My Tri-Guys

When Chris announced last year that he was going to train for triathalons, I thought he was a little bit crazy. I thought he was even crazier when he started waking up at 5 am to do things like bike 40 miles and/or run 20 miles. Crazy, yes, but his dedication and his spirit was inspirational. I was proud of him. He said he was going to do it and he kept training for it, day after day, even when I could tell he would rather be out on the golf course with his buddies. (or sleeping in like his lazy wife.)

I didn't think I could be even more proud of him, but watching him swim, bike and run his way through his first tri, pushed my pride to new levels. Not only did he get through the training, but now he had finished his first tri, the QuakerMan, with me and our three boys cheering him on through each stage.

He is a rock star.

After the dad strutted his stuff, Aidan and Brennan also competed in the kids' tri - the QuakerKids. I was in awe of them as they swam, biked and ran just like their daddy.

My Tri-Guys.

Bloody What?!

"Mom, what is Bloody Hair?" Griffin asks me this morning as I sip my coffee.

"Bloody what?" I ask, unsure what he is trying to tell me.

"Hair! Bloody Hair!" He says back at me.

"Bloody Hair?" I ask, still uncertain.

"Yes. Isn't Bloody Hair a bad word, we should never, ever say?" Griffin says, with wide eyes.

"Bloody Hair? No. Bloody Hair is not a bad word. And yes, you can say it." I proclaim.

Griffin nods and leaves the room. It takes all of a minute for Aidan to rush into the kitchen, all a flutter with nervous excitement.

"Mom! Did you just tell Griffin that he can say a bad word?" Aidan shouts, my rule follower, clearly aghast at my mothering choices.

"No. I told him that Bloody Hair is not a bad word."

Before I can even finish that sentence, Aidan is shaking his head at me, with pity in his eyes.

"Mom, he didn't say Bloody Hair! He said, " Aidan lowers his voice to a whisper, "Bloody HELL!"

Oh, Bloody Hell. Well, that makes a little more sense then. I quickly corrected Griffin, who was clearly disappointed that he could not bloody hair his brothers to death. And thanked Aidan, for always being on the job. I really shouldn't make decisions in the morning until I am at least two cups of coffee into my day.

Summer!

While Brennan and Griffin have been out of school for a few weeks, Aidan officially ended his year last week. Today, marked the official beginning of the summer activities. Our summer schedule has become so convoluted that I may need a spreadsheet to keep all of it straight to ensure that each child gets here, there and everywhere at their appointed time.

(After considering and discarding the spreadsheet idea, I have decided to print up a weekly calendar to keep on the fridge for each day's activities. Our dollar store dry erase calendar was not built for our mega-schedule.)

This is the first year of all three boys jumping into swim team. Officially, the starting age for swim team is 5 years old, but we snuck in G with a big ol' wink from his assigned coach. In addition to swim team, all three boys have swim lessons at the pool.

This is also the first year for all three boys to officially join a tennis program. I had signed each of them up for lessons, here and there, but they are now officially tennis players, and have lessons each morning at the courts. In addition, Aidan joined our club's tennis team, with daily practices and twice-weekly tennis matches against other local tennis teams.

Griffin will also start golf this year. He begins a week long golf camp tomorrow and is beyond excited to join his brothers in the world of golf balls and golf clubs. The other two boys have enjoyed weekly golf clinics and now all three will participate in a weekly three hole golf league.

It's a schedule that keeps us hopping and busy, but a good summer busy that creates little boys who are physically exhausted at the end of a long summer's day.

And three tired, exhausted little boys is the best summer present for this mom.

Missing my Littlest One

I miss Griffin. I never realized how much I enjoyed our Mommy Mondays together until I lost them. When all three boys are home, Griffin doesn't have time to snuggle with me to read a few books or play hide n' seek. He would rather play with his brothers and their own made up games.

I miss my baby. I miss our days of snuggling on the couch after the boys have gone to school, watching Curious George. I miss our trips to Wegmans and sharing take out Chinese food for lunch. I miss our singing together to, well, anything and everything, and even busting a move now and then. I miss our chats. Griffin is a talker and he needs no encouragement to talk, talk and just talk.

I miss my littlest one.

Last night, Griffin had a tee ball game. Chris did tee ball with Griffin while I took Aidan to tennis team and raced home to make up a dinner. I had the other two boys reading in bed when Chris and Griffin got home. I helped Griffin get ready for bed. He kissed Chris goodnight and then asked me to snuggle with him.

We crawled under his covers. I put my arm under his head and he scooted up against my shoulder, putting his little face into my neck. I scratched his back with my other hand and just breathed him in, my sweet littlest boy. While we cuddled, he sang a song he made up.

