7 Quick Takes - progressive

I say "progressive" because I started this last week and am finishing it this week and while that would not normally be a big deal, the pictures might give it away as one has a "regular" table and one. . . well, just look down and see for yourself!  :)

1) I finally got rid of one of my couches!

Check out the new set-up - we find it most enjoyable to have some extra space in the front room.

2) I am beginning to wonder if Zipporah might be left-handed.

She usually sucks her left thumb and when I put a cheerio in her right hand she holds it, but often does not put it in her mouth.  But if I put it in her left hand, she puts it in her mouth.  Time will tell for sure, but it is interesting to see this develop.

3) Gordie has finished building "his office" and the storage space in "the garage of awesome."  

He also installed the sound-system and projector so we have a stellar home theater.  - I guess he is a pretty awesome guy after-all.

4) I think the baby might finally be getting a tooth!

One of her gums is swollen - a tell-tale sign for teeth I would say.  She is nine-months-old and most of our babies got their first teeth around 4 or 6 months, but Zipporah is definitely doing things "at her own pace," and "in her own way."  She is such a great baby and I am enjoying watching her grow and develop.

5) We got a new table!

Yes, we really are nerds, but it works for us.

6) We enjoyed some company over Spring Break.

We had some old friends (well, they are not old, but friends we have had for some time - hah) come visit over Spring Break.  While it was a bit of a challenge to round up food for nine child eaters (10 if you count the baby, but she did not eat the same food, so I really did not consider her so much) and four adults, it was nice to have a good excuse to take it easy.  We did school the first couple days, but then our company came and we all sat back and enjoyed ourselves playing outside, at the park, in the garage, etc., and then sneaking away for some shopping!  I like to think everyone enjoyed themselves and had a much-needed break.

7) I made up a site-word bingo game.

I am most proud of myself over this.  I also printed an alphabet bingo game I got free off of someone's website and laminated them both.  Let's see how long they last.

Here is all the laminated chaos.

Here is the "master" for my site-word bingo.  The cards are to be drawn and placed on this card (there are four big cards for the master list) so it can be used independently as a matching activity, too.

Here is one of the six cards I made for the site-word bingo.

Here is the "master" for the alphabet bingo, which can also be used as a matching activity - assuming we do not lose all the letters in the first week (and let me tell you, that is highly probable :)

7 Quick Takes - A random look in my head/world

1) I rearranged the boys'/Miram's room.

Paul kept telling me it needed to be rearranged (probably because with the current set-up he was stuck back in the corner).  Now, for the four weeks since doing this, EVERY TIME Miriam walks in the room with me she proclaims, "You moved my bed, Mom!!"

The Thomas bed is Miriam's.  I did not bother waiting for it to be "tidy" as it never seems to get that way, or stay there long.

2) I put a bucket of books in the boys'/Miriam's bedroom and it has been a hit!

We are currently SATURATED with books and I am grateful.  Reading is important.  But with three rooms upstairs (the study, the tv room, and the front room) all overflowing with bookshelves full of books I concluded that some of the board books (which I feel get neglected being put on a typical bookshelf anyhow as those young enough to benefit from this type of book have trouble getting them off to look at) needed a new home.  Typically we just have beds and dressers in our bedrooms but I put a tub of board books in there mostly so it would have a place to go.  Now all the kids pull from it and read/look at a book or two once they get their pjs on and are waiting to say prayers and be tucked in.

3) I am changing.

For whatever reason I have recently been able to get rid of things - lots of things, things I have carried around since I was a kid and some things I have acquired more recently and thought I could never live without.  And let me say it feels GOOD to get rid of stuff, and I wish I had a week with no children to care for or other responsibilities so I could go through the whole house and do a great purge.  But as it is, I am trying to do a few bits here and there as I am able.  The funny thing is that I realize as much as I get rid of, I will never be able to STOP getting rid of stuff.  That, my friends, is the wisdom that comes with age, I believe.

4) Zipporah loves to eat!

