My three sons

HIT tournament

2010-06-21T20:58:00.002-04:00

Timmy is playing for the 9 year old All star tournament baseball team this summer. (which takes up the whole summer with tournaments, but is good for him :) )

The first tournament was here in Hudson, where they had three games, plus Rich worked grounds crew and I worked in the food shack. (yes it was a very long weekend!)

Timmy played great!! His first at bat, he hit a triple out to center field. He plays mostly third base, shortstop or first. Here is a short montage from one of the games from this weekend.

I'm sure that I'll post more from the districts and states.

Note, I am an awful videographer when my kids do well... in the short video clip here, you'll see Tim bat. He hit a 2 run double out to center field (we were down and rallying at this point.) Well, you'll se ehim hit and then you'll here me screaming... and no longer actually taping Tim :)
Enjoy!

Photo and video editing at www.OneTrueMedia.com

Happy Birthday, Max!

2010-05-17T19:44:00.002-04:00

My Baby turned 5 yesterday. He is my clone and my biggest challenge :) This child can push my buttons like no other, yet he is also mama's boy. He is definitely my clothes horse already. He prefers jeans and a button down shirt to sweats and a tshirt. In fact, when he was going to head for his shower last night, he walked into the bathroom and said, "I looked goooood at my party today!"

We had a mini golf party for him where he invited all the boys from his class and a bunch of friends from his daycare. he had a blast and loved all of the gifts that he got :)

too much on the plate...

2010-05-05T19:21:00.004-04:00

Sorry, its been a while! Our plates are down right overflowing this spring, so let me catch you up...

Rich and I - Rich is getting up at 4am most days to ride his bike in the dark and still leave for work by 6 (at the latest). He is Mountain biking as much as possible and even got on a sponsored developmental mountain bike team!

I have a lot on my plate at work (all good stuff, just a lot), am playing soccer still (LOVE IT) and am trucking kids around to their various activities!

Tim - Is playing on the minors league (8-9 year olds) in baseball and is doing fabulously. He pitches often because he is really good at it... although he didn't warm up correctly last night and we think he pulled his shoulder! His coach is nominating him for the under 9 all star team this summer!

He is also playing lacrosse and absolutely loves it. This is under-11 and Tim is still the biggest kid on the team. I think that he really likes the more aggressive sports. He enjoys playing attack so he can score goals, but the couple of times they put him at goalie, he was fabulous!

Sam - Sammy is also playing baseball in the rookie league and is doing well. He still sort of gets distracted in the field, but hits and fields really well when he is paying attention :)

He also just made his first communion. He was absolutely adorable and his class did fabulously. Pictures below.

Max - as i said previously, he is a handful. He has started T-ball and is also loving it. The first practice one of the coaches saw him throw and asked him if he had played before. To which Max said nope. Then tonight at practice, Max threw him the ball and the guy caught it with no glove. Had to shake his hand out after that catch!

His 5th is coming up on the 16th and he is having an indoor mini golf party. He is very excited to turn 5. He asks every day if it is Sunday yet!

Performance improvement plan...

2010-04-08T08:47:00.003-04:00

So, I am in the middle of review season right now. Meaning that everyone gets their yearly performance review in May. Our process starts in Feb and last until delivery in late april.

Well, when someone is not performing as well as they should and could be, they might possibly go on a performance improvement plan. They need to do specific things in order to begin heading in the right direction. And they better show significant improvement, quickly.

Well, I've (and his teacher) decided that Max is on a performance improvement plan. He has gotten notes recently from his teacher letting us know that his self control is all but non existent. So now he gets a sheet everyday that rates his morning and his afternoon. He get a check, check plus, or check minus. And depending on what he gets, he may (or may not) come home and put a sticker on his chart to earn a privilege. Well, three days in and we've got 1 sticker on the chart so far.

I'm telling you, if one of my children drives me crazy, it will be this one.

Happy Birthday, Mom!

2010-04-08T08:46:00.001-04:00

Happy birthday, Mom! It looks like you got beautiful weather for it :) Enjoy!

Cross curricular fair

2010-03-19T08:35:00.004-04:00

Last night was the boys cross curricular fair. Each class in the school has a theme and they work on projects related to that theme. The boys were:

K-1: Ocean Life

2: old American school days

3: endangered animals

They all did very well on their projects, but Sammy continues to crack us up. Each family got a letter from the Pony express. Here is what our letter from Sam said,

" March 1810
Dear Mom and Dad,
I personally think that children today poems are the best, but it is your opinion. I also think you will like the hand flags. Also, you mite want to checkout my silhouette cause I think it is a good looking kid. Also I want you to checkout the pictures from today and the picture from back than. Thank you for taking the time from your day to come see this presentation.
Love,
Sam"

Most of what he is referring to are the projects that they did as part of this study. But he is a good looking kid!

Wordly Wise

2010-03-09T20:07:00.002-05:00

Wordly wise is the vocabulary workbook that the kids use in school. Tonight Sam had an assignment where there was a list of words that they had to use in sentences. I was reading them over after I noticed a word misspelled.

A couple of the sentences had me laughing...

brain: My brain helped me think of this sentence.
Chimney: smoke comes out of chimneys.
flames: Flames come out of flamethrowers.

This reminded us of the time when he was 4 and rationalized that paper came from birch trees, because birch trees are white.

That kid can always make me smile!

Happy Birthday, Dad!

2010-03-01T10:55:00.003-05:00

Hope you enjoy your birthday!

Getting the boys out the door in the morning...

2010-03-01T10:44:00.002-05:00

... usually takes some amount of yelling and chaos :)

Ok, granted I could probably be a little more organized and could get up earlier to get more done, but I also think that they could do more to get themselves ready :)

Rich takes care of lunches for me before he leaves, which means I'm in charge of dressing, feeding, and making sure we all have everything we need to get out the door. You would think that they could dress themselves, but in the morning, I get "Mom, you didn't get out my clothes for me yet." And my response is usually, you are big enough to get them yourselves." (Of course, this is followed by the, "But you got Max's for him.") Many a time, I have told the boys that life isn't always fair and you will not always be equal with your brothers!!

But even before we get to that point, there is the "Why do we have to go to school, I hate school." Which then gets the response of, "Right now school is your jog, you have to go. Make sure that you get a job that you love when you get older!"

Like I've posted before, sometimes they do try, especially Sammy, to do what needs to be done, but mornings like this one, just drive me crazy because when a child realizes they didn't finish homework and then gets exasperated with me like its my fault, I get a little annoyed and end up yelling at the little things. Not how I want to start my day :(

Luckily, today was a gym morning, so I could go work off that frustration :)

Hamster balls...

2010-02-25T08:26:00.001-05:00

One day when I was at the mall I noticed that there was a large group gathering in this one area of the mall. It was a large pool with these three "hamster balls" in it. So this past weekend, we had a little time so I brought the boys over to try it out. They loved it so much that Tim used all the money he had left to buy himself more time :)

I love Crossfit

2010-02-12T13:47:00.004-05:00

Ok, so a post that isn't about the boys, just about me for a bit.

Some of you know that I have started going to a new gym, Crossfit. And I have to say that I am absolutely loving it.

From the pictures on the website, everyone looks fabulous, thin, strong. I'm a newbie so don't know many people, but I can't begin to tell you how nice everyone is. They are all encouraging and friendly. And I'm shocked to see these women who, from looking at them, I think I could break them like a twig. And then I watch them lift 10s of pounds more than I am.

I am especially proud of myself today because I got my form down on the Clean and Jerk and lifted fairly well. I clean and jerked 70 pounds. Last week, I was struggling with my clean form with 35 pounds.

These are short, intense workouts and I can already tell how much stronger I'm getting... now I just need to get to more cardio so that I can work up to that half marathon that My aunt and I are going to run.

Here's a couple of shots of me that they put on the website: (these are different workouts, although I'm wearing similar clothes and making ugly faces in both :))

sneaky boys?

2010-02-11T13:55:00.003-05:00

So yesterday was a snow day for us, they announced it the night before. So I knew that I could sleep in. So in the morning, the boys stayed really quiet for me... in fact, I wouldn't have even known they were in the house.

SO I slept in a little and when I got up I went to praise them for being so quiet. To which Tim replied...

