Stolen Moments

I love stolen moments with my boys, when I get them all to myself for a minute or two. I find these moments are too often far and in between, but when I capture them, it is like an unexpected gift, uninterrupted time to simply enjoy my child one on one.

I have had two such moments with my Brennan over the last few weeks. We didn't plan them, but in the midst of running errands or carpooling here, there and everywhere, it was just the two of us. We celebrated our first unexpected date with a quick ice cream. Brennan's favorite thing in this world is ice cream. I love how happy a small bowl of ice cream makes him. It's watching pure joy in action.

Our second moment was just ten minutes in a car, in between basketball practices, basketball games and a few errands. We were in waiting mode and entertained ourselves blowing bubbles, bigger and bigger to watch them pop. We both giggled uncontrollably as we chewed our bubble gum and Brennan yelled, "Let's take our picture!"

And so we did. A self portrait of ten minutes soaking up my sweet boy.

Ode to the Rock Star

Chris heard Brennan and Griffin giggling behind a closed bathroom door with sounds of the water running.

(Note to anyone who does not have boys - it is an immediate sign of danger to have any of your children giggling behind closed doors, but add in running water, and well, that's when you really know something's up.)

Chris opens the door and sees both boys standing over the sink, cupping water and running it over their heads. There is water everywhere and the boy are soaked.

"What are you doing?" Chris asks, in exasperation.

Brennan shrugs, looks at Griffin who grins. "We wanted to look like rock stars, you know, with the whole cool slicked back hair."

Chris said he had to leave the room before he bust a gut laughing at the sight of them, with their hair dripping wet and standing up all over the place. My dear sweet boys. Instead of rock stars, they sort of resembled two drowned puppies. But we shall keep them, wet, slicked hair and all. Rock on.

Parental Controls

"Mom, can I watch a movie?" Griffin asks me from the playroom.

"Sure. Let me just finish unloading the groceries and I will get in on for you. Two minutes." I reply.

A minute goes by before Griffin pops his head out of the playroom door and says nonchalantly, "The parental password is 7812 right?"

"What?" I ask, walking towards him.

"For Netflix? Isn't that the code?" He says. I stand in the doorway and watch him expertly entering the code and moving on to select his movie.

I am so glad we opted to put the parental controls on our netflix for the kiddies. It has been a huge deterrent to my five year old. HUGE.

Firsts in February!

The last official day of February break was also a day of firsts for our family. Griffin was off to his first Sabres game with his buddy Ryan, accompanied by the Dads, Chris and PJ. Meanwhile, Aidan and Brennan were off to their very first sleep over with their friends Ellie and Casey.

This left me unexpectedly kid free on a random Friday night. I am grateful for my brother Travis and sister in law Lynda who will entertain me with a night out of chinese food and wine, followed by some shopping. (Poor Trav who had to follow Lynda and I from store to store while he listened to the Sabres game on his phone.)

The boys all loved their night of firsts. Griffin had a riot at his first hockey game - lots of dancing, cheering and eating a whole lot of junk food. He proclaimed that the best part of the game was the ice cream they deliver right to your seat! (It's one of my favorite things about the game too. Kids got good taste.)

Aidan and Brennan returned home looking happy, but oh so sleepy Saturday morning. They pronounced the sleep over a huge success and are already planning the next one. (I have a feeling I get to host the next one. No wine, chinese food or shopping for me. Uh oh.)

I Lived to Tell the Tale

After making our own paper plate tennis rackets, mini-pudding pies, playing a whole lot of balloon tennis and rocking out to loud music for some freeze dancing, it was time for a movie. Ah, popcorn and the silence of six children fully engaged. There is no sweeter sight or sound.

Winter Break!

Ah, winter break. My least favorite time of the year. I honestly feel like the teachers devised a week off in the dead of winter as a form of punishment for the parents. There's nothing like a group of kids stuck inside a house for hours at a time to give you perspective.

