My three sons

Happy Halloween!!

2009-11-02T08:47:00.004-05:00

These are my three trick or treaters... and the crew that they went out with on Thursday for the downtown trick or treat.

Downtown trick or treat shuts down about .5 a mile of the main street and all the businesses give out candy to the kids. We got together with my two best friends from the kids school and all went out together. Kelly brought a wagon which was huge since her son Buzz Lightyear and my power ranger spent most of the time getting pulled around in that.

Most of the time I just kept counting heads, 2, 4, 6, ok all the boys are here. Every once in a while, Max would say, "here, mom" and hand me some trash. It took me a while, that Max just kept choosing piece of candy and eating them the whole time he was riding!!

Saturday was a beautiful night and Rich took the boys around the neighborhood. It was so nice and quiet in my house. I answered the door here and there and enjoyed the evening!

Breakfast

2009-10-28T08:46:00.002-04:00

So our mornings tend to be a little hectic. Rich gets lunches made before he leaves, but then it is up to me and the boys to get ourselves dressed and fed in the morning. It usually ends up with me nagging them to do what they need to do so we aren't late.

Except for Sam... he is always so good about doing what he needs to do in the morning. In fact all the boys are responsible for figuring out what they want to eat and then mostly getting it. I'll help as necessary. Tim and Sam are even in charge of reading the directions on whatever is that they need to cook.

Well, this morning Sam read the box for his frozen french toast sticks. It said, 2-3 minutes. So he put the microwave on 2 minutes 30 seconds. Well, when we all went back into the kitchen we saw smoke coming out of the microwave and opened it to find a fairly charred piece of french toast.

Turns out that it was supposed to go in a toaster oven not a microwave oven.

Poor kid, he felt bad, and now we all smell awful. I'm just hoping that the cleaning people don't think that the house is on fire when they come in :)

more sleeping...

2009-10-22T09:17:00.007-04:00

Here is the picture of Tim passed out on the couch Monday night.

And I guess Sam felt left out of the sleeping conversation, because this is what I found when I went in to kiss him goodnight the other night...

sleeping arrangements

2009-10-20T12:26:00.002-04:00

Two interesting sleeping arrnagement stories for you...

First, Tim convinced me that he was OK to watch the show Ghosthunters. Now flashback slightly to the beginning of the summer where he was watching a show on cartoon network called the Othersiders. It scared the heck out of him and we had sleeping issues for 2 weeks. so saturday, he asks to watch ghosthunters, telling me that he watched an episode friday night and wasn't scared. I think ok, maybe he's over it.

Ya, not so much. He was up most of sunday night. he went from his bed to the couch, to waking me up, back to the couch, to waking us up by puking in our bedroom and all over the bathroom (poor Rich had to clean it up). I then went and snoozed on his recliner while he fell asleep only to have him back downstairs 30 minutes later and back on the couch. He climbed in bed with me at about 5 when RIch went to work.

We then found him passed out on the couch after dinner last night at 6:15. Last night was mildly better. Needless to say, Ghosthunters is now blocked.

We also had a conversation with Max last night about his girlfriends. For a while now, Cady from daycare, and I have been his girlfriends. Well, he lays next to Lia in preschool and he has decided that she too is his girlfriend. He even asked for a sleepover last night with the 2 of them. And when you are someone's boyfriend you get to kiss them on the lips and marry them... but you both have to be 5 years old.

SO he climbs in to bed and tells me that Lia will sleep on one side and Cady on another, and I'll sleep with daddy and he can be my boyfriend. But then he changed his mind and told that the girls will sleep on either side of him and I can sleep in his sleeping bag on his floor. Demoted so quickly...

Kid Speak: Mommy you're getting bigger!

2009-10-13T08:47:00.002-04:00

Stealing the format of the title from my friend Jen...

