7 Quick Takes -- I don't want to forget!

There are so many things happening in my life and I'm afraid I'm going to forget some of the little wonders. I am so grateful to have a place to jot them down (and share them). So without further ado --

1) Zipporah ADORES me.

You are probably thinking, "well, of course she does." But honestly, she has been getting so much more independent, toddling off with her big sister, Miriam all the time, I thought I had slipped off her radar. But now when she is playing with the other kids, when she spots me, she stops and smiles so big! She will often come over and have me pick her up for just a bit. And then I will ask if she wants to go play again and she will run off, back to what she is doing. I love how smiling at her, makes her smile back -- and not just smile, but her whole being just lights up the room. She is so sweet.

2) Peter got his six-month shots.

Peter got his six-month shots about a week ago now. Boy, he took them hard, though. I guess that means they were really working, but seriously, low fever and extra fussy for a couple days. It has been a rough week for him!

3) Peter seems smaller than the other kids.

In fact, Zipporah seemed smaller, too. Rebekah and and all the big boys, even Miriam, I remember being quite robust babies. The last two, however, have seemed smaller for their age. I wonder if that is because I'm older/have had more children, or if it is simply by design -- the luck of the gene draw.  I will have to dig up the stats on all the kiddos and do a comparison post.

Rebekah and Peter -- all smiles!

4) Rebekah helped Daddy work on cars yesterday.

I have often been invited to help work on cars, by my brother when I was younger, and now sometimes by my husband. Unfortunately I have little interest and VERY LITTLE skill. I can sometimes find the right wrench. But anything beyond putting in the gas or checking the oil is really out of my comfort zone.

In any case, yesterday Gordie did some maintenance on our vehicles and Rebekah was his partner in crime. It made my heart happy to have her help him as she is always complaining she sees me all day, and Daddy very little. I imagine she was helpful and she seemed to enjoy herself, even if cars are not really her thing either (which I cannot tell yet at this point.)

5) I am enjoying my part-time job.

In case you missed it, I have started doing some transcription work for a company called Noble Transcription Service. I really enjoy it. A lot of the things I transcribe are really interesting and sometimes funny. This last job has been transcribing people doing math word problems, out loud, for a study. Who would have thought of typing up the transcript for something like that?!?!

It does add a little stress to my day, knowing I have a deadline to get my work done, but I really enjoy using my brain again for "serious work" -- as we all know the duties of motherhood and housewifery are often a bit more menial.

6) Gordie gave me a day off!!

My dear hubby so kindly gave me a day off last week. It was wonderful to be "off duty" for the day. I got some much needed rest (seriously, I slept most of the day -- I was just getting run down with a lot of insanity lately) and he even got Rebekah almost caught up in her toughest subject!

7) I am a morning person.

Being pregnant makes me SLEEPY -- like all the time SLEEPY. Now, I am finally starting to feel like myself again (mental note, 6 months is about how long a postpartum recovery I need) and I have naturally started waking up earlier again. And THANK GOD, because I am more productive between the hours of 5am and 8am than I am any other time of day. Seriously. In fact, getting up early to get stuff done and then napping later is definitely how I roll here. And it is good, too, since my hubby likes to sleep in. Now I can be the one to either get him up if needed, or wrangle the kiddos and keep the house rolling until he awakens.

7 Quick Takes -- children update

It just dawned on me that I have seven children so I can give one update on each of them to make a super-fun, super-quick post. I'm timing myself, by the way, because I am short on time today. So here we go:

1) Rebekah

She is behind in school. Middle school level in the virtual school we do looks more like college to me. It is brutal. We are praying we come out on top at the end of the first semester in December.

2) Samuel

He has become the baby whisperer. I kid you not. He used to just hold Peter, limply and whine about how he could not make him happy and Peter would rage on. Now, when Peter is fussy, I ask Samuel to take him. Samuel sings to him and walks him around gently and calms him like no other.

I often ask Samuel to a screaming baby, only to find Peter totally chill in Samuel's arms, 5 or 10 minutes later.

3) Jacob

He is turning a corner on being compliant. He was giving me a lot of trouble on the start of the school year, but now he willingly does his studies with no trouble.

4) Paul

Paul with his Grandma.

Paul is learning he can have an attitude, but I don't think he really means to. His latest joke is to respond to my requests with, "n--o" (as in spelling it out). Then when I go ballistic on him he quickly says it was a joke. Let's hope he outgrows this stage soon.

