5 Months

Dear Leo, You sweet and handsome baby,
Your mama can hardly believe you are 5 months old already!  You add so much love and joy to our family, and we're so grateful for you!  Soon you'll be doing all sorts of new things, like eating solid food and crawling.  These days of rocking and carrying and nursing will pass by all too quickly...  I'm tryng my hardest to etch permanent memories of your soft baby skin, your fuzzy hair, yout big toothless grin into my brain forever.  But I know those images will be shadowed by the new you as you grow each day into the person God created you to be.  So, I will enjoy each day of your baby life.  I pledge again not to worry that the house is in disarray.  You're totally worth it.
Love and big kisses,
Mommy

The Longest Birthday Party Ever

When I said I was going to celebrate for a week, I meant it.  So, here's the post you've all been waiting for (haha)...  How I Spent the Week I turned 40: 

Lucy and I are going through the Secret Keeper Girl '8 Great Dates' program, and it is wonderful.  I highly recommend it for moms of 10-12 year olds (the author says 8 - 12, but I think that's a bit young).  Anyway, the mom-daughter date next on the list was a facial!!  So, we planned a spur-of-the-moment Mary Kay facial on Monday night.  Lucy insisted on before and after shots of me, so here they are: 

One thing I have definitely noticed about my age is that it's not such a good idea anymore to go without makeup...

This is Kathy, my MaryKay lady of many years with Leo - see that big smooch mark on his forehead??

This is a random photo taken by Felicity, actually, a couple weeks ago.  Not bad for a 4 year old. 

Wednesday, I had a massage followed by lunch with my mom and sister...  We haven't done anything just the 3 of us for 5 years!!  The only thing that would have made that lunch date better would have been my s-i-l Sara, who couldn't make it because she lives in Hong Kong (sniff*sniff)...  But I came home to a lovely package from her and my brother:  a magnolia tree!!  I promptly planted it in my front yard.  (picture forthcoming)

To top off the evening, my sweet hubbie took me on a carriage ride around town.  Keep in mind that I have long talked about wanting to do this, and he has long argued that it must be the cheesiest thing to do in the universe.  But he made the arrangements and smiled and didn't make fun of me even once (well, not much).  Leo did pretty well until he filled up his diaper and then threw up all over himself.  But that's par for the course wherever we are...I loved the ride.  It was a beautiful fall evening, perfect temperature, and such fun to move leisurely through the historical neighborhoods, noticing much more detail than is possible when passing by in a car. 

I forgot to mention that before the carriage ride, we went to dinner, the 7 of us.  My kids' behavior was stellar (or maybe I was just in a really happy and forgiving mood). 

I just like this picture of my mom and sister...

Thursday I had to take the baby for a well child doctor appointment...  Daddy had the day off, so he did school with the kids.  Hence, another day off for me! 

Finally, on Saturday night, we had dinner with 2 of our favorite families at my favorite Irish pub.  I had a blackberry beer and irish stew.  Lots of fun!!

 Thanks for all the warm birthday greetings from family and friends!  This was such a great week, I don't know how I can top it.  What will I do when I turn 50????

40

In approximately 24 hours, I'm turning 40.  The funny thing is, I'm really ok with that.  In fact, I'm almost proud of it.

Do I love the fact that shedding baby pounds is a whole lot harder than it was 11 years ago?  Not really.  Am I a huge fan of gray hair?  Not entirely.  But these things come along naturally, and along with them, you get maturity and wisdom.

I do not mean to imply that I know it all or that I have reached a pinnacle of personal development.  Certainly not.  But when I look back at my 20-year-old self, I can definitely say, "you've come a long way, baby!"

So, yes I'm a bit more squishy, achy, and wrinkly than I was then, but I'll gladly accept these effects of aging as a trade off for all the gifts of marriage and motherhood, not to mention that I'm a whole lot smarter now than I was back then.

Here are some of the things I've learned ( these are probably no-brainers to most folks, but I'm a little slow):

-there are always 2 sides to a story.

-there's nothing wrong with drinking a glass of wine every night.

-humor often works better than anger, especially with kids.

-reading books aloud with the kids covers a multitude of parental missteps, especially if done while snuggling on the couch.

-exercise is important for more reasons than just looking good.

-education is about much more than report cards and test scores.

-the saints in heaven really can be great friends.

-it's ok to fake a cheerful disposition.  It's also ok to cry.  It's not so ok to have temper tantrums.

-sleep is vital.

On that note, I realize it's almost midnight and time for bed.

I'm planning to celebrate my birthday all week, so I'll try to document all the fun I intend to have.

My Love-Hate Relationship

Yes, I am conflicted about something very important.  L*gos.

You see, they are wonderful for many reasons.  I have witnessed cognitive development, improved fine motor skills, creative expression.  I have also felt the pain of the random piece underfoot, of attempting to locate the one missing piece, and of finding them scattered, literally, everywhere in the house.  No room is exempt - not even the bathroom. 

