Toddlerhood

 He is a climber, folks.  Exhibit A:

Exhibit B: 

 Exhibit C:

 Oh, and he likes to get into things that we don't want him to:

 But he sure is cute.  

He reminds me a lot of Liam at this age.  Liam liked to climb onto the table and anything else he could figure out how to scale.  It. was. exhausting.  There are many similarities to our situation in the fall of 2007: challenging toddler, just moved away from our families.  I suppose there are just as many differences, too.  George is a considerably better sleeper than Liam was (not good, but Liam was just an exceptionally bad sleeper), I have older children willing to entertain him so I can make dinner or use the bathroom.  Joe is around a lot more here and we have had a much easier time becoming part of the community.

But still, I find toddlerhood to be a particularly difficult phase of mothering.  Some toddlers being a little trickier than others.  He haaaates for me to change his diaper or get him dressed.  Really hates and fights me the whole time.  For some reason, he really likes to hit.  He laughs.  No amount of  "be soft" and "gentle touches" along with the demonstration of what being soft means has deterred him yet.

But he is also really starting to develop his little personality.  He likes to give kisses and says, "muah" when he does it.  He like to row his boat and dance and spin in circles.  He gets excited when Daddy gets home. So adorable.  And when I nurse him to sleep and transfer him to his bed, he rests his little head on my shoulder and his curls, the last piece of his babyhood, brush on my cheek.  Precious.

Motherhood. So conflicting sometimes.

Keeping it classy....

...at Casa Marney.  If you were to walk up to our home, you would find a bag of salt for our water softener next to our front door (those things are heavy!) and a half-naked Ken doll.  The Ken doll especially amused me. Good thing our house is tucked in a quiet cul-de-sac among a generous amount of trees.

Journal: Real Autumn

Out my window: Sunny, mid-40's.  The trees in my backyard are finally starting to really change.  Also, I can hear the high school band playing- it is loud.  But that is fine, I suspected this might happen when we moved next to a high school ;)

Clothing myself in: Black sweats, red hoodie.  Still need to walk this morning.

Around the house: Sigh.  Kind of messy. Not terrible, but not great, either.  Earlier in our marriage, a messy house didn't bother me so much.  Now....

The baby: Still pretty rough at night, though not as bad during the day, it seems.  Trade-offs, I guess.  He has also been vocalizing a lot lately.  Among favorites: "no", "um", something that sounds like i-DEE-a (emphasis on the DEE) and "eee-a, bee-a"

The kiddos: Issy and Isaac are off of school for the feast of St. Francis this Thursday.  I am looking forward to having all my littles around.

Crafting: About 3/4 of the way through the first sleeve of my sweater.  Getting there.

In the kitchen: We had the apples that we got from the orchard last weekend and me and the three small ones went to visit a friend in southern Wisconsin on Tuesday and got *more* apples from the little orchard in their yard.  So we had some serious apples.  And I picked up 2 1/2 lbs of cranberries from Cranfest over the weekend.  So we made applesauce.  And cranberry applesauce.  Yummy.  Thanks again, Angie, for having us down!

Bringing me joy: I love pretty much everything about this time of year- cooler days, apples, pumpkins, cranberries, baking, beautiful fall leaves.  We are in the thick of it.  Yesterday, we took the kids into the woods and we read and enjoyed the beauty of God's creation.

Thinking about: Getting fit.  This is causing some frustration in my life. And making me feel old.  And did I mention frustrating me? I just want to be comfortable in my own skin.  Currently, I am not.

Picture to share: Reading in the woods

 Trusty Kolbe sat by us and made sure we didn't get too rowdy.

Little G's hat

 I have had this yarn for years and as I mentioned in my last post, I have some pants I made Liam out of it.  It is a pretty sturdy yarn, great for baby wear if you don't mind handwashing.  I love how this hat turned out.

Journal: Adventure

Today
Out my window: 59 and sunny. Beautiful fall day.

Clothing myself in: Black yoga pants and brown long-sleeved t-shirt from Jackson Hole, WY.  I miss Jackson. Well, not the town specifically, but the area.

Around the house: Switching out the kid's summer/ winter clothes in a not so timely fashion, so clothes tubs are strewn around the house.  It is driving me crazy.  And there is also more animal fur than I can keep up with.  Sigh.

The baby: Has been getting up in the five o'clock hour for the last week *yawn*.  Not cool, George, not cool.

The kiddos: We have been discussing Halloween costumes the last few days.  I think they are all set on being characters from Star Wars.  This has made some lively dinner discussions.

