The Things Kids Say

We are sitting at the dinner table the other night asking the kids about their day and getting the typical one word responses of "good" or "Ok". Our favorite question to ask is, "Did anyone get into trouble today?" You are wondering why we ask this, don't you? It is hilarious with twins because if by chance one of the boys did get into trouble you know it immediately because they will both put their heads down but try to get eye contact with each other wondering if the other one is going to confess or just be quiet. Typically though we ask just to get some conversation going.

Why is that when someone gets into trouble it is "good conversation"? This is true with adults to if you think about it. The best reality TV shows are the ones that have the most drama. I think it is a natural human thing. Ok so I am drifting.......Anyway. We are talking and out of the blue Liam looks at his dad and says, "Dad who was your second choice to marry"? Now you know I am trying my best not to laugh out loud but I am soo thankful that this question is not directed towards me but rather towards dad. Lets see how David is going to get out of this one. Now I am starring at David along with Heidi and all of the kids..We all want to know the answer. David looks at Liam and says "What do you mean son" Liam again says with a gruff in his voice.."Dad..you know, your second choice for someone to marry". I am dying by now. I am having to cover my face and I want to stomp my feet and crack up but we need to stay still and hear the answer right....

Anyway the best part of the story is that David said 'There was no second choice, it was only your mom" So the ending was sweet too as my husband got all gushy and then Eamon and Liam started laughing saying "oh gross" I am convinced he heard this from somewhere. The only other thing I can think of is that they are on a kick about how it is cool to be second rather than first. The kids say the funniest things

Funny How Things Work

On Monday evening I finally got the opportunity to meet up with someone that I will now call a friend. Last January, more than 1 year ago I signed up for a bootcamp at Lifetime Fitness. It was 3 mornings a week from 6am to 7am and it was for 12 weeks. It was a tough program and you also had to complete 10 miles of activity every week outside of class. I felt like it was highschool basketball practice all over again but I loved it. During this class I met one of the ladies and he name is Jillian. Jillian is a very fit, red head and for some reason we clicked and we were often partners when required. The Friday class was weigh lifting so we really got to know each other that way. We started to meet earlier to get some extra cardio in and I found that we could just talk and talk. Bootcamp ended and we exchanged phone numbers and email addresses. We have kept in touch for the past year by email and since the triplets came she has asked to come see the babies and for whatever reason everytime we schedule something comes up so we scheduled a dinner. OMG......3 hours later and we are still chatting. In this 3 hours we had made plans to do some canning together and we have since signed up for a 10k walk/run in Royal Oak coming in May. I guess the purpose of this explaination is that I feel so lucky that special people continue to come into my life as I continue to grow and mature. Jillian had tons of gifts for all of the kids and her generousity was just overwhelming to me. I was so surprised that she wanted to go out with ...me.....and that she wanted to get my kids (who she has never met) gifts. She is really an amazing person and ever since Monday it really made me stop and open up my eyes to the gifts of friendship that I have been given.

I am continuing this by going out with one of our neighbors tonight who moved into our neighborhood last year and I havent had the opportunity to go out and really get to know her. Funny How Things Are.....

The Triplet Update

On Saturday I gave you all an update on the older kids and I just realized I did not include the trips. Here is the update for them: They were 3 months old on Tuesday - St. Patricks Day

Colin- He is our higher maintenance kid for now. He likes to be held and it usually will solve any form of crakyness (how does a triplet get spoiled by being held) He is starting to really coo and smile often. He is a tummy sleeper but if he is upset I wrap him up really tight and hide his hands and lay him on his side and his eyes roll back in his head and he is out. He is at about 5 hours at a time. I have had mostly mild tempered kids so out of all of them Colin likes to complain the most, but we still love him

Declan- He is a remake of Eamon. He can spend the day propped on a pillow and literally hang out and let out a whimper when he is hungry. He is a great sleeper and rarely complains. He is smiling more and more but Heidi is the one that can get him to do a belly laugh (I think they have a special bond). He is consistantly sleeping 8 hours and he has a very sensitive gag reflex so I have to be careful shoving a bottle or pacifier in or he can lose his whole bottle. He still has a small red spot on his forehead that comes out when he gets mad and his eyes tend to cross more often than the other 2 babies.

