The Hesitant Homemaker

Happy Habits.

2012-02-15T19:36:00.003-06:00

A few months ago I read the Book 7 Habits of Highly Effective Families, by Stephen Covey. I won't do a review of all the habits here; only one that I found to be worth noting on right now, and that is the need for families to establish traditions.

We all think of traditions as what we do on Christmas Eve, or an annual summer picnic, but I liked what Covey said about making the seemingly mundane a tradition. Some families have a family game night, or a movie night. The author wrote that for some families, a weekly trip to a bagel shop, or making a special meal is a great tradition.

My college roommate had a family in the double-digits, and their lives amazed me. They all got to Mass at 6:30am every morning and the whole family sat down for an actual breakfast afterward before dad went to work. This same family had a Friday night tradition of ordering pizza and watching old black and white films, and a Saturday tradition of date night for mom and dad. I wish I could be a fly on the wall in their home now as a mother instead of as a naive college student.

We are still working on traditions in our male-dominated domain. Our boys are just getting to the ages that they are able to remember birthdays and holidays of previous years, and are able to expect a routine. We are trying to establish their memories rooted in the traditions we are creating with the hopes of being a strong and effective family :-) .

One of our mundane, but special, traditions are our Saturday mornings. We call them "lazy Saturdays." Instead of rushing to get dressed, fed, and on to our day, we take it slow. Mark and I take the coffee carafe in to the living room and visit with each other while the kids sit and listen or play cars at our feet. It's so small, yet, we've come to expect that on most Saturdays, before 10am is sacred time for our family. It's the first time in the busy week that we are all able to sit together and not be thinking about washing dinner dishes, giving evening baths, or preparing for the next day's work.

And while the above tradition is special to us, as I thought about other traditions we have, like book reading, family prayer, Mass and brunch on Sundays, having music in the background of our days, and making the effort to include our family for learning experiences, while they aren't huge and elaborate, Covey says that they make a huge impact on thriving families. That is my hope. (*EDITED TO ADD: the first sentence of this paragraph has 63 words in it. I usually blog early in the morning. Have I mentioned I'm a morning person and have the IQ of lawn furniture after 8pm? Forgive me, it's late.)

I am curious to hear about the small, but special traditions that other families keep. Going out to lunch? Family bike rides? Campfires? Cooking together? I love all of it, and hope that we can all find Grace in the day-to-day.

Little Victories.

2012-02-14T13:52:00.001-06:00

Speaking of projects, since Mondays are reserved for putting away mounds of laundry and digging around in the fridge for what made it through the weekend, we kept things pretty light yesterday.

On my list, however, was getting some toys out of sight and out of reach. It's not that we have too many, or that they have mismatched pieces and are junky. No, I like toys quite a bit.

Toys are going because they aren't being played with. It's a happy amazement to me that the more children you have, the less toys you need. These babes much prefer playing with one another and trying to keep up with the older one than playing with some rattle or a singing nursery-rhyme clock thingy. (Nothing against nursery-rhyme clock thingies.)

Indeed, my ten-month old won't play with any toys, unless you count the remote or my cell phone. Michael is much too consumed with keeping up with his older brothers to pay any mind to the toys sitting on the rug.

Scratch that. There is one thing Michael can play, although it's really more mimicking. And that's "vrooming cars." Complete with sound effects, the baby moves toys and objects around like the big boys. I tried really hard to capture this on my camera, but I couldn't quite capture the humor of Michael "vrooming" around this bottle of Miracle Grow.

(I'm such a good mom, right!!)

We're not big Valentine's Day celebrators around here, but since the kids have so much fun with it, we made brownies for dessert tonight and bought fresh fish for dinner. And since I couldn't make up my mind on rice or pasta, I'm compromising with Orzo and making a risotto. (Have you ever made real risotto? Oh my goodness, the best!)

Up to/House Art.

2012-02-13T11:17:00.000-06:00

Things are starting to feel like home as we settle into our new house. There are projects to do, namely painting, but I have the feeling that we will always be in the middle of a project, or at least have our eyes set on a project in the future. It's a little bit tiring, but it's a lot of fun, too.

My biggest problem with myriad tasks on my to-do list,is that I end up doing constant maintenance on every room I walk into. Let's face it, there is always a toy to pick up, an aimless sock, a cheerio on the floor, a blanket that needs to be folded or a light that needs turning off. When I get into "maintenance mode," I end up running around like a crazy woman with nothing to show for it at the end of the day. It also isn't a very efficient use of time or energy!

Since starting our new beginning, I have been trying, TRYING, to keep my projects at a minimum. "One at a time," I keep telling myself. "Finish one room, one project, one task at a time," I keep forcing my brain to understand that I can't paint, fold laundry, sweep and cook lunch at the same time. And trust me, I've tried!

Instead, this weekend we took a different approach--one project--started, finished--done! We painted our mudroom this weekend. In the scope of projects, this was a small one, but that's what we wanted.

This is a huge space! Grandma always had it looking really cute, but for our family, we are going to take a more utilitarian approach. We have plans to put our washer and dryer on the wall shown. For me, making the boys strip down in the entryway and throwing their clothes right into the wash will make life a lot easier.

This is our garage and front entrance in the same room. This small paint project makes a big difference to us, since this is the first room you see when you walk in the house. Even though it wasn't a big priority, it makes a big difference for us to have it done!

Is This Thing On?

2012-02-08T09:07:00.001-06:00

Santorum won at the caucuses last night.

I was sorta surprised, especially after the not-so-stunning results of the other primaries.

As a matter of principle, I am not a president basher. I am, on occasion, a little bit political. In the case of Santorum's win, I definitely think the win was political.

America votes for the religious man when Americans are posed with losing their religious freedom from the incumbent.

Correct me if I'm wrong, but wasn't America founded on the premise of religious freedom? Isn't that why a new colony was formed across the ocean?

Food for thought.

Rio.

2012-02-06T11:51:00.002-06:00

After a bit of reluctance, I relented and watched Rio with Mark and the kids. Mark had already taken Luke to see it in the theater last winter, and then we watched together as a family when it came out on DVD a few weeks ago. I have to admit that I absolutely LOVED it.

The majority of the movie takes place in Rio, but I have to give props to Minnesota, because some of the characters are from Moose Lake, MN, which is a real, live, small town in MN (wouldn't you know it, I used to run track against Moose Lake).

After watching Rio with the kids, I bought the music and put it on my iPod. OH MY GOODNESS. I know I'm going to lose all my street credit by writing this, but I really like percussion. Seriously, love percussion. And since Rio is famous for Samba, there is percussion a-plenty. The boys and I have had a blast dancing around the living room to the bird-laden beats.

I love it. I'm probably a little bit 'gangsta.

Storybook Ending.

2012-02-02T11:34:00.000-06:00

...and then we closed on our new house. The boys frolicked in the yard, we sipped cups of coffee in front of the fireplace, wine on the porch in the summer, and thanked God everyday for the blessing that after all of this time of wondering and waiting, it all worked out.

And we lived happily ever after.

Thanks, everyone! I am very excited about blogging in our new space. To "Homestead" is a peaceful feeling. We're here to stay. It's truly wonderful.

March for Life.

2012-01-23T21:56:00.001-06:00

Today is the anniversary of Roe v. Wade, and what pro-lifers call "March for Life," because of the 100k strong protesters at the capital. I've been to March for Life before, and it was hard, cold, and sad. It is not a rally, nor a party. It is a mourning of generation after generation of those who are nameless and faceless; silenced.

We talk openly with adults when the kids are around about politics, theology, and our beliefs. They don't catch most of what we're saying, so even though we openly talk about abortion and other controversial topics, when I asked Luke today if he knew what abortion was, he couldn't tell me. We pray for the unborn and for an end to abortion daily, and yet, his vocabulary doesn't yet comprehend violence against the unborn.

And today at lunch time, explaining to Luke all the people I knew at March for Life and our fight for the unborn, he became quickly confused about what we were fighting against. "Why," "Why," "Why," he had so many questions,"But why," why would babies need someone to fight for them? Aren't they safe?

No, dear child, not in this country.

I have discussed abortion with people many times. Those for and against. I've argued and fought over it; become impassioned with rage over it, but have also been compassionate and understanding. I hadn't, until today, explained it to a child.

I answered his questions modestly but truthfully--appropriate, I believe, for his level of understanding. And every word, even watered down and simplified, brought tears. Before I knew it, I was crying at the kitchen table over cheesy bread and tomato soup.

It's a sad thing to rub off some of the innocence that children are born with. After all, our children are surrounded by friends and family who adore babies and see each one as a blessing.

And I realized that talking about abortion is much different than actually explaining what it is. How painful it is to say out loud. There is a lot I want to write but can't. Instead, we pray for the unborn, we pray for an end to abortion, even though the children can't fathom a world of unloved babies.

While I can't be there today, I am raising the next generation in hopes that a March for Life for them will someday be unnecessary.

Celebration.

2012-01-20T10:18:00.000-06:00

Last night was a big night. A first! My 9 month old slept through the night, for the first time in his life!!!!

This is no small feat. You see, Michael has always woken at least once or twice a night to nurse. This is old hat for moms, and not worth complaining about. This fall, however, a familiar pattern started that has happened with our older two boys. Twice a night nursing quickly increased exponentially--four times a night, bi-hourly, and then came the inability for him to sleep in his crib all together. For a time, the only way I could catch even an hour of sleep in the night was to sleep flat on my back with Michael cradled in my arm next to me.

I think most moms have experienced what I would call true sleep deprivation. For me, I become intellectually useless, and frequently lose my words in the middle of a sentence, or have the complete inability to focus. I also get a bouts of insomnia. I'll get so tired that I can't take nap during the day if I tried, or I'm so tired, but I still can't fall asleep at night.

Sleep is a big deal. And, I think it's worth celebrating! A week after Michael's tubes, and I think I can say that they were a success! I'm hoping for a better-hearing baby, more sleep for the whole house, and a refreshed, energetic mother who doesn't wake up thinking, "Okay, how well can I function today on two hours of sleep?"

Yes, yes, even though it is record cold outside, it's brighter than sunshine over here :) .

Hey, Look At How Cute I am!!!

2012-01-19T10:09:00.001-06:00

Blogger-abandonment guilt. Here's a gratuitous shot of my ever-so-drooly, but oh-so-happy baby. Nine months?!?!?!

Minnesota.

2012-01-19T08:34:00.000-06:00

I know this happens every year. But still, it shocks me every time! I think we'll stay inside. I'm wearing Smart Wool.

Bitter cold surges into lakes area | BrainerdDispatch.com | Brainerd, Minnesota

While I'm Here.

2012-01-12T10:54:00.000-06:00

Hey friends,

As I posted before, we are super busy with the closing on our old house, the closing and renovation of our new house, and the day-to-day upkeep with the kids. Life doesn't like to slow down, does it?

I just wanted to pop in quickly and ask all of your prayers for our baby. He is getting tubes put in his ears tomorrow, and while it's not heart surgery, it's still an ordeal for us since he has to go under anesthesia and refrain from nursing for several hours. I'm a little worried about him getting upset about not being able to nurse through the night and morning, which he is accustomed to doing. We just hate to take away what comforts him and puts him to sleep!

The little one can't sleep or hear with all the fluid stuck in his ears, so we are very much looking forward to the results of the procedure. Thank you!!

Up to.

2012-01-10T10:39:00.000-06:00

I promise that my reasons for neglecting this blog are just! I'm not abandoning it for good, but as you can see, we've been busy. Just a 'smidge.

Getting close now!

Overheard.

2011-12-14T13:10:00.001-06:00

You know you are in a different generation when your five year old says....

"I am going to invent a bread with bubble inside of it. I'm going to call it 'Luke's Bubble Gum Bread.' I am going to sell it at LukesBubbleGumBread .com ."

For the record, I buy a lot of household items online, but not bread...yet.

Home away...away from Home.

2011-12-09T10:09:00.000-06:00

Our young family has so much to be thankful for this Advent. For years now our family has had a plan. The plan entailed doing what was necessary to establish ourselves near our family. I've written about this before, in regards to moving, job changing, and the importance of our children growing up near loved ones.

We had to trust a lot that the Lord would take care of us, that we were doing the right things, and that every time we changed directions that it only brought us closer to our goals. And now, in the past few weeks, it is amazing how quickly it is all coming together.

Our house sold yesterday. We put it on the market less than six weeks ago, and yesterday we signed a purchase agreement. Those who have tried to sell a house in the past five years know exactly what a miracle that is. We promptly sold our house, because another house is waiting for our family. A close family member had been considering changing living arrangements, and we agreed years ago that when the time was right, we would try to buy the property and raise our family there.

That time is now.

So, if you're wondering what is going on with the lack of posts, there it is. We are in the middle of finalizing the sale of our house, collecting our things, arranging the purchase of another house, leaving our parents' house, moving ourselves and our three boys into our permanent home, and decking the halls with boughs of holly.

For a family that has been displaced so frequently, Advent holds particular significance for us. Soon we'll be entering into our own Nazareth.

Soundtrack.

2011-12-06T11:14:00.000-06:00

My new favorite Christmas album. Wow, does this guy have a nice voice.

And the song currently stuck in my head during sleepless nights? I gush...

Variations on a Theme.

2011-11-17T10:43:00.002-06:00

The past two weeks have been interesting. All the three boys contracted a nasty chest cold that left them with fevers and coughing. All through the night the boys were waking from their coughs and needing medicine to reduce their fevers.

