The Hickok Family

Fakesmas 2011

2012-01-29T20:44:00.000-05:00

With so much to do on Christmas Day, we needed to extend the holiday and have Fakesmas on the 26th. This day allowed us to exchange gifts without chaos, to relax, and to just be together. It also gave us time to watch John Denver and the Muppets, and to eat my dad's famous Beef Wellington!

Christmas 2011

2012-01-29T20:38:00.000-05:00

Pictures can be hard to come by when there is so much going on! Jen got some great ones but I can't figure out how to get them from the shutterfly site to the blog, so I have limited pictures to share. We had such a great day- probably the best Christmas we have had with the kids! They are all old enough to 'get' it, and they had so much fun. All of our family was there, the tree and decorations were beautiful, the food was great, and we really could not have asked for anything more.

The kids were ridiculously cute. Mairead and Lily had matching dresses, and the boys were in ties and vests to match.

The boys loved all of their Thomas gifts and even read this Thomas book together.

My mom gave Lily this Elefun game and the kids had a blast catching butterflies in their nets.

Unfortunately, Nana had to miss the day because she was still recuperating from Legionnaire's disease. We did get the kids dressed up and over to visit her so that she could give them their gifts. She did some wonderful oil paintings for the kids, but they really just wanted to press the buttons to make her bed go up and down.

There is a long story behind this... don't ask...

We are so lucky to have everything we do. Thank you to everyone who made Christmas so wonderful this year!

Christmas Eve 2011

2012-01-29T20:17:00.000-05:00

My sister, Katie, pointed out the other day that I have not yet blogged in 2012! I can't believe I let that happen. We have just been having too much fun! Really- we are so busy and have been doing so many fun things that sitting at the computer to type them all out has just not happened.

We had a fantastic holiday season, the highlights of which included Christmas Eve and Christmas Day. We are so lucky to celebrate with so many family and friends. The best part about living in Lowell is that my kids are able to grow up with many of the same experiences that were so important to me. Holidays are some of my best memories. I remember being surrounded by family, the wonder of the lights, the presents, the decorations, and everything that goes with the day. I love that my kids are surrounded by their relatives and that they will grow up knowing that they are so loved.

We had a great time at Dan and Katie's Christmas Eve party. The kids love playing with their older cousins, and they discovered several Rudolph stuffed animals. They were really in to the movie this year so they were excited to play with the toys.

The commotion is always a little much for Ben- I think that we will have a picture of him just like this every year.

Santa was good enough to take a break from his busy night to stop by and see the kids. Mairead was beyond thrilled. She went back to sit on his lap three or four times, in fact.

Every time we asked Jack what Santa was going to bring him, he said, "Gordon!" And what do you know? Santa DID bring Gordon! Jack was mystified and so happy. Prior to the visit, Jack had been saying that he was scared of Santa, so the arrival of Gordon went a LONG way with Jack!

Jen and Mike were good enough to stay at our house on Christmas Eve so that they could share in the excitement of Christmas morning. Even Bean slept over, which just added to the fun!

The Best Boxes we Opened this Year

2011-12-30T16:31:00.000-05:00

Could we ask for anything better in any Christmas gift this year? How about three happy, healthy, beautiful kids?

The boys are wearing the special Thomas pajamas that Grandma sent as a pre-Christmas gift. Thanks, Grandma! The only downside to those pajamas is that the boys never want to take them off!

Why did we buy them presents?

They are just so fun and so cute together. There is still more whining than I would like, and some people (cough, Jack, cough) need to be a little less bossy, but they are learning and doing so much. I wish I could remember all of the cute and amazing things they do and say!

For example, Ben was sick about two weeks ago and had been vomiting. He was lying in his bed at night while I sat in the rocking chair next to him. Jack asked what Ben was doing and I told him that Ben was not feeling very well. He said, " Oh, can I go in his bed and sleep with him and make him feel better?" Talk about melting my heart. Everyone should be so lucky as to have a brother like that!

Mairead has been dancing a lot to songs from John Denver and the Muppets. This was one of our favorite records (yes, I said records) growing up, and seeing her enjoy it so much really brings tears to my eyes. I love creating memories with her and seeing her enjoy the special moments of childhood.

Both boys really get into their pretend play with their trains. Ben, especially, uses phrases from the show that just crack me up. Sometimes, you'll just hear him say, "Oh, no! Exclaimed Henry!"

All three kids are protective of one another. If one of the boys cries, Mairead strokes his head or back and says, "Oh, it's ok. It's ok." If one boy can't see the other, he goes on an all out search for his brother. If Mairead is upset, the boys ask, "What's wrong with Baread? I can help her?" I just love watching them grow up and seeing how close they are!

Christmas Cupcakes

2011-12-30T16:20:00.000-05:00

To get ready for Christmas, Mairead was a big help in baking some holiday themed cupcakes. She takes her job as a helper very seriously. She loved measuring out the ingredients, counting the cupcake wrappers, and stirring the mix.

But the decorating was the best part. You have never seen so many sprinkles on one cupcake!

That same day, she found a hat in Nana's room and wore it for most of the afternoon. Ben then insisted on having a hat, too, so he wore on of Grampy's. Pretty cute, huh?

The Nutcracker

2011-12-30T16:16:00.000-05:00

Before Christmas, my mom was nice enough to take Mairead (and me) to see a local production of The Nutcracker. My parents used to take all of us, especially the three girls, when we were little. I remember it being such an exciting event. We would get all dressed up for the big night out.

Mairead was dressed in her Christmas Eve dress and then in a coat that I wore when I was young. I was probably about 6 when I wore it, but it fit my 4 year old very nicely!

She did really well! I was a little worried about sensory overload, but she handled things in stride. She got a little nervous when the lights went out (it was VERY dark!) but as soon as the music came on, she was enthralled. We stayed until intermission (about an hour) before she was asking to go home. I was happy with that, and happy to see her enjoy the show.

Since then, she has been asking to dance to Christmas music and actually imitates many of the moves she saw at the show. I am amazed at her memory-- she remembers what the mice did, how some of the dancers fell, and how the ballerinas twirled and jumped. I do have some video to upload that shows Mairead dancing just as she remembers the dancers from the show! Thanks, Nana, for a special day!

Gingerbread House Decorating

2011-12-30T16:09:00.000-05:00

Each year, my Mothers of Multiples group organizes a Gingerbread House Decorating Party. A few of the MoMs in the group are kind enough to make the houses, and then all are invited to come decorate. As you can imagine, it is a room full of chaos. This year, I think there were 30 sets of twins participating, plus siblings. There was candy everywhere! The kids had a great time, though.

I asked Jack, "Do you want to decorate your house?" "No. I want to eat it."

Mairead and Ben took their decorating very seriously and spent a great deal of time on their houses. Ben was really good at it! After the houses were decorated, they enjoyed a few treats and then ran around with some of the other kids. A big thank you to the organizers of this event-- it was really fun!

Lily is TWO!

2011-12-29T09:36:00.000-05:00

Seems hard to believe, but Lily turned two on December 20th! She is one of the funniest toddlers I have ever met- she entertains everyone around her. Her mom and dad put together a great day for her with a gingerbread theme. Although, if you ask Lily to pronounce that, it sounds much more like, "Jam a jam man." Adorable.

Family and friends came to our house to celebrate and our kids had fun playing with the other young guests. Katie's friend has two little girls who are close to Mairead's age, and she was excited to see other little girls at the party. She was also excited to see cake.

Speaking of excited, who couldn't be excited about new drums??? Jim and Jess gave each boy a drum (Thomas the Tank Engine themed, of course) and gave Mairead a tambourine and a set of maracas. I guess they figured that things around here are just too quiet, so we needed a family band. The kids loved their gifts and have been having fun playing music! Thanks, Jim and Jess!

Lily's hair has become much more blonde. And, since she is the same height as my boys (they are 9mos apart), the three of them really could pass for triplets! Looks like the girls in our family are blessed with height!

Unfortunately, Nana could not be at the party. After being diagnosed with Legionnaire's Disease a few weeks ago, she was resting at a rehab center and missed the fun. The good news is that as of today, she is home and happy to be back in her own bed. She seems to have made a full recovery, despite being in pretty bad shape for a while. She is one tough lady!

Ailish's Birthday Party

2011-12-29T09:23:00.000-05:00

A few weeks ago, Mairead was invited to celebrate with her BFF, Ailish, as she turned 4! Ailish is Christin' niece, and is the daughter of my friends, Josh and Becky. The girls had so much fun together as flower girls and it is always so sweet to see them together. The party was at an indoor play place, so for the first 15 minutes or so, they didn't see each other. Then, Ailish came whooshing out of a slide and she and Mairead ran to one another and hugged. Mairead was SO excited to see her- it was adorable. Then, they each ran separate ways in the craziness of One Stop Fun. They got back together, though, for the party part of the day, and enjoyed pizza, popcorn, cake, and ice cream. Another mom asked me if they were related. I said, "Well, not exactly... I have been friends with Josh since 7th grade, but Josh's sister married my brother, so the girls share an aunt and uncle. Does that count?"

Thanks, Donahue family, for inviting Mairead. She had a really great time and truly loves her friend, Ailish!

IEP Re-Evaluation

2011-12-29T09:09:00.000-05:00

On December 20, Dave and I met with Mairead's IEP team to discuss her the results of the most recent evaluations of Mairead. This meeting was definitely the best meeting we have ever had... not that it takes much, lol. But seriously, the women involved were awesome. Their reports were thorough and it was clear that they definitely saw what I wanted them to see. They chose words/phrases to describe her that were right on, and they were very candid about their impressions. They said that she is a 'little puzzle' because she is so bright and has so many high level skills, but that she can't always show those skills. The psychologist described her (and her test results) as 'consistently inconsistent.' I smiled at that because her neurologist and all the Early Intervention people have always said that she defies categorization and no test results are consistent. I mentioned to the team today that her neurologist (who is a brilliant doctor) has even said that he can't figure her out.

They said that while she has some great skills (even completing academic tasks appropriate for a 6 year old), she is 'prompt dependent' and needs consant cueing, directions, etc. Even for things she does every single day, someone has to tell her to do one step, then the next, etc. If her pencil breaks, she sits and waits and never speaks up to say that she needs one. She smiles at other kids and complies with their requests (if they as for a crayon, etc) but never speaks to them. The compliance is fine for now, but may become an issue as she never stands up for herself, never says, "no," and lets other kids have/do whatever they want.

The SpEd teacher said that Mairead is actually reading some things (many sight words, some sounding out, etc), which is great, but when you ask her what was just read, she can't come up with an answer.

Everything they said was more positive than the impression I got from the reports. There were some areas in which she scored very low and was even in the first percentile on a few things. Those results were very hard for us to read. Obviously, the areas in which she was in the 1st percentile are a big problem, but I was picturing her seriously struggling and being a problem in class, etc, and that is not the case. I mean, she is still struggling for sure, but they all said that they would describe her as happy, sweet, and "just so cute." I was encouraged. They all seemed genuinely concerned for her welfare and want to help her. It was sort of surreal, actually, compared to all the other meetings we have had.

Anyway, they have amended her IEP to state the her disabilities include a Global Developmental Delay and a Communication Disability (it used to be only a Communication Disability). She was receiving Speech in class 30min per week and pull out speech 30 min per week. Now, she will receive:

Pull out speech (one on one) 30 min per week
In-class speech (SLP with her in the classroom) 30 min per week
In-class support from the SpEd teacher 30 min per day, 4 days per week

So, either the SLP or the SpEd teacher will be with her in the classroom every day for 30 minutes. They are going to work on getting her to initiate conversation, to speak up when she needs something, to interact with other kids, etc.

I think this will really help her. I am still concerned that she might need additional therapies, but I want to start here and see if things get better at school. I think that having someone to prompt her and basically teach her how to interact, speak up for herself, etc, could make a big difference.

All in all, I was really encouraged by the meeting. I could not believe the difference in this meeting as compared to all the others. They actually saw the problem, acknowledged that she needed support, and made a plan to provide it. I am really hoping that several things will combine to help us see some improvements in the new year. I just hope that everything comes together to help her. She's such an amazing kid- I just want to be able to see who she really is and what great things she can do.

Our Tree

2011-12-12T08:49:00.000-05:00

The day after the Festival of Trees, we headed to Mahoney's to choose our own tree for the Purple House. They have all kinds of Christmas decorations at the nursery and the kids loved exploring. They even found Rudolph! They have watched the show a few times now and the boys really love it. I NEED to get video of Jack saying, "ah boh boh bo snowman." You may notice that Ben is carrying around an envelope. It is a piece of junk mail that I handed him and told him it was his mail. He didn't let go of it the entire night.

They all loved the greenhouse and admired the flowers. There were some beautiful orchids there, along with pontsettias and all kinds of other blooms. Once we got outside, the boys giggled as they ran through 'the forest' to find a tree.

Once we were back at the purple house, everyone got into their pjs and we decorated the tree (after Grampy had put more than 1000 lights on). The kids were very careful with the ornaments and really did a nice job. Of course, all of the ornaments occupied the same two feet of space on the tree, but they were very proud of their work.

Apparently, Edward from Thomas the Tank Engine was present at the birth of Christ. Who knew?

I have been talking to Mairead lately about God, angels, heaven, and other concepts that are tough to grasp. She seems to 'get' that God and the angels watch out for us, even though we can't see them. I explained that Jesus is God's little boy, and told her what a manger is. She quietly and independently arranged the manger just so. She told me, "They can all see the baby." I was impressed! Maybe she remembers from last year- or maybe she was guided by a little angel. Or Special Bear...

