Outside my window...windy and rainy and the leaves are blowing off the trees thanks to an unfortunate cold front that's moving through. :(
I am thinking...there aren't enough hours in the day to do all that I've planned for myself and the kids. I blink and the day is done. The lesson is to do less, but I feel just as incapable of that as I do adding another hour to the day. The bar needs to be lower, but I am a slow learner so I'll just die trying rather than make a new plan and stop caring that the house is messy. It's the definition of insanity. That's why my forehead is broken out right now.
I am thankful... for Ellie and connecting with local home school friends.
I am wearing...black capri leggings under a pink/purple thrift store dress that I bought for $.99. Yes, less than a dollar.
I am going...away to Gaitlinburg with the love of my life by ourselves in 17 days!!!!! But who's counting? Ellie will stay with another foster family in our area and the other kids will be watched by my mom for two days and then my mother-in-law for 10 hours. I.cannot.wait. I might make a paper chain to count down the days.
One of my favorite quotes..."All the science of the Saints is included in these two things: to do and to suffer. And whoever had done these two things best, has made himself most saintly." -St. Francis deSales
I am reading...only kids' books still. We are reading
Blessed Jose: Boy Cristero Martyr aloud and are loving it. This book is written by a priest from Brooke's old school. It is excellent and inspiring. Still working our way through the Narnia Chronicles in the car. We did take a short break to listen to
The Four Story Mistake which my 4th grade teacher read aloud to my class back in the day. I highly recommend them all.
Around the house...much needed painting of the hallways and main living spaces has begun. Our microwave broke so we got a new one that Mark installed himself.
I am pondering..."By accepting the sufferings ‘offered’ by life and allowed by God for our progress and purification, we spare ourselves much harder ones. We need to develop this kind of realism and, once and for all, stop dreaming of a life without suffering or conflict. That is the life of heaven, not earth. We must take up our cross and follow Christ courageously every day; the bitterness of that cross will sooner or later be transformed into sweetness." Interior Freedom Fr. Jacques Philippe, p. 49
From the kitchen...I am in the mood to make something different than usual so I'm going to be trying out some new recipes from the book Paleo Slow Cooker. We will see how that goes. So far while Mark's been gone we've eaten party leftovers, breakfast for dinner, and GF pizza. Hope the inspiration comes on hard and fast because I'm hungry for real food.
In the schoolroom...this is the best, most peaceful school year we've had yet. I am really enjoying learning alongside the kids and we're having fun crafting and reading. I think we've found balance in this area and I dare say I'm having fun. :)
I am praying for...people with bad backs. My cousin's daughter had a massive, 8 hour back surgery this week, another friend to have back surgery next week and multiple friends that are suffering with horrible back pain. For Christa and for Ellie's parents too.
I am looking forward to... trying out my new remote for my camera. I'm thinking cost effective DIY family portraits.
I don't want to forget...Stella and Nash pulling apart a Styrofoam insert from a crucifix box and making "snow" that covered the entire laminate portion of our basement. It was crazy messy and I'm so thankful that Luke helped us clean it up. The ironic part is that I was thanking God that they were playing so peacefully so I could get some food ready in the kitchen. God has a funny sense of humor! I did not take a picture of that because I didn't want to validate their naughtiness.
A few plans for this week...Potluck homeschool dinner with some fun friends, passport photos and application meeting for the upcoming Glaser family cruise March 2015, orthodontist appointment, a follow up appointment for Stella's tubes, Ellie's 2 visits with her parents, and Brooke's 10th birthday!!! Oh, and I forgot eating and sleeping and American Heritage Girls and laundry and school and maybe a visit to the zoo on Friday. I think I'll sleep when I'm dead.
And here's September in 50 Pictures...
Homeschool skate with some friends.
Stella and Nash didn't skate but a minute, however, that didn't matter thanks to the bouncy house.
Our creepy catepillars shored up in their chrysalises and then became beautiful butterflies.
The funny thing is is that they "hatched" while we were gone. Oh, well. You win some and you lose some.
The captives are set free.
Painted lady butterflies from Earth's Birthday Project. I think the entire endeavor cost around $36 dollars. It's worth it.
See the butterfly off Stella's shoulder on the left? They were gone in a flash.
This is the saddest picture of the month because you are seeing Nash putting his pacifiers in the mailbox. We "mailed" them to the dentist after his check-up because she said it was time for them to go so he didn't damage his teeth. Nash was reluctant, but then Brooke cheered him on and he was running for the front door saying, "I a big boy now. I not need them anymore." I almost cried. "The dentist" (wink, wink) sent him some prizes (a 5 pack of Playdough, a car and some M & M's) and the note below.
That looks a lot like my handwriting. Hmmm...and I signed it "Dr. Biteright" from the Maisy book about a wobbly tooth because that's what Nash called their dentist. He totally didn't need them anymore and in fact, he woke me up at least once a week in the early AM calling for me to find the "ha-ha" that fell out in the night. He was pretty mad the first night, but he's been fine since....If you don't count the missed naps. 3 in 3 weeks! Luke was the most upset over this business and he asked me to pray the Rosary with him for Nash that first night and he cried because he didn't want Nash to be sad. We're all over it and everyone lived.
