My Birthday Week

(plus lots and lots of pictures from the past couple weeks)

I had lofty plans for my birthday, including a big playdate with my favorite cake and ice cream and a family dinner out with friends. On Monday I started to sense that some sickness was starting. Several of our good friends had been sick the previous week, and after a ballet drop-off and a crazy grocery trip with the three littlest kids, I came home to make dinner and then hunker down for a rough week.

Katie's fussiness started last week. She's really not happy in the evenings and has a very hard time going to sleep, probably due to teething and now this virus. Thomas started with an earache Monday night. Over-the-counter pain meds didn't help much and after a few hours of crying and writhing, Steven opted to take him to the ER at 1:00am. Tommy wasn't keen on this and threw a royal fit about getting into the car, which resulted in a neighbor's call to police. Steven was surrounded, one cop came to the door, but after a few minutes they realized that all was okay.  Still more drama added to the otherwise rough all-nighter.

Katie wasn't doing well the next day, so I took her to the doctor, and then went back the next day with Thomas after his eardrum ruptured and he spit out most of his medicine. I had an insurance fiasco with the pharmacy, and sat in a lot of traffic. Now Steven Joseph appears to have croup, so I imagine it'll be another full night. There have been continual fevers and ibuprofen-administering, faucet-noses, and tissues all over the house. My clothing has been covered in child-snot all week long.

Tomorrow I was supposed to lead our first 4-H meeting at our homeschool park day. Piano lessons were rescheduled, then canceled. Our new swing set hasn't been touched all week. My days have been spent trying to appease the baby and make sure the sick children are comfortable. I have a stack of bills that haven't been opened. I've been wearing yoga pants and no makeup all week. Even my "big" jeans are feeling tight. So much for the step counting on my FitBit.

But being forced to have a quiet week at home caring for kids is really what my birthday is all about. It's about being given the best birthday gift ever...a wonderful family with a great husband and five beautiful children. What better to do than to spend the week focused on them and not on silly old me?   What better way to thank God for my life than to offer back to him these precious souls he has entrusted to me.

I can still hope for a happy weekend and a new week filled with healthy kids for Valentine's activities though! May his healing presence be with each of my children, and may they always know my love and His love. Thanks be to God for 37 happy years of life!

And here are some photos of happier days, since I'm not sure when I'll blog again...

piano lessons

goddaughter's skating party

fun times in the backyard

around the house

her first Shipley's donut

and at the park for a friend's birthday

Beauty in the Everyday

As much as I'd love to blog about more interesting and worldly topics, I usually just end up sharing about special events in our family, the ones that force me to get out the camera and the ones I want to have in our collective memory...holidays, birthdays, new pets, trips, park visits, and family outings. But I really love the Instagram phone app because it challenges me to snap photos of the everyday moments and to find beauty in them. 

It's often hard as a mom to find beauty in those mundane moments throughout the day. It's much easier to find annoyances, frustrations, things out of place, eyesores in the house, and areas (or people) that need tidying! I tend to have a critical eye, but I need to train it to be more of a beauty-finding eye! Grabbing my phone for a quick shot is an easy way for me to find some of this beauty, and the Instagram filters and editing options make it fun! I'm trying to do this more with the big camera too, so I can work on my photography skills. But here's an Instagram set from my iphone starting with just after Christmas...

Top row L-R: kids all painting together, making Leo's tag, New Year's with friends, Katie and Leo buddies, MC getting her nails done on her birthday

2nd row: Tommy was ready for back to school, Katie with brother's cars, Katie at the movies, a little reunion at the IL's house, and sweet brothers reading

3rd row: Vera floral beauty, MC's bday gifts-camera and tripod, craziness of boys, skating rink with friends, and Apple store fun

4th row: Rays shining on St. Joe after mass, boys at playground, MC with Katie at playground, our new playset, and a silly selfie

bottom row: new backyard, goddaughter's skate party, sweet sick sleepy baby on a rough day, grandparents visit, and a MC/Katie selfie!

January has been a fun month for our family. We celebrated Mary Clare's birthday, and have had some nice family weekends and some visits with friends and family. We have worked on our backyard, getting a new fence, new (used) swing set, and new picnic table. We've had a lot of rain and then a lot of beautiful sunshine to enjoy the backyard! We're still working out some kinks and trying a new reward system with schoolwork, and we have to finish up semester grades and some work to be turned in for the oldest in the next few days.  I just realized that my birthday is in a week! I love February and am looking forward to my birthday, Valentine's Day, Katie's birthday, and hopefully some more sunshiny days with family! God is good and I am grateful for these everyday moments to share with my beautiful blessings <3

Leo.

