Tuesday, January 31, 2006

New Friend!


Here's little Elanor on her first playdate at our house! Her Mama was thrilled to be here and Elanor seemed to enjoy herself. It's the start of a great friendship.... Posted by Picasa

Elanor's friend, however, wasn't so thrilled at the prospect of having a playmate that is just as mobile and determined as she is! Poor DD#3... Posted by Picasa

Mama's night out

Life in a Nutshell
Tonight I will meet a group of my friends at the local Jonny Carrinos' for a bite to eat and a few drinks. They are all Mamas, ranging from one child to expecting #six. A couple of the moms are suffering from post-partum (mildly, I expect) while the rest of us just need some decompressing time, and some adult conversation.

We find comraderie in these outings, sharing our joys and sorrows, our frusterations and accomplishments. We are a unique group. The oldest among us is no more than 36, and while that may seem young, the persepective of this group is that of a bunch of Italian grannies, since we have wisdom beyond our years brought on by the raising and caring of many little ones. As a result, we have much time to ponder the broader problems in society today. We are well-read, and well-educated. Yet our laughter and loves stem from the mundane and the daily. We know what is important, and we have dedicated ourselves to it. We know we may look ridiculous in the eyes of the world. Sometimes I catch myself doing just that, and I shudder at what that 20-something executive blonde-haired-suit-wearing chic must think at my jeans, sandals, crazy hair and tanned, wrinkled cheeks.

And then I come home to my own beautiful girls and their sparkling eyes, and the boys and their tales of conquest. And I am more sure than ever of what I am doing and why.

It sure helps to have many friends who are sure too.

Monday, January 30, 2006

Anything else?

Life in a Nutshell
Poor DS#1. The past two weeks he has been fighting a sinus infection. I finally took him to his allergist (after getting the silent treatment from our GP) and he was diagnosed with a sinus infection (no surprise to me) and put on anti-biotics. The cough had a hard time letting go of its victim, though, and as a result of long nights spent hacking away and falling asleep in the wee hours of the morn, DS had a lot of vacation time from school. (Along with a lot of make-up work)

We had a glorious weekend. Lots of much needed rain on Saturday, (along with some much-needed cleaning in the house!) and a very warm and sunny Sunday. DS spent the time playing, resting, reading, and then got to help DH work on the tree fort yesterday.

And then, last night.

DH and I had rented Cinderella Man, and gotten about halfway through when DS#1 comes out with a stomach ache. I told him to use the facilities :) and then I hopped in the shower.

DH comes racing in to inform me that DS's dinner was now on the bathroom floor.

Lovely.

DS#1 is home today, again.
With a (blank)load of schoolwork to do, again.
Yelling at me from the back bedroom for various things, again.
Fighting with his sisters, again.
And not acting sick in the least, again.

sigh

I'm keeping my fingers crossed for tomorrow!

And also praying that no-one else gets it....

:)

Friday, January 27, 2006

Return from China

Life in a Nutshell
I had the honor of picking up my friends...now proud parents and their little one....from the airport yesterday evening. Little Elanor surveyed me with serious dark brown eyes, her thick black hair wisping over her forehead. She was snuggled in her stroller, looking like a seasoned traveller. What an ordeal this little one and her new parents have gone through these past two weeks!

And from the sounds of it, they needed all the prayers we offered up....the trip was no picnic. The new Mama got sick, and then the Papa. Little Elanor wouldn't sleep more than three hours at a time...and she is already a year old! Which means that she is walking (something they weren't expecting)....yet another challenge on a 12 hour plane ride.

And so I ushered them home, it seemed like a new home to everyone. Their cat meowed innocently at the window when we arrived....not knowing the utter shock that awaits him! Elanor toddled around after her Papa, loudly protesting when he went outside to get the luggage....she is already a Papa's girl. And Patrick is completely taken. After warming up dinner for them, as Petra stashed all the breakables (again, they weren't expecting her to be so mobile!), I saw Patrick leading Elanor around her new house, showing her all the rooms. I caught her eye as she was rounding the corner into the kitchen. She flashed me a big smile.

And so a new chapter begins.

Tuesday, January 24, 2006

YAY! New camera!


DD#3 reveling in her disruption of schooling this morning by plopping herself down right in the middle of our homeschool table... Posted by Picasa

Friday, January 20, 2006

Manly men...a visit from the farm

Life in a Nutshell
We had the honor of hosting one of the Johnson gang on his way to the west coast yesterday....our friend Canisius. He is a carpenter, and works alongside his Dad on the family farm up in Wisconsin. He and two of his sisters manage three houses, a barn and various farm animals and vegetable gardens. We went to visit them this summer and had a blast.