Crafting: I made George an earflap hat using the same yarn as these pants  Super cute.  Finished the body of my sweater, started knitting the sleeves.

In the kitchen: Trying to tighten up our food expenditures, so we trying to use up things from our cabinets: on the menu: fish tacos, white chicken chili, I am making lasagna for my birthday on Thursday.  We picked a 1/2 bushel of apples at an orchard yesterday, so some apple related yumminess is in our near future- apple pie, apple crisp, applesauce.

Bringing me joy: Gorgeous fall leaves in red, orange, yellow.  Taking a drive and winding up at an orchard picking apples. My little family, particularly my husband.

Thinking about: How I want a nap and then I might be able to think about things other than napping :P

Pictures to share:  I may have posed the next two.  I love Joe.

Beauty.

A wee bit of crafting

I actually started this blanket in January.  I have had partial skeins of yarn that I love from soakers I have knit over the years and I wanted to do something really special and beautiful with them.  So I started knitting this pinwheel blanket, not actually knowing who to give it to.  I picked it back up this summer and realized I had the perfect person to give it to :)  A good friend (and fellow knitter) is having a baby in November and I thought she would really like it.  Can't wait to see her bundle of preciousness all wrapped up in it. 

 Issy's pinwheel sweater.  It turned out pretty generously sized for her, but that is okay with me.  That just makes the knitting more worth my while.

 One of my godsons just had his first birthday so I knit him a winter hat.  Hopefully he isn't as hat-averse as George is.  Need to mail this. Today, perhaps.

Another good friend had a baby a month ago and I thought this sweet little owl print was just too adorable not to be made into a blanket.  And I had some blanket binding from George's Curious George blanket that I made last year that I knew would match just perfectly.  

George's Birthday Extravaganza

We were able to have a first birthday party with our Kansas family when we were down there in August.  A little early, but it was nice to get to celebrate George with them.

Birthday cupcakes.  I think the candle freaked him out a bit.

I was reading the card- he just wanted to touch the button to make the lights flash and sirens go.

Lots of cousins and siblings.

Godfather!

His godmother.  And the cupcake.  He seems dubious.

He is thinking, "I wonder what happens if I just poke at it?"

"Well, this doesn't seem so bad..."

 "Nope, not bad at all."

We also had a little party for him here.  It was supposed to occur on his actual birthday but Joe had Strep throat and felt like death and George was boogery and grumpy so we postponed it.  We had it on the 15th instead, which was his due date, so at least a little significant.

He is thinking, "There she is, bringing the flaming thing out again..."

 I blew out the candle for him...

...and it made him feel like this.  Sorry, buddy.

 I thought it would make him happy to open his gift. Or want to flail out of my arms...

 But he liked the blocks once they were open.

 And we gave him some brownie.  Here he is, trying to happily hand me his spoon.

 And here he is, "NO, REALLY.  TAKE THE SPOON."

Ah, one-year-olds.  Happy birthday to my little chubby buddy :)

Journal: Good weekend

Today
Out my window: 61 and cloudy.  Forecast says it isn't going to get much warmer today and it is supposed to rain.  Glad I got my morning walk in while I could :)

Clothing myself in: Black sweatpants and pink and blue long-sleeved t-shirt.  Walking clothes.

Around the house: We were outside quite a bit this weekend, so the house is untidy and we still need to pick out a chair rail.  Oh well, maybe we can get it next weekend.  These beautiful days will give way to cold months, so I figure we might as well be outside while we can.

The baby: Back and forth.  He was good last Monday and Tuesday, crabby Wednesday, Thursday and Friday and good this weekend.  His runny nose seems to be improving *crossing fingers* but I think the crabby is about teething.  Which means we very well could be in for crabbiness for several months. Oy.

We did get a chance to celebrate his birthday as our little family, along with Uncle Matt since he was here visiting.  It was simple and fun.

The kiddos: Second week of school seemed to be better for everyone, adjustment-wise.  Still trying to figure out how to stave off the afterschool meltdowns.  I think that may always be a work in progress.

Crafting: Knit my godson a hat for his birthday that I need to now mail.  I really like how it turned out.  I think a finished object post is in order soon.  On the bottom ribbing on my sweater.  Still haven't decided what to do for the sleeves. Maybe I will start knitting and then decide?

Bringing me joy: A visit from my brother-in-law and the joy it brings my husband, walk in the woods on a beautiful early autumn morning, the beautiful images that a friend captured of my family.  So many things to bring me joy.