Yesterday everyone had the day off except for me, so they came to bring me to lunch. As we were leaving Max gave me a hug. He then stopped and looked up at me and said "Mommy, you're getting bigger" in a tone like "good job, mommy!".

I then pointed out to him that I had high heeled boots on, so I just seemed taller to him :)

Our disney vacation

2009-10-07T18:10:00.002-04:00

This past weekend we spent at Disney. Here's the story.

When Rich and I graduated from grad school we decided that we would take the boys to Disney as a thank you for putting up with us while we were in school. We told them it would likely be sometime around Thanksgiving. And we really didn't mention it much after that.

Fast forward to Thursday, Oct. 1. We showed up at the school to take the boys and head to the airport. You can see their reaction in the video :)

Make video montages at www.OneTrueMedia.com

Quick teaser

2009-10-06T09:56:00.002-04:00

Here are a couple of fun pictures from Disney... more to follow:

Where have I been?

2009-09-29T09:17:00.002-04:00

Sorry, all, I didn't realize it had been so long since I have posted.

School has been going well for the boys. The after school program has left much to be desired (the old director is no longer there and we all loved her). But I have met with the principal and hopefully things will get better. Otherwise, it is back to routine. Max is adjusting to the long days, the poor things is exhausted at the end of the day despite rest time in his class. I have been putting him to bed at 7 these days because he needs a little extra sleep. But he is still a little boy, the other day he told me that one of the other moms has bigger boobs than me... excellent, he is noticing these things in pre-school, what is going to happen when he is in high school?

Tim and Sam are doing well, but I am already seeing the pressure that Tim puts on himself... he commented recently that he is unsure why he has only gotten 1 "100" so far this year. Tim is also doing a reading today in the school's re-dedication ceremony, I'm leaving work early to go see it.

Sammy is his usual smily self and is doing very well in school so far. His papers are all coming back with high marks and he likes his classmates!

We are still in high football season and the boys are playing fabulously. Tim had another 50 yard touchdown in the last game! And Sammy is blocking his line really well!

This week, we are surprising the boys with a long weekend trip to disney. They ahve no idea that we are picking them up early from school on thursday and heading straight for the airport! I can't wait to tell them!

Oh, and I won $5k on the radio yesterday. I heard three songs in a row by 1 artist and was caller # 14. Disney is paid for!! Well, and I am giving each boy $100. they are psyched!

Ok, I really should get back to work... my next post will likely be with pictures of disney!

Max-amillion

2009-09-12T19:37:00.004-04:00

Phew... what to say about Max. Anyone who spends any amount of time in the same area s Max knows that he is a whirlwind. He doesn't stop moving (nevermind talking) and his ears just don't seem to work sometimes!! But he says the sweetest things when you least expect it. I am never short on I love yous or "you're the prettiest prettiest prettiest mom in the world"

He seems to be liking school so far. He really likes a little boy named TJ. Apparently at recess the other day a kindergarten-2 girl (K-2 is 5 year olds and Max is in K-1, 4 year olds)... anyway, a little girl in K-2 was chasing Max and TJ around the yard barking at them and trying to snuggle them. He is so damn cute.

He is also doing very well with Karate. Like the other two boys he started karate over the summer and he has a blast. They really just do a lot of basics, but he really enjoys it.

Next week is his first full week of full-days at school and then he starts at the extended day program. Thank goodness that they have rest time in school because I am going to have one tired little boy on my hands!!

First day of school and my birthday

2009-09-08T17:18:00.007-04:00

Well, today was the first day... and I didn't cry. I'm not sure why. I was pretty sure that I was going to bawl that my baby was going to school, but I didn't. He was so big. He got in line and walked right in with his teacher. Other kids had to be pried off their parents.

