First Communion Cake

I got to do something very special last night in preparation for Ira's First Communion tomorrow.  I got to decorate his cake with my mama!  She is who taught me everything I know about cake decorating. We haven't done a cake together since Ira was a baby, so it was pretty special to me that we got to do this one together.  Since we moved away from the big city five years ago, we don't get to spend near as much time together as I would like, but last night we spent from 5:30pm to 2:00am working on this beautiful cake (and then she had to make the 35 minute trek home! God bless her!)  I will cherish last night forever.  And, I couldn't be more thrilled with how the cake turned out!!  I wanted something fancy and extraordinary to celebrate the most awesome sacrament of receiving God Himself.  I think we achieved that!  Many thanks to my mom for making the sacrifices she did to help me last night and also a big thanks to my Aunt Rosie for artistic advice!  Happy (almost) First Communion Day Ira!!

Tooth Fairy

Soo... I may or may not be a terrible mother who forgot for like a month... or more (I've honestly lost track it's been so long) to "tooth fairy" Ira's last tooth he lost.  He has for several months known that I am the tooth fairy (He even told Andy, "Dad, did you know Mom is the Tooth Fairy?!")  but, just like with Santa Claus (who he bluntly told RUBY was fake this year... thanks a lot...) confuses me with how exactly that works out in his big honkin' brain.  He does this thing where he still acts like he believes.  And he's good at it.  Too good.  So much so that I don't really think he's acting.  Because I'll unapologetically admit the kid can't lie to save his life so I don't think he could  so convincingly pull off "fake believing."  Does that make any sense?   Because it doesn't for me.... I don't know what reality he has created for himself where he knows, in fact, that his parents are aforementioned mythical figures, but then still wholeheartedly lives as though they are real... I don't know... it boggles my mind.

Sooooooo...... anyway... He finally decided last night (after he had to have a tooth pulled at the dentist yesterday) that he was going to write a note to the tooth fairy.

And the tooth fairy, having an affinity for imaginary worlds herself, left him this note back:

He was ecstatic.  And said not one word about it being from me... mind. blown.

Then tonight when he went to bed, he wrote her another note:

Oh... My HEART!!!  What a doll!  I'm rather enjoying this fun little conversation with my sweet son!  

To be continued...

Journal: January 24

Outside my window: grey and cold.  I hate winter.  Especially winter in January and February.

Clothing myself in: jeans, navy blue long sleeve shirt with turquoise camisole underneath.  It's pretty much my uniform: jeans, tank top, solid colored long sleeve shirt.

Around the house: Finally got all the Christmas stuff taken down last Friday (i think?)  Slowly but surely cleaning.  I made a "schedule" for myself for each month with cleaning goals - it seems to be a step in the right direction.  Life's been a little chaotic lately with sickness and family stuff, so things have had to slide a bit, but it's nice to have goals to work towards.  Finally replaced the water pad/filter in the whole house humidifier (just one of those things I never remember to pick up/look for) I can't believe how much more comfortable the house feels.

Ruby: Gosh she's growing.  There've been so many things in the past few weeks that I've wanted to blog about regarding her, but just haven't had the chance.  She is still into coloring (especially with her markers from Christmas) and cutting paper "candy" - tiny little pieces of colored paper (that she colors after she cuts out - like .25"x.5" pieces) and hanging them on doors (with 2 foot strings of tape - also a Christmas present.)  She's also moved from playing with babies mostly to stuffed animals mostly.  Her chimpanzee is named "Doo Doo"  her dog is named "Sam."  Another monkey is "Thomas" and a big red monkey is "Sir Handle."  She's wanted her hair "like a mama" lately - i.e. I wear my hair in a low ponytail pretty much every day and now that's how she wants her hair every day.  I'm honored and humbled by how much about me she notices.  She's really into whose turn it is to talk/not being interrupted.  For instance, Ira starts to say something as Ruby is finishing what she's saying, so she exclaims, "Ira, I was talking FIRST!"  Hopefully she will learn the ebb and flow of natural conversation soon - it's mildly annoying.  Still has the binkies - although they're like really cracked and beat up.  She says she's giving them to Mandy's baby when he/she is born - we'll see!  She's also been into who/what does and does not poop right now too.  Like, in the car, "does a tree poop?" "does a bird poop?.... why?"  and on, and on, and on.  Fascinating stuff I know...

Ira: Is in 2nd grade math right now.  Before Christmas break, his teacher called to ask if Andy and I would think about him moving up to 2nd grade math because the 1st grade stuff was just way too easy for him.  I was so impressed with her concern for Ira getting the best education and that she took the initiative to clear the logistics of it  (even as his school years continue.)  We decided that it would be good for him and sure enough, it is.  He's said a few times "Second grade math is a little harder than first grade math!" as he's doing his homework.  He was pretty thrilled that he didn't have any homework last week because the second graders were finishing first confession preparations and therefore weren't being given homework.  Score!  He's reading 5.1-5.5 level AR books.  Still loving non-fiction but also really into Magic Treehouse and Flat Stanley Worldwide Adventures as well.  We seem to have come to the other side of the "angrily resisting chores" thing - he's doing better with getting them done and accepting the consequence if he doesn't.  Although, the other night he did yell quite angrily, "Dare I say it, that's the most ridiculous rule I've ever heard!" (When I told him he could eat dinner when his toys were cleaned up.)  Now he's been trying to "engage" me in arguments with inflammatory statements like above, or "you're just a liar, that wasn't really five minutes."  It works best if I can keep calm and respond lovingly "I'm sure you feel that way" or "I love you too much to argue."  It takes a few times of saying it (and sometimes more than a few times), but when he realizes I'm not going to get involved in the power struggle, he comes to terms with whatever he's being asked to do.  Now if I can just consistently do my job and not get in my "I'm going to win this argument" mode.  Still enjoying piano lessons - we're about 15 pages from being done with the Level 1A book.  After our piano lesson yesterday, he was talking to me about something and then said, "you know, like when Father holds up the Eucharist and it turns into Jesus' body and there's that shiny light behind the host."  I was astounded.  Speechless.  What a gift he's been given!  I am so excited for him to receive the sacraments of reconciliation and communion next year!

