Marching Marching....

March is by far my least favorite month of the year.  Usually as we start into January, which is long and cold, I start to think that January is the worst.. But once March hits, I'm reminded that it is indeed the winner. March was particularly dreadful in college because we didn't have a Spring break. However, with having three toddlers I now dread spring break because all our usual hot spots are overrun with big school age kids. Caleb gets all panicky and defensive when there are a lot of big kids around which is both funny and stressful because he starts doing and saying weird things.   Beyond that, ever since playing at some parks over Spring Break with older kids, the triplets learned words like 'shut up' and 'stupid.' So I'm annoyed about that because I know exactly who the girl was that was saying that stuff. Luckily the trio aren't entirely sure what the words mean and use them incorrectly. Hopefully if I just ignore them (which is hard not to react immediately), they'll stop saying it and move on to something else.

Anyway, March has been long. Clark's been working very very hard and putting in so many hours. When he is at home, every time I turn around he's taking a nap. His napping capability is incredible.  Really I envy his ability to fall asleep so quickly.  Of course with three kids jumping on him the naps don't last very long and he soon gets caught up in a 'Dojo' building contest.  He and Caleb teamed up one Sunday morning and definitely won first prize for the tallest Dojo.

What's funny, maybe not to Clark, is that every weekend Clark says how badly he needs to wash his car and ironically it has been rainy and cold every weekend for the past month.  All the nice days have been during the week.  So finally he said 'whatever I'm going out!' and he and the trio washed his car in the pouring rain.  It's hard to tell but everyone was soaked when they came in!

Along with rainy days there have been some hot and sunny days.  We were given our trampoline in the fall so this is really the first time the kids have jumped on it when it's been hot enough for a sprinkler underneath!  I haven't even got their swimsuits out for the new season so for now it's underwear!  After an afternoon of working hard in the sandbox, they were THRILLED with a wet trampoline and the 'sprinkles.'  They couldn't stop laughing and squealing about it.  It was fun to watch and reminded me of all the times I did this exact same thing as a kid.  You just can't beat it.  Since then I've added some water balloons into the mix which has made this whole activity even more exciting!

Then in true Texas style, the next day is cold and the sprinkler stays off.  Socks, pants, long sleeves, and superman capes.  Also very exciting!



A few other March updates to remember include

...receiving a fun package in the mail from Great Grandma and Grandpa (thank you so much)!  They were special boxes with seashells inside and some nameplates.  We love and cherish all the handiwork from Great Grandpa.  The trio had a good time comparing shells and placing them in their boxes. 

...discovering the 'rocketship' park.  We've been there a couple times now and there is still more fun to be had!

...working more on my braiding.  Leah is a great muse to practice on.  She waits patiently for a whole 30 seconds then starts whining.  As a result, my skill may take longer than anticipated to master. 



...sleeping over at Michael and Marisol's!  Man....what an exciting thing for the kids.  They can hardly contain themselves knowing they will soon be sleeping over there.  I kept telling them that 'Friday is sleepover day!' so they had to wait all week and now every Friday they ask to go over there.  :)  They sleep in a room full of toys, each in their separate bed (Leah has a cot), and keep Michael and Marisol up way later than they would like I'm sure.  Then of course, the morning comes fast and it's time to play again.  Marisol has a magical attic.  Things keep coming out of there which add to the excitement and fun at their house.  It sure has inspired me to keep and take care of all our toys because you never know when you'll need to pull them down from the attic in the future!  They sure have a good time though and we're grateful for such wonderful friends.

...celebrating Marisol's birthday!  In true Marisol style, she ended up buying the kids some balloons and giving us the movie Frozen.  Luckily we sang to her, had some cake, and gave her a card we had made otherwise it would've felt like the kids' birthday instead!

...and finally, fake-napping with Dad.  All the kids ended up on his lap one day and I said that once upon a time they could all fit on his chest.  So we snapped a picture and compared.  Leah and Caleb switched places but they sure have grown!  Either that or Clark is pulling a Benjamin Button on us and shrinking.  And isn't it amazing how Clark hasn't seemed to age one day since having newborn triplets?? 

The main event of the month was having Clark's mom come to visit.  She came for ten days and helped get us through the end of March.  Of course her first morning here she came bearing gifts:  Hawaii shirts from Papa, Lego kits from Gram Rox, and peanut butter balls for Zachary and Clark!  Oh and let's not forget the GOBS of candy...peanut M&M's, candy corn, licorice, etc... (most of which was provided by Gram Rox).  So the first morning was fun and exciting and thanks to Gram Rox and Papa who contributed to that! 

