The TV is running. I hear feet pattering to the kitchen and back, their owners spilling cheerios on the floor as they go. A plastic cup is being banged on the coffee table in a steady beat. I inhale deeply, and roll over in my bed, relishing the peace and calm of having only my four-year-old twin boys in the house.
Before you send me off for a reality check, allow me to explain. You see, my house wasn’t always this "peaceful": Unlike the famous Beatles tune, Yesterday, my troubles were NOT so far away! Yesterday, my house was overrun by – in addition to my own two little monkeys – two seven-year-old boys and three small weapons of mass destruction, their little brothers: three-year-old triplets. Jeffrey, Justin, Jeremy, Joel, Jason plus our own Alex and Simon.
For a brief history on how this all came to be, click here. In the meantime, allow me to give to you a little insight into a day in the life of possibly Canada’s most unique multiple births family.
Mary’s Playland
Our role began around 9 a.m., when, undaunted by the snow, we drove our own two up to Mary’s Playland in the Kingsway to meet the first lot from the family, who were being delivered by a fellow mother of twins from our west end twins club. They arrived, and triplets came tumbling out of the car door, followed by their smiling father (he was looking forward to his “day off”). We quickly transferred them to the playland’s warm interior, and the first oddity of managing a family of so many same-aged little ones came to light: as I wrestled their winter clothes off, I noticed that one had only shoes on (the boots had been lost in packing the day before), while another triplet had two right boots (better than two left feet, I guess). They weren’t too excited about being abandoned with us “strangers” for the day, but it didn’t take long before they had discovered the wonderful trains and other toys in the play land, and were happily lost in a world of imaginative play made possible by the large, open spaces of our host for the morning.
Once the second batch of kids had been delivered, and their driver gone back to the home to join her partners in painting, we rounded up the troops for a snack, then sent everyone to the washroom before beginning the long and arduous task of dressing all seven boys up again to lead them into cars: our own, and a friend’s; he had come to help us ferry kids around all day.
Church
At church we are greeted with smiles of amazement as people watch our little circus come tumbling through the door. We get everyone into the pew, and at children’s time, one of the older boys even gets to light a candle! Afterwards, the little ones play downstairs in the nursery while their older brothers and our 
two join the junior church gang for a Christmas craft. Before we leave, we move everyone through the bathroom assembly line – the triplets in particular are not quite toilet trained yet, and mom has wisely put a diaper on each of them. (And we had reason to be thankful for that several times throughout the day!)
Then it’s off to our house for grilled cheese and cucumber slices for everyone – a friend from church came along to help administer the ventalin to one of the little ones (did I forget to mention one of the triplets has pretty severe asthma? A troublesome sidebar, when you consider the black mould the painters found in the walls while painting that day!) msd a
Grocery Run
After lunch, we herd the big boys downstairs for some finger painting and play dough while the little ones attempt a “nap” – a slim possibility in a new, exciting place, with so much havoc yet to be wrought! Then it’s time for separating: The triplets stay home with my husband and our car friend while I stuff their older brothers and our two back into our car – but not before another bathroom break and getting on four pairs of boots, mittens, etc., etc. .... I know you are getting tired just reading this, lol! And we’re off to Sobey’s to collect a gift certificate to add to our own pocketful of private donations to get some groceries for their fridge. I who usually complain that grocery stores rarely consider families with twins when designing their grocery carts was now stunned with how to manage FOUR plus a cart. The boys took turns riding in the seat while I chased the others to get off the side (they kept trying to climb into the cart).
Just as it is time to go, one of the twins announces he has to pee RIGHT NOW! So we leave the groceries at the check out and run to the nearest bathroom – oh horror of horrors, it is occupied!!! I talk him through it: “you can do this, think of other things, you are strong, keep your legs crossed”, and just as I am about to hack down the door with a pick ax, it finally opens and a middle aged man care-freely emerges, and saunters off, down one of the aisles of the store—grrrr! We burst into the bathroom, just in the knick of time. Two of the others decide they also have to go. Happily, our groceries are still waiting for us when we return twenty minutes later, and we set off once again.
Together Again
Not able to bear the thought of seven boys together again in our modest home (I don’t know HOW she does it in her tiny place day in and day out!), we drop the groceries off at the house, and head off to the local McDonald’s, which has a play place, thank GAWD! Two orders of large fries to share and some hot chocolate tie them over to dinner while they play with newfound friends in the play place and I get a half hour “break” of sorts.
