What My Baby Wore Today 2

For my 500th post (!) I am linking up with Erika's What My Baby Wore Today:

Here the little Critter is sporting an Old Navy knit long sleeve T-shirt and corduroy pants combo that his Grammie and Grandpa bought his brother Liam for Christmas in 2007:

 He is trying to see things on the cabinet and figure out how to get to them.

Problem solved! Just scale the cabinet!!

Journal: Need to get my littles better

Out my window: 24 degrees. Overcast.  Unfortunately (at least unfortunately for us snow lovers) it got warm at the end of the week last week and most of the snow melted.  It actually got up to 40 and rained on Saturday. I live in Wisconsin- it isn't supposed to rain in December, it is supposed to snow! Luckily (at least luckily for us snow lovers :) my forecast says it is supposed to snow Thursday. I hope so- I really want a white Christmas.

Clothing myself in: Black sweatpants, blue long-sleeved shirt.  On a side note, I must share my excitement- I got a new outfit this weekend. I got a pair of jeans (that fits!) and a shirt that is not at all my normal "mom" uniform.  The best part is, it was relatively cheap. When we were moving last winter, i actually went through a big pile of birthday cards and divided them up into whose they were (it is my one thing that I kind of hoard- old cards and letters).  And I came across a birthday card of mine from 2006 that had a $20 gift card to Maurice's.  So I got to spend it- finally.

Wow, that was a really long paragraph considering I really only wearing black sweatpants and a blue long-sleeved shirt :)

Around the house: The short story is that we retiled the master bathroom. But the long story would be titled: When You Give a Mouse Some Floor Tile.  A few months back, Joe bought some cheap ceramic tile at Lowe's.  Enough to redo our bathroom floor, which had early 90's-style linoleum.  His sister Gina has tiled a bunch of things in their house and she does beautiful work, so we were going to ask her to help us with the floor when she visited.  Somehow, as house projects sometimes do, just the floor became also redoing the tile up the front and around the big bathtub since it was also 90's-style fabulous.  And since I had her expertise, she choose a coordinating paint color.  I still need to paint, re-grout a spot on the floor that got messed up, seal the grout and we need to re-install the toilet.  I can't wait to share a post about it when it is all done!

Also, when we started decorating for Christmas, we realized there was no good place to hang our stockings.   Joe's dad loves a good project, so Joe emailed him an idea.  He sent it with Gina and Dave and it is so lovely. Thanks, Dad Marney!

The toddler: Sick.  He has had a runny nose and goopy eyes for about a week now. Also, other bottom molar is making his gums really swollen.  So we went from 1 nightwaking back to like 3 or 4.  And he is kind of unpleasant during the day.  But really cute.  New word: Uppy and a sound that imitates a toy gun we have.

The kiddos: Most of them are also sick. Except Isabelle.

Crafting: Need to work on sewing part of Issy's Christmas gift.

In the kitchen: Jambalaya, Chili, Homemade Pizza.

Bringing me joy: Hanging out with family, a beautiful bathroom, how kind and caring my children are, seeing Issy and Isaac in their Christmas program.

Thinking about: Mostly I am just worried about my babies being sick. I hate this part of parenting- the worrying. If you could keep them in your prayers, I would appreciate it.

Pictures to share: She was helping me make dinner. And eating raw green onions.

 Issy was Tanga the kangaroo in their "Christmas Down Under" program.  Isaac was St. Joseph.

Journal: There we go

Out my window: A picture is worth a thousand words. I took this off the back deck a few minutes ago:

Out the front door:

Clothing myself in: Grey fleece pants that I got the Christmas before Issy was born (wow, I have had them almost ten years!) brown Jackson Hole long sleeved T-shirt and a red and black plaid fleece button down that was my Mom's.

Around the house: Joe's sister Patty and her family visited for a couple of days this last week and his sister Gina and her family are visiting this week, so we are trying to respiff up the house between visitors.  My brother-in-law Paul worked on our basement on Friday to keep busy while Joe was at work and really made some good progress.  We love our family- thanks again, Paul!

