We won!!!!!!!

Hopefully...

I think it is safe to say we can finally claim victory over the ant problem at our house!!! We tried several things (you can read about it here) that just didn't work, or rather, didn't work well. The stinky little boogers, they kept just a low enough profile that while they were annoying, we really couldn't justify taking drastic measures against them, so we just dealt with them. Grrrr. Not my idea of a solution, but it was what it was. Well, we were strolling around Target one day and Aaron saw these Terro Liquid Ant Baits and figured we may as well give them a try (The main ingredient? Borax, crazily enough. Love that stuff!!). The Raid traps we had previously were weird. They just sat there. I don't think we ever saw an ant near one unless he just happened to be walking by. So we wondered about them and their efficacy, but left them out no less. Well let me tell you, these little traps were instant. I mean, within an hour of setting one out it was absolutely swarmed by ants. Like, literally hundreds. And this went on for several hours. It was nasty and exciting all at the same time. (You know you are an adult and a homeowner when you actually get excited about this kind of stuff). Well, so we left if for a few days in the spot beside the kitchen sink where we saw ants so frequently, but we were still seeing a few around the deck door, so one night after we had the kids in bed I told Aaron I was going to set the trap over there and see what happened. And they swarmed it. Again. I'm really not sure now whether we were dealing with one colony or two; but the point being, it has been several weeks now and there is not an ant to be seen in our house. So like I said, I think we can claim victory (and hopefully I don't have to eat my words). Just thought after all the comments and commiseration I may have some followers who were curious to hear "the rest of the story". And now you know.

Some food for thought...

My husband casually mentioned over lunch today that Gemma apparently unknowingly called my father-in-law on my cell phone while she and I were going about our morning around the house. I will typically let her play with my cell phone for a bit if she asks. Usually she just pretends she's taking a picture or talking to someone, and she's pretty good about "pushing the red button" if it goes to a different screen than my regular background. She had never (to my knowledge) called anyone. Anyways, so I checked it out and sure enough, there was the call, two minutes and change long. Oh heavens, I thought, what did I say during the duration of that call? What were we doing? Was I upset? Pathetic? Rude? Angry? A whole laundry list of "wonderings" went through my head, and quite honestly, it really stressed me out (probably more than it should have). And not that we had a bad morning or anything, but knowing that someone was essentially a "fly on the wall" for a small slice of our day really freaked me out. And then, this small yet profound voice in my heart said, "Monica, I am always listening, and you never seem incredibly bothered by that." And that really gave me pause. Wow. God is always listening. Night and day. Whether I'm happy or angry. Rational or crazy. Kind or cross. He listens, He hears. And he judges. I'm living my salvation, not just in the big things, but in the mundane everyday activities. Our omnipotent, all-seeing, all-hearing God knows the smallest details of my day-to-day life. He hears my words, my tone of voice, everything. And I seldom give it a second thought. And I should, because what God thinks of me matters a whole lot more than what my father-in-law thinks (no offense to him, of course). So even though I'm still a bit ruffled over the whole event, it really spoke to me. Now hopefully I can remember the lesson...

Psalm 139:1-12, 23-24
Lord, you have probed me, you know me:
you know when I sit and stand;
you understand my thoughts from afar.
My travels and my rest you mark;
with all my ways you are familiar.
Even before a word is on my tongue,
Lord, you know it all.
Behind and before you encircle me
and rest your hand upon me.
Such knowledge is beyond me,
far too lofty for me to reach.

Where can I hide from your spirit?
From your presence, where can I flee?
If I ascend to the heavens, you are there;
if I lie down in Sheol, you are there too.
If I fly with the wings of dawn
and alight beyond the sea,
Even there your hand will guide me,
your right hand hold me fast.
If I say, "Surely darkness shall hide me,
and night shall be my light" --
Darkness is not dark for you,
and night shines as day.
Darkness and light are but one.

Probe me, God, know my heart;
try me, know my concerns.
See if my way is crooked,
then lead me in the ancient paths.

Kolbe on the go

No, he's not crawling yet, but definitely rolling to get where he wants!! Today he was playing on his blanket in the living room (while sissy was napping mind you), and after much effort on his part, rolled off so he could get to her beads (shhhhh, I won't tell if you won't ;-D )!!

He was quite pleased with himself for accomplishing this feat, as you can see.

Blanket corners

A post about blanket corners...but not Gemma's!! (**for those of you who may be new, Gemma is incredibly obsessed with the corners on her blankie**)

Anyways, one of Aaron's aunts and her hubby recently finalized (praise God!) the adoption of a baby girl. I thought it would be fun to make her a little something, and decided on a light-weight blanket since it is summer. I have a one-layer flannel one I made for Gemma that Kolbe is using now in the crib, and I really like it. A pretty easy project, but I was still feeling a bit hesitant about mitering the corners of the blanket binding. This was only my second attempt, and I must say I'm very pleased with how they turned out. I had some great help from a YouTube video and a couple other websites. You know, I can read instructions until the cows come home...sometimes they make marginal sense, other times I'd just rather throw them away and not even bother. But let me watch you do it, or show me how by stepping me through it, and I'll have it down in no time. Just my style of learning I guess. At any rate, I was incredibly grateful for the clip I found on YouTube and some other pictorial directions, and feel like my project was a success.

