"Daddy can do it!"

I headed out last night to see Daniel's last baseball game of the season. It started at 7 so it was too late to bring the boys with me. As I was leaving the house I heard some screaming. Colin and Ciaran were both standing in the giant bay window hysterically crying and yelling "no, mommy, no leave!" You would think I was leaving them to be tortured. Good God, they were going nuts. Luckily, I called Frank and they settled down pretty quicly after I left. The last thing I saw was Frank scoop them both up and walk away with two screaming kids.

I was curious to see how the night would turn out. If I'm not home will they still say "mommy do it"? Or will it be forgotten because I am out of the equation? I am hoping it will be forgotten and it's only something they will do when I am home.

Well they all went to sleep for Frank. No, Mommy do it. Apparently, Daddy can do it! All was quiet on the homefront until 6:45am. That's a good thing in this house.

Here's a funny one for you. I was getting dressed to run the kids to the mall to the play area before dinner. I was talking to the boys and said "ok, Mommy's just going to throw on her jeans and we'll go." To that, Ciaran turns around and says "no, jeans, Mommy, no, jeans." I say "well I have to wear something" And he grabs a red and blue sundress I wearing on Sunday and says "Mommy, you wear a dress, not jeans!" Lord only knows what was going on in his head. But he didn't want me in jeans that's for sure!

We continue to make progess in our speech. Each day the boys just are talking more and more. Sometimes I have no clue what the heck they are saying but it gets clearer and clearer as each day passes. Cormac continues to progess beautifully. He's so funny now. He is so much more of a loner than his brothers. He loves to play with them but sometimes just needs to do his own thing. He is also starting to catch on he can blame another brother for his not so kind acts. This all started with Colin. No matter what happened Colin would say "ree ree did it". He was so quick to blame Ciaran. Now they just choose whatever name comes to mind and say he did it!

Some days I feel we are really moving ahead with the things I can do with them alone. I really do most things with them but certain things are just not possible. When it comes to their safety I will not risk it. Even if some people think I am over reacting. But I will not bring 3 two year olds to the pool by myself. I will not bring three two year olds to a park to play that does not have an eclosed area. Call me crazy but if they all went off in different directions I would be screwed.

This leads to my next topic. Are me children being deprived of things the average singleton baby does because they are triplets? Are they some day going to think they wish they were able to do these things. I am hoping they are too young to remember and it's just my mommy guilt. But I see so many moms walking around with two year olds. They just are out and about. No stroller. But how can I do this safely? They are getting so much better with understanding they need to stay with me but I am so afraid to take the chance. I think that is partly why they tend to run when they get out. They are just not used to freedom. Trust me, they get tons of freedom. I spend my time making sure I take them places where they can run free with just me. I have found some great spots. Brookdale Park is awesome. Their toddler play area is completly enclosed and the boys love it. I can actually sit down and watch them play. The play area at the mall is another great spot. I was just old about another park in Caldwell I am going to check out. I try to make their lives as normal as possible. They go everywhere with me. We have graduated to walking from the car to the carts at the grocery store or Target. We have done the zoo with no stroller when Frank was with us. I think it will just take some practice and of course, as they get older they will understand more.

So, even though we didn't make the pool much this summer I am trying not to feel to guilty. We did make the beach quite a bit. Next summer will be an entirely different experience. I think the pool and beach will be fine all by myself.

I spent the past hour researching places to take them once the summer ends and we need indoor activities. It's looking like library story time, music class and some sports class!

"Mommy Do it"

Ok, so this is a popular statement in our house lately especially over the last few days. Ciaran is really the one who says it the most but it is spilling over to the other two. The problem??? Well, they WONT let "Daddy do it" if the want "Mommy do it". That means, put their blanket on them at night, get them their milk, feed them their food, change their diapers or pick the up out of their cribs. The list is endless. You get the idea. It's all Mommy all the time. They actually say to Frank "No, Daddy. Mommy do it". If he tries they freak out and until I can do it. Now, of course, this is going to hurt Frank's feelings. He gets frustrated when they won't let him help them. I get frustrated becasue I WANT FRANK TO HELP THEM! I need a frigin' break sometimes!

I am not sure how this started or how to end it. I guess I should just let Frank do whatever it is they want me to do and we do that alot. (Esp when it comes to changing diapers.) They usually settle down after a minute or so. But I guess this comes with the territory of being a stay at home mom. I do everything. We don't really ever leave them with a sitter other than my mom or Maggie. And that's even rare.

Let me say, it's mostly Ciaran. Cormac RARELY does this and Colin only occaisonally.

Our weekend was exciting. I took the boys to Maggie's on Friday. We played in the baby pool and hung out. We went to the Boardwalk in Point Pleasant and met up with my cousins and their kids. It was the most beautiful night. The boys got pinwheels and loved them.





I went to bed about 12:30am and my lil' Cormac woke up at 1:00am and decided to stay up until 4am. This is SOOOOO unusual for him or for any of them for that matter. I guess he got some quality alone time with Mommy. Finally I went to sleep about 4:30 and Ciaran was awake by 6:30am. I think that means I slept 2 hours.

We headed home and went to Richie's surprise 60th birthday party. Lots of fun. The boys ran wild in the yard from 5 until 8:00. I was thinking I would get a really good nights sleep and catch up from the night before. Not so much. Frank got called into work at 12:30am. It woke my up and I couldn't fall back to sleep for a while. I finally did and a thunderstorm started. The thunder was so loud it woke me and of course, Ciaran. I got him settled back down but he woke up again later on. Needless, to say I slept about 4 hours in two days. But I forge ahead. No rest for the weary. Today it was up at 5am for Ciaran. Not sure why he got up so early. Cormac and COlin slept until 7:30.

Off to the park today to run. We also went to the playground. Again, my attempt to tire their little butts out.

But the HIGHLIGHT of the weekend????

The still unfinished basement has all the electrical work complete! High hats are all working, outlets are all working and switches are installed!!! I LOVE LIGHT!!! Now, it's on to the plumber. One step closer. I am starting to think it might actually be ready by the winter. Wait, did I just say that??? I don't want to jinx myself. I have told Frank if it's not ready by winter I might kill him....suddenly he is working extra hard!

What's worse than tripets getting a hold of glitter??

Triplets getting a hold of glitter and THEN spilling bubbles all over. While I wasn't too thrilled with the glitter it was partly my fault. I left them alone in their room for a second to get something. I didn't know they could open the container with the craft things in it. I do now! When I left the room to get the vacuum to clean up the glitter Cormac managed to open a bottle of bubbles. He unscrewed the cap and it was new so there was a seal on it. He opened the seal too! All in a few seconds. Anyway, once they spilt the bubbles it was just hilarious because they couldn't stand on the hardwood floors. They were laughing hysterically. And what did I do? Freak out and start yelling? No, I grabbed the camera and took a video of the chaos. I did tell them they weren't allowed to do it again but look how much fun they were having....



I will be finding glitter I am sure for the next 2 years! That stuff never goes away. It is stuck all over their bodies. No matter how much you vacuum it will never go away!

Cormac had therapy today. I took a few videos. I really need to start documenting his progress better. I can never go back. It's mostly of him being able differentiate the differences in words. (goat, boat, coat) We have to make sure he is listening to the entire word and not just the vowel in the middle. Of course, lil' Mr. Smarty Pants, got them all right! Check out the faces he makes. He is such a buster! There are three short videos.

ONE YEAR AGO TODAY CORMAC WAS ACTIVATED!!!!

(This is a long post. Make sure to scroll down for the videos)

A year ago today, Cormac heard my voice for the first time. A year ago today Cormac heard me say "I Love you" for the first time. A year ago today, Cormac heard Frank for the first time. A year ago today, Cormac heard his brothers giggle and laugh for the first time. A year ago today, Cormac heard his name for the first time. Basically, a year ago today our lives changed for the better... forever....