Finn- He is huge. Finn is very content at looking at things that have bold colors. He will lay on the floor and entertain himself for a long time. He rarely complains and when he does he can throw out his lower lip and his frown is literally the most pathetic thing I have ever seen. You dont know whether to laugh or to cry with him. Finn is the loudest crier too. He doesnt cry often but when he does ..it is loud. He will smile and laugh at people as well as things he sees. He found his hand this week and it is hilarious watching him hold up his hand and look at it so intense. Finn is sleeping between 6 and 8 hours at a time at night.

Just Another Saturday

Here I am sitting in my family room with a swing rockin back and forth, the sound of the TV in the background and 2 babies just hangin out on the floor. I feel like I always describe the same thing as I feel like I live in this room. I did get a bug yesterday and rearranged the furniture in here. David came home from work and I asked him if he liked it and before he had the opportunity to answer I said "I dont care if you like it...I spend way too many hours in this room and I need a change"...It was funny as he started laughing and said "I didnt say I didnt like it" Maybe I was a bit too quick to respond huh.

Today I ventured out to the mall with the triplets and Mairin. We met up with a friend..Sally and we sat while the kids played in the germ infested playland. I had a great time. The babies were great and I am trying to get used to being starred at and observed. I dont mind the looks I just wonder what people are thinking? Do they look at me and say "fertility" or do they say "crazy" hummm I am just curious. I think with the economy the way it is it really does effect how some people respond. I think the more I go out the easier it will get. I would much rather blend into a crowd rather than stick out with a 6 foot long stroller.

Let me go thru and give you updates on each one of my little angels.

Eamon is my little charming sweetheart. Lately he has been frustrating because he is very unorganized and he tends to lose things. Last week he lost his lunchbox, coat and forgot his homework one night. How do you lose so many things in such a short time? I emailed his teacher and she said that it is normal 1st grade behavior. He is going to drive me crazy. Today though he came up from downstairs where he had spent quite a bit of time practicing his handwriting. He was writing the alphabet over and over again. I was shocked so I asked what is up and he said that Mrs Lydy wants everyones writing to be better and neater. You go Mrs Lydy.
Liam is my shy but also my little leader of the pack here at home. He is very anal and is very detailed about his homework and everything he is supposed to do. His latest thing is that when he gets mad or frustrated he will leave and go up to his room to think about it or he will tell me that he does not want to talk about it. The other thing he does that just kills me is that when I am lecturing him or going on and on about something (you know how moms do) he says to me.."mom I know you already said that and please dont talk to me about that anymore" I look at him and think "WHAT" does this stuff start at 6 years old. He is a sweetheart though. He is reading his chapter book and he takes everywhere with him and I think he is enjoying reading.
Mairin is my talker. I never thought I would have to ask one of my children to just be quiet for 5 minutes. I hate asking her but it does give me a few minutes of peace. She is always talking, singing, yelling or bossing someone around. I feel so bad for these triplets as they are going to get bossed around so bad. I heard Mairin asking the boys today in the car "Hey guys are you into the Jonas Brothers" I turned my head and thought ...what ...how does my 4 year old know about the Jonas Brothers.....Oh wow this is a huge reality check. She is very helpful with the babies and she is always offering to put a pacifier in their mouths. I am soo glad to have a daughter as they are soo sweet and i cant imagine life without her or life without any of them for that matter.

Happy St Pats Day

Thanks Marcia for the cool hats that we all wore to school today. It was fun getting everyone up today and handing out the Green shirts. I had to send in treats for Mairin and it was quite a job getting everyone out of the house this morning.

