Opportunity Cost

This evening I found myself shedding a few tears as I sorted through old socks and decided what needed to be donated or thrown away. Socks. Not baby socks, but my socks. I am not a very emotional person, but my socks reminded me of my "old life." The one before our trio when I worked full-time outside the home, ran marathons, and completed triathlons. And basically did whatever I wanted, whenever I wanted in my free time.

Socks were a very important part of my wardrobe when I worked-out six days a week and when I wore socks to work almost every day, but socks aren't as important now that I am a stay-at-home mom in ABQ and my main footwear is flip flops. So tonight, when I was putting away my clean socks, I decided it was time to sort through my sock drawer since it was unnecessarily full, and suddenly I was reminiscing about the life I once had and I was feeling a bit sad that it is gone.

The thing is, most days I don't miss my old life, but sometimes it just hits me. It's almost like I've lost a loved one as random things remind me about my old life and I feel a deep heartache for the past. I'm sure that I don't need to reassure anyone of how much I love being a stay-at-home mom for our trio, but there were parts of my old life that were very fulfilling. It felt good to pick a goal race, either a half-marathon, marathon, or triathlon, create a training plan for myself, follow the workouts, and complete the race (I've realized now that it's nearly impossible to follow through on any sort of training plan as I never know when I'm going to be woken up in middle of the night and I don't workout if I don't sleep. Period.).  It felt good to complete a 20 mile training run on a Saturday and know that I was in great shape (these days pushing the stroller is my workout so it's more like interval training than a long run and I don't get out very often now with the cooler weather). It felt good to earn a paycheck and be told by my supervisor that I was doing a great job (although Micah says this to me once in awhile, our kids aren't saying much yet...and kids don't usually tell their parents they are doing a good job anyway). I am extremely goal-oriented and I like to see results, and because of that my old life was very satisfying.

Me and my friend Katie in the Phoenix Rock n Roll Marathon in January 2010. Katie and I have been friends since 1st grade and although we grew up in Michigan, we both lived in the Denver area for a few years so we were able to train for this marathon together. Although marathon training is hard, we had so much fun doing it together as we were almost exactly the same pace so we pushed each other just the right amount, and we had so many great conversations while running. The weather was perfect and the Phoenix course is flat, so the icing on the cake was that I qualified for the Boston Marathon (although I didn't end up running at Boston for various reasons).

Before we had kids, I thought I would make running and climbing a priority no matter what, but I didn't understand the opportunity cost. I learned about this concept in one of my business classes in college, and since then it has stuck with me. Opportunity cost is the value of the best alternative, so in my case I can spend time with our three toddlers or I can do something else such as a workout, go to work, spend time with friends, or anything else I choose. Of course, I know I need a break sometimes and I do make sure that I get out of the house most Wednesday evenings, but during the day when our kids are awake I mostly choose to hang out with them as I don't want to miss anything. That might sound a bit silly, but children are only babies and toddlers for a short period of time and there is so much learning and change each day, and we have it multiplied by three right now! It is impossible for me to know what it feels like to have a singleton, but I'm assuming that the feeling of "missing out" isn't as strong since there is only one child developing at this rapid pace.

Headed out for a bike ride in ABQ

I am confident that one day in the future I will once again pick out a race, probably a half-marathon for starters, create a feasible training plan, and complete the race, but for now I am honestly okay (most days) with going on the occasional run by myself, pushing the 100 lb. stroller while run / walking, or just counting my many trips up and down the stairs as my "workout." When Jack came up to me tonight with a toy hammer and said "bang, bang, bang" I felt a sense of accomplishment as he learned that from me! I would have been so sad to have missed that moment as he was so proud of himself and his new word.

A random afternoon with Jack, Faith, and Alexis

Visit from the Colorado Grandparents

Micah's parents have been busy building a garage at their house, so it had been awhile since they came down to ABQ. We ventured up to see them twice in September, but things have been busy and there hasn't been a time for them to come down. This past weekend, though, they came for a visit and we put them to work. There are several house projects we want to work on this fall, and Micah's dad knows how to do electrical work, drywall patching, and other things that Micah hasn't had much experience with, so we knew we had to take advantage of his time here.

The babes eating lunch and watching Grammy mow the lawn. She isn't afraid to get her hands dirty, and we really appreciate her help as well!

Grammy reading to the babes after their nap. Now that they can safely get on and off the couch by themselves, we are able to sit on it too! We weren't able to sit on the couch when the babes were in the room before as they would get really upset if we didn't help them up too.

We showed Grammy the park that the babes like to run in. They took off in three different directions so I was glad to have her along to help keep them nearby.

Jack and Faith pushing the stroller through the field with Lexi watching.

All lined up for a pic with their stuffed animals. L to R: A, F, J. Alexis was happier about this than she let on in the pic.

We also took Grammy to the Botanical Garden. Jack was really into the toy trains and he kept putting his head through the fence posts to get a better look.

