When will I learn that old adages don't apply to triplets? There's a saying out there that if a baby is crying, put them in water and they'll stop. The idea being that they'll be having so much fun splashing in the water that they'll soon forget what they were so ticked off about. There's definitely something to this. It's worked for us in the past. But only with one baby at a time. Today the girls were getting stir crazy and fighting with each other while I was trying to get a few things done around the house. I decided that I'd fill up both sides of the kitchen sink, throw in a few cups, bottles, scoops, etc. and let them go to town. I knew there would be water to clean up and they they would be wet, but it would be worth it for the girls to be occupied for a while so I could get a few things done. They were having a great time for about 1/2 hour while I was in the kitchen with them. Measuring, scooping, transferring water, and just a little bit of splashing. I was pretty happy with myself for being so resourceful, then I left the room. That was my first mistake. My second mistake was assuming that their laughter and shrieks meant they were having fun doing the same thing they were doing while I was in the room. I definitely know better than that! Since, from upstairs, it sounded like they were having such a great time I just let them be while I was making beds and putting clothes away. After a while I went downstairs to check on them and literally had to splash my way over to them! They had been pouring cups of water on each other and emptied out the sinks onto the kitchen floor! I could only be mad at myself, of course, but by the looks on their faces when I came into the room they knew they had done something wrong. That, and Dayne said "oh crap" when she saw me! (We'll talk about good parenting vs. bad parenting another time). It took about a half hour to clean up the mess, but it was still worth it. I'm finding that the price is high for a few minutes of peace and quiet, and I've learned to appreciate the "down time" so much more than I used to. Maybe next time I need to fold laundry I'll just leave them alone with some jars of fingerpaint.
