Happy 4th! On the 8th...

I, unfortunately, had to spend the first part of the holiday at work then drive the almost 2 hours to the country. This left Brian to load three babies and all of their junk into the car and drive them to Weatherford. And all he really forgot was Lily's red, white, and blue bow. Which matched her 4th of July shirt. Dang.

The 4th is a big holiday for our family. Several birthdays fall around this holiday so we always have a big pool party out at Uncle Eddie and Debbie's. This includes Brian's which is on the 5th.

It's always such a great time. Lots of food, fun, and laughter. Last year we spent the night so we could shoot off fireworks after the kiddos went down. This year we made it an annual tradition. Or so I hope...

The babies were a joy as always. Wherever they go they spread smiles and love. It's always amazing how easy it is to take them anywhere. They always have such a great time. This makes everyone else have a great time as well.

Their day started off with a neighborhood parade which Brian took the kiddos to in their wagon. I'm glad he took pictures for me because it looks entirely too hot for me. Such a good Daddy!


After a quick nap it was off to the festivities where lots and lots of flag waving happened!

Jack loves the water. This picture was prior to him falling into the hot tub. Don't worry, he landed on the first step. Ben likes to stick his feet in...and throw rocks into the water. Boys are silly.

Both boys enjoying the kiddie pool...with shorts and diapers on. Why did I even bother to take off their shirts? Better yet, why didn't I just put them in their swim diapers and swimsuits when they woke up? I'm still learning I guess.... Unfortunately poor Jack got a bit of chafing from my mistake.

Lily thinks those boys are CRAZY to get so wet and dirty.

Sweet Bennie bringing Mommy a flower!

Not to be outdone...Lily found an even BIGGER flower to bring to Mommy!

Nonnie's baked beans were a big hit!

But, the best part of it all is spending time with the people we love!


...and the really, really, really tall people!
Hope everyone had a great 4th! Happy birthday America. But, most of all, thanks to all of the men and women who give their lives for our freedom. We are blessed to live in such a great country.

Dear Dad...

Thanks for all of the important jobs you do around here.

Thanks for always bringing home a big smile and a great attitude.

Thanks for being fun, involved, happy, and enthusiastic.

Thanks for teaching our kids how to be good people.

Thanks for making all of us feel, each day, how important we are to you.

Thanks for being you! And thanks for tolerating the fact that I am always late...

We Love You!

We Are Dog People

Writing things down has always helped me get through difficult times. I often have dialogue running through my head and it is a relief to get it out on paper (or in type). We've been through a lot in the last few weeks which is why you haven't heard much from me. Bear with me, this is more for my me than anyone else. This is my therapy, this is my eulogy, this is my goodbye. So here you go.

Roughly 13 years ago, after having a frosty beverage or two... Brian and I headed out to Godley to check out some 8-wk old Siberian Husky puppies we had found in the paper. Just to look. Not to buy.

Yeah right... Have you ever seen one in person? It is simply impossible not to leave with one, we're lucky we made out with just one. One in particular seemed a little sweeter than the others. Brian was holding one, but I convinced him the one I had was the one we wanted. This was our first Christmas together and this was my present to Brian. We had been dating roughly 9 months or so, surely long enough to commit to something as important as raising a dog together, right? Oh how young and naive we were.

And so began our life with Kita. For almost as long as there has been a Brian and I, there has been a Kita as well. The honest truth is that if not for her there might not have been an us. No matter what the difficult times brought...arguments, stupidity, and even a long-distance relationship...she was the tie that was never broken between us.

I'd love to tell ya'll she was the best dog there ever was (which she was to us), but there may have been a little room for improvement in the obedience area. If it could be shredded, scratched, or ripped up she could (and would) do it. She has demolished kennels (plastic dog crates), carpet, walls, sheets, doors, and countless other things. If it could be peed or pooped on she could handle that as well. Once I'm pretty sure she stood in the middle of the room and spun around like a helicopter. How else could you explain poop on the walls and even in the electrical outlet? And the famous backpack incident? Yep, right in the side pocket on a $20 bill...and nowhere else. She could be diabolical. More than that, she could not be trusted in the least.

