Big News!

I went to my first Dr. appt. yesterday for this baby and found out something interesting.

First, I laughed when I heard the heartbeat because I almost always convince myself before that first appt. that I was imagining things and that I must not be pregnant (the test was wrong, I'm just getting fat, it's just indigestion, it's a tumor). So, I told the doctor, "Hee hee, I guess it's not a tumor!" She thought I was funny after 5 kids that I still have those doubts. She also thought that my uterus was huge for only being 13 weeks (twofer?) so she ordered an ultrasound. Was I freaked out?

What do YOU think?

I made the appt. asap for today and brought all of the kids. At the last second, I brought Niklaus in the room with me (to take at least ONE out of the mix and maybe save the people in the waiting room from all the chaos). The tech kept asking me what the date of my last you know was and I kept telling her that I was 100 percent sure of the date so she plugged it in and put the due date (like the doctor and I did) at March 15th. Weeeeeelllllll...

I found out that the reason my uterus measures bigger is...I am a full three weeks further along than I thought! My new due date is Feb. 24th!

Oh, and because I was so far along, she was able to do most of the things that they do at the 20 week ultrasound. I got to see all of my baby's structures; brain ventricles, bones, heart chambers, spinal cord, fingers, toes, stomach and even...

Yup, we saw IT.

IT'S A BOY!

Also, it's a tumor!

I have a fibroid tumor which I am not worried about, because I think it's just God's way of playing a little joke on me and I actually laughed when she showed it to me. I know that fibroids can be complicated, but they can also be totally benign and I've never had a problem with these things before.

I am so mystified by the date thing, that I can't even think about the tumor thing. WHAT IS THE DEAL? I only had one monthly because I was still nursing Mari and it really was just a normal, monthly thing. It doesn't make ANY SENSE! Maybe it's not something I'm ever supposed to figure out but I am just mystified. I also know that some people have their periods throughout the pregnancy but I never have! And how weird to just have only one period...oh, whatever! I'm just so happy that I'm 3 weeks ahead of where I thought I was and that tech was SURE. She did about a gazillion measurements because I was just so positive about the date and things weren't adding up.

Ahhhhh. Life is good.

PRAYPRAYPRAY!!!!!

Please pray for my sister to find an ideal job when she comes back from Alaska! She found this posting for a museum caretaker that would be SO PERFECT for her. She fits all of the qualifications and is such an "attention to detail" kind of person, it's sick. I know we're supposed to pray for God's will, but pray that the people there REALLY CONSIDER my sister for this job. It would keep her close to us and enable her to live independently.

Here is a snip of the posting:
Duties include: cleaning, dusting and vacuuming in galleries; inspecting galleries for cleanliness; monitoring and recording changes in temperature and humidity; cleaning metalwork and glass on view and in storage according to approved conservation methods. Requirements include: college degree, with BA in art history or studio arts preferred; 1-2 years of related museum experience; knowledge of proper handling and environmental standards; ability to perform delicate and repetitive tasks with dexterity and precision; ability to work alone and be self-directed.

Can you believe how perfect it is for her?
Remember this?

Question # 463 For God When/If I Get To Heaven

What on Your green earth did you invent yellow jackets for?

They completely freak Analise out to the point that she becomes totally unhinged. Because she's more afraid of being left home alone, she moans and hollers, cries and howls for about HALF of the daily walk that we take when we have a break right before lunch. I surely can't WAIT until the first couple of freezes when we don't have to worry about these things anymore. She's become so jumpy, that if she even sees a friendly, little dragonfly, she makes this howl/scream noise that's enough to make me want to crawl out of my skin. I absolutely CANNOT reason with her (and they say that 7 is the "age of reason"...HA!), nor convince her in any way that it's safe to go outside and that even if one of those things bit or stung her, she would live. I have NEVER been stung by one of those things and I've been here a heck of a lot longer than her, but she's not buying it.

Okay, enough about that.

