Journal: Thaaaat was an exhausting week

Out my window: 36 and it looks like the sun is touching the tops of our trees now.  Supposed to be a teeny bit warmer today and tomorrow- 61 and 68 for the highs.  Hope I can get out with the kids since we were cooped up in house all weekend because of rain.

Clothing myself in: Black yoga pants, black long sleeved t-shirt and a Fair Isle sweater.

Around the house: We put up George's border yesterday.  It is very cute and he was pointing at it and smiling, so I think he likes it.  Had we planned on a border (instead of a chair rail) originally, I would have painted the bottom up higher because the border now sits right under the railing of his crib so you can't really see it where his crib is.  But, given his climbing skills, I doubt that he will be in a crib for too much longer, so it isn't a huge deal.

I have about 5 baskets of kid's laundry I need to fold and put away.  I will do it today. I will.

The baby: Last week was, er... rough, to put it mildly.  Some improvement the last couple of nights. We will see if it lasts...

He has started making sounds that sound a lot like talking.  He said, "No, no that!" several times the other day (because who doesn't want that to be among their kid's first meaningful words? :P) His "ninja monkey climbing skills", as his godfather so accurately phrased it, get more impressive by the day.  There is the spark of understanding when we tell him to do/not to do something.  He doesn't always comply, but he definitely knows what we are talking about.

The kiddos: Midterms were pretty great- As and Bs all around.  Isaac is really strong in everything.  Except penmanship- that isn't his thing :) Issy is really strong in spelling, science and social studies.  When I picked them up the other day, her teacher told me how well she was doing in science. I am so glad that we found a school that is such a good fit for them.

Adelle has gotten opinionated about things again, particularly her clothes. And she has started this thing that when she wants to do/ to not do something, she whines. and whines. and whines. and begs and whines. about it.  Here is hoping that this phase is short-lived because I am not a fan.  Her adorableness helps- the other day we were taking a walk by some TPed trees and she whispered, "I have a bad feeling about this..."

Crafting: Blerg. I finished the sleeve. Faaaail. In the original pattern, it was a short sleeved sweater. I decided to make it long sleeved, but for some reason didn't account for arm shaping.  So the sleeves are all loosey goosey and the rest of the sweater is fitted and it looks ridiculous.  I need to put it down for a little while, get distance and then go back and frog the sleeve. Note to self: don't knit while sleep deprived :P

In the kitchen: Soups- we had cream of cauliflower and bacon yesterday, some chicken noodle, some broccoli cheddar soup and potato soup coming up this week.  Yummo.

Bringing me joy: Waking up feeling rested after an adequate night's sleep, talking to my big sister on the phone after weeks of phone tag, not too little/not too much pumpkin spice coffee creamer, the way the baby's laundry smells all fresh from the dryer, cute little monkeys to decorate his room, the understated joy from my little boy as he opened his birthday presents.

Thinking about: Patience, patience, patience.  How to get my children to do things without raising my voice. And again, self-discipline and leading by example.  Not being too hard/ too lax with myself. So much to think about.

Pictures to share:

Birthday boy helping make the cake 

 Georgie's room

 Nursing chair

Curious George border and new paint.  The color isn't quite true, but it was the most accurate given the lighting in the room at the time.  

Isaac's party

 Lego Star Wars Cake.  

 Work boots and work gloves from Grammie and Grandpa. 

 He also got a Star Wars bedspread for his bed.  For some reason, we didn't get a picture of it.  Now him and Liam have coordinating (not matching) bedspreads.

All decked out in his work gloves, boots and work shirt.  Ready to work in the woods with Daddy (whenever it stops raining).

Isaac is 8

On my 23rd birthday, 15 days before he was born.  I was so so so big.  I couldn't zip those jeans up.

My sweet big Mr. Pup

 This summer, trying on his school uniform.

Picking apples last month.

 Happy 8th birthday to my wonderful first son.  

Journal: Hanging on for the ride

Out my window: 37 and sunny.  It got chilly at the end of last week- highs in the 50s.  The leaves are starting to fall. Well, some of them. We have a lot of oak trees in our yard and they don't really lose most of their leaves until the Spring.  I should take my littles in the woods this afternoon to watch for squirrels gathering acorns. If only I could get them to be quiet enough...

Clothing myself in: Black sweatpants with blue strip up the side, a fleecey hoodie that I really like, but the sleeves are kind of too short.  I let Issy use it this weekend and she got soup on it.  And I spilled coffee on it this morning. I look fabulous, let me tell you.

Around the house:  Joe started working on the basement hallway this weekend.  I am so excited about having it done (eventually. it is a long term project).  It will really expand our living space.  While Joe worked on that, I worked on finishing the summer/winter clothes exchange.  Everyone's are switched out and all but George's are organized and put away.

We decided to do a border instead of a chair rail in George's room.  It is coming soon (hopefully tomorrow?) so I hope to have it up, do whatever touch up painting I need to and have pictures by the end of the week.  We will see.

The baby: Keeps taking it up a notch.  He is cutting molars and sleeping so badly.  The first half of the night isn't terrible but oh. my. word. the second half of the night is awful.  If there is a second half of the night- he was up at 3:54 this morning.  He is also problem solving like crazy- figured out how to unlock and open our back door and the same day as my toddlerhood post he did this:

The kiddos:  Finally got the rest of Liam's school books.  I will have to share what we are working on this year soon.  The other kids get midterms today, so that should be interesting.  Isaac's teacher told me the other day how great he was doing and that I must have taught him well when we homeschooled. Honestly, it is more him than me, but it is nice to hear that he is progressing well. And oh my little Isabelle-  I don't know if it is being 9, starting school, or what but Issy has gotten a lot older in the last six months.  A bit sassier, a bit more prone to drama and meltdowns but even more affectionate and more giggly.  As much as I wish that time would slow down, it isn't so I will just try to guide her gracefully through this in between little girl and teenager time.

Crafting: Veeery nearly have my first sleeve done- working on the cuff. Maybe 30? more minutes of knitting to complete it.  I have been directing my creative energy into painting the last couple of nights.  Yes, me, painting.  A few months ago, a friend asked me if I would like to do a saint peg doll exchange.  So 12 of us picked two saints, are painting 12 of each and then sending them to organizer, who will divvy them up.  So I get 24 different little saint peg dolls.  I think I am going to give them to Adelle for Christmas. I picked Blessed (almost Saint, on October 21st!) Kateri and St. Patrick. I am not the best painter (um, to say the least) but I think it is turning out just fine. St. Kateri:

In the kitchen: I love the few days after grocery day- so much potential.  I made pumpkin soup this weekend, which really nobody likes except me. Oh well, I only make it once a year.  Black bean burritos, more fish tacos, grilled pork chops for Isaac's birthday on Friday, per his request.

Bringing me joy: Bike rides with my five littles, days off of school, Issy shouting gleefully, "THIS IS AWESOME!" as she biked through leaves raining off the tree, mug of orange spice tea while I read to my four big kids, a husband who is truly my parenting partner- in the hard times (and early mornings) and in sharing the joy, beautiful family pictures.

Thinking about: Choosing to be joyful, grateful and productive even when in my head I am tired, whiny and want to curl up in a ball in bed.  Self-discipline.

Pictures to share: Some of my favorites from our family photo shoot with my friend Heather from HVH Photography:

Picture diary of a morning walk

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 :)