Festival of Trees

2011-12-12T08:35:00.000-05:00

Last Friday night, Nana and Grampy suggested a trip to the Festival of Trees in Methuen. This annual event raises money for charity by collecting donated decorated trees from the community. People pay admission to the event and then can purchase raffle tickets in the hopes of bringing one home. It is pretty amazing. One tree had all Patriots' decorations, and included a pair of tickets. Another tree was adorned with tons of kitchen supplies (spoons, wisks, measuring cups, etc). There were so many creative ideas. The kids loved it. It was a little overwhelming because it was crowded and there was just so much to look at, but they did really well. The boys took turns with Grampy and Daddy. I think they determined that up off the ground with these guys was the safest place to be- and the best vantage point.

I don't have pictures of them doing it (too crowded), but the boys' favorite part was taking the raffle tickets and putting them into the receptacles at each tree. They would put a ticket in the slot and then peer in to see where it went. Thanks for a fun night out, Nana and Grampy!

Happy Fakesgiving, 2011!

2011-12-11T14:57:00.001-05:00

On the Sunday after Thanskgiving, we celebrated with our annual Fakesgiving dinner. This is always one of our favorite holidays. Jimmy and Jessica brought their amazing pumpkin soup, Jen and Mike made pumpkin martinis, and everyone contributed to a great meal on the table. Mairead was very helpful in the making of the martinis. The kids had so much fun playing together and we all enjoyed the quality time together. Also, Katie and Steve made the big announcement that Lily is going to be a big sister in June! Congratulations to the Crowder family!

At one point, my mom brought out a bag of old costume jewelry and let the girls have at it. They LOVED it. Lily kept yelling, "More Jew-ry!" They tried on all kinds of combinations and Mairead declared herself to be "gorgeous."

Awww, how cute is this? If she can't have a sister, a cousin is the next best thing!

This last picture is not actually from Fakesgiving, but I thought it was such an interesting shot. Look at their hands and their faces- they are exactly alike. They are so interesting to watch sometimes. Their personalities can be completely opposite at times, but they have these little habits and connections that are fascinating to us.

We hope that everyone is enjoying the holiday season! We have been having fun with family gatherings, parties, decorating, and all kinds of Christmas-y activities. It is the best feeling to watch them get so excited about Christmas and everything that comes with it!

More fun at Grandma's

2011-11-27T21:19:00.000-05:00

The day after Thanksgiving, we headed over to visit Dave's grandmother, who everyone calls Memire, Mim has faced a lot of health problems recently so it was great to see her doing well. The kids were a little shy and grouchy at first, but then they saw that Mim had a Christmas tree and some goldfish crackers, so everything was fine after that! They had fun running around and on each lap, they ran by Mim and stopped to get a hug. It is very special that our kids have great grandparents in their lives!

When we got back, Grandma had a fun project set up for us. We used peanut butter and pine cones to make birdfeeders and then decorated a tree with our projects. The girls really loved it, and the boys actually did, too! Mostly, they liked scooping the birdseed and dumping it over the pine cones. Also, they love doing anything that Rachael does.

The weather this November has been unbelievably cooperative, so it was great to spend time outside! At Grandma's house, there is plenty of room to run and the air is crisp and clean.

Because it was so nice out, the kids were able to explore a bit. Daddy took the boys down to check out the pond on Grandma's property.

The boys loved having so much space to run. They are sort of like dogs, that way.

For the record, this vehicle was not running or even on. She just wanted to climb up and sit on it for a minute.

Thanks to all of our NY family for a great visit. The kids had fun and made some great memories!

Over the river and through the woods...

2011-11-27T21:04:00.000-05:00

To Grandma's house we go! We packed up the car and the kids and headed to NY for Thanksgiving this past week. The kids were so excited to visit Grandam and Grandpa and to see Rachael. They were also looking forward to seeing Rosie (the dog) and And Ry... that's what Mairead calls Aunt Ry. The kids were really great in the car- thanks to the dvd player that Grandma and Grandpa gave the kids last year. It was a lifesaver! We did watch They Might Be Giants... Here come the ABCs about 20 times, but they loved it! It's actually a great dvd for helping kids learn letters.

When we got to Grandma's house, the kids were instantly energized and had a great time running around and playing with their cousin. They pretty much worship Rachael and she was so great and so patient with them. It was so nice to see the cousins playing together... especially Mairead and Rachael. If Mairead can't have a big sister, I am glad she looks up to her cousin so much!

The boys had fun running all over the place, playing trains, and jumping on the air mattress that would be Mairead's bed. They chased Rosie and Ava (the cat) around a bit, too. At one point, Jack looked at Rosie and then at me and said, "Um, Mommy? I think Rosie is feeling a little jealous." Where does he come up with this stuff???

Grandma and 'AndRy' had some great gifts waiting for the kids so they spent some time coloring with their aunt and cousin. Jack and Ben kept their bowties and suspenders on for about five minutes. "No necklace! I don't want to be beautiful anymore!"

Ben's tie is blue. Also, we got the boys hair cut last week and for the first time, they have different styles. Jack's is pretty short while Ben's still has some length. Maybe this will make it easier to tell them apart?

We had a fabulous Thanksgiving dinner and enjoyed the afternoon with the family. We hope that the boys' whining about who had what train wasn't too bad! For the first time ever, they did not nap at all, so they were a little, um, challenging, from about 5-7pm. Then, they stayed awake laughing their heads off in their pack n' plays until 11pm!

That late night didn't bother them, though, we had a very busy and fun day the next day!

Danny's Confirmation

2011-11-13T20:27:00.000-05:00

Tonight, we went over to our cousins' house to celebrate Danny's confirmation. It was nice to see everyone! Before those pictures, though, I just have a couple from when Lily last came to visit. How nice it is for all of the kids to be so close... Nana can play with all four of them on the swingset!

It is really fun to watch the kids together. Lily has SUCH a personality. She is still calling me 'May-ya' and the boys are 'Jackandben," always one word. She calls Mairead 'Raid' and the two girls are so sweet together. Ben is still a little jealous. When Lily arrived today, she was looking for me and then ran over. Before she could get to me, Ben sat himself on my lap while glowering at her. He's definitely my baby!

Mairead wore a new coat today and she loved it. She gets more excited, now, about getting dressed up. She asks to look in Nana's mirror (it is full length) and when I ask, "How do you look?" she says "Beautiful." That's right, little girl... I hope you always think so! The coat is from Jimmy and Jessica and it's so pretty. I'm happy that it is just a bit big so that she can wear it longer!

Ben and Lily created a great game at Danny and Katie's-- ringing the doorbell and banging the door knocker. Pretty exciting stuff!

Jack conned Mike into sitting and reading him several stories. These kids get treated pretty well by their uncles and aunts!

For dinner, the boys had... cupcakes. Eh, what are you gonna do? They pretty much ate only the frosting, and they used forks to do that. Whatever floats your boats, kids.

Mairead had a great time socializing. The dress she is wearing was mine when I was younger. I don't know if it's the dress or not, but she looked so much like me tonight!

The next few pictures were taken during The Hokey Pokey. Mairead loves it and was very comfortable performing for everyone, which was really nice for us to see. Lily was a little confused by what was going on, but when the time came for clapping, she was thrilled. She is really big on the clapping.

Judy even got in on the fun! I love moments like these because they remind me of the fun we had when I was little. We treasure the great times we have with our family. I hope my kids grow up with memories of fun, laughter, and all the good times we have together!

Playdate and Pumpkin Painting

2011-11-10T20:25:00.000-05:00

One rainy day, we met up with Katie and Lily at an indoor playground to get some energy out. The kids had a great time exploring and my boys spent most of their time in the bouncy house. They love it in there!

I don't know who that other child is-- he just kept saying, "Cheese!" and getting in the pictures.

Lily is a nut. She is one of the funniest kids I have ever met... and boy, does she know it!

As a pre-Halloween project, I thought it would be fun to paint pumpkins like we did last year. Mairead thought this was a fantastic idea and the boys thought it would be much better to just paint pictures of... you guessed it, Thomas. Either way, they all had fun. Mairead was psyched because she got to paint all three pumpkins instead of just one!

The kids are all doing and saying so many cute things lately. Just a few...

When I took the boys out in the stroller- Jack told me, "We going for a walk in the countryside."

Along the walk, there was a police detail at some construction and the policeman came and said hello to the boys. When we got home, Jack said, "who is my cousin? Rachael!" I said, "Right! Who else is your cousin?" "Policeman."

The day after Trick or Treating (which had been post poned due to the snow and massive power outages), I picked the boys up from school and in the car, Jack said, "We can go for a walk, Mommy?" I told him we might go for a walk later and he said, "A walk when it's dark out." Ben chimed in with, "And trick or eating!" So sad to break the news that 'trick or eating' happens only once a year! I loved that Ben knew exactly what Jack was talking about!

Mairead is still in love with her Halloween costume. She calls it her favorite pet and sleeps with it at night.

Mairead learned at school that there "is a skeleton inside my body and it's made of bones." She has been marveling over this fact for two days.

The way Ben says 'restaurant' is just about the cutest thing ever. It sounds like 'yestanot.' Adorable.

Mairead had a bruise on her face last week and my mother explained to her that it was called a 'bruise.' Later that day, she told me, "I have a booze on my face."

We go to a weekly playgroup and every time we go, Ben finds a certain Thomas toy, and Jack finds the same toy but it is Percy. Last week, Ben found Thomas right away, but Jack didn't find Percy and so moved on to a different toy.

Ben was going through all the bins of toys and then ran to me all distressed- "Jackie can't find Percy! Where's Jackie's Percy?" I found it, gave it to Ben, and he ran to Jack SO proudly to give it to him. Jack said, "Oh Ben, you found my Percy! Thanks, Ben!" Very sweet.

I know there are so many more things that I want to write down so I am sure to remember these moments, but I just can't remember them all!

Grandma's Visit

2011-11-10T20:11:00.000-05:00

Recently, Grandma, Aunt Ryane, and Rachael made the trip from NY to visit with us and the kids had a great time! They love seeing our NY family and they especially love Rachael. It's so cute to see how they just adore her. They showed her all of their toys and had a lot of fun showing off for Grandma, too.

They even showed everyone all the things they can do on Daddy's ipad. They are pretty good at navigating through the games and stories they like. Mairead is getting to be a pro at using the ipad and the PC... she can navigate through the sites she likes, play games, and use the mouse really well!

Mairead loved showing Grandma her Halloween costume. She still takes it to bed at night and even put it on this afternoon just for fun.

Hard to tell who is who in this one, but Jack IS older, so he is the big brother!

After playing for a bit and a trip to Target for the bigger kids, Grandma took us all out to dinner and all four kids did really well. Rachael is so great with Mairead and I know that Mairead loves having some 'girl time' with her older cousin. We are looking forward to seeing everyone again at Thanksgiving! Thanks for a great visit!

I Can't Keep Up!

2011-10-22T19:23:00.000-04:00

As usual, there is just so much going on around here that it is hard to keep up with the blog. One exciting project was when the guys (My dad, Brian, Dave, and Jimmy... and Jimmy's 'assistant,' Junior) spent a weekend re-doing the walk down to Nana's house. It turned out to be a much more time consuming project than anticipated, but they did a great job with it! They enlisted my cousin, Danny's, help for clean up and managed to get it all done in two days. "Mary in the Woods" is very pleased with how things came out and the walkway is much more smooth now.

Unfortunately, Mairead had a pretty nasty cold and sinus infection two weeks ago and she was pretty much sidelined for a week. Dave and I took the boys to 'Touch a Truck' on Saturday and they spent pretty much the entire time clinging to us. They are in a weird 'shy phase' right now, so they didn't even want to touch or sit in the trucks. We did eventually convince Jack to try out the fire truck. He looks a lot like my brother in this picture. He kept telling us, "You hafa shut the door. I driving a fire truck now."

Today, Jimmy came by to show us his new car. It has a removable top (t-top, maybe?) and can either have a real roof or be a convertible. The kids loved climbing all over it. Jack made himself comfortable in the driver's seat.

Mairead is a nut. She was rubbing her cheek on the car and saying, "Oooh, it's so smooth!"

The car is parked here, but doesn't it look like he has the wind flowing through his hair while cruising along?

These are cell-phone pictures from last week when the kids 'helped' Dave to clean up the dirt piles left from the Mary's Walk Project. Nana is also 'helping.'

Random cute stories--As many of you know, I work from home, so I spend a lot of time at the computer. Jack has been trying to capitalize on this fact. When he wants to do something I am probably not going to allow, he points to the kitchen (where I usually work) and says, "No, Mommy. Hafa go do your work!"

I was working downstairs and Mairead was up sitting on her bed with her stuffed animals. She was reading aloud, "The Biggest Pumpkin Ever" and telling the whole story from memory.

Then, Jack cried, "Mommy! Help! I not beautiful anymore!" He had somehow gotten a thread from his shirt wrapped all around himself and he didn't like how it looked, so I had to make him 'beautiful' again.

Ben then said, "Jackie is beautiful now? Oh, thanks, Mommy!"

We had a great visit from Grandma, Aunt Ry, and Rachael today... I will save those pictures for a separate post about our day together!

NVMoM Halloween Party

2011-10-22T14:50:00.000-04:00

We have several Halloween activities planned this year and the first was the annual Halloween Party thrown by the Mothers of Multiples group to which I belong. Though the boys were incredibly and suprisingly resistant to wearing costumes, we were finally able to get them dressed. Is this the cutest/saddest looking little fireman you have ever seen?

Mairead, on the other hand, was beyond excited. She has been talking about going to this party all week and kept asking, "It's Saturday yet?" She was an adorable dalmatian, even though the head part of her costume kept falling down... we'll have to fix that before the real thing next week. She had a fantastic time at the party making crafts, dancing with the big kids, and looking at all the little baby twins. We were all impressed by my friend, Renee, who had her triplet boys dressed as the three little pigs, and even decorated their wagons- one with straw, one with sticks, and one with bricks! Their big brother was the Big Bad Wolf. Ben pointed to one of the babies and said, "It's a pig." He noticed the others and said, "It's a more pig!" Even twins are impressed by triplets!

Dave's dad was a firefighter, as was my grandfather, so we think it's especially sweet and appropriate to see the boys in their fireman 'gear.'