In the kitchen: Easy Cheesy Chicken Bake, Quick Pasta Carbonara, Cavatini, and Cheese & Black Bean Enchiladas.  The theme for this week is: keepin' it simple.

Hobbies: working on a sewing project right now.  Not 100% thrilled with my design/execution, so I'll continue to tweak it before "going public."

Bringing me joy: Our impending visit to Pope Paul VI Institute.  Test results coming in abnormal (as funny as that sounds, it's a start and an indication that things are definitely not working like they're supposed to.)  My kids.  They've just been pretty good and easy to deal with lately.  Our new treadmill.  It is amazing!  We've put over a marathon's worth of miles on it already (in the less than two weeks we've had it.)  I've run in Hawaii, Rome, Japan, Texas, and New York already.  Don't know what I'm talking about?  See here.  Funny tangential story:  The night we got the treadmill, I decided to do this mountain run in Hawaii.  I ran some of it but walked a lot it because it was just really hard and then felt awful when I finished it.  I told Andy, "wow the incline thing really makes a difference!  That or I've gotten really out of shape in the last month, because I feel like I could barf."  I continued to feel horrible and when he got done running I said, "wasn't it awful" and he was like, "well, it didn't seem that bad, really."  So I thought, "man I am SO out of SHAPE.  I feel like CRAP!"  Well, I finally drug myself upstairs to bed and woke up about an hour later with the stomach flu.  And then proceeded to wake up every 60 minutes for the rest of the night.  Fun times, that stomach flu.

Thinking about: Family.

Pictures to share:

Ira ready for his first day of "Basketball Camp"  He got a shirt last week for being the best at "Chest Passes"  He was so proud!

Ruby's Sesame Street Manicure I gave her.  From left (thumb) to right: Telly, Grover, Elmo, Oscar, and Cookie Monster.

What can I say, I was bored...

Catch-up

So it's been 3+ weeks since I posted... funny how life happens.  I was stressing about how exactly to update, then I decided I'm just going to jump in and do it without regards to formatting.  I didn't figure you'd mind.

-Ira's school had an adorable Christmas program on 12-12-12.  It was titled "In A Galilee Far, Far Away."  It was so cute and you could tell how VERY hard all the kids had worked on it.  I teared up during the program thinking about how grateful I am that Ira gets to go to a Catholic School where he can learn and sing about the true meaning of Christmas.

-Thursday before Christmas Break, Pope Paul VI Institute called to schedule my surgery date.  I am so ecstatic to finally have a date in my head to look forward to!

-Got an early Christmas present from Andy - a Deluxe Lightscoop for my camera.  Here is a great example of before and after the Lightscoop.  I'm totally thrilled with it.  These pictures were taken seconds apart from each other.  Not the greatest picture (artistically or technically) but a good example of the Lightscoop's capabilities:

-Spent the weekend before Christmas celebrating with 3 different family groups.  It was good to see everyone and we (the kids and us) were spoiled immensely by good food, good company, and thoughtful presents.  Got some AWESOME pictures with the lightscoop!

-Christmas "Break" was scarcely a break (other than from routines) because Ira (& Ruby eventually) was SICK with the Flu.  He looked over at me as 4:00 Christmas Eve Mass was ending and asked "Why is it so ccccccold in here?!"  At which point I knew he had a fever.  We missed Christmas at my parents' the next day which was one of the most difficult things I've ever subjected myself to (and I've had morning sickness and delivered 2 babies.)  Because essentially after the kids opened their presents, Christmas celebrating was "over" for us.  No second Christmas Mass, no presents and meals and games with family... just us. in our jammies. all day.  I'd like to say I was a champ about it, but I moped around a lot of the day and cried a lot too.

-We thought Ira's fever was gone (it was for almost a day) and went ahead with plans to host my friends from High School whom we got re-connected with after my 10 year reunion.  Ira & Ruby went to Andy's parents and we had a wonderful time talking, eating, and playing games with some of my closest friends from High School. I am so happy for these re-kindled friendships!

-Ira was NOT all better.  When we picked him up from Andy's folks' he felt warm and sure enough, had a fever.  We took him to my doctor's Immediate Care clinic (a WONDERFUL resource) where they diagnosed him with the Flu.  At that point, it was past the time that Tamiflu would work, so we were told to push fluids and rest.  His fever got up to 103.6 that night before finally breaking.  He slept that entire day and night and acted like he felt better.  His fever never did come back, although he still seems to be physically drained from the sickness.

-We did get to host my family on Saturday for Christmas.  Everyone came and boy was it nice to see them!  I finally got to give my mom the calendar that I'd spent dozens of hours working that included this little gem at the end (thanks to my sibs for going along with my crazy idea!):

-Ruby came down with a fever Sunday night.  Knowing that the only place she could've gotten it from was Ira, I took her to Immediate Care on Monday morning so that maybe she could get started on Tamiflu.  Her swab came back negative, but they did an RV Panel that had to culture for 48 hours and said if it came back by Wednesday, they would still give her the Tamiflu.  Her fever broke Monday night, but now she has the cruddiest sounding cough and runny nose.  They called today to say that the panel came back positive for "Flu B."  Push the fluids and rest.  Blurgh...