My wonderful mother-in-law called me the other day and said to me, "So, your oven's not working?". It seems she gets the latest messages from our local yahoo freerecycle group and saw my message that asked if anyone wanted to get rid of their toaster oven (until I figure out what to do with...well, you know). So, tonight I actually made COOKIES in the toaster oven she lovingly gave me to use and they were fabulous! I didn't have a teeny pan to put them on so I was talking to my cousin and she suggested I use aluminum foil (duh, I thought to myself, why didn't I think of that) so I could make more than one at a time (I couldn't find anything small enough except Analise's easy bake pan) It worked great! The only thing is, now I think it will take longer to figure out what to do about the oven situation. Oh well, I've bought a little more time!

School is going great! We are getting into a very good routine of keeping the little ones busy while the biggers are rolling along with their books and studies. Katrina really likes her new math program (I urge you to check it out! She really likes the explanations at the beginning of each lesson and we haven't even seen the cd-rom lessons yet because our cd-rom needs to be replaced) Matty's math won't be ready until this December so we are using his 4th grade MCP book that he never started last year because he had been a year behind in math anyway. He's really good at basic facts, but he lacks the patience for longer problems and word problems. Our doing the Mad Minute every morning is working wonders for their basic fact recall! Especially since we chart their progress every day and they can see how much better they do from day to day.

I give them a lot of credit for doing all of their work and not complaining much about the noise that Niklaus and Mari make (even though I TRY to keep them occupied). I joke with them that, "I'll bet your friends in school don't have the extra challenge of all of this NOISE while they're trying to do their school work!". Trina just laughs and puts Mari on her desk while Mari "helps" her do her math problems. She is like a school mascot and keeps us laughing.

Niklaus has been pretty good and is calming down juuuuuuust a tad (the playdoh has helped). He comes up with the craziest stories. I've come to the conclusion that if I DID send him to pre-school, the teachers would be calling me for daily conferences or maybe even questioning my parenting skills for the following reasons:

1. He often says nonsense words that he thinks are hilariously funny and repeats them until the kids scream, "STOP!" then he laughs and says it one more time.

2. He has an imaginary friend named "Dah-doo-beeder". Say it really fast, I'm not sure how it's spelled so I had to spell it out phonetically so you can see how funny it sounds when he says it. He used to say that word when he was just learning to talk and we never knew what it meant. Since he started watching Foster's Home For Imaginary Friends, he learned of such things and now that word is actually a name for his "imaginary friend". He knows there's no such thing but we humor the attention that he gets and loves by asking him what Dadoobeeder looks like, what size he is, what he likes to do, etc.. When there is an empty chair, or the horse at the store is not being sit upon and things like that, a little light will go on in his head and he'll say, "Hey! Dadoobeeder is sitting there!" or "It's Dadoobeeders turn!". He laughs because he knows he's just being funny and that's what I like about it. He reminds me a lot of my brother, Pete. He is full of beans most of the time and has lots and lots of really long, involved stories to tell.

3. Because of his VERY active imagination, his stories can get really scary. Today, for instance, we walked past a dog that had an invisible fence. I knew this but Niklaus didn't and he freaked out when the dog stopped short about 4 feet away from us and started barking REALLY LOUD! So, after we passed the "danger zone" and the dog stopped barking, we discussed "dog safety" like how you shouldn't run up to a stranger dog, or run away from them. So, Niklaus started telling me this story about how...

"One time, this doggie was chasing Matty and he was so scared and crying and I had to go get him so I grabbed a knife and I poked the doggie with the knife and I KILLED him and there was blood EVERYWHERE and Matty was so happy that the doggie was dead and it couldn't get him anymore!"

Um. "Niklaus! Was that a dream?"

(smiles sheepishly) "Yeah, it was a dream and it was SO SCARY!"