Yeah, safe to say that we will not be using these shots as Christmas Card photos.

Thanks to Kelly O. and the rest of the ladies who helped set up a great party! We were all there very early this morning to get things ready for nearly 100 people, including some 60 kids! Everything looked great and the kids had so much fun. Happy Halloween!

5 Years, 3 Kids, 2 moves, and 1 Happy Family Later...

2011-10-10T20:39:00.001-04:00

This weekend, Dave and I celebrated our fifth wedding anniversary. It's funny- sometimes it seems like just yesterday that we shared that amazing day with our family and friends, and sometimes it is impossible to think of life before we were married and started our family. We have faced a lot of unexpected challenges in these five years- more than we could have imagined on our wedding day. But we have had so much to celebrate, too, and we are blessed and lucky to have such wonderful people in our life. Because we have endured so much in just a few years, we know that we can always overcome the 'for worse' part of our vows. Hopefully, we will only see the 'for better' part for a while!

We thought it would be fun to take some pictures in the same spot where we took some of our favorite wedding photos. A huge thanks to Jen for taking the pictures and to Mike for entertaining the kids. We also want to thank our neighbors, the Costellos, for letting us use their yard so that we could get some great pictures with 'the purple house' in the background.

These pictures can look very small on your screen, so if you would like to see a larger image, just double click on the picture.

I really love this next picture... I would love it more if I got to wear my dress again, but I'll take it...

Ben

Jack

Thanks, Jen, for some great pictures!

Things to do in Lowell When it's Raining

2011-10-05T21:02:00.000-04:00

We had a few rainy days in a row this past weekend and had to postpone planned trips to the zoo and to apple picking, but the kids managed to stay entertained. They found lots of things to do!

1- wear Mom's bra on your head. What's on your head, Mairead. "Boobs." Awesome. I am Mother of the Year, for sure.

2- Check out what's new with Thomas the Tank Engine while trying to use the potty. They are completely disinterested in taking this next step to being big boys. They keep telling me, "I not a big boy. I a little boy. I can't go the potty." Hard to argue with that logic.

3- Help Nana clean the floors (this is Ben). I hope they like cleaning as much when they are older as they do now!

4- Paint a masterpiece.

5- Help Daddy put the groceries away while yelling, "Heave! Heave!" This is Jack, by the way.

6- Go to Friendly's and take the world's worst picture of Mom. They were really well behaved, though! Mairead was helping Daddy take the picture, though, so she was not in it.

Even though the age of two comes with a lot of whining/protesting, I am really enjoying this stage with the boys. They are always saying or doing something new and they are just so stinkin' cute. I love four, too! Mairead's language and understanding is really coming along, and we are seeing so much more of her fantastic (albeit stubborn) personality.

She is doing really well at school, too! She has all but dropped the "I don't want to go to school' thing, which is SUCH a relief for me. Some days she does protest a little, mostly when she is really tired or if we have had a fun morning at home, but that's understandable! I got a great report from her teacher at our first IEP meeting of the year. Her teacher and Speech Therapist (who is also the team leader) were so incredibly helpful and supportive. I felt like I was in bizzaro-world. The SLP was suggesting things to me and asking if it would be ok for her to push for more services. Um, I'm sorry, what? You mean you actually want to GIVE HER MORE SERVICES? I must be in the wrong place...

I couldn't believe it. All we did at the meeting was put it in writing that there will be another eval and that the SLP and classroom teacher feel strongly that she needs SpEd Academic support and at the very least, an OT/PT eval, with possible additional support throughout the day (teacher initiated peer interaction, adult prompting for things like lunch in the cafeteria, gym, recess, etc in order to try to get her to engage in a back and forth conversation with a peer).

As she walked me out, the SLP told me that she really hopes to be able to help Mairead, and she said, "I just want you to know that I am going to fight for Mairead with you on all of this." I teared up (as I usually do at IEP meetings, but this time in a good way) and told her how much it meant to hear all of this. To know that I am not crazy and that what I see with Mairead is real, and warrants attention and stupport- it's just unbelievable.  We are concerned that she will test 'too high,' but the SLP says she is going to provide evidence to the SpEd dept to prove that the test is not measuring M's areas of need.  Let's hope this leads to even more support for her so we can really see her shine!

Her teacher says that while she is still not conversing with others, she is responsive to other kids. If they ask for a toy, she always gives it to them. When they tell her to run or follow them, she does so happily. She is very good about listening to the teacher and is happiest when they are singing or dancing. It was hard to hear about the things that she really struggles with, but just to know that she is generally happy and that she is a good kid during school made me really happy!

The boys are doing great at their 'school,' too! They are so cute holding hands and walking into school together. Jack wears his backpack himself but Ben insists that "only Mommy can carry it." They are excited to go and can tell me the names of all the kids in the class and what they do each week. It's so great to see them enjoying it so much!

Last week, while the Patriot's game was on, Mairead was sitting with Dave. Whenever he would yell at the tv, she would imitate him. It is so funny to hear your four year old yell (with perfect inflection), "Oh, come on!" or "You have got to be kidding me!"

Jack is talking non-stop, seriously, non stop, lately. Mostly, it is to tell me what he wants or how something should be done. He is also getting a little too smart for his (or my) own good. About a week ago, he fell and hurt himself, and he was really upset. So I said, "Let's get blanket and watch Thomas so you can feel better," and we sat on the couch for a bit. Now, at least once a day, he runs over to me pointing to some part of his body and saying (in a very convincing manner), "Mommy, I hurt. I hurt." I ask, "are you ok?" He says, "I needa watch Thomas and feel better." He's two and a half... he is going to give me a run for my money.

Ben is Jack's protector and baby brother at the same time. If Lily sits in Jack's chair, Ben demands that she move. "No! That is Jackie's chair! Don't take Jackie's chair!" He follows his older brother everywhere and agrees to pretty much every activity Jack suggests. If Jack isn't in the room, Ben wants to know where he is. It's very sweet.

Jack looks out for Ben, too. We were at the playground the other day and Ben (of course) was on the highest part of the climbing structure running across a bridge and Jack was yelling, "Be careful, Ben! Be careful!"

We happen to have a large cut-out of Tommy Heinsohn's face. Ben saw it and said, "Look! It's Grampy!"

In addition to Percy, the Thomas series has a train named Falcon. Just what two year olds need to be saying. Oh, and Sir Toppham Hatt? Sounds like "Topless Hat."

The other day, something about Jack made him look just like Brian. I said, "Oh, Jackie, you look just like Brian today." Mairead said, "And I can be Christin!"

Lately, the boys have been watching a (really awful) movie called "Thomas and the Magic Railway." There is something in it about gold dust, how it's magic, it's important, etc. Today, while they were supposed to be napping, they were saying:

Ben   I can't find my gold dust, Jackie!
Jack   You can't find it? Where the gold dust go?
Ben   I don't know, Jackie? I needa find it!
Jack   Here you go, Ben! Here's the gold dust!
Ben    Oh, thank you, Jackie!

I love them.

School Days x Three!

2011-09-19T16:47:00.000-04:00

Since the boys started attending the Early Intervention Playgroup one day a week, Monday means that three kids go to school for the afternoon! As I packed their backpacks last week, I thought about how that day was the first of many more days of sending three kids off to school. It's amazing to think that they were just little babies, and now they are heading off to school. It's daunting, too. Did I prepare them the right way? Did I teach them enough about manners, waiting your turn, or saying please? Will they be scared? Will they know how to ask for help when they need it? Will they miss me (at least a little, I hope)? As a teacher, I want to feel that they are happy at school and that they view school as a positive experience and a safe and fun place. I want them to listen to their teachers, make friends, and be kind. I want them to come home brimming with stories to tell me about their days, and I want all of this to happen in slow motion so that they don't grow up too soon.

So far, the boys have done really well! They like school and get excited to go. In fact, they ask to go every single day and get upset when Mairead gets to go but they don't. When I pick them up, I get to see them sit for circle time and participate with the other kids. And, let's be honest, the two hours to myself once a week are not bad either. Strange and a little too quiet, but not bad!

Mairead is still happy to go to school. Once in a while, there are a few protests in the morning but as soon as she sees the bus, she is excited and ready to go. She loves taking the yellow bus home and tells me that she has fun at school. She is so proud to show me drawings or projects she has done, and she even mentions a few little friends by name. It's early in the year, I know, but already things are going SO much better than last year. She has made such great progress and we hope that she just keeps amazing us!

The More We Get Together

2011-09-19T16:38:00.001-04:00

You'll have to turn the volume up for this because she was very quiet, but this is Mairead singing, "The More We Get Together." I was so happy and so proud when she sang it for me. This is a child who, six months ago, could not tell me one thing that she did at school. The other day, I asked her what she did at school and she told me "I do singing." I asked, "Oh, did you sing "Skiddamarink?" She said, "Nope!", then got up and sang this entire song, complete with hand gestures. She toned it down a bit when I turned on the camera, but she still did an amazing job. These are the moments when I remember to look at how far she has come, and now how far she has yet to go. So proud of this kid!

Soccer Begins and a perfect tee

2011-09-10T13:14:00.000-04:00

This morning, Mairead had her first soccer game of the season. She did SO much better at this game than she had in the past. As in, she stayed at the field complex for the entire time without running away. The first 30 minutes are for practice and the last 30 are for a game. She LOVED the practice. She waited her turn, dribbled the ball, shot on goal, and listened to her coach. She was excited to play with the other kids and was having a great time.

Once the game started, though, she had a hard time. The noise of all the parents cheering, the whistle, and the chaos of 20 four year olds kicking one ball was a little much. She did sit on the sidelines with us and cheer on her team, though. Her team is The Sharks so I told her she could yell, "Go Sharks!" She shouted, "Go Sharks! Go Dolphins!" No idea where the dolphins came from, but she thought it was fun!

Her coach did a great job with the kids and made sure they all had fun with the game.

This kid, Calvin, is a superstar. He is seriously amazing- incredible natural talent. And, he is super cute, too.

Since I took Mairead's picture on the first day of school, she now expects me to take her picture every day before the bus comes. I was happy to take this one since this t-shirt is pretty much perfect for her. It says, "Everyone loves me just the way I am." And it's true... we do!

First Day of School

2011-09-07T20:55:00.000-04:00

Yesterday was a big day for Mairead- her first day of school! She was excited to go and was all smiles while getting ready. She is in the same class she was in last year, and even has the same teacher. She loves Mrs. M, and we know that she is in good hands with her. She practically ran to the car and was jumping up and down like a nut when Mrs. M came to the door. It was so great to see her excited about school! She had a lot of anxiety about going in last year, and that seems to be gone (knock on wood). And, as a teacher, I love to see my kid excited about school!

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Now, I have to I brag about her for a minute. I feel like I haven't done it in a while! We were waiting outside for her teacher and she was running around with another little girl. They both started peeking through the glass doors and saw some older kids walk by. The little girl said, "Those are big graders" (so freaking cute). Mairead said, "Big graders? What's big graders?" I said, "those are older kids. They are 8." She said, "Oh, I am four." The little girl said, "Me, too!" Mairead said, "Me three!"

Can I just point out what happened here? 1- she did NOT freak out about going to school. 2- she asked a logical question as a follow up to something another child said. 3- she had a (sort of) back and forth conversation with another child her own age. Halle-freakin-lujah! I can't even tell you how huge this is.

THEN- I go to pick her up and we ran into a friend of mine, whom Mairead has never met. The friend said, "Hi Mairead. How was school?" Mairead looked up at her and said, "Good." Cue me falling over in disbelief. I was so proud and happy. These are little things and may not seem important since other kids do this every day, but to me? These are little miracles all happening at one time.

THEN- my dad comes home from work and asks what she did at school. SHE TOLD HIM. She told him 3-4 things that she did at school. This has NEVER happened before.

She just had a banner day today. She was so "on." There are some days that I feel so disconnected from her, like we are on two different planes (the spatial ones, not the ones that fly), but today, she was really "there," you know? It was awesome. Here's hoping I see more of the kid I saw today, especially since she starts taking the bus tomorrow!

She has been doing other great things, too. She is always trying to help me around the house, saying, "I can help you!" about whatever it is I am doing. She has been talking so much more, and it seems easier for her, too. Today, she came downstairs and said, "I peed, then I washed my hands and dry them. Then, I brush my teeth and have the cup and spit it out!" It's great to see her gaining independence, and to hear her tell me about what she can do!

I hope that the rest of the school year goes as well as her first two days did!

Salem Willows

2011-09-03T22:03:00.000-04:00

On Monday, Dave stayed home to clean up after Hurricane Irene while my mom, the kids and I headed to Salem Willows to meet up with Katie and Lily. My dad works near the park and my parents used to take us there when we were little. We would visit my dad's office and then hang out at the park to play arcade games and go on the kiddie rides. Now, my dad's four grandchildren enjoyed those same games and rides and then visited Grampy at the courthouse.

The boys loved the games where they could throw things. This one had real basketballs and you could keep shooting over and over, as long as you had lots of quarters. Jack was insisting on "more quarters? More quarters, Mommy?"

The rides included the flying horses, some cars, and these boats. These are cell phone pictures so I apologize for the quality. Katie and I both ended up with dead camera batteries that day! Mairead loved taking her brothers for a little boat ride!

While we were waiting for our lunch, Jack was exploring and came running, yelling, "I found Bob the Builder! I found it!" He was SO excited about his discovery and he was so proud to go in the truck. He kept that serious expression throughout all the rides, though. On one ride, the cars had very loud and very annoying horns. The kids behind Jack and Ben pressed them incessantly so Jack kept turning around with a very stern, "Stop that. Stop that now!"

The kids are getting better about holding hands while we are out. It sometimes involves Mairead dragging a boy by the arm, but they are getting the idea.

The grandchildren, from oldest to youngest!

A warning- if you see my children playing skee ball, stand at least 15 feet away. They loved it, but their aim is not so great, so skee balls were flying and rolling everywhere! They had a great time, though. Little known fact- my mom is a skee ball all star... they will have to take some lessons!