5) Miriam

Since she was disturbing Zipporah's naps (as they now share the same room) I concluded she no longer "needs" naps. Some days she is a little overtired in the evening, but generally she does okay. Of course, I'm not sure I'm ready for her not to nap -- I sometimes need a little bit of a break from the preschooler, you know?

6) Zipporah

This girl is into everything. She wants to do everything the big kids do, from putting dishes in the dishwasher to putting away the toys. It is such a joy to watch her figure things out.

Also, I think she might be a natural at playing basketball some day. She has an uncanny knack for being DIRECTLY IN MY WAY. No matter where I want to go, she is in the way, almost all the time, but especially when I'm cooking and/or in a hurry.

7) Peter

Peter does not nap. He is tired. He needs naps. I have tried everything -- nursing to sleep in my lap, rocking, putting him in the swing, wearing him. He just will not stay asleep if not latched on, so he is making everyone's life miserable these days. Fortunately he sleeps well at night, so I have not gone totally insane yet.

Journal # 36

Out My Window:

Is it bad that I have to go to Weather.com to know what to put here? -- Well, according to them it is 77 degrees. I have been outside briefly and it felt okay. But the AC is running now -- hmm.

Clothing Myself In:

I threw shorts over my pjs to run to the store real fast. And suddenly my "to do" list has exploded, so real clothing has fallen on the back burner.

Around the House:

I rearranged the study and got rid of some junk. It still needs the final finishing touches, but it is so much better already. It is nice to have that back as a functioning room, rather than just a place to throw stuff. I was going to take a picture but got side-tracked.

I still have plans for lots more purging, but just have to take it a little at a time. That's how we roll.

The Baby:

I was thinking of giving him his own post, but instead I'll just give him a few points here. There is so much about him that I want to report/remember!!

1) He loves to grab stuff. When I hold him, he holds on! He grabs my shirt or my hair. He loves toys/clothing. 

2) When he is angry/agitated, he will repeatedly thrust his hands down on his thighs. It almost makes me think of him making music. (Babies can be so cute when they are upset -- and I'm sure they hate it when I laugh at them in this state.)

3) Peter is working on the locomotion but so far just rolling. He gets his head up high and his arms reaching. Then he puts his head down and kicks with all his might, like he's swimming on land. Once he connects the two, he will be off, I'm sure.

4) He is sleeping pretty well at night. He can go for up to 8 or 10 hours some nights. I am not good at keeping his schedule consistent (since I'm running after all his siblings and their activities). 

I actually like it best when he wakes up once mid-early-morning so I can nurse him back to sleep and then get up and get a few things done before he wakes up for the day. Once he woke me up two minutes before my alarm went off. That was nice of him to let me sleep all night, but then I had to spend the next forty minutes nursing him and I had to skip my shower and we were still almost late to daily Mass that day.

5) Peter is still not napping well or at a good time. Often he will not settle down until about 4pm! Other days he just takes little nursing naps here and there, never actually laying down away from me for a solid amount of time. But I trust these days will pass and I try not to lose my mind over it.

6) He is so joyful and loves to play and talk to his siblings. And they love him right back. Miriam will wiggle his legs and chatter at him in the car and he just laughs and squeaks back. It is adorable. 

Rebekah will also often talk to him during the day while she is doing her school work and pull his bumbo over by her.

The Children:

Zipporah has so much spunk!! Seriously, that girl knows what she wants and will not be pushed over or forgotten. She is also one of my best helpers. She always takes her dishes to the kitchen and helps load the dishwasher. Likewise with a little demonstration she will often pick up the most toys.

Miriam has been growing an attitude, but she remains sweet sometimes. She was fetching a few things for me as I was getting ready to put Zipporah down for a nap and she said, "I'm being a good Miriam, aren't I?" -- It was adorable.

Paul is so energetic. He hits everything fast and hard and then runs on to the next thing. I'm really struggling to slow him down a little. He also will ask for something and then beg for it repeatedly, or try to make a deal with me over things, such as: 

Paul: Can I play for another 30 minutes?

Me: You may pay for five more minutes and then it is lunchtime.

Paul: So 20 minutes and then we eat?

Me: NO! I said five more minutes and then lunch.

And rinse and repeat -- he can be so persistent!

Jacob is becoming a bit of a little gentleman. He has been much more compliant to doing chores and following directions since I cleaned up the study (which had been locked, I should note, for several weeks up to this point because the children had made a mess of the legos and not picked them up as I had asked). He REALLY missed his legos that were locked in the study for so long.

