There was no blog last week because I was living it up in New Orleans with my triplet mamas!

Rosie was sick the first part of the week so Megan made some quick arrangements to help us out. Steven, Sammy and Amaya are always so happy to get time with Baby Taco.

Amaya is especially happy when she gets to see “Mikey”. She loves men, lol. Today someone came by and Amaya asked, “Is Caroline a man or a lady?” She was very disappointed to learn that Caroline isn’t a man.

Tuesday, 4/18 I turned 41. 41! What the heck? I’m officially “in my 40s”. It’s crazy.

I had a wonderful day waking to surprises from Jason and ending with a family dinner with friends. Megan and the kids came to see me at work for lunch and ran to me holding cards and flowers. Sweetest thing! Megan took them to the flower store and everyone got to pick out flowers they wanted me to have and even dipped some in glitter.

(The banner in my office was from my team.)

My “work necklace” is a favorite with the the kids. It was a big deal that Amaya not only got to wear the necklace but she got to use it to open the doors in my office building.

Rather than go out for lunch, we ate in the break room at my office. It was a good idea in theory but I forgot that it’s not totally enclosed so the sound of loud toddlers will carry through work spaces. The kids were fantastic but it still had me a little on edge.

Here, you can see Amaya handing out everyone’s food. Such a helper.

Megan in the elevator with 2 kids who wanted to be held.

Mommy’s flowers!

For dinner, we had an awesome opportunity to go to dinner with my friend Elizabeth and her family who were visiting on business. Elizabeth’s triplets turned three in March and she has another daughter who just turned one. Such a great birthday dinner!

While Elizabeth and her husband worked, they needed care for their kids on Wednesday and Thursday. By change, Anna was free and able to offer child care for the two days. Since we’re all in the same circle, we decided to bring the kids together at our house. So much fun (and so much chaos)!

Everyone got along really well and, with few exceptions, SSA were great about sharing their toys. (It was hardest for Steven.)

Amaya just loved Baby Amelia.

The whole gang in their matching triplet tribe shirts!

On Wednesday the group grew with the addition of Ben & Sam. Eight three years olds, a one year old and three brave nannies.

Friday morning, Grandma Sunshine came over to help hold down the fort while I jetted off to New Orleans for my 4th triplet mom getaway!

Twenty eight 2014 triplet moms. ♥ ♥ ♥

Daddy sent me updates throughout the weekend. Looks like a Sammy haircut!

Apparently Amaya wanted some of Sammy’s hair gel and this hairdo was Daddy’s compromise.

Rosie got these great photos of Jason playing ball with the kids. They looooooove playing ball with their daddy!

I rounded out my trip to Louisiana with a night in Baton Rouge visiting my friend Hannah and her six girls. And then it was back to MI!

Steven has been in his SMO orthotics for two years and it was time for his third pair. Our orthotist was running late but these kids know how to occupy themselves wherever they are.

Don’t mind a little Ring-Around-The-Rosie in the hallway. And, yes, we all fall down.

Steven’s new orthotics are just simple inserts in his shoes. They’re definitely easier to manage than the braces he’s been wearing. These are shoes I bought for Chase about 5 years ago that he never ended up wearing.

Right now, SSA are obsessed with band-aids. We could go through two boxes a week if we let them. (We might actually go through 2 boxes a week.) Everything is a boo boo that needs a band-aid! Sammy’s gotten to the point where he walks around with his hand in a fist if he does’t have a band-aid on his finger.

Amaya had a quick dr appointment on Wednesday so I met Megan and the kids there. The fish are always a hit. “I see a green fish! I see a bumblebee fish!”

When it’s not a school day and I’m feeling generous, I sometimes let Steven, Sammy and Amaya keep me company while I’m getting ready for work. It definitely slows down the process (obviously) but it makes them so happy.

My little helpers love to help me with my make-up. “Do you need this, mommy? What about this? Do you need this now?”