This is a picture of which Mairead was VERY proud, so she asked me to take a picture of it. Not bad, right?

And now for something that makes me a little sad. I took Mairead for a 'back to school haircut' the other day. This is the 'before.' It was so long that it was always snarly, it took forever to shampoo, and it always looked messy.

This is the 'after.' Not a great picture of her, but you get the idea. I am SO sad about it and totally regret my decision to cut it so short. I thought it would look neater and be more manageable, but I just don't think it looks like 'her,' you know? Her hair grows quickly so I hope it is long again soon... I miss those long locks and want them back!

This is the outfit she wore to the 'Meet the Teacher' open house at her preschool. She had already met the teacher since is the same one from last year. Pre-K is for four year olds and for 3 year olds on IEPs, so Mairead will be joined by a whole new group of 4 year olds this year. She was nervous about going in, but was SO happy to see Mrs. M. She ran to her and jumped up and down. She was able to show me all the important parts of the classroom and spent some time playing and coloring. I am nervous about the school year and about how everything will go for her. We still don't have the IEP that she really needs, so we will have to keep fighting for that. And, I know there will be a lot of challenges for Mairead, even though she will be in a familiar classroom. She has a lot of anxiety about going to school and transitions are tough for her. And this year, she will be taking the bus to and from school, which will probably be a source of stress at the beginning. I am home, of course, and could drive her, but I just don't think it's fair to the boys to have to load them up and have them sit there while I take her, and then I would have to wake them from their naps to go pick her up. I have to do what is best for all of the kids, not just for one, and the bus seems the best option. Hopefully, it will work out well for her.

The boys will be going to 'school' soon, too! We were lucky enough to find them spots in a child-only playgroup at the Anne Sullivan Early Intervention Center where Mairead went and from whom all three kids received EI services. The boys will be the 'community children' who provide typical models for the other kids in the group. I am anxious about that, too, since the group meets from 1-3 and that is naptime for us. My guys are serious nappers and need one every day, so I hope they are not too cranky in that time period. I want them to have a good experience!

What this means for me is that on Mondays from 1-3 pm, I am totally on my own. No kids. For two hours. Whatever shall I do with my time???

Cute story about Jack--The other day, Mairead threw a ball and it hit Jack on his bum. He said, 'Mommy, my tail hurts.' Then he told me when I tried to leave the room, "Don't leave me, Mommy. I not a big boy yet."

I am trying to teach the boys how to respond to "How old are you?". So far, I can get Jack to say, "I two," but then Ben jumps in with, "I three!"

I hope that everyone is doing well with back to school- so many of you are teachers and/or parents. It's an exciting time for us, but a stressful time, too! This year is especially stressful since Dave does not yet have a job offer. We have a few things going that have our hopes up, so maybe we will have good news soon. Please keep sending us those good thoughts and prayers!

A little late, but Happy Birthday, Rachael!

2011-09-03T21:40:00.000-04:00

The kids called their cousin, Rachael, to wish her a happy birthday last weekend (on the day we all experienced a rare New England hurricane!) but they are pretty quiet on the phone, so here are some video birthday wishes! Hope you had a great day, Rachael, and we hope to celebrate with you soon!

Just Four Fun

2011-08-28T18:01:00.000-04:00

For a little while last weekend we found out what it is like to have four kids under five. Katie and Steve took a trip to Niagra Falls so Lily stayed with us for a few days. It was definitely interesting to watch the dynamic amongst a new four year old, two two year olds, and a 20 month old. Mostly, the kids got along great, especially at the playground!

There were a few 'disagreements' over toys, especially since Jack and Ben can be very possessive of their toys, and since Lily is a toddler sized hoarder. At one point, Ben told me that Lily "need to go to time out," and then later told her to "go away, Lily!" But then as soon as Lily left, Ben was the one asking where she was, and "go see Lily?" Mairead loves having Lily around and lately has really been trying to fulfill her job as big sister. She always wants to help me with the boys and tries to corral them when they run off. This may or may not involve an arm around their necks, but she tries. She is also really into helping with housework. She loves it if I give her a sponge and let her clean. The other day, in fact, my mother asked her if she wanted to go in the yard and she replied, "I can't go in the yard. I have to clean." Well, ok then!

Today, we watched as Hurricane Irene moved through the area with heavy rain and winds. Luckily, the storm was not too bad around here and there was minimal damage. We never lost power and everyone is safe. The kids even handled a whole day inside much better than I expected!

While the kids were napping today, I was able to work on sorting and tagging items to be sold at the tag sale organized by my Mothers of Multiples group. According to Facebook, lots of other MoMs were doing the same thing-- there will be tons of stuff to buy! If you want to check it out, the event is on Saturday, September 24th from 10-1. You can visit this link for more details. Definitely worth a look... and a 'like' on Facebook!

http://www.facebook.com/groups/nvmomfriends/#!/BestEverythingKidsSale

Lowell Spinners

2011-08-27T07:54:00.000-04:00

There is a lot to love about Lowell, and one thing to love is the minor league baseball team that calls the city home. The Lowell Spinners are the single A affliliate of the Boston Red Sox, and they play at a beautiful field across the city. My twin mom's group plans a family outing to a game every year, so we told the kids we were going to a Red Sox game and headed over! The kids were decked out in their Sox gear and were super excited for the game.

Jack

Ben

Someday, I will get a picture with all three kids looking at the camera and smiling. Someday...

If you can't read it, her shirt says, "Lowell." Just because he doesn't play for the Sox anymore doesn't mean we can't wear the shirt to show our Lowell pride!

The kids did really well! For kids, the game is often secondary to the promotional activities they have going on. For example, in between innings, a man came on to the field with a border collie who would catch a frisbee no matter how far the guy threw it. The kids LOVED that part. There is a ton of music and some dancing and Mairead, of course, loved that. She also loved when they did the feet stomping and hand clapping to get the crowd going. She did watch the game, too. After one base hit, she exclaimed, "Wow! What a hit!"

The boys did great, too! Their favorite part was probably when they got to eat chicken fingers and fries right out of a box at their seats. They also liked the kids' play area where they had a chance to throw real baseballs. It was a fun night and we will definitely go again next season!

We took the kids to Parlee Farms again the other day since they love it there and we can always get some great produce and strawberry donuts at the farm stand. At the animal barns, Jack introduced himself to all of the animals by getting face to face with each one and saying, "Hi goat, I Jack!" Ben followed suit with "Hi sheeps, I Ben!"

On Tuesday, Mairead had a visit to her neurologist at Children's (just a regularly scheduled appointment). He is really happy with her progress and is encouraged by how much she has shown that she can learn. Every time we go there, I have this secret hope that he is going to give me some great revelation about why this happened or what we can do to make things easier for her, but I know that this is never going to be the case. I have a lot of respect for her doctor and I trust him, and he keeps telling me that there is so much we (the medical community) don't know about infant strokes and that a lot of things are still a mystery. He believes that based on how Mairead has done in the past 18 months, she is capable of learning so much and that she will do really well. I wish he or I had a crystal ball and that I could know that in a few years she will be doing great in school, have tons of friends, play sports, and do all the other things kids should be doing. I have said before, though, that a visit to CHB always reminds me of how lucky I am that she is doing as well as she is. There are so many seriously ill children there; it makes you so grateful for what you have.

On a related note, after our last visit to CHB I told you about Ella Grace, whose room was visible from the waiting room in neurology. She had been there at our June 1, 2010 visit and was still there at our last visit in May, 2011. I hold my breath each time I walk into the waiting room and look for her name on the windows. The other day, her name was not there! I am choosing to fully believe that she was able to finally go home and live a happy and healthy life with her family.

This weekend, the guys are headed to a (real) Red Sox game today and we'll all be preparing for Hurricane Irene. The kids were a little concerned yesterday when they went out in the yard and discovered that their toys were all put away. Hopefully, everyone will be able to stay safe and dry and the damage will be minimal. Good luck in the storm, everyone! Nana has informed me that "they" say we should expect to be without power for four days. Not quite sure who 'they' are, but I am guessing Fox News. In even better news, in the event of hurricane, Nana will be coming up to stay with us for the duration. With four adults, three young children, two cats, and Nana all in the house during the storm, I really believe we could be a reality series.

Stay safe, everyone!

Horsing Around

2011-08-18T16:36:00.000-04:00

Before we went to NY, Mairead had a very busy morning taking care of the horses in our house. I was sitting in the first floor living room when she ran through wearing a cowboy hat. She ran into the parlor, then walked up the front stairs singing to herself. A few minutes later, I heard her come down the back stairs and saw that she had a blanket. She went into the parlor looking a little guilty and then told me that "Mom have to go check on the boys," which is code for "I am doing something I am probably not supposed to be doing, so don't come in htere." Turns out that all she was doing was procuring blankets for her two horses.

She then told me, "I have a surprise for you!" She likes to tell me that and then take my hand to lead me to the surprise. But, she tells me "You have to close your eyes" and then checks to be sure I am not peeking. She led me to the horses and wanted me to ride the small brown one. I told her that I was too big so she thought about it for a moment and then told me I could have the blue (larger) horse. The blue one is her favorite, so it was sweet to see her give it up for me. When Ben came down, though, she jumped back on that blue one right away! Ben came down without a hat, though, so she ran upstairs to the dress up clothes and selected one for him. He happily obliged and hopped on the brown horse so they could ride together.

After riding, Mairead and the horses were all tuckered out, so everyone settled down for a rest.

How cute is this kid? I love to see her imagination at work and she has been coming up with some great ways to play lately!

In other cute news, Jack has become super confident in the pool (while wearing a puddle jumper, lol) and loves to swim. Ben has been MUCH more timid (they switched personalities on this, I guess). Ben would just sit on the pool steps and not go in at all, even with me or DH. Lately, we have really been working with Ben and have succeeded in getting him in to the pool though he mostly clings to us for dear life. Today, I was in with Ben and Jack was swimming around. I told him Ben was a little scared, and this conversation ensued:

J- You scared, Ben?

B- Yeah, Jackie.

J- It's ok, Ben.

Jack then takes Ben's little hand in his own and swam alongside him. I am tearing up just thinking about it. Finally, Ben says, "Oh, thanks, Jackie" and they swam together. Seriously? Cutest thing ever.

On Sunday, My mom's work (a hospital) had a 'friends and family day' thing and we got to go to Canobie Lake Park for free. I love free. Anyway, the kids had an awesome time! Mostly Mairead. The boys were scared on a lot of the rides, even though they were just little 'kiddie' rides. We rode on the carousel first and they all liked that. I was with Jack who sat stonefaced through the whole ride. I asked, "Is this fun, Jack?" His reply- a sober 'Yes.' Are you having fun, Jackie? "Yes."

They did great on rides that Dave and I could do with them. Mairead, though, loved EVERYthing. She even did the kid roller coaster with Dave and the look on her face was priceless. I forgot my camera so I don't have pictures right now. I did buy a disposable one (for TWELVE DOLLARS) so when I use up all the exposures, I'll get them developed and scan them in to share. I was so mad at myself for that! It was a really fun day, though, and Nana and Grampy came to share it with us! Thanks, Nana, Grampy, and LGH!

Anyway, the first ride we did was the carousel. None of the kids had done it before and when I looked at the three of them all lined up on their horses, I started to tear up (I am a nut). My parents used to take us to places like this when we were little and I thought about how everything comes full circle and I am now sharing these moments with MY kids that my parents shared with us... and my parents were with us, enjoying everything with the kids, too. It was just really special.
We have been so lucky to do so many fun things this summer even though we have REALLY cut back in our budget, and I am so grateful. We did Canobie because of my mom's work, we went to the aquarium because my super cool friend had passes for us, we went to an animal park thanks to Dave's mom, etc. We are just so lucky to have people around us who are able and happy to help us plan fun things for the kids.

Nothing is new on the job front for Dave. We are really getting anxious now since school starts for most places in about two weeks. This summer has been a lot of fun, but increasingly stressful as August wanes away. I just have to believe that someone will want to hire him in the next two weeks- the alternative is just too upsetting to consider. We will keep you posted on that!

Just playing around

2011-08-15T13:31:00.000-04:00

A really great part of our trips to NY is to see the kids play with their cousin, Rachael. They all love her and follow her around pretty much the entire time. When we first arrived, we found that Rachael had created a little playroom in the garage so that the kids could have fun and stay out of the sun. It was a great idea!

Rosie hopped in the car to take advantage of the many goldfish crackers and pretzel sticks that hit the floor as we made the long drive out to Grandma and Grandpa's house.

Grandma had some great surprises for the kids, including these great trucks for the boys. One is a fire truck, and one is a tow truck. These were perfect gifts because Dave's dad was a firefighter and owned a garage, so he used to drive both of those vehicles. The boys loved them. In fact, they insist that these trucks go to bed with them every night.

Later in the day, Dave and I took the kids to a nearby playground where they had a great time. It's a pretty awesome playground with a huge climbing structure, tons of slides, and plenty of other things to do. It was great for all ages.

Yes, that is Ben, climbing the rock wall.

And yes, that is him climbing a ladder to the very top of the VERY high structure. This kid has NO fear. He climbed up like he had done it a million times. Other parents kept looking at me like, "Is she going to stop him?" As he made it to the top and then came down the slide, they were laughing about how fearless he is. I'm glad he has fun and that he is so strong and so confident, but I foresee a LOT of ER visits in our future...

There he goes again.

Jack was NOT in jail and he WAS having fun, even though it doesn't appear that way.

I still have so many more pictures to post-- I am so behind! We have been having such a great and busy summer that I can't keep up! We have about 3 weeks until Mairead goes back to school, and we are hoping and praying that Dave will be going back even before that. He has not been hired yet but we hope that these last two weeks before schools open will lead him to something great. Please wish us luck!

