TODAY
Out my window: Sunny, warm and windy. Supposed to be a big cool down tonight.
Clothing myself in: One of those days where I know I'm not leaving the house, so I'm dressed like I'm not leaving the house. We'll leave it at that. Looking forward to breaking out the hoodies tomorrow!
Around the house: Got all the kids' clothes out and ready for Fall (did I say that last week?), and have some of their warm-weather stuff packed away. It usually slowly dwindles out of their closets and we're completely done with the warm-weather stuff by November-ish. OH clothes. They are taking over my storage room.
The baby: I am convinced he just doesn't like naps. Seriously, I am lucky if he gets an hour a day (typically much less), and most of that time is spent with me either rocking or laying with him. He does go to bed early though, and sleep until a decent hour in the morning, so I am trying to make peace with the lack of naps. I find that if I set the bar low with my expectations, things go a lot better; because if I put him down expecting him to get a good nap and then he doesn't (surprise surprise), I am suuuuuuper grumpy when Aaron is home for lunch, and that's no fun for anyone. He also like to nurse. A lot. Some days (and nights!) it is endearing, some days/nights it is exhausting. He is not the world's greatest eater either, and he is my first who will not drink cow's milk at this age. Tricky, tricky babies. He has been pooping on his little "poop chair" lately though, so that's been nice.
He likes our toy broom a lot. He carries it all over. Weird? Now I just need to teach him to sweep a little more effectively.
The kiddos:
Gemma is on Fall break from school (PT conferences) and the poor girl is SICK. We were supposed to go to the Pumpkin Patch with some friends today so she was realllllly bummed to miss that, but I told her we'd try to go some afternoon. All she has is a fever and lethargy, no other symptoms really so hopefully it runs its course soon. We'll see if the boys get it too, sigh. It has been a low-key couple of days. Her conference went well, it sounds like she is doing well academically and socially at school and really thriving while she is there. I really enjoyed visiting with her teacher (Aaron was supposed to go with me, but ended up staying home since she was sick) and it made me glad all over again that she is at our Catholic school. Hearing about/seeing all that she does at school makes me really relieved we are not homeschooling. I just can't fathom that for our family now.
Kolbe is a three-year-old little boy. What can I say? He is so sweet though, he is always very remorseful for his mischief, which I find terribly endearing. The other night he was throwing food at the dinner table and I was calmly (amazing, right? doesn't always happen that way but I've been working on it...) trying to help him stop and the baby had the gall to sit in his high chair and just laugh his little head off every time Kolbe threw a piece. These next few years with two boys at home all day should be, um, interesting.
In the kitchen: Fish Tacos tonite with fresh avocados, and we had some flounder and shrimp (surf and surf) last night too. First batch of chili for the season last Monday (and I even made my own taco seasoning for it...easy and tasty) and some crock pot chicken, WW pasta and green beans earlier in the week as well. Up next week: Meatloaf, Chicken Tostadas, family bday dinner (spaghetti!) and baked salmon. Whatever fresh or frozen veggies that strike my fancy as sides...maybe some sweet potato fries too. Aaron has also decided to start refining/educating his beer palette so he's brought home some various tasty ales to try. Last night he ran to the liquor store after the kids were in bed and got some Ovila (Sarah, have you or Ryan had this?) and we had a "date". It was so nice (and the beer was very tasty).
Crafting: Nothing. At. All.
Learning: Ff week for Kolbe, with our typical letter of the week activities. We also made Angel Cookies for the Feast of the Angels and had some special activities for Sts. Therese and Francis this week as well. So many good Feasts the first week in October.
Reading: The New Evangelization and You, and I pulled out my copy of Hinds Feet on High Places earlier this week and have been reading from it. I really never re-read books, but this one is sooooooo good. I am thoroughly enjoying it the second time through. We've enjoyed several of our favorite picture books this week too: Pascual and the Kitchen Angels, Saint Francis and the Wolf, Fletcher and the Falling Leaves, May I Bring a Friend? and Too Many Pumpkins! I love reading books to my kids. Clem still isn't so much into books, but Gemma and Kolbe both really love being read to.
Watching: Every children's show we have recorded on the DVR, it seems, with Gemma being sick. Our latest children's faves around here are WordWorld, Wild Kratts, The Cat in the Hat Knows a Lot About That, Bob the Builder, Barney, Clifford and of course the age-old favorite, Little Bear. What are we missing out on? Anyone else have faves to share?!
Bringing me joy: Watching the kids at the parish picnic this past weekend, they had so much fun. Aaron and I are both what you would probably call introverts (hello understatement), especially when it comes to crowds, so the Parish Picnic isn't really our cup of tea, but we knew the kids would enjoy it and OH they did. I am sooooo glad we went, it still brings me joy thinking about the fun they had... Hoodie weather (to come). Reading good books. Playing in the basement with the kids. A "date in" with Aaron and just chatting with him. Good friends. A fresh haircut. Listening to Aaron read the Mo Willems "Pigeon" books to our kids. Meeting with Gemma's teacher, especially starting the conference off with a prayer gave me so much joy and gratitude.
Thinking about: Daily Mass. We have been going twice a week (when Gemma goes with her class) plus Sundays obviously. It is so hard. The boys are nuts. Gemma does fine on her own (and really Kolbe does too) but both boys + her (on Sundays) is often the recipe for a very bad nightmare in which you don't wake up. I know we are gaining grace and teaching our children about God and worship, but oh dear heavens it is just plain scaaaary bad some days... Stewardship and to what exactly we are being called to do as individuals and a family. Christmas. OOOHHHHHH holidays....
Pictures to share:
Gemma was so excited to get her face painted with a rainbow and butterfly at the parish picnic.
Kolbe was quite proud of the swag he won at some of the games. He carried it around almost constantly the first few days of the week.
Clem signing "more"
