Baby, baby

It's amazing how much babies change in their first few days of life. Avila is only nine days old, but already she seems meatier and more awake. She is bright-eyed more than she was a few days ago.

And her bright eyes are BLUE. I know most people are used to blue-eyed newborns, but this is a first for our family. I hope that they stay blue -- such a contrast to her mass of dark hair!

Welcoming Baby

We are excited to welcome our little early bird, Avila Josephine!! She was born yesterday at 4:37PM and weighed in at an even seven pounds.


Immediatly upon her arrival, she stole the hearts of her older siblings. I can't blame them -- she is one sweet little girl.

Holy Family Catholic Conference

This past weekend, we went to the Holy Family Catholic Conference in Kokomo. When we pulled up and saw this:

We knew we were in the right place!

We had a great time, as the entire event was set up specifically for families. The bigger kids each had their own special activities, while the

smaller ones stayed with us. (We could have dropped them off and had a virtually kid-free weekend, but that's not how we roll!).

While all of the speakers were fantastic, the highlight of the weekend for many fans in our family, was meeting Fr. Leo.

And then being called up on stage BY NAME to taste-test his food. Crud. I had a picture and it disappeared. PeterXavier and Fr. Leo really hit is off and they have the same birthday, which was only a few days before the conference, so he called PX up onto the stage to try the food he had just made. It was totally cute. There were other people up there as well, but he was the only one singled out. And now PeterXavier is Fr. Leo obsessed.

Good Grief

Where did the time go? It's been six weeks since I posted!! Woops. Part of the problem is that I have this fancy new SD card, which is apparently to fancy for my archaic computer and I can't seem to upload any of my pictures.

Much is still the same around here -- our house is still for sale and nothing looks to be changing on that front any time soon. I am still pregnant -- enormously so -- and hopefully nothing will change on that front for a couple more weeks. And let's just say that 37 weeks pregnant and 90 degree weather don't mix very well. Eesh.

Funny story about our house: We were heading out of town this weekend (that's a post in itself -- coming soon, once I can upload the pics) and had to leave early Saturday morning in order to reach our destination in time. Consequently, the house was in less than stellar condition as we walked out the door. Andrew mentioned to me that maybe we should straighten up quickly, just in case we got a call for a showing. I laughed at him and reminded him that we hadn't had a showing in over three weeks -- what are the odds of getting one now?? So we left the house and locked it up tight -- with keys that no one else but the realtor has.

And I think I heard God laughing.

That afternoon who should call, but the realtor! So we called in the emergency troops (my awesome parents), had the realtor run down to our house and let them in, and in a whirlwind fifteen minutes they somehow managed to clean our entire house. It was pretty much insane, but luckily everything worked out in the end. Maybe I should start listening to my husband more often??

I'm a walking (waddling) conversation starter

Last night while we were out and about, I, with my pregnant girth, shuttled the four kids past a group of chatting young college girls. As I went by, I heard one of the girls say to her friends:

"Have you guys seen that show 18 Kids and Counting??"

Seriously. Can YOU count? Five is no where near eighteen!

Ahh, Spring!

We had a lovely Easter, filled with a beautiful Mass, lots of food, and ridiculous amounts of chocolate. Easter Mass is my most favorite Mass of the year -- I love how the entire church is filled with the smell of fresh flowers, the trumpets and music are so beautiful, and everyone is dressed to the nines. I was totally jealous of all the young skinny girls in the wonderful fancy dresses! *sigh* Some day I will be not pregnant, not nursing, and maybe even skinny all at the same time! (Not that I am ungrateful for my current bump!!)

I made the kids cute little Easter boxes, instead of baskets, this year. And I made homemade Peeps! It was really nice to set out on a crafty project and actually complete it. It has been a while since I have been able to do that. Of course a certain (adorable) three year old wandered off with my SD card a couple weeks ago, so I have zero pictures of cute Easter crafts or cute Easter kiddies.