A favorite game is spinning in our bathroom chair. Spinning themselves, spinning each other, begging me to spin them, fighting over who’s in the chair… you name it.

Thursday the kids were able to get outside for a bit on their inaugural outdoor bike ride! We got them in November so it’s been a long winter of indoor bike riding! Talking to my friend Hannah, I mentioned that I wasn’t sure how we’d keep them from riding across driveways and she had the great idea to use cones as markers. Perfect!! Jason took his bike out today and, before he left, Amaya said, “But he can’t ride his bike without the cones!” Sammy also reminded him to wear a helmet.

When Steven finished PT in early January, his PT Meredith suggested he come back in a few months for a progress check. Thursday was his first day back. I think he’ll have another 3 month session and then we’ll evaluate how he’s doing. He had some trepidation at the appointment after all this time off but it was still a marked difference from his true first appointment last fall.

My girl. Pink and purple all the way around except for Chase’s black socks. 🙂

After the appointment, the kids had lunch at Megan’s mother’s house and then brought Taco back to our house for the afternoon.

Five months old already!

Bedtime is getting more chaotic but there’s always a moment of calm when I put the TV on before we go upstairs to bed. Three cute kids in Chase’s old pajamas.

Brothers, on FaceTime with Papa. 🙂

Steven this week!

It’s “a building with a sun on it”.

Reading bedtime stories. “Who sees a hot air balloon?”

“So many places we will go!”

Cool cat.

Sammy this week!

Now Sammy has a picture next to his bed, too.

He was building a city.

Amaya this week!

New shoes!

“Actually, this was Charlie’s shirt.”

Amaya and Daddy

Amaya & Mommy

Have a great week!

What a perfect week in NY! Fair warning… I took a million pictures and put about 100 of them in this week’s blog. The blog is as much for Future Steven, Sammy and Amaya as it is for anyone today (maybe more so), so it means a lot for me to capture pictures of these special trips to NY.

On Monday morning we all walked over to the playground and Cornwell Ave elementary school, where Sara and I attended! It was a great place to play because it was spring break and totally deserted. SSA get nervous when there are a lot of other kids on play equipment and they’re still getting comfortable with slides so this was perfect. It was also really cool for me to get to visit my old school with my kids.

Steven brought his “hammer stick” with him and spent a good amount of time cleaning the playground, lol.

The baseball field meant batting practice for Chase and Sammy and lots of space for everyone to run around.

#sistercousins

Steven was “writing letters” with his hammer stick.

In the afternoon, Nana hosted the first Seder with our family, Uncle Dave’s parents Allen and Syvia and our friends the Honigs. Even though the kids have had Seders before, this was their first in NY and that made it extra special.

Steven, reading the Haggadah

Amaya, eating her parsley.

She was perfectly fine. Just resistant to selfies with Mommy.

Steven was holding one of the plush plagues. This is his “don’t take my plague!” face.

The cousins got in some cuddle time after dinner before Chase and Charlie had to head home for the night.

Tuesday morning was gorgeous. The kids had some new bubbles to play with and it was a perfect morning for bubble blowing. Sammy and Amaya really have it down. Steven still struggles a bit. He puts his top lip out over his bottom lip so the air all blows down instead of out. We’re working on it.

Uncle Austin was able to spend a nice amount of time with Steven, Sammy and Amaya before everyone else arrived at the house.

Savta showed everyone the berries on one of the bushes and poking them with sticks became a favorite activity.

Off on a walk, Steven was collecting things in his basket (leaves, sticks, flowers). Here, he’s showing Amaya his collection. I love seeing the kids interact with each other like this. They’re actually having conversations with each other now.

Cutest. <3

While we were playing, Sammy told me he wanted to go for a walk to the “playground with the yellow swing”. There were a ton of adults back at the house so I decided it was a nice chance for some Mommy/Sammy time and we walked to the park together. He is such a sweet little boy.

