Peg People

These are my 2 nephews and niece in their school uniforms. I made these as gift toppers for their birthdays in September. Finally got the photos from my mom and wanted to add them before I forgot!

I made a cute little wooden box church with peg priest saints for another gift, I'll have to get a photo of that one. Turned out really cute!

Ice Skating and the Zoo

Yep, that's right. I took the girls ice skating yesterday and then in a spur-of-the-moment decision, took all the kids to the zoo today. It's free on Martin Luther King Day. I'm one worn out mama, but did get a few shots when my camera battery was cooperating!

Mary Clare got a ticket to the local seasonal ice rink for her birthday. She was so excited to skate for the first time!

I was worried that Ellie would get scared of falling and chicken out, but she had a really good time too! I'm so glad they had those "walker" things to rent. Otherwise I would've been dragging them around the whole time!

The only clear picture of the day :-)


This morning we were off to the zoo and arrived before 10am! Wow!


They love the meerkats!


Giraffe in the background


Baby elephant in the indoor facility. One of the bigger elephants was having a little medical exam.


Sleeping bear


Lion


Leopard


Prairie Dog


Owls


Porcupine


Warthog


Zebras and antelope


Orangutan


The kids and flamingos


A fun few days! Now back to the books tomorrow, starting O week!
Sending my congratulations to Veronica and Enrique, who welcomed Santiago Jose, our newest godson today. And Happy 2nd Birthday to our goddaughter Cecilia! Two godchildren with the same birthday...should make it easy to remember!

Progress

Making progress on several fronts the past few days!

~The cracks on my fingers are GONE! "Knight" Nguyen is my hero! Still some itchy patches and teeny blisters but overall I feel like a new woman!

~Mary Clare is showing some real progress in her reading. Her fluency is improving and she's starting to read books on her own and try to read my emails and websites. Yay!



~The weather is warming up! We have started to get outside again, playing in the yard and at the park this week. Hoping the rain and cold stay away.



~Ellie is staying "dry" at night these days! It's been about 3 weeks and I think she's only had one accident. We usually wake her once or twice to go to the bathroom, but we are all (especially her) so happy to only need diapers for one child right now!

~Stevie is talking so much this week; he's putting words together in short sentences and I even conversed with him the other night while driving with just the two of us.

~I've almost finished two articles to send in; it's been a few months since I've done some writing-for-profit ;-)

~We made it to Mass in time for a seat today...it's the little things, right?

~We're about to head over to the local ice rink before it shuts down for the season. This will be the girls' first time to skate; wish us luck! Hopefully I'll have some good pics tonight!

Happy Sunday!

Mother's Hands

When I think about my own mother's hands, or about a mother's hands in general, there are certain characteristics I'd think of: soft, small, dainty, thin, long nails, little knuckles, and some nicely manicured. My own hands are pretty much just the opposite of any type of "feminine" hand I would think of. My kids are going to have interesting memories of their own mother's hands!



After since my oldest was a baby, I've suffered from constant eczema on my hands. It is sometimes not bothersome, but in the winter and especially right now during a flare-up, it's quite unbearable. My fingers are all cracked and itchy, swollen and red. I've tried all sorts of medications, lotions, and even dietary changes, but still the eczema plague continues. Washing dishes can be excruciating, and simple things like tying shoes are a challenge. I can't even attempt to apply normal lotions or hand sanitizers...talk about stinging!



I also have the great gift of double-jointedness. My fingers will not straighten normally. They bend backwards and flex strangely. Add a life-time of knuckle-popping and there you have some messed-up hands!!!



But yesterday I met my "knight in shining armor". We'll call him Tree Winn, and he's a Harvard-trained dermatologist who made my day. Not only was he able to see me on a few-hours' notice, but after describing my symptoms, he looked me in the eye, and said, "we're going to fix this." Just what I wanted to hear! I almost started crying!

Now, eczema isn't really curable but we will get it managed and have a plan in place so it doesn't get this bad again. It's actually not the worst it has been, imagine having water blisters covering your entire hands...I had to wear gloves for days and take oral meds to get that cleared up many years back!



So if you see me wearing medical gloves or failing to wash my hands in a public restroom, if my dishes are stacked high and my toilets need scrubbing....well, I have a good excuse! And Walgreen's sure better have my prescriptions ready this afternoon! This mama is ready for some healed-hands...

A typical night

in our living room...ballerinas, dog, toddler in dress-up shoes, classical music...doesn't get any better than this!

Frozen Pizza and Oreos Night

In my lap

sleeps the little munchkin who has kept mommy worried for months on end. He's wearing some adorable "new" jammies from his cousins...a soft red PJ shirt with a spaceship and blue striped pants. You all know I have a weakness for striped pants! (I loved how a friend sewed striped leggings among other clothes for Mary Clare's doll as a birthday gift!) His soft blonde hair smells nice and clean; Daddy washed out the purple glitter glue that kept it spiked all afternoon. His little cheeks are soft and rosy and I just want to snuggle him tight!