The toddler: Runny nose :-/ He has been in remarkably good health for several months (other than the brief bout with stomach flu) so I suppose it had to happen eventually.  Nose + teething + normal George orneriness = "fun" times with the Critter.

His new word this week was nana for banana and he really started waving a lot.  He has also gotten worse with his biting. And pinching. And hitting. And throwing toys.  Yeah, I have "that" kid.

The kiddos: Delle had a slight fever last night and Isaac had a cough this morning. Tis the season, I suppose.  The kids had a fun time with their cousins and are looking forward to more fun this week.

Crafting: I found out last week that a good friend was having her third little one and upon hearing the news, I promptly went and picked out some yarn for a hat for a little guy next winter.  And then I will knit a little girl hat for next winter for just in case :)

In the kitchen: Enchiladas, bierock casserole, black bean burritos.

Bringing me joy: Snow! I love snow- the cool, crisp whiteness, playing with my littles, the coming into a warm house, drinking hot cocoa, and a refreshing nap while it snows outside.  Awesome.

Thinking about: I told Joe yesterday when we were outside in the woods, playing with our five beauties in this magnificent place, that is ours, "Just when I think Wisconsin couldn't get any more beautiful or I could love it here more, I do".  We also got to go to Joe's work Christmas party on Friday night.  I am just so grateful- for his job, for him, for our children, our house and land.  Life isn't perfect, but it is perfect for us.

Picture to share:

Journal: December

Out my window: 39. Supposed to get up to 50 today.  The internet tells me that the average high this time of year is 29. Weirdness.  As I mentioned last week, I want snow. Please.

Clothing myself in: Black yoga pants, blue stripey shirt with a green sweater over it.

Around the house: We cleaned and then decked the halls this last weekend.  I miss having a fireplace, there is nowhere to hang the stockings.  And I also just miss having a fire.  In the list of home improvements, I want a wood burning stove. We have perfectly good central heating and air, I just love the feeling of a nice, warm fire.  This isn't really necessary right now and not terribly practical since then we would have to figure out how to keep George away from it. It would be good to also have a non-electricity dependent heat source, as a backup. Someday.

The baby toddler: The second bottom molar is bulging and he is back to waking up pretty early.  Bummer. I do have hope that we will go back to normal wakeups after this one is through. Hopefully.  His new trick is getting up on the desk chair and pounding on the keys. Charming.  If a butt isn't in it, I have had to lock the chair in the laundry room.  The Advent wreath will not be residing on our table during non-dinner time so that he doesn't destroy it.  Whenever we let him loose in the mornings, we go through a checklist of things that must be shut, put away, put up or otherwise out of reach of George.  And we still must be ever vigilant since he always is discovering new things.  This feels ridiculous at times, but I know it won't always be like this.

He has started to hug while patting me on the back, which I always love and think is adorable.  He has also been taking an interest in actually playing with toys, particularly cars/trains and things that roll.

The kiddos: Delle has been less ornery/more whiny again.  I have been working on that with her.  The kids had school off on Friday and it was nice to have them around.  I think we might end up sending Liam next year.  He is doing really well here, but I think he would like more kid interaction.  He has grown so much in knowledge and maturity the last 3 months.

Crafting: Fixed the neckline on the sweater, as it was too loose.  I think I am going to do 3/4 length sleeves.  Need to decide on decreases.  I have been working on the diaper cover I started knitting George last January?  February?  even though we are not currently cloth diapering.  Oh, did I mention we aren't currently cloth diapering?  I made the decision sometime this fall after a particularly harrowing diaper change.  He just would not lay still. He would scream and flail and try to escape and as much as I love cloth diapering (cheap! cute! environment friendly! cheap!) it just wasn't worth the distress that every diaper change would cause both him and me.  It made me think of this:

Which brings us to: parent the child you have, not the child you wish you had.  Perhaps we can get back to cloth diapering at some point. Or better yet, maybe he could potty train early :D

Anyways, I have been working on the diaper cover. I might gift/sell it at some point.

