Slightly Slacking

My blog posts have been less and less lately. Sorry dear readers. I just haven't found time and motivation to write I guess. We aren't doing much these days. Many afternoons and evenings at home. Kid entertaining themselves with their imaginations and toys in the basement. For awhile, they set up a mall. Six was selling blankets, 2 for $20. When N's parents came for an afternoon, he told Gpa T he could buy one for $10. In the end, Six let him try it out first. No sale, but happy kids Gpa was a good sport and played their game. We've been spending time at the pool. We go by ourselves. It works out nicely. Gets us out of the house and doing something. The pool is our plan for today. Baby Girl has been sleeping better, but no where near all night long. Some days it takes its toll on me more than others. We're planning our big trip to MN. As all things in this life, it's not going according to the original plan. No worries. We just work out what we can and roll with the changes. This time we're going to Mpls first, then up north. N will drive us part way and come when his vaca starts. Kids are excited. Not sure how Baby Girl will do in the car. We'll see. She's got to get used to it, this is part of our life. She's such a happy baby. She always smiles and loves the kids around her. Well, company is here. Time's up for now. Hopefully more sooner than later!

The Big Bash

We hosted yet another birthday bash for our boys. Eight didn't get a party since Baby Girl was born shortly after his birthday. We waited and combined the celebration for both boys in the summer. They each got to pick five boys to invite. This turned into 10, 12 with the birthday boys and 13 with one little sister. I love hosting parties for my kids. No matter what I try, it always turns out to be a ton of work. I tried to keep it simple this time. It was for the most part. I think it would have been fine had I gotten more sleep the night before. N wasn't feeling well, that didn't help. He took Baby Girl duty. New Moon stayed and helped too. We called her the baby whisperer. In the end, everyone had fun. Kids enjoyed the obstacle course. The boys worked hard on their own version of Angry Birds. They were quite proud of their creation. We were invited to two different activities today and I am afraid we could not make it to either. I was too exhausted after yesterday. This life with a baby and older kids can be challenging on the mom. I try to keep up with the rest of the world, on less sleep than everyone else. Some days it gets to me and I can't keep up. Others, we roll just fine. It doesn't seem like things were this way with the first three. I think because they were all so young and close together, we just kept our routine the same as always. We'll see how this works out for Baby Girl.

Sunday

This morning was a morning I wasn't sure we would make it to church. Just one of those mornings. I didn't get much sleep last night with Baby Girl. I've had a migraine for 3 days and thought if my head was pounding in the morning, I would take it off. This did not happen. Even though I had little sleep last night, I still woke up before 8am. Thanks to N, he started the dishwasher for me and the kitchen didn't look too bad after breakfast, this is the reason I got a shower. Today was our last Sunday to turn in our gifts for the kids to take to their mission trip. We were out the door in record time and actually early. We had enough time to get all four kids in to the grocery store for a paper, still be early to church. Kids were pretty good during mass. Four was speaking quite loudly during a song saying "I'm not going to lose a privilege." Other than that, we were good for the morning. Nothing to do today, no pressure. Surprise visit from the inlaws and we had our day planned out. Time's up.

Baby Feet

Baby Feet by Edgar A Guest

Tell me, what is half so sweet As a baby’s tiny feet, Pink and dainty as can be, Like a coral from the sea? Talk of jewels strung in rows, Gaze upon those little toes, Fairer than a diadem, With the mother kissing them! It is morning and she lies Uttering her happy cries, While her little hands reach out For the feet that fly about. Then I go to her and blow Laughter out of every toe; Hold her high and let her place Tiny footprints on my face. Little feet that do not know Where the winding roadways go, Little feet that never tire, Feel the stones or trudge the mire, Still too pink and still too small To do anything but crawl, Thinking all their wanderings fair, Filled with wonders everywhere. Little feet, so rich with charm, May you never come to harm. As I bed and proudly blow Laughter out of every toe, This I pray, that God above Shall protect you with His love, And shall guide those little feet Safely down life’s broader street.

