Book Review

So, a friend of mine started this crazy notion of putting up on her blog, a list of 100 best books to read. Then one by one, many other bloggers started to do the same. I am embarrased to put up the list, because mine is not quite as "read" as the others. Being a student, I have enough to read to broaden my knowledge horizons. Once I have degree in hand, I look forward to devouring the list, as well as adding many books to it....until then, I will share with you what I do happen to get read.

Mitch Albom's "The Five People you Meet in Heaven" is a book for those who want to read something quickly. It is short and sweet and of all the books I've read, it is the first to bring tears to my eyes. Sadly to say, I can cry with the best of them at a movie, but for some reason books do not have the same effect on me.

It follows the death first and then flashes back on the life of a simple old man named Edward. In heaven, he gets the opportunity to meet five people that have been a part of his life, and explain to him what his life meant. The author's creative imagination of what heaven is like is heartwarming and comforting; not flashy and "expensive" like some of us might think. It is sweet and innocent.

I liked this book. I wouldn't consider it a "classic" by any means but I also was not dissapointed by spending time reading it. It was nice. I hope you like it too!!

It's Pajama Time!!

One of "The Crew's" favorite books is "Pajama Time" written by Sandra Boynton. They love the colorfull illustration and the funny, dancing characters. I love reading all of Boynton's books to them. She is incredibly creative and, at times, I find myself having a chuckle along with "The Crew".
In our house, however, "Pajama time" takes on a different meaning completely. Pajama time is the time of the day when Lucas decides to take on a completely different persona and make 20 minutes of the day.....Hair pulling, CRAZY!!
Each night at 7:00 we begin our bedtime ritual. I give the girls a bath while Mario gives Michael a shower. Michael gets dressed for bed while Mario dries the girls hair and I start Lucas' bath. Once Lucas is finished we start to get his pajamas on..."What's so crazy about this", you ask? Well, Lucas goes through the painstaking process of choosing the perfect bedtime attire. Footed pj's?...um no!! Green flannel bottoms? Yes! (Ok, one down) Grey shirt or fire engine henley? Fire engine..Ok, not so bad. "Wait Mom...Now I want my Blue pj pants." Ok, you got it. "Mooommmmmyyyy...this shirt has a tag, rip it out...hurry, hurry, hurry!! "Tag's gone, lets get on our socks!" "Mommy, where are my basketball pj's?" "They're in the laundry Lucas."
-Meltdown of epic proportions ensues......."Lucas, you can wear those tomorrow. It will give mommy a chance to wash them." *sniff, sniff* "Okay". Socks are finally on the feet, Lucas is just about to make it to storytime with Daddy when...."I want my grey shirt instead, mommy."
ARGGG......At what age to boys just start sleeping in their clothes?? Oh well, a day in the life....

Wedding Bells

We had a wedding in the family this past weekend. My mom got re-married and had a big ceremony and reception celebration of which we all were a part. A small part because, as in all weddings, the kids stole the show. I was unable to snap a ton of pictures on my own because of the professional photographer, but here are a couple of the kids I could get.Marissa(L) and Francesca(R) ...."Mom, take these flower things off our heads...we can't boogie well with them bopping in our faces"
Michael and Lucas; permanant fixtures to the dance floor. Boy, did they crash when we got home!!
These two kept dragging each other to go dance. I might need to put in a dance floor in our rec room. They had a blast.
Here are the "cheese faces"...only allowed after the professional was done snapping pic's. Cutie pies!!
A little blurry, but what angelic faces...Can't wait to see how the other pic's turn out. :)

Blog Worthy?

So you may be wondering why all of my blogs up to this point do not have a title. I will dispense that information if you all promise NOT to laugh. (whispering)....I just figured out how to get the title line to show up!! Sad, sad...I know. Am I still worthy to blog???

Wanna hear something bad...Right now, at this very moment, I am in Spanish class in the language lab. I minimized the screen I am supposed to be watching and decided to post a blog instead. Sadly, I am already ready for summer break. It is too soon to feel this way... Well, mi profesora esta aqui. Adios!

Well, this lovely weather has given the kids one more activity to pursue after dinner....playing out in the snow!! I love watching them interact with the elements and each other. It makes me think of when I was a kid and we would get large amounts of snow. Doug (the sibling) and I would build tunnel forts in the high piles of snow that accumulated on the parkway, either from the plows or from my dad's shoveling. One time, we tunneled to the next houses' parkway area. We were very psyched!! Ahh...memories.
Tonight, there is just enough snow for them to throw snowballs and do snow angels. Poor M had to be out plowing but here is a preview of what I got to witness.
"The Crew" attacking each other with as much snow as they could get their little hands on!

