Long beach Pics- Part 2

Here are just a few more pictures I want to include from our vacation.

One of my very favorite memories was our adventure to the local art fair. 

At first, just my parents were going to go, and take one baby.

Then Chris suggested that we all go.

So we did.

We rolled up to the art fair in our mini van, unloaded our valco stroller which holds two of the babies and has a seat off the front where Colin sits. Chris carried the third baby in a Bjorn.

Boy were we a sight.

People stared. 

For fun, Chris and I decided to count how many people said, "You've got your hands full!"

36 by his count (in less than two hours). I stopped counting after 4. 

Here's what I love about Chris:

When I lagged behind, wanting to browse anonymously through the exhibits without being stopped or hearing a comment every few seconds, my husband walked ahead.

By himself he unabashedly walked proud wearing one baby and pushing our crazy stroller with three more, smiling and impervious to the stares. 

I love him.

Painting a masterpiece at the art fair while Chris and Carter look on

 Chris on Daddy duty. 

After bickering on day one over who'd done more baby duty, we ended up literally writing out a schedule. I took nights and Chris got up early while I slept in. He was the "lead person" on baby duty in the mornings, I was the "lead person" in the afternoons. We both took charge evenly for bedtime and made sure we each had a half hour a day of alone time (although that was a little ambitious). I wonder if any other families with multiples end up doing something like this on vacations. It sure helped us get into a groove quickly and relax as much as possible.

Carter, stylin' with his winter wonderland pj's and sunglasses.

Which way to the beach?! (Everett)

Ice cream with my bros!

One last family picture while watching this:

Btw, when I look at any of our family pictures, I have to wonder if we'll ever have one taken where everyone is looking at the camera and smiling, ever again.

Long Beach Pics- Part I

The triplets very first time to the beach!

 Soon after our arrival, I realized that we forgot to pack two of our suitcases, each filled with baby clothes and toys! So I asked my ever helpful husband to run out to the store and please buy more pj's for the boys (There's a Carter's outlet down the street).

So he goes.

And comes back with three sleepers.

Do you see anything wrong with this picture?!

It's August, it's super hot out, we're at the beach....

and my boys are cozy in their pj's with POLAR BEARS, SCARFS, SNOW FLAKES AND PENGUINS on them.

I laughed out loud. Literally. 

Chillin' on the front deck with the babies. Some days this was as close to the beach as I got!

Colin and I

This was us in the same spot, last year:

June 2010

Why do they have to grow up so fast??

LOVE a Michigan sunset! See Chicago?



Cousin Macy was there too 

These two are great buddies!

 Colin is doing his dinosaur growl for the camera.

Colin's favorite spot on vacation! Digging in the sand with Daddy!

My favorite spot?

 Watching the two of them together.

Our Vacation is.....

officially over.

It was wonderful to have a whole week to spend with my brothers and their families.

It was wonderful to see Chris who works so hard for us, have some time to golf and play in the sand with Colin.

And it was wonderful to have a better view while parenting our boys.

 We've vacationed at this same beach house in Long Beach, IN, with my whole side of the family, for three years now.

There's something about returning to a place that you only visit once a year, the same time of year, for only a week. Being in that same place which you haven't been to in one whole year, causes you to reflect on how life has changed in a way that we don't often notice within the hustle and bustle of day to day living.

Last year, for example, cousin Macy, who is now walking, waving and enthusiastically saying, "Hi!" was still growing in my sister in law's belly. 

We had one beautiful child and I was longing for more.

Life was slower.

Last year on this vacation, I played with Colin each day at the beach, able to devote all my attention to him. I read books, I took classes working towards my PhD (yes, even on vacation), and Chris and I stayed up late laughing and telling stories with my brothers and their significant others.

Dare I admit that I wanted to be that vacation again.... just for a moment. Just to remember.

I wouldn't trade our current life with our boys for anything in the world but it is an all consuming freight train of an experience that never seems to slow down for a minute, even on "vacation".