All for nothing

My planning and worries, all for nothing. Sunflower said the children couldn't come. I expected this, why did I get so much planned? I told myself I wouldn't go down that road again, N tempted me and here I am, left with frustration. Just have to shrug it off my shoulders and move on. We had a lot going on this coming week anyway. It's tough because we love those kids so much, but just can't seem to spend time with them. Times up.

Lets get together, yeah, yeah, yeah

The Parent Trap has to be one of my favorite movies from my childhood. The song came in my head when recently trying to coordinate receiving two of the ten cousins. We're lobbying for Cousins #5 and #6 to come stay at our house for a week. We'll see if it works out. The problem is there are so many factors to consider and work out. First, she has to be willing to let the children come. Second, we need to leave two of ours behind in order to have enough room to bring two back. This involves one of my great friends. I've got it all figured out for picking them up, but not sure how we will get them back. I'm praying for assistance from that side of the family, but not counting on it. If I have to drive them back myself, I guess I will. N would probably take them before going to work before letting me drive. It seems so stressful to figure out. Is it worth it? We can't find a library book the library says we didn't return. This is enough to make me quit the library again. I have no idea where it is. We were really good at keeping the books together downstairs. I really thought we returned it last time we were there. I renewed it and will keep looking. They are going to check at the library. I guess this happens more than you'd think. Just one more thing to add to my chaos in this life. What else is on my mind? OH how I don't have enough time to type it all out. Picnic with the Pastor is next week. I am really looking forward to it, but have to make my dessert first. I want to try a new recipe my mother makes, but have to get to the store for the right stuff. My shampoo and body wash are on sale this week. I hope to get to the store to make a purchase before the sale ends. I've been trying to figure out refills for some of my medication. What a frustrating thing that has turned out to be. I'm considering switching dr's offices over it. That's a frustrating step in itself. We'll see. They won't help me out until the end of September. Thankfully my OB is so very cooperative and willing to work with me, but I need that from the regular doc too. The elliptical broke. I mean really broke. A big metal part came off. The company that makes it went out of business. The place we bought it from will see if they can find the part, but can't promise us anything. N will take it apart and in. If they can't help, he will bring it to the auto body place to have them weld it together. I'd been disgusted with myself for not getting on there. It's been three months since we've had Baby Girl. I told myself after N's vacation time I would add it to my daily duties. Then it broke. Great. I've been swimming laps at the pool and that has made me feel better. We went two days in a row, but I only swam laps one of those days. It's hard when I need someone to watch Baby Girl when I swim. Just another thing to coordinate. So much of my life depends on other people. I can't believe it. Well, can't believe I squeezed all this in. I have to wake up the baby, who wouldn't go to sleep, and get the troops ready to go get my prescription. The kind nurse from my OB called in 5 pills for me for the weekend. If needed, I will have to drive all the way to the OB next week. This coming week is so completely full, I can't believe it. The following week, we have nothing; yet.

Donnerstag is Thursday

It's cloudy and overcast. We have no plans yet, it's only near 9. I looked at my friends pictures on FB of their adventures at Grandma's house in MN this summer. I am really looking forward to our turn. We've begun to plan our big drive, what to take, etc. Yesterday was better after much energy was expelled at the pool. The kids were tired and got along great. Too much time together in the house so many days in a row does something to their attitudes toward each other. We were home from Friday until Tuesday. That's a long time of not going anywhere. I'll try to keep that in mind. N will only have one day off this week too. We are planning a birthday celebration for both boys next week. We made some Lego invitations and need to deliver them today. The boys are really excited. I let them each pick five boys to invite. I want to keep it as simple as possible, but I know it will be a lot of work regardless. We're going to set up an obstacle course in the back yard. They always love that part of the party. We're also going to try a big version of Angry Birds. Each kid can have three turns to try to knock down as many boxes as they can. We'll break out "the claw" candy machine for kids to play with and just have some fun. I think those are all the games I will plan. Six requested the bean bag tic tac toe game. We got rid of ours, but Daisy has the same one we can borrow. I'm going to make an Angry Birds cake. After the AB cupcakes, I think the cake will be fairly easy. Hot dogs and chips and we're set. Simple and satisfying. I've got a lot to do.

