As you may know from Sarah's blog, the girls had fun on their fist pumpkin patch visit a few weeks ago. The weather was nice, the pumpkin choice was decent and there were no major incidents, with the exception of some minor damage from dropped pumpkins. As you will see from this video, the girls decided to take the opportunity to practice their newly learned drumming skills.
Allie was the one who underestimated the size of that pumpkin!
Friday, October 30, 2009
Thursday, October 22, 2009
My Aunt.
I didn't really think about this post and how I wanted to write it - I just felt I should write something about my mother's last surving sister passing away this morning. After being in a nursing home for a few years, she suffered a stroke last week from which she was not able to recover.
Because my Aunt Winkie never married nor have children, my twelve siblings and I were her famliy. In many ways Winkie was a typical Boston-born Irish Catholic woman who loved to socialize, sing, laugh and joke around. She also used to make batches of home-made Hires root beer at least once a year which tasted awesome!
I'll just keep this post short and simple. We love you Winkie - you will be sorely missed. Tell my dad, my daughter Abbey and Julie I will see them again.
Peace.
Because my Aunt Winkie never married nor have children, my twelve siblings and I were her famliy. In many ways Winkie was a typical Boston-born Irish Catholic woman who loved to socialize, sing, laugh and joke around. She also used to make batches of home-made Hires root beer at least once a year which tasted awesome!
I'll just keep this post short and simple. We love you Winkie - you will be sorely missed. Tell my dad, my daughter Abbey and Julie I will see them again.
Peace.
Friday, October 16, 2009
Imperfection.
I was home alone with the girls on Monday, Columbus Day. I consider Columbus Day a half-holiday. Half-holiday because many companies are open on that holiday and also a half-holiday because in some years I worked Columbus Day, even if my employer was closed. The second and third week in October is generally a busy time in corporate accounting - working to get the books closed and reporting completed for Q3. This Columbus Day I did not work, but Sarah did.
My day with the girls, right up until bedtime, went smooth. Too smooth. It was just too good to be true.
In the morning we had breakfast,the girls palyed together, they watched some of their TV programs - all was good. The sun was shining brightly, but it was not forecasted to be warm, so I stepped outside to check the temperature and decided the temperature was nice enough to bring the girls out to play in the yard. It was a bit cool, but the girls had fun for about an hour with the "big girl" slide, play garden tools, their swing and all their other toys.
After lunch, the girls went down fairly quietly for their 2+ hour nap, which they had not done for Sarah or me for a couple of weeks.
The hour and a half between nap and dinner was spent outside playing in the driveway, without incident. I was now three quarters through an almost perfect day with my girls.
Peapod then arrives with our groceries. (I should note that we use Peapod infrequently -about once every two to three months.) The grocery order included Ellio's Pizza, which the girls love. Ellio's pizza for dinner! All was well with Allie, Anna and Em!
A short time later the girls become ecstatic about mommy's arrival home.
Next order of business is (1)clean up, (2)put the girls to bed, (3)have our dinner and (4) go to bed. The prefect day would then be complete. Somewhere between (2) and (3) perfection becomes imperfection. The order of events between 7:45pm and 11:00pm are somewhat fuzzy but included Sarah sitting on the floor next to the girls' cribs. It also included Rich and Sarah. And then Rich. And then Sarah and Rich again. In between we each managed to scoff down some dinner.
Emily has needed a great deal of Sarah at night - both at bedtime and the middle of the night. Many a night the past 2-3 weeks Sarah and Em have slept on sofa cushions on the living room floor. That sleeping arrangement, as you can imagine, is not comfortable at all, especially for Sarah. Monday night was no exception with Emily at bedtime, but she did end up being the first to fall asleep. ALLIE WOULD JUST NOT FALL ASLEEP. We tried everything before putting her in the bed with us at about 11:00.
Somewhere around 2:00 am, on cue, Emily woke up crying. Downstairs with Emily Sarah went to sleep on the sofa cushions.
To cap off the "perfect" day, Anna woke up crying sometime around 5:00 (if my memory serves me correct). When I came downstairs later, I discovered that Sarah had pulled Anna out of her crib to join her & Em on the sofa cushions for the remainder of the morning.
The 24 hours of imperfection ended sometime before 7:00 am with the arrival of Grammy and our departure to work about a half an hour later .