And then there's the baby. He was struck with his first double ear infection and antibiotics. He was, after all, worthy of the antibiotics since he had been sick for over a week and wasn't getting better.

Combine the sickness with daylight savings and....

....WHAM!!

NO SLEEP!

Between the coughs, fevers, and ear fluid causing infection, daylight savings caused an already sleep-deprived family to new levels of...well, depravity.

Last night was the kicker. The baby woke, as he does, and I fed him. Then, even though it was only 3am, I laid him back in his crib to hear a symphony of babbles, bubble blowing and growling. It went on, and on, and on. I did the only logical thing a mother in my situation could do, which was to nurse him to his heart's content until he fell asleep. The only problem is that nursing that much has a tendency to cause projectile spit-up and wet jammies and sheets.

You see the picture I'm painting, right?

Anyway, it was well after 5am before the baby was back sleeping. Half dreaming and half awake from the endless baby noises, I had the distinct thought that if a child were raised in the jungle as the famous Man Child was, he might, in fact, sound like the baby did last night. He does his fair amount of growling, after all.

My thoughts then wandered and I wondered, if a child were raised by a pack of wolves as opposed to a tiger, perhaps he might howl instead of growl. We hear about children who we suspect may have been raised by a pack of wolves, but I have yet to see any headlines. My baby growls, and my older two do have a tendency to behave like wild animals on occasion, but I'm afraid I have to bear (Ha! Pun!) the responsibility for that one.

Come on, boys, Pop Tarts for breakfast!

The Rocky Road to Dublin

2011-11-16T09:07:00.002-06:00

Am I the only one who really, really loved Sherlock Holmes?

I loved it. The musical score is on my iPod, my text message notification is The Rocky Road to Dublin (the song in the video), and I am genuinely looking forward to the sequel, which comes out on December 16th.

I may, or may not, like the movie based solely upon the leading actor, Robert Downey, Jr. The jury's still out, but I might have been the only one that saw Iron Man 2 in the theater, and Robert Downey, Jr. seems to be the common denominator.

Before you write me off for good, I swear my motives are purely innocent, Watson. This is just cool.

Yeah, cool.

Mouthpiece

2011-11-08T11:41:00.000-06:00

It's big news right now that the Duggar family is expecting their 20th child. It seems that while their family is overjoyed with the news, everyone else feels they need to criticize them. One particular comment that seems to be recurring is calling Michelle Duggar "selfish," for being "not happy with what she has," "making her other kids raise the little kids," comments about her health, and being "excessive."

How can we call a woman selfish who sees every child as a precious gift from God? How can we call a woman selfish for joyfully enduring months of exhaustion, sickness, fatigue, and the physical tolls of pregnancy? How can a selfish woman cope with labor, delivery, recovery, and then months upon months of breastfeeding, sleepless nights and diaper changes?

Most importantly, how can we call a woman selfish when she does these things because she believes it is her purpose, when it fulfills her because she is upholding her belief that all life is sacred, and she has been abundantly blessed for recognizing it?

This husband and wife have given everything of themselves not only in giving their children life, but to provide and educate them through the example of Christian service; putting others before themselves as Christ did.

Say what you will about the Duggar family, but selfish? No way.

A Month in.

2011-11-04T11:02:00.000-05:00

I got a text from Mark last night telling me that he met his requirement for billable hours for the month. He completes his first four weeks at his new job tomorrow. He texted me because he was out of town and spending the night in a hotel. In four weeks, he has been on business out of state, stayed in two different hotels, been up all night working twice, and has put easily over 700 miles on his car.

Sounds intense, right?

One might think. Then, when added to additional stress of putting our house on the market, arranging to move to a new house, as well as mishaps with our car, living without our belongings, and having three busy boys in general, you'd think we'd be on the brink of a breakdown.

We're not.

I cannot adequately explain how happy we've been this past month. Despite some stressful situations and (literally) sleepless nights, we are content. All it takes is for me to look back at our life a month ago today. There we were, in a house that wasn't ours, a town where even after a year we knew only a few people, and days and weeks gone by with nothing to do, nowhere to go, and general feeling of loneliness and isolation.

Here we are, a month in, and the month of "Thanks." I can tell that my children are happy. I know I am happy. Surrounded by family and friends, we are very thankful that our journey has brought us back right where we started.

Happy Friday.

Milestone.

2011-11-01T11:10:00.002-05:00

***Attention** **Attention***

We have a LOOSE-TOOTH in our family! The FIRST loose tooth!

Bring on the Halloween candy!

Brains.

2011-10-27T08:53:00.000-05:00

I laugh sometimes at how different my boys are from me. If I had to put myself into a category, I would definitely be the "creative" type. I have instant access to my creative side, and writing stories, poems, songs, music, etc., has always been second nature. As my oldest boy is growing up, I am finding that his brain works in ways that are a mystery to me.

Yesterday was Luke's first piano lesson. We decided to put our young five year old in piano at this particular time to see if it would push his budding brain to think in ways that he's not accustomed.

For example, yesterday the baby was crying in the crib. Luke heard him, checked on him, and went to tell me."Mom," he said, "Michael is crying. His face is pressed against the parallel lines in the crib."

Yup. The parallel lines. Luke is just...just...literal. He colors, puts together jigsaw puzzles, and builds with blocks and legos. And.that.is.it. For all the storybooks he's been read, for all the free time to play, he has little to no imagination. For him, all he knows how to "play" is building and solving.

What?????

So, to spark a little right-brained action, I thought piano would be the perfect challenge. I should have expected it out of him, but he seemed most impressed, looking at the keyboard more thoroughly, at the patterns the keys made on keyboard. Three black, two black, white, etc. And to think I thought piano would work the OTHER side of his brain, here my kid is looking for patterns. I should have known.

This is all confusing and new to me. My mind doesn't work this way, and I definitely get frustrated at times with the lack of "play" that my oldest should be able to do. But, we're trying, and maybe this will be a step in the right direction. Get it? Right Brain?

What type of learners do you have in your home?

Busy Bees.

2011-10-24T11:34:00.000-05:00

Today marks the start of week #3 at Mark's new job. I can't recall time moving this quickly in a very long while. The days have flown by, with the list of things to do growing exponentially each day. Mark is working hard, with him already have worked into the night, or over the night a few times, and this week marked with two separate depositions that will send him across the state and overnight at the beginning of the week, and six hours away to a separate state and the end of the week. This is different for us! And...what they say about corporate law (as opposed to government law...) is mostly true, we've found. Here we go!

Transitioning back to a familiar area has been the easy part. Of course, I have to get used to having the grocery store more than a half hour away, but I can cope with that. Now on our plate is another thing brewing. We have a house, you see, one that's being rented for the time being. But, along with transition comes change, and more excitement in the air. Sometimes our prayers are answered so definitively that it's difficult for me to imagine how people maneuver through life without prayer. Oh goodness, life isn't dull, is it?

And for today? My boys are building blocks. I'm in cahoots, but that's all right.

(For the record, I'm using the word "cahoots" totally incorrectly, but I like the way it sounds. Understand?)

The View From Here

2011-10-04T10:46:00.000-05:00

We are now only a short few days away from saying goodbye to the Great White North. Permanently. Since we have three boys, packing and cleaning our house takes a massive amount of patience and planning. Because Legos, socks, toast crust, and hot wheels have a talent of finding their way into every nook and cranny, we have successfully "shut down" multiple rooms in our house and are down to bare bones living.

This means that the computer is on the coffee table, we have one couch, paper plates, and a box of cars for the boys to play with. We have to make it until Friday like this, and even though we're restless and bored, I'll take this any day over the stress of packing all the "putsy" stuff that finds its way unaccounted for after all the furniture has been packed. This time around, nearly packing and moving experts, our furniture and boxes are ready and waiting in the garage for a fast and easy load into the truck.

I'm ready to go, in every regard. My planner is already being filled with activities for me and the kids, and events that I don't want to miss this fall. We will be on the move, busy, involved, and relieved to be in a less rural territory with more options for young families. We will be especially grateful to be back in a familiar diocese. I could really go on and on about that, but I'll refrain for the sake of Charity.

I am so, so, excited. You don't even know ;-) .

Oh, Fay!

2011-09-30T18:37:00.000-05:00

Just because if you have a two year, you should have fun with it.

Fun in our house?

"What About Bob" movie lines.

The first of many to come.

Grammar Boys.

2011-09-29T11:10:00.000-05:00

I had a very positive college experience. However, one professor was a struggle. The only thing I ever learned from her was the a doctorate degree couldn't guarantee intelligence, but it could guarantee tenure. I don't mean to sound cruel, but it was really that bad.

Once, after giving a presentation that I had carefully planned for, this professor singled me out to go on a diatribe about grammar. Apparently I had misspoken and had failed to use an adverb during my presentation. Although I can't remember the exact context, I imagine that I said something along the lines of, "After rigorous intervention in phonetical awareness, the student continued to perform poor on benchmark exams."

This omission dropped my score an entire letter grade. The professor pointed out that correct adverb use was being lost in schools and speaking language. Who knew? Perhaps out of pride or resentment, after that presentation I went on an adverb extravaganza, using adverbs whenever I could, and then teaching my children, from their first words, correct adverb usage.

Maybe my professor taught me something after all? Hum...jury's still out.

"Mom, I hurt my leg bad."
"Badly!"

"Dad, you did that awesome!"
"Awesomely!"

"Mal, you sang pretty."
"Prettily!!!!!"

This morning my two year old had a tummy ache. He crawled on my lap and wrapped his arms around me. Then he pointed to his tummy and said, "It hurts so badly."

Maybe adverb use isn't becoming obsolete after all. ;-)

Before I go on.

2011-09-28T07:59:00.000-05:00

I have this blogger rule where I intentionally try to keep blog posts about me and my family, and generally try to keep friends and extended family private.

But, in this case I have to break my rule a bit. I can't go on blogging about the Bumbo chair and fruit snacks without acknowledging that sometimes, even though I don't blog about it, life changes around me. There have been times in the past where I have watched a dear friend get married, but the next day I blog about keeping the house clean. Life moves regardless of what I blog about, and most things I choose to keep quiet.

Last week an elderly family member died after over ninety eight years of life. Days later close friends lost an infant daughter moments after birth. Our family spent Friday and Saturday at two separate funerals, grieving two very different lives, but still powerful in their purpose.

I struggled these past few days with what I could blog about, but there was no way I could go back to blogging without acknowledging a very significant event in the lives of our families and friends. It changes the life around us, even if it isn't written about here. And these people mean too much to us for me to go about my peanut butter and jelly blog posts without noticing the significance that death and life have.

People close to me are suffering a loss, and before I go on, I have to acknowledge it. And even when I return to blogging about the mundane, my heart is always with my friends and family.

*Peace*

Minnesota.

2011-09-15T13:48:00.000-05:00

Yesterday and today the weather here has been cooler than expected. Summer's over, I've accepted that, but could Fall, (nearly everyone's favorite season) be over so soon? The last two mornings brought us frost, and today the boys needed jackets for leaving the house.

Inside I'm dressed in a long-sleeved sweater and tights. Tights! I mean, I can handle putting away the bare legs and flip flops. But tights so soon? Really? The boys are dressed in sweatpants, sweatshirts, and socks. We must wear socks. The little one is wearing socks and a long-sleeved onsie over his fleece sleep-and-play.

Fleece. Did you catch that?

Since Monday I've resisted turning the heat on. This house is heated by a propane tank, and propane is insanely expensive. Since we're leaving in a few short weeks, not having to replenish the propane would be most beneficial.

However.

Our noses are cold, and our toes are cold despite socks and shoes. The little one has a runny nose. I just cannot let the little one be cold. I looked at the thermostat after avoiding it all week, thinking that it really wasn't that cold in the house. After all, it takes a while to get acclimated to the cold after the warmer summer months.

No, it really was that cold. In the heat of the day our indoor thermostat reads 62 degrees. Who knows how cold it's been getting overnight.

I relented. On goes the heat. If you remember, I posted mid-may of a snow storm up here, which means that we got only three measly months of decent weather in the past year

Looking on the bright side, because this time, no matter how awful the winter will be this year, there is a bright side. This winter we won't be spending the winter alone.

And have I mentioned that in addition to be closer to friends and family, that we will also be living a few hours SOUTH.

PTL.

Is This Thing On?

2011-09-14T13:02:00.000-05:00

I'm walking around in a bit of a fog today. Today is the third day in a row where the day started at 4am. My little man is all mixed up! Maybe it's teeth, changing seasons, the little runny nose he has, or just a keen perception of the transition our family is going through. Whatever the reason, today can be best be described as foggy. I'm just not all there, if you've know what I mean ;-) .

On days like this, my biggest struggle is having patience with the older two, especially my toddler, because well, toddlers take patience. Lots of patience.

Today being a "blah" sort of day, I'm reminded of the words of wisdom that I seem to be hearing from everyone these days. Whether it's in books, blogs, or in this week's case, after church, I keep hearing about a) how blessed I am to have little children, and b) that this time goes fast and to enjoy it.

The crowd at Saturday evening Masses vary drastically from the typical Sunday morning congregation. Our family is familiar sight on Sunday, along with the many other families that attend church. But on Saturday night, families are a rare commodity. So while I hadn't expected it, we were held up after Mass by a show of single women and older couples commenting on our boys.

