Talented Triplet Mom on the Street: Kim Jones
At the Jones household, oftentimes, you truly are “Keeping up with the Jones” x 3! Talented Triplet Mom on the Street Kim Jones shares with us her life through the shock and surprise of finding out she was having triplets through raising them to be strong entrepreneurial young men.
Read on to learn more about this talented thriving Mom on the Street.
Meet Kim
Cool mom, Kim Jones is an adoring wife and mother of identical male triplets who will always put family first. An only child raised in Eatonville, Florida, and then Washington, DC, she is a graduate of Howard University, where she also met her husband, Aaron. Prior to her expanded family, Kim was a Human Resources Professional. After having the triplets, she decided that a career change was necessary to have the flexibility of working from home. She has been a licensed Realtor© since 2002, selling residential real estate in the Washington, DC metro area.
Kim enjoys being of service to others. In addition to leading the National Triplet Convention, she regularly volunteers her time to help make home repairs locally. She and her team make repairs on homes belonging to seniors and help rebuild in places like Puerto Rico after the hurricanes. Kim, her husband, and her mother are also co-founders of Home Theory, LLC, a residential redevelopment company that helps sellers with burdensome properties and improves communities one house at a time by renovating dilapidated homes.
Triplet Mom Surprise
How did you feel when you found out you were having triplets?
When I found out that I was having triplets, I felt like I was in the twilight zone! I was shocked to even be pregnant because I had been taking birth control pills for three years and had not missed a menstrual cycle.
When I found out that I was pregnant, it was the Tuesday before Thanksgiving in 1995. During this time, I had not been able to keep anything down for a few days, and I thought I had a stomach virus. So, I decided to go to the doctor. I explained my symptoms, and he asked if I wanted to take a pregnancy test. I said, “No, I’m on the pill,” and he said, “let’s take one anyway,” so I did, and when he walked back into the exam room, the look on his face said everything! The results were in, I was PREGNANT, and further tests revealed that I was two months into the pregnancy! I was in total shock!
Oh yeah, did I mention that we were also in the midst of planning our wedding…for 200 people with a date of May 31, 1996?!! Needless to say, our focus shifted, and we decided to scale the size of the wedding back, and we moved the date up to December 23rd, 1995.
Multiple Heartbeats
In December, I went to the obstetrician for my monthly check-up, and she hears two heartbeats and tells me that we are having TWINS! While gulping with surprise, I managed to say, “oh, kay”!??
So, I go in for my next monthly check-up in January, and as the doctor is performing the sonogram, I see a strange look come over her face. I asked if everything was ok and she turns the screen towards me and says…” If this is Baby A, and this is Baby B,” as she points to the “blobs” on the screen…” then this”…and I stop her and I yell, “I know it’s not a Baby C”!!!?? And she’s so happy and excited and jumping up and down and saying, “YES! YES! YES! There’s another baby back there hiding!!!! I was in TOTAL SHOCK, and all I could say was, “I’m NOT coming back! Every time I come back, you find another baby!”
I managed to carry our babies for 34.4 weeks, and surprisingly, our sons were born on our original wedding date, May 31, 1996. They were in the hospital for less than two weeks, and I was terrified to bring them home because I did not know how to take care of one baby, let alone three! Thanks to God and the help of my grandparents, we all survived!
Triplet Mom Life
What were the hardest and easiest things about raising triplets?
The easiest thing about raising triplets was never having to arrange playdates! It was baffling to me that so many moms (and a few dads) spent so much time and energy arranging playdates! That was not a thing when I was a kid. We just went outside and played with the other kids that were outside. Who knew?
The hardest thing about raising triplets for me was making sure that they were safe. Upon giving birth, my first thought was, I have two hands and two tits! How the heck am I going to breastfeed three babies??? It’s called rotation! Lol!
My immediate next thought was and still is, how do I keep my sons safe? How do I keep these Black boys safe in America? Social injustice and police brutality are probably not something that most moms must think about. That is unless you have Black sons. In that case, it can be all-consuming. My biggest fear is that someone will consider the color of my sons’ black skin a weapon and will bring harm to them or worse. I know this is a heavy subject, but if I’m keeping it 100% honest, this is the hardest part of being a parent for me.
Do multiples run in your family?
I cannot say that multiples “run in our family,” but my husband does have twin aunts.
School Days
How was it putting them through school?
