to be directions to the worker, was a little elderly man holding a bag in one hand, and a cane of sorts in the other.

After all of these years, I finally was able to see who lives in that house. I have to wonder, if my Mum had once described this man to be elderly when I was a child of two, how old must he be now if I am almost thirty five?

But today, I feel as if a Legend has been revealed, and one of those childhood wonders finally unlocked.

My Mum isn't here anymore, so I cannot very well give her a call and tell her what I saw today.

Instead, I have chosen to share it with you. So remember, the next time your child asks you a question about their neighborhood, or something out of the ordinary, you may be helping to create a mystery, or even a legend!

Knights Of The Train Table

This morning, while trying to work a bit in my room, I heard Vivienne start screaming as if someone was seriously hurting her.

I peeked into the living room, and saw that she was just fine. In fact, she appeared to be mad at something her brothers had been up to.

I figured that she was going to be just fine, and went back to trying to work a bit more.

Well, about five minutes later, I had to go and have another peek at her, because she was STILL screaming, and it had escalated into full-blown hysterics.

By this time, she was laying on her tummy on the floor, kicking and flailing her limbs about.

I picked her up and her shut-off valve was triggered. The crying stopped IMMEDIATELY, but she still hiccuped a little.


I asked her what was wrong, and all she could do was point at the corner of the living room where her brothers normally play at their train table.

They were playing at their train table, alright. Only for whatever reason, both of the boys had decided that they needed chairs so that they would no longer have to stand at the table and play.

Kian was busily watching the television and lazily rolling a car around with one hand while rocking back and forth in the blue tigger armchair that NORMALLY sits inside Vivienne's playhouse in between her dollie cradles.

This apparently is what had upset her so very badly and been the root and cause of all of the screaming and hysterics.

Someone had DARED remove her armchair from the window where she liked to sit each morning and tend to her downstairs babies.

This behavior was found to be TOTALLY unacceptable to Vivienne who had decided to voice her opinion on the matter by throwing an all-out fit.

Just as I thought I had calmed her down enough to be able to go back to working in the bedroom, Kaiden decided that he too would require an arm chair so that he could sit at the train table with his brother in high style.

He very nonchalantly ran over behind the sofa, and came back wielding the big red Thinking Chair over his head, headed toward the train table with a mission.

It took him a while to maneuver past everything and figure out how to get the chair past his brother and the piano, then get it turned around the right way.

He finally got the chair situated, and sat down to relax and watch television and play cars in style with his brother.

They looked so very serious sitting there. They made Vivienne so very mad over having rearranged all of the baby furniture, too!

But, there they sat, just like the knights of the round table. They even had left the sit-n-spin so that Vivienne could join them, but she would have nothing to do with it.

It was so funny to watch them sitting there like little men around that table. My boys were so cute as the "Knights of the train table!"

Commando Baby Bathing

Since Comcast felt it necessary to work on the Internet this afternoon for about two hours, I was feeling a bit bored, and maybe just a bit insane.

I couldn't work on anything because I could not get online, and this made me very neurotic, so for whatever reason, I decided that it would be a good idea to try bathing my tiny trio.

Bregon, who normally would help me, was happily at his new classes at the Renzi center.

I at least had the forethought to remember to get the babies clean pajama's and a fresh towel.

But of course I managed to forget the diapers! I ran the water while I prepared everyone for their baths.

I started stripping everyone down to their diapers, trying to combat their rising interest in all of the fun things in the laundry room where they take their baths.

For some reason or another, Kaiden knew exactly what was in store for him, and was super excited about it.

He came right over and actually sat down in my lap so that I could put his ear plugs into his ears.

I took his little outfit off first, and set about working on Kian's clothes.

I looked up just in time to see Kaiden put both hands up on the side of the wash basin and try pulling himself up so that he could get in early.

Thankfully, I had yet to remove his socks, so his attempts at bathing early were foiled!

Vivienne and Kian both had handfuls of their cereal snacks still, and were standing around the laundry room watching the antics of their brother.

Of course, I did have to bathe Kai first. I was barely able to get him scrubbed down with soap before he was climbing over into the other side of the basin into the warm sudsy water.

Being Kai, he did not do this easily. Nope, he had to make sure that as soon as his feet touched the bottom of the basin, that his body curled up and hit the water to maximize the splash factor.

Water went everywhere. Even Vivienne and Kian got wet from all of Kai's splashing about, and they were all standing on the far side of the laundry room!

