Twin Play Date

We had our first 'multiples' play date with the Burke twins Harper and Lucy and the Boykin twins Brooke and Katilyn. Lily got in some quality girl time and all enjoyed checking out the new kids and cool toys. There was some crying, more squashing and a bit of mom talk. Jenny has quite a set up - a baby proof play zone with great toys including a couple play tables, tent and mini climbing set. Plus she served freshly baked muffins. We will be back.

We managed to catch one quick group photo before everyone crawled away. From left to right: Evan, Lily, Harper, Lucy, Katilyn, Brooke, and Will.

I think Harper has a crush on Evan. Do bad we didn't catch it on camera but only a few minutes into the play date she was pulling on Evan and chasing him into the 'cabana'. Here he is with Lucy on the climbing gym.

Will on the other hand has a thing for Lucy. He thinks her smile is pretty cute, so do I. She tilts her head to the side to flirt, adorable. (Hopefully she didn't notice the big scratch on Will's forehead, his latest encounter with Max.)

Brooke and Katilyn played coy, they are just starting to crawl. But watch out in a month or two.

I wonder what regular singleton play groups are like. Jenny said she heard of one where the moms didn't want the babies to share toys. What!? Not sure how we would pull that off, I would be embarassed with my kids crawling over everyone elses kids.

Save Big on Gerber Baby Food

From my triplet chat group... (thanks Ann and Wendy)

If you are a Target shopper and want to save a TON on Gerber baby food check out this unlimited coupon from Baby Cheapskate.

Warning, one chat friend was only able to redeem a limited amount at her local Target in Longmont, Colorado but did have success on a second trip.

Other great Gerber coupons from the Gerber site - you can use both together!

Just print and go. Let me know how much you save.

Choo Choo?

When you have triplets it seems that everyone has triplets. I must know well over 30 triplet moms now and this group has been invaluable for tips on how not only to survive but thrive with triplets.



The 'Choo Choo' is on the must have list. So far my network has not been wrong, but I'm hesitating on this one.

Kids love it and it is supposed to be great for walking around the neighborhood, trips to the zoo, etc. It costs almost $200 for the three cars unless you are lucky enough to find one used. You can even add additional cars for siblings.

I'm not sure if the fun outweighs the certainty of being a spectacle. Should we Choo Choo? Do you?

High Fructose Corn Syrup

I've always considered myself to be health conscious, but as a mom I've become more health aware. Now I read all the ingredients on my foods and I've been shocked to see how many foods have high fructose corn syrup (HFCS). There's the obvious, sugar added to fruit juices and sodas. Then the not so obvious fruit jams, crackers, breads, ketchup, Children's Dimetapp, cereals...even the canned peas I bought the other day had additional corn syrup! I didn't think to check until I got home. Also, don't be fooled by claims such as 'All Natural Ingredients' on my Heinz ketchup bottle. Apparently the FDA has approved HFCS as 'natural' even though it is highly processed and often made from genetically modified corn.

This one surprised me (I know I'm a bit behind)

Aunt Jemina Lite Syrup ingredients:
HIGH FRUCTOSE CORN SYRUP, WATER, CELLULOSE GUM, SALT, NATURAL AND ARTIFICIAL FLAVORS, CARAMEL COLOR, SORBIC ACID AND SODIUM BENZOATE (PRESERVATIVES), SODIUM HEXAMETAPHOSPHATE.

Yuck, not any maple syrup to be found. One quarter cup of the 'lite' version has 100 calories. Compare that to Organic Central Market Maple syrup with only 50 calories for the same serving size and much more delicious.

Organic CM Maple syrup:
100% Organic Pure Maple syrup

Which would you rather eat? So, I had been buying whole grain organic waffles, then covering it with 'lite' high fructose corn syrup. Yum.

So, I set out to find out why there is so much HFCS in our foods and is it harmful?

Why HFCS?

In 1982 the US government institued sugar tarrifs and corn farming subsidies which drove the price of sugar up and rendered high fructose corn syrup, derived from corn, more economical. The food industry turned to HFCS as a substitute, with both Coca-Cola and Pepsi switching to HFCS in 1984 .

HFCS, Friend or Foe?

