I am sorry for the cuteness overload...

But I bought Katie Grace a new little romper from the clearance rack at Old Navy this weekend and so I had to get some photos of her wearing it today!  She's a bit unsure about the porch swing and Bumbo seat these days, and she's working on that head control!  She brings so much joy to our family every day.  So thankful for the gift of our sweet Katherine Maria Grace :)

Summer Lovin'

or not.  As I shared in one of the last posts, I'm not digging this summer so much.  Steven is traveling and working long hours, and we have no activities besides 7:30am swim practice.  Normally, many days in the summer are spent at the pool, but here we don't have a neighborhood pool and the nearby one is so expensive that I can't justify getting a membership when the older three kids are already swimming every morning.  The day camps are pricey, would conflict with swim team, and won't take the child who challenges me the most!  We've missed the VBS options.  I've planned a few playdates and homeschool group outings, and am aiming to do those once or twice a week.  I'm also buying some crafts and outdoor projects for each week with the money that we would be using for camps or summer dance classes!  The girls and I are also putting together a Miniature Mass Kit for the boys!

So I'm trying to pull together my own summer survival plan.  We have quite a few things to take care of this summer, and a city by the sea to enjoy before we move, so I'm going to take some time to write out a list and get some "Monday Motivation" so I can start checking off the things we need to do!

~Mail shoes back to Amazon that are too small.
~Make appointments for dental and pediatrician check-ups.
~Call on the medical bills to ask them to resubmit claims to our insurance.
~Call about piano for Ellie in July.
~Prep for Edel Gathering!  Plan clothing and shoes for Katie and me :)
~Continue with the Couch to 5K program, either running each morning or evening around the block.
~Make some saint pictures for Steven's Aunt Katie (we did this last summer but never mailed them and now have lost them a 2nd time).  Aunt Katie suffers from pancreatic cancer.
~Order homeschool books.
~Plan weekly activity with friends (beach, pool, pizza party over here)
~Pray!
~Read to the kids every day.
~Continue with the kids' summer schedule of schoolwork, chores, outdoor time, with reward of 1hr computer time.
~Take them to library to sign up for summer reading.
~Pay library fines.
~Crafts and outdoor activities...playdough, painting letters, sprinkler, kid pool?, mass kit, biking, have them make some videos, look up ideas on Pinterest.

Okay, I'm about to fall over asleep!  Better post this and get some rest!

iPhone/Instagram little memories from the past week...

top row: happy swaddled baby, gumbo girl, tommy and friends playing with cars during swim practice, and boys trying to help with the baby swing

2nd row: Ellie holding Katie to standing, me on my 3rd day of exercise, Katie on the day she turned 4mos, at Daddy's canceled basketball game, and Tommy sitting on the side of my tub

3rd row: girls played with my makeup, happy baby this weekend, big brother loves his sis, and Ellie's new shoes from Payless

4th row: kids playing with playdough sweet shop, in the yard with new sprinkler and tubs of water, Thomas and his new shirt, and me on my jog walk this evening with SJ following me :)

Answer Me This and WIWS

linking to Kendra at Catholic All Year

and Fine Linen and Purple

1. When's the last time you got a new bathing suit?
Well, since I'm usually the one with the camera and I don't really like having my picture taken in a swimsuit, I don't recall how long I've had my current Lands End suit, but I'm guessing about three years, so this would be its fourth summer.  It's a skirt with a top, but I'm not really crazy about the fit of the top; it's a bit low-cut for my taste.  I'm loving the Lime Ricki suits that Kendra linked!  I used to find lots of great options for the girls and me at Lands End, especially since they were sold in the local Sears where we used to live.  But I haven't found much the past two summers online.  I just looked though, and see that there are quite a few girls' suits on sale on their website, so maybe we will do some swim shopping this week!  Okay, I did find one photo where I'm fairly well covered by kids.  I'll keep it the small size photo though, LOL!  I love the pink one Ellie is wearing, it's Lands End too.

2. Who made the last incoming call on your phone?
Looks like it was my friend Kate.  She's on bed rest with baby #4 and we were talking about a beach outing planned for this week and commiserating about challenging summers.  Hers is much more challenging than mine, trying to keep a baby cooking inside while entertaining little ones.  My summer is more of an mental challenge, trying to occupy ourselves these next few months while Daddy is traveling and working a lot as we prepare to move and renovate a home just as all the fall activities are starting.  I'm considering maybe starting school a little early, because I'm having a really hard time keeping everyone busy these long days of summer.