"I think I'll take a little rest"
"Hee, Hee, Mommy, why are you taking pictures?"
"I AM COOOOLD!!"

"Hey Mom, Isn't this great?" "Giggle, Giggle"

Francesca is incredibly proud of her large snowball!! "Look Mommy!!"

So for those of you southerners that frequent the blog.....it is snowing up here. Crazy, crazy weather!! I was about to start complaining when I woke up this morning to cloudy, grey skies and cold, wet weather but then a thought occurred to me. Snowy weather causes salt trucks to grace our city streets, salt trucks dump hoards of car dirty-ing matter that jump onto cars across the city, the salt dries and ~voila~ cars need a CAR WASH!!
No... I am not secretly obsessed with car washes. For those who may not know, M and I opened a car wash recently. We've been rather depressed since the snow is gone and has left us with rather cloudy weather, so this snow fall is rather exciting for us. Hoping to scrounge up some business :)
This weather did, however, make me miss my after-dinner walk sans kids...so hopefully I can muster up enough self-motivation to hit the treadmill before bed (unlikely). Oh well, tomorrow...

The King of Adulthood has been very busy these past couple days. I refer to him when my children start to grow up TOO quickly....which seems to be everyday lately. For instance, a few days ago, Michael finally lost one of his two front teeth. They have both been loose for quite some time and it finally gave into the new adult tooth coming in.

The other tooth was being a bit more tricky!! The dentist told us to just keep playing with it and it would eventually come out. SO WE PLAYED AND PLAYED with that silly tooth. Yesterday, I finally convinced Michael that it was definately loose enough for me to pull it for him. Well, Michael's nature, when it comes to blood and the posibility of pain, is nervous, to the point of paranoia. So he went to school with the tooth hanging by a string.
During the course of the day, one of his friends said he'd give Michael 29 cents if Michael would pull it out. Then the entire class began to chant "Pull it out!! Pull it out". Well, another characteristic of Michael is that he loves to be a "ham" and entertain those who will watch. So needless to say, Michael came home from school yesterday with another hole in his mouth.

And even though his Adult tooth is almost all the way through, he's still my little boy, just with bigger teeth!!

So, my kids are great and wonderful. There is no denying it. However, today did make me wonder a bit if I am going to make it through this next year, now that the triplets are 3 years old. Enter the phase of INDEPENDENCE. Don't get me wrong, I love the fact that they are becoming more and more independent. It shows that they are growing and maturing, not to mention, saving me a bit of time in the long run. But there are three of them, and the attitude of "I can do it by myself" is not as cute when multiplied by 3. I literally have to start getting them dressed and ready to leave an hour earlier in the day so that they can all put on their clothes, shoes, coats & hats all by themselves. It's quite a production!! I hope I make it through this phase with little hair loss!!

Remembering back to when I was younger and I thought I was soooo cool, I thought that scouting was, in simple words, LAME. (Wait...don't leave...I have a point). BUT, now that I've grown up and have children of my own, I have an entirely different view on life. (go figure...)
Michael has been a Tiger Scout since last summer and he is having a blast. So far this year they have visited the Dinosaur Museum, gone on a midnight hike at Bong, hung out with the Kenosha Coast Guard Crew, helped out at a soup kitchen and among many other things, are now working on their famous Pinewood Derby Cars. (That's another blog all in itself!!) A couple of weeks ago, all of the scouts from his troop had a banquet to receive awards and eat. The kicker, the boys and their DADS had to make a cake and decorate it for dessert and contest. What a trip watching those two in the kitchen trying to figure out what to do for making and decorating that cake. They did have a blast. Here was the fruit of their labor...


Unfortunately, they didn't win the contest, but they did have fun!! Here is Michael receiving the rest of his awards, patches and beads for this year. Next year, he'll be a Bear Scout. :)
Congratulations Michael!!