On this most recent visit, he heralded my boys with tales of deer hunting (using bows)imitated the sounds he makes to atttract the deer, and various other stories of hosting 'city-boys' on their first hunt. He relayed the butchering of the six deer they got, plus two of their cows and their two pigs. He told us of their plans to acquire a work horse, and what exactly they plan to do with all of the milk they'll be getting from one of their cows come spring.....

My boys sat there in awe.

You see, boys are meant to be awed by these adventures. It's in their very nature. I know DH would like nothing better than to dress in camouflage, cover himself with deer urine (EWWW) and go out into the woods slinging his bow behind his back...bringing home the kill for the women-folk.

And my boys! Well, this is their idea of heaven!

Society today wants boys to act like girls. I recently overheard a mother explaining the reason as to why she doesn't allow her son to play with guns;

"We don't believe in violence, you know..."

I wanted to say, "What....you don't believe it exists?"

Now, I know what she meant. She didn't want her sweet little boy pretending to shoot other people, blowing them to bits... What she didn't realize is that she is denying him a part of his very nature. Little boys are meant to go and conquer. Obviously, there are limits...no shooting your sisters (unless they want you to!-yes, we have a little Wonder Woman in our family, who will gladly play superheroes with her brothers!) And teaching about gun safety is essential...especially if you own guns (which we don't, but still...)

But for boys to run in the wild! And to show them the way to be men...that is the mission of Dads (and even Moms!) today.

Even though we don't live on a farm or on acres and acres of land, DH does a great job by wrestling with the boys, making sure there are planty of superheroes around the house, helping them build bows and arrows, and allowing them to "work" with his tools. Canisius brought some scrap wood and helped the boys draw up plans for a tree house.

I think DH has some plans of his own.....

to go to Home Depot today.

:)

Thursday, January 19, 2006

God's Will in all we do....

Life in a Nutshell
I was just reading this great post about this very topic.

I think one of the hardest parts about being a Mama of 5, is to remember that God's will for me is not just to be married and have children...the end, amen, I'm done.

Now the hard part comes.

I have a responsibility, a duty, to be sure that I follow through on my vocation to the minutest detail...yes, even sorting all the socks! (see the post I linked to)

It's a struggle, and it's daily and sometimes even annoying.....

the demands
the shrieks
the dishes
the laundry

and I just want to have ME time!

But, I know deep down that the most important is my vocation, and in that, my sanctifcation.

And, the most compelling reason of all.....
my children.

How can I not dress them in clean clothes, so that they may play on a clean floor in a clean house?

How can I not cook them healthy meals, and give them yummy treats?

Unfortunately, there are some who can. I have an aquaintance who has a hard time accomplishing these simple tasks. As a result, her home life is chaos. I wish I could fix it for her, but I can't. She has been to doctors thinking she may be depressed or have a thyroid problem, but no. Many times people have come to their rescue and fixed up their house and bought things to help organize....but it falls into disrepair all too soon. I feel for her, and for her 5 kids. I know how tough it can be. And I know it doesn't have to be this tough.

We all have things to work on. Lord knows, I do! It's just hard when you see it, and don't have an easy fix.

:(

Wednesday, January 18, 2006

Pregnancy "cuteness"...

Life in a Nutshell
Quite a few people I know are pregnant right now....in the "glow of mama-hood", so to speak. And they look fantastic! In fact, even Hollywood celebs are sporting "le tummy", and looking fabulous. I guess pregnancy is "in"....

And from a purely selfish standpoint (meaning, of course, the fashion aspect), it's tempting..... all those chic maternity outfits, not to mention the adorable newborn layettes....

sigh

Another sign that for me, 5 ain't enough, even if #6 isn't quite on the horizon yet....

:)


**in other news, DH programmed "When Irish Eyes Are Smiling" as the ring on our home phone....
makes me smile every time....

Monday, January 16, 2006

Because it is sooo true these days...


The sweatshirt I bought (on sale) for DD#2.....

*the bottom star on the pocket says, "Get over it"* Posted by Picasa

New furniture......

Life in a Nutshell

....sort of.

I had DH resurrect the treadmill from the confines of the shed and place it in our bedroom yesterday. Since I have this idea that the way to get in shape is to play soccer, then I must actually try to get in shape so I can play! I mean, it's no fun to limp up and down the field, praying that the ball doesn't come to you, all because you are in no shape to be chasing after it...

Kind of a vicious cycle, isn't it?

:)

Saturday, January 14, 2006

Gulli-gulli-ga

Life in a Nutshell
This is DD#3's newest sound. She started it yesterday, and we immediately got out the video camera to record it.

The funny thing is that DS#1 used to say this word to mean "helicopter". In fact, he has an Uncle Harold, and we all know that on Thomas the Tank Engine, the helicopter's name is Harold the Helicopter....and so Uncle Harold was:

"Gulli-gulli-ga!"

