Christmas Outtakes

We've had our share of infamous Christmas memories.

Like the year Gavin was a toddler and sneaked downstairs before anyone else was awake and ate all the individual chocolates out of the advent calendar.

Or the next year when Maddie climbed onto the dining room table and ate the gingerbread house.

We've had kids open presents that were not intended for them and kids open presents early that were intended for them.  Then there was the child who got up in the middle of the night to re-wrap the presents he opened, in an effort to make right his wrong. 

One year we had hundreds of praying mantises hatch from our Christmas tree and cover the wall by the tree and the presents under it.  

I've even had to perform the Heimlich maneuver on one of my children on Christmas Eve, and the child was so disturbed by the incident that it ruined his entire Christmas!

This year has been mild in comparison, but we have had a few Christmas outtakes.

Try as I might, we could not avoid sickness this season.  Alaine and Maddie both caught a fever virus right after Thanksgiving, but it was mild and passed within 48 hours. 

Just this week, Macie caught a different fever virus.  She had a mild cold before she got a sudden high fever on Saturday.  She still ate well and actually slept better, both for naps and at night.  I thought  it might be roseola.  Her symptoms were textbook, and sure enough, she broke out with a light, lacy rash on Tuesday, confirming my suspicions.

Our medical concerns didn't end there.  Earlier this month, we were in the urgent care center when Macie scratched her eye (a corneal abrasion).

We were given antibiotic drops and a pain reliever and by the next morning, you almost couldn't tell it had happened!

We got several strange photos of Alaine in December.  Both of her top teeth were loose and instead of pulling them out, she played with them and let them dangle until they literally fell out.  We called her Nanny McPhee.

While my girls have had a wild month, my boys have stayed healthy and whole.

Gavin celebrated his 14th birthday a week ago.  He wanted no fanfare but had a blast when we spontaneously got a pizza to eat in the car while we were running errands.  Then he had a friend over to eat dinner, play chess, and watch crazy YouTube videos.  Maybe we would have had some funny outtake photos, except I forgot to take any photos at all.

We're moving into the last weekend before Christmas and we pray it stays free of sickness or injury.

The only downside is the fact that we've had four, yes four, separate invitations for Saturday evening and we can only accept one!

3/4

Macie turned 9 months old yesterday.  She has been on the outside longer than I carried her inside.(She was born over two weeks "early" so she had a head start on life!)

She is no longer a skinny baby, struggling to maintain her weight.  At her well-check today she weighed 19 pounds, 10.5 ounces.

She is a mover. She speed-crawls through the house, finding and picking up all the teensy-tiny specks on the floor.  She pulls up and cruises around furniture so not much is out of her reach. 

She loves books, but finds paper books much more fascinating than board books.  If we can draw her away from those, her favorite books have pictures of babies or animals.  I enjoy reading her books that we saved from when the older kids were babies and toddlers.

She sleeps through the night or wakes up once to cuddle and nurse. (And on a rough night, sometimes she wakes up two or three times.)

She has three teeth and two more on the way.

She loves to eat.  We've practiced baby-led weaning from the beginning so she prefers to feed herself. The only food she has turned down is turnip greens.  She loves chicken, avocado, applesauce, carrots, green beans, oranges, beef, banana, chicken and rice soup, sweet potatoes, white potatoes, tomatoes, eggs, Cheerios, and bread. The recommendations have changed since my older kids were babies so Macie also enjoys a thin spread of natural peanut butter. Her absolute favorites, though, are pasta with meat sauce and broccoli!

She loves the bath but doesn't like to get dressed afterwards.  She loves music.  She loves, I mean loves, the vacuum cleaner.  She loves to screech and hear her own voice. She says "ma-ma" and "bye." She waves. She has a temper and doesn't like to be told no.  She doesn't like to sit still for a diaper change. She doesn't like her car seat straps. 

She is 3/4 of the way to a year!

Mom Confessional, or Why We Took 2 Days Off on Our 2nd Week of School

I mentioned on the blog's Facebook page that even though we are officially back to school, we were taking two days off for summertime activities.  Years ago, when we began homeschooling, we decided that we wanted to take advantage of Brian's time off in the winter to wind down from the busy-ness of Christmas and enjoy some family time by putting the school books aside for a month. The caveat was that we had to begin school in August to make up for the lost month in the middle of the year.

