This will be easy tonight!!

I am going to post an email that Shaune sent out today...

So, we just make it on time - 7pm - (I won't divulge who was...ahem...tardy) to get the kids in and dressed, ready for their 'professional' debut. I pull the camper over as we enter the stadium parking lot nearest the Pro Shop to let the mascots out. It was like E company emptying out of a Douglas C-47 Dakota over Normandy, red light flashing the pilot yelling 'Go! Go! Go!' Steven leads them to the staging area. Park the RV. Whew! We made it. We get our tickets, make our way to the club seats, and wait patiently for the grand entrance. I search the field with my video camera, recording lots of other kids in black SuperLiga uniforms, just none of them ours. I tuck the camera back into my cargo short pocket out of fear of confiscation. We wait as the Revs and Atlante warm up, chat and soak up the atmosphere high above the field. One of those fleeting moments when we don't have children (or wives :-)) tugging on us asking for something. The players leave the field to prepare for their entrance. The boys will only be seen as they enter the stadium. We wait. 8o'clock. Anytime now. Oh, here they come. I frantically dig the video camera back out of my pocket. It needs to be hidden as they are prohibited. What a double standard. Quickly now - it's time. I set myself on the concrete balcony, a human tripod, squatting like a catcher, two hands on the camera, wrists touching the low, steel railing. Great zoom on this little camera my wife just got. I can zoom right in on their faces. I have to be steady though, as using the zoom it is very touchy. Hold'er steady. Concentrate. A bit star struck they are, like deer in headlights. A few smile, most are stone faced looking around, caught in the moment. Pretty big deal for a little kid I imagine. Or they might just be weirded out holding a stranger's hand. They're all lined up now, in front of their pro waiting for the anthems. First the Mexican anthem then our own Star Spangled Banner. I am proud to say that Jojo held his hand over his heart, gently nudging the boys to each of his sides, a reminder to be respectful, much like his father must have done to him. I have done the same to my own sons at these events, whispering in their ear to place their hands over their hearts as a sign of respect to the men who have fought and died to allow us these wonderful freedoms. I am convinced that my son Evan must be deaf in that ear, as his hands are by his side.

Their work is done. They file off, as the players shake hands, ready to begin the fight. They are organized and respectful, I assume due to the riot act they must have been read prior to entering the stadium. Now they begin to smile, perhaps realizing what they have just done. They stood side by side with professional footballers, imagining the day when they will hold a youngsters hand and inspire him, as they have been inspired. That or they are looking forward to chicken fingers and tricolored nachos.

Hopefully, that description, captured in your mind's eye, is better than any video that I could have taken because in my haste to smuggle the video camera out of my pocket and capture this momentous event in our sons' lives, I neglected to hit the record button. Moron.

So, there you have it! The Electrical Engineer that can't run electronics! LOL. I'm sure he won't do that again. I'm sure we have all done that at one point in our lives...I know I have! The good news is that Aodhan didn't utter a word about the soccer game. Bullet dodged!

On to the pics!!

Just like Daddy!!!

My little bookworm! She LOVES to read...all day long, reading, reading, reading! She started and finished this book tonight..."Tales from the House of Bunnicula - It Came from Beneath the Bed" Scary!!! She said it was a little bit scary!



No pics of the boys today....they are off with Shaune visiting his grandfather in the nursing home.

I have guilt!

So, Aodhan tried out for our local Children's Theater and got a part. Well, we are getting ready to go on vacation and he is going to miss a week of rehearsals so he HAD to make all of them this week (which is every day!) Well, wouldn't luck have it! Steven (Asst. Coach to Shaune for the boys' soccer team) was able to secure tickets to the Revs Soccer Game in Foxboro. We are talking box seats (thanks Steven!!) Even better, the boys were able to be the "mascots" for the team. They needed 11 players to walk out with the team before the game and Aodhan couldn't go. The worst part is, we didn't tell him that the team was walking out. He was so upset that he couldn't go to the game that we thought it would be best NOT to tell him because it would have devastated him. We will be facing the music tomorrow and I'm not looking forward to it. I am hoping that he was so upset last night because he was tired and that this will roll off his shoulders! I'm keeping my fingers crossed. I am hoping that Shaune gets some good video of them walking out on the field! It is going to be super exciting for them.

