St. John's Resort

On a sunny July day, D & I met J at the Ritz St. Thomas.  We had returned to the Ritz with friends, S & R, after the Ritz handled our problems so wonderfully! We hit it off with J immediately!!!

J had been staying across the bay on St. John's at Caneel Bay Resort.  This resort is known for its service, and the fact that it is a former Rockefeller Resort.  It evokes images of true LUXURY.  Unfortunately for J, that is not what he experienced!  You should see the letter Henley on the Horn wrote for him!  There were multiple problems, including a dirty room with a roach problem, lazy staff who were unhelpful, and a walk to the beach that was strenuous and unenjoyable.  If it was too much for J, who is a personal trainer to the stars, then let me tell you, it's too much!!

J hired me to write a letter for him & Henley on the Horn received a FULL REFUND of his stay!  Needless to say, J, D, & I are still very good friends!!

Organizational Tips!

-Make lunches for school the night before

-Buy reusable containers to cut down on the number of ziploc bags you must use!

-Have backpacks packed with all homework, projects, special items

-Look at all of your "parent homework" as soon as the children come home

-Keep a calendar handy at all times

-Keep a project in the car to work on for those times you have to WAIT and WAIT... it can be a photo album, needlepoint work, or a box of stationary

-If you clip something out of the paper to send to a friend, do it right then!! I have a whole basket full of things to send people. Don't let it sit!

-Go ahead & brown more than 1 pound of hamburger at a time.  Use 1 pound for dinner that night and freeze the rest in 1 pound (just estimate) bags.  Then, you can pull it out & make tacos, spaghetti, or beef stroganoff very easily!

-Keep a pen, tweezers, kleenex, etc. in your car!

-Keep BENADRYL in your glove compartment, but be sure to check it yearly for expiration dates!  Benadryl now sells 1 tsp. premeasured spoons that are individually wrapped. I keep it in my glove compartment and diaper bag.

-If you make a casserole or similar dish, double it & freeze one!  You can take it to a friend or save it for dinner in a month or two.

-Write your thank you notes immediately!  It will feel good to accomplish something, and then  you won't forget to write them.

-Plan in advance. FOR EVERYTHING.  If you're going on a trip in a month, start planning in advance for what you need to take, who will keep your children, etc.  It is much less stressful if you take time to plan!!!

Plan ahead!

When you have children, especially a handful of them, it's wise to plan ahead!!!  I learned from a fellow teacher, Dianne, in Irving, TX in 1995 to PLAN AHEAD.  I would run off worksheets 3 weeks in advance because of her guidance.  Therefore, I was always prepared for unexpected illness, etc.

I try to do the same thing with our household!  Granted, our laundry to-be-ironed pile is often high, but I try to do other things early.  Yesterday, I went ahead & bathed the 2 youngest children at 3pm.  When the triplets came home, the 2 little ones were scrubbed clean and in their pajamas!  It allowed me to focus on the triplets for a while, and we even played a board game after dinner!  

Once they walked in the door, I fed them their snacks and unpacked and RE-PACKED their lunch bags.  Yes, always pack your lunches the night before!  I put them in the refrigerator overnight & add frozen yogurt, ice packs, and water bottles the next morning.  After their snacks, I went ahead & bathed them as well!  By dinner time, all of the children in their pajamas!  My friend, B, has always been really good at the early baths.  

I try to stay on top of my laundry, and I wash several loads a day.  I purposefully don't have laundry baskets so that all dirty clothes go straight to our laundry room.  I will put away clothes while watching children in the bath.  So, I started yet another load just before reading with the children.

As soon as they were in bed, I filled out all forms and put them back in their folders in their backpacks.  I try to fill out forms immediately & send them right back in so that they are not lost in a pile of papers!

Those are some tips from today from a mama of trips plus two!

Treats for teachers

It's that time of year again when school is back in session!! Having taught school at three different schools, I know how to treat our teachers!!! I always bring a gift to the teachers on the first day of school.  It may be a copy of my cookbook, a homemade baked item, or a DVD movie & popcorn.  Throughout the year I bring special treats like their favorite drink or supper in a sack (entree, salad, bread, and dessert for their dinner that night) or a good lunch!  Happy Mommy (www.mommytalkandmore.blogspot.com) bought precious monogrammed items for her teacher's lunch!

