Beachin It With Triplets

It was hot out today so I called David at work and told him to prepare to take the triplets to the beach when he arrived home from work. We had dinner together and then everyone ran upstairs to change and off we went.   We loaded up the triplets and Mairin and headed down to our beach.  I had no idea what to expect as this was our first visit to a beach.  I should have predicted as I am sure I would have gotten it right.  Colin ran into the water..head first, Declan was a bit more curious and cautious and Finn walked in slowly and observed with all of his senses everything about the moment.  They basically loved it.  David and I both waded along side of them as they braved the water and went in deeper and deeper.  Colin would fall and go under and we would stand him back up and he would be smiling.  Declan was shivering and was not as balanced and Finn was splashing and wondering why we had never been to this "place" before.  The longer they were in the water...the deeper they went.  David and I definately had our hands full.  We would take turns saying, "you have 2 now", "ok I am going this way, you stay here".  There was definately no time for a bathroom break.  The best part was that by going at 6:45pm most of the people are gone so I didn't have to deal with anyone looking at us and judging with looks, stares or any other comments that someone might want to say when they see a set of triplet, 18  month old boys in the water at once.  ahhh so refreshing.  I packed their pjs so we stripped them naked, gave them an outside shower and put on new diapers and Pjs before loading them back up.  We were home by 8:15pm and they were in bed by 8:30.  What a great night.

Triplet Trouble

It is constant JOB watching 3 little boys that are just as busy as can be.  The biggest problem with triplets is that if 1 is doing bad...2 and 3 are always following suit.  They are like a magnet to the word "no".  I say no to one of them and all of a sudden the other two have dropped their current activity to come running and see what they are missing.  They are on a new kick right now and it is driving me and everyone other adult who watches them..crazy.  I feel like we have a dog again and we have to keep everything off of the kitchen table.  They like to climb up and sit on the kitchen table.  Finn loves to push it just a bit further by standing up and touching the light and watch it sway back and forth.  I walk in and see him looking up at the light swaying and he is grinning and clapping...convinced he is doing good.  Colin was first to figure out how to climb up so now he is finally starting to listen and sit on the bench rather than on the table.  He is also the fastest at getting up and down with the most grace.  Declan was last to be able to launch his body up on the bench and now his second home is on the table.  The problem with Declan is that he gives away his devious actions by crying because he can get up but can't seem to get down.  When the fun is done and the brothers have left..he is stuck there..on top of the table waiting for a rescue.  They also love it when I will give them a snack at the table.  I have to be in right mood to let them eat out of their highchairs but hey..sometimes it can kill 15 minutes.  This picture is all 3 at the table but notice they are sitting nice..doesn't happen often.

My Kid Escaped

The older kids are gone for the week so David and I are settling in with a life of just triplets.  You laugh when I say"just triplets" huh?  It is very different.  When the older kids are gone I find that I have much more time to relax.  Usually when I put the triplets down for a nap or down for bed..it is the then time for the older kids.  The older ones often have to wait until the babies are sleeping for mom to be able to do certain things with them.  Now that the older ones are gone...we put the triplets to bed and we both kind of look at each other and say...hummm want to take a nap?, wanna watch a movie?  Kind of different.

Yesterday we put Colin, Declan and Finn down for their nap and for about 8 months now I have been separating them for naptime.  Naps just didnt work well with all 3 babies in the same room.  They all have their own ways of falling asleep and this way I find that they sleep much longer. (they still sleep together for night though). Declan gets his regular crib, Colin gets a pack n play in the older boys room and Finn either gets Heidi's room or the laundry room. (note that the laundry room is a great nap room cause it is very dark and cool).  I was walking by the door to Colin's room and I thought I heard something and as I listened I thought wow it sounds like he is right next to the door.  Oh well ..he is just talking I will get him in a few minutes.  I went back downstairs and did some stuff.  When I came back about a half hour later I could him talking so I opened up the door and the little stink looked at me and walked out.  Yep he had gotten out of his pack n play and was "playing" in the room quietly.  How long had he been "free"?  I felt a sense of panick come over me..That feeling that you get when you don't know all of the facts.  He isnt even 18 months old and crawling out of his pack n play....this cannot be happening.  I glanced around the room and calmed myself by reassurring myself that there were no cleaning supplies in there, no food or anything they he could have hurt himself.  A crib or pack n play is supposed to be a place of security, a place of a huge break.  I think it maybe time for one of those crib covers or crib cages.  This is just one more thing to put on my list to do.  ahhhhh

Today Was The Last Day Of School...What Now?

