A day at the Marneys. With photos.

Yesterday started at 5:48 when George woke up.  Joe went to "play" with George (which, at least on my mornings, consists of trying to doze off in the recliner in George's room while he plays. George is rarely accommodating. and if he is, you better protect your face because you never know when he might bop you with a toy to get your attention).  Blessedly, the puppy didn't whimper to potty, so I fell back asleep for a while until he did.

 I think about 6:15, I got up, pottied the puppy and he stood by me while I made coffee. Mmmmmmm, coffee.

 Joe left for work and I drank my coffee, the kids watched a little morning TV.  And Adelle did this with my sweatshirt, which I found amusing.

 As I sipped my coffee, I admired what a beautiful morning it looked like outside.  But no, don't let it fool you.  It may look beautiful, but if I had stepped outside, a thousand winged bloodsuckers would have descended upon me to feast on my flesh. Fun times.

I then took a shower.  Since I am obviously not going to take a picture of that, I took the opportunity to finally take a picture of our vanity mirror and light fixture that we bought and installed this Spring.  Isn't it pretty?

 I then walked into George's room to get him some clothes out for the day and had guilt about the fact that there is still a suitcase in his room from last week.  Instead of actually doing anything about it, I grabbed some clean clothes out of it. I left Ewok to sniff it in disapproval of my procrastination.

 But I did do a load of towels, so I wasn't entirely unproductive.

 After going outside myself to test the mosquito situation, I deemed it somewhat safe as long as we put on bugspray.  There were footraces up and down the driveway.

 And bike races.

 And we discovered a caterpillar and observed it.  And tried not to squish it. Well, some of us tried not to squish it.

 Issy is doing some math this summer so we came inside and she worked on it while I prepared lunch.  One of the story problems was frustratingly difficult.  I instant messaged Joe and asked him if he would help Issy with her math this summer.  That is why when I homeschooled, our math curriculum came with an instructional DVD on how to teach it :P

Then it was naptime. Which is supposed to be a sweet respite in my day.  No, not this day. I tried to lay down but the puppy was being a bit of a turd and whimpering- he wanted to hang out with me, which is sweet and all, but no, I didn't want to play.  I was feeling slightly irrational anyways and I may have yelled. Or not.  I like to be evasive about my bad behavior.  About when the puppy finally chilled out, George woke up.  I felt like this:

 Sigh. Everyone was up and we had to get Isaac's medicine from the drugstore 10 miles away.  But I had forgotten to get the money from Joe, so first we had to drive to his work, in the other direction, to get some cash.

 I let the puppy ride in the car because I felt guilty about yelling (or not yelling) earlier.  I pet him and apologized and he forgave me for any indiscretions I may (or may not) have committed.  I promised to do better next time.

 When I was at the drugstore, I picked up two little pieces of chocolate because they were 2 for 99 cents and even though I worked in retail and I know how add-ons work, I folded to the well placed chocolate. It was delicious.  And I felt better about making up with the puppy. So by the time we got home I felt like this:

 The kids wanted to play in the sprinkler so I stood outside for a few minutes to test the mosquitoes.  Seemed okay so I let them put on swimsuits and get sprinkled.

George abstained from the sprinkler. He rode his trike instead. Clementine kept an eye on him.

 After 30 minutes of playing, all the mosquitoes in Necedah came out.  I got bit. Through my shirt.  And not just through my shirt, but through the mesh of the chair I was sitting on. Um, yeah. 

 The dogs stayed out to play, since they aren't wanderers and we came inside.  There was coloring and I did the dishes.  Joe had offered to take us out to eat, which was a nice treat.  So when he got home, we called the dogs inside and loaded up the car.  The puppy came right in, but Clementine was no where to be found.  

We called, we whistled (well, Joe whistled cause he can whistle much louder than me) and nothing.  I can't say that she never wanders but she always stays in ear shot. So I was concerned  We drove around our neighborhood and the neighborhood to the north, looking for her and nothing.  We came back and rechecked the house. Nope.  Joe suggested we drive around the school parking lot, to the south of us.  And lo and behold, there she was. It looked like she was trying to dig a hole to China.  Riiiight. 

