All but the kitchen sink...

We're still debating what to do. We make a decision - sleep on it - and then, have a whole new decision first thing in the morning.

And another new decision by noon.

And another new decision by the time we go to bed.

It makes logical sense to stay where we are because our house is thoroughly baby-proofed and it took us a long time to get that way. If you've ever installed a Tot-Lok, you would know what I mean. If you've ever installed 15 Tot-Loks, you'd never want to leave them - until you never needed them again.

Considering our children are still in to everything, and we have a new baby set to arrive in less than five months, we would need to have the new house baby-proofed, too. Additionally, our backyard is at least twice the size of the the house across the street and keeping tabs on children in a small one-story is a lot easier than when there are two levels.

But the NUMBER ONE thing that I keep coming back to the most is that our kitchen sink is magnificent. It is so large, I can bathe two kids at once in it. I would really, really miss it - and installing a kitchen sink just like ours in the new house, would require us to break out the new Corian they recently installed. And if I'm going to break out the Corian, I may as well upgrade the cabinets, too. Because the dishwasher is on the opposite side of the kitchen from all the cabinets - so you're walking all over the place to drop off your cups and bowls. Now we're talking a whole new kitchen.

And God forbid, what if there was ever a fire and I had four babies trapped on the second level?!? How well would we do climbing down a rope ladder with four small children?!? These are very important things to consider and the type of scenes that keep me awake at night.

If I can figure out where all the children are going to sleep, I think we can make it work for a few more years. By then, we could move to a larger home that meets ALL of our criteria (i.e. a larger kitchen, a larger backyard, a larger master bedroom, a double sink in the bathroom for the kids) and we won't have to worry about installing latches on every single cabinet through the house. Unfortunately, adding on to our existing house is not an option because we would entirely eliminate our backyard. Building up is not an option either, because our Home Owners Association will not allow any "modifications" to existing rooflines.

The house across the street is very nice and would certainly work well for us. No, it's not perfect. Yes, it would cost more every month. The question remains - is it worth it - especially since we both want to continue working part-time? And more importantly, does Charlie possess the dexterity and strength in his hands to install 30 Tot-Loks through the whole house??

The decision would be a lot easier if I could bring our kitchen sink. Or, if I wasn't as shallow as the sink that is in the house, currently.

While we continue to contemplate our next step, we have at least 10 mortgage lenders calling every day to find out if we've made a decision, or what they can do to help. I finally told one of them that if they really want to help, they would go grocery shopping, clean the house, cook dinner and rub my feet. And, answer the phone to tell the other nine mortgage lenders that we will call THEM when we're ready.

Because my mind is tired from obsessing over thinking through these different scenarios, I'm taking a little break and focusing on some interesting tidbits from the past 24 hours.

*****

Yesterday morning, I thought I heard someone choking. When I flew over to see what was happening, I saw William holding a bucket up to his face and grunting like he was sick. Thankfully, he wasn't.

It seems that the kids are practicing for their next puke fest.

When William then held the bucket up for Carolyn and Elizabeth, and for all of their stuffed animals, I decided that maybe the time is ripe to return to church. In my humble opinion, if there is one place on this green earth that there should be a sanctity of good health - it ought to be in a church nursery. Don't you think?? But because the kids have been sick (almost) everytime we take them to church - we stopped going. Now that they have shown proficiency with bucket holding - not only for themselves but for each other (and the stuffed animals should they also throw up) - I feel a bit more courageous about returning to have my soul cup filled. Heaven knows I need it.


Our kids have come to an age where they have taken a keen interest in babies. They will fanatically call out "BABY, BABY, BABY!!!" whenever we see one in the store and have started to enthusiastically point to my ever growing waist-line and eagerly shout "Hiya BABY!!" We polled them recently for potential names - and after watching them with their dolls tightly swaddled in blankets, I suspect that they will be over-the-moon when their baby brother, Nemo, comes home from the hospital.


These kids are so adorable - and getting exponentially cuter every day except for when they whine incessantly and throw themselves on the floor kicking and screaming. I'm especially glad that Alex and Kathleen ordered three red velvet "flare" skirts for the children - considering all three of them insisted on wearing their skirts, over their pants, all around the house and to a playdate they attended yesterday afternoon. Watching the three of them twirl around the house and then grab hands to do ring-around-the-rosy, was an absolute gut buster.

If this isn't the best endorsement for having triplets, I don't know what is.

Yesterday was the first day, all year (?), that it has really rained. It started at about 3:30 in the morning and continued - all day. At one point, there was a Class IV River running down our street. That's one thing about living in a coastal desert - the ground is so dry that the soil doesn't have the same kind of absorption it does elsewhere and precipitation can quickly lead to flash flooding. And roaring rapids. On second thought, maybe it would behoove us to live in a two-story in the event our entire neighborhood floods...

When a playdate I had planned to take the kids to in the morning at a local park was canceled due to the inclement weather - by afternoon - everyone was going stir crazy. Charlie finally caved and took the kids out for some fresh air. While I watched Elizabeth, with great trepidation, step foot outside and gaze in amazement at WATER FALLING FROM THE SKY - I wondered how we would do living in a cold - or rainy - climate. Maybe in the beginning it would be great, but once the novelty wore off, I can imagine being locked inside on a freezing day with children bouncing off the walls and thinking to myself, "You dummy, you could be here!!"

A mortgage lender sent me the link to a website which helps to price homes in different neighborhoods. Unless you have nothing but spare time on your hands ... I don't recommend checking out Zillow. This is a horribly addictive thing when you're in a position to move - but not sure where - and trying to figure out what's the most you can afford. I was up until midnight last night and spent the better part of naptime today, checking out the housing costs for almost everyone in our address book. Not only can you see aerial photos of the neighborhoods and check out house spacing and the surrounding area - you get a little price tag over all the homes, for an approximate appraisal value.

Today, Charlie - who shares my addiction - informed me that we're moving to Austin, Texas. Unless, it rains more than ten days a year, the temperature ever drops below 40 degrees, or if there are big rats and spiders.

Clearly, we still need to do a bit of research.