I SWEAR I don't let him watch the nightly news. I never have let him watch anything more violent than spongebob. He is not exposed to violent video games or any kind of violence at all. I think he hears bits and pieces of news stories that the bigger kids talk about, or maybe hears bits of stories on the radio that I have on in the morning and that fuels his imagination? Whatever the cause of his overactive imagination, can YOU imagine what other people (i.e. pre-school teachers) would think about some of this stuff? Okay, lest you think he is hopelessly weird, I have to tell you that he is fiercely protective of my belly button region and tells Mari all the time, "Don't jump on my baby brother!" and tickles the baby through my belly button, and covers my belly with a blanket so the baby will be nice and comfy. No, I don't know if it's a boy or a girl but apparently he does. I used to think he lives in another world and doesn't pay attention, but really I see that he pays SUPER attention to a lot of things and is really, hyper-aware of things most people aren't. I swear, if there's a crane (or any kind of large machinery) within view (even if it's 20 miles away), he'll spy it and tell everyone all about it.

Here is a pic of the kids that I took yesterday during 3pm "tea time".

(Notice how Mari just watches her brothers and sisters. Can you imagine having those goofballs to follow and copy everything they do and say? She's learning a lot of things that I maybe wouldn't choose to teach her, but they do add character, that's for sure!)

We read Catechism during this time and I ask them questions. I read a chapter of that book about the periodic table too. Even though they groan and laugh and complain when I whip it out, it's become sort of a joke because it sounds like the most boring book you could ever imagine, but actually...they're learning all kinds of stuff from it (I think they know that, but it's more fun to make fun of it than admit that they secretly like it)! Matty just keeps going on and on about, "when do we get to the part about Mercury? I just like Mercury!".

He's another strange one.

It's The Most Wonderful Time Of The Year!

I wrote a while ago that I would post about our homeschool. I don't write often about it because I am living it and it's just so much a part of our everyday lives that I forget sometimes that most people don't even have a clue about what goes on in that kind of lifestyle.

I don't think of myself as the best teacher in the world (or even in the town) or the best example of what to do to teach one's children in the best, possible manner, but the kids are happy, learning, and want to do it for one more year so here we go!

This year I have:
Katrina, 7th grade

Matthew, 5th grade

Analise, 1st grade

Niklaus, Wish I could send him to preschool, but hopefully we can come up with enough things to occupy his time. I did buy a new thing of play-doh the other day, and it will probably be cracked open by 9 am tomorrow! I have lots of ideas to keep him busy and the biggers will have to take breaks to help teach him. I hope they will learn a little patience in this as well.

Mariela, will bother everyone because she never plays with toys, only her brothers and sisters who will be otherwise occupied when we start school tomorrow. She does like the learning to read dvd's and I am going to borrow some of the signing time ones from Trine. Her kids love those and if the stinkin' tv is going to be on at all, they should have something sort of educational to watch, at least!

I am not a naturally organized, list making kind of person so this time of year is hard for my brain. I worked really hard last week to come up with a school plan to make the year run smoothly, but truthfully, it gets harder and harder with each little one we add to the family. I cleared a whole bunch of junk cupboards and desk drawers and even cleared a "curio" cabinet and made it into sort of an art and activity center because the hall closet was getting awfully cluttered and crowded! When I get overwhelmed, I constantly have to remind myself that GOD is in control of our school year, not me.

I just finished (well, not really, we kind of tweak our plans all year long) the final copying that I had to do for this week. We run a four day week and if they get all of their work done and with reasonably good behavior, we do something special on Fridays. The four day week might seem lazy, but we pack a lot in during the week and with five children, we need possible free days for special things like field trips, dr. and dentist visits, various appointments, illness or family emergencies, you get the picture! I have pretty much done this the whole, seven years and it works well.

Here is Analise's desk with her books for the year all lined up, and ready to go! Also, is a closeup of her schedule so you can get an idea of how we order the day (all three biggers have these, I only do one week at a time because our plans can and do change from week to week. Basically, this will be the format for the year.)