 We brought her home and I gave her water.  Darn dog- we think she might have been after a rabbit or something, though she doesn't usually lose herself like that.  I hope she doesn't follow her nose again :P

 We went out to eat, which went about like you might expect eating out with five kids an hour past their dinnertime while having to wait forever because they must have needed to kill the cow for the burger to go.  But it was tasty and actually, in between George shrieks of glee and sometimes disgruntlement, we had a good family discussion about the mountains and maybe moving and homeschooling again someday.  We will see.  

We went home and there was kid's bedtime, adult chatting, knitting and half movie watching before the adults got tired and went to bed.  And then the puppy/ George got up at 5:15 this morning and the cycle starts again...

Journal: It's almost summer!

Out my window: 55 and overcast. I need some sunshine to keep the mosquitoes at bay.

Clothing myself in: Cloud pajama pants, blue tank top. Grey hoodie to keep aforementioned mosquitoes from biting me while I pottied the puppy.

Around the house: Joe is really trucking on mudding and sanding. We picked out a basement color- neutral but lots of fun accent colors to coordinate. We have talked back and forth about the flooring and I think we finally decided to go ahead and do laminate- Joe (and I) can lay it ourselves, we can get endcap stuff at Home Depot fairly cheap and with kids, it will be easier to clean.  I am so excited to get the basement done!

While he worked on that on Saturday, I worked on organizing the storage room, which is about 1/3 full of tubs of kid's clothing. I got the other things organized and labeled better, then I started working on sorting the clothes.  I already have it semi-organized by kid but some if it just doesn't make sense for me to keep- stained or ripped stuff, stuff that is out of style.  I got that about halfway finished.  I do actually need to finish because the kid's clothing is currently strewn about the guest room and my sisters are coming to visit in a week (!). And they might like a place to sleep.

The toddler: Looks kinda rough right now. Between tumbles from playing outside and mosquito bites (who like to get him on the face :-/) he looks a bit like a scratched up leper.  Continuing to work on being soft, particularly with Adelle and Critter.  Talking up a storm.  His poo has been relatively normal, formed, non-horrible for the last two weeks (knock on wood). I have done nothing different, which I am not sure whether I should be happy or frustrated.

The kiddos: I am meeting with Issy's teacher today about her working on some Math over the summer- he thought it would be good for her to work on it since she started last year a little behind.

Isaac is doing well, for the most part.  He woke up late last week (Friday?) with more of a cough and his throat has bothered him more.  His toes and a little bit around his fingernails have started peeling and around the corners of his mouth have gotten worse so I am going to call the doctor again today.  I am fully aware that I might be being paranoid, but given the circumstances...

Liam has been having some listening issues lately. It definitely coincided with the end of the kid's school- more going on, more to get distracted. Trying to figure out the best way to approach it.

Delle had a good birthday, I think. She got a bike, which she asked for and likes, at least in theory.  She doesn't particularly like to pedal (she has a bit of a damsel in distress personality) and since other people can't ride the bike for her, she has gotten a little discouraged. She will come around.

In the kitchen: Spaghetti, Turkey and rice casserole, Bean/cheese/rice squares. Nothing inspired, but good, solid meals.

Crafting: Some knitting

Bringing me joy: This is gonna take some digging- I am not in a very good mood this morning. Hmmmm- sitting on the couch in the basement drinking a beer with my husband and discussing our basement finishing plans, imagining the increase in space for our family when we finally get it done, family bike ride, the way the air smells with the pines, Issy telling me that she finally knows where she belongs: here, because she is a country kind of girl, Home Depot smell, quiet rest time in the afternoon. Whew. That wasn't so hard.

Thinking about: Oh, still my Isaac.  Worry, worry, worry. When he sleeps in, I worry that he has had a heart attack in his sleep.  I watch him like a hawk and ask him how his is feeling, since he isn't always entirely up front about it.  I am still trying to figure out what would be appropriate in regards to letting the doctors that treated him the first time know about his misdiagnosis.  I don't want to sue them or anything, but I would be remiss to not let them know that they were off the mark significantly.

Pictures to share:

He was brushing her hair.

Sweet little four-year-old in her birthday dress.

 Ridiculously large turtle we saw on our bike ride.

Journal: Home again, home again...

Out my window: 65 and overcast. Maybe some more thunderstorms today.

Clothing myself in: Black T-shirt, cloud pajama pants.

Around the house: Joe worked a lot on the basement while I was gone- mudding and sanding. We are now in full vacation recovery mode- getting everything out of the car (I tend to leave nonessentials in the car... for months) and putting it all away.  Cleaning the house back up.  I have all the things and I am going to make my own laundry soap today or tomorrow.