The parents, meanwhile, have been off enjoying a child-free date, their first in YEARS! This is courtesy of some friends at City TV who have generously donated movie coupons and a gift certificate to a nearby restaurant. We get a call to say they are out of their matinee and ready for pick up (did I mention their vehicle broke down the night before? It was an old clunker anyway, their third attempt
at a second-hand van). I call home and get my husband to send our friend with car over to pick up the happy couple and bring them home to us while we figure out how to negotiate dinner and getting everyone back to their place. A call to the painters brings the unwelcome news that they are not even close to being done! Yikes! Apparently some of our would-be volunteers were deterred by the weather and didn’t show. Wimps!
We all arrive back at our place. It is good to have two more adults to manage the crowd, though the dad quickly offers to go and help with the painting at home. I’m not sure if he is more eager to help paint, or if is it a clever ploy to get away from the screaming masses of boys, lol! In any case, we send our car friend off with the dad and my husband – he is to drop them off to help paint, and come back to have dinner with us before we pack everyone into two cars and drive them all home. The deal is they have to take two triplets with them, just to lessen the load, since we’re down to two adults only now – mom and me. (Thankfully the two triplets fall asleep in the car, so even when he comes back, we’re still down two, as we leave them in the car to slumber in peace!)
I put on the pasta and cut up some red peppers only to find that mom has miraculously brought along a giant pot of chicken and rice for the boys! We dig into our pasta and chicken-rice dinner, some of us in front of the TV, watching Lion King. Then it’s a quick call to the painters to let them know we are DONE and we’re coming, so get ready.
Conclusion
Their home is more or less painted now, and slowly but surely, the furniture is being moved back into the respective rooms. The queen bed to replace the three cribs for the triplets is arriving this week, courtesy of Sleep Country Canada. A member of our local twins club is bringing new bedlinens, and a former principal of mine has sent me a cheque, which I will combine with donations from a Multiple Births Canada member to purchase Wallcandy wall art to “hang” with the children next time I am there. But the wishlist 
(needslist, really) for this family stretches on... they desperately need a new vacuum cleaner – they currently don’t have one. And a working vehicle that fits 5 car seats would also be an asset. As previously mentioned, their clunky old van broke down –AGAIN – and fixing it is only possible because strangers through the Internet and friends from a local church donated Christmas presents and a month’s worth of groceries, freeing up some money. The idea was to help them get ahead, maybe even start a small RESP for some or all of the boys. But now the money has to be used to fix the family vehicle, until it breaks down again. Unfortunately, they don’t live within walking distance to any drop-in or early years program, and public transit is not really an option with the three little ones running in all directions, especially in the dead of winter. Some sort of organizational unit built-in to the front hall, to organize assorted shoes/boots, hats, mittens, etc. might help them manage entry and exit procedures with more efficiency and less drama. And of course, long-term, consistent help for mom would be ideal – someone to come to the house once or twice a week and read, talk to or play with one or two of the triplets at a time for an hour, to give mom a bit of a break and to help get the little ones cognitively and socially ready for Kindergarten next year.... Will you take up the cause? Are you willing and/or able to help in one of the above mentioned ways? If so, please email me, with “TWINS/TRIPLETS HELP” in the subject line, and I will forward your name to the appropriate person.
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My throat is a bit sore this morning... I can feel swollen glands. The result, no doubt, of burning the midnight oil both at home and at work over the past few weeks as I plow through to the Christmas holidays. And yet, I am not overcome with exhaustion and worry about being sick. Instead, after yesterday's adventures, I am filled with thankfulness for the relative manageability of my own situation, and for good friends and strangers who are willing to partner in order to help out a sister in need.
Season’s Greetings, everyone!
It Takes A Village...
Thank you to our many generous donors both business and private who have helped to make our December 21 painting day a success!!! If you are interested in helping to paint or in some other capacity, please email Vera at vera.teschow@utoronto.ca
-Sleep Country - Queen Size Bed
-Home Depot - Christmas Tree
-Sobeys - Groceries
-High Park Paint and Wallpaper - Paint, supplies
-St George's on the Hill - Groceries, Gifts for the children
-George Hull Ctr. - volunteers and assorted donations
-Mary's Playland - Family Pass (free play for the children)
-Michelle & Friends from CityTV - dinner & Movie for the parents!!!
-Private Donors - Gifts, Groceries, Pizza for Painters, Transportation
-West End POMs Group & Friends- organizing, painting, babysitting, etc.
-Sarah Daniels - original Art
Add your name to this list!
Contact Vera to see how you can help!!!