"Well, since there was no snow we tried not to wake you up. We didn't want you to make us go to school."

They figured, no snow, meant school was still on, and if mom wasn't awake to take them, they wouldn't have to go. They even had the TV volume down really low...

Good boys...

2010-02-08T10:29:00.002-05:00

I have to say that the boys really are good boys. There was some story from the weekend that I thought I had to post and now I can't remember what it was, but here are these anyway.

This weekend Rich played in charity basketball game for his high school. It started at 8pm but we all decided to go watch daddy be the big man :) Max was really tired, so he spent much of the first half sitting on my lap laying on me. He was facing me though so I asked him if he was gonna cheer for daddy. He said, "Mommy, I'm tired. Just tell that Daddy that he's good." It was very cute.

During much of this time, we kept sending Timmy under the bleachers for the things that we dropped. Now we were sitting near a bunch of girls that were probably Sammy's age, but they had brought signs for the alumni playing. One of them dropped her sign and was totally bummed. I pointed it out to Tim and despite having been under there 3-4 times already, jumped up and went to get it for her. It was very nice.

So Max and I left at half time because he was all done. But the other two stayed and apparently on the way home were discussing the game. Tim suggested that this other guy Diego was really good and was the best one out there, to which Sam replied, "I think Daddy was the best one out there :)". Such a sweetie!

Although, that was the first of multiple nights in a row that the boys were up late (superbowl was great and we were at a party so they stayed up for that). Now Tim has a baseball game tonight... that kid is going to bed so early tomorrow night, whether he likes it or not!!

Back to work!

bro-hugs...

2010-02-02T20:00:00.003-05:00

funny story that I forgot to post last weekend...

Max and I went to a friend's birthday party at chuck e cheese. Max and his friend were playing a game where they could shoot spiders. At the end, Max was excited about the game and said, "Tiernan... bro-hug" and tried to give him a bro-hug (ya know, where you grab hands and kind of bump chests and pat each other on the back).

Tiernan looked at him like he was crazy, but Max persisted and taught Tiernan how to do a bro-hug. It was so cute!

Report Cards

2010-02-02T09:05:00.002-05:00

Yesterday we got the boys report cards. Which is always interesting :)

Tim and Sam did very well. We rarely have concerns about their academics as they always do very well. It is more about the social skills that we look for the boys to work on. For Tim it is talking in class and respecting the rights and opinions of others (have we ever mentioned that Tim always needs to be right? :) ) But we saw that he had improved in some areas, so he was proud of that and knows what he needs to work on.

For Sam, it is about keeping himself from getting distracted. He does his work fabulously and he apparently even helps other kids with concepts in Math and Reading (instead of giving them the answer) but is easily distracted and silly at times. All in all, good reports for both.

Max on the other hand is our challenge. "Academically" he is just fine, he knows his numbers and letters and seems to be writing ok, but it is totally the social skills. He doesn't focus well on what he is working on and he just doesn't pay attention when he needs to be. I'm not surprised, these are things that we work on at home (this child takes forever to eat meals), but I'm not sure how to 'teach' him attentiveness and focus. SO I sent a note to the teacher for some suggestions.

I do think that karate will help as focus and paying attention are things that he works on there. We did talk about what it means to pay attention, look at the person, listen to what they are saying, and keep your body parts still :)

At some point I wonder when is this normal and when do you consider something like ADD or ADHD. I hate to go that route and don't think that we are at that point, but I do wonder about it.

Anyway, back to work!

Follow up to Sammy being a love

2010-01-26T09:41:00.002-05:00

I found out yesterday (not from Sam, from another parent whose child is in Sam's class), that Sam was recognized in front of the whole school for returning the wallet.

Each Monday morning the kids all gather in the cafe-gym-atorium (yes, they use the gym for all three) to say their morning prayers. At the end of the prayers, the principal began to make a speech about a young man who deserves much praise. She called Sammy up in front of the whole school and told the story of the lost wallet (his teacher had told her). And they rewarded him a certificate.

He was funny because when he told me the story this morning, he said that he didn't realize that it was him she was talking about. He forgot all about it :)

Such a love... how much of a sap am I that I am teary-eyed as I type this!

Sammy is such a love...

2010-01-19T19:33:00.002-05:00

BUT here's how the story started...

Rich picked up the boys from the after school program and the first thing that Sammy said to him was, "Dad! some guy I don't know gave me $6 today!"

Rich said, "what?"
Sammy said, "Yeah, I was in the bathroom and" (Ok, right about here, Rich did a double take!)

But here is how the really story went. Apparently, Sammy went to the bathroom and while he was in there, he found a wallet. He brought it out to a janitor that he found in the hallway.

A while later, he and a couple of the boys were in the computer room when the teacher called him back. And there was a man standing there. The man introduced himself to Sam and told him what a responsible young man he was and rewarded him with $6.

I'm very proud of him and the choice he made. And now he sees the making good choices will get you rewarded!

Post-holiday routine

2010-01-06T09:02:00.002-05:00

First I have to say that my lack of posting here is a result of more posting on facebook ;)

But let me catch you up...

Christmas was really good. We did Christmas eve at my in-laws and I have to say we did not leave there with an overflowing car :) And the kids were happy with what they got! I do have to say that I was freezing though. for a couple of weeks around then, I just couldn't get warm. I spent much of the time there on the couch under a blanket with a cup of tea :)

Christmas day, the deluge of presents that Santa left was much appreciated by the boys. We have dubbed this the ER-bound Christmas though as Max got a trampoline and skateboard, Tim got a skateboard ramp, and Sam got a pogo stick. Nothing has happened yet, but they are little boys!

Then, my family came over and we had a nice dinner and played a game after dessert. It was a nice day. But I also realized that my skin was flaring and my blood pressure was up. Called the doc the next day and he put me on the meds that I had been on previously and that helped. Now my skin was another story. It got so bad that I went to the dermatologist on Tues and demanded that he put me on an immunosuppressant that would help. And it is. I feel way more normal now! Skin is still very dry, but gets better everyday!

New years was really low key. The boys have a tradition of each getting a fancy glass of sparkling white grape juice and toasting before bed. But then I was in bed at 9:40 and poor Rich stayed up by himself. Next year will be better!

And now, yesterday was Tim's birthday. How have I been a parent for 9 years already? He has matured so much right before our eyes. He is getting pretty tall (wearing size 11-12 pants and size 7.5 mean's shoes). He is still very competitive when it comes to his sports (sometimes too competitive, but who am I to talk?), but he is more helpful and mature about situations.

We are going a sharks game on saturday night as his party. He is inviting 5 friends and we have seats up against the glass. Should be a lot of fun.

Ok, i should get to work!

Christmas Advent Show

2009-12-23T14:11:00.003-05:00

Each year the school puts on an Advent show retelling the birth of Jesus. Each class sings songs and the older kids have parts in the play. This year, you will see that Tim was dressed up as the head shepherd. He had very little to do until the last song when he had to help one of the other shepherds (Our close friend, Charlie, who is in kindergarten.)

I did not include the video, but Charlie began to have trouble keeping his rope belt around his waist, holding, his sheep, and clapping all at the same time. Tim tried to help, but alas, poor Charlie ended up handing his sheep to "Joseph" so he could fix his belt and then proceeded to "spank" the sheep so that he could clap once his belt was up :)

Here are some other videos and images from the show:

Make an on-line slideshow at www.OneTrueMedia.com

Max's abc Christmas show

2009-12-15T16:34:00.003-05:00

Each year the pre-k and kindergarten classes put on the ABC Christmas show. A telling of the birth of Jesus where they go through the alphabet. The children wear costumes and each have a letter to recite. This year, Max was the drummer boy and had letter 'V'.

Make an on-line slide show at www.OneTrueMedia.com

Our tree is up...

2009-12-11T15:32:00.003-05:00

This week has been sort of crazy.

We got our tree on Sunday, but didn't really do much more than get it in the stand because it was still wet and needed to open up some.

Then Monday I started some intro classes to a new gym called CrossFit. It seems intense, and it is, and everyone looks buff, but I absolutely loved it when I tried it the first time. You bust your butt while you are there and you do so many different things, it creates great results. Plus everyone does the same workout, so it adds a little competition to it, which I like :) Watch out, I'm gonna get stacked.

But those classes were Mon, Tues, and Thurs night this week.

