Journal: critters

TODAY

Out my window:  Dark, thunder rumbles and a bit of rain as I begin typing this.  Still pretty warm 10-day forecast though for mid-September, but it is definitely starting to a feel a little more Autumn-like.  The light is slantier, the heat is less intense.  We've been spending lots of time outdoors recently.

Clothing myself in:  I am SOOOO ready for jeans and sweats weather.  I know I will be griping as soon as it gets cold, but I am soooo ready for a change! 

Around the house: Let's see...I have been selling a few items via a local Facebook page and had pretty good success with that.  Great/easy way to make a little extra cash as you clean out your house, and much easier than a garage sale (which I refuse to do).  What else...  We took the middle seat out of our van and moved Gemma to the back.  I am a little sad not to have all my babies together in the middle, but it was probably time.  It seems so much roomier in there now, and will be easier if we want other people to ride somewhere with us.  Oh, and Aaron killed a black widow by the front porch.  This is the 4th one we've had on our property in the past couple years.  Shudder shudder shudder.

 

The baby: Oh he is so cute.  I just love watching him explore the world around him.  He walks more than he crawls now.  He signs "milk" when he is thirsty or wants to nurse.  After about 5pm he just wants to be held.  This has made dinner prep very interesting.  I should put him on my back more.  He has been going to bed really early(before 7 most nights, gets up around 6:30 (sometimes earlier, he gets really restless around 5:30 and it's always iffy whether I can settle him back to sleep).  He only naps an hour or give-or-take most days, he just gets disturbed so easily.  Sigh, it works.  I knew this would be troubling when we started kdg.  We're rolling with it.  I also packed away his 12 month stuff (I looked at him one day and realized how small his clothes looked!!) and got some 18 month stuff out.  I really appreciated being able to go "shop" in my basement.  This is the first time we've really used a lot of hand-me-downs and it is FANtastic!!  Oh oh oh, and he has pooped on the potty-chair two days in a row now!  I just caught him starting to poop one day and took him back there, and he did great!  Hopefully I can watch him and we can start making this a regular occurrence.  I would much rather wash poop out of the little potty than a diaper!

 

The kiddos:

KOLBE loves bugs and other critters.  He loves catching butterflies, moths, grasshoppers, caterpillars, frogs... you name it and putting them in a little jar or bucket.  He will spend 30-45 minutes+ doing this.  He can make the final |p| sound consistently now when we work on his listen words and flashcards from his speech teacher.

GEMMA has been struggling lately with being a bit aggressive and angry and just generally very emotional.  I want to help her but she just gets angry when I try to help and lashes out worse.  I am a work in progress though with my patience as well, so hopefully the more I can model more self-control and healthily dealing with my anger the easier it will be for her to learn appropriate ways to deal with her big emotions.  I know she has yet to reach the age of reason, but even so it is very frustrating to me when she gets so angry that there is just no rationalizing with her.  Now I'm ranting.  Last week was "going buggy" week in kindergarten, so she brought a cicada (that flew into our garage and daddy caught), a grasshopper and a picture of the monarch she caught (and released) at a local nature park recently.  This week she gets to bring a special item in the "very special item bag".  I think she has decided on her blankie.

This weekend the neighbors were puppy-sitting for some expensive little lap-dog that bounced when it barked and all three kids had a BLAST playing with "Samba" in the yard several times.  It was cute, and I was really glad no one sat on, kicked, smooshed or otherwise broke the $2000 (yes, for real) designer-dog.      

In the kitchen: We had friends over and grilled some KC strip steaks we'd been aging in the fridge this weekend and they were ahhhhhhhhmazing!  We're a little beefed out though now, so this week is Sesame Chicken with Fried Rice and broccoli; breakfast casserole; pizza (probably chicken); and some sort of seafood.  We've been having some tasty fresh honey-dews lately too, plus whatever other fresh fruits and veggies happen to make their way thru the fridge. 

Crafting: Hmm...nope.  Nada.

Learning:  Getting ready for Dd week.  Preschooling Kolbe is definitely different than it was with Gemma but we are having a lot of fun.  He has been really enjoying being read to lately.  He found a book about a robot at the library (he is currently obsessed with "o-bots") and we have read it many, many times.  Gemma usually has a math WS for homework, and she is not a huge fan of homework some days so I have not been doing a lot extra with her, although I have been trying to squeeze some handwriting in (on the 3-lined paper) when she is amenable. 

Reading: Still working on The New Evangelization and You: Be Not Afraid.  I like it.

Watching: Not much.  