Even though I knew the doctor said that the defect wouldn't affect his health until adulthood, I couldn't help but be concerned. Were his lips blue? Was he coughing because his lungs were strained? Was he going to wheeze to death? His heart seemed to be pounding so fast. Should I take him to the doctor? What if something was wrong with his heart? I would think about how the year would be affected by his upcoming surgery and was obviously anxious about the appointment. I had a little breakdown the night before. Poor hubby didn't know what was wrong with me; it didn't even occur to him that I would be nervous about this.

I was so thankful that all the prayers kept me calm that day. I was able to somewhat enjoy our First Friday preschool class and pull off a half hour of "filler" activities when we finished early. We had a special Chick-fil-a treat, then Steven and his mom arrived home, for some time to visit with my mother-in-law and help the girls open their special presents. But the clock was ticking! We made it to the appointment early and I told the receptionist that we had a sleeping toddler so it would be great if we could get in for the echo quickly.

Well, turns out Dr. R didn't even want to do the testing! I forgot to ask him what had changed between last spring and now, when he had told me this appointment would include all the scans and that this year would likely include the surgery. He listened to Steven Joseph's heart for a long time and then spent a very, very long time explaining his condition to Steven and I. He drew out the heart, answered all our questions, showed us a video of the previous echocardiogram, and printed out the reports for us to have.

He explained again how this condition would probably not affect Steven Joseph until middle age, around his late 40s or 50s! Which of course makes me cringe that we have to put him through the surgery so young, not even knowing what kind of technology there will be 40 years from now! But he also explained that they routinely correct these defects before children are school-age because they are so successful. I have had two old friends comment about how they had this surgery at age 3 and 4 and only have positive memories. That is so encouraging to hear!

So...when others ask how I feel about this...First of all, relief. I'm very happy that 2010 will not likely include open heart surgery for my sweet baby. I'm thankful his condition is not more serious or urgent and that he should live a totally normal life. I'm so glad to have it acknowledged that his health is no more in jeopardy right now than any other child his age. I don't need to worry about him like I have been.

But still, I know what open heart surgery is like. I've watched other families go through it. It still scares the daylights out of me. And I cringe to think of handing my healthy child over, whether it's in a year, two, three, or more. My mind prefers to put these thoughts at the back of my head for now. We are still praying for a miracle from John Paul II, even though we know there are much sicker children in greater need of healing. This week our friend Hans is in my heart as he continues to fight Neuroblastoma cancer. There are so many others...

So there was positive news, there was "bad" news. I feel relieved, but not happy, if that makes sense. I am optimistic about what this new year holds for our family. I pray I can find more peace and less anxiety in motherhood. Just last night I had at least 3 nightmares, and find myself having one worry-free day followed by a worry-wart day! I pray that we can now focus on some of the other less-urgent medical needs...my finger eczema flare-up, the kids' check-ups, and hopefully finding a new OBGyn who I trust, another big source of anxiety for me. I'm thrilled that our new godson will be arriving any day and am happy that we are back in the homeschooling routine.

We've been enjoying some fun things on the net...Little Capucine can always make us laugh, we can't get enough of Bella singing, we're thrilled that Austin is home, are following the growing Rose garden, so joyful to read of a new adoption, reading about our friends' Christmas Hawaiian trip, and fascinated by the chill in other parts of the country! I hope to write some more articles soon, and to continue on my crafty streak! I'll also share some of the crafts of the past weeks...lots of fun!

Thanks again for all your prayers and concern for our family in this little trial. God bless you all in 2010!

Along the Alphabet Path--Letters K and L

Before Christmas, we completed letters K and L Along the Alphabet Path! The past couple months' activities were very abbreviated, with our funerals, illnesses, travels, and holidays in November and December. So here's the quick version of what we did...

K is for Blessed Kateri and Kingcup Fairy

painting the Kingcup fairy color page with watercolors

K word tracing, "My Itty Bitty Letter K book", and a kaleidoscope puzzle


L is for St. Lucy, Lily of the Valley, and Leaves

We painted the Lily of the Valley coloring page (the last of the alphabet color pages offered online, maybe I need to purchase the coloring book!)
We colored the St. Lucy/Santa Lucia page from Charlotte
and made St. Lucia paper dolls (which look a lot like Kirsten!).
Finally we read Why Do Leaves Change Color?
and painted some leaf templates (which never got used for anything, oops!)

