And the winner is...

Ummm… I haven’t decided yet. I know Tripped Up Daddy and I felt like winners today when we walked into the triplets’ school with our relatively new Choo Choo wagon. The moment was brief.
When 2 year olds get a whiff of excitement coming out of a room, like the “gross motor room” where running, bouncing, and jumping is the norm, and then some adult decides we’ll do “circle time” first for you (but not your 2 sisters), well… really, do I need to go much further into explaining the transitional chaos that ensued?
Oh, but I will, because you must understand that the little girl in question was Sunshine triplet.  If there’s anything at all that you should know about Sunshine, it is her complete embodiment of that old nursery rhyme:
“there was a little girl…
and when she was good,
she was very, very good,
and when she was bad,
she was horrid.”
Yeah, I cut out the stuff about the curl on her forehead (Sunshine has no curl, complete embodiment has literary license).
So it was circle time for Sunshine, complete with full-blown tantrum, until it was time to go to the Gross Motor Room. More transition. Then back to the classroom for craft time. Even more transition.
Tripped Up Mommy and Daddy went to playgroup today. Princess triplet actually participated and began to color ON HER OWN during craft time. Angel triplet played with oatmeal in a tub and spread most of it on the floor, but also recognized that Mommy didn’t have to be right next to her for her to be safe (at least for a few moments anyway). For the Tripped Up family these are great baby steps – the things I have to remember as I head back to work where I usually then spend the rest of my Tuesday trying not to compare how far behind we are the “average” 2 year olds (usually singletons, born full-term, who get out far more often).
Playgroup had just five tantrums today, four from one child. All from our triplets. Oh yeah, and did I mention that today was the day two social workers were observing in the room?
A coworker said, “I think as long as you didn’t say ‘where’s my duct tape?’ you’ll be okay.”
What I did say while attempting to put shoes and coats on one girl at a time was, “So after all your observation today…”
The statement back, “You’ve got your hands full, that’s our assessment.” I didn’t tell them that’s #3 on the list of most commonly said phrases to parents of multiples. Not exactly original.
Back to winning… and what was the contest anyway? Let’s call it the “Am I really a good parent to 2- year-olds?” contest. And for today, I think I can say we had three winners, despite the challenges. Three girls received educational experiences and lots of love. (But the oatmeal, glue, and snotty goo all over my dress pants and blouse didn’t seem as “winning” in the office as in the classroom.)