Happy Mother's Day!

Here are my four favorite reasons to celebrate! Aren't they great? I have decided it is impossible to get four squirrely little kids to smile simultaneously, so this is the best we get!

I met my parents, sister, and her family out at our favorite picnic spot to celebrate the day (and our fantastic Mama!) It was the perfect, simple little celebration. Unfortunately, Andrew had commencement at the college, so he wasn't with us -- boo!
My totally adorable niece was baptised this past Friday. Annie will probably kill me for posting this picture, but I love it! It's like she's saying "woop!" and trying to cheer the poor babe as she is doused with cold water!

And can you say cutie?? I think Grace took this picture. So sweet!

I hope all the Mama's out there had a great day!

We had a super-swingin' weekend . . . how 'bout you?

It was an insanely busy weekend, to say the least. Saturday was the Latino Fest at Ivy Tech, so Andrew was "working", but we got to hang out with him most of the day. The weather was perfect, most surely thanks to the prayers of little children! Fr. Gustavo came to give the opening prayer and then had lunch and walked around a bit with us. I have never really talked to him before -- he is so sweet!

On Sunday, our good friend Will made his first Holy Communion, so we went to the Mass at St. Tom's followed by a terrific party at the Bosma House of Adventure (and Mud).

And now we are starting our ridiculously busy week. Here we go . . .

Clever

Grace walked in the room, broken cell phone perched at her ear as though she is chatting:

This is Daddy. He wants to know if you'll make cookies.

Paul in a Basket -- A Review

When The Catholic Company put out a notice that they were looking for product reviewers, I jumped at the opportunity. What fun! My first item arrived the other day and the whole family has been enjoying it SO MUCH! It is a CD called "Paul in a Basket" by Rob Evans, the Donut Man. Through catchy, fun songs and intriguing dialog, we have learned everything about the wonderful Saint Paul. Certainly appropriate, since dear Pope Benedict has declared this Pauline year. Before listening to this CD, I didn't realize just how little I knew about St. Paul!! He is a truly wonderful hero in our Church's rich history.

But I digress . . . back to this marvelous CD. I have heard many great thing about "The Donut Man" in the past, but this was my first experience listening to him. He is wonderful! Immediately, my children were all dancing, hopping, and singing around the room. On listening to the words of the songs and dialog, they began asking all sorts of questions about St. Paul, the Fruits of the Holy Spirit, early Christian persecution, and on and on. Our new friend, the Donut Man does a beautiful job of teaching children (and Mama's!) about St. Paul in a fun and upbeat manner, while staying true to the reverence and sacredness deserved by all our Holy Saints.

Along with the CD, the Catholic Company also sent a directors guide, filled with instructions and ideas for putting the music and dialog on as a stage performance. The CD consists of 30 tracks -- the first 20 are songs (10), with dialog interspersed. The latter ten are just the songs. Therefore, children can dance and act out the songs, while performing the dialog portion themselves. This is geared for about 15 children. The handy director's guide gives great ideas for doing this, as well as all of the words to the songs (although my kids have already memorized most of them!). Although I have not done this, I can see how this would be a fun little project for a group of kids.

As a mother who tends towards a much less structured form of education, I found this CD to be a fabulous tool for teaching children in a fun, entertaining, and lasting way. My children made two new friends today -- The Donut Man and St. Paul!!

My life is a grocery list

I sat down at the kitchen table this afternoon to write my grocery list, surrounded by the normal chaos of our days. The kids were listening to music and dancing around the room, while Bella jumping back and forth between my lap and the floor. I pulled out my cute grocery list paper and started writing the items in neat handwriting. About to words in, Bella grabbed my pen and scribbled on the sheet of paper. So I set her down and grabbed a new pen, in a different color. Then Christopher wanted to help by writing a few items himself, so I let him write "Maple Seerp" in his finest six year old letters. After he got bored, I began again, only to have Isabella spill coffee all over the (cute) paper.

I finally finished my list, but on further reflection, I could see how this mundane item actually did a fantastic job of summing up my life. I try to be cute. I try to be neat and tidy. I try to match and have all things in their proper place and order. But my days get taken over by little hands. Small people want to "help" get the job finished. And more often than not, I am covered in something sticky and gross.