And, the thing she was famous for...escaping. The miles we have ran chasing that silly dog. Looking back I'm fairly certain we have spent most of the time trying to keep her from running away from us. Which is ironic considering how much she would cry and whine at the backdoor to get in. Once we found JUST her collar hanging on one of the posts of Brian's 7-ft back fence.

We went through multiple kennels because she scratched holes in them. She was also quite adept at somehow shaking the kennel all day until the screws fell out. We finally just zip-tied the darn thing together. We attempted once to get her a large wire kennel that had way more room and she could see out. That lasted about 1 day until she figured out how to scoot the plastic bottom out and dug all the way through the carpet and padding. Lost that deposit. Actually, I'm pretty sure we never got any deposit back on any apartment we lived in...

Once I came home to hear her crying. I ran around the corner and found just her head hanging out a hole that she had scratched in the side of the kennel. She was the only dog I have ever heard of that could somehow walk a kennel from room to room while we were gone. Luckily, in the past few years she calmed down enough that we didn't have to put her in it anymore.

She definitely had her fare share of oddities. She like to hide things...like cheese in the potted plants. She HATED other dogs. When she went into heat she latched onto odd items and they became her "puppy". She was unreasonably high strung. She hated for her tail or feet to be touched. She seriously disliked for her picture to be taken, wouldn't make eye contact with the camera, and usually looked annoyed at the picture taker. She hated to be brushed. She hated rain, baths, swimming, and basically water of any kind. And many more I can't remember right now.

And the hair. Oh the hair. Can I tell you how many times I cursed the hair? I wore her hair, ate her hair, vacuumed her hair, brushed her hair, lint-rolled her hair, and found her hair in the oddest of places. I can't count how many hundreds of times I wished that hair away.

Kita was spirited, to say the least. But, because she was simply beautiful, and completely ours (for better or worse) we put up with it all. She had a way of making you feel that you were lucky just to be hanging out with her. She got annoyed with us. She even got embarrassed sometimes. She never, even for one second, considered herself to be a dog. As far as she was concerned this was a level playing field and we were no more important than she was in this relationship.

Then there was the shear joy she had when she hung her head out the window while we were driving. And the sweet spot that you occasionally found when you rubbed her belly. And the times, if only for a few minutes, she let you curl up right next to her. Oh, and that puppy fur on our feet at the end of the day. I have ran miles upon miles with her by my side. Even with all that fur she loved to stretch out in the sun and bake for a while. She had a way of looking so content and happy with herself...half-closed eyes, tongue hanging out, nose to the sky. She liked to hide in our closet, or in the bushes, or under the bed. She also like to stretch out on a nice cool tile floor when available. And I can hear her contented sigh as she stretched out as far as she could right now in my mind. She could also roll herself up so tightly that her nose would tuck in right under her tail.

For so many years we dragged her everywhere. We stayed gone all day, we went out at night, and and she always adapted. She's lived in multiple houses and apartments. In the most unselfish act ever, Brian let me take Kita to live with me in Houston for the two years I was in grad school. And then I made him marry me to get her back! She was my companion for all of my drives back and forth to Houston. She even went on camping trips with us. She was always there, for the good and the bad.

I became an adult with her by my side. I graduated college. I graduated from OT school. I married the love of my life. I bought my first house. I bought my second house. I had my children. She has ridden shotgun in every car I have ever owned. I always had her.

For the past 2 years, barring the month I was in the hospital, she's been my constant companion every single day. She drove me crazy some days. I'm sure I did the same to her. And while I knew she was getting old, I never stopped to think how it would feel when she wasn't here anymore. Why is that? We tolerated each other like a crazy old couple who have been together for years, with sweet moments here and there. And a lot of nagging.