3. If you receive communion, do you receive it in the hands or on the tongue?
Tongue.  I started that in college and have continued.  The girls both received their First Holy Communion at a church where that's the only option, and our current parish also has kneelers where we receive, although some do still receive in the hands.  I feel that it helps us to be more reverent.  And today, at the feast of Corpus Christi, is a good time to think about the reverence due the Blessed Sacrament and how we can do better at showing that to our children.

Here are my first two first communicants:

4. Do you have a tattoo?
No, and I have no desire to get one.  We live in what seems like the tattoo capital of the world though.  There are tattoo parlors on every corner, and if we go to a pool or beach it seems like we are the only adults without tattoos!  My brother is the only tattoo aficionado in the family, he's got an arm-full and I don't think he's done!  His is colorful with pretty artwork (except that mask thing that he knows I don't like), but for myself I can't imagine having artwork on my body for the rest of my life.  We love Uncle Brice, tattoos and all!

5. How many dinner plates are in your house?
Hmmm, I have about 8-10 of these, which I bought from the benefit sale for the sons of my friend Kelly who passed away.  This is the everyday set that we use, although the kids mostly eat off IKEA plastic plates.  We only have about four of the smaller luncheon plates and could use a few more, because they're a perfect size for the kids!

Pfaltzgraff Heritage:

This is the everyday set that we registered for when we got married.  We broke quite a few and don't really like the bowls (they're very flat), so they sit in a box in the attic.  I'm guessing we have about 8-10.  Maybe once we move we will use them again.

Dansk Bistro Christianshaven Blue:

And this is the set of china passed down from my grandmother, although they don't actually have a "B" for our last name.  Some have an "F" from my mom's maiden name.  Maybe one of the girls will marry someone with an F last name and it will be really cool to pass them on to her!  I'd like to start using them more often for holidays and special feast days.

Princess House Heritage Platinum:

6.  Do you have an accent?
I don't think so, but I feel like people from the north have an accent, so I guess I have a southern one. I don't have a Texas twang, though!


And here's what we wore Sunday....

Sweet smocked dress for Katie Grace:

And my Walmart maxi skirt with black shirt for mama.  I'm not crazy about the Walmart skirt; I think I need to find a few more fun maxi skirts that are a little bit better quality because the nice ones really are comfy!

Can you see Ellie in the door reflection taking my picture?

Have a great week, friends!

Wish me luck at surviving the next three or so months!

I think I can.  I think I can.  I think I can.

{pretty, happy, funny, real} Pretty People and Cute Clay Cakes!

~ Capturing the context of contentment in everyday life ~

Every Thursday, at Like Mother, Like Daughter!

{pretty}

Pretty baby with my parents last week

{happy} 

We found a fun park in the Heights area of Houston last week.  We could've stayed forever, if only it had a bathroom and we didn't have museum plans that day.

{funny}

I keep finding these photos on my phone and camera.  The girls are enjoying playing cake makers with clay this summer.  Their other favorite things are to play dance studio recital where they plan out a bunch of dances, and imaginary families where they make slide shows and cards on iPhoto, renaming all our friends and family members!  Today they played cards for awhile and baked cookies too.  I'm so glad the girls can occupy their time; I just wish the boys were better at it!  Here are some of the "cake" creations...

This is a "cake" with a hanging spaghetti sauce jar!

And I believe this was a 50th birthday bb gun cake!

a twin "pea in a pod" cake

twin birdies in a tree cake

and the girls with a REAL cake creation they threw together a couple weeks ago and brought to our priest's anniversary party.  It was SO good (strawberry filling inside) and was gone quickly!  They worked hard on this with several baking catastrophes, but in the end it was worth it!

{real}

I'll end with a few more photos of Ellie from the other evening.

Well, I've made it past the halfway point! This has been a long week, because my entire summer motivation system crashed, literally.  Each day the kids had to do a few subjects of schoolwork, several chores, and play with a sibling before they could have their timed hour on the old computer upstairs.  And...the computer won't turn on this week!  Not to mention we're still recovering from an eventful week in Houston and missing our family and friends.  Today was the best day so far, but I was still feeling "done" by 3pm.  Steven has been exhausted all week, and I think we're all ready for the weekend!  Thankfully it isn't a full swim meet this Saturday, just a short time trial.

I started exercising again!  Katie turns four months old tomorrow, and I still don't fit into the majority of my clothes.  I'm ready to lose some of this weight.  I'm using a Couch to 5K app, just walking and jogging around the block every day.  We will see if I can keep it up!  Tomorrow we are finally having an outing, to the Botanical Gardens for our last Nature Club.  Today when Steven got home, Thomas was excited to tell him how "We went down the street to get the mail!" Poor child, that's the most exciting event of the day to tell his dad!  