The toddler: When we were in Wichita, oh my! such a language explosion.  He will repeat pretty much everything you ask him to now.  Except for Issy. If you ask him to say Issy he will say Liam and then chuckle. Trouble baby.  He does like to whisper "Wuv woo" when I lay him down to sleep which makes my heart all melty.

The kiddos: Issy had a good time at Totus Tuus camp and said she would like to do it again next year.  We happened to run into an old acquaintance of mine whose daughter was going when we went to the bus stop. Her daughter Anna introduced herself to Issy and asked if she would like to sit next to her on the bus. So I felt relieved that she made a buddy so quickly!

Liam was good- he lost one of his top teeth after some concerted effort at bedtime one night.

Adelle had her birthday party with Grammie and Grandpa since they won't be here.  Her actual birthday is tomorrow. I can't believe she is going to be four. It seems like just yesterday that she joined us quietly one evening.  She really is such a joy.

And my Isaac. If you have been following along on facebook, we have had quite the drama with him.  He was admitted last week to the hospital in Wichita for suspected Kawasaki disease.  He had started running a fever and got a rash on Monday the 27th and ran one into Tuesday.  Then it broke but he still was fatigued and his legs were hurting. His skin where the rash was started peeling. Then Sunday the 2nd, he started running a high fever, his legs were hurting so bad he couldn't walk. Over the next couple of days, I noticed the rash spread down to his upper leg, his tongue was strawberry red with spots, his eyes got red.

I took him into our old Wichita doctor on Wednesday who said he had Kawasaki and to take him to the hospital.  Everyone at the hospital agreed he looked like a classic case of Kawasaki and they were just waiting for Thursday, so that they could document his fifth day of fever and begin treatment. But his fever broke. And they weren't counting his fever the previous week, for whatever reason. So they began treatment for scarlet fever and sent him home.

(I wrote the rest of this in the evening)
I took him into our pediatrician yesterday, who had gotten the results of the scarlet fever titers, which were negative.  We saw the pediatric cardiologist today, who did some bloodwork and judging by his elevated liver enzymes and platelets said that he did indeed have Kawasaki.  His echo and EKG were good today, so he is on aspirin and we will followup in 2 and 6 weeks with more echocardiograms and to make sure his liver enzymes and platelets are going down.

I am just so relieved to finally have answers so we can treat him appropriately. And upset that they were so quick to dismiss Kawasaki at the hospital in Wichita- they didn't even mention that it could be an atypical presentation of Kawasaki.  And relieved that he is fine so far.  And really, really relieved that we pursued this even though our dismissal instructions were to follow up with our doctor in three weeks. If we had missed this diagnosis and something had happened, I just... yeah. We aren't out of the woods yet, which is why the followups are important, but out of the most critical period.

Crafting: Some knitting.

In the Kitchen: Jambalaya for my girl's birthday, chicken salad sandwiches.

Bringing me joy: Being home, a girl baby and a boy baby for two of my good friends.

Thinking about: My children's health.  Up to this point, I have very much taken for granted that they are generally healthy. I am in awe of parents who have children with chronic health issues, who take care of them, advocate for them and just do it.

He got sleepy on the way home from the tests today

 Swinging on Grammie and Grandpa's porch swing.

Lemur in Kansas

Journal: Almost summer!

Out my window: 63 and overcast.  Supposed to be warm and rainy the next few days.  The mosquitoes came out last week.  We bought some yard repellent and sprayed our yard Saturday.  Normally, we are chemical free (cleaning products and such) but I don't particularly think it is healthy to be swarmed (no exaggeration) by mosquitoes every time you walk outside or have to wear super bug repellent on the skin.  So yeah, risks vs. benefits. But it took the mosquitoes from "Alfred Hitchcock Movie Level" to "Swat A Few Away Level", at least at midday. So we will just shower every night and that will be that. And hopefully, by the time we get back from Kansas, the worst will be over.

Clothing myself in: Black yoga pants, lavender shorted sleeved shirt, grey ankle socks.

