vist to the (s)inlaws

today we made the journey to pennsylvania to celebrate j.'s birthday with his parents. this is how it went:

8am
wake up in own bed and moan when i remember the plans for the day. roll over, try to ignore the fact that j. wanted to be on the road by 9am and all the boys including j. are still snoring.

8:30
succumb to the guilt and prod jon, telling him we should get up if he wants to get on the road at a decent hour. lodge my first official complaint about the days plans, by saying something clever like "this day is going to suck!"

8:45
get out of bed after j. discovered that one of the children, who i suppose shall remain nameless, created a mural on his wall with a self-produced medium. grumble about how this is probably an omen for the day.

9
get the kids in clean clothes and pack diapers, food, treats and spare clothes for the day for the day. feed everyone breakfast, fold load of laundry, start new load of laundry, try to think of what else i can possibly do before having to leave for the day. come up empty.

9:46
dose f. up with dramamine hoping this will be exactly what he needs to avoid getting carsick.

9:47
head back upstairs for a shower.

9:52
start getting rushed out the door by jon, who has now decided we will absolutely be on the road no later than 10am.

10
make 3 trips back inside from driveway retrieving forgotten items.

10:05
exit driveway.

10:05.10
ask if jon packed f.'s book on tape, learn he did not, and make another return trip, this time from the top of the street.

10:09
make first stop for gas, atm and breakfast for adults.

10:27
actually get on the road.

11:49
call in-laws and let them know we are going to be late.

1pm
finally arrive, marvel at how well dramamine worked and wonder why no one suggested this earlier to us! let kids run around yard, even though its wet and muddy hoping to avoid entering the house of tchotchkes.

1:06
agree it is raining and take the party inside. pick up m. who is immediately assaulted by one of the three ugliest cats on the planet and try to soothe him and explain that its not in fact a monster, its just a cat.

1:15
sit down to lunch, continue to soothe max who will not release himself from my person.

1:27
finish lunch and take the kids down to the "play area" otherwise known as a 3x5 latchhook rug that is surrounded by a fireplace on one side, a console tv on another and 1,001 tchotchkes on the other. begin to move breakable things out of reach while simultaneously trying to contain unused toys that are tripping my children all jammed onto a 3x5 area rug.

1:29
agree that FIL looks tired and encourage him to go take a nap. envy FIL for being able to escape the chaos.

1:30
return to corralling kids, toys and tchotchkes.

3:15
give up and put in a movie for kids, hoping they will settle down for a bit.

3:17
try to explain the plot to "finding nemo" to my MIL, for the third time.

3:45
take the kids outside again, deciding that they need to run around abit.

3:52
come back inside because it started raining again.

3:53
give kids a bath, for no other reason other than to pass time, and let them play in a spot that is bigger than the effing latchhook rug. say thanks but no thanks to the rubber ducky that MIL offers because the bottom is literally black from what i can only assume is mold.

4:30
agree that kids are pruny enough and get them out of the tub.

4:31
get kids dressed, clean up mess in bathroom, send kids back to latchhook rug.

4:32
return to corralling kids, toys and tchotchkes.

4:33
start to answer questions about when dinner will be ready.

4:43
notice that the ceiling in play area is actually riddled with mold and realize that is probably why my throat is becoming sore and my head is aching.

4:44
continue corralling kids, toys and tchotchkes while answering questions about when dinner will be ready.

5:30
sneak f. into kitchen for a snack.

6:13
finally get the kids to the table for dinner.

6:17
break out coloring books in attempt to keep kids at dinner table.

6:18
excuse f. from dinner table.

6:19
get up from table for the 15th time to corrall little boys back into their seats.

6:21
give up and take little boys down to watch cartoon.

6:45
start giving j. dirty looks and begin begging to go home.

6:47
sing happy birthday to j. and marvel at the fact that even though he is holding two two year olds his mother still expects him to cut the cake with a carving knife that is 15 inches long.

6:48
begin to think of other uses for the 15 inch blade.

6:49
try to taste cake while silmutaneously keeping 3 exhausted kids at the table.

7:02
finally say outloud in front of in-laws that i think the boys have reached their breaking point.

7:08
strap boys into their carseats and start to feel the tension fall away from my shoulders.

7:10
make final sweep of house of tchotchkes and make mad dash for minivan.

7:18
make jon stop to get us drinks because everyone's throat is burning from the mold exposure. rename the "house of tchotchkes" the "moldy house of tchotchkes".

9:49
finally arrive home and settle boys into bed.

