Only in Buffalo!

Emerson in his house!

Alex sliding!

Griffin, ready for a Safari! OK, maybe just a walk!

Maxim is a big boy on his swing! (Always posing)
Austin is cleaning his clubhouse, getting ready for Summer!

Only in Buffalo!

I love the city I live in. Where else can you ski one day than swim in the pool the next? This week it was 40, 60 and YES 80 DEGREES! It rained, it pored and almost felt like it would snow at one point, only to wake up and want to turn on the Air Conditioner! Only in Buffalo!

Last Tuesday David and I feeling adventurous, took the kids to Chuck E Cheese for the first time. It was early so we thought it wouldn't be crowded and we could keep a close eye on the boys. In the beginning, life was good. The crowd was small and we drew minimal attention with our approaching brood. We where alone so Austin played quietly with his brothers in the toddler area. They went up and down the slide and played with the baby video games and electronic rides. The whole time Griffin slept in his car seat. It seemed instantaneous that when we sat to eat our pizza, the flood gates opened. People where everywhere. Austin had gone to play some video games so I decided to take Max and go find him, leaving David with Alex, Emerson and sleeping Griffin. I located Austin quickly and used the rest of the tokens we had. When we tried to redeem the tickets it seemed that every employee disappeared. God forbid you leave Chuck E Cheese without your penny candy and cheap plastic snakes you spend $50 for! As we waited I could see David's face dropping. He had Emerson, Alex and Griffin and they where all screaming. The whole time Max was trying to escape my grasp. Meanwhile, I had several people come up to me and ask me the standard questions..."Are they triplets?", "Are they identical?", "Are they all yours?", "You had another one?", "Are they all boys?", "How do you do it?"....etc... The whole time I'm just wanting to grab the kids and bolt! As we where getting the kids coats on David ran to the rest room and I was there with 5 screaming kids (at this point, Austin was wailing because I wouldn't allow him to eat his cotton candy in the middle of 4 little boys throwing a temper tantrum!)We finally left after the longest 2 hours of our life. The moral of my story...2 adults 5 small kids and Chuck E Cheese, a recipe for disaster!

Starting Thursday the weather was beautiful here. Everyday was spent outside. We started putting the kids toys back out. Washing all the large plastic items was a chore but well worth it. When we reassembled the house and mini slide the babies where thrilled. They are completely different than last year. They actually listen which is wonderful. I can say "put down the rock" or "go get your bike" and they actually do it. If you say "do you want to swing?" they say, yes! They run like crazy but are contained. I can't wait until we get the recycled tires at the base of the large swing set since they are slowly gravitating towards the larger slide and swings! Hopefully as soon as the weather stabilizes we can get it installed. Austin is enjoying the weather. I think he will be ready to get his training wheels off his bike soon. He is showing signs of stabilizing himself better. Griffin is Mr. Easy! He is happy to hang out in the shade in his stroller. He watches his brothers play and he is starting to play with his little toys so at one point I had 5 boys intensely playing.

Our strollers have arrived! This is a blessing beyond belief. I love these strollers. First of all, all 4 little boys are contained. They can have a snack or drink, lay back and relax or listen to Mp3's. That's right, they have built in speakers. We just hook up our Zoons(Mp3 players) and they instantly have piped in music. Not only that, but they are so easy to push and we are much less conspicuous! Most people don't even think we are together! We have walked and walked. The kids where leery at first but quickly have learned to love their lush new rides! I can't wait for the first fair or event! Let Summer begin! We're ready!

On a personal note I would like to say Happy Birthday to my husband. He is an amazing husband and father, everything one should be. Loving, caring, never judgemental, never critical! We had a wonderful evening out just him, I and Griffin. Thank you for all you do for us, we love you!

Spring Break

Austin

Emerson

Alexander

Maxim

Griffin

Spring Break

This week Austin was on Spring break. This means it was a week of playing catch up. Dr.'s appointments where made, errands where completed and closets where cleaned. Austin started out the week with an appointment to get his glasses fixed. I'm not exactly sure what he does to them but it is a constant battle to keep his glasses fitting properly and scratch free. I decided while we where doing "eye care" day that I would pick Austin up a couple of extra pairs of glasses just in case he ever really broke them. Since the pair he has are special pediatric glasses that where outrageously expensive we took his prescription to a national chain and got him two new pairs for a very low price. He was so excited to pick them out himself. He got a pair of blue rimless and a cool Nickelodeon pair that are silver and orange. He tells me in the store that he will be the talk of Kindergarten now. "They are the coolest glasses ever, Mom!", "I can't wait to show my friends that I can wear different glasses with different clothes.". He's so fashion forward my son. I can't believe he was so excited, but he was!