Here is the blanket (36"x45") and a matching burp-cloth. I just loved the butterfly print and the colors (plus it was 1/2 off!!).
And a closeup of one of the corners.
I really liked the little daisy stitch, it's one of the fancy stitches on my machine, and I think it dressed up the binding and finished it nicely.

Cookies!

We try to keep things pretty healthy around here...whole grains, lean proteins, lots of fresh fruits and veggies, very few (OK, hardly any) processed foods. We do enjoy a handful of sweet treats, however. Gemma is hugely fond of "capo-chips" (chocolate chips), and I'm pretty cool with that as she's tickled to get a mere two or three for dessert. We also like ice cream, but as junk food goes I think ice cream is one of the better options. Health food? No. But better than swiss cake rolls and twinkies and things along those lines. Aaron surprised us and brought home a package of Oreo cookies a few weeks ago. We just don't keep things like this around the house, so it was a fun treat (that disappeared entirely too quickly). And Gemma got to try her first ever Oreo. I'll let you determine by the picture whether she enjoyed it or not!!

Sweet Kolbe

Kolbe was laying on our bed after I changed his diaper this afternoon and he started smiling at me and then reaching for me. It was sooo sweet, he really hadn't done that before (the reaching that is, he smiles plenty!). I had Aaron grab the camera and snap a few pictures. He is just the sweetest little boy. It is really neat seeing his personality begin to develop.

Funny things you may encounter at our house

The smurf also wanted some "green-shakey" for his snack. With a straw (Gemma's latest obsession).
See, I told you. She is officially obsessed.
And if you come to our house she will certainly offer you (and any other inanimate objects you might have along with you) at least one straw for your drink. Or just for posterity's sake, if I don't happen to offer you a drink. This picture amuses Aaron and I immensely. We think she looks like a little green insect.
Dinner is infinitely more exciting when served in an ice cube tray. It's all in the presentation, people.
She absolutely adores any opportunity to get her hands on my cell phone (and here my sunglasses also). She carries on very detailed pretend conversations that just make me smile.
I (finally) swapped our little spring bunny decorations out for my little ceramic Cherished Teddies bear wearing a patriotic sweater.
Where? you say. He actually is in there somewhere, believe it or not. Gemma was convinced he needed a snack (see chunk of chocolate Z-Bar), all of Kolbe's toys, and the picture of an ant that she colored over a month ago. That's what happens when you shake things up around here. She's going to have a fit when she gets up from her nap and sees that the wall clock is down so I can change the batteries. That's how we roll, though, folks; that's how we roll.

Kolbe - 5 months

Kolbe is five months old!! He is growing and doing very well. He rolls from tummy to back and back to tummy, he likes to play with and "chew" on his toys and is becoming quite attached to this fuzzy little froggy blanket he got as a baby gift. So much so that I actually ordered a spare to keep in the diaper bag! He is quite interactive with his smiles, coos and laughs. He is still a grunter, especially when he nurses and is falling asleep, and he continues to get louder as he gets older. It's pretty amusing. He still likes to fall asleep in the mei tai snuggled up against me (not a huge fan of rocking though), but naps in his bed, some days a solid three naps, longer in the morning and afternoon and a short evening snooze; and other days (like today) it's more hit and miss. Such is life. He sleeps a pretty good first stretch (from 8 or 9ish to anywhere between 1-3am) in his bed at night, and then is usually in bed with us the rest of the night. He seems to be pretty restless from about 5am on, and is typically up for the day around 7. He's beginning to outgrow the bassinet, and since he sleeps well with us or in his big bed I think it is time to pack it away :-/ Ahhh ages and stages...ever fleeting. Here's a pic of the handsome little guy on the day he turned five months. Yep, still no hair.

No words

I really have nothing to say to go along with this picture, but I hope it makes you smile ;-)

Gemma's house

Because every child needs a house built from a cardboard box at some point in their lives. A rainy Monday seemed as good a time as any for the activity.

Are my babies the only ones who do this?

So, is this normal behavior for a four or five month old?? Both my kids have done this. I just think it's hilarious. We call it their pilates, or crunches. Whatever it is, I would think it takes some tough abs!!

Kolbe at almost 5 months.
Gemma at 4 months.

