It's finished! It's finished!

No, sorry, not the birthday blog....

Better!

It arrived on my doorstep just a few weeks ago!

The culmination of our travels to Kansas City for our photo shoot.
The assurance that traveling with triplets on an airplane WAS in fact worth every moment.
The gifts and kindness from new friends.  :)

The BOOK! It's finished! I hope someday you find yourself in a Hanger Office somewhere so that you can pick up a copy and read the countless stories of hope, determination and perseverance; second chances and lives enhanced because of this amazing company.

 And if you do happen to find yourself in a Hanger Office, and you ARE perusing this great book....

If by chance you should find yourself on page 72.....

 Or 73...

 Then you shall be greeted by my helmet clad trio and can read our story. (But if you're reading this blog, then chances are, you already know our story!)  :)

 And as if the book weren't enough, a few days later my mailman brought me this...a beautiful canvas portrait of my family, a gift from our 'Hanger Family.' 

And by the grace of the Hanger Gods and the magic of patient people, we are ALL smiling and we are ALL looking where we're supposed to be. 

That is a miracle. 

We are so touched and grateful to Hanger Orthotics for allowing our little family to be a part of this  big project. And for the kindness you've bestowed on us, we thank you. 

Especially to you Krisita, Jennifer and Jennifer.  :)

LOOKING BACK

If you ARE new to our blog and want the backstory behind this project, feel free to check out the following links related to our experience with helmets, Hanger and the project that came of it all.  

Head Scans

Helmet Fitting

Before and After Scans of the babies' heads

Trip to Kansas City for the Photo Shoot

The photo shoot

Trip home from KC and tips for flying with triplets

Flat Bunches 

Oh Yeah...one other thing. Remember that contest last year? Top Multiples Blogs? The one that came down to mere minutes and votes? The one that YOU helped us WIN? 

Well someone (not me) nominated us again....am I up for another challenge? If you are, I think I am. If you feel like rewarding me for my blog-a-day challenge, go ahead, give a little click and a vote for 'The Best Things in Life are Three."One vote a day. Tell your friends! :)  Help me spread the word! Thanks! 

  

And that's all she wrote for today!

3 down, 28 to go! 

Flat Bunches

You know, it was just the other day I was saying, "Gosh, wouldn't it be neat if I had a life size cardboard cut out of my family..." 

And then-I got this photo in my email! 

(First of all, you know I didn't really say that, right?)

But that sure doesn't lessen the excitement I had when I saw it! I mean come on! How fun is this?? 

Remember a year or so ago when Hanger Orthotics flew our family to Kansas City for that photo shoot? Well that adorable girl on the left is Krisita. She's the PR guru, and we pretty much adore her for her patience with our family and her commitment to making everything as wonderful as possible when flying 3 toddlers across the country to pose for photos. 

And that family on the right? Yup! That's MINE! You may recall that Hanger Orthotics is sort of revamping its image and thought enough of us and our 3 helmet clad babies to include us in a book about their company's history. We were both honored and excited for the opportunity. 

So when Krisita emailed me this photo the other day, I was pretty stoked. One, to see a photo in which all 5 people actually look really HAPPY and two, it was just a fun reminder of that trip, which was at times, extremely stressful when Ethan 1/3 of the Bunchkins would.not.cooperate.at.all. because despite all that, it was a fabulous trip-one we will cherish forever. 

So anyhoo, they 'brought us along' to an education fair in Las Vegas, to use as part of the 'unveiling' of their new branding campaign! So how bout that? Now I can say I've been to Vegas twice in my lifetime!  :)

Thanks so much Krisita for sending this to me! It totally put a smile on my face! And thanks once again to Hanger Orthotics for thinking enough of my babies to include them in this project. 

 Good night friends! I promise another blog real soon...

Home again, home again, jiggity jig.

And so we return home from our very first airborne adventure. Couple things were in our favor on our last day o' travel.