If it wasn't clear before, this vacation exposed just how changed our lives are. In one years time we've gone from a family of three, hoping for another, to a family of six pulling up to the beach house in a mini-van with a roof rack.

 You never know where your life will take you.

But it is our wonderful, crazy, beautiful life.

And for now that means vacation is re-defined. It involves the same intense level of work to keep these boys fed, changed and happy, but with a better view, more help and our amazing family to laugh with along the way.

I wouldn't change it for anything.

Pictures in the next post :)

Dear Pump,

We must say goodbye. 

It shouldn't be too hard... in fact, over the past 5 months I share how much I detest you whenever the opportunity arises. 

And yet, on some level it is.....

At the end of each month I get a reminder call from the rental company to either return you, or pay up for another month. Each month I choose to renew you, even though it doesn't make much sense anymore. You see, I hardly ever use you anymore.

You've kept me up many late nights, that's for sure. At first you were my only link to providing breast milk to my babies. We met up every two hours, then slowly our visits got more infrequent. But you were always there in the corner of my room.... staring me down.

There's something about returning you that signifies that my itty bitty babies really are growing up and that I'm really never going to fill up that freezer we got solely for the purpose of storing breast milk. Both realities are a concession of sorts.

But I don't need you so much any more. In fact, my little guys have become quite the nursers these days. I've let go of the dream of providing mostly my milk to them and instead we catch quiet moments of nursing togetherness when we can. 

During the quiet of the night nuzzled up against each other, during a warm afternoon when everyone else is asleep, or when the tears start and only the oldest of calming methods will do.

It's wonderful, it's beautiful, and it's enough.

Thank God for Grandparents

Still on vacation...

This morning, in between changing a diaper and wiping spit up off my shoulder, I heard my mom casually ask, "Do the kids want to go on a walk?"

Me: "What? Who? Who are you referring to?"

My Mom: "All of the kids."

Me: "REALLY?? You want to take ALL of them on a walk? That's five kids mom..."

I raise a sceptical eyebrow..... Does she realize what she's saying?

My Mom: "Sure, why not?"


I instantly have flashbacks to the previous morning when I tried to take just two babies on a "fitness walk". Let's just say it wasn't a success.

Me: "Yes, yes of course. Why NOT take a 2 year old, a 1 year old and three 4 month olds on a walk? You're right, this is a GREAT idea and makes PERFECT sense. CHRIS!! GET OUT HERE! Pack up the kids! HURRY! They're going on a walk. Yes, Yes, ALL of them. Pack 'em up!"

Chris and I frantically move about, putting on sunscreen, changing, dressing, grabbing hats... hoping and praying minds aren't changed and my that my mom doesn't suddenly reflect on this decision and realize, "You know what, it's probably too much"

Off they ALL went.

The house was quiet.

Chris and I grabbed our coffees, sat on the front porch and listened to the waves.

Somehow the babies, Colin and cousin Macy were all perfect little angels on the walk. It ended up being a win win for all.

Thank God for Grandmas. I swear they have magic powers.

Evening swim anyone?

For whatever reason, it was suddenly almost 6 pm and we hadn't even made it to the beach yet.

I can't even tell you where the day went but I felt terrible because Colin had his swimsuit on all day just waiting to go swimming with Chris.

Ugh.

I often feel like I'm performing a high stakes game of juggling and the balls in the air are the needs of Colin, each of the babies, Chris, myself, our family, our home, our marriage...

 It's a constant juggling act and some days I feel more like I'm failing than succeeding. Like the balls are just flying everywhere and I can't even keep one in the air.

This was one of those days.

We needed time together as a family and we needed to get to the beach, even if it was the triplets bedtime.

So, we packed everybody up and crossed the street to the beach.

As a side note, I type, we packed everybody up very casually as if it's something you just do in a matter of minutes. But for us packing everybody up is like packing to go on a mini trip. Diapers, sweatshirts, blankets, water bottle, wipes, pacifiers, towels, large blanket for the babies to lay on, baby carriers, hats, wine....

