Journal: late August

TODAY

Out my window: Wet deck, about 1/2 inch of rain overnight. It's been a wet and fairly moderate August, although soooooo huuuuuumid. I told Aaron if we lived in the Pacific NW I think I'd need to find  a new hairstyle because I really despise my hair when it's rainy. I digress. I've really been enjoying my potted flower garden on the deck this summer. Can't believe we're only 4-6 weeks out from pansies and mums! I'll miss my annuals. I learn something new about a variety of plants each year and it has been really fun to experiment with different plants and what works well and what I probably wouldn't repeat again. Already thinking about next summer, and hoping to find a few more spots in the yard for annuals as well. Aaron does most of the landscaping, but he said he'd be willing to make some room for some things for me, so we'll see!

Around the house: Not much. We switched bedrooms around pretty extensively this summer, which has helped us make much better use of our space. The boys each have their own room upstairs, and the girls are sharing the big basement bedroom. It gets better...if Maura wakes up during the night (most of the time she sleeps through the night), nine times out of ten Gemma gets up and resettles her. We still have the issue that the boys sleep upstairs but shower downstairs, and Gemma sleeps downstairs but showers/does hair etc. upstairs. Trying to figure out the best way to make that process a little less of a mess.

We also got a smart TV this summer, so we're planning to set the old one up in the basement family room for the kids to use with their Nintendo and a DVD player. Currently most of the time they spend watching/playing though is when the baby is sleeping (in the basement) so we're not in a huge hurry to get that set up for obvious reasons.

The kiddos: Back to school is treating us well. It always does. The routine is good for us. Gemma is playing volleyball this Fall, her first sport! She's only had one practice so far, but she's enthused about playing, and she is going to give basketball a try this winter. She also is back at her piano lessons after some time off over the summer. She's pretty disciplined with her practice, and seems to have a good amount of natural ability. I enjoy hearing her play. Kolbe  may do a baseball tournament this Fall and we're hoping to get him on a basketball team as well. We'll probably wait until baseball next summer for any sports for Clem. Three in basketball this winter sounds fun but a little cRaZy...

The baby: She is the happiest kid. Pure joy. That said, she seems to be battling a cold and teething this weekend, which is making her sleep a little less great than it usually is. Each thing on its own has never seemed to bother her, but I think the cold and that final molar combined are giving her a rough time. She's getting lots of words: mama, daddy, dinner (which she pronounces "da-DOON-duh") blueberry, Max (our dog), Jesus, cheese, pray.....she repeats a lot as well.

In the kitchen: Green salads with chicken tonight. Typically I make two big meals a week (Monday-Friday...weekends vary), a smaller/simpler meal on Friday, and then we supplement with leftovers/Aaron cooking/hot dogs/frozen pizza, etc. the rest of the week. Up this week are chicken tetrazzini (I typically add spinach, onion and garlic, and put some cheddar and a more substantial amount of white wine in the roux) and shepherd's pie (technically cottage pie since I use ground beef). Looking ahead at Friday...maybe another pan of chile rellenos? Hatch green chiles are in season and I have a recipe that's so much better with fresh chiles.

Reading: Finishing up Cardinal Sarah's God or Nothing. It has taken me absolutely forever to read, partially because I've read several other things while reading this, and partially because sometimes I'm just not motivated. But the end is amazing, especially his insights on prayer, and the beginning - about his childhood in Africa - was so interesting. Definitely a worthwhile read. Need to decide what to read next. I want this set for Christmas.

Watching: Not much. I crash within about seven minutes of hitting the couch most nights.

Bringing me joy: Maura. Being back to work. Kids back in school. Playing piano. Prayer. Good books. Coffee. Wine. Cooking. Life.

Thinking about: The Church.

Pictures to share: Clem got to bring home the traveling class pet and journal this week. Gemma took this picture on her camera. She takes some really good pictures!

Journal: Ten minutes

Going to see if I can get through this in ten minutes...
TODAY

Out my window:  It was h.o.t. today, after a very cool last week.  This weather.  Spring would be nice.  But I'll take this over the cold.  Currently the kids are in bed, Aaron is mowing, I'd rather be reading but thought I'd update.  Quickly.