Things have gotten S L O W L Y better as the week has progressed, but I think we have a way to go. Actually, don't tell anyone, but Sarah & I are making plans so that each of the girls has their own room! Stay tuned....
My day with the girls, right up until bedtime, went smooth. Too smooth. It was just too good to be true.
In the morning we had breakfast,the girls palyed together, they watched some of their TV programs - all was good. The sun was shining brightly, but it was not forecasted to be warm, so I stepped outside to check the temperature and decided the temperature was nice enough to bring the girls out to play in the yard. It was a bit cool, but the girls had fun for about an hour with the "big girl" slide, play garden tools, their swing and all their other toys.
After lunch, the girls went down fairly quietly for their 2+ hour nap, which they had not done for Sarah or me for a couple of weeks.
The hour and a half between nap and dinner was spent outside playing in the driveway, without incident. I was now three quarters through an almost perfect day with my girls.
Peapod then arrives with our groceries. (I should note that we use Peapod infrequently -about once every two to three months.) The grocery order included Ellio's Pizza, which the girls love. Ellio's pizza for dinner! All was well with Allie, Anna and Em!
A short time later the girls become ecstatic about mommy's arrival home.
Next order of business is (1)clean up, (2)put the girls to bed, (3)have our dinner and (4) go to bed. The prefect day would then be complete. Somewhere between (2) and (3) perfection becomes imperfection. The order of events between 7:45pm and 11:00pm are somewhat fuzzy but included Sarah sitting on the floor next to the girls' cribs. It also included Rich and Sarah. And then Rich. And then Sarah and Rich again. In between we each managed to scoff down some dinner.
Emily has needed a great deal of Sarah at night - both at bedtime and the middle of the night. Many a night the past 2-3 weeks Sarah and Em have slept on sofa cushions on the living room floor. That sleeping arrangement, as you can imagine, is not comfortable at all, especially for Sarah. Monday night was no exception with Emily at bedtime, but she did end up being the first to fall asleep. ALLIE WOULD JUST NOT FALL ASLEEP. We tried everything before putting her in the bed with us at about 11:00.
Somewhere around 2:00 am, on cue, Emily woke up crying. Downstairs with Emily Sarah went to sleep on the sofa cushions.
To cap off the "perfect" day, Anna woke up crying sometime around 5:00 (if my memory serves me correct). When I came downstairs later, I discovered that Sarah had pulled Anna out of her crib to join her & Em on the sofa cushions for the remainder of the morning.
The 24 hours of imperfection ended sometime before 7:00 am with the arrival of Grammy and our departure to work about a half an hour later .
Things have gotten S L O W L Y better as the week has progressed, but I think we have a way to go. Actually, don't tell anyone, but Sarah & I are making plans so that each of the girls has their own room! Stay tuned....
Friday, October 9, 2009
Important to some.
Before the Red Sox - Angels playoff series began, I saw the headline of a story on a local news website that read something like "Get ready to be sleepy...". Reading the headline, I thought the writer of the article was going to talk about how he thought the Sox - Angels series would be boring and therefore Sox viewers would be sleepy . The writer in fact was talking about the start time of the games - 9:30ish pm on the east coast. The writer assumed that Red Sox fans would be up late at night watching the games. Not me.
I don't remember when exactly my priorities changed - but they did. I, for the most part, go to bed if I am tired. I do not stay up late to see who wins the game. Sarah will not wake up at midnight to discover I am downstairs awaiting the final out of a baseball game or for the final tick of the clock of a Patriots game.
Don't get me wrong - I've had my share of late nights watching professional sports. Yes, I've seen MANY of the Celtics, Red Sox and Patriots celebrations over the years. I've lived my entire life in the Boston area and have my share of stories. Whether the story is about sitting a few rows in front of Danny Ainge and Dennis Johnson at a concert or a story standing in line for hours to get Larry Bird's autograph. I have great memories of watching Celtics games with my dad (God rest his soul) and my brothers. I saw the Celtics play at the old Boston Garden - I saw The Chief, Kevin McHale, LB & company at their best. I am a sports fan, but something has changed.
It kind of irritates me now when I am at a party, wedding, or some other social event and guests "sneak away" to catch the score of the game or to watch a game. Give me a break. I've heard it said it's "passion for the game". I don't get it. I consider myself somewhat passionate about running but you won't see me change into running shorts and my Saucony shoes to get a run in during a Christmas party. P L E A S E.
Some may say I am an old fart. I think I've just gotten better at choosing what is meaningful in life.