Putting my sons through grade school was a sacrifice for my husband and me. They attended Independent Schools for Pre-K through 12th Grade, and the price tag was not cheap, but at the same time, it was worth every dime we spent! Each one of them thrived, and their experiences were priceless! In terms of classroom placement, each grade, PreK – 6th, only had two sections/classes. Each year the teachers and I would discuss which triplet would get to be on his own, and we would just rotate. I think it worked out very well! Fortunately, both Lowell School and Georgetown Day School saw the value in having all three of our sons attend their schools. They also provided enough financial assistance to make the three tuitions affordable for our family.
For college, all three of my sons attended the University of Pennsylvania (I know, awesome, right! 🙂 ) Their Freshman year, they each decided to get “the luck of the draw” roommates. But each year after, they decided they preferred to room with their brothers, and this is where they formalized their business model in their dorm room, their Junior year.
Talented Triplet Sons
Are your sons close?
Yes, our sons are remarkably close. They are 24 years old; they live together and are co-founders and owners of Triyo Fitness, a health, wellness, and fitness brand. There is a special synergy between the three of them and an understanding that each person has his individual gifts and talents, and when they bring them together, they are unstoppable. When there is a significant disagreement among the three of them, and they need to make a decision, they often decide how to deal with it via what they call the “Trio Tribunal.” Although they are each other’s best friends, they are certainly very independent of each other. I often get asked the question, “do they do everything together?” The answer is no, but they do enjoy each other’s company as well as their alone time.
Did you dress them alike?
Occasionally, we dressed our sons exactly alike. Usually, because someone had given the outfits as a gift. If they had on the same outfit that I purchased, it was typically in different colors. Malik was always in blue, Ahmad was usually in green, orange, or yellow, and Khalil was always in red. When they turned four, they started dressing themselves and only dressed alike for special occasions.
Parenting Triplets
How do you tell them apart?
I can tell my sons apart usually by just looking at them and certainly by their voices or mannerisms.
What are the unique aspects that make your sons different, but also what makes them very similar?
Things that are very similar about my sons are their passion for their business, their joy of salsa and bachata social dancing, and their care and advocacy for others. Unique aspects that make them different are their personalities as well as their individual interests.
What have been your proudest moments as a mom of triplets?
My sons are amazing, and there are many times that I am in awe of how they constantly push themselves to be better individuals in all aspects of their lives. A couple of proud mom moments that do come to mind are when they were all accepted into multiple colleges (including a couple of Ivy League schools) and when their company, Triyo Fitness, was recently named Philadelphia’s Best Personal Trainers. My proudest moments being a mom of triplets are not necessarily moments at all, but witnessing the amazing, thriving, loving, caring and intelligent adults they are, makes me most proud!
Triplet Convention Community
You also run the Triplet convention, Explain a little more about this and why this was and is helpful to parents of multiples.
The National Triplet Convention (NTC) is a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization that I formed in 2012, following the end of the 21-year Triplet Connection Convention (TCC). Our family attended our first Triplet Convention in 2009, and it was really an experience like no other. We had never met another family of triplets, and we were amazed to be surrounded by so many other triplets! It was refreshing for our sons not to be pointed at and whispered about but instead to feel the camaraderie of so many who felt the same way they were feeling.
From that year on, we never missed a convention! When the TCC announced that it was ending, our sons encouraged us to keep the convention going, and that is how NTC came to be! We are a volunteer organization that hosts national conventions annually for families with Triplets, Quadruplets, Quintuplets, and all higher-order multiple (HOM) births.
An Annual Celebration
Each year, the convention location is in a different state, and we try to go from east coast to west coast, north, and south, as well as the Midwest to make it easier and more affordable for families to attend by driving. We are dubbed the “Caravan Convention” because wherever our convention is being held, the minivans take over the parking lot! Our conventions are for all ages. We have parenting workshops, teen bonding activities, and even a room for younger children with crafts, games, and entertainment.
The NTC is a place for parents and grandparents to share and learn from each other and encourage and support each other. We also gain helpful parenting knowledge and the best parenting tips and techniques from professional parenting educators. The Triplet Convention is also a place for the triplets, quadruplets, and quintuplets to hang out with each other and share their own experiences with those like themselves. Lastly, our one and only Triplets Parade is a must-see if the convention is in your town!
Talented Triplet Family
What’s your favorite way to spend time with your family?
Since our sons don’t live with us anymore, any time we spend with them always brings us great pleasure. We enjoy traveling together, or simply hanging out, or discussing current events over a delicious meal, or making TikTok Videos!
What’s been your best family vacation?