We had s snow day on Wednesday which actually worked out great because the boys and I were able to decorate the tree. It looks pretty good if you ask me :) I then encouraged them to go outside and play, but they said it would be no fun if I didn't come out. (In my old age, I'm not enjoying the cold weather one bit). So they didn't go out. Do you know that once Rich got home and started shoveling, they all went outside and built a fort and played.

I took Thursday off and went in to be the 3rd grade mystery reader. It was very cute. The kids don't know who is coming in until they get there. You read them a book and then they get to interview a little bit. Tim thanked me about 4 times for coming in!

Now it is Friday and I have no motivation to do real work :) I'm leaving in a bit to get my haircut and then play soccer tonight :)

Have a great weekend all!

Costumes... in December...

2009-12-03T09:08:00.002-05:00

Have I mentioned how bad I am at crafty things? SO why is it that I said that I could create costumes for 2 children for their Christmas shows?

Before I get into that I need to relay a Sammy story. His class each created a thanksgiving card to their families. We opened Sammy's a few days late, but it basically said, "Dear Family, Can we not eat Turkey on Thanksgiving Day? I don't like turkey so we can we not have it this year? Love, Sammy" That kid is hysterical!

Anyway, on to costumes, Max is a drummer boy in his ABC christmas show. His letter is V. SO the teacher will read, "V is for Venite, the summons oh, come" and Max will respond, "Come praise him with harp and trumpet and drums." But I need to create the costume. So looking up information, it looks like I can get away with a white button down shirt, lederhosen (shorts and suspenders), a triangular hat (which I'll create out of felt) and a drum. I think I'm ok, but finding suspenders for a 4 year old proved impossible, so I bought adult ones that shorten quite a bit :)

Then Tim is a shepherd(possibly head shepherd) in the advent show. Luckily this just means a robe, a cloth for the top of his head and a rope around that cloth. THe sheep (stuffed) will be provided by the school. Now this wouldn't have been so hard since Tim needs a new robe anyway, BUT most boys robes have prints, they aren't really just plain color. SO eventually I found one and at a reasonable price, so now I just need to put everything together!

I really do love this season, but I feel like there is a ton going on this year and I don't have quite a good handle on it all yet :) I'll get there though!

Happy Thanksgiving!!

2009-11-29T19:46:00.002-05:00

We have had a pretty good thanksgiving weekend! Tim has recovered fairly well from the pneumonia. We went out to my mother's house for the afternoon. The family ended up playing catch phrase for a pretty long time and Tim actually held his own :)

Then yesterday we went out to see Old Dogs. It was ok, not quite as funny as I thought it would be. The older boys seemed to enjoy it, but Max didn't really get into it.

I did go out and do black friday shopping. Since toysrus opened at 12 and there wasn't really anything I needed to get when they opened. I got there at 2:30. Which was great because the end of the long lines were over and I got pretty much everything on my list. Then I went over to jcpenny and got what I needed there, drove through the walmart parking lot and said noway. I ended up at Kohl's for a little while and that was the longest line I stood in. All that and grabbed some yummy food at honeydew for everyone's breakfast and was back home in bed by 5:45. And Rich let me sleep until 10 :) love that guy!!

We ended the week by watching Rich's bike race today.

All in all a really good long weekend.

wow, i'm sorry I haven't updated recently

2009-11-13T13:19:00.003-05:00

What has been going on, let me see...

Football season is over, We didn't have a great end to the season... we lost our game in the mighty mite bowl, but Tim did have the only touchdown for our team. I did wave to my aunt and uncle in Hudson as we played our game at Tyngsboro high school (which I didn't realize was literally right down the street from their house).

Basketball season starts at the beginning of Dec., but there are evaluations this weekend and next to try and set up fair teams amongst the 2nd and 3rd graders. Luckily Tim and Sam will be on the same team. Although, funny story from yesterday... I was picking the boys up from the after school program and they were helping to clean up the gym to prepare for a girls basketball clinic.

The organizer introduced himself and I pointed out which kids were mine. He looked at Tim and asked what grade he was in because he was a big kid. I said that we was 8 and in the third grade. He said, wow tall kid. I said ya, his dad is 6'8". And he told me that although the clinic is for 5th-8th grade, that he would certainly include Tim since he was so big if he wanted to come.

Now this is just a clinic, doing skills and drills, no games. And first thinking about it, I was like, sure if he wants to... then thought wait a minute, he would be playing with 8th graders!!! He's used to playing with 5th and 6th graders in baseball, but 8th graders? I don't think that he would be intimidated, but the mentality of a 9 year old is very different than that of a 13 year old! We'll see what he says.

Max is Max. He has a one little girl that is his girlfriend at the after school program and they hug before they go home for the night. :) He told me last night that I couldn't give him kisses anymore unless I came to be the lunch helper :) Guess I'll have to surprise him soon!

Ok, I gotta get back to work!

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."

Back to reality...

2009-06-15T19:24:00.002-04:00

This past weekend was my weekend away for graduation. Rich secretly talked with my sister and one of my best friends into taking me away for a weekend. I had to get involved in the planning some, but we ended up on Newport, RI.

So the plan was get going early on saturday and come back later on sunday to try and get a full weekend. On the way down we stopped at my cousin's high school graduation party (I feel like we just had her brother's party for goodness sake, and that was three years ago!). Then hit Newport Vineyards for a wine tasting before getting to the hotel.

After getting to the swanky hotel room we went and sat on the back deck with drinks for quite a while. This was incredibly relaxing. But eventually, we needed to eat dinner so drove over to downtown to hit Clarke's Cooke House. We saw some great parking spots but had to maneuver our way to them. UNfortunately they were gone when we got there, but there were two opening up. A lady in a huge suburban or something like that was waiting for one and we jumped to grab the other... which meant we sort of had to get in her way to get it....

SO we pull in and then she goes by us... huh? and rolls down her window and then everyone behind is looking at us as they drive by... so then we realize that we were complete jerks and totally just cut her off and stole her spot! Of course, we sit and deliberate on whether or not we should leave because she could come back and key the car. SO we leave and some other guy takes the spot... as we are driving up the hill the woman is walking down the hill and literally almost stops walking to watch us drive by!! But really, she looked too swanky to be the keying type :)

But we had a great time at dinner, where I proceeded to drink enough that I don't remember a couple of conversations and I saw two of the waiter who took our picture :) But not enough to get sick or have a hangover! Go me!

The next day, we had yummy breakfast and then walked the cliff walk for a while. It was really nice. We literally talked the entire weekend and to be honest none of us could remember about what. It was just what I needed....

... because this morning Max stayed home with a cold and I had to pick Sam up at noon because he had had a cold and fever... more on that later

My evening yesterday...

2009-06-10T12:33:00.003-04:00

I was in a training class all day yesterday (and today for that matter), but got out just in time to begin the evening.

Tim's playoffs have started and Sammy's season is just winding to a close, but both had games last night. Rich was awesome and left work early enough to get TIm to his game for 5:15.

So that left me to leave work at 4:45 (class ended on on time) and go get Max at daycare. We then went to the afterschool program to grab Sammy. I gave Sam his uniform so he could change while I ran up the hill to ge the dog from the vet. Picking up the dog took longer than expected so by the time I got Sam, Max and Lucy into the car, it was 5:54 and Sam was supposed to be at the field at 5:45 for his 6 pm game. So I flew to the field... only to find that Sammy was only the third player from his team to get there AND he didn't have his glove.

So I left him there with the 1 coach from his team and flew home (which was good because LUcy was groggy and was better off being at home) to get Sam's glove. I got back, they had started the scrimmage and Max headed for the playground. Ok, frazzling, but ok to this point.

Rich and I decided to switch games halfway so we could each see the playoff game. About 10 minutes before RIch gets there, Max says he has to go potty, so over to the porta-potty we go. He locks me out and does what ever 4 year olds can to fool around in there and comes out. He only pee'd. 2 minutes before rich gets there, Max comes running over... "I pooped in my pants!" Great, I don't have spares today, so he learned what the word commando means.

I then went to Timmy's game which turned out to be a nail biter... but I need to get back to class, so details on that later!

Parkerville school house

2009-06-08T10:21:00.002-04:00

Tim's class had their second grade field trip last week. They have been learning all year about kids from about 100 years ago... so thinking about it now, about the time when my Granddad would have been a kid.