On to the baby news. She is definitely feeling better. While she's still not eating so much, she is acting like her little devil baby self. Who gave her permission to find her voice and use it to only screech? I honestly don't think the other 3 screeched nearly as much as this one does. It is constant totally maddening. This one is going to give us a run for our money. I hope this is only a phase and will pass soon! Ay yay yay!

On to the pictures. Sadly, I didn't see Evan but for a minute today, so he escaped the wrath of picture taking!

We went for Ice Cream after dinner and that is where I took the pictures…in the car with Ice Cream.

Teagan baby being impatient…then in heaven!

Kealan and Aodhan enjoying their special cones! Ice cream definitely makes it all better!

I think the worst is over!

First, the results are in...no UTI. We (or my mother in law, that is) was able to get a urine sample around 9:30. Hooray! The little stinker sat on the toilet every 10 minutes and held out! Finally, we got our sample, it was all in vain, though!

I will say that she definitely seems so much better tonight than yesterday. She wanted to go outside. The past few nights, she wanted to be inside, sitting on my lap and not moving. She ate a bit, too! I think we are ready for a rebound.

Everyone is in bed and we have officially run out of diapers, so I am off to wash a load of diapers!

Oh....let's not forget the daily pics!

Here is Teagan, outside....ALMOST happy!



And all three in our blow up pool. They were making a whirl pool and pulling a "Sid" (from ice age with the watermelon/football) yelling SSLLLLOOOOWWWWWW and moving in super slow motion.

She was perking up!

Well, after keeping me awake much of the night, Teagan is perking up. Shaune took her to the pediatrician this morning and everything checked out fine…she just has this fever. The pediatrician would like me to try to collect a urine sample. Isn’t that the funniest thing you ever heard? He thinks she may have a UTI. She has started to potty train, so I may just have some success.

Try #1

Teagan wakes up; I take her to the potty and put the collection cup on the bottom. She pees...yippee! That was EASY! And then….she stands up. Apparently those collection cups float. She missed the cup completely and as soon as there was enough liquid, the cup floated. Ok…we’ll try again in a little while.

Try #2

She has definitely perked up and is outside, although she is still whiney and not really wanting to eat. I bring her in and she asks for a piece of bread (by ask I mean, she points at the bread and grunts). I bring her to the potty with her bread, but I can already tell that I am too late. She had just peed in her diaper. She sits on the potty anyway and plays with the bread. Harley walks in and she throws the bread on the floor for him and then she stands up. No pee. This may be more challenging than I thought!

Third time’s a charm?

Not quite. The cup stuck, but the pee missed. I’ve now resorted to washing out the pot and keeping it covered. I will then just take the urine from the pot and hope for the best. At this point, the lab is closed so we will get the first sample tomorrow morning and bring it right to the lab.

In all other news....well, there is none. I worked today at home, tried to get the baby to pee in a cup, now I am cooking dinner and waiting for Shaune and Aodhan to come home. Aodhan is at rehearsal for a play he is in...Pollyanna! Oh, I took the cat to the vet today. She got a check up, shots, etc....to the tune of $87.00. Gotta love these pets!

Daily dose of pictures. Evan ....needing a DESPERATE haircut!

Poor Sweet Sicky Teagan.

Shaune and Aodhan getting ready to watch a Western.

Kealan Strikes a Pose.

Sick baby...

Teagan has been holding steady with a fever for the past 2 days. Tylenol and Motrin are knocking it back, but it hasn't broken yet. She is pretty pathetic. She really hasn't eaten too much because of it and just wants to be hold most of the day. I hate when she is like this...it's kind of stressful.