I did realize that this week is off by one day because of the holiday, so I'll have to adjust a teeny bit, but we will still attend Mass on Friday morning. We'll come home and get our school done and try to go somewhere fun. The kids haven't decided yet...got any suggestions (Keeping in mind it can't involve the out of doors yet, because Analise is deathly afraid of being stung by a bee. Today she folded multiple loads of laundry with a smile because Butch said if she did that, she wouldn't have to go outside!)?

Here is Katrina's desk and a view of her "corner of the classroom" with her drafting table desk that she inherited from Anna who has graduated college and has no place to put it (we can't wait 'til she comes home from Alaska!). Analise inherited Trina's old desk and Niklaus got Analise's. I love family recycling!




Here is Matthew's desk and his fish, which lives there. I'm surprised that thing is still alive considering Niklaus' easy access to him and the funny things he likes to plop in the tank on occasion. One time, the water was pink. I'm still not sure what caused that anomoly, but I'm pretty sure it involved a certain three-year-old who likes to bug his brother. A LOT. I wonder if the fish is smarter for being so near all of those books and learning?



Here we have the dining room/library. I had to move the bookshelves out of the classroom because of too many desks! We have such a small, broken up house for so many people to fit in, so I can't have a lot of clutter or junk taking up space and need every available nook for useful things. I just love maps, can you tell? I need some more framed maps for my walls. Maybe it's my secret (not anymore!) wish that my kids will absorb good geography skills through some kind of visual osmosis? Oh well, it certainly can't hurt to have lots of maps around!







Okay, if I haven't ho-hum bored you too much by now, you're in it for the long haul so I'll show you two more pictures!

This one is of my corner, kitchen "closet" which used to be a huge, hodgepodge MESS until I cleaned it on Friday. Now, it is a media cabinet/sewing cabinet/toy cabinet. I hope to clean Mari's and Niklaus' toy boxes that we are tripping over in the living room, reduce their toys down to the things that they actually play with, and tuck them into this cabinet and Niklaus' desk drawers. This will free up a lot of space in the living room for wrestling, and fighting, and tickle torture fights.



Back to our school work. I have some extra books that all of the kids will be working on. These are books that I keep on my shelf that we will work on every day, time permitting and that I have to guide them through by reading and asking questions appropriate for age and skills.




The Mad Minute is a math book that acts a little like flash cards and charts their basic skills. I'm excited to do this because they are a little rusty after summer and this challenges them back into the swing with less pressure than a huge math lesson right off the bat. The American history book is one we did two years ago and I think it's so important that they understand how this country was founded that I am doing it again for all of them this year (especially since the trip to D.C. is still fresh in my mind and we can look up so many things that I remember on the internet as extra study). I hope to develop a time line for them that we can post around the classroom or down the hall (or maybe up the stairs?). I think they will think that is fun!

Butch asked the other day, "Hey, when do they learn the periodic table?" so I found this book all about it. It presents the idea in sort of a novel form so I will read it out loud for all of them and post a periodic table for them to learn the symbols. It will be good and relevant for them because they also have a big interest in geology and mining because of all of those Discovery channel shows they watch!

I didn't show it, but I'm starting to teach them Latin this year. I will be learning at the same time, so it will be an adventure, for sure! I hope to get some cds for the van of some Latin church music or repeat-after-me-type ones for reinforcement. I won't start this until next week. I am bringing the lesson book to adoration with me this week so I can make a plan for the year and figure out how it will fit in with their schedules as they are now.

Okeydokey, now you have the story. I do want to add that there are some really, handy things that we like to have around for our schooling:

-Tabbies for marking where we are in our books and notebooks (3m)

-Dymo Letratag labeller for multiple uses. I got this for about 5 bucks last year at Target when they were clearancing their school supplies. I'm hoping to find some clearance re-fills this year!

-3 ring binders (for loose art drawings so they don't take over the house...they are ALL so important, you simply CAN'T throw any of them away, you know!)