Around the house: Well, Saturday afternoon we still had plague-like levels of mosquitoes so we stayed inside  and I swept and mopped the floors really well. Kids + Animals + Sandy Soil=  Perpetually messy floors.  I started switching out the girl's clothes.  I really need to help them clean their room and get all the winter stuff out of their drawers before we can go much further. And I need to put away the Easter decorations because now that Pentecost is over, I have officially run out of excuses.

We decided last week not to redo the floors in the kitchen right now.  Joe is going to end up being down in IL for several days for work while I am gone and it would really rush him.  It is perfectly workable right now and I would rather wait and just do it all at the same time.  It is better this way.

Our biggest new thing around the house is our new Australian Shepherd pup named Critter. Never a dull moment!

The toddler: Back to early wake-ups and toxic smelling poo :(  It was so much better at the end of April, then it was not as good but tolerable and now it is bad again.  It seems to be cyclical, which is maddening.  I am going to resume the food and poo diary, and I think we are going to go dairy-free after we are done traveling. If that doesn't help, I am going to take him back to the doctor. Frustrating.

Really cute though.  He speaks so well.  Some of his funnys: If you ask him to say sorry to someone, it doesn't matter who it is, he usually says, "Sorry, Delle".  When Joe turns on the mower, he screams "DADDY! MOWER!" over and over. Pretty much until Joe is done.  He loves loves loves his Daddy.

The kiddos: Three more days of school.  It will be so great to have all my littles home. Take some getting used to, of course, but pretty exciting.  They have all been a big help with the new doggie, especially in the potty training department.  It is nice to rotate the responsibility of taking him out to potty during the day. Such great kids.

Crafting: Big project still in the works :)

In the kitchen: Turkey chili tonight, Spaghetti tomorrow, refried bean burritos.

Bringing me joy: Mango scented candle, Issy offering to sweep and mop the dining room without me asking, how much joy the girls have when I get out the hand-me-downs, playing frisbee in the yard with the kids, planting wildflowers with the kids, seeing Clementine get to take on her new role as older, wiser dog, the look of joy on my husband's face when he cuddles the new doggie.

Thinking about: Especially after my weekend last week, I have been pondering my blessings.  My life isn't perfect- sometimes I get weighed down by kid misbehavior, money stress, misunderstandings, my lack of motivation and subsequent guilt, my short-temper.

But I have a beautiful, beautiful life. So many wonderful friends, a close-knit family, both my own little family and our families of origin. I have a beautiful house on beautiful (if not sometimes overly buggy ;) land. A husband who loves me, prickles and good things and all. And I think he is the bee's knees :)  So much to be thankful for.

Pictures to share:

Journal: Refreshed

NB: Written on Monday, posted on Tuesday

Out my window: Mid 40s and sunny- supposed to get into the 60s today.  And apparently, the 80s tomorrow. I would prefer not to skip Spring but I suppose I can't really complain about warmth at this point. Maybe in July ;)

Clothing myself in: Cloud pajama pants, a blue striped shirt, red fleece socks and Joe's robe.  If I had curlers in my hair, I would be the picture of "Stereotypical Housewife".

Around the house: Our Mom's group at Church rented a beautiful house on a lake near here for the weekend for a small retreat/ getaway from Friday afternoon to Sunday. I came home to a picked up living room, bedroom, reading nook, the dishes were done and they had made me a beautiful Mother's Day gift. So I would say the house is pretty good :)

The toddler: He did so great for Joe while I was away.  He gave Joe some trouble one nap time, but other than that, he was a good, big boy.  He grows up so much every day.

I am happy that he still wanted to nurse when I came back. I always wanted to breastfeed our kids but I never thought I would do it much past a year. Even though toddler nursing is challenging at times (understatement) there are still so many good things about it that I wouldn't trade. It really is a whole different ballgame than infant nursing. It is an opportunity to teach him manners, to teach him healthy boundaries, to slow down that perpetual bundle of movement for a few moments, to get that nurturing contact.

Insert realtime break to nurse a cranky boy who then transformed into a happy boy.

See? Magical :)

The kiddos: Isabelle is growing so much.  She is really entering that time between kid and adolescent.  I am trying to help her navigate this as gracefully as possible.  I hope I am doing a good job.  When you are in the midst of infancy and toddlerhood, it seems like it could not possibly get harder.  And I wanted to cover my ears when wiser moms with older children said that the challenges would be just as challenging, just in a different way.  Soonish, she is going to start making decisions on her own; small at first, but bigger as time goes on. And then choices that will effect her whole adult life.  And I am just going to have to move from guiding her, to trusting her and praying for her.  The responsibility for having five immortal souls entrusted to our care is daunting sometimes.