Mairead's Birthday... again

2011-08-15T13:18:00.000-04:00

This lucky kid had the birthday that never ends this year! We had a few little friends and their moms over last week to help Mairead celebrate. It just works out that several of my mom friends have little girls who are the same age as Mairead. So, we bought some pink decorations, made pink cupcakes, and Katie delivered pink cupcake toppers for the party for the girls.

She loved this pink bow and insisted on wearing it as a hat.

I loved seeing how nicely and quietly the five girls played together. So different than how my two boys play!

After cupcakes, we all enjoyed a 'make your own sundae' dessert. The plan was for this party to be poolside, but it didn't work out that way due to the weather. So, we just made the best of it inside.

Have I mentioned how much Mairead loves chocolate ice cream? She can't get enough of it!

After naps, Jack and Ben came down to ~~flirt~~ play with the girls.

The girls and their moms brought such great birthday gifts for Mairead and we are very grateful! All of the kids had fun at the art table working on projects and coloring pictures while the moms had a chance to chat. Thanks, everyone, for making it such a great afternoon for Mairead!

Are you ready for some football?

2011-08-12T14:50:00.000-04:00

Apparently, we still have some work to do before the boys are ready to cheer on the Pats. You'll need the volume turned up to hear them.

The Party Don't Stop!

2011-08-11T15:26:00.000-04:00

Mairead has been four years old for about two weeks now, but the party just kept going and I still have more birthday pictures to share! We made our annual summer trip to Grandma and Grandpa's house and our little girl was lucky enough to have a birthday party there with our family from NY. It was so great to see Dave's cousins and now our kids' cousins. There were nine children there ranging in age from 15mos to just under 8 years. It was the first time that all nine cousins have been together, and it was so much fun to see them playing together!

Before the party started, Mairead opened a special gift from Grandma- a high chair and all kinds of accessories for her Bitty Baby doll. She loved the little toys and blocks. Thanks, Grandma and Grandpa!

Later, Aunt Ry helped Mairead open the gift from the Heckathorns. What could be better than about 100 little animals to play with? Mairead loves animals and she loves anything with a lot of pieces, so this was a perfect gift!

Uncle David helped get the party going by blowing bubbles with the kids. The boy in the foreground is the kids' cousin, Eli, who is 16 mos old. He is super cute and could easily have passed for Jack and Ben's triplet.

Noah is Eli's big brother and he will turn three this month. He and Ben chased each other all over the place.

This is Jacob, who is 6weeks younger than my guys. The boys didn't call him Jacob, though, they called him Lightning McQueen because of the shirt he is wearing! Jack and Ben are completely obesessed with the movie Cars right now (the original). They each carry around their little Lightning and Mater die cast cars all.the.time. I am trying to find more cars from the original movie (Sally, Mac, Fred, Chick, etc) but haven't come up with any yet. If you know where I can find them, please let me know! The ones I have seen on ebay are crazy expensive.

The boys (that's four two-year-olds!) kept parading various wheeled items up and down this "road."

Dave is sitting with three of his grandparents. How cool that our kids were able to spend time with THREE great-grandparents, and to know four? It was really special to be able to see them enjoy watching our kids play.

How cute are Emily and Rachael helping Jack ride the Big Wheel?

This picture makes me laugh- it looks like I just did 'cut and paste' with one kid!

Grandma made a pretty special cake for the birthday girl!

This child can put away more chocolate ice cream than most grown men. Seriously- she loves it! She is definitely a choc-o-holic, and she says, "chock wit" in the cutest way, too!

Nathan and Mairead are about 6 months apart- Nathan's blog is listed to the right if you want to check it out!

Thanks to Jim and Jessica for the beautiful party dress-- can you believe how old she looks here?

The party was fun, but exhausting! Jack needed to sit with Grandpa for a while just to recover!

Thanks to all of our NY family for taking time out of their very busy schedules to come to visit and have fun with us. It's not easy to get everyone together and to gather up that many kids, so we truly appreciate it. The kids had a great time playing together and it was fun to chat with the adults, too. We hope to see you again, soon! Thanks to Grandma and Grandpa for putting together another great day for us and for the kids!

Four. Seriously. She is four?

2011-07-29T18:40:00.000-04:00

Though it feels like just yesterday that I met her, it is hard to think of my life without her in it. Was there really a time when I was not a mother? It seems like a whole new life began on this day four years ago. The nurse lay my darling girl on my chest and she opened her eyes wide and looked right into mine. From that instant, I was connected to her in a way I never knew was possible. Now, I am watching her grow into a beautiful girl who amazes us every day with all that she can overcome.

It was about 24 hours after this picture was taken that we discovered that our baby girl was going to be a big sister. We had no idea, of course, that she would be a big sister times two!

At her second birthday party, I felt like I had blinked and she wasn't a baby any more. With tiny little brothers around, she seemed so big and too grown up already!

Three was a tough birthday for us because all of the wonderful services she had through EI ended. With all the turmoil we faced this last year in terms of her education and support, I wondered how we would ever get to four! She has been incredible, though, enduring the changes of starting school, changing schools three times, taking a bus, and learning so many new things.

Now, at four, I look at her in her beautiful flower girl outfit and feel like if I am not careful to savor every moment, I will wake up and she will be walking down the aisle herself. We have so much hope that Mairead will be able to do or be anything she chooses, and that no dream will be out of reach. We hope that we can do everything in our power to help her accomplish anything!

Happy birthday, Mairead. We love you so much!

And so it begins...

2011-07-28T17:55:00.000-04:00

Jack is in love for the first time. I can't say as I blame him, though. I have raved about how great our babysitter, Stephanie is, and it's clear that the kids adore her. Jack, in particular, just loves her. She babysat Tuesday night and on Monday morning, Jack was wandering around the living room saying, "I can't find it, I can't find it, Mommy." I said, "what are you looking for, Jackie?" He replied, "I can't find Stephanie." Ben jumped in asking, "Step a bee? Where is she?" I'm so glad they love her... just don't tell them that she already has a boyfriend.

New England Aquarium

2011-07-28T15:44:00.000-04:00

On Monday, we made a big family trip to the New England Aquarium in Boston. We had plans with two of my friends and their three year old daughters, and thanks to my friend Lisa's passes, we were able to bring all of the kids for free! Thanks, Lisa! The kids loved it! Mairead had a great time exploring with Lisa's daughter, Kacey, as they held hands and ran from exhibit to exhibit. The boys were a little overwhelmed since the aquarium is very dark, loud, and crowded, but they warmed up to it and loved seeing the fish. The giant sea turtles were the hit of the day.

Ok, the sea turtles and lunch were the hits of the day.

This is Jack snuggling up to my friend, Lisa. He had just finished telling her that he wanted to swim in the tank and that he needed his float. So then Ben said, "Need my floapt, too!" He was saying "floap" so I tried to emphasize the 't' sound and say "float," so now he pronounces it "floapt." I love it.

A bit later in the morning, my friend, Jenn, and her husband and daugther, Elizabeth, caught up to us at the top of the tank. It was great to see Mairead interacting and having fun with Kacey and Elizabeth!

Thanks to our friends for a great day! The kids told everyone all about their day and what they saw- they had such a great time! We are trying to make the most of this summer since Mairead (and hopefully Dave) will be heading back to school before we know it. And, with the exception of a few sweltering days, the weather has been fantastic. We have a lot more adventures planned in the next few weeks so we hope to see more sunny days!

Quite the Artiste

2011-07-28T15:25:00.000-04:00

Mairead loves to draw, paint, color, write, or create pretty much any kind of project. She loves the art table in the office and spends a lot of time there working on her masterpieces. Just about fifteen minutes ago, she came down to the kitchen where I was working and said, "I have something very special for you. It's in the office." I followed her up the stairs as she instructed, "Close your eyes!" She led me by the hand to the art table where she showed me her latest creation. She said, 'It's a family!" She named each person in the picture. If you can't tell, from left to right we have Ben, Jack, Mairead, Daddy, and Mommy. So proud of her!

Most of the time, she has multicolored fingers, paint marks on her clothes, and random traces of marker on her arms... but she's still beautiful!

Yesterday's work was this picture that she did completely on her own. If you can't read it, it says, "
I LOE DAD" with a heart and a picture of Daddy. She is too sweet!

It's hard to believe that this little girl will be four years old tomorrow! Time has gone by so (too) fast, but it's hard to remember life without her in it. She has already overcome so many challenges and she continues to amaze us every day. I just wish I could slow things down sometimes before I blink and she is all grown up. Her height also makes me feel like she is on 'fast forward' since she does not look like a four year old. At the playground yesterday, another mother of twins asked me how old the boys were and then asked about Mairead. She asked, "and that's your daugther? How old is she, 6?" I said, "Uh, no, she will turn four on Friday." Three mothers went on for five minutes about how they just couldn't believe that, and what a tall girl, etc. No matter how tall she is, she is still our baby girl!

Random Kid Stuff

2011-07-28T09:10:00.000-04:00

I have not been taking a lot of pictures lately. Not because the kids aren't doing cute things, but because we are so busy! And, most of our activities involve sand, water, dirt, or a combination thereof, and the camera has to be safely tucked away. The kids are doing and saying so many adorable things lately. I am trying to hang on to every moment since I know that they won't be little for long! The boys have started wearing size 2T clothing. Do you know what that means? No more "months" clothing sizes. Which means no more shopping in the baby section. I really can't wrap my head around how this happened so quickly. With all the drama surrounding both Mairead and the twins' births, I feel like I blinked and missed the baby phase. Or maybe I blocked it out. Or maybe it is all just a fog since I was so sleep deprived! Anyway, I want to share some of the moments lately that have made me smile.

We were at an indoor playground yesterday to try to beat the heat and there was a bouncy house that the kids LOVED. Ben, especially, wanted to stay in it all day. At one point though, he came to find me and said, "Want Jackie in the bouncy house, Mommy. Where's Jackie?" So we found Jack and convinced him to go into the bouncy house. As both boys were launching themselves all over the place, Ben yelled to me, "Mommy! Jackie's in the bouncy house! It's Jackie!" How cute that he loves his big brother so much?

Mairead and I were in the car the other day and encountered some roadwork. She asked, "What are they doing? What you think it could be?" When I told her they were making a new road, she said, "A new road? I can't believe it!"

Jack has been talking a blue streak, but not all of it has been true. Isn't he too young to even know how to do that? Anyway, a month or so ago, we had a few incidents of Mairead pushing Jack out of the way while they were playing. Jack would come find me and say, "I scared of Raid. Raid push you." So, of course, I would go and deal with the situation. Now, he says it whenever he wants something that Mairead has. And the other day, Dave reprimanded Jack for something so he came running to me saying, "I scared of Daddy." I said, "Oh, yeah? You're scared of Daddy? Why?" "Daddy push you." Apparently, he figured that if he told me that, I would go upstairs and set Daddy straight. Nice.

The other night, the boys were babbling away to each other after I put them to bed. Their cribs face each other with about 8 feet of space in between. Ben was pretending his stegosaurus was stuck and saying, "Oh, no! Stegosaurus stuck! A rescue!" So the conversation went:
Jack: Stegosaurus stuck, Ben?
Ben: Yeah, Jackie. It's stuck.
Jack: Want help, Ben?
Ben: Yeah, Jackie.
Jack: Arms, Extendo! (a robot on tv says this to make his arms extend a la Inspector Gadget)
Ben: You got it! Thanks, Jackie.

A few days ago, the kids were supposed to be napping but no one was. Ben was whining the most and we eventually got all three kids up since it was obvious no one was going to sleep. Later, I noticed that Mairead's special bear was in Ben's crib. She must have put it in there when he was crying. What a sweet big sister.

Mairead is doing so well with becoming more independent. She has learned to put her dish in the sink after meals and to throw her popsicle sticks in the trash. She is doing really well with going to the bathroom all by herself, and even remembering to put her underwear back on when she is finished. For a while, she insisted on wearing pull-ups in public- she just didn't have the confidence to go without. Now, though, she insists on wearing underwear all the time. It took a loooong time to get there, but she did it!

There are so many other cute things-- they all give us a run for our money, for sure, but they are so funny and smart, and always entertaining!

Rehearsal Dinner

2011-07-17T21:29:00.002-04:00

I posted the wedding pictures before the pictures of the rehearsal because I was so excited to share the images of the beautiful bride and my handsome brother. Also, I couldn't wait to show you how incredibly cute the kids were on the day of the wedding! We had a whole weekend of fun, though, so there are many more images to share! The rehearsal dinner was held two days before the wedding in order to give everyone a chance to relax with family and friends before the big day. We gathered at St. Anne's on Thursday to make the final preparations for the wedding.

In the past few weeks, I was able to take Mairead to St. Anne's a few times when no one else was there so that she could explore the church and feel comfortable there. The staff at the church was so accommodating and opened up the building just for us so that our little flower girl was ready for her important job. When we walked toward the church on the night of the rehearsal, Mairead could see Ailish, the other flower girl, and Ailish caught sight of Mairead. The two of them ran to each other giggling and then shared a hug. This was the first moment of the weekend that brought tears to my eyes. I was so incredibly happy to see Mairead have such a shared moment of joy with another little girl. It was so special to see her embrace a little friend. To add to the moment, Ailish's dad (Christin's brother) and I have been friends since SEVENTH grade. To see our daughters beginning a friendship is just incredibly special to me. The girls had a fabulous time playing together all weekend! Dave's mom made the dress that Mairead is wearing here.

I didn't upload these in order so bear with me as I jump around a bit. The boys did not come to the rehearsal itself, but the world's greatest babysitter, Stephanie, brought them to the Old Court for the dinner. The boys are two years and four months old, and this is the second time they have been to the Old Court. That's right, I bring my babies to bars. Anyway, they were adorable in their little matching shirts. Any guesses on who is who?