Cormac has heard and done so many things in this past year. I know they say the first year of life is where they have the most changes and the most "firsts". Babies roll over, the walk (well mine did), they eat food, they smile, the laugh. I could go on and on. But for Cormac, things were different in some ways. Well, he rolled over at 4 months (front to back and back to front!), he smiled from the day he was born. He has always been a great eater and continues to be. His laugh comes from so far in his belly. Just hearing it can make anyone smile.

He didn't, however, know how anything around him sounded. He never heard me whispering in his ear as I held him and told him everything would be alright. He never heard us say good night or I love you. He never heard a bird, a fire truck, an airplane. You get the idea. He heard nothing. He also didn't say anything. He could sign a ton by the time he was one but he didnt say any words.

In this past year we have spent countless hours practicing his listening skills. Twice a week for an hour Joan, his teacher of the deaf, comes to the house. Once a week I bring him to Summit Speech School for a group class for 2 hours. Every moment of every day is dedicated to enriching his life with listening opportunites. I mean, I talk and describe everything around me. I don't just make breakfast, I say "we are having eggs. Eggs are white. Mommy is going to crack the eggs. Crack Crack. Stir the eggs. Stir STir. Mommy will pour the eggs in to the pan. The eggs are cooking." I do this for EVERYTHING I do with the kids all day long. It never changes. When we are grocery shopping I hold up everything I put in the cart. "this is a red pepper" "peppers are smoooth" and then let them feel the peppers.

Yes, it can be exhausting and daunting at times. Yes, people probably think I am insane. Yes, there are times I just don't feel like doing it. But what is the payoff for all this? Cormac speaks. Cormac hears. Cormac listens (different from hearing!). On day to day basis I don't think there are many words I say he DOESN"T understand. If he doesn't understand you can tell in a heartbeat and I take that opportunity to explain it to him.

NOw of course, Ciaran and Colin get the same treatment so they all have wonderful vocabularies. Cormac talks all day long. I have lost track of the number of words he can say. It seems to me to be endless. He tells me "love you" before betime. He says "goodnight, mommy or daddy or Ciaran or Colin". He has the softest sweetest voice I have ever heard. He also has the ability to scream so loud it feels like your ears are bleeding. This is not when he is upset. It is funny to him. I have tried to make a deal that he only uses that scream when he is outside!

Cormac knows so much. His numbers, his letters and the sounds they make, his colors, animals and their noises. He signs the entire alphabet. He also knows many more signs but he is dropping them more and more because he doesn't need them. His speech is understood by others which is huge. Moms always understand their kids. The true test is if others understand them.

Fast forward one year from last year and things are so different. Just this morning it was thundering outside and he said " thunder angels bowling" and pointed out the window. Today he told me he wanted to watch "doggie DVD"(100 and 1 Dalmations).

I am so grateful for Advanced Bionics for the technology they developed. I can never thank them enough for allowing Cormac to be enrolled in their study. He was so fortunate to be able to have both ears done at the same time. Most children do not have this opportunity. I am so thankful to Dr. Anil Lalwani who performed his surgery. I can't say enough about NYU Cochlear Impalant Center and their staff especially Valerie and Rose.

Summit Speech School has been such a tremendous support to our family. Each week is priceless for both Cormac and myself. And Joan, Cormac's teacher of the deaf, well I can't say enough about her. Cormac loves her. I don't know what we are going to do when he turns three and we will no longer see her three days a week. She is a constant help and always full of wonderful ideas. She answers so many questions. She teaches Frank and I how we can best help Cormac. But most of all, she really cares about Cormac. She knows him so well and how to get the most from him.

We ended the day with a little celebration. We will do this each year to remember such an important day in our lives. And it's another excuse for cake! I made a cake. Not my best work but I was short on time. It's the thought that counts, right?

Here's a little slideshow. It is Frank and the boys eating cake. There are a few video clips also. You will hear Cormac talk. Of course, when in front of the camera he doesn't do his best work but I still think it's pretty darn impressive!

Make a Smilebox slideshow

I have tried to no avail to upload the video of the first time he was activated. I cannot get it to upload. The video is long and I don't know where I can upload a video over 10 minutes to post in the blog. It was taken on a camcorder and downloaded to the computer but from there I am stuck!

I do have a clip from my camera I took. It's not as good as the entire video but you will get the idea.



Cormac continues to be an inspiration to me. He is only two and has done so much already. I count my blessings every day. I can't believe how lucky I am. I get to be the parent to a child who inspires me.

Did I ever think I would have a child with a disability? Nope. Was I prepared for it? Nope. Would I change it? Nope. You take on each challenge as it comes along. You educate yourself and try your hardest to be the best you can be.

I also never thought I would have triplets and wasn't prepared for that either! But I know I was made for this job. I have lived every day always knowing I wanted to be a Mom and boy, did I hit the jackpot!

CANNED CHICKEN (It's so hard to title these posts!)

I totally forgot to post this yesterday. On our drive home from the beach I hooked up our new portable DVD player in the car. It is only the second time we have ever used it. I don't want to start the habit of watching DVD's in the car. They barely watch TV at home, no need for the car. Anyway, we were pretty close to home and they were watch a Sesame Street DVD. I realize I hear Cormac saying something over an over again. When I finally paid attention he was saying "Mommy, ears, Mommy ears". His magnets had come off in the car and he was trying so hard by himself to put them back. He is just not able to do it yet. I have trouble sometimes finding the correct spot. He was so upset and frustrated. I started getting upset because this is really the first time he has ever gotten upset and asked for them to be put back on. What did I do? I pulled over on 280w and happily put them back on. I heard not another peep the rest of the way home (except Elmo and Big Bird)!

Ok, I think I have mentioned that Frank is finishing our basement. It was supposed to be done by last winter. That didn't work out. Tonight we have LIGHTS!!!! Yep, the overhead lighting is working. He did a wonderful job even though it took him forever. There is still much to do but man, seeing lights is real progress. Next step, heat!

On to today's title. We went to Costco and they were giving out samples of canned chicken (like Tuna) on crackers. It was mixed with mayo. I never thought in a million years the kids would eat it. I figure why not try at least. DOn't you know they frigin' loved it??? Ciaran who is the pickiest couldn't get enough. I wound up buy it and figure i will probably regret it in the long run because they will change their minds. This would be life changing for me. Lunch of just crackers and chicken salad??? It's portable. It's simple. It's not too messy. Could it really be??

I put the to the test and gave it to them for lunch on whole wheat crackers. WOOOHOOOO!!! They ate it. Of course, this could all change in an instant but I am keeping my fingers crossed. I hate mayo and would never think to serve it to them but I guess they like it. I think I will try tuna next. Keep you fingers crossed.

Man, the things that excite me lately are pretty lame. I swear, I am not that boring but being home all day with three two year olds can make you appreciate the little things!

It's off to school for Cormac tomorrow. My mom's will be sitting so I am hoping Cormac has a better day than last week. I think his brothers being at school really through them off.

Oh, I nearly forgot. On Mother's Day this year I took part in a Mother's Day Photo Shoot. THe photographer donated his time and all you did was make a donation to Susan Komen Foundation for Breast Cancer. I was so psyched to be part of the shoot because it is limited to the amount of people. I am sure I posted what a disaster it was that day. Colin puked all over himself in the parking lot of the studio. I had to clean him up and make him look half presentable. They all got freaked out when I tried to take them into the studio. It was dark and small. THey refused to go inside. They really were not acting like themselves that day. Wound up all three had the stomach flu that eventually passed thru our entire family. It was NOT A 24 HOUR BUG. It lasted for days and the adults that had it couldn't even function so I cannot imagine how the boys felt.

All that to say, the photographer finally loaded the pictures for viewing. He has been sick and in the hospital. He eventually took some shots outside on the street because it was our only choice. I have the option of purchasing prints. If you had to choose which would you buy??? Please leave your opinions in the comments.

