Rachel Gilliam

Since last we talked (read? wrote?), a few things have happened.

On Valentine’s Day, Brandon gave me a new minivan. Nothing says “I love you” like sliding doors. Seriously, I drive my minivan with pride, and I have a sudden urge to sign my kids up for soccer, or at least the two that can walk.

Which brings me to my second announcement. In April, I had my third daughter, and, as my oldest daughter Anna says, “There sure are a lot of girls around here.” And a lot of pink clothes, a lot of pacifiers and a lot of Barbies on the living room floor.

So, in case you were wondering what I have been doing the past two years, the short answer is, trying to get my children to sleep.

Luckily, we are on a strict routine, and all three girls go to sleep at the same time every night, and I never say things like, “If you don’t close your eyes right now, you will never watch TV again.” Not that my children ever watch TV, of course.

In other words, same old me. I’m even driving a Toyota again. Maybe I should drag out the gorilla suit and complete this trip down memory lane.

In other updates, Anna finally quit sucking her thumb, but my almost 3-year-old is hitting the pacifier hard, with no signs of stopping.

Before the baby came, I threw out all of Olivia’s pacifiers because she was a big girl and a big sister who didn’t need them. But then I realized she was getting up in the middle of the night and stealing them out of the baby’s mouth.

It didn’t take long until she was completely off the wagon, and I really had to admire her resourcefulness.

In other words, not a lot has changed around here. Except I do not own one single pair of red shoes anymore. At least my minivan is red. That’s basically the same thing, right?

Rachel Gilliam is a former Sun staff writer, wife and mother of three girls.