As with everything else we have done to her, she tolerated the babies. I can't say she was happy about it. But, we worked through it. There were days I would be so frustrated with her, but I realize now it was just a difficult situation for us both. I wanted to be able to trust her around the babies and she wanted them to leave her alone. There were days I thought it would be easier for me if she just wasn't here. This is the one thing I wish I could take back more than anything. Why is it so easy to take the simplest of things for granted?

Monday we had to make a difficult decision and had to have her put to sleep. She had advanced lymphoma and had gotten to the point of not eating or standing up. We made our decision with as much peace as possible and said goodbye. I think this was the hardest thing I have ever done. Which is saying a lot, I did have triplets ya know?

We only found out that she was sick a little over a week ago. We were told she had 2-4 months, and certainly didn't expect just a week. It happened too fast. It was amazing how completely unprepared we were for it when it did. The one condolence for me is that she wasn't sick for that long. She was far too proud to have tolerated that.

I wasn't ready. I had no idea how difficult it would be to say goodbye. I spent so much time at the end worrying that she was uncomfortable or in pain that I never stopped to think about how big the place in my heart was that she filled. I thank from the bottom of my heart both my parents and Brian's parents that they allowed me to spend some time just with her during her last days.

I miss her. I can't believe she's gone. She's just always been here. It is difficult to put into words or even describe how sad we have been. I just can't quite get it in my heart that I will never see her again. It is an emotion that has quite literally shaken me.

There will be no more whining at the back door. There will be no more piles of hair in the corner. There will be no more jingles in the middle of the night. It's a hard thing to accept. Impossibly hard.

But life moves on. Today was a little bit better than yesterday. Tomorrow will be a little bit better than today. It's hard being in this house without her. It's better when I am busy. Thank goodness I have three fantastic little distractions at my feet.

And I will always love that silly dog. Forever.

We're Home!!!

Vacations just aren't the same when you have kids.

Pre-triplets we booked trips way in advance, couldn't wait to leave, stayed as long as we could, and didn't want to come back home. This time I held off as long as I could to give Brian the go-ahead to book, didn't start to pack until roughly 8 hours before we left for the airport, and couldn't wait to get home to see my sweeties.

However, we did have a fantastic time. Thank you, thank you, thank you to all of our wonderful family who made it possible for us to have some time to ourselves. Thank you Brian for convincing me that this was a good idea...because it really truly was. The last vacation that we had all to ourselves was when I was about 8 weeks pregnant, which was a long time ago.

And, let's be honest, the kids were apparently having way too much fun to even notice we were gone. MawMaw and PawPaw kept them busy with trips to Bass Pro, Cabellas, and the park Nonnie, Poppie, and Grandmother took them on a train ride, to the park, and bought them a kiddie pool for the back yard. And...I'm fairly sure everyone was completely and wonderfully spoiled. Which is exactly how it should be.

As for me, I enjoyed the time with my hubbie. It's amazing how much of our lives are spent tending to our children which doesn't leave a lot of time for us. When we do have time together we're exhausted from chasing toddlers and working. We relaxed, hiked, drove along the coast, surfed (Brian, not me...), hung out on the beach, went sight-seeing, and ATE lots of great seafood.

We arrived in Seattle Wednesday morning, rented a car, and headed south to Oregon. We stayed in Gearhart in a condo on the beach. The beach was beautiful. We spent the first two days driving the coast, stopping when we wanted, and enjoying the scenery. Life at our own pace. Not so bad, huh?

The next day we made our way down to Tillamook...home of the famous cheese factory. We then headed back North to Oswald West State Park, home of Short Sands Beach. Brian rented a board and wet suit so he could get his annual wave fix. There is NO WAY you could have gotten me to get in that freezing water but he spent hours out there. We're a perfect match. He spends his time surfing and I spend my time relaxing on the beach and reading. Paradise.

Friday we drove back to Seattle and did some sight-seeing.

Saturday we took the ferry to Bainbridge Island and got some amazing views of Seattle, including Mt. Ranier.

We also saw a rather unique form of advertising.

