Journal #32

Out My Window:

Sunny and warm - about 80 degrees.  Beautiful weather really.  Just a tad on the windy side (which I note because Peter was gulping in air earlier - wind still confuses him, poor guy.)

Clothing Myself In:

Black shorts and a nursing undershirt - because I was wearing Mr. Peter in my woven wrap earlier and it is easier to nurse if I put it on with just my undershirt (and cooler, too).

Don't worry, when I am up moving about, I tuck his head in more.  When he falls asleep his head basically falls off if I fail to tuck it in, hence how he looks in this picture!

Top-down view of Peter in the wrap.  Looks kinda funny to see his head and his leg, like that, right?

Around the House:

We just had Peter's baptism on Sunday, so we were "forced" to clean up - and not just clean the main room and the kitchen, but due to the amount of people coming (and the variety - some menfolk that like to hang out in the garage, etc) we cleaned pretty-much EVERYWHERE.  Too bad you cannot really tell anymore, but man for that day, it looked pretty tidy around here.  I guess the bottom of the garage is still pretty clean, but we do not necessarily spend a lot of time there.

Please pardon the flash.  I did think to take a picture without it, but it was actually worse that way because of the poor lighting in the room at the time.  Photography is hard!  :)  In any case, I just love this picture in this frame.  Peter looks so "I am SO TIRED and grumpy" and the frame is all "happy, pretty, God-loves-you!!!"  Such a fun contrast.

Our house is by no means small.  Well, the rooms might be considered "small" and it is not "ranch style" so it can "feel" kinda cramped, but we do have five bedrooms and a good-sized laundry/storage room.  I was just pondering today (as most of the family is gone to Scout Camp - just Miriam, Zipporah, Peter, and myself home) how much room we would have if these were my only three children.  So what' I'm trying to say is that our family is definitely starting to "fill up" this house!  I am slowly trying to rid us of the extra clutter but it is a long and grueling process. . . much like shoveling snow in the middle of a snowstorm, but I am TRYING!!  My latest idea has been to fill every box that comes in before it goes back out.  So when I got a box of diapers from Amazon last week I filled it with books to donate before it went back out.  While it would make sense to try and do a giant purge (as in look at all the books at once and decide which to keep - but our "library" spans six rooms!!), I simply do not have the time or means of keeping the children out of the way, in order to accomplish one giant sweep.  So little by little, box by box, I will keep trying to get this beast of a house under control, knowing I cannot let off even for a minute or more stuff is just going to be brought back immediately!

The Baby:

Well, this is my first post since "the baby" is officially not Zipporah anymore!  I think Peter is ready for the spotlight, though.  He is filling out quite well - but to 12lbs 5 oz and just the right size to squeeze and love on.  His favorite pastimes are fussing, nursing, and being carried in my woven wrap.  We have determined his Indian name is "Grunts-a-Lot." (P.S. No offense was meant to any set of "peoples" by calling it an "Indian" name.)  

Peter, seven weeks old. . . well, actually seven weeks and one day because I FORGOT to take a picture on his "official" seven-week-birthday.  Oops!  Pardon the extra day.  For a seventh-child, he should just be happy he has a baby picture at all, right?!?

Peter does not really like to be alone yet.  He will occasionally doze for up to an hour on his own, but he much prefers to be nestled in someone's arms or hanging out amidst the chaos of his siblings.  But I figure that is the life he has known since he was conceived so why fight it.

Education:

Summer is here!!  Unfortunately Rebekah and Samuel still have Language Arts Literature, and Comprehension to finish up for this past school year.  Rebekah also has some Science and just a little bit of GUM (General Usage and Mechanics - grammar and such).  They also have their German course open still since I did not let them in it much during the "regular school year" as it seemed a little too much like straight-up playing time on the computer since the course is basically just a bunch of games, but I understand that doing a foreign language over the computer, in a self-directed, lesson-by-lesson fashion is going to be quite an undertaking.  They are picking up some vocabulary and enjoying themselves, so I call it a win.

I have great hopes of continuing our writing practice over the summer and of delving deeper into our Catechism books, as well as continuing our study of Scripture.  I'm also considering adding some new prayer times and prayer forms.  I have done the Liturgy of the Hours some with Rebekah and would like to make it a regular habit for both her and Samuel.  Also I have been meaning to pray the rosary more with the little kids (maybe just a decade at a time) and am toying with trying some guided meditation with all of them (or those that will sit still and listen for it - which generally varies day by day).