The sun is shining and the water from our basement is retreating back to where it belongs. We had to pull up the carpet and put a bunch of fans downstairs but it looks like we will be back in working action in no time. Yesterday was a fun day. The babies and I took our first long walk. We went 3.5 miles and the stroller did a good job. I guess you could say that it is time to get back out there and move. I gave up my gym membership for now since I really cant imagine trying to get all 3 babies out the door and get them to the gym and dropped off in the daycare. Maybe when they are older we can do that. This particular gym that I go to will call you if your child has a wet or other diaper because they will not change diapers. Well I can just imagine how many times I would get called down and it just sounds like too much right now.

The boys are all signed up for baseball and soccer and they should both be starting in April. This is going to be a very busy spring for us. I am anxious to put my stroller to good use and be able to attend the games and practices.

Today the boys are celebrating being 3 months old. We have survived 12 weeks of triplets. 9 more months left of the "1st year" I say this because when I read other peoples blogs I keep hearing that the first year is the hardest. Honestly I think that once they become mobile is when I will be a wreck. They cant go anywhere now and I kind of dig that. Looking forward to a full nights sleep though so like I have said before...Every age is different and you gain things and you lose them depending on the age. Have a great day

What A Nice Day

We did it...Yep we took the kids outside for a walk. The sun was finally shining in our wonderful state of Michigan and the temp was a bit brisk..we got the babies out for a breath of fresh air. David says that the air in our house is "Toxic"by the time March rolls around. 9 people living under one roof with the windows and doors closed. Yep sounds like toxic air to me too.

The babies seem to really like the stroller and I will do all I can to get them trained to LOVE the stroller as it is our only mode of transportation at this point.

Let me share with everyone that our little Declan has been sleeping 8 to 9 hours at night before waking up. Now you might say congrats but with multiples it doesnt do me a whole lot of good since I am up anyway with the other 2. I know we are getting there. Currently we have Colin who is the fussiest. In fact I think he is the fussiest baby out of the 6. He loves to be held and is often pretty restless. Once he is asleep though than he is good. Maybe it is just the formula or who knows maybe a bit of just not being happy. I am blessed though with what I have and if a fussy baby is all I have to complain about than I guess my life is going pretty well.

We are getting ready to do their baptisms soon. I am making the arrangements with the church now and we are looking at May. I wonder how this will work. The priest wants to do it during mass. I am not crazy about the idea as I would rather do it after the mass and it just be family. I dont like getting up in front of the entire church and being the center of attention. This should be an awefully big shindig though. I will keep you all updated

Fun Picture

I just couldnt stand it. I had them dressed all the same and I quickly put them in their bumbos and was laughing the entire time. These are the pics that make even me as the mom say...holy crap I have 3 babies. How do I get anything done around here??? How do I keep my sanity? How do I do it? Let me tell you something. I dont have a choice for one. Secondly it really isnt that bad. Maybe since I had twins I go back to those days and I know that each stage ends and a new one begins. Every age has its battles and some ages are easier than others but everyday they are growing, changing and entering different stages. The beauty of having twins and then triplets is that I am able to enjoy the trips a bit more than I did the twins at this age because with the twins I didnt know what I was doing. I have to admit this can be good and bad to know what is coming. I remember the ages so of course I am dreading this summer with these guys because I am a beach girl and an outside girl. Three babies at 6 months of age is a hard age to have fun outdoors. Now next summer will be the best when they are 18 months old.

Too Much Water

So I just had to post the wonderful lake that we have right outside of our basement door. We have lived here for 8 years and have never seen the water this high but the old owners said that they had water come in the basement in 1985. Here we are 2009 and we are about an inch from it gushing in thru the doorwall. There is water in the basement already but not as bad as it could be. The kids think it is really fun and cool. There are about 6 Canadian Geese that have made our backyard their home. How nice....Pray for us that the rain is done for now. I just dont have time to rip apart a finished basement.

Junk Food Fridays

TGIF and it is Junk Food Friday at the Mott house. I have recently adopted this new idea and it seems to be going over well. Every Friday is junk food friday and the kids really enjoy it. On Friday I make sure and pack fruit for their snacks and a pretty healthy lunch because for dinner on Friday we have good stuff. I let them pick usually. It could be pizza, chicken nuggets etc. We also get to have a popcorn party and often I let the big kids sleep downstairs in the basement. They get their sleeping bags out and we pull out the couch into a bed and they can flop and fall asleep to the TV. It really makes for a nice ending to a hectic week. Friday usually brings some neighborhood kids over to share in the festivities and sometimes it is just the Mott's. Eamon especially looks forward to the popcorn party as he says I am the best mom in the world when I pop 2 bags of popcorn.