A late departing flight. (3:00 ish) -Being able to sleep in, NOT have to wake little children AND have plenty of time to shower, get ready, get 3 kids ready, pack up 4 suitcases and straighten up the hotel room so we are in fact allowed to return someday was AWESOME!

Room Service- If you have young triplets, you know how exhausting even the thought of going to restaurants is...so ordering room service for late breakfast/early lunch was a total sanity saver. Blueberry pancakes, french toast, bananas, hash browns all around! Fill up those travelin' bellies!

Late Check-out- (noon) This totally saved us from having to rush all morning AND tool around town killing time before our flight. Thank you Hilton President, you ROCK!

Valet-this one's obvious. Having the mini-van (yes, we got to be a mini-van family for once!) ready for us as we arrived downstairs was just brilliant.

We left the hotel and headed for the airport, arriving about 2 hours before flight time.

We dropped off our rental car first and prepared for the first round of baby-strapping/car seat strapping while the Rental Car Dude looked on like we were crazy. I believe his words were, "Boy, y'all got yer hands full." (Resist the urge, Ami. Keep your mouth shut.) His gawking was only made better when Brian yelled back, "Nah, we're just gonna strap the kids to the suitcases." And he thought we were kidding.

Despite the fact that we refused his offer to get us a luggage cart at least 4 times, because we actually NEEDED our luggage to roll our kids around, he continued to watch our method most inquisitively. Not only that, he actually left briefly and came back with another rental dude and said, "I told him he needed to see this!" Why, you're welcome everyone. Glad we could entertain you.

And just like that, we were headed for the airport. Once again, we had to do the whole Shuttle Shuffle, but now that we knew what we were capable of, this time was exponentially less stressful.

We went through security ( a MUCH smaller area than in Phoenix) but once again, the TSA people were so helpful by allowing us to pretty much campout at stations both prior to and beyond security. Frankly, I don't think anyone wanted to get in our way! Also, this time, we did not fully unstrap the Traveling Toddler Straps (we left the top clip in place so putting them back on luggage was SO much easier! )

I'm an Arizonan. How could I not take a picture of this?

And then we went to our gate and waited. Brian asked the gate agent if we could board at the earliest possible moment to give us a little extra time to get everyone situated. The agents were MOST gracious and totally hooked us up. We actually had time to load everyone onto the plane AND sit down and chill before the rest of the passengers boarded. Like we typically do when feel like we pretty much rock, Brian and I reached across the aisle and gave each other knuckles. The flight attendant totally saw us and said, "Good for you! You guys should give each other knuckles!"

Ethan the greeter literally waved and/or blew kisses to every passenger that boarded our plane. Most people simply ignored him which made it SO exciting for him when somebody DID acknowledge him or wave back! OMG! Talk about making a toddler's day!

And then we were off! The second flight was as perfect as the first. We were sure to clap and cheer at takeoff and landing to make sure no one was afraid. And folks, having Monsters Inc. playing on one side of the aisle on a laptop and Kung Fu Panda on the other side of the aisle on an iPad was a total stroke of genius.

My friend Jen picked us up at the airport in our Suburban, which SHE TOTALLY CLEANED, inside and out, AND she filled up the gas tank for us, AND she bought toys for the kids to entertain them for their drive back to Tucson. Let me tell ya people. It's hard to beat friendship like that! She said, "I just knew that if were coming from a long flight, the last thing I'd want to do is have to clean the car or stop to get gas. I'd want to be able to go straight home." Thank you Jen. You are good people. :)

We stopped at Brian's family's house as we drove back to Tucson for a stretch of the legs, a meal and most importantly some time out of the carseats. The kids had a blast playing with Nana, Papa and Auntie Kristen AND meeting their new Puppy Bella (bloodhound/lab) A-DOR-A-BLE!!

And then, we headed home. OUR home. Which I thank GOD I cleaned before we left because it feels SO great to come home to a clean house. Aaaahhh....serenity.

And so, as this trip concludes, I will leave you with our...

