The Mott Multiples -Triplets, Twins and A Single

December ...A Month of Fun

2017-12-30T14:47:00.001-05:00

Christmas is over and we are still basking in our days of freedom and enjoying our lounging. The days are going by fast and the boys and Mairin are making great use of the pond this year. I have had guests sleeping over almost every night and it brings me much joy to see kids outside in these frigid temps skating and enjoying themselves. I am in charge of food so although no one has asked to leave the house in 3 days we have consumed enough Gatorade to quench the thirst of several hockey teams and enough hot chocolate and snack packs to keep Costco in business. Pizza one night, Tacos and Burritos another and of course the good old chili dogs and chili cheese fries for another. The calories being burned with the hours of ice time makes it very easy to for me to produce the heavy food that will warm and fill the bellies of these young men. We never know how long the ice will last so we need to seize the moment..seize the day and seize the week.

The month of December brought much fun as it usually does. It starts with the big Mott Thanksgiving that is truly an experience within itself, followed by an Advent by Candlelight at my church and this year I invited 16 wonderful ladies to share the evening with. A birthday for me along with my moms birthday, my parents 50th wedding anniversary and the triplets birthday all need to be celebrated in such a short time. When Christmas finally comes I get to breath a sigh of relief that everything is complete...at least for awhile.

My Aunt Myrna is a special aunt in the month of December. She always makes sure a cake is made or purchased along with the candles for my birthday. She says the kids always need to see their mom with a birthday cake. She surprised us this year with a red velvet beauty. She also has this amazing holiday tradition that she started 12 years ago. It began when Eamon and Liam were just old enough to make a craft to wrap and give to us for Christmas. It has since morphed into an evening when she picks up the triplets and takes them to the dollar store to do their shopping for all of the adults in their world. They invade their banks and off they go to find the perfect treasures for all. Myrna takes them out to dinner and then home to wrap their treasures for Christmas day. Aunt Myrna grabs the older 3 and takes them to 5 below to get their treasures. They also all buy for each other so it is fun to see what everyone gets for each other. It sure makes for a lot of gifts to open and a lot of wrapping but it is what makes Christmas morning so wonderful. Thank you Aunt Myrna for always doing this and making it such a great tradition that my kids will always think of.

I am so thankful and so grateful for my family and friends. Happy New Year to All.

I am busy...but busy doing what?

2017-11-03T09:40:00.003-04:00

Time...time for what..what do I do? It is 5:15 pm and I get the trips loaded with their hockey bags in tow. Older boys have to be tour guides at the high school open house and upon getting ready ....a suit coat button is missing. "Alright everyone look on the floors for Eamon's button" I am over threading my needle so that I can take it in the car with me and sew it on our way. Eamon needs the hours for driving so I have him driving while I remind Colin to bring his math review. "Liam sit next to Colin and do his math review while we drive to hockey." "Declan grab your book and go to the far back and get your 20 min reading done". Radio off and off we go. Driving along and I feel out of sorts and as I look up Eamon is on the wrong side of the road. I glance to my right and a huge deer is out our window. My neighbor was grabbing pictures as we slowly crept by.

I stop sewing until we get out on the main road and get on a straight path so that I can go back to my sewing. Math problems going on behind my seat and my constant gasp as I am teaching my 15 year old the wisdom of driving defensively. We arrive and drop off for hockey and off to the high school to drop the older ones for the open house. Eamon pulls up in the middle of the parking lot and as much as I thought he should park my beast of a vehicle I just didn't have it in me. "Eamon throw her in park and here is your jacket". They get out and I make them take a picture as Liam is telling me there is a line of people behind us. Opps...I just became that mom.

I have some time before I need to be at the hockey mom's gathering of wine and snacks. I pull up in the parking lot and send out my typical reminders. "David you need to pick up trips from hockey at 7:40 and take them home and then go back out at 9 pm and get the older ones. Oh and can you put away dinner after you eat". I got home by 10ish and everyone was home and safe. 4 in bed and 2 awake.

Today feels like a crazy repeat of yesterday. Who am I kidding...most days seem like a repeat. Mom eat at run at school. I need to grab subway or something wonderful to take and eat lunch with my younger 4 today. They are in different lunches that are an hour apart so I get to do twice. In between this hour gap the older 2 get released from school. There is not time to take them home before the second lunch so they are going to sit in the car and wait while I do the second eat and run. I iwll still and send the littles back to class and then tend to Eamon and Liam who want to be dropped off at the golf course so they can golf with their buddies. I need to then repack the car with hockey gear and get back for pick up of the littles. We will begin our trek to the far reaches of Macomb to a hockey rink, during the heaviest traffic hour on a Friday for a 6:15 game. I will arrive home by 9pm asking the same question I did yesterday...I am busy...but busy doing what? I'm not traveling the world or inventing the next cancer cure but I guess getting all of my peeps to where they need to be and fed is my accomplishment.

oh and no worries about Mairin...she and her swim meets and swim practice also suck my weekends dry. No one is left out when it comes to activities.

Livin the Dream People...Livin the Dream!

Disney Dream for 12.

2017-09-04T11:12:00.000-04:00

August brought my family much joy and lots of entertainment. My parents are celebrating their 50th wedding anniversary this year and they announced that they were taking everyone on a Disney Cruise. This was quite a surprise to us all but it didn't take us long to adjust to the news. Heidi and her fiance decided to tie the knot and because we were taking a cruise they decided to just have their wedding on the cruise. Summer brought us lots of planning and anticipation. We spent hours deciding all the details and with the help of our amazing cousin who semi retired from Disney we were able to get some amazing advice and guidance on what to do and what not to do and overall he really made it a great trip for 12 of us. Thanks Larry Stauffer for spending the time and really making our trip "magical".

We all decided we should go to Florida a little early and hit the Magic Kingdom before we set sail. All 12 of us got our rooms on property and spent a day at the Magic Kingdom and a day at Blizzard Beach. Disney Springs was our evening entertainment for a couple nights and I think everyone had fun. The sun was pretty hot in August and planning a day at Magic Kingdom was making me a little nervous. I am happy to say that with all of the air conditioned wait areas we made it through. We arrived when it opened and we made our way through the park. we weaved our party of 12 through the crowds of people and making sure dad was in view as he was in a motorized scooter to save his knee from exhaustion. By 4pm Colin wasn't feeling well, Mom and Dad were ready to go so David offered to take Colin back to the hotel. Heidi and Derek soon after called it a day and that left me with 5 kids to squeeze every last ounce of fun from the day. We went quickly from ride to ride and had great conversations while waiting in lines. We didn't catch the shuttle back to our hotel until well after 10pm. It was a quiet ride back full of very tired and over stimulated children.

Blizzard Beach was an even bigger hit for my kids. They could have stayed for days. I don't know what it is about water but my kids were hooked. I love that they are all at an age that we were able to send them off and had them just check in often.

This trip was the first time on an airplane for the triplets and they of course loved it. Security was fun with 8 of us. Luckily we didn't require any major body checks. The kids are finally old enough that I didn't get any of those crazy looks from people. The looks of ...OMG I hope you are not sitting here.

The ship set sail on a Monday and we returned on a Friday. We visited the Bahamas and then spent the day at the Disney Island, Castaway Kay. They really do it right. Everything was magical and they do an amazing job of moving that many people, feeding them and keeping everyone happy. Heidi and Derek had the wedding while docked in the Bahamas. The ceremony was marvelous and they took care of every detail. It was like a mini wedding in our own room.

Lots and lots of entertainment going on until the wee hours of the night. The kids all had kid clubs to go to and we all had lots of bars to check out. We all ate too much, didn't exercise enough and didn't want to eat when we all finally arrived home. It was truly a trip that will be remembered. A huge thank you to Mom and Dad for taking us and letting us celebrate 50 years with you.

The Summer of 2017 GONE.......

2017-08-31T12:33:00.000-04:00

What a fun summer. Wow almost a blur because it was so busy. All six swam again this summer and although I made all of them play golf my little girl is not so interested in golf. She definately knows what she likes and what she doesn't. She managed to come up with any and every excuse why not to golf. I may have to let it go so that she doesn't hate it forever.

June brought us the end of school and a huge goodbye to our elementary school. The triplets got into Covington and so they will start 3rd grade there. It is a Birmingham public school but it runs 3-8 grades. Mairin is already there so we are back to 2 schools for 6 kids. The triplets insisted that I split them up. They want nothing to do with each other in the same classrooms. They get along very well but they prefer to make their own way at school.

They found a passion for golf this summer by asking to play as often as I would let them. Happy to have some potential future golfers. They also embraced swimming and gave me minimal complaints for their daily swim practice. Tennis may not be their thing as they asked not to do it. We tried to fit in some Walnut Lake beach days into our schedule and we seemed to stay very busy.

Eamon and Liam survived freshman year at Brother Rice and were very happy for the end of the year to come. They quickly ended school and off to Pennsylvania for a week long mission trip they went. They came back with smiles and anticipating the opportunity to go again the next year. They participated in swim all summer and got a ton of golf in. They joined the Brother Rice golf team this past fall and got a quick wake up call to the amount of talented young golfers there are out there. I think that joining the team at school gave them some passion for the game. They took on their first official job for the summer. They worked at a little local market and spent their friday nights mopping, stocking shelves and cleaning out storage rooms. They would come home tired and sweaty. Just a perfect job for a couple of 15 year olds.

Mairin is my social butterfly and took the summer enjoying her friends and asking if she could stay longer...where ever she was. She was either on the go or vegging in her room catching up on her sleep. She rocked her passion this summer but doing well in swim and she was ok going back to school in September. Great summer had by all. David and I both felt like the summer went by way too fast and that we are merely a vessel for transportation. We did sneak out for several boat night date nights.

The Dynamics Of A Road Trip

2017-06-09T09:22:00.002-04:00

In 2008 we became a family of 8 and we had to rid ourselves of our Honda mini van. The 6 car seats and boosters needed at that time would not fit. We expanded to one of the few choices available, Ford Expedition XL. The vehicles that we have to choose from are few and can be a very bored process. We are on our 3rd Ford Expedition and although I would consider going to a GM vehicle. It is very tough finding a used vehicle with a second row bench seat.

Arms need to stay next to your body and if they float away from your body be warned that a nasty look from a neighbor is the only warning you may get before you receive an elbow to the ribs. You have only the space your rear end takes up and the feet area below you. Anything else is someone else's space and if you even think you can lay down, you are clearly not prepared for our type of a road trip.