I even got a chance to peek at his class because it is right by the front door and he looked so cute sitting in his seat with his classmates doing their art project :)

Plus today I am (as my Brother in law would say) tirty tree :) (We love you Philip!) I got the matching ring to my Tahitian pearl necklace... so pretty! And Tim made me listen to the song below from one of his favorite shows... goofy show, sweet sentiment that he made me listen to it: With a fixed link

I love you mom song

Pictures are below:

The first football game

2009-09-07T14:51:00.005-04:00

On saturday the boys had their first real football game of the season. They played great and won 14-0. One touchdown was from a 40 yard run by Tim. Sam was awesome on the offensive line and stands his ground pretty well... as you can see in the second video. Some kid tries to tackle Sam and he just kind of looks at him like, "um excuse me?" By the way, Timmy is #46 and Sammy is #9.

Tomorrow is the start of school. Pictures to follow!

Six Flags

2009-09-01T19:05:00.002-04:00

So we had a busy weekend. First on saturday we had Sammy's pool party. Now if you remember correctly, Saturday was a downpour. Well, we had it anyway and the boys DID go in the pool. BUt I made them get out in about 10 minutes before they froze to death.

Sunday we had the jamboree football game. It was really fun to see both TIm and Sam on the starting offense. Sammy was lining up against a boy about as big as TIm and did awesome. Tim as usual dominated anyone near him. At one point he carried the ball and the refs had to blow the whistle to end the play because 7 kids couldn't bring Tim to the ground.

Then yesterday I took the day off to take the boys to Six Flags. I hadn't been there in over 8 years and the boys really wanted to go. SO we met my dad and brother and off we went. We had an awesome time!! The boys did coasters they had never done and since it wasn't took packed we got on all the rides we wanted... at the end I made them sit for a cariacture:

Happy Birthday, Sammy!

2009-08-28T14:44:00.004-04:00

I know I recently did an "all about Sammy" post and Max is next on the list, but I need to say Happy Birthday to Sammy.

Today, my second baby is 7. I really don't know how they are getting older because I'm not.

We knew from the beginning that Sammy was going to be a prankster. Even as a baby, we'd comment about how he always joked around. But even parents comment on it now. That child does everything with a smile. Whether it was karate, reading, or talking to another parent, he always has a twinkle in his eye. (The only exception I can think of is football, although I can't see under the helmet, he may still be grinning under there).

He starts second grade this year and continues to be the youngest in his class, but keeps up and excels in so many things that I know he is where he is supposed to be.

Happy Birthday, baby!

I've still got it...

2009-08-24T10:09:00.003-04:00

This past weekend was lots of fun... partially because my wonderful husband totally gave me a ton of time to myself... he took the boys for school shoes while I went and got my hair done and then took them with him to his bike race so that I could go play in an alumni soccer game.

The WPI women's varsity soccer alumni game was a blast. My friend Lynn and I were the old timers (the only alumni who graduated in the 90's) and then a bunch of younger girls some grads from '01, '03, and a handful from '05 and even '09s. (Yes I did feel old for a little while). But all the soccer I have been playing paid off because I held my own against the young girls who are currently on the team! The alumni won 2-0... woo hoo! I commented to my friend Lynn that all we needed was my Gram in the stands and it would have been like old times!

Can't wait for next year to defend our win!

Sam the Man

2009-08-18T10:48:00.002-04:00

Sam the man... this child is my smart alec. He has a heart of gold, but he will come up with the funniest things ever. He is good natured and loves to play games.

So, Sam decided to play football this year. Despite being too young for the cutoff, by 1 month, they let him play because he is still bigger than half of his team (they are all 7-8 year olds). Tim is on the same team and it is very interesting to watch the different personalities out there.

As Rich puts it, Sam needs to get a little more 'ugly'. He is strong and tough, but this kid does everything with a smile on his face. (seriously, other parents comment about it all the time) He doesn't quite trust the pads or himself yet, but when he gets a hold of a guy, he can take him down.

I try to remind him that he has an advantage over everyone else... he is used to tackling Tim and he will not find anyone on the field bigger than his brother.