Spring has really sprung here and it is wonderful. We took the kids to the park and let them run and play off all of their energy before bed time. We hiked up through the woods at Happy Hollow in an area where I had never been before. I had no idea it was even there. It was SO pretty! The kids loved being able to RUN, run, run after the long winter being cooped up indoors. The younger two crashed on the way home, but the older monkeys are chatting away in their beds.

Happy Feast of St. Joseph!!!

God was certainly being kind when He plopped a Solemnity smack in the middle of Lent! I love it!! In an amazingly timely manner (not just quickly, accounting for all the work we had to do, but the day before St. Jospeh's Day as well!), we officially got our house on the market yesterday and there is now a big For Sale sign in our front yard. It is a little sad, since we really love this house, but it is super happy as well. We are excited to find a new home with lots of outside space for the kids to romp around. And hopefully dear Saint Joseph will help us do just that!

A great deal of child labor went in into preparing this house for sale. But our sweet helpers were (generally) ready and willing. Grr. I had lots of cute "child labor" pictures of the kids working, but Picasa is not cooporating. Maybe later.

The kids all put on shorts this morning (well, except Bella -- she just stripped naked). I hope it gets as warm as the weather man is predicting!

Houses and Ultrasounds

I gave up blogs and facebook for lent --which explains my lack of posting lately. Funny thing, though, it's been way less sacrificial than I thought it would be!! And the time it has freed up has been great. Although it has led to complete insanity, in some ways.

Like the fact that we decided to put our house on the market. Not that this is a rash decision -- it has been coming for over a year now. But a few things have happened in the last couple of months that made us look at each other and say "Apparently, God wants us to move!" Sometimes, He comes down and beats you over the head.

So, if you want a beautiful home downtown and RIGHT next to St Boniface -- I have one for you!

We had an ultrasound a couple weeks ago. I wasn't planning to have one at all, but ended up doing it just to clear up a few things. Everything is just fine and dandy! I took the four kids and they LOVED getting pictures of the baby! They were so excited. Having baby #5 is totally different than the previous pregnancies. It is so fun to have all of these little people to share our excitement. I think the sibling rivalry thing people talk about is a myth -- that or they just bring it on themselves. Self-fulfilling prophecies! In fact, the other day Christopher said out of no where "I just wish the baby would get here. I keep seeing all these tiny babies and I want ours!!"

Valentine Making Adventures

While Andrew was at the Men's Retreat this morning (with Dr. Cuddeback . . . can you say jealous?? At least Andrew came home for his check book so he could buy the book!), the kids and I worked on making Valentines.

It was an adventure, to say the least. And a learned a lot. For example, did you know that if you heat a hard boiled egg in the mircowave it explodes? It makes a pretty impressive noise, too. I can't tell you just how long you have to cook it, but I do know that at the time of the sonic boom, the timer read 31:42.

Some how I think Andrew's morning was a little . . . quieter.

And the Valentine's . . . they got made, but they may be lacking the candy to which they were supposed to be attached. Some people just can't handle seeing candy and not eating it.

I doubt those men at Church grew in patience as I did this morning. Or maybe I didn't . . .

Dustin' the cobwebs off the ol' blog

Does anyone even read this anymore?? Sorry for the serious lack of posting -- all of my (few) creative juices have been sucked away by this new little person.

Despite the fact that not one flake fell from the sky yesterday, Andrew had the day off from work. It was a great little bonus day in the middle of a somewhat boring week. We didn't do any thing exciting -- cleaned up the house, ran a few errands -- but it was fun to do it all together.

Isabella is in the very early stages of potty training. It is quite funny, actually. I am certainly not stessing over it, since she is still really young, but she is somewhat interested, so we are just rolling with it. The big kids think it's great. If she does her job properly, they cheer and woop and carry her in the air as they parade around the house. I thought all the commotion might scare her into diapers for the rest of her life, but she seems to love it! What ever works, I guess!

