Journal: reunions, routines, and lots of rain!!

TODAY

Out my window:  Sunny and mild.  The weather has been remarkable, we've had so much rain that we actually wish it would dry out a bit (thought I would never say that again!!).  More in the forecast tonight and tomorrow.  We had 3 1/10 inches in one dumping last weekend, goodness!!

Clothing myself in:  bleh.  I have gotten a few new pair of shorts for summer from Old Navy and Target and one off the local swap page that I'm really enjoying.

Around the house:  We had overnight guests last Thursday/Friday in conjunction with a big family reunion on my mom's side of the family.  We had lots of fun (with the guests and the reunion)!  Trying to settle into the "new normal" that Summer brings, which has been hard because we've had VBS, Art Camp, the guests and the Reunion all in a two-week time period.  Nothing like everything at once, we have hardly anything on our calendar for the rest of the Summer haha.

I got some additional juice glasses from Montessori Services now that Clem is no longer using a sippy and ordered a little glass pitcher and some enamelware mugs as well.  I really like all these items, they are so cute and durable.  I'm hoping the pitcher will save trips to and from the fridge for milk refills during dinner.  Now if I could just get Clem to drink cow's milk...  

 

The baby/toddler: We flipped him front-facing after our "big" (1.5 hour) trip this past weekend.  At almost two and 23 lbs we probably could have kept him rear-facing for longer but he is so.stinking.long.  He had mixed emotions at first about being turned around, but now he enjoys telling me "ready, GO" when we are sitting at stoplights, and seems utterly fascinated watching traffic out his window. 

The kiddos:  Gemma really liked VBS again this year.  She was so excited it was CatChat and we have already listened the heck out of the new CD.  It really is very catchy music, for which I am grateful.  She seems to be loving Art Camp (put on at our local Catholic High School) and is very excited for their art show tomorrow!!  The first couple weeks of Summer were rough on her, the girl just does not do well with change.  I asked her if she missed school and she quite frankly answered me, "yes".  She seems to be settling in though, although she and Kolbe have been sparring more.  It's as if she feels she has to re-establish some sort of dominance around here or something.  Sigh.  Gemma's beloved fish Flowercup died this past Sunday, so we had a little "service" for her at the pond behind the house.  She has taken it pretty well, and we are waiting on any new pets since we are planning to be switching bedrooms and such later in the Summer.  Eventually I would really enjoy a 10 gallon aquarium somewhere in the house, so we will see if now is the time for that. 

Kolbe liked VBS too, but it stressed him out.  He was borderline nightmarish to be around last week.  It made me really glad he is not enrolled in preschool this Fall, because after last week I think I would have called and un-enrolled him.  I think it was just a little much for him.  But like I said, he did seem to have a good time, and never said he didn't want to go, and he has mellowed out considerably this week, so all's well that ends well I suppose.  I have started working on his Handwriting Book with him, and he is making some great strides with his pencil grip.

We took the kids to a water park/pool thing at the reunion and oh my we had fun.  I think it was very similar to what we have at the Y here, so now I am really looking forward to doing that a few times this summer.  The kids LOVED the water slides and Clem even had fun going down on my lap (after Aaron convinced me that I would not, indeed, die.  I am a big chicken).  It was a great afternoon despite being a bit chilly.

In the kitchen: Fajitas, crispy chicken lettuce salads, fish muffins, maybe some linguine (I have a bunch of grape tomatoes in the fridge I need to use). 

Crafting: oh for heaven's sake.

Learning:  VBS, Art Camp, a little "school" work here and there.  Hoping to settle into a more regular routine with that once our other activities are over.  Gemma's reading has really been taking off.  On nights that Aaron is working late or mowing and I am putting Clem to bed, she puts Kolbe to bed and has read him to sleep on more than one occasion.  LOVE. 

Reading: Finished Something Other Than God.  It was a great story of conversion.  The atheist aspect, and the fact that she landed in the Catholic Church made it all the more poignant.  Where She Went, which is apparently the sequel to If I Stay which I read a couple weeks ago.  And it appears there are one or two more after this. 

Watching:  New series of Duck Dynasty starts tonight!!

Bringing me joy: Time with extended family.  VBS and the wonderful Catholic community we are blessed to be a part of.  The kids playing with toys that were mine as a child.  Singing VBS songs with the kids and listening to them in the van.  Laughing with my Aunt about how crazy my kids are at Mass (she raised four boys and a girl, so I think she gets it).  Time outdoors in gorgeous sunny weather.  Watching my kids play with their second cousins...the kids of the cousins with whom I played as a child.  A new swimsuit.  Pentecost.  Chocolate.  A tasty glass of wine and cold beer on hot days.  Reading to Gemma, and all the kids.  New pictures of the kids (see sidebar).  Visiting my sister's farm.  An hour (ALONE!!!) in Adoration, and the prospect of getting to do this weekly this summer.  Chatting with my mom.  A quieter schedule on the horizon.  I have so much for which to be grateful, despite the crazies.