When I got back I was happy to see that no one missed us a bit! Steven and Amaya were busy blowing bubbles with Chase. “Chasey!”

We went for many, many walks this week. I don’t know what it is about my mom & Gene’s neighborhood that makes it feel so conducive to walking but it really is. In the photo below, Steven was playing a “Stop!” game where he’d put his hand up and yell “stop!” and we all had to freeze. The cutest part was that he did a great job freezing in place however he was walking at the time he yelled “Stop!” On this trip it became very obvious to me how big my kids are getting.

All of the cousins were over for the 2nd night of Passover. Here, the gang has stopped to look at a colony of thousands and thousands of ants. It was really something. Savta was totally in her element.

Amaya was smitten with Dod Shuki.

Chase got out his catcher’s gear and he and Sammy got back to playing baseball together.

We wrapped up the evening with a photo of Savta, her daughters and her nine great grandchildren. <3

Tuesday night was sleepover night for Chase & Charlie. Before bed, the boys needed to wrestle out some of their energy.

Chase read the bedtime story and Charlie sang their bedtime song.

Wednesday was a cuddle fest in bed with Nana and Papa, with the exception of Steven who was too busy doing so many other very busy things.

One of the promises I made to the kids was that we’d go to carousel while we were in NY. Wednesday was the day! Steven and Sammy were excited to ride and Amaya was excited to “watch and wave”.

The afternoon was gorgeous so Auntie met up with us and we all went to Aunt Sara & Uncle Dave’s house.

Steven looooooooves the tire swing!

Out for dinner, Chase was a big helper. As always.

Sammy got some great one on one time with Aunt Sara. She even let him try a bit e of cotton candy.

On Thursday we all went to Savta’s house for lunch. Look around at the stuff on display. It’s a miracle that nothing broke! Steven walked into this room and said, “Oh, my goodness!” In fact, he came home from NY and told Daddy that when he got to Savta’s house he looked around and said, “Oh, my goodness!!” lol

I remember playing with this Noah’s Ark when I was a kid right in that same room.

In the afternoon we took another trip back to Aunt Sara & Uncle Dave’s house for bubble time and dinner.

Can you tell how excited Amaya was to push Sammy down the coaster?

Friday morning the plan was to go back to Aunt Sara’s house but we were delayed a bit when I got locked in the bathroom. See Amaya’s little face peeking through?

Steven saw Nana working with tools to get me out. When she went to call a locksmith, he got a hanger to help. “Ooooh! I will get a tool to help you. This hanger will help you get out, Mommy”. <3

Free!! Everyone was fascinated with the doorknob replacement.

Made it to Aunt Sara’s in time for play doh!

On Friday afternoon, I was lucky to have a visit from college roomie Rachel. Always the best! We had some alone time for lunch out and also got to spend a nice amount of time with Steven, Sammy and Amaya.

After lunch Savta’s sister, Aunt Edith, came to visit us which was a wonderful treat! She brought some outside toys that the kids loved. Sammy is really taken with baseball and makes contact with the ball with surprising frequency.

It was such a nice afternoon that we decided to talk a group walk to Carvel for some ice cream. This trip had particular significance because I distinctly remember walking to this Carvel with my dad. It’s crazy to me that I can do the exact same thing with my own kids so many years later.

Amaya ordered chocolate ice cream with “brown” sprinkles.

Sammy ordered chocolate ice cream with rainbow sprinkles.

Steven didn’t want ice cream but was excited to have a pear when we got back home.

My Amaya. Happy, happy, happy with her ice cream. And then I told her she ate enough and couldn’t also have a pear before dinner.

Lololololol My girl.

After Nana let me sleep in a bit, I woke on Saturday to news that April, the giraffe, was in active labor. SSA had a great time watching April and then her new baby calf.

On our final day, we took one last walk to Halls Pond Park. Steven traded in his hammer stick for a walking stick.