Bringing me joy: Our neighbors.  We have the greatest neighbors, I just can't get over it.  I have no idea how we got so lucky.  For real.  Watching Clem, he is sooooooo cute.  Working out (!!!!!!!!!) for the first time in mumble, mumble, mumble, years.  Aaron got me a 20lb weight vest and I wore it for some lunges and brisk walking and even a little jogging. Hoping to do this twice weekly. Hummingbirds at the feeder and how excited the kids get to see them.  Gemma's songs she makes up.  The kids playing and having fun together (it does happen sometimes!).  Enjoying the outdoors with my family on a lazy Sunday with not much to do.

Thinking about: Finding a regular time to work out.  Being more disciplined.  Balance.  Stewardship.  Parenting.  The usuals.

Pictures to share:  

Gemma with her butterfly.

Kolbe, the bug-catching extraordinaire.  

Clem's new ride.

Journal: woe is nap

TODAY

Out my window:  Sunny and hot.  My lantana is thriving, my begonias look terrible, and I have a new pot of basil on the deck.  

Clothing myself in:  Grey sweat-shorts and a t-shirt from my hubby's office.  

Around the house: Cleaned the kitchen cabinets with Murphy's Oil Soap this morning and dusted the rest of the house.  Beginning to think about Fall wardrobes (and Gemma's uniforms) and have started picking up a few things here and there for the kids.  OH clothing.  Got the older kids each a new pair of tennies (found some really durable looking Carter's ones for Kolbe, am curious to see if they will be as good as they look.  For under $15 the price was right).  Took Gemma's uniforms and a few of my pants to my alterations gal.  Trying to figure out how to get the baby to nap somewhat regularly and for longer than three minutes.  He seems to not want to miss out on all the coolness that apparently goes on while he is sleeping, and he gets woken really easily by two unnamed others who happen to reside in our residence. 

 

The baby one-year-old:  Had his birthday last week.  He was getting to the end of his chicken pox, so it was a quiet birthday around the house.  The kids wrapped up a bunch of our toys from the toy-box and he opened them and squealed with glee at all the "new" toys (that he'd just been playing with not two-hours previous).  Yesterday I was sitting in the kitchen and watched him - with my own eyes - stand up in the middle of the room and take three steps towards me.  I don't think I would have believed it if Gemma hadn't been sitting there watching too. None of the others have had first steps until closer to 15 months, so I didn't see this one coming!  He hasn't taken anymore since then, but he has been standing up a lot.  You are growing TOO fast, baby.  He's so sweet though, and it's so much fun to see him discovering new things and becoming more aware.  He's about half a pound shy of 20 lbs. 

Sigh, as alluded to above his naps have been all over the place.  One nap isn't always enough, but if he gets two then bedtime is really late, and for whatever reason Kolbe and Gemma and especially Kolbe like to be really loud when he is finally napping and he gets woken up.  A lot.  And I am beginning to think he will probably fall asleep in the van every day when I go to pick up Gemma from half-day kdg.  And did I mention he doesn't transfer well from the carseat to his bed?  Today he has napped for a whopping 10 minutes, and the later it gets in the day the less inclined I feel to try to get him to sleep.  I'm sure he will fall asleep in the high chair at dinner and the 2 minute respite will be enough to tide him over until 10pm.  ACK!  All this kind of makes me want to lose my mind.  I never knew sleep would be such a cause for angst in my parenting. 

 

The kiddos:  

GEMMA and I went school shopping this past weekend to get her school supplies and a few more clothing items she needed for her uniform.  She also got to buy a new pony with her own money.  This was her first time to spend her own money and it was...memorable.  The blasted ponies come in bags where you can't tell what they are, and after she paid we walked off to the side to open her pony and it was this blue and black gothic looking one named "Spitfire" and she absolutely dissolved into a pile of tears.  My heart totally and completely broke for her.  Long story short, we talked it through and I ended up "buying" the pony back from her and she tried again with much better results ("Apple Stars" was much more her speed than "Spitfire").  She is now saving up to buy "Rainbow Dash" (she costs $4.04, so it will be awhile).  We are going to start giving her an allowance here when school starts.  AND, she lost another tooth this past weekend too, so she got some tooth fairy money for that (half of which she shared with Kolbe...heart-melt moment).  We are both getting excited for kindergarten.  I know it will be happy and sad...the space will do us good, but I will really miss her too.  She is my clean-up queen and helps with the baby a lot, and she can be really enjoyable to have around.  But it's going to be a good year.  At Kohls yesterday I bought her a copy of Curious George's First Day of School and I'm going to give it to her on her first day.

KOLBE is three.  He has been acting very three lately.  But aside from that he is so very sweet and still likes to love and snuggle so much.  We were out to eat last night and he turned to me, gave me a kiss and a big hug and said in his sweet little voice, "I love you mommy."  Just out of nowhere.  It made me kind of tear up a bit, just thinking that some day he'll be a big high schooler who probably won't want to give his mama a hug and kiss out in public.  But maybe he still will.  He is such a sweet little boy. 