They loved to see our children at church, and thought our family was "lovely" and "beautiful." Is it bad to admit that I enjoyed the affirmation? It's usually me that's doing the admiring. I'm always around lovely families and beautiful children. I like to observe families to see how they tackle the never-ending challenges that parenthood brings. So, to be the lone family at church and to be encouraged was just what was needed after a long day.

One woman said to me over and over again, "Never forget how blessed you are." She shared that she was never able to have children, and how she dreamed of having boys, and here I was with three. "Never forget how blessed you are to have these children." She was elderly, and I thought she would cry she spoke so intensely.

Naturally, the people who are giving me their time-treasured words of wisdom are no longer changing diapers, nursing babies, or buttering toast, but the sentiment is still the same. The days are long but the years are short.

Having these little people so dependent upon me is exhausting in every facet. Their physical, emotional, spiritual and educational needs are on a never ending cycle that require my 100% compliance, because I am their mother. And while it is admittedly draining to to work so hard every day (and night!), I've come to appreciate the gift it is to always have a chubby cheeks to kiss, a toddler to laugh with, and a preschooler who just wants to show me what he's accomplished that day.

Are the days long now? Yes.
Are the years short? I'm not sure.
But, will you be sad when they're over? Absolutely.

Five Months.

2011-09-12T13:42:00.000-05:00

Happy 5-month Birthday, Little M!

Today we're celebrating by cracking open our first bottle of Infant Motrin.

Why, oh why do my boys like to cut teeth so early? A new chapter is beginning in my little one's life. I foretell that he will follow the same pattern that the first two did and cut two to four teeth at a time until he turns one.

Poor baby. If only the first pains in life could be delayed just a few more months.

Coffee's On!

2011-09-08T14:55:00.000-05:00

Yesterday Mark accepted an offer for a new job. There it is! Those of us who know us (me) intimately know that this is the fulfillment of a deeply held desire for so many reasons. The primary one?

WE'RE GOING HOME!

The field of law is competitive, and I've always been up for the ride. So, even last year when we reluctantly packed up our house and moved from a community we loved, we did so with the intention that the time away would open doors and provide greater opportunities for our family. We knew it would be tough, we knew it wouldn't be forever, but we still didn't know how long our trek in The Great White North would last.

And, as eager as we were to return to our family and friends, we certainly wouldn't do it unless it was the right thing for our family, in the long and short term, which is why this news is so remarkable. See, we were preparing for at least another year here, maybe longer, with the prayer that we'd be back in time for our children to receive their religious education and First Communion in our diocese.

I prayed. I prayed every.single.day. The kids prayed with me, and every quiet moment we had on the way to the library or Wal-Mart was spent in short, pleading prayers that we would know what opportunity to grab for, that we would be prudent in the decision to move our family, and that our wants were in line with the will of God.

We also had a plan; a nice little plan with a bow wrapped around it, a plan that was practical...to us. But this particular opportunity was not a part of our plan. It's much different, yet, when we looked at how it literally fell into our lap out of nowhere, when everything Mark has done up to this point not only qualified him, but made him an ideal candidate for this opportunity, it made all of the moving around, the loneliness and uncertainty all of a sudden make perfect sense.

We've lived in many cities and states in the past few years. Anyone with a family knows how special it is for young children to have their close family around, and for our kids, this was particularly significant. All summer the kids would cry as we left home and had to head back to our house two hours away. During the week they'd cry for their cousins, their grandparents, and aunts and uncles.

Giving our boys back the wonder of a childhood filled with their loved-ones, wrapped in the security of extended family and friends in their daily lives, is what I am excited for most. My heart is full knowing that we'll now be able to provide that, above all else, for our boys. I'm humbled with joy.

Update: Community Survey

2011-09-06T11:34:00.000-05:00

I survived my interview with The Census Man. Thankfully, unlike the mailings that I received that threatened me with a $100 fine for each unanswered question, The Census Man happily accepted my refusal and agreed that I wouldn't want the rest of world knowing when we come and go from our house, etc.

Lots of stuff brewing this week. Excitement is in the air....

Community Survey.

2011-09-02T13:57:00.000-05:00

A census worker just knocked on my door.

I'm not one of those census protesters. On the contrary, last summer when we received the 2010 Census in the mail, I sent it back the next day. But this one is different. It's the American Community Survey, distributed by the Census Bureau.

It's mandatory, and I've ignored the three surveys they've sent me, and just sent away the worker who knocked on my door.

It was naptime, naturally. There are much better things to be doing during naptime than inviting a stranger into my home to answer personal questions.

I'm not a secretive person, nor do I have fear of the government. I don't conscientiously object to things or try to make much of a racket about anything in general. STILL, this survey is really, REALLY invasive.

You see, I filled out the survey months ago, and it took over an hour. I answered every question as faithfully as I could, but then couldn't send it back. It was almost too....degrading? I mean, did the Census Bureau turn into the IRS, along with a health insurance company and resume wrangler rolled all in one? Seriously?

To give you an example of the bizarre and invasive questions, here are some things that I am (apparently) required by law to answer:
What time do you leave for work in the morning? When do you get home? What is your annual income? What did you pay for your house? What do you pay for electric, heating, fuel, phone, etc? Which family members suffer from any one of these medical conditions? Where have you worked, what is your title, and what is the address of the places you've been employed at in the last five years?

Then it goes on to ask more questions about if you (or any listed family members) have difficulty getting to the toilet, and other odd issues.

The strangest thing yet is that it isn't even addressed to me, it's addressed to "Resident," which makes it seem all the more scammy. Trouble is, it's not. When the census worker asked for my name and phone number I had enough sense to politely tell him I wasn't comfortable with that, and he was on his way.

He'll be back though. And I still won't want to give him all of the information he wants. Hum. Perhaps I'll just need to reiterate back to him the function of the Census Bureau as defined by the Constitution and allow our household to be enumerated.

Ho hum. Not sure if I'm up for a fight with Big Brother, but at the very least I can be a bit uncooperative.

Sept. 1st.

2011-09-01T20:33:00.002-05:00

The leaves are already turning and falling from the trees. *Sigh*

Was summer really this short?

Out come the boxes that will soon be filled with too-small summer clothes and emptied of the warmer hand-me-downs.

Goodness, gracious that's a lot of long-sleeved cotton!

Snapshot.

2011-09-01T07:49:00.001-05:00

For 7am, there is just way too much going on at this little coffee table. Colored pencils, legos, and a 100 piece turtle have taken over my day before my contacts are even in. I shall have to drink the entire pot today.

The Wonder of it all.

2011-08-30T08:22:00.000-05:00

We're turning a corner as we're nearing a full year since we moved away for Mark's job. It hasn't been easy, and at times we both, along with our kids, have experienced the loneliness and isolation that being in a new, rural area brings. It sounds cliche, but through being alone with our little family we've learned a lot about appreciation, what makes us happy, and what we really want. Indeed, of the several new locations to which we've moved, this one has been the most challenging.

And with the transition to a new geography, we had a baby along the way. Michael is a blessing beyond words. I wrote about our second son, Paul, that having him didn't teach me to be a mother as it did the first time around, but helped me to embrace and love the sacrifice and joy that our days bring.

Having a single word like "embrace" and "teach" encompassed the first two children, and if I had to pick a word for the third, it would be a toss-up between "wonderment" and "freeze." Freeze, because I want time to stand still, I want to hold my growing baby as a newborn. I don't want him to start solids so soon, I don't want him to crawl away from me or cut a tooth. It's just happening too quickly.

And wonderment. What can I say? I started this post sharing the challenge of our past year. Then today I watched as my little one reached to grab a toy hanging over his head. It's so hard! He grabbed it, pulled it down and quickly put it in his mouth. The big boys were so excited, "Look, Mom! Look what Michael did!" We were so happy, and yet, it was such a simple thing. Still we marveled at how this baby is growing day by day, and the smallest of milestones brings us all wonderment as this very loved child gives us a greater perspective on the joys that every day can bring.

Cliche or not, I can't recall rejoicing when my first two reached for a toy and held it in their hand. Lesson learned. If the obstacles we've faced in the last year taught us anything, it was to appreciate the Wonder of it all. It's been worth it.

Catching up.

2011-08-29T12:51:00.000-05:00

I think our summer is just about over.

We've been gone from the house for several days; enjoyed the big city, met up with old friends, had a little vacation from the big boys, and topped it all off with a wedding, followed by a lot of fun in the water.

Now we're home, but who knows for how long!

For today we're catching up, returning phone calls, sorting laundry, and staying in our jammies until we can get things back together again.

Back to blogging soon.

Kids These Days.

2011-08-18T13:37:00.000-05:00

This morning while checking my email and the news, I glanced at our old hometown newspaper. There was a guest column (editorial, really) written by my old band teacher about kids these days. I have to admit that I did roll my eyes a bit at the doom and gloom. After all, I thought, I know lots and lots of great parents and wonderful kids. And, if said kids aren't behaving perfectly, as children cannot be expected to do, the parents are quick to acknowledge it, correct it, and humbly apologize.

It got me thinking. My kids aren't perfect, but they are nice. They aren't mean to each other, and especially not to anyone else. They just don't think of it. But, I am finding that the more we venture out to parks and playgrounds and the less we pick our own playdates (which we have done almost exclusively) that we will, inevitably, run into mean kids.

My heart breaks when I hear that other parents' five year olds are called "fat" and "ugly" at school, and I am dumbfounded when parents at the playground don't seem to care when their own kids are pushing, shoving and teasing.

If you read the article linked, you might get the same impression as me, that maybe it's not the kids who have changed, but the parents. When the author writes about misbehaving kids, it seems he is more inflamed with the parents' reaction to it than anything. That, while home-to-school used to be a collaboration, now one is pitted against the other.

This article made me a bit sad, honestly. Because after 35 years of teaching, the misbehavior of students has overshadowed the talents and character of other students. I can't guarantee that my children won't ever have a problem in school, but I can write definitively that the parents of the children I know are just as appalled and upset as the teachers. Except, it's their kids who are getting neglected in the classrooms, getting bullied on the bus, and being teased for simply being a kind person.

Here's to fighting the good fight!

Firsts.

2011-08-17T08:59:00.000-05:00

"Front Feet, Back Feet, Red Feet Black Feet,"

(The Foot Book, by Dr Seuss)

This week I forked over a boatload on shoes.

Not for me, for the kids. For us, it's a bit like "Fat feet, thin feet, wide feet, flat feet," because for the first time I spent way more money than I'm used to buying shoes from Stride Rite.

Luke is flat-footed for the time being, and now he is starting to walk on his toes. Paul always cries when we put shoes on him, and takes his shoes off whenever he gets the chance. They both have wide (tall is more accurate) feet and seem to be really bothered by their shoes lately. I've always been able to squeeze their feet into at least one pair of shoes from Kohl's or Target, but now I'm trying a different approach to see if a high-quality pair of sneakers will make a difference.

My boys typically aren't picky about clothing or shoes, so I'm keeping my fingers crossed and hoping that our new shoes are money well spent. If anyone has their own suggestions on stable, supportive, wide-width footwear, I'm all ears....and feet.

Milestone.

2011-08-15T15:18:00.002-05:00

Michael is 4 months old! He is the sweetest, chubbiest, most delightful little baby ever. He sucks his thumb, loves his two older brothers, and loves to giggle and be tickled. Indeed, this little one is bound to get spoiled with how much his parents and brothers dote on him.

And may I add that this one looks A LOT like his oldest brother, Luke, at the same age. Wow!

Luke @4 months

Oh my.

2011-08-15T09:25:00.000-05:00

We were going to be thankful for having a quiet, restful weekend at home. We were going to relax, get some work done, and not pack a suitcase for the first weekend in a long time.

Did it happen?

Not quite.

But, we are still very, very thankful.

Why?

Because Luke's grandpa is a surgeon.

Thanks, Poppy!

Salute!

2011-08-12T11:39:00.001-05:00

Did any of you, after moving to your first place on your own, ever come to the realization that you "had arrived." You know, like realizing that after three days with the same dirty dishes in the sink that the someone who was going to have to wash them was you? That the piles of laundry growing up in weren't, in fact, folded by the Folding Fairy, but by someone who had a vested interest in the maintenance of the home?

I've had many such moments in the past six years, some of them were rough; others laughable. Then, after a while, they didn't even phase me. Growing up, when your mother diligently cleaned the dog vomit off of the carpet, or the dirty diaper that the baby managed to smear all over the crib, it's not that she was particularly fond of doing these tasks, but that she was so accustomed to doing such things that not much phased her by then.

Truly, I am convinced that in the "arrived" category, that after six years, I cannot be shocked. Yes, I cried the first time I had to nurse a baby while sick in the bathroom, but by the time I two kids and was sick while nursing in the bathroom, instead of crying, I was just thankful that the three year old was keeping himself busy by racing his cars on the bathroom floor.

I think back to college when I would get irritated that I was spending my money on things like deodorant and toothpaste instead of new shoes. Today I'd much rather spend money on those things than water softener pellets or toilet cleaner.

Growing up is tough stuff. And really, as much as a person might be prepared for it, the shocking realization that you have a lot to care of besides yourself inevitably makes a person either grow up, or stop trying.

