Triple The Dad

Most everyone knows, at this point, that I have triplets.  But at a recent work event I had the opportunity to introduce that fact to someone for the first time. I got the usual amazement. I got to tell all the stories about those first few harrowing months. And it got me thinking about some things that just are unique about triplets. Things parents of singletons or even parents with 5 kids (who aren't that different workwise from parents of multiples) don't face. When you have singletons, or even lots of kids, the birthdays are often spaced out. Sure, you might have two birthdays close together, as our friends do. But I'm willing to bet they aren't as close as ours! This all really hit me as my wife and I prepped for the kids' birthdays. We were looking at the presents we got them and my wife said something along the lines of "I think its all fair." It looked a little like a pretty decent Christmas haul and I responded that maybe it was too much. ...

Its Friday, its Summer, and its absolutely gorgeous weather here in suburban Philadelphia. As a result I thought I would pen what I hope is a fun little post about toys. As a Dad of triplets I spend a decent amount of time surrounded by, and playing with, toys. I have some experience in this area, is what I'm saying. The first one compares Legos to Shopkins titled "Shopkins Must Be The Devil."  Hint: Legos win. Don't buy your kids Shopkins. Though the ever wonderful Mrs. Triplet Dad is spot on when she criticized this post for disparaging something my kids love so much. Damn kids. They really are confounding. For instance, I have a son who is totally in love  with the Star Wars characters. Mostly Darth Vader and Kylo Ren. This doesn't differentiate him from pretty much every other almost 5-year-old kids, I realize. What is unique is that he is horrified of the movies, and the bad guys in particular, and hasn't watched more than about 2 minutes of them....

The number of childrens' toys you can step on are legion, and each has its own home on a pain scale that ranges from "ouch, sharp army man knife in my foot" all the way to "I just tripped over a doll and fell down the steps." Your move, foot. And then there are Shopkins. Now, I know that Legos are the big toy everyone posts about. Posting about how you stepped on a Lego almost seems like a right of passage. And sure, a well placed Lego to the foot hurts.  But so does a Shopkin. And at least I've had fun with Legos. And blocks made it on my list of the only 10 toys you absolutely need to have. You can build towers with Legos. Legos are the original SimCity. Minecraft is Legos reimagined. Both of those are just electronic knockoffs of Legos, really. And Legos are so well loved they remain insanely expensive. You can build the Death Star  (not to actual size I'm assuming...) - for a mere $584 (... but at this price, who knows). At 405 pieces, ...

I saw, again, that raising a child from birth to 18 costs somewhere north of $300,000 . That puts me at nearly a cool million. One million dollars over the next 16 or so years. Having raised my triplets almost to the age of 3, I can confirm that a hefty portion of that $300,000 per child cost is diapers and formula.  You can breast feed and pare that number down, and good for you because you'll save something like $25,000. Not exactly chump change, but not exactly living frugally, either. You can try to cut down on diaper costs, but good luck with that. Its pretty much a fixed cost. You can't exactly leave your child in a single diaper all day. That doesn't work out well. You can potty train as early as 1.5 years, but good luck with that, as well. I'm somewhat convinced that potty training during the time when your kid is forming his own opinions about what and when and how he will do things is an evil trick played on parents just to see how far...

Triplet tested; Triplet dad approved! Little Tykes Rocking Puppy As toys go, this one isn't educational, its all fun.  Having said that, it is all fun and an absolute winner.  In fact, our three little ones like it so much we offered it in response to a friend's inquiry about what gifts to give a young child.  There isn't much else to say.  Our kids love this it.  I do worry that they may one day flip it over backwards.  Despite my worries and with one possible exception that I was able to prevent it hasn't happened.  It retails on Amazon for $35, but my wife was able to find one at a consignment sale for $6.  Some of the best $6 we ever spent. Age: Up to 3 Weight: Up to 50 pounds