He has also come leaps and bounds in the pool. This summer he has been gaining his confidence swimming which is good, but he would not go under water. Until we got him the eyes and nose goggles. This child now swims across the pool underwater, jumps off the deck, and does flips in the water. It is so much fun to watch.

Now we are preparing for his birthday party in a few weeks. He is very excited to have a pool party. I'm just hoping that we have a nice day for it... or at least no thunderstorms, cuz they can still swim in the rain :)

Just a quick thanks to my husband...

2009-08-18T10:44:00.003-04:00

We are flat out lately. Football in August is a lot to handle and this year the coach asked Rich to be an assistant, so despite knowing it would put a crunch on his bike training time, he agreed.

Now, for those of you who know, Rich already gets up early (out of the house by 5:30 most mornings) so that he can be home early. Which means he gets between 5-6 (on a good night 7) hours of sleep a night. Well in order to still help with football, work and train for bike season, he got up at 4:30, rode his bike in the dark this morning and then left for work at about 6 this morning.

I don't think that the boys and I tell him enough how much he does for us.

Thanks, Baby!

Did I just get hit on?

2009-08-13T13:11:00.006-04:00

So, yesterday I was in the supermarket with Max. Now I come home from work, threw on a pair of jean shorts, so just looked very mom-ish. Well, we were in the dairy aisle and all of a sudden a guy wearing a sleeveless shirt and has his arms pulled into it says, "you must be from around here. Its freezing in here."

I said, "yeah, I am, but it is freezing in here."
He says, " Its 115 where I'm from, I live in Palm Springs, CA."

So I figured the conversation was over and started to walk away. Then he says,
"Is that your little brother?"
I said, "Nope, this is my youngest son."
He says, "Wow you started young!!"
I said, "Yeah, but when they are all in college, I'll be young and still be making money to do the things I want."
He said, "Yeah, you'll be like 50."
I said, "Probably younger than that."
He said, "I did it the other way around, I'm 55 and my kids are 10 and 13." (Now I didn't have the heart to tell him that he was old enough to be my dad)
I said, (trying to be polite), "I never would have guessed... well, have a nice visit up here." and finished my shopping...

I wonder what he would have said if I had Tim with me, maybe, "so is that your boyfriend?" Ha Ha!!

Watching Timmy mature

2009-08-13T11:15:00.004-04:00

Day by day I see Tim do things and say things that show me how much he is maturing. These things are huge because as parents we always want to feel like we are doing something right with our kids.

A few examples:

One morning, I was scolding the boys about how they treat the living room. The one room that we actually try to keep nice and they treat it like a wrestling ring and gymnastics floor. Well, I went back into the bathroom to get ready and came out to find it actually looking nice... Tim had gone and cleaned it up, straightened all the couch cushions and straightened up the coffee table.

Recently we went school shopping, and as we went through the checkout line, Tim was shocked at how much I spent. We then went over to ToysRUs to shop for my niece's birthday. Tim then asked me if he could buy Evie's presents with his own money because I had spent so much money on them. I told him that it was a very sweet offer, but it was my job to buy them school supplies so they could do well. He insisted on buying one of her presents, so I let him buy one of the smaller ones.

Finally, Sammy has decided to also play football this year. (more on that in another post). Now, Tim is just man-handling the kids on his team. Sammy is bigger than 50% of his team, so you can imagine how Tim is compared to them. Anyway, Tim and I had a conversation the other day about how he is worried about Sam getting hurt. I had to tell him, that he probably will and he'll probably cry. But he won't get any more hurt than Tim did and that the coached never put any kid in a position where they can't handle it.

So, my little boy is going into 3rd grade and is totally becoming a mature little person... (no pun intended)

Conversations with Max

2009-08-11T10:54:00.003-04:00

THis past weekend Timmy spent at my parents. On Friday he went on an amazing 3 hour zip line tour with my dad in the Berkshires. Then on Saturday, Max and Sam and I went out to swim in the pool and hang out. While in the pool Max made a passing comment about grandpa's armpit hair (sorry , dad)!