You know what? Although up past their bedtime, the babies were fine. They fell asleep to the lapping of the waves and the warm evening breeze. I sat with my toes in the cool sand and watched Chris and Colin dig in the sand and splash in the water.

For a moment life was still.

When the wave splashing was over, Colin announced he was "COLD MAMA!!" and so back across the street we went to tuck our little men in bed.

Foregoing the sleep schedule, taking one hour to pack three bags for the beach, and cool evening swimming?

So worth it.

4 months.... how are we managing?

**Periodically I'll try and post something about what's been working for us along this journey, in case it's helpful to others.

Here are my thoughts at 4 months:

• I haven't written about this yet, but we FINALLY gave in and hired help. We resisted for a while because of the cost (how could we justify hiring help when I'm not even working??), and because I was worried about how it would be to have someone that I don't really know, in my home, caring for my babies side by side with me. Well, IT'S FABULOUS!!!! I advertised through an online forum and interviewed a few candidates. In the end, Amelie was a perfect fit for our family. My advice to others is to hire as much help as you can afford because it's a good investment (someone gave me this advice while I was pregnant but it took me a few months to really understand it)! Having a helper four days a week 8:30-1:30 has allowed me to feel like a mom again rather than a crazy lady just scrambling to stay afloat. I must add that our families continue to be ridiculously helpful and supportive. My mother-in-law Patty comes every tuesday afternoon until wednesday night. Knowing I can count on her help, has also been such am incredible blessing.

• Tummy time corner- As an occupational therapist I know how important tummy time is, but with three babies it seems even harder to make it happen as often as it should. Plus, with Colin running around, I've often been afraid that he's going to step on them (on accident of course). So for many reasons, I've not done as much tummy time with them as I should! Recently, I set up an area in the corner of our main room, out of blankets and colorful mats. I like to vary the surface textures too (gotta get a variety of sensory experiences!... sorry, that's the OT in me coming out...). By the way, I've found that a bath mat works great as a play mat for tummy time because it doesn't slide and often has great texture. I also keep three boppy pillows at the ready (to help minimize fatigue when needed), tummy time toys such as mirrors and colorful rattles, and a music box because I find that soothing tunes help my boys hang out on their bellies longer. I also keep a bumbo chair close by because I find that when one of the boys is fussing about having to be on his belly, often a short break in a bumbo chair is all it takes to help them re-group and try again. In fact, they like to watch each other! Of course, I'd prefer to hold them when they need a break, but that's not always possible. 