The Corn Refiners Association says:

"When compared to table sugar (sucrose), HFCS is not at all "high" in fructose. In fact, HFCS is nearly identical in composition to table sugar (sucrose), which is composed of 50 percent fructose and 50 percent glucose. HFCS is composed of either 42 percent or 55 percent fructose, with the remaining sugars being primarily glucose and some higher sugars. HFCS is used in foods and beverages because of the many benefits it offers. "

They go on to list the benefits:

• sweetness matches table sugar


• makes foods 'brown' better when baked and gives chewy cookies and snack bars a soft texture


• protects freshness

Searching the web it is obvious there is a lot of controversy about HFCS. The biggest risk that I found documented in several places is that HFCS is metabolized in the body differently than other forms of sugar. The Seattle Times states it most simply:

"The problem with HFCS is not only that it is sweeter than other forms of sugar, but also that it does not affect appetite. Fructose adds to overeating because it does not trigger chemical messengers that tell the brain the stomach is full and no longer hungry, like food and drinks that contain regular refined sugar do."

Studies on the metabolism of HFCS make links to various health issues including wieght gain, diabetes, heart disease, loss of bone density, and cancer. Although these ill effects have not yet been proven in human clinical trials.

The truth is not clear, what is clear is that there is entirely too much added sugar, HFCS and artificial sugars in our foods.

So, I will be more dilligent about reading food labels and aim to limit the amount of foods we consume with sugar, especially HFCS.

Let me know what you think.

Rain Rain

Current forecast is 50% t-storms for the weekend… Won’t the rain ever stop?

Lily's first word

Yesterday Lily began her mastery of the English language by pronouncing "duck". This is a bit of a relief since she has been dangerously close to saying "bug" when we read Ten Little Labybugs to her. The "b" gave her trouble and she ended up sounding "gug" . Can we all agree that "duck" is a better first word than "bug"?

Tex Mex

Babies got their first taste of Mexican food last Saturday, chicken tacos from El Sol y La Luna. The new baby got a craving for chicken tacos, and only the best most fresh tacos. Evan wouldn't nap, so I packed him up and left the rest of the gang and Dad napping, while we drove across town to pick up tacos.

As you can see everyone had a very enjoyable lunch. Lily is probably the best eater, even though she has the least amount of teeth.

Official Tooth Count
Evan: 6
Will: 3
Lily: 1

Invitation to Post Comments

A big thank you to everyone that visits our blog and especially to those who have posted. I want to invite you all to post comments. I've only had a few and love hearing from you. Yes, you.

All you do is click 'comment' below the post and you can write us a note. Thanks!

Say Cheese!

Here is a sampling of some of the fabulous photos our friend Scott took for us. Check out his portfolio at www.scottstater.com.

And Baby Makes Six

We're expecting our FOURTH baby, a complete miracle and spontaneous surprise, in January 2008.

Life is quite a journey. Not long ago we considered that we may never be able to have a child. Now we are well on our way to having four children under two. It is daunting, but we have a lot of love to give and are fortunate to have a very supportive family.

It is too early to say for sure, but it looks like we will be having another boy!

Photo by Scott Stater http://www.scottstater.com/.

First Emergency Room Visit

The new Dell Children's hospital opened last Saturday, just in time. We had our first (minor) emergency which felt more major in the moment.

Evan went to pet Max who was sleeping peacefully on the couch. Max typically runs off or bats a little with his paw if accosted but this time he used his claws and got in a tangle with Evan's lower eye lid. He rushed over from changing Will and untangled the two. It looked terrible, he called me out of the shower, I quickly dressed, we packed every one up and headed out.

The new Children's hospital is beautiful and very close, nice to know with three children. They were friendly and expeditious. There was almost no wait.

Evan was a trooper, he smiled at the staff and only cried a bit when the doctor was cleaning his eye. Once the blood was gone it didn't look bad enough for stitches and they sent us home with a topical ointment and antibiotics. Whew!

Evan with the culprit. Anyone want a friendly lap cat?

Happy Independence Day!

The Rosedale 4th of July parade is something we have been looking forward to for a while. The last couple years David and I have been the sole spectators as most of our neighbors are in the parade but this year we were excited to have three reasons to participate.

Will, Evan and Lily enjoying the festivities in their new Radio Flyer ATW. Austin has been deluged with rain this past few weeks leaving the surrounding lakes with record water levels. The 4th was no exception. But the rain did not deter us and let up long enough for the parade and festivities to follow.

Lily and Evan eager for the parade to begin. This is much better than napping!

Will getting into the patriotic spirit.

We were joined by lots of new friends in the neighborhood. Sam, Camden, Lauren, Jack and their parents.

Bill, Clare and uncle Jason also joined in the fun.

Will, Evan and Lily's first taste of watermelon, itsn't life sweet?

Lily patiently working her way through her first piece of watermelon. She ate two whole slices.