They learned about what kinds of toys they played with, clothes they wore, chores they had to do, and what school would have been like. Then they visited an old 1 room school house, they had to dress as kids back then would have, carry their lunches in pails, use slates, and horn books. Here is a picture of Tim's class... Tim is the second boy from the left... not sure if he was still upset that I made him bring his lunch in a pail and not in a bandana hung on a hobo stick...

graduation video

2009-05-25T19:17:00.002-04:00

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Graduation

2009-05-21T09:09:00.007-04:00

So, I keep waiting to post so that I can put up some pictures to match the text, but maybe if I do the two separately, I'll actually get something up here. (Max's birthday will be a separate post)

Graduation day was incredibly busy, started with a bit of frustration, but ended perfectly.

Here was our schedule for the day:

9:15: Rich to take Tim and Sam to sign Tim up for baseball
9:45: Rich and two boys to baseball field for sammy's game from 10-12.
10:00: Elana to leave with Max to finish errands
10:05: Elana swear up and down under her breath because Max lets the dog get loose (I left anyway)
11:30: guests start to arrive for Max's family birthday party (most of the party was spent trying to get the filthy dog
1:05 start kicking people out so that we can leave for graduation
2:15: arrive at Bentley to get ready for graduation (Rich had to truck all the way across campus with the boys and his parents by himself)
3:10: graduation starts
5:15: graduation ends
6:00 we arrive at dinner at the teppanyaki place
6:05: I have my first scorpion bowl of the night
8:30: arrive home and get everyone in bed... phew

Dinner was absolutely fabulous, everyone got along, my kids behaved, we all ate great food. I do have to say, I think that was the best part of the day!

Some realizations about the difference between graduating with your bachelors and your masters (as an adult):

1. You don't cry because you are leaving your friends, you cry because your children are cheering for you and their huge smiles just melt your heart

2. You don't smile because of the gifts your getting or the big party you'll have, you smile because you and your spouse survived

3. You spend much of the ceremony worrying that your children are going to drive your parents crazy, only to find out that they were so well behaved, people didn't even know children were in those seats.

4. You don't take for granted that your grandparents are in the audience cheering for you, you are thrilled that your Gram is there with tears in her eyes and are sad that the rest of your grandparents are watching from heaven

5. You look forward to "free time" in both cases, but free time now really just means you have time to pick up the things that got neglected while you were doing homework... like playing with your kids.

All in all, I'm glad that we both did it (Congrats, honey! You are a stronger man for having survived this :-*) We are better off for it, but can tell you that the only homework I'll be working on in the future will be with my kids!

Of Mother's Day and baseball

2009-05-14T09:13:00.003-04:00

This past weekend was very nice. Really busy day on Saturday as I spent 6 hours at the baseball fields watching Sammy and Timmy play. Tim had a double header and they won both games! It is amazing to watch his team progress... and Tim is just surprising us left and right. He is one of the youngest kids in the league and is holding his own. In last night's game he hit a ball into the outfield and pitched as the closer and struck out their final batters to end the game.

What impressed me most was his tenacity to do well for his team. A couple of kids were down on themselves for striking out (almost in tears, as he put it) and on the last better (the pitcher) Tim turned to his third baseman and said, "Hey Nuke, I'll take this guy down,1-2-3 for ya". And he threw the heat (according to Rich anyway, I wasn't actually here) and struck him out. Despite being really competitive, he is a great team player!

Sammy's team is slightly different, I think a lot of it has to do with coaching and personality. Sammy has a lot of raw talent, but not as much drive as Tim. In Sat's game Sammy was on third base and ready to come home, but while they were pitching, Sammy was running circles around his base :)

Then on Sunday, we went to my sister-in-law's for brunch and then to RIch's grandmother's. THen by that point my allergies were kicking in full force, so I took a nap! I really don't think that if it were any other day, I wouldn't have gotten a nap :) Then I made us a nice dinner.

More baseball this week and another busy saturday!

Mom... what does sex mean?

2009-05-07T20:04:00.002-04:00

um......

Why are there no good websites telling us how to approach this with an 8 year old? (I'm still looking though).

Yes apparently the 5th graders saw something in health today about sex. So Timmy asked tonight what sex means. I stumbled a bit and Rich was no help. We did tell him that we were stumbling because it is an adult thing.

I told him that it is when two people love each other and it is how you make babies.

So he asked why the 5th graders saw it and I said well, in 5th grade you might start thinking about kissing girls.

So he asked if his friends older brother (the fifth grader) was gonna kiss a girl. I said maybe someday!

I think I'll find some better ways to talk about it and address it again tomorrow!

Yikes!

Happy Dance!!

2009-05-05T08:54:00.003-04:00

Just a quick note to say that last night was my very last class! I'm not getting overly happy yet because Rich has his finals tomorrow, so I don't want to be premature in celebrating!

Then we are done. I think that going back to school together, with three kids, while both working full-time was one of the hardest things that we have done. But we survived, the kids survived, and we are better off for it.

Now, we get to enjoy something called free-time... well sort of... we have a mountain of laundry as big as Everest that has been neglected the last couple of weeks...

Canobie Lake and first communion

2009-04-29T08:59:00.002-04:00

This past weekend was pretty busy, but a ton of fun!

On Saturday, Canobie lake park opened for the season. Tickets were cheap and the weather was beautiful so I decided to take the boys. Thank god for my sister because she met us there and it was hug to have an extra adult since Timmy started going on rides that the other two wouldn't go near :)

Here are some pics of that:

Photo and video editing at www.OneTrueMedia.com

Then on Sunday, Timmy received his First Communion. Of course I was a sap. It was definitely hot in that church, but I was so proud of him as he walked in carrying the Lectionary. Here is some video. He is very excited about the fact that he can go up and receive communion anytime now. Sammy is a bit jealous! Not only of communion, but also all the gifts that Timmy got. He has been saving for a TV of his own and now he can afford it :)

Make an on-line slide show at www.OneTrueMedia.com

Ok, I know its been a long time...

2009-04-22T15:11:00.002-04:00

And yes, I find myself saying this a lot. I think about posting, but things just get so crazy, and I don't download pictures that I intend to post, so I just don't post.

But let me catch you up...

Easter was very nice. The boys did multiple egg hunts and walked away with some cash and lots of candy :) There was only one major problem this Easter (and I didn't even think of it until I walked into my mother's and realized that my Gram wasn't there)... I didn't get ANY fresh kielbasa.

This is a tradition at Easter in my Mom's family and I hoard it... I LOVE it and there was none :(

But it was great to hang with my aunt and cousin and we even went to a school and tried out the new kites that we got from my Sisters-in-law. Very fun, but cold :)

This past weekend was nice... the boys went outside and played and Tim even spent a bunch of time building himself a 'goalie' for his hockey net. I helped him cut it out and ti it to eh goal, but he decorated it. I'll post a pic as soon as I get it off the camera :)

Monday was a long night, after school while traveling home, I followed a car that was swerving between lanes... as I was on the phone with 911 reporting him, I watched him careen off the road, hit multiple trees and land in the woods. It was a wooded area and no one else around, so I stayed as the witness to help police. I did not approach the vehicle to see if they guy was alright because he was no where to be seen. He apparently was sprawled across the front seat and unconscious. Police and fire arrived and took care of it. If you read this article, it is the second story about the crash on Old Sudbury Rd. He did survive, but that's all I know.

And now we come to the present. We are just getting into baseball season which is going to take up most evenings for a couple of months. Add to that, Rich and I finishing school (Yay), so I won't promise to be any more regular about posting!

Update on sickness...

2009-04-08T21:45:00.002-04:00

Well, Sammy seems to have made a miraculous recovery. By Saturday, his throat was feeling much better and his congestion had mostly cleared. But to be safe we are discouraging much running around because of the potential for an enlarged spleen with mono. He is very put off by that. How do you tell a 6 year old little boy that he can't run around???

So, Monday he went back to school, and Rich and I finally went back to what we thought would be a normal schedule again. Yeah, not to be so.