There was a birthday celebration. (Mine!)

And some last family photos before everyone disbanded for the night at the end of an amazing week in NY!

Today we were up bright and early for our 9am flight back to Detroit. Amaya was the volunteer willing to ride in the taxi with me, while the boys rode with Nana and Papa. She got car sick earlier in the trip and is still nervous about that but promising to keep the windows open did the trick. And off we went!

It’s definitely nice to have an extra set of hands. Once again, Amaya was nervous about the security process and flopped down on the floor. Holding her while we walked through the metal detector ultimately did the trick.

I was getting the grown-ups some omelettes for the flight and suddenly pre-boarding was announced at the gate. We weren’t ready! It was definitely my most harried boarding process to date. We had so much stuff everywhere! We got down the jet bridge and tried to board but Sammy and Steven lost their minds. Sammy started crying as soon as he got on the plane and walked off. Steven flopped down and refused to get on the airplane unless I carried him. Eventually I ended up walking on the plane with both boys in my arms. We calmed down until we got to our seats when everyone decided they wanted to sit next to me and next to a window. Uhhhhhhhhh. After a lot of crying and crying and crying, we got ourselves settled in the same seating arrangement we had on the way to NY, this time with the benefit of three tablets so everyone could watch Wonder Pets and Daniel Tiger. Thank goodness!

Made it home!! Sammy, Amaya and I walked through the airport while Steven and Papa rode the train together.

Back to the Land of Cheltenham!! Yay!! The boys were very excited to see the new decor in their room. Daddy took care of it while we were away.

And that’s it! A fantastic vacation and a happy reunion with Daddy.

The plan for the week was very straight forward. I was traveling to NY with Steven, Sammy and Amaya on Saturday morning and Aunt Sara was flying to Detroit on Friday night to help me with my travels. The craziness with Delta resulted in a nearly last minute flight cancellation for Sara with no hope of getting her to Detroit in time for our flight the next morning. I wasn’t planning to fly alone with the kids until they were at least 4 years old but I suppose necessity isn’t just the mother of invention, it’s the mother of doing things like flying alone with three 3 year olds. More on that later, though.

This week we finally got SSA’s school photos back! I love them! Look at these little personalities. And the kids look so BIG.

This photo below was just 6 months ago! Such a huge change!

Steven was a total ham. I’m told that he took direction phenomenally well and cheesed it up for the camera. My little Bobes.

Brothers! <3

Sammy cried and cried leading up to the photos so I’m happy we got some happy pictures of this bright eyed guy.

Little Miss Sass. Such a big girl!

She was very excited to wear her “jean jacket” in the pictures.

Rosie had the great idea to make a fort behind our living room sofa. The kids love it! I think Steven would move in if he could.

On Thursday morning I ducked out of work for an early lunch to attend a Family Seder at the JCC. I love being able to see the kids during the day, especially for such special events. The program primarily consisted of Passover-friendly snacks and a song on stage from each class.

I do not have joiners so I wasn’t surprised when Amaya and Sammy absolutely refused to go on stage with their class but I was thrilled that Steven gave it a shot! Rather than sing, he spent the time talking about the hats (my Steven <3) but he did it ! And without his brother and sister. The best part is that they were singing a Passover song I remember from my own childhood.

Don’t let this happy picture deceive you. Leaving the JCC was a nightmare. Amaya insisted on sitting to pee on the potty in the van twice and refused to get in her seat. Three year olds can be near impossible. Then they do something adorable and you almost forget the premature grays and bags under your eyes.

On Friday, after school, Megan took Sammy and Amaya out for lunch! Mac & cheese and salad. No surprise there!

Why wasn’t Steven with them? It’s because he was at the ball game with his Daddy!!! Steven and Jason went to Tigers Opening Day together. Sweetest thing ever. Steven was so excited. He even made a point to run to tell Miss Penny where he was going before he left school for the day.

