Preparations

So much going on here!

We hosted Thanksgiving, though our kitchen is disgusting...bad floor, bad counters, bad decor. Bad, bad, bad. Not that it mattered! The food was good. The company was grand. Liam clung to his 20+ yo cousin that he sees about once/year (so that would be twice in his life) like he was his long-lost friend. So sweet.


Advent. Made a wreath for the first time ever. Sadly, it looks pretty bedraggled at the end of the third week--one more to go. I vacuumed up about 7,486 needles from the wreath alone yesterday! How do people get these to stay green for the full four weeks?


Christmas! If you know me at all, you know THIS is the stuff I get all excited about! Baking gazillions of cookies, making cards, decorating, wrapping gifts and crafting ornaments and goodies of all sorts. Sadly, all of my stamping and sewing supplies are still in their packing boxes. I have been filling the void with baking!

I love how they all seem to have a personality when they're decorated.


Liam was pretty proud of his creation.

The little baby has discovered the joys of bouncing! He is soooo happy in this thing.

Isn't he getting BIG? He's wearing 12mos clothes most of the time, though I will keep him in this 9mo sleeper until it won't stretch any further because it is so soft and cute. Why-oh-why won't Carters make soft, cuddly sleepers in sizes larger than 9mos? I would buy a dozen of them, if only they were available! (Are you listening, Carters?)

Halloween 2009

Trick-or-treating in the new neighborhood was quite fun. It was the only time I have ever seen a ghoul proffering candy with one hand while balancing a glass of wine in the other.

We now have enough candy to fill a bathtub.


Here's the weird part: Liam won't eat it!

Here he is not eating some malted milk balls. He played with them for maybe ten minutes, then asked for "more candy". I gave him more, and it was the same with the m&m's, and the gummi bears after that. Whose kid is this, anyway? Not eating m&m's?! It's unthinkable! We'll see how long it lasts...


Super Declan! Here he is, obviously dazed by the kryptonite frames on my new bifocals (sad, isn't it?).

October

Some pumpkin photos before the season gets away. I'm not sure we'll find the time to carve these. I hope we do! Aunt Nancy brought us some beautiful pumpkins again this year.

Two-year-olds are very possessive about their pumpkins.
"This not your punkin. This my punkin."


Seven-year-olds want to know if they can please just carve it themselves this year?


Five-month-olds think big brothers who make faces are the best. With or without the pumpkins.

Settling In

The boxes...the boxes...they won't go away!

We have unpacked enough clothes, enough dishes, cooking gear, and school stuff to get by. I still haven't found any one of the three or four staplers I own, but most of the things we need for day-to-day have been located and rehomed.

Still, there are so many boxes left to unpack, and so little room to put their contents. Where did all this stuff come from, and where am I supposed to put it?

Heck if I know! It is rewarding when a box is emptied though, for me and for them...for completely different reasons, as you can see.

Boys

Boys with hammers.


Cheering up the littlest brother.


Watching bacon bubble in the oven.


Brothers.


Boy with a toad.

School Again

Three students, ready to tackle second, sixth and ninth (gasp!) grades.
Until our classroom is built, our work will take place at the kitchen table.

We're still missing a few books, but we started the school-year anyway. I actually ordered a new Latin book even though I know for certain that we have one somewhere among the remaining boxes.

Sean is eagerly anticipating the arrival of his new science book. The books recommended for his grade in the syllabus I'm using would bore him to death, I think. So we'll try this one and see how it goes.

We had Wendy's for lunch, to celebrate. Or maybe it was to reward the MomTeacher. Whatever works.

First Night

Here they are, watching the moving truck (a racecar trailer borrowed by their uncle) pulling out of the driveway after the third and final load. "Pulling out" may not be the most accurate term. "Cautiously scraping down the concrete hill" gives a more clear idea of what it was like.


Here they are just before our first night in the new house. It is late. We were all exhausted. We slept on mattresses on the floor.