I got a call on Tuesday at about 3:30 from daycare saying that Max couldn't stop coughing and he had a low grade temp. My response (and please excuse the swear) was, "You've got to be F-ing kidding me"

So I picked him up and was home with him today. His fever remained low grade until he went to bed tonight went it finally went over 100. So Rich will be home with him tomorrow.

It has been a really long couple of weeks with all the sickness and missed work. Thank god I have an understanding boss, but at this point I hope that I am not pushing my luck with her.

Happy Birthday, Mom!

2009-04-08T21:43:00.001-04:00

Happy Birthday to my Mom!!

This morning I said to Max, "today is Grandma's birthday. We need to call her tonight." And he said, "Wait, Grandpa's not a girl."

Hope you and Dad had fun tonight!

Poor Sammy!

2009-04-03T11:53:00.002-04:00

Well, it's been a rough couple of weeks in this household. Max was out of daycare sick from last Tuesday through Friday. Then on Monday, daycare was closed because she had a stomach virus. But, Sammy also stayed home because his throat hurt.

Well, he got progressively worse and on Wed. we went to the doctor to be checked for strep throat. The initial test came back negative, but because of his symptoms, they also wanted him to be tested for mono.

And unfortunately, that came back positive. He has been pretty miserable all week. His throat is very sore, he is extremely congested, and really isn't eating anything. I offer him popsicles and ice cream for breakfast lunch and dinner and he really wants nothing to do with it.

We are doing whatever we can to help with the congestion, gargling with salt water and sitting in a steamy bathroom has real get junk out. He also takes naps each day, but there is really nothing you can do for it except let it runs it course.

At least he tries to do a little homework here and there :) Poor kid.

So we are going on 11 days of a sick child, which also means 11 days of missing work here and there!

Cross-curricular fair

2009-03-29T10:37:00.004-04:00

First an update on the sickness... Well Max hasn't had a temp since Thursday at noon time. He did see the doctor and the initial strep test came back negative, but we're waiting to hear about the longer test results, but he's better.

On Thursday night, the school held the cross-curricular fair. All of the kids do a bunch of projects in one particular area. The first grade does metamorphosis and the second grade did school days from 100 years ago. Here are a few pictures:

Got the sickness...

2009-03-25T09:53:00.003-04:00

I do realize that most of my posts are about Max. He is the one I am with the most (he is always around me) while the other two like their own space. And I'm not sure that you all want to hear that I have an 8 year old who gives me attitude like a teenager. :)

But Max is sick. Poor kid. I had to pick him up from daycare yesterday because he had a temp of 102.4. Well that continued, especially from 3:45 - 4:30 this morning when I had the equivalent of a hot water bottle cuddled up in bed next to me. I'll call the doctor later to see if they'll check him for strep. Yesterday they told me to wait three days, but this is ridiculous, I need to work, so I'll be having him checked today.

He is home with my summer nanny right ow and I'll relieve her when she has to go entertain my other two in the after school program :) But at least this way, we can both take a nap.

Max the groom

2009-03-20T16:13:00.002-04:00

SO, I know that I have mentioned Max's daily debate about marrying his friend Cady. All of the little boys in daycare fight over who is going to marry Cady. TO the point where daycare has told the children they can't start talking about it over breakfast, because it just gets out of hand. Well, it look like Max won the honor sometime recently.

Here they are sharing a dance. Don't ask me what costume Maxis wearing because I'm not really sure, but it is cute:)

Attacked by turkeys

2009-03-12T20:06:00.002-04:00

This morning on the way to school this morning, two wild turkey were crossing the road, so I slowed down so the boys could see them. Then one stepped back out in front of me, so I had to stop. Then the other one, the bigger one came up to the side of the car and actually hit my car. Not sure if it was a beak or a wing, but he really hit my car, to the point where the boys told me to check for a dent. Eventually the other guy then also came along side, so I started to roll.

And they chased me down the road a little.

The boys and I laughed the whole way to school!

bribes that backfire...

2009-03-12T20:03:00.002-04:00

The other day I was going to take the boys to the store and before we left I made a deal with them ;) I told them I would each buy them a candy if they said, "Mommy, you are the best mommy in the whole wide world!" So each one smiled and said it. they got their candy.

Then a couple days later, Max and I were driving in the car and out of nowhere he says, "Mommy, you're the prettiest mommy in the world." Now, this is not unusual for him, he often says this. But then he followed it by, "Can I have a candy now?"

Belated post about my gram

2009-03-12T19:59:00.002-04:00

My gram's birthday was this past Saturday, which really feels like it was yesterday to me... how is it Thursday already???

Tim, Max, my sister, and I all went down to surprise her and take her to lunch. We picked her up and went to Applebees for lunch. The boys were pretty good and it was really nice to spend a little time with my Gram.

I think that I got the closest with my Gram when I was in college. Her and my grampy only lived 20 minutes away and used to come and get me when I needed a break. She'd pick me and my laundry up. We'd go back to the house and she'd send me to a bedroom to study while she did all my laundry and made me a meal. She'd also bring me boxes of slim jims from BJ's or we'd get takeout from KFC. So nice to have downtime!

Happy belated birthday, Gram!

My baby is growing up!

2009-03-03T20:07:00.003-05:00

Today I ended up working from home so that I could go to a couple of appointments for the boys.

First, this morning was Max's evaluation for the preschool at St. Michael's. He is dying to go to Mrs. Hurley's class. Last night, he told Rich that he was going to have to wear a school shirt. I'm glad he is already ok with wearing a uniform! Then when we pulled up to the building, he said, "ok, Mom, I'll go in by myself, you go drive home." I had to tell him that we aren't quite at that point yet :) And then he checked to make sure that I brought his backpack... again, not at that point yet :)

Mrs. Hurley said that he did great... I sat outside the room eavesdropping and tearing up at how good he was doing!

Then this afternoon, we had a parents meeting about first communion. Tim makes first communion on April 26. It sounds like they do a lot to make this an easy ceremony for the kids in. In fact, they have a retreat where they teach them a bunch of what to expect, including tasting the host (unblessed of course) and learning to drink from the cup. And they can't learn with grape juice, they learn with the wine so they know what to expect.

Ok, off to do some homework or work!

Weekend

2009-02-23T10:48:00.003-05:00

We had a relatively quiet weekend. It was a rare saturday where there was no basketball, baseball, or swimming... don't worry, though, it starts again this coming weekend.

I did tell the boys that we were having Octopus for dinner on Friday. This was Max's Octopus:

He did of course end up in timeout a couple of times this weekend. ONce was before he had gotten out of his jammies. He wore a very large t-shirt to bed the night before and this is what his timeout looked like:

Other than that, we had breakfast with Rich's family, which was really just an opportunity for 5 kids to be really loud and run around for a while :) But it was fun.

Now, we are all baack to the grind, school is open and work is still here :)

good deed, funny story

2009-02-17T21:22:00.002-05:00

Today I went to the doctor's office and as I was leaving and walking to my car, this woman walks out from between the cars and tells me that she can't find her car.

Here is what the conversation looked like:

me: What kind and what color car is it?
her: it's a grey envoy. they dilated my eyes so I can't see it anywhere.
me: Ok, do you remember about where you parked it?
her: I remember pulling in. the license plate is (some number I don't remember).

so I asked her for her keys figuring we could just start pressing the button while we walk around and find it.

So we start walking while I am pushing buttons and found a coupe of cars that looked like light colored SUVs. We went all the one to one end of the parking lot and started working our way back.

Eventually, I heard a beep, but didn't see a light colored envoy.

me: I hear beeping, is it over here?
her: no, I don't see it.
me: well, this black SUV is beeping when ever I press the button...
her: No, that definitely... isn't... it... Oh my God! I took my car! I thought I had driven my husband's car!
me: So, are you Ok to drive then?
her: Yup, I have sunglasses!

So, I did my good deed for the day :)

Valentine's day

2009-02-16T17:28:00.003-05:00

Happy belated Valentine's day everyone! Hope yours was as good as mine!

But let's back up just a little. On Tuesday I ended up taking Sammy to the doctor. The poor kid got my horrible skin genes. His hands were really dry before I left for the cruise and when I got back, the back of his hand was all bubbly, like raised rash type bubbly and swollen. So I took him in and they said that the dry skin and cold basically "burned" his hand and that the swelling was concerning. So they put him on antibiotics, he has to keep his hand covered with bacitracin and keep it wrapped. He also has to wear gloves if it is less than 35 degrees.

