A day to be thanful

I am thankful for so many things every day of my life. I try and remember them all each day and not take anything for granted. Here is what I am thankful for today that I can remember!

I am thankful for Frank for just being Frank.
I am thankful for Ciaran for too many reasons.
I am thankful for Colin for too many reasons.
I am thankful for Cormac for too many reasons.
I am thankful for my Mom for all she has done and continues to do for our family.
I am thankful for my Dad for being such a good Pop Pop.
I am thankful for my sisters, nieces and nephews.
I am thankful for the new little baby we will get to meet in June.
I am thankful for having such a great extended family.
I am thankful to Advanced Bionics for giving my son the gift of hearing.
I am thankful to all my Drs and the hospital who took such good and loving care of my babies before and after they arrived.
I am thankful for having a house to live in.
I am thankful the basement is really almost done!
I am thankful for every day of my life I get to spend with my family.
I am thankful the health of my family.
I am thankful Cormac has become such a great user of his implants.
I am thankful everytime I hear any of my childre say "mommy".

I have so much to be thankful for I couldn't possible list it all. So, what are you thankful for this year?

Some really exciting news...

The Lawrence Brothers are going to be BIG brothers! Frank and I are proud and thrilled to annouce we will be having baby number 4 at the end of June. And yes, it's only one baby.

Now all we are wondering is if it will be another boy or if it will be a girl. Have to wait a while to find out that information.

So far, I feel great. Just tired but that is to be expected. I think it will be a fun experience to get to be just a "normal" pregnant woman. The triplets pregnancy was high risk and filled with lots of worry and anxiety hoping things would be OK. I was put on bed rest at 20 weeks and spend lots of time in the hospital. To just be able to enjoy being pregnant and allowed to leave the house will be awesome!

I knew I was pregnant but it didn't seem real until I heard the hearbeat today. I am beyond thrilled and excited. I always wanted a big family and we will have just what I dreamed! We are truly blessed!

I HATE the COLD!

What to do with three 2 year olds when it's freezing cold? Where do you go? How do you occupy their time? It's barely winter and I am already going to lost it trying to think of things to do.

Our day started out like this:

Up at 7am
Watched Noggin and played until breakfast
I complained it was freezing.
Ran wild through the house with dog chasing them and occasionally knocking someone over. Oh, and they emptied a Costco size bag of Cheerios all over. Thank God Duke like Cheerios!
Played "clothes line" game. (don't ask but it's great for listening skills)
I complained it was freezing.
Played Playdoh. Broke it up by changing colors one at a time. It's almost like a new game :)
I complained it was freezing.
Blew bubbles and let them blow bubbles. This turns into a sport in our house with all three trying to pop them while Duke tries to eat the bubble.
I complained it was freezing.
Kids want to play Aquadoodles. Great. But I can't find the pens. So I improvise. Empty out some mini play doh containers and give them paint brushes with water. Sure, they are spilling it and I have refilled the water about 100 times. But they LOVE it. And when they are done the hard wood will be nice and clean.
I complained it was freezing.

Oh, yeah, it's now 11:45 so all this took place in less than 4 hours including a long breakfast.

Nap time is coming so it will be nighty night for about 3 hours. Then I only have to think of things to amuse them for another 4 hours tonight!

So, I put it out their to all of you. Step up to the plate and give me some ideas of what I am supposed to do all winter.

Ok, I will stop complaining and move on to Frank's birthday. Here are some pics and video from us making him his cake and eating it. I let them eat some of the icing after they "made" it. Ciaran says all serious to me "Mommy, I love sugar" Hmmm I wonder who HE takes after!

Here they are helping make the icing:





Enjoying some cake...




This is Frank trying to come through the door. The boys were waiting all day to eat this cake the couldn't take it another moment. Needless to say Frank had to have cake before dinner for his birthday.

Happy Birthday, Frank!

Today is Frank's birthday so I thought I would dedicate this post to him. Frank turns 35 today (I know, I got myself a younger man!). I don't think when we got married a little under 5 years ago when he had just turned 30 he would have thought our lives would change so much. I mean most people don't have 3 kids by the time they are married three years but we are not most people. And Frank isn't an ordinary man. Those that know him well will agree.