In the kitchen: This past week we had some Beef and Veggie Stew; Loaded Baked Potato Casserole and green beans; homemade pizza; a night out to eat; and shrimp linguine tonight.  Up next week is tacos; chicken, broccoli and rice casserole; fish crisp and some other stuff TBD.  Enjoying lots of fresh fruit around here lately!!

Crafting: I have some material that is the same pattern as Gemma's school jumper and I'd like to make her some sort of hair thing with it.  However, I have no idea where to even begin. 

Learning: When the kids were sick I was looking for more things to record for them and discovered that there is some really neat children's programming on EWTN.  Some of their favorites are Cat Chat, The Donut Man and My Catholic Family.  Been working on some telling time with Gemma and started her new handwriting book with her.  Kolbe has really been liking his Kumon cutting and tracing books lately.  Trying to take full advantage of the many learning items we have accumulated by pulling different ones out each day.  You know, while the baby naps.  Oh wait...  

Reading: I finished St. Francis!!!!!!!  My review is here.  The last 10 or so pages reading about his death were so beautiful.  I'm looking forward to my next review, Yours is the Church.  I need to jump in and start catching up on some Catechism reading too, I am sooooo behind.  Reading Schoolhouse in the Woods with the kids.  Gemma really likes these stories so I went ahead and ordered used copies of the other two books in the Fairchild Family series, plus another one by the same author.  Our dear friend Larry from Church gave us this Children's Bible and I've been trying to read either a story  from there or a saint story each day to the kids at breakfast time.  I had just been thinking about another children's Bible that was a little more substantial than what we had, and this one seems to fit the bill.

Watching:  A bit of the All-Star game, which made me reminisce, as Clem was born the night of the All-Star game last year.  

Bringing me joy: Chicken Pox are over.  Celebrating seven years of marriage this weekend.  Thinking about the upcoming school year. 

Thinking about: Naps?

Pictures to share:  

The birthday boy.

Toothless

Kolbe's drawing of Thomas

Reached their reading goals!

Journal (10th edition)

TODAY

Out my window: It feels like Fall.  It's nice.  Highs in the 50s or 60s, lows in the 30s or 40s, slanty light, trees are past peak.  The kids played this afternoon at the park with one of the neighbor kids and we all had a nice time outdoors, albeit a bit chilly.

Clothing myself in: jammies

Around the house: I wiped the kitchen cabinets down with Murphy's Oil Soap today.  Good stuff, good stuff.  Takes away all the grime (we don't have cabinet pulls, so the wood gets really grimy) and leaves the house smelling so fresh.

 

The baby:  Is noticing his surroundings so much more.  He is starting to take an interest in toys and rattles and such, and loves sitting in the bouncy chair and "playing" with the big kids.  He is so entertained by them, it's wonderful.  Even though most some days I feel like I am losing my mind, I feel like I've really hit my groove with three. 

 

The kiddos:  Aaron set up the train set for the kids (they got it for Christmas last year and I packed it away because it kind of drove me crazy).  They are much better ages for it now and have been having a lot of fun with it.

Kolbe....I think we have FINALLY turned the corner with this potty process.  I started putting him in regular underwear (not training pants, not pull-ups) this week around the house (no pants, just underwear)....and he GOT it!!!  Several days now he has had no accidents, AND he's been telling me when he has to go, going back to the potty, pulling his undies down and doing his business all on his own.  I'm not calling it yet, but we are soooooo close.  YAY!!!!!!  And while I'm talking about Kolbe, he is so funny, he wakes up at LEAST once during the night hollering for his "tudders" (covers).  He kicks them off and is somehow incapable of re-"tuddering" himself so he just yells "tudders mammy, tudders mammy" until I come in, and after I cover him he says "shanks mommy" in this sleepy little grateful voice.  It would be kind of annoying if it weren't so darn cute.

Gemma has it in her head that a kitten is going to come to our house and knock on or meow at the door and she will rescue it and keep it as her pet in a cage that daddy will bring home from his office (??) and I will give her a milk bowl for it and we'll get the kitty milk from the store for it and she will take care of it and when it grows up to be a cat she will let it go and get a new kitten (kid you not, she said that).  She has been through her plan with me no less than 100 times.  I finally snapped and said (rather crossly), "GEMMA, we are NOT getting a kitten."  It didn't even phase her.  She has big plans, I tell you.

In the kitchen:  Lazy Sunday Casserole; Pizza with red sauce, meat, mushrooms and bell peppers; Thanksgiving feasting

Crafting:  I designed a little photo collage in powerpoint to have printed for our Christmas cards.  If anyone hears about Walgreens doing 4x6 free prints like they did last year around this time, please let me know!!  I am very pleased with how the collage turned out.

Learning: Read a handful of books about pilgrims and Indians this week and made paper plate pilgrims.  We mixed our own "face color" which was fun for the kids.  Also made these paper Indians with watercolors and crayons.