Craziness

So, we moved. It's been a flurry of activity starting the week of Declan's baptism. The flurry continues with to-do lists that are pages and pages long. Here's a recap of what's been going on while my blog remained idle.

The three big kids had their dance recital on the few days leading up to the Sunday of Declan's baptism. The baptism was immediately followed by brunch at our home. This means that lots of cleaning and cooking took place, as well as the hair-and-makeup duty that always accompanies a dance recital. Four weeks post-partum. eeps.

On Sunday lots of local friends came to Mass, and stopped by the house afterward for brunch of scrambled eggs, muffins galore (thanks Nancy!) and fruit and coffee.

The very next day we went house-shopping again, baby in tow. We had four places to visit. One house on a hill seemed very appealing. A group of three women were leaving the place after having just walked through. The house had been on the market all of four days and we were told that it had at least one offer on it already. We decided to also put in an offer. What could it hurt? This was our third time at putting in an offer and I was not invested in whether or not it panned out. It was just an offer. ...on a house we walked through exactly one time.

But pan out it did. Our offer was accepted! Things got even busier, really fast. We had to put our house on the market as soon as possible. That meant lots more cleaning. It also meant "staging".

Helpful advice from our realtor: "Nothing on top of or stuck to the refrigerator" What?! The fridge is home to our calendar, to our kid-art, to our photos, notes, reminders and way-cool magnets. Our cereal boxes live on top of the fridge, along with the industrial-sized box of plastic wrap. Where would put all of that stuff? "Beds made every.day." Hmmm...a challenge for the little boys' beds, but otherwise do-able. "Nothing on the floors. Vacuum or sweep before every showing." Now we're speaking crazy-talk... can this be done!?!"Clear off counter tops, and reduce the number of items in closets. Store excess furniture." Ugh. "Empty all trash cans before every showing." Ugh. "Open all blinds and turn on all lights." Easy enough. "Mow the lawn and edge the driveway." Ha! Not my realm. This is Patrick's responsibility.

Did I mention I just had a baby? For the previous several months only the bare minimum was getting done around the house. Gigantic and pregnant, I hadn't been Suzie Homemaker. I was lucky to get dinner on the table and clean clothes into the dressers.

We did laundry every other day and never left any to-do piles of laundry around. Holly, Laurel and I took turns vacuuming. We all dusted. No dish was left unwashed. No book or toy left untended. It was exhausting! Fortunately, this madness didn't last long.

Two offers came in at about the same time. Thank you, St. Joseph!

Paperwork, appointments with bankers, assessors, lawyers and realtors, oh my! We closed on the new house on August 6, moved all of our possessions on August 7, cleaned the old house from top to bottom on August 9, and handed over the keys to our new tenants on August 10.

Moving is no fun!

I believe that I will be unpacking boxes for the next seven years. Or maybe after 6-1/2 years I will just burn whatever is left.

Last night we cleared enough boxes from the garage to park one car in it, so there is hope.

The girls and I unpacked thirty-eleven boxes of school books today. They are on the shelves in the library in no particular order. I am certain that putting them in some kind of order is necessary, and that it will take many hours of concentrated effort. I am happy that there are still some empty spaces on the bookshelves! I'll have to take a picture. Sometime. When the baby isn't crying...like he is now.

More later!

Laundry Fun

Rawrrrr!


"Mom--where me?" (Where am I?)


"I hidin"


All done.

A Wonder

We ran out of bread, and planned to buy some while we were out running errands. Unfortunately, we spent so long doing non-grocery shopping that by the time we got to the grocery store it was closed.

We stopped at a tiny convenience store near home instead.

To my horror, Patrick came out of the store carrying this:

Me: What could ever have possessed you to purchase that? (insert gagging noise)
Him: It was either that or the Wonder Classic White.
Me: But...this is Wonder Classic White.
Him: My point exactly.

Funny Guy.

Chocolate Sauce FAIL!

