New to US.

That's right, we got a Puppy!

 

And YES, she is that cute.

 

She is a Wire Fox Terrier, and her name is Piper.  She accepts her "Second Momma," attacks her "big brother," ignores the "middle" and is bewildered by the "baby."   So on the whole, she is fitting in well. 

New to "No Longer Three"

Happy Birthday to you
Fireman Doodle Dan!

Sadly, I forgot to grab the camera for this celebration, so all we have is the documentation of the newest addition to the fire attire.  A fleece jacket (best worn over a wool sweater, with sweat pants, on a day in the 60s).

New to Six

Happy (Super Belated) Birthday Izzie Rue!

 Showing off her loot.

Mommy provided the cake and candles.  Izzie, like any reasonably animal obsessed six year old, assumed that six candles on a cake were intended as a fiery enclosure for her newest barnyard pair.  Understandably, the goats made no attempt at escape.

Oh, and Luci would like you to know she is still TWO.

So Many Changes...

Dear Readers, we apologize for the long absence. Life has been amazingly busy the last two weeks.  Excitement, growth, change... and at least one of us has a new out look on life now.

And it's a pretty cute one!

(More Changes to come...)

AL Champion Texas Rangers

Last night I was lucky enough to go the greatest sporting event I have ever witnessed. A great friend of mine, and a monk no less, was given 2 tickets to game 6 of the ACLS at the Ballpark in Arlington.


Needless to say, when he called the day before and asked if I wanted to go, I cleared my calendar and then I checked with my boss, I mean wife. She gave me the blessing, saying, "when else are you going to see a game like this" and knowing the Rangers, it might just be another 42 years!!


Colby Lewis pitched an incredible game, allowing only 1 run on a fluke play.The closer, Neftali Feliz, struck out former Ranger A-Rod on a called 3rd strike to end the game and send the Rangers to their first ever World Series!!

Here is video of the final pitch and celebration that ensued. Warning....this video contains grown men screaming like little girls!

HELLO WORLD SERIES!!

Paying Attention?

In an effort to increase spiritual awareness and decrease paternal stress, and with the knowledge that a pea sized offering a sugary bliss would eventually be outgrown, I relented to the temptation to bribe my children into Gospel awareness.  They needn't explain concepts or expound upon parable implications, I simply asked for a word, a name, anything at all to show that they were paying attention, with the hope that genuine interest would eventually replace skittle driven ambitions.

What pleasure I felt with the success of my plan, when Peter leaned close to me during mass and whispered, despite his grinning from ear to ear, "I know what it was about, Mom!  I know!"

"It's about some guy who had ten leopards!"

He was later rewarded with a skittle and a discussion on leoprosy.

Small Successes

I woke up this morning and realized it is Thursday, and my successes, well I could not think of one.  This week has been all about maintaining rather than progress, which is not to imply that maintainance is not success, but rather, that the successes are a little harder to find.  So...

1.  I remembered to whisper an aspiration to the Holy Spirit when childhood affection was replaced by agression, allowing my own temper to be kept in its proper place.

2.  I started the school day on time and checked my email at the lunch break instead.

3.  I read three books to my little fireman who had not enjoyed mommy's instruction during school time.

Although these are all things I would normally consider an expectation for the day, it is good to have a week in which you are reminded that normal is a gift of grace as well!


Check out the Success of other Moms this week at Faith and Family Live!

Does This Count as Success?

"It’s important for moms to recognize that all the small successes in our days can add up to one big triumph. So on Thursday of each week, we do exactly that." 


1.  I took a sick day.  With a fever, body aches and a husband away for 48 hours, we patronized the fast food industry, left the dishes on the counter and our crumbs on the floor and enjoyed a day on the couch between A. A. Milne's Winnie-the-Pooh and the BBC's Life Series. 

2.  The three days after the infirmary cleared, I realized why moms NEVER take sick days.  But despite being behind in absolutely everything, I managed to not get overwhelmed.

3.  As the week progressed I actually made it out of bed and was completely dressed before the kids got up, which, in a small house with many sleeping babies is quite a success.  Of course, the majority of the credit belongs to the Guardian Angels who covered the little sleeping ears, but for my part, I did get up on time!

Fire-Man School

"Mommy, is dere any writing in Fire-Man School?"

"Yes, Doodle, I think so."

 After a thoughtful pause, "um, no.  No, Mommy, dere is not any writing, no, not really..." 
"No... They get, well someone gets a REALLY BIG match.  And they put fire on it!  Then they put the fire on something else.  Then they put water on the fire.
...and yeah, that is really all they do."

 

And that is how you raise a little fire man.

Experiment

 

 

Our first official science experiment.  