But in the end, everything gets accomplished and it was all the more exciting since we did it together. I have a feeling that when my kids grow up they will sum up their childhood by saying "It was messy, but we sure had fun!"

(I took a picture of said grocery list, but then I discovered that the SD card wasn't in my camera when I shot the picture . . . )

Just a little bit of everyday weirdness.

Household Tip O' The Day

A few weeks ago, we spent the day at my parents river cottage. Before we headed home, I bathed the kids, put them in their jammies, and shoved all of the dirty, damp clothes into a garbage bag. And then I promptly forgot about said clothing. A few days ago, I found the forgotten garbage bag and decided to clean its contents. Then I discovered Christopher's favorite shirt, one sleeve of which was covered in mildew. Now, considering that this was a bag filled with damp clothing that had been sitting for a rather long time, I figure I came out pretty lucky. Considering it had to be his favorite shirt . . . not so lucky.

So, I decided I had nothing to lose in trying to clean it. But everyone knows that mildew is incredibly hard to remove. In fact, when I looked up "removing mildew from fabric" in my favorite homemaker book it said "probably damaged beyond repair." Great.

But I remembered reading somewhere that hydrogen peroxide removes mildew (hey, it works for blood!). So I got out my giant bottle of peroxide, which it turned out had only about four drops left. I then found "Chlorox 2", which, it turns out, is mostly hydrogen peroxide anyway. I dumped the peroxide on the sleeve and then soaked it in the chlorox for about an hour. After a regular wash, the mildew is almost entirely gone! Hooray!

Our Trip South: Part One

Andrew's Godson was confirmed this weekend, so we took a family road trip to Kentucky. (Also known as Chicken-Tucky if you happen to be a 2 year old boy.) It was a twelve hour (round trip) drive that was filled with adventure! My pictures here are actually in backwards order. We passed many Indiana fields that were covered in little purple flowers, so the entire field would appear to be purple. It was SO pretty!
On the trip back home, we stopped at the Lincoln Boyhood Memorial in Lincoln City, Indiana. Andrew's directions actually took us to Lincoln City, Nebraska, but luckily we noticed that mistake before it was to late! The kids have been reading and learning about Abraham Lincoln, so it was wonderful for them to be able to see the land where he lived, the original foundation and hearth stones of his cabin, and the burial site of his mother and sister.
We went to Mass Sunday morning at a Benedictine Monastery. The Church and grounds were beautiful. You could see for miles . . . but not on this rainy day! Actually, this is a neat story. It rained and rained all morning on Sunday, but when we got the the Lincoln Memorial, the rain stopped and the sun came out. The sun shined and everything was beautiful while we looked around. It didn't start raining again until we got into the car to go home! God is so great=)
This is the Hidden River Cave in Horse Cave Kentucky, where Andrew lived when he was a teenager. We toured the cave, which was pretty exciting. The kids thought it was a little scary. I thought the 900+ stairs might kill me. . . especially when PX was slung on my back on the way up!

Happy Easter Wednesday!!

Star Wars Adventures

The kids are on a big Star Wars kick these days. They even have costumes of their favorite characters (thanks Ooma!). Coincidentally, the Children's Museum (one of their favorite places in the world) just opened a new Star Wars exhibit. So on Saturday, we loaded out own little Jedi's into the car and headed to see this new exhibit.
Of course, this sign greeted us, Light Sabers in hand, at the door. Luckily no one took us up on this offer to check out weaponry, so we proceeded armed.

Celebration!

Isabella turns ONE on Wednesday!! But since her Daddy has class that night, we celebrated with family and cupcakes this evening. Her Grandparents, Aunt, Uncle (who are also her Godparents!), and her wonderful cousins came over to party with her.

She had SO MUCH fun eating her cupcake!! My dad had to give her a bath in the kitchen sink after she was finished! It was SO cute -- by far the best first birthday cake eater we've had. Apparently, my grandmother always said that babies need chocolate cake with chocolate icing on their first birthdays, because it shows up better in pictures -- so true!