Bringing me joy: The thought of my hubby having some time off this coming week for the holiday.  He rarely has time off work, so when he is home from work on a regular work day it is a real treat!!!!

Thinking about: How far removed we are from the whole "first time parent" scene.  This is neither good nor bad, and I am by no means claiming to be any sort of expert when it comes to parenting.  It has just dawned on us of late that we're not really "newbies" anymore. 

Pictures to share: 

First fire of the year on a cold Sunday last week.  With hot chocolate and some stories, it was quite cozy.

Journal (9th edition)

TODAY

Out my window: Warm for November.  Very, very warm.

Clothing myself in: the usual.

Around the house: We turned the air conditioner on last night.  On November 9.  Yes, we had our last 80 degree day of the season yesterday...for like the 10th time.  Seriously.  As we were walking to the park in our short sleeves that I had to tackle the basement tubs to get for the kids, GAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHH, it dawned on me that I have gotten this wistful feeling of, "oh, this is the last time I'll take my babies to the park in warm weather until next spring," no less than five times in the past month.  Silly weather.

 

The baby: Had his 4 month well-child visit.  He weighed 13 lbs 14 oz., was 25.5 inches, and peed buckets all over the scale after they weighed him.

I switched him to disposables for nighttime and this has been a convenient good switch.  Still liking our cloth during the day.  A bunch. 

This morning I woke up around 5:30 to Aaron saying, "honey, why is the baby upside down?"  Sure enough, there he was, laying between us laughing and cooing with his feet kicking the headboard.  Still not quite sure how that happened.

 

The kiddos:  Bedtime has been pretty early this week as we adjust to the time-change.  The older two had been on a pretty good 8-8 schedule, but since the time change it's been more like 7:30-7:30 give or take, and I kind of like it and am tempted to keep it this way.  I'm not a huge fan of the earlier mornings, but the early bedtimes have been nice and once we're doing the school thing next year we're really not going to have a choice.  If we're out and about it's tough to get them in bed on time, but since we lead such exciting social lives it's not too much a problem.  I'm sure the coming holidays will throw us for a loop as usual, but alas...  Enough sleep talk.

Kolbe has been really into helping me lately.  Unloading the dishwasher, sorting laundry, putting laundry in/out of washer/dryer, folding laundry, dusting...whatever it is I am doing, he will leave his play and be right by my side like velcro, wanting to help.  It is cute sometimes, frustrating sometimes and helpful sometimes.  Oh that he would always be this eager to do chores. ;-)

In the kitchen:  Stuffed Green Peppers; Chicken Enchiladas; Shepherds Pie, inspired by my MIL and an episode of Symon's Suppers; Chile Rellenos

Crafting:  I have been working on pictures...I like to print about 20 or so a month to keep in albums for the kids to look at.  I was pretty well caught up before Clem was born, and I am ready to get caught back up.  I have everything from July-October printed (except for July), some are written on, they are each in their own envelope, just need to be put in order and in albums.  Hoping to tackle this sometime in November and be caught up, at least temporarily.  Also debating about what to use my free Shutterfly Photobook for. Hmmm.....

Learning: Worked on some turkey crafts from DLTK.  Gemma did especially well with the lowercase alphabet one that's three down from the top.  Both kids have recently gotten into the show Blue's Clues. 

Bringing me joy:  Fall walks wearing the baby and watching the kids on their trikes.  My family.  Time in the evenings with my hubby after the kids are in bed.  Watching the kids play together.  The simple things in life.

Thinking about: My life as a wife and mother.  It is something that brings me so much deep joy in my heart - maybe not always happiness per se - but true joy, that I really can't even put it into words.  The other day my friend Erin wrote this post, and it got me to thinking about my relationship with Aaron and how grateful I am for him, for us, for our family.  Then I read this post and as usual Simcha was spot-on.  There is so much craziness out there (and sometimes in our house!)...whether it's politics, extended-family drama, or any number of things, I am so glad that at the end of the day, each and every day, I am married to my best friend, and that in being married to him I am not only serving and loving him, but serving and loving Him.  Wow.  My life is nothing like what I thought it would be 10 years ago, and if things had gone according to "my plan", well, let's just say it's a good, amazing thing really that God is in control. 

Pictures to share: 

Kolbe picking Clem's nose for him.  Yep, that's how we roll folks.  At least he had the manners to use a tissue!

Mamas and babies...we were all pregnant at roughly the same time, and now four beautiful babes (3 boys and a girl)!  God is so good!!!

Journal (8th edition)

TODAY

Out my window: I'm actually "cheating" and typing this on Friday night.  It's dark and the deck door is open with cool air coming in.  It's nice.  Last night Aaron and I sat out on the deck after the kids were in bed and drank hot tea and visited and it was just positively lovely.  It's so awesome being married to my best friend.