The highlight of the weekend, at least for me, was the addition of this light to our kitchen! It's really hard to do dishes without a light above the sink, and we do a ton of dishes at our house, so this was a necessity.

This is what the light looks like when it's turned off. I'm really enjoying it and I'm so thankful that Micah and his dad installed it for us (me).

The guys also patched the space in our laundry / mudroom where the previous owners had a dog door. We hope to work on our mudroom over Thanksgiving weekend, when Micah's parents return, so patching the hole now will make the mudroom makeover that much easier. I took 90 minutes during nap time and ran some errands that had been piling up that I didn't want to take the babes on since the errands themselves were super quick, and it would take 10 times as long to load the babes in and out of the car at each stop. I was able to go 8 places in 90 minutes, which felt very productive. I also took an hour out of my day Saturday morning to ride a spin bike at the YMCA for a fundraiser. This was a fun way to start my day and, believe it or not, it was my first time on a spin bike even though I rode a road bike for years. Saturday night, after we put the babes to bed, Micah and I went out for a little date night, which was great.

Thank you to Grammy and Grandpa for coming down to not only help us around the house, but also to love on our babes. They really enjoyed their time with their grandparents!

Alexis, Faith, and Jack with Grandpa

17 Months

How old? 17 months (15 adjusted)

Our weights:  
Alexis: 20 lbs (+3 oz from last month). This feels like a milestone!    
Jack: 18 lbs 9 oz (+ 5 oz from last month)    
Faith: 19 lbs 13 oz (+ 8 oz from last month)

Size clothes: Jack is in 12 month clothes, while the girls are outgrowing the 12 month stuff and starting to fit into 18 month.

Eating schedule:  We changed their schedule around a bit as we now start the day with a bottle of milk instead of breakfast. This has been a great change as it allows me to get organized before getting breakfast ready as this tends to be the most stressful time of the day due to the fact that everyone wakes up hungry.  The bottle is around 6:30 (it is slowly moving back since the time change this past weekend), breakfast is around 7:30, a small snack around 9:30, lunch around 11:30, snack around 2:00, and dinner around 5:30. 

Snack time while sitting around the table

Naps: Same as last month: Nap from 10:00-11:00 and 2:30-4:30. Our morning nap is much more flexible now, though, as the time varies depending on what we are doing that day and sometimes the nap is just a 30 minute snooze in the car on the way home from a morning activity. Almost every Thursday, for the last month, we have met friends at the zoo or botanic garden, which means the babes nap in the car on the way home and I just drive a little longer so they get at least 30 minutes. This has been a great change since I love having the flexibility in our day!

Bedtime: Bedtime is still going smoothly, but we continue to have some night waking. It seems to happen about every other night and happens anywhere from 1:00 a.m. to 4:30 a.m. Faith seems to be having the most trouble, but all have taken their turn. We aren't sure what is causing it, but the easiest fix has been to give the awake babe a bottle of milk, so we have been resorting to that just to give ourselves some sleep. 

Favorite Activities: By far, the new favorite activity is exploring outside. Before the time change, we were going to a nearby park with a soccer field every night after dinner so the babes could roam and run, but now that it is dark so early I have been bringing them to the park by myself during the day or just letting them play in the backyard. There are so many things in our backyard that they put in their mouths like rocks, leaves, and bark, so in the past I have not wanted to spend much time out there with them since it felt like a constant battle, but now that they are all walking well and starting to follow directions better, the backyard has become more enjoyable.

Running around a tennis court at a nearby park. This worked out well, since they were contained by the fence, until I saw a lot of broken glass!

Running around the park with Daddy in the evening

Faith climbing a rock at a climbing area

Faith and Jack running down the trail while Lexi digs in the dirt at a climbing area

Playing in our backyard

Climbing on top of the sandbox is a favorite activity in our backyard. Yes, Lexi was sticking a rock in her mouth and this is a constant battle when we're outside.

Playing in the backyard

Faith

Lexi

Another fun activity that the babes think is hilarious is putting stuff on their heads. They've been doing this for months, and it doesn't seem to get old!

Faith

Lexi

Faith

New Stuff: We are now dealing with lots of whining and, unfortunately, some biting. I'm kicking myself for not focusing on teaching our babes sign language as it would be really helpful if they signed "more" instead of whining and pointing when they wanted something. There is a lot of whining when there are three toddlers under one roof! I have been trying to teach basic signs now, but it might be too late. The biting has been coming from Jack, but most of the time it's the result of someone putting their finger in his mouth (which seems to be a game the babes like to play). And I would never recommend putting fingers in his mouth as he has been teething like crazy!