Top 10 Tips for Traveling with Toddler Triplets. *plus a bonus

(Try saying that 10 times fast)

10. CARSEATS ON THE PLANE

If flying, (with kids over the age of 2) plan to put the carseats on the plane. They already know that a carseat means 'I aint gettin' out' so that alleviates the headache that comes with three 2 year-olds fastening and unfastening the airplane seatbelt. (Do you KNOW how easy it is to lift the metal buckle?") Carseats on a plane....brilliant.

9. TRAVELING TODDLER

To aide you with number 10 above, invest in the TRAVELING TODDLER carseat accessory. So small, simple, so inexpensive ( I got three for $9 a piece). And SO SAAVY. We had several people (people traveling with small children, strollers, luggage, etc.) ask us about them because of how streamlined and effortless we made traveling look. For real, you know I don't like to toot our own horns, but seriously, we made traveling look GOOD thanks to the Traveling Toddlers!

8. MOVIES AND LAPTOPS

Unless you are actually one of those good parents who haven't let your children see TV yet because the American Academy of Pediatrics suggests children under two see NO TV. If that's you, kudos to you. But that is NOT us! We are a Disney family through and through. So we had a laptop with DVDs (Nemo, Toy Story, Monsters Inc., etc. and an iPad which I'd downloaded some other Disney movies from iTunes. So each parent on each side of the aisle had a movie to watch. This was absolutely perfect for us and the kids were so content.

7. LOLLIPOPS AND FRUIT SNACKS

Adults chew gum and swallow to keep their ears from plugging, kids need something to get their little jaws going. So for us, as we began to taxi out before actually taking off, I gave the kids some chewy fruit snacks to chew and swallow and also handed them their sippy cups and made sure they were swallowing periodically until we reached 10,000 feet. (Till you hear the first 'ding'. ) It worked like a charm. No one complained of ears at all on either flight. We also gave them lollipops to keep them busy and keep em swallowing throughout the flight. For kids who don't normally get sweets, this was brilliant. :)

6. HOPE FOR THE BEST, PREPARE FOR THE WORST

Really, no different than any other outing in town. Just prepare for anything and everything. Be SURE you bring enough diapers, be sure you bring enough wipes. Don't forget bandaids, crackers, toys, Antibacterial Wipes, Sippy Cups, Straws, extra clothes, etc. The last place you want to be is stuck on a plane, 37,000 feet in the air and realize you used your last diaper in the airport. The flight attendants don't carry extra diapers so if you don't want to go asking every passenger for a diaper, come prepared. And then overdo it. Be extra prepared. Bring toys from home that will fit in a suitcase so your kids will have something to do when you get to the hotel. If not, they will play with the lamps, the ice buckets, the tissue dispenser, the phone, etc.

5. BE NICE, BE GRACIOUS

If there are two of you, traveling with 3 of them, you're going to be slower than most. Expect that there will be people seated near you who are not 'kid friendly people.' Say something friendly up front, and thank them ahead of time for being understanding. (How can they not be NOW?) :) THANK the TSA people, THANK the flight attendants, THANK the people around you. THANK the gate agent who lets you board early, THANK the people in your gate area who play peek-a-boo with your kid 14 times in 5 minutes. Graciousness will get you so much farther than bossiness or snottiness.

4. BULKHEAD IF POSSIBLE

If it's at all possible, try and reserve the bulkhead row on the plane. (The bulkhead is the first row of each cabin). This way, no one is seated in front of you and you have a little extra leg room. This also means there are no passengers in front of you whose seats risk being kicked by your trio. The only downfall to the Bulkhead is that you must put your carryon bags in the overhead compartment for takeoff and landing, so be sure to grab your fruit snacks, lollipops and sippy cups BEFORE you take off because you won't be able to just grab them with your bags stowed up above. You can take your bags down and have them at your feet for the rest of the flight, just as soon as the 'Fasten Seatbelt' sign goes off. You'll just have to stow them up above again before you land.