As a kid I was so excited when school was out for the summer but I never understood why my mom never shared the same excitement....Now I Understand.  I hate that it is the last day of school.  I hate that for the next 3 months it is up..solely to me...to be their source of entertainment, education, food consumption and everything else that comes with 24hr care.  They couldn't even keep the kids a full day on their last day of school.  They released at noon.  Come on at least keep them for a full day..one last day..please..... I love the facebook post of a friend of mine.  At 12:10 today (probably the time the bus was dropping them off) she posts, "school is out, now what". 

You suggest putting them into camp right? Well where we live you actually need tobe able to take out a second mortgage in order to put 3 kids in all day camps.  Not to mention that they don't take 18 month old children so I would end up paying a ton of money to get rid of the older 3 and still end up homebound with 3 little ones.  Parents do camp to entertain their kids and to get a break.  I need a couple more years to be able to send them all away (oh and probably will need to pick up a fulltime job too)

Do you remember when you didn't have kids and you were not in school? Those were the years I didn't pay attention to when school started or when it was out.  I could have cared less about the snowstorm that was coming.  A snowday?  What job gives you a snowday?   Now with 6 kids and my sister, who is a 5th grade teacher and living with us, I am very aware of the weather reports, the threat of the possiblity of no schoolbus showing up to take them away. I am aware of the holidays and exactly how many days the schools are closed for and the countdown to the last day of school.  I laugh because it just reinforces how you pay attention and care about only...and only what affects your daily life. 

I sound like an old grumpy FROG.... complaining about my kids being home all summer but there are some things that I do enjoy about them being home.  I love that the morning isn't a balls out, unorganized, crazy rush to get out the door.  I love that the bedtime routine can relax and I don't have to stay ontop of what time it is. I love that grandma and grandpa's house is a place we can just head to whenever we want to.  We miss a shower..oh well you can stink today.  Oh you really don't match today..oh well it is summer.  I really enjoy the help with chores that I get with all of them being home.  I also get a kick out of watching the different games and creativity that comes out when they are bored and need something to do.  Kids have it in them to be creative if they have the opportunity to be bored.  Another one of my favorites is being able to take the older ones on a day and do something just with them.  I seem to have so many special moments with the little ones since we are home together 24/7 but the older ones are not as available and have more of a schedule. Maybe this summer we can all venture out even with the babies as I have 3 great helpers during the day.    ahhhhh see I can talk myself into anything.   

Actually I am ok with the summer being here.  The kids need a break and I love them even if they make me crazy.  They will only be little for a short while so I pledge that I will enjoy them now.

Men They Just Don't Always Get It.......

They just don't get it.  Last night I was upstairs putting some laundry away and David walked in with anxiety and frustration on his face.  He came from downstairs where he was supposed to be watching the triplets.  My mom and Heidi were cleaning up from dinner, cutting up fruit and preparing food and David was to hang with the trips.  "David what is wrong with you?" I ask him. He says" They are going to bed, they are not listening".  Hah can you make me laugh any harder? I started laughing and said, "David, they are 18 months old and they are little crazy boys".  He replies in a half laughing and half serious voice "I know but they are still going to bed".

Later on I got the real story.  David got home late from work and after he ate his dinner I guess he thought he could take some time to catch a glimpse of his favorite magazine that arrived in the mail (AutoWeek).  This magazine comes every week and when it comes I usually hide it until I have said everything I need to say because once he starts reading it...a bomb can go off and he is clueless.  He went into the family room with the triplets and the magazine thinking he was going to sit down, relax and read his magazine (I mean that makes sense right..that is what I do all day, relax and read).  Immediately Colin started crawling up on his lap...then Declan followed.  Declan started picking at David's face and poking his finger in every hole he could on his face..nose, ears, mouth etc.  He then went after David's glasses.  (I am really laughing now as David is telling me the story at 11pm at the kitchen table over some saltine crackers and peanut butter..his favorite snack) David handles most abuse until they go for his glasses.  Well by this time Fintan was on his way on his lap too.  The magazine got torn out of David's hand and while one of the trips was slowly tearing pages out of his precious magazine another one was getting ready to launch himself from the arm of the chair onto the side table in hopes of taking down the lamp.  The glasses are in one hand and the free hand has to decide weather to save the magazine or save the child from breaking the lamp.  Did I mention the 3rd triplet was on the coffee table and laughing.  David was saying, "No", "Get Down", and many other things and noone was listening.  Hummmm noone was listening huh..Sounds like my life as a mother when noone is listening.  No sympathy here but it was a good laugh.  I noticed the ripped up magazine this morning on the floor next to the chair.  I think the triplets won that one.

