Patience and Calm

It has been so long since I have written a blog that I don't even remember who I was the last time I did so.  I had to look at the last blog which was written in January of 2012.  Christmas had just happened.  I look at the pictures of the boys from that blog and I can't believe how far they have come.  The pictures seem like one second ago and a thousand years ago at exactly the same time.  That's the rub right there. Time moves at a million miles an hour and at a snails pace at exactly the same time.  Maybe it's just me.

Why so long between blogs? Well, that's a complicated question.  I realized that the blog here has almost 100,000 views. This kind of freaked me out.  It freaked my out because I realized I liked the recognition of being a triplet Dad in the same way I liked being the lead singer of a band.  In my mind the whole thing became more about me and I realized that maybe my three boys didn't want to have their whole lives splashed across the internet for the whole world to see.  That's when I made the blog private.  I ran the other way, which is what I tend to do. I'm all about extremes.  After the last year I have come to some conclusions:

First, the last paragraph was just an excuse.  I work on a computer all day, so the last thing I want to do to unwind is work on a computer.  Second, I have learned that Zane would love the idea of the world knowing all about Zane and everything that is Zane.  Zane would love his picture on billboards, in magazines, on You Tube, and even a TV Channel that was all about Zane. Zane TV if you will.  He's decidedly my boy.  Cash on the other hand wants no part of such nonsense. At least not at this stage. He's fine just chilling and being in the world of Cash. He likes what he likes and he doesn't care who notices if he's unhappy.  Cade on the other hand rides a wave in between the two.  He's cool in the spotlight and cool on his own being Cade.

There's a good reason to blog right there.  Reading back on old blogs, it's a good way to remember. A scrapbook if you will.  The blog started out as a way for me to keep the family and our friends up to date on the pregnancy, the birth, and our life starting out as triplets. It was a way to keep Carrie and I from having to tell the story a million times.  When that stuff was done, then the blog seemed to be done as well.

Turns out, I was wrong.  This is typical.

The story is far from over.  In fact, all that stuff was easy.  Really easy.  That was a walk in the park.  This is not a complaint, this is just how it is.  So, since January of 2012 what has happened? What have we been up to?  How are the boys?  How is Carrie?  What's been happening?  I don't blame anyone for having these questions.  Why? Well, we don't go a lot of places. We don't visit a lot of people, and we don't talk on the phone outside of business a whole lot.  If you haven't heard from us, we probably still like you.  We would probably like to see you.  The simple fact of the matter is, we have triplets and we don't have time.  In addition to this, trust me when I say that you don't want us to come over.

What happened 2012?  Here is the short version.

We sold our house in Austin.
We went on a tour of Kansas and Illinois while our new house was being built.
Our new house is located in a town outside of Austin.
We are very lucky to be here.

Our house in Austin was too small for triplets and the neighborhood was getting bad.  We are very fortunate that our business, CTK Entertainment, has done well and we were able to build a new home that is perfect for our boys.  We also picked this community because the school system rocks.  The teachers are awesome and the programs they have for our boys are second to none.  That's really why we landed here.

Now for the tough part.

I take that back.

No, I don't take that back. It's tough. I just don't want to sound like I'm complaining. It's all we know, and on some days it's very hard.  However, we wouldn't trade it for anything on earth.

The boys are delayed.  It took me a while to notice this because these are the only kids I have and I have nothing to compare them to.  We didn't have them until I was 36, and I didn't really pay any attention to how any other kids developed.  So, when Carrie and our pediatrician started suggesting things, I went along.  The first thing that happened was that the folks with Early Childhood Intervention were brought into the house and started working with the boys.  These are great people and this is a great program.  The boys were delayed in all areas such as speech, motor skills, ect.  The idea was to get them a head start with these folks.  So, I did what I do.  I put my head down and went about the business of trying to make the whole machine go, and I let Carrie sweat the fine details.

Why?

These are my boys.  There was absolutely no way that there was anything wrong with them. No way. Not my boys. There wasn't a chance.  Just like in the NICU.  There was never one second in my mind or in Carrie's mind that our boys weren't going to come home with us and be just fine.  Not one thought. Not ever.  There was a little girl right by us whose parents were awesome. She had the same doctors and the same nurses, and she didn't make it.  However, this didn't apply.  I look back on it now and I have no idea why.  I guess it was a pure coping mechanism.