• Earlier bed times- Dr. Weissbluth, who wrote this book and this book, spoke at our local hospital to a group of parents with multiples about how to help your kids sleep. So of course, Chris and I went! If I'm being honest, I was familiar, however pretty uninterested in his book the first time around with my son colin. Dr. Sears books- this one and this one- are what resinated most with my own intuition of what was right for my baby. However, this time around, I'm finding that I'm much more open to a variety of strategies to help the boys sleep on a schedule, because I know this will help keep Chris and I sane. I was pleasantly surprised by how reasonable his approach seemed. My biggest take aways from the night? 
• Look for signs of drowsiness and put the babies down for bed then, rather than waiting until they are overtired and crying, or when they get their second wind and it's even harder to help them sleep.
• Early bed times! Something with the circadian rhythms... I'm not sure because I was half asleep myself and I don't have time to really read his book! But the thinking is that although logic might cause one to think keeping a baby up late will in turn help them sleep longer, actually the opposite tends to be true. Putting a baby down early can help the baby sleep longer through the night. Hmmmm.... so keeping triplets up until 11:00 p.m. isn't so good??? (Not that we'd been doing that. Okay, we totally were.)
• The very next night after hearing doctor Weisbluth speak, we watched for signs of drowsiness (okay maybe obsessively), and acted on them, putting our boys to bed just before 6 pm. You should have seen Chris and I running around yelling, "Signs of Drowsiness! Signs of Drowsiness!... Act Now! Act Now! This is it! Get the bottles, get the p.j's! Get the pacifiers! Move 'em out! Move 'em out!" Like we were executing some sort of high stakes military operation. It worked. They got up twice during the night for a bottle, but went right back to sleep and slept until almost 7:30! I must say that having our evening to ourselves to re-group, spend time with Colin, actually eat dinner together, and have time just Chris and I was pretty darn nice. 
• I'll add that I'm not doing the whole "cry it out" stuff. I completely respect that this approach may work for some, but it doesn't jive well with me. Not at this age at least. I'm also trying to respect that each of the triplets is their own person with their own individual differences. So for example, Everett seems to naturally stay up later.... and if he can't fall asleep, I'll bring him downstairs with me. Plus, it gives us a chance to get some one on one time with him. Then, he almost always sleeps in longer, sometimes until 8:30 a.m. even. This just seems to be how he's wired which is different than say Finn, who is ready and willing to go to bed easily at 6:00, but who is also the first up, smiling and ready for the day before 7:00. Carter can go either way, sometimes he has trouble falling asleep, so he stays up later. Still other nights he's down for the count right with Finn. 

• Related to sleep- the boys continue to sleep in our bedroom. One is in a crib and two are in pack n' plays. This is not ideal. If we had another room to put them in, we would! I still hear every grunt and groan and find that I'm not getting a good nights rest. I'll hear something and then get all paranoid that something dreadful is going on in their crib and get up to check on them- again and again. They're always fine but I can't seem to help myself.

• Nursing- I've gotten to such a great place with this. Lately I'm really enjoying nursing my boys and rarely pump (in fact, I can't remember the last time I pumped). They mostly get formula and I use nursing for snacks, comfort and bonding time. Lately I'm nursing a lot at night. Often, one of the boys will end up in bed with me and I welcome that. The way I look at it is that it gives us extra cuddling time, gives the baby an opportunity to nurse, which keeps my supply up and provides additional bonding time. 

• We threw out the coveted feeding schedule almost two months ago which although scary, made sense and was ultimately liberating. Now our boys eat when they're hungry but not on any externally forced schedule. For the most part, they get hungry at the same times, but not always. Carter does better eating smaller portions more often while Finn and Everett can now go almost 4 hours without eating during the day. 

Vacation.... or something like that

Well, we made it to the beach!

Our goal was to get on the road NO LATER than 3 p.m.

We left just after 9 p.m.

Chris and I climbed into our overloaded mini-van, exhausted and thinking, "Our life is pure craziness" but as we pulled away Colin yells from the back, "Me happy! Let's go beach!" That got us laughing and slowly moving into vacation mode.

So we arrive at the beach house, Chris grabs a beer, and we settle in, happy to be on vacation....

But here's the thing about being on vacation with our triplets plus one:

They don't seem to know it it's vacation.

They're all still getting up at 7:30 AT THE LATEST.

The triplets still want a bottle in the middle of the night.

They still expect us to get up and hold them and soothe them if they're having trouble sleeping.

They still all expect us to put them to bed. Colin expects a story read.

We still have to wash bottles, wash copious loads of laundry, and change approximately 30+ diapers a day.

They still cry, sometimes all at once.

All four kids are sleeping in our room with us, which means I hear every sound they make, every roll they do, and every breath that sounds in any way different from the norm.

I guess I couldn't help dreaming of sleeping in, exercising and leisurely reading on the beach. The truth is, I haven't even been to the beach yet and it's right across the street! I can see it from my window.

And that book I brought to read? Haven't opened it yet.

But I might.

I can dream, right?

A mom's gotta do what a mom's gotta do....

Carter in the front, Finn in the back. Don't let Finn fool you. He's asleep UNTIL I take him out....