So, on this Friday, here's to Moms! If you have letter magnets on your fridge and a Blue's Clues bath mat on your bathtub, I salute you! If you're digging peanut butter out of the cracks in the kitchen table and scraping dried oatmeal off the walls, I salute you! If you do laundry every stinkin' day of the week, I salute you!

If you have nursed a baby in the bathroom, at a truck stop, or in a bar, I salute you!

We have arrived.

Minnesota Bound.

2011-08-11T12:40:00.000-05:00

My apologies for not being able to embed this video, but the site just won't let me!

Anyway, this is a short feature about the town I'm from (and maybe some of you are from, too :-) ). With the recent addition of paved trails and a new mountain biking destination, this small town is putting itself on the map.

It wasn't until I went to college out of state that I realized what a treasure it was to grow up in such a geographically beautiful area. I was almost shocked to realize that most people didn't drive by lakes everyday, swim and boat all summer, and have a cool lake breeze to ease even the hottest of summer days.

Now, a few hours away from our hometown, I appreciate even more the serenity of the area.

Milestone.

2011-08-11T12:25:00.000-05:00

Hey all.

I'm wearing a belt today.

No kidding.

It's been over a year, so I'm kinda having a party in my head.

That is all.

Things I Love: Organizational Tools

2011-08-10T13:11:00.001-05:00

I want to share an organizational tool that I've implemented in the past few months that has helped our household out tremendously. Not being able to find what I needed out of a traditional daily planner, I sought out to create my own. With weekly calendar fill pages, loose-leafed paper, sheet covers and colored tabs, I've been able to use a durable, and functional planner.

My planner functions include: to do lists, grocery lists, long and short term goals, a collection of funny things the children have said that I need to write down somewhere before I forget, books I want to buy, things for the house I want to buy, meal planning, and on and on and on.

I have tabs in here for different topics, i.e Household, Read-Alouds. If I'm looking through Pottery Barn Kids and see a great idea I'd like to implement for less money, I can tear it out, put it in a plastic sleeve, and keep it safely in my folder until the day comes for a project. If I'm reading a blog and someone is using books I'd like to check out for myself, I have a tab for that, too! I have multiple online tutorials for sewing, knitting, and preserving food that I've printed out and keep in my notebook for reference.

When it comes to picking out books at the library, while it may seem to be taking things a step too far, I find that have a rough "plan" for each week saves a lot of time. Sometimes the topics are narrow, such as Apples and Komodo Dragons, and other weeks they might be broad, like the seasons or farms. Having a topic to hone in on gives a little direction whilst surrounded by shelves of books. Book planning, and book requesting through the library is now a near-perfected system with my notebook. With weekly topics selected until Christmas, the boys and I are looking forward to learning more about Stealth Bombers and Tamarins, just to name a couple.

Sometimes life when the kids are little can seem so chaotic. Having a simple but maintainable system for organizing can help keep the peace (at least in my head ;-) ).

Is This Thing On? (A Fictitious Epidemic??)

2011-08-09T15:26:00.000-05:00

This video is 11 minutes long, but I really encourage anyone with children to watch it and think about the points being made. It is about the education system's model, and our rapidly changing world. As the mother of three sons, two of whom are extremely busy/fidgety, the education conversation and how to teach bright children without killing their inquisitiveness is something of a passion of mine, as well as many others.

I have so, so much I want to say about this topic, but I might save it for a different post.

Please, I'd love to know your thoughts on these ideas.

Overheard.

2011-08-04T09:50:00.000-05:00

Luke-isms

"Mom, did you know that some paleontologists have wives?"

"Mom, can I have Michael for my very own?"

"Mom, my wife is going to be more beautiful than you, and more beautiful than Paul's wife, too."

"Mom, I wish that all kids and adults could do whatever they wanted all the time."
"What would you wish to do, Luke?"
"I would eat treats all day long. And I would never get fat."

Have a nice day, everyone.

Guilty Pleasures.

2011-08-03T13:35:00.001-05:00

The kids were losing it. I have this love/hate relationship with the Science Center in our town. While I love the corn snakes, red-tailed turtles, tilapia tank, and bubble machine, there is a short threshold of excitement that the children can handle, and after spending so much time there, all at once they all need to use the bathroom, are hungry, want a drink, need to nurse, and are asking for something from the gift shop.

Time to go!

With two out of the three screaming, and me pushing the stroller carrying a diaper bag, along with the baby strapped into his Ergo, we dragged ourselves out the door. Having snagged a primo downtown parking spot, I started the process of getting each child situated in their seat and buckled, as well as dismantling the stroller.

A car pulled up next to mine with music blaring, just waiting to take my prized parking spot. Getting two carseats strapped, a booster buckled, and a stroller in the trunk on one's own is quite the task. I could hear the teenagers in the car grumbling about how long I was taking.

Once I backed out of the parking space the car behind me whipped in to take it. Glancing back as I moved the car out of reverse, I read the other car's rear window, plastered in Graduation 2011 car graffiti.

Bright red letters across the back read: "I am cooler then you."

Good thing, I thought to myself. I wonder if he's cooler than his English teacher, too?

I think I got the last laugh. Hee Hee.

Entertainment.

2011-07-28T16:12:00.000-05:00

I may or may not have shared that our family does not have cable, and because of our location, unless we have the crystalest of clear days, we only get one or two that come in. The kids are still little and the days are still long, so Netflix instant streaming is something we're very thankful for.

This summer a mini-series caught our eye on Netflix. The Kennedys was apparently given horrible reviews, but then went on to receive many Emmy nominations. The Kennedys are way before my time, indeed, even before my parents' time, as much of the drama happened when their generation was still very young. Still. the allure exists today, and I have been captivated.

It's obvious that the production of this mini-series is a bit low-budget, and the acting isn't anything to marvel at. However, the history and drama is interesting, especially for those (like me) who didn't live through or quite understand the times.

If you can instant stream through Netflix, watch The Kennedys and let me know what you think! My $0.02 is that Bobby Kennedy is the most fascinating and complex of characters. After watching all six episodes, it was him that I wanted to learn more about more than any other. Oftentimes, after watching an episode, Mark and I would be waiting to Google all of the questions we had about the events portrayed (we're cool like that).

Overheard.

2011-07-25T13:26:00.000-05:00

If we're not listening to music, I'm a big fan of Podcasts. I listen to them while I'm ironing or doing dishes and the kids are occupied enough for me actually pay attention to the topic. There are various podcasts that I listen to, mostly on the lines of family, parenting, and faith.

I like Dave Ramsey, too. Today my two year old was playing with two cars. One car was talking to the other car. The conversation got a little heated when one of the cars yelled at the other,
"I'M DEBT FREEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE!!!!!!!!!!!!!"

You're Killing Me, Smalls!

2011-07-22T16:53:00.000-05:00

Alright, you guys, I have to 'fess up.

So, yes, we had a mini-disaster this week when I flooded the house. I'm still trying to suck up water from the carpet among other things.

What I forgot to mention, or more accurately, what I left out intentionally was that I also did something like really, really dumb.

Okay, so I soaked up a few dozen towels, right? Well, after ringing them out I threw them in the dryer. Not all of them, but a lot. I guess it was too heavy or something because after a minute I smelled burning rubber.

Snap!

Yup, I snapped the belt on the dryer. Thus, the dryer is not working. Which means that in addition to a house flood, I also have pee-water saturated towels trying to dry in 90 degree humidity.

You couldn't make this stuff up.

Yellow Car.

2011-07-21T15:46:00.001-05:00

If you read the strawberry picking post from Sunday, you'll see my little Paul carrying around his Yellow Car.

Yellow Car was an "un-birthday" gift from Luke's 5th birthday. My parents thoughtfully gave Paul a present, and he loved it. Yellow Car hasn't left Paul's hand for the last month, and follows him in the car, to bed, in the bath, the grocery store and library, and even traveling on the weekends.

Yesterday was 90 degrees outside; too hot to do anything. I called Mark and we agreed to meet at a local beach after he was off from work.

In central/northern Minnesota the lakes are plentiful, and with the rare exception we don't go to beaches. Many family and friends live on the lakes surrounding us and we've always enjoyed the water with them. Here, in the Great White North we don't know many people, and so, to the beach we went.

I was a sight to behold as I unloaded a car of three kids, a stroller, cooler, towels, sand shovels, beach blanket and a thermos of juice. "Wow, this is hard," I thought as I tried to keep the sun out of the baby's eyes as I slathered sunscreen on the big boys and clipped life jackets into place. Mark hadn't arrived yet, but the kids were anxious to get into the water. Each boy grabbed a bucket, shovel, and a few toys and headed to the sand.

Intent on watching the boys closely at a public beach, I took off my shoes and rummaged through my bag looking for baby's hat. No sooner had I put on baby's hat and stood up to closely supervise the sand activities did Paul start screaming.

A little boy of about four had snatched Yellow Car right from Paul's hands. I was only a few feet away, but it was already too late. The little boy threw Yellow Car as far as he could into the water. Then, he bent down and picked up another car and brought his hand back to throw when I raced and caught his hand just in time. The boy argued with me about playing with the toys, while I, as a "bully mom" (or as Sarah Palin would say, Mama Grizzly), had to explain to the boy that he wasn't allowed to throw our toys.

Rolling my shorts up with a baby in hand and screaming two year old on the beach, I braved the waters and searched for Yellow Car. Mark came a few minutes later and continued the search unsuccessfully.

We left the beach without Yellow Car. If it were any other toy it wouldn't have been a big deal. The beach toys were expendable, and we happily shared our shovels and buckets with the other children at the beach. But the loss of the Yellow Car broke my heart, because to Paul it was like a beloved blanket or stuffed animal, not just a car.

I realize that we shouldn't bring things to the beach that we can't afford losing or being damaged, but I had long since given up the battle of trying to pry Yellow Car out of Paul's hands. And for the boy, I can't really blame him. He had done numerous other irritating things during our trip to the beach, and we honestly couldn't figure out who his caretakers were. He didn't leave Mark's side when he was playing with our boys in the water, and he argued with me again as I collected our belongings to go, wanting to take them for himself. I prayed for this little one, knowing that while he might have wanted our things, his needs were much deeper.

Today we're hoping that Paul can soon attach himself to a new car, although making an emergency trip to Target isn't out of the question.

Disaster!

2011-07-20T08:04:00.001-05:00

We went out last night to get out of the house for a bit after a rainy day inside. As we scurried to get out the door, diapers were changed, clothes were changed, and I started a load of laundry.

Two and a half hours later we walked into the sound of running water and a total flood in our house.Water was everywhere--at least an inch thick, all through the entryway, kitchen, dining room, nursery, and laundry room. Gulp. The laundry room. Water was pouring through the top of the washing machine tub. It never stopped filling and had been filling for two and a half hours!

Oh! I can't believe I left out the fun part! The washing machine was full of dirty cloth diapers! So, the entire downstairs of our house was flooded with poopy and pee water!

AAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

It was already past bedtime and the kids were all crying before we even got in the house. Mark took the kids while I developed a game plan. I grabbed our humble little Shop-Vac and got to work, filling it every 30 seconds. Over and over and over again I stayed in the same spot and the water kept coming,

Mark put a movie on for the kids and started carrying all the furniture outside. It's Minnesota, mind you, and at night if you open a door for even a second, there will be mosquitos, and here we were with the door wide open emptying out the house. There were bugs everywhere.

We've been married for six years now, and because of the conservative use of our bath towels, we don't have any of what I would call "icky old towels." When we had our homebirth I had to ask around, and my dear mother gave me a humongous stack of icky old towels. I had since packaged them up for safe keeping in the garage, but they came out again last night. With water pouring into the floor vents (is that dangerous?) we created a barricade with towels. Mark and I went back and forth between ringing out the towels and managing the shop-vac. Mark took a break to put the big boys to bed, I took a break to nurse and change the baby.

After a few hours we were finally done. Bug-bitten, dirty, sweaty, wet with wrinkling feet, the floor was as dry as it could have gotten. We threw the towels in a heap on the floor to deal with later and fell on the couch.

I thanked Mark for getting the kids taken care of, and checked on them for the night. They were sleeping soundly...with snowman fleeced footie-jammies...in July.

:-) .

In the Field

2011-07-17T18:37:00.001-05:00

We went strawberry picking today!

It was FUN. It was SO, SO HOT. Literally, it was like being in a steam shower. Literally. Yes, our glasses fogged when we went outside.

The boys were old pros at gathering the plentiful berries. In no time we had about 15 quarts.

Michael slept for a good portion of our picking, although I had to take him out to nurse in the middle of the field. With a french braid and skirt; nursing a baby among the crops, I did feel a bit like Ma Ingalls.

Luke brought his own special pail (an old Easter basket) to fill. He was quite proud and enjoyed eating them all the way home.

Squatting extraordinaire! Paul is my right (or in this case, left) hand man.

They like to watch me work.

Mark loves this kind of stuff ;-) ;-) .

Paul ate more than he picked. The owners encouraged it. I thought it was cute. Notice "Yellow Car." It never leaves his hands. Ever.

Today we're thankful for red-stained fingers, a fun family first, midday thunderstorms, and air conditioning.

Babies.

2011-07-14T15:00:00.001-05:00

Today during naptime I laid our 3-month old on the bed while I set up the ironing board next to him. My thinking was that he would kick around and play while I ironed and made baby faces at him. I can usually get about ten minutes out of this maneuver before my babies want to be held, or more directly entertained.