Thinking about: Still thinking about how This Isn't Who I Really Am.  I have been thinking a variation of this pretty much since I got married.  It was always this elusive, "things will calm down when____" Some fill ins: the baby is born, school starts, school ends, we are moved, we are adjusted from the move, ____ is out of ___ phase.  But this summer I had an epiphany: things aren't ever going to "calm down" at least not for any significant amount of time.  We have five kids, we will always be exchanging one set of challenges and excitement for something else.

I really liked this part:  "The way I respond to the craziness of my life?  That's who I am.  This is my life, and this is me, living it.  It's time to give up for good the idea that there is some other, calmer me waiting in the wings to deal with some other, calmer existence that may or may not come about."

Pictures to share: Chubby buddy playing with his birthday blocks.

 Brothers

Liam's 6th birthday

Look, guys, a birthday post that isn't five months late! (I just noticed he is wearing the same shirt he wore on his fifth birthday. Funny.)

Helping Mom make the cake. Yes, it is a boxed mix. I feel okay about this.

I wish we had gotten a video of his reaction to opening this present from Grammie and Grandpa.  This picture captures just one moment of the joy.  There were a lot of squeals of delight.  It was precious.

This is what it became.  Who wouldn't be excited?

Birthday dance party.

Cake time.  This R2D2 cake was brought to you by... Daddy!  Cake decorating is not a talent of mine, so when Joe asked Liam the week before his birthday if he would like an R2D2 cake, I let him know that he was more than welcome to take that on, but I wasn't going to attempt that.  So he did, much to Liam's joy.

Pretty good, huh? :)

Star Wars poster

And bedspread.  He had an awesome, joy-filled birthday.

Journal: Big changes

Today
Out my window: 70. Sunny. Perfect.

Clothing myself in: Jeans, teal T-shirt, grey sweatshirt.

Around the house: Joe had strep throat from Tuesday- Sunday morning.  So not much got done.  He was gracious enough to hole up in the basement playroom with George and Adelle yesterday so that the older kids and I could clean upstairs.  We got a ton done, though there is always morning cleaning to be done. Oh, dog fur, my nemesis.

Now that Joe is feeling better, we need to pick out a chair rail for Georgie's room.

The baby: Had a rough week last week.  He had a really runny nose and was so so grumpy.  I was paranoid because Joe had strep so I took him to the doctor.  And his ears looked fine and his throat looked fine. Just a runny nose.  The grumpy was apparently nose + he cut the last bottom front tooth.  He seems in better spirits this morning, so let's hope that keeps up.

Since Joe was sick and George wasn't feeling well, we ended up not celebrating his birthday on his birthday. I have serious Mother Guilt about this.  We will do it this week.

The kiddos: Issy and Isaac seemed to have had a pretty great first week of school.  They are loving it.  Liam seems to really enjoy having time with me all to himself, as I suspected he would.  Adelle is the one having the hardest time.  Lots of shrieking and meltdowns.  I think she really misses Issy.  We have been doing some preschooly type activities and will start the Alphabet Path next week, so hopefully she will come around.

In the kitchen: Chicken enchiladas tonight.  Homemade pizza- one pepperoni and one sausage/onion. Tuna melts, jambalaya, crock pot chili.

Crafting: Almost done with the body of my $5 in Paris sweater.  Need to decide on the sleeves- short? 3/4 length? long?  Choices, choices.

Bringing me joy: Seeing the joy that Issy and Isaac have about going to school, listening to Liam read, morning walks, watching the squirrels in our woods.

Thinking about: After school is a hard transition which we will have to work on.  George was super scary in the late afternoon last week, Delle was particularly meltdowny, I was trying to listen to how school went, assist with homework, make dinner.  Stress. Any advice from moms who have been there and done that?

Pictures to share: Issy and Isaac on their first day of school at St. Francis Academy.

My sweet (now) one-year-old!

Journal: Back from Kansas

Today

Out my window: Twilight. Humid. It started out warm today and then clouded up and rained a little bit.  

Clothing myself in: White T-shirt and blue knit pants. These are my painting clothes...

Around the house: .... because I painted George's room today.  It was a cream color with pinkish undertones.  Boooooring.  It is now sky blue on top and tan on bottom and awaiting a chair rail to separate the two.  I really like the color combo so far. 

The baby: Has a cough :(  He got the sniffles right before we went to Kansas, had a high fever last Thursday and Friday and then it went away.  And now he has a cough and is kinda grumpy.  BUT! Three more days until his birthday.  I am praying he feels at least a little better by then.

