Our family

Our family

Friday, December 28, 2007

Which is the illusion?



Oh the holidays have come and gone. They were fantastic, but one thing that is a challenge is that preparing takes you away from the kids so much, for shopping, baking, decorating, packing, the list is endless, and the nanny's hours increase and your hours with them decrease. I am glad to have all of 2007 new Christmas memories, but whew they take a lot of work!
Throuout the time I would see every one of you kids as if removed. I live in awe and wonder of each of you. At times you seem so big with your noise and demands but then I can see you are so small and precious. Such a mix of contradictions you each are.

I was busy baking and I saw you skip across the room to retrieve an errant toy.
You looked over and caught my eye
in the half a second I saw you.
Your so vulmerable and small
So strong and able
capable and compassionate


I was busy in the kitchen and you were on the floor writing solor system on a paper. You looked up and for a 1/2 second I saw you.
So fragile and honest
so intelligent and full of love
sweet and funny


I was busy cleaning when you literally hopped into the room
you looked up and for a 1/2 a second I saw you
such thin little arms
so graceful and atheltic
warm and open


I was so busy cooking when you ran past me
and glanced over and for a 1/2 of a second I saw you
innocent and trusting
laughter and joy
so steady and able


I was busy doing laundry when you came charging in the room
you look for me and I see you
pretty and unassuming
mischivous and intellegent
comfortable and self assured.

Each time my heart jumps to my throat.
Tears rush to my eyes
you look so little from a distance but you are all full of confidence and stregnth that I don't know which is the illusion.

Monday, December 10, 2007

These are the days to remember

Last weekend was so exciting that the idea of staying home and decorating for Christmas was very appealing!

I feel so at ease this Monday morning because of the peace that actually reigned this weekend. We began decorating on Sat. morning, the kids were so excited to open each box of decorations! They helped me hang the red ribbons on the windows, and put garland on the knoll posts. I don't think any of us even got dressed until noon. We played Christmas carols, and if you looked past the occasional melt-downs it was a near perfect morning!

Feeling pretty relaxed I decided to start with my Christmas sugar cookies. Normally a disaster for me, when we got a phone call...my future au pair's sister was coming to town and could she come by? I was pretty nervous, but her and her friend arrived, and the were a delight! They stayed of dinner and were fantastic guests. We are hopeful that Jessy herself will be as fun and energetic as her big sister!
We ended the night by going to see a crazy decorated house in town. These people raise 10,000.00 for St.Mary's children's hospital each year!!!!! It was a really awesome display.
That night I made Steve cut out the sugar cookies and he did a really great job, they looked perfect! Could this be the year of the successful sugar cookie?

On Sunday, we headed out to the science museum which all of the kids love! and then we spent the afternoon making chocolate chip cookies, but more importantly on the cookie front, is that after they went to sleep, I decorated my sugar cookies...and they look AWESOME!

I know this all seems so impossibly sweet and perfect, and I have to say it was exactly that: impossibly sweet and perfect. I hope I hold the picture of this weekend in my heart forever or at least for the week, as I have to leave my babies for work and hustle the big kids to school. Why is everything with the kids so bittersweet.

"these are days to remember 'cause they will not last forever, These are the times to hold onto, though we won't although we'll want to. These are the times and the times are gonna change."-Billy Joel

Happy Birthday Aunt Ruth




Wow have I missed posting! I was busy getting together an elaborate monatge for my sister's birthday. I think it was worth every moment. It took some extra time because Steve and I had to learn some new programs, but it came out as I had hoped.
The party was fun and Ruth was really surprised! She deserves the accolades, she is a fantastic person and is always there for people on a dime.

We were also happy to host Russ and his 3 kids, who were in for the party. I love having them here, never picky and always fun and on the go! We took a very exciting trip to the city. For the 10 years that I lived in the city I never once visited that tree, and in the 3 years that I have had 5 kids, I've brought them every year. It is a nightmare every time. There favorite part is the train. Mikey was beside himself yelling "the train go fast!" "the train stops for the people" keeping me well informed of what was happening with the train. We rode in with Russ, his kids and Beth, so there was a ton of excitment,oh and also Dalila thank goodness for her.
I think I liked the train the best. It was warm, safe, and comfortable. Not at all like Rockafeller Center, which was cold, crowded and unsafe. Not to be buh humbug, but it is no place for 3 two year olds! I can't help but wonder if I will do it again next year...and complain again!

Now we are revving up for Christmas, and everyone knows that I get more excited then the kids about Christmas, sending the whole house into energy-high gear!

Wednesday, November 7, 2007

A trip to Ikea

So what is a trip to Ikea? What is the big deal? We were actually pretty excited to go because they have a drop off for the kids. A playspace where bored teenage girls stand around and stare of vacantly thinking of anything but toddlers. Sounds good enough for my kids.

We wait on the line which is about 30 minutes long, because this apparently is good enough for most people's children. We say 5 kids. They say what? Uh five kids we want to drop off these 5. Are they potty trained? Sure. Are they wearing diapers? no. yes. what is the right answer? No. no they are not. Are they tall enough? Tall enough for what the toddle NBA? Whatever. check. tall enough. We never took in a group this big before. Do we get a prize. No. They give us a buzzer and one hour of freedom. Hipp Hipp horay. Oh wait Mark won't go. But still just one lousy toddle no problem.

Except when we walk away and go to the elevator Mark throws a fit. He DOES want to go now. Steve waits on line again. This time for 40 Minutes. He gets to the front and guess what? Mark won't let them stamp his hand. Matthew comes over and tries to calm him down to no avail. So now we still have Mark and now only 20 minutes left. Still though 2o minutes. The place is a mad house. We hastily throw some items in the cart and ...BUZZ. They want us back. We pick up the very happy group. Put on their shoes and begin to shop. Cara needs the potty. It is out of order. I wait 25 minutes to use the only single stalled bano in the joint. Cara makes it. I return to the crew. Mikey say BANO! uh oh too late and there is a puddle on the floor. We do the only thing we can think of and leave quickly, trying to look innocent and unaware of the puddle on the floor.

We check out and realize that the wonderfully Green company does not give out bags. So we head to the food court, because it got late, very late. There is a huge escalator up to the food court we have all of our purchases, 7 coats and five kids. 3 of which are only 2! I put Cara on she loses her balance and falls. I rush on and pick her up. She is so scared. A kind gentleman takes an unhappy Mikey's hand and helps Steve get the rest of the brood up the escalator.

I see Steve his hands are full of measuring cups, picture frames, and other assorted household items. He looks like a crazy man carting all of his household items that are unwrapped to the food court. Like if he is afraid he may be called on to suddenly measure dry ingredients and feels a compulsion to be prepared for all contingencies. With his masses of children trailing behind him.