Corn for Dessert

Since it is April Fool's Day, we had corn on the cob for dessert! Annie generously lent me her "Hello Cupcake!" book, so I made these cute corn cupcakes. I am still trying to decide what to make Isabella's birthday cupcakes . . . so many choices! But no koala's, which is what I was hoping for, since Bella is our little koala. But there are monkeys!! Or really cute sunflowers . . .I just can't decide!

And here are my adorable girlys, enjoying a nice spring day!

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!

Try As We May, We're Still Not Classy

Does anyone else find it hilarious that Lafayette got all high and mighty and got a "David's Bridal" . . . and who should move in next door??

Dollar Tree.

Traditional Latin Mass

This evening was the first of our newly regularly scheduled Tridentine Mass. It was a really neat eperience and I am really excited to have the oppurtunity to attend this form of the Mass once a month! We got to the Church a few minutes late (big surprise) so we ended up standing in the "kids act like monkeys on speed" room. It was crazy. I think they would have been WAY better if we had been in a pew.

I had been trying to figure out who would be saying the Mass, and fully expected to see Fr. Cano, but what a happy surprise when it was Fr. David!! There is something so amazing about seeing someone you have known your entire life say the Mass. I spoke with his Mom afterwards and I could tell she was so proud!

I was so nervous beforehand about doing everything "right". I had a cute chapel veil for Grace and she was so excited about it. Then, I couldn't find anything for Bella, so I made her a sweet little bonnet. When we got there, hardly anyone was wearing a veil! I was glad we had them, though. I think it is a neat custom and hopefully more people will pick up on it.

I heard afterward that there were 209 people at the Mass. I actually was surprised at how low the number was. I expected better. Hopefully the numbers will grow as time goes on. It was a wonderful Mass and we are blessed to have it available to us! Mary and Una Voce have worked SO HARD to make this all come together!!

My Life: A Six Year Olds Version

If you know me well enough to know the stories my family tells about me, you will find this funny.

Christopher talking to Grace: Once, Mama got a bone stuck in her mouth and she couldn't close it!! And then, she fainted and FELL IN THE RIVER!!! Hahaha."

I'm sure if I let him go long enough, a goat would have jumped into save me.

Yummy.

Christopher just took a big swig of water and said:

"Mmm. Fresh from the sewer!"

Bleh.

No, I haven't run away. Although it's tempting.

I haven't been blogging because, well. There isn't really anything interesting to say. My kids are sick, whiny, and (on the bright side) snuggly.

The paradox of illness:

*No one is hungry, yet my kitchen is a mess.

*They've been in their PJ's for three days, yet the laundry is overflowing.

*They have zero energy, but still manage to play plenty of Wii.

*They can barely stay awake at noon, but won't go to bed at eight.

We are really looking forward to April.

Warmth, Simplicity, and Laughter

This weather is amazingly wonderful. Such a treat in the midst of the loooong, dark winter. The kids are outside, getting very dirty and thoroughly enjoying every ounce of fleeting warmth. I love to stand in the kitchen listening to their giggles and shreaks.

This evening, we are going to a friends home to visit and play games, so Isabella took her nap in the sling on my back while I made Special K bars. Yum! I'll pop some chicken wings in the oven later to take along as well. I am so glad that we won't have to bundle everyone up in order to leave the house!

Somedays, with four little children, life can get very crazy and wild. But on days like today, I can appreciate the simplicity and leisurly pace of this life with tiny ones. We are lacking the rush to practices, lessons, and games. It's nice sometimes to step back and realize that we aren't in a hurry to get anywhere. We are here, and that's a pretty good place to be!

A Night On the Town . . . Sort Of.

There is this crunchy group of Mama's in town called "CHOICES" (it stands for something), and I have been wanting to go to their meeting for a while now, but have just never made it. For one thing, I hate going to things like that alone, and I also hate leaving Andrew and the kids in the evening. Last night, Annie and my friend Stephanie were able to go with me (Martin was busy, too!) and Andrew had class, so the kids were at my mom's (where they'd rather be half the time, anyway!). It was perfect. I am so glad that I was able to go. Christopher's naturopath was the speaker, which made it all the more interesting. She is always informative without making you feel like what you are feeding your kids is going to kill them. The other mom's there seemed very laid back and not crazy fanatics. Different than me, yes . . . I guess I like the skin color God gave me. But I am not judging. She was really nice! And colorful!