The boys were in ECI until they turned 3 this past June.  The people came to the house. They worked with the boys and that was that.  We did our best to work them as well.  It's hard because you don't know exactly how to go about it.  What is enough? What is not enough?  You do what you can, but often times it's survival mode.  You get through the day.  Changing diapers, changing clothes, feeding, bathing, and teaching all get wrapped up into one thing.  For me sometimes I felt and still feel that I am watching myself in a movie.  I just see myself going through the day and doing what needs to be done. At the end of the day you are exhausted and you can't wait for bedtime for the boys and then after an hour you miss them and wish they were still up.  I can't explain it.

Moving on.

After ECI was done, we found a program offered by the school district for kids with the same issues our boys have.  They are delayed.

What's that mean?

Who gets to decide what delayed means?  All kids are different right?  Our boys are triplets.  They were born at 29 weeks.  Cut them some slack.  Don't hit me with labels.  I've been fighting labels my entire life, and I wont' have them put on my boys.  They aren't old enough for labels.  They can't understand labels. Don't confuse them. Don't confuse me.  Don't talk to me like that.

I'm sure you've heard of Fight or Flight.  Well, I don't know much about Flight.

I'm sure I'm confusing the timeline, but at this point we took Cash to the Neurologist.  Cash has always been a bit behind Cade and Zane.  No big deal.  He was born third, so this makes sense.  This is when the I heard the word meant something different to me.  I heard the word a lot and to be quite frank it didn't mean much to me.  It applied to other people.


Well, the neurologist measured his head because the pediatrician thought it was large.  He thought Cash had a big head, which he does.  He told us that it would be a while before any real diagnosis could take place.  We had premature birth. We had triplet birth. We had all kinds of things.

Come back later.

We left.  I felt better.

Fast forward. We start the process of having the boys evaluated to get into school.  The school evaluates them and all three of them are placed on the Autism Spectrum.  Apparently, they have to be on this spectrum to qualify for the classes that would help them the most.  If they were delayed or if they had Autism, it was all the same.  They just needed to be in the class.  This is where they would get the head start that they needed. In fact Head Start is what they called it.

I am not happy.  What's this label mean?  How long will that follow them?  What will this mean to other kids?  How will my boys handle it?  How will their mother handle it? You're scaring her to death, and I'm scared and I would like for you to shut up now.

Let it sink in.  Go read a thousand websites and articles and scare yourself to death about it.  Roll it around in your mind. Use your overactive imagination to really ramp things up and get to a place where you are about to explode.

This will most certainly help.

Turns out it didn't help.  You just land where you land.  The statistics are staggering about how many kids get diagnosed with this. The school was putting ALL THREE of the boys on the spectrum. However, at the same time, the neurologist wasn't willing to put Cash on the spectrum.  Weird.

I'll let everyone inform themselves and come to their own conclusions about this questions.  The fact is, after all the research and reading I have done, I have absolutely no idea what it means or doesn't mean.

So the boys get placed into a class. Cade and Zane are to be in the same class, and Cash will be in another at a different school.  This is cool, because Cash gets pretty sick of his brother's crap and needs a break.  Carrie and I are excited because he gets a chance to step out and shine on his own.

In the meantime, we have a couple of months to kill before these classes start.

What to do. What to do.

How about daycare?

We can put them in daycare to get used to being around other kids. They've never been away from home by themselves so this is a good chance to try out their sea legs if you will.

Dropping them off at daycare on their own for the first time was very very very hard.  Cash cried. Zane cried. Cade cried.  Mom cried.  Dad may cried a little.  I don't really remember.

Who am I kidding. I have always been a bit of a crier.  It was hard.

Fortunately, they got kicked out of daycare on the VERY FIRST DAY.

We didn't have to miss them much.

What happened?

Well, this Day Care unit was supposed to teach them how to behave and interact with others.  Turns out, Cash dives across the lunch table to grab some kid's Cheetos and the daycare professionals just couldn't handle it.

What a bunch of wimps.

We took them to another daycare which was awesome and they spent the summer there having an awesome time doing awesome things and they never got kicked out once.