It all went downhill

After my morning post, everything flopped. Dark blueberry bread, they ate all the muffins in one morning. Failed applesauce bread. Failed crib mobile set up. Only have 3 new batteries for the swing, need 4 and Digi Key is too far away from Michigan. I gave up. We had a great afternoon at the pool.

Blueberry Banana Muffin Morning

Baby Girl had me up extra early today. It's trash day and I had some well withered bananas sitting on my counter. She encouraged me to make muffins for her siblings. She sat patiently while I got them together. Looking forward to hearing the excited response from the group. It's been awhile since we've had baked goods. It's just too hot to start the oven. We purchased all our back to school supplies yesterday. I wanted to get it over with early. The end of the summer my parents will be here. I don't want extra jobs hanging over our heads during their visit. We were going to shop as a family, but Six had a hard time and N stayed home with him and Four. Eight and I took Baby Girl and got the job done. Time is up.

"A walk with God makes all the difference in the world"

I don't know, I don't pretend to have all the answers. I recently had a conversation with a friend about friendships. Our conversation started out about friendship, and then switched to faith. My faith was revealed to me during my trip abroad, so many years ago. That incredible journey taught me more than I could ever imagine. Once I was there, I realized how I took for granted going to church every week with my family. It wasn't until I was away that I realized the potential for my faith and myself. No matter where I was, I could always count on my faith to make me feel at home, regardless the language. This is where my friend said the title of my blog entry "A walk with God makes all the difference in the world." I believe my journey abroad was my walk with God. He carried me through those many experiences, allowing me to see so many new things. I once went to mass and brought 10 people with me, one was even a Muslim. Only three of us were catholic. They came because I was going and because we were going to hang out after. It was neat.The mass was in Italian, so only my Italian friend understood everything, but I knew what was going on. I learned so much, there aren't enough blog entries to write it all. It changed me forever and is something I will never forget. This somehow led me to bringing many different people together. It's just become a habit. I don't even realize it until it's happened. I think I truly didn't recognize this habit until I came here to Michigan. Bringing people together brings me joy. I hope it is something I can pass on to my children. Lead my example. I hope they see their potential in themselves and others. My worry is failure with this example. I think of this after I've been frustrated with them. It's so hard to be patient all of the time. I feel like I'm forever negotiating every part of the day. My only answer is prayer. Do the best I can and pray. If I pray, they will learn to pray. Tonight Eight shared with me the thing he prays for each week during mass. "I pray for Dad to have more days off." Nearly broke my heart. That boy needs his dad, they all do. Family life can be tough enough, let alone this bazaar schedule we deal with. This is why summer is such an important part of our family life, we get to be together on N's weekend. We're ending a two week vacation time. It was great to be together. We made the most of it. No camping trips, but we had a few day trips hear and there. Everyone loves the beach. Back to reality, we'll head to MN in a month and be together for many days again. Tonight, I'm grateful for a wonderful two weeks. There's so much more to look forward to during these summer months.

Another day is done

Today we made some progress in the basement. I had to keep myself busy. Saturdays and Sundays get pretty long sometimes. We have no plans. Kind of feels good after such a busy two weeks. N's vacation time was great. Now, back to reality. My family was all together this weekend in honor of Baby Orchid's first birthday. Oh what I would have given to be there! Someday we won't let the 12 hour drive stand in our way. Someday, I'll brave the trip with the kids regardless the distance. I really believe we will be able to one day, when they are much older and more independent. We are looking forward to our trip to MN. It's nearly one month and we will be on our way. The kids are excited and are already making plans. I love they have this as a ritual for their summer. Although the drive is terribly long, traveling through the UP is quite pleasant, especially in the summer season. It doesn't seem so stressful and intense. I love the view from the car window. I have to admit, I've fallen in love with some of the Michigan scenery. We sorted through boxes and rearranged things downstairs for most of the afternoon. Baby Girl was quite cooperative. She was content to sit in her chair and watch the siblings play with the rediscovered toys we found. It's still somewhat of a disaster. One more afternoon and it will be done. I'm looking forward to less chaos. I like knowing what's in my containers, etc. I just couldn't get it together before Baby Girl came. It was organized, but chaos took over. Believe it or not, I could use more totes. N is anti-tote. I admit, we were a little carried away when we first were married. My family has been known to use a lot of totes. It's in all of us too. We just like to be organized. I managed to straighten out all the winter clothing and baby clothes. This was the flaw in my system, I didn't have a tote for those things. They were in bags and just back in my corner, not really organized. I made a winter stack of totes. I recently found a Columbia coat for Eight at good will. It was only $1.49! A little dirty, but a perfect zipper. I washed it up and he tried it on. His favorite color is blue, what a bonus. It will work perfect for him this winter. I feel so much better about my life when my household is organized. I guess it gives me a sense of having myself together. This is not always the case, but I do the best I can.