Afterwards, the three of us went to Vienna, which was really fun. I never get to just hang out and relax with friends. I am not a big "girls-night-outer", but once in a while it's fun! And it's always great to load your totally adorable niece with caffiene at bed time!

We are definetly going for a walk today -- I love this weather!!

Little Gracie Homemaker

My lack of housekeeping skills are going to drive my daughter mad.

Today, she combed the fringe on the table cloth.

But she refuses to comb her hair. Go figure.

Day Full O' Fun

What a crazy, insane, fun day! We started the day by taking a trip out to our friends house to go sledding. The "hill" of choice was more of a 90* drop than a slope. The kids didn't seem to mind, though, and the dads loved it! I sat inside with Bella and the other kids trickled in as they got cold and tired. So we cozied up by the fire reading stories and warming little hands and toes.


After everyone was too cold to stay out any longer, they all came in for hot cocoa and snacks. Snacks turned into ordering pizza for lunch and we all lazed the day away chatting and laughing together. It was great for the kids to play and the grown ups to relax. The boys even went out for a second round of sledding! Christopher loves going out side with his friend Will, sans grown-ups, because it makes him feel so independent! Their property is covered in woods and creeks that are perfect for curious and adventurous little boys.

We finally headed home late in the afternoon. Which meant that Andrew and I had to hurry up in order to get ready for our big event that evening! We got all gussied up, put Isabella in a sparkly dress and headed out for the night. I never dress my girls in sparkles; I much prefer smocking and puffed sleeves, but for this evening, sparkles were perfect! She was adorable! The event was nice and Bella was pretty well behaved. Her teeth are coming in and really bothering her, so she was a little grumpy, but nothing a little carrot cake and a nursing wouldn't fix! And of course, all of the people there thought she was wonderful! She was the only baby there (I guess most people don't take their kids to fancy dinner-dances?!!? =), and she was pretty popular!

Quick Catch Up

Wow. . . I sure didn't mean to go another week without updating. Oops! For the sake of easy recap, I'll do another "Seven Quick Takes" and then it's back to our regularly scheduled blogging . . . I hope!

~1~

We are finally well! Last Saturday, I thought we were all over our lingering illness, so we went to a friends house for a game night. It was great fun, until Grace threw up all over me!! Ahh. Poor baby. But now, I think we are finally in the clear and I don't think any of our friends got sick!

~2~

Yesterday was our first homeschool coop. The kids really enjoyed it, even though it was really long. They are taking an art class, a virtue class, and spanish. It is the polar opposite of the unschooling philosophy we live by here at home, but it is nice for them to have a learning environment with their friends and that is different than home. We'll see how it goes through the rest of the year. It only meets twice a month, which is really nice. What I don't understand is that these other moms are so determined to homeschool, but then want co-op and other group activities to mirror a school environment so completely. Am I missing something??

~3~

Isabella had her "real" food the other day ("real" as in, we purposely gave it to her -- she didn't forage it for herself from below PeterXavier's chair). We gave her carrots; she didn't like them much.

~4~

Grace and I went out last night on a "Girly Date." It was great fun! First off, we both got a much needed hair cut. Gracie looks so grown up!! It is really cute and her curls bounce up a lot more now than they did before. We also bought her a couple new tops. She loved having a say in her new clothes! Then we split a Cinnabon, because isn't the consumption of insane numbers of ooey gooey calories a requisite part of a girly date?

~5~

Isabella finally got a couple of teeth. The two on the bottom are popping through. They are making her incredibly cranky and she nurses constantly!! She is nusing right now.

~6~

We have a big weekend coming up. Fun times tomorrow morning sledding with out friends. They have a big hilly, wooded piece of property South of town and the kids are really excited to go flying down the very steep hills. I am not so excited to see them flying, but I trust that their daddy will keep them safe. (Because I will be inside. Where it is warm. Sipping coffee and watching out the ginormous windows).

