Me first!!

Riley wasn't moving fast enough so Evan took control of the slide! They are such stinkers these days. Later inside Evan took P's milk and then Payton went WWF on him. I was laughing hysterically (who doesn't root for the underdog?) but that proved to be a bad idea. All four boys then starting tackling each other and I had to stop laughing and bring out the mama bear voice :)

Here comes....

TROUBLE!!!

Milk and giggles

1- Riley being his squirrelly self enjoying his milk atop a basket
2- Payton has funny quirks- like holding on to his clothes after he is changed. Always. It's like you are torturing the poor kid when you take them away to put them in the dirty clothes bin. Who knew clothes and socks were so entertaining!
3- Brody hiding during our games of hide and seek
4- Evan even got in on the fun- but I found him!
5- you can't catch meeeee!!!!!

Following through...

I have been successful so far this week with following orders and making 30 minutes in my schedule to go for a run. Now, it's only been 2 days but still- I am pretty proud of myself! First, because I hate running- I just don't think I am good at it. I have always wanted to be a "runner" but have never succeeded. My lack of time to go to a yoga studio these days might just be the final straw that changes this pattern. It is also a pain- to change out of my work clothes and change into running clothes for a short period of time only to change back and carry on with my day. Thanks to a staff bathroom by a back door to the clinic I am making this annoyance less of an issue. I also have motivation because there is a great park across the street and also a neighborhood that is filled with some pretty gardens for eye candy. I was rewarded by a big "free" sign next to a pile of succulents from a gardener doing some thinning out. You can't beat free and I am no dummy so I made sure to circle back after work and load up with some pretties for myself! I love succulents because I can keep them alive I indoors and out- not the same for most other plants that need attention that I don't have to give. I know I will have to alter my routine and even have hopes of having an early morning run in my near future to start the day off right (dare I even say that I may bike to work at some point!!??) For now, I am celebrating my small accomplishment :) I even rewarded myself (and Ben) with a yummy homemade curry dish for dinner tonight....I love how a bit of exercise for yourself gives you the energy you need for the other little small things.

Whatch you lookin at??

This picture of Evan and one of the Pitt's trips (I am sad to say I don't know which one!) cracks me up!! This was taken by another mama at the BBQ, but I can't get enough of it :) The swinging door on the play structure was a highlight for the boys, as you can see. We are looking forward to more playdates and lots of shenanigans from PDX's only 2 sets of ID BBB triplets, so crazy that are only 4 months apart in age. On a side note, as I was putting Brody to bed tonight and we realized that his monkey has a hole by his tail (after we had dad find lovey who was lost in the playroom), he said we had to go to Disney World so that Doc McStuffins could fix monkey with her tape and glue. I love these conversations....and I am secretly hoping that gma Sharon can whip out a needle and thread while she is here next week because DW is know where in our plans for the upcoming year(s)!!!

Another day in the life...

 Riley loves this hat....Ben thinks the boys' outfits look like they should be walking on stilts in the circus- I think they couldn't be any cuter ;)

 Brody using a bow to keep the bad guys away

 Payton- such a cutie (it was so much fun to see him actually keeping up with his brothers (on two feet) tonight during our pre-bedtime play! We are use to him doing solo play and Ben and I both noticed him being much different tonight, he was running through the curtains, chasing Brody, stealing toys, all the things E and R get into- we aren't going to be able to say "thank goodness for P" for much longer, yikes!)

 $5 bouquet Brody picked out for his mama at the farmer's market

 Ben having anxiety at the thought of us having a 5th boy, ha! (B's friend Damien from across the street was over to play for a bit)

 Can't lose the hardhat!

 Boys will be boys....

Evan and Riley...looking more alike everyday.

This Sunday was not much different than most- full of activity but a 1.5 hr family nap as a reward :) We played lots, went to a neighborhood farmer's market, walked down Broadway, had lunch out, stopped for ice cream, had an impromptu playdate, took a nap, walked to Grant Park, played, walked some more, came home to play in the backyard, ate dinner, ran around the house naked (the triplets only!), put the babes to bed, played frisbee outside with Brody, picked weeds/watered flowers, came in for some bedtime battles of tic-tac-toe, but B down, and here we are now! Phew.

Triplet BBQ

We were able to attend a BBQ hosted by a local triplet family today, I think there was 9 sets of triplets who were able to make it- pretty cool! I forgot our camera but was able to steal this pic off of Facebook from another mom :) It was great to see some familiar faces and meet some moms that I have only known virtually. The youngest set was six months old (GGG- I managed to sneak in some cuddles!) and I think the oldest were 6 years. We enjoyed a nice family nap when we got home. The fun didn't stop there. After baths we set out on a 5pm walk and met some neighbors across the street at another block party (love our neighborhood!) It was a fun crowd and the boys had a blast running the closed off street. We had to leave as the live music was getting set up due to bedtimes, but were glad to enjoy the time and meet new people. Here's hoping for a rest-filled Sunday :)

Super Babies!