With all that said, GO SOX!
I don't remember when exactly my priorities changed - but they did. I, for the most part, go to bed if I am tired. I do not stay up late to see who wins the game. Sarah will not wake up at midnight to discover I am downstairs awaiting the final out of a baseball game or for the final tick of the clock of a Patriots game.
Don't get me wrong - I've had my share of late nights watching professional sports. Yes, I've seen MANY of the Celtics, Red Sox and Patriots celebrations over the years. I've lived my entire life in the Boston area and have my share of stories. Whether the story is about sitting a few rows in front of Danny Ainge and Dennis Johnson at a concert or a story standing in line for hours to get Larry Bird's autograph. I have great memories of watching Celtics games with my dad (God rest his soul) and my brothers. I saw the Celtics play at the old Boston Garden - I saw The Chief, Kevin McHale, LB & company at their best. I am a sports fan, but something has changed.
It kind of irritates me now when I am at a party, wedding, or some other social event and guests "sneak away" to catch the score of the game or to watch a game. Give me a break. I've heard it said it's "passion for the game". I don't get it. I consider myself somewhat passionate about running but you won't see me change into running shorts and my Saucony shoes to get a run in during a Christmas party. P L E A S E.
Some may say I am an old fart. I think I've just gotten better at choosing what is meaningful in life.
With all that said, GO SOX!
Thursday, October 8, 2009
Yes, I do run.
The title of the blog assumes I am a runner, correct? Well, you wouldn't think I was much of a runner by reading my posts the past few months. But yes, I do consider myslef a runner even though the past 2.5 years my running has been sporadic, at best. So, I thought I would post some evidence to support my claim that I do, literally, run with triplets.
Left to right - Allie, Emily and Anna.
How 'bout those legs?
You may notice the white armband on my right arm - it reads Abbey. My mother in-law Sheila sewed it for me to wear - I wear it whenever I run outside.
The only thing I don't like about these pictures is that Anna's eye is swollen from the mosquito incident.
The girls' total weight is about over 65 lbs now. Their increase in weight, combined with my increase in age has contributed to a slower pace as of late!
Do you think we get much attention on the street? Just a little.
Left to right - Allie, Emily and Anna.
How 'bout those legs?
You may notice the white armband on my right arm - it reads Abbey. My mother in-law Sheila sewed it for me to wear - I wear it whenever I run outside.
The only thing I don't like about these pictures is that Anna's eye is swollen from the mosquito incident.
The girls' total weight is about over 65 lbs now. Their increase in weight, combined with my increase in age has contributed to a slower pace as of late!
Do you think we get much attention on the street? Just a little. Thursday, October 1, 2009
Our Five Year Wedding Anniversary.
Today is our 5 Year wedding anniversary. Happy Anniversary, Sarah!
Our life then was a balanced mix of time with family, friends, and each other. We worked, we traveled, and we talked about what our future might look like. The only major stressor for us at the time was the renovating of our home - a Colonial/Victorian house built in the lat 1800's. We both wanted to be parents, but neither of us had a definitive time plan on when that would happen. We were, pretty much, typical newlyweds.
Fast forward - 2009:
The stress of renovating the old house in many ways seems like decades ago. After a year we learn Sarah is pregnant with our first child.
Our life then was a balanced mix of time with family, friends, and each other. We worked, we traveled, and we talked about what our future might look like. The only major stressor for us at the time was the renovating of our home - a Colonial/Victorian house built in the lat 1800's. We both wanted to be parents, but neither of us had a definitive time plan on when that would happen. We were, pretty much, typical newlyweds.
Fast forward - 2009:
The stress of renovating the old house in many ways seems like decades ago. After a year we learn Sarah is pregnant with our first child. June 2006: Abigail comes into the world still.
Months later, "in an odd twist of fate" (Sarah's words), I hear the words "...I see three babies" from the technician conducting the ultrasound on Sarah's tummy.
Within minutes after learning of our daughters, we learn of a birth defect called spina bifida.
I believe adversity can either tear apart or strengthen a relationship. Sarah and I have had our share of struggles. We, of course, have also been blessed. Our life is not easy, nor without heartache. There, of course, is also an abundance of love and joy in our family.
Our wedding songs were Happy To Be Stuck With You by Huey Lewis (no joke) and Edwin McCain's I Could Not Ask For More. Well, I could not ask for more.
Happy Anniversary, hon.
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