"You are the best Mommy. Mommy, you are the best. I love you so much Mommy. You are my Mommy. You are the best."

Yes, it is enough to make your heart expand until it is too big for your chest and it just explodes from all the love.

After a moment, his singing stopped and his breathing slowed. He fell asleep nestled in the crook of my arm. I watched him for a good ten minutes, just sleeping pressed up against me. And then I fell asleep too.

Lemonade!

The boys are obsessed with lemonade stands. It started a few weeks ago when the kids that live across the street were setting up their own lemonade stand. Our neighborhood is bursting with kids, but there is a big concentration of younger kids right next to our house with about ten children under the age of ten living within a five house cluster. My boys haven’t really joined the gangs of kids roaming the street, even when it is a group of kids their age playing right across the street. They prefer to stay in their own backyard, playing their own games. The boys play with the neighborhood kids at parties and neighborhood bbqs, but otherwise, they are still a little hesitant about jumping in.

Until the lemonade stand. The sight of that stand and all that signage was too much for Griffin. He wanted in. He begged Brennan to go with him. Brennan refused. He begged Aidan to go with him. Aidan refused, and instead went off for a bike ride around the block.

Griffin stood on our driveway just watching that lemonade stand and the gang of kids, desperate to get in on the action. (And it was all of 100 feet away from our house. But still, he couldn’t do it without his brothers.) Finally after I couldn’t take it any longer, I took pity on G and walked him across the street, promising to stay with him until he felt comfortable.

Brennan stayed in our front yard, digging in dirt, but watching us out of the corner of his eyes. Finally, after several minutes had passed, Brennan wanted to join in the lemonade fun too. And when Aidan returned from his bike ride and also wanted to sell some lemonade, all three felt confident enough that I could return home.

The lemonade stand was a hit. We live in a neighborhood of very kind people. Almost every single car that drove past stopped to purchase a lemonade. My favorite moment was when my grandmother drove by, saw the stand, and stopped to purchase a cup. She pulled into our driveway to chat with me while she waited for her cup to be delivered. Brennan ran over to her with her cup of lemonade in one hand and a fistful of ice cubes squeezed into the other hand.

“Nana! Did you want ice in your lemonade?” Brennan asked, opening his fist to show her the ice cubes melting up against his dirty, grubby six year old hands.

“Um, no. I’m good without ice.” She responded, swallowing a chuckle, but throwing me a smile.

“Good call.” I told her, laughing out loud.

At the end of the day of lemonade, each child brought home their share of the profits from the neighborhood stand. Each child made $10. $10!!!! There were like 8 kids running that stand, which if you do the math (and I never like to do the math) means that their little stand brought in almost a $100.

It’s a racket!

So of course, they wanted to do it again. Who wouldn’t? So today, with the assistance of their kind babysitter for the day, my cousin Bridget, the boys opened up their own lemonade stand in our driveway.

And made $8 each for about an hour of sales. Bridget told me she couldn’t believe it.

“Everyone who drove by stopped. And most of them just gave them a dollar or a few people even gave them $5, and told them to keep the change. The lemonade stand is a money maker!” She told me when I got home.

Indeed it is. Lemonade for everyone!

First Communion - Aidan

A day or so after we came back to reality from our week away in Hilton Head, Aidan made his first communion. (And we hosted a brunch for thirty family members. That was great planning on my part. Who doesn't want to get off a plane to jump right into party planning?)

Aidan made his first communion with almost his entire third grade class, the same boys and girls he has been attending school with since kindergarten. It was unbearably sweet to see all of them together, bursting with pride over their collective moment. They are a wonderful group of kids and I feel very lucky that Aidan is a part of them.

I also felt quite nostalgic watching Aidan during the mass, remembering that this same church was the church in which Chris and I were married, that Aidan and his brothers were baptized, and now Aidan's was celebrating his first communion. It makes each celebration that much more special because of all the memories surrounding this one place.

And of course, after everyone had eaten at our celebration brunch, it isn't a true family celebration without a drag out, Wii battle between all the "boys" of the family. (I think Uncle Seth and Uncle Travis get even more excited than the little boys for these video game wars.)

A Year of Reading

Aidan's third grade teacher required that each student read a minimum of 500 pages a month on their own. Each student had to maintain a monthly book log, listing the title of the books read, authors, pages in the book and a short summary about the book. Beyond the reading requirement, his teacher also started a contest. The student who read the most pages from September through May of the school year would win a gift card to barnes and noble.

The contest winner was announced yesterday. By a large margin - my reading reader Aidan came in first place and won himself a $30 gift card to the book store.