In the kitchen:  Chicken Noodle soup, Beef stew. After 26 dozen cookies last week, I am good on cookie baking for a while.

Bringing me joy: Fresh, cool piney air, George's back pat hugs, Delle singing Jingle Bells, cinnamon scented potpourri, golden hashbrowns made by my favorite guy, painting my girl's toesies, Isaac putting on his "work shirt" and boots every Saturday.

Thinking about: The things I need to do that I have been putting off and that keep me awake at night.  Does anyone else do this or is it just me? Like stuff that is just a moderately big deal, but not huge and not particularly difficult.  Sometimes, I irritate myself with my procrastination.

Picture to share: My cookie making buddy doing some schoolwork while I baked.

What My BABY Wore Today

Since I am never going to be trendy enough to share what I wear, you get to see what Georgie wore today.  Thanks, Erika!

I had a rather unenthusiastic participant when I tried to take his picture at first....

 .... so I nursed him and made things all better:

These fancy duds are actually new, not a hand-me-downs.  Aunt Dana got him this outfit for his birthday.  They are a size 24 month, so a bit on the big side but he grows so fast, it would have been silly to get anything smaller.

Shirt: Carter's
Pants: Carter's
Feet: Au Natural

Journal: Feels a bit like Winter is coming

Out my window: 10 degrees. Yes, 10. Sunny and (obviously) cold.  It isn't supposed to stick around, or at least that is what the forecast says- we are supposed to be in the 50s again by the weekend.  We will see.  I would like snow, personally.

Clothing myself in: Flannel snowman pajama pants, Rocky Mountain National Park long sleeve shirt and a brown cardigan.  Classy.

Around the house: The house was nice and clean for our guests last week, and now... well, not so much.  Laundry is the word of the day around here.

The baby: His bottom right molar has been through for a week? two? now.  I think his top one might be poking through too, but I am reluctant to get my fingers into his mouth for too long (he also doesn't particularly care for it). Ahhhh, teeth.  He started waving this week. And the kids have been teaching him how to howl.  Which is kind of weird, but you know.

The kiddos: Had an awesome time with Grammie and Grandpa and Uncle John during our visit.  Issy said that Black Friday shopping was everything she hoped it would be :)  We celebrated our Christmas with the Marneys (they brought their gifts so that they could watch them open them) which they loved- lots of stuff for playing in the snow: snow saucers, boots, a coat for Isaac. The kids loved goofing off with Grandpa and Uncle John and snuggling with Grammie.

Adelle has entered another, erm, mischievous phase.  She drew on the wall last week (prompting the painting), she drew on her toybox on Friday, cut her hair yesterday, got a hold of my Kindle and bought on audiobook.  Yeah. Hope this is short lived.

Crafting:  Finished the rest of the Patricks yesterday and my friend is mailing them out tomorrow.  Fun!  I ripped back the sweater sleeve and it wasn't horrible.  Now I just need to get it back on the needles and make a plan.

In the kitchen: Cookies!  The kids have a school Christmas Bazaar and all the families have to make 20 dozen cookies for a cookie walk.  I am about 4 1/2 dozen into it, hoping to make another 6 1/2 today.  Have to have them at school by Friday.

Bringing me joy: Getting to spend time with my extended family, Issy getting all excited about knitting herself a scarf, stroking Delle's hair while she is going to sleep, the way Isaac loves to help me in the kitchen, Isaac singing Liam to sleep at night, Liam chattering to me while I bake.

Thinking about: Advent. I have really grown to love Advent as it's own time.  Trying to decide what Advent customs and traditions to incorporate into our home this year.

Pictures to share: Marney Christmas at Thanksgiving

 Tea time with Grammie and Uncle John

Journal: Giving thanks

Out my window: 43 and cloudy. Might rain today.

Clothing myself in: Black sweatpants, black shirt, grey sweatshirt.

