Sounds terrible but I'm just plain worn out. It's primarily the whining and fighting. Oh yes, and then there is the fact that Beckett figured out how to get out of his crib and refuses stay in. Several times in the middle of the night I get woken up by a thump and then a pitter patter of little feet running into our room. Then there is a smiling little Beckett saying, "sleep Dada's bed." We are both so exhausted that we let him, then put him back in his crib at at some point he comes back. Then the girls each wake up during the night because they lost their blanket or lovie or whatever. I can't believe that when they were one, we got much more sleep than we do now.
As I'm typing this, it is 90 minutes after I have put them to bed and Eloise is still reading a book to herself (out loud), Beckett is playing with a garbage truck, and Addy is stripping naked all of the multiple baby dolls she has in her bed. They have all of that stuff in their bed because I'm trying to at least keep them quiet and Beckett in his crib. I think at some point we are going to bite the bullet and take everything out of their crib and let them scream. I'm just not up for it now because the whining during the day is almost too much to take.
I feel like my conversations all day long are of the following topics:
-encouraging and cajoling someone (usually Eloise) to apologize for something (usually hitting)
-asking someone to repeat what they said in a "regular voice" because I don't understand whining
-counting to three, as in "You have until the count of three to XXXX or I will XXXX."
-breaking up fights over toys
-No, you can NOT have a piece of candy
-chasing kids to get them dressed, undressed, coats on or shoes on and then counting to three when they don't cooperate
-either talking someone out of wearing panties or wearing diapers depending on the child
-if they don't lay down, stop talking and close their eyes I'm going to close the door, turn out the night light or some other very serious threat.
Have you noticed that I do a lot of threatening? I just don't know what else to do. I need the Supernanny.
Anyway, to top it all off, Eloise is probably ready to potty train so I thought we would give it a go today. Everyone I know with multiples does the "boot camp" method where you hunker down for three days, cover everything in plastic and stay around the house just potty training for three days. Everyone who does it says that it is the hardest thing they have ever done and although the results seem pretty good, I don't think that would work for us because Addy is already trained and Beckett isn't really showing too much interest so it would be a unnecessary miserable few days for at least two of the three. So rather than the boot camp method, I came up with my own method called the "Kate is tired and let's just see what happens method."
Eloise wanted to wear princess panties like Addy this morning so I said fine, she just had to go try to go pee in the potty first. She did and I put panties on her. That was about 8 am. Rich was taking the kids to the JCC so I could have a few hours to clean so I had her AND Addy go pee before. She did. I packed a few extra pairs of pants, undies, socks and shoes in the diaper bag with Rich and sent them on their way. I had a disaster of a house to deal with so I wasn't too concerned about a little pee on a gym floor that probably a million other kids had peed on. Had I been thinking clearly I would not have put on her good leather shoes because from experience I've learned that a good water drinker can soak a pair of shoes that take days to dry.
I was still cleaning like crazy and trying to finish up the vacuuming because they are all petrified of the vacuum when Rich pulled in the driveway. I started to head out the door to help and heard Eloise screaming, "Wet!! Wet!!" She was refusing to walk. Then I grabbed my camera.
That stubborn little thing absolutely refused to walk. Rich had to carry her in.
Notice she never put down the cookie in her hand?
Looking at these pictures again made me realize that I need to check the carseat. I'm sure I need to wash that too. Once she got in the house, she took a few steps with totally straight legs. I almost fell over laughing. What about bending your legs is going to get you more wet? Anyway, she apparently wasn't too traumatized because she just wanted new pants and new panties. Fine. We ate lunch and I was trying to convince her to go potty before I put on her diaper before nap and I smelled something. I tried to look in her pants and she said, "No, daddy." Again, fine. Ohhh Rich- Eloise wants YOU to take her potty. Haha.
So that was not too successful. Oh well, I was planning on putting on pull ups on her tomorrow anyway because she has school tomorrow. Maybe I'll start the whole process again on Friday. I just don't want to make a big deal out of anything because a one certain Miss Addycakes picks up on ANYTHING that might just be slightly out of the ordinary and either repeats it or tries to do it "by myself."
She has picked up on the fact that she is the only one really one using the potty and they other two are wearing diapers. So now she wants to wear diapers all the time too and the scary thing is that she can put them on herself! She's figured out how to spread out the diaper on the ground, lay on top, wrap it around and pull the tape. Really?
On another note, we've had two play dates this past week with two other sets of triplets. Last Sunday we went to play with my friend Kristen's triplets who turned 2 in October. At one point, she was in the bathroom (with the door open of course) trying to change a poop diaper with the other two clamoring around her, poop fell out, poop got on clothes, one was trying to sit on the potty and interested in his parts while another one was on another potty and I was standing back laughing hysterically. Holy man, that is what I look like? It was so ridiculous to watch and even funnier thinking that I do that every day too. Don't worry, she was not offended. She would have been laughing at me too had the tables been turned. Perfect example of why my multiple groups have been so important to me.
We had another play date with my friend, Ann's triplets on Friday at our house this time. We take turns providing snacks, Starbucks and trashing each other's houses. Her daughter, Isla, is like my Addy. We call them the Alpha girls. Just so happened the Alphas were sitting next to each other watching over the other 4. I think that is a spray bottle in Isla's hand- hope no one gets out of line.
I had invited my sister Sarah, Oliver and the little girl that she baby sits for over for lunch the same day. We ended up all eating lunch together at my new table. Well, just the kids. There wasn't room enough at the table for the adults. 8 kids under 5 for an impromptu lunch.
I just noticed looking at the picture that none of the kids have a drink. Whoops, no one complained.
Ann is in the process of trying to figure out how to potty train her three as well so there was a lot of potty talk that day. Luckily Sarah has gone through it with Oliver so she had some good tips for the boys. Remember that I said Addy listens and remembers everything?
Yesterday I walked into the bathroom and Addy had pulled a stool up to the toilet and was standing facing the toilet with her pants around her ankles. She saw me and said, "Me pee standing up. Me pee standing up."
Help. I need help. I can't wait until Tuesday when I go back to work. Christmas post this week- I promise.
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