No sooner had I started my podcast and pressed the first shirt had little baby started sucking his thumb.

A few minutes later the little guy had sucked himself to sleep.

In my five years of babies, never has anything so absolutely magical occurred. Miraculous, Precious, Wonderful beyond description. My 3-month old put himself to sleep.

I love this boy.

Things I Love.

2011-07-13T15:31:00.000-05:00

I love coffee, tea, and red wine (who doesn't?). Unfortunately, these things stain your teeth. In my case, my teeth get particularly stained in quite an unsightly way. Despite frequent brushing and flossing, I always seem to have black spots all over my teeth from staining (apparently this is a hereditary condition, as my husband and others who drink even more coffee than I do don't have this problem as severely).

I've been known to coupon a time or two, and one thing that I can get for free or close to free is Colgate toothpaste. If Wal-Mart has it on sale for $1.00, I often have coupons for -$0.75 or -$1.00 off. We often have four or five tubes of Colgate on hand for this reason.

The problem is that while I'm cavity-free, Colgate does nothing for the staining.

Enter Crest 3D White Vivid

We received a free sample of this new Crest product in the mail a few weeks ago. I'm not one for gimmicks, but it actually did wonders for the stains on my teeth. It worked so well that we actually forgoed our Colgate and forked over the nearly $4 a tube for this stuff. It worked that well. Perhaps we'll strike a compromise: Crest after coffee, Colgate before bed.

Commercial Exploitation.

2011-07-12T09:30:00.002-05:00

I might really lose some people on this one, so my apologies in advance. I'm big on big issues, and I have good points to back up my positions. For this one, I just have a feeling, without huge convictions, because it's not that big of a deal. Take it or leave it, it's just my $0.02.

I don't like commercialism. I never have. Being different from the crowd by not wearing or doing what everyone else was wearing or doing didn't phase me, and in a way, I insisted on it. Maybe it's because I'm more of a right-brained, creativity-valued person, or more accurately, that I refuse to be something that I'm not.

This position has affected our household in different ways. We don't have cable, and the one channel we do get only works when there's a clear sky. This means that that the children don't see commercials, and their television is very limited. The two year old still loves Thomas the Train, and the five year old is crazy about Lightning McQueen, but their genuine interests still shine through the off-the-wall marketing of these products.

The biggest impact commercial exploitation has in our home is in the form of clothing. With the exception of underpants and pajamas, I do not purchase clothing with visible brand names, logos, commercial characters (Thomas, Spiderman), superfluous printing, or (this is the big one) sporting franchise logos.

Why? I don't have a great reason, maybe not even a good reason except that they bug me. My boys like dinosaurs and pythons and Komodo dragons, not watching the NFL My five year old likes to wear the color red and a yellow tie everywhere. My two year old likes fire trucks and monster trucks and anything to do with animals--especially dogs. This is who they are right now. In the future, if they love the Minnesota Twins, or get really into comic strips and want to wear superhero-marketed clothing, I'll happily let them. But for now, as little boys, I want them to look like little boys.

I don't want the crowd to dictate what they wear, what they should like, and what their interests should be. God made them unique with different treasures and talents, and I want those to be fostered, not an over-riding obsession with fitting in.

It turns out that I'm not the only one who thinks this way. There is an organization especially designed to give children a commercial-free childhood. The tag-line for the CCFC is "Reclaiming Childhood from Corporate Marketers." I like it.

Even our old pal Raffi is on board. Do you know that Raffi has never allowed any of his music to be marketed, even refusing a Baby Beluga animated video? Until his death, Dr. Seuss was the same way, strictly limiting any kind of commercial marketing of his products.

Thoughts? Objections? Suggestions? How do you feel about the marketing geared at your children? Does it bug you, or do you tend to brush it off?

Just because...

2011-07-11T13:16:00.000-05:00

Just because she asked, I've added one more link to the "Factoids" section of this blog.

Because Grace Under Fire is a favorite post of a devout reader, and because it really does sum up the basis of this blog, that behind the mask of smiling kids and a happy family, we're not perfect. If it's not a fiery frying pan thrown out on the snow bank, it's the five year old putting things in his mouth that a two year old would know better ;-) .

Really, there are myriad stories of our ridiculousness. I only choose to post the ones that are the least embarrassing.

Overheard.

2011-07-07T11:06:00.000-05:00

You know you're Catholic when the toddler mistakes your contact solution for Holy Water and walks around the house blessing himself and all the stuffed animals.

True story.

(Do you know how many "likes" this would have gotten if it were a facebook status? Ho hum).

Mouthpiece

2011-07-06T14:32:00.000-05:00

I don't listen to Rush. Honestly. However, I think he makes a point that one should consider carefully.

Rush: If Anthony's Baby Was Killed In The Womb, Media Wouldn't Care

Blogger Update.

2011-07-06T09:02:00.000-05:00

Since Change is cool these days, and life is dynamic, I've updated the "About Me" section of this blog, as well as added a "Factoid" section.

Not that the world doesn't know enough about us yet, but just in case...

Home away...away from Home.

2011-07-05T20:59:00.001-05:00

Our simplistic life can become so complicated in a matter of minutes.

Another week, another weekend away from Home, and back Home again.

We're in a predicament here. Our "house" is far from what we consider our "home." We travel "home" frequently, and leave our "house" in shambles between our spurts back and forth. Home, for us, is where our families live. Parents, grandparents, great-grandparents, Aunts & Uncles, Great Aunts & Uncles, troves of cousins, second and third cousins, and friends are bound to surround to us to every visit "home."

This makes our life richly blessed. It also makes it complicated.

We arrived back at our house at 2am this morning. Mark had to be at work early, and yet we couldn't peel ourselves (or the kids) away from the fun we were having. The house is always the same, meaning, it's always the way we left it--in a rush to get out. There are towels to be washed, sheets to be changed, dishes to put away, and maintenance unending. Add a heaping pile of dirty clothes from the weekend and the largest Samsonite you've ever seen left to be emptied, and I've got my work cut out for me. In only a few days we'll start the cycle all over again.

"Home" is complicated, too. A sweep through my diaper bag revealed that I still have the sunscreen I borrowed from my sister, and I seemed to have left my most lightweight nursing blanket behind. Nuts! The big boy is upset because we can't find his parade candy, and the toddler is overtired and bug-bitten from head-to-toe.

Even after careful planning, there are still things amiss. Travel is tough, there is no doubt. We return to our house with an empty fridge that needs to be filled strategically so that nothing goes to waste by the time we're off again. At home, we try to bring as much food along with us as we can so we don't clear out the cupboards of our generous loved ones.

It's all worth it, though. Despite the travel and mess, and the chaos that greets us at our house door, we still find a good excuse to pack it all up week after week. It's probably not even a tough decision, because along with the fellowship of friends and family, we get to enjoy this all day long.

We're starting the little one young. Here is his napping in his Britax next to the Deere. A nap by the water never hurts, right?

Out...and About.

2011-06-30T21:43:00.000-05:00

Just wanted to write a quick update to tell everyone that we're sticky, hot and humid, with our hair fizzing into curls!

After a short weekend back home and a quick week up here, we're gearing up for another long weekend for the 4th back home. Between washing laundry and taking care of the quick tasks here, it doesn't leave much time for this good old blog.

Not that there aren't a million things to blog about, I mean, we just had a big birthday party, our two year old is JUMPING all around the house, the baby is getting SO chubby and cute, and we have the 4th of July to look forward to. (Did I really just end a sentence in a preposition? Don't judge, I'm tired.) For those of my readers who are not from MN, I will try to post some pictures of the gorgeous sites where we'll be spending our time.

Throw in a carefully-planned coffee date with my be-all-end-all best-buddy, and new baby introductions to our visiting family members, and our impending summer days are stuffed with fun.

Enjoy!

Have I Mentioned...?

2011-06-27T19:13:00.001-05:00

Have I mentioned that I am now the proud mother of a...FIVE YEAR OLD???!!

It happened. Luke turned five. I'm officially a mother of a "big kid."

I was just discussing motherhood-related issues with a few of my fellow and seasoned mothers. We've had issues in our house with, um...talking. Not talking back. Not potty-talk, just talking....like the non-stop, I've completely drowned out your voice, what in the world are you saying kind of talking.

This is a boy who clearly wasn't getting the hint that when I said, "Luke, I am not angry with you, but you really need to stop talking now," when he goes on to explain that he not only has something important to say, but that his Lego car with two wheels instead of four doesn't have the proper foundation to support the weight of the Lego Knight because the Lego Knight wasn't originally intended to be riding on a two-wheeled Lego cart, but rather a horse, but the horse cannot be found because The Demolisher (aka Little Brother) had been hiding it in the dinosaur fortress in the playroom.

That's not exactly how he talks, but those who know him know that I just about have it right.

And then today I was able to clean and mop three bathrooms, wash two loads of laundry, sweep, vacuum and mop the wood floors, and have a whole roast chicken served with garlic-herbed wine sauce for dinner.

I didn't know it at the time, but it was all because we got THIS for Luke's birthday.

Ahh....the silence

Is this thing on?

2011-06-23T11:42:00.000-05:00

Confession: I can't fold a fitted sheet.

Can.not.do.it.to.save.my.life.

I want to be able to, and have looked up Youtube videos, read magazines with step-by-step instructions, and have even gone as far as laying my freshly washed sheet on my goldfish crumb-laden carpet to get the corners to line up correctly.

It's no use. Let's face it, I just end up rolling it up into a big, ugly ball every time, and there it sits taunting me as it spews out of the closet shelf.

Sorry Martha, I'm a domestic drop-out.

Outings.

2011-06-21T08:37:00.000-05:00

Of all the years to move to the greatest state in the union (Minnesota), this year would NOT be the one. In addition to Dayton planning to tax the wazoo out of everyone (highest taxes in America, people), our precious summer months are being rained out. We had rain everyday last week, and we're gearing up for another week full of rain. It's actually cold today!

If we can conquer -20 below, we can certainly cope with a bit of rain. So, our outings have consisted of a lot of trips to the post office and library.

I love the library. Seriously, love it. Going to the library for me almost carries the excitement of buying a new pair of shoes, except without the guilt. What? I can get anything I want? And it's free? And there's no limit to how much I can bring home with the exception that I need to be able to physically remove it from the premises? Wow.

Our local library in the Great White North isn't what I'd dub "child friendly." The children's section is right next to the entrance doors, and a great divide of computers separates the children's books from all other materials. That means that I am left to caravan the kids with a list of call numbers in hand whenever there's a book I'm after. We always manage to get "shushed" by the information desk while my kids try their hardest to whisper (kids trying to whisper always sounds louder than their actual speaking voice, don't you think?). Yes, we must be quiet at the library, I remind my kiddos. After all, we wouldn't want to disturb the 90% of patrons who are actually truants using the library solely for Facebook

On we trek through the board books, easy readers, DVD's, fiction, non-fiction and magazines until each of us has a backpack full of books. Add a Britax Chaperone carrying a hefty boychild to the mix (goodness, those things are heavy!), and we're quite the sight. We lug our bags onto the counter, hand over our "ticket" and then we're off, each of us tilting slightly to the side over the weight of our books.

When we get home it's like Christmas morning! Something for everyone...

Post-Baby Workout.

2011-06-15T19:53:00.001-05:00

I've made it no secret that I've put on momentous amounts of weight during my three pregnancies. While I was resigned to it during this pregnancy and knew what to expect, I can't help but be a bit impatient waiting for it to come off. Exercise is not important to me only to lose weight and tone my body, but I actually thrive when I am active. My anxiety seems to melt away along with the calories, and I find my head clearer. Indeed, a good walk on a bad day can turn me around in a heartbeat.

Since we're not in our suburb anymore and I'm not able to walk on the asphalt trails for pedestrians, nor am I able to maintain the hour long P90X workouts that my husband does, I've been doing Jillian Michaels 30-day Shred, which, I think, packs a decent workout in 20-30 minutes. At this point, 30 minutes is about all I'm able to commit to during the day with three boys.

The thing I've found most humorous with the Jillian Michaels' workouts is how apparent it is that she has never delivered a baby.

How do I know this, you wonder?

Well, because the workout goes a little something like this:
Jumping Jacks,
Butt Kicks,
Jump Rope,
Plank Jumps,
Plank Kicks,
Jumping Jacks,
Double Jumps,
High Knee,
Low Knee,
PEE!
PEE!!!!!
PEE!!!!!!!!

Unsupervision.

2011-06-13T19:49:00.000-05:00

Is it too much to ask that I nurse the baby without a major disaster occurring?

Apparently.

Milestone.

2011-06-10T08:39:00.001-05:00

Monday marks a big day in our household. I'll be dropping Luke off at church every morning and then picking him up after lunch for Vacation Bible School. It goes all week.

A big deal? YES.

It's uncommon that I'm away from the children for any amount of time. If I am, it's usually for a grocery run, or a rare weekend lunch with friends. If we ever leave the kids they are almost exclusively left with a close relative. This time I'll be leaving Luke with strangers all morning--for five days in a row! Maybe it's more of a milestone for me than for him?

Luke is supremely excited, and I'm confident that leaving him in a classroom full of unfamiliar faces won't daunt him a bit. He's just that kind of kid, which is nice, but a little heartbreaking for me as I await my hugs and kisses goodbye only to see that he's made two new friends and has engaged them in an game all in the span of 45 seconds.