The weather was unseasonably warm and sunny the entire time. Some people (not me) were even wearing bathing suits on the beach. Everything was just wonderful. The only hitch was that my suitcase went to Philadelphia instead of coming home to Dallas, guess it didn't want the vacation to end. Thanks to US Airways it was on my porch Monday morning.

Again, thanks to everyone who made this possible. When Brian and I weren't being mushy about how much we missed the babies we were being thankful for all of the support we have. As for the babies...I don't think they ever even noticed we were gone because they were having so much fun. All of us were completely spoiled when the trip was over...which is exactly how it should be!

Rhonda let me copy some pics they took while we were gone. See? They were having a blast!

Except Bennie...who wasn't so sure about the Zoo train!

Off To The Pacific Northwest.

I know it's a good thing, but it seems like a very bad idea right now....

Brian and I are headed to Washington State and Northern Oregon for the next 4 nights, leaving bright and early (6 am) tomorrow morning.

I really am excited but I am going to miss my babies so much.

Thanks to my parents and Brian's parents for babysitting our little munchkins while we are gone. I expect them to be completely spoiled when I get back. I'm guessing they will have so much fun they won't even miss us.

Have fun MawMaw, PawPaw, Nonnie, Poppie, and Grandmother...and be sure to follow the 9 pages of instructions that I left you! (Think I'm having some separation anxiety?)

See ya'll Sunday and I can't wait to share fun pics, that is if I can find my camera battery charger!

Jumpin' Jack

Just when you think you have it figured out they go and change the rules on you. They've been sweet, sleeping great, happy, basically pretty much perfect.

Until Jack grew wings yesterday. And climbed out of the pack n play during his nap. Multiple times. To be fair, I was at work, so poor Nonnie had to deal with the madness. I am just so sorry.

He did finally nap, briefly. Which would lead you to believe he would be tired and go to sleep easily.

Not so much.

Again, I completely missed all of the madness. I was at a work training class last night until 11:00. Darn.

Because.... He then climbed out of his crib. Per Brian, approximately one million times. Luckily it only lasted about 3 hours or so. Along with a massive amount of screaming and crying. Except for when he was running around the room, throwing stuffed animals into Ben's crib, ransacking the closet, and conveniently turning the monitor off. Then he was oddly silent.

He finally wore himself out and slept until about 7:00 this morning (not the usual 8:00.) I worked again today. I missed all of the fun.

Today a crib tent was put on his pack n play which worked well at nap time. Unfortunately because of the shape of our crib it will not work there. We turned the crib around b/c the front is about a foot lower than the back. THANK YOU Nana for the suggestion! You are so smart, we never even thought about that.

So, for now, we have outsmarted him. He did cry for about an hour. Followed by silence, which was worrisome. Luckily he was asleep...in his crib.

I sincerely hope he doesn't figure it out any time soon. I need some sleep. And so does Daddy. I am SO not ready for toddler beds.

You are in SO much trouble, mister.

The Very End Of A Very Perfect Day.

Not every day is good. Not every day is bad. Some days are filled with laughter and smiles. Some are crowded with whines and tears. Most days are mixture of it all.

But, oddly enough...after all is said and done, after baths are given, after pj's are on, and after sweet babies are cuddled off to bed.... It's the end to another very, very, very perfect day. A day I wouldn't trade for anything in the world. Ever. Ever. Ever.

Thank you sweet babies for making the last 18 months breathtaking. I believe with all of my heart that each of you are pure magic. I am forever changed because of you. I pray each day that I can give you a life of happiness, friendship, and comfort. Because that is what you give me each and every day.

Thank you for loving hats...

Thank you for the daily reminders that nobody is perfect all of the time.

Thank you for reminding me that dirt doesn't taste so great...

Thank you for warming the hearts of those around you. Thank you for drawing our families close together to share all of this with you. But most of all...Thank you for giving me so many very perfect days... I love you.....

Lily,

Jack,

and Ben.

Think Before You Talk.

I have certainly been known to stick my foot in my mouth a number of times. While I consider myself to be a high self-monitor, I've been guilty of saying the first thing that comes to mind...which isn't always the thing you should say out loud.