Clothing myself in:  Jammies.  It's after 8 people, that's what you get.

Around the house: We have a family of Baltimore Orioles that lives, I think, in our neighbor's backyard.  They love our deck.  They eat at our hummingbird feeder and knock on our windows (for real, it woke us up one morning).  Territorial much?  Makes for some fun bird-watching.  We've seen numerous hummingbirds already.  Don't think we've ever seen them this early. 

 

The baby/toddler:  He climbs.  Today I found him up on his changing table and asked Gemma why she had put him up there.  She hadn't.  I also watched him climb all the way UP the big slide at the park.  The big slide that, at before 2, our other kids were just starting to go DOWN.  I watched him do it the first time and he struggled at the top.  I stood by, but did not help him, hoping he would get frustrated and give up.  Nope, he figured it out and scaled it another 5-6 times quite quickly.  He keeps me on my toes.  He loves to yell "cheeeeeeese" when he sees a camera.  If I say, "one", he says "two".  And "ready, GO" is a favorite phrase.

 

The kiddos:   So much outdoor play.  Makes me happy.  Makes everyone happy.  They've been fishing a lot.  They can both get a fish off the hook and toss it back in the water on their own (we removed the barb from Kolbe's hook so he wouldn't injure anyone, himself included, too badly).  

Gemma's last day of school is Thursday.  Really looking forward to having her around more and the change in pace this will bring.  Apprehensive about lunches.  That is always a batty time of day for my kids.  So much food to prepare in a day, sometimes I feel like I barely finish one meal and it's time for another.

In the kitchen: Speaking of food...  I made a yummy seafood alfredo last week with homemade alfredo sauce.  It was pretty tasty.  We have found these bags of seafood at Kroger that have octopus, squid, mussels and a little bit of shrimp.  I used a bag of it and added about another half bag of straight shrimp and OH it was good.  Honey Chicken last night, leftovers/black bean quesadillas tonight.  Meatloaf and baked salmon coming up later in the week.  And some salads. 

Crafting: Sewing autograph pillows with the kindergarteners last week!  Lots of fun!!!

Learning:  Got a rough summer "learning" schedule made up for Gemma.  A few Kumon workbooks, math facts, reading (summer reading program starts this week!!), computer time and handwriting made the list.  Divvied stuff up with her so she just has 2-3 activities per day.  Still debating about doing stuff in mornings or afternoons.  Leaning towards morning.  Not sure whether to take a little break once school is out or just jump right in.  My kids like routine...

Reading:  Finishing up Unbroken.  It was really good, I learned a lot about WWII, at least the war on the Pacific Front anyways.  I'd say more, but I know one person who is planning on reading it and don't want to spoil anything.  Started All of a Kind Family Uptown with Gemma. tonight.  Kolbe asked me to get him some books about tornadoes and volcanoes from the library so I did, and we picked them up Saturday after swim.  The kids were sitting around the living room looking at them and he hollered in at me, "mommy, these books are AMAZING!"  Made my day.

Watching:  Some Royals MLB.  A couple episodes of Survivorman: Bigfoot.  Most compelling sasquatch evidence I've seen to date.  Nothing much else of note.

(I am already past ten minutes and hubby just came inside, I need to wrap this up.)

Bringing me joy: My family.

Thinking about: Some of the punky things I have done in the past.  If I did or said or posted something punky to you (directly or indirectly), I am sorry.  I don't know why I've been thinking about this lately, but I have.  My communication skills suck sometimes.  I'm getting better.   I hope.  ;-)  Anyways, communication -- and my ability to do so appropriately and in a Christ-like manner -- has been on my mind.  I am a work in progress. 

Pictures to share:  

Journal: Christmas Eve

TODAY

Out my window:  Dark, cold, about 3 inches of snow on the ground.  Pretty.  It should be a white Christmas in these parts.

Clothing myself in:  Grey sweats, turquoise sweatshirt.  Since it's Christmas eve I will change later.

Around the house: Wrapped our last gift last night.  Well, except one I'm still waiting on to arrive...