I can't believe that it is already MARCH. These first two months of 2007 have flown by, which tends to happen more often once you have children. This has me feeling a bit happy and depressed at the same time. Happy, because we are close to the end of this long, cold winter, but depressed because now that we're in March, I want it to feel like spring NOW!! Looking out my window this morning, I know that my spring fever will continue for quite some time!!
This has me in the mood for a "spring fix" so to speak, so I thought I'd share a picture of the kids from last spring. If you're feeling a bit like I am, I hope this lifts your spirits as well!!!

Well, it happened. Beyond my control and without my permission.....The triplets turned THREE!! Happy Birthday Lucas, Marissa and Francesca!!
We had a nice family party for them yesterday with festive cakes and lots of nice presents. It was a very special day because my babies are no longer "babies". I'll have to come up with a new term when I'm referring to them as a group. Anyways.... here are some of the highlights. Enjoy!!

Here is F, enjoying her special Ladybug cake!!


M wanted a Butterfly cake and I think her's also turned out incredibly cute!!


L wants to be Buzz Lightyear, so I knew his cake would be a hit. Eat up, buddy!!

You guys have to check out this website!! It's a live continuous view of the Nkorho Pan natural water hole in South Africa. At times we've seen lions drinking from it and a few of my triplet mom friends have seen giraffes as well. Right now its almost 3:30 tomorrow morning. Michael loves sitting at the computer with me just waiting to see what might happen. Turn up your volume as well. You can hear it too!!! So much fun to do with the kids. Check it out!!!!
http://www.wavelit.com/popup/playerAfricam.asp#

Ok...you all probably think I'm such a dork, but I just saw a shooting star, in Africa, from my family room!! Check it out.

Well, Christmas has come and gone. The anticipation and excitement has mellowed and now it is the day after. For most of us who do not celebrate after the 25th, today is cleanup day. Usually we celebrate with my side of the family either the 26th or the 27th, depending on all of our schedules. This year we finished last night. It was a wonderful holiday but I was looking forward to being home a bit to tidy up, take the remaining toys out of their security ridden boxes and all the other odds and ends that dont necessarily get done when you are not entertaining in your own home.
I thought I would share one of my many obstacles on keeping a clean house with the multiples. I was scrubbing one of our bathrooms while the four of them were in the playroom watching a new video while lunch was being prepared. All of a sudden I heard a rustling sound in the kitchen, the pantry to be exact, and then an ominous dumping sound. As I walked into the kitchen this is what I saw!!











So as one room was cleaned, another now needed cleaning. Oh well, a day in the life........

As this semester comes to an end not a moment too soon, I look forward to blogging on a more consistent basis. Everytime I finally have a few moments to check in it never ceases to amaze me how quickly time has gone by. Since I blogged last, Thanksgiving has come and gone (without a hitch, I must add), we've had our first big winter snowfall, the Christmas decorations are up and shining, my basement is finally furnished with carpeting which hosts childrens toys galore and in one week Geek Squad will be stopping by to FINALLY set up my computer and all its toys!!! (I apologize now for the large sum of Snapfish emails that will be on their way to your in-boxes within the next couple of weeks!!!) By and by it has been an amazing past 16 weeks. I have learned and lived much but I am truely happy that it will be over very soon! I need a vacation.

I love the holidays. I love what it does for my kids demeanor and I love the extra time with my family and friends. ( Hint....to those of you I have'nt seen in ages) But the one thing that I do not love about the holidays is the concept of over-holidaying. Case in point, Christmas music. It is not even Thanksgiving and there are radio stations that are playing non-stop Christmas music. Now dont get me wrong, I love Christmas music, but I'm just getting into the holiday spirit for Thanksgiving. Please, give us a break. Christmas will be here soon enough yet by the time it gets here I wont want to here another note of Christmas music. Anyone else want to weigh in?

WHAT WAS I THINKING!!!!! I decided that Mario and I would host Thanksgiving at our house this year. The key word in that sentence is "I". These past few years have been difficult splitting the time between the two families, so to save the trouble I said "Everyone come over here." I dont know if I will have enough time to pull this off! Between now and next Thursday our carpeting for the basement needs to get delivered. All the kids toys and project tables and such need to get moved downstairs. The livingroom/diningroom carpet needs to be cleaned (you can only imagine what it looks like after three years of the four of them using it everyday!!!) I need to re-paint the livingroom/diningroom and the main hallway that leads to the kids bedrooms (crayon and pen incident). Oh boy, I'm tired of just thinking about it. WHAT WAS I THINKING!!! I know in the end it will be a wonderful day and everyone will have a great time, I just wish there were more hours in the day. Whew...Okay, Im done ranting and acting crazy. Im really looking forward to starting this tradition for the kids. A full house bustling with family and friends, good food and conversation, and a good nap afterwards. I want them to remember their childhood Thanksgivings with a smile. I started one tradition last year of having a wonderful sit-down breakfast with Mario and the kids. I make a yummy tomato, ham, and cheese strata and we start our Thanksgiving bright and early. The only meal we share during the rest of the year is dinner, so it's something I really look forward to. I would love it if you'd like to share some of the traditions you have or have started with your families. I hope you all have a wonderful Thanksgiving!