Thankfully, my break crew sprang into action once again. Parents helping other parents by taking their kids for a day here or there, so we can all get through it together. I started my week on Monday by taking my friend Angela's son David, along with my three for the day. After a morning of wii, air hockey and nerf battles, we went out to lunch and visited Barnes and Noble for some books.

On Tuesday, Aidan and Brennan were off to David's house while Griffin went to preschool. (God bless all round pre-k that doesn't observe breaks.) They spent the day bowling and eating chicken wings.

On Wednesday, Aidan and Brennan were off to my dear friends Christine and Dylan's house to play. Christine had to work, so Dylan took on Daddy Daycare and entertained the kiddies with wii and burritos at Moe's.

On Thursday, Chris's aunt took the boys for a half day until Chris took over.

And now, we are at Friday, the last day of the winter break. I will entertain six kids at my home for the duration of the day. I am armed with balloons, paper plate crafts, mini pudding pies and a whole lot of patience.

I can also guarantee I will drink wine tonight. Yes, that is a certainty.

Love and Other Things

"Mommy, I love you." Griffin says to me as he puts his head on my shoulder.

"I love you too G," I reply, giving him a squeeze.

He smiles up at me and says softly, "I am going to toot now."

Great. Of Love and Gas. Such is life with boys.

Will You Be My Valentine?

Modern Family - a Primer on Life

I borrowed Season One of Modern Family on DVD from a friend and decided to let the boys watch a few episodes. I figured if it got too inappropriate, I could turn it off or skip over parts. The first and second episode of the series focuses on one of the families, a gay couple, adopting a baby from Vietnam. After several of the characters had used the word "gay" a few times, I paused the DVD.

"Do you guys know what the word gay means?" I asked the boys.

They all shook their heads. I explained that one of the couples, the two men who had adopted a baby, were married and because they were both men, they were considered to be gay.

Aidan looks at me confused, "What? I thought those guys were just two very close friends. They're married?"

"Yes, they are married. " I replied.

"I don't get it." Griffin interjected. "They are two boys and they have a baby. How did they get the baby out of them?"

"Well, the baby didn't come out of either one of them. They adopted the baby." I told him.

"Wait. They bought the baby?" Griffin yelps.

Oh dear lord. It's like we were watching two entirely different tv shows.

It Just Always Happens This Way

Chris wasn't even half-way through his flight to Jackson Hole for his annual guys' ski trip when Griffin started throwing up.

Yes, I must ask, what exactly is it about single mommyhood that makes my children projectile vomit. Because, seriously, every. single. time. I take on my brood alone some one pukes. It is never pretty. It is never clean. And it almost invariably involves me losing a night or two of sleep.

Daddy leaves and we must puke. That is my children's motto.

After the first round of vomiting from G, I tried to convince myself that it was something he ate or maybe his ear infection (yes, he has a double ear infection too. Score!). I like to try and pretend that I don't really know what is coming down the pike, even when, I probably do know. But then Griffin let loose an abundant round of projectile vomiting that kept him frozen in horror and sent a nice steady stream of vomit anywhere and everywhere around the kitchen, including all over the dog's bed.

(Instead of sweeping G up to get him to the bathroom to minimize the damage, I stood watching him transfixed by the sheer amount of liquid streaming from his mouth. I couldn't move. I am not good in a crisis.)

When it was over, I cleaned Griffin up, calmed him down and settled him on the couch with a nice big bucket. I surveyed the damage in the kitchen and then texted Chris:

"Bad news: Griffin just projectile vomited all over dog bed. Worse news: your running sneakers were on the dog bed."

Meanwhile, my other two children were upstairs huddled in their rooms. I have definitely instilled in them a healthy dose of respect for the catchiness of the stomach flu and therefore, they run for the hills at the sign of anyone throwing up. (They do this in school too. I like it.)

We survived G's stomach bug. But instead of being relieved it was over, I spent the next two nights tossing and turning, utterly convinced that any little noise was the sound of one of my other children inevitably throwing up. (But it never happened. KNOCKING ON WOOD and SAYING A PRAYER, amen.)