The Kids:

Being home today with just the youngest three (as I mentioned above) has really brought home how much I appreciate our family dynamic.  We are a big family, but everyone seems to like it that way.  The kids LOVE to play together and rarely fight.  And when the DO fight it is usually a minor spat ("He hit me!") and then all is forgotten within a few minutes.

We were a little concerned, before Peter was born, that Zipporah would not take well to a new baby in the house.  Actually it has been quite the opposite.  She LOVES the "baby" and will come up and say, "Hello Baby!" and pat him gently and give him his blankie.  Then she will laugh and run off to play.  She still does not say his name, but "Baby" works.

In the Kitchen:

So a long time ago, my crockpot broke.  I went to replace it and delayed, caught up in "potentially made-up" concerns of lead poisoning from the glaze on typical crockpots - as most come from China.  After contacting the local Extension Office and voicing my concerns I feel confident that most crockpots are probably fine and this just another "scare tactic" that is being used to promote certain products.  But in any case, since I was buying a new pot anyone, I decided to upgrade.  I upgraded to a pressure cooker (that would also slow-cook) and this has opened new doors for me in preparing meals faster and in preparing more foods better (as in steaming things to perfection and making soup that is amazing).  Plus it does it all in a stainless steel tub, so no concern whatsoever about it introducing toxins into your food!  Unfortunately, the pressure cooker, although technically holding the same quantity as my past crockpot, simply was not coping well with the large roasts I was trying to cook and sometimes with the larger pieces of chicken or vegetables I would stuff in it for slow-cooking.  I believe this was because the shape of the pressure cooker is more vertical and the crockpot was more horizontal.  So basically the food was just too squished.  And thus, I got to upgrade AGAIN!!

We are now the proud owners of an 18 quart roaster oven!!  We have had it for about three days and I've already cooked a roaster full of taco meat and am currently slow-cooking some chicken and veggie soup.  I'm also thawing TWO giant pork roasts to cook TOGETHER tomorrow.  Rather than just look for small step up from our 6-quart - to maybe a 7 or 8 quart crockpot, I discussed it with the hubby and we concluded that this was a smart move for our growing family.  And wow, I am feeling great about it already!!  I am looking forward to being able to prepare "too-much" food so we can freeze some for another meal or two!!

Taco meat for our weekly "Mexican" meal.  I doubled my recipe, but I still have quite a bit of room so I think I will quadruple it next time.

All into the jars, ready to be frozen.  Usually we pull out two jars at a time for a meal.

And fear not, that pressure cooker is still seeing plenty of action cooking specific pieces of the meals, like steaming potatoes, making rice, or cooking straight-up frozen meat in under an hour.  (How is that for an endorsement? :)

Thinking About:

Wow, this is embarrassing. . . I had something I really wanted to share.  As in I was pondering this and so eager to put the idea out here.  And now that I have reached this point in my reflection, whatever it was I had been thinking about has fled my mind.  I'll post a few more random thoughts as I attempt to remember. . . 

*Today was the first day I have ever forgotten to brush my hair after my shower.  (I attribute this to how difficult it is to care for three young children.  Seriously, I may have a lot of children and people are always saying how full my hands are, but I am convinced now that my seven children are less trouble together than just the youngest three - hence the completely forgetting to brush my hair after finally squeezing in a shower just before lunch.)

*I was reading this book last night about doctors and contraception and abortion and it has made me begin to ponder how abortion is handled in the medical field.  The book (granted I'm only made it into the second chapter before growing too tired to read more) was making it sound like all doctors are bullied into performing abortions - usually as they are finishing up their training, but the book is older (written back in the 1980's) so maybe things were different then as abortion was just beginning.  Or maybe I have just had my head in the sand on this one.

Bringing Me Joy:

*A baby to hold and love and cuddle!!  (Even if he fusses.)

*My oldest daughter.  She is such a blessing in so many ways!

Pictures to Share:

Samuel and his frog.

Rebekah and her frog.

This is a common site most days.  Samuel's schoolwork is entertaining to his two brothers. . . especially if he is playing educational games at the moment and I am guessing from the guilty look on his face here, that is what is going on here.