But while we were out, we stopped at the paper store to by v-day cards. Well, Sam picked out one for me and then hid it and asked for money so he could pay for it without my seeing it. Very cute.

So fast forward... Saturday morning, we got up a little late, then decided to go get the boys haircuts before the 2 basketball games. No big deal and they were awful cute.

We really had nothing else planned for the day until Rich and I went out to dinner. We went out early to try and beat some of the rush. But then were done early and wanted to kill time to be sure the boys were in bed by the time we got home. So we went over to the Natick Collection because Rich hadn't seen the expansion. As we were walking through he stopped me and pointed out some jewelry in the window of a Hawaiian jeweler. There were these beautiful Tahitian pearls in the window and he said he would buy me one.

I didn't believe him, but said, well, I could try them on! And this is what I walked out with:

I then proceeded to point out the matching ring :) Maybe for graduation or Mother's day!

Hiatus...

2009-02-09T17:20:00.002-05:00

Hi all,

I know I've been slacking again. Part of the problem is that I went on a business trip last Thursday to Sunday and I'm back in school, so reading and homework take up a bunch of time in the evenings.

My business trip was a company celebration of our 25h anniversary. To have our company meetings, the entire company boarded a carnival cruise line and sailed from Miami to Cozumel Mexico. I ran into a few problems along the way, and when I called home to Rich, he was unsympathetic :) I didn't blame him.

On Thursday morning we were used from Miami airport to the port, but the bus I got on, stalled 4 times in the middle of the highway. Luckily the last stall was in the shoulder and another bus came along and picked us up. Rich said that if I had been broken down in Maine and not warm Miami, he would feel bad ;)

I did get a little sunburn on my nose (nothing too bad) and ended up having to sit on the bus for 2.5 hours to get back on the plane to come home, but I do have a fabulous tan! I have a few pictures that I have not yet downloaded, but will post a few for all to see.

And, yes, Rich did survive the weekend. I have to say thanks to my parents who took Max for 2 days while daycare was closed and tired him out thoroughly so that he didn't argue about naps this weekend.

Ok, as mentioned, I'm headed to school to study up before class.

Swimming lessons

2009-01-27T09:29:00.003-05:00

All of the kids have activities right now. Max is swimming. Once a week he gets a lesson. Which is always interesting. He probably the bravest of the three when it comes to trying to swim. He'll whimper, ,but he'll do it. He won't all out cry and wail like the other two did occasionally.

He can do better than he realizes sometimes as well. So I took a few pictures, so that I could show him how he was swimming on his own (albeit with a bubble on).

a day off with Dad...

2009-01-20T14:37:00.002-05:00

The boys had yesterday off from school, so Rich decided to take them to learn to snowboard. They had a great day, despite knocking some lady over because Sam couldn't stop. She was very very nice about it!!

Note I had to work :(

Here are a couple of pics:

Holy Cow... it's been a long time...

2009-01-14T11:41:00.003-05:00

Things are, as usual, hectic!

Starting next week, we are back to having something going on every day (and I know I am part of that). Rich and I go back to school for our final semester... woo hoo!! In May, Rich will have completed a gruelling MBA program and I will have my Masters degree. But on top of us going to school, Tim is playing indoor baseball and basketball, Sam is playing guitar and basketball, and Max is swimming. Plus I am still trying to play soccer.

So we are crazy, but it is also what keeps us sane. Rich was chuckling yesterday that the only way we got to talk to each other last night before 8:30 was shouting across a parking lot and chatting through our open windows as we drove past each other to different places. I say this keeps us sane because if we were not active doing activities (all of us, I think that we would get on each other's nerves ;) The only hard part is finding the time to let everyone do what they want.

Timmy's birthday was great, he loves that he has one in his wallet now... (Lilly, we kept meaning to call you and it got lost in the shuffle. But look in the mail soon!) This weather is awful, buut the pellet stove has been awesome for keeping the living room toasty.

The kids are still playing the Wii Fit and their new games (I'm trying to be good about using the Wii fit often as well.) And the basement repair is going. We are almost to a finishing point. Then we need to tackle other house projects!!

Ok, I should be working!

Happy Birthday, Timmy!

2009-01-05T14:46:00.003-05:00

Today, my oldest is 8 years old. It is amazing how time flies and amazing at how big he has gotten. He is even starting to mature more and doesn't act like a little boy anymore. He is always helpful with children who are younger (except maybe his brothers), he does well in school, and works very hard at his sports. We are very proud of him.

Here are a few old and a more recent picture of him. (I'll have to look for a baby pic as when we had him, we didn't have a digital camera yet :) )

Some days....

2009-01-03T11:54:00.002-05:00

Max just drives me crazy... in some good ways and some bad :)

Yesterday, I was in the bathroom, and at this point, he is old enough that I can tell him I need privacy. SO I am in there and the door starts to open, I say, Mommy's is in here and needs privacy please. He says through the door, I want to watch a movie. And I say, when I get out.

Well, he closes the door and leaves... for about a second. Then the door starts to open just enough that he can stick the VHS tape in. TO which I say, Max, I asked you to leave so Mommy can have privacy... to which he replies, but i'm not in there!

Then, as I write this, Max is finishing his lunch (hopefully). He has been sitting here for a while dilly-dallying. I said, "Max, you are making Mommy angry..." to which he replies, "Yeah, But sometimes, I make you happy."

He's three and coming up with these retorts!!!

Happy New Year!

2009-01-01T20:21:00.002-05:00

I'm sure that I am not the first to say, where the heck did 2008 go? I remember having conversations with Rich about something we wouldn't "have to worry about until Tim goes to Kindergarten in 2006!" Here we are in 2009.

I'm not sure what I think about this past year except that we are fairly busy most of the time, but the boys love what they do and so do Rich and I!

We did ring in the new year as we usually do, playing board games and drinking a little with a couple of good friends. We let the boys stay up until 9 pm and drink sparkling white grape juice "champagne" out of plastic champagne glasses. Although Sammy does not like the bubbles (he doesn't like anything carbonated) so he drink plain white grape juice "wine" out of the glass. They were really cute with it.

Today, the boys and I went to Chuck E Cheese to use the gift cards they got. If you go there early enough, you pretty much have the place to yourself. They are always extremely well behaved and since it is empty, they get the lay of the land... otherwise, I'm not sure I could bring all three of them there myself!

Anyway, today is a new day and new year, so I am getting back on the Weight watcher bandwagon. I have put on some of the weight I lost a few years ago and really want to get it back off. I know how, but I have to make myself do the right things, instead of eat whatever I want whenever I want. AND I am back to exercising more!

So, Happy New Year everyone, I hope its a good one for you!

Christmas 2008

2008-12-28T19:16:00.003-05:00

2008 is almost at an end and I know I didn't post as much this year as I did last year, but who knew kids would make you so busy :)

Christmas Eve was spent with Rich's family as usual, and as usual, there were way too many presents for the kids to all bring home :) Christmas Day was my parents, and brothers, and my sister and brother-in-law (although they ditched us before dinner this year :) )

The kids pretty much got a lot of what they wanted (Sammy's list was 3 pages (He'll say it was 2 and a half) long!) But they loved everything they got, it was all open before dinner even started, and they were bored with before my parents even left :)

But here is a quick video of the two days.

Make video montages at www.OneTrueMedia.com

By the way, I do have more photos of the first snowstorm as well as a visit with my best friends from college that will go up soon :)

Survived the storm

2008-12-15T22:41:00.002-05:00

Yes, we did survive the storm, however, our basement didn't fare as well.

At about 4:10 Tim woke us up to tell us he had a bad dream. As he was heading back to bed, the power flickered. We went back to sleep until about 4:45 when we woke up to the sump pump alarm going off. And Tim was back in our room because he was scared that the power was out.

Well, Rich went down to find an inch of water already in the workshop room and coming down the hallway towards the finished part. So he woke me up and we started getting everything off the floor that we could. Only the furniture, entertainment center, and foosball table remained. And Rich was one of the first in line at 6 am at Home Depot to get a generator.

By the time he got back at 6:30, if you walked in the finished part of the room you could feel the buoyancy of the floor tiles. Now, the floor we used is dri-core with carpet tiles on top. Needless to say, the generator got the sump pump caught up to the water, but the damage was pretty much done. :( He spent most of the weekend ripping it up so we could dry it out. Still waiting to hear back from the insurance company.