David took off on Friday to give us a long weekend. The weather was beautiful so we decided to go to the Zoo and make a day of it. We walked around for a while when we noticed the triplets where actually starting to recognize that there where animals in the cages and enclosures. Alex growled at every animal he saw. They would all point and we could see their eyes light up when they recognised the animal. It was great. I can't wait until they really understand what's going on. After a while they got fussy so we stopped for lunch. I'm not sure if it's the wagon or us but it seemed people where walking by starring and pointing just like they would to the animals. Well, it was colder than we thought. We lasted about 2 hours before needing to leave. Griffin slept in his stroller all bundled up pretty much through the whole thing. On the way out the gate Emerson fell asleep. Poor baby, missed his nap!

It was very apparent that we need a new transportation solution for the boys if they're going to miss their nap. After much research David and I took the kids and went to Babies R' Us to try out double strollers. We figured with 4 little ones, 2 double strollers would work better than the triplet stroller (they no longer fit in because their legs are too long) and the single stroller. The wagon is great but to go on a long day trip, they need something they can rest in. I had a few in mind to look at with great ratings and reviews but when we put the kids in them we realized they where hard to turn. As we where leaving we spotted a double jogging stroller. We thought these where only reserved for stay at home moms who exercise for fun. However when we put two kids in and ran around the store we realized it was just what we where looking for. Of course they had none in stock but we successfully found them online and ordered them promptly. We can't wait until they arrive!

We spent the rest of the weekend outdoors. We played in the front yard and back. Played on the kids bikes and picked flowers. They even are showing interest in the swing set and slide. It's almost time to put all the toys back outside. We happened upon a beautiful public park in Eggertsville that reminded us we have to order the recycled tire material for the bottom of the swing set. Emerson ran up and down the huge play set and slid down the slide. They all loved the baby swings and Austin was swinging higher than he ever has before. Of course, Griffin slept. We stopped at Anderson's and had dinner (a car picnic, we like to call it). I put the DVD on in the car and they all get their dinner in their car seats. It's almost like a drive-in.

We also had David's family, Stephan and Hilda from Cambridge, Ontario come to visit. It was lovely to see them. They came once before and just loved our kids. Now when they are in town they come to see us. The boys adored them. They kept going up to Stephan to be held. And Hilda, being a great-grandmother herself, got on the floor and played. What a lovely couple they are. I know David would have loved to spend hours with Stephan updating the family tree but sadly they had to leave. Family is such a blessing, sometime!

Easter Bliss

US!

David and his Boys!

5 Easter Miracles!!!

The Easter Bunny left us LOOT!

Griffin and his Easter Dinosaur!

Tres' Babies! Easter 2009

Maxim

Emerson

Alexander

Easter Bliss

Easter is not at all as it began. In the beginning(I always wanted to say that), it was the day Jesus rose from the dead after being crucified three days prior. I'm not sure how a large rabbit bearing baskets of candy and toys came to be, but hey...who am I to question tradition? The kids woke up at 7:15am . Since they went to bed at 8pm Saturday night, I'm not complaining! They came down stairs and immediately started spotting brightly colored eggs filled with candy. They all started gathering the eggs and putting them in a basket. I'm not sure how they figured out that if you throw the eggs on the floor they break open, but someone did. Than 4 happy little guys started throwing eggs and feasting on M&M's and jelly beans. Anyone who knows me, knows that I allow my children very little candy. Needless to say this is my exception to the rule. Within a half an hour there where chocolate covered kids as far as the eye could see. And since we had colored eggs for the first time the night before, there where blue, green and orange fingers covered in chocolate as well.

Austin couldn't wait for candy.
Coloring Eggs

Even Griffin got in on the action!

As always I had dinner at my house. A feast of Ham, potatoes, green bean casserole, lamb, antipasto, blessed loaves of bread and of course the butter lamb. Austin did the honors of sacrificing said lamb by biting and eating lamby's head off. Gruesome but tradition. My Aunt and Mother brought the kids bags and baskets of candy and toys, continuing the sugar rush!