Well, in the car yesterday, Max offered to show me his armpit. Here is our conversation:

Me: "No thanks, I'm driving"
Max: "Grandpa has armpit hair, but I don't"
Me: "Well, how did he get armpit hair?"
Max: "Because he's a grandpa. And he has beards and hair all over his body."
Me(chuckling): "Are you going to get armpit hair?"
Max: "no, because I'm not a grandpa"
Me: "DOes daddy have armpit hair."
Max: "Yup"
Me: "But he's not a grandpa"
Max: "But he's big. But you're only medium big, so you don't have armpit hair."

He then went into detail showing my with his fingers how big each of us was compared to each other.

Ahhhh, conversations with my boys...

What I did on my summer vacation

2009-07-30T10:26:00.004-04:00

This was the first year that we could take our vacation on our own terms. I have to say, picking a time to go was actually more difficult than when we had to go when daycare did.

But as usual we went up to Tamworth for a few days.

We started our vacation off spending a day with Sammy's friend Jaxon and his family on Pin River Pond in Wakefield, NH. About 25 minutes south of Tamworth. We had a GREAT day. They have a boat and the boys went tubing for the first time. They loved it. I think that we'll try to spend more time with them next summer!!

On Sunday, we tried Monkey Trunks. We all had a blast except Max, who we thought would love being a genuine monkey. He was too afraid to fall so really didn't do much. But the rest of us were tired when we were done :) And then in the afternoon we went mini golfing which is always a challenge with our overly competitive oldest :) Sam max and I played one hole behind Rich and Timmy!

Monday we hit the usual StoryLand. Always fun!

Although, we were able to hit all the rides we wanted too, a major rainstorm blew through which had us hiding in a tent for about 30 minutes :)

Tuesday was our last full day there and we went to white lake in the morning and then up to Mt. Washington to see Daddy do a mountain bike race.
While we waited, the boys each got a turn climbing on the climbing wall at the bottom of Mt. washington. Timmy made it to the top this year and each boy got further than they had before.

We got home on Wednesday, tired, but happy :)

Beautiful weekend

2009-07-21T09:27:00.002-04:00

This past weekend was absolutely beautiful. Our 11th anniversary was saturday and we went to a friends cookout and then out to dinner and a movie. We haven't gone to a movie together in a really long time. We saw the hangover and it was pretty funny!

Sunday we basically spent doing nothing! I took the boys out to the pool for a while and we just had a lazy day. We haven't had one of those all summer :)

In other recent news, Max has become the youngest boy to learn how to ride his bike without the training wheels. I have video, but haven't uploaded it yet.

Tim got co-MVP of his spring baseball team (and he was one of two boys playing at a level above his age). Sammy had his first chance at pitching in his league (again the youngest kid on the team) and did fabulously!!!

And finally, last night after Sam's game he took a shower and when he got out, his upper lip was bleeding. I asked him what happened and he said he didn't know, but I prompted him by saying, did you use one of the razors in the shower? Which he then fessed up to, so he got his first nick shaving his 6 year old mustache.

I can't blame him, when I was a pre-teen I took my mother's razor and managed to give myself a 3 inch razor cut up my shin...

Worcester Tornadoes baseball camp

2009-07-13T09:16:00.003-04:00

This past week, Tim and Sam went to the Worcester Tornadoes baseball camp. They were in separate groups, but they made friends and definitely practiced their skills. In fact, Tim was amazed that they were teaching them the SAME things as their coaches... surprise the coaches knew what they were talking about :)

They were also impressed that some of the "counselors" were members of the Worcester tornadoes team, they got lots of autographs. At the end of the week, each group gets to play a game on the Worcester Tornadoes field, have their name up on the scoreboard, and their name announced over the PA. Take a look:

Photo and video editing at www.OneTrueMedia.com

Happy 4th of July (a little late)

2009-07-06T21:52:00.002-04:00

What a beautiful weekend!!! I could not have asked for better weather than this past weekend. let's just hope that it continues.