By all accounts, they had a great time. Steven lasted until the 7th inning. He saw baseball players, helicopters, rode a ferris wheel (his first) and rode a carousel flanked by Tigers Girls.

Holding onto Daddy in line.

On the ferris wheel.

New hat for the Bobes! Jason said strangers were all commenting about how cute he was.

Steven and his entourage.

Steven and Daddy, taking it all in.

So, as I mentioned, Sara’s flight was canceled and I decided I’d fly with the kids on my own. (Because, really, there wasn’t another option.) There were no safety issues. An airport and an airplane are more controlled environments than a lot of places I take the kids on my own. But it’s definitely a chaotic environment.

Our fligt was at 8:30am so I set my alarm for 4:30am with a plan to leave for the airport by 5:45am. Jason would drive us and help me get the luggage checked. By chance, I woke up around 3am and happened to check my flight details. I didn’t know what was going on but I was no longer checked in for my 8:30am flight and we were booked on an 8PM flight. I immediately called Delta and got a message saying the wait time was 24- 30 HOURS to get someone on the phone. It was crazy. I spent the next 90 minutes on hold, stewing and stressing out because I didn’t know what was going on. I was convinced we weren’t going to be on the morning flight but, just to get another point of view, I woke up Jason at 4:45am and he suggested we go to the airport and find out what was happening. So we woke the kids at 5am and got the show on the road.

As we were getting ready to leave I did get connected with an agent who told me that my flight was canceled and, when the flight was reinstated, we’d already been rebooked on a different flight. But the 8:30am flight was back on and I wanted on that plane! We drove to the airport while I stayed on hold with the agent and, while Jason waited outside, I spent 45 minutes in line in the airport waiting to talk to someone while simultaneously staying on the phone with the phone agent who was still trying to help.

I don’t know how she did it but all 4 of us were rebooked on our original flight. And off we went! By then, it was 7am. I’d been up for 4 hrs and our day was just getting started. Don’t mind me while I share 8 million airport/airplane photos.

Steven, Sammy and Amaya did great. We were delayed 2.5 hrs but they stayed entertained and cooperative almost the whole time. I used some m&ms to reward good listening and that worked really, really well. Gotta break out the big guns in a situation like this. 😉

Eating breakfast and watching airplanes take off.

Amaya’s face when she realized she could pee in her pull-up, lol.

I thought we were going to miss our flight when Amaya decided she had to be the one to open this very heavy bathroom door. We waited a looooooong time for her to finally ask for help. Toddler madness.

Watching the terminal train go back and forth. Everyone wanted to ride the train but, once we got close, Sammy changed his mind. Steven and Amaya were great about the change in plans when I explained that Sammy was nervous and we needed to stick together.

I let everyone pick out an activity book in one of the airplane stores. They were excellent distractions.

Boarded! This was really stressful. I knew one of the kids would have to sit across an aisle from me and I had to play it carefully. Somehow I convinced Steven to sit across from me and bribed him with access to my iPad. He was great about it. Such a big kid. We didn’t know it at the time but it turned out there wasn’t even anyone sitting next to him on the flight! Plus we were in the last row which made me feel a little less obvious as I tried to corral the kids.

The flight attendant gave Steven a kaleidoscope to distract him during take-off. I don’t think he needed it, but it was still really sweet.

Enjoying the ride.

YES, PLEASE.

Sammy fell asleep about 20 minutes before we landed. He was so sweet.

Nana captured these pictures of us arriving at baggage claim. <3

Yay!! WE DID IT!!

Arriving at Nana & Papa’s house. Hi Chase!

It was a lovely, quiet afternoon. (Well, probably not all that quiet.)

^^I was sleeping while everyone was outside. BLISS.

Being with my children in my childhood bedroom will never, ever get old.

This morning, SSA got some great time with Uncle Austin before the madness started.

There was also time to bake with Nana while she prepped for Passover.