I usually start off driving and David briefly goes over the rules. "What word is off limits kids"? Everyone almost in unison respond with, "Stop". This word is the biggest bad mood trigger of any road trip. You all know the word. It is a simple word but can be drawn out into the familiar "sttoooopppppp'. Or the snotty "stop". My kids always say it loud enough for me to hear and I know they secretly do it to get the sibling into trouble and to get me involved. There are not many rules but if your electronic makes any noise you need to have a headset. The driver controls the music and although you may not like the music choice you can request that the music be moved to the front speakers.

The Mott's have all been blessed with large and hearty bladders. Our stops are few and my riders are hardcore. We have had to use an empty McDonald's cup until we could safely exit an expressway. We have had to pull over on side roads and open up a door for someone. Team Mott always seems to stand behind the Mott who is in distress and will support them with jokes and anything to make them laugh.

We do not have anyone who gets car sick on Team Mott and that has proved to be very valuable when traveling through mountains and the winding roads. Snacks are always in the very back along with a cooler and they all know that we spread the snacks out and you need a healthy one every once in awhile. I always pack a bag of chargers and mini ipods that I fill with various kinds of music. The little's share them and enjoy listening to music. If the road trip is long enough I will load up the portable movie players and set them up in the far back row. 2 screens that play the same movie and you can only watch movies if you sit in the far back. Eamon and Liam have their laptops and they are often doing homework, reading or watching a movie on their laptop....if they have enough battery.
Outlets are a premium with all who need them. We have a regular plug in the second row along with a cigarette lighter plug that can light up 2 phones. The front seat has 2 cigarette lighter outlets so we often have several of the 8 foot cords coming out of the front row and trailing to the back somewhere. Mom and Dad get priority charging and will share their outlets when necessary. When stopping for gas David will always ask, "what credit card am I using today"? I am always strategically using cards based on what incentive they are offering at the time. When we traveled out west Gap was offering 10x bonus points for gas in August. Upon arrival home I received 300.00 in Gap gift cards for the kids fall clothing line up.

David will usually pump the gas and the kids know it is housekeeping time. We will collect all trash and move it forward and out. The cooler is opened and drinks are offered along with a fill up of ice and a plug pull to empty out all the water. We usually get coffee so I will run in and get 2 coffees. The stop is quick but very productive. The snack bin is also raided at this point and everyone is ready to hit the road again.

The kids make their own choices as to where they sit and to whom they sit next to. The most desired seats are the second row window seats. I usually will not get involved in seating assignments. I tell them to figure it out and they often do. I also do not give up the front seat. I am the mom and I have earned my seat in the front row. I'm not into the equal opportunity idea and share the front seat.

I do a good amount of the driving on our road trips. I don't mind driving but more importantly, David is a much better navigator than I. I will do all the city driving while David gets us to where we need to go. Our trip to Washington DC was especially stressful because of trying to navigate such a busy city. We drove into the City each day we were there and he did an amazing job finding the sites and places to park.

It is how we roll!!!!!!

Twins,Triplets and A Single Take West Point, NY

2017-05-31T21:51:00.003-04:00

1700 miles round trip and a sweet experience was had by all. We blew out of Metro Detroit after school on Wednesday to make our trek to see our nephew/cousin, Michael Mott graduate from West Point Military Academy. We went via Canada so that we could add a stop in Niagara Falls. We spent our first night in Niagara Falls only to wake up to pouring rain and cold so we completely bailed on our plans to ride the Maid of the Mist and get the up close and personal view of the falls. It was another 7 hour drive to get us to the Westchester Marriott in Terrytown, NY where we would check in for the weekend. We got 2 adjoining rooms and the kids were in heaven. They spent endless hours in the pool and ate the Marriott out of every plate of sweet treats that they would set out for guests. The adults congregated poolside or the lobby where we filled it with Mott's and conversation.

We decided that being so close to New York we had to hit the city. A 40 min train ride into Grand Central Station was fun. Finding the subway line that would take us to Battery Park for a boat tour of the Statue of Liberty. We swung by the 9/11 Memorial and wanted to go into the actual museum but it just wasn't going to work. The day was fleeting fast so we had to dredge on. We detoured Canal Street where I thought I might fall prey to something counterfeit but nothing blew my socks off. We headed back up to Central Park where the kids wanted to play and climb on rocks. A train ride home and kids were ready to swim and we were ready for a cocktail .... 15,000 steps for the day made a drink ok.

The Cost for a Day in NYC for 8

The underground world

-12.00 to park at the train station

-105.00 Train ride into the city

- 48.00 in Subway fare for 8

-155.00 for lunch in lower Manhattan (TGI Fridays)

-30.00 for an ice cream break mid day

- 90.00 for tickets to ride a boat to see Statue of Liberty

-Sales Pitch for carriage rides through Central Park for 180.00 but Dave Mott was not falling for it.

Saturday was graduation day and required all of us to be up and out the door by 7 am to secure our places on campus for the big day. Graduation promptly at 10 am and by 11:30 am we were on the field greeting Michael and congratulating him. One of the West Point traditions is for the kids to line up and after the cadets throw their hats the kids run to collect them as their souvenirs. The cadets often put money and notes in the hats. David took the triplets down early and they all scored a hat. 2 of the hats had 20.00 and Colin got a note and 5.00.

A campus walk with Dad

Enjoying the cool campus

The Triplets couldn't get enough of cousin Michael

Pinning Ceremony

Last Picture with The Hudson River in the back

It was just 10 years prior that we came to West Point for yet another Mott. Kevin Mott graduated in 2007 and with a little uniform differences everything else seemed to be the same. What an honor it was for us to attend yet again for another Mott.

Kevin Mott with his parents - Kevin and Kathy Mott

We all enjoyed a big pizza party that evening after all the graduation activities were complete and the Mott's all slowly checked out the next day and headed back home.

We were one of the only ones who drove so we began our 7 hour drive back through Canada with a stop in Niagara Falls.

Another Mott Family Adventure in the books.
Spring 2017

The Remnants of "I'm Bored"

2017-04-24T10:22:00.001-04:00

The Monday morning shuffle begins and while I am in between batches of children getting ready and getting out the door I come across all the piles of the "I'm Bored" moments of the weekend. This time I grabbed my phone to capture the piles of creativity.

I have become accustomed and very comfortable with the typical comment of "I'm bored". Every mom I think can relate to this. It is when they come inside and throw their lifeless bodies on the kitchen floor or across the table and take the deep breath, sigh with what sounds like exhaustion and use the phrase."mom..I'm so bored". The voice even takes on a tone of pain or discomfort. Such a painful feeling for a young, over entertained 8 year old (insert lots of sarcasm here). I have used many responses over the years to combat this comment. I offer toilet cleaning or bedroom clean up as an alternative and never get a response that is positive. I used to get mad at the phase as it made me think of spoiled, over indulged children who were somehow ungrateful for all that I do for them. I still think of that but I also take some responsibility for the phrase. I am the one who keeps their schedules busy with sports or activities. I am the enabler of play dates, outings and places to go. I have finally become comfortable with boredom and I think it is a good thing. My approach has completely changed as batch #3 of little people are making their way.

I would be lying if I didn't admit that I look forward to the phrase now. When I hear this phrase now it takes on a whole new meaning to me. It means that the kids have been home long enough to where they are free enough to have to dig inside their little bodies and come up with something to do on their own. There are no orders being barked at them to change their clothes, do their homework or time for...something. No adult to facilitate a craft or activity and no electronic to keep them in a coma state on the couch. It has taken some practice on both of our parts but the results have been all that I have wanted and more. It is also a time for me to work in the kitchen and get some of my stuff done. Days like these require very minimal from me. I provide light snacks at the kitchen table per their request as they transition from idea to idea. I also am the monitor of the electronics and make sure they stay at 100% charge (aka..not used) I do not participate in any of the play as this is all about them and what they decide to do to keep them busy.

All of my amazon deliveries come in all sizes of boxes and they are a hot commodity during the "I'm Bored" time. I find a pile of box pieces, scissors, glue and tape and markers in different rooms of the house. They made a shadowbox type creation of their own hockey rink the other day. I love the tape on the carpet floor in the basement to show the goalie area or the tape paths that make their roads to play with their cars. The tape belongs to their older brothers for taping hockey sticks but I am willing to purchase more for their creativity. They spend time in the bathroom trying to float their handmade boat creations that they make out of straws and duct tape. Yes I will buy more duct tape for this kind of work too. They will pull out the old trucks and take them outside and build ramps in the dirt. Not even a sand box but just an area with no grass. I head into the woods to get a picture of the campfire they made all with places to sit. This is a direct copy of the big fire pit in the yard but it is the one that they made. There are piles of stuff in the woods that include some trash or bushes, sticks and stuff from the garage that they have collected and made into a so called fort. They tell me about how high they go up the trees deeper in the woods and how they climb across a board and it protects them from the animals in the forest. I think...sweet keep creating. They ask to go out into the forest when it is raining. Yep ..go ahead and have fun.

This will not last long as they will soon grow out of some of this creativity but until then I will continue to rub my hands together and hope for my new favorite phrase of "I'm Bored".

Trucks and Ramps

Collection of Stuff for a fort

The firepit with seating for friends

The goalie area for mini sticks

Boxes ready for a creation

Twins..a Single and Then Holy Triplets!!!!!!

2017-04-03T13:13:00.001-04:00

Long ago are the days where the hours go by slow and the feeling that the dinner hour will never end and bedtime seems so so far away. The whining and the crying from a cranky toddler because a nap that was cut short due to the Fed Ex man ringing the doorbell. The endless time spent cleaning up small toys and putting puzzle pieces in their spots and the endless sorting of games that all have the wrong parts in them. I always say, the bigger the kid...the bigger the problems.

We spent this past week with what I would call a pause week. The week that happens only in the spring for us when the sport season ends and the gap before the the next one starts. I made dinner all week and none of the meals had to be mobile friendly. No wraps or buns required. The kids spent some time playing outside and I was able to spend my evenings at home rather than in my car.

I feel like I am in constant alert mode. Always asking myself if I have forgotten anything. I will often wake up in the morning with the same reoccurring dream. It is mostly a dream that makes me wake up thinking I was supposed to be taking some sort of pill everyday and I keep forgetting to take it. I parlay that dream into my life and my sub conscious thinking I am forgetting something. I spend my spare moments scrolling through my google calendar looking at the upcoming activities. I will often look ahead far enough to find an evening that has nothing listed. Maybe a date night or a time to make a call to that couple that we haven't gotten together with in awhile.

