This will be my last...

Well gang, it's been 180 weeks since I started this blog and I think it's run its course.  Why I'm stopping?  Well, for one, I need the four hours it takes me to write it every Sunday night back.  Second, I think I started the process to help me deal with the fact that I was raising triplets and wanted to share with the world.  Now I think I want to keep my life more private.  One day the boys, or their friends, are going to read this and I wouldn't want anything I write to be used against them in any way.  I have other ways to keep our memories alive.  Being a teacher and hearing all about how rampant cyber bullying is, I would hate to have contributed in any way.  I know, they're still young and I really don't think anything I've written so far would cause anything crazy to happen but I have to stop EVENTUALLY and I figured that around their third birthday would be the perfect time.  I also need to focus on me and my health and Sunday is prime time for food prep for the week.  I'm sad and completely unsure that this is actually what I want to do, but I want to thank those of you who have read all 180 blogs and for your relentless support in this crazy blogging journey of mine.

Here's a quick recap of the last three years:

- I have twins... nope, I have triplets
- Crazy pregnancy
- Crazy delivery story
- Crazy month in the NICU
- Crazy 1st year
- Crazy 2nd year
- Crazy 3rd year

Haha!

In summary, babies are hard, toddlers are harder and pre-schoolers... who knows?  For every parenting decision you make, there is someone out there who would have made a different one, who is judging you and who thinks they could do it better.  For every parenting decision you make, there may have been a better choice, one that won't scar your children for life.  For every parenting decision you make, there is someone who says "huh! Why didn't I think of that? Maybe it'll work for me!".  I will tell you this... if every parenting decision you make is made out of love and keeping your sanity so that you don't make a worse parenting decision later, then you're doing awesome.  If you think you're the only one who yells and screams and loses their patience, you're wrong.  If you think you're the only mother in the world who sometimes wonders what life would be like if she were not a mother, you're wrong.  If you think you've completely failed at parenting when you child slaps you across the face and all you want to do is slap them right back, you're wrong.  If you think you've failed at parenting when you listen to your friend talk about how she never looses patience with her children, you're wrong.  Do you love your children? Are you doing the best you can?  Then you're doing pretty great.  Trust me, I've seen too many messed up children in my life to worry that my children won't make it through.

If you're kind to your children 90% of the time, you're an awesome mom!  At least that's what I tell myself lol!

Well my friends, all good things must come to an end and this is one of them.  I've had so much fun writing them all but my heart is telling me that I've told my stories and I've shared enough and now it's time for it to end. If you really want to keep up with our life, feel free to follow me on Facebook (MC LeBlanc).

Have a great one my friends and thanks again for everything!

You shouldn't say no to your children...

In whose world does this happen??  Do any of you, my readers, have this philosophy?  I'd like to sit down with you and ask you how it all works.  Also, I'd like to see the studies of those kids who never heard no in their lives.  What do they do when someone in their world tells them no?  Ask them to repeat what they mean in a positive way?  What about a superior at work?  Maybe I'm a skeptic but I'm pretty sure I won't change because that cursed word just comes out of my mouth probably about 50 times.

Here are the examples of the times we said NO/DON'T to our kids lately :

• Samuel, don't put your finger in your butthole, there's poop in there
• Samuel, leave your brother alone when he poops, don't get in his space
• No Zachary, you can't come to our bed at 2AM
• No Jacob, dinosaurs won't come eat you
• Stop splashing all the water out of the bathtub
• Don't hit me in the face
• Don't punch your grandfather
• Stop slapping your Mamie
• Don't touch my pink eyes
• Don't eat that, don't eat that, DON'T EAT THAT!!!!!!!!!!!!
• Don't eat the Play-Doh
• Don't put your brother's penis in your mouth
• Don't play with your penis when you're peeing
• No, you can't pee when your penis is like that
• Don't hit your brother with the drill
• Don't hit your brother with the dinosaur
• Don't hit your brother with the monster truck
• Don't throw the remote
• Don't make punching moves when you're angry
• Don't get out of your bed
• Stop kicking your brother's bed
• Stop signing, your brothers are trying to sleep
• Stop taking the ornaments off my newly decorated tree
• Don't take off all your clothes again
• Don't have a pee contest on your bedroom floor again
• Don't grab those scissors, they're dangerous
• I could go on...