From the very beginning, our school year has run August through December and then February through May.  Because most of our friends are still fully immersed in summer, we let our August schedule be flexible.  We hit the books but also allow plenty of wiggle room for the fun opportunities and invitations that arise.  

We started the school year mid-week, on August 3, easing into our subjects one at a time.  Then dawned week two of school. Over the weekend, we were asked to come to a Monday evening picnic dinner.  This didn't affect our school day, other than provide great motivation for everyone to finish their work in time for the fun.  We arrived early so the kids could play.  They filled the time outside with pirates, hide-and-seek, and sardines, and guzzled lots of water, even though it was cooler and breezier than the weather on the proceeding days. Our meal was classic summer: hamburgers on the grill, potato salad, fresh tomatoes, and watermelon.  The kids ate on the dock, while the adults (and Macie) sat at the picnic table.  

The men tinkered with a lawn mower after dinner, but when Macie started to get sleepy, we gathered our things to go. The kids led a campaign to all spend the night together.  (I remember doing that as a kid and not understanding why my parents rarely said yes!) Alas, we took our own kids home for showers, bedtime, and a new school day on Tuesday.  

So far, so good, right?  We managed to do school and have fun with our friends.  We even had time to lay around-- drooling, smiling, and playing with a ring stacker, too.  ~wink~  

Over the weekend, though, Gavin, Maddie, and Owen had received another invitation, this time to spend Wednesday at the water park.  My mom and sisters take them every year and it's an annual tradition so I was not about to be the mean mom who said no. The school books were gladly shelved, but we counted their day as P. E. (Really!)

I had the youngest three home with me so we went out for ice cream.  (Since I'm still dairy-free, it was sorbet for Macie and me.)  We also read books together.  Ben and I took turns reading out loud and no one even cared that they were technically history books and counted as school!  It was fun to read together without the distraction or noise of the older kids.  Then I let them indulge in some shared Wii time while Macie napped.

On Thursday, we continued the streak and took off from school again.  We went to the library to turn in our final lists for the summer reading program.

I guess we could have waited to go in the afternoon, but we wanted to see the magic show the library was hosting in the morning.

I guess we could have done school in the afternoon when we got home, but we decided to consider the library school for the day in order to spend the afternoon reading (school?) and cleaning the house for Owen's birthday party (life skills!).  Plus, that day was my 15th wedding anniversary so I declared it a family holiday.

And speaking of parties, this full week was sandwiched between two weekends of birthday parties. First we celebrated my dad's 60th with a surprise party.

Dad with all 10 of his grandchildren

Macie took the dinner roll right off of my plate!

Then this weekend we celebrated Owen's 10th on Saturday with a "dress as a movie character" party...

...and on Sunday, we had a family dinner to celebrate the collection of August birthdays, It reminds me of the summer I was pregnant with Alaine...the summer of too many cakes.

I had a friend tell me recently that she plans to start school this week but is only committing to three days a week until after Labor Day.  I like her plan!

Check Up and Check In

Life was a tad crazy in July.  Normally,  a busy schedule is out of my comfort zone and I crave days at home with quiet and order, but the kids and I have loved this summer of friends, outings, food, and activity.  We found a happy balance between fun and keeping the house (and our minds) in order.

Brian has had one of the busiest summer seasons on record which is a good thing for business but tiring at the same time.  He has managed to squeeze in some time for fun, though.

Some things were put on the back burner for a time and we declared it okay.  We ate a lot of sandwiches and meals on the go.  (One night we ate BLTs and everyone raved over it!  Go figure.) We ate out more than usual.  We read in the car instead of the couch. Macie learned to sleep in the ring sling. Blogging sort of stopped altogether.

This summer was about relationships, not rules and routine.  Here are some of things we did while I was away from the blog:

Macie had her 6-month check-up. 
She turned 6 months on July 10, but her appointment was scheduled later in the month.  She weighs 16 pounds 9.5 ounces, which places her in the 53rd percentile.  After struggling with weight gain as a newborn and then stabilizing around the 5th percentile for months, this is monumental! 