He won the gift card by reading close to 18,000 pages since September.

18,000 pages! That's a whole lot of reading. I could not be prouder.

24

“Mom, how old were you when you married Daddy?” Brennan asks as I hug him goodnight.

“I was 24.” I reply.

“24! Wow, that’s old.”

Sigh. Yes, practically ancient.

“And that was how old you were when you first kissed Daddy? 24?”

I only wish I hadn’t burst out laughing just so I could have solemnly told him, yes. Yes, 24 is a perfect age for you to hit before you start kissing girls. But my laughter may have ruined it. Damn it. Another practically perfect parenting moment ruined by my lack of a poker face.

Knocking Out a Tooth

Brennan's front tooth has been loose for about a month. Since then he has been working it nonstop, trying to get it out so he could get his financial bounty from the tooth fairy.

On Sunday, all three boys were up on the swings goofing around. Chris and I were sitting on the patio battling out Words with Friends. (We are addicted. Just don't ask how we spent our Saturday night. Just. Don't.)

I hear a loud smack and a cry from the swing set. I look up to find Brennan holding his face and crying. All three boys are yelling. Over the din, Brennan stops crying and yells, "I lost my tooth! It's out!"

The boys run down to Chris and me in a mass of yelling. Brennan proudly shows off his new lost tooth and the open gap at the front of his mouth.

As Aidan takes his turn looking the tooth over, the turns to Brennan and says, "Did I knock your tooth out when I hit you in the face with my elbow?"

Brennan proudly and happily responds, "You did!"

Nothing like an elbow to the face to bring about the joy of the tooth fairy. Boys are fun.

The Orange Juice to End all Orange Juices

Damn that Wegmans. Just when I thought I had all my little Wegmans addictions in check (oh ultimate chocolate cake I am talking to you), they have to go and create something new. (And no, I am not discussing the new fresh veggie bar, which while very cool does not an addiction make.)

I am looking at you Freshly Squeezed Organic Juicer. Yes you. You with your tiny samples of fresh squeezed goodness that lures you in and convinces you that 7.99 is not an extreme price for a half gallon of liquid sunshine.

I caved. I bought the millionaire juice. And I loved it. So much, that I not only bought it, but I hid it from my children.

(I gave them the store brand, non-organic, non-freshly squeezed, from concentrate juice. I hang my head in shame. SHAME.)

I hid the juice in the fridge, until one day, my Wegmans partner Griffin realized that the orange sunshine in a cup was actually in our fridge and he rejoiced! And demanded his own cup of organic goodness! And while I reluctantly shared, I told him it was our little secret. We clinked our glasses together in celebration while we drank our liquid gold huddled out of sight of my other two children. (And then gave the other two boys the store brand stuff.)

This past week, G and I are at Wegmans getting the weekly shopping done. We walk by the organic juicer manned by a Wegmans employee when Griffin yells out in a very loud, carry across the entire store voice:

"Momma! There it is! There! It's the juice you don't share! The juice you don't share!"

Commence much laughing from the other mother's shopping in the vicinity of my cart. I managed a quick half laugh as I grabbed yet another half gallon of that damn addictive orange juice and threw it in our cart.

The "Juice We Don't Share" has ruined me for all other juices. (Sob! Shaking fist at Wegmans. ) I can never go back! Never! (And neither can Griffin.)

Brennan Graduates!

I had a really tough time when Brennan started kindergarten. I thought it would be easy, letting my second baby boy head off to school, but it was just as hard, if not harder. Brennan grew up so much this year. He is a boy. A sweet, laughing, loves the world little boy.

A boy now headed for first grade.

The Mother's Day Teas 2011 Edition

Way back before Hilton Head and vacation and our month of rain, we celebrated Mother's Day. With teas! At school! It was a day of mother's day teas. I started with Brennan's classroom, where we ate goodies prepared by his teacher, loved up our adorable kiddie's crafts and enjoyed some sweet mom's day songs performed by his class.

My sweet kindergarten boy.

After Brennan's Mother's Day tea, I was off to Griffin's school. More homemade baked goodies, more sweetly sung songs, and more lovingly made crafts.

And after too many years of my children telling their friends that their mommy's favorite thing to do is "watch television" or that the thing I tell them all the time is to "do the laundry," it was like a breath of fresh air to see my darling third child's mother's day poster.

The third time is definitely the charm.

My mom is "pretty"! My mom always says "I love you"! I love my mom because "she's nice to me"!

I love this child. I shall keep him. Forever and ever.

Griffin also drew a picture of what I do while he is at school.