The Triumvirate

Yes, this picture is a blur.  This is how the last few months have felt with my three kids.

My three children are “Irish Triplets.”  They were born within three years of one another.  Mimi is 18 months older than Jude, Jude is 16 months older than Silas.  Their birth years are 2007, 2008, 2009.

For the last few months I have really been feeling their closeness, in good and hard ways.

To memorialize what these years are like and to paint a picture of what it is like to have three children close together, I give you this list:

+ They all like to do the same activities.

+ They all need the same things.

- They all need those same things at the same time.

+ I only have to shop at one store to find all their sizes.

+ Jude and Silas wear the exact same size, except in shoes.

+ I don’t have to separate Jude and Silas’ clothes.

- I buy a ton of shoes because people always lose just one.

- They are equally incapable of helping themselves with beverages.

+ Sippy cups for everybody!

- I am a slave to sippy cups.

- The pacifier battle.  There was great thievery of paci’s.  I finally won it back in June.

+  They all like to sleep in one room, most of the time.

+ They like the same movies.

+  They like the same rides.

(More or less)

- They are co-conspirators in cookie stealing.

+ They recognize each other’s needs because they have the same needs.  (If Mimi wants a cheese stick, she assumes Jude and Silas want one too and always gets them one.)

-  They desire equality at all times, much like twins tend to. 

-  The phrase “Me too!”  Get used to it.

+ They’re all bustle.  It’s like a traveling circus.

-  I worry about alone time with each one.

+  They don’t care at all about alone time with me, they aren’t possessive.

+  Their maturity level is still unsophisticated.  They don’t talk about boyfriends and love and stuff.

+  Because they have each other they adjust well.  They feel like the majority everywhere they go.

-  I worry about their experience when they’re separated.  Will it be like a phantom limb?

+  Baths.  They’re easy and efficient.  All pile in, all barrel out.

- CARSEATS.  One time I figured out how many carseats I buckle in a day.  It was high.

-  Childcare.  I have a good set of babysitters, but I feel obligated to pay for sitters rather than just drop them off at a auntie’s or friend’s on a regular basis.  All together they’re too overwhelming for anyone but me and Pam.  I try really hard not to abuse the kindness of the people who help me. 

+  If even one is away the dynamic changes exponentially.  With only two kids I feel like I’m on vacation.

+  Bedtime.  Ahhhh sleep.  They all go to sleep at the same time with one routine.

+  Assembly line parenting.  This appeals to my need for operational success.  I never get in the car having forgotten one kid’s shoes, because I grab three pairs every time without thinking they had that responsibility covered.

-  Assembly line parenting.  Things can get overlooked.  Mimi had a hurt tooth and she just managed the pain, rather than me noticing it. 

+  Quick recovery when hurt.  Everybody else is still playing so they want to get back in the game.

-  Whatif all of the sudden they’re teenagers and I was to busy surviving to enjoy them?

+  Cuteness times three. 

 

 I love their legs in this picture.  Mimi’s a bit gangly, but they’re so cute 1, 2, 3.

- Taking pictures.  It is nearly impossible to get these three kids looking at the camera at the same time.

- Sacrament meeting.  Don’t get me started.

+  Primary and Nursery!

+  Watching them play toys together.

-  Shielding Jude and Mimi from Si’s attack mode.

+  Everything is so little!  Not like baby tiny, but still.  Little underpants, little fingernails, little bodies cuddled in bed.

+  All three can and do come snuggle me in bed in the morning. 

+  I feel like I’ve earned my parenting stripes.  I am capable and I’ve been to parenting bootcamp. Largely by myself.

+  Little people trailing after me.

+  Calling out, “Ok, I’m leaving!  You better come!  I love you!” and seeing them race to the car.

+  Family Home Evening.  It’s chaos, but only because they’re clambering for chances to participate.

 

Ok, so what’s the score?  28 + and 17 - 

It’s hard, but the love and joy far outweigh the struggle.  I don’t think I’d willingly set myself up for this challenge again, but I sure am glad that I have three little kids close in age.