This was only three days a week. School was getting ready to be five days a week and this was going to be the test.

They were going to ride the bus.

We started out taking them to school just to get them used to it.  By taking them, I mean that Carrie and her Mom took them.  Finally we all agreed that riding the bus would be good. Now they ride the bus and the boys absolutely love it.  They can't wait for the bus.  They love school and they love their teachers.  They are learning and growing a lot.
.

This scares me.

It doesn't make you not stay up all night reading medical journals online, and every other website, article, or forum you can find pertaining to the subject.  All the while you fear the worst. At least that's my nature.   It's not fair.  Or is it fair?  Why us?  Why my little boy?  I don't want anything to be wrong.  Why is it wrong?

In the end, there's nothing wrong.  They are our boys, and they are absolutely perfect.

Cade is a chatter box. He talks all the time and he is always seeking our approval.  He counts. He asks for things. He sings songs. He says "GO RED SOX" just because he knows I love it so much.  He smiles so big and he is so happy.  He loves books and all things pertaining to knowledge.  He'll bring you book after book after book.  One time, he took a small book and shoved it into my mouth while I was asleep on the couch.  Made sense to me.  Books have words. Words come out of Dad's mouth. Shove the book in Dad's mouth, and he'll make words.

Zane craves attention and is a perfectionist.  Things need to be just so, and all things need to revolve around Zane.  He requires, no he demands your attention.  It's tough for Zane to be a triplet because everything can't be about Zane.  It's cool though because he's find with a few moments of one on one time. He wants to help with everything and him mimics what we do.  He gets it right a lot and at other times misses the mark, all the while meaning well. For example, food is put in the oven to be cooked an then removed.  You don't crumble it up and throw it in the oven after you are tired of looking at it on your plate.

Cash is the sweetest most loving creature that has ever been made.  He doesn't say much, but he looks deep into your eyes and uses his hands to explore every feature of your face. He laughs a deep belly laugh that rings like the laugh of an old wise soul.  It's a laugh that makes you think that he is laughing hard at something that you won't understand.  He's a problem solver and he knows how to get what he wants.  He has Mom and Dad firmly wrapped around his little Cash finger, and he might get his way a bit more than Cade and Zane. Although I'll deny it, it may ring true.

Carrie is the calm in the Triplet Storm.  She keeps all the balls in the air.  The household runs on the power of Carrie, and the dog, the boys, and I are very thankful for her organizational skills, her selflessness, and her unconditional love for her tribe.

I hope this has gotten everyone up to date.  Everyone is good.  Although each boy has his own specific struggles, the sky is the limit for each of them.  There is nothing stopping them.  They may have to work a bit harder in certain areas than other kids their age, but that's life.  That's just how it is.  The thing is, you never ever ever give up.  No matter how hard the day is, how hard the task, how impossible it seems, you never ever give up.  I say these words for myself as much as for anyone else.

A while back when one of the boys was throwing a fit, I would get down on their level and I would  look them in the eye and say "Patience and Calm. Patience and Calm".  After a while they would calm down.  The phrase became a habit for me, and when we went to meet Cade and Zane's teacher, Cade threw a fit in front of her and I had to use my phrase.  Patience and Calm.  Their teacher heard me say it and apparently it has served her well when dealing with the boys.

I don't where it came from.  I have never been patient, and I have never been calm.

Anyhow, fast forward.  Cade has started repeating the phrase when he gets upset or when things don't go his way.  He walks around saying "Patience and Calm. Patience and Calm."

The future here is unknown.  We are doing absolutely everything we can to give our boys every advantage and opportunity to succeed.  I know this. Carrie knows this.  However, it doesn't stop us from feeling guilty and we question rather or not we are doing the right things. Are we spending enough time teaching them things. Could they eat better?  Will they eat at all?  Are we being too hard on them?  Are we not being hard enough?  The questions are endless.

However, I think my three year old Cade became the teacher the other night. I was the student.

I was upset with Zane.  I was at the end of my rope over something with him.  I don't remember what it was.  I was in the kitchen and Zane was being Zane.

I said "Zane! Zane! Stop that! Stop that RIGHT NOW! I have had ENOUGH OF THIS!"

