Journal: sick

TODAY

Out my window:  Cloudy, breezy and cool.  Very fall-like, and it's not supposed to get out of the sixties for most of the next week.

Clothing myself in:  Grey sweats and a t-shirt.  I got some new sweats and a couple sweatshirts (exciting, I know) from Old Navy that I'm sure I'll get to try out this week.

Around the house: Oh my, have our children been sick.  It started a week ago Thursday, early in the morning, when Gemma started running a fever.  Then, she seemed better, and then she was sick again, and then she went back to school Tuesday and Wednesday, and then Thursday she was so sick she literally slept all day.  I *think* *hope* *pray* she is better for good now.  The boys...same story.  This is the virus (I assume) that will not leave.  Not too many symptoms besides fever and lethargy.  Both big kids' ears were a bit red but have since cleared, and Gemma had a cruddy cough and Kolbe a croupy one, and the baby threw up several times the first day he was sick...whenever that was...It has been a week.  I was able to run a couple errands yesterday afternoon when Aaron was home, so that was nice.  We picked out the clothes that we'll wear for family pictures next weekend (if we are well and photographable by then).  What else?  Not much, not much...

Oh yes, I've had my eye on this crucifix for quite some time now, and recently needed to make a purchase from Autom so I added it on and it has since come.  I like it a lot for prayer-time/our liturgical decorations on the kitchen table, as it's a bit bigger/sturdier than the other one we had. 

 

The baby:  Is super-snuggly when he is sick and has slept a lot more than his usual nothing-ish during the day.  He has also started "hitting", aka rambunctious toddler-boy behavior.  Lots of redirection and "give me fives" and reminders for "soft, gentle touches".  He is growing up so much, it's ridiculous.  Pretty soon I probably need to change the heading of this category to "toddler"...

 

The kiddos:  By Friday Gemma was champing at the bit for our friends to drop her schoolwork off and started working on it immediately after it came.  She also told me how excited she was to go back to school.  I was glad to hear this.  She is pretty matter-of-fact about school, not really loving or hating it, so I was glad to hear she missed going.  She will get her "report card" next week, and has Adoration at school this week.  Gemma is also very into nature, each time she is outside she comes back with leaves, flowers, acorns etc. so I had her start a nature journal notebook.  We'll see if her enthusiasm for it continues.

I have been meaning to document this here, whenever Kolbe wants you to hold him he asks you to, "come sit on my lap, mommy (or daddy)."  It's so cute!  He has been one sick little dude, he literally slept almost non-stop (albeit restlessly) from 5PM yesterday until about 3 this afternoon.

Both big kids are scheduled to start Catechesis of the Good Shepherd classes this week.  I do not think Kolbe will make his first class, sadly.

In the kitchen: Fried Chicken (store bought, I know...) tonight; have the fixin's all ready to put together a taaaaasty meat and veggie lasagna tomorrow; something easy (quesadillas?) with broccoli salad; linguine or some other shrimp dish; whatever else I feel inspired to make, that's the loose menu for the week.  I will probably make some more whole-grain banana choco-chip muffins as well, the kids really enjoy those for breakfasts and snacks.

Crafting: Noth.ing.

Learning:  We managed to get in a few Gg week activities last week and did a neat Rosary activity a friend brought by (since we had to miss out), but all in all things were pretty subdued.  Gemma is learning about bats at school, and has been bringing home word lists to learn sight words and her phonics decodable words.  She has learned about Creation, Jonah, and it appears they are working on Noah now.  I am beginning to see her making some bigger strides in her reading which is exciting.  I am so excited for her to get to the point where she can sit down and read (and understand!) books all on her own.  Her teacher puts together a little newsletter online with their lessons/objectives for the week, so it is nice to see what she is working on and do some enrichment things at home as we're able.

Reading: Almost to finish The New Evangelization and You.  The last few chapters have been great, very inspiring.  For Gg week we enjoyed Chavela and the Magic Bubble, Days of the Blackbird (a story about a girl named Gemma), Growing Vegetable Soup and The Gingerbread Man.  Gemma got her materials for BookIt! and has already read (been read to) her goal of 8 books for the month. 

Watching:  MLB playoffs, lots of Little Bear with sick kids, I discovered the show Little Einsteins, and have really enjoyed it with the kids too!  A couple Pawn Stars are on the DVR queue ready to watch, we have been watching this show on Sunday nights sometimes called Alaska: The Last Frontier, and it's pretty neat.  Less than two weeks until the Goldrush season premiere!!!!!!!!!  Yes, I'm really that excited.  