It was ridiculous. Though we did appreciate the play space insistence that the kids where socks. Knowing that Mikey's socks are soaked in pee, from our little emergency at IKEA.

Oh how we laughed.

Monday, October 29, 2007

There is no super girl at Toys 'R Us, but there is one at my house.


Well, here I go. What is my problem? TOYS.

Seriously.

When you look in TOYS 'r' US there is the toddler area. Where the toys seem more often gender neutral, everything is done in primary colors. Boys can cook, girls can run ships or vice versa, it does not matter. This seems to quickly change at the 3 or 4 year old age group.

This weekend I had to buy gifts for twin 5 year olds,a boy and a girl. So I go to that age area. You walk down the main isle on one side are "boy" gifts and the other "girl". Convenient.

How do you know one is girl? The whole half of the store is done in pastel pink.

So I am still hopeful, thinking that the bratz or Barbie herself has probably jumped into the new century and will have some cool, edgy ideas. Wow was I wrong.

The Bratz are just sexy dolls that do absolutely nothing. None of the dolls do anything. Compare that to Superman,Batman, the Transformers, Spiderman, even the Cars characters race.

I have to say Barbie can be a "baby doctor" Why they can't call her a pediatrician is beyond me, but in any case SOOOOOOOOOOOOO boring. Who wants to pretend something so real. Isn't the imagination for beyond the borders of life? I mean it is okay,nothing wrong with it, but dull, dull, dull! Where is supergirl? Or even a betwitch type of doll.

The boys seem to have complex characters that save the world and have a host of villains with complex skill sets themselves. The names of the Transformers are impossible for me to even pronounce. These characters live parallel lives and have high tech gadgets.

Don't get me wrong I love holiday Barbie in all her splendor, I think she makes a great decoration, but where is Barbies complexity? Where is super hero Barie? Where is her parallel life? Since shows like Alias. buffy the vampire slayer and bionic woman you would think that toy makers could reflect this type of excitement into girls toys.

Is it what mom's want? This is what sells. My smart and sophisticated mom friends want to buy these boring, do nothing toys for their daughters?

I am not thinking that my boys will grow up to drive trains, do construction, build things or be super heroes but the toys promote a certain complexity of thinking of seeing life as dynamic, problem solving and adventure making.

This weekend, when I was at a kids birthday party there was a 6 year old girl. I said who is your favorite? Bratz, barbie, Hannah Montana? She said they're all stupid I like to make music. I was relieved.

Monday, October 8, 2007

Potty training is not for the faint of heart

Potty training has begun in earnest. Cara has full command of the bathroom routine and can produce pee at a moments notice, as she drinks juice by the gallon. So every time I say "who wants to go potty and get a chocolate?" Cara sits pees and collects her chocolate and is on her way. She is going to get cavities.

Mark on the other hand has given up peeing all together. He would make a camel proud. He knows he can earn one chocolate for trying(its two for success plus a sticker) so if he really wants a chocolate he will make some half-hearted effort. This happens maybe once a day.

Mikie on the other hand is mostly cooperative, sitting on the potty with his book, he loves to read. Though in almost three days he has yet to make the potty. Often going right after I pull up his spiderman underwear. I don't think he has made the connection and thinks this is just an interesting way to peruse the latest books on our shelves.

Yesterday, at 3:15 while waiting for their funnel cake at the apple festival all three wet their pants. They thought this was great and were laughing at this fantastic coincidence.

At $40.00 for a box of diapers (the big one from Costco) I will stick with my plan for the entire week. If nothing else it is more like having cloth diapers!

Wednesday, October 3, 2007

Cakes are fun to decorate



I couldn't get Chris off to school on this paricular morning. So I told him we could bake a cake after school. But afterschool, is never just afterschool. There is a playground behind the school and all of the kids go. So we went for an hour, then I stopped by my office and they watched TV. We make it home at 5PM, now there is dinner and homework and homework is no joke as well as now cake decorating (I had run home at lunch to bake the cake so it would be ready to decorate.) we have only 2 and 1/2 hours to get this all done. I think, okay Steve will be home for dinner so, we can manage. Steve came home but really feeling sick (he's better now, if anyone cares). So I heat up dinner, clean it up, do the boys homework (one hour!) change the babies and the boys, pull out a cake, a can of frosting and sprinkles and let them have at it! Fantastic, it looked great and tasted even better! I still managed to get them all asleep by 8PM, of course after I cleaned the kitched and the living room, all I could do was stare at a riveting episode of Dancing with the Stars and fall into bed myself.

However I am unfazed and so psyched, my au pair is off next week, and I get a WHOLE WEEK at home with the my babies!!!!!!

Sunday, September 23, 2007





Just some sweet pictures from the weekend. I love the 4 spidermen, Mark kept his PJ's on all day, he loved them so much. One just has to wonder what Cara is up to while all of these do-gooder spidermen are engaged in a photo op...

Thursday, September 20, 2007

Time

I step out onto the path to start my run,
The crisp wind lifts the leaves and whips them into a funnel,
carrying the unique scent of freshness that the fall air holds.
Something about this scene or the air,
and for an instant I am transported to another time.

I am my 15 year old self standing on a street in Syosset
wearing my corduroy jean jacket, my hair blowing back from my face.

I inhale deeply and begin to run.
Briefly glancing over my shoulder I see that shimmery girl,
she smiles
and I am deeply relieved to see
that she is proud of who we have become.

Saturday, September 8, 2007

Cara does the Museum of Natural History




Is Cara in time out at the Museum of Natural History? Did Princess Cara Sophia get sent to the corner? No, no breathe easy, precious did not get put in the doghouse. This is her posing for a picture. She just found the museum to be an unbearable bore.
She was unimpressed with the 30 foot 3D renderings of African elephants preferring to have us watch her do pirouettes about the room. While stars exploded and meteorites fell on movie screens behind her, she wanted us to watch as she jumped from bench to bench. When the Imax theater re-enacted death matches between dinosaurs on a screen 7 stories high, Cara darted between Steve and I begging for candy and attention.
Ah Cara, always the star of the show, you will not be out shined by some long dead, fakes hanging around some dark old Museum.

Thursday, September 6, 2007

Back to school




No, I don't dress them the same everyday. Just for this first day back, oh and the second day, but not today, their third day in. This third day feels more like the first one, because today they stay all day. They are going to eat lunch there! Matthew told me that maybe next year he would eat lunch and dinner at school. I told him no way!

Matthew was very unhappy about leaving me today. He likes school, but being the bright boy that he is, he understood that it would be his first long day away from home. We were saved by his teacher Ms.Shelley, she walked by us with the class and offered to be his partner, I could see the relief in Matthew's eyes when he spotted her and she took his hand. She took a moment to tell me how good Matthew was yesterday in school. I am proud to report that I kept a look of utter surprise off my face! No, Matthew is a good boy.