I thought I was all smart, telling everyone after my third, or maybe fourth kid, that baby food was silly and I figured babies do well to just nurse until they are ready for table food at about a year (maybe 10 or 11 months).  But Zipporah has shown me that she LOVES food - at 8.5 months, nonetheless.  Eat up kid.  Way to remind me that every kid is different.  THAT is the real truth to be learned.

The "sly" look from the camera that takes forever to actually take the picture!!

5) My oldest daughter will probably create her own line of clothes some day.

I think all girls feel the need to "express themselves" in their clothing choices.  A lot of what Rebekah wears are hand-me-downs from friends and I imagine that could crimp a style, but she is clearly unhindered.  The "scarf" she is wearing in the picture below is often found tied around her in this position (she even wore it to church the other day, which I probably would have stopped if I had noticed it before we rushed out the door in our usual chaos).

6) On the topic of clothing, check out my handsome son in his new clothes for his upcoming First Communion!

Please pardon the spots on the camera lens and the red eyes.  I hate this camera, but I recently broke my good one :(

He refused to smile for me.  I guess he is preparing for this SOMBER celebration or something :)

7) Finding 7 things to comment on is a stretch today!

Some days I feel I could talk forever and today. . . I got nothing.  So I'm wrapping this up and moving on with my crazy day here.

Journal #26 - Life is flying by right now!

Out My Window:

There is some snow (just a dusting) and it is cold, but not too cold.  The wind is subtle today (which is saying something for Kansas).  The sun is shining and although the heater is running, I would say it is a "good" day for March.  

(A good day to "march fourth" - hahahaha)

Clothing Myself In:

Black yoga pants and an old MS Walk T-shirt, with bare feet.  (FYI I took Samuel to the doctor earlier and I put on jeans and sneakers for that, but at home I enjoy my yoga pants as they allow me to sneak in some stretching while I'm running after the kids - jeans can be a little restricting for some stretches.)

Around the House:

I finally hung some rings for the kids to hang on in the front room.  The beam has been exposed for years (put in when the hubby knocked out the wall and could not decide if it was weight-bearing, which he has since decided it is not) so I figured what damage would a couple more hooks really do??  I used climbing carabiners to connect the rings to the hooks so I can easily take them off and only the hooks are there, way up high, not attracting any attention.  Everyone loves the rings (including me) and I am MOST IMPRESSED with myself for putting them up!  I had to drill out the hole to for the giant eye hook.  And I had to use a screwdriver through the hook to get enough torque to get it to screw in!  It was the most hands-on of a project I have done and I did it all when my hubby was not home!!  Now every time I catch Miriam trying to hang from the fridge handles I redirect her to the rings.

In other news, I am thinking of getting rid of a couple of our couches (we have three).  I am becoming "one of those crazy alignment people."  Gordie will not let me get rid of all of them, but I figure one is enough - especially since I can sit on the floor and we have some bean bag chairs in the garage we can always bring in for company.  I'm hopeful that less furniture will give more room to play and move during the day.  Here is post by one of my favorite Alignment Gurus about her choice to go more furniture free.

The Baby:

She continues to be happy and healthy.  I started giving her some solid foods and SHE LOVES THEM!!  Unfortunately I gave her a little too much too soon as she had some digestional (which is probably not a word) discomfort for a few days but she seems to have figured it out now and we stick to one "real food meal" a day (or a few snacks in the morning and some in the evening) along with her regularly scheduled nursing and she is doing great.

I have snuck her onto her stomach some and she is holding her head up well and wiggling around some.  If I just flat out put her down on her belly she is OUTRAGED and will wail until she is either picked up or in some other way compensated - if left alone long enough she will flip on her back, but she will continue to cry over the outrage of putting her down on her stomach.  Now, on her back she will reach up to her toys and kick her feet to scoot along the floor - on her back, head-first, which makes me think of her as some floor-fish.  She is definitely going about this locomotion thing in an odd fashion.  