Bringing me joy: A quiet Mass and witnessing the Baptisms of some new parishioners.  Kolbe's speech teacher telling me what a pleasant kid he is.  Working on Gemma's homework with her.  Cute new soft-sole shoes for my little toddler.  Spending a fun Tuesday afternoon with the kids when everyone was healthy for a whopping 3 hours!  Beer dates "in" with Aaron.  Snuggling my sick kiddos.

Thinking about: Charity.  Evangelizing. 

Pictures to share:  

I took these a couple weeks ago for our frames in the hallway.

Being very silly.

Journal: Fall break

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"

Ready for Spring...and baseball

Even though we had a mild winter, we are still sooo ready for Spring around here, and quite pleased that the weather seems to be warming up (albeit a bit rainy currently).  One nice day in late February the kids had their first picnic lunch of the season on the deck.

Gemma's great-grandma picked up this sweatshirt for her at the thrift-shop at which she volunteers, and Kolbe is running around excitedly talking about "beesball"!  

Everyone was excited about new spring jammies (have I mentioned I have a thing for cute jammies?)!!

YAY Spring!!!

Feast of St. Nicholas 2011

It is really neat - as the children get older - to watch various traditions develop in our family.  St. Nicholas is one of those really fun traditions.  Gemma made sure all our shoes were set out on the fireplace well before bedtime (actually, it was even before dinner I think) on the eve of the Feast of St. Nicholas.  

And as expected, St. Nicholas left some fun treats.  Candy canes and M&M's, some fancy buttons in Gemma's shoes (she loves playing with buttons), a book for each child, and a board for building with their duplo-blocks.

 

And if that wasn't enough, after examining the treats at the fireplace, they headed over to the deck door to realize there was a very light dusting of new-fallen snow!

Gemma begged and begged and begged and begged and begged to make a snowman.  Since daddy is off on Tuesday mornings, and is pretty much the best daddy in the world, he took her out to play for a bit.  No snowmen were built (imagine), but he said she had fun playing abominable snow monster with the buckets of snow he scooped up for her.  It's the little things!

"Signing time"

Signing Time has fast become one of our favorite DVD series.  Gemma really enjoys watching them, and even Kolbe has been getting more into them lately as well.  If you haven't watched them with your kids, check your local library; they really are pretty awesome...a good combination of fun and education.  Here is Gemma signing "shoes" and wearing her daddy's shoes!

Monthly update - August 2011

Gemma Grace - 3 yrs, 7 months.

• she has discovered dress up clothes
• she can write most of her uppercase letters and her name with a little help
• her legs are full of summertime bruises
• I have caught her saying "mommy, I love your dinner" several evenings when we're eating.  I thought I'd never live to see the day...
• speaking of thinking I'd never live to see the day...she requested pigtails one day...and actually followed through!!!!  but it was short-lived.  she took them out after a few hours and hasn't wanted them since.  I do have pictorial proof however.
• she's very good at riding her tricycle
• not only is she biting her fingernails, but her toenails as well. ugh.

 

Kolbe James - 19 months

• he is starting to understand the concept of puzzles and likes to do our farm animal chunky puzzle, complete with making all the animal noises himself!
• still not talking, except for "ball-ball", but as mentioned above, he does well with animal sounds.  his latest two are the lion and the snake
• he understands a lot and still uses a handful of signs, so this helps a lot with communication
• he likes to copy whatever big sis is doing, and often gets quite upset if it's something he can't do (IE play with markers)
• he is still pottying consistently at least once a day in his potty chair.  his awareness amazes me.  Gemma never had that with potty until she learned to use the potty full-time.
• he got his first full haircut...top and everything
• he has started enjoying books more, and will sit and look at them on his own for awhile if they interest him, and even sit for longer spans when I'm reading to Gemma
• he still doesn't have any of his eye teeth. grrrrrrrrrr, come on teeth!!!
• he looooooves "helping" me unload the dishwasher

Really a pretty slow month all in all, not much new I guess!  We're enjoying the cool(er) weather.  Still spend some time in the kiddie-pool on the deck after naps, but not as much now that it's not as hot (we were hitting it every day there for awhile).  We've taken several trips to the zoo, the jungle is always a fave!  We enjoy evening walks and time at the park.  We have two new cousins...little baby boys, one on each side of the family.  Gemma and Kolbe have started playing (fairly) well together for longer periods of time which is super great.  Sometimes Gemma even invites (errr, demands) that Kolbe come play in her room.  At any rate, it is good to see them entertaining eachother more and more.  As always, life is good at our house. 

Gemma - 3yrs 7 months and Kolbe - 19 months in their jammies

A Charlie Brown Christmas

Gemma got this Charlie Brown Christmas book as an Advent gift from her grandparents. She has really enjoyed it the past few weeks. It is one of the nicer "push the button interactive" books I've seen (and the only one we own). Anyways, when I saw that A Charlie Brown Christmas was going to be on TV I decided to DVR it so we could show Gemma. She enjoyed it, as you can see. I was nursing Kolbe to sleep while we watched and Gemma decided to snuggle right in. Sweetness.