The rehearsal was held at The Old Court in downtown Lowell because this is where Brian and Christin had their first date. And their second. And their third... Brian is a regular and there has even been a special on the menu named after him: Monaghan's Favorite! The pub staff did a great job hosting the dinner and everyone had a great night. We had plenty of time to relax and share some pints with the people we love. Thanks to Finbar, Jerry, Parksie, Krystle, and everyone else who helped us to have a great night! If you haven't been to the OC, definitely check it out!

We surprised Brian and Christin with a slideshow to reminisce about when they were small. We hope they enjoyed it!

Jen and Mike are next to tie the knot-- we can't wait for that wedding!

File this under 'things I never thought I'd see': Brian carrying an armload of Kate Spade boxes. Christin and Brian were very generous in their gifts for the bridal party with beautiful jewelry and great bags for the girls, and Red Sox tickets and sunglasses for the guys. Thanks, Brian and Christin!

Back to the church, I guess! The flower girls were given cute little treat bags from Christin and they loved their new crowns!

It was so exciting to see Brian and Christin get ready for their big day. It was really a cool experience because the organist and bagpiper attended the rehearsal so we had a sneak peek of an amazing walk down the aisle for Christin. Cue the second time I was crying that weekend. I'm such a sucker for ceremony and tradition- add that to seeing my little brother get married to a woman I have come care for very much, throw in some bagpipes, and can you blame me???

I love these next two pictures... how cute are these girls? Watching Mairead walk down the aisle was another emotional moment. I felt like my mind was fast-forwarding 25 years. I hope that some day she is a beautiful and happy bride, and I hope the 25 years in between don't go by too fast!

Prior to the beginning of all the festivities, Mairead, of course, had to get a very special manicure and pedicure from Nana!

Hope you enjoyed the pictures- I will keep posting more of the weekend when I have time. We are having a great summer with the kids and enjoying our time in the sun. Unfortunately, we are spending a lot of time on Dave's job search, and that is not so much fun. We are trying to stay optimistic as we wait to see what the future holds for him and for us on that front. We could use any good thoughts and prayers you can spare so that he finds something soon that will be a great fit. Thanks!

Wedding Pictures

2011-07-13T20:36:00.000-04:00

Well there are just too many good ones to post! So, here is a link to a snapfish album that includes my 185 favorite pictures so far. My sister, Jen, took a lot of them and I took a few myself. Others, I borrowed from facebook! Hope you enjoy them!
http://www2.snapfish.com/snapfish/thumbnailshare/AlbumID=6721808007/a=32027087_32027087/otsc=SHR/otsi=SALBlink/COBRAND_NAME=snapfish/

Just a few wedding pics

2011-07-12T09:04:00.000-04:00

Congratulations to Brian and Christin!!! The weekend was awesome- the kids were great. Mairead was AMAZING as a flower girl and we had the best babysitter ever so that we could have a great time. I'll write a longer post with more details and pictures later- we are all still trying to get things around here back to normal. The bride was gorgeous and her groom was so handsome and so sweet. A great time was had by all! Here are just a few pictures from the day- mostly of the kids. I'll do more of the happy couple later!

BIG thanks to my sister, Jen, for taking all of these. As you know, I am pretty much never without camera in hand, but I had a lot of little jobs that day, plus three kids, so I didn't get to take my own pictures. Thankfully, Jen got some great shots! And, just fyi, if you click on the image, you can see it larger. Hope you like them- there are many more to come!

Parlee Farms

2011-07-05T15:19:00.000-04:00

Last week, we met up with a few other mothers of twins (and one mother of triplets!) at Parlee Farms. We have been a few times before but always in the Fall. It was fun to check it out in the summer when things were much less hectic and less crowded. There may not have been any hay bales to jump on, but there were all kinds of animals to look at, and strawberry donuts, too!

Mairead was beside herself with happiness. Look! It's a hen!!! Look! Goats!!! She just loves animals and was in her glory as they came right up and ate out of her hands. The boys really loved it, too. I was glad to see that Jack got over some of his hesitation and let the goats eat from his hand. The feed is dispensed through a little 'vending machine' that requires quarters, so all three kids learned the value of a quarter that day. They just kept yelling, "Daddy! More quarters, please!"

The boys are talking so much lately. Sometimes, it's things I could live without like "NO! I don't WANT to!" but at least they are using complete sentences! Jack, especially, is on a roll with whole strings of conversation. The other day, I was trying to fix his toy car and I just couldn't do it. I told him, "I'm sorry, Jack, I just can't fix it." He stopped, considered the situation, sighed and said, "I needa find Brian, Mommy." Guess it didn't take him long to figure out who to call when you need to fix something!

Mairead's speech has been great, too. In fact, this morning she had her first summer session of speech, and her teacher happens to be the same speech teacher she had from September to February this year. Miss Melissa hadn't seen Mairead in a while so I was so thrilled today when I picked up Mairead and Miss Melissa said, "Wow, what a difference!" It was great to know that Mairead was able to show her teacher so many of her new skills! We are definitely seeing some regression over the summer in terms of some stimming and hand flapping, but we sort of expected that with the sudden elimination of routine. The boys are suffering from routine withdrawl, too, since there is no playgroup in the summer, no Wednesday morning trip to Target, and no ride to Mairead's school every day. We are definitely keeping the kids busy, but there has been a period of adjustment since school ended.

Mairead's pretend play skills have been amazing, lately. She is always handing me imaginary animals to pet. Ben gets upset, though. When Mairead says, "Look, it's a baby turtle!", Ben says, "I want baby turtle, too!" I guess he wonders why he never gets to have any of these animals she is talking about. She has been playing with dolls a lote more lately, too, which is so fun to watch. For a while, she was insistent that her two baby dolls do everything we do because they are her "two twin babies." I am loving her growing pretend play and imagination, and it is so cute to see her care for her babies. I think the twin element has less to do with her brothers, though, and more to do with Dora the Explorer's twin siblings.

Jack and Ben have been playing together so much lately. Sometimes, this results in hysteria because one wants whatever the other one has, but most of the time it is really cute. I am totally seeing the joy of multiples when they look for one another, or when Ben says, "You ok, Jackie?" whenever Jack falls down. If Jack cries, Ben will say, "Oh no, Mommy! Jackie's crying!" He then takes off to find Jack yelling, "I coming, Jackie!"

The other day, Mairead took Ben's cup at the water table so Ben got upset. Jack came running through the yard yelling, "What happened, Ben? What happened?" He then said, "c'mon, lawnmower, rescue Ben!" Not sure what the toy lawnmower had to do with it, but ok.

We have been incredibly busy with all of our summer activities, including preparations for the best activity of all- Brian's wedding! Brian and Christin will be getting married on Saturday and we all just can't wait for the big day. We are SO thrilled for them and now we are just hoping for nice weather to make the day just perfect. It will be such a great time to spend with our family as we wish the happy couple a long and happy life together! I have had a sneak peek of the bride's dress and she is going to be just stunning. I can't wait!

Friendship Park

2011-07-03T12:38:00.001-04:00

Last week, we got adventurous and tried a new playground. I had been wanting to visit Friendship Park on Old Westford Road in Chelmsford for a while, but waited until I had Dave to help me. Since he is on school vacation for the summer, we can try new places! I took a ton of pictures since several of my mom friends (especially MoM friends) have been wanting to try this playground, too! I couldn't find a street address for this so I entered 'Roberts Field' into the GPS and it found it.

The driveway to the park is just before a little country store. We actually passed the entrance the first time around because it really isn't marked. Just look for the athletic fields and the playground is just to the right. The parking lot is a good 50 yards from the playground entrance, so if you have several kids and/or bags, it's not really conducive to running back and forth to the car. This is also a drawback if you do the 'potty in the car' thing, since there are no restrooms or port-a-potties.

The park offers a lot to do. There is a little sandbox with some trucks, etc. No shovels, though, so if you child wants to dig, you'll have to bring one of your own. The sandbox is in the shade and has a few seats for adults to supervise the kids.

There are three or four picnic tables, all in the shade, so it's a great place to have a snack or a picnic lunch. There is a trash barrel so you do not have to do 'carry in carry out.'

The climbing structures are pretty great. My kids started on the swings, sandbox, etc, and then when Mairead headed to the structure, Dave said, "Oh, good, Mairead wants to do the fun stuff." So, even he was pretty excited about it! There are ladders, bouncy bridges, tires, rope climbs, and several slides. It's a pretty great set up! Part of the structure was a little 'old' for my kids, but there was plenty for them to do. There were a few 7-8 year olds having a great time, so you could bring kids of varying ages.

If you have multiple young children (or just multiples, lol) it would be tough to do this park alone. The climbing structure is so big that it's impossible to see behind it, around it, or even under it. Keeping track of two toddlers, etc, would be difficult. Also, there are three ungated entrances: one at the main entrance, one on the side (shown here), and one at the back (next photo). Granted, if a kid escaped, he wouldn't be in the street, but there is a lot of brush/overgrowth in the back, and that isn't the best place for a toddler.

Some kids were playing in the sand pile in the back, but we didn't try it because we didn't want the kids to know there was an 'escape route' back there.

There are a lot of swings, which is nice. These are in the rear of the playground and the older kids used these.

This chain ladder is one of the things that is really for older kids. Although, my Ben (2 yrs 3mos at the time) scooted right up there before we could stop him. That kid has NO fear.

In addition to the three openings, there is this damage to the fence right by the picnic tables. Just thought I'd point it out so that moms know there is an additional way for kids to get out!

Dave and Jack took a nice walk to go see the garbage truck that was emptying the dumpster at the country store. We do love trucks.

It was pretty hot the day we went so it was nice to have a shady space for a picnic lunch. This picture shows the boys pre-haircuts, which they desperately needed and have since obtained.

This is just half of the toddler swing area. In case anyone is interested, this park does not have one of the large reclining swings for children with special needs. But Mairead is pretty huge for her age and still fits comfortably into the toddler swings here.

At the front of the park, there is a small toddler climbing structure with a slide- Jack preferred that slide to the larger ones.

We had a really great time, but I was definitely glad Dave was with me. I could have done it alone, but it would have been a lot of work and somewhat nervewracking with all the things to climb and ways to escape.

Pros: Tons of stuff to do. Climbing structure, slides, swings, tunnels, sandbox, etc.
          Shaded areas
          Picnic tables and trash barrel
          Quiet, away from the road
          Athletic fields could be used to play ball, etc
          Perfect for families with kids of varying ages
          Very clean
          The other families were very friendly

Cons:  Very tough to handle if you are alone with two or three (or more) young children
           Lots of 'escape routes' for endeavoring toddlers/preschoolers
           Parking lot is not close enough to easily run back and forth for forgotten items, potty breaks, etc
           No restrooms
           The wooden structure is clean and safe, but aging. Be on the lookout for splinters.

We had a great time and spent almost two hours there. The best part? The kids took loooong naps that afternoon!

What a long, strange school year this has been...

2011-06-20T07:21:00.000-04:00

Friday was Mairead's last day of school for the year, and in celebration of that, her teachers planned a nice little ceremony for the day before. Every other student in Mairead's class will be going on to kindergarten next year (they are all five years old or will turn five in the next 2 months). So for them, it was a little graduation of sorts. For Mairead, it was just fun! For us, it was the end of what has been a very long, exhausting, and emotional school year. She attended three different schools this year and is finally in the right one for her. After countless IEP meetings, phone calls, and disappointments, we have an IEP in place that we feel begins to address her needs. We still believe that she needs more support, but at least we have our foot in the door and she is in the hands of good teachers. We hope that the 2011-2012 school year is a much more positive experience for all of us!

Parents were invited to attend the celebration and we all settled in the library before the kids came in. Mairead did not know that we would be there, so she was so surprised to see me when the kids paraded into the room! I was really impressed with how well she did- she stayed in line and listened to her teacher even though she obviously wanted to run right over to me. She was very cute- she sat with her class for several minutes but then just couldn't contain herself anymore. She ran over to me, gave me a huge hug and kids, and then ran back to her seat. This alone is evidence of how far she has come this year, and it was a great moment for me.

She also did great following along with the music instructor and with her classmates. She LOVES music and was singing or dancing along with the kids.

This was the 'class song,' Skiddamarink. She is doing the "Eye" love you part!

There was a little recognition ceremony for all of the summer birthdays, so Mairead got to wear a "King hat," as Jack proclaimed it, and all the kids and parent sang Happy Birthday to the kids. In a weird coincidence, while we were at Lynch Park yesterday (40 minutes from our house), we saw the little boy who is standing next to Mairead. It was very cute- she saw him and said, "Hey, look at that." I thought she was noticing his sand toys, but then he said, "Hey, that's Mairead, she's my friend!" I then recognized him from the ceremony. Can't tell you how great it was to hear him say, "She's my friend." The only hard part of her school celebration was that other moms were exchanging contact info because their daughters wanted to play together over the summer. Mairead was not included in any of this, and that was really hard for me to see. I know she is younger than they are and I know she joined the class late, but the thing I want most for her right now is to have little friends and for her to have fun with the other little girls. I hope she finds some good friends when school starts again next year. She actually seems to prefer playing with the boys in her class... don't know where she gets that from...

I am so glad that Dave and I were able to attend the ceremony (he was out of school early enough to see the second half) because it was a postive and happy experience for all of us. We want school to be a good experience for Mairead and it was nice to see her enjoying it so much. We were also able to see her doing things she never would have been able to do 10 months ago. She stayed in line, stayed in her seat, followed along with the class, and followed directions. She has a long road ahead of her but at least now we are heading in the right direction. I think she will miss school over the summer and I hope she is excited to return in September!

2011-06-19T18:26:00.000-04:00

For Father's Day this year, we decided to try something new! At Katie's suggestion, we planned a day at Lynch Park in Beverly and we had a perfect day. The weather was beautiful, the park had so much to offer, and we spent the day with our family. What more could we ask for?