But now I am tired. Oh, so very tired. I look forward to my husband returning and taking over vomit watch for me. Not that he needs to, of course, because it is guaranteed that if he is home, the children will remain healthy and vomit-free. (KNOCKING ON WOOD and SAYING A PRAYER, amen.)

I Love You More

Whenever you say "I love you" to Griffin, he always replies, "I love you more."

Of course, I have to assure him that no, he does not indeed love me more because "I love him to the moon and back."

He will grin and say with mischief, "But I love you to the moon and back and around the earth to the sun."

He can go at this game of who loves more for as long as it takes, one upping me with his zany creations intended to prove once and for all, that he loves me more.

We were engaged in a who loves who more competition a few days ago over dinner. After a few exchanges, Griffin smiled, laughed and said to me, "Well, I love you more than a toilet seat."

The entire family erupted into laughter. It was just too good. It has quickly become our catch phrase, the last words uttered before bed, the last goodbye, and the last devotion of love before the day begins. "I love you more than a toilet seat." Sweeter words have never been spoken.

Winter?

It has been an odd winter in Buffalo. We are used to a snowy winter, full of snow ball fights, snowboarding, sledding, skating, and hot chocolate somewhere in between. Instead, it has been mild, with little to almost no snow.

Instead of snow, we've had rain. And, lord, do I hate the rain. The boys love to play outside in the snow, even on the coldest of days. They can be out there for hours upon hours until their noses are bright red, building snow forts and battling snow monsters. It's a nice break to get outside during a long winter.

But not this winter. It is a winter of mud. So much mud. And a winter of rain. It has essentially taken my least favorite month (March) in Buffalo and made it last four months. It's not pretty outside and it's not pretty inside. Not only is the mud taking over our lives, but the boys and even the dog don't want to go outside. (Mud battles? No, thank you.) This has made our house seem very, very small and our boys seem very, very loud.

We finally had a week or two of enough snow to get the boys snowboarding and let us get in some sledding. But I have seen the weather forecast, and it's not looking good. March is back. And I don't like it.

Pictures of Old

I have many pictures on my iPhone that I have taken as I have been out and about. Some I have played with on some of the photo sharing apps. All of them are pictures that make my heart ache for their cuteness. Oh, the cuteness.

Joey the Spider

My cousin Bridget babysat the boys for me a few times while she was home on holiday break from college. I came home from one of those times to find a new addition to our family - Joey the spider.

Bridget laughed as she told me that Griffin dragged out his insect collecting kit and begged her to play with it for him. She told him sure, and then directed him to go searching about the house for a bug to capture.

Bridget confided that she never believed he would actually find anything to put in the bug specimen jar and thought it would keep him happily occupied for a little while at least. Of course, not a minute later, Griffin found a spider on our ceiling.

"Bridget! Bridget come quick!" He yelled to her.

She ran into the living room as he pointed out the spider. Being a good sport that she is, she moved a chair, grabbed the bug jar and reached up to the ceiling to trap the spider.

"It was gross," She said to me. "I honestly still worry that I have a spider trapped in my hair." And then she shook like she had the heebee jeebies.

Now that the spider was captured, Griffin named him Joey. Joey lived for a while in his glass jar on our kitchen counter. (Yes. I have three boys. If it isn't giant lego creations that can't be touched on the counter, it is a rock, a stick or a bug. This is my life.) And then, in the holiday hustle and bustle, Joey and the jar was gone. I sort of forgot all about Joey.

This morning Griffin found him. And the jar. In our laundry room. Yes, this is disgusting. I may be disgusting. My home may be disgusting. I mean, who loses a spider in a jar in their laundry room for a month? Seriously?

After shaking the jar for a few seconds, Griffin shrugged and said, "I guess this is what a dead spider looks like."

Yep. A spider homicide. I totally count this as a learned science experiment. I am done for the day!

The G

Griffin comes out with the best one-liners. He is witty and clever, constantly causing Chris and I to dissolve into laughter at his comments and delivery.