This week brings a spring break for half of the bunch and then we will proceed full speed into spring chaos. The triplets minus 1 are playing hockey. Finn retired his career in hockey after this past season. He would rather play with Lego's and build stuff. Colin and Declan are full speed ahead and are doing the spring league with Birmingham. The triplets (all 3) are also participating in baseball. They are on a team with many of their school friends and I think this season will prove to be fun for both kids and parents. Mairin has ventured out and is trying out track. We get up extra early every morning to get her to practice by 6:45am. Spring swim tune up will round out her activities. Eamon and Liam are attempting to fit in some hockey conditioning and we received word last week that they made the Brother Rice golf team. Never a dull moment over here. Oh and did I mention that David will be visiting Europe, Mexico and China in the next 8 weeks as well for work. My biggest panic is the driving. I am in the process of hiring a driver to help me out with getting everyone where they need to be for the next 8 weeks.

Amongst the chaos and the crazy schedules we found ourselves with a Saturday with nothing on the calendar. We spent the day working in the yard, golfing and out to dinner as a family. Cherished moments of course. The putting green was taken over by Mott's......

Enjoying Small Moments

2017-02-10T10:16:00.002-05:00

I have never been one to stop long enough to smell the roses. Everything is never done. The house is never clean enough, the laundry is never all done and the kitchen is rarely perfectly clean. I have been trying to slow down and enjoy the moments when I can. I have discovered that the older my children get the more emotional I have become. My brother-in-laws always think I am without much emotion at times but I have to tell you that tears come much faster than they ever used to. A sappy commercial or just hearing Finn tell me that he loves me more than I could ever love him is enough to choke up. Eamon and Liam are freshman in high school and seeing them as men can send me into a cheek biting frenzy at times. I bite the side of my cheek whenever I feel the quiver of my chin come and the possibility of tears. A wedding..forget it...Standing there and the music starts, everyone stands up...I'm done and the biting starts. A funeral is always hard but as I get older I notice everyone else and how people deal with grief. Seeing others sad often makes it hard for me to keep it together.

I'm ok with the house not being perfect as long as I have some time to give hugs and kisses. Colin likes a long morning hug and Finn likes to kiss me on my forehead as he heads out the door to school. Declan will always yell, "hope you have a better day that I do mom". Mairin is mostly smiles and will always kiss me and tell me some sort of story from her day. Eamon and Liam...well they are getting older so when I pick them up from school I say it is an electronic free ride home and they have to tell me about their day. You go from the little ones who don't stop talking to the older ones where you have to bribe with food or activities to get them to really talk.

The moments are endless and I am taking them all in.

* A pan of the ultimate brownies ready for them when they get home gives me joy.

* Getting a call from that amazing fellow hockey mom saying she has a bag for you full of hand me down gear makes my heart happy.

* My husband being gone on a work trip and returning home makes me realize how crazy I am for him

* A call from a friend to take a walk in the morning to catch up makes me smile

* Going up in Eamon's room in the evening when he is loaded with homework and laying on his bed just to have a 10 min chat about life and how he is doing.

* Trying to pin Liam down on the floor just to see if mom can still hold him down (barely anymore and all the kids join in and beat up on Liam)

* Catching David doing an impromptu math lesson at the table "get me a piece of paper" and you know he is drawing something out to help explain something for the trips.

* The whole family sitting around the kitchen table for dinner and realizing they are all mine...all of them.

*Going to mass on Sunday and taking up an entire row and watching people count all of us out of the corner of my eye.

* Looking out the window on a cold night and seeing steam rising from the hot tub and seeing Eamon and Liam sitting, chilling and just chatting. Having no idea what they are talking about but they are talking. Brothers...best friends..confidants and so much more.

* Getting mad at Declan and hearing him honestly say, "mom I forgot to remember".

Blessed and Living It..Everyday!

The Dynamics of a Box of Cereal

2016-10-18T11:47:00.001-04:00

How do they know? How do they know that I went to the grocery store and that the new stock of sugary goodness is waiting for them? I hear the pitter patter of tiny feet as they scurry down the stairs. Their little sock covered feet slip as they go around the corner and they hold on tight to the banister as they are skidding into the turn to make the flight of stairs right at their feet. I hear the cupboard door open followed up the ding of porcelain cereal bowls hitting together and tapping the granite counter top. The slight slam of the utensil drawer shutting and the whoosh of the fridge door closing tells me that someone found some sugary goodness. These are quiet mornings for the most part. Everyone gathering 1 by 1 into the kitchen to see what cereal is out and opened. Is there enough for me? is the biggest concern for all. The old concern of not getting any is a thing of the past. The mornings of the Little's eating bowl after bowl until they couldn't hardly breath is no more. The rule here is as follows... Sugar cereal is 1 bowl only. A reasonable bowl. If I see an over the top greedy bowl than that bowl is traded with a sibling of your choosing and you will get their bowl.

Cereal is a very popular morning food option in this house. I am a coupon and sale shopper so every week we can have varied kinds of cereal in the pantry. I try to mix it up but I have to say when anything peanut butter goes on sale .... I invest. I usually will buy a good amount and often will hide several boxes so that they last longer. We are easily at least a box per morning or even 2 boxes per morning depending on the size of the box.

Everyone plays a role in the sugar goodness. Usually the older ones, since they are bigger, can snatch a box out of the little's hands faster but just when you think you are set and enjoying the comics on the back of the box....another child wakes up and needs a bowl poured. David will often come down and attempt to get his hands on some of the sugary goodness but I often intervene and crush his dreams by setting his box of oat bran or shredded wheat in front of him. "honey you can't eat that kind of cereal anymore..sweetheart". He looks up at me with a look of defeat and disappointment and although he will eat the healthy stuff he looks as if he is depressed that his childhood has gone and he has to abide by the rules of being healthy and conscious. He wants to go back to the days when he was running daily and could eat anything he wanted and it would never stick. The old days that everyone wants to revisit now and then.

I grew up in a house where the most exciting cereal was golden grahams and that was at my Nanny's house. My mom only bought Cheerios, Chex, Grape Nuts and Rice Krispie. I would always go nuts when I would come across real sugar cereal. I decided that when I was a mom that I would allow some sugar cereal. I do go through my moments of . "no more sugar cereal, I'm done buying it"..but then there is a really good sale on it and I get sucked in.

I keep a couple of boxes of cereal in my cupboard that are open. The deal at my house is that you have to finish one in order to get another one out. It forces the kids to eat the non favorites to make room for a favorite. The question I hear all the time, "mom can I get a cereal out of the garage". I always answer with, "Is there room for another one"?. Now lets explain why the cereal is in the garage. I have a boat load of kids who eat a boat load of food and I live in a 1960s colonial and I lack a walk in pantry so all of my extra dry goods are housed in the garage on shelves.

Disclosure/Disclaimer- Health nut people out there. Yes .....Yes .....Yes..... I know.... I know.... this is not part of a healthy balanced diet and the amount of sugar they are eating is so NOT healthy but in the end we all have to live a little. I cook dinner almost every night and pack their lunches so this is a treat they get. I remember the sugar bowl that sat next to my non-sugar cereal when I was a kid. How many spoonfuls could I put on those Cheerios? BTW...I just checked out the cupboard and found a box of Cheerios and Rice Chexs. We clearly are down to the healthy cereals and the request will come soon as to when we will be stocked up again. This is when I notice everyone shifts to cheese toast or bagels. Ha

Twins, Triplets and A Single...Driving and Forgetting

2016-09-30T10:51:00.002-04:00

That moment when.....

You just dropped off a random child and you are driving along but there is a lot going on in your head. You are actually scheduling in your head and almost taking inventory of everything as you are driving. Those are the moments when you pull into your driveway and you don't remember the drive. Not because you were texting or even calling anyone but because the route you travel is so mundane and so routine that your wheel takes over making it automatic. The sudden shiver that goes through your body as you remember that orthodontic appointment. "Did I miss it"? I shiver for a few more seconds and then realize ...oh that is next week. It is only moments later when the shiver returns and I realize that I forgot to send in money for the field trip. I think the shiver is adrenaline and then at that moment I start analysing how crazy my body is and how a thought can trigger a full body reaction. I dwell on that for awhile and then I seem to snap back to recognize my surroundings and realize that I was going to run an errand but missed the turn so heck I will just go home and hit it up later. This sums up my life in a nut shell during the 1st month of school. A constant shiver and constant referrals back to my calendar.

I have decided to keep a small note pad in my car. I can jot a note as I think of it. I for sure spend enough time in my car to solve the worlds problems driving in circles picking up and dropping off.

The husband has been gone for 2.5 weeks and with his return last night I must say I need to again adjust to now....a different schedule. The school year is now beginning for me. I have all my little ducks in a row and the daddy duck is back in action.

So here's to all the mom's out there who work inside the home and out. We work endlessly to keep the ball rolling, the house rockin, the children alive and the husbands happy. We rock!

High School..Middle School and Elementary School..Uncharted Territory

2016-08-21T08:21:00.002-04:00

It has been awhile and boy have I been busy. Tomorrow we become parents of a couple of Freshman in high school. If you have been through it than you probably sit back, snicker and think no big deal and if you haven't been through this than you probably don't really care because it is not your time. I didn't pay much attention myself before now because it really didn't affect me. Well here we are and today it does affect me.

Some could call these past several days a full time job. I have been loading ibooks onto school issued ipads, reading up on etext books and figuring out how to keep everyone in our family on an apple family share plan. We finally got the boys iphones and that was a feat within itself. I spent, what I thought was a long time, on the phone with verizon setting up new accounts and deciding between plans, data and type of phones. So many questions to ask and so many fees and programs. We were the hold outs as far as iphones go and I don't really know why we held out so long but I think it came down to several factors for us. They each had an itouch and today nearly everywhere they went they had internet so I could get in touch with them and they could easily contact me. I didn't always like they way they contacted me though. I was never able to blow up their phone with calls on an itouch. I would send texts and hoped they would eventually answer me. Secondly is the monthly cost. They will now each pay 40.00 per month for their phones and will continue to babysit for us when needed. This was part of the deal and they were on board. I must say that Eamon did hesitate a bit at first because of the monthly commitment that he was getting into. He considered a flip phone to cut down on the cost. I love that he thought about it in his head before committing. I enjoy being able to call them at anytime but I don't think they have called anyone other than their Dad so far.

