imaginations on overdrive

Remember how I wrote that the kids have a vivid imagination?

I think it might be a little too vivid.

At five-years-old, the kids are talking about anything and everything and making up the most outlandish stories you could possibly imagine. While I try to listen whenever they are talking to me, I have come to the conclusion that only 10% of the words coming out of their mouths have any truth to them.

For instance, tonight while Charlie stayed home with Henry, I took the kids to their first basketball class. Since we had arrived about 20 minutes early, we sat and watched a group of men finish playing up their game of basketball on the full court before the gym was consumed by peewee players.

I was quickly drawn in to a conversation with the family sitting next to me, while my children were drawn in to a conversation with the family sitting next to them. I noticed that the kids were chatting it up and pointing to players on the court, but I didn't pay much attention to what exactly they were saying. (Mistake number 1.)

Once the class began, and my troop charged across the court to the coach, the matriarch of the family that the kids had been talking with, leaned over to tell me how much she had enjoyed talking with my children. She asked if they were close in age and when I told her they were triplets, she gave me a puzzled look. "Really? They're TRIPLETS?"

"Yes," I smiled. But based upon her puzzled expression I could see she required more of an explanation, so I added "They're fraternal, so they don't look very much alike."

She then lowered her voice to a whisper and asked, "Is their father here with you?"

I wasn't sure where that question came from so I responded, "No, he's actually at home with our two-year-old." Then I gave her a puzzled expression and said, "Why do you ask?"

She threw her head back laughing and said, "Well, you might be interested to know that your children were pointing out various men who were playing basketball and very articulately told me that each one of them had a different father."

While I sat slightly horrified, she continued as she pointed to the various men who were now slugging back Gatorade. "One of your daughters said THAT man was her father, your other daughter said THAT man was her father, and your son said THAT man was his father. But then it was a little confusing because he said, no, no, I think THAT man is my father and he pointed to the black man."

Mistake number 2? Letting my children out of the house without muzzles. Or at least a sign around their necks that read in HUGE letters, "Fiction is my Forte."

We really need to have a talk with our children. They can't go around telling stories like that about their mother. I mean ... people might begin to wonder.

Also for those that inquired, my children's real father (both on and off screen) heard from the Producer of Supernanny and because they just recently aired a show with triplets in December, his episode has been pushed back two to three weeks. We'll let you know once the date is confirmed. But may I just add, THANK GOODNESS the kids weren't on the show with him?

I shudder to think what they might have said to a national audience.