Inspired by Elizabeth Foss's popcorn snowballs, I let the kids make rice krispy treats last night. But I didn't realize how late it was . . . so we may have had a bit of a sugar high around 9:30 last night . . . and we may have eaten some more for breakfast this morning! But I LOVED what she said:

Even if you don't have snow, read the books and make the popcorn balls.
Childhood should be sweet.

Well, we didn't have the books and I was to lazy to pop corn, so we "made do" with rice krispies. No one complained :)

Weekend Recap

Following a LOOONG week, this weekend went WAY too fast! Since this week was a bit . . . stressful (let's just say the vacuums got a serious workout and if I were to dump the bags out back, the bird would have a feast!), we were all suffering from some serious cabin fever. To remedy the situation, we headed out early Saturday to spend the day at the Indy Children's Museum. We got there earlier than usual, so we were able to do a few things we haven't done before. Christopher got to climb the rock wall and got all the way to the top! He was quite proud and had a great time.

Whenever we truck down to Indy, we try to get the most out of our trip (it's an hours drive), so we hit Trader Joe's for groceries and then went to Goodwill in search of a few things. I scored big with a new coat for PeterXavier. The zipper on his old one broke and he really couldn't make it a whole winter with a broken zipper. I was kind of happy, because I had never really liked the coat anyway, but couldn't justify replacing a perfectly good coat, just because I thought it was ugly! So now he has one, similar to his big brothers, and that makes him happy!

And did you know that Goodwill has OUTLETS??? Seriously. I was shocked. It was a pretty scuzzy place -- I think they take the donations straight from the donors garbage bag and dump them into bins. But I am not above scuz if it means a hot deal! And for many items, you pay by WEIGHT! Haha. It totally made me laugh. But we found Christopher a new (to him) bike for only nine dollars! He had outgrown his in the middle of last summer, but we were waiting for a good deal to come along. He was pretty happy when we found this one. In fact, everyone was so excited that they bundled up and took a ride to Border's this morning before Mass. (We're thankful for an adventurous Daddy!)

Naming Fun!

Have you seen this site? It is a really cute and fun way to come up with different baby name ideas. I typed in the names of our children in order to see what names it would pick that we might also like. It actually came up with some good ones!! And ones I hadn't thought of, as well. "Francesca"?? Woo! "Giovanna", which is awesome, but not very practical. And the funniest -- "Lafayette"!! Ha!

Of course, when I typed in "PeterXavier" it didn't quite know what to do. And then I tried our most probable middle name pick for a boy -- which is a REAL name -- and it still didn't know what to do!! So funny. Maybe I just like weird names?

We had a good time playing around with this. It was a great conversation starter -- seeing as Andrew is the "hold the baby in my arms before I name him (her)" kind of person. Which is kind of annoying for a "let's sit and chat about baby names" kind of person! And since we are a little stumped anyway, it was fun to get some more ideas.

Getting back to normal

This blog seems to be reflecting my life as it is right now. It can pretty much be summed up in two words:

Waaaay behind.

But things are looking up. I am finally starting to feel like a somewhat normal, but very tired, person. But I think I can deal with fatigue and occasional nausea much better than constant, never-ending nausea. Much better, I say.

My mom had the kids over to spend the night last night and didn't bring them home until mid-afternoon. I actually used my time wisely and in most areas of house keeping I am no longer WAY behind, but merely somewhat behind! Actually, the insane amounts of laundry are caught up and I can now walk through the kids room without fear of breaking my neck as I trip over legos. Things are looking much better around here.

Now, if I could get back on track with my grocery / meals routine, life might run smoothly!

"Be Thankful

for all that you have! Be Thankful! From the bottom of you heart!"

I seriously WOKE UP with that song in my head.

Did you *heart* Psalty when you were a kid??

I couldn't find that exact song, but here is a link to a song that was on the same cassette. There are bunches on youtube. Enjoy and try not to tear up!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SlOc0_7FuMU&feature=PlayList&p=10BF85BA5005CC8E&index=72

Isn't it cute . . .