The splashing continued until I went to take Kai out of the tub. Then, he began to flail about and whine because he just did not want to get out of the tub.

I was soaked, and Kai was very very mad about not getting to splishy-splash anymore.

Everyone followed us into the living room to watch me get Kai dressed. Next was Vivie's turn.

She did NOT want to take her bath at all. She began to cry the moment I removed her cereal from her hand.

The entire time I tried to bathe her, she relied on me to keep her upright. This is not an easy way for a tiny person to get their bath, let me tell you!

Every time I had to get something such as a bit of shampoo, or a bit of conditioner, she would sway and lose her balance because apparently she just did not want to be there.

I did manage to get her clean somehow, but in the meantime, Kai had come back into the laundry room, and had commenced to try and use the soak bucket as a step stool to try and get back into the bath!

Kian had long since decided that playing in the laundry basket would be more fun, so he was busy re-arranging all of the clean clothes in piles behind me.

Thankfully, Husband came home just as Kaiden had managed to get his foot up on the side of the basin and was about to pull himself into the water with Vivienne.

It suddenly got a lot easier! Kian was ready for his bath by the time Vivie was whisked away to be dried and dressed.

He happily climbed up and in the tub and allowed me to suds him up and scrub him while he splashed merrily in the other side of the basin.

Kian even did not mind me rinsing the soap out of his hair or even the conditioner!

I was super glad to be done with this bath time! Then, it was time to cook their dinner. I am not sure what I was thinking, but for some reason, I popped a pizza in the oven. Thank goodness we have big bibs!

Bregon & The Engagement Party

This past weekend, I took Bregon down to New Orleans with me to attend my cousin's engagement party.

There were an awful lot of things that I had to do to get him ready in preparation for the party.

First off, he needed a suit and tie to wear. I was able to find a nice suitable one at Burlington, thankfully.

Having to buy a suit without the body that is to wear it, however, isn't easy at all!

The suit fit for the most part, except the arm length could have been a tad bit longer. But, beggars cannot be choosers in my case!

After school, I picked him up and headed over to the mall to have his hair cut. It had grown quite long, actually, and was in bad need of a trim!

I even remembered to bring the picture insert from his Dr. Who Season Three dvd so that we could show the people what sort of hair he really wanted!

While the triplets had lunch out of their little go-cups, they watched Bregon get his new "Do."

Next, came my biggest dilemma. We had to find some sort of shoes for him to wear with that new suit.

We scoured the mall for something that would have multi-uses and not just be a one time-wear.

Everything we found was either clunky or something that we would never ever find a use for.

Finally, Bregon had a bright idea. Maybe it was inspired by his new Dr. Who (David Tennant) hair, I shall never know.

He finally told me that there were these great all black converse high-tops at the same place where we had bought his school shoes.

I had a quick flash-back memory of how, when I was little, we had all sat in my parent's living room and helped my pseudo big brother color all of his favorite tennis shoes black with a sharpie marker so that he could have black shoes to wear with his tux to prom.

Wouldn't he find this amusing now? My 13 year old suddenly had the perfect solution to our problem.

So, being the weird Mum that I am, I actually found this to be a great idea, and actually purchased the all black converse high-tops for my child to wear with his suit.

I figured that if anybody asked, we could always tell them that it was the latest fashion from the U.K. which wouldn't be far from the truth.

Dr. Who is super huge over there, and he always wears a different pair of converse with each of his suits in the show!

So, we were set. I had a dress and new shoes, and Bregon had his suit and new shoes as well.

I wasn't able to find a suitable tie to match that wasn't in some odd color or a clip-on, so Husband gave Bregon one of his ties from the 80's.

Once we got down to New Orleans, Bregon let me know that he didn't really like that 80's tie, so we decided to pick one up Saturday afternoon.

I am so proud of Bregon. He was such a gentleman at the party. He did not run around like a chicken with his head cut off like the other kids his age.

In fact, he actually was super good and used all of his manners and did great.

Once the party began to wind down, a friend of ours finally was able to catch one of the other children his age and introduce them.

Bregon spent the rest of the night (until midnight actually) playing ping-pong with the other kids.

He had a wonderful time, and I was a very thankful Mum that night!

Fragments of My Day

I am supposed to be going to New Orleans at some point this weekend to attend my cousin's engagement party, so I have been trying to prepare.

I really did not know for certain if I would be able to go until late last night, so there is much to be done today.

We were all up at the crack of dawn this morning. I made my grocery list, remembered to wash clothes, and managed to get out of the door by 9a.m.