Click here to view the photos.

We headed down to Maggie's on Friday morning. She was working so me and the boys met up with Uncle Bill and Aunt Lee on the beach. It was a beautiful beach day. The boys had so much fun walking along the beach and finding different shells and creatures in water. None of the them were too into the ocean at first even though they have been there before. By the end of the day Colin was dumping buckets of ocean water over his head, Cormac was going in and letting the water rush up onto him. Ciaran never really went in. He would only get his feet wet. They are fascinated with seagulls. They can't seem to understand the more they chase them the more the seagulls will fly away!

We went to Strollo's for ice cream.

Cormac


Colin was a little messy


We stayed over and had a blast on Saturday. Frank wasn't with us because he was home working on the basement. You know, the basement we have been finishing forever. It was supposed to be done by last winter but he swears it will be ready this winter. I am not so sure yet...

Maggie got a baby pool for the back yard and they loved it. Even Raven enjoyed the pool. She really just wanted to take the toys out and play with them but she kept climbing in and out. We wound up not coming home until Saturday night at bed time.

Ciaran

Colin Ciaran and Raven

Colin

Cormac



Sunday we had a Christening. I got ready while the boys napped. Probably for the first time in a long time I actually blew my hair dry and fixed it. When I went to take Ciaran out of his crib he said "Mommy, comb your hair" and he wouldn't come near me. He kept repeating it. Finally, I pulled my hair back in a pony and he said "Ok, Mommy, you combed hair. Is that hilarious?? He is so used to seeing me with my hair pulled back he didn't even want to come near me! Strange little boy.

Each night when I put the boys to bed I always sing a little song. VEry simple but I don't know how to give you all the tune so you will understand. But the words are: Good night Cormac, Good night Colin, Goodnight Ciaran, It's time to go to sleep. We put in different names. (Mommy, Daddy, Duke, Duchess, Jerry (as in Jerry Garcia), Freddy (our new fish). Well, last night for the first time I put Cormac in his crib and he started singing on his own! He sang "goodnight, Colin!" I actually started to cry. He was dancing side to side singing the goodnight song.

It will be one year on July 23rd Cormac has been hearing. I hope to upload a bunch of new videos to show his progress. I, of course, need to take some new videos because every day his speech just improves and gets clearer. I really can understand everything he says at this point. Just amazing!

My Lil' Tees

Most of you know I have started a children's clothing company, myliltees.com, with Nadine. It has been a long process and so far we haven't done too much marketing. Our goal is to have it sold in boutiques across the country. For now, we would settle for New Jersey and New York!

I spent some time today going out to boutiques in the area. Well, don't you know, on my FIRST day of marketing to boutiques we have a boutique who wants to sell our shirts? I am so excited and thrilled.

I was a little nervous about meeting with the stores. I don't have any experience with direct sales. But as Nadine put it, "you believe in the product so you can sell it". That coming from a very talented sales person!

I am hoping this is the beginning of a wonderful journey. Nadine and I have wanted nothing else since we became friends then to start a business together. Our personalities are quite different but I think that is why we make a great team.

I plan to head out once a week to new boutiques. If you are reading this and you know anyone who would be interested in wholesaling our clothing. Please do not hesitate to contact me. I would love to take some of the pressure off of Frank. He is such a great provider for our whole family and works hard and long hours for me to be home with the boys. Wouldn't it be nice to such a comfort to him to know I can help. Not that he wants me to but he is rooting for our business to be a smashing success.

Now for the three amigos. They were crazy as usual today. Cormac had therapy with Joan. She did something I never saw her to before and it was great to see. She had cards with rhyming words and put them out. She would say one of the words and Cormac had to choose the correct picture. Obviously, he is too young to know rhyming words she wanted to make sure he was listening to entire words and not just the vowel sounds (like he used to). For example, Moose and Goose. He did really well with all of them. I think he got stumped on Cat and Hat. Not that he doesn't know the difference between the two but that he has to pay attention to the "c" or "H" sound. I was mighty impressed with how well he did. I would never have thought to do an exercise like that. That's why I love Joan. She just knows what to do and has wonderful ideas.

Colin seemed to recover from whatever the hell was wrong with him yesteday and didn't have any freak outs. Thank God, it was just a day and not the beginning of a new trend. That I don't know if I could deal with on a daily basis.

Ciaran, well, he's just Ciaran. He is quite the little monkey and told me he "has the runs". And he wasn't kidding.
RIght now as I type this Colin is walking around in a yellow fireman jacket and to go with it??? My brown patent leather heals. Quite the look if I might say.

Speaking of the fireman jackets, my mom picked them up for the boys. They are so adorable and just loved them. Here's a pic of them wearing them. Mind you, it was almost 100 degrees today and we did have our central air on but let me tell you, they were sweating under those things. Colin wanted to sleep in his but I had to tell him no.


Here they are: I know they are my kids but are they cute or what???

BabySitterless...

Well today was quite the day. At least the first half. I had no sitter in the morning and was forced to take Ciaran and Colin with me to school with COrmac. They were very excited about the idea. But once we got there, not so much. Cormac, who never cries when I leave him in group, get hysterical. I guess because he saw me leaving with the other two.

Ciaran just kept repeating "cormac crying". I felt bad for all of them. We stayed with the parents for about 20 minutes but that was about their limit. There were a lot of parents today and I wish I could have stayed for the meeting. The search is on for a sitter for Wednesdays for 4 hours.(any takers???) Grandpa went to Florida for a couple of months and he is out sitter.

Colin melted down when we went back into group and saw Cormac. He wanted some yellow school bus and wouldn't stop crying until Miriam got it for him. I am sure Summit will be glad if they don't return! I was in a jam and hate for Cormac to miss his class. He loves going. The whole way there he names all the kids in his class. This week he was partial to Emer and kept saying "Emer school".

I come home soooo ready to plop the boys in their cribs for nap. But, of course, I walk into a disaster from Duke and Duchess. I can't even walk into the kitchen because the garbage is everywhere. I swear, some days I don't know why we have these stinkin' dogs. They really don't listen to anything. I can't walk them on a leash because they are too wild. They eat garbage and dirty diapers any chance they get. Three toddlers are less destructive than those two. But, we did have them first. My next dog is going to be little!

Now I can predict Frank will be working late because any day I REALLY would like him home, he has to work late.

The rest of the day was OK. We went to feed the ducks at the park. We saw a ton of fish swimming in the lake and they even at some of the crackers for the ducks. This was just pure heaven for the boys. I jogged a couple miles with the boys in the stroller.

Cormac's one year evaluation and BON JOVI!

I went to see Bon Jovi last night at the Garden. It was so much fun. I have always been a fan of Bon Jovi but I'm not some uber fan. Well, I think I am now! His show was amazing and I forgot how many songs you just love by them. I think I knew almost every word to every song. Frank was kind enough to go with me. Those who know Frank are probably getting a chuckle out of this because they can't imagine him going to see Bon Jovi, but hey, Jerry Garcia is dead so that party is over! He actually said he enjoyed it. Thought they did a great live show. We stayed out late and I had probably a beer to many.....

I officially taught my first class for Stroller Strides today. (Note to self: don't drink and go to Bon Jovi the night before you teach exercise class!) I really enjoy it and love getting together with all the moms and you get the benefit of exercise and if your kids act up it doesn't matter.

On to the important stuff. Cormac had his one year post activation evaluation with the audiologist yesterday. He still has to have his speech eval because we can't do it all in one day. The audiologist works on his receptive language (what he understands). Cormac did not disappoint. He did 100% on all the tests he was given which means he understands all that was said to him. He was also asked to repeat many words while he was in the booth. The audiologist is talking to him over a speaker. He repeated every word she said! All his hard work is paying off! Now, the ladies at NYU Cochlear Implant Center just love Cormac. There is a never ending line of women who come by just to say Hello to him.