Yes, he's getting big. Our conversations are slowly shifting to the serious business of loose-teeth, pants with zippers and buttons, and learning how to wash hair in the shower.

How'd we get here? It's amazing to think, as I nurse and rock and coo my two-month old, that I did the very same things with my VERY soon to be five year old. The transition from burp cloths to Buzz Lightyear did go fast.

I had Luke only a few months after turning 22, and Mark and I were sharing with him last night how when he's a teenager that he'd have parents younger than many of his friends. Mark was trying to get Luke excited about this fact and told him how cool and hip his parents would be, you know, being in their forties and all.

Luke, looking confused shared, "But Dad, parents can't be cool."

And then we wondered if it was him or us that had grown up too quickly.

Regardless, here and now is a wonderful place to be.

Set it at rest...

2011-06-06T12:51:00.006-05:00

Do you ever read something that speaks right to you, that seems to be written right from your own heart? Every once in a while this happens to me, when the events of the day are providentially coordinated with what I happen to stumble upon in prayer or reading. For me, it's like nourishment for my soul.

Elizabeth Foss wrote last week about the struggle mothers have with the virtue of gentleness. The entire post is quite good, and I encourage you to read it, especially if you are lacking in this area (as I am...)

One of the quotes I found especially touching, and something I have taken to heart. Things in our house can go from wonderful to miserable in a matter of seconds. Boys will be playing sweetly, baby will be content, when all of sudden a brother takes a beloved toy and the other brother snaps while the baby decides to fuss at the same time. These scenarios happen dozens of times a day, and trying to stay on top of them in a peaceful and gentle manner takes constant effort. Sometimes I'm successful, sometimes I'm not.

Maybe this one needs to go on my mirror...
Put your soul every morning in a posture of humility, tranquility, and sweetness, and notice from time to time through the day if it has become entangled in affection for anything; and if it be not quiet, disengaged and tranquil, set it at rest. -- St. Francis De Sales

Boys and Food.

2011-06-06T09:06:00.001-05:00

A few sayings overheard this weekend.

From a newly-turned two-year old, just learning to talk: "More cracker and hummus, please."

From Daddy to the newly-turned two-year old: "Okay Buddy, is the food in your mouth gone? Okay, now take another bite. We have to teach you how to eat so you don't have to spit out all of your food."

From Mom to the soon-to-be five year old: "Please don't kiss the baby when I'm trying to nurse."

The almost five: "Can I have more chicken, please?" Mom: "It's fish." Him: "Yeah, fish is my favorite chicken."

The five: "Is it time for a protein shake?" Two: "Protein shake?"

Gratuitous Baby Shot

2011-06-02T08:05:00.000-05:00

On Tuesday I put away my first box of baby clothes, all sized Newborn-3 months. Most of it Michael hadn't even worn. He just grew too fast! This little guy is my longest baby, and judging by the way he's filling out, he's on his way to being the biggest. He's seven weeks old now.

We started cloth diapering this week, too. The baby buns in our house just got a little bit softer, and a little bit cuter :-) .

Things I Love.

2011-06-01T11:01:00.000-05:00

I am quite torn on the controversy surrounding the secretion of food proteins into breastmilk and the concept of an elimination diet. There are two sides to every story, and I'm not convinced either way.

However, one thing that has been proven, and even encouraged to me from my physician is a trial of dairy elimination for a baby struggling with fussy and painful gas. The protein from cow's milk does pass through breastmilk and can affect certain nursing infants.

My otherwise peaceful baby is not peaceful when I've eaten dairy. The difference in temperament is so drastic that I can no longer deny this aspect of my diet. And after an almost two week elimination trial, I tested it yesterday and ate a half slice of pizza for a lunch, and mashed potatoes with milk and cheese with dinner.

It was a rough night and a rough morning.

Bummer. I really, really, REALLY like pizza...and cheese....and milk...and ice cream...lasagna...

I'm not going to go on a dairy witch hunt and eliminate things like Ritz crackers or butter (gasp!), but I have been trying to replace the obvious dairy in my diet.

For starters, Almond Milk.

I was SO scared to try this, but I have to admit that it's not nearly as freaky as I thought it would be. I mix it in my eggs, stir it with protein powder, and have used it as a general milk substitute. It's not bad! And, apparently this stuff could actually be good for you?!

Drink up!

Up to.

2011-05-30T20:15:00.000-05:00

I've been gone. Have you noticed?

Mark had a business trip out of state while my trio of boys and I left and enjoyed our family in the Lakes Area. For the last ten days my boys have had the time of their lives spending days with their grandmas, grandpas, great-grandparents, aunts, uncles, and cousins. Oh my, lots of cousins.

They played,
and played,
and played,
and played.

It was a wonderful, relaxing, and much-needed escape to the sanctuary of family in the most beautiful (in my opinion) part of Minnesota. As miles of cars traveled south back to the Twin Cities on over-crowded, small town streets, I think with pride, Ha! I get to live here.

While we were visiting our families, we thought it most appropriate to Baptize our newest bundle.

Welcome to the Christian family, Michael. You have put on Christ, in Him you have been Baptized!

(FYI, I'm wearing the preppy white cardigan, and Mark is next to me. Michael's Godparents are holding him.)

A Mouther.

2011-05-19T14:03:00.001-05:00

I've called Poison Control a lot. Like...ten times? And seriously, I got so embarrassed about calling 911 to ask for Poison Control that the direct number not only made its way to the refrigerator, but on speed dial of my phone.

The funny part of this is that of the numerous times I've needed Poison Control, it's always the same child who has been the culprit, and wouldn't you know it, it's not the current difficult one.

Yes, Luke, our oldest, is what I'd like to call a "Mouther." A "Mouther" since birth, it wasn't uncommon that I would nurse him for two or three hours on end. I was always frantically picking objects off the floor knowing they'd end up in his mouth (or diaper), and there were many toys that while recommended for ages 3+, I knew that if the pieces fit in his mouth that they'd inevitably be in his mouth.

I imagine that most parents have called the Poison Center for common occurrences like their child eating the toothpaste (check!) or eating more than one vitamin (check!).

But, has your child eaten a dishwasher tablet (check!), or taken a bite out of your favorite Mr. Clean Magic Eraser (check!)?

Has your four year old bitten through one of those fun glow-in-the-dark necklaces on the way home from a Halloween party and appear to be radioactive? (check!)

Our little woodchuck is soon to be five, and he still puts everything (EVERYTHING) in his mouth. It's not uncommon for us to remind him during the day to take his shoe out of his mouth, a block, to stop licking the doorknob, or to stop biting his toenails. I could go on, but you get the idea.

Maybe you have a child who has similar uncontrollable urges, say, to lick a dollar bill from the till at McDonlads. It's alright, I won't judge. I won't even make that grossed out germophobe face.

Promise.

I will probably laugh though.

Is This Thing On?

2011-05-18T16:18:00.004-05:00

"Bear one another’s burdens, and in this way you will fulfill the law of Christ."

Galatians 6:2 NRSV

A faithful woman recently shared with me the necessity of transparency, to show ourselves to others in a true sense. Just as a window is transparent to let light in, so must we also be transparent to let The Light of Christ shine in us and through us to others.

Who are we to others? To Christ? When light is shone on us, what does it reveal?

"Is This Thing On," is a new label and category I'm adding. It's my microphone for transparency, a sometimes clean, other times smudged and scratched window into strengths and weaknesses as honestly, and as transparently as I can make them.

If blogs are good at anything, it's the ability to show the best of our lives. We never see the screaming kids, microwaved dinners, exhausted mother, or the dirty windows; perhaps appropriately so. All I want to do is level every so often as an encouragement to those who are tempted to think that they are the only ones who don't have it all together.

While we can't all be neighbors, I'd like to think that we all share a cup of coffee over the internet waves while our kids patiently wait for more apple juice :-) .

Things I Love.

2011-05-17T11:51:00.000-05:00

I'm not big on conventional cleaning products. Yes, paper towels are helpful and those disinfecting wipes can come in handy, but I'm not big on buying them if I can make do without. And, most of the time I can.

There is one item, however, that I cannot find an alternative for and that I keep buying and buying.

I love these. Here's why. My boys ALWAYS have dirty hands. Their fingers are always full of marker, paint, dirt or food. They come in from outside, try to pry off their shoes while holding onto the wall for balance and get fingerprints all over. Their hands may not look soiled when they grab each white railing on their way up the steps, but after a day or two, oily smudges appear all over the railing and trim.

(note to any home-builder: Never, ever, ever put white trim in your home if you plan on having children. Oh boy!)

Basically, our walls and trim and doors always look filthy, and these sponges work like...you guessed it...Magic! I also use them to scrape soap scum off the bathtub, and yesterday they successfully removed oil-based paint from wallpaper.

So, while you may see me making-do with baking soda and vinegar, these I cannot do without.

Thwarted.

2011-05-13T13:32:00.001-05:00

My last post was published but then sucked into blogger oblivion. Apparently, Blogger has been having some maintenance issues.

I'm not going to re-post, I'm only going to recap.

1. I love the natural smell of a newborn's head. I could just breathe it in all day. Wait a minute, I already do that :-)
2. I've always thought I've loved Minnesota. After this horrid winter and then finding five woodticks on my pants after a walk, I'm not so sure.
3. I'm really antsy to do something. I'm waiting to be inspired...and get some sleep so that I have the energy to do this so-called something.
4. A month post-partum and I have that crazy urge to CUT MY HAIR. Patiently waiting for that temptation to subside.
5. My middle guy has been such a hunny this week, really. We do have some temper issues to deal with, as well as some post-baby adjustment, but when it comes down to it, there's nothing like a toddler who crawls into your lap just for a kiss and hug.
6. Coffee. Wow. It's just that good.

Humility.

2011-05-06T08:35:00.000-05:00

There were many parenting books that I read with out first son. I thought he might be a strong-willed child, or maybe I just wanted to be equipped in the event that he was. The parenting strategies we used with him worked marvelously, and aside from being a busy-body, wiggle-worm, our discipline routine worked well.

I was often perplexed at other parents explaining the discipline issues with their children. Their kids threw such big tantrums that they had to leave places. Their kids hit them, kicked them, refused to sit in the high chair, or threw themselves into dangerous situations. Their kids screamed when they didn't get their way and more or less ruled the household.

At the time, I couldn't figure it out. My first born has had one tantrum, and it was, respectively, a few weeks after bringing home a new baby. He was three. "Why can't parents get their kids under control.?" I wondered, "Why aren't they disciplining their children?"

Um. To all those parents out there: I'm sorry. I get it now.

In the last three weeks I have had more physical battles with my two year old than I have had in nearly five years of motherhood. I have heard hours of screaming tantrums, have endured objects thrown across the room, feet and hands hurling toward anything or anyone that they can hit. I've seen a child truly out of control with me seemingly not able to do anything about it.

I mistakenly thought that my first born was strong-willed, but girlie, you ain't seen nothing yet!

So, we are redirecting. What we did with one is NOT working with the other. Our gears are shifting from child training methods to trying to understand better the way our son ticks. Because really, there can be no training if a child is hysterical. We need to try and understand our sweet second born, to get into his head and better cope with his outbursts and anger.

Do you have a child like mine? Many of the qualities that these children have are considered to be highly valued in adults. They are leaders, fight for justice, and aren't afraid to stick to their guns and stand up for their beliefs. Their intensity, when properly channeled, can be applied to success in their lives. As a consolation, I often like to think of the Greats of Science, Arts, and Athletics. I like to think about Lance Armstrong as a child, or the challenges that the parents of Apollo Ohno faced trying to curb his intensity into something productive.

I imagine that Michelangelo could have been an explosive, strong-willed, and spirited young man. How could he not be? He spent twenty years of his life hanging upside down from the ceiling painting the Sistine Chapel. His marble statues are as close to perfection as I've seen. As a child, I can picture that his mind was solely occupied on one task at a time, and that any interruption couldn't be tolerated--not from mother, not from anyone.

There are countless examples of Greats throughout history that display qualities uncommon from average folks. Edison, Pasteur, Mozart, Galileo, Da Vinci, Ben Franklin, St. Thomas Aquinas, and hundreds of other authors, scientists, athletes, and thinkers.

I'm not necessarily planning on raising a musician or a sculptor, but I DO need to have an effective way to get from here...to there.

Two books have come highly recommended to me on this issue. They went into my Amazon shopping cart today!
The Explosive Child
Raising Your Spirited Child

And, to all of those mothers who give me consoling smiles and encouraging looks as I maneuver my way through embarrassing social situations, I realize now that you get it, too.

Beatify.

2011-05-03T09:37:00.000-05:00

"It is Jesus that you seek when you dream of happiness; He is waiting for you when nothing else you find satisfies you; He is the beauty to which you are so attracted; it is He who provoked you with that thirst for fullness that will not let you settle for compromise; it is He who urges you to shed the masks of a false life; it is He who reads in your heart your most genuine choices, the choices that others try to stifle.

It is Jesus who stirs in you the desire to do something great with your lives, the will to follow an ideal, the refusal to allow yourselves to be ground down by mediocrity, the courage to commit yourselves humbly and patiently to improving yourselves and society, makng the world more human and more fraternal."
~Beato Giovanni Paulo~

The View From Here

2011-05-02T07:39:00.000-05:00

I'm not gonna' cry. I'm not gonna' cry. I'm not gonna' cry...

Guilty Pleasures.