But the best thing that happened today was the encouragement I got, along with another mom of five, from the swim coach this morning.  He asked if we were stay-at-home moms and we said yes, and I said that we homeschool.  He was gushing and encouraging and telling us how important our job is.  He told the kids how grateful they should be and that they need to thank us when we get home!  He has been partly a stay-at-home dad and said it's the hardest job he's ever done.  It's so nice to feel appreciated when I'm in the midst of what already feels like a long summer without much social interaction or activities to do.  I hope in my heart that I will be able to look back on these difficult years and know that it was worth it and I tried my hardest.  Thanks be to God who is giving me the grace to make it through.

Determination

We are in the throes of swim team.  7:30am practice almost every morning.  Saturday meets.  Lots of hard work going on.

The girls didn't really want to do swim team this summer.  They would have preferred to take ballet.  But the ballet summer classes were long and expensive and on different days for each girl.  Swim team is a great sport for a large family.  They can all go together to practice and to the meets.

They can cheer each other on.  They can set their own goals.  They get a great workout.  They're tired at night.  (It's just the rest of the livelong day I have to figure out how in the world to keep them entertained on summer weekdays!)

And as their daddy says, swimming is a skill that could save a life one day, theirs or someone else's.  It's so great to have confident swimmers, especially when we've got other small children who need a lot of supervision around the water.

One of our kids tried to quit, but Daddy was encouraging and helped changed her mind.  Now they're all enjoying themselves, meeting new friends, enjoying some fellow homeschooling friends, and working on a sport that's different from what they usually do.

Swim team here in south Texas is so very different from the Houston suburbs!  It's laid back, and it's actually SUMMER swim league.  In Houston the meets start in early May and are pretty much finished by mid-June.  Here we will continue through the end of July.  There are only 40 kids on the team as opposed to the 100+ on our team in Houston.  The meets are slow, disorganized, and there's lots of space for everyone to pitch tents and roam around.  In Houston you are packed like sardines, it runs smoothly, but it runs LONG, and those hot Saturday mornings are rough!

Also, in Houston the kids compete against many children who swim year-round.  They don't have much of a chance at making it to any special meets, or even to be on a relay team at their basic meets.  Our kids are not the fastest swimmers, but they are determined, and they enjoy themselves.

Little Katie Grace, on the other hand, doesn't enjoy herself all that much at the swim meets.  These photos are all from their first meet because the two little ones and I didn't attend the meet this past weekend.  We had just gotten home from Houston the night before and so we stayed home to rest.

Steven Joseph may be the most determined swimmer on the team.  This was his only race at his first meet, and it was his first time to make it across the pool without grabbing the rope.  It was also the first time he'd ever done side breathing.  All the kids cheered him on from the side; he's like the team's mascot!

We are so proud of him.  Today the coach recounted to the older kids how Steven follows him around all day at the meets, just waiting anxiously for his turn to swim his one or two races, while the older kids swim seven or eight races.  But this weekend he got to be on two relay teams with the big boys.  He was the final leg of the relay, and I wish I could have seen the whole team cheering him on!  They apparently had a huge lead, but the other swimmers nearly caught up, and Steven Joseph just barely touched the wall first!

Poor Tommy is too young for swim team.  Maybe next year.  It's hard to be the little sibling who watches the older ones swim every day.  During practice and the meets, the younger siblings don't get to swim, so it is very hard to have to sit on the sidelines.  I've been bringing lots of toys and things for him to do.

 But last week (pictured) he got to swim every day while we were at the hotel.  He kept playing "swim team" and talking about how these were his swim practices.  He wanted me to say, "Take your mark.  Beep!" like at the swim meets.

And the most amazing thing of all was that the kids finally convinced him to try jumping in the water and putting his face in.  He'd never done it before and was so proud of himself!

Over and over again, jumping off the side.  He was so happy.  Hopefully now he will be more interested in learning to swim this summer.

Swimming is one of my favorite summer time memories.  I'm glad we can enjoy swim team, hotel pools, the club with my parents, and next year...the pool two blocks away!  Can't wait!  Where do you enjoy swimming in the summer?

Cares

Cares
by Elisabeth Barrett Browning

The little cares that fretted me,

I lost them yesterday

Among the fields above the sea,

Among the winds at play;

Among the lowing of the herds,

The rustling of the trees,

Among the singing of the birds,

The humming of the bees.

The foolish fears of what may happen,
I cast them all away
Among the clover-scented grass,
Among the new-mown hay;
Among the husking of the corn
Where drowsy poppies nod,
Where ill thoughts die and good are born
Out in the fields with God.