Around the house: Busy weekend! As mentioned in my last journal post, we had decided that Joe would refinish our table again.  He hadn't finished the benches from the last time we refinished it, so we have been using folding chairs the last couple of years.  He finished the table and the benches in just a couple of weeks! We had been toying with the idea of painting our dining room recently, but had decided not to try to do it before Thanksgiving.  Then on Friday, Adelle created a little masterpiece on the wall in there and we decided to just go ahead and paint it.

 Before: taken last May.  I was never overly fond of this shade of yellow.  I like yellow, just not this shade. The stain on the table was also red/ more orange than Joe had intended. And the folding chairs.

After: Natural color stain/sealant on the table and benchtops. White supports.  The walls are now a slate blue, actually really similar one of the colors in the master bedroom.

Also bringing me nerdy domestic joy: a new dryer. That actually dries things in a timely manner, thank goodness.  Also, I found a way to destinkify my towels, which has been a battle for, I kid you not, years.  Years, people.  And Pinterest helped me find a solution that is both cheap and easy peasy.

The baby: Been sleeping better, particularly with not getting up ridiculously early. Thank goodness. I feel like I can handle his shenanigans when I am not dead tired.  Words this week: "um yeah", alternating with "oh, no".  Whacking himself on the head and laughing while saying "ow". If you ask him where his honk is, he grabs his nose and says nose. Also, growling- need to get a video.

The kiddos: They are on break this week.  We are going to be cleaning some more to get ready for our guests and I think we will try to squeeze in a unit on the first Thanksgiving.

Going with Issy and Mom shopping on Friday.  Issy cannot. stop. talking. about it.  It is adorable. She got to go with me, my sisters and nieces last year and loved it.  She talks about it once every waking hour, literally, and usually more often than that.  I hope it lives up to her expectations.

Crafting: Still need to work on my Patricks. Got three more drawn on.

In the kitchen: Making my list for our feast: turkey, stuffing, mashed potatoes, gravy, joe's brown sugar, walnutty sweet potatoes, green bean casserole, pumpkin pie with homemade whipped cream. Yum.

Bringing me joy: Clothes fresh from the dryer, a beautiful table to sit at, a bright dining room, anticipation of seeing Joe's parents and brother, George's sweet little baby curls, the way he put his arms around my neck in  Church yesterday, Adelle's facial expressions, a long-awaited sweet little baby girl born to my friend yesterday afternoon.

Thinking about: Gratitude.

Pictures to share:

The aftermath of the aforementioned whacking himself on the head and saying "ow". Only, this time, it was during dinner. Spaghetti.  He was not pleased with the amount of scrubbing it took to get all the sauce out of his hair.

Journal: Thanksgiving preparations

Out my window: Grey. Cold- about 23 degrees.  Some flurries earlier this morning, maybe some more later. It was 65 on Saturday.  I thought the weather was going to be more predictable when I moved to Wisconsin.  Guess not?

Clothing myself in: Fleece Tinkerbell pajama pants and a pink Garden of the Gods hoodie.

Around the house: Productive weekend, though that is really more of Joe's triumph than mine.  He cleared most of the rest of the oak branches to our limb pile in the woods, and finished the table top.  Oh, I don't think I have mentioned the table?  Yeah, he is refinishing it. Again.  This will be the fourth time since Spring of 2007.  This time: natural color table and bench tops, white supports.  The table and bench tops are beeeeautiful.  We are trying to get it done for Thanksgiving.

Got the Rubbermaid Reveal mop.  Amazing!  It is everything I wanted the Swiffer to be, but wasn't.  Easy to use, reuseable pad (that is super easy to attach), make your own solution.  Thanks, friends.  My yucky floor thanks you, too.  Question: for those with wood laminate, what is your favorite cleaning solution?

The baby: Has been "sleeping in" until after six the last few days. He has also been napping well again. Please, please, please, let it continue.  I moved the books from the shelf and he decided that I made him a nice ladder to climb :-/

The kiddos: Report cards and conferences went really well.  Issy and Isaac's teachers had a lot of good things to say about them.  Again, so grateful to have found such a compatible school.