She likes to stand and hang from my fingers for a few minutes, but she does not pull herself up yet.  She is not very fond of sitting, but she can handle that position if you are sly about getting her into it (again - she gets a little grumpy about going straight to sitting - somewhat like being laid on her stomach).

Instead of dragging out the big high chair we have been feeding her in the bumbo, with a tray.  That is a hit.  Plus, having her down on the ground allows the kids to help.  Miriam loves giving her yogurt bites.  I am amazed at how far she can reach and grab things while in the bumbo.  She has got some majorly long arms and giant hands with long fingers!

The Kids:

We purchased a new pitcher (for milk and other drinks at meals) a while back and it is a winner so far.  The mouth is very wide, which scared me at first, but it pours well and so far the kids have done well with it.

We were doing really well health-wise, especially as all the school kids were getting two different strains of the flu and strep, but last week we had some heavy coughers and today I have one with a fever AND cough.  At least they seem to be spacing somewhat so I can focus on one or two at a time.

In the Kitchen:

I am falling in love with onions and green peppers in the crock-pot.  Why did I not try this sooner?  I am putting them in everything from soup to the traditional fajitas.  They are amazing.

Thinking About:

We did away with "date nights" once a month because they were overwhelming and the kids were getting a little too demanding about them (declaring they needed ice cream or other sweets and lots of other things on top).  Instead we tried to do "family night" once a week, but then Daddy started going to darts that evening.  So, I am trying to decide how to go about this "family time" and individual "date time" with the children.  I am leaning toward making "family night" be Friday or Saturday night (which would put our "marriage date night" to a different day) and to have each child get one date night with each parent once a year (so basically a "date night" once every six months) and to step it up a little - a dinner out, or a movie, or something REALLY special, not just staying up late to play some video games and munch popcorn.  But I am still mulling it over and unsure exactly what is best for our family at this time.

Bringing Me Joy:

*Zipporah's smiles - she just lights up the room.

*Jacob's progress in school, especially reading.  He was giving me some trouble, but I decided to "grease the wheels" with some bribery.  Every day he was cooperative he got a star.  After five stars, he gets a prize.  He has two prizes now, is reading like a champ, and RARELY gives me any trouble when it comes to school work.

*An online class I am taking on health and alignment.  It is very informative and I am learning so much!  Plus I am starting to see good results in my health because of the exercises and such.

Pictures to Share:

(I broke my camera by dropping it.  Sad day.  But I managed to find our old camera, which I do not like NEARLY as much, but at least it takes pictures. . . and some times they are not blurry!!)

Daddy and Zipporah (who happens to be wearing the dress my Great Aunt Rosie made for me as a baby).

"The Girls" (Rebekah, Miriam, and Zipporah) before Sunday Mass.

Jacob wanted me to take a picture of his creation.

Daddy with his girls: Rebekah, Miriam, and Zipporah

Happy Birthday to Gordie. . . a few days late here

I often post things on facebook that I want to commemorate and remember, but after everyone enjoys them, they go into the great abyss of facebook backlogs.  However, I print a hard copy of my blog (in book form) every year, so I can come back and enjoy the pictures and sentiments later.  Thus, even though the day has passed, I'm posting this here to enjoy these photos for my dear husband whom I love very much.

 Over 30 years ago, last month, the world was blessed with Gordon Schroeder. Somehow (I'm pinning a lot of it on the prayers of his grandmas!) he turned into an amazing man, husband, and father.

Your goofy, joyful spirit is a welcome blessing in my life, Gordie, and I hope to grow to cherish you, in all your quirks, for years to come.

Happy Birthday, Gordie! smile emoticon

Journal #25

Out My Window:

It is overcast today and a little chilly (maybe thirty degrees) but not a "bad" day.  Feels a little more like winter I suppose.  The seasons have certainly been crazy lately.

Clothing Myself In:

Black stretch pants, black MS walk t-shirt, camo long-sleeve shirt on top, bare feet.