-Andy and I spent a lot of time playing "The Farming Game."  It's part Monopoly, part Stock Market game and a LOT of fun.  In fact, I like it better than Monopoly (this coming from a person with Christmas ornaments and books about Monopoly.)  We played one game with my sister and brother-in-law and then two games by ourselves.  It has yet to get old.

-Finished my hormone series for Dr. Hilgers.  Eleven blood draws later, I'm still alive and curious about what all that blood work is going to say about me.

-Andy and I "partied hard" New Years Eve playing The Farming Game, writing birthdays on the calendar for 2013, doing double shots of Tequila at Midnight, and staying up until 2:30 in the morning talking and writing up goals for the year.  Neither of us are really "resolution" type people, but it was a good opportunity to re-align our priorities with our values and make sure we're working towards them.

-Spent New Years day cleaning out closets and cabinets, getting rid of junk and rearranging the remaining items.  It was a nice start to the New Year.

-Pulled Ira's other top front tooth out.  It was like "pulling teeth" replete with Andy holding him and me pulling.  It had to come out, that's all I have to say.

-Spent the last day of Christmas Vacation going to lunch and eating sushi, then going to the mall and letting the kids do the "Bungee Bungee" and play Glo-Golf.  It was enjoyable to actually spend some time together doing something fun.

I am filled with hope for 2013.  Blessings to you and yours this year!

Journal: Dec 11

Outside my window: Sunny, little to no wind, very cold the last two mornings but has been warming to the mid forties in the afternoons.  Definitely more like December.  And although that's what I was saying we needed last week, I still don't like it.  My least favorite things: static cling and the whole coats + car seats ordeal.  


Clothing myself in: Denim trousers, black long-sleeved shirt with turquoise tank top underneath.

Around the house: Well, as we speak there are six tea towels spread out on the living room floor by Ruby to make a "skate park."  There are also crayons and painted pictures everywhere.  Life with children much?  There are actually some wrapped presents under the tree anxiously awaiting Christmas.

We have been doing a Jesse Tree for Advent and finally this week (after I printed another set of ornaments for Ruby to color rather than taking turns) we are getting to the point where we don't end our prayer time singing "Christ Circle Round Us" while wanting to kill each other.  Progress.

Ruby: Still on the "football player" kick.  She refers to herself as football player pretty much all the time now.  As in naming people off at the dinner table, "Mommy, football player, Ira, Daddy."  And she still wears the YMCA jersey whenever she can find it (not that anyone would ever hide it or anything...)  Some days Andy doesn't even know what clothes she has on until he gets her undressed for her bath because all he ever sees is "YNCAjersey" (read that really fast b/c that's how she says it, all smushed together.)  Still has her binkies.  Is singing some Christmas songs, which is just precious to me.  Favorites: "Hi shed the Donkey" (Friendly Beasts); We Wish You a Merry Christmas.  Is wearing a lot of 4T clothes now.  Which is just weird to me, because I don't think Ruby is very tall (in fact, to me she seems short for her age) but she needed more length in her shirts.  She's wearing a combo of 3 & 4T bottoms.  Girls clothing sizes (as well as women's for that matter) are so wonky...

Ira: Had a dentist appointment last week.  No cavities (hooray!) and got sealants put on 3 out of 4 six-year molars (the 4th still had some tissue over it.)  The top left tooth is very loose now but again, he wants nothing to do with pulling it out.  The dentist told us to buy some candy corn.  I snorted and told him he was probably the first dentist ever to tell a patient to buy and eat candy corn.  We did not buy any, therefore, the tooth is still there.  He did think he lost it this weekend at my parents, kind of a funny story.  He was getting undressed for his bath when he said "Grandma, my tooth is out!" (reminiscent of Thanksgiving) then he says "why is it so sticky?"  "And the new tooth that's growing in is already really big...and it's loose..." At which point my mom asked him to see the "tooth"  She smashed it in her fingers and a peppermint smell escaped.  Good try Ira, but it was just a piece of candy cane.  He has been really enjoying his Advent Chain activities.

In the kitchen: Spaghetti and Meatballs; Sweet & Sour Pork; Pepperoni Pizza; and Natalie's Tuna Noodle Salad.

Hobbies: I've been working on a project that despite my best efforts, just doesn't want to be finished.  We'll see what the next week brings.  Altered some pajama pants of Ira's (from St. Nick) that were 6" too big in the waist.  Now if only there were a way to lengthen his uniform pants and shirts.  I am seriously thinking we'll need longer ones before the school year is over.  Sheesh.  Truly grateful for healthy, growing kiddos though!  My new hobby: having blood work done every other day for the rest of this cycle.  Yippee!

Bringing me joy: The Christmas presents we bought on Saturday.  We really spent a lot of time picking out gifts for everyone on our list this year and I cannot WAIT to give them!  (I'm really bad at waiting to give gifts.)  Really grateful for the place we are right now in our lives - jobs/home/family I'm feeling very thankful lately for it all.  Playing with Ruby - she has quite the imagination (and has the funniest "voices" for her toys - really nasally and forced.)  Having a good dentist who I like and trust (even if I do have to get a crown next week...)  Our insurance agent calling us because he noticed (as I had) that our rates went up a decent amount.  He'd already found us cheaper (and better, honestly) coverage and just needed to know if we wanted to switch.  Thank you!