The kids are off of school this Friday and all of Thanksgiving week (is Thanksgiving really next week?!).  Need to plan some things out to do with them, so we don't all get on each other's nerves.  Also, clean. Lots of cleaning. And recleaning.

Crafting: The Kateris are all Mod Podged.  I started on the St. Patricks this weekend.  Two done, ten to go. Also, I gives me a chance to legitimately avoid working on my sweater.

In the kitchen: Nothing terribly exciting- keeping it simple this week as we gear up for the holidays.

Bringing me joy: First snow, clean floors, laying George down awake and having him just fall asleep on his own, my husband, random 65 degree November days, smashing (our own, old) pumpkins with the kids, beautiful and soft refinished wood, the silly and random conversations that facebook allows me to have with my friends in Kansas.

Thinking about: The kids growing up. They all so sincerely love to hang out with me and Joe.  I realize that there will come a day when they do not want to hang around us all the time.  I need to make the most of this time, even if it feels overwhelming sometimes.  This is the only now I am ever going to get.  No redos.

Pictures to share: Woke up to it snowing on Tuesday.  Joe snapped this one with this camera phone.

 My sweet little Liam love.

Twelve St. Kateris, all in a row (or two)

Still need a couple coats of Mod Podge.I did two coats of brown on the faces of the ones on the left and am considering redoing the ones on the right to add another coat. What do you think?

Next, St. Patrick.  I think I might have thrown the sketch that I made away :-/

Just because I love him

I occasionally talk about Joe- what he is doing around the house, my gratitude for him.  But today I want to take it a little bit deeper.

Since it is mostly family and friends that read my blog, you know our story- we met when we were 15, didn't talk for a while and then reconnected through mutual friends when we were 17.  Our friendship deepened but we were still just friends. Until God put it on his heart that we should be more, and he told me so. I was dubious- we were both about to go off to separate colleges and it just wasn't in my plan. I was going to go to Benedictine, do the college stuff, meet a guy my Senior year and then get married after I graduated.

But life rarely goes how we plan and I can pinpoint the exact moment when I knew that he was the one. I simply knew.  And I tried to skate around God's plan for a couple more weeks. Because even when you know, it also takes a decision.  I could have known and still chosen to do it "my way".  Ultimately, even though it seemed fast or even foolish and young from the outside, I said yes.

Best. Decision. Ever.

He is better for me than anyone I could have imagined in my "go off to college, meet a guy, fall in love, graduate and get married" scenario.  Growing up with him has made me a better person. By his example, I have learned to be less stubborn, let things go more easily and to say sorry.

He acts with integrity, he is kind, he is selfless.  So, so selfless.  He takes care of kiddos during pukey nights, rocks the baby for hours, and then gets up and goes to work for us. He works so hard- at his work, at making our home and our land beautiful.

He has held my hand during scary moments of pregnancy, during the tests.  He has talked me through cesareans, through childbirth when I just wanted to give up, to the other side, greeting our babies with joy.  He is the other person on Earth that loves these babies as much as I do.  He would do anything for them.

He is my friend. He gets me. He loves me, flaws and all.  We share a love of mountains, of forests, a love of wandering in the woods, not knowing what bit of beauty you might find next. We share faith. We may not have all the answers, but we have hope.

And so, on this random November day, I just wanted to say how much I Love him. How grateful I am that I said yes to God's plan for us, that late Spring day 12 1/2 years ago. My heart is bursting with love and gratitude for this person I get to spend my life with.  Sometimes you just have to share.

Journal: Halloween and sickies

Out my window: Frosty and 27. Sunny. Chance of snow on Tuesday.

Clothing myself in: Pink sweatpants that I got when I was very very largely pregnant with Isaac and I had outgrown all of my maternity pants.  K-State sweatshirt that was my Mom's.  Not pretty clothes, but good memories associated with them.