Also this weekend, Andrew and I are going on a hot date to the Ebony and Ivory Ball at Purdue. Hilarious. I guess it is super fancy -- it's mostly black tie, but Andrew is wearing a suit. I might borrow a dress from Stephanie, except that she is like three feet taller than I am. I think I am going to be a total nerd and take a couple dresses to her house tomorrow and have her help me choose. In the warmth. While the kids are playing. And the daddys are sledding.

~7~

Belle is still nursing and the others are getting into mischief. I am off to do my duties. I'll try to post weekend adventure pictures as they come!

Seven Sick Takes

I mean quick takes. Sorry. These days, we are a bit more sick than quick, though!

~1~

Just when you think life is running smoothly, stop thinking. Put on the auto-pilot and hold on to you seats; things are about to get rocky.

~2~

I am eternally grateful for all of the many blankets, towels, washclothes, and sheets that I have. I never knew I would need all of them at once. Now to tackle that laundry . . .

~3~

If you have a child with even the remotest possibility of vomiting do not, under any circumstances, put him in the top bunk to sleep. Just trust me on this one. Unless, of course, you enjoy changing two sets of sheet, two comforters, two pillowcases, and that trusty guard rail. If you like that sort of thing, then have at it. But don't say I didn't warn you.

~4~

When your husband comes home after the long (sick) day, bearing pizza and a free pass to the nearest shower -- run. Because they might see you. And the pizza. And you just might now be able to handle that.

~5~

Sick babies are amazingly sweet to snuggle. Even four of them at once. And even if they do occasionally vomit on you.

~6~

The upside to everyone being ill, is that they take random and spontaneous naps. In this child declared "No Nap Zone", that is a welcomed treat!

~7~

There is always hope. Maybe tonight, everyone will sleep soundly and peacefully. And even if they don't, at least it's Saturday and Andrew will be here to share in the suffering (I mean fun!)

To be honest, it was harder to come up with seven that I was expecting! Hop on over to Jen at Conversion Diary for more Quick Takes!

Last night, I went to bed early, thinking how lucky we have been that no one has gotten sick this winter. Last winter was pretty rough, with kids getting sick repeatedly. At about 12:10, Belle woke up to eat and I thought how nice it is when you go to sleep early and get woken up only to see that you have tons of time left to sleep.

And then at 12:15, Christopher woke up and vomited all over everything. And in the process of cleaning up and resettling, everyone else woke up as well. Eventually, everyone got back to sleep, but it was clear that Isabella wasn't feeling well. Today, we are living on a healthy diet of movies, naps, and water.

That's the last time I revel in my own awesomeness and jinx myself!

Fun with Math

We were driving in the car today and I was trying -- and failing -- to explain to Christopher what "division" means. Math is not my strong suit. So Andrew, resident Math Man, took over. He briefly explained (well) and then gave the kids a few problems to figure out.

First he says to Grace "If I have three cars and need to give one to each of you: Christopher, Grace, and PeterXavier, how man would each of you get?"

Grace: Easy! One -- I would get a pink bug car, Christopher would get a Porche and PeterXavier would get a baby car!

And then for Christopher, he says: "If I have nine M&M's and want to give each of you an even amount, how many would you wach get?"

"Oh! Grace and PeterXavier would each get two, and I would get five!"

We Could Use a Little . . .

Global Warming.

Please.

I'm freezing here in this NEGATIVE NINE DEGREE weather.

But, I must say, this is awesome. When I am boiling water for my third cup of French Press coffee, I may have to make a bit extra to turn into a cloud. If you are also afraid of losing your toes to frost bite (inside the house), you may want to have a look.

ETA: This is utterly amazing. If you're getting cabin fever and have a bit of ingenuity, give it a try!

Snowy Day

It's been a beautiful, snowy day here. I hear it's slippery and slidey our there, but I opted not to find out myself and declared us "snowed in". Technically, I could have gotten the car out, but no one else around here needs to know that! So we skipped our gym time and got some old fashioned fresh air and exercise. I spent 30 minutes tracking down snow gear and bundling them up so they could spend ten minutes outside before pronouncing it too cold.

One of my favorite things is when all of the kids play together for longer that 0.3 seconds without fighting. Here everying is playing happily together in our little nook. This cheery little picture actually lasted a good portion of the day.