Since I first met Frank 10 years ago I loved him. I knew the moment I laid eyes on him I would marry him. I don't know why but I just knew. He says he felt the same way from the beginning. It just took us 5 years to get married!

Frank is a wonderful husband. He is an even better father. His love for our family is obvious at any moment of the day. We all wait him to walk through the door at the end of the day. He works hard. We never thought I wouldn't be able to work. We thought we would have one child and I could still work even part time. We were dealt a different hand. One we are THRILLED with but not one that didn't bring financial challenges. Somehow, Frank has made it work for the past 3 years. I don't think he has ever turned down overtime. Yes, he would prefer not to work extra hours and spend the time with his children but at this point in our lives it's not an option. He spends tons of time with the boys.

He has been taking care of them from the beginning. When they were teeny tiny newborns I could leave him alone with them. He was perfectly willing and able to care for three newborns all by his lonesome. I still can remember coming home and finding hime sitting on the floor of the nursery with all three babies in their boppies feeding them. Like I said, Frank is not your usual husband.

Ciaran, Colin and Cormac think he is the greatest thing in the world. First thing they say after Good Morning is "where's Daddy?". They love to wake up on Sat and Sunday if Frank's not working and he gets them up in the morning. He is a professional scramble egg maker. His choice of breakfast. It is usually served along with "special" ham. Also known as pork roll!. He can't eat ANYTHING without sharing it with the three little birds! Now, his lunchtime favorite is fish sticks! Not sure why but whenever he is left alone for lunch they eat fish sticks, veggies and some potato!

So, I just wanted to take some time to thank him for all he does for this famiily. It does not go unnoticed. It is greatly appreciated. I couldn't have a better husband or best friend. The boys could not have a better father or best friend.

We love you from the bottom of our hearts!

HAPPY BIRTHDAY!

Am I on Candid Camera?

Tomorrow is Frank's birthday so I needed to get to the store to buy some things. Today during the day was out because Cormac had school and we are gone all morning. I made dinner during the boys nap time just so as soon as they woke up we could run out the door (ok, getting three 2 years olds out the door and strapped in the car is not a super fast chore) so more like a slow run out the door. They got up from nap at about 4:20. I figure out the door and at the store by 5 and home by 5:30 -5:45. Dinner at 6:00.

I get only a few blocks and I get a flat tire. Luckily, I was near a gas station. I pull in and was informed the tire could not be saved. I had to unload all three kids and put them in their stroller. (ya know it was freezing, right?) They all had hats and mittens so not so bad. I am trying to keep them busy while they fix the car. Finally, I take them inside the gas station to wait because it was really cold and taking long. They behaved better than I expected indoors. Just basically ran around playing and yelling. Finally the car is ready and I load all three back in the van. They are just about outgrowing their car seats so strapping them in is a project itself. I wrestle them into their seats load the giant stroller back in the car. Ok. We still have time for the store. They can eat dinner a little late.

The store went fine. Get back home by 6:15. I had taken off all their coats after the store so I wouldn't have to fight to get them in their seats. The car was warm and we only had to run into the house. So I thought. I get them back home and tell them "run fast upstairs, it's cold and you have no coats on (I know, bad mommy!). They listen perfect and are all on the porch. What happens next? Somehow the storm door locked when I left. There is NO KEY to get in. Now I have three freezing two year olds on the front porch with apparently no way into the house. At this point I just start laughing cause really, could this all be happening at one time??? I started to look around to see if there were cameras taping me or something.

What do I decide to do? I beat the door handle repeatedly for what seems like an eternity. I figure if I hit it hard enough I can somehow jiggle the lock back open. There is NO OTHER way into our house. Our back door is a slider that locks so it's not even an option. After a short beating the door opens and in the house we go but not before Colin says "mommy, thanks for opening door, I'm freezing!"

Turns out, I was not on candid camera, just having rotten luck!

Moments like this....

are why I wanted to have kids in the first place! We were all playing in the family room. Out of nowhere Cormac says "I want to hold hands and dance". He walks over and proceeds to hold Ciaran and Colin's hands and they "danced" in a circle holding hands. By far one of the cutest moments I have witnessed. And don't ya know, I had my camera sitting on the table next to me so I took a little video.

