It's not as easy as I thought

With Zoe & Ty, naptime wasn't completely "scheduled".  It just sort of happened.  And with Ty, it was a matter of necessity that he moved to one nap as soon as possible.  Cole, Eli & Ava...different story!  Trying to get three babies to agree when that one nap should  be is nothing short of a nightmare.  Cole's an early napper.  Ava's a late napper.  Eli...well...he's an ALL DAY napper.

Thirteen days ago, the triplets and I started our journey.  We decided it was time to move to one nap.  Aside from the fact that two naps really cramped my social life, it was pretty frustrating trying to get "baby-free" things done.  With two 1 1/2 hour naps, I really only got about 45 minutes to myself.  By the time I got the last baby to sleep...it was usually less than an hour before the first baby was waking up.  So I made an executive decision and made naptime 12n (that way I could still pick up Ty from school and get home before the babies fell asleep).

So far, our success rate is about 85%.

A few times, the gang's fallen asleep on the way home from the Y (around 10:30) and I would just wake them up when we got home...feed them...let them play...and then head back out to pick up Ty.  They do go back down...but later...like 1p.

Somedays, they fall asleep on the ride home from picking up Ty (around 11:45).  The problem with that is, transferring them from the van is not always successful. Usually, it's Eli that wakes up, and then he won't go back down AT ALL.

Then there's days like today: Cole decided he wanted to get up early this morning.  Early as in 4:45am.  That's not just early, it's INSANE!  So by snacktime (10am), he was falling asleep eating his goldfish.  I put him down for a nap at 10:30 and came downstairs to find Ava starting to dose off, too.  So I put her down and figured I should shoot for the trifecta and put Eli down, as well (usually, he sleeps no matter WHEN you put him down).  Sure enough...all three went down without a peep!  Now here we are at almost 1:30pm, and I'm starting to hear some stirring.

The problem with this early nap thing is two fold: 1) Bedtime can't come fast enough which means it'll be another early morning and we've got a horrible cycle started & 2) What am I going to do come Sunday when Daylight Savings kicks in?

Loving 1st Grade

I know when Zoe started school last month I was excited that her days would be FULL.  But there was another bonus that never even occurred to me.  Until yesterday.  Zoe's learning to read.  And she's looking for a captive audience to practice on!

Living Vicariously

So remember how Zoe got an American Girl Doll for her birthday?  Remember how the idea was that she'd play with it for hours by herself?  Well...we were 1/2 right!  She does play with Emily Christine...but not exactly by herself.  And to be honest, I think I like it!

"We" have done Emily's hair...

And had photoshoots...

"We" have even played tea party and read books!  Now if I could just get Zoe as excited about Emily as I am!

For Future Reference

Although they may LOOK alike...

...lightbulbs for recessed kitchen lighting and lightbulbs for outdoor flood lights are NOT interchangeable!

I think I may have just gone blind for a few minutes there! 

I've seen the light...
Come toward the light...

I'm so glad Shane comes home today.  I miss my live-in handyman!

Two, consecutive, week-long business trips have not been fun!

Because I'm Scared of the Park

So the triplets are almost 15 months old and have never been to the park.  I have to tell you, I feel a bit guilty about that, but I just can't imagine attempting it.  Obviously, I couldn't do it solo, so that sorta limits when I could bring them.

My solution?  Bring the park to them...

Okay, maybe not completely.  But at least we can work on climbing and sliding.

It's been hysterical watching them learn to move around on this thing.

Cole climbed right up.  It took a few tries, but after about three or four "attempts", he's a smooth slider.

Eli chooses to just sit up top and suck his thumb.

Ava had some issues.  She loves to stand at the top and "shout to the room" all she has to say.  A few times, she's bounced a little too much and has slipped right off the back (Eli, too).  Today, she's finally figured out how to slide down and not land on her forehead.

Who needs the park?

I Know Where the Time's Gone...

Things have been a little crazy around here the last few weeks (thus the lack of energy/time to post at days' end.)

First of all...I'm officially nanny-less.  Yup, Becca started Parisian Beauty Academy a few weeks ago, so I'm flying solo during the day.  She does come by two afternoons a week for a few hours.  And...in case of "emergency", there is a friend I can call on Mondays and maybe even Fridays.  But, for the most part, I'm it!  SAHM Extraodinaire!  And anyone who knows me, knows I am NOT so great at the "stay-at-home" part.  So, I have been venturing out on a few errands & shopping trips with the trips.  (More on that another time.)

Okay, so what has been going on in Higby land?  Well...for one...I FINALLY cleared out the Living Room.

Remember back when our awesome neighbors blessed us with the gate?  Well, they also dropped off a ton of hand-me-downs.  For those keeping track, that was back on August 16th.  That's right: 8 weeks ago!  And all those clothes? They've been sitting there this whole time.  Blows any mis-conceptions of "Super Mom", huh?  Since the "super" image is gone now, I might as well confess that although I spent quite a few afternoons attempting to sort through and wrap my head around these piles...ultimately, it wasn't only me that cleared the room.

My mom and her childhood best friend came by for a quick visit last week.  The three of us worked on the clothes for 2+ hours on Thursday night and 4+ hours Friday.  Even after they left, there was still work to be done.  First, I had to include the various clothes that I had saved over the years (mostly random stuff since I never anticipated triplets and just thought I'd bite the bullet and buy clothes for #3).  Then I had to sort, bin and label it all.  Finally, it was my helpful hubby's job to lug it all up to the attic.  Although, I'd like to make sure it's documented that I did bring two of the bins up to the attic, myself.  The running joke at our house is, "Who's spent more time in the attic, Zoe or Mommy?" 

You're looking at 10 bins of clothes (well some of them anyway) for both boys and girls up to size 4/4T for boys and 5 for girls!  This doesn't even include the 2 giant bins of shoes!

I sure hope styles don't change too much in the coming years.  Because, at the rate Ava grows, she'll be 16 before she can wear some of these clothes!