Clothing myself in:  New black yoga pants from Kohl's...I got them a couple weeks ago and realllllly like how they fit.  They are so comfy.  And a t-shirt because it got warm again.  Almost warm enough to dig the kids' warm-weather clothes back out but I refused.  Enough already, I am very tired of all this back and forth, although I really like the warmer weather, in fact I think I'm ready for spring...

Around the house:  Continually de-cluttering and going through things.  After three babies it is becoming apparent the items (clothing, blankets, towels, etc.) we need and the ones that are just extras, so I've been going through things and saving what we really use, or could need for future babies, and have several bags to donate to our favorite pro-life charity.  I've really been thinking about living "simply" lately and tryig to reflect this in what I deem our family "needs".

 

The kiddos:  Had such a fun Halloween!!  More on that HERE.  They (and Aaron and I too) seem to be fighting mild colds.  Bleh.

The baby: OH I love him.  He is so cute.  I could just gush about him, really.  Poor guy seems to have picked up the cold as well.  He is taking it in stride though, bless his heart.

In the kitchen:  Spaghetti, Honey Chicken and Tuna Melts are on the list so far.  Probably steamed veggies for sides, we are so boring and predictable around here when it comes to side dishes it really is pathetic.  But hey, it's healthy and easy.  We also have a bunch of leftover pork shoulder that we'll probably use in wraps and/or pork and noodles.

Crafting: Yes, you are reading this correctly.  I actually have something for this category!!!!  Last weekend I crafted an Advent wreath for our family. We like to light our Advent candles all three meals a day during the season, and in recent years this has caused us to go through an insane amount of taper-candles in a four-week period, not to mention the wax mess from over-zealous toddlers blowing them out.  So I took our old wreath and pulled the wire candle-holder deal in it out, hot-glued the wreath (greenery) and some pretty purple and pink embelishments to a charger plate and am awaiting our candle order to arrive (the candles will sit in the middle of the wreath).  This was the most reasonable place I could find unscented pink and purple candles.  Apparently they are hard to come-by locally (unscented ones anyways, and I did not want scented Advent candles).  The shipping was pretty steep on this website, but I was able to get three purple and one pink 3"x6" pillar candles for around $28 shipped.  Not too bad and I'm hoping they'll last us for several years.  Once the candles are in our wreath will be ready (a month early, but glad to have this ready to go never-the-less)!

Learning:  Did some Halloween worksheets and workbooks this week.  Reading lessons are coming along, we're doing about half a lesson a day now, and interspersing that with some Green Light readers from the library.  Gemma really enjoys those, so it seems we've hit a good groove after our bump in the road.  Handwriting is coming along, I'm anxious to finish the preschool book and get started with the Kdg one as Gemma is already writing lowecase letters on her own, and I want to make sure she is doing her letter formation correctly.  At the rate we're going though we still have several more months (at least) of the Get Set for School book.  Gemma still grips her pencil incorrectly (like mother like daughter I suppose) unless I remind her a million times.  I'm almost to the point of just letting it slide since it doesn't seem to bother her and she writes fairly well...

We had lots of fun talking about the Saints while doing this craft on All Saints Day.  For the month of November we'll read a saint story each morning during prayers from one of our Saint books.

Reading: I checked out The Way of Perfection by St. Teresa of Avila from the library but haven't started it yet so the jury is still out.  I am sure it's a wonderful work, we'll see if it's right for me here and now.

Bringing me joy: Seeing the kids (and their daddy) have so much fun on Halloween.  Having the saints to inspire us and intercede for us in Heaven.  Listening to the Daily Readings each day on my phone.  I haven't had much luck being disciplined enough to read them each day even though I get Magnificat, but listening to them seems to be a really good fit, usually as I'm preparing dinner.

Thinking about: Advent...I can't believe it's less than a month away now.  I've traditionally made a paper chain of "Advent actions" for the kids, but this year I am saving the trouble and ordering this one.  The price is good but you have to order 36.  I may will be hitting some of you up...  Let me know if you're interested (if I know you personally)!  I am selling them for $2.50 which is a bit more than retail ($1.60) and donating the extra money to our local Carmelites.  You can find more details on my Facebook page.

Pictures to share: 

Oh my sleeping boys.  I just can't quit taking pictures of them.

Random things that make me smile

A few random things around the house that are making me smile lately:

A smiley babe.

New tray shelves in the laundry room cabinets to house the kids' craft supplies, etc.  This one makes me insanely thrilled, it was getting really nuts in there.

Homemade blankets on the crib in the baby room.  The one with his name is from a friend, the "Hey Diddle Diddle" one is from my mom.  Take a closer look, it's amazing...and looks so cute with our farm-animal theme.

Gemma's copious "projects".  She's always having 'ideas', it is fun watching her follow through with them.  I am amazed at her sticktoitiveness.  She is quite creative.

