Five Favorites at our New/Old House

Joining the link-up today over at Call Her Happy to share Five Favorite things here in our new/old house.  We've been here about a week and a half now and it's slowly coming together...

--1--

Trees!

We had quite a few trees in our yard in Corpus, but the town as a whole is very lacking in trees, and so we're happy to be back in our old shady neighborhood! This particular oak tree in our front yard was purchased as a sapling for a grandparent gift at the rehearsal dinner for our wedding. We ended up swiping it from my parents' house since it was struggling in their backyard. Steven's sister's front yard holds the one given to his parents.  Love to see how big these trees are...representing our 13 years of marriage!

The girls have taken it over as their hangout spot, even hammering up a canvas laundry bag as a seat (which gives me a panic attack). Today Ellie was doing her reading up there...

--2--

Front porch

We have a front porch again! And since our back patio isn't covered, we've put our rocking chairs here on the front porch. And I've put my fall wreath there by the door :)

--3--

Entryway

We had some teens help us paint the entryway and a few rooms. The table looks a little junky but once I find the nails and can hammer things on the wall, hopefully it'll look even better. Right now it's one area that isn't a huge mess and makes me happy :)

--4--

Master

The renters wanted to paint this room but didn't get around to it, and I'm glad. I wasn't sure I'd still like the deep blue, but it's actually quite calming for a master bedroom. And since my curtains haven't made it here yet, at least the room isn't too bright for little ones to sleep (there's a baby on there somewhere).

--5--

Family and old friends

This isn't a specific spot in the house, but an advantage of living back in this house! NeNe and PaPa came over yesterday and helped with the kids and the laundry. They were all enjoying reading their baby books with them!

And I got to visit with old friends at my favorite restaurant LaMadeleine TWO nights in a row this week! This little sweetheart came along and had just a little taste of cheesecake!

Thanks for visiting!  Hope to share more favorites next week!

Five Favorites--Summer Fun!

Linking up with Heather at 

Mama Knows Honeychild

To share five favorites for Summer Survival!

~~1~~

Arts and Crafts

We've been to the craft store twice so far for summer crafting stuff. The girls and I are putting together a Miniature Mass Kit for the boys. Almost all of this was from Michael's.

It's still a work in progress, but I'll share the details when we're done!

Playdough is always a winner, from baby through pre-teen!

~~2~~

Water Fun

A $25 inflatable pool was never so loved! 

Nor a $10 sprinkler toy

~~3~~

Doing our part

I'd like to do some more volunteer things with the kids, but we did a couple things last week.  We painted pictures for a great aunt suffering from cancer, and we attended a Memorial Prayer Service at the only abortion clinic in town that just CLOSED! We honored the babies whose lives were lost,

and prayed for the families and staff who have suffered in this terrible tragedy.

The future of the pro-life movement!

~~4~~

Bowling!

Steven came home from work early the other night and asked if we wanted to go bowling!  The girls had been before many years ago, so this was really our first family bowling night.  We all had a blast!

Tommy was the cutest, rolling his ball and jumping up and down while watching his ball slowly make its way down the lane.

~~5~~

Summer Treats

Gotta have some summer treats to stay cool here in Texas!  We've gotten popsicles, ice cream, ice cream sandwiches, and even had a few trips to the shaved ice trailer for the best snow cones in Texas!

Honorable Mention:

Summer cleaning

Had to include this pic because I was so proud.  One day last week, Steven Joseph cleaned and vacuumed my car almost all on his own!  We also did a big playroom clean out on Monday, dumping all those toy bins and finding all sorts of interesting things inside.  This isn't the most enjoyable summer activity, but it will kill time and keep everyone occupied during the long summer days!

Happy Summering, friends!

Five Favorites: Toddler and Preschool Books

 

Joining Hallie again for Five Favorites this week!

I'm sharing five favorite children's books.  These are mainly favorites for our toddlers and preschoolers.