School supply shopping this year was quite the site. We checked the sale ads and decided we wanted to go to Target for as many cheap items as we could and then we would finish up our search at Walmart. The older ones requested this path as they wanted some more specialty items that Target offered and Walmart did not. Anything that was off the supply list and not on sale was an item that they would pay half. Eamon set up his world with certain binders he felt would keep him organized. He has put some thought into it before we went. Liam bought into some of what Eamon was getting but he was more of basic buys. Mairin was all about the look and color of the notebooks and folders. She was into the accessories more than any of them. The trips were just happy to be there and threw whatever I told them into the cart. "Declan we need 30 folders ok and 6 need to be red, 6 yellow, 6 blue etc". I had a purse full of crumpled up supply lists that we had used to compile our full cart and I hope that we got it all. That was hard work so we treated ourselves to lunch a Red Robin for such an accomplishment.

We are also moving our new Freshman from a public school to a private school and this has brought on a whole new set of rules that I need to dive into. I ended up going into their rooms last week and asking the family to leave me alone in there for the afternoon. It was time to pull everything out and see what fits and what doesn't. I will not be ironing everyday so I insist we have at least 10 dress shirts to get us through the week. Luckily I had my wits about me in May when all the uniform clothes went on clearance and I stocked up. No iron shirts please....I will take a dozen. Belts...Can I have 2 brown and 2 black. Pants...time to pull out the khakis that have been shoved so nicely to the back of the closet. We have gone from wearing them as our Sunday best to becoming a staple of their daily wardrobe. I called the boys up to try on several pairs for me and then immediately sent them out so I could get back to my mass organizing. Three hours, 2 garbage bags full of salvation army donations and 1 bag of garbage and they were organized, stocked and ready for school. The anticipating of my boys coming down in the mornings with ties, button down shirts and khakis does make me smile.

Mairin decided to do some organizing herself these past several weeks. It is almost like she went from little girl to young lady overnight. She is asking persistently for new wall paint. She is done with pink and green and has picked out a very light grey. She parted with her stuffed animals and everything else that was little girl. She organized her drawers and literally had 4 large bags ready for Salvation Army. She wanted her chandelier replaced with a normal ceiling light and she wants new bedding that is just plain white. Who is this girl? This is going to look like an adult room. She doesn't ask for much so I will go ahead and make it happen.

The biggest happenings for the triplets this year is the possibility of them being split up. I'm going out on a limb here and willing to try this. We have yet to receive our class lists so I don't know what the end result will be but my guess is that they will be in different classes. Think about the amount of educators the 6 Mott children will come into contact with on a daily basis? I honestly wonder how I will keep myself organized. 3 schools, 6 little people, 3 cafeterias, 6 emergency cards and lots and lots of patience and lots of writing things down. Oh and lets end this with ....the older 2 no longer have a bus to take and the husband starts a new job on September 1 that will require more travel and more often. Pray for me!

Pack .. Unpack .. And Repack!

2016-06-27T10:27:00.000-04:00

We are in full swing and we have started our marathon. School is out and we are settling into our routine and I am wiped out. "Are these really the first signs of aging?" I ask myself. I like to stay busy and keep the kids busy but by 9pm or so I am tired. Tired of what you ask. Tired of "hurry up and wait". Tired of trying to be one step ahead of my crew and anticipating their next move. They are little beings with endless amounts of energy and they crave more. When the temperature soars to the mid 80's and I am outside for 8+ hours I have completely zapped all of my circuits. I sit in the shade most of the time and yet I still seem to get more sun that I want. The kids are in some sort of water everyday so my towel and swim suit laundry pile is big. Lake to pool.....pool to lake.....

I really don't cook much these days. Lots of portable sandwiches and wraps. Chicken breasts are cooked in advance and available for quick heat up. Large bags of frozen berries for smoothies fill my freezer. Popcorn has been a favorite dinner option and I am agreeing with most everything. These are the days though right? The days that I will look back on and will quickly forget the tired but remember how we were on the go and lots of laughter.

Mondays are our catch up day. A day of laundry, sleeping in and chores. I schedule these carefully as I really can only count on 1 day a week to do all of my home chores. I also find myself living out of bags. My husband always has a look for me when I pull out a bag he claims he hasn't seen. Does he not realize that I am living out of bags and I need all sizes depending on my activities. Here is how it really goes down.

I keep a bag in my car full of a spare set of clothes for the littles. I make everyone pack their own bags every morning but we will surely forget something one of these days. The kids need to have swim gear, tennis gear and then gear for golf so they are packing several outfits daily. It is much easier to run to the car for a collar shirt than it is to frantically run home. I have a bag in case we go to the beach. This bag has my stash of sunblock, band aids, hats and visors and of course....a spare set of swim suits for all. There is another bag in the back that is full of momma stuff. My change of clothes for when I get the opportunity to hit the gym while the littles are busy with an activity. Ear buds, tennis shoes and socks finish up that bag. Last is the bag for the hubby. I am ready for the late afternoon call from the hubs when he may want to swing by but wants a suit or a change of clothes. Yep don't worry ...that bag is in the back too. So maybe just maybe it is ok for me to have a fun selection of bags since I am the packer of the family. Hey ...It used to be even worse. I had a porta potty in the back for years. I was ready for anything. We could stop and go on demand. Laugh..laugh some more but with 6 children..some one always has to go big bathroom..always.

By the time we get home at night everyone has thrown wet towels into various bags and there are wet suits stuck in the corners and it is not until I tell everyone do they pull out the rotten, smelly towels and we start yet another laundry pile. The system is very simple .. Pack...unpack and repack.

We Are Going To Tip Over-Camping with Twins, Triplets and A Single

2016-04-25T14:36:00.002-04:00

I tried to ignore my thoughts and just fall into a deep sleep but it just wasn't happening. The wind would come in and ramp up slowly but very loud. I felt like I was laying there counting the seconds until it would max out. Almost like when you were a kid and you counted the time between the thunder and the lightning. Once the gales got strong it was slowly die back down and then the trees would quiet for a small moment and then the process would begin again. Over and over all night long. I kept thinking, " we are going to tip over". My first mistake was opening up the weather apps throughout the day. "Winds up to 50 miles and hour expected this evening".

We were spending the day at the Smithsonian Zoo that day in Washington DC. This was a sort of last minute trip for us. We decided a month or so before spring break that we would do another camping road trip. We reserved the pop up camper and fortunately the campgrounds were full of vacancies. We sort of repeated the preparation of the our August trip out west and headed the other direction for a much shorter drive. This trip took us about 9 hours to get there and we were able to set up camp for 7 nights and not have to move around. We stayed just 15 miles from the Capital and enjoyed our little campsite with minimal campers around and lots to do for the kids. It was a very densely wooded campground that provided us with electricity and by the end of the week we had used up a tank and a half of propane keeping us warm at night.

We took a risk with the weather and it was probably the coldest April that Washington DC has had in years. We hit 32 degrees and below at least 3 nights and probably averaged between 40-50 degrees for the week. I slept in my 3 layers and a coat most nights. The kids didn't notice the cold at all and seemed to love all of it. I was putting the layers on at night and all the boys were whipping the clothes off to sleep in their underwear even on the coldest nights.

We enjoyed the sights and I believe we hit all of the "must see" tourist recommendations with reason to come back to see more. Museums, The monuments, The White House, Arlington National Cemetary, GeorgeTown University, Naval Academy to name a few.

The evenings of rain afforded us to visit to a family favorite..Dave and Busters. Several bitter cold mornings made us by pass the typical breakfast at the picnic table with the little propane tank and paper bowls and take on a luxurious approach...the local diner. Another 9 days of no TV and minimal internet connections rounded out our Spring Break for 2016.

On our way home we made a small detail and ended up visiting the grave of David's great great grandfather in Shelby, Ohio. We also drove by the old homestead. The kids jumped out and ran around the cemetery and quickly located Peter Mott 1827-1862. Everyone received a short genealogy lesson and we moved on.

The night that left me tired and thinking we were going to tip over ended and we never tipped over. I spent the night thinking and planning in my head what we would do if we tipped over. My thought process, looking back was not completely reasonable but in between sleep and dreams it seemed very real and reasonable. I should grab the keys to the vehicle and keep them in my pocket so that when we tip over and it is dark we can at least get in the vehicle and leave. Oh wait, I should have my purse next to me too. We wont get hurt if tip over because it is not a big fall but ......It will make a huge mess. Should I get the kids to put their clothes on so that they don't have to jump in the vehicle in their underwear. I mean if we tip over everything will be everywhere and I will have no way of finding stuff.

That was the longest night of the trip and I guess this is what being a mom is all about....worrying and praying all would be well....and it was.

Multiples Illuminated ...... A Must Read!

2016-04-21T10:05:00.000-04:00

It was a regular morning and I was off to visit the doctor for an ultra sound. It was still early, at just 9 weeks the doctor wanted to check on the 2 heartbeats she had discovered just 3 weeks prior. I already had a set of twins and a single so although the thought was a bit daunting it was nothing I hadn’t done before. God had given us a gift and I was going to embrace it. Stepping into the chilly exam room was all too familiar to me therefore I had no reason to have my husband take the morning off of work to come with me. I had it covered. The doctor started some small talk as they always do while they attempted to find the heartbeats. “Oh there is one, yep and the second one….wait...hold on hmmmmmm. Let me grab another doctor because I believe we have a third one”.

Needless to say that was a shock and I think the office was just as surprised as I was. My husband was blown away and we went from a family of 5 to a family of 8 in just 9 short months. Who goes through this? I remember even though I had a set of twins I still headed right to the library to see what I could get my hands on in order to read up on what was going to happen. I found lots of books on facts and how to take care of babies but nothing about the emotions and all that goes along with Multiples. I spent 9 months scouring the internet for stories. I needed to hear about others and how they dealt with the news. I wanted a real book from real people who were in the trenches and lived to tell about it.

Multiples Illuminated is that book. I was given this book and devoured it. My triplets are 7 years old and my twins are 14 years old so although I am not yearning to know what it is going to be like I still loved the read. It took me back and made me laugh and brought back some of the moments of worry that I had forgotten. This book brings together a group of women from all walks and different backgrounds and throws them together with 1 thing in common. What is it like to have Multiples? It shares stories of outrageous comments in public, internal thoughts, late nights, emotional swings and all things that come from Multiples. It is real. There is no sugar coating and no political correctness. The writing is superb and honest. The book is laid out into many short stories from many mothers and fathers. Following the story is a snippet of who the writer is and what the background of that person is. I was fascinated to read about working moms and stay at home moms and how parents with different backgrounds dealt with news of Multiples.