Crafting: Not right now. A big, exciting idea will hopefully be unfolding in the near future.

In the kitchen: Grilled pork chops with roasted garlic Parmesan potatoes,  refried bean burritos, turkey chili.  We tried Mary's Chicken Curry Soup last week and it was deeeelicious.

Bringing me joy and thinking about: This weekend was amazing.  To preface: I have been pregnant or nursing or both for nearly 11 years. I don't want to make it sound like I don't get down time, because I do- Joe has always been great about encouraging me to take care of myself and supporting me and helping me with the kids whenever possible.  But sometimes, given the style of parenting we have chosen/ feel comfortable with, the down time must be taken in small chunks here and there.  I don't regret the way we parent or the amount of children we have, but it has been a lot of mother-intensive, very bodily-giving for the last ten years.  The last time I had a night away was when I served on a TEC retreat in July of 2006 when I was pregnant with Liam.

So when our Mom's group at church started discussing a getaway/retreat weekend, it sounded really really good.  I pretty quickly dismissed it because George is pretty used to me nursing him down for nap and nighttime and did I really want to mess with that? But I mentioned it to Joe anyways and he was very encouraging.    And over the last couple of months I wondered how it was going to go and did I really want to do this and would I be worried the whole time?  But every time I expressed doubts, Joe would reiterate that he could handle things. And when Isaac threw up a week before and I thought everyone would get sick, Joe told me that he didn't care how many kids were sick, even if he was sick, he still wanted me to go.

So on Friday, I packed my bags and was about to leave.  And about 20 different things were going through my head that I wanted to remind Joe of and micromanage. I only allowed myself to say two.  And you know what? They were fine. Isaac got a deer tick and Joe handled it. George was tricky in Mass and the other four were fine. They were all fed, dressed, had movie time, s'mores time, craft time- Dad style.  I need to let go more.  He is just as capable of a parent as I am. It is good to step away sometimes.

It was so nice. I ate food- I didn't have to hide it, I didn't have to cut anyone's food or dish anyone else up first, no one threw their cup at my head; I ate slowly, chewed my food and drank my coffee while it was still hot without having to microwave it.  I slept- I didn't have to haul myself out of bed at 4/5/6 in the morning, I didn't have to shove anyone over to get space and I didn't have to hear a fussy child yell my name.  I enjoyed the company of 7 great women- silly conversations, serious conversations, theological discussions, marriage and family discussions. Laughing, praying, relaxing.

By Sunday morning, I couldn't wait to see everyone.  As much as I loved the time away, it was so good to get home. The break gave me a chance to truly appreciate my children, my husband, our life.  I have never felt more grateful for Joe, I generally feel pretty grateful to him.  He is such an awesome Dad and husband and I will never know, in this life, why I am lucky enough that he wanted me to be his wife.

The rest of the day was pretty lovely. I feel really refreshed and ready to tackle the real life stuff again with a positive attitude.  What a great Mother's Day gift.

Journal: Real Spring

NB: I started this on Monday. So much for efficient blogging.

Out my window: 52, overcast, but it is supposed to get into the mid-seventies today. Hooray! The last couple of weeks have been beautiful, except for some cold rain a couple of days last week. I know I am a weather whiner, but man, this was the longest winter ever.

Clothing myself in: Jeans, old teal Old Navy T-shirt and a tan cardigan.

Around the house: The Spring cleaning by room has been going well, but not quite at as quick of a pace as I would like.  Our room took about two weekends. The laundry room took several days but I worked on it during the week. It is awesome. Everything is easily accessible, easy to put back in the right place, not cluttered.  I still need to go through the old bills and file or destroy, but other than that, it is pretty great.

The toddler: We have been back and forth on the sleeping since last post. Which, I should be very grateful that there has been any "forth". I am still pretty stumped as to why. I started keeping a food and poo diary (gross, I know, but you do what you gotta do) and there were some things that seemed correlated. Cutting out peanut butter seemed to improve his sour poo issue almost all the way. Well, until this weekend. sigh.