I somehow even remembered to take my father the rest of the tax information in all the fray.

The babies screamed while I was delivering the paperwork. Kai's off button was mysteriously triggered only when I shut my car door to leave. Hmm...

Then, as we strolled into Wal-mart to try and get a few groceries and things, his on button went off just as we crossed the alarm thresh hold that is meant to prevent stealing.

In our world, those things only make Kaiden cry for some reason. I do not know how he knows, but it appears that his on button goes off and the crying starts the second we pass those pillars.

He screamed nearly the entire way through Wal-mart. I think now half of Shreveport has heard him and knows exactly how much Kaiden HATES to shop.

He was soo mad, that he managed to toss a most beloved, light up sandal. A nice lady picked it up for us and put it into the basket of our stroller.

This gave Kian an idea (he and Vivie had been super quiet until then) and he decided to see what would happen if he put his shoe in his sister's ear.

She cried. She cried A LOT! Then, she snatched Kian's shoe off, and tossed it at some unsuspecting passerby, just so that they too could know how much they did not enjoy shopping.

Kaiden's off button went off the second the very nice cashier lady handed me that last receipt.

As we strolled towards the exit, the door lady had a good giggle because she had witnessed the beginning of the screaming when we first came into the store.

Kaiden was very loudly telling EVERYONE that he was going to the car. Boy was he happy!

Then we had to try and go to Burlington to find Bregon a suit for his piano recital. We pulled into a parking spot, only to find that the person parked next to us hadn't completely parked all the way.

This meant that that although my van was parked in the spot correctly, there really wasn't enough room for me to park the stroller and get the babies unloaded.

I improvised, but the owner of the car came running out of the store, yelling at me to get that stroller away from her car.

She accused me of hitting her car with it. The only part of the stroller (& it really wasn't a part of the stroller, it was just attached to it at the handlebar) that was touching her car was one of the stuffed monkey's that makes up the baby backpack leashes.

She then made a big show of having to get into her car to talk on her cellphone so that I could not finish unloading my kids.

I cannot believe how rude and awful this lady was being over the whole incident! There really wasn't anything I could do but keep trying to get the kids out and hope that the lady would go away.

Vivienne and Kai found her funny, thankfully, and laughed over the whole thing.

I somehow managed to get the stroller loaded, but not before Kian reached out and TOUCHED the lady's car. I thought she was going to blow a gasket or something!

I was very quick to head them towards the store. I have never jumped a curve in our limo so gracefully and fast!

Once inside the door, I thought Kai's internal shopping alarm would go off, but it didn't.

Maybe it was because I was giving everyone teddy grahams, I don't know for certain!

The crying did not start back up again until we were almost ready to leave and I had run out of cookies.

At least this time, Vivienne reached out to try and smooth his hair and make him feel better.

Then I noticed that she was pushing her sunshade down on top of him. At first, I thought that she was annoying him.

But, I soon noticed that he was actually laughing at this and trying to play peek-a-boo with this lady waiting on her lay-a-way.

The peace was soon much disturbed because the bathroom buzzer started going off and it is loud and scary sounding.

This made everyone cry in the stroller. Thankfully, it encouraged the checkout lady to speed up a bit, too!

We finally got home in one piece, but there were much tears shed over silliness this day!

Cool Little Dudes & Dudette

This afternoon, my tiny trio discovered the wonders that are sunglasses.

Kaiden was standing on the settee, behind his daddy, who had been sitting on the sofa.

That was when he noticed that Daddy had something nifty and shiny on his head. The shiny thing was a pair of sunglasses.

Kai climbed over the back of the couch, and managed to swipe those glasses clean off of his Daddy's head in one fluid movement.

Husband found this so funny, that he didn't mind it one bit. He carefully helped Kaiden put the sunglasses on.

Of course they were much to big for his tiny, baby boy head. Bregon decided to run upstairs and see if he could find a few pairs of his old sunglasses so that the babies could each play with them.

Bregon managed to find a pair that fit Kaiden's head perfectly. The minute he placed them on his head, Kai broke into this super huge grin.

He gasped, and said, "COOOOOOL!" He was soo cute! Husband and I doled out the remaining pairs to Vivie and Kian.

Vivienne likes to wear her sunglasses down on her nose so that she can peer over the tippy top of the lenses and watch both through the shaded part and above as well.

This habit makes Vivie look rather like a little old school teacher wearing her spectacles.