Last week started out a little tough, but ended beautifully. For some reason I decided to try a different kind of makeup. So I went to the counter and the girl offered to do a quick facial massage and show me some makeup... i was only looking for foundation. But said, what the heck. At the end of the 30 minutes, the moisturizer was great and the makeup she did looked good.

the next morning however, my face was swollen. I still went to work, but co-workers showed up at my office and there was pure shock on their face when they saw me. One even told me to please leave and see a doctor. I stuck it out, hiding in my office until about 3 and left to go home and take a nap.

That night, my face was so swollen, you would have thought I lost a boxing fight... Sammy said he didn't want to hug me cuz my face gave him the chills. So the next morning I took the day off and went to my allergist. Who advised me that I should take a picture of my face (and at this point, it looked better then the night before). He put me on prednisone and I was looking a lot better by that evening.

I had Friday off which was pretty low key. max spent most of the day waiting for grandpa to come get him because he couldn't wait to sleep over. Well, about dinner time, all three boys decided they wanted to sleep over. (Tim's comment was that they hadn't seen them in a while, but I think the open pool had more to do with it).

So, my parents took all three boys from Friday night until sunday afternoon. It was amazing to have some free, quiet time in my own house on saturday. And then sunday we cooked-out and played in the pool and it was just generally a fabulous day.

Thanks, Mom and Dad for taking them. I'm glad that they mostly behaved themselves, and it was huge for me to have some down time!

Summer has begun

2009-06-30T08:59:00.002-04:00

Well, I guess officially it has started, not that the weather would agree. At least it is nice-ish on the weekends.

The boys are home full time this summer with my friend, their gym teacher, Miss Goudy :) She also runs the after school program and runs a tight ship. She is the teacher that the kids love, but she doesn't take crap and expects you to follow the rules.

Well, I think Ms. Goudy may whip our boys into shape while we work this summer. We came home last night to find "chore" charts on the wall. Now, these chores are fairly easy compared to what my guess is others do. They need to take care of themselves, clean their rooms, take care of the pets, make their beds, follow the rules, and be kind. Oh! But the worst one for Tim... they have to eat fruits and veggies!!! They can only have 1 junk item a day. Tim is beside himself right now!

The only rule I am struggling with that I need to bring up with her is that everyone needs to finish before leaving the table. In theory, I like this idea, however, Max messes around most meals and half eats. So I'm not sure the other two should have to deal with that. I have to think on it more.

Otherwise, they hit the library and other activities during the week. I think that the boys will have fun, this week will just be a transition period ;) Next week, the two older boys get to go to baseball camp with the Worcester Torndaoes.

School's out

2009-06-25T10:20:00.002-04:00

Well, school has been out for a little over a week now. The older to attended the after school program until the end of the week, but are now home with a babysitter/my friend Jess.

Last week also ended an era for me and our family. Max had his last day at "auntie" Kathy's childcare. Timmy started her daycare on July 9, 2001 and that was one of the hardest day I think that I've had. He was 6 months old. I cried all the way to work.

Then Sam started with her on Dec, 1, 2002. It was a much easier transition this time. And then Max started in the middle of August 2005. I drove by, tossed him out of the car and continued to work (I'm obviously kidding here, but it gets easier).

And here I am 8 years later, in the same company, in the same house, with three children who will likely all be taller than me by the time they are 10. Time moves too quickly.

Enough of the sentimental story... here is a new Max story from last week.

Daycare was closed one day and my friend Len offered up his college daughter to watch Max for the day. While they were playing, he told her that the dog ate a crayon. So Alicia was worried about where so that she could clean it up and check the dog. She looked, but could find nothing so asked Max where again... he told her, "Oh, it was last week."