Isn't this a sad sight? Positively depressing.

This was an attempt to surprise and reward my children for being such good helpers during a very hectic week. I had five million things to do, and they had all pitched in and did the things I asked, without complaining.

I didn't tell them they'd be rewarded. My original plan was to drive through Wendy's and buy a round of Frosties. But then I thought about how long it takes to get everyone in the car. I contemplated the possibility that the teeny baby might not cooperate in the car (he's very unpredictable!), and decided homemade is the way to go. I was cooking for a party anyway--what was another dirty pan?

Why I reached for, and more importantly used, the saucier instead of the double-boiler, I do not know. I'm pretty sure it had something to do with the string of mostly non-sleeping nights that preceded this day--and all the way back to the day before Declan was born. But no matter. The fact is, I was using the wrong pan. The chocolate burned and there was no saving it.

It pains me to remember.

After doing away with the contents of that pan, I tried again. This time I used the double-boiler and got better results. Nothing spectacular, but it was edible. Clearly, I need more practice. Sorry I didn't take any photos. New baby in the house = Mom's not herself. I'm happy to report that the sundaes were devoured with great zeal. No pictures of that either. I'll get better. I'm sure I will. Pretty sure, anyway.

Squeaky Clean

Declan received his first sacrament on Sunday. Fr. Don, on his last day at our parish, baptised him during the 8 a.m. Mass. Many of our local friends joined us for the celebration, then came to the house afterward for breakfast.

Declan slept through the entire Mass! Liam on the other hand, behaved like a two-year-old. Gahhhh! He is normally pretty well-behaved during Mass, but on this special ocassion we were asked to sit in the front-most pew on the side opposite to where we normally sit. This pew is basically just a bench. It has no kneeler, and has direct access to the altar. It is a recipe for chaos.

Liam ran around and made lots and lots of noise. His Dad removed him from the service on at least three ocassions. He spent most of the time secure in his Daddy's arms, but any time he wasn't, he was causing a comotion. It was a bit exhausting.

After the candle-lighting, when the father accepts the candle from the godfather--that part? That was an exercise in agility for Patrick. He held (30-pound) Liam in one arm, and held the lighted candle in his other, free hand. Once Liam discovered the candle it was his mission to blow it out. He preceeded each attempt by loudly proclaiming, "Blow da candle, Daddy?" and then blowing with all his might. This caused Patrick to s-t-r-e-t-c-h the candle-holding arm out as far as he could to protect the flame, the very Light of Christ! I was laughing, the deacon was laughing, but what could we do? Liam made three or four attempts at dousing the light, when finally Patrick was given permission to "hand it off to the godfather". Whew.


Declan Joseph was baptised in the Name of the Father, the Son and Holy Spirit.


Sean assisted the priest by drying off Declan's little head. He also helped out with the jar of chrism. When Declan was baptised and anointed, the priest took my baby from me and walked him slowly back up the aisle of the church for all to see.

It was a beautiful event!


...and now his head smells like chrism. Heaven on earth!

He's Here!

Surprise! Baby #5 decided to show up early. This is a first for our family. Holly was 8 days late, Laurel 10 days late, and Sean a whopping 15 days late. Liam was induced (so that doesn't count) to prevent going past dates. Never did I expect to deliver early! It took many hours of labor before I was convinced I'd be actually having a baby that day. I'm sure the nurse thought I was nuts. Whenever she'd mention giving birth, I'd squeal, "Today? I'm having a baby today!"

Declan Joseph arrived ten days early weighing 9# 5oz. It was a grueling labor--15 hours--but well worth it, of course!

Anyway, here he is! Beautiful and healthy.





Liam makes a fine big brother and asks "Baby kiss?" 10,000 times a day--and then plants a big old smooch smack onto Declan's face. So far, baby brother is taking it all in stride.

Baby Turning

So baby Declan is not one for staying in a certain spot for more than, I'd say 10 seconds. I wonder if this is an indication of things to come...