The Editors, Megan Woolsey and Alison Lee are household names in the media streams because of their ability to write about their daily family happenings in a funny and very relatable way. They often appear in my face book feed under Scary Mommy or in a Huffington Post article. The writers that they gathered for this book, Multiples Illuminated are spot on in their writing as well. I hope that if anyone is expecting, already has or wants to know all about multiples that they reach out to Amazon to purchase this book. I will personally get this book for anyone who is having multiples in the future.

You can purchase this book at the following link:

http://www.amazon.com/Multiples-Illuminated-Collection-Parents-Triplets/dp/0996833501/

The Month Of Christmas with Twins Triplets and A Single

2016-01-07T10:38:00.001-05:00

The weather is cold. The days are shorter and Christmas is over. The decorations are put away and the last of the sweets in the house are being slowly eaten. I think I have seen enough sugar to last me awhile. The last of the glitter and pieces of tinsel are being vacummed up. My house is free from any signs of Christmas, except for the bar counter that is full of the remote controls for the drones, cars and helicopters. Oh and there are still some lego villages set up around the house.

The kids are back to school and I am caught up on laundry and returns. Now what? I ask myself. I am at a very organized and peaceful place and I am asking myself Now what? I am a product of my surroundings and my environment. A product of the crazy schedule of life.

Instead of "Now What". Let's spend a minute reliving Christmas 2015. It was a good season and although I often worry about the amount of "stuff" that comes with the holiday season I think we did well overall with not going too crazy. The triplets turned 7 on December 17th and we surprised them with a birthday party at the local middle school gym. We enjoyed floor hockey, flag football and soccer for 2hrs and of course some pizza and cake to check the box and move on. I promise my kids a party every 5 years and I kind of skipped the triplets until this year. I had a lot of anxiety about inviting kids to a party for 3 kids. That is a lot to ask for people who are so generous these days to think they have to bring 3 gifts. I struggled with this for a couple years on how to handle it. I decided that I would let each triplet invite 6 friends and I did 3 different invitations. The invitation only invited you to a single child birthday. It really worked out marvelous. We had close to 20 kids and each of the triplets came home and were able to open 6 presents. We are so blessed that we really didn't need 20 presents for each kid and I think it took a burden off the parents too. We did receive a couple of gifts for all 3 boys from really good friends and we were flattered by everyone's generosity and thoughtfulness.

I spent the month of November doing a ton of research on the latest and greatest holiday craze...The Hoverboard, Swagway, Self Balancing Scooter and all the other names that these things are referred to. I ended up purchasing one from Amazon because it was distributed in the U.S and the warranty reviews were great. I got it and took it up to my bedroom and rode it around secretly while the kids were at school. It was awesome. I describe it like it reads your mind. You want to turn and it turns and it is all based a slight slight movement. It was going to be the triplets gift of the year right??? Wrong.. It wasn't even a week after delivery when the news reports were showing houses and apartments being burned down due to these boards catching fire. I ignored it for awhile until everyone was talking about it and then I went online and read the reports. I read enough to start the return process. It was the first time that I felt the sinking feeling of wanting a gift for the kids but also thinking about all of us sleeping and the possibility...even very slight ....of losing a child or anyone due to a house fire. Amazon pulled the Swagway's off their website and were no longer even selling them so I knew I had to proceed. Amazon exceeded every expectation I had. They paid for return shipping and helped me get in touch with the actual seller of the Swagway. Swagway took it back and refunded me. I did keep the board until Christmas and let the triplets ride it in the basement for a couple hours before we packaged it up and sent it back. It was a huge bummer but I am proud to say that I had 3 little guys who understood and accepted the explanation for the return and were good with it.

The family enjoyed 3 days up north at my parents house and we were able to break in the new addition. My mom and dad added a 3 car garage to their home with a large living quarters above that sleeps 10. This is our new B&B when we go to Stanton. It is pretty sweet and very nicely done. We all enjoyed a solid 2 weeks of together time. David had the full 2 weeks off as well so we did some open skates, took a family trip to Frankenmuth for some winner winner chicken dinners. The kids all spent some Christmas money buying shoes at the Nike store and we were home in time for a Netflix movie. We attempted to see the Wayne County Light Fest but the line was crazy long. We saw many movies at home and ventured out to the new Chipmunks movie one afternoon. I made everyone go through closets and clean them out after watching David do the deepest closet clean out I have ever witnessed. We had the Mott family Christmas which is always a huge hit and ate and ate and ate. This was the first year in a long time that the pond was not frozen so it forced us to do some other things that normally we would not do. This past Monday was rough. Getting up early and getting everyone back on schedule has taken us most of this week to catch up.

What Do I Do All Day

2015-11-22T13:20:00.002-05:00

I ask myself this question often. I remember the words of mothers who walked before me in the beauty of all day school for their children and they would always say, "the day is not as long as you think it is". I never could wrap my brain around how 8:15am -4pm was not that long. I spent 12 years with kids at home. Mondays were hard because it started another week of ...what will we do this week. I did enjoy all of the road trips to the zoo, parks and movies. I have spent endless hours having tea parties and picking up little pieces of play dough out of my carpet and rugs. I miss the play lands that we would frequent in hopes of tiring out the kids so they could take a good nap that day. A play date?...that rare occasion they would get invited over (not often because who invites 3 boys over...no one) and I would wonder what I would do with my 90 min of freedom. The anticipation of the free time was better than the actual 90 min because I would catch myself daydreaming of what I could possibly do for that precious time. I would dream about hitting a craft place or a market and just slowly browse. The reality was a quick trip to Costco.

Back to what do you do all day. The days go fast and they are just busy. As of lately I am slowly updating my home from all of the damage of having kids home all day..everyday destroying my world. We are slowly replacing all of the shoe molding that was taken off the walls and broken at nap times. I am repairing window sills from the holes that were poked in them with the door stopper that was unscrewed during another nap time. I walk around the house with my drywall mud and I repair the divots and holes in my walls. Someone was trying to play hockey in the hallway and missed the ball..caught the wall though. Lots of painting and scrapping of dried buggers that were wiped along the wall. The trim needs new white paint because of all of the spilled stuff on them and how badly they are beat up. It is truly amazing at how badly stuff gets torn up with 8 people living in a home. Some new carpet to rid ourselves of the vomit stains that have accumulated over the years. We even added some hardwood in the upstairs because lets be honest...the vomit is not over and hardwood hallways is much easier to clean up at 3am.

The early years are somewhat of a fog so I am going through closets and sorting and boxing clothes. This is a full time job within itself. I just went into the triplets room and pulled out their jeans that were stuffed in their closet. I made a pile of 6 pairs of hole ridden, faded, dirty jeans to be thrown out. I shutter for a moment to think "did I let them go to school with these on". I proceed onward, deeper in the closet to find a pile of clothes that I forgot about and are now too small. I am notorious for stuffing things in places (and forgetting where I put them) because the right box is not accessible or I don't have the time at that moment. Time to put away the shorts and t shirts and get out the warm clothes and this is tough because now I need to unload boxes in order to refill them. My home has boxes of clothes stuffed all over. My older boys are in a size 16 and I am searching for the boxes marked size 7. These boxes have been put away for quite sometime and often they need to be washed before they are ready for use again. I digress......

The hampers always seem to be full and the main floor always seem to have pieces of clothing or items that need to go upstairs. The kitchen is in constant need of sweeping and something is always in need of repair. The older boys had a bar mitzvah the other night to attend and they arrive home with suit coats minus the buttons. How do you lose buttons in that short of time? "I don't know mom, we were just hanging out and a friend grabbed my jacket and it fell off".

Oh shoot I forgot I still need to make the 2 dozen treats for the 8th grade bake sale tomorrow morning. Oh bummer..Need to ask David if he can take boys and Mairin to school tomorrow and get in line early to turn in the ski club form..first come first serve. Thanksgiving is approaching and I need to gather the supplies for the craft. I really need to get that new carpet cleaner out of the box and get the basement carpet cleaned this week. Oh I almost forgot that peanut oil is on sale this week at Gordons..must get for the turkey fryer. My appointment is today to get my ipad looked at and I almost forget that I need to be at the elementary school at 2 to volunteer for the book fair. Oh and lets find some time in there for me to grab some more milk..we are out. Dinner? yep that slipped my mind....Oh and lets take a look at my calendar...Let's round out the evening with a hockey game. Clearly I have stuff to do. I must go.

6:30am - 8:09am A Small Window But Very Busy Window!

2015-11-11T13:23:00.002-05:00

By 8:09am I am ready for a break. I am amazed at how much has to be done before these 6 little bits of bones and skin can leave the house. I bring most of it on myself but it is only because it is important to me. Why is it important to me? Not really sure but we all have a "things" that we pay attention to.

The alarm goes off at 6:30am and I head down the hall and flip on the light in Eamon and Liam's room. I make sure they answer me in some sort of a way even if it is just a grunt. I move back down the hall and walk into Mairin's room. I have to turn on the light for her and find her. She is never in the same place in her bed. She can be hidden under a mound of pillows or scrunched in the corner. She doesn't say much so I usually lay with her for a quick minute before I leave her to get ready. The walk down the stairs in my final opportunity to wake up before I enter the kitchen for a full on meal preparation. It is early but I pull out the 7 lunch boxes and prepare my mind for what I will fill these rectangular canvas zip up to go bags with. There are those who like ham and not bologna and some who prefer chicken breast over turkey and I do make some mistakes but most often I can put together some mean lunches. Liam is by far the easiest of all. He doesn't really care what I pack and never complains about what I pack. Eamon is pretty laid back but he is more particular about including healthy items. He likes certain bread, needs a bag of chips and will go without yogurt. Throw him an apple and carrots and he is good. Mairin takes some creativity at times. She wants the salami and cream cheese roll ups or the little cups of ravioli or something completely off the wall but she is 100% mood based (haha just like me...) Colin likes ham but not bologna and Finn prefers bologna. Declan will eat almost anything and Colin has to have green apples versus red apples. Plain vanilla yogurt for Finn but any flavor for the others.

The older 3 leave on the bus at 7:10am so usually while I am waking up the Blendtec is mixing smoothies and the toaster has a waiting line. I don't make breakfast and the kids know that they need to stay out of my way so that they will have a lunch. My counters start to fill up around this time because my mind is going in several directions and if I jump ahead to the triplets lunch I end up having lots of ingredients out. Throw in some permission slips that need signing along with The Today Show you have a rumbling morning. "Did you brush your teeth"? and "make sure you comb your hair". Peat and Repeat is the standard over here.