We did get some sad news. Valerie, Cormac's audiologist is leaving NYU. We will miss her terribly and wish her all the best. We will be switched to a new audiologist for our next appt. It wasn't too hard since the ladies were lining up for him!

I am excited to see how he does with his testing for his speech evaluation. He is really talking now. Funny, it seems sometimes his thoughts come faster than he can say it and it will sound like gibberish. But it's because he is trying to use many words together. It's all a process. When he only said one word we really understood him. When he decided to use two words he talked gibberish for a few weeks and then he spoke two words beautifully. Now he has decided to use 3,4,5 or who knows how many words. I usually understand him unless he is really excited. If you ask him to repeat it he will usually slow down and speak clearly. He is only two!

Today I was making a salad and cutting apples to put in it. I was snacking on some apple and he says "mommy's eating red apple". and "mommy's eating lettuce".


Check out the boys with my mom and Frank on this Old School Merry go Round!

Another miracle!

I guess all the praying I asked for last night paid off! My Dad came over today to watch the boys during Cormac's therapy and have some lunch. He finishes his sandwich and asks where I was when I lost the magnet. He leaves and is back in less than ten minutes WITH THE FRIGIN' MAGNET! I swear it's a miracle. I searched twice with the boys and went back again last night without the boys and couldn't find it. Maybe a fresh pair of eyes?? Who knows but I am so stinkin' happy!

For those that don't know what the magnet looks like check out the picture below. It is smaller than a quarter. The coil attached to it was not lost. Somehow, the magnet detached from the coil too. That's Cormac feeding a sheep.



Our plan is to buy a fish this afternoon. Not sure if I will come to regret this decision but I thought it would be fun. We shall see....

What's for dinner?

I have to come up with something to eat for dinner 7 nights a week. It is a task i cannot stand. I don't mind cooking, even enjoy it, but having to think of what to eat drives my insane.

I thought I would take the opportunity to see what others are eating for dinner. If you are reading this I want you to post in the comments what you had or will have for dinner tonight. Post the recipe along with it if you like.

I would love some new ideas.

I'll start.

We had penne and meatballs with gravy homemade by me! I also made the meatballs.

On a different subject all together can you please say a prayer to whoever it is you pray to when you lose something? I have lost one of Cormac's magnets. Luckily, we have a back up so he still has two but it is driving me insane. We were out for a walk when we lost it so the chances of finding it are pretty slim. I retraced my steps 4 times now and it is nowhere to be seen. Those little magnets are pretty pricey to replace and I hate not have a spare.

This is the first one that I officially lost. I spend my entire day keeping track of them and making sure we don't lose them. I guess it's not too bad. Frank says he shocked we haven't lost one already. It is driving me nuts!

How can I decide?

Each Wednesday I take Cormac to Summit Speech School and each Wednesday when I leave I start to doubt my abilities as a parent. It has nothing to do with Cormac. He is doing exceptionally well. It has to do with his future. Several other parents are now going thru the IEP process. FOr those unfamiliar, it is an Individual Education Plan. Basically, it determines where Cormac should go to school and which services he is entitled. Therea is no reason why Cormac won't be in mainstream school with his brothers

I feel like I have no idea what should be in this plan. Who am I to determine what services he needs? The local school district is going to want to do the least amount as possible due to costs. I want Cormac to attend mainstream preschool with his brothers. But am I being selfish? Should I try and get him in Summit for a year to ensure he is ready by Kindergarten?? I honestly feel he will do fine in mainstream but again, who am I? I am not a teacher of the deaf or a speech language pathologist. I am terrified of making the wrong choice. He is not delayed cognitively or in any way. He just can't hear without his implants. And he didn't start hearing until he was 14 months old so he is playing catch up.

I don't feel overwhelmed often. Most days I am not even close to it. But some days are really hard. Not because of the boys themselves but having to make decisions that will effect them for the rest of their lives. The decisions about Cormac weigh on my mind. They keep me up at night. I worry constantly about our choices and the impact they will have on the rest of his life.

Cormac is an amazing child. I know so far, the decisions made are the correct decisions. The hardest decision was to implant him. And to me that was a no brainer. Why would I not implant him? Why would I not offer him the opportunity to hear? Many disagree with implantation but they have the right to their own opinion.

I remember holding Cormac as a little tiny baby once we found out he was deaf. I can remember telling him even though he couldn't hear my I would take care of him always and try and do my best for him. I think I really am achieving this goal but sometimes I have a ton of self doubt.

I have never once said "why did this happen to Cormac". It is what it is and he is who he is. I know as Cormac grows I will come to realize the reason he was born deaf and so will he.

I just want him to be a kid and enjoy his toddlerhood. I feel bad for him sometimes because it seems he is constantly in a state of being taught. Every experience in our lives turns into a "hearing or speaking" opportunity. It is just our way of life now. It is how I talk to him (and Ciaran and Colin) constantly. I am sure it's not harming them and hopefully they will all have amazing vocabularies but I think every once in a while he should just enjoy the moment without having to say something and ask him to say it better.

Yep, most days are just brilliant but these thoughts are never out of my head.

Pictures from Vermont

Make an on-line slide show at www.OneTrueMedia.com

Ahhh.... the simple life

Life in Vermont is good! No hustle and bustle. Just beautiful green mountains, fresh air, lakes, farms. Sometimes I wonder why I live where I do but it's what keeps most people where they are: Family. I couldn't leave mine if I tried. I wish I could get everyone to transplant to another location. I would make them sign a contract stating they would follow within a year! Wouldn't it be nice? New Jersey is great, don't get me wrong, but it is so conjested. The taxes are out of control along with the house prices and don't get me started on our car insurance rates! I think I could give it all up and become a country girl! Ok, maybe a country girl close to a city!

It was great to spend the whole weekend with my sisters. All the kids had a blast. Aunt Lee and Uncle Bill were great as usual. I am sure they need to get some sleep after this lil' vacation! 8 kids running around for a few days can wear anyone out! The boys play wild together ( 5 of them, Michael will be old enough next year to contribute to the craziness). The girls are quiet most of the time.

We went to a parade on the 4th of July. We went to a farm. We relaxed on the deck. We drank some beers (well, at least the adults did, don't call DYFUS on me yet!). The boys did really well. The first night Ciaran woke up super early but it was my fault so I can't blame the kid. They took their naps and slept all night the next two nights. I think they are getting too big for Pack and Plays. They are tented into them because they can all get out. Ciaran learned to unzip his and he freed his brothers the first night! All of a sudden all three came running into the living room. I nearly fainted! I couldn't believe they all escaped. With a little work we kept them contained and they slep like champs.

All of the kids got some type of injury.(nothing serious) but Devon claims she is the only "survivor" who didn't get injured. Daniel got scratched by Ciaran under his eye while playing. Cormac hit his head on a cooler and got a black and blue. Ciaran tripped and hit his mouth on the bed frame and got a fat lip, Colin hit his nose on the same bed frame and got all scratched up. Cormac clocked Christopher in the mouth with a Doodlepro(accidently). But from what I am learning this is all normal for boys! Michael is teetering around so he just bumps into everything and keeps getting boo boos!

I took something like 350 pictures over the weekend. (yep, you read that correctly!) No, I will not bore you with all of them but I will upload a bunch into a slide show for you all to enjoy!

Ok, pics will have to wait until tomorrow. Not enough hours in the day!

Vermont...Here we come

We are leaving bright and early tomorrow morning for Vermont. It should be a fun trip. Both my sisters and all the kids are also coming. That's 8 kids with the oldest being 9. Needless to say we are also bringing along alot of beer! This is our annual trip to Vermont for 4th of July. We are lucky to have Uncle Bill and Lee invite the whole crew up to their vacation house in Killington. (well, I am not sure they have invited us in years but we all just keep coming back!)