Samuel has comment for EVERYTHING and gets caught up on nitty-gritty details, such as me asking him if he "could" do something, rather than just saying "do it!" But I will often ask if he could and then instantly rephrase and command, to which he balks and says, "but you didn't say to do it!" And we go at each other for a bit before I realize I'm the adult and I a have to figure out a way to stop this argument. But I might as well be arguing with myself of 25 years ago, so I have no idea how to make it stop.

Rebekah is becoming a bit more quiet and wary of life. She is beginning to find her way into becoming more mature (not so much responsibility, but in the ways of the world -- others see her as more than a child now) and that has made her a bit uncertain. But she is still helpful and often joyful in her duties around the house, thus far -- thank God :)

The Schooling:

All the children are struggling to get into the school groove. They are hobbling and limping along. I'm getting ready to put together a master school and chore schedule that I hope will help. I'm planning to give them input on some things, as well, so hopefully that will help them own it a bit and be more compliant to get their chores and work done.

I am impressed, lately with Miriam as she is becoming more and more interested in school work. She likes to count and color and cut and paste. She is a studious little one these days.

In the Kitchen:

I have been using my Instant Pot to make soup and it has been heavenly. It is so great to get the chicken cooked up in about 30 minutes and then set the soup for 30 minutes and suddenly dinner is done and often on time!!

Watching/Reading:

E-mails from my kids' teachers -- haha, I haven't actually read all those yet anyhow. I am so bogged down right now. But I found Amoris Laetitta (the post-synodal apostolic exhortation "On love in the Family") on my kindle and have been reading a few paragraphs while nursing the baby at night. I always forget how church documents are often fairly easy to follow if one just takes the time.

Thinking About:

My health/weight/etc. I'm trying to eat a modified Whole 30 diet -- but it keeps getting sabotaged. I started running again on a whim and remembered why I was addicted to it in the past. But then I got sick -- again and remembered I'm still recovering from baby. I'm skipping the running now, sticking to walking and carrying baby, or doing more gentle work-outs at home. Baby steps -- hah, and trying to be patient and keep trying in the nutrition department.

Stuff. We have too much stuff and it just collects in the house -- everywhere!! I've got to just keep cleaning it out, though, I think. It is definitely an ongoing process.

Nothing. That's right, nothing, because whatever I was just thinking about, I lost it again. This is super frustrating and I think it's a sign that I'm stressed/tired/overworked, but that's life these days. Gotta keep pressing on.

Bringing Me Joy:

*Peter. -- Every baby is such a light to my world.

*Cookies. Seriously, I made these cookies yesterday and they were so yummy. Call me shallow if you want.

*Feeling like my kids and I are on a team -- forging our days together. It is fun to tell them my plans and get their input and support. I love these kids and many days still can't believe they are all mine.

Pictures To Share:

Getting ready to walk in the TMP Homecoming parade.

All the Scouts at the end of the parade.

Samuel, Jacob, Paul, Miriam, and Zipporah -- after the parade, walking home.

Journal #35

Outside My Window:

It is actually still dark and I have not gone outside yet. I'm just up nursing the baby. But according to the internet it is about 50 degrees outside. Supposed to be sunny today with a high about 75.

Clothing Myself In:

PJs. Ferguson Photography T-shirt, from my Senior pictures in high school (which took place over 10 years ago -- actually closer to 20, but just barely, since I graduated in 2000) and a pair of mens' cotton boxers because clothing designers make much better clothing choices for men.

Around the House:

I rearranged the laundry/storage/extended pantry/child clothing and dressing room a few days ago to make room for a second washing machine. It was quite the project. 

Unfortunately the room could still use more work, lot's more, as well as basically every room in the house, but I do not foresee a long day (or week or month for how low it would take) to thoroughly pick through my house and get rid of tons of stuff (as I would like to) and reorganize everything else so I have to settle for doing little bits here and there. I'm not sure I keep above the clutter very well -- Well, let's be honest; I DON'T keep above the clutter very well and often I am doubting my ability to keep things clean and organized in general, but I keep trying. A shelf or two here or there, a box, going through some outgrown clothes. The fun just never ends. I try not to let it consume me that I cannot do it as well as I want. I figure, some day my children will be grown and maybe I'll find some time again.

How/why did a second washer come about, you are still asking? Well, our washer started acting up -- not draining to be specific. The extended warranty we had on it ended in March, so Gordie tore it apart. He cleaned out the drain and a lot around it. He checked the pump. He discovered the machine is equipped to diagnose itself!?!? -- according to the instructions. So he did that, but could NOT find any parts that were actually malfunctioning. After a week of fighting with it, having me run a load or two here or there and some work and some not work, he finally gave up trying to fix it. Now I can use it as it is and sometimes it works and sometimes it doesn't.