Our most recent vacation has been our best! We just recently returned from the Dominican Republic, celebrating my 50th birthday. We danced on the beach. My sons took surf lessons. We played board games late into the night, and we worked out together in the mornings. We talked about life and how to live in our highest purpose, and it was the best family vacation! It’s been several years since we’ve taken a vacation together and it felt so relaxing to be with them for more than a few hours, such as when we visit each other.
Family Activities
What’s your favorite family activity?
We are an active and incredibly fun family! My favorite family activity is anything that we can do as a team or group. Travel tops the list, but it can be a sporting activity such as golfing or something more exciting like participating in game shows. We have been lucky enough to be on two game shows! Family Feud and Ellen’s Game of Games were both super fun experiences for our family!
Parenting true confession:
A true parenting confession is that when I look back at pictures when our sons were babies and toddlers, sometimes I can not tell which son is which!
What’s your go-to family dinner?
When my sons were still at home, my go-to family dinner was anything that I could make in one pot. I often made lasagna, chili, or pasta with chicken and veggies, and my bean soup was also a big favorite.
Talented Triplet Parenting Advice
The best parenting advice that I can give to other parents is to encourage and support your children because they are likely to live up to what you expect from them and what you believe of them.
Being a mom of triplets, I found it essential to keep a schedule when they were babies and toddlers. It was helpful for me to have a scheduled plan, even if the plan did not always happen as planned. Additionally, when our sons were older, we had weekly family meetings; we called them “Fam Jam.” We held ours on Sundays, and we discussed the upcoming week and made sure that all the guys’ activities, family activities, and meetings were all on the schedule. Life becomes much less hectic when everyone is on the same page.
My best advice as a parent to my children has always been to follow your passion.
Talented Triplet Life
What’s your favorite show to binge-watch?
I’m not currently binge-watching anything but the last show that I did binge-watch was “The Queens Gambit,” a miniseries about an orphaned chess prodigy. It was really good, even for me, someone who knows nothing about playing Chess. I also record the T.V. show “Blackish” and usually watch a couple of episodes back to back.
What’s your favorite sport/activity and why?
I enjoy participating in a couple of sporting activities. The first is roller skating. I have been roller skating since I was about 6 years old. Although I don’t get to do it as much as I’d like, it’s always a great time when I do, and roller skating burns lots of calories! Somewhere around week 2 or 3 of the pandemic quarantine, my husband and I rolled back the rugs and moved the furniture in our living room, and just roller skated for a couple of hours in our house! It was so much fun! My other favorite sporting activity is playing tennis. My husband and I play together, and we also have a group of friends we play with (prior to the pandemic) and have even hosted tennis events that we lovingly call “Kimbledon.”
What’s your favorite family dance party song?
My favorite dance party song is “Celebration” by Kool and the Gang.
Talented Triplet Mom Style
Where is your go-to place to shop?
My go-to place to shop is Amazon! It’s super convenient, and I start there for everything! Until a couple of years ago, I was not a fan of online shopping, but now it’s one of my favorite things!
What words best describe your style?
My style is comfortable and casual with a pop of color.
Stilettos or flats?
These days, I prefer flats over stilettos, but a cute sneaker works well too.
What article of clothing can you not live without?
The article of clothing that I would not want to live without is my jeans.
Lifestyle
If you could pick anyone to star as you in a movie based on your life, who would it be?
If I could pick anyone to star as me in a movie based on my life, it would be Holly Robinson Peete. I’ve been told on multiple occasions that we resemble each other.
If you could hang out with anyone from history, living or deceased, who would it be?
If I could hang out with anyone from history, living or deceased, it would be Michelle Obama! She is my hero for so many reasons! I love her sense of style, her advocacy for girls and women, and simply her willingness to help others. What I know of her personality and her relationships with her husband, mom, and daughters are all very intriguing to me. In my head, we are already friends!
What’s at the top of your travel bucket list?
Currently, Tahiti/Bora Bora, Bali, and the Amalfi Coast are all at the top of my travel bucket list. When I travel, I like to immerse myself in the local culture and get a true flavor of the region.
What’s your favorite way to unwind at the end of a long day?
At the end of a long day, I unwind with a cocktail and a dance or two!
Talented Triplet Life and Style
Kim’s passion for her family, triplets, and traveling gives us so much inspiration. Her confident and entrepreneurial take on life invites us all to make the very most of all that life gives us, including, in her case, being a talented triplet Mom!
You can check out her and her family’s business, Home Theory, LLC, or follow along with The Triplet Convention by visiting their website. And for more interesting and stylish moms, be sure to check out FamilyApp’s Mom on the Street!