10:02
visit the bathroom for the first of what will become 18 times overnight and realize that in-laws have undoubtedly decided to poison me.

what's good enough for the first family

f. is growing up before my eyes. there are days when i look at him and barely recognize the little snuggle bug who would eagerly barrel down the hall of the hospital to see me while i was there on bedrest. he would heave himself up into my bed and snuggle in for a cartoon. i frequently wonder how much of that experience, my absence, has shaped the child he is today. it just seems like the sweetness has slipped away all too soon. since he is the oldest, i dont have another child to compare. is this the normal progression of growing up? is first grade the age when it becomes the norm to shun a kiss good-bye from your mom at the bus stop? until today, i had been relegated to fist bumps in public, and only allowed kisses at home. i guess i was caught up in being soo proud that he was no longer clinging to my side to have really digested the fact that i miss those good-bye kisses, even if they were sometimes stolen. i guess i felt like if it was good enough for the first family, it was good enough for us. i guess i felt like i could still sneak in those kisses at home.

then it happened. today my good morning kiss was shunned, instead a fist was offered to bump. my heart broke a little...already?! this afternoon upon wrapping up a trying homework session, i leaned over for another kiss. i really just wanted him to know how much i love him. again, up came the fist for an offer of bumping. did you hear that? my heart is breaking a bit more. so i asked, "bud, whats the problem with giving mommy a kiss when we are at home and no one can see it?" he replied, "mom, i just think that is soo old school!" and there you have it.

overheard in my house recently

during a discussion about college and his plans to attend

f: daddy, i dont think i want to go to the naval academy.
j: thats fine bud. but college is important and when the time comes you will choose a good one i am sure.
f: you and mommy went to college together right?
j: yup.
f: daddy, i dont think mommy knew you were a moron when she met you in college.

++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

while playing the "who else" game

me: who am i?
m: mama
me: who is that?
m: keegie
me: how about him?
m: finnie
me: who is that?
m: daddy
me: who else is in our family?
m: granny and pop
me: who else?
m: nando, how about nando?
me: yes, nando. how about mommom (MIL) and grumpy (FIL)?
m: who???
me: exactly

++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

while all three boys are in the bathtub

m: wee, i getting all queen!
f: gross, m. i can see your booty.
f: m. show some manners would ya?


++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

long awaited momentous occasion follows

me: here you go keegs, here is your banana.
k: thank you mama!
me: (quietly crying)

1st day of school

yesterday was the 1st day of school for f. 1st grade, when did that happen?! he is really growing up. at the bus stop he was super excited to see his friends. there were absolutely no nerves, on his part. when the bus pulled up he nonchalantly said goodbye to me, and allowed me to kiss him on the top of his head. it seems like just moments ago that i was snuggling with my newborn f. and waxing poetic about how his head felt like cashmere. yesterday was a good day. i am one proud mama.

"I OK"

where did the summer go? does anyone know? seems like just yesterday we attended f's last day of school and took the boys for haircuts to celebrate. it wasnt long after that when camp started, and somewhere in the midst of the drama i lost track of summer. school starts on monday for f. and i am feeling like the days just slipped right through my hands like. we did plenty; went to a baysox game, road the rails in strasburg, enjoyed dutch wonderland, had great friends visit, had plenty of cookouts, went to the water park, and all the things you are supposed to do during summer.

still i have been feeling like we wasted the summer and was looking forward to making the most of the last few days of it. then last week i caught a terrible virus. i have never been soo sick in all my life. it was awful. then each day after that another family member woke up with the same thing. i felt horrible for spreading the germs and mostly just spent a week laying around in between cleaning up vomit or digusting diapers or both. it was not the staycation i imagined. it was not making the most of the last few days of summer. then just when everyone was feeling better and normalcy resumed, i was stricken. again. this time i ended up in the ER and was discharged with a probable diagnosis of salmonella and a heavy dose of cipro to kill what ails. its been a terrible two weeks.

all the while though, k. has been chugging along and has had a language explosion. he is seeing a private therapist now, still attending ITP playgroup and still has his ITP therapist visit us at home weekly. finally its paying off. it is soo exciting to finally see this happen. earlier this summer i was soo sad for him and feeling his frustration and frankly some of my own as he was rated to have the expressive language skills of a child half his age. today on the way to naptime k. tripped and fell over. i scooped him up and asked him if he was OK. he replied "I OK" and thats when i knew it, he is going to be OK. maybe the summer wasnt a waste after all. maybe the good things are what happen when life is just coasting and dealing you a bad hand. "I OK" too. we are all going to be OK!

bday candle

this year when i broke the candle out, two months late, f. says "awe, mom, i hate that thing!" i told him that i said the same thing to my mom each year, but when i turned 21 and had a picture of myself next to it from each year i really appreciated it. i am so glad he is still appeasing me and taking such cute pictures with it.

overheard in my house recently

f: have a good day dad, i hope you feel better.
j (on his way out the door): thanks bud, you have a good day too.
f: mommy, what's wrong with daddy?
me: he has a man cold.
f: what kind of cold?
me: a man cold.
f (uproarious laughter): thats the funniest thing i ever heard.
me: me too bud.

+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

recently f. has been shaking me down when i ask him for help. some days it is easier to cough up a quarter then to fight the battle.

f: i got my shoes, i am ready to go mommy. now, where's my quarter?
me: if you are going to talk to me like that, i doubt you are going to get a quarter.
f: oh. where's my quarter nicest mommy in the whole world?
me: that's better.

+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

f: why do i have to stay in my room all night long?!
me: mommy is having a meeting tonight with her mothers of multiples group.
f: hey dad, lets have a music party all night long tomorrow. the number one rule, no girls allowed.
j: sounds like a plan.
me: sounds like a good night for a girls night out.
j: wait a minute...