Kolbe - 10 months

Kolbe is ten months. Really? He'll be a year in two months?? I still can't believe how quickly time seems to fly. He's had a big month...he has all eight of his teeth in this first round of teething (still not sure when that happened...), and while they've caused him some grief, it hasn't been unbearable (apparently,since I have no idea when the last two showed up). Molars are up next, we'll see how he does with those. This. Boy. Can. Eat!!! He eats mainly finger-foods now, definitely prefers feeding himself to being fed (hallelujah!).
He started crawling on 10/25. He likes outlets, cords, nightlights, and other things like that. ;-D Keeps me on my toes!! He enjoys playing with balls and will "throw" them around and get very excited, chase them and do it all over again. So cute. He has started liking to nurse/be rocked to sleep which is a change for him (who previously was very partial to being worn to sleep). I still wear him in the mei tai frequently, but rocking to sleep is quickly becoming the regular method. It's nice and relaxing and gives me a brief break from things where I am forced to just sit and relax (or fall asleep) and enjoy his baby-ness. It is good. He comes in with Aaron and I anywhere between 11pm and 4am (whenever his first waking is) and stays with us for the rest of the night. Recently he will stay crashed out with Aaron after I get up in the mornings (cue "hallelujah" again), and even sleep for awhile (supervised) after Aaron is up as well. He's sooooo snuggly. LOVE it!!
He is down two solid (or not so solid ;-D) naps a day and is ready for bed around 7:30p.

He has finally figured out the sippy cup (with help) and thinks water is pretty good stuff. Nurses a handful of times during the day and when he's sleeping with us. LOVES bathtime, especially with big sis (and she enjoys his company in the tub and even requests he take a bath with her). He's crazy though, WOW. He likes to play the "let's see if I can give mom ten heart-attacks in a row" game most of the time. I can see him growing out of his babyhood and quickly towards toddlerhood and it makes me happy and sad all at the same time. I love that he and Gemma are becoming better friends everyday (except when she hits and bites or smothers him, AGH) but I am sad that my days of having a little snuggle-bug of a baby are fleeting. Each age and stage is fun and challenging and exciting in it's own rite though, so I'm just going to hang on and try to enjoy the ride! Happy ten-months bubby boy!

Monthly pic with sis
Ten months...before diving madly off the sofa into my fingernail...
And after.
He's definitely all boy!

'Tis the season...

...for FOOTIE JAMMIES!!!!!!!!!! YAY!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Yes, that was Gemma in the crib. It is her favorite place to put her pajamas on. Weird. I know. But whatever.

More jammies

As a follow-up from last post's jammies pictures, here are a few more (current ones). I just love jammies. ;-D

What I want to know is when on earth she turned into such a big little girl?!! I think she looks very grown-up in this picture.
And my sweet, sweet, snuggly Kolbe-boy. I got these last year before he was even born. I have an inkling they may be too small by Halloween.

Autumn comparisons

Another batch of comparison pics of the children at the same ages. I think it is funny that I am wearing the same sweater in both of these pictures. I haven't changed a lot, I think my hair is a little shorter now (but it's growing ;-P) and maybe I have aged some in the face (gasp).

Gemma (October 2008 @ 9 months) and mommy
Kolbe (September 2010 @ 8 months) and mommy

And some jammies pictures. The yellow giraffe jammies Kolbe is wearing were Gemma's, and I thought they were the ones she was wearing in her pictures, but apparently it was a different yellow pair. Still cute comparisons though. I think it is sweet that they are both holding the bumper on the crib. I did not even know until after I took Kolbe's and got ready to post them on here that Gemma was doing the same thing.

Gemma (September 2008 @ 8 months)
Kolbe (September 2010 @ 8 months)
Gemma
Kolbe

Autumn/Winter clothing 2010

After a few chilly mornings here in Kansas, I decided it was time to pull out the children's fall and winter clothes and get them washed and put away in closets/dressers so I could take inventory of what we have and what we need. In doing so, I realized Kolbe had absolutely no short-sleeve t-shirts. He's worn rompers all summer, so we really didn't need any. I checked Target to find nothing, and then hit the jackpot at the consignment shop I frequent (where I happened to have some store credit), so I was pretty excited. Here is a preview of some of their new (or new to them anyways) things!

My little man...so handsome!
Silly girl, sporting some new pants!
YAY!!!! Footie-jammies!!
And a comparison, of Gemma and Kolbe wearing one of our few gender-neutral pieces at around the same age.
Gemma (late September 2008)
Kolbe (early September 2010)