When this:Becomes this:

And cutely (that really should be a word) enough they are standing in the right order! Sweet little girlies!

And I am pretty sure that the photo above was taken exactly two years ago today!

My Little Server

Christopher was able to serve for the first time this past Wednesday. He is just barely seven and has not yet received his First Holy Communion (he will this spring), so this was quite a special experience!

The Legion of Mary is holding a special rosary service on the first Wednesday's. Christopher is already excited for the next service! The other little boys had only served one other time, but they were taught and mentored by a lovely college aged boy. And Father was unbelievably sweet and cute with his tiny servers!

Hijacked Picture

My brother and his family were visiting this weekend. I have zero pictures, since my camera has gone missing, but luckily the rest of the family got plenty. I hijacked this pic from his blog. As you can see, it was an energy-filled weekend. Nine kids total and all of them CRAZY!!! So fun! (And no, this wasn't taken on Halloween . . . we tend to wear costumes year-round in our family!)

Another Prayer Request

Please pray for my friend, Katie, who has sadly miscarried her little one.

And God shall wipe away all tears from their eyes: and death shall be no more, nor mourning, nor crying, nor sorrow shall be any more, for all former things are passed away. And He that sat on the throne, said: Behold, I make all things new. ~ Apoc 21:4-5

Fall Pictures

Mr. I'm Never Serious
Doesn't this look like an album cover?

Barefoot and Beautiful

We went to our friends house today to take advantage of the beautiful changing leaves. Since I took over two hundred pictures, I actually got some good ones!

And Now We Are Six

Our litte Gracie turned six this week. And she rang in the year with a proper and girly tea party. My mom made her a princess dress, complete with tiara, and she was definetly the princess of the evening. And her Uncle Martin brought her a dozen pink roses. What more could a girl ask for??

In the afternoon, the kids decorated cupcake "corn on the cob" (Hello, Cupcake! we love you!). It looks like a jumbled mess in this picture, but it was really pretty cute. But no one can ever accuse me of saying "my kids made this" and then presenting some item of perfection which was clearly not made by a six year old. My kids made these . . . and you can tell=)

The kids also made place cards for all of their friends and the table was set with the girliest of china.

We had lots of little friends come sip tea and nibble sugary goodness with us.

Happy Birthday, Gracie! We love you!

We spent almost every moment of our weekend enjoying the sights and sounds of the Feast of the Hunters Moon. On Friday, cold and rainy, the kids and I went out to help with the Soap Making Booth. We learned SO much and had a wonderful time, despite the seriously nasty weather.

On Saturday, we picked up a few of our favorite pals, and headed back out. The weather was way better this time around. In fact, it was perfect Feasting weather. Cool and crisp, but warm in the sunshine. The girls made beaded necklaces and the boys threw tomahawks.

(Did I tell you that, Stephanie? Your son hit the target!)

They aren't letting the Indians test their abilities. They are seeing how tall they are in order to choose their distance from the target.

Today, it was so cold that Bella spent most of her time hidden under my cape. Sometimes I slung her on my back and then put the cape over her, making for a cozy ride!

We headed out again, Sunday morning for a very chilly, but lovely, Mass. And a miracle happened at the Mass -- we were early! And we got a seat! Every year, we can be found making a mad dash, dragging children, across the Feast grounds hoping the get to Mass before the Gospel! But not this year. (Ok, full disclaimer: I thought Mass was at 8, but it was at 8:30, but give a girl some credit!).

Perfect Angel

I just had to share this picture of Angel, who left the comfort of her mother's womb to rejoice in the Beatific Vision. Is she not perfect and beautiful? Her tiny feet and perfectly formed toes are a testament to the miracle of every life. Her family and all who know them have been so blessed by her brief life! Please continue to pray for her parents as the mourn the earthly loss of their little girl.