• From left to right: homemade boats with paper and straws, a homemade telephone with cord and a "bunny banner" for the park.

•  Baseball helmets

• "Go", "slow" and "stop" signs in green, yellow and red respectively.  They used these for riding their trikes on the patio.

• Working on her homemade boat with a crib in it (seriously, where does she come up with this stuff?) for Clement with some leftover shelf-liner.  Oh, and tape.  Lots and lots and LOTS of tape.

Kids having fun in nice weather on their trikes.  

Sleeping Kolbe.

Life is GOOD.

News beds, "new" room, fun times!

A few months before Kolbe was born, we moved Gemma to her "big girl" room with a queen bed and she has been there ever since.  It was a nice arrangement as Aaron or I could easily and comfortably "co-sleep" with her in her own bed if she needed us.  This fall we converted Kolbe's crib to a toddler bed and he has been sleeping there part of the night and with us in our bed the rest of the night since then.  We knew that with the impending arrival of our newest wee-one the sleeping situation would probably have to change a bit.  After realizing that Gemma and Kolbe sharing a bed was not in the cards (believe me. NOT an option.) we decided to get bunk beds and assemble them as two twins.  It was actually cheaper than buying two twin beds, mattresses, box springs etc., and this will give us the option for bunk beds in the future if that ever becomes necessary.  Our beds came last week and we got them assembled (in "Gemma's" room) and have been working on transitioning the kids to the same room and transitioning Kolbe out of our bed.  It has surprisingly been going pretty well.  Gemma -- our oh-great-resistant-to-change one (no idea where she gets it) -- has handled it fairly well all things considered.  She's a bit needier than usual at bedtime but she likes her new "owl bed" a lot and I know she'll be fine once she gets in the groove of the new routine.  And Kolbe has been a champ; he's so proud of his "ball-ball" bed, it's adorable.  He's still waking up some during the night, but instead of coming in bed with us I just go in and lay with him until he goes back to sleep which works, and he's actually slept through the night the past few nights!!!  The main issue is Kolbe usually gets restless around 6:45am (their typical wake-up time is around 8:00).  If I'm able to settle him back in and Gemma doesn't get "too" awake, it works.  If they're both up early, that makes for a, how shall we say, quite grumpy interesting morning.  Oh well.  We'll weather this change just like we'll weather all the other changes on the horizon for our family.  And a funny story to share...Gemma tells me (very emphatically) after their first night in the same room, "Mommy, Kolbe got OUT of his bed for one minute!!" (This coming from the girl who will not leave her bed until you physically go in her room and tell her it's time to get up.)  I asked her what she did and she replied, "I told him to get back in bed and then counted to three and he did."  Kolbe's so lucky to have such a bossy good big sister. (haha!)  Here are a few pics of the "new" room.

Gemma and Kolbe's beds

"ART" they made for their wall together

 BEDTIME!!

How does she do it?

Seriously, he won't do this for me at real bedtime, yet he will lay on the floor without moving a muscle for really quite amazing amounts of time under Gemma's command when they "play bedtime".  I wish she'd let me in on her secret!!  Maybe I should just have her start putting him to bed at night...

Video test - squeaky Kolbe

I finally (finally!) after three years (!!!!) bothered to try and figure out how to transfer video from our digital camcorder to the laptop.  Well, really I'm only a year behind, as I've only had this laptop for a little over a year, and I never would have attempted it on the dinosaur, errrr, laptop I had before.  I'm still having trouble figuring out how to burn these off on a DVD...  I'm trying to avoid using my camera software as it is kind of a pain, but I may need to break down and install it if I want to make DVD's.  I don't know.  It seems like it should be pretty straightforward but it's not working.  Technology!!!  At least we can watch them on the computer though.  And honestly, the way technology is going, I think we're probably better off just having all our videos stored on an external hard drive that we could USB to a TV or something.  But for now, they are on the laptop and to me that is great progress. 

SOOOO, how does one decide which video to post on one's blog, when one has several hundred clips at one's disposal?  I decided to just go with this cute one of Kolbe sleeping as a newborn, because it reminded me of my friend Erin and her brand new baby, George.  He's a squeaker too.  Don't feel like you have to watch the whole thing!  I am learning that shorter is better with videos of the kids.  Now that I know what an easy process this is I'll try to get some cute videos to post here on a regular basis.  But for now, without further ado, here is tiny baby Kolbe squeaking away in his sleep!  (By the way, he still does this.  Only louder.)

Sweet

This is what I found one day upon peeking into Gemma's room to see if she was awake from her nap.  About melted my heart (especially considering the rough week we'd been having).  Her baby normally sleeps in the doll crib at the foot of her bed, so I thought it was sweet when she requested to sleep with her, and even sweeter when I found her like this.

And yes, she still uses a binky.  Only at nap and nighttime.  We're getting ready to propose a bribe to get rid of it, but it just honestly hasn't really seemed like too big a deal for us.  Maybe she'll give it up on her own...