Having triplets I've experienced a lot of comments, questions, and intrusions into my personal life by complete strangers. Most are well-meaning so I answer as nicely as I can and move on. But people, the lady I talked with today takes first place in the bizarre question category. So much so, I immediately had to call Brian and relay the odd conversation.


But, I'll just let you be the judge. (Wording has been a bit paraphrased)

This particular conversation occurred on the way to my car. She was a middle-aged nice woman who was helping me to the car with my groceries. We were at Market Street where they do not have any outside grocery cart receptacles so the employees follow you to your car and bring the cart back. She appeared to be of sound mind. I have no reason to think otherwise anyway. I have inserted my inner dialogue in italics...


Shopping Cart Lady: "Hey, Wow, Your kids are really close in age."

Me: "Yeah, they're triplets. "

Shopping Cart Lady: "Really? Are you sure? I thought they had to all be exactly the same to be triplets."

Me: "No, they can all be different, I have two boys and a girl. None of them are identical."

Shopping Cart Lady: "Yeah I guess you're right" You think? "Those people on that show with all the kids have both boys and girls." I'm guessing John and Kate plus 8...and those are technically sextuplets... "But wow, I've never actually seen any real live triplets up close."I've actually heard this one before...but you still want to ask if she's seen any dead ones, right?... And really, what are we lady, a zoo exhibit?


Me: "Well, yeah..." Honestly I just have no idea how to respond here

Shopping Cart Lady: "So, wow, they're like normal sized. I mean that's how big a normal kid is right?" Even my inner dialogue is speechless at this point.

Me: "Yeah, they're normal kids there's just three of them. They're actually kind of big for their age."

Shopping Cart Lady: "Huh. What's their names?"


Me: "Lily, Jack, and Ben."


Shopping Cart Lady: "So you have to have a favorite...Which one's your favorite?" This is insane...I'm blogging about this tonight.


Me: "I guess it depends on the day..."


Look pretty normal to me!






O.k., this one might be a little loopy...

Off To Never Neverland...

Inevitably it was to come to this. I've been REALLY lucky to have enough family available at pretty short notice to either leave the well kids home or have someone go with me to the Dr.'s office. My luck was sure to run out eventually.

Kids get sick. That's just what they do. Jack apparently has a bit of a stomach bug which has manifested itself in a few icky diapers and a low-grade fever that has lasted for five days now. Lily had one day of fever but no other symptoms and seems to be fine. She is incredibly resilient. Ben has had a few icky diapers but no fever. THANK GOODNESS because when he gets a fever he means it...usually between 103 and 105.

So, after he woke up this morning with another fever I scheduled a Dr. appointment in the hopes that we could get a family member to come over. We just weren't able to make it happen so I piled all of them in the car for what was sure to be an adventure.

There's just a lot working against you when you do this by yourself. Visions of crowded waiting rooms, people gawking, an hour-long wait to see Dr. Hopkins, and let's not forget fitting a large- and-n-charge stroller into a TINY treatment room were all running through my head on the drive there.

I'm here to say we all lived through it. God was smiling on me today. No wait, quick visit, easy cheesy. Thank goodness. They were stellar as always. Jack didn't even cry. I'm not sure my heart could handle three children having a massive meltdown in a crowded Dr.'s office.

The final verdict is some sort of virus. Big surprise, huh? He also had a bit of a red throat but the Strep test was negative. No ear infection which is what I was really worried about with the low-grade fever. So, we wait and hope there is no fever some time in the near future. Love it when you spend $20 bucks and all you really come away is with what it's NOT...and that there is basically nothing you can do but what you were currently doing.

I am left wondering, however, when the proverbial poop is going to hit the fan (no pun intended). I mean I've been entirely too lucky so far with their fantastic public behavior and I am a-skairt of what could be coming. I would love to say I'm an eternal optimist, but let's face it, I'm dealing with toddlers. There is just simply no telling when they might turn on me.

I've Been Facebooked.

