Just me and the boys

On Tuesday and Thursday, there is no school for the boys. Joey is 5, Owen is 4 and TJ is 2 and a half. We can't forget about Hobson who is 7 months old. It's basically like having a 4th boy. He also wants to be with me all the time and wants equal attention. Tuesdays and Thursdays are filled with energy. I can feel it the second they all wake up. The boys wake up at 6 and are ready for anything; meanwhile, I have to wake poor Ryley up at 7:45 so she can catch the bus at 8:10. She is not so raring to go too early. The boys on the other hand by 8:10, already have had breakfast, 2 cups of milk, fit in a couple of wrestling matches (some end in tears) have had numerous sword fights and maybe even built a fort. I usually am trying to have a cup of coffee and still wake up at this time.

The Dargan boys are such "boys". They love to ride bikes, dig in the dirt, wrestle, run, pretend they are batman or some superhero and they love to hike. I think their favorite part of hiking is finding the perfect stick. Today we were up and out of the house by 9:30 to go for a hike. I packed the 3 boys, double stroller, snacks of course and Hobson. We headed to Ridgewood for our walk/hike. While there, I heard my numerous comments on how I had my hands full. Little did they know, that there was 1 little girl in school and how I wished she were there to be part of it. I guess you could say I have my hands full, but to me it's what I am used to. It's nothing for me to grab 3 or 4 kids and a dog and go on an adventure.

After a 2 hour hike with the boys and Hobson, they look at me and say, "Mommy that was fun. So what do you want to do next?" One of my favorite parts of today was sitting on a bench with the three of them and just listening to them talk. They have so much to say and such excitement.

Fall Fun

The Dargan kids are up at the crack of dawn. It's Saturday morning and they are all cuddled up on the couch together. There is no school and they are ready to start their day. Joe is away for the weekend, so I am solo! "Mommy, can we have breakfast?" "Mommy, can we play soccer?" "Mommy, can we walk somewhere?" "Mommy, can we go to the farm?" Of course, I will try to do and actually make sure I do it all.

Our first Saturday morning stop was the farm. We were the third ones on line for tickets! We took a hayride to the pumpkin patch. Joey says, "mommy there are a million pumpkins here!" Ryley says, "this is the best pumpkin patch!" It was cute to watch them try to find our 2 perfect pumpkins. There were a couple of disagreements on which ones were the perfect ones but they agreed on 2. They named them Jack and Peter. The boys helped me carry them. It's really sweet when I see them wanting to help out. Joey says, "daddy's not here, so it's my job to help." We couldn't leave without running through the hay maze and we would never leave without getting apple cider doughnuts! That is a main attraction for the Dargan kids.

Well, we still had a whole day in front of us. We grabbed Hobson and all walked to the park. We were the only ones there. Ryley, Joey, Owen & TJ sang songs for me and put on a few plays. On our walk back, we saw a fox. That was exciting to them, but it was not exciting when poor Joey got stung by a bee! He was a trooper though.

At home, our day continued with tag, bike riding and socccer. A highlight later on was meeting GG and Grandpa at the diner. It's one of their favorite spots. Owen talks about Grandpa all the time! Owen loves to butter his own toast. He is so proud of himself. At the end of the day, the kids were happy and tired. I was tired out myself. By 8pm, all were sleeping and it was finally quiet in the Dargan house.

TJ time

Ryley hopped on the bus today at 8:10. I dropped Joey off at preschool at 8:45 and Owen at 9:00. Then, it's just TJ and I. We call it TJ time. We joined this cute mommy and me group at St. Johns where TJ gets to play, dance, bake, do crafts and sing. He smiled the whole time, said "mommy I love you" about 25 times while we were there, and informed me that it was just TJ and mommy. It's nice sometimes to just have 1 of the kids and have alone time with them. We usually are all always together, but I try to spend alone time with each of them. That's not always easy when you have 4 kids and a puppy. It's funny because when I do have 1 or 2, they are always looking or asking where their brothers or sister are. (very cute)

After our alone time, the rest of the Dargan clan joined TJ and I. The rest of our day was filled with a trip to the farm, soccer in the backyard, hockey, tag and every other game you can think of. Sometimes I just can not believe how much energy they have. Today they said I was the best playmate ever. I am happy to hear that, but I must say, they tired me out! I love it!

NYC

A trip to New York City is something we need to do more often. There is so much to do there and so much to learn and so much to see. We drove to Hoboken and took the path downtown. The path alone was exciting to the Dargan kids. It was a little emotional being there right after 911, yet at the same time I was so happy to be back there with my family. Joe and I were excited to show the kids where we worked and where we spent some of our time together. We took a great walk along the water and stopped at a park where the kids could play for a while. They have fun wherever they go and whatever they do. There is something to say about watching your kids play at a park on the water where you can see the Statue of Liberty. We stopped for lunch in Battery Park and passed the World Trade Center Memorial. The weather was beautiful and we were together. That is all I need.