Gemma and daddy

Some of you may have seen this on my facebook, but I just had to put it on here too. Aaron got home from work the other night and Gemma was eating dinner. He came over to give her a hug and kiss and tell her hello. She looked at him, smiled sweetly and said, "Daddy, you smell like a toot." Yep, that's our girl!

And while we're on the subject of Gemma and her daddy, here is a picture of Aaron sporting a hairstyle eerily similar to Gemma's.
Disturbing. I know. When we were cleaning out my grandma's house several years back we ran across some wigs, and my sister (who's a cosmetologist) decided to take them. She pulls them out occasionally for cheap thrills when the family is together. Never know upon whose head they'll end up next. They looked pretty amusing on the babies, but I didn't get any of those pics. I'm sure you can imagine.

That's enough goofiness for today. Have a great weekend, everyone!

New shirts

I got some new (well, Gemma's was a consignment find) shirts for the kids about which I am very excited. They wore them together for the first time today and I think they just look soooooo sweet. I sure love these kiddos. Even on days that are rough or frustrating or try my patience...I wouldn't trade it for the world.
(If the words are a bit obscured, Gemma's says "Big Sister", and Kolbe's says "Best Little Brother". I love the cute little bugs on his, too.)

Basement - before and during

When we bought the house, this is what greeted us in our basement.
Yep, more purple. Oh purple, how I have come to despise thee. Anyways, we've "lived" with it the past three years simply because we haven't spent much time in the basement. And other than the unsightliness of it when you walked past the stairs, it wasn't something we really had to see on a regular basis. I mean, the occasional trip to the basement for meat from the freezer was really it. Then we bought the piano and put it down there for my lessons, and then we had kids and decided the basement would make a good playroom, and I got my sewing machine and put it in the spare room down there, and, well, it was just high time to do something, ANYthing besides purple, with that area. So we're kind of in the middle of things. It's nice, with it being out of the way we (there's that elusive "we" again...by "we", I mean "Aaron") can work on it at "our" leisure. So it's about halfway there, with a projected finish date sometime around Fourth of July weekend. Here's the progress.
...and what's left!
I will not be the least bit tearful to bid adieu to the last drop of purple paint and last shred of wallpaper in this house. It will be an occasion of great joy!!

And here is Gemma with her stacking blocks. She did this with very little help and thought it was pretty cool.

Swimming

We took the kids to the gym for Kolbe's first swim yesterday evening. Both kids had a lot of fun, Gemma even learned to plug her nose and put her head "under", and by "under" I mean she would dunk it about up to her top lip. Haha. She tried ;-D I did hold her and go under with her once, and she was OK with that. Didn't take Kolbe under yet, although I think Gemma was about his age the first time I took her under. Maybe next time. It was a fun time for all of us. I decided with two parents, and two kids who needed held/supervised in the water it just wasn't worth it to bring the camera, so I snapped a few pics before we left of the kids in their suits. I got Kolbe's swim-shorts at the consignment shop I like to frequent, and Gemma's suit came from Kohl's. They are already clearing them out, and the 3T and 4T ones we had at home were BOTH on the small side. She is sooo long in the torso, this is a size 5!!! I was glad to find something relatively modest. You'd think it wouldn't be an issue with a two-year-old, but good grief!! No, I don't want my baby-girl wearing a string bikini, thank you. I don't know, I just don't think that's cute. Or appropriate. Just my opinion though.
Look at my big boy!
He was very fascinated by the bright-colored little fishies on his trunks.
As I mentioned before, we've been enjoying lots of time out in the pool on the deck. Here is Gemma before one of our morning "swims". Please ignore the horrid bed-head she's sporting. I had her stand by my plant so I could show you its progress. These were planted about two months ago, and as my friend Margaret warned me, the purple queen spike is indeed taking over. Poor begonias. It's a super-cool plant though, and I already have an idea of what I'm going to do with it next year (hopefully I can find one again).
CHEERS!

Look what I can do!

Kolbe rolled over (tummy to back) the first time on June 1. He is already quite good at it, and has done it dozens of times since!! Hasn't made it from back to tummy yet, but that will be soon enough I'm sure. I love the little onesie he has on here, besides all the little bugs it has a big bug on his bottom.
He's really taken a liking to that fuzzy froggy blanket, and often snuggles it in his sleep. So sweet.

Our week

I realized I haven't blogged much this week. Guess I just haven't found an incredible lot to have been blog-worthy, but alas thought I'd login for some quick updates.