Floor beds

I mentioned a month or two ago (maybe? I don't remember how long it's been) about resettling Kolbe on the floor when he wakes up from his naps but is still tired.  That has been working marvelously and as I mentioned in our monthly update, naps are going SO much better for him.  It is crazy, if he awakens and I try to lay him back down in his crib, he starts crying before I even have him completely laid down.  If I lay him down on the floor, he is usually back asleep by the time his head hits the pillow.  Weird.  I'm not even going to try and figure that one out, just glad I've found something that works.  As much as I love him sleeping with us at night, he's been getting pretty restless which means poor sleep for all parties.  He did sleep eight straight hours two nights in a row in his crib last week, and I really thought we were onto something, but alas no.   So I decided to make another "floor bed" right next to my side of the bed in our bedroom and that has been working fairly well.  Instead of bringing him into our bed I lay him on our floor, and nurse him (down there) as needed, returning to my cozy spot in bed when he is settled in.  This works because it is summer and getting out of bed during the night isn't a freezing miserable experience for me.  We'll see what the coming months bring (not that winter is anywhere soon), but right now he does seem to be sleeping better at night on the floor than he was in our bed.  I potentially foresee a toddler bed + bed-rail (our crib converts) in our near-ish future, but not until we're entirely sure he can enter and exit it without injuring himself.  My views on sleep have changed so much since having children, it really is kind of hilarious.  Wherever everyone sleeps best, that's my motto anymore.  I tell you though, sometimes it seems as if every night is an adventure.  Here are our floor beds and my sweet little sleeper.

floor bed in our room . . . yes, he prefers
sleeping sideways, hence the restless
nights in our bed!

floor-bed in Kolbe's room

Small successes XXXIV

1.  Planted pretty spring flowers on the deck!!

2.  Bought some more rubbermaid tubs for our ever-multiplying pile of childrens' clothing (AAAAAAAACCCCCCCCKKKKKKKK!!!!!!!) and got everything organized and labeled accordingly.  This wasn't too huge a feat, most of it was already done...we were just beginning to have more clothes than we had tubs so I remedied that and labeled some things a bit more specifically.

3. I think we are finally seeing a small bit of success in the nap department with Kolbe.  It was becoming apparent that the only place he liked to nap was my arms/the mei tai carrier. As much as I try to saver those snuggly moments, I was just reaching a point where it would be nice to have him sleep a bit longer unassisted.  I knew this was not going to happen in his crib (at least without screaming and crying, and I am opposed to going that route), so I got creative.  I nurse/rock him down the first time and put him down sleeping in his crib.  When he wakes up (any where from 30 minutes to an hour later typically) I go in and we lay on a little pallet on his floor together until he falls back asleep (most days this takes less than 5 minutes).  Then I sneak out.  I have a monitor that's very sensitive to any sound in his room, so I know the moment he stirs or wakes up.  This has worked great some days and fair others, but overall it is definitely some positive progress.  YAY!!!

As moms, it's important to recognize our successes big and small!  Share yours and read about others' each Thursday over at Chocolate For Your Brain, and as always, don't forget to check out all the great articles at Faith and Family Live!

Small successes XXXI

As wives and mamas, it's important to share in each others' successes no matter how small or large.  Share yours and read about others' over at Faith and Family LIVE!

1.  My sweet, snuggly Kolbe (14 months) is making some small strides in the sleep department.  Small, but strides none-the-less.  (I guess this is really his success not mine).  Lately (since January or so) he has been taking one nap a day, and all but the first 15-30 minutes of that nap is typically spent snuggled on me in the mei tai carrier.  Recently he has been doing better napping in his bed though, some days not going in the carrier at all.  He still has yet to sleep a solid 2-3 hour nap anytime recently, but I've been rocking him back down when he stirs and cries rather than just putting him in the carrier.  He still spends most of the night (from midnight or so on) in our bed, but lately he has taken to snuggling up in my armpit and using his little feet to shove daddy to the edge of the bed so I think once the weather is warmer (read: getting out of my warm, comfy bed during the night is a bit more bearable) I'll work on nighttimes as well.  We are where we are with sleep and I'm good with that (Gemma night-weaned and started sleeping through the night all on her own the June she was 17 months, so we'll see where Kolbe is by then...), but the small progress makes me happy.  I know I'll miss all these snuggles some day though, so I'm trying to savor them even if they impede my productivity (or sleep).

2.  I have handled *some* of Gemma's tantrums this week with grace and love.  This is a success because some weeks it seems like I handle NONE of them with grace or love.  We are works in progress for sure. 

3.  I tackled a couple very gratifying projects this past weekend.  Here are the end results, and you can read more about them here.

Sleepy bubby

Whiney Wednesday XII

All right. I haven't whined in awhile. It's time.