Thinking about: Christmas/St. Nick/Santa.  Looking forward to Ira's Christmas Program this week.  Writing our Christmas letter.  How much I love my hubby and can't imagine my life without him (an elderly woman at our parish recently lost her husband - I don't know why, but it's really getting to me.)

Picture to share:

Every month when we take our "monthly picture" I get asked "Can we do a silly one?!"   Believe it or not, this was the silly one from this past month.

Journal: Dec 4

Outside my window: sunny, 50s/low 60s.  We've had beautiful weather lately, just wishing it would rain for the farmers' sakes.  And wishing it would freeze for awhile so the bugs/spiders would go away.  This coming from the person who loathes winter.

Clothing myself in: Boots, skinny jeans, thermal t-shirt, brown short-sleeved sweater.

Around the house: Well, the house got cleaned in a whirlwind last Monday because I decided (that morning) to host around 20 people for a surprise birthday party for Andy.  We also decorated for Christmas this past weekend.  Ira was really excited about decorating this year (which was good, because I needed some motivation to actually do it.)  We don't do a ton of decorating, but what we do, I really love.

Ruby: Is still insisting that she is (or is going to be) a football player.  Everyone who comments on what a cute little girl she is gets the same response, "No, I'n a football player."  It cracks me up!  She is clinging to her binkies for now.  She loves having the Fisher Price Nativity scene out to play with.  She also loves the ornaments on the tree that make music - so far she's been good about being gentle with the tree/ornaments.  Has been copying her brother's attitude at times.  Replete with door slamming and yelling.  Oh joy!

Ira: Has had an attitude lately.  Last week was kind of a crazy week as far as after-school time went, which really seems to affect him negatively.  We tried to spend good, quality time with him this weekend, which helped some, but still he was doing this entitled/attitud-ey thing, so he had some consequences to face for that.  He really really needs the boundaries and consequences that a good routine provides, so we're trying to stick to it better this week.  Earned computer time for practicing piano ever day last week.

In the kitchen: Crockpot chili, Brown bag burritos, Homemade Chicken & Noodles, Tomato-Mushroom Soup with Grilled Cheese, and maybe Sweet & Sour pork.

Hobbies: I've been editing photos like crazy lately and am so pleased with how easy it has become now that I "know what I'm doing."  I just wish our computer was a little faster.  Maybe someday...

Bringing me joy: Hubby's 30th Birthday party was tons of fun.  Went to the zoo as a family this weekend and then went running at the park afterwards.  A new-found peace that God is asking us to wait for Him in a couple areas of our lives.  I am not usually good at being patient, but I am feeling a certain peace in waiting on God right now.   Started my complete hormone panel for Dr. Hilgers.  Curious to see what  all can be determined from it.

Thinking about: This article that a friend shared with me.  What a weird position it is to feel called to have a big family and physically not be able to (at least for now.)  Again though, I'm waiting on Him, and His plans for my life.

Pictures to share:

The big 30 year old!

I know it's blurry, but I LOVE the emotion is this picture!

Silly kiddos at the zoo!

  

Journal: November 25

Outside my window: Hmm... this isn't very exciting when one blogs from the basement with no windows at night.  The weather was nice today though, sunny and upper 40s to mid 50s I'd guess.

Clothing myself in: Black yoga pants, red long-sleeved running shirt, black NYC hoodie.

Around the house: Not much exciting, Ira was home on Thanksgiving Break all last week, so mainly I just tried to keep everyone alive and make sure that the kiddos picked up their toys each night.  I did rake the mountain of leaves off of the patio (the wind likes to leave them there for me) and put away some hoses outside.  That's something, right?

Ruby: Keeps talking about giving her binkies to the binky fairy.  It's not really a big deal either way to me when she gets rid of them, but it would be nice to not have to worry about always having one.  I told her maybe we'd try to leave them for the fairy tomorrow night.  I'll let you know how that goes...  She is doing really well with the whole "Quiet Time" thing in the afternoon.  More days than not she ends up asleep.  How long I let her stay asleep depends on how "well rested" she is.  She has also been asking to wear underwear to QT and to bed at night.  So far, we've just let her wear underwear at QT (her night-time diapers are still very wet most mornings) and she's done really well keeping them dry even while asleep.  Sigh.  My baby is growing up.  Cute Rubyism: We pray for a baby pretty much every night.  Well tonight when we were praying, Ruby told me that I could have one of her babies (dolls).  She can be such a sweetie!

Ira: Finally lost his top right tooth.  It had gotten to the point where he wouldn't even wiggle it because he was afraid it would just fall out.  On Thanksgiving day, he was chewing on a piece of candy corn when lo and behold he says, "my tooth is out!"  Pretty sweet way to loose a tooth!  He got to shoot a gun for the first time this weekend (under very close supervision, of course.)  I think he thought that was pretty cool.  He's progressing well in piano lessons (although we haven't been very diligent about doing a lesson every week.)  He's really motivated now though, because his Christmas Book is on the staff, and he has a few pages to go before he'll be playing comfortably across the staff.

In the kitchen: I'm really excited about the meals that I have planned for this week.  Tomorrow is Andy's birthday so we're making some special food to celebrate.  Gyros with Tzatziki and Greek salads; Monica's Mexican Chili; Chicken Palava with Rice; Pico de Tuna with some modifications (shredded carrots, rice, black beans, lime juice).  Mostly new recipes, which is always exciting!

Hobbies: Took some family pictures for my siblings and took our traditional big family picture on Thanksgiving.  I'm thrilled with how they turned out.  Made (with the kids) a present for my niece who turns 3 this week.