I have a 10 to 15 minute gap between the older 3 getting on the bus and the littles coming downstairs (that is only if the older 3 were somewhat quiet which is rare). The trips hate it when I make them go back upstairs and change their clothes or when they forget their socks. They will come down in some obnoxious outfit that is either mix matched, too small or dirty and I simply say, "try again" and they know that means to pivot on the right foot, turn around gracefully and retrace steps back to their room for a redo. I remember as a kid hating having to go back downstairs to retrieve something that I had forgotten.

By this time I am in full swing of making lunches for the trips and they usually consist of a roll up or sandwich, bagel, hot dog or even a salad. Throw in a fruit cup and some sort of crunch and they are good to go. The snack is tougher to figure out. I often resort to the fruit cup and a cheese stick. I stack their lunches on the floor in the kitchen and that is their signal to pack their backpacks. We encourage looking for our shoes and coat at this time so that we don't get to bus time and we can't find our coats or shoes. When they are complete they can then watch some TV...Oh and they are also on their own for breakfast preparation. They can do toast, bagel and/or cereal. I can assist with a milk pour, opening of a new box of sugar cereal or spreading some cream cheese on a bagel but that is the extent of that. The bus arrives at 8:09am and the house is then quiet. Time to fill the dishwasher and put away what looks like a complete disaster. Oh and David was in this mix as well. He comes down in the midst of all this...kisses whoever is left and grabs his coffee and lunch before he heads out for a day of "breaking rocks for the man" as he would say.

It is not long before I need to get serious about what is for dinner. (I get so tired of food being such a big part of my day but I have not figured out how to get away from it). Nothing good comes out of 6 hungry kids that jump off the school bus, barge through the front door and say "I'm hungry" and I have nothing for them.

The Rest Of The Story. 8 Motts and A Pop Up

2015-09-03T13:13:00.000-04:00

Finally we were off to Yellowstone. The place the triplets were anticipating. They didn’t really know what it was going to be but they were eager to see it. We arrived and got all settled in and were able to do some exploring. We received many warnings at check-in about the bears in the area. Two nights prior to our arrival there was a bear hanging around in our camp area. They know how to freak out a Midwestern girl like myself. I had to transfer all of our food to our vehicle or to the locked metal boxes at our campsite. We were not allowed to wash any dishes or brush teeth or do anything that would leave any sort of smell around our campsite. At night you had to have everything put away and no food was to be in your tent camper. I was not allowing much snacking from the kids. They were not going to leave a trail of Cheetos and risk my life...nope not going to happen. Nothing like laying your head down at night with 6 lovely children and wondering if you might hear or heaven forbid feel the claws of a bear.

We cooked all of our meals during our 3 day stay in Yellowstone and did lots of exploring. The scenery was amazing and worth the long trip. We drove the entire circle around Yellowstone and it took most of the day. We pulled up to Old Faithful just moments before it erupted and our timing seemed to be right on track.

On our way out of the National Park we headed to the Grand Tetons National Park which is just south of Yellowstone. The view was again breathtaking but the forest fires in Montana and Idaho left us wanting clear skies.

We kept on our route and drove to Jackson Hole, Wyoming. I was very geeked about this visit. The town is very cool and is literally in a hole with ski resorts all around. The town is very swanky and I could have spent a couple days there browsing the stores. We were stopped by the police on horseback and were issued a wonderful welcome. We grabbed some lunch and David decided to take the kids to the ski mountain and take them on an alpine slide ride down the mountain. They all liked it so much that they wanted more more more. We had to keep going because our destination was a good 5 hours beyond.

We finally made it to Vernal, Utah. Why you ask? I asked too. Vernal is a popular location to do some white water rafting and is just outside of Dinosaur National Monument. It was the first night in a hotel since we left home. Everyone just wanted to flop, watch TV and enjoy the temperature controlled room. Hotel staying can be stressful for David because of the cash he has to drop on 2 rooms and for me it is merely the stress of keeping 6 kids quiet so that we don’t risk getting kicked out. We rarely find the hotels that have the adjoining suites (in the price range that David is comfortable in) so we ended up getting 2 rooms next to each other. We put all 6 in one room with cartoons and we hung out in the neighboring room with a cocktail and some TV.

The alarm seemed to go off sooner than we wanted in the hotel. We had to be at the White Water Rafting Location by 8:30am so we got up and gathered all of our crazies and headed off. Upon arrival we had to sign away our life with the liability waivers and then we were fitted with helmets and life jackets (helmets…ok we are not kidding around here. This is just a trip down the river on a tube. The trip began at 8:30 with a bus ride that took out to god knows where but we didn’t see another vehicle for 30 minutes. We stopped in the middle and took a quick hike to check out some petorglyphs (drawing on the side of the mountains from the Fremont Indians 2000 years ago). We arrive to the river and it is literally a canyon through Dinosaur National Monument. Amazing views and wonderful rapids. We all stayed in the boat, had a rocking guide named Ross and he made sure we all got wet. They were classified as level II and III rapids and that is the highest we could go with 6 year olds. We stopped mid day for a picnic lunch and then ended our trip around 3:30pm. The sun was shining and the temp was around 90 degrees. The kids all loved it.

We had to keep moving and get to our next campsite in Dinosaur so by the time we located our campsite and toured the Dinosaur quarry it was 6:30pm. We cooked dinner and we David took the kids to the ranger program. I needed to catch up on some house keeping. It was that time when I needed to repack the trips with clean clothes in their backpacks, put things back in order, organize and go thru the coolers and get the camper ready for sleep.

The evening was hot but cooled down rather quickly. Of course we were at a campsite that had no electricity. It was the cheapest one of the trip. $12.00 got us a slab to park, a fire ring, picnic table and a couple of poopers. Oh and a spigot for water. The location of this campground was rather dusty and dirty. The trips made it their job to climb the hills and search for fossils (they claimed). They were so dirty that David took two 5 gallon buckets and filled them with cold water and bathed the kids that way. It was quite the way to bath but at least the little toes were clean when they dug deep into the sleeping bags.

Pancakes and sausage for breakfast and by 10am we were on the road again…destination Rocky Mountain National Park in Colorado. Steamboat Springs was on the route and it came just in time to stop, grab some lunch and we let the kids buy some trinkets at the trading post.

Another 1.5 hours to the next park.

This trip is going great but honestly I have seen enough nature to last me awhile. I have cooked enough meals outside with minimal utensils to last me a long time. I have yet to do anything beyond shower at night (when we have the ability) and wake up only to put the hair in a pony tail and grab my ditty bag that sits in the console of the vehicle and slap on some deodorant, brush my teeth with a bottle of water and use a cleansing wipe for my face and off we go. The toughest thing is keeping the little ones quiet when everyone else is quiet. Colin is usually in his own world, Finn is asking what adventure is next and Declan is usually agitating someone. Mairin is mothering and telling on them while Eamon and Liam are the real troopers in this whole adventure. They are great sports and have thanked us throughout the trip for taking them on this adventure. David reads every flipping sign he can and has been very very aware of when the rest of the family has lost interest or needs a change of scenery. I am taking lots of driving time too. It is amazing when you get used to pulling a camper it losses its scariness.

We have 7 days left before we should be home. I thought we would be gone until Sept 3 but David needs to be back to work on the 2^nd. Wish us well as we continue our journey.

At this point in our trip we have no reservations and it is up to the co-pilot to look at the map and decide where we should stay. I was kind of burned out of National Parks so when I read up on Estes Park (just on the Eastern side of Rocky Mountain National Park) I decided that is where my recommendation would be. The ratings for the campground were great so that is where we were headed. We pull in and I just knew it was not a typical “Mott” campground. It had a pool and a playground. David went in and checked it out and he agreed to book 1 night. (no worries though…we would stay 2 nights if I had any say and I did). We get our assignment and as we drove to it we both saw another camper literally 2 ft away from where we were to back up and park our camper. We both look at each other and say, “nope not gonna do this” and we drive back to the front office and get another spot. We got ourselves all set up and all seemed well. We slept well and the next morning we walked to the little office where hot coffee was brewing and I took a hot shower. Guess what..we stayed another night.

When you are that far into a camping experiment it is all about the little things that are important. I was sold on the coffee, the dish washing sink outside with hot water, a pool and the playground for the kids. The second evening we were done with our hike in the Rocky Mountains (a 3 mile hike that lasted 2 hours because we climbed to 10,000 ft elevation. It was not what I would wake up in the morning and dream about doing but we did it as a family. ) and we thought we would let the kids swim. I went and got some beer and we did a couple loads of laundry. We eventually went out to dinner and then called it a night.

Up and off again the next morning to head south to see more of Colorado. We stopped by David’s cousins house Ron and Barb Mazur in Highlands Ranch, Colorado for a great lunch.

They had so much to entertain the kids and quite frankly I enjoyed being in a home, temperature controlled and good conversation. A couple hours there and we were off to continue South to the Mueller State Park just past Pikes Peak. It was at that point when we finally found the state park and it was far enough out of town AGAIN and it was raining and as David is checking in for not 1 but 2 nights I check my phone and see “no service”. I look at David and use my index finger and thumb to make a gun and put it to the side of my head. Let me paint the picture for you. It is 6ish in the evening. The rain is coming down and the temperature has gone from the mid 80’s to the high 50’s (this is what the weather seems to do in those parts). We just checked into a campsite with canvas sides. There are 6 children who have been sitting in a car for several hours and it is no where near bedtime. We have no Internet service to keep myself or anyone else busy …..Yep …Time for the vacation to end.

The next day we decided it was gonna be a good day for the girls. David really wanted to go to the top of Pikes Peak and quite frankly I had no interest. I had a hard enough time with the trek over the Rocky Mountains and we only hit 12,500. Pikes Peak is a whopping 14,111 ft. Fearful of getting altitude sickness I took Mairin and we spent the day shopping in Manitou Springs. We had a ball and the boys enjoyed driving to the top. Finn and Eamon both had headaches at the top and David said breathing was a challenge.

They came back to town to pick us up and we all headed to The Air Force Academy. What a cool place. We took a self guided tour, checked out the bookstore and the famous chapel. We had to be off the property by 5pm and it gave us just enough time to check it all out and show Eamon and Liam what it was all about. This was really the ending to all of the site seeing of the trip.

The next morning we were packing up and heading East. We stopped off at Walmart and I went in to restock snacks and lunch meat for our 3 day adventure home. We got back to camp and had a campfire while I made a ton of sandwiches for the trip. At the campfire we asked everyone what their favorite event was on the trip and we all concluded we had fun but we all were anxious to get home.