-Staplers, mechanical pencils (I hate sharpening and hearing, "I can't find a pencil...I can't find a sharpener!" so I buy them in bulk), multi-subject notebooks, folders, rulers, manymanymany pairs of scissors (they always seem to disappear), copier/printer paper (we use it for everything, it's so cheap that I don't mind wasting a little).

Bigger things that I find invaluable are:
-paper shredder
-Copy/printer/scanner (an absolute necessity!)
-High speed internet
-laminator (just bought one super cheap from Walmart, about 26 dollars and about 7 for the sheets)
-LOTS of easy to prepare/healthy groceries for breakfast, lunch, and snacks (3pm tea/snack time will be new this year, I hope it goes well)

These are the rules for the school year:
-set our our clothes the night before/shower or bathe either the night before or before going down to breakfast in the morning.
-mom sets alarm for 7am every morning and we try to start school no later than 8:30
-we get dressed, eat breakfast, do morning cleanup, pray, then start school!
-1 hour of TV only per day
-NO Nintendo DS before chores or school are finished for the day and behavior was good.
-We end the school day with prayer and snack time (at the same time) and then find out if our friends can play or talk about what we will do with the rest of our day (or finish things we missed earlier).

One, more thing! Every morning, the kids will wake to find a little surprise on their desks. Tomorrow morning (oops, today!) they will find two chocolate kisses. I stocked up on chocolate for just this purpose! Sometimes it will be something non-chocolate, but I love surprising them. I'll be sure to blog about their reactions!

Laura's Fresh BAKED Peach Cobbler...Sort Of

Ingredients:
Can of cherry pie filling
Stick of butter
box of cherry cake mix (it's the only one I had in the cupboard)
peaches (I had about 4 fresh and I sauteed them in butter and sugar first to make them softer)

Directions: Without cursing out your really fancy, totally worthless, non-working oven, mix the cherries (or whatever pie filling flavor you happen to have) with the peaches in a MICROWAVE dish. Pour the dry cake mix over it and kind of flatten it out a little and mix it juuuuuuust a tiny bit into the fruit mixture. Melt your handy, little stick o' butter in the oh, so wonderful MICROWAVE and then pour it all over the dry cake mix. Cackle vehemently about how you're about to foil the oven gremlins in their quest to destroy your baking abilities while you cover the whole thing VERY TIGHTLY and put it in the MICROWAVE for 15 minutes. While you're waiting, make some dream whip or something to lick on because you're going to need something cold to soothe your burning tongue because you couldn't wait a half a second for it to cool because it's just been soooooo long since you've had anything that tastes "home BAKED"...you know...because your oven's been broken for so many weeks you can't even remember how long...anyway...WAIT until it's at least a teeny bit cooler and take off the cover. Wait a little longer. Trust me on this one. Then slather a great big, heaping pile of dream whip on it and DIG IN! It really tastes baked. Like in an OVEN. But it WASN'T!
(Calories: I think about six zillion or so, Fat: YES, you will be after you eat half of it in one sitting, Carbs: only about one thousand or so, I think, I don't actually know what a HUMAN serving might be. Fiber: Doubt it)
BWAAAAHAHAAHAAHAHAAAAAAAA!

Here's a picture of it and my stinkin' oven laughing at me and telling me to "F0". Do you see it? Do you SEE how it mocks me?

I got the last laugh tonight!



But... tomorrow's another day and eventually, Bocker is going to want tater tots. I'm sorry, but (If you are any kind of mom at all you should surely know that...) you can't make tater tots in the microwave. I think that if you tried to pull that one, your children might have grounds to call social services on you!