Bringing me joy: You know, sometimes in the midst of all this fertility/miscarriage/hormone-wackiness, it is very difficult for me to find joy.  The last couple of weeks whenever I get to this part of my journal, I've had to seriously grab for straws.  Some days, I just don't see much joy in my life at all.  And I know that sounds like a pessimistic and unappreciative attitude, but I am telling you, when I'm in that mental place, it just seems like everything goes wrong.  I am finding that exercising helps considerably, and I've also found that compartmentalizing the "going to PPVI Institute" hopes into a space where I don't let my mind wander often has helped as well.

That being said, this week was actually pretty good.  Things that brought me joy:  2 mile runs several times this week; Ruby wearing her big purple coat; playing Monopoly with Ira; praying with my nephew and niece, my kids sitting at "the big kid" table for Thanksgiving dinner, talking with my siblings and parents over a wonderful meal, a raise, going on a family date, talking politics with my hubby's family, playing peek-a-boo with an adorable 10 month old.

Thinking about: Celebrating my hubby's birthday tomorrow - he'll be 30!  Eeek!  That sounds so OLD when I type it!  Being kind even when I know my hormones want me to be grouchy and mean.

Pictures to share:

Look at that gap-toothed smile!  He's getting so big!

Ruby (in the YMCA jersey I mentioned last week) driving her baby around the house.

Sure do love these people!

Journal: Nov 13

TODAY

Outside my window: Mid fifties, sunny.  Most of the leaves have vacated the trees.

Clothing myself in: Jeans (the THIRD pair of pants today mind you), eggplant-colored long sleeve shirt, black short sleeve sweater.

Around the House: Would you believe that I waited to blog until today so that I could report to you that I finally cleaned the aquarium?  Well, I did.  Hooray!  Also, there are "cuttings" ALL OVER!  Ruby is SO into cutting paper right now.  It occupies her for hours each day, but it also means that I need to vacuum most night... not that I actually do, just that I should.  Also, I divided ALL the (kids) books we own into 12 stacks, one for each month.  That way, the kids have "new" reading material each month (some of which is month-specific.)  I did leave about a dozen "favorites" out to stay because there are just some books we can't do without.

Ruby: Cutting paper, painting, coloring, but mostly cutting.  Switched to having "Quiet Time" instead of nap time each day.  I read her a book, then leave her in her room with a basket of books to "read."  She usually ends up falling asleep after 15-20 minutes, then sleeps for an hour or so until I wake her.  Bedtime has been a lot better.

Ira: Still hanging on to that loose tooth (he "broke a root on it" yesterday during school apparently.)  Doing SO much better about getting his chores done.  He ran out of "spending money" last week and had to pay me with a pound of candy one day.  That was the end of that!  He's been really responsible about getting both his morning and afternoon chores done lately.  He's also really into telling us he's going to "throw us in the trash" if we don't stop whatever we're doing that he doesn't like.  Love you too, bud!

In the kitchen: French bread pizzas & salad; Leftover goulash; Chicken over curly noodles; Herbed Tuna Sandwiches

Hobbies: Read the entire book from the PPVI Institute over the course of a couple days.  So beautiful and inspiring!  Transferring video from our camcorder to our computer.  It'll take awhile, but it'll be worth it to have it digital (and backed up).

Bringing me Joy: Aforementioned book.  Grandma Gladys' 90th birthday party this past Sunday.  What a woman, what a party!

Thinking about: The election.    Trying to be really "present" for my kids in the after school/dinnertime/bedtime time frame.  How this is the only childhood my kids are going to have.

Picture to share: Grandma Gladys with our family.

Journal: Nov. 5

Today

Outside my window: Mid 50s, gorgeous autumn-colored trees.  Our maples out front are especially beautiful right now.  One is a shade of reddish orange that could only have come from the mind of the Master Painter.  Seriously, even Crayola couldn't come up with a name that is worthy of the color of this tree.  It makes me happy each year to watch it turn.

Clothing myself in: Black long sleeved shirt, jeans with a belt.

Around the house: I did actually clean a lot of the house on Friday.  Still haven't cleaned the swamp aquarium.  I scrubbed the floor last night.  That made the house feel a lot cleaner.  It's odd, but if the kitchen isn't clean, I don't feel like the rest of the house is (even if it is.)  Andy replaced the light pull switch in the kids' fan.  It'd been dark in their room for a couple weeks!

Ruby: Still not potty trained at naps/night - on my mind b/c I had to buy diapers today - I was hoping I wouldn't have to buy them again.  Speaking of naps - she's at that point where taking a nap during the day makes bedtime a total circus.  So we're trying to figure out exactly what we want to do about that.  She was a total riot trick-or-treating.  Totally got into it this year and struck up conversations with everyone who answered the door.  Someone asked her who she was (dressed up as) and she answered with her first, middle, and last name.  She was also really good at getting extra candy by asking "What's that pink one right there?"  "Oh this one, here you can have it too!" Latest phrases: "Dad do you know what's in there? (her cup) It's chem-i-lade!"

Ira: Is all too content to pay me to do his chores.  Something must be done about this...  Was a scuba diver for Halloween.  Did an awesome report on St. Joseph for All Saints day.  Asked what "circumcision" was (part of the research on St. Joseph had about when St. Joseph named Jesus on the 8th day after his birth, the day he first shed his blood for us.  And of course, Andy is not home for this conversation, so I get to answer it.)  There was lots of wincing and grimacing involved when I answered.  LOL.  Still has his very very loose tooth.  Would not allow Grandpa to pull it - even for $10.