Just then out of the corner of my eye, I see Cade come running across the room.  He reached up and grabbed my left arm, pulled me down on his level and said:

"Patience and Calm. Patience and Calm."

2012

Happy New Year from the Krug Family in Austin, Texas. We realize that it has been a long time since there has been a new blog. It turns out, that having triplets that are mobile is very time consuming. Carrie and I are never bored. There is always something to do or someone that needs something. We almost never sit around and think, "Wow, I really wish someone would start yelling." The house has been divided into zones. The kitchen and living room are pretty much triplet proof. Conventional devices to keep cabinets shut were deemed ineffective, and quickly replaced by bungee cords. A gate was installed. The television had to be remounted. A loose triplet will have the dog water tipped over in less than 15 seconds, so pet water and pet food had to be repositioned causing great confusion for the pets. The office is an all out war zone. Books are removed from shelves and left in piles. Anything that you don't want destroyed better be pushed to the center of a desk or table. A drink left on a coffee table for more than 3 seconds will be poured down the front of a child. If you are going to hang out over here, you better bring your A game. These boys will spot any opening and all three will rush towards it with an intensity that is astounding. Even the dog is surprised. The shell shocked look that Tess has on her face sometimes tells the whole story. She looks at me as if to say, "You would never let me get away with this. Do we have to keep them?" She is so patient with them. They can pull on her ears, her tail, pet her the wrong way, and she just lays there.

I have learned several things from being a triplet Dad. These things can apply to all fathers. The first rule is, you will never be as good at the whole thing as Mom is. Moms know things before they even happen. It's some sort of Sixth Mom Sense. I swear that Carrie will say, "What was that?", and THEN one of the boys will yell. She is like Radar O'Reilly on MASH. If one of the boys falls down particularly hard, she has already picked him up, surveyed the damage, and is comforting him before I even realize he fell. They fall down all the time, and most of them time we let them get over it on their own. However, when something bad happens, Carrie moves like a ghost. I can be the one closest to the boy, but she seems to fly through the air driven by some sort of Mom Jet Pack.

The next thing I have learned is that a Mom needs her rest. This morning for instance, I got up early and I heard that one of the boys was up. How? Well, they like to stand up in their cribs and smack the wall as hard as they can. I thought I would get them up and dressed, feed them breakfast, and let Carrie sleep a bit. This turned into an Epic Fail. The boys yelled and screamed and carried on, and Mom woke up. Hey, I tried. I have learned to be aware that Mom needs rest and I try and allow this to happen.

Another neat trick I have learned that as a Dad, you often stand there wondering what you can do to help. You can never go wrong with having a dishrag in your hand wiping something down. Check the high chairs. I bet they need cleaning. Check the counter tops. They can always use a good wipe down. The refrigerator is covered with little hand prints. Wipe them off. This was a learned behavior on my part. Before, there could have been an inch of mud pretty much everywhere, and I wouldn't have noticed, but now, I do my best to help out. One thing I never think about is emptying the dishwasher. I mean it NEVER occurs to me. I realize dishes get used, and then they go somewhere, but how they get back into the cabinet has been a complete mystery to me for some time. Turns out, Carrie was unloading the dishwasher and I was not noticing. This is a VERY important rule for you Dads out there. A clean kitchen calms the mind of a Mom. I have also learned that it calms my mind as well. I like waking up in the morning to a clean kitchen. It's a nice way to start the day. Who knew?

Another fact that I have learned is that dressing an 18 month old child is pretty much like trying to put clothes on an octopus. They seem to have more than two arms and two legs during this process. They flip over. They grab anything within reach and throw it. They twist and turn, and this can make it very frustrating. A trick that can work is to hand them something to distract them while you're putting their clothes on. Hand them their shirt, and while they are messing with that, put their pants on them. The pants are by far the hardest thing for me. Once they are on, the shirt can be smooth sailing. However, let's say you screw up and do the shirt first. Those pants are going to be hard to get on. Legs will kick. Twists and turns will be made, and then when you have totally failed, you have to call Mom in to literally hold the boy down while you put his pants on.

These are just a few pointers.

On to Christmas. Christmas was fun. The boys knew something was up. They enjoyed tearing open the packages and playing with their toys. The old rule stood firm that the boxes were more fun. We have several pictures here.

