Hooray!!

Oh Happy Day! Andrew had a gift card to Best Buy that he has been saving to use on some fancy DVD thing-y. He was pretty excited about it. Our DVD player kicked the bucket and he was using that as an excuse to get this fancy-dancy item.

But tonight, he said he was taking me to Best Buy to get a new camera!! And it's pink!! Isn't he SWEET!?! I am SO EXCITED to have a new camera!! And I totally don't deserve it since I LOST the old one. But this one is so cute and wonderful. And he got me this new kind of SD card that gets rid of that annoy "delay" between pictures.

So long boring old picture-less blog. Now you all have to suffer through pictures of all my little sweeties!

Stolen Pictures!

Annie posted a bunch of pictures on Miss Greta on Facebook, so I stole a few (the ones with my adorable offspring!) to post here.

I think Isabella was trying to nose dive off of the chair in the first picture!

I love this one of Anja and Greta.

Christopher and Grace loved holding Greta. They were fighting over whose turn it was to snuggle with her. They were such baby-hogs that I hardly got a turn myself!

This evening I got a fantastic break. Sometimes, no matter how fabulous our children are, moms need a bit of time "off." Now I can breath and make it through the week.

As nerdy as this seems, grocery shopping has become my "me time" and is a very much anticipated evening of my week. This evening, my wonderful husnabd took us out to dinner and then took the kids home while I set off to do my shopping. After I hit the regular grocery and the natural foods store, I called home to check in. Andrew assured me that everyone was doing well (despite the wailing I heard in the background!) and told me to go do something fun. I had a coupon for Victoria's Nothing Left to be Secret (how does one get a coupon to a store were she never shops??) so I went and got my free undies and a free bottle of perfume (sweet deal!). As I was leaving the mall, my phone rang (or buzzed, rather. How do you get the darn thing to produce an audible ring?). I was certain I would hear "Come Home!! She's been crying for fifteen minutes!" But instead, my wonderful hubby told me he had put Bella to bed and that I should go get some coffee and relax! Hooray! So I went to Barnes and Noble and spent a quiet and relaxing hour reading a magazine and sipping coffee. It was great.

Sigh. Now I can survive the rest of my oh-so-busy week.

Girly, Girly!!

Greta Jane Schap was born, via C-section, at about 7:30 this evening.

She is as beautiful as can be! Mama and baby are both doing well, although all four Schaps were looking mighty tired! Anja had a looong day without her mama and is just too young to realize what a wonderful day it is for her!!

That is all I have for now. Annie was still in recovery when we were there this evening. And of course, my camera is still MIA, so I only have the pictures on Andrew's camera, but can't get to them . . . .

I did see a very proud Daddy Smith in the hall, but baby was eating, so I didn't get a peek!

The Latest...

Annie has buckled under the pressure (no pun intended:) and taken the epidural...stay tuned!

Weee!!!!

Keep Annie and her baby in your prayers today! She and Martin headed to the hospital today and we are all eagerly awaiting her happy news! My guess is a little boy . . . what is yours?

Learning Young

Grace has already developed her girly ability to "count calories." The other day, I was making hot dogs for lunch. I asked Grace how many she would be able to eat and she answered with a chipper "two!" I proceeded to make her two, as well as one for each of the boys. She scarfed hers down and quickly polished off the rejected hot dog on Christopher's plate.

Later that day, I enquires as to how many hot dogs she had for lunch. She adamantly insisted that she had only had two.

Did you eat Christopher's as well?

Yes! But I only had two!!!

Clearly. It's what women have been trying to prove since the beginning of time. If you only ask for two, all the rest don't count.

Fixed!

I finally fixed the image on my Catholic Mom Bloggers roll. Get this -- the mom that hosts the blogroll is part of my kids homeschool co-op. Weird! I had no idea! It really is a small world!

Anyway, I am happy to have my image back. You should join the growing number of Catholic blogging mamas!

Another Busy One

We survived another crazy week and weekend. What happened to relaxing on the weekend?? Sometimes I feel like all we ever do is run, run, run. But it was fun-filled, so I can't complain. Yesterday, we spent nine hours helping friends fix up and pack up their home in order to sell it. We actually had a super fun time. The kids all played, the moms chatted, worked, and chased kids and the men all acted manly -- grunting, wielding screwdrivers, and grilling burgers. The even made a trip to every mans favorite store. One dad returned with a big grim "Sigh. I love Menards!"

And today we went to the free matinee, Mass, the park, and my mom's house. Andrew added to our family the other day by getting the kids each a dwarf hamster. We are now the proud owners of "Wicket" "Rosie Serene" and "Super Jar-Jar Binx" I am sure you can guess who belongs to whom. My mom decided they needed to live in a hamster paradise, so today we took our little friends to meet their benefactor and picked up their penthouse apartment. Unfortunately, by the time we got their the little hamster owners were seriously crabby, so we didn't stick around to long. But our little friends are enjoying their new home immensely. And Grace is enjoying rearranging it. If I ever find my camera, I'll post pictures. Even this self-proclaimed pet hater can admit that these guys are pretty cute!

My father in law stopped by this evening and when he saw them, he said "OH! You got rats!"

Antics of a Teriffic Two Year Old

I know so many people refer to the "terrible twos", but I for one think two year olds are magnificent. They are in such a special time of their lives when they are learning so much and at such a rapid pace. Their little sponge-like brains are soaking up anything and everything. And they are just so darn cute! One of my favorite thing about terrific two year olds is their oh-so-adorable speaking ability.

Along these lines, I LOVE to here PeterXavier say his own name. "Pete-ya-yer Ben-e-nic Tonio" In fact, I laugh so much at this cuteness that I often pretend to have forgotten his name, just to get his ire up and make him yell it at me. (It's even cuter when shouted!) So today, I said to him: "What is your name? Is it George? John? Is it Sam?"

"No, Mama, Tar-Sam in the JUNGLE!!"

Birthdays, Play Dates, and SPRING!!

Yesterday was my mom's birthday, so we had a little shin-dig here at our house. Andrew made fish tacos -- his specialty and a favorite of my mom. Yumm-o. And Annie made a super pretty and delish cake. And mega limey, yummy guacamole. Mmm!

Cousins!! My kids think Anja is the cutest thing ever (cuz she is). They love to play with her!!

Christopher had a big a special day yesterday as well. His first solo "play date"!! (I hate that term . . . but what else do you say??) He was returned to me covered in mud and sporting a big ol' grin. I'd say it was a success. He is blessed to have fantastic friends. And they have a big woods filled with muddy hills. What more could you want in a friend?Christopher and his pal Will. You can't see the mud in the picture (although you can see the top of a wine bottle. hmm.), but it was there! This was at our house at drop off time when they decided to run away and steal a little more play time.

The kids have been outside all day! It's been great. Christopher even begged me to put Isabella in the little swing so that he could play with her. He pushed her while she giggled, gleefully flying through the air. Big brothers get a bit excited with their swinging ability, but she didn't seem to mind! She was thoroughly worn out and napping now. They others have no intention of coming back in and I plan to leave it that way!