In the Kitchen: Spaghetti & Meatballs with green beans; Pumpkin Pancakes with eggs, bacon, and fresh apples; Chop Suey American with california medley; Cheese Pizza with lettuce salad and fresh fruit.

My Hobbies: Well, the gallon and a half of yogurt that I made last Tuesday is totally gone!  As is the granola!  Looks like I'll be making some more of each this week.  Edited some more photos.  In editing, I'm realizing that I need to pay more attention to exactly which of the 9 focus points is/are focusing, and/or changing them to suit my needs.

Bringing me Joy: After never really having a jacket that fit (other than hoodies) I found a Columbia jacket for half price at Marshalls today.  The sleeves are long enough and it fits perfectly - and it's a women's jacket to boot (I may or may not end up in men's jackets/coats most of the time.)  Getting the ball rolling on going to PPVI.  It will still a number of months before we go there, but I am so glad to be getting started.  Having a "clean soul" after going to confession.  Celestial Seasonings "Sugar Cookie Sleigh Ride" Tea.  It is SO good!

Thinking About: The election.  And praying so hard for the future of our country.  Also, I'm reading a book about pathogens (bacteria, infections, etc.) affecting fertility.  It is incredibly compelling and I also found out (happily, because some of the stuff in it really hits close to home) that Dr. Hilgers has studied under this doctor and applies his theories in his own practice.  Hooray!  I am so hopeful that we will get solid answers at PPVI.

Pictures to share:

Journal Take 1

So, yeah, trying to jump back into blogging, thought I'd jump on the journaling bandwagon...  Before I start though, you should probably know that way back in August, we miscarried another baby - that's kind of why the blogging came to a halt.  We had genetic testing done to see if there were any genetic/chromosomal issues that were causing our miscarriages.  Nothing abnormal showed up on the tests, but they did indicate that our baby was a girl.  That's still just surreal to me.  We've always guessed before, but to know?  Wow.  Other than that, life is still just plowing along. Hopefully I'll be able to document better the quickly passing days with this journal.  I'm not known for my dedication to this blog though, so we'll just play it by ear I guess...

TODAY

Outside my window: Sunny, 60s, the garden finally bit the dust this weekend with a couple freezes.  Except maybe the lettuce might survive?

Clothing myself in: Blue long sleeve shirt and jeans. With a belt. Because they won't stay up without it.

Around the house: I DEEP cleaned nearly 2 weeks ago.  I keep telling myself that "it's still clean" despite the fact that um. it's not. Hmmm... and the fish aquarium needs cleaned badly.  I should do that.

Ruby: Talks and sings all the time.  Is in a bit of a "whiney" stage lately.  We're working on "using big voices."  Has a huge imagination.  Her favorite toys lately have been the Fisher Price Little People and Animals.  We purged a ton of them, but have a few left and boy do they get played with. Daily.

Ira: Has a very loose tooth on top.  Got new glasses that fit him SO much better.  Is reading nearly 4th grade level books for AR for school.  Is getting better at doing his chores (or paying me to do them.)  Has been showing less resistance/anger when he gets in trouble.  But also has been terrible at mass the last 2 weeks.

In the kitchen: Tomato Mushroom soup with grilled cheese, Not Red Spaghetti Sauce with Angel Hair Pasta, Ground Beef Stroganoff, and Pitas and Hummus with Black Beans and Eggs.

My hobbies: Getting ready to make yogurt this week again - it's been awhile.  Finally started my online (self-paced) class on Photoshop last week.  I've learned a TON.  Made a "scuba diver" costume for Ira last night.  Turned out really cute and was very easy!

Bringing me joy: Got our letter from Pope Paul VI Institute today regarding our recurrent miscarriages.  They want to see us and run every test in the book (or so it seems.)  I am SO SO SO happy to finally be going somewhere with this all.  Seriously was a bawling mess when I got the letter.

Thinking about: Family drama, keeping my temper in check, being patient and LOVING even when it's REALLY hard.  How cruddy I've felt lately because of how out of whack my hormones are.  Heap. of. tears. All the time.

Picture to share: (which for now will be totally unedited, because I am still figuring out my workflow and I don't want that to keep me from sharing pictures.)

Andy & I at my Class Reunion a few weekends ago.  

What I Loved About Last Week 19th Ed.

So, I'm reviewing my list of what I loved about last week, and I'm like "did those things really just happen last week?"  I know I'm a little off, because I'm not posting till Thursday, but still, seems like much longer than a week-ish ago.  Whatever...

1. I know I've talked about my monthly meal planning before, but lately it had just become too much for me.  So we'd been more like flying-by-the-seat-of-our-pants.  Never works out quite as well.  So, inspired by my sis who does weekly meal plans, on Sunday I decided to sit down and plan meals just for that week.  Let me tell you, 100% better!  It is much less overwhelming and a lot more flexible than the whole monthly thing, so I can definitely see it sticking.  I actually enjoy it now and it's nice to get input from the kids and Andy for what sounds good to them.  Plus it makes my days so much easier when I know what I'm making for dinner!

1. Took the kids to the zoo.  On the Tuesday before Ira started school on Thursday, we decided to go to the zoo.  I let Ira pick what we did there (since it was his "final fling" and all.)  The first thing he wanted to do at the Zoo was play at the playground. Oh-kay - sure.  So he and Ruby played at the playground for a good hour or so.  We ate a picnic lunch, then they played a little more before we finally got around to seeing any animals.  I paid a dollar so that Ira and Ruby could feed the giraffe.  It was SO awesome.  I had to help Ruby, so I have no pictures of her (Ira tried to take one and captured maybe the top 2 inches of her head) but I love the picture that I got of Ira!

