Surviving Three Under Three!

Okay, Okay I really didn't have three under three this week. Their ages are 1, 2 and 3 but close enough. I didn't want to give up that title, Surviving three under age four sounds lame.

I have been watching my two year old brother along with my two boys this week, while my parents went on a cruise for a week.

So, here's a few survival techniques that I learned from this experience.

1. Paper Plates-Enough said. Taking care of three small children is hard enough without doing the dishes. I know it's not eco friendly, please don't judge me. I do recycle so I think it evens out and I'm pretty sure that paper plates are biodigradable. Also, my house stays clean with minimal effort from me. (This is the first time I have ever used paper plates, I did not realize what a joy paper plates are. I may never go back.)

2. Chick-Fil-A- and ice-cream- I am not talking about the best nutrition, I am talking survival. All the boys love the ice-cream which you can get for trading your toy from the kid's meal and we go through the drive thru which makes life easy for me. Also, I turn on a movie in our van and we sit and eat our lunch. I let them eat their ice-cream first, which makes everyone think this is a special holiday. Everyone still eats their lunch b/c it's chicken nuggets and fries and I enjoy my lunch in peace. Win- Win for everyone.

3. Running Outside- Whenever I noticed the natives getting restless, I would bundle them up and send them to run around outside in the backyard. That helped so much. They could burn off all kinds of energy and be as loud as they wanted. They came in with such great behavior after their run and appreciated the warm weather indoors.

4. Movie Time- Never underestimate the power of T.V. It can be a mother's helper in times of great distress or making dinner (which can be one in the same for me). I feel very fortunate that the two oldest will sit and watch a Disney movie so I can make dinner or do household chores.

5. Wii-I'm so happy my parents got this for us for Christmas. It is so kid friendly Turner(3) and Jordan(2) can play and actually beat me at tennis and bowling. We had fun cheering for each other.

6. Hide and Seek- Especially when the kids hide. I can get a set of dishes done before I find them. Matthew (1) also has fun coming with me to find them.

7. Story Time- I am so glad that everyone enjoys a good book.

8. Coloring- Was a huge help late at night when I feel too tired to do much else. We all sat and colored.

9. Reading my scriptures- Helped me. Each night I read my scriptures, the following day was great. The one night I did not, let's just say that was my least favorite day of this past week.

10. Oddly enough, trips to Target. I got the huge cart that has the two seats in the front and put Matthew and Turner there and Jordan in the big cart. They thought they were going for a ride and we also stopped and looked at the toys in the toy section. We also played with some of the toys and everyone went home with a Hotwheel car. So, everyone was happy.

Well, I don't have a lot of wisdom. I'm sure that most of you guys already know these tips. But it was a learning experience for me to have three little boys for a week, during one of the coldest weeks Richmond, VA has seen in years. I probably should have put a disclaimer on the top stating that these activities are based on temperatures below freezing. However, we had a lot of fun and I might even have three kids after this experience.