Welcome to the age of social networking. All this really means, however, is that you spend WAY too much time looking up past acquaintances to see how the heck they turned out.

You want all the mean high school girls to be fat, ugly, divorced, or something not so nice. Not really. You hope all of your sweet sorority sisters have lots of beautiful kids and a hot hubbie. You can find out what fantastic jobs your fellow grad school mates have attained. In short, it's an amazing way to catch up with a lot of people in your past.

While I have definitely caught up on some good friends of the past, I've spent entirely too much time perusing Facebook. So that's what I've been doing instead of catching up on my blogs. I apologize. I will be better.

Fantastic Weekend!

We had a great family day this past Saturday. I know I've said this time and time again, but our little guys are just so pleasant. I realize they could turn into tiny monsters any time, but until then I am touting their amazing ability to just go with the flow.

Our group of girlfriends have been trying to meet twice per month. Once for dinner and once for a family party or outing. I've been so lucky to be a part of a wonderful group of girls...um, I guess we're women now.

Anyhow, this months outing was a morning at the zoo. With so many friends around we were even able to let the boys out to run around a bit. Each time we go to the zoo they are more and more excited. Lily even barked at a Bongo.



After loading three tired tots up we decided to skip eating out for lunch. I got to feed a sandwich, 2 fruit bars, and a banana to them on the way home. It's amazing I didn't get car sick this time.

We got home and they took a 3 hour nap. It was heaven.Since we were SO well rested we headed out for a family dinner at a nearby restaurant. Everything was easy sailing until we headed out and realized we had a flat tire. I spent the next 30 minutes entertaining babies while Brian was laboring away in the parking lot. Thank goodness straws are so fascinating....

We had a blast this past weekend. We went to the Zoo with several of our friends and their families. I definitely should have worn shorts, however. We let the boys out to run around a little and I was sweating by the time we got back to the car!


I was so lucky to be able to host a baby shower for a good friend of ours that lives in Maryland Sunday afternoon. We are expanding our group by another baby girl! Thanks so much Kayleen for making the trip down to TX so we could celebrate with you! We love you!

New Friends

We've been on several play dates lately. Some with old friends and some with new. Thought I"d share a few pics of our new friends.

Our first big outing was the New Member play date of a local Mom's League that I joined. Yep, I joined a big group of a lot of people that I don't know. I joined mainly because they have weekly playgroups, but I also felt that surely these local women could give me the scoop on what to do around here. Oh yeah, and hopefully I would make a few friends as well. I was extremely nervous, mainly because I was taking three toddlers to a park by myself.

I'd love to tell you that it was a fantastic time and I found all of my new best friends. It was o.k. I barely spoke to anyone b/c I was chasing the kiddos around. I did, however, find out that the boys LOVED the sandbox and Lily HATED it. Oh well, at least I could keep them somewhat corralled there. Mainly it was stressful, but I'm glad I went. I am making an effort. I am not giving up on them yet.

At first glance it would seem that the boys had made some new friends below. The boy in the green was actually taunting Jack with a really cool truck. He kept waving it in front of Jack's smiling happy face and telling him he couldn't touch it...all while Ben was inspecting his shoe. I'm not sure this is the type of friendship I was hoping for?


BUT.... Our next play dates have been amazing and wonderful. I didn't realize how happy it would make me to see my children make friends, especially when those friends are such great children...which of course they would be b/c they have great parents!

We met up with two of my friends whom I used to work with. Here's Gabe and Ben checking each other out.

Lily is just fascinated by BIG girls and was so happy to have fun with Molly.


Here's the whole crew. Kind of strange to think I brought half of the kids, huh? Lily liked Gabe so much she repeatedly stole his pacifier out of his mouth. I hope I don't have a bully on my hands!


Last Thursday my trio got to meet another trio. I have been lucky to find another triplet Mom who is helping me figure out how to do all of this. It's nice to be able to talk to someone who's been through all of this and survived. I'm finding with this new stage I'm having more and more questions. There's so many things I want to do and sometimes the only barrier is figuring out a way to do it by myself. I have also joined a local Mom's of Multiples group.