See? He's no worse for the wear! He has glasses now to correct his crazy cross eye. You'll see in a minute. He's pretty adorable.
Nash took this picture of me while I was trying out my tripod that I've had for over a year and never used. I'm breaking it in for our family photos with the remote that we'll be trying out soon. Should be
torturous fun.
Over the summer I made reservations to camp with my mom while Mark and Luke were off camping with the Troops of St. George. Then Ellie showed up...and we went anyway. Friends were supposed to come with us and they had a change in their schedule, so Ellie and I slept by ourselves in a separate cabin on Friday night. On Saturday, I ended up taking Ellie (and a naughty Nash) home to sleep and we came back for breakfast the following day so we didn't wake everyone up 2-3 times in the night. She's sleeping much better now. Occasionally she sleeps from 8 or 9 PM to 5 or 6 AM, but mostly she still wakes once. Not too bad all things considered.
Brooke took this picture of me making breakfast. I left out the picture of me lighting the camp stove with Ellie strapped to my front. I think Children Services of Warren County might have something to say about that. Ellie spent almost the entire weekend strapped to my front. God bless the creators of such wonderful inventions!
It was a little cold at night and in the morning, but we managed.
Ellie seemed to enjoy camping about as much as she does anything else. She slept, ate, and pooped. As long as I was carrying her around, she was happy.
Introducing...the little professor. I think Nash is much cuter with his glasses which hardly seems possible, says his mother. From the first time he put them on, he has left them without a problem. They must be helping! The hope is that wearing the glasses will strengthen his eye so he doesn't have to have surgery in the future.
I bought a second wrap on Amazon because I
needed wanted a back up since I depend on it so much. I bought gray because it's my fav. I love, love, love Elles, but knowing her mommy and daddy love her even more than I keeps my affections in check. We will miss her when she goes back.
Walking to the campground playground hand in hand. Not staged and so sweet.
Art class.
Sticking with a butterfly theme, we made these mason jar candle holders thanks to Pinterest.
Ellie gained 2 pounds in a month, can roll over front to back since she was 4 weeks old, and is pretty adept at holding her head up. Add in cooing and smiling and this baby is one sweet girl!
Stella lost her first tooth! The one right next to it is ready to go anytime I get up the nerve to pull it out too. The tooth fairy is slipping on her job so in the morning I had to do some fancy footwork to make sure the tooth was gone and in it's place a dollar. I am terrible at remembering, but this time Mark forgot too. I almost cried because I felt like we just forgot about this big milestone for her. Such is the tale of the middle child!
Luke and Nash are by far Ellie's biggest fans. Nash asks multiple times a day, "How did Elles sweep?" Meaning, how did Elles (that's her nickname) sleep? It's adorable. Luke is always checking in to give her a smile and some sweet words and a kiss. He is good at feeding her too. All the kids have been helpful in some way caring for Ellie. Brooke feeds her in the car when we are on the go or picks her up when she's wailing and I'm busy with something else pressing. She even changes her diaper (of her own free will!). Nash and Stella will give Ellie her pacifier or rock her when she's crying in her car seat waiting to go somewhere. I love having a baby to love on. Her parents are doing well and we are still praying for them to get healthy so they can care for her.
A friend organized a tour of a local fruit farm for a few of us homeschool families one afternoon. It was ideal because it was timed perfectly with Ellie's visit. We dropped her off and then headed to have some fun.
We saw a couple of varieties of apples and the lady giving the tour cut open an apple to show us how they check to make sure the seeds are brown (instead of still white) so then know when to harvest.
After the tour we had a snack, cider and apple doughnuts for gluten eaters and kettle corn for us. The kids stormed the play set afterwards and then I had to drag ourselves back to pick up Ellie. I don't want to leave! is what I wanted to shout, but I didn't. I did my duty to God and our foster baby.
Mostly Ellie naps while we do school, but occasionally she gets right in the mix. It's funny that we have a school room, but half of our work is still accomplished at our kitchen table.
Warning: Disaster ahead!!! Brooke's always creating something in her room. This day they were making hats out of fleece from a pattern Brooke had in a sewing book. She doesn't know yet, but she's getting a real sewing machine for her birthday. I think this is going to be her favorite gift yet! Only 4 more days to wait. Eek!
Making birthday cupcakes from a Pamela's mix. This was the best GF mix we've ever used, but we made them on Friday for the party on Sunday and by then, they were dry. Good thing we sampled them Friday night while they were warm. :)
Mark had a birthday the day before Stella's. He came home from work on his birthday in the afternoon so I printed the letters and Brooke hung them up on his side of the garage for when he came home.
The kids fall past time is collecting buckeyes from the Buckeye tree in our yard. They love the process of cracking them open and then collecting them for some reason. I keep waiting for a squirrel to break into our garage and steal them all. I think we should put them out and then hide to see if the squirrels will come flocking.