New sets bring much joy when received as gifts, particularly for the boys in the household, and especially for the 7 year old among us... 

So, I love them.  And I hate them. 

We get catalogs in the mail.  They are much anticipated and then poured over.  Certain sets are coveted, I'm afraid, and some are pretty expensive. 

So, the biggest lego fan in the house had a solution the other day.  "Do they sell legos at Good Will?" he inquired. 

Great idea, I thought.

So, I did a little eb*y search...  And there are listings there aplenty.  In fact, there are a plethora of auctions for 500+ pieces, 1000+pieces, supposedly sanitized and ready to be mailed to your door...

I actually considered placing a bid... and then hesitated...  and then shut down the browser. 

I can imagine the thrill that would ensue upon opening such a package.  And I can imagine the battles that would follow over what the house would inevitably become:  a lego dumping ground. 

I have tried limiting them to one room.  I packaged up many sets and placed them on a high shelf in the basement.  I was sure they wouldn't be missed.  I was wrong. 

So, what to do...  They're good toys.  I know they would be well-loved and played with if I bought the ginormous bundle of random pieces.  

And then I imagine the hysteria when the separated sets get mixed in with the 'big box', as we call it in these parts.

Maybe Santa will have a solution. 

{pretty, happy, funny, real}

Capturing contentment with the ladies at Like Mother, Like Daughter today....

{Pretty}

What's more fun in the fall than apple picking with your kids on a pretty day?  I can't think of much, except, perhaps....

{Happy, Funny}

...watching them delight in using the new kitchen gadget (a Christmas gift from Dadddy last year) to make applesauce.  A certain 7-year-old was particularly enthralled, giving us all a good laugh...

{Real}
I didn't take a picture of this, unfortunately, but just in case someone might be facing a similar dilemma...
I have one son who uses a wheelchair.  The first year we tried pushing it through the orchard, it didn't go very well.  Last year, I tried taking him in the wagon.  He's 10, but still fits in it, and it works great for maneuvering through the uneven grassy areas and the gravel, and it gives us somewhere to put his apples. 

Finally, here are our kitties who have been getting into real trouble lately :)...

Who me?

Don't blame me, I'm just the runt.

Random Late Night Thoughts

Why would anyone make baby clothes with pockets?  Baby is wearing footie pajamas right now and they have pockets.  Well, if he needs somewhere to stick his pocket knife and lighter, I guess he'll be all set.

Have I mentioned that I love the Hunger Games?  We (hubbie and I) saw the movie,finally, last week, and I was not disappointed.  I was, however, disappointed with myself when I shrank my Distrct 12 shirt in the laundry.

I just accidentally tripped our alarm for the 2 nd time in 2 weeks.  You know your kids are tired when they sleep right through it.

We completed 2 weeks of school and then took a vacation.   I could get used to a 2-weeks on / 1 week off routine...

Activities are back in full tilt beginning this week.  I'm trying really hard this year to avoid the drive thru.  That is so tough when a family is on the move at dinner time.  I have some serious meal and snack planning under my belt, and with some thinking and preparing ahead each week, I think we can do it.  I'm also trying to make family meals a priority in spite of lots of running around in the evenings.  I'm hoping with strategic healthy snacks, we'll be able to pull off later meals than usual.

While on vacation last week, I attempted to resurrect a knitting hobby begun several years ago.  I found a lovely yarn shop and got started on a new project.  So far, so good.  My eldest daughter's comment?  " wow, Mom, when you 're done with that, you can take some pictures and post it on your blog.". Alas, the apple doesn't fall far from the tree.

Which reminds me of a great t-shirt I saw in a shop in Michigan last week.  It said, "I avoid cliches like the plague."   :)

My First Vacation

Leo here.  Mom says since I'm almost 4 months old, it's high time for my first blog post.  We just got back from vacation, which was a first for me, so Mom thought the story should be told from my perspective.  Here goes...

First of all, there was this beach.  Mom says it's her favorite one anywhere.  It's on Lake Michigan, wherever that is, and the water has no sharks.  I'm not sure what those are either, but my brother Victor seemed really happy about that.



beach bums



It was hot and sunny, but I had nice shade under this blue thing Mom bought.  Me and Dad had a nice snooze in here together.

The weatherman said it would be cool, so Mom packed sweatshirts, but we didn't need them.  We walked down to the beach every day.  One really great thing about this place is that the sand and water stuff keeps my brothers and sisters really busy, so I get a little more peace and quiet.  Sort of.

Overall, I'd say I like this place pretty well.  We can walk just about everywhere so I hardly have to get into that dumb carseat.

To make our trip even better, Grandma and Pada came along.  We stayed in a house and they stayed in their really cool camper.

Since I'm such a good traveller, if I do say so myself, and because we had such a nice time, I hope we go back there again.  I think I heard Mom say something about how much she loved the blueberry wine, so I'd say there's a good chance.