Here's having fun at Northeast Mall!

Here's Bennie checking out the ladies at lunch!

We've had a blast and are looking forward to lots of new experiences. I've especially enjoyed getting to hang out with my friends again!

Our New Crazy Cups.

Each morning for breakfast I fix the babies yogurt smoothies. They LOVE them. As soon as Jack sits in his chair he starts signing milk. It's easy... 8 oz whole milk yogurt, 1/2 cup fruit, 1 tbsp wheat germ, 1/2 avacado, then 4-5 oz of milk. I've been serving them in the Take and Toss straw cups. Which has worked great until Lily became strangely obsessed with pulling the straw out. Then she lovingly taught her brothers how to do the same. Monkey see...monkey do.

So, I was wondering through WalMart one night(because that's what I do for fun these days), and I found these crazy cups. They were in the seasonal section, you know where they have all the fun plastic cups, plates, and serving stuff? They were only 96 cents so I thought I'd give it a try. Works great!

As an added bonus....they look like something straight out of "Dazed And Confused"!

So How Does One Go Shopping With Triplets???

I've been to WalMart and Central Market several times with the babies, but I always had to unload the stroller, put them in it, then load it back up when we were done. It's just a lot of work for a very short amount of time. It's also not feasible to buy a large quantity of items because there's nowhere to put them. Unless you push the stroller and pull the cart behind you. Which some parents of multiples have to do. For reals.


Since we are now at of RSV season. (Yippee!) I feel fairly safe about putting them in a shopping cart now, I just wipe it off with a Clorox wipe before I load them in. There's a few logistical issues with a regular old shopping cart, however.


How about this picture below of the babies first shopping trip to Target. Notice we are breaking every single safety rule possible. No seat belts, standing in the cart, children in the cargo area. Oh yeah, we are flirting with danger.




After this trip, which was the quickest trip to Target EVER, I decided I had to rethink this. I didn't even buy anything. In all honesty, I just wanted to see if it could be done. It can and I did. There is, however, NO WAY I could have bought very much. It would have had to fit UNDER the cart for sure.

Clearly a weeks worth of groceries could not be purchased using this method.

Which leads me to our next adventure.


Shopping for groceries at WalMart. It makes you afraid just reading that doesn't it??? It should.


We've gone twice now. The first time was a little scary, not going to lie. We worked out a few kinks for the second trip. Here's how it can be done:

1. Use the Special Kid-Friendly Cart. Our Walmart has a whole row of special carts with two plastic seats on the back. Unfortunately they are located INSIDE. So, it's best to go after lunch when you can be sure at least one or two of these carts will be located in the cart holders in the parking lot. I did quite a bit of driving around the parking lot this last time, but it was worth it. It's better to load them in by the car. Otherwise you have to wipe down a regular cart, put them in, go inside, wipe down another cart, then strap them in. It's just wasted time.

2. Bring your own seat belts. Through our restaurant travels I've figured out that seat belts in public places only work about 50 percent of the time. Not great statistics when you have 3 children that need seat belts. The initial trip to Walmart included a very faulty seat belt for Jack which became a real problem at the check-out line. After the first trip I figured out that I had to bring my own. So I did. Brian bought me some belts from REI that work great. Technically you are not supposed to put a kid up top where a kid would normally sit b/c there's no leg holes. We do it anyway. I just belt them in for safety with my nifty REI belts.

3. Make a list. Organize it by isle/area. If you don't you will forget something important. Like milk. It is easy to get distracted when there is SO much going on in front of you. Lily wanted to stand up and kept reaching for things in the basket. Bennie kept sliding down and strangling himself with the belt. Jack was busy waving to EVERYONE and saying Hi! Thank goodness for the little man at the front door who gave them stickers which occupied them for at least 5 minutes.

4. Wear your tennis shoes and walk real darn fast. For some reason the faster you go the quieter they are. Weird, huh?

I'll take pics of them in the cart soon. It's just been a little too hectic to get it done so far.