Kian prefers to wear his properly. His sunglasses make him so happy that he gives us that super huge, crooked wide-mouthed grin of his.

We must have spent a good thirty minutes watching the kids run around trying different angles and ways to wear their cool shades.

In fact, when it was time for bed, and to go upstairs, Vivienne and Kai insisted upon wearing theirs upstairs.

Behold, the power of shades! Somehow, those sunglasses empowered Vivie, and she made it up the stairs super quick, beating both of her brothers.

Each baby had to take their shades to bed with them. In fact, the last time that I peeked in on them, Kaiden was sleeping in his still.

Tomorrow will prove to be interesting, I am sure, with the new addition of sunglasses to the babies wardrobe! They will all be such cool little dudes and dudette!

A New and Exciting Place For Kids!

Today, I made a fascinating discovery. My new find isn't necessarily new by any means. It appears to have been around for quite some time.

I am not really sure why I haven't heard of this program before, or why the specifics aren't more widely known in our community.

I first heard about my new find through a dear friend who teaches cartooning at The Renzi Center.

Yes, that is my new find, The Renzi Education and Art Center. It is a program that has many offerings for students in grades 1-12.

From my friend, I learned all about how much fun he has teaching at the center and how wonderful the program, students and staff all are.

He brought over DVDs of some of his student's works that include several films that have been written and put together entirely by these students at the center with the guidance of their instructors.

The work is amazing. My eldest son, who happens to be 13, saw the films, and started asking how he could be a part of the next installment.

The advertisement for the Film Camp for this summer ran recently.

Today, I ran the application and the registration fee up to the school to make sure that Bregon would have a spot in the camp for this summer!

I had little trouble finding my way to The Renzi Center. I even figured out where to park!

I think it must have taken me all of five minutes from my driveway to theirs, even in after school traffic.

I had absolutely no idea what it would be like, just that my dear friend was super happy to be teaching there and that my son seriously wanted to find a way to be a part of this program.

As I walked up the stairs to the door, I heard music coming from inside. Then, I wandered into the front office where I met Amy for the first time.

Of course, I had heard a lot about her from my friend, but I never expected to feel so comfortable or so at home so quickly.

We chatted a bit about film camp, and how I was apparently the first to turn in my application or so it sounded.

Here I was all worried that we wouldn't be able to get a spot in the camp! The more we chatted, the more I discovered about the center program.

Amy gave me all of the after school program information as well, and I looked over it.

The children have two 25 minute academic classes and one 50 minute art class daily.

The after-school program meets Monday-Thursday and classes begin at 3:45 each day and last until 5:30.

The children that I met while in the office were all so excited and happy to be there. It just seems like the place my son would love to be as well.

Yep, you guessed it, I was hooked. I ended up signing up my eldest for classes at the center.

He will have missed the first 2 weeks, but he will get to go until the session ends which will be

May 15.

I could have stayed and talked with Amy forever, or so it seemed. Our kids are about the same age-range apart and appear that maybe, just maybe my baby girl and hers could become friends!

As I left the center, with my child signed up for everything that could be signed up for, I called him to surprise him with the news.

After last year's bad experience with a less than stimulating art teacher and class, I have high hopes that this might revive and renew his lost love of art.

Art used to be my child's favorite past time until that ill-fated class. But, I was to be super surprised when I called and told him that he was all signed up and ready to go.

Bregon became all sorts of excited, all but jumping up and down while on the phone with me!

When I got home, and showed him the paperwork, he became even more excited.

He is actually looking forward to the academic part of the program as well as the possibility of getting to have a class with our friend who teaches there.

I, too, am excited. The Renzi Center is a cheerful, happy place. Heck, I wish that I could go!

For all of those interested, please check it out! The website is HERE and the after school program is free.

The film camp is for grades 2-12 and cost $150 for the entire 3 week session which will be from 1-5 M-Friday and the website for that is HERE.

If you need more information, or would like a copy of the film camp application sent to you, please direct all inquiries to Amy by either phone (318) 222-1414, or email Renzi@shreve.net.

Will I Be That Mum?

This past weekend, a very dear friend of mine's eldest son went to his Junior/Senior Prom.

It seems just yesterday that he was a tiny baby boy, crawling all over my apartment and clamoring to see out the window so that he might watch the trains roll by below.

But, now he is a young man of sixteen, and old enough to take his best friend to their Prom.

Wow, how time flies! It was funny, because I fretted all week with his Mum over what all he would need to have to be properly ready for Prom.