Here you can see the start of the present opening party that took quite a while.

Here' s Cash with some paper.

Some things took longer to open. Dad needed to help.

Zane is rocking the key board

Cash is clapping for Elmo.

Zane likes his new pillow a lot

It didn't take them long to figure out that Christmas is pretty awesome.

Zane digs Elmo. A lot.

But in the end Cash fell asleep on one of his new toys.

The boys also like going to the park. They love to swing, but more than that, they like to dig in dirt or whatever else they can do to get dirty. Here are a few pictures from the park.

Here is Zane.

Here is Cash.

More of Zane.

This is Cade.

Finally another of Cash. He wouldn't' keep his tongue in his mouth for this one.

That's a lot of pictures for one blog. All in all things are really good here. We are having lots of fun with our boys. It's a lot of fun watching them learn and grow. It's going really really fast.

All For Fall

It hasn't really been fall here yet. For those of you who are not here, we have had the worst drought in the history of The Great State of Texas this year. We broke the number of days over 100 degrees, and several other records that we didn't enjoy breaking. As I write this it is 10:18 p.m. and it's still 80 degrees on October 12th. That's insane. I must admit, it has cooled down considerably and we have been able to have the windows open at night. That is awesome. It even rained a little last weekend.

What have the boys been up to? Well, they have been discovering new things. They have discovered what it is like to pull all the pots and pans out of the cabinets and beat them against the floor. They know how to push the furniture around to where it best suits the little guys. They scream at the top of their lungs out of sheer joy. The steal things from each other and laugh when you tell them "No". They make sounds of all types. They talk to each other in some strange language that only they understand. They fall down. A lot. It's tough growing up.

They do things like this:


Just hanging out and watching some TV. That's it. No big deal.

Carrie and I both work full time from home at this point which is nice. Grandma Ethel comes over and takes care of the boys so we can be in the office and get work done. It's pretty cool, cause anytime we want we can go see what the boys are up to. It's definitely hectic around here. We work at least ten hours a day, and in between all that we have boys to take care of and hang out with.

I have found a few interesting changes that have taken place for me personally. First of all, I used to be a total psycho about my front yard. I put fertilizer on it four times a year. I was on the Scott's Lawn Program, and I was crazy about it. I sharpened my mower blade before each cutting. I bagged the grass and raked the lawn afterward. I even roped off a little section and I would verbally assault anyone stupid enough to walk on my yard. I mowed it on the highest sitting and trimmed it with military precision. I hand watered the yard. My yard was immaculate. Friends used to make fun of me. I didn't care. I have lots of friends. I only have the one lawn.

Now, I couldn't care less what the lawn looks like, and I can tell you that it is dead. Completely dead. I mowed it twice all year on the lowest setting and I hated every second of it. Check out this picture.



See how bad it is. I don't care at all. It can die even more and I wouldn't care. Is it possible for a lawn to die further. I don't think so, but it can. I don't care. Turn to dust. Why did this happen you ask? I'm not sure. First of all, I felt that fertilizing the yard was bad for the environment. All those chemicals going into the water supply can't be good. Besides that, we had a drought and it was against the law to water your yard. Fine with me. The yard has looked that way all year.

The other thing I don't are about is our swimming pool. I have been trying to talk Carrie into letting me fill it up with dirt. I'm going to have to put a fence up around it next week to keep the boys out of it. I used to enjoy cleaning it and making it look nice. Whatever it was that made me crazy about the lawn and the pool went away. It evaporated from my body as if it never existed. Who was that guy?

These are just the things I notice.

I'm sure there are other things that have changed about me that I don't even think about. Time doesn't seem to move in the same way anymore. Things that used to seem so important are now trivial. I guess if I had to put my finger on it, each moment seems a little more precious than it used to.

There are three things in the yard that I did work very hard to keep alive.

When the boys were in the NICU, before Carrie came home from the hospital, I planted three crepe myrtles in the front yard. One for each boy. I made a little garden of sorts. I sacrificed a bit of what was my precious lawn. I wanted to do something to signify the birth of the boys and make Carrie smile.


The crepe myrtles survived the drought. They thrive in the Texas heat. They are actually dwarf crepe myrtles that won't get very tall. They are very pretty when they are in full bloom, and thanks to the diligent watering, they bloomed all summer and continue to do so.



