Christmas Cookies

This year, we seemed to be making and decorating more cookies than we ever have before.  Cookie decorating was a HUGE hit with Mairead who loves anything crafty, and with the boys who like anything with frosting.  Some of our decorating sessions were at home with just us.

We also attended the Gingerbread Decorating Party put on by my Mothers of Multiples club.  This is a really fun annual event at which each child gets a little cookie house and sets up at a table full of every possible kind of decorating item.  Marshmallows, gumdrops, M&Ms, frosting, sprinkles, anything you can imagine.  Our kids had fun seeing their friends, Jack, Aidan, Jake, Ben, and Abby, as well as many other members of the club.  There was also a really fun safety presentation put on by the group Lil' Iguana, and the kids loved that.

Finally, we had several of Mairead's friends from school over for a Kindergarten cookie decorating party.  I guess when you have three kids 19 months apart, having ten Kindergarteners loose in your house with sprinkles, frosting, and a sugar high seems like no big deal.  It was fun for all of us- Mairead and her friends had a great time running around together, and the moms had a chance to talk, too!  One of the nice things about living in Lowell is that we are connected to so many people.  One boy in Mairead's class is the son of a woman who played basketball with Jen, and a guy who played baseball when I did the books.  A little girl in the class is the daughter of a woman whose cousin we knew growing up, and who is related to a very good friend of my sister-in-law.  I like that our kids are growing up in a community where so many people have ties to one another. 

There are some incredibly sweet kids in Mairead's class and they all have great moms, too.  These kids are so kind to Mairead and that is so wonderful to see.  Her school is Pre-K to Grade 8, so she will be with these kids for a long time, so we hope that these friendships keep growing!

Festival of Trees

One of our many pre-Christmas activities was to visit the Festival of Trees in Methuen.  This event showcases more than a hundred trees that are decorated with different themes.  People can buy raffle tickets and enter to win any of the trees on display.  The kids love to go; there are so many creative decorations.  This year, we were able to coordinate things so that we went with my parents, Katie and her kids, and Jen and Mike.  The kids were thrilled to see Jen and Mike, of course. 

 

Unfortunately, I had only my phone and not my camera, and it was dark in there.  I would have loved to have this picture come out a little better since four of the five grand-kids are in it.  They are staring at a lighted display in which the lights blinked and turned on and off.  At one point, the lights went out and Lily yelled, "Maghan!  Turn the lights on!!!"

Uncle Mike is always good when you need someone to carry you.

Mike is also good for corraling kids and leading in-depth discussion about important kid business.

Jen bascially had to wrestle this Doritos bag away from Kellan.  This kid wants to eat real food more than any baby I've ever seen.  He even has a few teeth already to prepare for the job.

As it turns out, my mom won a tree!  It was quite, um, unique.  It was a tree that Lily loved called 'Children of the World' and it came with a collection of dolls dressed in different cultural attire.  My mom gave the tree to Lily and she was thrilled!  Unfortunately, we didn't win the $2000 raffle, but we still had a fun night!

Happy Fakesgiving, 2012

Fakesgiving is one of our favorite holidays here on Fairmount Street.  Since we don't celebrate on the actual Thanksgiving Day, things are more relazed.  No one has to rush around, no one has to work the next day, etc.  We have more time for relaxing and spending time as a family.  The kids love it because they get to see some of their favorite people!

 

Grampy and his three grandsons having some quality time.

Jen brought some fun disguises for the kids, but they ended up on the dads instead.  Think Nana could tell them apart now?

Mmmmm... pumpkin soup.  One of the best things about Fakesgiving!

Jen got creative and made these little turkeys out of Oreos, frosting, and random leftover Halloween candy.

This is Kellan with my cousin, Jimmy.  Kellan thought he was just fascinating!


Thanks to all the friends and family who came by to celebrate our made-up holiday!  We are so thankful for the wonderful people we have in our lives.  Especially all the little people!

Getting the Circus Back Together

It was a big adjustment for me and for the boys when Mairead went back to school in September.  I was so used to having all of them together all the time... we were a little team, a traveling circus.  It was, and still is, strange to go places without her.  So, days when we all get to be together are all that much better now!  I found these additional pictures of that day at the playground, and they make me smile.  It's a very simple thing, but seeing all of my kids having a snack together at the playground just makes me happy.

