The Jones Girls

I decided when the triplets approach the age of 2 that I would begin introducing them to the potty chair and the idea of potty training.  So, I got out 3 high chairs and set them up in the bathrooms.  One is in our master bedroom in case any of the girls want to venture with me and sit on the potty and watch while Cliff or I go to the bathroom.  The other 2 potty chairs are in their bathroom.

Miranda is showing the most interest and sits on the potty chair (with her diaper on).     BUT can I spell the word S.M.E.A.R ???    Miranda is doing it. She will go into her diaper and paint herself AND her sisters with poop and then it gets all over the double bed that they all share. The triplets love to sleep together in their bed but if this goes on for a while I am going to split them up. I just can’t take this.

This is what I have been doing. Every time Miranda does this, I tell her I am going to give her a cold shower (water not quite luke warm but enough to make her uncomfortable). She has already gotten 2 cold showers with her poop episodes in the past 2 weeks and we have only had one minor poop incident since in about a week’s time now. I think it has really helped. All I have to say is don’t touch your poop or you will get a cold shower and she understands. I figure, it can’t hurt. I have to clean the poop off of her anyway, this is a safe way to teach them not to play with their poop. I am not into spanking or yelling so this works pretty good.

As for the poopified bedding, I got a good idea from one friends by putting 2-3 sets of layered sheets and mattress liners that way you can quickly tear off the 1st layer of soiled sheets and liner and you have a new set ready to go. I keep a towel at the foot of the triplets bed in case there is a poop incident I can quickly wipe any of the girls and the walls if she touched them.

I am embarrassed to metion that today Miranda had a huge poop and her butt was itching from the poop on her skin. I was trying to change her diaper and she had a little poop on her hand and touched my cheek and mouth with it not realizing she was putting poop on my face. I almost barfed. I HATE POOP!!

I remember when Savvy was smearing the poop it was during potty training (it took me 8 months to potty train her for many reasons). I have the potty chairs out and am beginning to introduce the triplets to the potty chairs. I think it is making Miranda aware of poop and pee just like Savvy when she was potty training.   I guess Sisters think alike, huh?

Sorry so long but I can go on about poop for days!! LOL!!

I took the girls all by myself to the La Habra Children’s Museum.    They had an exhibit and a near lecture about “critters”.   The triplets couldn’t sit still to hear lecture, but Savannah sat and listened contently.   It was my 1st time letting all of the girls out of the stroller and play at the Museum.   Some of my wonderful friends in my La Habra Mom’s Club were there to lend a helping had.   

Today was fun and it seems to be getter a little easier taking the girls places as they get older.   I am looking forward to the day when I can take all 4 girls out without a stroller and they can listen and follow my instructions while we are out.

We had 2 birthday parties that we attended on Sunday.   It was a long 8 hour day!!   The first party we all went to there were baby pools and it was pretty manageable with all 4 girls.   We wish there had been food to eat because none of us had a chance to eat lunch before or after the naps and the party was at 1:30pm.

Oh well.  It was a really fun party.  I am so proud of Daddy Cliff!!   He babysat the triplets while Savvy and I left for the 2nd party.  The 2nd party started at 4:30pm – 8pm and it was just Savannah and mommy.   It was a Princess theme.  Very cute.  The girls made their own pizzas.  Savvy ate 4 pizzas since she didn’t get to eat lunch.   They also has bbq’d chicken, spinach salad and egg rolls.  Very delicious!!  The cake was also very yummy!! 

All of the girls met Snow White, played games with her, she painted their faces, and they had a fashion show with the clothes she brought for them to dress up in that we in her trunk that she brought.   

We had a near drowning incident with Savannah that really scared her and freaked me out.  I was able to rescue her thank goodness.    I am so glad we start swimming lessons next Tuesday!! 