Lexi's arm after Jack bit her

Our milestones: 
 

Milk Milestones: Although we are still giving our babes bottles, we have officially dropped one out of our daily routine. I was hopeful that all three would be gone by now, but I've realized that they really don't drink much milk out of a sippy cup and they need to stay hydrated and get some calories from milk, so we've decided to keep the morning and evening bottles for now. I have no plan to drop them anytime soon, unless our pediatrician says otherwise, as all three are still quite small for their age and I'd rather focus on developmental milestones than worry about whether or not they are drinking enough milk during the day.

Other Milestones: Now that the most obvious gross motor skill of walking has been accomplished by all, it is harder to keep track of their progress. All three are able to safely climb on and off the couch, as long as there is a throw pillow nearby that they can step on as they aren't quite tall enough without it. They are all able, and eager, to follow simple directions such as, "Bring me that shoe." Faith is the most eager to fulfill our requests right now and she often rushes to do something even if we are asking someone else. Faith can eat with a fork well, while Jack and Alexis are working on this skill every day. Faith is pretty much running these days, and the other two will be keeping up soon.

Talking: This is one area that we have been concerned about as our babes aren't saying many words. We had a speech therapist evaluate them this week and she said that they are not truly delayed at this time, especially since they are able to follow directions, so they comprehend a lot more than they say. But Jack isn't saying much lately, so she is going to come once a month to work with him. Alexis seems to be saying the most and her newest word is "diaper."

Teeth: Faith hasn't cut any new teeth this month, so she still has six. Alexis has two new tooth on top, so she now has six. Jack cut two more molars this month, so he now has 12 teeth.

Events: A couple of events that happened during the past month that I have not wrote about in another blog post are that Micah and Jack went away for a short weekend, so I was home alone with the girls, and Halloween.

Micah's dad asked him to come back to CO to help with his garage construction, and we decided that we didn't want to take the entire family up there this time since the 4 hour drive is hard on the babes. Instead, Micah suggested that he take Jack with him so it wouldn't be as much work for me to be home alone. Although I was hesitant since I thought it would feel strange to have my baby boy go on a trip without me, I agreed as I thought it would be fun to experience "twins" for the weekend. In reality, they were only gone one night, but it was practically two full days as they left super early Saturday morning and returned in time for dinner on Sunday. 

Micah says that Jack did great most of the drive there and back, and he didn't seem to miss me or his sisters while he was away. After all, he had his dad and one set of grandparents all to himself, so I'm sure he loved all of the attention he received.

The girls and I had a fun weekend and we did some things I wouldn't have done if I was home alone with all three babes, such as making an appearance at a 6-year-old friend's birthday party and going to the Mother of Twin's Club Halloween party. I tried to appreciate the fact that I only had two babes to load in and out of the car, in and out of the stroller, and up and down the stairs. But, honestly, I realized that having "twins" is not much easier than having triplets since I was still outnumbered! Maybe I would feel differently if Micah was home with me and we only had two babes for a weekend, but overall I don't think the difference between having two or three babes is that great. So, all of you twin moms, you have a tough job too, so you can stop calling me your hero!

Lexi and Faith while Jack was away

The bath seemed empty without Jack

Faith and Jack smooching after he returned. They were happy to see each other again!

Halloween was fun, even though the babes didn't understand what was going on. I attempted to take pics of the babes dressed up in the morning in our backyard, but they were way too busy exploring the yard to stop and smile for a photo. We attempted pics again when Micah got home from work, and that went much better. We went to a friend's house for dinner and Trick-or-Treating, which made the holiday more fun as there were older kids there that understood Halloween and our babes could sense the excitement. Although we didn't go up to many doors and ask for candy since the babes don't eat candy yet anyway, it was fun to tag along with the group and take in the atmosphere. We were amazed at how many kids were out in this particular neighborhood as it reminded us a lot of our own childhoods.

Bo Peep and her sheep (A, J, F)

Daddy and his sheep (J, F, A)

Trick or treating

Showing off their costumes (J, A, F)

We also spent a couple of hours at the aquarium and botanic garden as a family. Although Micah gets every other Friday off of work, it seems like something is always going on so we don't really get to spend the day in ABQ as a family. A couple of weeks ago, though, we were home so we went to the Biopark between naps. Micah had never been to the aquarium or botanic garden, so it was fun to take him there with the babes.

At the aquarium

At the botanic garden

Watching the trains at the botanic garden. When did our little babes start to look so grown up!?

Here are some other random pics from the last month:

On the big chair in "Africa" at the zoo (J, A, F)

Looking through catalogs (aka junk mail). Jack is really into reading.

Jack and Lexi sharing a ride on a car.

Look how they've grown in one year!

Smiley Jack

Jack

Lexi

Sleeping in the car on the way to a climbing area, Faith grabbed Lexi's paci since, obviously, it's better than the one attached to her car seat.

Hiking out of a climbing area with Lexi on my back and Jack on my front. Having triplets is a workout!

I know I probably say something like this every month, but I truly can't believe that another month has flown by. I feel like the concept of time has changed drastically for us since having kids as they change so much from month to month, and it feels like time is slipping away!