Around the house: Conquered the kitchen and computer area floor.  I ended up scrubbing on my hands and knees.  White linoleum + high traffic area = yuck.  I am going to have to check out the Rubbermaid Reveal, thanks for the recommendation, Monica!  Perhaps my floor will get cleaned more often if it wasn't such an ordeal.

Joe worked in the woods on Saturday and Sunday, processing some oak that we had to cut down.  The limbs will be burned and I think he is giving the larger pieces of wood to someone at work.  I love how hard he works to make our land look beautiful.

The baby: He actually had a pretty good week.  His two bottom molars are riiiight there.  I expect the right one to break the skin any day now.  We had our longest separation ever Saturday. I had the opportunity to go to a Women of Christ conference with some ladies from around Necedah. But it was West Bend, which is almost 3 hours from here, so we had to leave early and get back late.  George lets Joe rock him to sleep pretty easily, and Joe felt confident that he could handle the five.  I pumped so I wasn't uncomfortable but George did just fine.  This week his words were oh no and all done.  And he said Daddy this morning.  He really loves Joe a lot.

The kiddos: Had a lot of fun on Halloween.  We kept it pretty simple.  Isaac got a tummy bug on Friday, which was a bummer.  Liam got sick riiiight before I got home from the conference on Saturday night and Adelle got sick about two hours after that.  Just waiting for George and Issy to get it.  Being a parent and realistic, my goal is just to get it done with before Thanksgiving before we have guests.

Issy and Isaac have conferences on Friday. I am interested in what their teachers will say.

Crafting: I have about 20 minutes left to finish up my St. Kateri peg dolls.  Going to get my paint for St. Patrick and start on him.  So excited!

Need to mail my charity knitting.  Oh, Sweater, I am going to have to confront you aren't I?  It is like taking off a bandaid- ripping out all that work is painful but once it is done and I am able to fix it, it will be fine.

In the kitchen: No idea. Going to the store tomorrow.  Need to make a menu tonight.

Bringing me joy: Feeling like this is home, getting to spend time with friends, my husband, Adelle falling asleep on Issy's lap.

Thinking about: The election tomorrow.  Thy will be done.

Pictures to share:

 Isaac and Issy had an All Saints party at school. St. Joseph and St. Lucy.

 Blurry. Because she was jumping up and down, which is adorable.

 Liam.

 The light saber ended up in the stroller shortly after this.

 There was a lot of enthusiasm from the little Care Bear.

He was rather serious. This look says, "You put me in this ridiculous get up and you aren't even going to give me candy, are you?"

Half the master bedroom

I have been saying since June that I would post pictures of master bedroom since we repainted it. And that obviously hasn't happened yet.  My dresser (out of shot to the right of these pictures) needs cleaned off and dusted before it is picture-worthy, but I am going to go for it anyways.  There are a few other things that need changing/ updating in the room, but if I wait, pictures may never happen.

 The accent wall and window wall.  The remainder of the walls are the same color as the window wall.  That color was supposed to be grey, but it turned out more bluish than I was anticipating, particularly the way it reflects the Tiffany Blue. Oh well.

I like the white woodwork. But the windows are very hard to open now, even though we tried to be meticulous in not getting paint on the part that slides up and down.  So I think that will be the only windows we paint white. 

That ceiling fan is the next thing to be updated- probably next spring.

 I love the bedspread, but I am not in love with the headboard.  But it seemed slightly more adult than no headboard at all.  I would really like to upholster my own headboard and fix it to the wall at some point.  We are going to get some nice art and family pics and put them up on the walls at some point.

So there is the master bedroom teaser.  Maybe in another six months I will post more pictures of it?

Journal: Short week

Out my window: 26 degrees. Supposed to get into the 40's and low 50's for high in the foreseeable future.  I think we are done with the random 70 degree days for now.  See you next Spring, 70.

Clothing myself in: Cloud pajama pants, purple long sleeve shirt and I was cold so I threw on a green sweater this morning.  We will can this style Eclectic and pretend I did it on purpose, ok?