The rest of the day was mostly spent entertaining bored children. I did get to go to lunch with my work group though while Rich took them to lunch for a while. We were just about to light a fire as the sun was going down when I noticed that the neighborhood up the hill had power. And in about 15 minutes, ours was back on too. So, all in all, we were one of the lucky ones. My sister-in-law is still without power in Oxford, and one of the daycare families was told it will be 2 weeks before they get theirs.

Hope everyone else is wel!

O, Christmas Tree

2008-12-12T21:58:00.002-05:00

So, this is late...

We trimmed our tree last weekend. As usual the boys had fun, but it wasn't without its drama. Max broke an ornament, I had one string of lights that only half worked, but we had fun.

Make video montages at www.OneTrueMedia.com

He knows how to get himself out of trouble...

2008-12-03T21:21:00.003-05:00

My children say some of the funniest things :)

Tonight, I asked my kids what they were going to get me for Christmas. Tim said, earrings and a necklace, Max said, Nothing and Sammy said, a robotic boyfriend. Where on earth he got that, I have no idea :)

But then tonight as Max was kissing me goodnight he said, "you're the prettiest mommy in the world."

Ok, he doesn't have to get me anything for christmas as long as he says things like that for a long, long time.

Happy Thanksgiving!

2008-11-27T11:31:00.003-05:00

I am very thankful for many things, probably too many to list here, so I'll leave you with this...

Snack with the pilgrims

2008-11-25T11:17:00.003-05:00

This morning Rich and I had snack with the Pilgrims.

This is an annual tradition that the first grade teacher puts on. They have completed their curriculum regarding thanksgiving and that part of our history. She makes pilgrim hats and bonnets for the children and they put a little play, answer questions about that time, and then serve snacks to the parents.

It is all absolutely adorable. Here are some pics:

You should see the other guy...

2008-11-17T15:29:00.003-05:00

Now, his facial expression makes this look a little worse than it was :)

Saturday morning, I took all three boys to Timmy's first basketball practice. We were there pretty early, so Max and Sam also played around. Well, Max spotted the water fountain sticking out of the wall and decided to get a drink. When he was done, he bent down to pick up the ball between his feet and smacked his eye on the fountain.

I of course picked him up, but he only cried for about 30 seconds, I distracted him by getting him to pick up the ball upside down and off he went to play. Until I looked at him, and there was already a big lump, bruise, and bleeding. So I left the 2 older boys with other moms to wait for Rich and brought Max to the ER.

You would not have know this child was hurt because he climbed on anything and everything while we waited for the doctor. In the end, they glued the 1/4 inch cut above his eye. He still slept at my mother's that night, but he earned the nickname, "Pirate Pete" because he squinted all day long.. He was fine about sleeping on it though!

Now, if you ask him what happened, he'll tell you, "You should see the other guy!"

Legos and saving your money

2008-11-12T10:54:00.002-05:00

Hmmm, not sure what is going on with us lately, since other than Rich and I being in school, we don't have much else to run around to :)

The boys are their typical selves. Although this past weekend, the older two got into Legos (the small ones that build really cool things) big time. Tim spent most of the weekend in his room building the legos quietly. Not watching TV or playing video games! I absolutely love that he is getting into this, but then I saw the price tag of these sets!!! some can get up to $40, $50, or $60. I told him to put them on his Xmas list and I'll tell his relatives.

IN either case, they still convinced me to take them to the offical lego store at the Natick Mall. They loved being in there and picking out which sets they want. And then convinced me to buy each of them one ($13 and $20) for which they each have to pay me back. IN fact, I am making them do an extra chore each day to make sure that they are working off their money.

I think that I may steal an idea from Rich for all of us. He is saving up for something specific and is making a big deal out of it by putting money in an envelope specifically for that. Well, I think maybe we should all do that. Pick something that we want and put a portion of the money that we get into that fund. Maybe they'll start to understand a little better. We'll see.

post-halloween

2008-11-08T17:29:00.003-05:00

I'm sorry I haven't posted halloween pictures yet. In fact, I really don't have that many. They didn't want their pictures taken! But here is what I have...

Christmas Lists

2008-10-29T13:20:00.002-04:00

The boys are starting early (which is good) in writing their Christmas lists. And I have to say that fulfilling them is definitely going to be a challenge this year... for different reasons for each kid!

Tim is really hard right now. We had a discussion last night about how he wants an iPod Nano, not the shuffle. And I told him that Santa only spends $200 on each kid (Ok, maybe a bad mommy move) and that if he got an iPod that he wouldn’t get a ton of other stuff. So he got sad about that. I had to tell him that as you get older you get more expensive gifts, but fewer of them. And I don’t think he liked that much.

My other problem is that I have to get Sam the same thing that I get Tim. sO now I am searching ebay to try and find deals on nanos (or deals on the other stuff that I am getting them!)

And Sam has some crazy stuff on his list, that is not likely to happen. For example, there are these silly necklaces that he gets out of vending machines for 50 cents. His list includes 200 of those. It also includes 120 basketball cards (more doable) and 35 DS games (which run at $20-$40 a piece). He also wants multiple wallets so that he can have one for buying Celtics stuff, one for buying other stuff and one for saving. (creative idea i guess, at least he is thinking about partitioning his money out some).

And Max is just tough because there aren't a ton of toys that I think he'll really play with consistently. We have so many toys in our house that really just cause clutter.

Oh well, I'm sure Santa will figure it out for me, right?

Weekend recap

2008-10-26T14:26:00.002-04:00

Well, the weekend isn't quite over, but I'm procrastinating from doing homework!

Tim's last football game was yesterday!! Yay, we get part of our lives back now. We won't be running around crazy every evening! So this was the Mitey-Mite bowl that they were playing in, sort of like a super-bowl for them. I got there late since we had soccer for Sammy.

When I got there, there was no score, but it seemed like the team was playing well. Tim seemed to always know where the ball was going because whenever it came to his side, he was involved in the tackle that brought the other team down. When they got the ball back, he was blocking all over the place and even had a couple of really good runs.

We scored on a really good run, they also scored when this one really fast kid ran it in, and then we had a 30 yard run to take the lead. The last play of the game, the other team had the ball, they threw the pass and Tim intercepted it. That ended the game and he was so excited that he was nearly in tears. He was amazing and did all the things that we had been telling him he should be doing to be playing like a team. We are very proud of him (and excited that we don't have to take him to practice for a long time... well, at least until basketball starts.)

Now wer are off to Target to buy our Halloween candy! There is a reason I don't buy it until it is almost here!

Just a quick catch up...

2008-10-24T10:21:00.003-04:00

Max:
Most of the time my kids don't just do chores without being asked. But recently Max has done a really good job of noticing when Lucy needs food or water. Yesterday morning he was getting water from the cooler and I thought he was just getting a drink... butt then he went and got more. Well, come to find out, Lucy needed water and he just kept filling the bowl all the way to the top. This dog will now have Poland spring water until sometime next week!

Sammy:
For some reason Sammy has been complaining about not being comfortable when he is sleeping. He complains that his back or waist hurts, then crawls into our bed and goes back to sleep. Last night was a particularly restless night (for both of us). We bought him a new mattress and everything, so we aren't sure what is going on here.

Timmy:
Tim has started to become more responsible lately. Rich and I closed the pool this weekend and needed an extra hand, well, Tim came out without complaint, helped us out, and went back to what he was doing (usually Tim isn't up for helping out!) Oh and this is what he brought home from school last night:

Addendum... Just for reference, that is Tim lying on the ground in his football uniform (he is number 13 and has his helmet on) and Rich is taking care of him.

PumpkinFest and leaves

2008-10-19T20:23:00.002-04:00

This weekend was a busy one. Soccer and football practice and then we still made it out to PumpkinFest. But before I get to that, I have to tell one story about soccer. It is coed and one of Sammy's friends is on our team. They were playing together and she shot the ball on him. Well, she shot it right in his private parts. Which he laughed off at first, but then turned to tears. Her response to me was, "You should just put some ice on it." Then told me that her mom tells her to just shake it off when she gets hurt. I told her that he'd shake it off, it might just take a little longer!