The main event of the morning was Chase’s championship deck hockey game. Such a nice thing for us all to go do together.

Watching their big cousin

The boys with the champion!

This afternoon we all went to Halls Pond park. How crazy to be in this park with my kids. I couldn’t even being to count the amount of time I spent at Halls Pond growing up. Hell, my mom & dad even had their wedding photos taken there! Little things like that feel pretty special.

Now we have the good fortune of a whole week here in NY. <3 <3 <3

Have a great week, and much love to everyone who made it through all of that. 🙂

On Monday morning, Steven, Sammy and Amaya decided they wanted to go to the mall to play so off they went. Apparently Amaya went up to every little girl there and to ask, “How are you?” Love it!

Afternoon sibling cuddles.

With Amaya picking out her clothing, it’s not unusual to see a Hanukkah shirt in March or pants under her skirt.

I realize we’ve had these bee PJs for well over a year. I think we have one or two bees who are almost ready to size up in these babies. Can’t imagine bedtime without them in the mix, though! I love my little baby bees.

Speaking of bees, I was buying diapers online and saw these bee wings and antenna for $3 and I couldn’t resist. I was not at all surprised to see Steven most drawn to them. After all, he is the kid who took his two year old “school” photo in his bee PJs. Here he’s helping direct Amaya while she gets dressed, lol.

Bedtime is often a drawn out affair these days. Some nights I’m exhausted and I just want the kids in bed so I can sit down and relax. Other days, the time together at bedtime helps me wind down from my day. I used to think that it was better to settle down before putting the kids in their cribs but I recently read an article saying that laughing before bed actually helps kids fall asleep more easily so I’ve changed my mindset and fully embraced bedtime chaos.

▼ Bedtime Chaos

SSA also started a “ready, steady, go!” game where they take a running start and fly onto their bean bags. Ready! Steady! GO!

Amaya has fully transitioned to dressing herself in the morning. All in, start to finish. It’s pretty amazing to me to see because her brothers are firmly planted in “mommy do it” land. She’s so stinking independent.

Eventually a spring dress ended up on top of the rest of the outfit. So that made a shirt, leggings, a skirt and a dress. (She’s crying here because she wanted to go back upstairs for a drink of water. Which we did.)

Steven picked out this skirt to wear over his pants. “Ooooooh. It’s fancy.”

This is the usual sight when I get home from work. The sweetest.

I found these great, inexpensive superhero shirts for the boys. So much fun with the capes! I’ll have to keep my eyes out for Wonder Woman. Though it’s currently doubtful that Amaya will wear anything that’s not pink.

Amaya is helping Steven make sure that everything is just so.

BatSam!

Story time! <3

Magnatiles are still a favorite and Steven, Sammy and Amaya are getting increasingly creative with them.

A rocket ship. I don’t think that’s what he set out to put together but it was clear what he’d created once it was done.

Yesterday, Team Cline went out for early breakfast out. It’s rare we’re all out of the house at 8am. I liked it!

SSA helped their daddy fix a window screen.

I know the kids are learning about Passover at school but, with the holiday coming, I thought it would be fun to do a Passover craft at home. I found a print out for a seder plate. They colored all of the parts, then we cut out the seder plate items and the glued them on. Fun and easy!

Steven colors very precisely when he puts his mind to it.

The finished product!

Steven and Amaya reading with Daddy

Boys and Daddy

It’s spring! And we’re outside! I’m really looking forward to this summer outside.

Sammy batted about .500 today with me pitching. He’s so proud of himself when he makes contact.

Bubbles are soooooo much better now that I don’t have to blow them.

One photo of Steven this week. This trick to let them pour their own milk in their cereal has worked so well!

Sammy – Making sure everything is working how it should.

Jason got the kids these toys that they can put together and take apart with screws. Amaya was so focused!

Asking Daddy about her ball cards. <3

That’s all of for this week. Next Saturday the kids and I are off to NY!