Since is was a cozy snow day, I baked a batch cookie bars. Mmm, warm and cozy.! Nothing like the chococherry lava yumminess that Annie made the other day. They were so yummy that my non-dessert eating husband barely even shared one bite with me! He probably won't even eat my cookie bars!

These pictures are small because I hijacked them from Stephanie's facebook. I forgot both my camera AND my video camera last night. Luckily Stephanie got a bunch of great pictures, including a smashing one of my husbands rear end. You can view it on FB, if you care to (sorry, Joannie. Just one more reason to join the crowds, I guess!).



Anyway, last night we had our reschedules Epiphany Party with a bunch of our good friends. There was a yummy "king cake" and PeterXavier won the prize. The prize went to the person who found the very large Brazil nut in his piece of cake. PeterXavier didn't really "get" it and promptly ate the very large nut in one very large bite. Luckily, he was still awarded his prize -- a big bag of chocolates for his mama to eat.


The children all (kind of) acted out the Nativity Story, from the Annunciation to the Birth of Our Lord. It was totally adorable, despite the fact that we had three angels, two shepherds and only one wise man. And a dad who stood in for Joseph, because all of the boys wanted to be shepherds. It was a bit chaotic, but absolutely charming! And the kids had a blast and that is what really matters.

What is WITH the Blood today???

Oh my. What a day. As far as I know, everyone is still breathing. But that is saying something. It's been an amazingly bloody day today. First, Isabella cut her finger. Mysteriously. I looked down and the floor was covered in blood. After I figured out it was coming from a minuscule cut on her finger, I calmed down a bit. But then it took at least half an hour to stop bleeding! Luckily, I could recall Mr. Studebaker's "Freak Week" in high school biology (how PC!) to know that girls can't be hemophiliacs, other wise I would have been wondering!

And then, PeterXavier's nose erupted like Mt. Vesuvius all. over. creation. His face, his pajamas (yes, he was still wearing them at 2 in the afternoon. shoot me), my craft room, my kitchen, me. In all his bloody glory, I was certain he had stuck something up there. Surely this would merit my days trip to the ER. But, no, it stopped as abruptly as it began.

So far, we've gone 47 minutes without blood or tears. It's a record!

Nine months in, Nine months out

Isabella "turned" nine months old yesterday. I snapped a few pictures of her -- digital cameras, blogs, and computerized "scrapbooks" make this documentation SO MUCH easier. I have more pictures of Belle than of any of the other kids!

Clearly, we haven't had any "adjustment issues." Unless you count trying to smother her with love!

In other news, it's been a wonderfully slow week here in our house. We've been trying out a new bedtime routine and it is working beautifully. The kids have fully recovered from Christmas craziness and have been enjoying playing together and getting back into a normal type of day!

A Christmas' End

I emailed a friend on Monday lamenting the fact that, after a glorious nine day vacation from work, Andrew was gone and here I was alone in a house with four kids. She informed me that, husband or no, it's still Christmas and we must still party. In fact, she claimed, Jesus demands it -- it's His party, and it ain't over. So, party we did. But now, it is over. Yesterday was Epiphany, and the Christmas Season has ended. Although, our Epiphany Party, due to illness has been postponed until Sunday. Does this mean I can still party? I say, why not!

In that spirit, we celebrated the Three Wise Men last night with a "King Cake" just like we did when we were young. It was fun to see the kids find the "prize" (a quarter). PeterXavier couldn't believe it! Money! In my cake! Two year old joy is so great!

I thouroughly enjoy the Catholic tradition of spreading Christmas over 12 days. Christ deserves a long and drawn out celebration, most certainly. But my more boring self is glad to see the slower pace of life return. Although nothing is truly slow around here!

Happy New Year!

We rang in the New Year Gatsy style. Good food, good friends, and plenty of good drink! We went to a friends "Great Gatsby" party where everyone dressed up twenties style and all of the kids ran around like crazy and most of them made it to Midnight!

Andrew is purposly not smiling in this picture to make it more "accurate." And I think Christopher is following suit.

This ukelele has become a permanent fixture with PeterXavier the last few days. He even took it to Mass and then tried to serenade Fr. Tim at the party.