It will be nice to have a few days of nothing. I thought we were going to leave earlier but it didn't work out that way. Instead, we went to Maggie's yesterday to see Aunt Juanita and the beautiful Miss Corinne (or Baby Rinne as the boys like to call her)

Some of Maggie's relatives were over from Ireland and we went to visit them. They brought them over the cutest Irish Soccer outfits I have ever seen. We got them on Saturday so the were able to wear them yesterday. The only problem??? The shorts are white. Yep, white. And yesterday they decided playing the dirt piles was there favorite past time. NEedless to say, after dirt piles and ice cream they were no longer white. But I was able to bring them back to their clean state with a little work!

I took the boys for haircuts today. This is the first time Ciaran and Colin got haircuts without a complete meltdown. I was shocked and so happy especially since I was by myself. They look so cute. Poor Cormac, he wanted a haircut but doesn't need one so we pretended to cut his so he didn't feel left out.

Here are some pics from yesterday at Maggie's house.

This is the three in the morning at our house. I tried to get a pic of all three (i should have gotten out the doritos!)



That's Cormac being silly!


Corinne in her bikini! How stinkin' cute is she???


Colin after the dirt pile. HE actually ate it!


Those are sprinkles on Cormac's face from his ice cream. Neatness is not his specialty!


Ok, I am off to start packing for our trip. Lord knows how much CRAP we will bring with us

Have a happp and safe 4t of July!

The majic of Doritos!

How do you get three 2 year olds and 2 non listening dogs to sit still for 30 seconds?????? DORITOS!!!! Check them all out sitting together. Please remind me of this when I am trying to take my Christmas picture next year. Granted the cushions are off the bench and the house is a disaster but all five subjects are IN THE SAME FRAME and no one looks terribly miserable! I didn't even think the boys would like Doritos but apparently no so. I knew the dogs would like them because, hey, they have been known to eat dirty diapers so I am thinking a Dorito is an upgrade from poop!


We headed down to Maggie's for some of the weekend. It was ungodly hot and somehow we never even made it to the beach. Um.... wasn't that the plan? We did have a nice dinner on the deck followed by ice cream at Circus Time. All was well until the CLOWN came out. If you have been reading my blog you will remember Cormac has a tremendous fear of clowns. He ditched his ice cream and clamped onto me so tightly I didn't even need to hold him. I had to take him outside while she made balloon animals for Ciaran and Colin. She was kind enough to send one out for Cormac. The car ride home sounded something like this Cormac:" No more clowns" Ciaran:"mickmack scared clowns". Colin: "red doggie balloon" This was repeated over and over again. I guess Colin relly doesn't care if Cormac is scared. He just wanted his balloon.

Cormac enjoying himself before Bozo showed up!



Colin jolly as usual


Ciaran digging in..


Yes, those are my babies (ok, boys, toddlers, whatever) all sitting at a big table eating ice cream by themselves.

We went to the marina this morning to check out the boats. One of our favorite past times. We saw some fish, a star fish and a crab swimming. You can imagine the excitement. Here they are checking out the water.





And we tried to get me the boys and grandma. This was the best I could get. (I didn't have any doritos on me!)

A Shitty Day...LITERALLY

I heard the boys wake up this morning and they were all chatting in their cribs. I hop out of bed to take a shower while I had a minute. When I come out of the shower I hear "Colin BIG Poopy". Ok, that's not too out of the ordinary because Colin always does big poopy and tells you. But for some reason I felt the need to go in and check what was going on. Well, Colin had did a BIG poopy and proceeded to take his pajama bottoms off as well as his diaper. I have heard so many moms tell me about this phase of toddlerhood. I think just yesterday or the day before I said to myself that I can't believe they haven't done it yet. I was lucky. He only had poop on his hiney. He had folded the diaper the way I do so no poop was getting all over the place. There was one runaway turd laying in the crib but not too bad.

I take the dirty diaper downstairs and I as I get to the kitchen the smell of not human poop overwhelms me. The dogs had crapped in the kitchen twice. I was so aggravated. It stunk so bad. I can deal with toddler poop but giant dog poop makes me gag. So, now, i have to clean up the dog crap while colin is still naked in his crib.

I head the boys into the bath since they can always use a bath. The day is much better since. We headed to a new playground I found. It is completely enclosed and totally made for toddlers. I can go by myself and let them all out. They all listened when it was time to go and got in the stroller. (ok, I did mention I had lollipops in the stroller! but I didn't give them to them before so they sort of listened!) A mom commented when I was leaving "I can't believe she got all three of those boys in the stroller and I can't get ONE to leave the playground!" (ahhh, the wonder of the lollipop!) We went to Target,our favorite hangout, and at "pizza pie" as the boys like to call it!

It's now 1pm and everyone is asleep. Quiet on the homefront. Tonight is my bookclub, ok, "beerclub" and I plan to really enjoy a few frosty cold beers. Just typing that makes me want one!

So, the day was actually great so far other than the shit!

Here are just some videos from yesterday. This is Ciaran and Cormac playing. Ciaran was tickling Cormac to make him laugh. You can see how much fun they have together. At one point Ciaran is pinching Cormac but he thinks he is tickling him.



This is Ciaran pushing Colin in the wagon (in the living room). Cormac interupts to tell me his letters. At first I don't realize he is telling me his letters. They normally don't play in the living room. You can see how quickly they trash the room!




Here are some pics from yesterday too. Just in case you can't tell I am TOTALLY loving borrowing my mom's camera. It takes awesome pics and amazing videos and it's so easy to upload. (don't worry, mom, I know I have to give it back!)


Colin just waking up from his nap. He always giggles when he wakes up.


Ciaran pointing to an airplane


Cormac getting ready to go down on the slide on his belly

Ciaran or should I call him my lil' salami sandwich?

I was vacumming this morning (my first mistake) and the boys were playing in the living room and dining room where I was cleaning. I left the dining room for two seconds and I turn around and almost an ENTIRE bottle of Olive Oil is all over the floor. Did I mention the Olive Oil was from Costco?? You know the GIANT bottle!! No, I didn't take time to take pictures because I didn't think it was too cute at the time. It was soaking into my hardwood floors. Now, who is the culprit? The title of this post is misleading. If could ONLY have been Colin because he is the only one who can OPEN twist tops so far. But somehow, Ciaran was the one wearing the olive oil. (Now he smells like a Salami sandwich or a breaded chicken cutlet I can't decide.Frank's favorite sandwich is Salami and Mozzarella with olive oil and vinegar) SO, Ciaran and Colin went straight to the time out chairs which was a blessing because how in the world could I clean it up with three munchkins running through it. Cormac was no where near the scene of the crime so he wasn't in any trouble. There was no time for a bath because Joan was arriving in about 10 minutes for Cormac's therapy. So, Ciaran will be Salami boy for the day. I might just take a bite out of him! On a lighter note, his skin is so soft. I might have to start moisturizing with Olive Oil.

The Duke and a lil video of Cormac

When we were having the babies tons of people wondered what the dogs would do when they met the kids. Lots of people asked me if I was going to get rid of them. That thought never crossed my mind and I thought it was strange people would even think the idea. I guess if they were mean dogs I would have had to think twice but they are real lovers so I wasn't worried. The dogs ignored the babies for a long time. Without me ever saying a word they never walked into the nursery unless I told them they could enter. Most of you know the dogs and are probably shocked to read this since we all know they are wild. But I guess they just knew. As the boys got bigger the dogs were more curious. Once they started eating food all bets were off and Duke and Duchess had found three new best friends. Of course, there is the occasional steeling of a cracker out of the boys hands and that leads to a tearful "Dukie or Duchie did it". But it usually ends happy. I know I must spend a lot of time calling them bad dogs because one of the first two word phrases any of the boys said was "bad dog". If you ask the boys if the dogs are good or bad they say bad. Since they don't know what the word bad means it's just them repeating my words. But cute all the same. Anyway, all this to show you how the boys and the dogs play together. Ciaran likes to think Duke is a Horsie. Duke just loves any attention he can get, even if it means someone riding him!  