Their counterparts are blooming also.



This is Cash.

This is Cade.

This is Zane.

I have been all over the place and played the guitar for amazing crowds and amazing people.

However, this is easily the greatest crowd I have played a note for.



This is Cash, who along with his brothers and me, and even their Mom were extremely disappointed in the way the Boston Red Sox fell apart in September. Cash still wanted to wear Dad's Red Sox hat with pride.


People ask us if they have different personalities. That's a silly question. They are three different people and I don't give it much thought. Of course they do. They are loud, demanding, inpatient, and dramatic. For those of you that know their parents this will come as no surprise. They also love to laugh and love to play. They are extremely loving and affectionate little boys. There is no feeling quite like walking into their room in the morning and turning on their light. They go crazy. They jump up and down in their cribs, laugh and smiling. They can't wait to start another day. I try and rotate which one I pick up first every morning. They don't seem to care. They don't have a care in the world and that's awesome. I want to keep it that way for them as long as possible.

Now a note for the boys when they are 15 years old.

Dear Boys,

I want you to look at this picture. This is how much you used to like me.

Love,

Dad



Who needs a yard?

Rolling With Trips

The boys turned 15 months old on Friday. The week before, we took the boys to Illinois. The band had a show up there, and we thought it would be a great opportunity to get the boys out on the open road and get them used to being in different places.

What a horrible mistake that was.

Traveling with triplets who are about 15 months old is a nightmare. It's roughly the equivalent to traveling with three drunken midgets with a lot of luggage. From Austin, Texas to Springfield, Illinois is roughly 15 hours if you don't have the triplet handicap. We decided that it was best to keep the boys on their schedule, or at least as close as possible to their schedule. So, we took off on a Monday from Austin after their 7:00 a.m. feeding. Our plan was to make it to Joplin, Missouri where we had reservations in a hotel. The hotel was The Comfort Inn, and I have to say that The Comfort Inn will be the Official Hotel of the Krug Family for a while. They were the only hotel willing to set up three cribs in our room before we got there. I can't tell you how nice it was to walk into the room and have them all ready for the boys. However, I'm getting ahead of myself.

We took off and the plan was to stop and feed them at their normal 11:00 a.m. feeding time. I haven't been inside a McDonald's in years. The food is absolutely atrocious. However, they do have lots of high chairs. We pulled into our first McDonald's. Now, this one had a play area which was good, because our little tribe is pretty loud. Moving into the McDonald's is a chore. First of all, we can't take the stroller. It's too wide for the door. So that means that Carrie carries the diaper bag with all their food along with one boy. I carry two boys and off we go. Now come the stares. We are getting so used to the boys, that we forget that they are unique. Sometimes the stares and comments can catch you off guard. Right at this moment we are in no mood to chit chat about triplets. We just want to get them fed. I get started on feeding them, and Carrie takes them one at a time to the bathroom to change them. We run into problems when the boys don't understand the high chairs. They are different than their high chairs at home, and they don't seem to appreciate the change. They try laying down in them. They try drinking their bottle upside down. There is so much new stuff to see that they don't really pay attention to their food. After they throw their sippy cups on the floor at least five times each, we finally finish feeding them and head out. I feel slightly guilty that we just used McDonald's without making a purchase. However, with all the germs that were probably on the floor, I don't feel so bad.

Back out on the open road things are better. The boys like their car seats and they are used to them. We also have a DVD player with screens in the headrests. We listen to music for a while and then it's time to put in one of the Yo Gabba Gabba DVDs that we got for the trip. Yo Gabba Gabba is like triplet crack. They are instantly quiet and happy as soon as the show comes on. There are like five episodes on each DVD. The sound plays over the stereo, so I can hear everything that is going on, but can't see the screen. That's fine. I don't need to see it. The sound is up loud enough to drive me clinically insane over the next eight hours. I find myself singing the songs.

It's fun to make lemonade
It's fun to make lemonade
It's fun to make lemonade
And this is how you do it!!!

It's all the same song but with different lyrics. They try to teach you stuff. Like how to brush your teeth.

Then I start making up my own lyrics:

It's fun to crash into the lake
It's fun to crash into the lake
It's fun to crash into the lake
and this is how you do it!!!

