Journal: Early October

TODAY

Out my window: Warm, muggy. Rain on and off earlier and more possible later today. It's been a warm Fall, but it's supposed to cool off again tomorrow.

Around the house: Aaron is juuuuuuuust about to wrap up his painting. OH man has that been a job. He is so meticulous, and it saved us a lot of money, but wowza. So much time. So. Much. Time. We will all be glad when this project is behind us. I have most of my Fall chores (cabinets, windows, blinds [shudder], etc.) finished and did some Fall planting on the deck yesterday. I was so excited that Lowe's had their big mums 50% off, and I was even able to find one that was just starting to open!! We should be able to enjoy it for a good long while until we have a  hard freeze (which at this rate, will be a good long while from now). We are currently trying to figure out what our best case scenario is for bedrooms in the not so distant future. Currently the boys share an upstairs bedroom, Gemma has her own upstairs bedroom, and the baby naps in the pack-and-play in the basement spare room where the glider is, and sleeps at night in our room. But she is about to grow out of the bassinet in our room, and there is the dilemma of where to put her to bed when she goes down at night. I nurse her to sleep downstairs, but I have this terror of putting her down in the basement at night and having the monitor malfunction and not hearing her when she wakes up the first time. Probably irrational, but the idea just freaks me out. So I put her in our room, but we are in and out, and the shower is in there so it's not exactly quiet. She does a pretty good job sleeping through noise though and now that the days are shorter, bright evenings and mornings aren't an issue. We will probably put the boys in the basement next summer, but then I am not sure where she will nap/go to bed. We were going to turn the extra bedroom upstairs into a homework room, but it may need to be a homework/baby room because I'm not sure if she will be old enough to share a room/bed with Gemma yet. Just trying to make the most of our space. That was quite a tangent....

The kiddos: Got the girls' pictures taken last weekend, and am hoping to take the boys in the next couple weeks. Can you tell the pic stitch app is my latest obsession?

The baby: She seems a little off today. Teething maybe? She had a really restless night and feels a little warm today and is definitely not herself. :-(  She is rolling over so much now and loves when I tip the bouncy chair forward so she can "sit up" in it. She loves interacting with Aaron and me and the kids and will hold a toy and "play" with it for quite a long time. I am trying to decide whether she will be in 6m or 9m clothes this winter. This is stressing me out more than it should. Eye roll.

In the kitchen: This past week's big meals were beef enchiladas (old recipe my cousin made growing up, with a homemade red sauce) with an awesome garlic cilantro lime rice, and honey chicken, mashed potatoes and steamed California blend. I also made veggie tortellini (ahem, Millie) and tuna patties for the priests. Up this week: chicken tetrazzini (with my own personal modifications) and French Dips. Hubby is making breakfast for dinner tonight.

Learning: Everyone has settled into their school years nicely, and conferences last week were a good affirmation that all is going well. We spent over an hour at the library this morning. I make trips to get stuff from the hold shelf around once a week, and will request specific things for them when they ask, but I only take them to browse themselves about once a month (they get to go weekly at school) and our last several trips have been great. I love their inquisitive minds and the things they want to look for. Kolbe has gotten really into graphic novels, which is a genre I had absolutely no appreciation for. I still can't bear to read them but boy they've sure gotten him excited about reading. But really, what seven-year-old boy wouldn't swoon over a book with the word "underpants" in the title, lol.

Reading: One of the priests I work for loaned me God or Nothing. I am enjoying it.

Watching: MLB. October is always exciting, even if our team isn't playing. New season of Gold Rush is gearing up.

Bringing me joy: Slanty Autumn light. November is on the horizon (I love November more than any other month I think, it's just magical). Pretty mums. A sleeping baby snuggling in my arms. Holy Mass. Good books. My kids, they bring out the worst in me sometimes, but they are also some of the most awesome people I know. Fall beer. Tasty food. Family and good friends. Coffee. A really great work schedule this year, and awesome people to work for and with. Life is good..

Pictures to share: This picture of my siblings and me is a couple months old but it cracks me up. We were trying to get a serious pic (which we got), but this one encapsulates the dynamics of our relationship so very well.

Journal: well hello there

So I took a little hiatus.  See sidebar for the big little addition to our family.  :-)
TODAY

Out my window: Hot.  Summer.  There is a piece of masking tape across the sliding door to remind people to "mind the gap" when they walk out, as we're having the siding redone and there is a plank out of the deck so they can get to the siding below.  No one in my family knows what "mind the gap" means so they look at me like I'm psychotic when I say it.  I think it's funny.  My potted flowers are staying alive as long as I water them, and I really like how they look on the deck this year.  The purslane has gone crazy.  As has the "tiny" tomato plant that our neighbor gave us.  It is almost as tall as the Japanese Maple (which is admittedly a smaller tree) and has started using the deck as a trellis.