So this morning they left with a quarter in their pockets for milk, lunches packed in superhero lunch bags and a snack. I showed them what they were to eat for snack and what they are to eat for lunch. There backpacks stuffed with school supplies.

Matthew told me he put his backpack in his cubby yesterday, but left the lunch bag on his chair, so he could remember which seat is his. Smart.

I have not gotten any work done, and did not sleep last night, I am on anxiety overdrive. I am so excited for them, because I know how much they will love school, but I am keeping my eye on the clock waiting impatiently for 2:30 so I can go pick them up.

The boys are in separate classes but will eat lunch together and have recess together. Yesterday was a half day so they only had snack no lunch, Matthew was upset that he didn't get to eat snack with Christopher.

The babies have told me they want to go to school, especially Mark, he hates for the family to be seperated.

Guess what? I can go get the boys now! No more pretending to work! Thanks for helping me pass the time!

Wednesday, August 29, 2007

TADA!


"taDA!" a little hop on one foot with the arms outstretched and a smile on his face. No reaction from the crowd, so another louder and with more feeling "TAADAAA!"

"Mikey did you finish your chalk art? it looks great!"

"yeah!" an enthused Mikey answers.

But where did he get this from? The TADA. It is great, delivered with such sincerity and no bragging intended, he just wanted to share in his accomplishment. Whatever he intended to accomplish he had and isn't that great! Mikey we joke has middle child syndrom. He is good, reliable, able to play on his own or with his siblings, he is easily overlooked. I do remind myself to take time and sit and talk or play with him. Maybe it is working because there he is open and proud and happy to share in his moment. It is one of those moments when I allow myself to stop worrying.
I remember when the triplets first arrived I worried all day everyday for months. It was exhuasting. People would whisper or just say it plainly "how will she do it?" or "ugh, I could never one drove me nuts" Then one day I was tired of the worrying and a thought formed in my mind. What if everything is okay. What if they are all just fine. What if my inability to provide each child with endless hours of single minded focus on them is actually not a problem, or at least balanced out by the fact that they have eachother. I never breathed so easily in all of my life. Because it rang very true to my ears. As the Who said 30 years ago "the kids are alright" and they are.

Wednesday, August 22, 2007

Finally the birthday montage is complete



As you can see I have a new look on the site. I am thinking it may be a little to understated, though I think it is easier to read the text. We'll see if it will stay.
Yes the montage is finally done! I am happy it is done, because by now my thoughts have turned to the end of one of the best summer's of my life. Granted this does not mean that it was stress free or relaxing, but wow, how exciting and fun, fun, fun!
Now we are buying school supplies as my boys begin their real school days.

Sunday, August 5, 2007

It's all in that moment

This has been a busy summer so far, and things don't look like they will be slowing down for the month of August. On Tuesday the kids and I hit Nonnis' pool. It was tough keeping an eye on all 5, though they did cooperate and put on their life vests. After a few hours I dried them off and brought them to McDonald's for dinner. My nerves were frayed from the swimming and I felt too tired to face cooking, let alone that, I had it in my mind that we needed to go to the grocery store to buy cake mix to make a cake for gram and grandpa.
How I thought that would go well is beyond me. It may have been because the previous day Steve and I brought them all to Costco, where we piled them all on flatbed cart and managed to buy what we needed and get all of them home alive so I got to feeling emboldened.
We were a sight at the grocery store(did I mention I had Leo with me?) So the 7 of us somehow make it through the overcrowded aisles with the babies throwing random things in the cart. Some items I couldn't even identify. The kids won't go in the cart, they prefer to hang onto the sides with their feet on the under basket, facilitating easy on off as needed in their 2 year old minds. There were some minor injuries, but these were no deterrent to the daredevil travel mode with easy access to all things shiny. Oh they were happy.

All of this swimming, Mcd's and grocery shopping leads up to the arrival home and the spotting of fireflies. This was an awe inspiring moment for the 5. Matthew was thrilled to catch them and put them in their brand new "habitat". Seeing those fire flies brought me back 30 years . When we would spot fireflies, my dad would say,"well that's the end of summer!" All the feelings that would bring to my 10 year old mind. Profound sadness that the long, shiftless days of summer were coming to an end, and the anxiety and hope that a new school year brings. And now all these years later feeling the same exact emotions as I watch my 5 year olds, who are oblivious to the change their lives will be taking in 3 short weeks, run around chasing fire flies.
Matthew said that night that he now has to take care of his fish, his firefly and a bug that is also in his habitat so he would be very busy tomorrow. I loved that.

The inconsequential moments seem to strike me as magnified and more important then the big events I plan. There is something in these moments that feel more revealing
even like a thread being weaved through our lives that holds the family together stronger then the big splashy trips and I constantly plan for us.

It is like rising above the din to see the whole picture caught in one single moment. We are healthy, we are safe, we have all of our needs met and more. When you think of all of the suffering in this world, the children who get cancer the families living in the chaos of war and poverty. We are so lucky, so incredibly blessed. That I send out a little prayer of thanks and a simultaneous plea for help for those who can't have what I have so easily.

I find inspiration in the simple gestures the kids share so readily. When Mark decides to haul a huge, filled watering can to accomplish some task only known to his 2 year old mind. Matthew casually walks up and says "let me help you with that." and easily takes the can from Mark's hands and brings it across the yard for him.

Or when Christopher's patiently sits on the couch reading a book to Mikey or explaining how a game is played on the computer. Chris's voice soft and sweet saying "good job Mikey, you did it."

Or when Cara is swimming with me and opens her hand to show me she has caught a frog! When I scream she calmly looks at me and says "mommy frog yucky?" Her head tilted in interest, while her eyes intensely monitor my response to her find. You can almost see her thinking.

Or after Mikey falls in the pool, head first no less, I grab him and he looks at me and says " momma, I fall in agua."
"yes, sweetie." I calmly say, "you fell in the agua." While in my head I am screaming "oh my God, I can't believe you fell in the water, what if I wasn't watching, this could have ended so differently!"
After a beat he says again "momma I fall in the agua with my head"
"yes, you did, you fell in the agua with your head" I respond.
"momma I fell in the agua, my head!"
"you did Mikey, you fell in the agua with your head first, you poor thing." I respond again.
Then he gets up and goes back to filling his bucket out of the pool, which is exactly what he was doing before he fell in the pool.