I put Stella's presents out on the kitchen table the night before her birthday and since she got up before Mark and I did, this is what I found when I got up. Stella wearing her new leopard print dress (the girl's crazy for some leopard!), the hat Brooke made her with her name embroidered on the front and getting her nails painted. Brooke picked out nail polish for Stella, a lovely shade of blue. Brooke's never painted nails before so this was something new for everyone. She did a pretty good job on Stella, but realized it's hard to paint her own. Stella also got a lamp for the table beside her bed which is pretty cute.
On Stella's birthday the kids decorate the cupcakes and then Mark took them to Kings Island before the party. It was the "last" time of the season. I've heard that before. :)
It's a good thing I don't get worked up about having parties because these cupcakes would have sent me over the edge. They thought it was great fun and loved putting all that goop on the top.
We celebrated Brooke too which is so very handy since I'm not a big party type of mom. I love my kids, I just don't like having birthday parties.
It was a sleeping bag kind of birthday as Mark, Brooke and Stella got new sleeping bags. Trying the new bags out in the living room was kind of hot...and silly looking.
Mark's new sleeping bag inspired Nash to take a nap which are few and far between these days. He was sweaty hot when I woke him up, that little Nashy Boy.
I have soooo many sweet pictures of Elles, but I can't show them to you. I suppose it's a good thing because it would be "September in 100 pictures" instead. I do print them and give them to her parents and they'll be in our scrapbook if you'd like to stop by and see them. :)
The new sleeping bags beckoned the kids to play camping so I suggested they set up the tent in the backyard. They played for hours mimicking a St. George camp out complete with a service project, prayers and an activity. Their service project was picking up trash in the woods. So cute!
On some Tuesdays and Thursdays when Mark is home I drop Ellie off for her visit with her parents and then go and do whatever I want for a whole hour and a half. Sometimes I hit up the thrift store (and buy 99 cent dresses) and one time my mom came along and we went to lunch and popped in some shops in the small, historic town where Ellie's visits are held. It's a nice little breather in my very hectic week. I bought this ring while shopping with my mom and I love it. It's magnetic and I have one other insert to changes the whole look of it.
Part of Stella's birthday present was that she got her ears pierced. I never intended to wait so long, but up until now, Stella didn't seem mature enough to handle earrings. Mark took her while I took Brooke (and Ellie along) to the doctor. She was very brave and didn't even cry! They've been easy every since.
In the last five months we've gone from no one having glasses to now half of us wearing glasses. It's crazy! I went to get my eyes checked because I noticed I'm squinting a lot and also that when I drive at night, I end up with a headache. With it getting darker soon, I needed to do something about this. So my prescription isn't very strong, but the kicker is that I have an astigmatism. According to Google an astigmatism is...
a defect in the eye or in a lens caused by a deviation from spherical curvature, which results in distorted images, as light rays are prevented from meeting at a common focus.
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Okay, fine. I didn't even know what this meant at the time so I picked out glasses and waited to pick them up a week later.As it turns out wearing them feels a little like I'm staring into a fun house mirror. Things seem like they are titled slightly and it's very weird. I wore them for two hours the day after I picked them up and almost threw up. My mouth was salvating and all. I felt like I was sea sick so I called and had to go back to check things out. They said it would be strange going from no glasses to a prescription that treats an astigmatism, but that they don't want me to vomit. I appreciated that.
The doctor (a different one than the original) rechecked my eyes and said that my precription is exactly what I need. She told me that I have dry eyes which could make the adjustment extra difficult and that I should work up to wearing them more often. I am wearing them at night after the kids go to bed so if I feel sick I can just sleep it off. It's not been so bad, but at night I'm not usually walking around as much during the day so I feel less sea sick in general.
After I "break them in" I hope to wear them when I go grocery shopping so I don't squint down the aisles and when I drive mostly. Also in dimly lit buildings because when there is less light, I notice more strain. I feel very dorky in them and it seems like they exaggerate my oddly shaped nose, but I guess it is part of getting older. When I was picking them out I told the lady that I couldn't have glasses that were too trendy because I was at least 5 years behind the times. Hello, iPhone last year, and Facebook and Pinterest after everyone had long discovered them.
Nash is such a goof. He always goes for the laugh. He likes to entertain and the other night he was telling knock-knock jokes at dinner and after he delivered the punchline he told me, "Mom, you're supposed to laugh!" Ha, Ha, Ha. Brooke then leaned over and whispered that my fake laugh was "pathetic" and needed work.
We are learning to chant the
Sanctus which translated into English means...
Holy, holy holy is the Lord of hosts. Heaven and earth are full of Your Glory. Hosanna in the highest. Blessed is the one who comes in the name of the Lord. Hosanna in the highest. It is beautiful even when we sing it. ;) Mark says everything in Latin sounds cooler. We sing the Sanctus in English at Mass, but as Mark says, it sounds so much cooler in Latin. Right, honey?
We keep on keepin' on and I suspect it will be the holidays before long. I think Ellie could get to be with her parents full time by the end of January which will be the 6 month mark. After that, having "just" 4 kids will seem so easy until the next babe comes along. Hope you are enjoying fall in your parts. I'd love to hear from you. #leaveacomment. Thanks for stopping by!