She is scooting forward and trying to crawl, but she can't figure out how to push up onto her hands and her knees at the same time. 

She started solid foods at 6 months, too.  We practice baby-led weaning so most of what she eats, she feeds herself, but I help if we are out or if it's going to be super messy.  For example, I let her eat homemade pasta sauce off of my finger rather than let her go at it with her own fingers.  Her favorite foods so far are broccoli and tomatoes.  

She wasn't impressed with cucumber, but from the looks of that photo, neither was I!

We took the kids to see The Secret Life of Pets at the theater.

My mom and sisters watched Macie so we didn't have to keep a baby happy...in the dark... in a seat... at nap time!  I love a movie theater experience.  Even movies I'd never watch at home (I'm a party pooper with animated movies.) are fun on the big screen!  

We spent a week of mornings at VBS. 
The kids had a blast!  They sang and crafted their way through the week.  They bonded with friends and made new ones.  The theme was "Submerged," featuring submarines and sea animals, and it focused on diving deep into God's word. 

Gavin assisted during recreational time.  He was part of a team of two adults and three teen guys. During their break, they had a time of Bible study and fellowship together.

Last year, I helped in the kindergarten class which was okay.  This year I worked at registration and loved every minute of it.  It satisfied all of my organizational needs. I was also surprised at how much I enjoyed greeting all the kids and parents each day, getting to know them, and learning their names. Macie was a trooper and napped in the sling each morning, sleeping through all the commotion around us.  When she woke up mid-morning, she smiled and visited with a variety of people and became special friends with anyone who would give her Cheerios.

I was particularly happy she kept up with naps because we had several afternoon/evening activities that week, too.  One day we went swimming at a friend's pool with a large group of friends.  Some of us continued the party at a new local pizza shop for dinner. Another evening, a friend grilled hot dogs and the rest of us brought sides.  The kids played basketball and hide-and-seek outside while the adults chatted on the deck. 

On the Sunday following VBS, we had a church picnic with a 14-foot water slide and snow cones.  It was 95 degrees, but we had a fantastic time.  Two of my kids ate four snow cones apiece and I didn't mind a bit.  Maybe that's because I ate three myself!  

I neglected to get any photos of the event, but Brian got this one of the teenagers helping to roll the air out of the water slide when the picnic was over.

We're watching the third season of The Great British Baking Show on our local PBS channel. 

There hasn't much extra time for TV, but we got hooked when season 1 was still available on Prime.  It's been a fun way to unwind once a week.   It's renewed the kids' interest in the kitchen, too.  Owen wants to be a baker when he grows up so he and Maddie made starfish sugar cookies for their class at VBS and chocolate chip cookies for movie night at church.


Gavin went to 3-D Printing camp.
All my boys have been fascinated with 3-D printing since they learned that Lego prototypes are often printed this way. When we found out about a local camp...and when Gavin received a scholarship to attend...he jumped at the chance. Gavin is a man of few words these days, but we chatted about it every day on the drive home. Some people say the best time to talk with teenagers is late at night, but our sweet spot is while we're riding. 

Maddie turned 12! 
Birthday season has begun at our house.  We have 4 birthdays and an anniversary in a 5-week span. 

Maddie didn't have a party to celebrate, but our friends' 15th wedding anniversary was the same day so we invited their kids to eat with us so they could go out to dinner alone.

We put candles on our ice cream dessert and the kids played a very loud and competitive game of hot potato so I think we turned it into a party after all.

Other highlights of our summer:

• several birthday parties
• a library event where every kids who attended took home a bagged lunch  (My homeschool children were beyond thrilled at the typical school lunch fare.)
• a community theater production of Mary Poppins which has inspired Maddie to try out for a fall show
• a minor league baseball game
• a cool, rainy 4th of July cookout where the kids got to play in the rain
• a fireworks show on the warmer, sunnier 5th of July

We start school on Wednesday and I am sad to say good-bye to our carefree summer.  It's taking a lot of discipline to buckle down and not extend our summer by a few weeks, but I always keep August flexible anyway and I'll be thanking myself in January when we are able to take the month off. 