Conversations exactly like this happen all day for every scrape bump and hurt feelings that my 5 experience. They tell me what happened and what the offending person or thing was that caused their injury. I love listening to them giver thier account of the events. My listening sets things straight for them. They can carry on, once they are sure I understood exactly what happened and sympathize with their plight. Being understood deeply is important every age or our lives it seems. I am glad I know how to do this and that they actually seek me out exactly for this purpose. I feel happy even honored to be a part of these conversations.

So when you see me stressed out and disheveled, feel free to lend a hand but never feel bad for me, because cranky kids and frazzled mom moments are a small price to pay for all of the beautiful moments that make up my days.

Friday, August 3, 2007

Awesome visitors



This is the montage of really our best week of the summer. The girls added so much positive, fun energy to our home it was great to host them. They also did an incredible amount of work, most of which had to take place after long days in the city or the beach. We were thrilled to have the rest of the Rochester Kissinger's join us later in the week, though we did miss Sue.
Thanks to Kate and Sara the word awesome has been in the top rotation of words that I use on a daily basis. Their deadpan deliver of this one word, was just hysterical. I feel somewhat caught up on the music scene, as well as who's who in Hollywood.
I think that Sara really topped the week off by brining home the much beloved Sir Turtle, it was awesome. The somanila infested mess of a pet he is, he still gets much of the conversational time at our house. We of course are fielding requests for somanila pets from the 5 year old set. I think if the 2 and half year old group could pronounce turtle or somanila we would be fielding requests from them as well, you do have to be thankful for small miracles in this case that they can't pronounce those words.
We love you all and can't wait to see you again. A big thanks to Russ for putting in the effort it takes to have this all happen.

Wednesday, July 25, 2007

What a fun week we are having at the house. We have Sara, my niece visiting with her friend Kate. This has been so much fun. I think it is adorable the way that Matthew and Christopher are so excited to be with the "cousins" as they think Kate is a cousin too, and who needs to bother correcting that?
We spent the day in Manhatten yesterday, the truth be told, at first I was so nervous, I have work to do, a party to plan I can't take time to traipse around the city. But I did, and you know it was really, really fun. I had a blast. Only Matthew came with us and he was an angel, to the point that even the girls noticed. He was beaming with pride when they commented on how grown up he seems.
It was great to have some "alone" time with Matthew. The girls had eachother so I really got to spend that elusive "quality" time finding out what is on Matthew's mind. What mainly seems to be on his mind is bugs, worms and dinosours. He had some inisghtful questions mostly I had to tell him to ask his dad.
We all ate at the original Jeckyl and Hydes which was fun, but at some points way too scary for Matthew. They have a creepy butler who kept coming around to harass the girls and tell them they only had a 50/50 chance of getting out of the resturaunt alive.
I bought some cute stuff and got the kids some candy. Matthew loved the trains and the girls kept there cool on the subway. Oh except maybe for when they were dancing to the conga drims on the 'c' line platform, then I really thought we only had a 50/50 shot at getting out of there alive!

Wednesday, July 18, 2007



I am an Innocent alien. I came to earth to be friendly and put things I find around the house in the toilet. Those are my only goals, oh and to walk around like a zombie with my arms outstretched pretending to be monster Mark. My earthly sister Cara does this quite well also. We also play well at being dogs, actually Mikey does this too.

Cara has recently taken to calling me Alessandro, which is my middle name. I have found that what Cara decrees, is so. There is recent talk in the house that Cara needs to receive her own au pair or attendant to meet her innumerable needs. She does not just want juice, but she only wants certain people to fetch it for her, no substitution are allowed, she will drink only from certain cups and her cup choice is given to change, and after the juice has been poured it can be changed back. Generally she wants the cup I have. And then doesn't. It is clear on my visit to earth that the last born female is the largest and the most vocal. Therefor ruling the house of boys with ease. I have seen Mikey take her on and it does not end well. I try to humor her or redirect her attention to Mikey.

The largest children in the house have an endless list of activities, we younger ones are dragged unceremoniously around to their events. These big children are given a lot of responsibility. They must hold our hands in parking lots, never make us cry, and understand all directions given by the mommy person, who spends an incredible amount of energy each day, much of it yelling directions at the big children. Much of these directions have to do with me and the other two, hold the babies hands, watch the babies, give it to the babies, get the babies juice, snack, and be nice to the babies! To our dismay we are referred to as the babies still, though by any standard we are pre-schooler we find it insulting, and yet a relief because the mommy thinks we don't understand things.

The other day I almost gave away the truth. The mom was talking to big ones she said " we are going to gram and papas" I couldn't control myself I shouted "yeah!"
Her head snapped around and she said your happy about that? what could I say besides "yeah!" Because you know, I am. I am really, really happy about that.

Friday, July 6, 2007

Some weeks are rough


The car is broken, and not just a little. The automatic sliding doors are not automatic any more. The driver seat does not move , but thankfully the position that it got stuck in, though not terribly comfortable for anyone, is still manageable for 6' tall Steve as well as 5' tall Dalila. So we just lived with it. Then a few weeks later the odometer stopped working and the back light got stuck on. Still we persevered. Then the call came. Dalila is stuck on Roosevelt Ave and the car is not moving.
All five kids are sick. I don't mean the sniffles. I mean Matthew had 105.1 at one point. For the most part everyone is hovering around 102. Steve and I though not hit as hard are feeling pretty bad as well.
Dalila continues alternate between sulky and teenager-esque giggly.
All together the family has spent the past week bumping off each other with an edginess and tension that makes everyone grateful for bedtime.
But the fourth of July was here and it seemed as everyone had party plan so I made ours. Swimming and illegal fireworks at Nonni's house. So in the early evening, we picked up the KFC and the whiny kids, piled them into stifling hot Big and off we went.
It was cold so swimming was out. It was raining so fireworks were out. We spent the night in a oven hot house, eating bad food trying to keep the miserable children from killing each other. Matthew spent 5 out of every 20 minutes in time out. I finally caved at 7:15 and piled all of the kids back in big to head home. Steve had his own car and followed us. This of course sent the kids into a tizzy, "we want Daddy! Where is Daddy" I did the only thing I could think of, I turned WBAB on full blast and rocked out in the drivers seat. When we got home our exhausted sick kids had fallen asleep on the short trip, in a loud and hot Big. I felt bad for all of the yelling I had done at our fiasco of a party. I felt tired and desperate to get the kids to bed.
But like a dog that can't learn its lesson I have continued to make even bigger plans for the summer and my heart races with excitement to try it all again.