Her stay here was super fun and super busy!  She didn't waste any time getting the kids into their explorer vests and off to the park.  It's always strange being alone at the house but I took advantage of the time to exercise, shower, get dinner going, and tidy up.  They went on a couple more explorer walks and bike rides.  The kids LOVED it and apparently were very kind and obedient while gone.  :)

We did a few small outings while Gram was here too.  Nothing big since everything is so expensive now that the kids are three and we have to pay for each of them.  One afternoon we met Clark for lunch near his work which was really fun then headed to a nearby mall.  The mall is awesome (never been there) with attractions like LegoLand and an awesome aquarium but again, $20 per kid just isn't working for me.  So we settled on an awesome train ride around the mall which was probably equally as thrilling as any big name attraction and 1/5 the price.  They pretended they were on the Polar Express.  Furthermore, nearby the train there was a life size alligator who opened his jaws so we could throw pennies inside.  Scary!  To top off the mall trip we had some cinnamon/sugar pretzels on our way out!  Can't beat those mall pretzel places.

On another day we went to a place called KidMania.  It's an indoor jungle gym that is HUGE where both kids and adults can go inside the structure.  Super fun and popular.  It can get a bit overwhelming for the trio though because they could often see us or each other but not know how to get there.  So Gram and I rotated to keep the kids together.  Once they got tired of that that we played in the arcade area for a bit and Zachary could not part from the motorcycle game.  It was a very fun and tiring morning so we all came home and collapsed for a couple of hours!  I think there might have been some heating pads and Tylenol involved too.  :)

Gram's trip would not have been complete without a surprise ice cream trip to McDonalds!  Smiles all around!

I think my kitchen was cooked in more during her visit than the whole previous month!  She started with sugar cookies, then introduced me to a new freezer jam technique (which is AWESOME!), then tried a new roll recipe I had which also turned out awesome.  So why not make cinnamon rolls right?  So she did.  Then she rounded out the week with Anie's caramel popcorn recipe!  So good!  I'm still working off the pounds I put on while she was here.

Other Gram activities included foam sticker sheets, flower necklaces, hair-cutting for all the boys, and reading.  LOTS of reading.  She probably read 50-75 books to the kids.  We even had to make a trip to the library to replenish.  The trio love stories.  Clark has this automatic switch where if he sits down to read or participate in reading time, he's asleep within one minute which leaves me doing all the reading all the time.  He says it's something about my voice that puts him to sleep!  Nice.  So I loved that there was another enthusiastic reading voice in the house.

I'm tired just remembering and writing about how much stuff happened while she was here.  She was apparently pretty tired too because one afternoon she didn't quite make it in the house from the car.  She fell asleep against the house....



Ok that's not what really happened.

She was actually out making stick stacks with the boys.  The sun was nice and the boys came in to eat dinner.  I kept thinking she was out there cleaning up the sticks or talking on the phone.  Next thing I know I am getting a knock on my door from our neighbor informing me that a homeless woman was asleep against our house!  Ha.

Ok that's not what happened either but Clark and I have been laughing ever since because that's probably what our neighbors were thinking!  The way the houses are situated our garage faces the alleyway.  So to see anyone in the alleyway is rare but to see someone asleep in the alleyway is very strange.  So we totally laughed and I snapped a picture to remember. 

Clark wasn't home as much as he would've liked while she was here but I certainly enjoyed her company and conversation.  I even got her watching a little Project Runway!  The kids had SUCH a good time with her.  I love seeing them be so kind and open with their grandparents.  In the past this hasn't been so great but with my mom coming last month and Clark's mom this month, it's been great to watch them finally favor both Grandmas over me once in a while.

Thanks for a fun visit!  Can't wait until next time!

I'll end with this little gem from Leah.  So probably about one year ago when I lived here in crazy town with three two-year-olds who weren't quite good at communicating yet, fought a lot, and were constantly testing their boundaries and independence.  If a situation escalated between the kids, I'd usually follow suit and  be yelling at someone for something.  So I started praying, during family prayer, that Heavenly Father would help me to be patient and calm and to not yell or get frustrated.  I did that for a while and as the kids grew and were able to start praying on their own, they incorporated my prayer into their own.  Now the following phrasing happens in EVERY prayer EVERY day in EVERY situation including primary and primary class (airing all my secrets), "Dear Heavenly Father, thank you for this day, please bless that Mama won't yell or scream or get mad or sad..."  Oh geeez. 

Sometimes it's embarrassing that they say it so much and so publicly but on the other hand, I do need the help and extra prayers so I won't object!  I figure that Heavenly Father listens to the prayers of sweet innocent children more than he listens to mine anyway.  :)