Friday, July 17, 2009

It's raining, it's pouring...

Austin doing his best "Pooh" impression
Alex IS Batman!
No, Austin IS Batman!
Tigger...hehehehehe!
Dragonmax!
Emerspidey!
We finally added another car to the wagon...now cue the circus music!
mmmmmmmmmmm!
mmmmmmmmmmmmmmmm!
Making cupcakes Emerson style!
Now Maxim!
and Alex!
Griffin preferred the cone we put the cake mix in!

It's raining, it's pouring...

What a crappy summer. The weather has been all over the place. One day the sun is shining and birds are singing and the next it's cold and raining cats and dogs. We start out every morning as if it's going to be the best summer day ever. We stroll down stairs, make and eat breakfast, turn on sesame street (our new favorite), clean the house, naps than lunch. That's when it gets interesting. If it's a beautiful day we eat lunch than head outside to play on the swings, in the water table or swim in the pool. Well, more days than not it has been overcast and rainy. We can usually get at least an hour of outdoor activities in between raindrops but on truly dreary days we where hitting a rut. I didn't want the kids to sit and watch TV all day so I've begun dreaming up new activities for them. We color, bake, cook an elaborate dinner, paint(not suggested for 3 two year olds) or play dress up. Dress up is their favorite. Throughout the past few years I have bought all the Halloween costumes I could find when they get marked down to nothing. I found some for as low as $0.25 and have only paid $10 at the most. I accumulated quite a few one year when I happened on a 90% off sale at Target. I bought all the complete costumes I could find in all sizes and put together a dress up box for Austin and a friends little boy. It was a great idea since I no longer have to purchase costumes for Halloween, we just pick one out of the box. The triplets love to dress up. We have several years of Austins costumes so with a rolling up of the sleeves and pant legs, the boys are all set to go. It's hard to find something for 4...OK 5 little boys to do on a rainy day. If they where girls we could give manicures and do our hair. But 5 boys is a challenge.

Right now we are in full Birthday party crunch mode. I have been feverishly finishing all the last minute details to the big bash. All of the invitations have finally been mailed, the decorations purchased and the children's activities planned. Now all we have to do is decide on salads and we are done. This year I decided to order chicken and pizzas from our favorite caterer to avoid us standing in front of the grill all day. We are having some friends and family make side dishes and have ordered a beautiful cake from a local bakery. We even purchased a commercial bounce house instead of renting one. We figured we have 5 boys and a ton of yard space so why not? We may even rent it to family and friends. Since my children are now full blown Sesame Street addicts, that is of course the theme. The boys loved picking out all the monsters from Sesame Street for decorations and centerpieces. It's going to be a fun time and who knows, we may even have a visit from our favorite little(or big) red monster. I can't wait, I think I'm more excited than the boys!