Beach Time

Well, we had a wonderful day on the beach today. The kids went down with Daddy while I waited for Liam to wake up from his nap. When we all got down there together, I had to lay out the blanket, because lunch on the beach actually means a PICNIC! They ate up everything and then they began their explorations. They had all kinds of stories for me. Next, I saw Meghan heading to the water with a boogy board. She was amazing. She would climb onto it, floating in on the waves, balancing...I was equally scared for her and proud of her.

Shortly thereafter, she headed down the beach again with Kerin. Next thing I know, she is running down the beach with a bird feather in each hand, flapping those tiny little wings and trying to fly. The smile on her face told it all! What fun to be three!

Stop Growing Up!

I really can't believe how big these kids are getting. Each day they say or do something that just makes me wonder where my little babies went. Our latest accomplishment is walking...further than just the neighborhood. We normally would take the triple for any of our walks, but this week the twins have said that they want to walk. On Tuesday, it was about 800 degrees out when we walked down to the garage to pick up the van. The kids were so good, listening to me, staying by my side, holding on to Liam's stroller. So, today we did it again. We walked down to the Landing to the Post Office, then to the Library, the park and home. Nolan started to get a little more daring, but I was able to reign him in. Meghan did great, until I decided it was time to leave the playground. She was angry, she stood by the side of the road with a puss on. She refused to cross the main street on her own, so I had to grab her...just to prove that she is still only three. Her mood changed quickly and we were able to have a pleasant walk home.

Is it his Irish genes?

Nolan has a special talent. He knows just what his mother wants to hear(and sometimes what she doesn't want to hear. It is like he has a sixth sense, ESP, or he is just going to be a ladies man. He knows how to give me the business by telling me that "We love the ankees! We don't like the Red Sox!" He gets a rise out of me every time. Today was the ultimate. I had sent him down to the family room with a small bag of marshmallows. Shortly thereafter, he came back up. I looked over and said "Buddy, you are not getting more marshmallows, I told you that is it." He walked over to me and said "Mama, I'm not here to talk about marshmallows, I'm here to talk about cuddling....wanna cuddle with me?" The natural gift of Blarney??

Bugs and Three Year Olds

Anyone who knows me, knows that bugs freak me out. Whether it is an ant, a spider, a bee heading for me or a mosquito, I jump at the site of a bug. (And don't get me started on Junebugs....ewwwww) So, with all our outdoor play in this nice weather, it is inevitable that I will be in a match with these awful creatures, especially with that stream we have in the back.

We've been sitting outside a lot and playing. The kids are running from the slide to the swingset to the sandbox to me. Sometimes I run with them, sometimes I am sitting in my seat. Either way the bugs are there. So I have taken to clapping to get rid of some of those small little annoyances. Unfortunately, my three year old son doesn't see them as annoyances. Each time I try to get one of those little buggers, he tells me to stop because "He's just visiting, Mama!"

She thinks she's smarter than I

We were in and out and all over the place today. Walking, running, playing inside, playing outside, a pretty full day. During the kids' outside time, I ducked in from time to time to do some laundry, turn the oven on, whatever. The kids were having fun drawing with their sidewalk chalk, playing on the slide, playing in the sandbox. As dinner time approached, I was ducking into the house a little bit more. Once I had things set on the stove, I headed outside to play some more. Meghan was sitting on the edge of the sandbox digging (I had caught the two of them trying to fill their pool with sand five minutes earlier). She looked up at me and very sweetly said to me "Mommy, can you go back inside?" I saw the wheels turning in her head and said to her "Why? So you can misbehave?" She answered me, just as sweetly, "Yes, Mama."

Summer Kickoff

We began our summer adventures on Cape Cod this weekend. We had been down to open up before, but this was the first "big weekend" down here. We came down on Thursday night after a long day of "When's Daddy coming home" and "I wanna go to the Cape". We got out for a walk that night and tucked the kids into bed a little late that night.

Friday, things began early with a walk to the playground, a walk to the candy store, a walk to the other playground. Then on to the bike rides, the constant bike rides, the never-ending bike rides.

The kids have grown up so much since last year. They are doing so good on their bikes and can just zoom around this place. Liam is getting going, too. Ever on the run looking for a new adventure. We did a lot of digging at the beach as well. Nolan went into the water in his sneakers and long pants...several times. The kids have had an amazing weekend and it is going to be such a great summer for them!

A Day at the Farm

Today was fun. Julie and I planned earlier in the week that we would get together with the kids. Our plans were dependent on the weather and it actually cooperated with us this morning. The rain was expected to hold off until the afternoon so it was off to the farm for us.

The day was gray with a little bit of sun poking out here and there. We got there and the kids grabbed hands to hold and away we went. We were a little bit disappointed when we got to the chickens, turkeys and ducks. Last year we were able to feed the animals, but apparently there is a new rule and they have taken away the food dispensers. (And of course Julie and I had stocked up on quarters for the day.) The kids were still okay with it. We visited the chickens, a very nasty Tom Turkey (he was spitting at us and did scare the kids at one point, but I can't be sure that they didn't start it), and a family of ducks including many ducklings. They were so cute and fuzzy.

We moved on to the sheep and the goats. They had them back a bit from the fence this year in the main pen, so there was no petting the animals, but the kids still enjoyed seeing them. We moved over to the other pen and they got to pet a big old sheep which they enjoyed. A goat then joined us by the fence and Katherine was loving him.

We took a stroll on one of the trails. Good thing I had the jogger with me, because it was a bit uneven. The kids liked the "adventure" of going through the woods. We picked some flowers as we walked and then headed back to the picnic area. We had a snack and played around a bit there, did some more visiting with the birds and then headed back to Julie's house for lunch.

The kids got to play a bit more, have lunch and a cupcake together and then it was time to go! They love playing with their friends so much and can't wait until we see them again.