 

Jack and Ben were the hit of the playground since they were wearing their capes.  Jack even wore the mask for a while.  Jack is wearing the blue Batman cape and Ben's cape is black.  They were leading around a little crew of boys who were imagining all kinds of scenarios in which they were fighting crime and capturing the Joker.

Mairead and Lily had a great time on the tire swing, thanks to some pushes from Katie.  It's nice to see the girls spending time together and having fun!

An Artist in the Family?

Mairead has always loved drawing, painting, and other art projects.  She will spend hours at the art table cutting, pasting, coloring, etc.  And, she appears to have some talent!  She definitely gets that from her dad.  Her teacher even comments on how well done her drawings are, and Mairead comes home every day with enough drawings and projects to wallpaper our house!

 

The first one is a collection of things that begin with 'I.'  The bear at the bottom is named 'Itch,' Mairead explained to me.  If you can't see everything, there is an iguana, an ice cream, an inchworm, and an igloo, too.

Mairead has decorated her homework folder with drawings of animals, as well as with the names and faces of two boys (twins, actually) in her group at school.  Isn't she too young to be doodling boys' names in her homework?

This is a Thanksgiving placemat she made.  Each finger has written on it something she is thankful for.  She wrote: Mom, Dad, Me, Brothers, Nana, Aunt, love, pie, turkey, home.  So sweet.  I asked, "Did you forget Grampy?"  She replied, "No, Grampy was too long to write, so I write 'turkey' instead."  My dad got a laugh out of that one!

And, we're back to boys.  These are pictures of her with Zack.  Zack was recently moved into Mairead's group at school and Mairead just thinks he is great.  She talks about her friend all the time and about how he is nice, how they are friends, etc.  The first picture has them holding hands.  The one of the two of them in the heart is just too sweet.  I'm so happy that she is making connections with kids at school.  I'm not sure just how much she talks to the other kids, but I know that she loves them and loves to be around them.  Recently, she has told me that a few kids are not nice to each other.  One boy called her a baby when she cried, and another boy pulled her arm too hard when he wanted something she had.  She was upset about both incidents, and I think it's in part because she doesn't know how to handle those things, and because she just loves everyone and wants them to love her.  She also has such a sweet and peaceful nature that I think it really bothers her when people are not nice to each other.  It will be tough for us to help her keep that heart of gold while developing a little bit of a thick skin.  I know that she has some very sweet friends at school, so I hope they are able to keep those friendships for a long time.

Miscellaneous November

Whenver we drive by Wang Towers (Cross Point, for anyone who has lived in Lowell less than 20 years), Ben will point it out and tell me, "That's Gotham City."  So sweet- I just love their innocence and imaginations!  Three is a a tough age, for sure, but they are always making me smile with the ways their minds work!

 

 

On a beautiful day in November, we met up with the Crowders for some fun at the playground.  The kids love getting together and have become true friends.  Katie and I were talking when we heard Lily yell, "Mama!  I need you!"  Turns out, she had been able to get to the top of this climbing structure, but couldn't get back down.  It was pretty funny to see her little self at the top of this!

My pictures are all out of order... sorry!  Anyway, I have taken the boys to the Chelmsford Library a few times lately and they enjoy going.  There are a few superhero books they like, so we always read those together and then the boys play for a bit.  Their favorite part, though, is heading to Friendly's for lunch after!  They are very interested in books, though, and definitely love to be read to.  I'm happy to see that!

 

Back to the playground.  The kids use this car set-up as a Batmobile.  Of course.

Playdate

We had a great Sunday morning playdate in early November.  A friend from my twin club invited us over to play, and we lucked out with the weather!  Her twin boys are five, and their names are Jake and Ben.  My boys think they are pretty cool!  Abby is the little sister and Mairead heads up the group as the oldest.  The kids had a fun time playing together and running around outside!  Jamie, the mom, even taught Ben how to throw a frisbee!  Thanks for having us!