Other alternate lyrics include:

It's fun to not pee your pants
It's fun to not pee your pants
It's fun to not pee your pants
Now WHY CAN'T YOU DO IT????!!??!

Here is the video to the brush your teeth song.



Needless to say, this stuff can really mess with a man after several hours. Fortunately, we get to the hotel room at around 6:00 p.m. Just in time to feed the boys, lay them down, and enjoy a fine nights sleep in The Comfort Inn.

This is when things went horribly horribly wrong. We put the boys on the floor to play with their toys. I make about seven trips from the car to the room with all of the things we need. When I come back, Carrie and I realize that we are in for a long night.

I try and figure out what must be going through the boys' heads at this point.

"This isn't our floor."

"This isn't our house."

"Did we move?"

Aside from one trip when they were about five months old, all the boys know is their house, their floor, their high chairs, and their beds. They know the car, and that's a constant, but everything else is brand new. We have no high chairs in the room, so we prop them up on the bed to feed them. This is a disaster. They smear food in the pillows, roll around with their bottles, and really don't understand the concept of eating in a strange bed. This is understandable. After we get through dinner, we get their pajamas on and try to lay them down in the cribs. These cribs are of the pack and play variety. They have a soft bottom and the boys haven't seen one of these in a long time. When we put them to bed the screaming starts.

We are not used to this.

They scream at the top of their lungs for quite a while.

We can't get them to stop.

They AREN'T normally like this. They just go to sleep at home and stay that way until morning.

What is wrong?

They pull themselves up and they are all standing in their cribs screaming at us. It's easy for us to hear them because we are five feet away. It's probably easy for the whole entire Comfort Inn to hear us.

These boys are angry.

I'm worried we are going to get kicked out of the hotel. I've been to some pretty crazy parties in hotel rooms before with the band, but I don't think we were ever this loud.

I believe the combination of the drive, the new place, and the fact that for the first time we all slept in the same room, drove the boys over the edge. It was a long night. I don't think Carrie got any sleep. I finally fell asleep out of shear exhaustion and I'm not sure what time it was. Apparently the screaming continued through the night. I have the ability to sleep through a full scale prison riot, so this is a skill that I'm happy I possess in triplet fatherhood. Carrie on the other hand is a very light sleeper. She didn't sleep the whole trip.

The next day we headed out on our last leg of our journey to Illinois. We immediately got pulled over by a member of the Missouri State Highway Patrol. I thought I was doing around 73. He said 78. He came over to Carrie's side of the car.

Officer: You know how fast you were going?

Me: Around 70.

Officer: No, you were doing 78. I'm hanging out right here around these mowers (there were two guys mowing the median with tractors) and you wouldn't believe how fast people go.

Me: Wow. I'm really sorry.

Officer: Let me see your license.

I hand him my license. We can't find our insurance card. We do have insurance, but the only card we have is from 2010.

Officer comes back to car.

Officer: Did you find the card?

Carrie: No, we only have an old one.

Officer: I'm sure with a rig like this you have insurance.

Not sure what he meant, but we'll go with it.

Officer: Besides, it looks like you have your hands full. (He motions to the boys in the back seat)

Carrie: We sure do.

Now is when this fine officer of the law gave us the quote of year.

Officer: Are they all yours?

Wow. How does one respond to this question? The guy is obviously going to let us off, so we don't want to upset him. He was looking at the boys who are dressed and look EXACTLY the same.

What to say....

Carrie is a huge smart ass, so I just waited.

Here is a list of things she could have, and wanted to say:

Carrie: Have you heard about an Amber Alert? No? Then yes, they are all ours.

or

Carrie: Well, we had the two, and at the last stop we saw this other boy who looked a lot like them so we took him.


Instead, she just said:

Carrie: Ha! Ha! Yes, they are all ours.

Officer: Well, you folks slow it down and have a good day.

We proceeded to Springfield without incident.

The rest of the trip was a constant series of adjustments for the boys. They saw a lot of people and missed a lot of naps. They really didn't sleep that well until the last night. Fortunately, once we got them home, they went right back on schedule and have been that way since.

We are going to stay home for a while.

Here are some pictures. This first one is a boy (not sure which one) with his great grandmother Bowen.