Here's a little video of Cormac. He's chatting away. I think I am asking him his name and his brother's names.

Our new friend, Zak

The boys have a new friend, Zak. He is about 6 months older than and they had a blast playing on Saturday. Zak had a ton of cool toys the boys never had seen before. They ran themselves ragged and slept on Sunday until almost 8:30 in the morning. I think we need more playdates with Zak.

Here is a slideshow of the boys with Zak. You will see some of his cool toys. (well, in one pic Cormac is on a motorcycle. That's not one of Zak's toys. That's a real motorcycle!)

A year ago yesterday!

Make sure to scroll down for the some pics.

I meant to blog this yesterday but we had such a fun packed adventurous (more on that later) day I didn't have the time or energy.

It was one year ago on June 21st the Lawrence family had one of the hardest days of their lives. Cormac had his blateral Cochlear Implant Surgery on June 21, 2007. Easy date to remember since it's Trisha' birthday. We then had the long 3 week wait until activation. It was the longest day of my life (even longer than the day the boys were born. That only took 45 minutes) Cormac's surgery took almost 7 hours. Frank and I just waited and waited. One is never so frightened as to hand over your child for surgery. Especially, when it involves drilling in the head. I remember walking him back to the OR and holding him. Praying it would all be OK. It just had to be OK. I could never forgive myself if it wasn't OK. Frank said I could only go in and hold him if I promised not to let him see me cry before he was sedated. I put on the happiest face I could muster and held that little boy until his eyes closed. At that point all bets were off. I lost it completely but the nurse was kind enough to tell Frank I didn't cry until he was asleep.

We then waited the seven hours until we could see him. When we went into recovery I was not prepared for what I saw. Cormac was so swollen he couldn't open his eyes. So at this point he couldn't see or hear. My heart just broke and I immediately went to hold him. At first they wouldn't let me but at Frank's insistance they quickly handed him to me. He laid on my chest and slept for the next 2 hours. Even though he couldn't see or hear he KNEW it was me and I would take care of him.

We were moved out of recovery and into his room for the night. We did not have the best experience with nursing care. They would only let me stay and not Frank. Basically, I sat in a chair with Cormac on my chest for 12 hours. No one came in to check on us. I couldn't use the bathroom because I wouldn't leave him alone. It was a horrible night. The nurse call button I pushed all night apparently wasn't a clue enought I needed help. ANyway, I finally carried Cormac and pushed his IV pole into a nurses meeting and demanded someone pay some attention to us.

We were home within about 24 hours. His recovery time was much shorter than one would think. I do remember he wanted to stay outside the next day. He just wanted to sit in the grass. He looked like Princess Leah with the bandages on his head.

Cormac had just started walking before his surgery. But the day after he walked around the hospital pushing his IV pole. He has been running ever since.

While it was one of the hardest days in my life I now know the impact that day has had on our lives. As the years progress the impact will be greater and greater. Cormac has the sweetest, softest voice you have ever heard. He loves to talk and listen and learn. He is your typical 2 year old. He says "I love you". He makes jokes. He gets jokes. Today he was roaring like a lion at the zoo and howling like a wolf. He told me he wanted "more yellow school bus". All because of his Cochlear Implants. He is no longer on the outside looking in. Yes, he is still deaf and will always be deaf. Yes, he will have some struggles in his life his hearing peers might not have but I think this will only make him stronger. Cormac has a speciall purpose in life. I strongly believe this in my heart. I can't wait to see what this purpose turns out to be. I think Cormac will somehow change the world. Or at least change the parts he come into contact with in his lifetime. Each day he educates strangers when they see him. Just the other day someone said to me "what are those on his head?" I said "he is deaf and has bilateral cochlear implants". She says "but wait, he talks just like the other two". I say "exactly. That was the hope". I think Ciaran and Colin are better for having Cormac as a brother. They will learn not all people are born the same but it doesn't mean they are any less "normal" Anything is possible. They are constant speech models for Cormac. They are his best friends and they will always take care of each other. They are the first to try and put his "ears" back on when one falls off. Ciaran can find a lost magnet in seconds. (I think this is because he usually is responsible for taking it off in the first place!)

I have lost count of the number of words Cormac says and understands. I am supposed t still be tracking this but when the numbers get so high it's hard to remember them all! We have out one year evalualtion next month.

This year has flown by so quickly. So much has happened. I know I have never been so certain we made the right choice for our son.

Cormac heads to the hospital. This was his first time in Frank's car


In his hopital gown waiting


This is what he looked like after surgery. He was NOT sleeping. He literally could not open his eyes for 12 hours


The next day on our front lawn. Happy as can be.

My thoughts today

We are driving in the car and are driving past the firehouse. To the boys pure joy the firetruck was backing into the firehouse. In unison, the three start saying "ooo eee ooo eee" (the sound they make for a siren after a year of listening therapy for Cormac!!). Anyway, the fireman gets out of the truck in all his gear and Colin says "oooeee man instead of fireman! So cute. It cracked me up. He can say fireman but decided to call him oooeee man instead.

I think the question I get asked the most these days is "are they all yours?" Or it's at least second runner up to "are they triplets?" I always chuckle when someone asks me this question. Granted, I could be babysitting or have borrowed an extra from a neighbor but 99.9% of the time the boys are dressed in the same clothes so it would be a little strange to watch someone else's kid but make them dress him just like mine! A woman I met today in the park said she felt it was an "honor to meet me and my beautiful boys". One comment like that makes up for all the idiotic comments I usually get. Oh, and she also thought I was no older than 25!!! Did I say she might be my new best friend?????

I have planned a fun afternoon. We are going to have a waterballoon extravaganza in the yard. Which reminds me a a little story from this morning. I leave the park after doing my jog while pushing the kids. We headed to the dollar store, oh, what a treasure this place is for us. Ciaran picked out a horse, colin picked a motorcycle and Cormac a spider. There is only one problem with the dollar store. Not carts outside. they have the stupid pole on them so the carts stay in the store. Sounds nice for them but now presents the issue of getting the three of them across the parking lot without a stroller. (I only had the triple jogger and it doesn't fit thru most doors.) Our trip in was very successful. We all held hands and it went smoothly. Our return trip to the car carrying two bags of dollar treasures, holding three kids hands AND the nice man was kind of enough to give them a balloon a piece. You do the math..... I have two hands there are two bags, three kids and three balloons they want to hold and I KNOW ARE GOING TO GET BLOWN AWAY and cause many tears. I tie the balloons to my bag, hang the shopping bags off my wrist and at this point have to convince all three they are STILL HOLDING their balloon and I am not helping in any way. We must have been quite the spectecal. Luckily, everyone's listening ears were on and we made it to the car.

Frank has been working like crazy this whole week. It's feast or famine with the overtime so when it's available he can't pass it up. I have been flying solo all week with Frank making it home just before bedtime except for Wednesday. He missed the boys that day. Basically, I am doing 13 hour shifts alone! Today, I can tell they are missing Frank. He will be home by 7 so he will get some time with them tonight.

POOPY and White donuts!

So, Ciaran, who has yet to pee on the potty, decided to poop on the potty today! Go figure! I am sure it was a fluke and am not counting on it happening again but it's a start! He was so excited he could barely contain himself.

Today, I was taking Cormac to school and we made our usual stop at Dunkin Donuts. He always gets a munchkin or two and I get some OJ and a vanilla frosted. I never really liked donuts but really I just want the frosting and could care less about the donut. Anyway, I digress. I decide to skip the munchkin for Cormac and get him a glazed donut. He is happy as can be. The kind lady also through in two munchkins. (one powdered and another chocholate) I get him in the car and we are driving and I hear him saying something to me with his mouth stuffed with a glazed donut. He is handing me the glazed donut and saying "white donut" over and over. I guess he decided he wanted the powdered donut. This might not be so earth shattering to most people but to me it's pretty darn amazing. He is really using his words together. And he knew to say he wanted the "white" one and not the "brown" or chocholate one. He also said it so clearly. The wonder of the cochlear implant. If he was born just a few years earlier I probably would have never heard him say "white donut". So, the simplest little things he says really could make you cry!