Vacation starts tomorrow and I have a million trillion things to do and get ready before we leave. 

So of course I'm blogging.

I finally figured out how to wear two of my babies at once! 

First I put on my Moby wrap. LOVE the Moby!!!!

Then I place one baby into the Moby. 

When he's all set, I put on the Ergo with the second baby. 

Walla!

I've been a huge Moby wrap fan ever since Colin was a newborn but the Ergo is a very recent purchase. I got it at the recommendation of my cousin and I'm finding I like it because it's pretty easy on my back and I find I can get it on and off fast (key with multiples!!). You can use it to carry your baby on your front or back pretty easily.

So now I can get back to packing..... 

Fisher Price Rock and Play Sleepers

We used these bassinets until the boys were almost three months and for us, were well worth the investment. What I loved about them:

• Portability- In the city, we don't have a ton of space. These fold up just like a lawn chair so that when the babies weren't using them, or if we have visitors over, we could easily just fold them up and stack them against a wall in the corner. 
• They're cozy- we would swaddle the babies and them place them in and they were snug as a bug in a rug. And pretty darn content.
• Rockability- These bassinets rock and the beauty in this is that when all the babies are fussing at once and you're alone with them (fun times!) you can hold/ feed/ nurse one baby and use each of your feet to rock the the other two in the bassinets. I should have the strongest ankles ever because I spent many a late nights doing this early on. 
• Mostly I liked these because our babies were very content in them early on.

Only downside:

• I realized that the backing to the bassinet is super hard (it's plastic) and in turn I wished I had placed a folded blanket or something a little softer behind the babies when they were in there. My boys have slight flat spots on there heads and I don't know for sure, but I suspect that the hard backing contributed. I will admit too, that our boys spent quite a bit of time in these bassinets early on (more than other bouncy chairs or swings) because they loved them so much. If I could go back in time, I'd definitely use these again but I'd cushion with a blanket and make sure to be more diligent about tummy time early on. 

From the Trenches....

****This section is totally a work in progress.... I'll update it in between feedings, diaper changings, fussy periods, pumping sessions, two year old tantrums, short nights of sleep and occasional meals for myself. 

There are two reasons for this section of Life and Motherhood. The first is so that five, ten, twenty years from now when my boys ask, "How did you do it?" I'll have an answer. I fear that due to lack of sleep and the non stop nature of parenting triplets plus one, I may not retain anything from these years unless I write it down! Or I'll just give the simplest answer which is, "I kept wine in my purse". I'm kidding of course, although Chris and I do now refer to wine as the "Bottle of Sanity".

"Would you like a glass of sanity?" he'll ask at the end of the day

"Why yes I would", I'll respond, with babies hanging off every limb and a two year old crawling on my back.

"Yes I would"

My second reason has to do with the moment we found out that we were expecting triplets. When the shock started to subside a bit, I began to seriously wonder, "How do people do this??" "How WILL we manage?" "Will I ever sleep again?" I scoured the internet for information and grilled friends with multiples to see how others had made it work.

So here I'll list any posts that have to do with how we're managing this adventure. What's working, what's not, and products that we've found especially helpful.

Of course, this is just our families experience and know that every family, every child, and every situation is different. Strategies that worked for us may not work for others. Products that we've fallen in love with, other's may not care for. In no way am I suggesting that how we've managed is in any way the best way or only way to go about parenting a gaggle of kids. It's just our experience and if it's helpful to anyone else, particularly those expecting multiples, than that makes us happy!

Enjoy!



So here's how we're managing....

Along the way:

First few weeks, what's working?

How you can and can't prepare for life with triplets

4 months- part 1


Breastfeeding Triplets... or something like that:

Breastfeeding woes

Sleep:

** Too exhausted to add anything here yet ;)

Supporting Developmental Milestones:

** Too busy doing tummy time to add to this yet

Who Gives Freebies!