We have been telling the kids for a few days that we were going to the beach, so they were incredibly excited this morning. They just asked over and over, "Go the beach? Go the beach, Mommy?" Mairead was slightly disappointed when she learned that we would be going in the car. She said, "We go on the plane, yet?" Turns out, Team Umi Zoomi went to the beach recently and they took a plane to get there. When I broke that news that we were going in the car, she said, "No, we can't go in the car. Go in the plane and go to the beach!" Her disappointment didn't last long, though, because once she saw the beach, she was happy as could be!
We set up beach chairs, picnic blankets, and even a grill (courtesy of Dan and Katie) and everyone brought some great food to share. The kids had a blast. They ran across the field, played in the sand, saw sailboats, a rose garden, and kayaks. The park also has an ice cream stand that we all just had to try.

Mairead chose the ice cream stand staple of the red white and blue bomb... the biggest popsicle she had ever seen. She was absolutely giddy when Dave handed it to her. I think she just could not believe we were letting her have this monstrosity!

Jack didn't want any, but he sat very close to her while she ate it.

Maybe too close...

Ben went with his old standby of fries. If he could live on goldfish, toast, and fries with "kitchit," he would be a happy man!

Ben had to chase after Brian because the boys are OBSESSED with Brian. When they see any kind of house being worked on, or any kind of professional carpenter, roofer, etc, they yell, "It's Brian, Mama? It's Brian?

Mairead convinced Jen to draw the alphabet in the sand and then ran to me to say, "Look what I made for you." She kept saying, "Look at all these letters!"

Solitary man...

The park has a beautiful garden and the kids had fun exploring all of the details.

Today was one of those days that reminds us just why we love summer so much. It was so great to spend so much time outside, to relax, and to enjoy beautiful surroundings with great company. Great idea, Katie... maybe this could be an annual tradition?

Don't Let the Pigeon Drive the Bus!

2011-06-10T22:13:00.001-04:00

When Mairead was just a baby, Christin gave her a few books by Mo Willems. One, Don't Let the Pigeon Drive the Bus, is Mairead's current favorite book. She gets hysterical every time we read it, which is once or twice every day. She knows every word of the book and if you recite a line, she'll give you the next one. We recorded her listening to it at bedtime because it's just so sweet how she is so in love with this book! Thanks, Christin!

Her reaction tonight was actually a little more subdued than usual... we had a busy day! Sometimes, she laughs so hard that she gets the hiccups. My absolute favorite part is when she says, "I have dreams, you know." Kills me every time!

Playdates

2011-06-03T13:50:00.000-04:00

Now that the weather is nicer, we have been able to get out and enjoy some playdates with friends. This week, our friend, Connor, spent the afternoon with us and the kids had a great time. The boys followed Connor all over the place and showed them all of their toys. Ben just kept saying, "Hi Connor! Hi, Connor!' Very exciting to have a big boy around to play with! The kids spent some time out in the yard enjoying the swingset and the nice weather. Connor is obsessed with t-ball so he and Jack broke out the bats for a bit. Mairead spent some time watering the flowers and giving this butterfly a drink.

After dinner, it was time to sit back and relax with the kids new favorite show, Team UmiZoomi. It's actually a pretty good show. It teaches math concepts and logic, and all of the kids get really into it. Jack loves to answer when the characters ask questions.

They love Daddy's ipad. Mairead is getting pretty good at manipulating it herself, which is great... unless Dave wants to actually use his ipad.

Last week, we traveled to Nashua to check out a new playground on Shattuck Street with our friends, Maddie and Audrey, and their mom. It was pretty hot so we spent some of the time in the shade enjoying juice and rice cakes, but the kids had fun running around together. If you do go here, it's a nice little park that is completely fenced in (always important). But, it has very little shade so it's probably best to go on a not so sunny day.

The kids are constantly coming up with new ways to impress me and to be cute. They are, however, all at a stage in which they are constantly testing limits and asserting their independence. This is not so cute. For the most part, though, they are very sweet to one another. Today, Ben was yelling, "I stuck, I stuck!" so Jack dropped his notebook (gasp) and headed to the rescue yelling, "Help Ben, Mommy! I help Ben!" The boys also love to give Molly (the cat) their blankets, and even give her a book once in a while. They are very sweet to her and she is very patient with them, luckily.

Mairead is continuing to make progress. We saw her neurologist this past week and he is really happy with how she is doing. Unfortunately, we are all sort of out of ideas for how to help her to progress any faster. Now, we just have to give her time and see how she does both in school and at home. Our first appointment at the stroke clinic was July 1 of last year, so when I think about how far she has come in that year, I realize that she has made amazing progress. I can't help but to want her to make even more progress, though, because I hate to see her frustrated and I hate to see the increasingly obvious differences between her and her peers. We will all just keep doing our best- that's all we can do.

Every time I go to Children's, I thank God and my lucky stars and anyone else who will listen that Mairead and the boys are as healthy as they are. I have my struggles with Mairead and there are some days when life is really, really hard. But I know it could be much worse. When we go to neurology, we go to Fegan 11 (one of the towers at the hospital). From the waiting room window, we can see the windows of another tower (I think it's Hunnewell). When I took Mairead last July 1, we could see the room of a little girl named Ella Grace. Her name is colored on the windows, she has pictures, stickers, etc, all over the place. It was clear she was a pretty established resident.

Well, we have been to neurology 5 times since last July, and I always look to see if her name is still there, or if maybe she has gone home. Today, Ella is STILL there. She has been in the hospital, in the same room, for over a year. Now, I am afraid that next time we go, I won't see her name and I will fear that she didn't make it. I have obviously never met this little girl, but I think about her often (is that weird?) and I pray for her and her family. Can you even IMAGINE your child being in a hospital room for over a year?

Anyway, I am definitely not a 'life with a child with special needs is all puppy dogs and rainbows' person, but man, what some of these families are dealing with is just heartbreaking to the nth degree.

So if you can, send a little prayer to Ella Grace in Boston

I apologize for the decrease in blog posts lately. I have been having a lot of pain in my wrists-- enough so that I actually went to the doctor for myself instead of for the kids. The NP suspects (as I did) carpal tunnnel syndrome. I have to have an electromyogram at the end of June as well as consult with an orthopaedist to see what should be done, with options including cortisone injections and surgery. I am pretty anxious about all of it seeing as I have three little ones to take care of, but I also have to be sure I don't do permanent damage to any nerves. Wish me good luck!

Have a great weekend, everyone!

Spring has Sprung

2011-05-25T13:52:00.008-04:00

It has been a lo-o-o-o-ng May since it rained nearly every day, and it was cold! The heat kicked on last wee. If you survive a winter of being housebound due to record snowfall, hearing the heat come on in mid-May and STILL being stuck in the house is enough to drive a person, specficially, a stay-at-home-mom of three, crazy. We have had a few nice days, today being one of them, and we hope to see many more!

We do find ways to pass the time. Painting pictures (and selves, in Ben's case) is a favorite.

Mairead is getting to be quite a little artist! She paints all kinds of people and animals, and even paints her name. She is really getting interested in words and how to spell them, and it's fun to help her learn how to write new words.

I guess you know it has rained a lot when the kids feel like they need to use an umbrella even INside the house.

Jack has been getting ready for nice weather by practicing his golf swing, his jump shot, and now, his windup. I need to get him on video- he winds up like a real pitcher. He must have picked it up just from watching the Red Sox or from seeing Dave do it a few times, because no one taught it to him. His new obsession is his real glove. Jim and Jess gave the boys these gorgeous personalized gloves when they were babies, and they are finally big enough to use them. The boys literally could have fit inside the gloves when they got them! These are definitely not going to be 'outside' gloves, though. They are too nice to ruin!

Jack even insists on sleeping with his. I thought that kind of thing didn't happen until they were older? It looks like he will be a great athlete someday- he is so serious and committed. And, he is pretty good!

About two weeks ago, we made a trip to Penguin Park, one of our favorite playgrounds, to enjoy a nice afternoon once we picked Mairead up from school. It was nice to be back there- it was such a long winter! It's also nice that the kids are so much more independent. When we went in the fall, someone was always just about to fall off the top of the slide, get crashed into by a swing, etc. Now, they can enjoy most of the equipment safely, which makes things easier for me!

My mom has been working so hard to get the yard ready for the summer. She will be out there for 8 hours at a time some days. It is paying off, though; the yard looks beautiful already! She is lucky enough to have some very enthusiastic helpers. Ben loved using the hose to water the grass.

Note that he did not, however, part with his toast in order to do so.

Mairead loves being out in the yard and loves gardening with Nana. She has no qualms about getting her hands dirty, although now she does have some fabulous Wonder Pets gardening gloves to help with that.

We truly hope the nice weather is here to stay. I actually am just hoping it is here to stay TODAY, as we have a playground playdate in a few hours and I see that it is clouding over even as I type this. Rain, rain, stay away!

Big Girl Bed and a Birthday Party

2011-05-16T16:55:00.015-04:00

We all took a big step on Saturday when we moved out Mairead's crib in favor of a big girl bed. We held off longer than most parents probably do because we were concerned about her being and feeling safe. She never tried to get out of the crib so we just let it be. But we finally make the leap and put her in a twin. Dave took her to Target to choose some sheets (she chose a pink polka dot set and a set with pink birdhouses) and we got her room all set up. I still need to find a comforter, dust ruffle, etc, but this is a start!

She was really excited about it and jumped right in when Dave brought her upstairs to show her.

She literally ran over to it.

Of course, Frick and Frack wanted to jump into the big bed, too. Ben kept saying, "a big bed, too, Mama? A big bed, too?" Not yet, kiddo. You two will be in your crib cages, I mean tents, until you're 12.

Ready for bed on her first night!

She did really well. She was happy to get into bed and we read her some stories. When we left, though, I think she got a little confused and started to cry. Eventually, Dave lay with her until she fell asleep and she slept through the entire night. The next night, she went up on her own with no problem and has done great since!

On Sunday, we were lucky enough to go to a birthday party for two little girls we know. The party was at Bobo's Indoor Playground in Nashua and it was the perfect place for kids turning 2 and 4. They had climbing structures, bounce houses, an inflatable slide, cars to ride on, and more. The kids were great and we stayed for the entire two hours, which is a personal best for us. Mairead didn't want to leave!

Good news- the boys found a basketball hoop within one minute of arriving. Jack was shooting baskets and one of the dads said, "This guy is lights out! I've never seen anything like it!" I told him that Jack gets a LOT of practice!

With ten thousand things to do at this place, Ben still had to do some writing in his notebook. These things are seriously permanently attached to their hands.

Mairead loved going down the big slide. I did it with her twice and it went really fast!

Unfortunately, she doesn't have the strength or coordination to get up the ladder herself, so Dave or I (mostly Dave) had to carry her while climbing the thing. It was really hard!

Mairead loves birthdays and had a great time. When it was time for cake, she plopped herself right down in the middle of the other kids and danced in her seat while everyone sang to the birthday girls. She loved eating the frosting off her cake, too!

This, apparently, is Bobo. She is a giant frog.

This is Jack's reaction to Bobo. Better than his reaction to Santa, but still... not great!

The kids LOVED the bounce house and stayed in there for much of the time.

And, there was a basketball hoop IN the bounce house. Does life get any better?

We really had a great time- thanks, Maddie and Audrey, for a fun afternoon!

Good thing we had fun while we could-- we had been home half an hour when there was a knock at the door. When Dave answered, it was the police- Nana had pressed her Life Call button because she was having shortness of breath. I took the ambulance with her to the ER where my mom was working. It turns out that she had pulmonary edema caused by Congestive Heart Failure (CHF). She is feeling much better now but is still at the hospital. Obviously, the CHF is serious because her heart is just not able to pump hard/fast enough to keep her lungs and other organs healthy, so we are hopeful that her doctors can come up with ways to keep her feeling ok. We'll keep you posted!

Mother's Day and Mike's Birthday

2011-05-13T14:25:00.005-04:00

Spring has brought us so many fun things to do, and so many things to celebrate! We have had a lot to do with birthdays, Mother's Day, showers, school, and soccer. We love that we are able to spend so much more time outside (though it would be nice if it would just get warm and stay that way... wet weather is headed our way next week, so we are making the most of today!).

More time outside means more baths for these guys... how cute are they in their little hooded towels? Jack is on the right in these.

We had a great time with family on Mother's Day. I have to start with this picture because Ben looks JUST like his dad in it. I picture Dave looking just like this when he was a two year old.

Steve was the hero of the day because he gave all four kids rides in this pretty awesome car, or, box.

One of the best parts of the day was when Nana opened her gifts and found a cell phone! She has no idea how to use it, but it's a 'just in case' kind of phone for when she is at doctor's appointments or out shopping. One of us will have to go down and give her a little lesson in how to use it. How great would it be if we could get her to text?

Can you hear me now?

Jen made a ton of appetizers and Katie, of course, brought her creative desserts.

In honor of the royal wedding- fruit with a fascinator.

The kids, as usual, had a lot of fun playing together.

And Mairead helped all the moms to open their gifts.

Mother's Day was also Mike's birthday. We hope he had a great day and we are excited to celebrate with him as a full fledged brother in law (as soon as they set a date... stay tuned...).

School is going pretty well for Mairead. She still has a lot of anxiety about going and shows some resistance to getting ready, getting in the car, etc. It's hard to see her get so worked up about it, but she seems to be ok once she gets there. She will be staying in the same class with the same teacher next year, so we hope that she is able to settle in easily in September. Soccer is still pretty rough. We will try again tomorrow to see if she likes it any better when the weather is a little warmer. Right now, we are just working on her staying near the field. She doesn't have to play, but we'd like her to feel more comfortable with just being around the noise and the crowd. Sports have always been a big part of our lives so we hope that our kids enjoy them, too.

At home, the kids are playing with each other a lot more (mostly basketball). Mairead has been especially great lately about trying to help the boys, offer them toys, share her snacks, etc. She holds their hands when we are all going somewhere, either from the car to the house or even just upstairs. She says, "C'mon, Jack and Ben. We holding hands."

Jack wins the award for the cutest thing lately. If I haven't been in the room with him for a little while, he will come find me, snuggle up on my lap and say, "I miss you, Mommy. I miss you."
Seriously. Talk about melting my heart.

