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Monday, April 20, 2015

Rain, Rain Go Away

After dropping Jackson off at preschool this morning, I headed to the gym. I wanted to attend a class but I was too early. (Childcare at the gym is not unlimited.) I pulled into the park that is a few minutes from the Y. It has been raining for days, but the sky was blue and sun was shining. I let the trio play briefly on the playground. James was desperate to go down the slide, which had a large puddle at the bottom. I distracted the kids by getting them to follow me onto the track.


We walked around the track for a couple of laps. I pushed/wore the trio for one lap and let them walk around the other lap. They did a great job walking until the train went by and frightened them.


James made a point to splash through every puddle. He was wearing his crocs so I didn't care. It made him giggle every time.


By the time we left, the sky was covered with black clouds once again. I actually lost track of time and ended up being minutes late to the class. I still completed the class, then spent 15 minutes on the elliptical to make up for the lost time. It was 12:30 before we got home. I left the trio in the van while I ran around the house restocking the diaper bag and grabbing lunch for the trio (cheese, squeezable applesauce, and half a protein bar).

Our quarterly WIC appointment was scheduled for 1 pm today. I couldn't decide if I was going to go or just stop receiving WIC. The appointment was scheduled three months ago, when Jackson didn't have school on Mondays and the trio still took two naps. A 1 o'clock appointment was impossible to attend. I've been debating about cancelling WIC anyway. The checks are beneficial for soymilk and eggs, but that's about it. We've started giving cereal away. I have a stockpile of beans in our pantry. And we can't use the bread fast enough. I'd rather the kids drink water over juice, so that's not really needed either. Therefore, I appreciate WIC, but it's not as helpful as it once was.

Since this visit did not require any weight checks or finger pricks, I decided to go ahead. I can't imagine I'll go to the the next appointment in July because that will mark a full year since we began receiving WIC. The trio will be two in July, which should mean a decrease in their milk intake anyway.

I was one of the first cars in the pickup line to get Jackson. Of course I was still late to the WIC appointment, but it doesn't matter what time you get there. In our county (with a population of nearly 1 million), WIC appointments last 2-3 hours no matter what time you get there.

I kept the trio in the stroller or Ergo for as long as possible since they always get sick after spending hours in the Health Department/WIC Office. That lasted about 45 minutes. Then we stayed confined to one area. Amelia was perfectly content buckling the straps of the stroller. Maddie walked around and climbed. James, on the other hand, felt obligated to rattle each locked door. As one point an employee came out as a result of James at the door. I was embarrassed, but she was so happy to see triplets. She called all of her coworkers out to the hall and kept saying, "Come look at these triplets!" Jackson was very friendly and introduced everyone.


The water fountain bought us another fifteen minutes of entertainment.


I am always on edge at WIC appointments. The rooms are filled with dozens of impatient mothers and children. There are no toys, books, or TV. Food is not allowed and security guards walk around to enforce this rule. You can't go anywhere because if you miss your number being called (which is totally random and not chronological), then you've wasted your time. It's dreadful.

Despite all this, the kids were amazing. No one cried, whined, or had any tantrums. We were in and out in two hours, and have free milk, cereal, eggs, juice, bread, and beans for the next three months.

Jesse had plans to take Jackson to a minor league baseball game this evening. Unfortunately, the return of rain, hail, and flash flood warnings canceled those plans. For the first time in over a week, there isn't any rain predicted in the forecast tomorrow. I hope it's correct!

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