This morning at breakfast, Aidan was a bit grumpy. He didn't want to go to school. He didn't want to get out of bed. He didn't want to eat breakfast. Grumpy, grumpy, grumpy.

Aidan started to pick at Griffin a little bit and Griffin brushed him off with a big grin and said, "Now Aidan, don't go all crazy on the Griffy, okay?"

Our five year old, deftly managing his nine year old brother. I like it.

On Diversity

Over the last few weeks, Brennan's class has spent a lot of time discussing Martin Luther King. Well, at least, I am assuming that they have spent a lot of time on him, because Brennan comes home every single day talking about some new aspect of Martin Luther King's life. He is enthralled. And I love that.

While I was putting Brennan to bed tonight, he brought up Ruby Bridges and told me how shocked he was to find out that people treated her like they did, all because of the color of her skin.

"Just because she was brown, Momma! Can you believe it?" He told me, clearly aghast.

"I know. It's horrible how people can be scared of someone just because they are different from them." I reply.

"Well, I just don't see the reason. I just don't see it. Everybody is different from each other." Brennan says.

"That's true. Do you see how your classmates are different from you or you are different from them?" I ask, somewhat absentmindedly as I make his bed.

Brennan gazes into space for a moment and then says, "Well, I try not to let it bother me that they all have white skin."

Interesting. This may explain why Brennan's Mii on the Wii is a black man with a mohawk and a goatee.

Sweetness

"Mommy, close your eyes," Griffin whispers to me as I sit on the couch reading a book.

I quickly comply, closing my eyes tightly shut.

I feel him reach over me and his nose brush against mine. He kisses my nose, my cheek and my forehead.

"You can open your eyes now Mommy."

Oh, the sweetness. I open my eyes to see his loving green eyes gazing at me.

"I love you Mommy."

"I love you too G."

"I love you more," He says with a grin.

"No way. I love you more."

I do. I love him more. More than seems possible.

Boarder Boys

Sunday mornings are spent getting the boys off with Chris to the ski hills. I love watching them set off, all in their gear, so excited and full of energy to get boarding.

I love even more the tired, oh-so-t0-the-bone exhausted, boys who return from their adventures. Their eyes are heavily lidded. They smile happy grins that signal a day of fun that spent every last ounce of energy they possess. There is nothing cuter than three little boys, all worn out and happy. I could eat them up.

The Mom Who Made Them All Cry

We were in the midst of the bedtime ritual. The day had seen many a lego war between my three boys, so all of their bedrooms were a mass of discarded lego ships, lego guys, and lego masterpieces drafted for the cause. Griffin had even used his prized possession in the battles, the Lego Pirates of the Caribbean ship. It was a birthday gift from Grandma Jo Jo and had taken Aidan many an intense hour of construction to get it built.

The lego ship is normally stored on Griffin's dresser, carefully placed there to ensure that no one or nothing even thinks of breaking even a bit of its precious cargo. I saw it on Griffin's floor and envisioned him stepping on it and breaking it in a middle of the night bathroom run, so I knew it had to be moved. I very carefully lifted it from the bottom to move it back on his dresser, but just before I was about to put it down, I slipped and well, I dropped it.

The crash of legos splattering here, there and everywhere on Griffin's hard wood floor was almost as loud as the wail from Griffin, and then from Aidan, and then, of course, the sympathetic crying from Brennan.

Griffin yelled, "It's broken!"

Aidan screamed, "It took me three hours to build that!"

And Brennan just stood with them, my accusers, and cried big fat tears watching the ship that was now in, what seemed to be, a million tiny pieces.

You want to know the fastest way to get three boys to cry? Yes, break a lego masterpiece. That will guarantee it.

I have promised Chris the world if he can fix it. I will resort to blackmail. Anything.

Griffin and his iPhone (Not Really)

It was a big Apple gift year in our family. With Aidan's new iPad and Brennan's new iPod touch, Chris and I were concerned Griffin may be a bit put out. So, in a stroke of genius, Chris charged up my old iPhone and gave it to Griffin to play with. There is no phone to this iPhone, but it has angry birds, a camera and a whole lot of music for G to play. He is in heaven.

