easter sweet(ie)s

That's all he needs: something else to swat his brothers with. dumb bunny...

 hmmm. the only thing this one did not scarf down.

 ben on the other hand...had to pry it from his fingers or he would have chowed the whole thing.

 we let matt eat some candy before breakfast...

 ..and for breakfast.

 note to bunny: next year no hay. vacuum does not like it.

 note to bunny: next year...someone else's house. we are still picking up hay.

 the weather was fabulous. there is not much better than a stroll down the charles, stopping only to throw sticks and rocks and handfuls of dirt in. 

 oddly, these guys like wearing their shades. not so much their sun hats.

a whole week.

yup. we rolled into roanoke like cousin eddie.

first stop: a snuggle with this guy.

 of course my guy loves babies all of a sudden..."aww, charlie is so cute!"

 then we spent the whole week in the driveway. the hose, a few buckets, a couple of cars and a bike. total bliss. (for the little ones. my bliss was a week with gigi and all her pampering.)

we also went through some chalk and balls.

 total bliss for this one, the natural mama:  

 we miss you beautiful charlie!

and everyone else, thank you!

10 and a half hours. in the car.

we started out by finalizing our home purchase. after testing out our new playground (of course). these two did not seem to like the high swings...

 ...this one thought it was great!

 after a LOT of traffic and rain, we stopped earlier than we wanted. this is how we bath in hotels: 

then onto chocolate town! i remember it from 25 years ago...(can't believe i can say that without exaggerating)

we let matty loose in the gift shop to buy anything he wanted, a bit worried about him eating a three pound chocolate bar before 4 hours in the car. thankfully he chose toy cars. that's my guy!

 after a quick visit and sweet lunch, the kiddies promptly fell into a chocolate coma.

(well, a milk coma for a couple of them)

driving through 8 states with three kids is miserable...

...unless you have super kids like us. they were great!

uncle vic!

a few days after this:

 a very brave uncle vic and aunt joan came to visit. it was a gorgeous spring day and we wandered around charles street, the public garden and the common. then uncle vic tried to catch another virus:

we had a blast, thanks for coming!

hershey

was more fun than it looks here..

guess who???

they might be giants

we brought them south in hopes the sun will keep them growing.

hijacked pics

my most favorite picture...a grandmother captured with her newest love

definitely a new mommy swaddle. perfect!

don't worry roanoke, my mom will show you how to email pictures next week.

outings

who doesn't love the boston children's museum? it was a great, leisurely place to spend a rainy day. until there were three. now it is a full blown workout to keep them somewhat together. this is not depicted in the pictures as i had to abandon stroller with camera and purse (and sanity) once their feet hit the ground.

ahh, now i know why we spent yesterday as we did...

 matty climbed to the top of the climbing structure. a huge feat as he usually gets nervous 8 feet off the ground.

 the leader...and his most eager follower. funny how they are so intrigued by him, but no so much by mom or dad. this previously undiscovered area near the exit is a lifesaver. one way out and lots of climbing and sliding and crawling. and the only opportunity for the camera to come out.

 when it started to rain on the walk home, we stopped by dad's office for a visit. things went downhill fast.

 drawers emptied, trash cans emptied, soda cans emptied...

 ...and when matty escaped and barged into the managing partners office "to look at the boats" (it is a great view, and we do usually sneak in when she is out of office to admire) dad said it was time to go.

 so wednesday i brought only two of them out, to the library toddler storytime, while matt was in school. it is much, much easier with two babies who are mesmerized by singing and picture books.

 ben loved loved loved the singing. this was twinkle twinkle little star.

oh my god. a break for mom!

but not for long. the following free play is like feeding chickens: they sprinke a bunch of toys on the floor and the couple dozen babies all crawl around pecking things up.

then we spent yesterday:

yup, 3 fevers, 50 pukes, 75 diarrheas, 34 outfit changes, 18 loads of laundry, a million tears, no school and not much sleep. thank god vincent was around. and at least i did not have to make lunch or dinner for the boys. and matty says he will never pick his nose again bc he does not like throwing up.
but seriously? how many times can a child who eats nothing throw up? and how does one ice cube produce a gallon of vomit? and how has no one invented leak-proof diapers? and am i on candid camera?