Around the house: Gonna have to step up the baby proofing again.  There is a shelf of books in the living room that George will. not. leave. alone.  So away the books go for a while.  I desperately need to clean my floor.  Like sweep and mop.  I haaate to sweep and mop. It takes forever. I either have to confine the baby or work around him. And my mopping utensils are pretty unsatisfactory as of late. I have a swiffer, but I don't have pads so I use reuseable ones or old cloth diapers. Which is fine when it works, but sometimes it is a pain to situate.  Not to mention, pretty much immediately after I sweep and mop, some kid (or grown man in work boots) tracks stuff all over the floor. Which I find frustrating.  I tell myself that if I had a fancy steam mop that I might be able to keep on top of things better. Even I am not sure I believe me, at least not long term.

Oh my goodness, that is one rambly paragraph about mopping.

The baby: See above conundrum about having to move the books.  It is funny, with Issy and Isaac, I could redirect them and distract them enough that we could leave books/ knick knacks and photo albums on lower book shelves.  I thought this was because of my superior parenting.  Then I had Liam, who was very difficult to redirect. And he would just go back to thing over. And over. And over.  George isn't quite that tenacious but similar.  So I will just move the books until he turns two or three.  It just isn't worth the hassle.

Saying nigh night and waving is his big thing this week.  So so cute.

The kiddos: Got costumes for the remainder of the children.  Isabelle is going to be an Angel (and St. Lucy for their saint party at school) and Isaac is going to be Obi Wan Kenobi (and St. Joseph).  Liam is going to be Darth Vader, I found our old Care Bear costume and that is what Adelle decided to be. And I think George is going to be a little clown.  This costume was the first thing I sewed, when Issy was about 2 1/2.  It looks adorable on him.  Even people who dislike clowns will like this one.

Issy and Isaac are off of school on Thursday and Friday and Joe is off for All Saint's day (hooray for a Catholic employer!). Going to try to think up some saint activities for the little ones.

Crafting: 99% done with my charity knitting so I will get back to the sweater this week. I will.  Planning on working on my peg dolls this week, too.

In the kitchen: I am currently roasting pumpkin seeds. On the menu: pork chops (I think I might make Joe go out in the cold to grill them- they are so tasty that way!) broiled Parmesan tilapia and Italian sausage soup.

Bringing me joy: Talking with Joe after a long day, how much joy the kids get out of dressing up, how adorable it is when George lays his head on Joe's shoulder, the way Adelle asks for kisses from Joe, Issy and Isaac before they leave in the morning.

Thinking about: The people in the path of the storm out East. Praying for their protection.

Pictures to share: Adelle "working outside" on Saturday morning.

 Pumpkin carving!

Faces of my babies

Sunday afternoon was especially beautiful and mild so I took some of the kids into the woods just to hang out.  Liam was happy inside with his Daddy, so he didn't join us.  Issy, Isaac, Adelle and I had fun with the camera.   

We explored mad looks.  

 Issy's mad look.

 Yeah, I think Adelle wins the mad look.

And happy looks.

 Issy wins the happy look. She looks really, really happy.

 Isaac's happy look is understated. But nice.

Isaac's surprised look.

 Issy's surprised look.

 Adelle's surprised look.  Think that one might be a three way tie.

 Issy's "staring off into space" look. 

My personal favorite.  Isaac's "staring off into space" look.  Silly kids :)

Issy video

Issy took this the other day- I had gone in the garage to throw some stuff away.  I really love it when she turns the camera on herself.  She is starting to sound like a Wisconsin girl :)

Journal: Reprieve

Out my window: 51 degrees but it is overcast.  It is supposed to be warm until Friday then get chilly brrrrr.  The leaves are all past peak now.  Settling in for the long winter on the horizon.

Clothing myself in: Grey cords, black Army hoodie.

Around the house: Joe rerouted some of the light switches in the basement since we are putting up some walls in the storage and utility area.  Almost done with the dry wall in the basement hallway.  While he was doing that, the kids and I went into their basement toy room, which had gotten a bit out of control, and reorganized everything.  And I cleaned up the long neglected laundry room.  And he cleaned the garage.  It was a pretty productive weekend, I would say.