FYI.......So Ive been asked now a gazillion times "Why I think Im the MOST?" Well, I dont think it, I know it!! MOST is just an acronym for Mother Of Super Twins. Which in multiples world, (where I live, everyday) means any group of multiples over 2. Plus, I do think Im pretty wonderful... so why not consider myself "The Most"? Just kidding. As you all know me well enough to not have that big of an ego. Please forgive my picture free blog as my computer is having malfunctions to my downloading of pictures. Soon though..........

TWO DOWN, ONE TO GO!!! Yes it's true. The girls are Potty trained! Hallelujah. What an ordeal but oh, was it worth it. Ten less diapers a day, money in my pocket. How can I not be ecstatic? We are on the road to more independence. Francesca started at the beginning of June with a bang. She was on top of it and then all of a sudden BAM, accident central. I thought, "Maybe she just is'nt ready" But I refused to give up. I bought 6 different types of underware to keep her motivated; Little Mermaid, Strawberrry Shortcake, Dora, ones with hearts and stripes...you name it, I bought it. Then I started with Marissa. I thought she might be the same but she has been a piece of cake. Hey, dont I deserve it? :) Im thinking now Im gonna take a break for a couple of months before starting with Lucas. My bottom is sore from sitting on the bathroom floor for the past 3 months.

Im looking at the clock right now and I realize that there is still so much day to live. Im really not one to complain. I figure, Ive chosen my life and what I do with it, so why complain. Really, everyone I know is equally as busy so they dont want to hear my belly-aching, Right? Well today your stuck with it!! :) We started out this morning like every morning. Lucas was bright eyed and awake at 5:15 just as I realized I still had 30 more minutes to sleep before my coffee maker would wake me. So Lucas climbs in bed with Mario and I, and as Mario groans and rolls over, Lucas starts chatting away about breakfast, cartoons, pop-tarts and anything else related with morning. After 15 minutes of this I came to the conclusion that falling back to sleep is not going to happen. We get up, rise sleepyhead Michael from bed and start the morning chaos.
"Michael, get dressed!" "Girls, get on the potty, quick!! quick!! quick!!" "Lucas, breakfast is on the way, find your patience, PLEASE!!!!" "Michael, leave your sisters alone and come eat" "Michael, where is your hat?" "No Lucas, you just ate breakfast, its not time for a snack" And so on and so forth. You get the picture!! Finally, Michael is out the door, Mario to drop him off on his way to work, and the morning clean up begins. I let the crew(the triplets) watch a 30 minute morning show so I have time to get cleaned up for the day. All of a sudden, the phone rings. Its Michael, at school, wondering where I am? I ask him why I should be there and he tells me that he is singing at the morning Mass. Didnt Daddy tell me? Why no, he didnt....Arggg. But Im on my way. Get dressed real fast, bundle up the kids, as its 45 degrees out this morning, pack snacks, sippy cups and books to keep them quiet during Mass and load them in the car. We get to school 4 minutes after service has begun, just in the knick of time. I settle in with the crew, take off coats, get them snacks and wait for Michaels performance. Now mind you, Ive never attempted to take the crew to church by myself. Thats just crazy talk, so this is a true venturing out for me!! Well, before you know it, church is over, the crew is restless and Michael didnt sing. What? As the students line up to go to their respective classrooms, I get Michaels attention and ask why he didnt sing. "Oh, I was wrong, we sing next Thursday."
Well, by next Thursday, I should be a real pro at taking the crew to church by myself.
I'm at school now and I'm enjoying my few hours of interaction with adults. But as always, looking forward to whats to come when I get home. Homework with Michael, making dinner, getting Michael to soccer practice, bathtime for the crew, shower for Michael, making lunches for tomorrow, study time for mom, switch over the laundry ...........................