Around the house: New siding is the big thing now.  And then Aaron will be painting. Gulp.  We ordered new chairs for the dining table as ours look like kids have been using them for the last 10 years.  Sigh.  We can't have nice things.  Weighing options for bedrooms once the baby gets older.  Right now she's in a bassinet in our room at night and a pack and play in the basement for naps.  She will grow out of the bassinet soon though so we'll probably bring the pack and play upstairs to our room since we have ample space and set the crib up in the basement for naps.  After that who knows.  The plan is to have a girls' room, a boys' room and a homework room.  Still debating who will use what rooms and which beds.  We have a year or so.  I got a new laptop about a month ago, so that's been pretty great (the other one was going on 7 years and, how shall we say, showing its age) and found a new purse that can fit a small diaper clutch and lightweight blanket (which is all we ever need, amazing how much lighter I travel with four than I did with one) along with my things I need.  I have found TJ Maxx to be a great place for quality purses (even nice label ones if you care about that sort of thing) at a fraction of the price. I also got some shoes for work and updated my Sperrys. 

The kiddos:  Not gonna lie, this summer has been kind of awful.  The fighting.  The loudness. (I think it is amplified and I become hyper-sensitive when there's a sleeping baby in the house.) Kolbe broke his arm so that put an abrupt end to baseball and swimming.  And a lot of other outdoor things that require throwing, catching, running, riding or climbing.  Which is pretty much everything.  The fighting.  Did I mention the fighting?  Holy moly, people.  We need the school year.  The structure brings us order and balance.  Or at least it cuts down somewhat on the insanity. Clem recently celebrated his fifth birthday, he had a great day.  He had been gearing up for his birthday for months and it didn't disappoint.

The baby: She's pretty great.  After 3+ months, guilt or sentimentality or something won out and I decided to order a baby calendar like the one I did for Clem.  Not a baby book, but a nice keepsake for milestones and such.  Hopefully I can fill in the holes in the first three months between my Facebook feed (lol) and a few notes I've kept on my phone.  Maura is an easy baby.  She's had some more restless nights the past week or so, but often only wakes up once or twice, which is unlike any other child I've had.  She naps pretty well, nurses well, burps and spits up a ton, smiles all the time, likes her hands, is growing out of the bouncy chair (she wants to sit up. ACK, slow down girl!!) enjoys the stroller and likes being worn.  She is easy-going with all the coming and going and even does decent with the noise (even so I still tend to get pretty psycho when the kids are loud while she is sleeping).  We love her.

In the kitchen: Sushi night (homemade) tonight and steaks out for our 11th anniversary last night.  Up this week: lasagna, hamburgers, some other sort of grilled food, probably a salad night.  I have some potatoes I need to use for a starchy side with something, for vegetables I am so boring and just steam a bag of something frozen nine times out of ten.  I realized how lazy I was when I was towards the end of my pregnancy and absolutely bemoaning the fact that I had to tip and tail green beans.  Hashtag lame.

Learning:  I downloaded summer packets for all three kids from Teachers Pay Teachers.  And that's as far as I got.  Didn't even get around to printing them.  Sigh.  They really loved them last summer and even worked on them some during the school year so maybe I will get around to it?  They have done lots of reading.  It's really cool having TWO very independent readers, and Clem really likes CD books.

Reading: I've been in a rut.  Currently making my way through Chiara Corbella Petrillo and Middle School General Music: The Best Part of your Day as I will be teaching a section of sixth and a section of seventh this year.

Watching: mainly MLB.

Bringing me joy: I am pretty excited about my work schedule this year.  I am still cooking for Father (even though he moved parishes, it was still neighboring enough to where we live to work out!) and I will still be teaching, albeit a scaled back schedule, as referenced above.  I will teach between 2-3 hours on a rotating schedule of two mornings one week, three mornings the following. I think it will be just right, and it brings me joy to be able to keep a foot in the working world (which I LOVED last year) while still being primarily at home with the baby and a half-day kindergartener, and my other kids after school each day.

Thinking about: Paths to holiness.  Keeping my patience in check.  Priorities.  

Pictures to share: 

The family on  July 4, after the annual parade.

birthday boy with his loot

happy girl

monthly couch pic!