 

The baby:  Sweet as ever.  He has been napping so much better the past month or so, it's been really nice.  I think he's ready for a big-boy bed, but we really don't want to buy one as the baby room is kind of a dedicated baby room (read: we wouldn't have anywhere else to keep it) and I don't feel like collapsing the crib, etc. etc.  I'd convert the crib to a toddler bed, but I can't lay in it with him and to me that kind of defeats the purpose. 

 

The kiddos:  Gemma got one of those bracelet maker Fun Loom things from her godmother for Christmas.  That girl is going. to. town.  I was kind of surprised she caught on so quickly.  The box says "8yrs and up" and even though she is into that kind of stuff I still thought it might be tricky for her.  I mean, when I was trying it out the night before (after kids were in bed) so I could help her with it the next morning, Aaron suggested I rename it the Dammit Loom.

Kolbe is so full of Christmas cheer, he is adorable.  He is my Christmas carol kid (LOVE hearing him sing) and Frosty the Snowman has hands-down been his favorite show of the season. 

In the kitchen: Spaghetti last night, which is a fave with everyone around here!  Aaron is carving up the Christmas Sushi today, and he'll be running the smoker on Thursday.  The rest of the week will work its way out and there will be no shortage of good things to eat I'm sure.

Crafting: ehhhhhhh, after the above comments about the loom I think I ought not claim anything here.  The salt dough ornaments are complete though, another successful year of ornament  making with the kids.

Learning:  Each day over break I'm having Gemma choose two things (her choices are math, reading and handwriting) to work on during homework time.  I googled "Common Core Kdg Math Worksheets" and was thrilled to come up with a ton (click here) that align with the standards, so I printed all stuff I know they've worked on at school.  (Strangely?) she has really been liking those and has chosen one every day.  I figured we'd just keep our regular routine (which includes hw each afternoon) over the break, and that seems to be working out well.

The little elves wrapped all the salt dough ornaments and got them labeled correctly (I hope!) so we are good to go! 

Reading:  I started A Certain Small Shepherd with Gemma, and hope to finish it sometime soon.

Watching: We started a special on The Vatican last night on H2.  I was a little dubious, because I do not typically trust the History Channel's angle on things that involve the Church and Jesus Christ.  The first part of it was interesting enough, but then I fell asleep.  Lame.  So the jury is still out, indefinitely probably.

Bringing me joy: Advent.  I love this season so much.  Family.  The snow.  Parish Mission.  Playing with the kids.  Coffee with a friend.  NPR Christmas music and my Advent at Ephesus CD.  Cozy fires in the fireplace.  Bedtime, I love the kids but I love when they go to bed too and the house is quiet...and then I pass out of exhaustion before I can really truly enjoy it.

Thinking about: Getting the kids up for the day.  Time to sign off!!

Pictures to share: 

We have some construction going on near our house, the kids thought the dirt piles were awesome!

Anyone need some size large Thirsties diaper covers?  $30 for the lot of six, excellent condition (they have just never fit my kids quite right).

"D" week

I am really enjoying our weekly books, as is Gemma and even Kolbe is beginning to enjoy "big kid" books more.  It is so nice having some rhyme and reason for the books we check out at the library.  We keep a handful of ones that Gemma picks out in the basket in her room to read at nap and bedtime and such, but our letter ones go on the fireplace to enjoy throughout the week and specifically during circle time.  There are so many good books out there.  For kids and adults alike.  So many good books.  I heart books. Some of our favorite "D" week books were:

Make Way for Ducklings

How do you Count a Dozen Ducklings

Dilly Dog's Dizzy Dancing

Curious George's Dinosaur Discovery

If you give a Dog a Donut

Duck at the Door

Webster J. Duck

Harry the Dirty Dog

Daniel and the Lions

So many ducks!!  We did a fun duck craft.

Our verse of the week was "Do to others whatever you would have them do to you." which was very good for Gemma to learn (and hopefully remember).  We also had a fun song to help us learn the verse from our Bible CD set that is similar to this one.  Here are the kids playing the maraca I made while we sang one day.  I need to make another one so they don't fight over it.  ;-D

For religion we read the story of Daniel and the Lions and painted this picture.