I'll work on our M week post soon (all about Madeline!) and we'll be getting started on Letter N tomorrow (I'm coming up with some ideas to learn about the National Parks)! I'm a little bit scared starting this new year ahead of Jessica, who has been on break welcoming her Christmas Rose! I've gotten so many of my ideas from her that it's going to be hard to blaze the trail without her, but I'm sure it will be good for me. Maybe I'll need a break sometime this spring and can get back behind her again...

Mary Clare's 7th Birthday Party

or..."How to Host a Fun Fashion Show Birthday Party for less!"
(for Jill and anyone else who doesn't want to spend the big bucks of the "sweetie sassy" places!)

Mary Clare invited some of her homeschooled girlfriends from her Pickwick and Little Flowers class, and a few family friends and cousins! My mom did a cute turquoise, white and black leopard print invitation (like one of these) which I just pasted into an email, because I'm too lazy to send real invites by mail, especially after Christmas cards! Here's the poem I wrote for it...

For Mary Clare's 7th Birthday wish,
It's a Fashion Show Party you won't want to miss!

On January 9th from 10 to 1
Your girls are invited to have some fun!

To wear their fashion-y finest, with accessories too,
And be ready for lunch, cake, punch, and fondue!

We'll primp and pamper and glitter and glam,
And then at 12:30 we'll welcome back the "fam",

Our big fashion show will end the date,
So come one and all and don't be late!

The big birthday girl!


The party started with making paper dolls!


I found the cute doll and clothes templates here, and bought a book of scrapbook paper, cutting out lots of the clothes beforehand. Some of the girls used my cut-out templates or made their own clothes designs! They used colored pencils to color the faces and hair, and I also set out some little bowls with sequins to glue on for sparkly accessories! Thanks also to my mother-in-law and sis-in-law for cutting out so many dolls!


Happy girls!


Getting ready to sing Happy Birthday!


I made about 20 of each chocolate and white cupcakes,
We sang and she blew out her 7 candle

I love Ellie's face in the 2nd photo :-)

and then offered lots of different colored sprinkles for the girls to decorate their own cupcakes!


We had a delicious punch (made by hubby) in the punch fountain, which was one of the things from Kelly that we kept to share with our homeschool group. It was a big hit! I bought plastic turquoise "wine glasses" from Party City (where I bought most of the decorations) for the girls to use, and wrote their names with a permanent marker on them. You can see one on the bottom left.

Hubby also made the chocolate fondue; it wasn't that big a hit because everyone was ready for cupcakes instead. Oh well! I didn't get a photo of all the food, but we had mini-PBJs, chicken nuggets, fresh fruit and fresh veggies (with ranch). The fruit, Nila wafers, and little shortbread cookies could be used for the fondue. My mom fixed some tortillas, chicken, cheese, lettuce, tomatoes, chips and queso for the adults. My mother-in-law was also a big help by coming the day before to watch the girls while we were at the cardiologist, making dinner for us, and helping with all the prep work. Thanks so much Grampatti and NeNe!

Mary Clare opened presents while a few girls at a time went to the "spa" station in the girls' bedroom (since I was short on time at that point). A few of my friends helped to put on nail polish and offered lip gloss and cheek glitter. It was all pretty mild, not too much for little girls; didn't want to upset the daddies!


Then a half-hour before the end of the party, all the families came back. We didn't get a photo of the huge amount of people in our house! I think there were about 60 people! The couches were moved to the back wall and lots of chairs set out. One of my friends brought her keyboard with microphone and I announced each girl who came out the black curtain (3 yards of black fabric from Wal-Mart nailed in the doorway) and walked along the "runway" (some clearanced turquoise beads placed on the floor; a wooden runway would've been neat too!). All the parents were taking pictures, it was really cute!



I asked each girl their name, favorite food, and favorite hobby beforehand and wrote in an ordered list (after figuring out a good order for them to go in), so I announced that while describing their outfit on the microphone, with some techno beats from the keyboard in the background. Some of the girls were shy and went in pairs. We even had our not-quite-2-year-old goddaughter walk the runway!

Mary Clare was the last model and was quite the ham!


We ended by having the girls all come out and sing and dance to the song "Celebration" (by Kool & the Gang, ours was on a kid mix CD), letting some of the girls sing on the microphone :-)


The birthday girl had quite a fun time and thanks everyone for making her birthday so special!

My mom made the party bags with a personalized sticker for the party, and they also took their paper dolls home, but we forgot to give most of them the cute little wine glasses which would've been cute to put the favor bags in...oh well!

Everyone in the family has now taken a nap except the birthday girl, who I'm sure will sleep well tonight. She's having too much fun playing with her new paper dolls, scrapbook and craft kits, doll clothes, etc! We have had such a fun day and have so much to be thankful for and a great year ahead (especially knowing there should be no heart surgeries this year!)

Do you think we'll make 7am mass in the morning in the 22 degree weather???