In the midst of this crazy week or Gordie trying to fix the washer, I whined about it to my mom and she offered us their washer; as she's been wanting a new one. We gladly accepted and occasionally now I run two loads of laundry AT ONCE!!  It is a bit of a thrill still right now. The only catch is that we still only have one dryer, so the loads must be small enough to dry together, or one gets hung up on drying racks. But either way, I feel this is a milestone moment for our growing family.

The Baby:

He is sleeping better in his own bed -- after a brief stint (a couple days) of me not being able to put him down while sleeping (wanted to nurse for naps and all night, must have been working on teeth, but it slowed down some now). He still is not a consistent napper, probably because I cannot seem to keep his schedule consistent. Some days I get him up early and put him to bed early (or try) and other days he gets up late and/or I keep him out late. I'm sure he will live. I'm just trying not to feel the mom guilt over it.

He is beginning to grab toys and other things more and more. He likes to hold hands -- well, fingers, mostly -- and can often hold toys for a while -- or at least long enough to get them to his mouth for a bit. His favorite thing to grab is electronics cords. He is quick about it, too. If I am wearing headphones while nursing him, he will have the cord in his hands the minute he goes in my lap.

The Schooling:

Rebekah is slowly learning what middle school is all about. She is a bit timid turning in assignments and struggling to keep up with a set schedule, but I am hopeful she will figure things out soon.

Samuel has totally impressed me lately as he will sit down and just do his work for most of the day -- unassisted as long as he doesn't have questions. The only problem is that he keeps doing mainly Science and often skipping other subjects, but A) he is doing work, so win, B) he will be sure to get his Science done on time this year, and C) when he has four weeks straight of Math at the end of the year, well, that will be fun, right?

Jacob has been giving me no end of grief over school work. He really just needs to realize that this is what is expected. After a battle of wills yesterday morning, he did everything I asked in the afternoon. I did not see that mild-victory coming, but I am grateful for it! Let's just hope we do not have to do battle every school day!

Paul is still bright and does well on most of his lessons, but his spastic nature is beginning to take its toll. He will initially guess -- and be wrong -- on some things. He needs to start slowing down and think about his work. One step at a time. At least he writes well and does not mind handwriting or whine about it, as his older brothers do.

Miriam still loves to cut and paste and she is rather good at it! She and Zipporah also color and draw quite well. Zipporah's pencil grip is awesome, especially for two-years-old. I let them watch a few Leap Frog DVDs every week and the girls are both starting to recognize more letters and their sounds. I should sit down and work with them -- I could probably have Miriam reading by the end of the year, but what's the rush? Plus I really do not have time; between keeping up with the older kids, the house, the meals, and Peter, I'm swamped.

The Children:

I'm on the verge of creating a schedule that combines chores and schoolwork. The problem is that although I can make AMAZING schedules, I never stick to them, nor do the children. But it often helps me to see what I wanted to get done each day, even if it is not happening quite as planned.

I'm still mulling over exactly what chores to assign, to whom, and how often. Helping cook meals is still a treat for the little kids, but the big kids can actually cook some meals on their own. Paul showed me yesterday that he is better at unloading the dishwasher than his big brother! And everybody wants to help run the washer and dryer, but no one wants to fold clothes or put them away.

In the Kitchen:

Giant meals are really working well for us. I cooked up three 15-20 lb pork roasts last weekend and we ate off of them all week, with meat to spare. I'm so grateful for Dillons running such good sales on meat on a regular basis.

The hubby and I have decided we will try some new recipes soon, but have not found much time to meal plan together. Clearly the hubby is on board with doing lots of meal prep on weekends so the weeknights are easier.

Watching/Reading:

I joined a small science-fiction group on facebook and on recommendation of such group, read The Giver quartet. It was not bad -- definitely made me think, but it is not my favorite book or anything. 

Then I discovered "The Giver" (the movie) was on Netflix so I checked it out. It was well done. Again, the story is intriguing, but could be a little more exciting, and possibly have a better ending -- in my opinion.

Thinking About:

* I think maybe I drink too much coffee these days. Some days it is only one cup, but often it is two or three (one in the morning, one or two in the afternoon). The coffee itself is probably not so bad, but I only like it with a lot of creamer and I'm trying to eat better. I've tried A LOT of different ways to flavor coffee and still only prefer the horrible-for-you imitation creamer thus far. Maybe it's not the end of the world, or maybe I need to keep looking. I'm in the "thinking about it" phase at the moment, not really changing anything.