2011-04-29T08:16:00.000-05:00

I'm just gonna' come out and say it. Just one sentence about the matter and then I'll be done.

Promise.

She really is stunning, isn't she?

Redirect.

2011-04-27T10:04:00.000-05:00

We're in baby mode here, which means that other than trying to stay on our schedule and function as a family, there's not a whole lot of other objectives.

A new baby calls for some new iPod music, and one of my accomplishments in the last two weeks was to create a new playlist that we could keep on while I nurse the baby and the big boys color, play, pull off all the couch cushions, etc. I'm happy to share my favorite new song!

Michael is now two weeks old and has been a sweetheart of a baby. He wants to be close all the time, which I'm trying to enjoy as much as I can, but I can't complain, because he has been an easy baby to console. In a few weeks he'll be big enough for his cloth diapers, which I am looking forward to using with him. The title of this post is "Redirect," and that I'm doing. I absolutely LOVE this post by Elizabeth Foss on the subject of cloth diapering. Her thoughts reflect my sentiments perfectly. One of the lines reads "Baby lives here..." and how I love those three words. Yes, a baby lives here, too, and we are so happy for it.

A Charm: A Birth Story

2011-04-21T13:23:00.000-05:00

I'll start by saying that the last few weeks of this pregnancy were not fun. In fact, I was in a great deal of pain. My hands did not work, and they hurt all of the time. My hips and pelvis were pained to the extent that getting out of bed or up and down from chairs was excruciating. Yes, excruciating. There were times in the night Mark thought I was in labor because of how much groaning and moaning it took to get in and out of bed. I tried as hard as I could not to complain about it, but it was definitely taking its emotional toll on me, and my family.

Exactly a week before labor, I began to show more significant signs of impending labor. I was only 37 weeks, but I was feeling so incredibly awful, that I believed the signs whole-heartedly and hung on for what I believed to be the last few days or week of pregnancy. Each night, in addition to the signs of labor, I had painless but very intense contractions for hours at a time, fizzling out as I went to bed. Inevitably, the progress these contractions were making only made me more miserable moving around during the day.

I emailed my mom, who was on call for the birth. I warned that although I might be getting my hopes up, that I didn't think I was going to hold on to this baby much longer. Reaching a breaking point, I even emailed Mark to possibly take a sick day BEFORE the baby came to help me care for the kids because I was having such a difficult time. After a few emotional breakdowns, an incredible day-long burst of energy where not only the house got cleaned but the freezer and pantry got stocked, and finally, a last dinner night out, Monday night came.

I went to bed and began to pray a Rosary. I had just finished the third Joyful Mystery, The Nativity of our Lord, when I felt a small pop on the top of my belly. I smiled and said to myself, "So, this, is how it's going to happen." Mark was upstairs exercising, and I took twenty minutes or more downstairs collecting my thoughts, changing my clothes, slowing my mind down and preparing for all that lay ahead in the night to come. I even blogged ;-) .

"Mark," I said as I interrupted his workout. He looked confused. It's rare for me to be up this late. "The baby's coming," I said calmly. After some disbelief, we got down to business. Contractions hadn't started yet, and we had some work to do. I called the midwife, and Mark began inflating the birthing pool and arranging the birth kit on the dresser. We had the sheets changed and ready to. After an hour or so, we began to time contractions, which were starting to come more frequently and requiring more concentration.

By the way, there's an iPhone contraction app. There's an app for that!

In the two hours it took for the midwife to arrive, contractions went from 6 minutes apart to two. When she arrived the room was dark, and I was being kept warm on the bed. The mood would have had you thinking there was a sleeping baby, not a laboring woman, in the room. She whispered tender words to me, encouraged Mark, and got me moving around for the last stretch of labor. I focused intently on breathing in through my nose and out through my mouth, and, taking every bit of Bradley knowledge in my head, worked tirelessly at relaxing every bit of tension in my body. It was strong, hard work, and very intense, but at the same time relaxing, peaceful and productive. The contractions came every minute now, and I accepted them with imagery of peddling up a hill and then coasting down. Every part of it was controlled and calm.

I got in the tub an hour after the midwife arrived. Afraid to know, I finally asked her how far she thought I had progressed (she hadn't checked). She smiled and said, "Mallory, you were fully dilated before you got in the tub." I could hardly believe it. What? The hard part was over? That quickly? With no yelling or screaming or moaning and groaning, packing and pacing and craziness? What? It's over that easily? Wow!

The next twenty minutes were the most difficult part of the labor. Baby was descending, but I couldn't push him. Trying to push was very painful, as if I was pushing against a strong, painful resistance. I couldn't do it, and I even said out loud that I couldn't do it. Having been able to push two previous children out rapidly, this was very frustrating. My midwife was constantly reassuring, saying that even though I wasn't able to push, that I making progress nonetheless. She was right, and twenty minutes later, even without me pushing, the baby was visible and I was finally able to productively push. (Baby came out with a blister on his finger and immediately sucked on his fingers after birth. Although we can't be certain, we think he may have been sucking on his hand during his descent and was somewhat lodged, which is why I couldn't effectively push during that phase).

For a small moment I lost my focus, clenched my teeth and let out a high-pitched "Eek." My midwife calmly reminded me to relax my mouth, to make low groans and grunts, and I was back on track. Before I knew it I heard the words, "Grab your baby," and Michael came up from the water and onto my chest. Mark and I were overcome with emotion. For the next twenty minutes we sat, me in the tub with the baby, and Mark right outside of it, gazing and loving our precious son. After that, we cleaned up while the midwife examined the baby, we crawled into bed and shut our eyes when the older boys woke up to their new brother.

What a positive experience this was! My first birth was full of necessary interventions and I was very grateful to have the medication that the hospital provided me. It was a difficult labor though, and fear of labor is what caused me to delay so badly in getting to the hospital with the second delivery. Through my own fault, the second delivery ended up being more traumatic than the first because of how quickly it went and how uncontrolled and hectic it was. Everyone was in a panic and the recovery took months. This, my third delivery, was not only an incredible confirmation of how my body was capable of having a child without emotional trauma, but it also forced me to face my fears and accept them. I've been healed of old wounds and left with only peace and excitement over our new baby.

Another quick labor for me (from the start of contractions to delivery was less than 3 hours, closer to five from the start of my water breaking), but I can't complain. All went well and better than I could have imagined.

In this case, the third time really was the charm :-)

Introducing....

2011-04-17T17:03:00.000-05:00

Michael Andrew

Welcome to the world, Little Buddy.

Our midwife doing a two day weight check. We have are so blessed to have a healthy and growing baby!

Daddy and his brood of boys.

"My Three Sons"

As you can see, one is a little out of sorts. We all are, just look out my window carefully and check the date again. It's April 17th and we just had a snowfall of over 5 inches.

Luke giving his baby brother a snuggle. This little one likes to be held.

Thank you, everyone, for your kind comments and support in welcoming our new baby. We feel such an outpouring of love. This has been a truly happy time for us! I'll hope to be back to blogging after Easter. Until then we'll be busy with Holy Week and adjusting to our life as a family of five. Thank you!

Update.

2011-04-12T12:47:00.000-05:00

Ever heard of a 'Runners High'? Well, I have a "Mother's High."

We welcomed our son Michael at 4am this morning after a peaceful and quick labor at home, as planned, with a midwife.

Our little boy was 7lbs, 12oz and 22 inches long. Quite the size for a baby two weeks early, covered with white vernix, without a single wrinkle on his feet! I think the boy ran out of room!

I'm a little spent, a little wired, a little sore, and a little on top of the world. There isn't a crazy story to share other than my water broke after finishing the "Nativity" decade of the Rosary at 11pm (how fitting). Contractions started an hour later, our midwife arrived an hour after that, and two hours later we were holding our baby in a big, blue, birthing pool.

Our homebirth may have come as a surprise to some of the readers. It's something I decided not to share for many reasons. It was our "plan," but with things like birth that are impossible to plan, I thought it better to play things out as they went and then to share my soapbox later. All I have to say for now is that I'm incredibly grateful that I didn't have to go through transition in a car going 90mph, and that for how quickly my last two deliveries have been, that this one was calm, controlled, and concentrated--all things needed for an intense and fast labor.

I've just carbo-loaded, Nonna is here to put kids down for a nap, and I'm going to try to get my racing brain and swelling heart to rest.

Pictures to come when I'm able to walk up the stairs :-).
Yeah for life! Praise God for these beautiful children we are given to love!!!!

So...

2011-04-12T00:42:00.000-05:00

The next time I post I will be posting about the birth of our baby.

Labor, here we come. Please pray for us, I'm trying to keep calm and not to worry about the intensity of the night ahead of us.

Funny, I just deleted I was writing a few hours about how awful I felt, and how the baby had to be coming soon because of how terrible I was feeling. Well, here we go!

Sometimes...

2011-04-08T11:39:00.000-05:00

You have to take what you can get...

Wherever you can get it...

And worry about the consequences...

And the mess....

Much, much, later...

All for the sake of a little fun.

Bizarro World.

2011-04-07T08:19:00.000-05:00

Last night I dreamt that I went to get a manicure, a full set. A full set meaning and full set of fake, acrylic nails. Bizarre. I've never had fake nails. I think they look pretty on people, but they're not for me....right now at least. On second thought, maybe I should go get a manicure anyway...

More bizarrely, I dreamt that I delivered a bald baby boy. Let me clarify: a 9lb, 18 inch long, bald baby boy.

That's not a baby, that's a bowling ball.

Overheard.

2011-04-06T18:47:00.000-05:00

Me: "I'm so hungry I could eat a horse."

Luke: "I'm so hungry I could eat an infinity foot long Brachiosaurus."

Whoa.

Small Blessings.

2011-04-06T12:37:00.000-05:00

We went outside this morning! Wow! For those in more favorable geographies, you might not understand the significance of our outing, but for us, it was a small piece of heaven.

Yes, there is still snow on the ground, and yes, we still needed to wear our jackets, but the sun was SHINING for the first time in a LONG time, and the boys were able to kick a ball on the driveway and ride their bikes. Even more fun, the boys explored around our wooded acreage and spent an hour collecting rocks, sticks and pine cones. They were having a "nature party."

Me, I was satisfied with the sun and perfectly content raking up a winter's worth of dog poo and pine needles. Of course, I'm paying for it now and promptly had to put a movie on for the kids when we went inside so that I could sit, but still, the time outdoors was priceless, and definitely worth the soreness I will feel for the rest of the day.

Minnesota seasons are a tricky love/hate relationship. The winters (especially this last one) can be extremely difficult to get through, but when the weather begins to warm, every nice day is taken advantage of and truly appreciated. On a single nice Minnesota day, it's not uncommon to ride bikes, take a walk, roller blade, swim in the lake, take a boat ride, grill outside and stay up until the last bit of sunlight leaves the sky (often close to 10pm in the summer months), just because we can.

Even though I'll be busy taking care of my little boys all summer, this is one mother who will truly appreciate every day we get outside.

Declaration.

2011-04-04T16:33:00.000-05:00

Full-Term, Baby!!!!!!

Which means that having this baby is the absolute only thing on my mind. Which means that I am useless with anything else other than pondering the imminent arrival of Baby Boy. Which means that if I bring home two pounds of bacon from the store and accidentally put it in the spare bathtub overnight where the Easter toys are hidden that you'll just understand. Which mean that when the Wal-Mart cashier asks me "When are you going to pop," that I just humor him, because why would I cry about that when I can cry about the glass that I dropped on the counter and shattered into the dishwasher full of clean dishes. Perspective, people!

Just stick with me these next one...two...three weeks...whatever it takes. We're gonna' get there!

End of the week thoughts...

2011-04-01T16:37:00.000-05:00

~I spend a ridiculous amount of time and money at the grocery store. I don't know how I do it, but it seems that every week my family consumes more. We're big time Wal-Mart shoppers. Lately, since I'm not up for pushing a cart around a huge store, as long as I'm out and about I'll get double or triple of anything I can think of to freeze. A kind check-out lady was commenting on my massive grocery cart and said, "Wow, you must have a big family." I thought for a second, "No," I said, "We just eat a lot."

~The boys and I spent all afternoon at a church gym with a group of other mothers who had organized a play group. It was absolutely wonderful. For the first 20 minutes they didn't play with any of the toys, they just ran and ran and ran. It made me so happy to see them having so much fun.

~I love my faith, and this isn't a criticism of my faith, but more of the establishment of church government. Many of the mothers I've met here are evangelical. Their churches are like little community centers unto themselves, with gyms, kitchens, nurseries, toy rooms, classrooms, playgrounds, on-staff nurse etc. The Catholic parish in our community is very large and supports it's own school, but week after week and month after month I keep scouring the bulletin for FAMILY activities, hoping to meet SOMEONE who shares our faith, and there is nothing. After attending Mass there almost exclusively for the past seven months, we haven't received so much as an introduction. We are not "Church Hoppers," but I grieve for those families who are "on the fence" about their faith and then abandon it for more welcoming waters in another denomination. I realize that it is our obligation to put ourselves out there, so to speak, we just need an opportunity to do so.

~The carpal tunnel in my hands gets more painful by the day. Today, I thought I was being pretty clever when I wrapped my hand up in a biker glove and then covered it in electrical tape. With both boys taking a nap, I wasn't going to let my hands keep me from getting a much wanted nap. It worked!