**There are certain companies that are great about giving away diapers, formula, creams, lotions, soaps and other items.... My thrifty husband has hunted down each and every one of them. Ha! Seriously, he's found some great deals and freebies and I'm going to nag him about listing them here (he loves when I nag him about stuff)

Products We Love:

**By the way, no one is paying me to recommend any of these products... thought I'd make that clear!
*** Also, I'll elaborate on each of these listed (and add more) when I get some down time :)

• Fischer Price Rock and Play Bassinets
• Dr Browns bottles
• Valco Stroller with attachments
• Slings
• Jumper
• Bouncy seats- I prefer the ones without all the bells and whistles
• Swaddling blankets

Hospital Bedrest

On February 22, 2011, I spontaneously went into labor. I was barely 29 weeks along. Up until that point, I'd had a very uneventful pregnancy. Then, in what felt like an instant, I found myself in labor and delivery with labor progressing fast. Months later, one of the neonatal doctors would tell me that they were so sure I'd deliver on that night, that three carts were quickly prepped and ready. A team of neonatal doctors and nurses were also told to be ready for the birth. By the grace of God, my boys somehow held on through the night and incredibly, five more weeks. I spent three of those weeks in the hospital, and the last two were spent mostly in a lazy boy chair at home.

These are my writings from that time. 

Best Laid Plans

Dear Little Man,

Scenes from the 9th floor

30 weeks, one day

Day 8 of Hospital Bedrest

Grateful

Two!

Birthday Party on the 9th Floor

A Day in the Life at the Prenatal Correctional Facility

It's Biophysical Tuesday

Nap Saga Re-visited

Thankful Today

Yucky Day

32 weeks!

33 weeks!

I think I can, I think I can

Dear Boys,

They're here!!!

Procrastinating with random thoughts

• Where do pacifiers disappear to?? And why do they always seem to disappear at the most crucial of times? Is someone messing with me?

• I threw in a load of laundry from our weekend away and it had a wet diaper in it, so I washed that too. Not on purpose of course. I didn't realize it was in there until I went to transfer the clothes into the dryer and wondered why they all looked ruined. It was a great start to the day. Do you sense the sarcasm??

• Colin is in full blown, "I'm an independent person and look what I can do!" mode. Sometimes he'll surprise me by putting on his shoes, on the right feet with perfectly velcroed tops. Then there are other times where things don't quite go as he planned. Yesterday he came over after he'd put his shirt on as pants. "Uh oh..." he stated, confident that something was not right. He'd put his legs through the arm holds and then pulled the rest of the shirt up past his waist. He knew..... something did not feel right about this one. I tried not to laugh, but it was so darn cute.

• He's also been asking to use his potty more often (yay!). One child out of diapers would sure be nice. So the other day he was sitting on his potty, in the bathroom, and asked me for some water. I left for A SECOND, came back and saw a trail of wetness down the hallway. The potty and Colin nowhere to be found. So I followed the trail of wetness and low and behold, there he was sitting on his potty, in front of the t.v. in our bedroom. "Move Mama! Watch t.v!"  So I see. 

• I moved the crib today to swiffer under it and found five pacifiers under there. "Ah HA! I've found you!"

• Our basement flooded a few weeks ago and since then we've been back in renovation heaven (again, sense the sarcasm??). Since we had to rectofy some flood issues anyway, we thought "Why not just move this wall too?  And oh, wouldn't it be great to move the fridge? And ohhh I know, let's add all new slate tile flooring! And let's do it all ourselves!"  We can't seem help ourselves.....and yet I'm so over renovating.... and so is Chris. I mean seriously, triplet babies, a two year old AND home renovations? TOO MUCH.

• We leave for vacation tomorrow! Yay! So fun! However, trying to pack for vacation, not so fun. Prior to having the triplets, I'd always just throw stuff in and hope that we'd remembered everything. No biggie. Now, I'm trying to be more strategic about packing. So for the first time ever, I made a list:

And yes, I did casually write down items like a swing, boucy chairs (2-3) and a jumparoo without thinking that's crazy. In fact, I'm picturing how perfect the jumparoo and bouncy chairs will be at the beach, under a gynormous umbrella (which is also on my list to pack). Seriously, we may need a moving truck to haul all our stuff to the beach on friday.