The Big Ten

My little boy is growing up very fast. I had to get rid of a ton of his clothes this week because he wasn't just being lazy...he really couldn't find anything to wear. It was all too small! What's the deal with summer making our children grow as quickly as the grass? (Ignore the dates on the pictures, my camera battery keeps falling out and re-setting the date. These pictures were taken on and around August 15 2007)




I didn't mention it at the time because his birthday is the feast of the Assumption but he turned 10. I remember, when I was 6 or so, thinking that I couldn't WAIT to be ten because that meant I was as old as I could ever be (you know, because that's all the fingers you have?)! I always thought that something magical must happen when a person turns ten because it's such a nice, round number and it seems so final (the fingers again). Well, the only magical thing that happened on Matty's birthday was that we made it to Mass on time and that the kids were pretty good in church that night.

We got home and had a little party with the neighbors in the garage. First, we went and bought a movie (Flubber, the kids laughed out loud! We hadn't seen it for a long time and Analise had never seen it so it was a hit!). We bought cake and ice cream and dad lit the candles with style...true, Butchy, garage style...



The kids were rioting like monkeys all around the garage waiting for Matty to blow out the candles (it was about 8 and we had just started a late supper of pizza, they were WAY too wired!).



I think he had a nice birthday. I am very proud of my Matthew. Whenever I ask him to do something, he jumps up and does it without complaining. It's always reported to me that he never forgets to say his before meal prayers and always says, "Thank you!" to his hosts. I'd like to take credit for his politeness, but I'm afraid it's just his nature. Don't get me wrong, he's no perfect angel, but I wouldn't trade him for one in a billion, gazillion years...unless that perfect angel would eat something NORMAL for breakfast (instead of hotdogs, pizza, or any other gross leftovers that would make even a non-preggo person wanna barf in the morning)or if that perfect angel would not be so ornerey because their mom is unwilling to make non-breakfasty things at 8 in the morning...I might consider trading then.

I would have liked to do something else for him but the next many days were really rainy, yucky days. We'll have to do a lot of field trips this fall. I don't talk much about our homeschooling so I think the next post will be all about our plans for the upcoming year. It should be an adventure this year with one on the way and two toddlers in the mix!

I need lots of suggestions on keeping the 1.5 year old and the 3.75 year old busy during study time. Last year we had a lot of frustrated moans and groans from the older ones when Niklaus would act up so loudly.

He hasn't gotten any quieter over the summer.

Here's another, cute, window picture to add to my collection:

Everything I Need

I have everything I need for this new baby. I have clothes, siblings to hold him/her when I need to take a shower, baby toys, bassinet, beds, sitter/walker/occupiers, all the baby accoutrements (except diapers. I hate storing too many of those things and you never know which brand won't make your baby all rashy).

But...

I still have my eye out for the specialties. You know, the cool inventions they've come up with since the last baby? One that I found the other day was this cool thing.

So, if anyone is going to visit me and the new baby...and happens to want to bring a gift along (NOT required!!!!)...hinthinthint.

I'm just saying.

My Temper Thingy

In an effort to improve myself and my bad habits, I took the Temperaments test and now I'm only going to post the "bad" parts (seee how humble I'm becoming?) of being a choleric-sanguine which is what I am, apparently:

Without strong formation and a deep spiritual life, however, your temperament’s weaknesses will be intensified. Without attention to self-formation you may find yourself quickly aroused to anger, yet also unforgiving. You can be impatient with others and overly opinionated. You may speak frankly or impulsively without regard for others’ feelings. You should take care that you become neither a workaholic nor driven by your passions. You may insist on having your own way, and become angered, blame others, or make excuses when corrected. But, once you become aware of the weaknesses of your nature, and make a commitment to self-improvement, you will be able to be equally determined in pursuing self-formation.
Yup, that about covers it! All of the nicey-nice things it said in the preceding paragraphs made my head grow really large and then I read this paragraph and thought, "What? That is TOTALLY NOT...okay, that is totally me. I admit it!" Although, I'm sure not worried (and neither should anyone else be) about ME becoming a workaholic. I am very driven by my passions. Here are some of my latest:

1. Unfair taxation and stupid decisions on the part of city government.
2. Genetic testing samples taken from my babies' feet (during the pku foot prick) in the hospital. They send it to the government and test for genetic anomalies without our knowledge or consent. I just found that one out today on the radio...Big brother, anyone?
3. Broken ovens and no money to buy new ones.
4. Hyper 3 year olds that don't want to listen.
5. Big bellies when one is only 11 weeks pregnant THATS JUST FRICKEN PLAIN NOT FAIR I TELL YOU
6. Kids who get hurt or are hurting and all we can do is pray.