1. Kolbe seems to be giving up his morning nap. This is fine, I knew it would happen. And he took two naps a day longer than Gemma did (and still does some days). But it's still hard. I enjoyed having some time to spend one-on-one with Gemma in the mornings, and it was nice to get a few things done as well while he slept. Then lately (the past week or two) come afternoon he goes down for his nap about the same time as Gemma, but awakens restlessly about 10 minutes later. He'll go back to sleep (for several hours sometimes) in the front carrier, but wakes up and cries every time I try to put him down. I'm certainly not going to leave him to scream helplessly in his bed in order to teach him some sort of "lesson", but I'm frustrated. Teething? Probably. Blasted teeth. This too shall pass, I know. But in the meantime...

2. Dumb birds. Why did you poop on my deck windows right before it snowed and got super cold. Now I am looking at dirty, poopy windows all day. It's gross and it's driving me crazy.

3. There were several errands I really wanted to run this week and the weather has prevented me from doing so. It's all good, I've enjoyed our snow days. But the "driver" in me wants to "git 'er done!"

And there you have it! If you want to participate in Whiney Wednesday, click here for more info.

Snoozin'

Sorry for the lack of updates. We've been enjoying the holiday, family time, and all the other good stuff that goes along with this time of year. Got the decorations up yesterday and are ready for Advent!!! I have some fun activities planned and it is soooooo exciting getting to share them with Gemma as she's getting older. Scored some sweet Black Friday deals online (and a very few in-store -- no , I didn't go out early this year...too cold, too early, too crowded...I'll shop from the comfort of my living room, thank you!) and am nearing the completion of my Christmas shopping. It's nice having most of that out of the way before Advent. Now on to gift-wrapping. Bleh. Thought I'd leave you with a picture of Kolbe snoozin' with his daddy. Ahhhh sleeping babies!

Whiney Wednesday II

In an effort to continue keepin' it real here on the blog, here are my whines for the week.

1. Kolbe has been very needy at bedtime lately. I have really made peace with the fact that he doesn't sleep through the night, and likely won't for another six months to a year. That was very, very tough for me with Gemma, but I'm so over it now. I don't mind (and honestly, I rather enjoy) pulling him in bed with me at night to snuggle and nurse, or taking him out to the couch if he's restless. Nighttime parenting is part of the package, and I'm cool with that. It's a 24/7 gig. Part of that whole self-donation thing. And those baby days are so fleeting... But I digress (as I often do). Lately at bedtime I will wear him to sleep, put him down, and he will wake up, so I'll wear him to sleep again, put him down, and he wakes up. Very restless. Repeat. Repeat. Repeat. I really covet that time from 8-11pm or so when both children are (ideally) in their own beds sleeping and I can spend some time winding down and chatting with my hubby or watching TV together or whatever. It makes me all frustrated when it gets intruded upon, even if it is by my beloved children.

2. I feel like I am good at multi-tasking but I am plain tired of it. Can I just do one thing at a time please? Even for just a day? Please?!!

3. FLIES!! Blah, you are icky yucky and I do not want you in my house. While I would never say anything disparaging about my dear hubby on my blog, I have an inkling these flies have something to do with the dove entrails he threw in our dumpster after hunting a few weeks ago. Ugh. Go away you blasted insects.

To participate in Whiney Wednesday, click here for more info.

Whiney Wednesday I

I decided to join my friend Erika Marie over at Simplemama in Whiney Wednesday. I'm typically not one to complain (in public or on my blog anyways...ask my hubby and you may get another story ;-D) Point is, even though I try to take a positive approach with my blogging I still deal with all kinds of frustrations whether it's the children, relationships or a broken wash machine. So Wednesday will be my day to vent if I feel the need. We're all human, and sometimes it's just nice to be able to identify with another, and know that they too have "been there". If you'd like to participate, click here for the rules and more info. So here you go...

1. I am tired of the way my sweet two-year-old thinks it's funny to let out a shrill, chirping scream as soon as her baby brother falls asleep when I'm wearing him, eliciting a jump or sometimes even a wake-up from him. It's not funny. It drives me crazy.

2. I now have the distinct pleasure of driving around a hailed-out car for the next year or so. We'll see how much attention the roof needs. Bleh.

3. It is hot hot hot outside and I am stinking tired of it. I am ready for Autumn. I am ready for hoodies and jeans. I am ready to quit feeling hot and sweaty and dusty every time I step outside. And in about a month-and-a-half I am going to be griping about the cold. Grrr...

All right. There are my three. And now I shall offer these pebbles up for those who yearn for children (screaming and all) in their lives, for those who don't even have a car, for those exposed to the elements on a 24/7 basis. My life really isn't so bad, and I know it, I am truly, truly blessed. But even so, every once-in-awhile it just feels good to vent.

God bless!