The kiddos: Tomorrow is The First Day of School.  Ever. The uniforms are ready, the bags are packed, everyone is excited and nervous.  Including me.  I hope it is a good experience for everyone involved.

In the kitchen: Now that we are back from Kansas and the kids are starting school, I need to reign my kitchen in.  I need to make a menu and go to the store sometime in the near future.  

Crafting: I finished Issy's Pinwheel Sweater (similar to this one I made for Adelle).  It is beautiful and I love it.  I just need to put the buttons on it and wash/block it.  I am chugging along on the $5 in Paris sweater for myself.

Bringing me joy: The makings of a beautiful room for my little boy, hugging my husband after being apart for a few days, seeing my kids play nicely with their cousins and Kansas friends.

Thinking about: As I was painting George's room this afternoon, I was thinking about Labor Day last year. I had had contractions all the Sunday before and they petered out that night. I woke up on Labor Day still very pregnant.  We went to a lovely brunch at Joe's parents house and it was just a beautiful, relaxing day.  Around dinnertime I started having contractions again.  Contractions that ended up bringing me my boy the next morning.

This Labor Day I spent painting his bedroom in our own home.  In Wisconsin.  Last year, Wisconsin wasn't even a blip on my radar- I couldn't had even imagined this a year ago.  Life is a wild, wild ride.

Picture to share: Boys and Adelle climbing a tree at Grammie's house.

11 years

My mom and her twin Mary.

I lost my Mama 11 years ago today.

For some reason, in the last year, I have begun to feel the loss of my Mom more acutely again.  I mourn the adult relationship I could have had with her. The wisdom she could have imparted. The love she could have given.  My faith tells me that she is not gone, and can be a powerful intercessor for me.

But that doesn't mean I don't miss her hugs, the way she would give special little gifts or notes of encouragement at random, the way she would listen to me.  I saw one of my littles looking at my hands during Church one day and it reminded me of looking at hers when I was small.

I needed a copy of my birth certificate to get a new driver's license and when I saw her signature at the bottom, I had an unexpected burst of fresh mourning.  Her handwriting.  A few letters I have that she wrote to me in college are some of my most cherished possessions.  My memories. Some pictures.  These are the things that remain of the woman who carried me under her heart for 9 months, gave birth to me, held me when I was sad, prayed for me, hoped for me.

Journal: Getting ready for school and more visiting

Today
Out my window: 54. Sunny and such a nice "fall" morning.

Clothing myself in: Grey corduroy pants. Buddy Walk shirt.  I am going to miss doing the Buddy Walk this year- it was a lot of fun last year!

Around the house: We have been taking advantage of the cooler temperatures to work outdoors in the woods.  On Saturday, Joe sectioned off a part of the woods and we went outside as a family and cleared the sticks and branches and we made a wood pile out of some of the bigger logs he cut up.

The baby:  Woke up this morning with a stuffy nose. It figures, since me and the littles are going to Kansas in a couple of days.

Other kiddos: Always interesting to see my kid's personalities come out.  When we were working in the woods the other day, for example.  Issy, who is normally a good helper but tires quickly, was having a problem with her toe. Isaac was working very determinedly and even after I told him that the kids could play while the adults kept working, he choose to keep working with us.  Liam would pick up a branch every once in a while, carry it around, play with it, get a drink, wander around. And Adelle mostly wandered around and entertained George, who was sitting in the stroller.

Yesterday was Liam's birthday. I will devote a whole post to it with pictures once we get them on the computer, but suffice it to say, it was a beautiful and fun day.

In my kitchen: Not much! Wonder what Joe will make when I am gone. I always intend on setting some food aside and freezing it for him while I am away but that never quite happens. It is fine- he is a big boy.

Crafting: Started a $5 in Paris sweater the other day in pink and brown yarn. I am a little concerned that the bust might not be big enough, even though I added some stitches to increase it *rolls eyes*  Oh well, it won't be off by much and I won't be nursing forever, so it will be fine. Still have Issy's sweater sleeve and George's diaper cover on the needles.

Bringing me joy: Sitting with my 6 best people in our trees, with a light breeze and beautiful little songbirds over head, anticipation of snuggling a sweet little newborn and hugging his mama, who I talked about in my Thinking About last week

Thinking about:  So many things to do! The kids start school two weeks from tomorrow and we are going to be in Kansas for most of that time.  Laundry, paperwork, finishing some schoolwork, packing, organizing. Oh my!

Pictures to share: Light saber duel