Around the House:

Nana has been helping out all week because of my little "accident" and that has certainly been a blessing.  She is a great teacher and really gets the kids to stay-on-task and get it done!  It has felt busier than usual, but my nephew (who happens to be Paul's age) has been here most of the week, as well, and we babysat for a friend one day, too.  It has been nice to be out and go to the park a couple times since the weather was so nice, but it is strange how the warm season being "out of place" makes me feel all confused - if that makes any sense.

The Baby:

Zipporah finally made it in for her "six-months-check" but she is already seven-months-old!  (This was not my fault - the doctor rescheduled the visit.)  In any case, she has only gained one pound since her last check (at four-months-old I believe) but she has grown two inches (up to 27 inches long!).   I'm not overly concerned about her lack of weight gain, but I am definitely watching her like a hawk.  Fortunately she has been amazingly healthy and happy, eating well and filling her diapers, so I have no worries at the moment.  She still is not a fan of sitting up or tummy time, but she LOVES to stand and lean against me or be carried around or sit in her bumbo (assuming it is close to the action).  Today she was intently watching me drink so I gave her her first few swigs from my water.  She seemed to enjoy that.

The Kids:

My amazing pitcher that the kids loved has broken already (sad face).  I guess I was cleaning it a little too vigorously as the handle snapped off.  I thought maybe Daddy could fix it, but he looked skeptical and gushed about how it would not look the same and be a lot of work, so it looks like I will be finding another pitcher soon.

Daily Mass (which we try to attend at least once a week) has been going smoother in some ways and more challenging in others.  Paul is quite well-behaved now, as long as I'm ok with him sitting and looking at our religious books we bring with us, but Miriam has trouble with volume control (or really just talking in general) and finds being still for forty to fifty minutes (we go with the school kids, so they have music and Mass is a little longer than the typical daily Mass) quite a challenge!  She often has to go potty (even if she just went at home) but fortunately Rebekah does not mind taking her out for that.  God bless big sisters!!  Jacob is also giving me a little struggle as he is old enough (in my opinion) to be standing correctly and kneeling and generally sitting as he should (at least LOOKING like he is paying attention).  I think we need to do a little more talking about this BEFORE Mass, though (and I keep forgetting) and maybe some practice for all the kids so things keep going as smooth as possible.

In the Kitchen:

I just cooked up some beef for another batch of taco meat (going to cook the beans tomorrow and mix it all together).  I was also brave enough to make homemade pizza!  (Which is crazy here - two breadmakers for the dough, four pizzas for our clan!)  And I made some teething biscuits for the baby, but so far she is not impressed with food in general.

Watching:

We stumbled upon an old tv series (on Netflix) called Chuck and it has been quite entertaining for the hubby and myself.  It was definitely written for the male crowd, but the plot is not too bad and most of the characters are well-done.

Crafting:

Since my hubby rarely reads my blog, I'm going to go ahead and throw this out there.  I have not been crafting in the traditional sense, but I am always looking for ways for the kids to get more movement in their day - especially while inside.  As it is good to go outside and play or to go to the upstairs of the garage (the indoor gym) and play, I feel they need to be moving more than we can get to either of those places.  Thus I finally got a couple more large hooks for our exposed beam in hopes of hanging a set of rings in our living room.  However, I tried to put one of said hooks in yesterday and it did not go so well.  How in the world do you get those big screw eye-hooks in??  I am afraid to ask the hubby for help as he already thinks I'm crazy and has a honey-do list about a mile long - on top of all his other plans and projects.  But stay tuned as I just might figure it out myself.

Thinking About:

Restorative Exercise.  Seriously, it is a lifestyle change I feel I am beginning.  And I think it is for the better.  In a nutshell, restorative exercise is all about moving more throughout the day.  Regular "exercise" is not necessarily bad (although sometimes it might be considered so, but it gets a little confusing), but it is not enough.  We should be moving most of the day, not just for an hour or two.  So I'm trying to put more standing, squatting, sitting on the floor, stretching, and walking into my day - and of course that of the children as well.  I will definitely have more to blog about this soon.  And you can read up some more on a previous post of mine - here.