Okay, done griping. I'll go pray now and check out some of the blogs of people way nicer and happier than me right now. Maybe the next post will be something shiney and glowey instead of this junk right here.

One, Good Thing...

about having a broken oven? Having wonderful neighbors who feel sorry for you make you a huge turkey dinner that feeds all seven of you with leftovers to boot!

Does Anybody Work For GE?

'Cause if you do, this post's for YOU. My very pretty, very fancy, stainless steel, digital, electric oven started beeping and flashing "F7" when I came back from the hospital with Mari 1.5 years ago. I tried and tried to figure out what was wrong with the thing and after I spend 75 dollars for the "repair man" to tell me the digital panel needed to be replaced for about 400 dollars I couldn't believe that something less than 4 years old would poop out that fast. When I called GE to complain, they basically accused me of cleaning it wrong and causing the damage. Real helpful. Thanks.

Then...it spontaineously fixed itself! And it worked fine until about 3 weeks ago.

NOW it's telling me "F0" and I keep thinking, "No, FU" and I feel like getting one of those old fashioned, little house on the prairie wood stoves because I KNOW they don't come with stinkin' digital panels that are so sensitive they don't work after 4 years. I can still use the stovetop but I can't bake anything. If it only had dials, I could use it but NOOOOOO, I had to go all fancy and pick the thing with the cute buttons that go "beep".

I keep "Fonzie-ing" it but that isn't working too hot (get it?... I wrote "hot" ha ha I'm so funny :-I). So I just keep praying that it spontaineously fixes itself again because school is starting soon and I've got NO extra moolah to buy a new stove or even fix the old one.

Bocker is about going nuts for the lack of fresh baked cookies. He loves to help me make them.

Does anyone know a really good, microwave cookie recipe?

Ugh.

God's Plans, NOT Laura's

We had it alllll planned out. We were going to go camping up North with our neighbors this weekend. Butch ended up working a really, long, hot day on Friday and didn't get home until late. We decided to see if the weather would hold and go the next morning instead. The storms came and flattened the tent in the front yard that I was airing out for the trip. We decided that we weren't going to chance the storms and cancel but we couldn't get a hold of our friends to ask them how the weather was up there (only about 3 hours away). They called later in the afternoon begging us to come and telling us that the weather was wonderful the whole time. Dangit. I hadn't actually gotten to sleep on Friday night because of the storm being one of the loudest, longest storms in the history of crappy, Minnesota weather. I think I fell asleep at around 4:30 am on Saturday and had to get up early to go get Trina from a sleepover so I was pretty well "done" with that day before it even began, much less to plan, shop, and pack for 7 people to sleep in a tent that night!

Trine (sis) and I joke about how God is really having fun with me lately. It seems (I know I've said this before) that every time I make really great, solid plans...SOMETHING happens to blow it all to heck! Butch even noticed it this time. He says I ought to let the local farmers know of my big plans, that way they can pretty much count on rain whenever they need it...all I'd have to do is plan a really big, outside party without tents and invite tons of people. It would almost be a rain guarantee! I have really made lemonade out of these lemons, though. It really is true that God's plans are SO MUCH BETTER than any dumb thing I could think of.