--1--

Rumble in the Jungle

 

This is actually a series of books by Giles Andreae that all of my kids have loved!  The other books are called Commotion in the Ocean, and Cock-a-Doodle-Doo! Barnyard Hullabaloo.  It looks like he also has one about bugs and another about dinosaurs that we haven't seen.  My kids have all had these books memorized.  We're on our second set, because the first was so well-loved.  The rhyming meter and whimsical artwork makes them all lots of fun to read!

--2--

Red Train

 

My boys have both loved this little board book, and Thomas still asks me to read it several times a week.  It's just a simple color and counting book, but for some reason they like to read it over and over again, and soon they learn the words enough to "read" it themselves.  We're also on a second copy of this book, because the other was read so much it fell apart!

--3--

Jesus Storybook Bible

We read this almost every morning for our bible story time.  The language is a bit modern and whimsical for my taste (and I see that some Amazon reviewers are very critical of this), but I absolutely love how "every story whispers his name." At the end of each chapter, they tell how that particular bible story was a precursor to the Savior.  The boys like hearing the same stories over and over again.

--4--

Katy No-Pocket

 

 This was a favorite of my girls, and I imagine it will make a comeback in our family now that we have our own little Katie!   It's the delightful story of a kangaroo mother without a pouch who tries to find ways to hold her baby, mimicking other animal mothers.  The illustrator is H.A. Rey of the Curious George books, so it evokes those kinds of happy feelings.

--5--

I Love You As Much

This is actually MY favorite book.  The artwork is stunning, and the rhyming story is beautiful.  "Said the mother horse to her child: I love you as much as the warm summer breeze.  Said the mother bear to her child: I love you as much as the forest has trees," etc.  It includes beautiful painted scenes of animal babies and their mothers.  We have a board book and hardcover of this one.  And I love how the baby on the final page appears to be co-sleeping with his mommy!  Makes me want to go read it to little Katherine right now.  Time to go join her in bed!

Five Favorites: New Baby Edition

I haven't joined the Five Favorites Link-Up over at Hallie's in a long time, so I thought I'd share some of my favorite baby items that we've been using with our little Katherine who is now six weeks old!  We've moved twice since baby #4 was born, and much of our baby gear was well-used before it came to us for baby #1!  So it's been fun to get some new things this time around for baby #5. 

Can't get enough of this sweet face!
 

 So here are some favorite baby gear items this time around...

1. 

Aden + Anais Muslin Swaddle Blankets

These blankets are great.  I actually got a great deal on them at Target because the only pink set in stock had one blanket missing, so they gave me a discount!  They are huge and great for swaddling and covering for nursing.  It's starting to get warm in Texas, so it's nice to have these very lightweight blankets to use.

2.

Fisher Price Rock and Play

This rocker is so much better than the old school bouncy seat!  It sits up a lot higher so it can go next to our bed.  It also puts her up at an angle.  It's so leightweight that it's easy to move around the house, and it's also perfect for photography!  I put a nice blanket under her, and move her out to the edge of the garage with great light, and snap away!

3. 

Ergobaby Carrier

I followed this deal that a friend shared last week (not sure if it's expired), and was able to use gift cards, coupons, and I received a gift card, making the total price for this carrier only $56 (regular price $115)!  I used it tonight while she was swaddled in one of the blankets pictured above, and it worked great.  It was actually much easier to use than the Beco carrier I had for Thomas (and lost).  It'll be nice to have the Ergo for back carrying too.  I still use my homemade Moby Wrap most often for the newborn days.  Best $5 ever spent, to make two wraps!

4.

Teutonia Infant Carseat and Stroller

 

 

Of course we use the car seat whenever we drive anywhere, but this stroller frame is so awesome!  The seat shown on the stroller in the photo is removed so that the car seat fits onto the frame.  It moves so easily and is small enough to walk through stores and other tight places.  Katie had a huge spit-up in the car seat this week, and the cover was easy to remove, throw in the washer, dry in the sun, and then put back on.  My only frustration is that the expiration date for the car seat will be earlier than I hoped, because the seat was manufactured over a year before purchase.  I wish I would have known this from the Albee Baby website before I ordered it.  But overall, I got a great deal and am really happy with this cool looking stroller set :)

5.