I love how they now talk about everything. It seems there is always something to say. Colin's new favorite phrase??? "ree ree (ciaran) did it! Gotta love it!

The day from HELL!

I should have blogged this yesterday when I was still living it but I was too stinkin tired to deal. Sunday night Ciaran was up most of the night. He wound up sleeping in our bed which means zero sleep for Mamma! So, I knew Monday was going to be rough with no sleep. I have totally forgotten what it is like to be sleep deprived. I think I am totally spoiled since the boys have slept thru the night since they are 4 months old. Anyhow, Ciaran was in a terrible mood since he didn't sleep well. Apparently, some demons entered Colin and Cormac's bodies overnight. I had three little hellions all day. I rarely complain about my days because most days are good. But GOOD GOD they tortured me yesterday. No one wanted to eat. No one wanted to do ANYTHING they were supposed to do. We did go to Target and they were very well behaved. COnsidering all I was doing was burning a picture CD (don't even get me started on the whole camera situation). It took forever but they were fine. Nap time was a welcome moment. I could no longer stand the whining. It was just constant. I finally figured out what was wrong with Ciaran. He pooped right before nap and it was like a weight was lifted off his shoulders. He was skipping around as happy as can be after. Mind you, I have yet to figure out how someone so small could poop what he did! Gross, I know, but this is my reality.

I had to go to Shoprite yesterday afternoon since Frank was working 7-7 I had to bring the boys. I was a little leary since they were crankly. But they surprised me and did great. When we go home it was another story. They got a bag of pretzels and poured them all over the kithcen floor and proceeded to walk on them. They blew thru the living and dining rooms like three mini tornadoes. All this while i made them a dinner a I KNEW THE WOULD JUST LOVE! HA! Who am i kidding??? Of course, they wouldn't eat dinner. Not a single frigin' bite. I was so aggravated. They love chicken and cheese BUT NOT YESTERDAY. I was so happy when Frank got home last night. We watched TV and of course the boys turned into the perfect ANGELS for Daddy. Bed time was good as usual.

Today, so far, things are great. Happy little boys who ate their food. They went to Stroller Strides with me and played after for about an hour with the other kids. They were exhausted and barely madet he ride home. I think the moral of my day yesterday was just keep them out of the house. They get into too much mischief in our house and are bored. When we are out they are always so good.

Lord knows what the winter will be like and we are trapped indoors. I am already dreading it and it's only June!

On a happier note, here are some pics of the boys. Since my camera met with it's demise I have been using my moms old camera and it won't download to my computer. It's a royal pain in the butt. Hopefully, I can get a new camera soon.

Some changes to the blog

I was trying to be "fancy" and the entire blog got screwed up. I was able to fix most of it but all of my links and pictures have to be reposted. What a major pain in the ass. That will teach me to mess with it again. I did figure out how to post a picture in the title so I guess it's worth it.

I will work on getting all the links back up to my favorite sites and blogs. It all takes time. Time is something I seem to have little of these days. Today was one of those days I was looking forward to the boys nap. I should have KNOWN better. It's always on those days things don't go as planned. They happily went to their cribs and all was silent. I was just enjoying the peace and quiet when Ciaran started fussing. I left him for a few but he is persistant. I thought he was asking for milk. Going against my norm because I just wanted to rest, I gave him milk in his crib in a sippie. Nope, he didn't want milk. For the life of me I couldn't figure out what he was saying through the tears. When I finally figured it out he was saying "michael". WHen he fell asleep for his nap my nephew Michael was here. He woke up and wanted him. When I told him he left. He went ballistic. THere was no talking him down. At this point he was starting to wake Colin and I swear I was going to lock him in the closet! Cormac, well, he can sleep through anything since he can't hear without his implants. He's the lucky one. I finally gave in and took him out of his crib. I put him in my bed and it lasted all of ten minutes. It was play time.

I am wondering if it is just my children or if others have this same issue. I think I have the dirtiest kids in the world. I swear, I could bathe them three times a day. We played in the yard today. Now, I always thought it was because we never could get grass and they were playing in dirt. MAkes sense. But now, after all of Frank's hard work we have a really decent lawn back there. Makes NO DIFFERENCE. They still look like they took a dirt bath after five minutes. Am I the only one? Can anyone else chime in here and let me know I am not alone. Is it a boy thing? I just don't know but there is NO SUCH THING as skipping a bath in this house. I am thinking I must just start hosing them off in the yard!

Hearing Journey...

I am feeling like I have been neglecting one of the purposes of this site. It is supposed to document Cormac's hearing journey. As crazy as it sounds and with all we do sometimes it is hard to remember to document his accomplishments. I know, I know, sounds terrible but it isn't. It all just seems so normal to us at this point. He talks and he says things and he continues to progress along the same lines as Ciaran and Colin so sometimes it's hard to remember to "take notes". Each day I do marvel at the things that come out of his mouth. I am amazed at the words he understands. Here's a funny one. I have NO IDEA how he knows this. Cormac walks up to me and starts rubbing my shoulders like he is giving me a massage. (He's pretty darn good at it too!). He walks away and I say "Cormac, Mommy needs a massage". He comes right back and starts again. ???? Massage??? How the heck does he know that word? It's not like I am getting massages squeezed into my hectic schedule. But, none the less, he heard this word at some point and knows it.

I have to take some more videos of him talking. My girlfriend just said to me today. If I didn't see the magnets on his head I would have no idea he couldn't hear. I think that is the greatest compliment I can receive. I guess all the hard work he does is paying off. He says new words every day. He is also expanding the amount of words he puts together. He rarely says one word at a time any longer. It's "mommy, drive", "Olin's turn", "Ciaran, owie nose". He is still signing the words he knows but we haven't been signing any new words.

I think the hardest time I am having at the moment is the pool/ocean. The implants can't go in the water. At the pool on Saturday he had to be "off" the entire time. THis saddens me. I think he will miss out on things. Not to mention he can't hear me if there is something dangerous. A lot of people also talk to him and I have to explain he is deaf. I totally love the opportunity to explain to people he is deaf and hears with implants. I always love the chance to educate those around me. But then again, most of the time they can't tell because he reads lips SOOOOO well he could fool you. And he is able to answer without his implants on. At the moment it is probably harder on me because he doesn't seem to care. But I know in the future this will be an issue. He will want to hear when he is with his friends at the beach. Just keep you fingers crossed they can develop a waterproof implant quickly. Many parents have come up with ways to "waterproof" the implant but I haven't tried it yet. I think I might soon. It's not like he is swimming. MOstly just splashing and playing but you never know if he will fall down and soak himself and all that expensive equipment.

I am going to make an effort to focus more on Cormac's progress. I know years from now I will appreciate having a place to look back and remember.

On a side note, Colin and Ciaran say just about everything now. But I have noticed this between all three of them. They don't actually "talk" to each other. They will say "no, mine" or "my turn" but they don't have conversations. I guess they are a little to young to talk to each other. I can't imagine how cute it will be when they start having conversations. They do however, talk ABOUT each other. Colin is always quick to say "ree ree did it". Ciaran was crying today because he wanted "mickmack to play" and he couldn't at the time.

On a STRANGE note. We were at the park today. I was teaching my first Stroller Strides class. I just finished loading the boys into the van and was putting the stroller away. A woman says to me "do you have triplets?" I say yes, and continue to put the stroller in the back. She says "can I look at them?" I was a little taken aback. Did she think they were going to look different than other children? Did they have tails or horns??? I wasn't quite sure. It was a little weird I have to say.