Journal: settling into our new routine

Yes, it's been (almost) a month.  I know.  I think like only two people read this though, so as Pete the Cat would say, "it's all good."
TODAY

Out my window: Sunny and warm.  The days are definitely getting shorter though, and the heat is so much less intense even on the hot days.  We went to a local baseball game last evening, and the weather was so nice, despite being a warm day.  Hubby is watering our trees on the off chance that we don't get the rain that's being predicted for the next five days.  You just never know around here.

Around the house: My pumpkin spice candle is burning, because hey it's almost Fall!  Much as I despise winter, I really do love this season-changing time of year.  And there are so many fun things to do in Fall!  The candle is probably a bit premature, but it smells nice. I saw this idea on Facebook where you put coconut oil, pumpkin pie spice and some cinnamon in one of those little warmer things and I really want to try it.  I don't have a warmer but bet it would work in a small saucepan on the warming area on my stovetop.

The kiddos: They're all back to school!  And despite all the changes around here with me going back to teaching, I think this may be our smoothest start to a school year yet.  Gemma has settled in nicely, although homework is definitely not her fave.  Kolbe had a few rough mornings the first couple days of school but got past that and really seems to enjoy being there, and Clem has never looked back.  He was my first child to not have any tears on the first day of school (and my other two didn't even GO to preschool).  He loves it.  Runs up to the door with gusto and a huge smile on his face every day we drop him off.  I really hope (for his sake and mine) that this continues.  Makes the big change of having him (and me) gone in the afternoons much more manageable (for him and for me). 

In the kitchen: What's cooking here this week? 
Sunday: Grilled steak/jalapeno poppers, corn on the cob and some sort of wilted greens salad that I am still trying to figure out a recipe for....

Monday: French Dips and steamed broccoli

Tuesday: simple spaghetti with meat already in the freezer

Wednesday: lemon garlic chicken (new recipe I'm trying!) with fetuccini in cream sauce and steamed green beans

Thursday: salads (crispy chicken) probably, or leftovers

Friday: baked catfish and simple sides 

I am back to only cooking for one at the rectory, so that is a nice change, especially with heading back to teaching. 

Learning...how to juggle working and school and everything.  Really it's all good so far.  I didn't take into account how short my short days (Monday, Wednesday and every other Friday) were going to be, so that has been nice, still plenty of time around the house to be with Clem and get things done.  And I'm not there until around 9 on my long days, so even then mornings are still relaxed.  Or at least as relaxed as a morning can be trying to get two kids and Aaron out of the house.  The kids seem to be settling in with their respective school workloads and I'm sure they'll learn all kinds of interesting new things this year.  I have ample plan time built into my schedule at school, so I haven't had to do a ton at home (especially with all the work my partner and I did this summer), so that has been nice.

Reading: Um. Nothing. I did make a resolution at the beginning of the year to spend 15 minutes reading/meditating on Scripture a day, and this may very well be the first New Year's Resolution I am still sticking with come (almost) September.  And let me tell you, it has borne much fruit.  The kids and I are reading a book about Clare of Assisi at the breakfast table, and also The Saturdays.  Gemma and I just finished Understood Betsy, and I just don't know what we are going to do to follow that beautiful book.  It may be my favorite read-aloud yet.  And before that we read Caddie Woodlawn and its sequel, so I just really don't know where to go from here.

Watching: MLB mainly and a few other random things....like the back of my eyelids.

Bringing me joy: Confession.  New students.  The coming change in seasons.  Pretty flowers.  A date with my hubby on the horizon.  Doing puzzles with the kids.

Thinking about: lots.

Pictures to share:  

First day of school 2016.  Third grade, first grade and PK4yrs.  If you are friends with me on Facebook you've already seen these.  Sorry.

Journal: the long part of Summer

TODAY

Out my window:  Sunny.  Hot.  We have reached the historical "hottest part of summer" the next three weeks in these parts.  I looked out on the deck a bit ago and my poor vinca looked so sad.  Water.  Oops.  No rain in the 10 day, although we had an inch the other night.

Around the house: We got the kids' school supply lists last week and promptly hit the store for school shopping.  Sometimes I am probably too task-oriented, but it was nice to get it done.  The big kids both had a small handful of stuff from previous years they were able to use again this year, and I was pleasantly surprised at how small Clem's supply list was.  Maybe because we pay tuition for preschool they provide more supplies?  Who knows, but I was glad it consisted of about four things.