It's pretty cool when you get to meet your Great Grandmother.

Here is a couple of pictures of what happens when you try to unload the dishwasher:





Yes we have our hands full. Of course we have our hands full. Yes our hands are full. Wow, we do have our hands full.

If you see anyone with triplets. Don't say "Wow, you have your hands full."

Be original.

As triplet parents we hear this at least ten times every time we leave the house.

As for life right now, that's our only complaint, so things must be pretty good.

The Texas Sun

As of today, July 30th 2011, the boys have been at home for exactly one year. Yes, it was one year ago today that we brought them home. I had no idea what to do with them. I remember that. I also remember that back then they were much quieter and they stayed where you put them. This is not the case now. While they can't quite walk yet, they are definitely mobile. For example, here is what happens when Dad forgets to pick up the dog water when the boys hit the floor.


This is a picture of the boys looking out the back door. They are fascinated with the outside world.


None of the boys can do anything without crawling on top of one of their brothers. With all this floor space, they have to be right on top of each other.


Under the end tables is a favorite hang out. Sometimes that don't do very good with the dismount.



Texas has been extremely hot and dry. We try to get the boys outside and doing stuff as much as possible, but past 10:00 am it's really just too hot. We have been taking them down to Town Lake here in Austin in the mornings for a walk and to watch Tess swim. They love to be moving. It will be nice when the weather gets a bit better out and we can do more things outside. Unfortunately, until then we are all relegated to the inside of the house for the majority of the time. I swear these boys have not seen rain. The first time it rains they are going to think it's the end of the world.

Here are a few random shots. They boys are still quite fascinated with guitars, and they also like to wear hats.




At this point, the boys use the walkers, but they run around as if they aren't there. This is Zane intruding on Cade's territory. Retaliation is expected. They may be only 14 months old, but these boys use force.

After the excitement is over, they are back to being buddies again.


Things have been extremely busy this summer. Carrie and I are very busy with our new business CTK Entertainment. The great thing is, we work from the office right here in the house. Thankfully Carrie's mother has been coming by and watching the boys during the day while we work.

This is Zane, and I'm not to going comment.


As far as food is concerned, we have the boys off of bottles and onto sippy cups. This was a relatively easy transition. Cash was the only hold out, and that was only for about a day. He wasn't real impressed with the whole sippy cup thing, but he learned. The boys will pretty much eat anything. They like spaghetti a whole lot. Carrie makes most of their food. However, one thing they don't like is avocado. Here is a picture of them trying it for the first time.


For some reason they just didn't like it very much. Cash will pretty much eat anything that won't eat him first. Zane is the picky one, and Cade is somewhere in between. They are still on the same strict eating schedule. They do take a "nap" during the day. A "nap" around here means Zane stands in his crib and beats the blinds against the window, while Cash beats the wall with his fist and Cade yells.

Since we have had about 50 days of over 100 degree temperatures here in Austin, our garden completely failed. We did get some Okra. Okra by itself is fine, but that's all we got. I was watering some plants in the front yard and we had the boys out there with us for that. We didn't dare keep them out for longer than fifteen minutes because we were afraid they would burst into flames.



We have a very patient dog. It doesn't matter what these boys do to Tess. She doesn't care. She is the best dog on earth. The other day we rewarded her by getting her a large bone. She was extremely excited.


These are the absolute latest pictures. We here at Rolling For Trips try to keep you up to date with the most recent pictures.

Here is Cash:

Here is a video of Cash. We need to take a lot more video.



Here is Mr. Zane:


Here is Cade:


Here is a picture I found from one year ago today. The boys just got home. You can see the wire for Cash's heart rate monitor.


Here is one from just a few minutes ago. We got them to sit still on the couch for a couple of minutes.


I don't have much insight or wisdom to offer after having the boys home for a year. Things are so busy around here that we don't have much time to reflect. I know we try to enjoy every moment. We sure laugh a lot at the boys and their antics. I know one thing for sure, I have never been more busy. Between playing music, running a business, and raising three boys, there isn't a lot of extra time in the day. That's why I haven't been able to keep up with the blog as much as I would like. We do appreciate everyone checking in and watching the boys grow. We sure are having fun.

Now if it will only rain.