Vera Bradley Diaper Bag

I found a great deal on this Vera Bradley diaper bag for Christmas, but they aren't selling this style anymore.  I usually don't choose pink gear for our babies, but I wanted to splurge this time!  It hangs nicely on the stroller and is big enough for everything I could need for the new baby and even a change of clothes for big brother.

It's so fun having a new baby!

Thanks for hosting, Hallie!  Glad I could join again :)

Oh and if you have a spare prayer, please say a little one for our family and the cold virus going around.  We've almost all gotten through it, but little Katie has quite a stuffy nose and we don't want it to get worse!  Thank you!

Five Favorites

My 5 current favorite ways to survive the first trimester of pregnancy. 

1. Baths. 

I've always been a fan of the bathtub and ever since moving to this house with a garden tub I've taken advantage of it several times a week! Now it's pretty much a daily, or twice daily spot for me to relax. This afternoon I took the kids to the pool, heated up dinner, cleaned the entire downstairs (with the kids' help), and did the mountain of dishes. I was almost shaking when I finally finished it all around 9pm, so I think I spent an hour and a half or more in the bathtub! I love glancing at this beautiful image of Our Lady and Our Lord above the tub. 

2. Sugar and ice. 

This means sno-cones, popsicles, and smoothies. Tonight I was feeling queasy but knew I had to do those dishes if we wanted to have eating utensils tomorrow. I did half of the dishes while happily eating a popsicle. As soon as it was gone, the nausea returned :(

3. Netflix. 

Sometimes I just need to rest in bed while they watch some shows. Oh curtains, it's time to find you!

4. Crafting supplies for the kids. 

I'd like to stock up on a few new items, but for now the kids are happily creating fairy drawings with crayons and Prismacolors on plain printer paper. Thomas loves his puzzles and I keep finding an open glue bottle and cut up paper everywhere. But it keeps them busy when I'm trying to keep them off the screens! Other favorite activities have been video-making, baking, dancing, and even picnic-creating today!

5. Words with Friends. Anyone play? I've been having fun playing Steven's mom and nephew who are Scrabble pros, and a few other friends too. It's nice to keep my brain fresh even when my body is exhausted. I've just realized that the Kindle works on my new iPhone, so hopefully I can start doing some reading too!

Thanks for hosting, beautiful Hallie!

Five Favorites: Minivan, Ballet, Lands End, Shopping Carts, and Summer Goals!

 

Thanks to Hallie for hosting this fun link-up which this week is totally devoted to Dwija and her sweet baby Nicholas, and their family who needs a new laundry room!  Praying for them.

Okay this is going to be a bit of an iPhoto dump, so bear with me,

but it's still going to include some of my recent FIVE FAVORITES!

~~1~~

Toyota Sienna 8-seater Minivan

This Sunday we had various kids over at various times and I was the taxi driver!  We had 7 kids in the car in this photo, right before I dropped 3 of them off at Confession down the street from our house, and let Daddy handle the rowdy boys for a bit while I went back and went to Confession myself after the girls.  I mean, how awesome is it when little girls want to go to Confession with their friends?

Here the Sienna is only holding my 4 kiddos, but see how they all have their own space to eat their Shipley Donuts?   I actually won an Instagram photo contest with this picture!  Kristen Duke Photography is always encouraging moms to "Capture the Joy" by getting in the photos with our children.  I got her photography e-book entitled "Say NO to Auto" as my prize!  Can't wait to read it!

So yeah, love my minivan :)

~~2~~

Our new ballet studio.

My discontent with our previous ballet school was one of the main factors of my discontent with our new city.  I'm still not crazy about living here, but I have so much more peace in my daily life now that we've switched studios.  It's our main activity for the girls which we attend at least twice a week, and in the past it was also a weekly social outlet for me.  

When I had to drop them off at the previous studio here (feeling not all that confident with the people I was leaving them with), and find something to do with the boys during that time, I was missing out on part of my weekly social interactions and was exhausted from running the boys around.  Not to mention we are now only about 7 minutes from the new ballet school.  And other kids there have young siblings!  And people talk to me!  And they are disciplined and have an enforced dress code and...

 (Also loved the grandparents' visit to ballet last week!)

