Did I tell you that the police have already been to our new place? Yep! It seems that a call was placed from one of our new neighbors. That story truly merits it’s own post, but I’m waiting, semi-hoping I’ll actually figure out who made the call. Still, it’s hard for me to understand what kind of person calls the cops on their new neighbors even before an intial hello, nice to meet you, or any half-hearted welcome at all. I’m not even unpacked yet. Every time I walk out the door, I’m suspicious of everyone I see. I think… was it you? How about you? Or maybe him? Perhaps her? And NO, I’m not going to put an Autism sign on my lawn. If some jerk neighbor was able to justify to themselves that the very typical screams of a child who doesn’t get his way warrants police intervention, then I’m just going to assume that person has some social skills problems that are much more severe than my own children’s. I think that neighbor should get a sign for his/her lawn that says, “I hate people.” There. Done. Then the rest of us can beware and stay clear of that house!
Of course, I am pathetically optimistic about everything. So, I used the police appearance to my advantage. I had already warned the triplets before we moved in that there were new rules in the new house. I told them that if we can’t follow the new rules, we won’t be able to stay in the new house. The triplets are used to rules. (I did not say frequently follows.) Rules make sense to them. Action = consequence makes sense to them. So when all was calm, I told the triplets that the police came because we broke the rules, and that if we broke them again, the police would come back, but we’d probably be in big trouble. Andres always says he wants to be a police officer so he really thinks they are all his friends. I think he wants them to come back. Every. Day. No matter what goes wrong in Kaitlyn’s day, her solution is always to call the doctor. Enrique fights gladiator style, and Andres just wants to call the police.
I just want coffee and two minutes of quiet. Unfortunately, I’ve been going through caffeine withdraws on a daily basis since our move. I can’t find enough time in the day to get caught up, unpacked, or easily resolve all the school issues that came along with the move. Quiet time? No way! The floors creak, the triplets are running, the older boys are screaming, my phone is ringing off the hook, my email is overflowing, and I can hear the rapid racing of my heart as 6 a.m. quickly becomes 11 p.m. and I don’t seem to be any further ahead. Still, I keep going. I’m trying to reward myself with a clean and organized home in time for my birthday on Friday.
Today, I went to all four schools and our new District with the triplets in tow. Since the triplets’ transportion and schooling was abruptly interrupted by our move. It’s hard to get anything done with them running around this big house all day. Oh, and they like to hide. All. Day. Remind me to tell you about when I almost called the police because I couldn’t find Andres for about 20 minutes. I started to panic. I thought that maybe, somehow, he’d gotten outside? I burst into tears when I found him. Forgive my inability to stay on subject right now. Can you tell how overwhelmed I am? Anyway, today was nothing short of a nightmare. The kids were well behaved in front of anyone who even remotely resembled a decision maker. It was rough. The blessing was that Antonio got out very early from school today so he helped me half of the day. Sometimes it’s pretty awesome to have a teen. Sometimes, though – teens are like a “oh-dear-god-please-tell-me-I-didn’t-spend-fifteen-years-just-screwing-this-kid-up” moment. Today, was cool.
It’s was about 5 p.m. and Antonio’s patience had worn hours ago. I think he was so mad he was almost ready to cry and I was feeling just about the same. Neither of the side doors on our van open anymore so getting to the triplets in the back row is tricky. It takes us forever to get them in and out of the van because they are constantly taking off their seatbelts immediately following the draining process of getting them buckled in safely. This happens all the time, even before we pull out of a parking spot and while we are driving. We were leaving our new School District Office and ready to go home. I wanted so badly to get home. I hadn’t even driven one block when Andres got out of his seat and started raising all H E double Hockey Sticks! All of a sudden, we heard sirens. Antonio and I looked at eachother. We knew. We looked at Andres and told him that the police were coming and to put on his seatbelt quickly.
Andres jumped up and took a ninja-baby stance. Followed by an eerily evil cartoon-like laugh he screamed, “Bring it coppies! You can’t catch this baby.”
Maybe you had to be there, but it’s was the funniest moment of the day. Antonio and I laughed so hard we almost choked. Then the triplets started laughing. Five minutes must have passed before any of us could stop. Sometimes, the triplets give us all the hardest time. But, they give us the best moments! Those are the moments that make every single day worth any struggle. We’re blessed. The triplets are awesome. My teen is top notch. My Pedro es unico. My life is complete.
People always say, “wow, you’ve got your hands full!” My response is always, “better full than empty!” True.
By: Alicia Gonzalez