I purchased a small white-board to put menu planning on the refrigerator as I am so tired of answering the question "what's for dinner tonight/tomorrow, etc.?" fourteen times a day.  Or an hour.  Little things like this make me nerd-out wayyyyy too much.

 

The kiddos:  Clement celebrated his fourth birthday last week!  And he stayed four after his birthday this year!!! It was a fun, quiet day.  He requested strawberry shortcake again like last year, but mysteriously only ate the strawberries and cream off the top both times it was served.  We had cake for breakfast (it's tradition), hot dogs for lunch, and he had I think five? seven? helpings of meatloaf for dinner.  It is his favorite.  Kolbe had a ball game that evening.  Clem got some Hot Wheels cars and tracks including the loop the loop that they had been trying to create for months with their flat tracks (grin).  Finally, after eight and a half years of parenting, we have found a toy that our kids enjoy, don't tire of, and will play with, together, for literally hours (they have had a small amount of track since January birthdays that has gotten played with all the time, hence buying more for Clem's birthday). I feel so accomplished.  I truly never thought I'd see the day.

A funny story about Clem's birthday.  His godfather came up to him when we were over at my parents' and, speaking to him like a big man, pulled his wallet and a wad of $1s out and said, "so Clement, how many years old are you this year?" as he thumbed through the money.  Clement cocked his head, looked at him dead-serious and said, "oh, mayyyybe one hundred."  That kid!  We decided to start giving him allowance at 4, even though the older kids didn't get any until they were 5.  Those younger kids....  He defintely, as evidenced by the convo with his godfather, has a decent grasp on the concept of money.

And one more story, because I have no other place to keep record of this stuff: my parents (at my suggestion) got Clem some new jammies for his birthday.  Almost everything he has is hand-me-downs, so I thought he would enjoy some that were his very own.  They even got spidey ones!!  He was very polite and thanked them, but when we got home and he was in the shower I asked him which ones he wanted to wear to bed that night and he answered very seriously, "mom, can you just take them back please.  I really like the ones I have.  Just, take them back."  He was excited when I told him he could exchange them for a few more Hot Wheels tracks, so we had a fun shopping trip and he ended up being very happy with his present.

The kids (especially the older two...and me...) have gotten into puzzles lately.  We finished this 500 piece one in 3-4 days.  It was so much fun!!  Kolbe got some new clothes (I am hoping the athletic material will help keep at-bay his horrible neck stretching habit).  Can you tell which shirt is his favorite (these pics were taken on two different days)?

  In the kitchen: See aforementioned white-board. And don't ask me again.  ;-)

Learning:  I've been working on my online course and some lesson planning for the coming year.  I am getting so excited to get back in the classroom.  I've spent some time working at school and getting my room ready as well.  We've been diligent about our 20 minutes a day for the library reading program and I think everyone will hit their 60 days by the end of the program.

Reading: Academia.  Not much else.  Blah.  Academic reading is the worst.  Someone reminded me today that, "they get paid for writing, not content."  Truer words were never spoken.  Blah.  I'm almost 3/4s the way there though.  Once I muscle through next weekend's assignment I should be done.

Watching: Mainly baseball. Honestly not much else. Looking forward to some cozy nights watching Gold Rush with Aaron this fall.  The kids have enjoyed this summer's season of American Ninja Warrior.

Bringing me joy: My faith. Kind words. Connecting with old and new friends. Prayer.

Thinking about: Life and time, specifically our time here on earth. A seminarian from our diocese died in a tragic accident this past week and it has really made me reflect on how little control we have over our lives.  We give ourselves all these illusions of control (from keeping a clean house to meal-planning to a million other things), and especially with our littles still safely under our wings (for the most part) I know I get caught up thinking I have so much control over my life.  Not so much.  I am thankful that He who made the moon and stars cares deeply about me and those I love, and I pray that they may find consolation as they unite their sufferings with His.  God is good...all the time. Even in the midst of grief and suffering.  His will be done. In me and through me.

Pictures to share:  

Birthday hats were a much-anticipated part of this year's celebration. 
Even the stuffed animals got their own.

The sweet birthday boy.  Grandma surprised him with a cake at family dinner night.

Me and my honey.  We will celebrate 10 years of marriage this week.

Journal: ...and then it was Summer

TODAY

Out my window: Hot. An absurd amount of rain the past 72 hours.  But Summer is definitely here.