The only problem is he is now taken with telling anyone and everyone that he has an iPhone. The reaction it gets its is pretty funny and the astonishment only dies down when I explain that it's not a phone at all, but just an old device to play music and games. Unfortunately, I am only there some of the time to explain G's iPhone news and so now half of Orchard Park thinks my five year old is rockin' a cell phone. (Once again, we have inadvertently become the cautionary tale. It's a gift.)

While Griffin was playing the family favorite angry birds at my cousins basketball game last week, he turned to my brother, Uncle Travis and asked loud enough for everyone to hear, "Why are these birrrrds sooo angry? They're so angry! Why are they so angry?"

It was enough to send all the people seated around us into a fit of laughter.

Continuing on our angry bird obsession, I was putting Griffin to bed when he said, "Mom, can I tell you something?" (He starts every single story with this question. Every. single. time.)

"Sure." I replied.

"On my angry birds game? There is this one bird. And she is in charge! She is fierce! She is all powerful. And all the other birds listen to her because she is that bird." He said to me intently.

I nod my head as he continues with a glimmer of mischief in his eye. "You know what we call this bird?"

I shake my head no.

"She's called Mom."

I laughed for a good five minutes. I laughed so loud and so hard that both Aidan and Brennan left their rooms to come into Griffin's room to ask what was so funny.

He is a character this boy of ours.

Busy, Busy, Busy!

It was a busy weekend for our clan. We went from pj days of new years right into the hustle and bustle of reality. It was a bit of a harsh transition.

The boys both had basketball practices on Saturday - two different places, of course, so Chris and I divided and conquered. We reconvened as a family to get the boys to their dentist appointments. After our first nightmare of a dentist appointment, I always get a little nervous about how the visit will go. But, thankfully, we have found a great dentist with a gem of a dental assistant who works magic upon my boys. In fact Brennan was so relaxed during his cleaning that his eyes started to close. He then yawned and said, "I am so relaxed. I think I may take a nap."

Yes, that's not something you hear everyday in a dentist's chair.

After the dentist, we raced home. I suited up for a tennis tournament while Chris headed out to the hockey game with a friend. I played four hours of hard, challenging tennis and was so tired after, I thought I would have to be carried home. As it was, I just barely managed to hobble to my car.

On Sunday, the boys were off to their first day of skiing and snowboarding of the season. (Or as Aidan told me, "it's not snowboarding mom. It's boarding. We're boarders." Alrighty then.) The weather has been challenging for winter sports this year, but the slopes had just enough snow to get the lessons off to a start. While they were at skiing, I was at Wegmans bright and early to stock up on our essentials. Our pantry was woefully empty, with neither milk nor bread or even coffee. (It was the need for coffee that really got me to the store. I have my priorities.)

I came home, emptied out a few hundred dollars of groceries (ugh) and found just enough time to change into my tennis gear (again!) for a match. After my match, I rushed home to shower and change, so the entire family could go watch my cousin Nicole play basketball.

Nikki is already a rock star in our family. We love her dearly. But it was fantastic for us to see her truly in her element. She is only a sophomore, but is a starting player and regular high scorer for her school's varsity basketball team. She rocked the courts and we cheered our heads off for her with much of our extended family. (I texted Nikki I was going to wear a t-shirt to her game that said "We're with Nikki. She's a badass." She texted back, " Of course. I think the whole family should wear those ts." Heh.)

After the game, Chris and I knew we should probably go home and get the kids to bed. It was a school night after all. But, the invite for dinner with our extended family was too good to resist. It was a lovely impromptu dinner with my grandparents, aunt, uncle and cousins. It reminded me, yet again, how blessed we are to share our lives with such wonderful family.

It was a crazy weekend of go, go, go, but all good, all fun. It balances out the days of pjs and legos with a whole lot of busy, busy, busy. And busy, busy, busy is all good surrounded by those you love.