We also celebrated the Feast of Our Lady of the Rosary (October 7). I printed off a coloring picture of the rosary and Gemma used small stickers for the Hail Mary beads and large stickers for the Our Father beads.  She had a lot of fun with this and did a very good job.

And a few more snapshots from our week:

Gemma in what she calls her "party dress" - a patriotic tutu and her dress-up apron.  She is serving cupcakes.

Playing with beans.

Enjoying time with cousins!!

One of our many walks to the park!  We are loving Fall!!!

My boy

Kolbe hasn't had much "blog-time" lately, so I thought I'd share some recent pics of him.

Sliding!  He loves the park soooooo much!

Riding "pony boy" at my parents'.  Always the favored toy.

His cheeks get so red when he's hot.

Wearing daddy's hat...by the front door.  Because every time I want to take his picture he thinks he has to be by the front door.  I have missed many a cute shot due to him desserting whatever he was doing in order to run over and stand by the front door.  Silly boy.

 I love my boy!!

Fourth of July 2011

We had a fun, low-key Fourth of July weekend.  I think that the Fourth of July (okay, Independence Day I guess technically) should always be either the first Friday or Monday of July.  Makes for such a nice three-day weekend.  Anyways, Saturday I spent some time with a friend and then Aaron went bull-frogging that evening. We spent Sunday afternoon and evening at my in-law's hanging out, eating good food and enjoying their company as we always do.  Monday we spent some time at my parents' for their annual 4th of July Party.  Good times, good food, good people, some small fireworks.  Fun weekend.  We got some little poppers, smoke bombs and parachutes to do with the kids the morning of the Fourth and they had a lot of fun with those.  Gemma kind of got the concept of chasing after the parachutes, and Kolbe LOVED the poppers.  Laughed hysterically the whole time we were doing them, so cute!!  We live about a half-mile from a country club, so we have a great view (well, it is quickly getting obscured by our trees, but still pretty good) of their fireworks shows.  Between that and the ones our neighbors shot off, Aaron and I enjoyed two nights of great fireworks out on the deck.  The kids slept through the loud noises the 3-4 days leading up to the Fourth very well.  I was pleased.  We had talked to Gemma about how the poppers we did were "small poppers", and the ones people shot off while she was going to bed were "big poppers" and they were nothing to be afraid of.  She seemed to do pretty good with that explanation thankfully.  I still think they kept her awake late, because the Tuesday after the Fourth she was so grumpy and weepy I thought I was going to lose my mind.  But alas, all is well and we had a fun holiday weekend.  Here are some pics of the kids having fun.

showing off her
parachutes

lighting the duck she picked out
it was our "grand finale"

POPPERS!

very proud of her first sparkler

running through the smoke

clapping for the poppers!

Extreme-angler...GEMMA

Extreme-angler Gemma

Extreme-angler Jeremy Wade

Aaron and I enjoy watching the show River Monsters, featuring "extreme angler" Jeremy Wade.  Honestly, I never thought I'd enjoy something like this, but I really do and I've learned a lot about fish, fishing and various cultures around the world.  Anyways, we have decided we need to start our own series called Pond Monsters featuring Gemma!  She loves fishing and talks about it and plays fishing often.  It's amazing the household items she has turned into a rod and reel.  We all did some fishing a couple weekends ago and Gemma reeled in a green sun-fish on our second cast.  It was one of only a few fish we caught that afternoon.  She's a good little fisherman.  ;-D

The first swim of 2011

The kids had their first swim in our deck pool a couple weeks ago.  It was a balmy 63 degrees outside.  Gemma beegggggggged to go "swooming"  (as she calls it) so I finally gave in (thinking that she would learn her lesson).  Would you believe they played in the water for the better part of an hour?!  Crazy kids!

Here they are in their suits.  I found them at Target, and I totally love them.  (The suits not the kids.  I mean, I love my kids too, but I didn't get them at Target...)  Anyways, I like these suits because they are more modest than anything I've been able to find up to this point, plus they require about 1/4 the sunscreen they would need if wearing a "regular" suit.  CUTIES!

Look, look!

Look what we have under the lilies in our front yard!!

 

Flying

This is Gemma's favorite way to swing lately. 
We are lovin' us some park time on the days that are of the warmer variety lately! 
YAY SPRING!!!