Sizzling weekend

With the weather so hot we were looking to go somewhere indoors this morning. We decided to go the The Liberty Science Center. I had not been there in years and it was a fun trip. It is very hands on for the boys. We also got lucky because today if you were a Bank Of America customer you were allowed in for FREE!! Can't beat it! We started out by going to the indoor small zoo. Mostly, snakes, reptiles and things like that. They LOVED it. They really loved the turtles and the giant Monitor. Next, we went to the exhibit that taught about germs. They had the GIANT nose, I mean, almost as big as one of the kids, and it sneezed when you walked by to show how far a sneeze can travel. It startled me because it made such a loud noise. Cormac got so upset. He started saying, "Bye Bye, mommy drive" all while waving at the giant nose. He wanted me to take him home. I felt so bad for him. I picked him up and his entire body was trembling. It just kept sneezing and sneezing. I got him away but you could hear it across the room (God, bless his little heart, he COULD hear it across the room) I should have just popped his magnets off so he couldn't hear it but I didn't even think of it until now! I had to take him into another area. Took the poor kid about 1/2 hour to recover!
We left that exhibit and it took him about 1/2 hour to fully recover. He kept saying "bye bye, drive, mommy". We were finally able to distract him in the I explore exhibit. This is geard towards 2-5 years olds. It had tons of hands on activites (painting with water, a ball pit, a big tub filled with rice and they could scoop it and play with it. The rice was their favorite activity. If it wasn't so messy I think I would set one up at home! Maybe in the backyard if it ever cools off enough to go out there!

Choo Choo Train and a flight of stairs.....

Need I say more? That is what Ciaran decided to do yesterday evening. It is one of the motorized trains that goes around the track. I have no idea what possessed him to do it. Luckily, it is only 5 stairs but he was bleeding pretty bad from his nose and mouth. I took him to the ER because I really thought he had broke his nose. They did xrays and a cat scan. The doctor said because he landed on hard wood on the back of his head and the train landed on his face he wanted to do the CAT scan. Little trooper never shed a tear at the hospital. He took xrays and went into the CAT without crying. They gave him a lot of stickers!

He didn't break his nose but resembles Rocky after a good fight! He is all black and blue and swollen. All the people in the ER said, with three boys they will probably know us on a first name basis. Makes me a little nervous.

Frank said while we were gone Colin and Cormac kept asking for Ciaran and saying "Ree Ree owie choo choo" (Colin and Cormac call him Ree Ree)

This was all happening while we were supposed to go and visit Grandpa in the hospital. But instead I went to another hospital with Ciaran and no one was able to visit Grandpa. TR is out of the ICU but still in the hospital. I think he might be sent home tomorrow. Frank says he looks great and seems back to normal. Quite amazaing after suffering a heart attack a few days ago.

Pray we can avoid hospitals for a while.

On a positive note, Colin peed on the potty for the first time on Thursday. He really didn't know what happened it was all luck but we had a big party. Who knew my life would be so exciting I would be throwing a potty party?? It was exciting and funny. Colin sat on the toilet and in order to do this he had to be totally naked. WHen he finally went you should have seen the look on his face. He could not have been prouder. CIaran was watching and got so excited for Colin he leaned over and kissed him on the chest and hugged him. It was a one time deal. But I guess you have to start somewhere. Today was Cormac big day. He asked to sit on the toilet and nothing happened. He got off and put himself back on after stepping into the toilet and he went! He seemed like he knew what he was doing because he got back on the toilet. We all celebrated and the boys were given a smartie as a reward!

We are headed to the pool this afternoon because it is ridiculously hot.

Stay cool

Say some prayers.

Frank's Dad, TR, had a heart attack on Tuesday afternoon. He is in the ICU as of today since they did an emergency stent. We were able to see him and talk to him yesterday and he was doing well. He really didn't know what had happened to him. The doctors said the intervention done in under 90 minutes is what saved his life. When he arrived at the hospital he was in the midst of a major heart attack. Very scary. We need Grandpa around for a long time. So, if you can, say some prayers for him.

As for the kiddos. Ciaran let himself out of his crib this morning even with the crib tent. I had no idea he was out except I heard him yelling "bye Daddy" as Frank was getting into his car to leave for work. I opened their bedroom door and Ciaran very sweetly said "hi, mommy!". Colin proceeded to start yelling "Ree, Ree, Out, no, Ree, Ree, out, no! Colin calls Ciaran ree ree and he was not so happy Ciaran was free and he was still trapped in his crib!

Cormac had school today and they were working on children knowing their own name when asked. I wasn't sure what he would do but I was happy to find out he answered with his version of "cormac" and was also able to say the names of all the kids in his class. He is so funny. He always asked me what everyone's names are, even strangers. They also made yogurt smoothies and he was the only one who drank his smoothie. We have a smoothie almost every day so I guess he was used to it.

Not much else going on. We were supposed to go away this weekend but have decided to stay home.

A wild weekend

My weekend started out by going to see Sex and the City on Friday night. All total it was seven ladies. We even drank some Cosmo's. The movie was great. I was pleasantly surprised. I watched Sex and The City but I wasn't some crazy fan. The theater was PACKED with women. I think two men were in the entire theater. (those poor men. I am sure their wives made them go!) It was the strangest phenomenon I have seen in a while. Droves of women in packs in a theater. It seemed like most of them don't get out much! I couldn't help but laugh. I mean, I have three two year olds and I still manage to socialize with people other than my two year olds! But it was also nice to see so many women out together to have a good time. I will say at the end all you saw were light from cell phone all over the theater. I am guessing everyone was calling to check on their kids and husbands. Or the husbands were calling to see when Mommy would be home!

We headed to Belmar to Grandma's house Saturday morning. We got a late start (remember I had cosmo's the night before!) Tommy, Juanita and Corinne were up from Texas. Ciaran, Colin and Cormac had been practicing for days to say Aunt Juanita, Uncle Tommy and Corinne. I think they did a stellar job! They just love Corinne and kissed her all weekend. Now onto the interesting Saturday night we experienced.

Juanita's sister, Jackie, asked us (tommy, frank, juanita and myself) to go out with her on Saturday night. She is on the lookout for a new girlfriend. Her and her girlfriend broke up a while ago. So, we agree to go to a gay club in Asbury Park. It was all about having some drinks and enjoying each other's company. We went to one place first and it was called "cruisin" (I think). Anyway, it was an all male bar. Except for a few women. We were enjoying our cocktails and haning out when out of NOWHERE two male strippers are behind the bar dancing. They were wearing practically NOTHING. One had a leapord print thong, the other little boy shorts. Ok, we were all a little freaked out by this but we found it amusing. Next thing you know, they are walking around ON THE BAR. Mr. leopard print thong (it was purple) squats behind Frank at the bar. Frank had his back to the bar so he didn't have to look! The guy taps Frank on the shoulder and says "hey, how are you?" Frank looks the guy in the face because if he didn't look him in the face he would have been looking directly at the purple thong and says "I'm good, how are you?" Frank slowly turns around toward me and Mr. Leopard print thong man realizes Frank isn't about to put money in his thong and walks away. At this point I am so hysterical at the whole situation I can barely contain myself. Of all the people for him to approach it was Frank. It literally took me an hour to recover!

We decide enough of the male bar and hit a club. We had a blast. We mostly listened to Cher. We were prewarned by Jackie we would hear alot of Cher at the club. I think we got home somewhere around 3 am. (Grandma was home with her 4 grandchildren) The boys were kind enough to sleep until almost 7. We went to the beach for a while. Played in the sand. We headed back up north and went to a BBQ at a friends house. Lot of fun jammed into one weekend.

My camera broke last weekend and I had to borrow my mom's but I can't download the pictures. If I figure it out I will post some. And for those who are wondering NO I don't have a picture of Frank and Mr Leopard print thong!