The threes...

You always hear about the "Terrible Twos" and from 2-2.5 I thought it was pretty rough.  Once they turned two and a half things were a little easier.  They were able to use better vocabulary, the biting stopped, you could reason with them a little bit better, in general I thought "Hey, this isn't too bad...I got this!" Then a wise quad momma told me that the two's had nothing on the three's...Three will have you on your knees praying that you make it to four.  I laughed thinking it couldn't possibly be THAT bad, could it???

Parenting is hard work, parenting high order multiples is a thousand times harder than I ever thought it would be.  I dealt with 10-12 toddlers on a daily bases for years in day care but I have learned the lesson that someone else's children always listen better for someone else, they cooperate better and in general don't give you nearly as much grief as your own. 

When you have four that are all the same age you really need to pick your battles, you cannot fight every single one because you can't be in four places at once so you choose the important ones and stick with them.  There are things that are absolutely non-negotable, then there are things that I try to stick to (when I have the time, energy and not dealing with 3 other more important meltdowns) and then there are things that really aren't a big deal.  I really would like to tell the people who enjoy telling us how to do things and what we are doing wrong to come take them for a couple days (a couple hours truly isn't anywhere near enough time to get the full effect) and by the time they return them I guarantee that they will be worn down and following the same kind of system that we do IF they even enforce things as much as I do!

Three has been trying and we are only two weeks in.  The fighting, whining, teasing, taunting, and general mouthiness is overwhelming.  By the end of the day I have lost my temper far more times than I would like to and I end up sitting here feeling like the worst mom in the world.  There are days I have seriously considered hiring extra help at daycare and finding myself a job or sending the kids to a preschool program just to get a break from it all.  I started my daycare so I would have the opportunity to stay home and raise my kids and now I totally understand why so many parents work.  It keeps them sane!  So here's to hoping that the stories of age four being fabulous are just as true as the throw me to my knees threes!