3. PACK N PLAYS

If you can help it, stay in a hotel that can provide you with 3 pack and plays. Cuz that is definitely not something you want to travel with. Most hotels have these, but save yourself the headache later and CALL AHEAD and reserve them. I called at least a week and a half in advance and spoke directly with the Manger of Housekeeping who put it in our reservation that we needed 3 pack and plays. When we arrived late that first night, they were already in our room, put together with nice sheets and blankets for the kids.

2. CONSIDER THE TIME CHANGE, (IF NECESSARY)

If you're planning some really great activities for your kids, make sure that 8:00 a.m. at Disneyworld isn't really 5:oo in the morning by your kids' body clocks. Cuz that would've meant you woke them up at 4:00 in the morning to get them ready. Yes, I speak from experience.

But unfortunately our Disneyworld was actually a really important photo shoot. My bad.

1. CONFIDENCE and HUMOR

Be sure to pack your sense of humor. It may not be the easiest thing you'll ever do and surely something will go awry. But be prepared to laugh about it, and be sure to put on your gracious face for each person who cleverly tells you that "you have your hands full." They all think they're telling you something you don't know. Act as if it's the first time you've ever heard it every time. Further, be confident. YOU CAN DO THIS. Deep breaths, teamwork, planning ahead. It's in the bag!

0. SYSTEM

Come up with a system ahead of time. For instance Brian and I decided ahead of time that when it got to those times when strapping and unstrapping needed to happen, I was responsible for getting the kids and he was going to take care of all the 'stuff.' So for instance, when we got to security, I quickly began taking all the kids' shoes off and putting them in the buckets while Brian began unstrapping the carseats. I then unstrapped the kids and we went through the security door. I waited on the other side with all the kids while Brian stayed back and put everything on the conveyor belts. Likewise, on the jetbridge, we agreed to unstrap one carseat, and Brian would run that kid onto the plane. While he was doing that, I was already unstrapping the second carseat so that there was no wasted time. Whatever your system, talk it out ahead of time so you're not arguing in front of the masses. And seriously, expect to work as a team. One person cannot do it all.

And that's a wrap folks.

If I may say so, I'm chalking this one up as a successful trip.

Cheers to that!

Anyone seen the other shoe? Oh, right. It dropped.

I was having trouble deciding how to begin this entry, so I asked Brian to 'sum up' today's photo shoot and tell me the first thing that came to his mind.

"Alcohol," he said.

Hmmm. Yep. I could go with that.

First of all, and I have no doubt that this contributed to the disaster, I made a huge parenting faux pas, which I unfortunately did not realize until 3:38 in the morning. Several weeks ago, Krisita, the Media Relations Specialist with Hanger Orthotics asked me what time of day would be best to 'shoot' the babies.

"Oh, definitely morning!" I say, as confidently as I could.

And so, 8:00-10:00 was our scheduled time. MISSOURI TIME. People, that's 6 - 8 TUCSON TIME, of which we had to awaken the kids at 4:30 in the morning THEIR TIME. If you know my kids, you know they are late sleepers and it never bodes well when we have to actually wake them up, which was the case today. And when I say we had to wake them, I mean we had to physically jostle their sweet, warm jammied bodies nestled all snugly in these plush hotel pillows.

Party foul #1.

We left our hotel and headed just a few miles away to the Hyatt, where the photo shoots were being held.

With cups of dry cereal in hand, we made our way through the lobby to the Chicago Ballroom.
As soon as we arrived, we did our introductions, met the photographer, the author, all the Media/PR people and lots of other people whose names are escaping me due to the disaster that was.

I don't know what is was, or what set it off, but almost as soon as we brought the kids around to the set, Ethan lost his mind. That kid is definitely aware of things that are not his normal and the fact that he was being asked (by 10 people easily) to sit on a box and smile is SO not his normal. And as such, he wanted no part of it.