Last week, during my 37th week of pregnancy the doctor wanted to try to "turn the baby". Sounds easy, doesn't it? Turn a doorknob...flip a pancake. How do you turn a baby? I'll tell you how.

First, you have to fast. Fast as in not eat for hours. Hours and hours (eight hours, to be exact). Not only that, but you have to refrain from liquids, too for the final four hours of fasting. This was not easy!

Then, off to the hospital. It has to be done in the hospital, they say, "in case of an emergency". This scares me. I am told that it is "very rare" that anything would happen that would constitute an emergency, but it makes me wonder...what if...it's too early to deliver. I was not at ease. Stripping down and putting on the gunnysack of a hospital gown did nothing to boost my confidence or allay my fears.

Kind nurses strapped me to computerized monitors, like so many times before--same procedure as I'd been going through for the bi-weekly non-stress tests. "We want to make sure we're starting off with a good baby", they said. Of course you are! This baby is The Goodest!

The doctor is delayed. Traffic. This, I believe. In the meantime, a nurse named Linda sits in the rocker near my bed and asks me if I've been briefed on what's about to happen. She explains that I'll be given a shot of...something...to relax the uterine muscles. She then tells me that the procedure will most probably hurt. I hold out hope that perhaps baby Declan has already turned on his own, and that Patrick and I can go out and have a steak dinner instead of going through with this procedure.

I am told by three different nurses that my doctor is "very good at this". He calls my nurse on the phone and she leaves the room. When she returns, she informs me that the doc said that no injection will be necessary. I'm feeling better!

In walks the doctor. A quick ultrasound is done to determine the baby's position. His little head is now on my right side--last we knew, it was on the left! "I expect you'll feel uncomfortable", says the doc, "but it shouldn't really hurt", and then he rolls up his sleeves and tucks his tie into his shirt. I feel like the engine of a vehicle that's about to get a tune up. It is not a pleasant feeling. Two nurses and my loving husband stand at the foot of the bed, watching the monitor, the doctor; my belly. A sheet covers me from the hips down. My view of pretty much everything is blocked by the doctor's arms.

My belly is covered with gel--lots and lots of it. Then the doc finds Baby's bottom with his right hand, and his head with his left. He pushes with his right hand a little, then a little more. Then it feels as though he's reaching up under my ribs (aaaack!) with his left hand but--blooop! Something (someONE) moved! That quick. He grabbed the ultrasound probe to double-check ("that was too easy"), but sure enough--vertex baby!

More monitoring, chit-chat, well-wishes, a blood draw, and a rhogam shot. I am given water, but no food. I have to stay in bed for another hour to make sure the baby tolerated everything well. He did!

Finally, 2-1/2 hours after we arrived I am released. The lack of food is making me sick, but I'm elated that the procedure went so well.

The next time I'm in that hospital bed it will be the real thing. God, help me. Please!

Good Help is Hard to Find

Lately my children seem to complain about every.single.thing I ask them to do around the house--even schoolwork, which they know is non-negotiable. It makes me cranky.

But today...today while the Dad and the three older ones were away, I began to empty the dishwasher. Who toddled up, unasked and eager to help?

Liam!

He grabbed the tableware basket full of clean (non-sharp) utensils and made his way to the cutlery drawer. Without complaining.

Perhaps there is hope for the rest of them.

His handiwork leaves a bit to be desired, but I so appreciate his helpful spirit!

Name Popularity

This website shows the popularity of names.

From the site: "Rank 1 is the most popular, rank 2 is the next most popular, and so forth. Name data are from Social Security card applications for births that occurred in the United States."

Of the top 1000 names, here's how ours stacked up:
Holly 365 (2008), 126 (birth year)
Laurel 985 (2008), 566 (birth year)
Sean 83 (2008), 59 (birth year)
Liam 75 (2008), 89 (birth year)
Declan 347 (2008)
Celine 995 (2008)
Patrick 127 (2008)

I'm surprised that "Declan" is a more popular name than "Holly"!

