Take me out to the ballgame...

Amid stunned stares, gaping jaws and colorful comments, the Lyons Family Circus arrived at the new Yankee Stadium for Sunday's game vs. Tampa Bay.

Granted, most people wouldn't drag five kids under five to a baseball game. And, most people wouldn't take those five kids on public transportation, naively trusting in its reliability... especially when taking those five kids to the game requires also bringing along 6 bottles, 4 jars of baby food, 6 spoons, 3 burp cloths, 3 bibs, 8 diapers, 7 sunhats/Yankee caps, sunblock, a box of 50 wipes, "Baby Sharon", 3 lovey blankets called WeeWees (long story...), tissues, Purell, water bottles for the "big kids", 2 double strollers, and, thankfully, 2 grandparents and an aunt and uncle!

But, for better or for worse, we're not like most people and so, to the new Stadium we went! We arrived easily enough and attempted to "blend in" by opting for the two double strollers instead of the traffic-stopping combo of the triplet "limo" and double jogger... not that I've jogged anywhere lately but, that stroller really turns on a dime!

In any case, it seems that "blending in" is not currently an option for us and try as we might not to draw attention to ourselves, there's just something about three babies and two toddlers in pinstripes that are prone to draw a comment or two. Some of my favorites (which we've heard many times before) include...

"Better you than me" -- um, yes, I would say so!
"Are they all yours?" -- um, no, we grabbed a few while were on the train.

After settling Liam and Ciara in their seats with Mima, Pop-Pop, Aunt Kristin and Uncle Al, Des and I made several laps around the Stadium in an effort to explore all the new dining options, bars, beers of the world and, of course, to attempt to lull the babies to sleep. No luck though. While we could get two out of three sleeping, one of them was always committed to seeing the next at-bat... it seems that the triplets made a pact to make sure someone was always awake to take in the action.

Much to our surprise, all five kids, two parents, two grandparents and an aunt and uncle lasted the full nine innings. And, even better, the Yankees had a come from behind win. Feeling fairly accomplished, satisfied and even smug about making it through the entire game with nary an incident to report, we headed back to the train. And watched it leave the station. So we waited for the next train. Which didn't stop in our town. Still smiling smugly, we decided to feed the babies (again) while Liam and Ciara chilled in the stroller and we waited for the 5:33 train home. Which we discovered at 5:31 would be arriving on the opposite track. So, to end our day, we raced to the elevator with diapers, bottles, kids and Yankee paraphernalia flying. Down we went, over we went, up to other side and then onto our train just before the doors closed. As we once again became the focus of stunned stares, gaping jaws, and colorful comments, we couldn't help humming "Take me out to the ballgame", knowing that we'd do it all again.