Folks, this was tough one to navigate. I was teetering on a see-saw of uncertainty as to how to 'fix' the situation. Should I go with the super caring, loving mom who might calm him and make him sit agreeably, should I go with stern, loud voice mommy and yell at him to make him sit, should I try and make him giggle, should I leave the room completely? Should I pass him to Brian to try and 'Dad' some sense into him? I was at a loss and frankly, we tried EVERY. ONE. OF. THESE. APPROACHES. To no avail.

When I tell you that the photographer earned her money today, I mean, she earned it. As you might imagine, everyone was outwardly so caring and trying to reassure us that it was fine, they'd get a photo, etc. etc. But I'm telling you, even they eventually resorted to the idea that 2 happy kids and one crying might be okay in a photo, cuz really, that's real life. But even still, we could NOT get Ethan to even stand or sit on the box long enough to even look unhappy. He'd throw himself face down and cry. And I'm pretty sure that is not the image Hanger is going for in their new ad campaign!

I took these photos during our 'banishment period.' Brian and I were trying to stay out of sight, with only a partition separating us from the wee models. There was a crack in the partition just wide enough to get the camera lens through.

In case you were unsure, that is Ethan on the left. :)

Sarah, the hair and makeup gal doing her best to herd the cats.

Funny how much you can love em, even when they're uncooperative. Which reminds me, lest you thought Ethan was the only one having a fit, rest assured he was in good company. Hunter and Colton also took turns throwing themselves on the floor, crying out for mommy and daddy. Oh yes, it was good times, people.

We had people fetching gummy bears, and oreos and Nilla wafers as bribery. We had Kung Fu Panda playing on the iPad, we had Toy Story playing on the laptop. We had Woody himself dancing on the heads of everyone around just in case it might result in a smile.

Let me make this simple.

It did not.

Until....they gave him something he was interested in. The handheld remote that sets off the flash-and has buttons he can push.

Hello Jekyll. Goodbye Hyde.

Not even the same kid. He was charming it up with his new powerful device. And thank God, because the deodorant I applied at 5:00 in the morning was long gone. Inside, I was at my wits end, feeling horribly that Hanger had been so gracious to fly us all out there and ask us to be a part of this great book, and we coudn't even provide them with one good photo. (Well that's not entirely true actually, because if you could've seen the photos she took, you'd be amazed. She has some serious talent.

The beauty of it all is that amidst all the chaos of chasing crying kids, it was still a whole lot of fun! I am so grateful that we were given this opportunity.

Colton's turn to throw a fit.

The ladies of Hanger!

Jennifer, Jennifer & Krisita!

Thank you for the fun day!

They were sad to see Krisita go! She's got movie star status with them. Especially after entertaining them for an hour while we interviewed with the author of the book, Bob Parks.

Finally, after they'd been set free we opted for lunch a walkway over at the Crowne Center...specifically at the CRAYOLA CAFE!

How fun is a crayola store?? The boys had fun with magnetic tic-tac-toe.

Hunter, the artist, drew some pictures.

How cute! It's like they're in kindergarten!

And I shall be the teacher!

Unfortunately, all the excitement of the day left lil Miss fast asleep at the restaurant. Before she ever saw food. :(

And after a few bites, she was joined by Coco.

Sleepy Bunchkins.

So we came back to the hotel, took a 3 hour nap (all of us) and then headed out on the town. Downtown Kansas City in the evening was HOPPIN!

(Hunter took the next two photos)

This is us attempting the real reason Brian agreed to come to KC. Jack Stack Barbeque. Unfortunately, there was a 90 minute wait. Uh, no. But fortunately, we were able to order everything we wanted in just 10 minutes for carryout! SCORE! It was totally worth the trip!

Please humor me and gawk at my injury.

Our hotel. The Hilton President.

After dinner, we went out on the town, on foot. We were hoping to check out some cool city park or something.

JACKPOT!!

My feet were enjoying the grass.

A poor attempt at a 'timered' picture. Clearly it was too far away for the flash to work.

And then we let the wild jackals run around the hotel room to cool off their little bodies!



Good night friends! It was crazy, stressful, awesomely fun day! I wouldn't trade it for anything!