 

Blue Celery.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

(The book said to use red, so it will be a shame if an abundance of pink Easter egg cookies are to blame for a poorly discolored veggie.)

 

 

 

  

Now we are watching... 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

and waiting...

Small Successes

It’s important for moms to recognize that all the small successes in our days can add up to one big triumph. So on Thursday of each week, we do exactly that.

1. I am still doing push ups! (The success being in the "still" rather than the "doing push ups," which remain a humble attempt to get my nose closer to the ground a pathetically few times ever morning.)

2. One evening, I took a moment to consider that the day had been hard, the night before short, and the frustration, anxiety and general feeling of being overwhelmed just might be affecting my ability to reason, if not certainly my ability to be charitable. So I closed my mouth, and succeeded in not responding to that comment, which didn't seem nearly as irritating the next day.

3. And finally, I am succeeding in stopping myself from working on this post, and returning to the things that are more important right now; children, schooling and getting to our appointments.

Rangers 10 - Marlins 1

So tonight was Peter's first game of coach pitch baseball! It was an exciting event and all had a good time. Being the head coach I was a little nervous as to what our first game entailed, considering we were up against last seasons first place team, the Rangers.

All of our kids played great, given that 7 of the 9 have never played organized baseball. Despite some untimely bathroom breaks, lots of overthrows, a ton of strikeouts, and an opponent that put 5 runs on the board in the bottom of the first inning, Peter, and the rest of the Marlins, gave it a valiant 5 inning effort, but came up just a few(9) runs short of a win.


Peter played catcher and really enjoyed being behind the plate. He did a great job and is starting to really grasp the concepts of the game.


The team was cheered on by the whole family, including some cousins who came out for the night. We look forward to a wonderful season and many more years to come of little league ball.
It was the first game of the first season for this budding little ball player, who when I tucked him into bed tonight and asked what he thought about baseball, he replied, "Dad, it was the funnest thing ever."

P.S. Peter went 2-3 with 2 singles and the teams only RBI. (Run Batted In for those non-baseball fans)

Success Again!

It’s important for moms to recognize that all the small successes in our days can add up to one big triumph. So on Thursday of each week, we do exactly that.




1. I successfully did four push ups this morning! I know that doesn't seem very impressive, but doing four means that yesterday I did three, and that all week I have also subjected myself to an equally modest amount of lunges. Castles are built with small stones!

2. I, without shedding a single tear, successfully did a little less with dinners this month so I could spend a little more on diapers. Maybe next month Luci will see why purchasing Fillet Mignon is so much more enjoyable than a large box of diapers...

3. I loaded and unloaded the dishwasher twice every day this week, meaning, the stack of dishes in waiting never grew higher the rim of the sink. They don't seem nearly as depressing when not spilling out all over the counters.

Reading Before Bed

And no, neither of these pictures were staged, just the wonderful reality I walked into after cleaning up the kitchen a few nights ago.

What a blessing these kiddos are!

Cuddle Bugs

Luci has been studying hard in the classroom...

Or maybe "reading" is just another excuse to cuddle with her big brother.


In fact, Luci is so fond of it that cuddling has become an official activity in our house. I was refused a hug the other day, without hesitation, because, and I quote, "no, my cud Pia now!" And when I reminded Isabelle of her horses accidentally left to pasture on my living room floor, I was put in my place with an exasperated response, "I can't now mom, Luci needs me to cuddle with her." But not all the results of cuddle time are heart ache and rejection for Mommy. The other children have learned well the manipulation of childhood infatuation. Now, before I can summon the composure to once again interrupt my work to address the frantic screams of "No Luci, NO, not the..." my children suffer a severe bi-polar attack and in a remarkable display of vocal tenacity, they begin to express delight and amazement at how they just realized the sibling in the other room desperately wants to cuddle, immediately. Within moments the unsuspecting bystander is being lead down the hallway with Luci and her blanket in the lead.

Once I, by way of the voice in the other bedroom, found myself subject to a violent need for physical connection with my fourth child, the only drawback being that, as pictured above, the official act of cuddling requires you sit sideways in the chair. As my initial attempt at "cuddling with Luci" was exactly what you would expect of a mother sharing a chair with her child,... sideways... I have not suffered any subsequent attacks.

But Luci, thankfully, continues to need it with her siblings daily.

Small Successes ~ Time

1. After refusing a fireman, putting off a little chef and narrowly avoiding a fighter jet pilot, I successfully found the time to join a little workman in the tedious but rewarding task of Lego piling, categorizing and distribution, all with the use of a five inch dump truck.


2. I successfully made use of the three hours between my normal bed time and my husband's return home from his eighth evening shift in a row, all to enjoy one hour together, alone. An hour can be worth a lot of time.