We ended up going out to Trine's house so Butch could help set up concrete forms for the new steps, patio, and driveway surrounding the new barn. The kids loved being free to roam and play and it was a good thing I was there because Wyatt touched the 4 wheeler (we think) and burned his finger. If I wasn't there, maybe it wouldn't have been treated properly and he would have lost his finger. Okay, that was a slight exaggeration (the dads were there, but they didn't exactly figure out what was wrong with him and sent him into the house to get sympathy from me) but still...We really had a pretty good day and enjoyed each other's company. Trine got to go help at church making pretzels for the upcoming fall festival and we got to spend some time playing with the kids. We haven't done that for the longest time! I played ball with Wyatt and gave Belle a back massage with a rolling ball rattle thingy until she laughed herself silly! It was so nice to just play for a change without worrying about where we have to be, what we have to cook (we ordered pizza and brought some cake for desert), or how much time we have until naptime meltdown (we came AFTER nap but before supper!). Today, we just kind of putzed around and I didn't feel so very great all day, so I was grateful that we didn't have to pack a tent, gather up stuff, haul our butts into the van for a long commute home with all the other Sunday drivers only to get home and undo everything plus give everybody showers and do all kinds of laundry.

God is Good.

We probably would have gotten some great pictures if we went up there in the wilderness but...We probably wouldn't have had time before church (we went to the 6pm Mass this evening) to take shots like these (ummm, did I mention that I had left my camera out in the full force of the storm? It got soaked and I decided that, since it was ruined anyway, I'd try to put it in the dryer after taking out the battery and memory card. I put it into a full, dry load and wrapped it up in some socks so it wouldn't bang around too much. It worked! My camera took the following pics after all that! Cheap, Kodak Easy Share, it's the way to go!):






The girls decided to do some major posing in their funny, opposite outfits that they came up with themselves when Bocker tripped Mari while he was doing a flip. Luckily, big sister Trina came to the rescue:

So, then, because they were all basically clean and ready for church, I decided to get one of those rare, foolish shots all parents try for, but never really achieve. You know, the "all my children in one place" shot? Well, I gave it my very best try and this is what I came up with:





THAT is why I never pay for professional pictures. It would just be a waste of money at this point! I don't think I've been to a studio since Niklaus was a baby and that was just one picture. It wasn't the very best experience and I don't think I'll ever do that again. With all of the fun, candid shots we take and with the advent of digital cameras, I just don't see that it's necessary anymore. Especially when the camera takes a lickin' and keeps on tickin' like mine!

Don't You Just Hate It...

...when you find out that one of the people that you have privately nominated for living sainthood just got diagnosed with cancer? I think I'm going to be sick.

Please pray so hard for a very humble, gracious, and faithful person.

She has six, beautiful sons and a wonderful husband.

Wrapping Up Summer

These two pictures were taken different days from the inside of the house looking out on to the porch through the window (subjects unaware). I love the porch in the summer time. It is a busy place! I gave the free turtle sand box to Trine (cover, good for keeping cats out) and used the old swimming pool instead. It sure keeps the kids busy and the porch messy. The little bistro table that I moved out there is so great for tea parties, or doodling, or playing house, that I will feel bad about moving it back into the house for the winter (it makes a great chess table).


My mom and Trina


Neighbor, Gabby, and Weazy

We borrowed some tape from the neighbors and Weazy and Bocker decided to have some fun with it. Mari felt bad she was being left out so they used regular tape on her and she felt much better. Niklaus isn't suffering from cyanosis or anything, he just really likes blue popsicles.


Does anyone know what these flowers are called? I got them from my mom and they didn't have a tag. They are so pretty and super vine-y. I keep wanting to re-plant them into a bigger planter and maybe try to train them up a trellis, but it's getting too late in the year. I wish I could winter them over somehow. Can it be done?


I just thought this one was so funny (Mari will only eat the marshmallows, of course, notice the spoon content). That morning she decided to put on the infant, winter hat that I had gotten on clearance from work for some baby gift or some baby in the future. She claimed it as her own and insisted on wearing it through breakfast!

God Bless The USA

Trine has some nice pictures of our trip to Washington D.C.. Go check 'em out!

P.S....Side view...NOT my best angle...just throwin' it out there.

Have Mercy

Picture from Ironic Catholic