I wonder if these language idiosyncrasies are inherited....

Friday, January 13, 2006

China doll

Life in a Nutshell
Our closest friends here in the south are right now enroute to China to pick up their new daughter. We are soooo excited for them!

They have been married for over 10 years, and due to health reasons, have been unable to have children. After scrimping and saving, they are finally able to adopt and have been paired up with an adorable baby girl!

Please pray for them as they travel today...and as they navigate their way through forms and meetings for the next week or so. This kind of trip is not for the faint of heart! As a seasoned traveller, mom of 5, I could not even imagine what it would be like to be on a plane with a little 1 yr old for 15 hours+. Especially if that little darling had no idea who I was and I did not know all the ways to calm and soothe and feed....etc!

Of course, my friends are so excited, and this journey is completely worth it! But a few extra prayers offered up for them and little Elanor would be greatly appreciated....

*yes, I changed the name of the post...it's what I had been meaning to call it, just couldn't remember.....

:)

Thursday, January 12, 2006

De-lurking...

Life in a Nutshell
I just found out what this means today....I know I'm late! (National de-lurking day was January 5th!)

So, all my millions of readers and fans....come on out!

hello?

hello?

LOL!

No, seriously, it'd be nice to know who reads this little blog. So, comment if you'd like.

Unless, of course, you believe in global warming...
*disclaimer: I am not objecting to the theory of global warming per se.... just that someone would postulate on my post about the warmer weather (which I happen to enjoy) as if that was the obvious reason. There are a lot of opinons on both sides of the issue*

yeesh.

Wednesday, January 11, 2006

Summer in January

Life in a Nutshell
Can you believe this?
*click on "4warn weather" on the left....I couldn't link directly*

Actually, these are more like spring temps for us. Our summers are more like an unbearable 105 degrees, with the overnight lows in the 80's!

That's when all you northerners can laugh at us.

In the meantime, here's a different perspective to your deep freeze up there!

:)

Monday, January 09, 2006

"Memed"

Life in a Nutshell
OK, I just got memed (I have no idea what that word means.....don't ask!) from Studeo. Here are the rules:

Rules: The first player of this game starts with the topic "five weird habits of yourself," and people who get tagged need to write an entry about their five weird habits as well as state this rule clearly. In the end, you need to choose the next five people to be tagged and link to their web journals. Don't forget to leave a comment in their blog or journal that says "You are tagged" (assuming they take comments) and tell them to read yours.

Wow....only 5?

1. I have this thing for Ben and Jerry's "Mint Chocolate Cookie" ice cream. I had to had to have a pint every night when I was nursing DD#3. A very expensive habit, Dh says.

2. No matter how late I go to bed, I must have either a shower or a bath. I simply cannot crawl into bed without having had one!

3. Before I have my coffee in the morning, I must have my contacts in and my face washed and moisturized. These are supposed to be my weird habits, you know...

4. I lose my house keys a lot, which either result in me never locking the house, or being unable to get back in. Then one of the DC (dear children) have to crawl in through a window for me.

5. Before we go out in public (even just to the grocery store) the kids hair need to be done, and their outfits clean and tidy. I don't know if that's weird, or just obsessive-compulsive! LOL

OK. I tag Sephora and Portia.

Stay tuned, theirs should be good!

;P

Saturday, January 07, 2006

Soccer Mom

Life in a Nutshell
As my friend's husband said, I've given a whole new meaning to the title "soccer mom".

No, my boys aren't playing...neither are my girls.

I am!

Now, before you go and call the US Olympic team, let's just qualify this. The division I'm playing in is for those women who may have never played before, and are certainly not in the best shape. The latter describes me perfectly. After 5 kids, when do I have time to exercise? This 'recreation' will be a good opportunity to get much-needed exercise in a fun way.

You see, I need to have some sort of motivation to run. Like, when DD#2 takes off through the neighborhood, or the rice is boiling over on the stove, or the cookies are about to burn. And so chasing after a soccer ball will be right up my alley!


And this ol' girl is still kickin'....trying to, anyway. Today was my first day of practice with my new team, and I'm glad to report that I held my own quite well. The women are all really nice and are happy to have a 'semi' experienced forward. I think it will be a good fit for me.


"Soccer Mom" indeed.... :)

Wednesday, January 04, 2006

Sun, and then Rain........

Life in a Nutshell
Yesterday, I was basking in the sun (83 degrees!) when the DS's complained about how *bored* they were. Irritated, I told them to be thankful for the sun and warm weather. I said,

"There are some people who right now are wishing more than anything to see the sun"....

And then I found out about the miners trapped in West Virginia.

And then this morning that only 1 survived.

And that the news had orginally reported a miraculous 12 had survived.


The sun seems a bit less radiant now.

My heart and prayers go out to the families today.