Sweet little boy wanted to hold his sweet little sister.  She doesn't always oblige so kindly to his "affections" but she definitely did then!

2. Celebrated my dad's birthday with all the family.  It is so fun to see my dad be the "center of attention" because he's more of a behind-the-scenes kind of guy usually.  Glad we could help him celebrate his day!

3. Celebrated our 9th anniversary of getting engaged.  What can I say?  Time flies when you're having fun!

4. Went bananas.  Well, sort of, my younger sis had mentioned how they always have bananas on hand because they are like the cheapest fruit, and I was like, "wait what?! - I have so been missing out!"  So now we go through 2 bunches of bananas at our house every week.  And we usually need more by Friday...

5. Ira started school.  Yes, I am now the parent of a 1st grader!  Ira really seemed to grow (physically) and mature (emotionally) a TON this summer.  I really do miss his company while he's at school, but it's also nice to have some quiet time to myself while Ruby is napping.  We've settled back into the "school-year routine" pretty effortlessly (thank goodness!)  Though, I still hate waking up early... blech...

6. Cleaned the house (for no reason, other than that it needed it.)  Usually, I only like to really clean my house when I have some reason to (like someone coming over.)  Alas, last Friday I knew that I needed to clean, so I thought I might invite my sister and her family over to at least make it "worth it."  Why have a sparkling clean house if there's no one other than you (and your hubs) to notice/care.  Yeah, our house will probably never get cleaned when we're old and such (why clean, no one will see it?...)  They couldn't come out Friday, but I sucked it up and cleaned anyway.  And it turns out that they could come on Saturday, so it was worth it in the end.

7.  Rain, glorious rain!  I take no credit for that one, but I was glad to see it happen.  Although now the bermuda grass has taken an even stronger hold on my flower garded... Pffftttt.

8.  Biking.  In the evenings after dinner, we've been going on bike rides.  Andy pulls Ruby in the bike trailer and Ira and I ride our own bikes.  That kid is a HORSE.  He is definitely more in shape than I am!  I have to try to keep up with him.  So far we've done: 5.5 mile, 4 mile, and 7 mile rides.

9. Cat Chat.  My sister gave us "The Ultimate One" and a promo copy of "Amazing Angels & Super Saints/ The Mass Comes Alive."  We ALL love them.  Ira and Ruby sing all the songs and ask for them in the car (and in the house) all the time now.  Ruby will say "Listen J-e-s-u-s!"  I really enjoy them as well and find much comfort and peace in the lyrics of the songs.  It is great to have great music to listen to.

10. Rubyisms.  "Tomo leche" when she wants to drink milk at night (and only then oddly enough.) "Don't get it all gone! (or "Don't drink it all gone!")  WhenEVER ANYone handles ANY kind of food/drink - this is what we hear.  Not sure what makes her so paranoid about it, but it is really funny, because you can nearly guarantee that if you pick up your water, or pick up the cheese to put it away, or let Ira have a drink of your water in the car, she's going to yell.

11. Work perks.  Andy brought home a HUGE roll of paper that was going to get thrown away on his job.  It is essentially construction paper.  The kids have had a blast drawing big pictures together.  I thought this picture (of Ira and Ruby holding hands on the top of a hill) was too cute not to share!

I think that's about it for this week.  Just wait till next week - I've got a doozy of an"Ira-ism" to share!

What I Loved About Last Week 16th Ed.

Did you know this is my 200th post?!  Not bad for 4.5 3.5 years I guess...

Here's what I loved about July 2-8:

1. Made some zucchini bread.  That is a great way to use up a lot of zucchini (especially if you're gifting friends with the loaves.)  Does anyone have a healthy zucchini bread/muffin recipe that you'd be willing to share.  The recipe I have is delicious, but it calls for a CUP of oil.  I subbed a cup of unsweetened applesauce this time, but I wasn't super pleased with the results.  

2. 4th of July.  I have always held this date dear to my heart because it was always a big day for my family when I was growing up.  This year was especially poignant as it was the day we were due with our baby that we lost in November.  I hadn't given it a ton of thought during the day, and didn't say anything to anyone about it, but my sweet, loving daddy gave me a big hug at the end of the day and said that he'd been thinking about me all day.  It meant the world to me and still brings tears to my eyes that he remembered.  Although my arms are empty and my heart breaks, I am trying let my heart rest in God's plan for my life.  I heard this song this week and it took on a new meaning for me.

3. Independence Day Celebrations.  There are lots of traditions surrounding the 4th of July in my family.  Painting patriotic finger/toenails, parades, ice cream cones, cookouts, fireworks... And this 4th of July was no different.  We had a wonderful day!  I got to see all 3 of my best friends (although I didn't get a picture with Jolene), we spent time with my family and some more great friends, we played games, we shot firecrackers and lit dozens of smoke bombs, ate lots of ice cream cones, got candy at a parade, seriously, I couldn't have asked for a better day.  We had oh so much fun!

Ira doing a little dancing before the parade started.

Me and best friend from college, Brianna

Me and my best friend from high school, Laura

Ice cream face

4. Watched (finally) Toy Story 3 with Ira.  Ira absolutely loves the first 2 Toy Stories, but when Andy and I "pre-viewed" the 3rd one, we were worried that it might be a little too dramatic for him (when he got it a year or so ago.)  We finally decided to watch it with him one day while Ruby was taking her nap.  Wow.  He loved it, and it was so surreal to watch it with him.  I won't ruin any of the movie for those who still haven't seen it, but it's about the main character, Andy, growing up and going off to college.  I was literally bawling at the end (just like I did the first time we watched it, but probably even more so because I was watching it with my little boy.)  