Bringing Me Joy:

Zipporah.  It is great to see her personality start to show and her smiles are simply amazing.  Well worth the wait for them to show up.

Pictures To Share:

Samuel loves his baby sister, Zipporah.

Pizza and a Kansas sunset.  What could be better?

Input

I took a basketball to the face - HARD - after religion class last Wednesday.  Funny that I have played basketball, for about fifteen years (VERY competitively for the last eight or so) and never before managed to damage my head, but this particular evening, playing around with about twenty little kids and about a million basketballs (go figure) I managed to get pegged so hard, right in the face (fortunately my glasses did not break! - or my nose!!) and get a concussion.  Basically, I was caught off-guard.  I was paying attention to my son, Samuel, and the ball he had just thrown me.  I was preparing to shoot it and then BAM, another kid accidentally launched a ball with quite a bit of gusto (she was probably a fifth or sixth grader) and I turned to see it at the last second, as it connected with my face.  She was so aplogetic!  I assured her it was no big deal, but that evening and for several days after I felt the effects of a mild concussion.  Mostly for me it was just nausea. . . and some irritability (although I might just be blaming my usual grumpiness on this).

The funny thing is that when you have a concussion you need to let your BRAIN rest, which means no reading, no teaching, no watching tv, etc.  Sounds simple, right, but what would YOU do if you could not read or do really anything computer or screen-related for a week?  Mostly I have slept - who knew I could be so tired?!?!  I prayed some - thank God for the Rosary and its beautiful repetition.  And thank God for my mother who came (and continues to come) to teach my children for me!!

But I also reflected. . . and came to the conclusion that I'm a little bit addicted.  Seriously, I'm addicted to input. . . from books, from blogs on the internet, from what my friends have to say on social media.  I have books all over my house, from my bathroom to my kitchen.  I read books on the back-lit kindle as I rock/nurse the baby to sleep.  I check  my facebook probably three or four times a day - sometimes for an hour or more at night (and it drives my husband bananas - haha).  And then there is a computer game I play with my husband. . . which was of course off-limits, along with our nightly (well, three or four times a week anyhow) episode of Chuck.

Now, is this input bad, as in inherently evil?  I can clearly say NO!  I am not reading books on anything that does not in some way reflect the human search for God in truth, beauty, and goodness.  Now some things are more noble than others.  Obviously reading Scripture would be at the top and the silly science-fiction novel would be considerably lower.  Social media could have noble undertones of concern for friends and prayer requests, but sometimes it is sheer boredom or escape that leads me there and keeps me captive.

So other than pray and think and wash the dishes (funny how that task did not make my head hurt) what did I/do I most notice filling up this "void"?  Worry.  When I'm not bombarded with constant input and ideas I worry. . . about everything.  Of course, I should have seen that coming as my defense mechanism for worry is to distract myself.  Hard to do with so little fuel for distraction!

Although this whole experience has been a giant pain - literally, hah - I am grateful for this revelation.  Now I see what I need to work on.  And I think I will start with praying for some faith to fill up that worry and for some gentle nudges to limit my input some and allow God to work on me as well.

(And I should add, that it has not been a week yet, but I have been slowly reintroducing "brain activities" as I am able to tolerate - even in the beginning, when it made me nauseous, I allowed myself a few minutes of facebook each day.  As I said above I am "mildly addicted" :)  Now I can read for a half hour or so at a time on the computer/kindle, but watching a tv episode last night was definitely a bit much - ugh I felt horrible after that!  But generally things are improving - Thank God!  My doc said it could be 4-6 weeks before I am "back to normal.")

Great Grandparents

These are my great grandparents on my Dad's side.

112 years ago (January 20, 1903), Vincent M. Baxa, Sr., and Ella A. Blazek where married.

Both celebrated their birthdays a day apart: Vincent's birthday was on January 19, and Ella's on January 20.