So in love

She's got us wrapped around her cute little finger. We're all smitten with our Baby Girl. She's a very happy baby. We receive lots of smiles throughout the day. She's had quality time with N lately. The big kids adore her. We're so blessed!

Vacation days for N

Yesterday was the last of N's vacation days. We went to the lake. It was nice. Last week we attended a family reunion in Yale, Michigan. What a great time we had. N was able to see his cousins he hasn't seen for many years. It was fun to bring all the kids together to play. We traveled to spend the day with the cousins as they prepared for Cousin #10 to be born. He was born that afternoon at 3pm. Perfect 10 tshirts have been made for the group. I'm hoping we can go back and bring a couple home with us. We had a wonderful afternoon at their house. They are always a good time. No big plans for the next week, which is nice. Coming up we have picnic at Fr. B's place and I'm planning a birthday party for both boys. We skipped Eight's birthday since Baby Girl was born that week. I plan to let them each invite five boys and we'll play games and eat hot dogs. That's all they want and they are so pleased with that plan. I have a day most of their friends will be home. That will bring us to the end of July. Hard to believe. The summer has flown by and we haven't done any math yet. Have to keep these boys on their toes. We'll head to MN the middle of August and wrap up the summer with G and G coming here. It's always a great time in MN. I think we better sleep train Baby Girl before we go, or the drive could be very long.

100 degree anniversary

Yesterday was our anniversary! Hard to believe so much time has past. Some days, our wedding seems like a lifetime ago. It was truly a wonderful day. Almost all our favorite people came together to give us a great start. We've come along way. 5 states, multiple moves, multiple cities, four kids and still a great love for each other. Four was thrilled with it being our anniversary. All day she had comments about celebrating our anniversary. I was dressed pretty, for our anniversary. She was dressed pretty for my anniversary. In the end, her and N ran to the store for my medication. They came home with 6 roses and a large anniversary card. She was beaming as she handed them to me. They also brought me a bottle of BBQ sauce I have been wanting. N went out for Chinese take out and we had a nice family evening at home. We had planned to get a DQ cake, but after being out earlier in the 100 degree temps, we decided to stay home. It was the last day of swimming lessons. The kids did great and had fun. Now we have a list of things to work on this summer. After lessons, Daisy invited us to a family place called Kokommo's. Our kids have never been there, except Eight who went to a birthday party once. It's a place with games for kids using tokens and getting tickets for prizes. They have laser tag, indoor golf range, putt golf, bumper boats, roller coaster, water fight, go karts and batting cage. I think that's all they offer, I could have missed something. We had pizza and celebrated Daisy's son turning seven. It was a great time, but really hot. Baby Girl did alright, but she was ready to be home when we were done. We all did the bumper boats. They felt good on such a hot afternoon. The boys went first. Eight and the new seven year old went together while Six went with N. Eight was soaked. All were thrilled. The girls went next so someone could stay with Baby Girl in the shade. There happened to be two pairs of other girls that got in the same time as us. Two little girls were there with their dad, sweet and silly. The other two were alone and ruthless. They came after Daisy and I, spraying us continually and being so pleased with themselves. I don't think I would have had the courage to act that way toward an adult I do not know. Their adult supervision was sitting inside online. I was surprised but these actions. Daisy and I were soaked thanks to them. It wasn't really a big deal, but unexpected. Today we hit the pool again. I need to figure out my food choice for tomorrow's family BBQ. Six needs a new shirt. I also want to bring a baby gift for Sunflower and need to get one more thing to go with it. Should be a hot, wonderful weekend!