So Pumpkinfest... This is Hudson's fall festival with games, prizes, food, Pumpkins and other activities. This is where there is a big jack o'lantern contest, although we never stay late enough to see them lit.

The boys did great in all the games and came home with lots of prizes. There was also some big blow up slides and a lazertag game. They had a ton of fun there!!

On Sunday, we had Tim's football game in the morning and then Sam's friend Jaxon came over for a playdate. While he was here, I decided to go out and rake the leaves, and surprisingly, all the boys were more than happy to help out, as long as they got to jump in the leaves when we were done.

Here is our weekend:

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Open house at the firehouse

2008-10-15T11:25:00.004-04:00

This past weekend, as an end to fire safety week, Marlborough had an open house at the fire station. In addition to the giveaways, popcorn and pizza, the kids also had the chance to see the trucks, spray some hoses, see a car being opened with jaws of life, and to experience the smoke house. The smoke house is basically a trailer setup like a home where they can close the doors, pump it with fake smoke (still looks like smoke, but doesn't hurt you) and you can practice getting out the right way.

We didn't get to see the jaws of life since we had to go to football practice, but they had fun spraying the hoses from the little hummer that they use for forest fires.

And I have to say I am so proud of all three of them for how they answered the fire fighters questions when they were learning what to do in case of an emergency. Prior to pumping the smoke house with smoke, the firefighter sat with the kids (my three and 1 other boy) and talked about what to do in an emergency and how to call 911.

Now, at daycare, my provider practices the kids addresses with them every day. And this week, she did an entire theme for fire safety week. When the firefighter asked the kids what number to call in an emergency, you can bet my 3 year old piped up quickly with 9-1-1. And then each kid got to call 911 and give their name, their address, and their emergency (even Max). Although shy, they all did it perfectly.

Then they went upstairs to "be in the bedroom" when the smoke alarms went off and the smoke came in. Well, the smoke alarm scared Max so he came outside before the smoke. But the other 2 learned that they should check the door to be sure it isn't hot and to crawl backwards down the stairs and to crawl out to stay below the smoke. They did great and I think having that experience will be invaluable if something ever happened in our house.

So, Thanks to the Marlborough Fire Department for their open house!

Coloring

2008-10-11T19:26:00.003-04:00

This morning Max said that he wanted to color. I was psyched, it is not often that Max asks to do something quiet. He doesn't sit still!!!

But then he walked into the living...

Thank god that I am smart enough to buy the washable markers. I put him right in the tub and all was well.

So, right now he is at my parents house... which I should remind my parents to watch him... (he is my kid and I carved the word weeds into one of their dining room chairs when I was a kid).

Then we came home and I put the dog out and not only did that child color himself (and my dining room table), but he also drew a line right down the middle of the dog's back!

This kid is definitely a challenge... but he's so darn cute!!!

Question of the day

2008-10-09T13:07:00.002-04:00

Every day at the after school program, they ask a question and have everyone give an answer. Some recent questions have been things like, "What is your favorite number?" or "Who is your favorite athlete?" "what is your favorite sound?"

Yesterday it was, "Who would you be if you could be someone else for 1 day?" My children's answers?

Tim - My dad
Sam, Dave, the guitar teacher

So, now I'm thinking about who I would want to be for 1 day... and I'm not really sure who I would want to be... probably someone on the women's world cup soccer team.

"Mom, what does gay mean?"

2008-10-08T09:08:00.002-04:00

So, I'm in the bathroom this morning when Sam knocks on the door (this is progress, they don't just walk in anymore!) and says, "Mom what does gay mean? Cuz Time keeps calling me gay."

I said, "we'll have this conversation when I get out of the shower."

So while we are all in the kitchen getting ready to walk out the door I ask Tim what he thinks gay means, and as I figured, he didn't know.

So I said, "Well, it has two meanings, first it means, really happy. And second, you know how Mommy loves Daddy and I'm a girl and he's a boy. Well, sometimes, boys can love boys and girls can love girls and sometimes you can't pick who you love. So they use the word gay to describe that."

Then I was telling this story to my daycare provider and another mom, and they both sort of balked at the fact that I told them the truth. They thought I should have just said it meant happy and that we don't call people that.

And I sort of realized that I want to be the kind of parent that is honest and upfront about difficult conversations. So I feel a little bad, but not too bad.

Funny Max story...

2008-09-28T16:23:00.003-04:00

So in the midst of all of our activities this weekend, we were in the car a lot. Which meant I tried very hard to make sure that the boys went to the bathroom before we left to go anywhere.

Well, at one point while we were heading to Tim's football game, Max said that he had to go to the bathroom. We were close to the field so I told him that he had to "hold it". His response to me was, "I can't!! I'm sitting on my butt." Apparently, he thought he physically had to hold it :)

Very cute!

New rule: No yelling

2008-09-24T19:53:00.002-04:00

Soooooo, most people know that I am a yeller. I do feel bad about this, really. So today I decided that the rule for this evening was "no Yelling" by anyone. Rich is in school tonight so it is just me and the boys.

Well, when I got to pick up Max, he gleefully told me that he had No timeouts!! This is amazing because he averages 3 a day. Not good. SO I gave him the reward of choosing dinner. He picked the local pizza place and the other boys were thrilled. So we had dinner and ice cream and now we are home just hanging out. In fact, I haven't yelled once and really, the boys have behaved really well.

But then again, I'm just about to tell them that it is time to brush their teeth and climb in bed... let's see if anyone yells about that!

Wedding Weekend

2008-09-23T21:52:00.005-04:00

Whew! I know it is Tuesday, but it was a long weekend!!!

One of my best friends from high school got married this weekend. And she made a weekend out of it. We went to Newport Friday night and dropped in on the cocktail party. We didn't stay long, but it was long enough to say hi and realize that I miss hanging out with my high school friends.

Saturday they had scheduled an afternoon sailboat ride around Newport harbor. We hung out with my three of my friends most of the time, as well as one of my friends moms. Then that night all the friends of the bride and groom went to a rather interesting dinner and went back to the hotel to have ice cream from Newport Creamery :)

Then Sunday we had a beautiful brunch with Barbie, Rob, and Scott. We sat overlooking the harbor while we ate. Then we headed to the other hotel where we were staying that night for the wedding and again went out back and sat on the lawn just chatting and relaxing. I don't know when the last time I just got to hang out and relax was.

Then that night we enjoyed a beautiful wedding. Here are a couple of pics:

just checking in...

2008-09-17T21:36:00.002-04:00

Hi everyone!

I know it has been a while, but it is going to be until we get to a point where things are a little bit quieter. Let me see if I can remember all the things that have happened since the last time I wrote.

I went to dinner with my sisters-in-laws. It is nice that we can all get along and talk about how they and Rich are alike and different. They are a lot of fun and it was a nice night out.

Sam had his first soccer practice with Mom as coach. It was sooooo much harder than I thought it would be. The kids are great and the head coach is really nice, but we were not very organized and I think that I will put way more planning into the next session to make it go a little more smoothly. The kids had a great time, so that is what matters right?

Tim had another football game. Since the 'quarterback' got sick from what Tim had, the coach 'punished' him by making him play quarterback some of the time... he was psyched for that punishment :) In total, he ran for a bunch of yards, had 1 touchdown and played 5 different positions in total.

Max continues to be more of a handful than the other 2 ever were, but he is so damn cute it isn't funny!

Rich and I are still plugging away at school. I am really enjoying my class, Managing organizational change. The professor is very engaging and it really makes me think about how I manage my team.

This weekend, my friend Jodi is watching the boys so Rich and I can go away to a wedding. My best girlfriend from high school is getting married in an all-weekend event. We are using this weekend as our 10 year anniversary getaway, complete with hot air balloon ride, and lots of relaxation. (Of course I am panicing about how the kids will be for Jodi and will she be able to do all of the activities that the boys need. I know she'll be fine, but I'm panicing anyway!!! So much to get ready for her before we leave.

At least my parents will take the boys for an afternoon to give her a break. Yup, that's right, they are going to go watch my cousin's football game. Tim thinks that Joe is pretty much the coolest kid ever. He loves hanging out with him. In fact they all do. :)

I'm sure they will have fun and so will I, but I'll also worry, well at least a little bit!