Thinking about: Routines.  I hate to be super schedule-oriented, but oh my, my children thrive on at least a general routine and rhythm to our days.  I enjoyed the reunion and VBS and everything, but if we had another week like last week I think my kids (and consequently me) would have completely flipped out.  Sheesh. 

Pictures to share:  

Some pics from the reunion...

Me with  my Aunt Kathy, her hubby Stu and my Uncle Don (and an uncooperative Clem).  Pic 2 is with my cousin Jess (and an even more uncooperative baby).  She, her hubby and their two kids were our overnight guests.

The kids had their first (and only if it's up to me) time on a trampoline.  And everyone lived and I don't think I even have many more grey hairs!!

Clem thought he was hot. stuff.  I am in the background trying not to have a heart-attack.

Some group shots, there were around 60 there from four generations (a few of my grandma's siblings came the first day).

Monthly update - January 2012

For whatever reason I have really been dragging my feet on doing an update, and then I did this one and it sat in my drafts forever.  But I really do like looking back at these and seeing what the kids were up to at certain ages, so on I trudge, maybe quarterly updates would be a more achievable goal though in the future...

Gemma - 4yrs

• The day of her fourth birthday she informed me should could wipe herself, wash her own hands and no longer needed my help in the bathroom because she was "a big girl".  This has been really nice.
• She's getting really good at writing her (capital) letters, and will often ask me how to spell certain words.  She loves writing "letters" to people.  Santa brought her a whole box of envelopes for Christmas for this specific purpose.  
• Her latest favorite thing to play with is pillows.  She will get all the pillows from the whole house and build some formation and then play with/in it for long amounts of time, typically Kolbe is included in this as well.  Sometimes I wonder why we have toys...
• Biting.  I am embarrassed to say we are still having issues intermittently with her biting Kolbe.  (This has spiked terribly recently.)  She does it reactiveIy when she is angry or frustrated with him and really gives no thought to any consequences (of which there have been plenty that vary greatly) so I am really at a loss as to how we should handle this.  Advice?  Please??
• She is very good at drawing people and animals.  Well, as good as a four-year-old can be anyways.  But she gets the whole placement of facial features, arms, legs, etc. and I always love seeing what she comes up with. 
• She's getting pretty handy with scissors.
• She got a new fish (first part of Feb.).  We decided to go with a Betta as we were having many issues with dead guppies.  She named him "Flowercup".

Kolbe - 2yrs

• This kid has grown an opinion and a personality in the past few months.  Wow.
• Still loves ball-balls, is learning to say the names of different balls and correctly identify them.
• His speech is really starting to improve.  Still not really speaking in sentences (at all) but he's saying a lot of new words in context each day and will combine two words if you work with him on it.  He repeats a lot, though not always correctly.  He's so cute and fun.
• He likes trudging around in Aaron's or my shoes.
• He is infatuated with the stepstool.  Heaven help us all.  (Said stepstool has been stored on a closet shelf since the writing of this post.)
• He and Aaron have developed a very intricate morning routine that involves bananas and Sportscenter and a sip of coffee.  I'm always a little sad when Kolbe sleeps later than normal and misses out on this.
• It's hard to believe Kolbe is 2.  It's even harder to believe that when Gemma was his age we were bringing home a new baby (him)!  July will be fun.

Gemma 4yrs and Kolbe 2yrs

Farewell, Goldie

Our beloved Goldie the fish died today. Gemma and I are both very sad. I told Gemma before her nap today that Goldie died and when she woke up he would be all gone. She seemed to understand, as much as a one-and-a-half year old can. She told him "bye-bye" and gave him loves one last time, and then as she was getting ready for her nap she kept saying "Goldie died, fishy all-gone." It was sad and sweet. After I put her down Aaron and I laid Goldie to rest in the pond behind the house. I thought it was a nice place to put him. We will miss him, but look forward to getting another fishy for our countertop. Here are some recent pictures of Gemma with Goldie. She absolutely LOVED sitting on the cabinet and "interacting" with him. She would go over there 10 or more times a day and say to me, "fishy hi", which meant, "please pick me up on the cabinet so I can talk to Goldie." And then inevitably she would say, "fishy eat". If it were up to her he would have also eaten 10 times a day!! She will definitely enjoy having a "nunner" fish.
"Fishy kiss"
Gemma with Goldie yesterday when he was sick. She kept saying, "fishy fall down," because he was at the bottom of the aquarium. It was so sweet.
Farewell, Goldie. We will miss you.