And, perhaps by coincidence, or not, the four times I have skipped giving him a probiotic in yogurt, he has woken up at 4:15. Other than that, we have seen a the 4:00 hour a whole lot less, and even a few days in a row of after 6. I am still obsessing about the difference in those days because I WANT MORE OF THEM. If I could replicate those days precisely, including activity, clothes and food so that he would sleep better, I totally would.  I sometimes wonder if this is all making me a little bit on the crazy side.

The kiddos: Most exciting: Isaac's First Holy Communion was yesterday. It was a really beautiful, wonderful weekend.  Joe's parents were able to make it, the weather on Saturday and Sunday was fantastically gorgeous and my boy was happy. He looked so handsome. And grace. So much grace.

Two more weeks of school! So exciting :)

Crafting: Got my deadline project done. It was a scarf for our sweet babysitter/ housesitter who entered a convent on April 27th.  Plain black scarf. I am so glad we got a chance to meet her and have her get to know our family and to get to know her. She will be very much missed but I look forward to her prayers for us.

In the kitchen: Grilled bratwurst and pasta salad tonight. Homemade pizza tomorrow with turkey sausage, sauteed onion, sweet peppers and mushrooms. Yuuuum.

Bringing me joy: The sunshine on my face, warm breeze that smells like pine. Organized laundry room, Kolbe pup's memorial garden, kneeling next to my boy as he received his first Communion. Linens on the clothesline, and sleeping in them the first night.  Spending time with Joe's parents and seeing how much my children love them and they love the children.  I could go on.  Spring brings many things that bring me joy- it might have to be it's own post.

Picture to share: Sweet Celine came to have breakfast with us a few days before her entrance to the convent.  She is wearing the scarf I knit her :)

Issy's 10th birthday kinda late :)

She wanted to make her cake herself. From scratch. She wanted a Funfetti cake, so she made a white cake recipe and put confetti sprinkles in it. Mission accomplished.

Birthday presents from Grammie and Grandpa: An Easter dress and a bunny.  Adelle is pouty because she wanted a new Easter dress, too.  At breakfast that morning, Joe and I gave her a card with some of her very own money and I took her on a date to buy some clothes with it. The yellow shirt is actually one of the things she bought.

Blowing out her candles.  She made birthday crowns and hats for all of us to wear.

Cake.

I am seriously considering...

Doing a photo journal of a real day in the life of the Marneys. Sound interesting? Or about as boring as watching paint dry?

Random photo to share (cause I like posts with pictures):

Fat Cheese 

March of 2003

Journal: Tax day

Out my window: It was foggy when I got up this morning, but I think I see some actual blue in the sky currently and the sun trying to peak out. Supposed to get up to 50. Pllllleeease?

Clothing myself in: Grey paint shirt from yesterday and fleece Tinkerbell pants.

Around the house: We decided yesterday to do some "Spring" cleaning room by room on the weekends.  This week was our room. We went through our closet, organized, purged. We painted around the mirror and light fixture! I will have to take some pics- I really like how it turned out.  I am still working on the stuff that has accumulated on my dresser, but we are getting there.

The toddler: Words: friends, sorry, sing song. His sleep has taken a turn for the worse. I feel defeated- I can't even figure out how to fix the problem.  Except for taking him back to Grammie's house because he slept so much better there!  But he is super adorable right now, too. He has such a great smile. He is so exuberant and charming. I love him.

The kiddos: So many exciting things in the next couple of months.  Isaac's first Communion is in about 3 weeks, he is getting excited (in his understated, Isaac way :) ) The kids will get done with school in about 5 weeks, Kansas shortly after that.

A good Adelle story: Joe and I have been splitting Masses because George has been an uncontainable beast, to put it mildly. Noise and antics that an entire building cannot contain. Joe went Saturday with the girls and I took the Isaac and Liam yesterday morning. When I got home, Joe was telling me that George had a very stinky diaper while I was at Church and Adelle chimes in, "Daddy changed Georgie's diaper for you, Mama."  Apparently, diaper changing is my thing in Adelle's mind?

Crafting: Almost done with my deadline project :) Got my shrug back on the needles after George took it off :)

In the kitchen: Scraping things together with what is leftover and we will have a big shopping trip next week. The tuna burgers from last week were super duper tasty. I think my favorite way to eat tuna.

Bringing me joy: An organized closet, George's grin, the way my little boy looks so handsome in his first Communion suit, the Eucharist, the promise of a 50 degree day.

Thinking about: My mom. So much lately. Maybe I will share in another post soon.