Happy Mother's Day

What fun I've had this morning!

The kids went to a lot of trouble planning and executing a Mother's Day Treasure Hunt. This year, they did it with almost no help from their Dad.

I did great with clues 1 through 4. Clue 5 though, had me stumped for quite a while. This brought peals of laughter from the girls. Sean however, got bored and couldn't believe that I took so long to unscramble a simple word like "c-o-m-p-u-t-e-r". Yeah, me either! Brain freeze, I guess.

I finally solved the mystery and found these presents waiting on top of the computer cabinet:


Jesus and flowers, what could be better?
A dinner of homemade pizza is also in store for later on. I am a happy Mother indeed.
Thanks kids! (and you too, Mr.)

Two Years

Liam is two! He is stringing together words now. My favorite Liam-phrase is, "Thank you much". He is still very, very stingy with kisses! He gives a lot of hugs though :)

His birthday celebration happened in the morning, since the girls had a dance competition that day. We started with the official height-measurement by Daddy.


Then came the presents. Only two this year--deprived child!


...and then we sang and ate cake!


Happy Birthday, Cutie-Pie :)

Cleanup

A houseful of stuff was reduced to seven boxes to be saved--boxes of photos and other memorabilia that my parents had collected over their lifetimes. They fell into my hands late last August after my brother gleaned them from my father's house.

I stacked them in my bedroom, promising to get to them when we returned from vacation. Then morning sickness visited with its companion, fatigue, and so the boxes remained in several stacks, out in the open so that I wouldn't forget about them.

Today was the day. I opened each box and found photos, yearbooks, greeting cards, newspaper clippings, pamphlets, postcards, letters and books.

I removed photos from their frames, and freed others from their "magnetic" albums. Most everything else got tossed or donated. Now I have stacks upon stacks of photos that someday I expect to sort through and scan...someday when I have 4,582 hours to spare.

Seven boxes became two. These will get packed away until some far away day after the baby arrives; after we've settled into a new house.

It was bittersweet to see beloved people from my past--people I won't see again in this lifetime.

Easter 2009

I hope you all had a wonderful celebration! Happy Easter :)

Holly made these 3-D paper eggs last year. She made the basket, too--she's very crafty!

Chocolate Coconut Easter Candy

This is a recipe from my childhood. Mom made these at Easter only, and I remember vividly sitting perched on a kitchen stool next to the stove watching her dip them. She wasn't fond of working with melted chocolate, to say the least. I remember hearing a lot of French phrases during these candy-making sessions. That was never a good sign. But, these eggs were so good that I'm sure she thought that they were worth the effort.

The recipe couldn't be more simple.  All you need is:

The Creamy Centers
1.5 lbs powdered sugar
1 cup butter, softened
1/2 tablespoon vanilla extract
3 oz shredded coconut (sweetened or unsweetened--your choice)

Mix all ingredients together thoroughly by hand. It should look like this when you're done.

Wrap in plastic wrap and chill in the refrigerator for about two hours.

Remove from fridge and form into egg-shapes. These can be any size you wish. I used a teaspoon to try to get them uniform, but a candy mold would do a much better job.  Work quickly--this stuff will get sticky in a hurry.

Cover and return to the refrigerator while you prepare your double-broiler to melt some chocolate. Any chocolate will do. Here I am using Nestle's Toll House Morsels.  When I have it, I use Scharffen Berger dark chocolate.

Dip each egg-shaped center into the chocolate and place on a wax paper-lined baking sheet to dry.

As you can see, I'm no Jacques Torres.

Mom used to pipe frosting rosebuds and leaves onto her candies, making them even more special, but I don't like working with frosting at all so mine remain plain.

My husband, the coconut-hater, suggests replacing the coconut with oatmeal.  Maybe next year.  If you try that, let me know how it works out.

I had a watcher, too, who also likes to perch from the kitchen stool.