Not after: 400 feet of bubble wrap, through our entire house...
Not after: 500 10-gallon plastic trashbags pulled out of box...
Not after: A jumbo box of Kleenex was emptied and shredded in our bedroom...
Not after: Elizabeth figured out how to climb on to the changing table, pull up the window shade and waved "hi doggy!" to Molly in our yard...
Not after: William fashioned tools to reach his CD player so he could turn on "The Veggie Tales", very loudly...
Not even after: The children pulled out every last article of clothing from their dresser... and Charlie's dresser... and my dresser...
Not after all of that did we reconsider our decision to remove the baby gates and let our children explore.
Nay.
Only when all three of them climbed in to the bathtub and figured out how to turn on the water...
... Did my head explode in to a burst of flames and the baby gates immediately went back up.
Time lapsed? Less than 48 hours.
Lesson learned? Three toddlers running free is insanity.
INSANITY TIMES THREE TO THE POWER OF 1,000,000,000
Moral of this story? I'm not insane. At least not yet. Although, I fear I'm getting close.
The End.
It was worth a try but it didn't work this time.
ReplyDeleteKeep up the good work.
The children are looking happy so you are doing well.
Cathy
You have to do whatever works for you. Give them a little more time to mature. You can chalk it up to when you tried to reduce them to 1 nap. They weren't ready yet and it sounds like they're too "adventurous" right now. But boy are they CUTE when they're being mischievous!!!!!
ReplyDeleteAt least you had a good sense of humor about it. I'd have been crying instead of taking pictures! =)
Thanks for experimenting for us all. No way are my baby gates coming down anytime soon. It does make for cute pictures though?
ReplyDeleteJenna-
ReplyDeleteIf you would've posted this BEFORE you guys were thinking about coming over... LOL! Love the picts - and so did some of my co-workers!
p.s. No more runny nose for Shayna - she's totally fine today! Just a 12 hour bug!
What teamwork! And they say children that little are too young for cooperative play. : )
ReplyDeleteIt was worth a try. Maybe you could more gradually expand their roaming space?
And I sure hope your head is feeling better. That looks like it really, really hurt!
Oh my goodness! I don't know how you lasted 48 hours. Ben does all those mischievous things, but there is only one of him, I can't imagine it with triplets.
ReplyDeleteI would love to know more about Geologists, it sounds interesting. I thought about it the other day and I realised that I have no idea what is involved.
Good try though! First you make me cry with your tribute, now you make me cry with so much laughter. That was priceless! I'm also keeping the cookie in the event that my husband brings up this idea also! :)
ReplyDeleteWelcome back! Mine are staying up until they learn to open them themselves or climb over--whichever comes first. :-)
ReplyDeleteHow's the potty training? I am rooting for you/them!!
Who needs toys when you have bubble wrap, kleenex, plastic bags...Who needs 'em?
ReplyDeleteLove the pictures. See what good teachers you have!
ReplyDeletePerri
Love the pictures. See what good teachers you have!
ReplyDeletePerri
Well, you inspired me to give mine a little more freedom in your previous posts. Not wide open house, but when I get a meal ready, I give one a chance to hang out with me in the kitchen. It seems to go well, and I think I am teaching them direction, "let's go to the kitchen" and "time to sit in your chair" but not much else. I am hoping I can tip toe my way into eventually opening up the house. Thanks for sharing it with us...I love all the mischievious pictures!
ReplyDeleteWhat fun you have been having!!!!!!
ReplyDeleteIt isn't called insane, just brave. ;) Very, very, brave!
ReplyDeleteLOL AT THIS PART:
ReplyDelete... Did my head explode in to a burst of flames and the baby gates immediately went back up.
I loooooove your blog. The photos are tooooo funny. (((hugs)))
p.s. take the gates down when they're off to college! :)