The baby: He took it easier on us last week- had a couple of days of almost sleeping through the night and was sleeping in till 5:30 or 6:00 (perspective! I wish I could have told Teenage Erin that 6:00 would be a luxurious wake-up at some point!)  But his 4:20 shenanigans today indicate that this reprieve might have come to an end.  I hate to wish away his babyhood, but I am just able to deal with life better when I have had sleep.  At this point, even a mediocre night's sleep is appreciated.

We outwitted him! We put in a locking mechanism up high so that he can't try to escape out the back door now.  His current favorite activity is climbing on the end table next to the chair and flinging himself over the side of the chair into the lap of the person sitting in it.  Or onto their head.  And then he climbs down, goes over to the end table again.  Repeat.  He likes this a lot.  It isn't so much fun if you are looking to relax in the chair.

The kiddos: They are all super excited about Halloween next week.  Still need to nail down costumes for them.  They were all going to be Star Wars characters.  Being a frugal person, I tried to convince Adelle to be Rapunzel, because she already has a Rapunzel dress and I didn't want to have to buy her a costume- it worked.  And I have a dragon costume for George.  And I think that Issy was then thinking she could be something else.  I have slight Mom guilt about sabotaging their costume plan and then I remember that is less I have to buy or put together and I feel better.

Crafting: Working on some charity knitting.  It shouldn't take long and then maybe I will have had enough space from my sweater sleeve to go back to it.

In the kitchen: Homemade chicken, bacon, ranch pizza on the pizza stone I picked up super cheap from Aldi.  I have wanted a pizza stone for a while and this one was such a good deal I couldn't pass it up.  We are also having some BBQ meatloaf with garlic mash potatoes and some grilled chicken soup.

Bringing me joy: Watching Liam enjoy reading so much that he can do it for hours and hours. George's belly laugh.  The way Adelle ran up to me all excited when Toto's Africa came on.  Taking silly pictures of Issy and Isaac in the woods.

Thinking about: Voting.  Oy. I don't normally talk politics, but I will say that I am unimpressed with my Presidential choices this year.

Picture to share: Issy took this one yesterday.  She said, "It is the big monster eating the teeny tiny car"

Sleepy little fella

I posted a similar picture of this the other day on my facebook, but I thought it was too cute not to share here.  I was making lunch in the kitchen getting the other kids lunch and noticed he wasn't being very loud- just sighing.  Sleepy guy.  Seeing him all sweet and calm makes all the shenanigans worth it :)

Liam's school year

I decided to purchase the MODG syllabus again this year.  I am really pleased that I did- I am using it as a base and substituting and/or adding things wherever I like. It has been really nice to have a guide, though.

 The handwriting book that MODG syllabus recommends.  Liam is pretty meticulous with his handwriting. 

 Aesop's Fables for reading aloud and then narrating and illustrating in his book.  

Religion- MODG recommends the First Communion Catechism and to do reading about saints and draw pictures of them in a Saint Book.  I wanted to organize our saint readings so I looked them up in the various saint books we own and wrote down what pages they were on so I wouldn't have to do it on that day.  Much better and easier to keep up with. 

MODG recommends 100 Easy Lessons for phonics but Liam has kind of outgrown that, so I picked up this workbook. It is also nice to have a go-to learning page when I am putting the baby down for a nap or making lunch.  

 Poetry- Memorizing and then retelling/ illustrating various poems

 Working on the Chronicles of Narnia for our Literature.

MODG recommends A Beka math but we have been using Math U See and like it so I decided not to switch.  We are finishing up his Primer book and will be starting Alpha in a couple of weeks.

 Nature Study- I like this little book. Some of the little activities we use and some of them we don't but it is nice for getting ideas.

I bought this back when Issy was using MODG for Kindergarten and haven't looked at it much since.  Broke it back out for Liam.

We are keeping things simple and straightforward for things like social studies, other science, geography and such. We explore topics as he is interested in them, as well.  He is really thriving this year.