Griffin was amazing even though he has a little cold. Sleeping pretty much the whole day. He woke up only for a few moments here and there to have a bottle. When my mother gave him a small blue stuffed dog, he instantly hugged it tightly and went back to sleep. The triplets where burning off an intense sugar high running from room to room with chocolate faces and little toys that light up and walk. The smiles where from ears to ears and I very rarely heard a distressed cry or had to break up a fight. Austin was completely happy to play with his "Xtreme parachute man" throwing it from the top of the stairs down several hundred times and screaming "Too the extreme" over and over again! I did have to stand watch at the kitchen table for a while since all the Easter baskets where being stored. Mr. Austin had way too much! It was actually a very relaxed holiday for once. There was no problems just family coming in and out loving up my boys and eating a good meal. We had several family members stop by that had dinner elsewhere just to hang out. It was nice.

Between the bevy of toys, jelly beans, chocolate and desserts of cupcakes and cheesecake the kids where coming off a their sugar high fast and hard. Within 20 minutes the triplets where bathed and in their beds. The baby was still swinging in his swing and Austin was helping me fold the laundry while watching a movie. I sat and looked around. Just 6 short years ago are house was silent. A holiday consisted of dinner at family or friends and than home to watch television or read a book. Now we have 5 amazing sons. Our house is LOUD, our children are crazy men and our life is exhausting. However, in thinking back to our laid back life before children I am so thankful to be blessed with 5 wild little men that make our life complete. Happy Easter Everyone!

Happy Birthday to me!

Griffin

Emerson

MaxAlex

Grandma Linda & Griffin

Ausin, Aunt Kelly, Uncle Mike and Alex

Happy Birthday to me!

This week I celebrated my 36th birthday. It was the best birthday I've ever had. To me, birthdays are not about gifts or grand gestures but more about family. I love that it's one day all about me and my family. David worked so I spent the day relaxing with the boys. Later in the evening David and I went to dinner while my mother and two of her friends watched all 5 kids. We where only gone for a couple of hours but believe me it felt like a lifetime. I've realized I really have zero interest in going out. When I'm gone, I miss the boys and think of all the things I could be doing at home. That's terrible I know but since Griffin was born I just don't want to leave him. Maybe that's it. As of the 5th Griffin is 3 months old. The time flew by. He is laughing and smiling and holding his head up like a big boy. He even started to reach out for things lately. He smacks the toys on his chair and talks to the Elmo balloon over his head. Maybe I'm just afraid I'll miss something. I have every second of the triplets 1st year burned into my memory, I think I want that with Griffin too. Austin is no different. I can remember every second of his first year with us. For some reason it's only in the evening I get like that. It could be also that the kids are in such a structured routine at night that if it gets varied the slightest bit I know the night will not be good. Maybe I'm just too uptight. Maybe I just over think EVERYTHING! Awwww motherhood.

We had lots of visitors this week Grandma Linda, Michael and Kelly came by this week with dinner and a cookie cake. This is always fun. I miss seeing them every Thursday for dinner. Now that the baby is getting bigger and the boys are a little easier to go out with I think we may start going there once a month and them here once a month. Like I said my mom was here on Friday for my birthday and she called in reinforcements. Her girlfriends Andrea and Lynn came to help. I think they where a little overwhelmed. When I walked in after being gone less than two hours, they all looked a little dazed and confused. The kids where fine but I could tell they knew the woman where inexperienced in taking care of 5 little ones at once and the children took complete advantage of them. By the way those ladies had a combined 9 children. HAHAHA! On Saturday my birthday continued with a visit from my best friend Shelley, her son Carter and her boyfriend Rob. I don't get to see Shelley much since she lives in Virginia Beach. I miss her so much when she's gone. It was wonderful to see Carter, who has grown into such a fine young man and it was a pleasure to meet Rob for the first time. I can see how happy he makes my friend and that makes me happy. I than went out to lunch and shopping with my girlfriend Lisa. It's so nice to have some girlie time. So often I get lost in a house of boys. Every mom needs a little alone time. For me I need it during the day!

Sunday was a beautiful day. It was almost 60 degrees so we headed out. We took the boys shopping at Bj's (this seems to be our regular Sunday outing). They enjoyed being high up in the carts and sight seeing. As long as I bring food, life is good. Griffin is content to hang out in his car seat and very rarely makes a peep. Austin runs around the store asking for everything he sees. It went off without a hitch and aside from the usual gasps of air and whispers "triplets" along with the "oh you've got your hands full" or "God Bless you", we heard no negative comments. When we got home the kids played happily in the driveway until David put the perishables away. With that we got our whole gang saddled up and went for a long walk. David pulled the wagon with the triplets. Austin walked and I pushed Griffin in the stroller. As people drive by I can see the reactions to my large family on their faces. I told David, "I think we may cause an accident someday". He said "At least it will happen after we've already walked by". That's true...no one will be able to prove it! Que the circus music again...IT'S SPRING!!!!!