• Tonight I ate my pasta dinner over Everett as he was in my Ergo carrier. He couldn't fall asleep and I was so hungry that I couldn't wait for him to completely fall asleep to eat. At one point I looked down and their were noodles covering his head. Sorry about that buddy.

• I feel like I'm in finals week, just like in college only instead of tests and papers due, we need to get the home renovations that we started three weeks ago DONE before we leave for vacation tomorrow. That's our goal. You know that feeling when you've finished your final test or turned in that final paper? Well, I want that feeling as we pull away from our house for vacation, carrying with us the knowledge that our home is renovated and finished and waiting for us upon return.

And just like in college, I'm completely procrastinating by doing something other than what I should be doing (packing or painting).

Instead, it's past midnight and I'm writing this post :)

Celebrating Macy!

Hmmmm.... deja vu....

Keep your eyes on the road Mr.

This time, four adults, three babies, one two year old, two dogs and a 3 hour trip south to Effingham, IL.

Why you ask??

To help this cutie patootie celebrate her first birthday!

The party was so lovely, filled with beautiful, creative decorations and delicious, creative food.

Homemade strawberry lemonade... I'm thirsty just remembering this yummy drink

and one awesome slip and slide!

Every party needs a slip and slide, right?!

Is there anything cuter than watching a one year old eat cake on their birthday??

We couldn't get enough!

The Paparazzi!

Even Colin got into it!

On this very day, one year ago, Colin and I jumped in the car and raced down to southern IL. to meet cousin Macy. My brother's daughter.

Colin calls her Mimi.

What a beautiful delight she is!

The babies first time to Gramma and Pop-Pop's!

Last week we loaded up the mini van and went to visit my parents in Michigan for the week.

My dad drove with me and Chris stayed home to, you guessed it, do some work on the house!

Two adults, three babies, one two year old, one dog, bags and bags of baby supplies!

As we pulled out of the driveway, all the babies were screaming and I, crammed into the very last seat in the very back, had my face pressed against the window mouthing to Chris, "Let me out......!"

I was joking.

Sort of. 

Colin, as you can see from the above picture was READY and EXCITED! He'd been looking so forward to this trip and wasn't going to let anything diminish his excitement, even a car full of screaming babies and a mom trying to sneak out the back. 

So as I was pressed up against the window yelling, "Let me out... Don't leave me alone in here!", he was excitedly waving goodbye and saying, "Going to Pop-Pop's house!! Yay!"

In truth, if it weren't for Colin's excitement, I may have chickened out, pulled the car back in the garage and called it a day. 

But we pressed on!

Once we got going, the babies fell asleep and slept the whole way. Phew!

We had a wonderful week!

Three babies dressed for bed....

 

But maybe not so sleepy....

Finn and Everett

Finn

The guys! 

Getting ice cream with Gramma!

In the city, we don't have much of a yard so it's always quite a treat for Colin to get to run around my parents yard.

He also got introduced to baseball. He LOVED it and the rest of the week kept asking, "Wanna play baseball?!" to whomever was around.

My parents neighbors, most of whom I've known since I was a teenager, were amazingly helpful. 

The phone would ring with a neighbor on the other end saying, "I've got a free hour, can I come hold babies?"

My response was always a casual, "Sure."

What I really wanted to say was:

"YES, YES! Don't walk, RUN over here!" :)

Seriously, as a mom, there is almost never a break. It's hard to find time for a break and even harder if you have so many kids that it really takes more than one person to care for them. At my parents house, I got to go for a pedicure/ manicure and really enjoy myself knowing that my boys were each getting one on one (sometimes two on one) attention by awesome people!