It's been raining all day...thunder and lightning, too. It's been a stay in the house, clean, do laundry, and take care of a crying baby kind of day. Here are my pics from today...

First a video of the clowns on the trampoline today....in the middle of a thunderstorm.





Here is the terribly sad and pathetic Teagan.


Kealan after her bounce on the rain soaked trampoline....

And Evan

And Aodhan...Crazy kids!!

No good deed goes un-punished....

So....about the pictures. I am sooooo angry with myself. Like I said below, we went to the beach and had tons of fun. While the kids and Shaune were out on the Kayaks, I went back to the camper to grab my camera. It was in the case so I tucked it next to me on the chair. I moved just a little trying to adjust Teagan on my lap and the camera bag fell. Want to know where it fell? Right into a beach bucket filled with water and hermit crabs.

I stared in utter horror at the bag, unable to move to get it out of the water. I was afraid of what was going to happen. Finally, I willed myself to grab the bag and of course, the camera was wet. It wasn't turned on, so I quickly took the battery and card out in hopes of drying it. I put it back together this morning but it didn't turn on. Off to the local camera shop and a little prayer that they can fix it. On one positive note, I never got around to selling my Nikon CoolPix 8800 on Ebay, so I have a decent standby. I will resume my picture taking today!!!

Oh, and the interesting things you see at the beach at 10:00 at night. We watched countless cars zoom into the parking lot and then zoom out. A few stopped to "park" and one drove up to the port-a-johns so a girl could use the bathroom. Funnily enough, she couldn't see even with headlights on, so she had to haver her friend, John, hold the door open for her while she tinkled....lol. Evan got a real kick out of that. He was watching from the camper window giggling like a maniac!

Failure is MINE!

No pictures today....maybe none forever. I'll talk about it tomorrow. It's late and I'm zonked.

Spent the day today trying to catch up on cleaning the house....4 kids and 3 furry animals makes that task almost impossible. Shaune cleaned out stuff in the garage and did the grass. The recent rain had NERVE to turn our grass from brown to green...can you imagine?

After we were sick of working, we headed to 3rd beach for a cookout in the camper...we JUST got home. We had a good time. It was totally relaxing...we hung out on the beach, the kids and Shaune did some kayaking, Shaune cooked yummy burgers, and then we had s'mores over the fire. A good time....we will definitely be doing that again.

The beginning of a year....

There isn't much going on these days. I went to work, came home, cooked dinners and washed my cloth diapers. How totally boring is that? Shaune came home and I went for a quick dip in our little pool. I canceled our pictures that I was going to have taken tomorrow at Sears Portrait Studios. I figured that I had a new Canon Rebel XT, how dumb to have pictures taken? If the spirit moves me, I am going to head to the beach just before sunset tomorrow and take my own pictures.

I have decided that every day for the next year that I would take a picture of each kid. I think it will be cool to see how much they change. I'm hoping that by taking a daily picture, I will learn to use my camera and I will see how much my skill has improved from day 1 to day 365.

Here are today's pictures....

Evan and Aodhan. They were detectives trying to solve the case of the missing pocket knife. Yes, it is summer and yes they are wearing winter clothes. My take is that detectives don't go shirtless with shorts? Also, I will point out that I did not take this picture, I was in the room, but my Mother in Law took it...she uses my camera more than I do and she's better at it! LOL.

Kealan pausing from trampoline time for a quick snap. I won't have any problems from her when it comes to taking pictures!Here is Miss Teagan. Aodhan had to hold her down for this picture. She will definitely be my challenge. As soon as I turn the camera on her, she looks away. She is BUSY! She was also on the trampoline...naked!Ok...while I have the pictures going. Check out this cool moth we found. It is white with black spots. I'm not sure what kind it is, but it was neat looking. It wouldn't fly. The kids think it's because its wings got wet. I'll look for it tomorrow to see if it flew away.