We worried together, and figured out the plan of attack on assembling all of the things that he would need.

Our biggest dilemma turned out to be where exactly to find the boutonniere and corsage.

Of course in typical teenager style, he hadn't exactly planned on going to Prom originally.

This meant that there was much procrastination in letting the Mumsies know in time to make the necessary arrangements for the big day.

Guys just do not realize that black and red tuxes just do not grow on trees. Neither, for that matter, do corsages or boutonnieres.

But, somehow my friend managed to figure it all out, and come Saturday night, her eldest was all sorts of Duded up and ready for the big night.

My friend dropped him and his date off at LSUS, taking pictures outside without a worry of being discreet in the least!

She came by my house afterward, to share the pictures from her phone and to worry with us over what would happen next!

It was soo funny because not thirty minutes later, the text messages started rolling in from her son, who was SUPPOSED to be enjoying Prom with his date.

The first one let us know that they had decided to buy real pictures with the backdrop.

The second one asked if they could be chauffeured to IHOP afterward, because Prom had made them hungry.

The third one had something to do with a request to be picked up discreetly at ten o'clock prompt, as they would be ready to leave by then.

We sat around my dining room table and giggled and guessed at what all was happening with the arrival of each text message.

Then, I asked the big question. Would my friend's son allow her to sit at the same table as the Prom-night couple at IHOP?

She thought that they might since she is usually deemed the "Cool Mom" of the group.

I wondered though, remembering how friends of ours, back when we were in high school, would make their parents drop them off a half a block away from the actual destination or sit tables away at a restaurant as not to make the happy couple look childish.

That's where I started wondering about my own status with my own teenager.

I mean, I know that he is only thirteen and all, but that is only about three years away from his own first Prom.

What will he ask me to do? Will he be embarrassed of me if I have to drop him and a date off somewhere?

Will they let me sit at the same table with them or will I be exiled to a table in a dark corner so that nobody knows that we are together and that I am the parental unit on duty?

Will He ask to carry my car keys from the restaurant to the car or from the movies to the car while on a date that I must chaperone so he can look cool, and old enough to drive?

I know that I have always been super careful NOT to do things to embarrass my child, if I could help it, anyways.

It hasn't been easy, either, especially since the triplets have been born.

I cannot tell you how many times I have had to attend a school function, recital, sporting event, or just a school meeting with my trio in tow.

I know we draw a LOT of attention, most of it away from my eldest. This is not intentional, it's just part of life as a big brother to triplets, I suppose.

It normally doesn't bother me, except that in school situations, EVERYONE knows that we are related to Bregon.

I never know what they think of us, and I always wonder if maybe he might be even a little embarrassed with all of the attention we get during those functions.

I know that when I was thirteen, I would have wanted to remain as anonymous as possible in that sort of situation! I can only imagine how it affects my him.

But, this brings me back to my biggest worry. Am I destined to be the sort of Mum who must hang back in the mall, drop off a half block away and sit at a table in a dark corner, keeping a low profile?

I really do try to do the right thing in teenager-land, but I just never do know if I am doing it right!

Where is that much needed owner's manual, "A Mum's Guide to Teenage Life."

Could I have the most current issue, please?

Little Baby Boy Talk: Kian Speaks

Sometimes I wonder if my toddlers can communicate as well as other toddlers. They don't say much to begin with.

When they do decide to say something, it is usually to each other and not to me.

This means that it is usually being said in their own language, which is totally indecipherable to anyone and everyone save for my triplets.

Today, though, we finally got a nice reminder that Kian, my little bookworm, can speak, and speak well.

He was standing in my bedroom bay window, watching for signs of a car to go by, when he saw his big brother Bregon walking up the driveway on his way home from school.

Kian became very excited and began to jump up and down. He hollered, "Helloo's" to his big brother through the window.

As soon as Bregon turned the corner next to the front hedge on the path to the front porch, Kian shouted and began to wave his tiny baby boy arms saying, "I'm over here!"

Bregon saw him, and smiled and waved at his cute little excited baby brother standing in the window.

Once inside, he came running into my room to give Kian a great big hug.

Kian gasped, smiled, and said, "I have been waiting for you, Bregon! I have been a really really good boy all day!"

He said everything so very clearly, and in his best high pitched, helium munchkin voice.

It was so very cute and sweet. Bregon was duly impressed and gave his baby brother all sorts of hugs and kisses and told him what a good little Kian guy he is!