Around the house: I finally got myself set up with a non-paper calendar.  Let me tell you, old habits die hard, but I think it was the job and the obvious non-portabiity of my fridge (whose side housed my trusty paper weekly calendar/to-do list) that pushed me over the edge.  After a bit of deliberation and consultation with Facebook (because Facebook knows all), I decided to go with GoogleCalendar, since I'm already using Gmail and GooglePlay. I like it.  Quite a bit.  I still have my weekly chore list on the fridge, but I converted it into a 10 week format (oh my word, I can feel people rolling their eyes) and my monthly/quarterly chore list on paper as well, but Google can keep track of my calendar events and "to-do" list (with the "reminders" function) quite nicely, and I don't miss the paper calendar a bit!  Can't believe it!!  Now to do some clothes shopping......

Finally got around to putting the hummingbird feeder out and got a few more anuals for the deck now that all the pansies and spring flowers are done.

Working on: I've spent some time in my classroom this past week starting to plan and get things in order and that's been exciting overwhelming good.  I took a one-day class last week for one college hour, and I have a 3hr online course coming up in July.  The one-day class was seven hours with my butt in a chair and about another 2 hours working on the assignments.  Not bad at all.  Hopefully the online course is equally doable.  Apparently when I signed up for these courses though it enrolled me in college, which automatically deferred and then restructured (after I called to request an un-deferment) the term of my student loan.  Sigh.  And no one can seem to give me an answer as to why this happened and how to get it back to how it was before they deferred and completely restructured it without my consent.  Blah.  The balance on it is pretty low (as is the interest rate, that's why paying it off hasn't been a huge priority), but at this point I think we're just going to pay it off and be done with it.  Once the dust settles from whatever is going on now.  I don't even know that I could trust anyone to give me the right pay-off number or make sure the payment is actually applied correctly at this point.  Ugh.

 

The kiddos:  They're having a good Summer!  So far we've had Art Camp, VBS, are in the midst of baseball for Kolbe, and are sneaking up on two weeks of swim lessons.  It's been great, enough to keep us busy and productive and out of trouble, but not so much that we're running around like crazy headless chickens.  We are members at the YMCA now, and their water park has been so great!  The kids are old enough that I am comfortable taking them all three by myself, which I would never consider doing at a traditional pool with shallow and deep ends.  The zero-entry, general shallowness and abundant life guards are such a great setup. So grateful!

In the kitchen: Menu is the other thing I'm still keeping track of on a paper calendar, but I already had a paper monthly calendar in my laundry room that wasn't getting much use so that works out great (quit rolling your eyes).  Up this week: shredded chicken soft tacos; crispy chicken salads (we've had some tasty homegrown lettuce...given to us by others...makes me want to grow lettuce next spring); goulash; other stuff (things always get a little dicey the later in the week it gets).  I'm back to cooking for three at the rectory for the next two months.  Three grown men.  Heaven help me.

Learning:  I have scaled back my learning loops/computer time incentives because it was too complicated, haha. I can complicate anything.  Instead, I found these great printable packets (like, 60-100 pages each) that bridge from KDG-1st (Kolbe) and 2nd-3rd (Gemma) on Teachers Pay Teachers (Moffat Girls, if you're interested) for under $10 a piece, and they are awesome! They include math, reading comp, phonics, grammar and a bit of writing.  I staple them into smaller packets ranging from 4-7 pages and the kids can complete a packet and exchange it for 30 minutes of laptop time, twice a week.  It's working out well.

Reading: Ready to start the third Ralph Mouse book with all three kids, currently we're reading The Bears on Hemlock Mountain and also a book about St. Damien of Molokai. I am reading He Leadeth Me.  It is wonderful. Just today I pulled my Saints of the Roman Calendar book back out.  So many great saints and martyrs the two weeks leading up to July 4. We're looking forward to praying the Litany for Liberty as a family again. Letter K picture books for Clem, and next up letter A (which will include fun things like apples and alligators and some of our favorite African tales).  I got a bunch of Philip Stead picture books from the library this past week as well.  Kolbe has been enjoying Eric Carle lately, and Clem will be getting some CD books (which he looooves) for his fourth birthday coming up NEXT MONTH!!  All three kids are enjoying keeping up with the Summer Reading Program at the library. Sorry for the lack of links.

Watching: MLB, American Ninja Warrior, nothing much of note

Thinking about: Planning for the school year.  I've been vacillating between giddy excitement and panic attacks over the prospect of heading back to teaching, but when it's all said and done I am really excited to get back in the classroom.

Pictures to share:  

VBS, baseball and some gardening.  Happy Summer!