Of COURSE if I wrote a book about the power of positivity when raising children, I could very easily write a positive sentence for each of the don'ts and nos up there but I'm NOT writing a book.  I'm trying to raise my children the best that I can.  I try really hard to stay positive.  I know very well that I could say "Your poophole is for poo, not for fingers Sam!" or "Dear sweetheart, Mommy would very much like for you to keep the ornaments on the tree, it makes it look very pretty!" but sometimes words just come out of my mouth and that's that.  If you're around me long enough, you'll notice that I balance it all really well.  I DO say "we only throw balls" (until I say, DON'T THROW THAT GOLF BALL!!!".  I also often say "We only play with our penis alone in our bedroom!" or I'll say "Teeth are for eating, not biting" but I have to tell you, it's exhausting!!  I HAVE noticed lately since I started taking a mindfulness course that I try to ask them things nicely repeatedly before I start getting angry and it's been working 3 times out of 5 so that's probably a practice I will continue doing.  Man, this parenting thing is hard business!  I was talking to KP today and she was saying that she gave in to her son's urgent demand for more TV this morning.  She also sent us a few messages this morning on the way to the play date about some of the things that she considered made her a great candidate for "Mother of the Year" in the most sarcastic tone possible.  It makes me so sad that we try to live by this unattainable standards of parenting due to the multiple articles we read on social media.  When did raising our kids become a social media event.  Isn't the most important thing is love?  As a teacher, I can tell you that 99% of my students who are loved by their parents are succeeding at life.  99% of those who struggle are the ones who grew up with a crap life with little to no love from their families.  So yes, the single most important thing to do when you're raising your kids is to just freaking love them.  Yes, I say NO, DON'T, FOR THE LOVE OF ALL THAT IS HOLY SAMUEL JACOB OR ZACHARY IF YOU MAKE ME COME IN THERE I WILL CLOSE THIS DOOR AND TURN OFF THAT LIGHT AND DON'T THINK I WON'T but I also love them with a fierceness I don't even understand.  The smell of them alone makes my heart explode.  Watching them play and hearing them laugh is one of my greatest joys.  Knowing how much they love ME despite all the times I get angry tells me I'm not doing so bad after all.  So mothers, STOP letting social media dictate how you are as a mother.  LOVE your kids.  If you can love them enough to say no every once in a while, I think you're ok.  

Oh, I had a HORRIBLE case of pink eye all week... I missed ALL WEEK AT WORK!!!!!!!!!! WHAT?!?  How does that happen????????  So annoyed! I hate missing work because I have no idea of the mess that awaits me on my return...  The students forget how to behave after ONE day of me being gone but a week?!?  Aye aye aye!!!

Here are some pics of the week:

The boys helping Mémére and I put up my Christmas tree

Having fun with Mamie!

SMILE!

My finished tree, I'm so proud of it!! 

Zachary loving his TV

Started with just one eye then BAM... the other eye didn't even know what hit it!  It took TWO trips to the clinic, FINALLY found the meds that my eyes would accept and within two days I started feeling better but... 

It got my husband (thankfully not as bad) AND both my nieces!!! SO ANNOYING!

That's all folks!!!  Have a good week and remember : As long as you LOVE them fiercely, your children will be fine!

'twas a pink Christmas...

Pink eye... I thought I had washed my hands enough to prevent myself from getting it but I guess after all the kisses and hugs and poop changes, hand washing just wasn't going to cut it! Pink eye got to me bad!!! Damn daycare germs!!

We had our annual Christmas day with my family as my Mother and step-dad are leaving for the winter on the 21st.  It was awesome and I really wish I could have enjoyed it more but my eyes were so crazy annoying that I couldn't!  We were gone by 7:30 and I was sleeping by 8:30.  I woke up this morning and I had to blindly make my way to the bathroom as my eyes were completely glued shut!  So to the clinic I went this weekend!  The prescription was just what my eyes wanted as they started to get better the moment Gab put them in!

Ok so for the kids... they're great... bed time sucked this week so we're going to go back to shutting the door and letting them cry it out for a little while.  It worked tonight.  Was it due to their long day and afternoon jumping in the bouncy castles or maybe due to the time change?  Who knows?  All I know is that after ONE 5 minute door shut and some tucking in, we heard not a peep.  I fear that we may see early riser Jacob at 4:30 tomorrow morning though!

That's all I got for you all tonight!! My eyes need more rest!!

Have a good one and if you're American... please go VOTE on Tuesday!!

When "Santa" came in! 

Jacob thought Santa looked like Gab

Arthur loving the leaves too!

Spiderman!!!!!!!!!!! 

This was my eyes at their worst!

Trying to go Incognito at Christmas

Boys LOVED the Multiples Day Event today!!!

I couldn't go but they had a great time!!

Uncle/Daddy Jeff reading to all the boys