Friday, June 29, 2007

Pre k Graduation




I can't believe it, my big boys are truly becoming big! Graduating from the pre-k program and all ready for the "big kid" school. Home-schooling is looking better to me everyday. Can you imagine them eating their little lunches in school? I just cannot imagine them trying to open their little milk box and putting the straw in. How will they nap? What if Chris doesn't like the noise? What if some of the kids are mean? Do you know that the kindergaten will be eating with the 8th graders!! They use a buddy system. Chris better get the nicest buddy that ever walked the school yard or I will in that school taking names and..well you know the rest. By the way, Matthew wants to be a worker (read: day laborer) and Chris wants to be a tonado catcher (I think they are supposed to just chase the storm but Chris wants to catch them before they hurt anyone)

I remember last summer Matthew used to have some difficulty with the bigger boys next door. I remember him shouting over his shoulder as he climbed the cement divider between our properties, "you are not my friends any more! And you will never play in my backyard ever!"

I was so hurt for him. I met him as he climbed over the divide. "what happened?"
" they made me wet momma, even though I said no make me wet!"
in ear shot of those boys I said to Matthew loudly "your right! They are not your friends at all, they only ask you to play if there is nothing else to do. Don't play with them ever again!" I could have honestly cried. So I brought Matthew in...Don't you know 20 minutes later he says " momma I'm going to go outside and play with the big boys."
What was this, we hate those boys, you and I will just be friends. Ah but he was over it. And don't you know the next day I was opening my car door and who pops up but the nieghbor kid. "uh I am sorry about well, yesterday, and um, Matthew got um wet, it was like um an accident and I'm like sorry"
Well that was that. They are as thick as theives now, and I realize my boys can hold their own. Each year a little more steady.
I used to think parenting, marriage and home ownership looked like the most boring prospect in the world. I succefully put it off until the very last moment but now I see it is really the most breath-taking ride in the world.

Wednesday, June 27, 2007

Camping montage




Click the picture and play the montage. The pictures are much better than that actual weekend. We had a rough trip down and Ami's health was in swift decline. However those kids were in heaven. Their Aunt Ruth their favorite Aunt in the world, was living next door! Matthew's biggest challenge was to go knock on her door he was so nervous. They loved having special time with Marty and Beth. They love those guys and who can blame them. They are endlessly patient and are always up for another toss of the ball or walk.

Having Gram and papa there is of course sends them to the stratsphere of excitment. They love spending time with them. Cara is particuarly attached to Gram. Her face just lights up when she sees Gram. Even when whe was very small she would react so happily to seeing her Gram. I never understood it but..... only kidding.

That said Mark has taken to Papa quite nicely, I noticed this for the first time last July at the family reunion he was rough horsing alot with him and he continues to feel braver and braver with dad agian a mystery to me...but who can account for taste?

It was nice to see the babies starting to bond with Marty and Beth. Beth and Mikie seemed to find some common ground and spent some quality time together which is fantastic.

Thank you all for coming down and I hope that everyone walked away with good memories!

Thursday, June 21, 2007

Father's day

We had Minneapolis not 3 weeks ago. Then a camping trip punctuated with extra stress do to Ami death. I was beginning to think we just could not bear anymore stress. I felt exhausted and a bit overwrought. So when Father's day rolled around I had pretty much nothing left to give. I didn't buy any body anything. Thank goodness for preschool teachers and their clever arts and crafts projects.

Chris decided we should go to the planetarium. There is a beautiful one on Long Island. I said fine, but didn't even have the energy to pack up a picnic. So I sent Steve out to pick up things appropriate for a picnic, forgoing the peanut butter and Nuetella sandwiches we normally endure.

I dress the kids nicely and we head out. They fell asleep as planned in the car on the hour drive to the Vanderbilt planetarium. The peace! The quiet! We arrived and headed right into the show. All five kids were perfect. Entranced by the show. Only Cara calling out STAR! SUN! which is useful information, was there any outbursts at all.

We then walked the grounds until we scouted the perfect picnic grounds. Steve had packed a picnic fit for a king! cheeses, fruits, crackers, lunch meats, drinks. Our spot was shady and surrounded by open fields, where literally my kids chased butterflies and each other. Cara's beautiful curls bouncing in the sunshine as she ran about. We were like a family from an Eternity perfume ad.

There was no fighting, no stress, no problems. We ate, we played and we had the best day or our year so far. I really mean it. Of course we didn't have our camera. I think that just had to be. No one else perhaps can really see even with pictures and words the intimacy and joy even a large, overwhelmed family such as mine can really share. You just have to be there, but to be there you have to make the huge sacrifices and the missteps that me and Steve have taken to finally achieve the moment.

Monday, June 11, 2007




This is a sad day at the Bo house. Our beloved, sweet dog Amstel "Ami" has died. She was with us for 15 years. A good run for a dog. I adopted Ami at 9 months old. Her first night at my house she got into a case of canned bear and pierced several open. So when I had gotten back to the apartment she had taken a beer bath. I knew then that she was going to be a friend for life. And I was ever so right. Together we learned every part of Central Park. She swam in the brambles, the lake and every fountain they had. She summered in PA with my folks, where she swam in their lake and chased the deer.

Then she met Steve. On our 1st date, I confessed to owning a dog. On our 2nd date he brought her a treat when he picked me up. This was Ami's love story. The two of them hit it off. Soon they had moved in together in Bayside (I followed about at 1 1/2 years later)

Ami was the most playful and humorous dog you could ever meet. never ferocious unless she knew damn well Steve would be their to back her up. Steve and I swore the dog could understand a joke. At one point we administered one of those checklists used in early childhood development assessments. She scored at the level of a 5 year old for social skills. Of course she fell apart in the language and dressing yourself sections. I think the assessment was biased.

Our memories of Ami are countless. The joy and smiles she left us with will not be forgotten. Ami was a one in a million dog. She never ran away or caused us problems. Always true to her sheep herding heritage, it was her personality to keep us all as close together as possible. Herding Steve me and the twins by nipping at our heels. Her inability to herd well, the twins as toddlers, was a source of much concern for her. By the time the triplets arrived she had gone into full retirement.

Here is to you Ami, the fine dog that you were, you will be sorely missed and fondly remembered.

Thursday, June 7, 2007

Fiesta


We seem to be struggling to get life back on track since our trip. My endless guilt which always is ready to bubble over by the mere fact that I work, has run out of control since the trip. So I am running back and forth between the house to have time with the kids and the office to get some work done.

Last night was the au pair's birthday. For those of you that never had an au pair which I am guessing is the majority of people. They are not merely employees. In fact au pair mean "on par". They are not like a second mom, which is what one person said to me....which I did not take well and they are not like a daughter. They are more like a distant relative who was sent to you. You are responsible for them, you end up caring about them and counting on them. So being her birthday, I wanted to thank her for the great care she gave my kids while I was away and help her celebrate her first birthday far from home.

I decorated a superwoman cake, and Steve prepared a big meal the night before that only needed to be heated up the day of the fiesta.