It's getting harder and harder to get a clear shot of the boys on my phone without them turning out blurry. They are on the move! We put on their superhero PJs tonight and boy did they have fun flying around :) I promise to get back into posting better pictures from our real camera...I am still struggling finding a balance with everything I have going on right now- we (I) will get there. I actually got my 1st formal counseling from my boss today (that's corrective action level one in Kaiser Permanente speak). Why? Because I did not follow through with a mandated performance task. What task was that? To block my schedule to ensure that I could go running for 30 minutes everyday. No, I'm not a runner- but it's something I apparently am going to take up until I can fit a 60 minute yoga class in to my daily routine. I was given this "demand" on Wednesday that was a non-negotiable and to start on Thurs. When I saw the said boss-man on Thursday and admitted that I didn't even bring my running shoes to work he started to get serious. Today was more successful in that I brought the gear- but never changed or followed through. That's when the formal documentation came through that I must start listening and taking a break from work to run (in a email that was sent while I was across the table from him in a meeting apparently getting a little too feisty!) I am lucky to have a boss that 1) recognizes I need to relieve some stress on a daily basis and 2) understands the importance of exercise that doesn't come in the form of chasing 4 boys!! If daily exercising is a condition of employment I must start to oblige :)

Deliriously Tired!

I have had a few exhausting days at work and was happy for welcomed down time with my #1 after the trips went to bed tonight. Brody still loves taking pictures and tonight he got a little crazy silly (must be tired silly like his mama) and snapped 50 pics of my backside! He thought it was about the funniest thing ever, and with Ben asking to see them all and telling him good job- well that made it even that much sillier for the little guy. He was mostly snapping pictures with my work phone so I am going to have to delete some files- don't want to show off pics of my boys to my colleagues and end up showing them my booty instead, yikes!!!

New Towels!

Yes, these pics are very blurry- but so cute nonetheless! The trips got new towels just like big bro and it was so cute watching the herd run around amuck in them after bath time. They are still a bit long but even Payton managed to run for a bit without tripping (they all did eventually). We had fun Sunday night bathing them in the upstairs bath, which is much bigger and has better daylight. Since we were upstairs they also got to take advantage of playing in B's bedroom- another treat :)

Waterbugs!

Like I mentioned, we were lucky enough to be able to spend Saturday afternoon in the pool at Jaxzon's Birthday Party. I am bummed we didn't get any pics of the birthday boy though :( That's what happens when you have 4 littles to keep an eye on. Ben managed to snap a few while I was in the pool (with the help of Jax's mommies- what great friends we have :) )

 Again, Riley preferred to keep his distance and chill poolside in his chair. We let him relax this time and didn't force him in the pool- he was content here for quite some time. Jax's Nonnie (sp? not sure how to spell "nah-nee" as we have "nana's and gma's 'round here) helped by moving his chair to keep him in the shade and he never even flinched. Ri has been in quite the funk lately. Long lost is our silly, outspoken, adventurous 3rd triplet (4th child). He has become whiny, clingy and shy. Gasp!! I hope he snaps out of it soon- I much prefer rebel to cling-on now that I have experience with both.

 Payton and Evan did good in their floaties, they were passed amongst us mommies in the pool. Evan would attempt to dive forward when he would lose his car overboard and Payton was kept occupied by the plastic fishies and only choked down the pool water a few times.

 Brody REALLY excelled in only one week (from our last pool party). He was swimming around on his own with his "puddle jumper" suit. This made me happy. At times I (or I should say, we, as in Ben and I) feel really guilty about the lack of one on one time our boys get, especially Brody. If he was still a singleton or had just one other sibling, there are so many more things he would he/they would be exposed to by now. I can't believe the triplets first time in the water was at 18 months. I can't believe B's first dip of the summer didn't happen until August. Why is it that B is four now and still doesn't have riding a bike/trike down? Or color within the lines? Whenever we start down this path of discussion we try and remind ourselves to not be so hard on our parenting- we are doing the best we can within our abilities (mentally and physically). Our boys are loved, healthy and mostly happy! I don't think we are creating any setbacks with them that will last beyond these early few years- and they will (without a doubt) continue to be loved and be surrounded with friends in each other that we never could have provided if we wouldn't have been shocked blessed with multiples.

 Sunday morning "horse rides" from big brother! Riley and Brody were squealing so loud, I wish this was a video.

 Brody wanted me to catch all of his dance moves (again, should have been on video), doesn't he have great hair??!? Sidenote: it usually looks like a hot mess and I really want to get it cut, but sadly we haven't found the time.

This is about the cutest 4 year old big brother I have ever seen!!

All in all it was another good weekend, and even a bit less busy as most. I think we are resting up for our visitors from ND in 2 weeks. My mom, brother and his girlfriend will be here for a week after Labor Day! We are all excited and have missed each other lots. I think we may even sneak in an overnight/day-trip while we have super-grandma here in charge of the boys. It's been 19 months since Ben and I have not woken up to the boys in the morning (not counting the NICU stay).We are more than ready (and I'm not ashamed to admit that). If I wasn't so busy at work I would consider asking grandma to take on more than 1 night! Ha!

Peaceful Sleepers

There really is nothing sweeter, in my mind, than a sleeping baby! I was anxiously waiting for the boys to wake up yesterday so we could get on the move to Jaxzon's 4th bday party and this is what I found when I checked on them. I usually NEVER check on them let alone take a picture with a flash- that would be crazy! Wake a sleeping baby? Not this mama. But since I was just "checking" (aka, anxious to get to the pool party!) I decided to snap pics as well. They didn't even flinch. (Evan, Payton, Riley)

SuperBrody!

Brody and Dad went Bday prezzie shopping for Jax's big 4th bday party tomorrow. B had fun trying out all the various superhero masks- he wanted to make sure what he picked out for his buddy was just perfect :) We are looking forward to the party- a nice dip in their pool is well deserved after this HOT week, which we ended tonight with a nice wagon ride around the neighborhood. I'm so glad tomorrow is Saturday- this mama had a crazy week at work...I'm definitely ready for some friends and family time.

Heat Wave!!

This string of high temps has made my boys go silly!! We had a wild crew tonight, I think they will sleep well :)