The Best Laid Plans

It started with the clothes. By 18 months, H had very independent thoughts about what he would wear on a daily basis. Not a big deal really. I had never planned to dress the boys the same despite their being triplets. Every now and then we dressed them alike for a special occasion (Holiday, family photo, etc) but for the most part, I was fine with coordinating outfits (same style of clothing, different colors and/or patterns). At some point, H decided he really. really loved yellow and began to insist on wearing a pair of electric, blindingly yellow hand me down shorts with an equally visually offensive yellow shirt every day. Often with mismatched knee sock pulled up as high as possible. We were mostly amused by this show of style and didn't feel a need to interfere with his self expression. B and C soon followed with their own favorite clothing that they wore, literally, until the shirts started unraveling. For about a year now, the clothing of choice has been jerseys (football and basketball). The numbers have worn off and they are seriously "distressed" but they're still the clothing of choice most days. And this summer, "swimming shorts" and "diving suits" have been the daily wear, whether or not we are going to swim that day.

I'm not a big fan of Halloween. Kelly, my perpetually young at heart husband, loves it. So we began dressing the boys in costume when they were 9 months old. At first, it was just for pictures to share with friends and family and then came the inevitable trick or treating last year. I have to admit that despite my horror at the absolute crap that is distributed (and allowed to be consumed) on this day, I've had fun choosing themed costumes for the boys (and even Mom and Dad last year). As we approach October, I'd begun thinking of my next clever family theme when B announced that he wanted to be a Great Horned Owl for "costa-tune" (this is what he calls Halloween). I expressed my interest in his very specific choice and we talked about the birds of prey we'd seen at the Chattahoochee Nature Center recently but I felt certain that this choice would be forgotten once the trip to see the owls was not so fresh on his mind. Ah, but he is a smart one and has become determined that this is what he will be. In light of his revelation, C has decided that he too would like to be a bird "with wings and a beak and I want to take off my hands because I just want wings"...what? C, it seems, believes that if he is costumed like a bird, with wings and all, that he can really fly, because "that's what birds do". I fear he may give it a try if we put him in wings. H has decided to be a lion (wearing a costume he wore 2 years ago when we had a Wizard of Oz theme). Maybe I can be the zookeeper - oh wait, I already am!!!

First Halloween 2004

(H,C,B)

2005

2006

The Coach and his Team

(these are the infamous jerseys - chosen by the boys)

Lately, there's been a verbal boycott of fruit and vegetables (thankfully all are still eating better than the average toddler). C has proclaimed that he does not like fruit and he does not like vegetables and he is NOT GOING TO EAT THAT! (while continuing to eat us out of house and home). Never one to be outdone, B has decided that he too dislikes fruit and vegetables and is actually eating less of both. For a mommy who prides herself on premium nutrition, this is a tough one to be laid back about. I'm trying not to (over)react while continuing to offer only healthy choices for snack and meals. H learned a hard lesson a few nights ago when he chose not to eat what had been offered and realized he was "super, Super, SUPER HUNGRY" at bedtime. I empathized with his discomfort and assured him he would have another opportunity to eat in the morning when he could have as much breakfast as his little tummy could hold. He's eaten pretty well since then.

Tonight at the dinner table we had a discussion about what each of the boys thought he might like to do when he is a grown up (or as they say, "when I'm the Daddy..."). There were some very funny revelations. H would like to have four kids, "but they all have their own bed and I have a big one for me"...this sounds a lot like the talk we have every night about everyone sleeping in their own beds, hmm. I had no idea he was actually listening since most morning I awake to little bodies smashed into any and every available space in my bed. B would not like to have any kids but wants to sleep in the big bed with "just me and Mommy" when he's "the Daddy"...not sure his wife will be too happy about that one. And C just wants to snowboard, wakeboard, ski and ride a dirt bike. Not altogether shocking considering his extreme and fearless personality. A few more things they'll do when they're Daddies:

• drive the car (not H though, he is just "going to sit in the seat next to someone" - a driver perhaps??)
• come back downstairs after everyone else goes to bed
• go to work in a big office
• go to Colorado (B is infatuated with the idea of the big, snow covered mountains...we've been talking about states a lot this week while assembling a giant puzzle of the US)

I'm sure there was more but a few hours later, it's becoming a blur. This post originally started as a look at the boys' growing independence and their exercising autonomy but I realize it's diverted and is not very cohesive. I feel like much of the last 4 years is a blur. We are moving at warp speed and there's little time to slow down and catch my breath or reflect. I am a terrible journaler (read: I do not do it) though I have tried to get started many times. I'd hoped this blog would serve as a journal but I find that most days, by the time I can actually think about what has transpired and mull it over a bit, I'm completely exhausted. I am also a little bit (okay, a lot) uneasy about sharing my innermost thoughts with the entire World Wide Web. I am drawn to mothering blogs by women who are brutally honest, sharing their vulnerability, their hopes, their selves. I am not sure I am that brave or that honest. For the sake of my boys, I will try. I will try to transcribe our lives so that this beautiful history is not lost. It may not make much sense to anyone else as I record our present and our past in a hodge podge of random posts, but it will be something. And I am grateful for that. I am grateful for this crazy life...

When one is grateful for every little thing, one realizes that
nothing is a little thing. Who does not thank for little will not thank for much.

~Estonian Proverb

(I took this quote from a post about Gratitude on another blog. I love the profound simplicity).

Okay, I have been trying to format this for too long. Apologies if it is not laid out as it should be on the screen...I am a technological illiterate!!