Nearly perfect family day

I say nearly perfect because every day has it's flaws. Today though, set itself apart from all the others. We returned to our favorite Michigan beach. It was just the family day we've been waiting for. Everything seemed to fall into line. It all seemed right. From the drive there, to the drive home, it was great. Our first trip to the beach in the van and with Baby Girl. Everyone had their space. The van was packed, not too much stuff, not too little space. Great day at the beach, we got there when the sun wasn't so intense. We got a tent for Baby Girl. It was perfect. It kept her out of the sun and sand. Kids loved the water. We took some great pictures. Everyone had fun. The ride home was nice as well. Once again, the Beatles set a nice tone for everyone. Wouldn't you know the last ten minutes, three fall asleep. Great day! Couldn't ask for more, except some matches to cook our hot dogs. Only flaw of the day!

First sleep over for Six

Never did I imagine letting Six spend the night at a friends house. If you would have asked me last year, I would have said no way. Not sure what changed, but tonight he is at his buddies house. I guess it's all about our relationship with the family he's staying with. We've gotten to know them so very well. Daisy is Baby Girl's Godmother. It was important to his friend to have seven friends. He is one of the best friends for Six. They always spend recess together at school. In preparation for his departure, we first wrapped the gift and made a card. Of course Four was right there to help. Six wasn't too eager to make a card, she filled in where he lacked. We then packed his bag. I found a bag large enough to fit everything he would need. First we got a sleeping bag, his pillow and fuzzy orange blanket. I asked him if he was taking an animal, quick reply was yes as he raced off to get one. He brought his clean clothes for tomorrow, pj's and swim suit. We got him a beach towel and his toothbrush. I had to search for a bag that wasn't girly to house his toothbrush and toothpaste. He was quite proud when we dropped him off. They were going to have a great time. The surprise of the event was Four. She cried when we left him. We've never done anything like this before. The only time our children have been away from us was when we had another baby. This is not intentional, but the opportunity has never come up. She recovered after awhile. I know Six is in good hands. Daisy sent a text around 10:30 saying everyone was asleep and they all said this was the best party ever. It was the first sleep over for three boys. It caught me off guard how often I thought of him while he was gone this evening. When Yellow Submarine came on in the car, I thought of him. Other times he came into my mind. I love that boy so very much. It's hard to let them go and experience knew things. Now I know how my parents felt.