We woke up at 7:30am, threw on our clothes and had the camper taken down and ready to pull out by 8:10am. Everyone ate donuts and breakfast bars on our way out of the park. We were off. The day ended up being much longer than we anticipated. We drove through the rest of the state of Colorado and made it through a big part of Kansas. We planned to camp when we drove into thunder storms and so we just kept going. We ended up driving til 8pm with only 4 stops all day and getting a hotel room in York, Nebraska. We scored 2 rooms at $47.00 each and enjoyed hot showers and good old TV. The kids had cold pizza from Pizza Hut for a late dinner and no one complained a bit. We had stopped at a rest stop mid day and a man told us that when we passed him he noticed that our trailer tire seemed to be bouncing a bit. Maybe it was out of alignment. David didn’t think much of it until we got going again and the control panel beeps and says “trailer no longer connected”. I am driving at this point and my hands just tighter on the steering wheel. We take the next big exit and we stop at a tire store where they fix the tire (this is when I take the 6 littles to Pizza Hut to eat while David fixes the vehicle). It cost $5.00 to repair and 40 minutes later we are back on the super slab.

The easiest passengers are Eamon and Colin. Colin will sit for hours and often you won’t hear a word. Eamon is quiet but make sure when you are eating you are not making noises and please please leave him alone when he has had enough. Liam is always the one who is revving the triplets up and wonders why he gets into trouble. Mairin is the one who lets everyone in the car know if Declan is doing something wrong. She talks to Declan loud enough to ensure that I hear her in hopes of me backing her up and getting after Declan. Declan is often the one is being devious but we all know he can’t help himself. David has a soft spot for Declan and while I raise my voice at him, David will talk to him softly and request his cooperation. Finn is the one always telling us how bored he is or the one who is asking the deep questions. These kids are great travelers and although I provided a fair amount of movies for our trip, they are the ones that were patient and cooperated with each other and sat in close quarters for endless hours. Troopers for sure..

We left York, Nebraska at 8:30am and little did we know we would sleep in our own beds that very night. We made great time and just kept driving and driving. I made lunch out of the back of the Expedition in the parking area of a gas station. We pumped as many movies into the kids as we could and by 12:30am we rolled into our driveway. 832 miles for the day but we were home.

Chapter 1 The Details - 8 Motts and A Pop Up

2015-08-28T01:21:00.003-04:00

I never knew how many channels there were on Sirius Radio. I let my subscription run out and waited until they contacted me over and over and offered me the deal of the century to come back. I knew that this trip was coming and when you are ticking 4,000 miles in a small enclosed area……You might want to spring for Sirius Radio. I put the triplets in the far back with a double DVD player and gave them a big sleeve of videos and told them to have at it. The second row encased the older 3. I got my laptop loaded with some movies and got a splitter for the headsets so at least 2 could watch a movie in the second row. I went on Amazon and made sure everyone had a head set. I turned the radio to the front and it was like we had a house within our car. The trips were in the basement, the older 3 were in the family room and mom and dad were sitting in the living room having coffee. Well maybe not quite that perfect.

My job is the food and ever since this morning at 6:30am when I was loading the coolers in the camper and all I heard was, “this is too many coolers”. I am praying that I can prove someone wrong and we can consume this food before it goes bad. I have 2 full size coolers (normal size but not those gigantic …enough to hold beer for 200 people size) and a little one for drinks. I have one that is for frozen items, mostly meat and the other is cheese, condiments, sandwich stuff, eggs and milk. I thought I was doing well since 8 people are eating out of these coolers.

The trips did exceptional today. David made it clear that the word “stop” was not allowed on the trip. It was funny to hear everyone come up with different ways to stop one another from doing something they didn’t like. Eamon had the best one, “Declan can you please refrain from kicking the back of my seat or I may have to get father involved”. We all laughed and enjoyed Eamon taking it to the next level. Back to the triplets. They sat in the back of the Expedition all next to each other and did amazing. We got into the car at 7:30am and we stopped 3 times all day. We arrived at 5pm at our campsite in Northwest Illinois along the Mississippi River and there were no moments when any of us thought we might lose our minds. I actually know why this happens. They wait until you are far enough from home so you really can’t threaten to turn the car around and go home. I’m sure tomorrow will be a completely different story but let’s hope for the best. Time for smores. Peace out.

It is now day 9 and we are all speaking. We have done so many things and I feel like I may forget. Cody Wyoming was a hit. We were able to roll in early enough to set up camp and get over to the longest lasting nightly rodeo in the country. The wind was whipping as we pulled into the campsite and I really thought the camper might tip over with the gale force winds and rain that we experienced. We almost bailed on the rodeo but the skies cleared up just enough for us to feel like we could venture out. By the time the rodeo ended it was in the low 40’s and we were all freezing. Everyone slept in everything they had ….a sweatshirt and long pants. It was a very cold night for all of us. I made sure and tucked everyone in to ensure everyone was deep in their sleeping bags.

We left Cody in the morning and made it to the road to The Badlands. Before we entered The Badlands we were able to see the Decommissioned Minute Man 2 Missile. That was very mind blowing and very cool to be able to see.

The Badlands of South Dakota were our next stop. The approach to the Badlands is very desolate and eerie. It is not until you enter the National Park that you get a feel of what you are about to see. David explained it very well to the kids. The Native Americans explained to the early explorers that these were just badlands and to avoid them. It was miles and miles of badlands. The kids loved every minute of the climbing. They didn't care that it was nearly 104 degrees. They just wanted to climb. It was cool that the National Park allowed you to climb anything you wanted. Imagine camping in the Badlands. Yep it was liking setting up camp in a dust bowl. Not much too it but glad we had electricity and glad we had air conditioning that evening.

The next trek was to Mount Rushmore and Crazy Horse. It was definately a site to see and we enjoyed a couple days there and we camped in the Black Hills. The campsite was at the edge of a a mountain and the kids climbed and climbed and climbed. Crazy Horse will take another lifetime to complete so we told the kids that when they bring their kids back it should be much closer to completion.

Right above my head you can see the sculpture of a face. That is the beginning of the crazy horse carving.

8 Motts and A Pop-Up..Overview of first 5 days.

2015-08-22T00:14:00.000-04:00

I am writing to you on Tuesday August 18 and we are 6 days into our trip. Internet connections are tough. The trip has been exciting...frustrating at times but for the most part enjoyable.

Camping is a lot of work and if u can get into the groove of that than it seems to be ok.
Showering is overrated and pit toilets are not too bad. David finally gave in and thanked me for the air conditioning unit in this camper when we rolled into the badlands with a temp of 104. Oh and we had a reservation with electrical hookup... Otherwise sold out for the night.  (David never thought we really needed reservations. He said there are always cancellations.) I went ahead and booked us through Yellowstone.

We have logged 1,621 miles as of 8/18 when I am sending this. We r entering Wyoming and will be in Cody by this evening. We left at 6am on Wed Aug 12 and thus far have eaten out 3 times. We still have coolers full of goods and have enjoyed the Coleman stove. The family is feasting on pancake and egg breakfasts and we are digging our coffee pot ...thank you Sally and Mike. Campfires are a must but I must say that we are usually wiped out at night so there are no night owls here. Badlands fun and windy..kids could have stayed there and climbed for days. Mt Rushmore great and crazy horse a site to see. Finn wanted to visit a cave so we went to Wind Cave National Park and took a 1.5 hour walking cave tour. We ended the evening with a swim in the hot springs...in hot springs South Dakota. This place was literally a community pool where the hot springs fed the pool. My husband hates community water so the only reason he joined in was because he read that the water was completely drained and replenished by the natural underground hot springs every 90 minutes.
The kids are awesome. They have done great in the car and by nightfall we r all tired. Minimal fighting and lots of learning. We all have amazing bladders because everyone can hold for at least 4 hours at a time. Thank goodness for David. He spends so much of his time teaching all of us about the history of what we are seeing and why things are the way they are. We have had many conversations about the Continental Divide, Pirates, what is piracy and why there were limited trees in eastern Wyoming. Finn especially wanted all of the details about bears and what happens if they want to eat you. The land out here is vast and the population seems so spread out. We drive for hours and sometimes see nothing but nature. The temperature swings I was not prepared for. It gets nasty cold at night but it can get sweltering in the day.
We have all figured out our jobs for the trip and when we make camp we have been asked by watchers of we are experts because everyone has their job once we pull into our site. David, Eamon and Liam set up the camper. I usually start a fire, Declan gets water, Mairin usually checks out the bathrooms and takes Colin and Finn with her to explore.. The boys are a tremendous help and by the end of this trip they will be able to pop it up and put it down on their own.

Packing and Prepping for 8

2015-08-10T14:44:00.002-04:00

School supplies purchased, early registration for school done by appointment and the last run to the store complete. We are approaching the trip of the century for the Mott Clan and the packing is nearly complete. Yes I have the zip lock bags, the duck tape (we may need it), clothes line, extension cord and a stock of batteries. I have decided that the longer you plan for a trip like this the more prepared you are and the more tired of packing you get. I am ready to get into the vehicle and get this trip started.

I have enough food packed to take us for quite awhile. I cooked up a bunch of taco meat, ground beef and chicken yesterday and froze it all. It will be nice to be able to pull out a meal and cook over the fire while traveling long days. We have lots of snacks and lots of drinks to keep everyone going. Pinterest provided me lots of direction in deciding what kind of meals I will be preparing. Lots of mexican, pancakes and eggs, poor pies, hobo dinners and typical grilling goods.

Everyone gets a backpack and in that backpack you can put 2 pairs of underwear, 2 pairs of socks, flip flops (a must for public showers) a clean shirt, clean shorts and a swim suit. The rest of the backpack is open for activities. Don't forget your summer homework packets thta are not done and some books for our long days in the car. I checked thru the bags and of course had to repack or shall I say, make suggestions for the triplets. Declan had a bike helmet in his bag. "Declan why did you pack a bike helmet"? He responds with, "I don't know we are camping. Won't I need one"? Finn's bag was busting at the seams and he had a big ole stuffed animal. Nope..Nope..Nope..People let's be clear, we have 6 backpacks and although I said pack them..pack them lightly.

I pulled out the old lunch bags and made ditty bags for the groups. Trips get a lunch box full of face wipes, toothbrush, paste, bar of soap, some shampoo and a couple wash cloths. I bet their bar of soap will be full of dirt and sand by the first night when they drop it on the way to the bathroom. Eamon and Liam and David will share and then Mairin and I get our own bag. Life is good only having another girl in the family.