A Photo-Filled Pregnancy Update {33 Weeks}

I reached a mothering milestone this week.  I became the mother of a teenager.  Let that sink in for a moment.  The one who made me a mother is now 13!  And in a few short weeks we'll have a newborn in the house, too.

How far along? 

I'm about 33 weeks.  At 32 weeks, I started drinking a daily cup of red raspberry leaf tea, sweetened with honey or blackstrap molasses.  I bought my tea in bulk here.  It takes a lot of tea bags to drink a cup every day for 8+ weeks!  

(To read about the benefits of red raspberry leaf to pregnant women, click here.  To read about the benefits of blackstrap molasses to anyone, click here.)

 

 

Feeling:

I can feel my energy waning.  After breezing through the second trimester, I am needing to slow down.  It is difficult to be unable to maintain the pace I'm used to keeping, especially at this time of year.  My body is demanding it, though, and I'm having to rest between even the smallest of tasks.  Ironically I do better when I'm moving (walking, running, pushing a grocery cart, etc.) than when I am standing still in one place (washing dishes, singing in church, etc.).

I am such a morning person and it is only magnified now.  I wake early every morning to exercise or go for a run and I feel like I can conquer the world.  By evening,  I am exhausted, my back aches, and I wonder how soon I can get some sleep. 

Tests/Procedures: 

There was a bit of concern that I had lost weight at my two prenatal appointments last month.  (Surprising after this post, huh?)  My fundal height is still increasing, but I have lost weight instead of gaining for too long, so after my midwife ruled out the obvious causes (vomiting and fluid leakage), she suggested drinking protein shakes to give my body all the good stuff-- protein, vitamins, fat, and calories-- in one glass.  Since I am uncomfortable with protein powders or artificial ingredients, I am making my own natural protein shakes. 

As a precaution, I had a growth scan today. My amniotic fluid level was normal and Baby is appropriate size for her gestational age so no worries.  I had gained a couple of pounds, too.

Exercise:
One of my unofficial goals for the year was to run 1000 cumulative miles.  At the beginning of the year, it was an abstract idea and I had no idea if it was reasonable to achieve.  Then I got pregnant and didn't know how long I could continue to run.  By fall, though, I knew I would meet my goal.  On Saturday, I did it!

Running is more cumbersome now than it was a few months ago, but I'm hopeful that I can continue in some capacity until the baby is born.  The most challenging part is that my legs and lower abdomen start to ache by mile 3 or so, due to the extra weight I'm carrying in my belly.  My support bandhelps immensely. I kind of wonder what the neighbors think when they see me slog by.

Celebrations:
The girls and I attended a Christmas luncheon at my cousin's house last week.  Everyone brought gifts for our new baby girl.  Alaine already feels a little territorial about her new sister so she delighted in helping unwrap the packages and discovering what was inside.

And as always...

a list on Friday

1) As of tomorrow (Saturday), there are 5 days left before Christmas.  Even if I forget, Benjamin (6) will remind me.  The first thing he says when he gets up every morning is an exuberant: 

"It's {fill-in-the-blank} days until Christmas!"

2) Yes, he is a morning person, as are all of my boys.  (They get it from me.)

3) My girls enjoy staying up late and sleeping a little later in the morning.  (They get it from Brian.)

4) Today is our dog Finn's 3rd birthday.  We are still waiting for him to settle down and lose some of his puppy-ness.

5) We completed our 20th week of school.  We've been going hard since August and now it's time for our 6-week break.  Of course, my kids don't realize that I always sneak learning into our breaks!

6) Earlier this week, we drove to the beach to see the Christmas lights.  I forgot to charge the camera batteries so it was Brian's smartphone to the rescue!  The picture quality is "meh," but at least we have something to document the night.



7) I love wrapping gifts.  This year, I've been listening to podcasts while I work which equals double the fun!

8) I haven't sent in my registration yet, but I'm about 90% committed to running a half-marathon again this spring.  I'm also planning a 10-miler in March.  That means I need to start serious training in mid-January.  There's a mix of excitement and dread surrounding that.  Brian asked me why I would do it at all if I find it so scary.  I find it hard to put into words, but I guess I love the challenge and the sense of accomplishment. 

