Pros & Cons

PROS	CONS
My kids are pretty good eaters, and will usually try new things when gently prompted (unless it looks totally vomitrocious).	They’re hungry all. the. time. I can’t keep enough snacks in the house, let alone milk.  If I hear “Can I just have another snack?” or “But I’m huuuuuuungrrrrry!” one more time, I might throw the fridge at someone.
The boys know how to say please and thank you.	I often have to remind the boys that they know how to say please and thank you. Elly doesn’t know how to say please or thank you, so she screams at us until we give her what she wants and then just grunts once satisfied.
They all go to bed fairly easily and are usually sleep by 7:30pm	They all wake up fairly easily and are usually in my bed at about 6:00am
Owen and William are very social and have lots of friends.  Their favorite thing to do right now is hang out with their friends in the school playground for about an hour after school. This means I get to hang out with the other parents, many of whom are wonderful people, who give good chat and great advice.  All the other mums dote on Elly and will happily walk her around the playground or take her down the slide when I need a break.	Sometimes the play gets a little rough in the schoolyard – William in particular has had a tough time keeping his hands to himself lately, leading to some time outs and much frustration on both our parts as he repeats certain behaviours over and over again and we end up cutting our playtime short.  When do they start learning from their mistakes again?  Since I still haven’t mastered that one, maybe this is an unfair question. Elliot, seeing her brothers racing around, wants to do the same thing.  But alas, Little Legs, she’s not quite big enough yet and its not always safe for her to try to climb up the slide when fifteen other children are throwing themselves down it.  Cue screaming fit and writhing child in my arms.
All three children are very verbose in their own way.  I always know what Will and Owen are thinking, because they tell me their train of thought in a kind of poetic stream of conciousness narrative. (Both boys still say “y” for the “l” sound, which I just yuv.  I’ll miss it when its gone). El chats quite a bit too and uses grunting and sign language to tell me what she sees around her.  ‘Bird”, “Squirrel”, “Dog” and “Airplane” are very popular signs and get used constantly.	They never stop talking at me.  My ears hurt.
The boys get plenty of exercise.	They’re so rough!  Why do boys have to wrestle so much?  Why can’t they understand that when one yells, “STOP! You’re hurting me!” that generally means cease and desist?  Do I need to get restraining orders issued?
Elly is a little walking machine! So cute the way she waddles around with her tummy sticking out and her arms in the air for balance.  She looks so proud of herself.	She isn’t happy in her stroller anymore, which means trips to the mall are now a minefield (“Don’t touch!” “Put it back!” “Don’t eat that off the floor!”) or a wrestling match between mother and daughter ‘You. Will. Go. In. The. Stroller!” “That’s what you think, ma!  See how I writhe and contort so you can’t put the straps on?  See how I arch my back just so?”  Why is she stronger than me?
We’re fortunate to be able to afford some great toys for the kids to play with and have been given some really wonderful presents from generous friends.	There are toys everywhere!  Why doesn’t anyone know how to tidy up after themselves?  Why does Elliot Anne (you know she’s in trouble now, the middle name came out) insist on opening the cupboards and pulling everything out two seconds after I have finally managed to shove it all in?  Why, with all our beautiful wooden and educational toys, do the boys gravitate to the crappy plastic toys from McDonalds?
My twins are extremely creative.	William drew on the walls this weekend.  Owen makes up songs about poop and private parts.
The boys are toilet trained – hurray, no more poopy diapers only Elly’s poopy diapers to deal with!	Little boys are allergic to toilet paper, washing hands and flushing toilets.
All three of my kids give the best cuddles and kisses.	N/A