And...one of my favorite things about this new studio is the fact that they have a great adult ballet class!  There were about 24 of us dancing last night.  So much fun!

~~3~~

Lands End Swimwear

A few people asked for reviews after I bought MC some swimsuits online.  Our first time to buy (skirted) tankinis.  And I'm really happy with them.  She's a petite 10yr-old and I think they're both 10 slims.  The shoulder straps can adjust, and Ellie can actually fit in these, too (she's only an inch or two shorter than MC even though she's more than 2yrs younger).  Most importantly, they're long enough and don't ride up and show her belly!

I also bought a rash guard for Steven which I'm really happy with.  The fabric of their swimwear always seems much thicker than other brands.  I also have a Lands End swimsuit for myself that I really like (no pictures of that though, LOL!).  It's almost too thick!

 

 While I'm talking swimwear, let me just rave for a moment on my love of the pool in the next neighborhood over.  So glad we splurged on the membership.  A saving grace for me on many summer days!

This is the life.

Living by the beach is fun, too :)

 ~~4~~

Kid-friendly stores and shopping carts.

I was thrilled to find this monster of a shopping cart at Target last week.  We were having a major errand day which included the donut outing pictured above, Hobby Lobby, Target, Academy, Chickfila, and HEB.  I think I may have already blogged about this.  But I'm still proud of myself for surviving that day, and even ending it with a trip to the pool!  Go me!

 Anyway, this shopping cart had a 5 POINT HARNESS for Thomas!  They need these in all shopping carts.  Seriously.  He was trapped the entire store visit, unlike every other store, where he climbs out 5 minutes into the trip.  Steven sat in MC's lap here while Ellie was in the basket.  A good workout for me!

This was ~3mins into the Hobby Lobby trip.  See how he's there in the back of the cart just waiting for his getaway moment!

 

Oh and here we are getting to our car at Target.  See?  Tommy still buckled in cart.  This was only stop #3 on my Frazzled Friday crazy day.

 

 ~~5~~

Okay, last but not least.

My 5th Favorite is Some Summer Structure!

So, we normally sit around and don't much in the summer.  But this year I've been making checklists for the kids.  Schoolwork and chores.  They can earn sno-cones and apps and stuff.  And I don't really follow my point reward system and let them earn things with a little less, but they know they have to get stuff done before we go to the pool or the library or some other summer fun activity!  We've also had a ton of guests so that has kept our house in decent order.

 

And we're getting some schoolwork done!  Yesterday we did reading and spelling.  Tommy always wants his turn doing "spelling" (i.e. draw with the dry erase markers).  He can color-in a heart with marker just perfectly.

 Oh my goodness and I almost forgot the RAINBOW LOOM!

See Steven Joseph's bracelet?  I could share this next week but we'll have company and will be traveling the week after so I don't know when I'll get to another Five Favs.  Just go and search Rainbow Loom and find one for your kids ages 5 and up.  They make fun rubber band bracelets and it takes up lots of summer hours.  Thanks to the V family and O family who both got us looms as a thank-you gift for their visits here.  They're only sold in specialty toy stores but I think some of the big box stores are getting similar ones soon.

One of my goals this week is to learn this chant.  It is so hard.  And 4 pages!  We're going to try to sing it for our pastor's last mass here next weekend.

 Last but not least, my own goal of getting fit again!  This is always a goal but once I started ballet I was ready to improve my eating habits too.  So I'm using My Fitness Pal on my phone here and I think I've already lost a few pounds in a week!  We'll see if I can keep it up.  I've never counted calories in my life.  It's hard!  And I'm hungry!  But I think it's important that I train my body not to act on every hunger urge like I have been most of my life.  It's really a spiritual battle, no?  Not giving into every feeling in our body or hearts, but knowing the right things to do.  I hope I can stick with it.  And I hope one day I won't have to stick my chin out in photos so it's not a double chin :)

The longest Five Favorites in maybe the history of Five Favorites, but I wrote out all that I was wanting to share and now Steven is home from an overnight work trip.  Have a wonderful Wednesday, friends, if you made it this far :)