We've been settling into a nice groove for the summer. Kolbe almost always naps for a fairly long stretch in the mornings, so Gemma and I have been taking advantage of that time (and the baby monitor) to play in the little kiddie pool on our deck. Well, let me amend that statement...I enjoy soaking up the sun, and she plays with the pool. The water is pretty chilly in the mornings, of which she's not a huge fan, so she sits beside it and pours the water back and forth, or has me throw her rings in and she walks in and picks them up. Or we play grocery store, and I have to make a beeping noise and pretend to scan her pool toys. Then I have to give her my debit card so she can scan it and push the buttons. All her idea. She has quite the imagination. At any rate, she's entertained, I'm getting a tan, Kolbe is well-rested, and we're all happy. Life is good. I say that a lot, I'm finding. "Life is good." But you know, it is. It just. is. We are blest indeed.
She's still head-over-heels for her bubby brother and is having a great time with him as he gets more interactive. She loves to play toys with him on the floor in the living room, and also loves to rock in the glider with him. I love how she leans her chin in to snuggle his head whenever I take a picture.
Gemma is essentially potty-trained. I am very proud of her. You know, maybe it won't be so easy or early with future kiddos, but with her it really was a breeze. I think it's just that she was ready, and because of that she really made the transition without a hitch. I still put her in a dipe at night and nap, but she rarely wets even then. And she is doing better at going, or rather "trying" and then just happening to go, when I make the request (IE if we're about to go somewhere, or right before bed). I've found it's all in how I word it. If I tell her she needs to go she balks, but if I ask her if she will try and see if any potties will come out and if not that's fine, she's there in a minute, and nine times out of ten has to go. Funny how that works. At any rate, I'm very proud of her, and actually pretty excited for myself to just have one in dipes! Makes it much more convenient (and less laundry, too!). It was getting a bit tedious changing her dipes, and she was wetting through almost every time, and the diaper bag was stuffed past capacity anytime we went somewhere, so in general it was just getting to be pain. It's been a good change for both of us.

We celebrated Aaron's birthday last week. Didn't do anything particularly out of the ordinary, but that's how we roll. I made him some brownies and we got him a new hat, some undershirts and some German sausage that he likes from a meat locker a bit west of where we live.
We sure have been enjoying the nice (albeit a bit warm now) weather, with grilling out, dinners on the deck, trips to the park, playing in the pool, and just generally enjoying the fact that we are a.) not all cooped up in the house day in and day out, and b.) not having to bundle up with coats, shoes and blankets every time we leave the house. I really do love this time of year. Spring and Fall particularly. Not a huge fan of the summer heat, but at least it is still easy enough to get out and about. Oh winter, bleh. Each spring I wonder how we survived, yet each winter we some how manage to make it through. Guess it makes us appreciate the nice weather all the more. Whatever the case, we're doing well and enjoying life in our neck of the woods. I wish you all the same! Thanks for checking in with us.

Learning together

I think I mentioned before that I'm starting to do some preschool/faith formation-type activities with Gemma. It's really fun now that she's getting old enough to understand those things. Anyways, we've been enjoying trying different things and seeing what we like and what does and doesn't fit for our family. Originally I thought we'd do a set time every morning that she and I would work together on things. I think she's just not quite old enough for that kind of structure yet, so we haven't been incredibly regular about that, but we do have all of our "school/learning"-type toys and manipulatives in the same place, and we enjoy pulling things out and working on them together here and there.

The prayer table seems to have been a really positive addition. It is a very visible sign of our Faith, and honestly it helps remind us to say our prayers. Gemma loves the candle (especially blowing it out), and knows that when it's lit, it's prayer-time. I found a neat little Rosary Book at our local Catholic store and we try to say a decade together each morning. Here was our table decorated for Pentecost. Gemma really liked the red candle, and was very concerned when she got up the following Monday morning and a green one was in its place. ;-D
"When you send forth your spirit they are created, and you renew the face of the earth." --Psalm 104:30

We also have a Scripture verse each week. I feel like as Catholics we have this wonderful gift in Sacred Scripture, and sometimes we rarely even open it, so hopefully this will help all of us to appreciate and learn God's Word - the Bible - a little more. I write our verse on a sheet of paper, and then read it to Gemma and let her help me decorate it. After that we hang it on the fridge and try to repeat it often throughout the week. Gemma's really surprising me at how well she can learn them. She does good at filling in the blank with the bigger words, and sometimes will even say an entire phrase herself. I'm trying to find a verse that goes with each Sunday's readings, and we get our new verse each Saturday. This also helps her prepare for Mass in her own little way. This week we talked about the Trinity and used John 3:16.
I have a bunch of the little St. Joseph's books (you can see the Holy Spirit one in the Pentecost picture above) from when I taught and I am SO GLAD I held onto them. They are really neat, concise little books with great pictures, and I seriously think there are probably 100 or more out there about many different Faith topics. I also organized all the saint and prayer cards I've accumulated through the years, and filed them in little ziploc bags by month, then I can pull each card out on its specific feast day and we have a little picture and saint or feast about which to talk.

Like I said, we're finding our way. I've enjoyed having the opportunity to talk to others/read others' blogs to help me along, and just wanted to share what is working for us. We are learning together for sure. They (whoever that is) always say the best way to really learn something is to teach it. Well, they're right.