Well yesterday like all days got complicated. I left work at 11;15 to pick up the boys. They run out excited to have been invited to a playdate. Oh great a new plan. I say okay. It is not the norm to drop kids off at these things at this point. So I have to stick around. I feel so guilty that I am not at work and now to get anything done, I will have to work later and cut into precious baby time. Finally I tell the mom who is great, that I have to go. She says the boys can stay. I feel relieved. Chris declines and goes to the office with me-which I was secretly so happy about. She kept trying to entice him to stay but I was like its okay, let's go Chris. I worked until 5 picked up the Matthew, went to return books at the library and get Dalila a card. I got home at 6. Steve was not there and no dinner was cooking. We had forgotten to tell Dalila to put the food in the oven.

So no food for our fiesta. I felt terrible. In preparation for her birthday party, Dalila had bathed and dressed the babies in the party best, But it was 6PM and there was no food, no decorations, no balloons, no people.

Steve ran out and picked up chicken I heated up the side dishes he had prepared, hung the signs, wrapped the gifts and the party began at 7. Dalila was the perfect honoree, ignoring the snafu, laughing with the kids, helping out, raving over the rather sad cake

We all danced to the Spanish music station, Cara looked beautiful in her party dress and carrying her yellow balloons. Dalila thanked us many times for the party and presents. I hope that she was able to see what we were trying to convey to her: that she is important to the family, that even though we are wrapped up with so many demands, that she counts too.

Wednesday, June 6, 2007

Minneapolis


Finally it is behind me, the trip to Minneapolis, nothing against the town but I hated to leave the kids. Before anyone gets a picture of me as some Madonna eternally devoted and attached to her broad, the truth is I just felt really uncomfortable leaving them without family to take care of them. Our nanny is fine but I know her only 7 months and her English is very poor. It just seemed like a recipe for disaster, but God was good and we were able to get through with out any major incidents.
Christopher did get stung by a bee on his face while I was away, so while I am standing around trying to sell our wonderful product at this gigantic expo, I get a call from the pre-school to come pick up Chris he's been hurt and needs to see a DR. Being 1200 miles from home makes it difficult to get Chris who is now sobbing on the phone to me. I try to comfort him and I tell him "oh Christopher you poor baby, momma is giving you a big hug right now. Can you feel momma giving you a hug?"
"no." answers Christopher in his what is my crazy mother saying now voice. It is great how much can be conveyed in one simple word.
After many phone calls I orchestrate his medical care and comfort from what feels like a universe away, while dealing with potential clients and keeping my own tears in check the entire time.
Back as I am, my normally crazy life can continue to run amok. The nanny needs to see a DR. thankfully nothing serious. But that means I have to locate a Spanish speaking doctor that accepts her insurance and then drag the kids over to the office to make sure it goes well.

Of course there is no parking so Dalila hops out of the car to find the doctor on her own. I find parking and begin to drag the 5 children down the crazy crowded blvd. The sidewalks are crowded and the road is jammed with cars. Cara sees a woman covered in a burka with only her eyes showing and she strikes up a conversation. Chris sees a hot dog cart and says he wants one, the lady says we don't sell hot dogs. So Chris looks closer at the cart and say oh you only sell Halal food. I think he has mis-read health food, but no, it says halal food. The spacial food that religious Muslims eat (similar to kosher for the Jews). I am astounded.

Most would shudder to bring there little ones to this crowded ethnic neighborhood, but I take comfort in the fact that there lots of little ones in these neighborhoods. And like Steve has said there is like an invisible rope tying our kids together. They seem to have a strong survival instinct and never go far from the group. Any wanderings are quickly corrected with a stern word or two and Christopher and Matthew feel responsible for the "their babies" and will use force if necessary to stop any dangerous or perceived dangerous behaviors. This as you can imagine, has its pros and cons. They hold hands on the busy streets. One big boy takes two babies, one takes one baby and is charge of opening doors. I walk right behind them so I can keep everyone in view. I feel like a vigilant jail guard in these more high risk situations. My focus is complete as I sweep my eyes continually over the group. They on the other hand love the outing. Cara has taken to calling Mark, Mark Alejandro, and saying "I Cara" to anyone who even glances in her direction.

Last night I went to look in on the babies sleeping in their cribs and was shocked to see that they are not babies at all. They are so big. They keep trying to let us know each day that they are not babies anymore. They have something to say, the world does not just impact them, but they impact the world.

Sunday, May 6, 2007

The weekend





Wow, I am impressed with myself posting twice in one week. I just have the greatest pictures from the weekend and wanted to share them. We had a busy weekend, kicked off with me taking the 5 kiddos to my friends house for a dinner of grilled cheese sandwiches. She also had another friend there and the 9 kids had a great time playing together.

Then on Saturday I dragged the kids over to the Queens Zoo. Even throwing nap overbaoud to enjoy a beautiful day in the sun. They were having the annual sheep shearing with concerts and crafts to go with it. Unfortuantely I was on my own wit the kids which is a little nerve racking. We did good though. The kids enjoyed the concert and feeding the goats.

The next day we hit the Hall of Science. They have great displays and with Chris our budding scientist it was a big hit. I think the kids liked all of the trips and in fact Matthew has pormised me a neckless, two bracelets, and a car for Mother's day. While Chris promised me hugs and kisses the whole day. It looks to be the best emotional and materialistic day of my life.

Friday, May 4, 2007

Where are you going?

Every day my life changes. An expected behavior or a hand needed with a task can change without notice. The kids find their indempendence and refuse to relinquish it, no matter that it takes no less than 8 minutes for the boys to flip their coats on and zip them up, they do not want any help thank you very much. The triplets refuse to be treated like babies, their ice cream should be in cones not cups! Who do I think they are?

Today I registered Matthew and Christopher for kindergarten and I feel the bottom slipping our from underneath me, the sentimental fool that I am. I am on the verge of tears, despite the fact that the way things are, the constant running and play dates has me on the brink of exhaustion, I do not want to let them go.

I brought the fab five to a playground, playdate of the boys. We saw sky writing and Matthew thought God was writing us a letter. Chrisopher tells me that after Ami goes to meet Jesus he is going to get a new dog, if it is really big he will name it Jupiter, if it is kinda big he will name it Uranus ( It think I will have to put the kabash on that choice!) How can I let these conversations go? I know I should be relieved that they will be off having a great time and learning, but these little talks are priceless.

I guess it will allow me more time to have these types of engaging conversations with Cara, Mark and Mikie. They have already begun chatting away about life with us and their views will only be getting clearer as the months roll by. At Myrtle Beach, Mikie took a pretty big spill and Steve was comforting him, while Cara screamed "daddy, daddy, daddy..." Finally he said "CARA WHAT IS IT!" in the sweetest smallest voice she said "he fell." Steve after a beat said "Thanks, captain obvious."