Picture to share: Ah, not much to share this week. At least not that I have put on the computer. I have been having lots of fun on iPhone.

Journal: Quasi-Springtime!

Out my window: Well, this morning, iced covered trees. We had been getting a pretty significant amount of melt and warmer temps but then yesterday it got cold and rainy. And then overnight, some ice and snow. Stupid winter :P

Clothing myself in: Jeans, black T-shirt, and a fleece jacket that I got at Express when I was in high school. It is one of those articles of clothing with longevity.

Around the house: Lots of clean laundry that needs folded and put away. I still need to paint around the mirror and light for our master bedroom vanity (hanging head in shame for the ridiculous procrastinating.)

The toddler: Slight improvements in the sleep department, at least most days. Slightly longer naps. He still likes to get up in the five o'clock hour, but he got up at 6:15 last Saturday, which felt a bit like a miracle. Any improvement is fine with me.  Better sleep= mom enjoys him more, even when he is challenging. He is getting to be such a big boy.

I am going to be gone a couple of days and nights for a Mom's retreat next month and I am wondering how that will effect our nursing relationship. He is nightweaned, but he usually nurses a bit before nap and nighttime and sometimes in the morning and late afternoon.  He really likes Daddy, so I am not concerned about him being comforted. But we are at a pretty comfortable spot in our nursing relationship and honestly, I would be a little sad if he decided to give it up. We will see. I shouldn't borrow trouble.

Words: gate, friend, sorry, Barney (as in, purple dinosaur.) tummy, potty, inside, outside, hold hands.

The kiddos: Liam is at St. Francis today and tomorrow, giving it a try. Registration time is upon us and I wanted to have him spend some time there before making a decision.  I think Isabelle and Isaac were as excited for him as he was. I hope it is a good fit.  This leaves me with just the two small ones the next couple of days, which is... weird. In a good way.

Crafting: Shrug and other project. My other project has a deadline and I am about 3/4 of the way through.

In the kitchen: Hm, I am trying to remember. Tuna burgers, turkey chili, turkey and rice casserole. I need to do something with my 20 eggs that we hardboiled so we could dye them.  Egg salad? Deviled eggs?

Bringing me joy: Liam's excitement about going to school, Saturday afternoon naps, snuggles with my sick baby (the snuggle part, not the sick part), walking in the woods after the forever winter, sunshine/ friends/ family in Kansas, a smooth trip, a lovely Easter.

Thinking about: Working on getting healthy. I don't know exactly what is going on, but my body has felt bad, particularly the last year. I suppose it is likely a combination of things, not enough exercise, not enough good food/ too much bad food/ getting older.  It got worse when I started to have my cycles again this fall (oh, is that TMI? oh well...).  My particular complaint is that my joints hurt. I am 31, forgoodnesssake, that shouldn't happen.

I have been trying to keep track of what I eat (holy cow, picking off my kid's plates after they are done adds up!), good food for snacks is my particular hurdle. I tend to get hungry and then just shove whatever sugary thing is nearest into my month.  Exercise, yoga in particular because that seems to be helping with my flexibility and strength.  I just want to feel good in my body and be able to keep up with my kids.

Picture to share: She was trying to block the sun for a nap in the car on our drive to Kansas. So she shoved the bunny in her hoodie.

Heeelllo

Busy days around here.  My sister, my brother-in-law, their 4 sons, my Dad and their exchange student came to visit a couple of weeks ago. And then we went and visited Kansas for Easter. And then we came home and the kids got sick. And I had to like, try to recover from our trip with grumpy, sick kids. So yup, not much blogging time right this moment. But I found this adorable picture of my girl and her Grammie so I thought I would post it until I could do a proper update :)

*tap tap tap* "Is this thing still on?"

Since I have made my blog private, I am concerned that no one is reading any longer.  Because it is no longer public, it doesn't appear in feeds or updates and you have to be signed in when you come to the address. I have tried to figure out a way to make subscription by email available but have had no luck.

Stupid technology. Stupid internet.

Anyways, if you are still here, hi, and thanks for being patient with the changes.  I promise more cute kid updates. And maybe a bit of whining. And pictures.

Because I didn't do a journal this week, here is the truncated version:

Out my window: Dark. Since nightweaning, George has mostly started sleeping through the night, but still wants to wake up for the day in the five o'clock hour. Trying to figure out how to convince him not to do that.