I feel so grateful to have my friend Sally and Mike. They are a camping family and they have bins that sit full of all the camping gear. They were gracious enough to let me come over and take whatever I needed. I took it all. I am completely stocked and mostly because of them. I have a coleman stove, a hatchet (would not have thought of that) and a coleman camp light along with many other items. Did I mention that they live like 3 miles away. The amount of time and money this loan provided is priceless. I hope to find a needless, overpriced trinket to bring back to them as a token of my sincere appreciation.

On Sunday David started organizing the garage and as much as I cringe at the thought of him going thru our/MY pantry and organizing stuff it was a great success. He promised to stay calm and said he wouldn't get upset with all the stuff we/I have. Ok Ok so he found 3 large commercial size containers of plastic silverware and said we have enough zip lock bags to last us until the triplets enter college but I guess I had some stuff stuffed in the back and didn't realize. Opps!!! I get this from my mom. She always had lots of backup just in case. I have to say that with hosting beach gatherings all summer and hosting a big Halloween Party and a very large Thanksgiving ...we will use all of the silverware. Oh and he also asked why I had 300 individual packs of goldfish in a case. (yah yah yah I get it....)David kept going and 8 hours later he had repaired all shelves in the garage..swept it all out, had the boys put together solar lights and we cleaned screens and did all the stuff that you often put off. Eamon and Liam were right by his side for the entire day and it was a sort of family affair. Not only are we ready for our vacation but the garage is ready for the annual Halloween Party!

Stay Tuned...We are getting close.

Sun Kissed and Water Logged!

2015-07-14T09:58:00.001-04:00

Well here we are..Diving into the second week of July and we are still dodging rainy days and attempting to really come to grips that this is summer. It is not nearly as hot and sunny as past summers have been but the rainy evenings often afford us the cancelling of events and a home cooked meal which does not happen often in the summer.

I am having a great summer. This is the first summer where I feel like the kids are easy to pick up and go. Everyone knows the rules, there are minimum things to pack, everyone can pack themselves and I am merely a warm body that makes sure the sunblock has been applied and that not too much junk food is consumed. Outside of that I am having my play dates along with the kids. The kids are sun kissed and water logged. I have 2 kids on ear drops for swimmers ear. We have a cut up bottom of the foot from Declan who decided not to wear shoes and go exploring in the woods. He came out of the woods with a trail of blood from his foot which was ripped open by lord knows what. Mairin got her cast off and is sporting a hop and a boot but she is back in the water. Colin is swimming so fast and loving the swim team. Finn...well Finn would rather not swim. Finn has started taking videos of himself building legos and wants to start a You Tube channel.

We have used up a ton of sunscreen, washed way too many towels and have played a fair amount of tennis matches. The golf clubs are getting use by Eamon, Liam and David and the amount of laps in the pool...I have lost track. I live out of a bag that includes, goggles, extra swim suit and set of clothes and a few towels. We can go from place to place with these few essentials. We have added 3 fishing poles and a tackle box as permanent fixtures to the back of the vehicle for the triplets and Eamon and Liam are experiencing boating/tubing with several of their friends. There is no arguing or even negotiating at bedtime. They almost smile when I say, "time for bed". Minimal electronics are being used this summer and I am great with that.

Mondays are my catch up day. I did 6 loads of laundry yesterday, folded and had all kids put away. I hit the grocery stores and run my errands. The kids get their big list of "to do" on Mondays and there are rarely play dates on this great day. It is the only day of the week when we are all home and I can pay bills, and really catch up with the pile that accumulates all week long.

David has made the older ones set their summer goals and he is following thru with them by giving the boys topics to write about and checking them weekly. Mairin is reading her battle books and David is reading along with her. I work with the trips on reading and some math but I could do more.

I am spending lots of time on Pinterest preparing for our trip that is coming soon. I will be blogging extensively on this trip but ramping up for it. We are taking all 8 of us..... out west...... for 3 weeks..... in a pop up camper! Yep I know .... None of your responses will surprise me because I have already heard them all.

Rants and Topics about Twins, Triplets and A Single!

2015-06-17T09:11:00.001-04:00

It is easy. It is simple..It is all about whether or not you have done it before.

The other morning at 6:30am as I was driving away from the school, after dropping off Eamon and Liam for their school trip to Cedar Point I couldn't help but think. I just left my boys and they will have to fend for themselves for 14 hours. They will have supervision and they will have adults around but they are really out of my reach.

I would not consider myself a helicopter parent by any means but here we are. They are my oldest and I haven't done this before. I am a new mom with the experiences of 13 year old boys. I have done this before and that was my "ah ha" moment. By the time the triplets come thru I will be an expert and I will be very relaxed and probably not even think twice about the fact that they are getting on a grey hound bus, traveling several hours away, riding rides and doing what 13 year old boys do (uhhgg that is the part that makes me nervous). Manners will be thrown out the window, anyone for a burp at lunch? I can only imagine how they loud they will be. I bet they will run thru crowds and maybe even cut in lines. (uhhhggggg....) They will surely eat every kind of junk food (as I would if my mom was gone) and hopefully not vomit while being tossed and turned on the rides. They will come home with nasty sunburns and dirty hands (because no one told them all day to wash those dirty paws and no one was reminding them to put the sunblock on). That is ok with me because I am ready to let them venture out and maybe even screw up. Men are not created over night and we all know that men need to be reminded..over and over...did I say over and over again?? Ok well lets not get hung up on that little tangent. That can be its very own little entry on another day.

Any school events or trips that come up with Mairin or the triplets I am very good with. There is an immediate sense of familiarity and it is easy to let go. The triplets stand outside for the bus without me. I don't think the twins ever did that in kindergarten. Eamon and Liam are paving the way for their little siblings. I say paving because they are doing a great job. I am so glad that the triplets are not the roll models here. It was just last night when I heard slamming of doors downstairs. I hear David come up the stairs with complete frustration. "The triplets left the sliding door wide open downstairs". We all left the house at 5pm for baseball and this was 10pm. Yep that was 5 hours for bugs and animals to be invited in to play. Davids comment was, "why do the triplets do this stuff? The twins never did any of this". We talked about what to do as a punishment or more of a way to make them remember to shut the doors. We laughed together when David suggested this one, "Let's go wake them up and make them sleep in the basement and tell them that they must find the raccoon and the woodchuck before they can come back up". David laughed and immediately said, "we can't do that, that is borderline child abuse". We decided that we need to make a statement so we went into their room, woke them up and firmly asked who did it. Colin came forward admitting to leaving the door open and they received their harsh talking to. The next morning they came down all dressed and ready for school and David handed them each a mini hockey stick. He said, "boys I want you to go downstairs and check and make sure there are no animals down there". "If you find any you can protect yourself with the hockey sticks". "Go on .....get down there and don't come back until you are sure there are no animals down there.". This was a much better way to make a point. They looked at us very serious and off they went. It was like they were on a hunt for a bear. They came back and said all clear. We had another talk about the importance of closing the doors and if this happens again I may seriously lose my mind.

I often shy away from those new moms at school. Those are the mom's that are enjoying the first moments of their new little bundles of joy. Their bundle can do no wrong and they are just happy to be with those little bundles 24/7. (I remember those days...well kind of) My bundles are no longer new and although I love each and every one of them I can tell you that they are not always bundles of joy. They can be terrors and they can be house destroyers. They can ruin something or break something in a matter of moments. They track in on my carpet, they vomit down the sides of their bunk beds. They leave dirty clothes stuffed under the couches and they leave rings of dirt around the sink. They shower and leave the washcloth waded up in a tight ball of wetness in the corner of the shower. The towel is not far away and is never hung up. They drop half of what they eat on the floor and even though I continue to move them closer to the table it still manages to be smeared on the chair or dropped on the floor and maybe even stepped on and mushed into the rug. I have mostly boys so we can revert back to my previous comments that men are not created over night. They need to be reminded over and over again.

I walked my husband out the door this morning and it is funny because he turned to me and said, "I'm off to break rocks for the man." I laughed and then he said, "Remember these are the best years of our lives..right now". He has a point. We may be in the trenches of busy and crazy but someday they will all be gone. So here's to crazy!

Twins, Triplets and A Single!!!!

2015-06-10T15:03:00.002-04:00

His exact words to me were, "I didn't ask you to sign me up for baseball". Finn is willing to finish out the season but it appears that he will not be our future MLB player. This is the triplets 2nd year of baseball and I have 2 that want to continue and 1 that would rather build Lego's. Finn has been a good sport despite his request to not play anymore. He will attend all of the games for the rest of the season but there usually is a conversation as to why I signed him up. The kid cracks me up because his questions often make me think he is much older than he is and a very deep thinker. This is the kids who will challenge me in the future. (left to right Colin, Declan, Finn)

We finished up hockey and ended up joining yet another hockey team for fall. We are very excited about being closer to home and being part of the 2002 Birmingham Rangers. Liam is playing baseball and is finishing up his season. His team is playing in the championship game on Saturday. Eamon is enjoying his chill time in between sports and he will be starting his summer activities soon. And then there is Mairin.

Mairin spends her entire year waiting in anticipation for summer swimming. She just loves swimming for her coach, Dave and loves all of the meets and parties. This past Saturday we had just gotten home from Liam's baseball game when Mairin hopped off the edge of the hearth by the fireplace. She immediately went down to the ground and began crying. She had rolled her foot and it was clear we were going to the Emergency Room. She ended up breaking the bone in the right foot on the outside edge. We had a cast put on yesterday and although her spirits are pretty good she will more than likely miss out on most if not all of summer swimming. The cast is on for 4 weeks and then possibly another 2 weeks in a boot. Unfortunately swim ends the end of July so we will see. How did we go 13 years without any broken bones? How did the 1st broken bone end up on my only girl? (please notice that we had to go get the sharpies in coordinating colors). "look mom they fit on my cast so I don't have to carry them". David and I are both in aww over her ability to just take it in stride and move on. She is very matter of fact and has completely accepted the fact that there will not be any water this summer. (oh goodness...It makes me kind of shutter at the thought myself. We spend nearly everyday near some sort of water...god will give me the strength to make it thru this summer..LOL)

School is officially out on Friday and at that point I become the crazy summer mom of 6. I will fill up my house with junk food, artificial flavors and colors, dangerous toys and let all 6 be unsupervised for the majority of the summer. I will make them work and clean more than they will play. We won't open a book until the week before school starts and only for the sheer panic that someone may find out that we did not read all summer. The kids will go without showering or bathing for most the summer because the pool and the lake is good enough..right? I could go on and on but I will stop because you all know I am kidding right...well maybe.....

We finally got a boat slip and we are enjoying getting our pontoon all ready and loaded for a fun summer on the water. Cheers to the beginning of summer.