When they don't talk to you for so long, it's easy to forget that they actually are capable of doing it sometimes.

But when they do say something, it is so sweet, and soo cute. It just gives me the warm fuzzies inside!

Baby Balance

What is it about toddlers and newly standing babies and their balance? They never seem to grasp the concept that their head is, for the most part, bigger than their body.

This really does present a balance problem that the child never seems to even realize that they have!

This little issue has presented itself as quite a problem for my toddlers as of late.

They all mostly been walking since they were 18 months old, but as of late, I have started to wonder how good they really are at it.

Kian will be toddling along, minding his own business, not an obstacle in site, and fall flat on his face and give himself a bloody nose.

Kaiden doesn't exactly walk anywhere. In fact, he tends to always be running from spot to spot doing whatever it is that Kai's must do.

This usually results in disaster if something is out of place. Heaven forbid we add an extra leaf to the dining room table or a chair is out of place!

He will just run smack dab into it, bounce off of whatever was in his way and keep going.

Don't get me wrong, it does hurt him. It's just that he waits until he gets where ever it is that he was going in the first place to decide to cry about it.

Then there is Vivienne. Poor, tiny, beautiful, Baby Vivienne who simply must find that last drop of milk in that sippy cup.

She has taken the whole, "Good to the last drop" jingle to great lengths. She goes from sippy cup to sippy cup, foraging for a sip of something tasty and good.

In her search, she will stand there tilting her head as far back as her little neck will allow, trying to get that last tasty drop out of the cup.

She KNOWS it has to be in there, after all, she can SEE that there is a tiny bit left in that cup.

What she forgets, though, is that gravity is a cruel and heartless part of nature.

Eventually, she leans so far back, and tilts her head so far backwards, that she will fall over backwards.

If she is lucky, she just sits down super hard and her diaper serves as padding to protect her.

There are days, though, when she is not so very fortunate, and she falls flat on her back, making her very, very sad.

You would think that they would learn to slow down. One might think that after running into the same spot on the table day in and day out, that someone would figure out that the table isn't moving anywhere and he would change course.

One might think that Kian would slow down and watch himself when he decides that he wants something as not to KEEP falling on his face.

Toddlers, apparently, NEVER LEARN!!! The saddest part is that I watch all of this happen, knowing that some day they should grow out of it.

But, until that day comes, I have a lot of bruises and bobo's to kiss, and a lot of tears to dry.

Toddler Quirks

Lately, I have noticed that my toddler's are developing all sorts of funny little quirks.

All of the sudden, Kaiden only wants to sit in the window and watch for traffic to go by.

He gets soo excited over the idea that his most favorite thing, a car, might just drive by!

Kai also "Ooo's" and "Ahh's" every time one actually does. Today, he managed to get past me while I was trying to go through the baby gate.

He ran into my bedroom, which is normally off limits, and climbed up onto the cedar chest that sits on my bedroom bay window.

I couldn't get mad at him, either. He just sat there with his little legs crossed, his thumb in his mouth, anxiously anticipating the possibility of traffic.

He is soo cute when he does that. Unfortunately, it can also be very dangerous.

I have also caught him dragging chairs and even a small end table over to one of our living room windows so he can climb up and see over the fence.

He normally just wants to look in between the houses behind us and see if the neighbors across the street on the other side of us are home so he can count their cars.

I am always worried that he will fall. One day, he got so carried away, that he caught his finger on the window lock and cut himself.

Meanwhile, my daughter has taken to hoarding shoes. At first, it was isolated to only HER shoes, which was fine.

Today, she wandered around playing with her toys, dragging her brother's Thomas the Train Engine shoe around with her.

She is sleeping with that same shoe even now, strangely enough! I suppose I should be grateful that she didn't insist upon trying to wear, it I suppose!

As I write this, I am listening to Kian and Bregon play song games together in the living room.

Bregon will sing "E" and wait for Kian to chime in with "I" and they will go back and forth until Kian finally decides to sing "O."

Today, Bregon decided to see if Kian does the same thing with his other favorite songs and has tried singing "Hee" to which Kian promptly chimed in with "Haw."

He even finished the rest of the "Tough tough tough" song from The Backyardigans, with Bregon's help!

Oops, I need to wrap this up now. From the sound of it, Bregon's singing is now muffled, and I hear him knocking on the door asking to be let out.

It sounds as if the babies have all three shut him in the pantry in hopes of getting to share whatever after school snack he is trying to choose.

They are each soo very funny with their silly little quirks that they have developed!