It's been awhile

I really do not have any good excuses for not blogging more. Kids and life I guess. For some reason, the words just haven't been there. I think it's because I hear things my kids say and think how great it would be to write about them, but forget when I get in front of my computer. Six and Four have really come up with some lines and questions. Four is just trying to keep up with those boys and figure things out. They think they are so cool because they can read and do math. She's still learning. Six wrote the number 7 backwards and immediately got a note book to do math problems. They have been ready still, but this was the first math he's written all summer. N has the next week off. I'm hoping they will do math one of those days. Baby Girl's personality is shining through. She's such a happy baby. The kids love to be around her still. The other day she spent 30 minutes in the girl room. Four came and asked me what a book said. She was reading to Baby Girl. She counted the Carebears in the story. It was cute to listen in on their time together. Baby Girl also spent some time in the boy room. No reading went on then, but she did get lots of attention. I hope these were the firsts of many. Quality interactions with the siblings. She really responds to people and is always beaming at me when I change her diaper. Our adventures today just got me thinking, wow, this is really my life. Not in a bad way, just borderline chaos. We were out the door by 10am. We dropped off some formula we aren't going to use at the church. I also gave them my formula coupons we won't be needing. I'm thankful the Abortions Alternative agency will take them and put them to good use. Side note on this group, the Knights of Columbus gave them money for an ultra sound machine. The lead Knight shared this with us at mass one week a few months ago. He said the machine had already saved 4 babies. I was in tears when he said that. It touched me and surprised me at the same time. I didn't think I would have such an emotional reaction. Hormones I guess, but also a truly awesome thing. I hope we can support them in more ways in the future. Back to our day: We were early for swimming lessons. No big deal, everyone had brought with a notebook and were drawing something to pass the time. I fed Baby Girl and 15 minutes went by without incident. Swim lessons were great. Poor Daisy had a rough 16 hours thanks to a new dog. Long story, but the dog no longer resides at their home. After lessons, we decided to hit the stores. We discussed three, but I knew two would be the most we could fit in. Gas prices are low, but swim lessons bring us half way to town. I figured we should just get what we need since we were near the store locations. Everyone packed their own lunch. They ate in the car on our way to the store after lessons. This pleased the people. They were ready to eat after all the swimming they had done. It was 1 o'clock when we got to our first store. I left the diaper bag in the car since we were going to be quick. First mistake. I'd just changed Baby Girl at the pool before we left. We are halfway through the store and I hear this terrible noise from her diaper. I was carrying her since she'd been fussy. This was supposed to be quick. Quick it was once these noises started coming from the tiny body in my hands. They were loud and stinky. I feared a leak, she's been known to have them. We raced through to the two sections I needed to look at. Flustered and slightly off track, I just grabbed a couple things and headed to the check out. In the end, I wished for other items, but couldn't concentrate at the time. Upon our speedy arrival at the check out, we were behind the slowest lady possible. UGH. She didn't hear or smell the tiny bomb I was holding. Finally, we are checked out and make it to the van before anything came out. What a mess, but under control thanks to changing pads, Huggies, lots of wipes on supply and a diaper duck. Don't leave home without him! After all that, I'm already exhausted and we haven't even hit our biggest store yet. We weren't getting all our groceries for the week, nothing crazy like that. I just wanted Six to get a t-shirt for his friend's birthday gift. Waffles were on sale, they and granola bars were the only food items to purchase, oh besides jelly. My mission was hair accessories. Mum put the idea in my head via Baby Orchid. I wanted to make fourth of July hair accessories. I also wanted to pick up a red skirt for Four, but that thought was quickly forgotten. By the time we decide on which ninja shirt to get, Baby Girl is exhausted and ready for a nap. I try to calculate my moves in the store, start on one end and work our way around. We find a Snoopy onesie for Baby Orchid. Something else to get in the mail in time for her birthday. We already gave her a gift, but it was a good price and she's going to be one. We head to the craft section to get my ribbon. I'm slightly overwhelmed, not knowing which ribbons I should choose. Navy, red white and blue, maybe a pink to make some others, etc. The kids find clearance stickers and are asking to get some. Sure, we're working on a project for Uncle Dv. Stickers will come in handy. I pick some ribbons and eventually we're done in the craft section. On to the granola bars. But wait, here's the fish stuff. We need the water conditioner. Granola bars, check. Jelly, check. But wait, we've forgotten diapers. Back to the baby section. Check out the clearance and find some broker twist ties for hair for 75 cents. They will work perfect for the clips I want to make! But wait, we've forgotten waffles, back to the freezer section. We hit the 20 items or less check out. We're probably close to 20 items or over, but oh well. No line and the other check out is WAY down the store. By the time this is all done, it's 3 o'clock. I'm so exhausted. All that on a granola bar, I didn't pack a lunch. We get home, get the waffles in the freezer and that's it. I was so exhausted, but eager to start my project. We were meeting Zinnia and her group at the park later, I wanted to give her oldest some of the hair clips with her birthday gift. N comes home and deals with dinner. He also takes Baby Girl and Four to pay our rent. Of course it took the entire time they were gone to figure out how to make my project. I manage to squeeze out a few clips before we have to be to the park. It's hot, but we haven't seen them for quite some time. Great time at the park. Home for baths, a snack and bed. Play date tomorrow, we're making pancakes! Hoping to get more clips done, I'll post some pictures. We don't have a shortage of girls around needing hair accessories. I'm excited to try something new! Thanks to Mum for the ideas and all the girls around for the inspiration.