~I am reading Sarah Palin's book Going Rogue. It's old news, but I finally got it at the library. It's honestly really interesting. I'm semi-political, and while I'm a Palin fan, I'm not necessarily a Palin supporter, meaning that I would love it if she were the governor of my state, just not the president. The book is painful though, and the way her and her family were treated during the campaign was absolutely despicable. A lot of people, including myself, saw how unfairly she was portrayed by the media and decided that public office is full of the most slimy and evil people in this country.

~I love bleach. After a few days of renegade body fluids, I am finally confident with the cleanliness of our floors.

Have a great weekend!!!!!!!!

Overheard.

2011-03-31T15:27:00.000-05:00

The thought-aloud questioning of a four year that keep me scratching my head:

"Mom, is the Tooth Fairy pretend? Where does she live?"

"Who is St. Hosanna?"

"Can dead people talk?"

"What color is a Snozberry?"

"Why is red the first color of the rainbow?"

"Is there no such thing as a pot of gold at the end of the rainbow?"

"How can we catch a grouse?" (We have grouse all over our yard!)

Wow. My insanely pregnant brain is not equipped to deal with these queries.

Do you ever...

2011-03-30T08:53:00.003-05:00

...just have one of those days?

Yesterday started out pretty rough. Getting out of bed physically hurt as my lower back spasmed as I made my way to the shower. I was unable to wash my hair because my hands were numb and hurting from the creeping carpal tunnel syndrome that has gotten worse with every pregnancy.

Once dressed and greeting the boys for the morning, I no sooner sat down with a cup of coffee when my birthday boy grabbed a stack of paper I had been working on and ran it to the bathroom, promptly throwing the lot into the toilet. No one had to remind him that he turned two that day...

After some discipline and some mumbled words under my breath, I caught sight of the little one's sagging pants and ran him back to the bathroom where a diarrhea explosion took place all over the floor. Little one in the tub, big boy still waiting for a morning drink, I tried as hard as I could to keep perspective that it was just 9am, that the day couldn't possibly go on like this much longer.

But, it did.

At 11:30 I had run out of ideas and patience, so I did what any reasonable person would do and put the boys in the car and went to McDonald's for lunch. After multiple trips down the Playplace slide, my hope was that the boys would be worn out enough to nap all afternoon. Piling the kids back in the van, my mindset kept me going, "I only have to make it until naptime....I only have to make it until naptime."

At home, a test of the wills took place as the newly-turned two-year-old decided that a nap wasn't necessary on his birthday. What took place then was a two hour battle that left me crying and Paul without a nap.

A few hours later Mark walked in the door to me crying, an over-tired two year old clung to my aching hip, and a four year old who had witnessed enough toddler and pregnancy drama for one day. Thank God for freezer food and its ease of preparing on nights like these, and as soon as the kids were fed, I went to my bedroom, shut the door and didn't come out until bedtime.

Once the kids were in bed, I went to bed, too.

This morning, before I even attempted to move out of bed, I whispered pleading prayers not only for a better day, but for the graces to cope with whatever came up. After all, kids are kids, but when you're nine months pregnant, the ability to deal with them in effective ways becomes greatly compromised.

Our sleeping arrangements have been in cahoots lately trying to acclimate Paul to sleeping in Luke's room, and Mark reluctantly gave in to Luke's request to sleep with him in his bed. I woke up to Mark saying that Luke was up all night puking. Whoa! As I cautiously ate saltines for breakfast, Luke climbed out of bed embarrassed. He had had an accident in his bed. Not wetting the bed, no, but had lost his bowel function along with his vomiting.

With both boys now in the tub and my day scoped out pretty well with washing soiled sheets and pajamas, I am reminded of the prayer I said not only two hours ago. I will cope better with this today. The kids need me now. Not the emotional and physical wreck they encountered yesterday, but the mother they deserve when they're sick and need special care and cleaning.

Here we go!

*UPDATE* The big boy keeps going through his underpants and the little guy just projectiled over my last fitting pair of maternity pants. Cotton pajama pants it is for me, and logically, I put on Bambi for the kids and called it a day.

(On a side note, my kids puke all the time, I'm used to it and not too concerned. But me, oh heavens. Please pray that *I* don't start puking. Puking and pregnancy are a REALLY unfortunate situation for me, and I really, really, really don't want to end up in the hospital. And, as tempted as I am to go into labor right now, I still really need at least one more week. Thank you!!)

#2 is Two.

2011-03-29T07:55:00.000-05:00

Today is my sweet Paulie's 2nd birthday. Who could have thought a mother could love a little boy so much. Contrary to what many say, the past two years have felt like two years. Many months were challenging as we tried to find out what, if anything, was wrong with our infant who seemed too small and very miserable. My heart grew stronger, as did my arms, from constantly carrying around a baby with chronic tummy aches. Now, at two, this boy is absolutely my delight; full of hugs and kisses from morning 'till night.

He loves dogs, "vrooming" cars across the floor, playing with his big brother, raisins and yogurt, getting his head rubbed, and cuddles from just about anyone who loves him. What he lacks with his pint-sized frame he makes up for with an iron will and temper to go with it. But as tough as his exterior can be, a stern look from us will cause his lip to quiver and send him running back to mommy and daddy to seek forgiveness.

Paulie calls Luke "Doody," which sounds more like cookie. He practically begs to go to bed at night, and when he wakes, only daddy and cuddles on the couch will do. I can't sit down during the day without him handing me a book and crawling on my lap.

The first time I held my sweet boy, my eyes filled with tears and I cried and cried. Even after carrying him for nine months, even knowing his name for the five months prior, nothing could have prepared me for seeing his face and falling in love with him for the first time. If my first baby taught me how to be mother, the second baby taught me not only to embrace the job, but to cherish and love every moment.

Happy Birthday, Paul!!! Our hearts ache with how much we are blessed by you.

A Position.

2011-03-28T10:45:00.000-05:00

I'm sharing a link today of a video I watched this weekend.

I'm not recommending that you watch this video. There is no way around it, it's horrible, repulsive, sickening, tragic...sad beyond words. I really don't know how I got through it, other than a determination to see a side of something that I am opposed to and to reaffirm my convictions on the matter.

I have a feeling that the discussing the abortion debate on this blog is preaching to the choir, barking up to the wrong tree, etc., which is why I'm not saying that anyone should watch this video. However, maybe somebody you know should watch it, or maybe you are not quite sure how barbaric a fetus getting dismembered is.

I'm just sharing today for anyone who needs to know the violent reality behind choice.

Baby Prep #3

2011-03-24T13:35:00.000-05:00

After my whining and ranting last week, this week I'm determined to get a few more things off of my to-do list. The snow and ice, as much as I hate it, gives me no choice other than to get more accomplished around the house.

First, we made and froze banana muffin batter. We all really like banana muffins, and each of these bags should make about 18 regular sized muffins. We usually make 12 regular muffins and a pan for baby muffins.

Next, I made ten pounds of mashed potatoes and froze them into cute little quart-sized freezer bags. Are my mashed potatoes orange? Yes they are. My genius of a cook mother-in-law adds a sweet potato to her mashed potatoes. For ten pounds of potatoes, I added two sweet potatoes. We don't like sweet potatoes, but the mild taste of them in mashed potatoes is wonderful. Plus, it makes them more nutritious.

Finally, the boys and I made some homemade detergent. It can be a mess to make, but I've done it so many times now that it doesn't phase me. Today I made over 5 gallons of detergent, hoping it will last four or more months. I added some lavender essential oil to it just because I had it on hand.

Here are the boys helping me to grate two bars of Fels Naptha. The Wal-Mart here carries it for $1. Our previous town did not carry it and so I had to buy it at a hardware store. Incidentally, the Wal-Mart doesn't carry Borax, so I still go the hardware store for that. If you can't find Washing Soda at Wal-Mart, try another grocery store, or else hardware stores always carry it.

Here's the detergent all ready to go. To make it easier to use, I scoop it from the bucket and through a funnel into an empty liquid laundry jug. My $0.02 on homemade laundry detergent is that it works pretty well. My husband has to wear a dress shirt and tie everyday, and the boys' clothes are always filthy, so I can be pretty fussy about the laundry. The first time you make it it can seem like a lot of extra effort, but it's really not bad. The only thing I miss is that the clothes don't come out smelling like anything. They are clean, but I actually like the smell of Tide and the faint fragrance of fresh clothes. If I can't hang the clothes on the line to dry to get the smell I love, then I improvise and throw in a dryer sheet.

Full Disclosure.

2011-03-23T13:36:00.000-05:00

I've kept it no secret on this blog that I...ahem...pack it on during the course of my pregnancies. The first time around was ridiculous, the second time around was ridiculous, although a bit more reasonable, and now for the third I'm resigned to believing that a solid 45lb weight gain is really the bare minimum I need to gain in order to grow healthy babies.

I swear, I honestly don't go nuts and eat everything in sight, but at the same time, I'm hungry a lot, and can easily out-eat just about anyone in sight. For the most part I fill up on healthy foods. I eat organic, slow-cooking rolled oats for breakfast, I always eat fruits and vegetables with my lunch, and a refined carbohydrate rarely makes an appearance at our dinner table (the exception being take out pizza, Chinese, etc.).

I do, however, have one horribly unhealthy craving. It's something I never eat when I'm not pregnant, but when I am, it becomes an obsession. Yes, an obsession. I can't even think about this food without obsessing over it, and once it's in my head, I will stop at nothing to make sure I fulfill the craving.

The culprit: Brown Sugar

During my first pregnancy, this craving caught me by surprise during the last trimester. I was alone one morning in our apartment and felt particularly compelled to bring a bag to brown sugar and a spoon to the couch while I watched television. For the next ten weeks until I delivered a day didn't go by where I could go without eating a spoonful. I managed a little better on the second pregnancy, but sure enough, around week 33 the craving hit me hard, and the only food that could bring me out of the depths of brown sugar addiction were egg-shaped Reese's Peanut Butter Cups.

For this pregnancy, my brown sugar addiction is out of control. I sneak spoonfuls and eat it plain when the kids aren't looking, and I'm constantly looking for ways to add it to my food. On top of strawberries? Sure! A few tablespoons on a cup of oatmeal? Why not! In a cup of tea? A great idea! In a bowl plain as a bedtime snack? Can't hurt!

The funny thing is that I don't even like sugary foods, so this is way out of character for me. Now, when I deliver my 9lb baby, you'll know exactly how I pulled that one off.

Bedtime Stories

2011-03-22T13:17:00.000-05:00

We just finished our first big "read-aloud" with our 4.5. It's not that we haven't been reading to the kids, but bedtime stories for our big boy have, for the last two and a half years, revolved around dinosaurs. He has has been absolutely, scientifically obsessed with them, and hardly any story (fictions) has kept him entertained. If it wasn't a dinosaur reference book, it wasn't read. I can humbly write that the two of us have learned a lot about dinosaurs and not a whole lot about anything else.

Someday, if I'm ever on Jeopardy, I can confidently select the "Paleontology" category and be assured that I would know nearly every answer.

I thought the day would never come, but I slowly convinced Luke one night that instead of reading about the nesting habits of the female Maisaura, that we could actually read a book, you know, like the kind that I like to read. I picked up Charlie and the Chocolate Factory at the library, and after starting the first chapter out loud while the kids played on the floor, not more than a minute passed and both of them were on my lap mesmerized.

What a dirty little trick I played on them, luring them with a book about candy. But it worked, and a week later the book was finished. I am pleased that we accomplished the double-whammy of a 1) a book without dinosaurs and 2) a book without pictures. I honestly didn't know what book was going to accomplish that, but I guess if a Chocolate River can't coax a kid out of the Jurassic, nothing can.

We're expecting 10 inches of snow overnight...it's the end of March; technically Spring, I'm hugely pregnant, and getting to the point where I can't be seen in public anymore. Something's gotta give. So, on today's docket, a reward for the kids and a break for mom: the original Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory. A little creepy, yes, bratty kids, yes, a little politically incorrect, yes (they openly call kids fat, etc.), but having had looked outside at WHITE for over the last six months, we could all escape to a world of pure imagination every once in awhile.

Just a month...or so.

2011-03-17T08:01:00.001-05:00

This week it happened. We all knew it was coming; it comes at different times for different people. But on Tuesday I told Mark those fateful words, "I'm ready to not be pregnant anymore."

He was most understanding, and even cheered me on for getting to this point with just a month (or so...) left of this pregnancy, as opposed to some people who are mentally and physically spent with months and months to go.

I explained it to him simply: Two weeks ago I was fine, but two weeks later I'm bigger, and I feel it in every bone of my body. The boys have no more lap to sit on, simple tasks are becoming difficult ones, and sleep just isn't happening. I take the last walk down the stairs at night grimacing with every step, and then wake up in the morning contemplating for a second if I was in a bar fight the night before.

I have healthy pregnancies and healthy children, and I realize that I don't have a lot to complain about, but still, it doesn't mean that mothers during their last month of pregnancy don't go through their own emotional and physical battles.

A few years ago a dear family member gave me this book (more like a pamphlet, but still good). It's perfect for Lent, and even more perfect for Lent when you're pregnant. Keeping my small sufferings in check with a bigger picture (i.e., Christ's suffering on the Cross), has helped me immensely in realizing that my suffering will bring forth new life, and to join that to Christ's suffering who gave us life. Nothing like a mother's prayer book to keep perspective.