Not sure if it has anything to do with being tripets but these boys are so close it amazes me. The holding hand thing is new and it happens a few times a day now. Someone decides to hold someone else's hand. God forbid the other party DOESN'T want to hold hands. It ends up with crying and me saying "oh, just hold his hand!" I hope they will want to hold each other's hands for the rest of their lives when one of them needs a little hand holding. That's what brothers should do for each other.

Not to mention the fact that Cormac said the whole sentence "i want to hold hands and dance"! That in itself thrills me beyond anything.

Today we shared a bowl of popcorn and watched TV for while. They thought it was great. Ciaran and Colin had never had popcorn before and decided they "love it". Cormac had it for the first time last week so he knew what he was getting.

Frank and I had to be away from the boys a lot over the past few days. Frank's uncle passed away and the services were Friday, Satuday and Monday. I am not used to being away from them so much. I really miss them when I am gone.

Today was all about just being with them and enjoying our time together. Preschool is right around the corner and I won't have all of their time any longer. I swear I am already having anxiety over them going to school. Scares the crap out of me. Will they be ok? Will everyone be nice to them? Will the teachers understand what they need? I can tell by just looking at them what they need. How can a teacher who has other students who doesn't even know my kids be able to care for them? I know, most of these thoughts are not rational. Kids go to preschool every day. They survive. Most love school. I am sure mine will love it too but it still scares me!

Fun Fall Day

Frank was off on Tuesday so we thought it would be a good idea to get the leaves raked and out to the curb. Who better to help than the boys, right? Not so much. Between Duke and the boys it turned out to just be a big leaf party. Every time I made a pile they came by with their rakes and knocked my pile down. When Frank got a huge pile they all dove into it and threw the leaves around. I twas fun. Give them a few years and they will have to do the actual work but for now it's just all fun and games!











Ok, do you see how many leaves we have? We took down three trees last year but it didn't make a difference. That's just the back yard. Our front yard looks the same.

I was just so happy to be outside. I am dreading the cold weather and not being able to go outside every day like we do now. I need to find some indoor activites to occupy some time this winter. We are supposed to sheetrock the basement this weekend so at least we will have a new play GIANT play area finally!

Life is good

I woke up this morning to the normal "Mommy! Mommy!" in a high pitch scream. Not an upset or crying scream just to scream to make sure I can here him calling me. This is our usual morning. Ciaran is the alarm clock. Every morning without fail he is awake first. All his jabbering surely wakes Colin and he is usually groggy when I go in their room. Since Cormac's implants are off he can't hear Ciaran but he must "feel" him because he's awake too. Now what I find even more interesting is sometimes Cormac will be talking to Ciaran. I am not surprised he is talking because he talks just he same implants or not, BUT he seems to be answering Ciaran so I guess he is reading his lips from across the room. Or they just have that weird triplet vibe going on and can read each other's minds. I wouldn't be shocked by this either.

To wake each morning and see these three faces so happy and full of life makes me really think about how I approach each day. How can you not be happy in the morning when I see them? How can you can start each day out thinking today will be a good day? Granted, by 7:30am we had already lost a headpiece for Cormac and had done a thorough search of the house but who cares, right? We found it and so what if it delayed our morning. This age is just about the cutest age so far. The boys are funny and they get jokes. They are amazed by just about everything. Sure, they have fits and melt downs. But as adults we do the same. We just act a little differently. And adults CAN tell you exactly what they want while children still have difficult time at this age.

We had a great weekend other than Colin being sick. I felt so bad for him. We have been so healthy these past few years we are truly blessed. We don't get ear infections like I hear other children do. I think in 2 1/2 years between the 3 kids we have only had 3 ear infections. I pray this continues for this coming winter.

Thank you, Mommy

Colin says thank you to me for everything. No matter what I do. If I hand him a tissue, "thank you, mommy." If I feed him, if I put his clothes on. Whatever the circumstances he always says thank you. Very sweet. Even though he says it alot it never loses its meaning. For some strange reason "thank you, Mommy" is usually followed by "happy birthday, Mommy". The have all been saying "happy birthday" since September. Ciaran and Cormac say thank you but not as often.

Colin is also going through a phase of "lubbing" everything. Lubbing=loving. Colin out of nowhere will say "I lub Duke", I lub forks","I lub leaves". He is obviously a happy, thankful and loving child!