2 Weeks of Complete Sadness

Time to throw it back.  It was 2002 and David and I just had Eamon and Liam.  We were new parents to a set of twin boys.  I remember having them a couple days before Mothers Day and Mother's Day was the first morning we were home with the new babies.  Of course the first night is never fun but I remember standing at the changing table in the babies room around 9am, very exhausted and very sad.  What had I done?  My life as I knew it was over.  The phone rang and it was my brother in law, Billy and he sounded so rested and happy and said, "I just wanted to wish you a Happy Mother's Day".  I had all I could do to say thank you and hold back the tears as I handed the phone to my husband.  I found out that Billy was also calling to tell us that he was reading the paper and we had made the article.  A columnist was in the recovery rooms of the hospital the day I delivered. She was doing a story about new moms and Mothe'rs Day.  She was allowed in and asked us lots of questions just hours after the babies arrived.  She had written her article and published it in the Detroit News.  The first 2 weeks were rough.  I was so caught up in the major change of my life that had happened.  We could no longer go out for breakfast, read the paper together and then just do whatever we wanted.  I was afraid we would never be able to go out again.  My husband got me thru all of this with flying colors.  He was wonderful and said exactly what I needed to hear.  He would say, "Heather if we need to get a full time nanny, than that is what we will do".  He was amazing.  I found that each day got a bit easier and once I left the house for a walk by myself I felt better.  I went to Target by myself and walked slowly up and down every aisle..it was great.  I also remember being so scared for my husband to go back to work.  I knew I could do it but I just didn't want to do it alone.  He went to work and came home and it was the beginning of everything getting back to our "new" normal.  I was so into the idea that noone else's life had just changed like mine had.  Everyone else was sleeping like normal and I wasn't, everyone else was going about their summer plans and I had to plan differently since I now was a mother of twin babies.  At the 2 week mark it was like I snapped back into my old self.  I would have never believed that hormones can influence how you feel that much unless I had to experience it.  How powerful our bodies and minds can be. 

This is crazy how tough it was to break into motherhood but now look at us....6 kids later and life is crazy.  The adjustment came only with the twins.  I did not experience any sadness in any of my other pregnancies and I think it was because adding more kids really didn't change my lifestyle..just added to the chaos.

School Is Almost Out

The last week of school for us here.  The boys are getting excited to be done and mom is starting to panick slightly with the thought of all 6 kids home for the summer.  I guess we managed last summer so I guess we will manage this summer.  I am very excited that I have enrolled the older boys in a week long camp in my hometown.  Grandma and Grandpa are going to take them for the week and send them off to camp.  Eamon and Liam seem to be pretty excited.  I am going to send Mairin along for the ride and she can hang with Heidi and Mom for the week.  We have a couple days scheduled up north at a cottage with just the older 3 and David and I.  We did this last year too.  It is a couple of days devoted to only the older 3 kids.  (Life is so easy with just the older 3) We will head to Empire Michigan and enjoy some Traverse City sites, Sleeping Bear Dunes and whatever else we stumble across. 

Yesterday marked the last day of baseball and soccer has come to end as well.  I feel like it is a bit of a relief that we are now "committment free" for most evenings.  I think the boys are going to want to do hockey again this fall so we will need a couple of months off before we start the long hockey season.  David got the biggest burdon of the sports since I am usually at home with the little ones.  I hope that in a couple years we can all go to all of the events with ease.  

Heidi is getting ready to leave us.  We have enjoyed her 2 year stay and she now feels like it is time to go.  I never thougth that 2 years would go so fast and pass with such little stress.  Heidi has been the lifesaver of our family and I really know I could not have done this without her.  I am encouraging her to stay as long as she wants but my guess is that by late July she will be moved out.  She is looking for an apartment to rent and hopefully she will stay very close.  Love you Heidi.

Lots of weddings to go to this summer...looking forward to a fun summer..

Another Great Memorial Day Weekend

I am spending the day doing what every mom does after a weekend away from the house.  It is time to grocery shop, run the errands, do the laundry and just sink back into the routine that we left for 3 days.  We had an amazing trip up north and fun was had by all.  David was in Japan all last week for work so we picked him up from the airport on Friday night and took him north so he could go to bed and try to get back on our time.  When he jumped in the car he had been up for 24 hours so it was an adjustment getting him back to our time. 

Saturday brought lots of sun and fun.  The triplets slept in until 9am and the older kids also crashed hard.  We all headed out to the water for an afternoon of waterfun.  The triplets did well in the water and it was a hot one.  We tired them out and they blessed me with a 4 hour nap so that I could have some R&R with the older ones.  There is so much for the kids to do up at grandma and grandpa's house and I often think that the kids dont know what to do first.  They really love the go cart, the Wii and of course the water.

This picture is back in the woods at grandpa's private little lake.  They love it when grandpa takes them out to look for deer, fish or whatever else they look for.

Mom and Dad have a porch that is lakeside and screened in.  They childproofed the house for us and they also put up this lattice work to keep the triplets from pushing thru the screen and falling a story.  It worked great and the babies loved eating on the floor. 

Here is David and Mairin.  Lots of sun had by all. 

So now it is life back to normal.