There are days when I want to run far, far away to a quiet corner with a tall cafe latte, and read and read all day long with out a care. Then there are times when I wish I could lock us all in a beautiful, sunny room where the world could never find us.

So please don't go yet little ones, you mommy is not ready. Please stay by her side and give her your sunny smiles and your tears of heartache, don't reach out to the big bad world, I am too worried that my hugs woln't be able to heal what it brings your way. I am too afraid that the world will tell you that you shouldn't need my hugs anymore.

But you are too fast, too strong, too young and the world is so shiny and new as tempting as a treasure chest. So off you go..and i'll plant a smile on my face and wave..but if you stumble and fall, I will be at your side before you touch the ground just like my mother did for me.

Wednesday, April 25, 2007

Myrtle Beach

I decided to also put the "monatage" here in case anyone who would like to see it and did not get a chance. We had a great trip, though the actual traveling was pretty miserable.

The kids had a blast, and for a week when we said our good night prayers Matthew and Christopher both thanked God for Myrtle Beach and for the sho and tell (hotel) that we stayed in on the way there and back. (I thanked God that we we didn't see any bugs at the sho and tell).

They keep asking if we can go back to the beach now. I know if the triplets could they would probably be asking to go back also! It is a great time where the cousins really get some great time together and with their grandpatents, something that is often really hard to pull off.

So here is to all of the adults that make it happen. Mostly to the grandparents for there generous contribution of footing the bill for the house! And because they bring 3 very important cousins with them. Thank you.

Also to Uncle Russ, Aunt Sue, Uncle Steve (Ramiche), Aunt Cheryl,and my husband for taking time from a hectic life, to pack, plan, and drag sometimes seemingly ungrateful yungin's all the way to the the beach! And if at times the effort seems not worth the results, take another quick look at this montage and remember all of those smiles and family memories that our children experience are a direct result of our efforts.
Click on the picture below to see the "video".

View this montage created at One True Media
Myrtle Beach 2007

Monday, April 2, 2007

And they say we have no table manners!




"Wow that resturaunt was great!" exlaims Chris. "there were people and it was open!" Our standards are not that of the NY Times resturaunt review critic, but we are a cheerier bunch. So the fact that there seems to be bad weather lying ahead for us in Myrtle beach, I fear not, because our house will have people and it will be open so how far off can we be?

Monday, March 12, 2007

Cheeseburger in Paradise





Well it is that time of the year, a serious and somber time when the women give up dessert and the men cut back on beer. No it isn't just lent that spurs us on to a more spartan lifestyle, but preparation for the most esteemed and worthy event. That is right the Kissingers, Bo's and Ramiche's will once again grace the shores of Myrtle Beach SC.

Thoughts turn to surf,sand,and blender drinks. And since Sue must leave us a bit early this trip, maybe even a little Jimmy Buffet. This has been a family tradition for at least 40 years. Though in the past 15 the digs have been getting much nicer and the crowd has swelled to no less then 22. With the under five set accounting for 7 and the so-called adults coming in at 8, this leave only 8 more to give the group some beach cred.(rapper slang for cool). This is a tall order when you consider that our most senior member and sponsor of the trip spent an afternoon last year trying to egg on an ape to fight him. What was that apes name? I will buy anyone a beer who can recall that Ape's name ( if you are under 21 I will buy and drink the beer for you because I am a good and caring aunt).

Besides that highlight from last years trip we had the most memorable monster find by one of my very own, Matthew. First his father tried to feed his foot to the monster then his daring cousin, Sara picked the poor creature up by its tail and threw it in the water. The poor monster then had to crawl back up out of the water probably in search of its monster babies.

Easter egg dyeing was impressive and judges were all easily paid off in cheap vodka, I didn't see the deal go down but I have my suspicions.

No one from our large group felt compelled to be saved at the evangelistic church, Maybe if they had asked closer to the end of the week, we would have been a little more in the mood for some redemption.

What will this trip hold? What adventures and memories lay in wait? Sunburns and jelly fish stings, or deep tans and new swimming records? So let's pack up those swim suits and madras tops, dig out the shovels and pails, Myrtle Beach is calling and soon we will cut out of work or school and answer her with a "last one in is a rotten egg!".

Monday, February 26, 2007

Our Trip to Our Grandparents House!



The boys have been over the moon with excitement. Grandpa called and said he was coming to get them and bring them up to the Disney world of grandparent houses. If we could have harnessed the excitement and energy Matthew displayed for the 2 days he waited to leave we could power an entire 3rd world nation.

The boys left on Thursday morning, the triplets and I met them up there on Friday afternoon. Our first order of business was swimming. In my parents development there is an indoor pool. This is a highlight for the under 5 set. They love to swim. And I adore getting all five in and out of their bathing suits. It only takes about an hour to get everyone ready to go. It is the re-dressing in the ladies locker that is a little stressful. I am thrown the occasional dirty look as bringing in 4 boys to the ladies room is frowned upon despite their tender ages..they are all exhibitionist and the minute they are free of there suits they can't wait to show the ladies what they got.

However bathing suits don't hold a candle to 5 snow suits, 5 pairs of boots, 5 little hats and 5 little gloves, all necessary for what turns out to be 15 minutes of sled ridding.

Mark has been adding to the nerve shattering preparations for each event by howling all weekend and insisting on being in my arms, not just in my arms but in my arms while I stand. Sitting is not an option. When he does decide to go for a walk, his pants fall down. That's right about 10 different times his pants fell down or all the way off. When I try to change his pants the intensity of his screaming escalates, so grandma and I dutifully keep putting the pants back on.

The day of sled ridding and swimming were capped off with s'more making. As soon as grandpa put the makings on the table to put out a marshmallow fire the chocolate for that s'more was stolen! The evidence was quickly consumes so we were unable to bring any charges. My money is on Cara however.

I don't think any of the kids could have had a better time. My parents and me couldn't keep our eyes open for more than an hour after we got them down. The sleep of the truly weary his heaven sent!

Wednesday, February 21, 2007

Schools out


Well this is a vacation week, which means much scrambling on my part to keep the kids entertained, because honestly the idea of 9 cold days sitting around the house watching elmo and the wiggles well, not so good. Of course if I was mom of the year I would plan toddler friendly crafts (what they may be I can't say, but certainly would not include glitter) and wonderful baking projects. The baking's biggest weak spot is that I seem to eat more of it then all 5 kids combined.