* The hubby and I have begun to finally grow up and now we have a regular "Adulting" meeting on Tuesday nights where we review finances, do meal planning, and generally touch base on the technical details of life. We have been married 12 years and finally started this a couple weeks ago, but better late than never. It is nice to make sure we both understand our goals and work together as a team.

Bringing Me Joy:

* The children. They often make me laugh -- without trying.

* The baby. Babies are great.

* SLEEP!!

Pictures to Share:

I was bored one night and lamenting I had no group shot of my children to put as my computer background, so I made this collage.

Girls lunch on the porch.

Rebekah is so good to always want to wear Peter around. Apparently hanging with Rebekah is exhausting.

Zipporah rarely looks at me and smiles for the camera these days. But I got her here!

Jacob is 8-years-old now!

Jacob's birthday was in August and it was wonderful. It is September now, but everyone is still happy that Jacob is a year older.

* Jacob has a kind heart. He does not like to watch many movies because they are often too scary for him.

* He likes to play with Legos and build with blocks or Keva planks.

* Jacob is a great reader and enjoys a good story.


* He loves all things turtle, from turtle stuffed animals to an electric turtle that swims in the bathtub.

* Jacob is stubborn. He fights hard and does not give in.

* Of all our children, Jacob is the one to make friends first at the park or another social event -- often with someone younger (back to that kind heart again).

The shapes in green are turtles, in case you did not realize, decorated by Rebekah.

May God continue to bless you, Jacob, and mold your innocent heart more like his own, every day. -- Amen.

Well-played, little spider

For the first time in the history of EVER I came across a spider in my house AND LET IT LIVE AND REMAIN in my house. Now I realize, I just freed myself from ever hosting anything or anyone in my home ever again, right? :)

This spider came into my house on a towel from our clothes line. I saw it as I picked up said towel and it jumped back into the basket of other towels waiting to be folded. I knew it was there and planned to deal with it later, but life drew me away. Later, upon returning to the basket, the spider had moved on -- probably was somewhere in the laundry room as that is where the basket had been sitting.

Then a few days later I was giving our laundry room a serious overhaul in order to fit a second washer.  (Which has since come to join our happy family and is amazing and God is so good to provide us with that, but anyhow, back to the spider.) As I was picking up a statue of St. Francis and a wolf, I felt something soft on the back and jerked, as I turned the statue -- there was a little web and that same spider when jumping off onto the dresser. I stood there breathing heavily for a moment, feeling the adrenaline rush into my system and then channeled my inner Franciscan Spirit.

St. Francis, for those who don't know, LOVED animals. He got along with them -- all of them -- EVEN SPIDERS. He is especially know for convincing the Wolf of Gubio to stop being a pain to the villagers (hence the wolf on my statue along with Francis).

Slight Tangent:  While I was in Assisi, visiting important places associated with St. Francis (since I went to Franciscan University and all -- and we took a class trip there when I studied at the university's campus in Gaming, Austria) I saw this statue of St. Francis that was located outside of his basilica. This statue ALWAYS has birds on it (according to the sign and in my experience of it while there). As in one or two leave and some come back. Seriously it has birds on it ALL THE TIME because Francis is just that cool.

So back to the spider -- Supposedly there are four kinds of spiders that are dangerous to humans: brown recluse, black widow, hobo spider, and something else. I looked this information up a few days ago and I would have sworn there were four kinds that are extremely dangerous, but now I can only find three and I've looked hit my quota of spider pictures I can stomach for the day, so my research has come to a grinding halt. Feel free to enlighten me in the comments with the fourth kind of severely dangerous spider that exists.

I have concluded the spider I allowed to live in my basement is a dancing or jumping spider (judging by looks). They are extremely smart and although they have a painful bite, are not dangerous.  However, since concluding this, it has come to my attention that these spiders do not make webs. Supposedly they hunt their prey and attach a drag line to it. Brilliant. But unfortunately, that does not explain the mini-web I found on the back of the wolf, where I also found the spider.

But whatever. To sum up:  I let the spider live. I left the web alone. Don't bother visiting me if you have arachnophobia. and especially avoid my basement, really just no matter what, because it is not really ever fit for company anyhow, in any sense.

School Days

School has started. Here we are documenting the occasion. Enjoy.

Serious face because Middle School is serious.

These brothers have got her back. Middle School ain't got nothin' on her.