9) We made our annual before-Christmas dinner last night. Owen and I did most of the cooking and we spread the work out through the day.  We wanted Christmas music while we stirred and mixed and basted so we picked out 5-6 CDs, put them in order, and as soon as one finished, we popped in the next.  Yes, Owen (8) and I share an affinity for organization.

10) We spent a few hours last Saturday doing nothing but looking at old December photos that are stored in folders on the computer. Photos like this one:

2008

and this one:

2010

Almost a Teenager

Gavin, our firstborn, turns twelve today!  Twelve years ago we became parents to a 9 pound, 4 ounce little boy who loved to eat and move, but didn't seem to need nearly as much sleep his inexperienced parents did.

And now he's almost a teenager. That idea excites him. 

He still doesn't need much sleep and gets frustrated if he's in bed past 7 in the morning.  He loves to talk, figure things out, build with Lego, draw, read mysteries, and tell jokes. He loves our cat, Dott, and he has a special bond with his little sister, Alaine.

He is suddenly growing taller and his face is more mature and losing the little boy look.  See how much he changed from April to October of this year!

Happy Birthday, Gavin!

Gathering the {November} Moments

The beginning of November was calm-- so peaceful and uneventful that I wondered if we were forgetting something.  Aside from the kids' weekly gym class and regular runs to the library and grocery store, our days never ventured beyond school, laundry, and keeping the bathroom clean.

We celebrated my sister's 21st birthday at a family dinner with soup and sliders.  Nothing boring about that but we had no responsibility beyond showing up.  I didn't even have to stress about a gift because we had purchased something we knew she'd love on sale back in the summer.

The extra hours at home afforded Owen some time in the kitchen.  He made his first batch of boiled cookies, a family recipe, ensuring that the recipe will be carried into the next generation.  He also made a batch of "acorn" cookies, an idea he found in  a cookbook he picked up at the library.

We set aside a chilly weekend to do a bit of trimming, yard clean up, and burning. 

Regardless of its primary purpose, you can't have a fire without marshmallows.  I love my marshmallows charred black.  Consequently, I ate more marshmallows than anyone else because in the kids' effort to get their marshmallows the  perfect light brown shade, they caught many on fire and passed them along to me.

In mid-November, a  virus hit a few of the kids with sniffly noses, sore throats and a cough, but it was nothing a little rest couldn't cure. 

It was a blessing to have a series of unhurried days before the fullness of the holidays arrived at the end of the month.

Then...the busy part of November started.  The weekend before Thanksgiving, we took a whirlwind road trip. 

(The mama-to-be gave birth three days later.)

That same weekend, we hosted Brian's family's annual Thanksgiving party.

Twenty of us gathered for dessert and lots of conversation. There was not a moment of quiet!

cranberry upside down cake

The thirteen (!) kids divided themselves into separate bedrooms. There was a peaceful room of all girls who talked and danced to the Frozen soundtrack.  And then there was a co-ed room that thumped and jumped and lived it up all evening long! 

an awesome pumpkin spice cake, but sadly I didn't make it so I have recipe to share

Brian was off from work the day before Thanksgiving so we took the day off from school, too.  There was a nasty nor'easter raging outside but we hunkered down inside to play a few games of Monopoly (Brian and the boys), watch The Sound of Music (Maddie and Alaine) and prepare Thanksgiving food (Owen and me).

homemade cranberry sauce

Brian and I surprised the kids with a Peanuts Thanksgiving lunch of popcorn, pretzel sticks, jelly beans, and buttered toast.

Our Thanksgiving weekend was complicated as another round of sickness made its way through our whole family.  We managed to celebrate on Thursday between  the fevers and coughs. We ate dinner with my side of the family on Thursday.

A few of us had the strength to decorate our tree on Friday.

But by Saturday, the weekend went down the tube. This holiday weekend will be one we will remember for years to come...and not in a good way.

I'm linking to my mom's monthly series, Gathering the Moments, where we reflect on the month that has passed.