Ciaran is into saying "that's my favorite". Suddenly, everything is his favorite. It changes daily what his favorite is but he consistently says it. He also has to say things at least 2 times in a row. "look at this" is also another big phrase he uses.

We always say "see you later, alligator" or "after a while crocodile" and "see you soon, racoon". For some reason the boys always say "see you later, crocodile" or "see you later, racoon". If you say it first they will repeat it correctly but on their own they say it wrong.

Cormac pointed to some animals at the zoo today and said "look at these guys over there". While we were walking in the zoo he pointed to his ear and said "I hear the train whistle". Now, we couldn't have been farther from the train if we wanted. I couldn't believe he heard it. The majic of cochlear implants. Still amazed by them. He also used to just say he hears a train but today he added train whistle.

My new favorite picture

Not sure why other than the fact that they are so friggin' cute! I just love this picture. It was from after a Halloween party so you will notice some whiskers still on their faces.



And if you are wondering how I got them all to be laughing here's a video leading up to the picture. It's all the power of meema. I need to remember this tactic when it comes time to take our Christmas Picture

Old Friends

Last night I went out to dinner with 4 friends from high school. Three of them I haven't seen since I am in my twenties which we all know was along time ago. It was such a wonderful night. Full of laughs and memories. Man, some of the things they remembered I had forgotten. We stayed at a restaurant for over 4 hours just talking and catching up.

We are all so different but the same. None of us really looks any different. Same laughs and smiles as in high school. Same personalities for sure. We have all been married and have children. We were able to share stories of our families and friends.

Sometimes we can get so caught up in our every day lives. You forget to reflect back on the good times from our childhood or teen years. I for one, had the best time in high school. Loved every minute of it. It was fun to remember those times. It was fun to see how all of us have "grown up". It was funny to hear someone say "now that I have kids I know why my Mom worried so much!" It was funny to remember everyone loved to come to my house when my mom was away because I always had a bash :) Gotta love those teen keg parties! I know, I know. I have three boys who will probably give me a run for my money. But most of what they will try to pull over on me, I will have already done to my parents! I will be wise to them.

Anyway, this post is just about taking time to remember your friends, old and new.

On to the kiddos. Today we went to our nature class again. This week we walked in the woods and looked for different types of leaves. They eventually became place mats thanks to a handy dandy laminator! Anyway, we are all walking along and Ciaran decides he wants to hold Cormac's hand. They walked hand in hand for the longest time. Of course they both kept tripping on branches and what not and when Cormac fell down Ciaran leaned beside him, tapped him on the back and said "don't worry, Cormac, you OK". Brings a tear to my eye just typing it. I love those moments. I love how they LOVE each other. Now, they could be wrestling each other to the ground in a stand off for a toy 2 minutes later BUT I still have the tender moments to enjoy.

Cormac told me he heard a "frog" in the woods while we were hiking. He was right. I have no idea how he heard it. Lots of kids, moms and background outside noise but he still heard it.

Colin has had a language EXPLOSION. The kid is non stop. He uses words that surprise me because I am surprised he knows them. He has a habit of naming things at the moment. It goes something like this: (pointing to Ciaran he says "this Ciaran", pointing to Cormac "this Cormac", "this table, this chair" You get the idea always pointing and saying "this whatever"

I think I am going to take a nap....

HAPPY HALLOWEEN!

Our first Halloween we were The Three Pigs:



Last year we were The Three Bears:



You can see a theme going, right.

This year we were The Three Blind Mice:










Ciaran hugging a tree. He's really been paying attention in our nature hiking class


Colin


Ciaran


Cormac


At the library Halloween Party


Ciaran


Cormac


We went to my Mom's for her annual Halloween Party. It's been going on for 10 years since Daniel's first Halloween. All the cousins were there and it was lots of fun. Ciaran, Colin and Cormac went Trick or Treating and had a blast. They were knocking on doors and saying "trick or treat". They had a hard time understanding why they couldn't just eat everything that was handed to them! We only went to houses on my Mom's block where we knew the people. It was fun and exciting. Cute how they can now walk around on their own and we don't need a stroller. They are really getting to be big boys who listen so well.