If it was lighty, I would see that there is still a ton of snow on the ground.  I have officially given up on Spring.

The toddler: Words recently: sock, shoe, snow, cleanup, help!, hi, cuppy, meow, and a bunch other that  I can't recall right now.

The kiddos: Spring Break! Issy and Isaac just finished their third quarter. Only nine more weeks of school left.  Liam is going to be done with Mother of Divine Grace by mid- May. Joe and I have talked about sending Issy to Camp Totus Tuus this summer, which she is excited about. Her birthday was wonderful for her- will try to share pictures soon. Delle's days are full of dress up, playing with Liam (she particularly loves play dough), and she really loves to dance.  She is in a pretty easygoing stage (for a three-year-old) right now.

Bringing me joy: My sister, brother-in-law, four of their sons, my Dad and the exchange student are visiting this week, it has been really fun, if not a bit crazy :)  Issy's joy on her birthday, hanging out with Joe, Josh Groban's new album, the new Pope.

Thinking about: All I need to do to get ready for our trip to Kansas on Wednesday. I am so excited. Friends, family, getting to see grass again. So wonderful.

My sweet girl is 10

Would you like to see a march through the years?

4 years old

5 years old

6 years old

7 years old

8 years old

9 years old

And now she is 10 years old, yes, she is. I love to see how she has grown so much in the last 6 years, it is amazing.  I am so excited to see how she grows and changes in the next 6 years, too. Happy 10th birthday to my lovely girl.

Journal: Cabin fever and gratitude

Out my window: 30 and snowing, again. I had forgotten from living in Idaho how long this makes this part of the year feel. The anticipation of Spring. The snow is super beautiful this morning though, so at least there is that.

Clothing myself in: Black yoga pants, purple long sleeved T, pink Garden of the Gods hoodie.  Going to go upstairs to work out after this.

Around the house: The paint for around my vanity isn't here yet. Soon, I hope.

The toddler: The nightweaning part of nightweaning has been going just fine. He is doing great- sometimes I hear him wake up really briefly and then go back to sleep. Buuuut- he is still trying to push wake-up earlier and earlier into the 5 o'clock hour. Overall, I really can't complain. I went from having him wake up multiple times a night and insisting on getting up at 4:30 to sleeping through the night until 5:15 or 5:30.

Words: His favorite this week was "stop". Only long, drawn-out, usually screeched, and repeated multiple times until you stopped doing whatever the offending thing was. Which, at times, was just being present. Oh, toddlers. A few weeks ago he deemed his blanket "mee mee" and we hold it while he nurses (or I pin his arm down with it so he can't poke me/ pat me/ whack me/ wave his arm around).  He can also say poo poo, which I told him was a sign it was time to potty train. Heh, yeah right.

The kiddos: Issy's tenth birthday is Saturday. I can't believe she is going to be ten.  I talked with the school administrator about Liam spending a couple of days at the Academy after Easter break, just to see how it goes. I haven't told him yet, but he is going to be so. excited.

Crafting: Working on mystery project, my shrug is sitting on my shelf staring at me.

In the kitchen: We had white bean and sausage penne pasta last night, which is super tasty, although some of my kids don't like it very much.  On the menu we have black bean burritos, bean and cheese quinoa squares, turkey chili and turkey and rice casserole.

Bringing me joy: Even though I am totally ready for spring, the snow today is so beautiful- falling gently and silently, the way it stays on the branches of the trees, the moisture for my kind of sad looking pine trees. Listening to some of my favorite music from when I was younger. The Sacraments. Seeing how beautiful and grown up my Isabelle is getting. Tenderhearted Liam. How Isaac loves to help me in the kitchen. Adelle doing ballet. George understanding more- putting his cup next to his bed at nap and bedtime and getting his blanket so we can nurse.  A long and relaxing dinner date with Joe. Getting to go to a bridal shower for our babysitter who is entering the convent in April- seeing her joy and enthusiasm.

Thinking about: Divine Mercy. I have been reading Consoling the Heart of Jesus. Beautiful book.

Pictures to share: Snow day Scrabble last week.

March 9th, 2012

March 11th, 2013

It's a happy house-i-versary!

We moved into this house a year ago today. I love it.  It isn't perfect, but it is perfect for us.

Spring

Summer

Autumn

Winter