We had a fun playdate this morning- I wish I had brought my camera because the group included FIVE sets of twins plus two siblings. Not only were there five sets of twins, four sets were two year olds (and one set of three year olds). Add in another 3 year old and a 16 month old, and it was crazy! The kids did well playing together, except that Jack found a basketball hoop and assumed it was his personal hoop.

After school and naps, we are off to the playground to make the most of the weather. We have soccer tomorrow and a birthday party on Sunday, plus a million things to do around here. Let's hope we get SOME sun for the weekend!

Playdate, Playgroup, and plenty of other things

2011-05-02T16:37:00.012-04:00

First, I need to tell you about the amazing thing Mairead did about an hour ago. She was up in the office while I was with the boys and she yelled, "Mom! Mom! Look what I did!" I went in to see that she had written some letters. She said, "I write your names." And sure enough, she almost did. I swear- I have not worked on this with her- I have never had her practice writing our names or anything. She has asked me in the past to write out 'Jack, Ben,' etc, and then she came up with this,

Mom (amazing, right?) And it's on a heart... best thing ever!

The shamrock has 'Dad' and the heart has "Mairead" She usually spells her name correctly- guess she got distracted today.

The brown is 'Jack' and the orange is 'Ben.' Though, I suppose we could call him 'Blade' from now on!

I just marvel at how far she has come in the past year... even in the past few months. School is going really well for her and she makes progress at home every day. Little things like this mean so much to us, especially since we had a tough few days with her. On Thursday, I went to pick her up from school and her teacher came to the door and beckoned me to come in. Mairead was hysterical. Sobbing to the point of not being able to catch her breath. She flung herself into my arms and clung to me so tightly- she was shaking. The teacher had no idea what happened. The kids were lining up to come outside as they do every day, and all of a sudden Mairead burst into tears and dropped to the ground. She couldn't tell anyone what was wrong and she was so incredibly upset. It was hard to see her like that. The teacher felt terrible about it because she wasn't able to figure out why she was so upset, and she wasn't able to console her. Those moments are really, really hard for me. I hate that my sweet girl can be so scared and not be able to communicate why or what she needs. It must be such a lonely and terrifying feeling, and I hate knowing that she feels that way.

She did go to school the next day without a problem, so that was encouraging. She does like school, though she still has a lot of anxiety about it. I think each week is a little better than the one before. We really like her teacher and know that she is in good hands; we just wish it were easier for her.

Soccer is another thing that is hard for her. Dave took her this past Saturday and she was too scared to go on the field with her team. Dave actually left, but then Jen called to say she was at the field, so Dave took Mairead back and Jen was able to coerce her to go sit on the sidelines and at least watch. She did that for a few minutes and did run on to the field at one point, but it was too much for her. It is very loud and very crowded there, and I think she just has a hard time processing everything. We will just keep encouraging her to at least go and watch the other kids, and maybe try to get her on the field occasionally. We want her to be able to participate in team sports and to be able to enjoy them, but it's going to take baby steps to get her there.

Those days are hard for us. It's tough to see her be upset and difficult to have it so obvious that she is struggling with things that are just 'normal' or fun activities for most kids. No parent wants his/her child to struggle, and to see her facing this at such a young age is hard. But, we know that she is amazing and that she has made such great progress. We can't wait for the day when she is just one of the kids and she is out running around and having fun with everyone else.

She made steps toward that at our playdate today! We met up with some of my 'mom friends' and their kids and enjoyed the beautiful weather! Mairead did well with the other kids- even sharing her coloring books and crayons, trying to swing with another little girl, and even giving out hugs when the day was over. One of the moms made my day- she had met Mairead about six months ago and commented how far she has come since then. Mairead was answering questions, making eye contact, etc, and last time we were together, she wasn't doing that. It was really nice to hear that- thanks, Katie!

There were four of us moms with 8 kids (and one on the way) between us. Each of us has a three year old girl, so it was nice to get them together. And, three of the little girls have little brothers!

Last week, Mairead had picture day at her school. She wore this outfit because *I* wore it for picture day when I was in kindergarten! My mom saved it all these years! Of course, I was 5 when I wore it and Mairead is 3, and it was short on her! I hope the pictures came out well- I will post them when I have them!

We have been going to playgroup at a local church once or twice a week for a while now, and the other day I brought the camera. We spend so much time there, I figured we should have some pictures!

Jack-- yes- the notebooks come to playgroup, too.

This was a great moment- Mairead and a little boy (who doesn't speak much) actually played together and worked together to build a tower of blocks. It was really nice to see them enjoy interacting.

On Easter Sunday, we visited with our cousins and the kids had a great time! Mairead enjoyed a 'royal wedding' donut for dessert.

Apparently, hanging out with the big kids is exhausting.

We discovered that Jack LOVES Bugles. He seriously couldn't get enough of them!

Mairead worked on some Easter projects that we sent to Grandma and Rachael. We hope they made it through the mail safely!

This is old news, but the boys had their first 'real' haircuts just a few days before Easter. It was time to let those curly baby 'dos' go... no more babies- just two big boys!

The before (Jack)

Ben

It was hard to get pictures of the actual haircut since we had the boys go at the same time, and they sat on our laps for the cuts. But here's Jack in the chair.

And Ben on Daddy's lap.

The 'after,' still with notebooks in hand...

Thanks for checking in with us!

Fake Easter Picture Eggstravaganza

2011-04-24T13:58:00.010-04:00

I hope you have some time on your hands because there is a serious overload of pictures in this post. There were just so many cute ones! Thanks to Jen for taking a lot of them. I was even able to be in a few pictures with my kids- a rarity! And, thanks to everyone who made Fake Easter a really fun day. It was great to see the aunts and uncles hiding eggs for our kids and to see everyone playing with them and making such a great day for them. Jen and Mike brought a fantastic punch to start off the afternoon with a festive drink. Dinner was great- thanks to my parents for cooking and to Jim and Jess for the potatoes- and Katie (of course) brought some delicious desserts. Christin even made these fun Rice Krispie treats that were shaped like eggs and had chocolate inside. Totally good for you. ;)

For these pictures, Ben is in a blue sweater vest and Jack in white with an argyle pattern. They all looked so incredibly cute in their Easter outfits-- I am excited that they get to wear them again today at another family gathering!

So many adorable moments- like when Mairead was spoon-feeding Ben some of the sherbet punch and he was loving every minute of it.

Or when Mairead took it upon herself to set the table with the appetizer plates.

Ben was jealous of Mairead's hat so he tried it on for size.

He wore it for a while! At one point, things got too hectic downstairs so he took his lawnmower and headed for someplace more quiet.

Katie had Lily on her lap and Mairead hopped over to sit on Lily's lap! The girls are really sweet together- there were numerous hugs throughout the day.

Lily and Jack shared little cousin kisses, too!

Another hug.

The Easter Bunny brought this pretty awesome bubble machine that generates millions (according to Mairead) of bubbles. The kids LOVED it. I highly recommend this- they love it and parents don't have to blow bubbles! It does go through a lot of bubble stuff quickly, so have extra on hand.

The aunts and uncles set up an egg hunt for the kids and they went nuts for it! Some eggs had prizes and others had goldfish. The kids were literally trying to break down the door to get into the room before the eggs were hidden.

Fake Easter is tiring!

And, of course, we had to fit in some time to play basketball since Jack is obsessed. I can't tell you how much time he spends shooting 'big baskets' every day. Ben loves it, too, but nowhere near as much as Jack. They are both getting pretty good-- Jack's shooting is pretty amazing!

Thanks to everyone who made it such a great day. We love that so many people are sharing in our kids lives- they are very lucky to grow up surrounded by so much love!

Playdate with Grandma, Aunt Ry, and Rachael

2011-04-23T08:19:00.006-04:00

Since this past week was April Vacation week, we were able to plan a big playdate with Grandma, Aunt Ry, and Rachael. We headed to the Children's Museum in Holyoke, MA because it is just about halfway between us and our NY family. It turned out to be a great plan! The kids had a lot of fun and Mairead, especially, loved playing with her older cousin, Rachael. Rachael is great with Mairead and Mairead really learns a lot by playing with her. It's nice for the girls to have each other.

Mairead is learning to be a good big sister- even taking Jack's hand to help him down the stairs.

The water table was a huge hit. I think Mairead could have stayed there all day. She had a great time playing with Grandma and watching the boats go over the waterfall.

Then, the girls had a great time sitting in the 'tv studio' and reading the news. They could see themselves on the overhead televisions. It was pretty cool!

Jack and Ben, not surprisingly, loved playing with the mail (Thank you, Blues Clues). They had a great time sorting letters and inserting them into the mailboxes.

Ben must have played with this mailbox for half an hour. There was a bench directly across from it and some other parents and grandparents were laughing as they watched him go about his 'work' so seriously.

Grandma helped Jack build with some blocks.

The kids really had a great time and it was fun to see them spend time with their grandmother, aunt, and cousin. We even braved a restaurant (one that did not have a happy meal on the menu) and the kids did great. Everything is always hectic and seems to happen so fast. I can't tell you the amount of planning and packing that goes into a 'simple' playdate when you have three kids so young. I try to plan for various disasters (change of clothes for every kid, snacks, toys, etc, to keep them busy while we wait for food, first aid kit, etc). Dave and I work really hard to keep our kids safe and happy, and we make every effort to get them out to have different experiences. Every outing is a whirlwind, but as long as the kids have fun, we're happy.

Grandma made the kids some beautiful organizers for the car and filled them with toys and treats- what a great idea! Aunt Ry and Rachael brought the kids new pails and shovels and stuffed a few little Easter gifts inside. Thank you so much for your generosity- that was a really nice surprise for the kids.

The next day, Mairead said, "Hey, I have a idea. Let's go to Grandma and Rachael's house. Say hi to Grandpa and Rosie (the dog)." She is a sweetheart- and her conversation is improving all the time!

Kid Stuff

2011-04-23T08:10:00.003-04:00

The kids are really having fun playing together lately. We love watching them interact and learn to be little friends. The twins are really interesting and fun to watch. They always want to be together. Just this morning, Ben woke up about a half hour before Jack and he just kept asking, "Where Jackie, Mama? Find it? Find Jackie?" And when Jack woke up first after naps the other day, he was yelling, "Wake up, Ben! Wake up!" They chase each other all over yelling, "You're it!" and create all kinds of mischief together. For example, you can take all the cushions off the couch and play Jumping Bean (their favorite game- introduced to them by their aunt, Jen). But Jumping Bean can be very tiring, apparently.

Last weekend, Katie brought Lily over for a visit and it was warm enough to get the kids out on the deck to play with bubbles and the rice table. Poor Lily had an unpleasant experience before she realized that the rice is to play with, not to eat.

Even Bean came over to play for a bit.

And, of course, the playdate ended with some snacks for four!

The kids love Lily. They get so excited when I tell them that she is coming. Mairead still calls her "baby sister," and has also added 'Silly Lily' to her nicknames. It's great to have a cousin so close in age and so close by!

First day of Soccer

2011-04-17T13:35:00.006-04:00

Yesterday was the first day of the soccer season for Mairead and the Blue Bombers of LYSA. My siblings and I all played soccer for this organization while growing up and I am hoping that our kids love it, too. It definitely was not a 'love at first kick' thing for Mairead yesterday- probably because it was incredibly windy and cold at the field. Also, she'd had a pretty tough week with the ear infections, conjunctivitis, penicillin reaction, etc, so I know she wasn't feeling her best. We debated keeping her home, but it was the first day and we wanted her to be there to be part of that, to meet the kids and the coach, etc. Unfortunately, every decision we make regarding Mairead is a bit colored by the fact that she is not typical. In this case, we wanted her to be there for the first day just like all the other kids because we know that, unfortunately, she is not just like all the other kids. We know she is amazing, but the fact is that she is different, and we want to give her every opportunity to fit in, and let everyone see for themselves how great she is. So, we bundled her up, grabbed Special Bear, and headed to the field. The fact that she asked for Special Bear was a sign that she wasn't 100%. She never asks to bring SB outside the house, except when she is really tired or sick. But, she was in a great mood and seemed excited about soccer, so we gave it a shot. At first, she was into it- even participating in the drills the coach was leading, and following what other kids were doing.

You can see how hard the wind is blowing. Mairead really doesn't like the wind and started getting a bit antsy.

She did, however, really like the part where everyone puts their hands in to show teamwork. She does love teamwork.

The wheels really started to come off the bus, though. She kept leaving the field, running away, coming to sit on my lap and ask to go home, etc. Every once in a while we could coax her into running with the kids, but she insisted that Special Bear go with her. In this picture, the game is going on around her, but she was just standing there half asleep, poor kid. Eventually, she just sat in the middle of the field while kids were running all over the place.

I give a LOT of credit to the coaches- they did a great job being patient and encouraging. Three year old soccer is MADNESS. It seriously is like herding cats. Mairead was running away or sitting on the field with SB. One boy repeatedly did somersaults down the field. If the ball went off the field, 10 kids ran after it, even if that meant running directly into another team's field. Kids come and go at will, have a juice box, and then hop back into the game. It is all very relaxed, which is great. We are going to keep trying each week and hope that she sees that soccer can be a lot of fun. Hopefully, it won't be so cold next week!

The boys' big excitement was on Friday when the gas company was doing some work outside the house. They had a jackhammer and a backhoe. Jack and Ben probably spent half an hour looking at the window at the trucks. The pictures are kind of lousy since the sun was streaming in the window, but you get the idea.

They are so funny- I know I say that all the time, but they really are! For example, the other day, Ben kept saying, "Hi Jackie" and Jack was ignoring him and whining. After a few tries, Ben pointed to him and asked, "Mama, it's a grouch?" SO funny! Jack calmed down and Ben asked him, "all better, Jackie?" To which Jack replied, 'Yeah, it's ok, Ben." Could they be any cuter?