3. I watched my little boy discover his love of reading for the first time, and I succeeded in recognizing what a blessing that moment was.

48

That is how many pairs of "big girl" panties I have washed in the past week. At least, I am assuming that is how many, as Luci only owns nine pair and I have found myself rushing through a hasty load of laundry five different times after dragging my knuckles across the empty bottom of her drawer. To add to this are the three pair we went through this evening.

The first, saturated during the creativity explosion that contributed to the construction of Luciana's first ever "Dat neat one, Mom!" building. Regrettable, but understandable.

The second puddled developed after a shower of attempted coy smiles, batted eyelashes and "my done, peezzz," all delivered in a way that would have cracked a mother of fewer children, had failed to produce her release from one bite of ham. Questionable, but forgivable.

The third, Undeniable. In the midst of bed time activities, while removing her virtually empty cup from the table and becoming aware of the time passed from the previous puddling, I attempted a proactive solution but was firmly rejected. Left to pondered the genetics that could produced such a substantial bladder in so small a child, I was startled to find her return momentarily saying "yook momma" with knees that were sopping and a grin that communicated extreme delight in her little joke.

She finished the evening in diapers, and I put the last three panties in the wash.

And Luciana's status as potty trained depends entirely upon how the washer and I feel about "big girl" panties in the morning.


Although Luci is seemingly unmotivated in her bathroom habits, she has taken a solid interest in clothing. So enjoy some interesting pictures of her current interest.

She is too focused on her work to smile at me.

She was actually having to work at not letting her cheeks grin.

She has improved slightly since these pictures were taken, although with this improvement has come a regrettable decline in the fashionable distinctions at bed time.

She voluntarily turned around so I could get a picture of her back half.

One VERY Expensive Babysitter.

Welcome back Success!

So last week, along with the start of a New (School) Year, I resolved to be successful again, along with all the Ladies at Faith and Family Live.

And this week...

1. I am successfully getting this post up!

2. I successfully maintained an attitude of passive resignation, neither rejoicing when we were ahead last Friday, nor despairing when we were behind by the following Tuesday. We have a long year ahead and swollen legs, high fevers and wet panties will not cause me to waver yet!

3. I took down the cards and evicted the bunnies. But I still don't know what to do with them.

I love to Cook

I love the way onions, sauteed in a pool of butter, makes the entire house smell like home and the way garlic can making anything taste better. I love the waves in the oil before you lay in the chicken, and the perfect crust of a medium high pan sear. I love the browned edges of a roasted red potato and the way blue berries pop in the middle of pancakes.

But more than any thing else, I love sharing this love with my four little chefs.

In the pursuit of my hobby, Luci and Daniel have also discovered a love for cooking, as well as fashion.

And who wouldn't want to share a passion with someone who thinks hats are as much a part of cook-wear as the apron?

Luciana has started potty training.


She is far more relaxed about it all than we are.

The Day has Come

School starts tomorrow. Isabelle wishes it started yesterday. Peter has been silent about it all. And Daniel laments the loss of summer. But then, he is three, he laments many things right now.

For my part, I love our classroom. It was literally no more than studs and imagination two years ago, and today it is my favorite room in the house.



It is clean, today, and every thing has a place and it's place has it. The order and simplicity seem to promise that the potential of this year lack only our desire to be realized.



Here is to a year of exploration and wonder!

Happy Birthday Luci!

Two years ago today we were blessed to have this little one join our growing family. Every moment since she was born, she has brought us so much joy, laughter and happiness.


HAPPY BIRTHDAY Luciana Maria!

A month ago...

A month ago we delivered our baby boy. The piano is still covered in cards, but all the flowers have wilted and been thrown out by now. I find I don't know what to do with the cards. They have begun to gather dust under them, and behind them, because they don't really belong there, not forever. If only they would droop, and discolor; it is much easier to know what to do when that happens.

I met a woman in the store the other day. She was very nice, and asked me about my children. As I stood there, with a basket full of groceries in a checkout line walled by Tabloids, a song my parents listened to in high school playing in the background, I wanted to tell this stranger that I had another baby. That I had carried him four and half months. That I had held him. That his name was William. But like the cards, that don't belong there forever, I didn't know what to do with these emotions. So I simply said, "Yes, these are my children... Yes, we are extremely blessed."

Perhaps that is why I don't know what to do with these emotions. We are extremely blessed, with four beautiful children, and with family and friends who understand that life begins not when we acknowledge it, but when God gives it. And because of this understanding, we were blessed by so many prayers and so much support in our loss, that we could not be unaware of your love for us. Thank you. Thank you for your prayers, for the meals, for the cards, for the flowers, and especially for helping us acknowledge William's life.