My friend, B, is always so thoughtful & creative!  This year she took cute baskets filled with Carolina goodies.  One of the best gifts was a roll of quarters for the drink machine!! B is always so creative and thoughtful.  On Valentine's Day, she paints the lids of baby food jars pink & red & fills the jars with red, pink, & white MMs. So SWEET!

I also like to send a survey to the teachers asking them their favorite drink, favorite lunch time treat, do they drink coffee, etc.  This allows me to tailor my gifts to things that they love!

Hurricane Henley

We may be trudging through the remnants of Hurricane Fay, but there's an even bigger Hurricane in our home called Hurricane Henley.  This little mess packs powerful punches that can take apart a room in 5 minutes or less.  Her hair-pulling strength is unmatched in our county, and her high pitched scream outshines the best tornado alarm.  We call her HURRICANE HENLEY!!!

In order to write this post, I had to put the little miss in her bed for a few minutes. She is screaming, "MOMMY!! Mama!!!", amidst lots of crying.  Our 1 1/2 year old hurricane was found STANDING in a wobbly dining room chair this morning after I simply walked down the hall to find a hairbrush.  As if it wasn't dangerous enough that she climbed into the chair, stood in it, and balanced her 23 pounds of goodness, she was happily drinking my Diet Pepsi right out of the can!!!  I will try to post a picture later, but another storm is brewing....

Managing Triplets

I met a mother of triplets yesterday in our downtown!! She has 2 boys and 1 girl, and they are 14 months old! Boy, did it bring me back in time!! Those days of three toddlers seem like they were just yesterday. I tried to encourage her that the physical demands do become easier as they gain independence!!

I thought I'd share some tips for having multiples!

-Assign a color to each baby... use this color on their bottles, beds, pacifiers, etc.  Our colors were green, pink, & lavender.  Our friends have continued to use the colors when wrapping gifts, etc!  At age 7, the triplets like other colors too, but "their" color will always have special meaning.

-If someone offers to help you, LET THEM!! NO ONE truly understands how physically & mentally exhausting your days are, even as the children are growing older.  Try to think of something they can do to help whether it be entertain the children, take out trash, do laundry, bring a meal, etc. It's OKAY to accept help!

-Buy a notebook or journal for each baby.  I use my notebooks (in their colors, of course) to write down cute stories about them so that I can remember! You can use them to write down medical info when they first come home from the hospital, firsts for the baby book, or whatever you choose!

-If you can afford any help from babysitting to a night nurse to a house cleaning service, do it.  We found MH & she would come once a week to keep 2 babies while I took 1 baby to run errands.  As the babies grew older, MH would keep all 3! She is like part of our family!!  We also hired her to keep the trips for a month after K was born since I couldn't lift b/c of the c-section.  You can't care for 3 2-year olds without lifting!  MH was our lifesaver.  I would do anything for a housecleaner & laundress now!!!!

-Take time for date nights with your husband, even if it has to be an "at home" date night.  Try to get OUT of the house & put on something clean & go somewhere you can't go with 3 babies!  

-Take a shower every morning & BRUSH YOUR TEETH!  There is no excuse not to do this & it will make you feel so much better!  I try to wake up, shower, brush teeth, and put on makeup first thing every morning.  It just helps!

-If possible, take a weekend away per year with your husband.  Certainly take more than one, or stay for 4 nights, if you can!  Four nights is the maximum I can comfortably be away from our sweet ones!

-Pray!  God is with you & He blessed you with these babies, and He will help you survive and flourish! What a gift!!!

Lots of tears

Today was filled with lots of tears! Our sweet triplets began the first grade today.  It was the first time they were in three separate classrooms.  They were anxious, excited, afraid, thrilled, nervous, happy, all rolled into one!!  I cried as I told each of them goodbye, but I am so PROUD of them!!! What is it about the beginning of the school year that makes us mamas so sad? I guess it's because it signifies a new beginning, another year older, another year closer to the day they will no longer live at home.  Our preemies are now 7 & in the first grade!!

My friend, A, saw all of the Kindergarten bus students in the lunchroom getting their breakfast.  She said they were wide-eyed and probably terrified. She was overcome with emotions thinking about how their mamas and daddies weren't able to bring them to school today.  Please don't forget those children in your schools this year!!!  I try to send in extra snacks and food, but my friend, L, buys Root t-shirts for the children that don't have them.  We have bought Chick Fil A for some of the students in our class and our school sponsors these children at Christmas.... please look around you & don't forget those that share a table with your child in the classroom!!  Many are just as needy for hugs and material things as those in other countries.