A Few of my Favorite Things

Getting out of the house with no other adult help is tricky if you have a small child. It's near impossible if you have more than one small child. But it's worth it! Think about it. While you are transporting the kids somewhere, no one is climbing on you! When you get to a place, the kids are looking around at all the new interesting things or playing with other kids, and you don't have to be their source of entertainment! Oh and sometimes there are other adults around to talk to. It's pretty great. 

You don't have to be stuck at home. Here are some of the things that helped me get out of the house with Miss Two and the Baby Guys. 

1. The Maxpedition Kodiak Gearslinger 

This is my diaper bag. It's expensive, and it might look like overkill, but this bag is the single best purchase I ever made. It won't slide off your shoulders when you're bending down to pick up kids or tie shoes, because it only has the one across-your-chest strap. In fact, it's made so that you don't even have to take the bag off to access all your stuff. You can sling the bag around to the front of your body to get a wipe for that snot bubble that's about to pop. And no more fishing around for keys! There's a convenient hook on the strap for that. 

This bag has more awesome features than I could possibly list. And I know it's going to last me a long time, because my husband bought one four years ago for wearing while he rides his motorcycle. He doesn't ride the motorcycle everyday, but he does use the bag everyday, and his still looks brand new. 

2. The Triple Wagon 

My daughter never was particularly fond of the stroller. She would sometimes tolerate it, but many trips to the park ended with me pushing an empty stroller while carrying a toddler. What she did love to ride in, and what it seems to me that all children want to ride in, was a red wagon that her grandparents had. She would sit in that wagon as long as they would let her, and she was happy to ride around the neighborhood in it. 

So when I found out I was pregnant with the twins, I knew a double or triple stroller was not for us. I asked for a triple wagon instead. (Thanks Babo and Dado!) The boys weren't able to use it until they could sit up on their own, of course, but now we use it just about every day. The kids pass toys around, Miss Two gives her brothers kisses, and they generally are entertained by each other and their surroundings while they are safely strapped in to the wagon. I can also fold the handle underneath the body and toss it into the bag of my van easy peasy. 

One last anecdote about the wagon: The boys are so happy to just sit in it, that we were able to do a spontaneous ice-cream trip as a family. Miss Two does not eat ice-cream quickly. We sat at a picnic table with the boys playing happily in the wagon next to us for an hour. My husband was in shock. 

3. A Picnic Blanket

Before the boys were mobile, the picnic blanket was my favorite baby item. The guys did tummy time in the shade while Miss Two played on the playground. It was peaceful and lovely and not at all something I thought about when I only had one kid. One baby can be picked up and carried around easily. When you have two babies, you need a home base for baby placement. Hence, picnic blanket. 

4. ARCpark 

This isn't a baby gear item. This is a huge, wonderful, entirely wheelchair accessible park. Wheelchair accessible means wagon accessible, my friends! I can follow Miss Two anywhere she wants to go, even to the top of the treehouse, pulling the boys along behind me in the wagon. ARCpark is my new happy place.

I know it will get trickier when all of my kids want to run in different directions. I'll probably spend a lot of time in the backyard until I figure out the logistics of taking three toddlers somewhere. Until then, I'm making the most of this phase of my life and getting out of the house with the kids as often as I can.