Every hour of the waking day Savannah comes to me asking for candy.  These are some of the code words:
“square candy” aka Starburst
“bear candy” aka chewable vitamins in the shape of bears
“worm candy” aka gummy worms
“white cookie” aka the white and pink ice animal cookies by Mother’s
“angel candy” aka candy from Japan that has a Buddha man on the box and it reminds her of an angel

I tell her she can have a candy if she eats a banana first or something healthy.    Other times I tell her no, that candy isn’t supposed to be eaten all day long.   She is taking after her daddy, a junk food junkie!   I love my sweet addicts 🙂

We flew out from John Wayne Orange County airport and transferred planes through Atlanta and arrived in Albany at 9:30pm on Monday June 30th.    Last year we flew non-stop flights from LAX to either JFK or Boston because the triplets were too small and couldn’t walk on the plane.  This time was so much easier for Cliff and I.  

When we arrived in our home in Granville, we had to undo all of our baby proofing we had done back in November 8 months ago.   We also took down the cribs and put mattresses on the floor for the triplets to sleep on.    It was so nice to have the girls sit in booster chairs and eat with us around the kitchen table.  The high chairs are no long taking up all of the kitchen space anymore!!   The house is beginning to look more like a house rather than a daycare center at our vacation home.   

On July 3rd my sister Rosanne and her boyfriend Zane came to stay with us for a few days.  We had so much fun attending the July 4th Parade in Poultney.  It was a blast to see the triplets running out for candy thrown by the people in the fire trucks!!   We had a fun bbq at our house afterwards.   We took Rosanne and Zane to our favorite restaurant where we had our Wedding Reception.   We all enjoyed a wonderful dinner then we went on a nice drive to Lake Bomozene to see the starts.    

We had a birthday party on Sunday July13th to celebrate Cliff turning 50 and the triplets turning 2.   Some dear friends of mine, Tracey who lives in Maryland, Dawn, who lives in Long Island, and Joyce who lives in New Jersey came up to spend time with us for a couple of days and they were also at the birthday party.   The next day we went to the most adorable amusement park just for little kids.   This place is appropriately named the Magic Forest and it is in Lake George.    It was just precious to see the triplets ride with their big sister Savannah on the rides.  I remember last year we took them and they were too little.  The couldn’t even crawl last summer and here they were climbing into the rides!!   Just amazing to me.   Savannah loved being with her sisters.   

I took Savannah strawberry picking with my dear friend Wendy.    We also took the girls to their first circus with Wendy.   What an amazing and memorable trip it was.  In the past year and a half, this by far has been the best trip and vacation amongst the 4 other trips we made from April 2007, July 2007 and November 2007.    

Yesterday, June 18th, at 4:00pm, our dear neighbor, Sally Simmons, died.   She was loved by us as though she was the grandmother to our children.   What a huge loss.  We miss her and it just aches so much.

Her memorial service will be on Monday, June 23rd at 3:00pm at a chapel located near St. Jude in Fullerton, CA    Follow the memorial service will be a reception at Sid & Sally’s house.    Sid is deeply sad and grieving quite extensively.    My heart just aches for him.    He told me she was the love of his life and they were married for 62 years.   Sally was 84 and Sid is 83.

I have known this dynamo couple for 10 years, as long as I have been married to Cliff.  They have lived in their house since 1969.  Cliff has lived next to them for 20 years.    God Bless you Dear, Sweet and Lovely Sally.    You are loved so much.   God Rest Your Soul in Heaven.

Today was Savvy’s last day of preschool.  I am the room mommy and I coordinated a really neat year end party for the kids.   She has an early class 8:30am-11:30am and there is a later class after Savvy’s 10:30am-1:30pm.    I brought cookies, frosting and decorations for the kids to decorate cookies.  I provided a fun coloring project where they had to locate 10 diamonds in a picture and color them.  They all got a prize for completing it even if they didn’t find all of the diamonds.    I made fish shaped cheese sandwiches.   I contacted all of the parents and they brought food for the luncheon. I also had each parent pitch in $5 and we got each teacher a gift certificate from Target.   I also gave Mrs. Van Vliet a gift certificate to Michael’s.    We baked each teacher a gigantic chocolate chip cookie with frosting as a present from Savannah.    It was a wonderful day!  Savvy will go to summer school starting on Monday June 16th and to for 2 weeks.   She goes to Meadowgreen School.    We love her preschool class and teachers!!