I am attempting to show and teach them to get excited about simple things and that we dont always have to go all out to have a good time. Many of these ideas come from my childhood. I grew up in a small town so going to a Chuckie Cheeses or out to the movies was a BIG deal and was a rare event. We spent our time ice skating on the lake, 4 wheeling, swimming, fishing or making forts out in the woods. Good solid fun.

Right now we are in between seasons so we cant ice skate on the pond anymore and we cant go to the beach to swim so Junk Food Fridays is a fun thing to look forward to. The kids just discovered that they can continue to play hockey with their roller blades on the driveway. They get off the schoolbus and put on their blades. I set out the snack box and slowly other kids arrive. I love that they are burning energy but I hate what their clothes look like when they come in. I cant seem to find a stain stick that will get all of the "Boy" stains out of their clothes. Oh well with 5 boys I think that is something I will need to come to grips with huh..... Happy Junk Food Friday to everyone

I Won..and Other Things

Hey everyone...I have to share the good news. I entered a drawing on http://odelltrips.blogspot.com and I won. I never win anything. What did I win? Nicole's husband is this amazing sketch artist and the prize was a major credit towards a drawing. I am so excited because my sister-in-law Nadine had one of these done years ago. She has 5 kids and this sketch hangs in her living room and it is priceless. Ever since I saw it I have secretly wanted one done. How perfect now to capture all six kids. If you like the sketch art stuff, go to the above website and click on the Wil O'Dell icon. He has samples posted on his site. Thanks so much Nicole.
Today my husband is home sick with what we think is the FLU...Yuckkk. He ralphed last night and I am making him stay in his room as I do not want to get anywhere near his SICKNESS. I had a couple of hours off this morning when my friend Kathy came over and watched the babies. I didnt really know what to do with myself so I wondered the aisles of Walmart...It was lots of fun.
My sleeping update is as follows and anyone out there who is a mom of trips please leave me some feedback as to if this is normal and that I am still on track for eventual sleeping thru the night. Also any suggestions are welcome. thanks
The babies are usually put down to down to bed between 9 and 10pm and get up anywhere from 1 to 3am. I try to hold them off as long as I can with pacifiers and patting of the back. As soon as 2 of them are awake I figure ..what the heck and we start a feeding. They seem to get back up again at around 6am. I try to hold them until 6:30 or 7am and then I get up and feed them and we are up for the day. They take great morning naps..most of the time.

A Great Start To March

The schedule is finally starting to work. I am beginning to put the babies up in bed for a morning nap and it seems to be working well. It gives me at least 2 hours to get my daily chores done. I think the biggest challenge is to keep them all on one schedule. Today has already been a great day. Let me tell you why..

Last night David was exhausted so he kindly asked if he could go up to bed early and he offered to come in and relieve me from the 6am feeding. I was ok with that deal. He went off to bed and was asleep by 8pm...If anyone knows my husband you will know that he NEVER goes to bed that early but also he can only sleep for soo long so he knew he would be awake early. He came in at 6:15am and took over. The best part of this whole morning is that when I woke it was 8:15am and the older boys were off to school by the bus, Mairin was ready for school and the babies were all downstairs and were fed and changed. David did the whole morning routine without me. Rock On.......I was on cloud nine when I got up. Will he do it again someday????? I hope so.

Yesterday was also a great day. Heidi took the 3 older kids to Jungle Java for 5 hours while I was able to take a nap, shower and get ready for some company that came over to see the babies. While the company was at our house Heidi made coffee for everyone and cooked dinner. This is the life I can get used to. I may not have formal help that comes in everyday but I have a sister that continues to amaze me with her ability to pitch in and help and a husband who wants to be very involved in the raising of his family.