So we head out. The triplets love to go out. It is one of greatest things about hanging out with 2 year olds, No matter what the plan they are down for it. They see you reach for their coats and a frenzy of emotions and activity ensues. All want to be first and are willing to use some muscle to get to the front of the line. . There are fist fights, tears, laughter, and screaming(from the kids, that is) as we head into the van . The second order of business, in the kids minds, is to find the diaper bag. Because they know there will be snacks! They love snacks. Though breakfast ended only an hour ago everyone wants to score the best snack before they will even consider getting into their car seats. The problem with that is the best snack is consistently whatever the other person has. So inevitably their will be more heightened emotions. I spend my time buckling in people and helpfully either yell or mutter: Why am I taking any of you? And other parental gems.

The thing I admire most about there enthusiasm for outings is that they don't have any idea what the outing will lead to. They could be going for a 12 hour trip, to a weeks vacation, or a five minute car ride to go get shots at the DR's. They truly epitomize the saying of "it is not the destination but the journey".

Apparently by 4 these soft sentiments have passed and attention to minute details rules. Where are we going? with who? when? which car? will we eat lunch there? who will sit next to me? Will there be a bathroom there? Can I use it? What will I eat for lunch? Why isn't Alexa coming? Will Brentie be there? Sara? Can I bring my sunglasses? book? toys? Why do we need to where these coats? where are we going? who will be there? Will Alexa come? Why don't you call her mommy? Did you bring my drink? in my cup?...you get the picture. I don't know if the repeated questions are because they didn't hear me or they have distracted themselves so much they have forgotten the answers. My modes operands is to answer patiently for about five minutes then tell them they are not allowed to speak until we arrive. They actually seem to like when I get to the point of telling them to stop talking. They lean back in their chairs and munch peacefully on their snacks.

Tuesday, February 20, 2007

Mark aka little dude



This is Mark on his 2nd birthday only 6 short weeks ago. A dare devil of kid, he will be giving even Matthew a run for his money in a year or two. He insists on things going his way, only sits in seats that he has chosen will not eat 'baby food' eating only what the grown ups and Matthew choose. This includes Chilli, tomato sauce, chicken on the bone and obviously cake.


Thanks to Mark, we now have a new nighttime routine. It used to be that sometime after supper the babies went downstairs to hang out for a few minutes before bed, while the boys enjoyed a movie to wind down before going to sleep. This no longer holds water for the triplets.Mark realized first that he was being short changed and when I would call the kids to "abajo" he would run to the couch grab a small pillow and put it on his lap and sit as quietly as possible waiting for the boys movie to start. Any suggestion that he go downstairs met with frantic screams, and once arriving downstairs he would throw himself in front of the den door and sob until someone opens the door and he would run to his spot on the couch and sit again (he actually has a "right spot" and will forcibly throw anyone out who tries to sit there-thank goodness the big boys are so understanding!) So now all five enjoy a movie, however it is necessary to still put them down first if you are home alone to put all five down.

So now, we have the boys shut the TV and the lights and all five kids say their good night on the stairs. The boys head to their room until they get the all clear, and then they tip toe back to the living room. This is the only way the triplets will go to sleep. The babies love saying night-night. For now this is doing the trick. After the good nights they all head right to their room and begin fighting about who will be rocked first...yelling rock, rock!

Saturday, February 17, 2007

Boy genius and Boy brave


We strongly believe as all good parents do, that are kids are brilliant, beautiful and put on earth to save the world, but we are finally getting proof positive that Chris is brilliant. He is 4 and consistently knows his left from his right. Not only that but he will say "no mom the one on the left. "

He knows all of the planet in the solar system He knows why we can't live on the other planets. We have had other glimpses of genius from him. He can read all of the road signs and has a firm grasp on sound letter relationships. What any of that could possibly lead to of course is impossible to know...it could be nothing or it could be a Westing house scholorship. I just find it as riveting as Britany's new hair style.

The next day after considering boy genius, I was introduced to boy brave AKA Matthew. We took him sled riding for the first time this afternoon. He had never been before, but soon after hearing the words sled riding sometime earlier this week. He has been talking about going. He didn't know for sure what sled riding was but he knew it was for him. And wow was he right. We trudged to the top of the hill, and the first thing he said was I want to go down alone, no grown ups! And that was it. Off he went like a seasoned pro. Starting our forward spinning around, going backwards and falling off were no deterents to his daring do.

I absulotely cannot wait to back with the babies. Let's see who ends up sitting it out in the car and who will follow Matthew's lead!

Friday, February 16, 2007

Are we there yet?


I woke up this morning to the 10 degree temps and the frozen tundra which is Bayside Queens right now. I snuck quietly down the stairs to get ready for an early day at work. An 8;30 client made it necessary to get a move on. I hear the babies starting to stir in their cribs. Dalila is up and getting ready for her early morning. Despite the fact that her friend stayed with us and they were up chatting until late.

The babies woke up and boy were they upset! Usually so happy in the moring this morning was obviously going to be different. Maybe they were peeved that the au pair came to get them instead of their mom, though this could just be wishful thinking.

I have to go, after the boys are finsished with preschool we are heading up to the grandparents. By we I mean just little old me and the 5 screaming amigos. The early morning screaming does not bode well for my weekend.

We get them relatively calm and I go off to work. Where I sit in my office waiting for my no show client...when the phone rings and my patient husband says that I have left the house with the keys to all three of our vehicles. whoops. I have a real problem with keys. Loosing them, stealing them..you name the key crime and I am guilty.

I pick up the boys and drive them to school. I head back to work. I am anxious to get home and pack, get the boys from school and hit the road for a 3 hour drive. But another phone call and it is the sad news that the roads are closed, people have been sitting in their cars for up to 15 hours, the national gaurd is sending in hummers to rescue the stranded drivers How do I miss this news? I really can't say.

The boys took the new exceedingly well, over their slice of mommy guilt pizza. We headed to the library for videos to help us get through another long weekend at home. I was starting to look forward to a cozy weekend at home, when Mikie first threw up, then he threw up again and then Matthew threw up then he threw up again.

Make that a cozy and gross weekend.

Thursday, February 15, 2007

Let's get this blog rolling

Well today I got this blog set up. I have tried this once before and even figured out how to get a picture on the blog, but then all was lost and I never figured out why. I can tell you that at that time I had 5 children under 3, so the loss was even harder to take!
I finally got all five kids to sleep and thought I would try once again. I am the mom of twin boys who are 4 and triplets that are 2. It is hectcic life to say the least and at times I love my unique position and other times it can make me feel a bit overwhelmed.
We were lucky in that all five of our children are healthy. They were born big and close to full gestation so we have no issues complicating our complicated lives. Our biggest baby that takes all of our attention is our bussiness. We have our own and it is consuming. We are never quite finished with work.
Well lets' see if this blog sticks or if I lose it once again. Tomorrow I pack up the five for a trip to the granparents house. They are three hours away. My husband will not be joining me because of the big baby I mentioned before. Wish us luck on those frozen icy roads tomorrow