After saying goodbye to our brief friend Copper, and remembering Timber our faithful yellow lab, we wanted to be sure we found a dog that was the right fit for our family. I had heard that another large Catholic family in the area was looking to rehome their dog.  There were a lot of unknowns, but the family would be traveling for Christmas and so we agreed to pet-sit while they were gone to see if he might be a good dog for our family.

We were all guarded and scared to commit. We wanted to be totally sure. But right away, he seemed like a great fit for us. He is a 1yr old Maltipoo (half Maltese, half Poodle). The other family got him as a young puppy and took very good care of him. He is house-trained and used to children. He is comfortable outside and inside, and he doesn't freak out in the crate. Every now and then he starts chewing on a toy or something, but for the most part we can trust him around the house all day, and we don't have to worry about escape antics from the backyard.

He loves "bully stick" teething sticks and loves to sit on the couch with us. He loves cuddles and scratches and going on walks down the street. He has run out the front door a few times, but he usually runs back to me right away! He has started liking other members of the family too, but mostly he's attached to me. We've had him about six weeks and he has only had one accident in the house. He enjoys eating table scraps, which is another perk of having a dog again! He loves car rides and going to the park too. He has a funny underbite that kind of makes him look like an old man!

So a few days after Christmas we told the other family that we would love to keep him.  They had called him a Spanish nickname, "Lalo." We decided to keep a similar name, especially since the other family would be coming to visit him. We opted for Leo, short for Leonardo da Vinci. He's already bringing about some extra beauty and joy into our house! These past few years when we were living away, I just knew that having a pet wasn't a good idea, but now I am so glad we are at a place where we have the time and ability to care for a dog. They really are a fun addition to a family!

Thomas seems to love him most. He asks all day if he can give him a treat. He loves on him and is very sweet and affectionate. I even put him in the shower with Thomas a few nights ago, and although Leo hates showers, he was staying pretty calm in there with Thomas! Mary Clare enjoys him too and the baby loves to grab him. He's gentle with Katie and although he sometimes play-bites he has never hurt her. Ellie was working on some training with him outside today! Steven Joseph is kind of detached, not really an animal-lover, but he will help out and play with him here and there. 

I joined a Maltipoo group on Facebook and am having fun learning about the dogs and getting tips on the best foods, shampoos, grooming regimens, training, and ways to treat their eye tear stains. I've always loved Maltese dogs, and was so excited to get a pretty white doggy. His fur is so soft, like a lamb! I'm not sure how well I will do with the grooming, but so far I've dealt with the tear stains and clipped his nails, and he only freaks out a little bit ;)

These last two are phone photos from right after we got him. His hair had been shaved a few months back, so I'm excited to see how it grows out. I'm also excited to see how the kids and the dog play together over the years, and I hope he's with us for many years to come! Welcome to the family, Leo!

(another post on Dogs)

The Mall with Five

Last weekend we spent most of our Saturday at the place where most would consider it torture to take five children...the mall!  Steven needed to find some work clothes, and I had gift to find and a few things to get for the kids, and once we were there walking around, we just kept going...and going...

They actually did pretty well overall. Thomas just had maybe one half hour sob fest (and middle of the mall flail on the floor and continually block my stroller) after I made him leave the Apple Store!  I'm trying to take my camera to different spots to work on getting a photo each day and improving my photography this year.

The kids in the waiting area by the men's dressing room! 

Tommy enthralled in the Lego Store...

The boys headed off for more boyish places like Academy for baseball gear, and we headed over to Barnes & Noble for just a little more shopping there, followed by a quick Costco run! I don't think I've shopped again since that day! I'm in shopping recovery mode :)

These girls are getting so big...

Outings like this are exhausting, but it's fun to be out and about with our crazy crew!

My Babies

A little photo overload here, but these two are just so sweet. Thomas may be four, but he's still my baby boy! These photos were taken early one morning last week as they were waking up and playing. Katie loves her baby doll, and especially likes putting it in and out of the little carseat! I love Tommy's expressions, from somber to smirking. He's a riot!

These were taken once he got dressed for the day in a bunch of items that his cousins had passed down...cowboy boots, new sweater, one mitten, and a Star Wars cap on his plasma (or as he calls it "clasma") car. That's my boy!

Praise His Name in Dance

Let them praise his name in dance

Make music with tambourine and lyre

For the LORD takes delight in his people

Psalm 149: 3,4a