5. Chronicles of Narnia.  I decided to start reading these aloud to Ira.  We started with "The Magician's Nephew" and I can't decide who is more into them, Ira, or me.  We've been reading a chapter or two a day and are on the 10th chapter right now.  It's been about 4 years since I read these, so I'm looking forward to reading them all again and sharing them with Ira in the process.

6. Charlie.  We finally (after about 8 months) brought our Charlie Brown (our chocolate lab) home.  8 months ago, he was digging/jumping out of his cage all. the. time. One of our kind neighbors (the one who died of a heart attack last December) brought him home more times than I know and I bailed him out of the pound once.  Not knowing what exactly to do, we took him to Andy's parent's house (the farm) until we could figure out a way to secure his kennel.   Andy had been saving leftover rebar from his jobsites and cutting them into 16-18" pieces to hammer in around the cage so that even if Charlie dug, he couldn't get out.  But we were still concerned about him staying in his small (10x10ft) kennel.  We priced fencing our yard with chain link, but it was ri.diculous.  Finally, Andy's parent's had the idea to buy more panels for his kennel.  It's more than double it's original size now and we are thrilled to have him back home.  Andy's parents nearly cried when we brought him home because he is such a good dog.  Ira and Charlie have become very good friends and play together every morning now after we feed him and fill up his water bowl and swimming pool (he's so spoiled.)  

Well, I think that about sums it up!  Have a great rest of the week!

What I Loved About Last Week 14th Ed.

Here's what I loved about June 18-24:

1. Swimming Lessons: Ira is taking swimming lessons for 2 weeks.  I don't love the time, as it's kinda smack in the middle of the morning, but I do love the skills he's learning.  It's so amazing to see him grow and develop as a swimmer.  (He's going to pass his mama before long!  Although I'm plenty comfortable in the water, I never took lessons past level 2 or 3 - so I never learned any strokes or anything.  I can tread water and do a mean dog paddle though!)  Ruby has lots of fun playing in the baby pool while Ira has "blessins" each day too.

Wearing the swimsuit that I wore when I was her age.

Ira jumping in at 5 foot.

2. You probably didn't notice in that photo of Ruby in the baby pool that she didn't have a swim diaper on.  That is because little Miss Ruby potty trained herself last week.  I can take absolutely no credit because it wasn't even really on my radar for her.  On Saturday the 16th, while at our nephew's swimming party, she said she needed to go potty (which she's said before, but never does.)  Regardless, I took her inside and sure enough, she went potty on the toilet.  On Sunday, during dinner, she again said she needed to go potty.  So I took her and again she went.  So Monday morning, I asked her if she wanted to wear underpants.  She answered with an enthusiastic YES! and has been wearing them ever since (except for naps and night time.)  I didn't want to "jinx" it last week, but since it's been over a week now, I think we really are done with diapers!  She's stayed dry at naps since last Monday and has even woken up a couple times during the night to go potty.  Absolutely blows my mind!  I am so thrilled!

Riding the Plasma car with her cousin on a nice evening last week.

3. Weeded the garden.  It looks so nice now and I am so impressed with how easy it is to pull weeds.  We are also very impressed with the results.  We have about half of the potatoes dug and have been pulling beets as well.  The lettuce is on it's way out with the heat, but we picked 2 cucumbers on Saturday, so I'm sure they'll be in full swing soon.  We also started picking jalapenos and green peppers this week - hooray!!  There are lots of green tomatoes on the vines right now, I'm sure they'll be ripening up over the couple weeks.  Let's see, what else?  The green beans are tiny, but coming soon I'm sure, as are the watermelons.  I LOVE the garden, that's for sure!

4. Beds.  With the addition of bunk beds, we needed to do the "bed shuffle" at our house.  So last week, here's how it went down: queen bed moved downstairs and set up in the "spare bedroom", crib moved downstairs and set up in the "spare bedroom", twin bed taken down in spare room and moved box spring to the storage room.  Mind you, I did all this while Andy was at work.  He never seems that surprised though when he gets home and the furniture isn't where it used to be.  Does anyone else hate bed frames as much as I do?  Good lord I can't stand those dumb metal things.  They are such a pain to get set up just right and then they fall apart after you get the bed on them, and then you pinch your finger trying to get them back together... maybe it's just me?

5. Pictures framed and up.  I had prints made of the Old Time photos we had taken in Galveston and hung them up in a collage in our living room.  I also had updated photos printed for our dining room wall photo collage.  It was a project that was long overdue and I'm thrilled to be done with it.

This one's for you, Karen.  You asked to see a picture of this grouping like a bajillion years ago.

6. Rubyisms: "I need a dam-baid" (bandaid).  And in response to one of the lines in the Litany for Liberty (join us in prayer!!)- "Give us your flowers."

7. Family Reunion.  We hosted my dad's side of the family who live nearby, but who we never manage to see throughout the year, at our house on Saturday for a reunion.  It was wonderful to see everyone and amazing to see how much the kids had grown/matured/changed since last year.  We had to play our traditional game of "Annie, Annie Over" which was lots of fun.  It seems as though there is always a twist in the game (like the year a plastic yard duck got thrown over my Grandma's house.)  This year, our team sent two balls around the block in a car to get "points."  Never a dull moment 'round here.

Waiting for another ball to come over the roof.

Look here comes another one!

8. Devil pepper.  Picked this pepper Sunday night and just thought it was too funny not to share.

Look at the horns on that thing!