Prayer Request

I recieved sad news today that our dear friends had miscarried their baby at 18 weeks. Please offer some prayers for this beautiful family as the mourn their loss. They are people of great faith and will appreciate any pray you can offer as you go about your days!

And God shall wipe away all tears from their eyes: and death shall be no more, nor mourning, nor crying, nor sorrow shall be any more, for all former things are passed away. And He that sat on the throne, said: Behold, I make all things new. ~ Apoc 21:4-5

A Somewhat Whiney Post from a Stir Crazy Mama

What a week! I am SO glad that the weekend is (almost) here! We hunkered down this week, nursing runny noses, high fevers, and persistent coughs. We are slowly crawling out of the land of the sick, but I think we still need another day or so. I don't know how big families handle illnesses. It takes a long time for the "bug" to hit every person and then work its way through. With four kids, it's taken a full week to make its way through everyone and finally leave. If we had more kids, I think we'd be sick for a month!

I was bummed to be sick this week -- I had such grand plans! There were so many great Feast days this week. We did make a special dinner for Michealmas: Chicken Spaghetti Bake (angels make us brave, not chicken!), Spinach Hand Pies (spinach makes us strong in body, prayer makes us strong in spirit) and "Divinely Inspired" Apple Sauce (it was heavenly!). We met Andrew at the River for dinner, so we were able to have a fire and roast marshmallows as well.

For the Feast of St Therese, the kids all flopped on couches and chairs and didn't really move. I am hoping to get an angel craft done this afternoon, for the Feast of the Guardian Angels, but I may have to be happy with letting this kids watch "My Guardian Friend" and cheezy movie about a little girl and her Guardian Angel. I hope to also give the kids a good idea of the wonder of having a Guardian Angel and to instill in them this great, but often misunderstood fact: we don't become Angels when we die!!!

So there you have it: our sick and lazy week. Hopefully next week we will be able to get back on track.

Happy weekend!

A Funny Little Story

This is funny, if you are a "IRL" friend who knows the same people we know. To the other readers, sorry to bore you=)

While we were in Disney, I was continually impressed and excited with the care and attention we got as consumers with food "allergies". (They are actually intolerances, which are far less serious, thankfully.) Everytime we were enjoying hamburgers with gluten free buns or brownie ice cream sundaes, I would think "I HAVE to email Shawn and tell her about this!!" Three of Shawn's four daughters were recently diagnosed with Celiac Disease -- far more serious than our intolerances.

And then we went on Splash Mountain.

Heh heh. Look who else was on Splash Mountain!!!

Life is so funny.

A Vacay Report

Phew. We are all exhausted. My parents took us to Disney World this past week. And we used every.single.minute. It was great fun and now I want to sleep for a month!

We flew with Dumbo.

Plummeted down Splash Mountain (pictures to come later).

Christopher got to train to be a Jedi Knight and learned to defeat Darth Vader!
But Darth Vader must have sensed the Dark Side in PeterXavier, because he kept coming over to look at him!
And at the end of each day, we all felt like this!

Pre-Vacay Vacay

Here we are in this hotel in Indianapolis for our "pre-vacation" (next week, we are going on a mega-vacay with my parents!) for the week while Andrew is in training at the Indy Ivy Tech campus. The kids and I are just enjoying free cable, free breakfast, and a swimming pool. We met Andrew for a picnic lunch today, went for a swim, and now the kiddies are relaxing with some quality (ha!) TV time.

One of the joys of unschooling is the premise that "learning takes place everywhere" and, therefore, trips like this are prime learning experiences. Right?? Yesterday, the kids and I were at the pool and the sign said:

"Hours--9:00AM-10:00PM"

Christopher read it allowed and said:

"Whores at nine AM? What does that mean?"

Yes, we are learning all the time!

Drapery: The New Black

Here are some (really awful) pictures of my curtain skirt. (per Jill's request -- Hi Jill!) It's definetly not perfect -- the hem turned out a little funny, but it is still fun to wear. I hope someone comes up to me sometime and says "I have a curtain at home just like that!!"