7 Quick Takes

1~ My brain is so not what it used to be.  The short term feels non-existent way more often than I'd like.  I guess  the four kid thing finally caught up to my good ole memory.  I'm so sad!

2~ FND was amazing as usual.  Gregg had to bring the "kennel" for John John because that sweet lil puppy just can't be contained otherwise, and his mama and I cannot have any kind of a cohesive conversation if that boy's not trapped.

3~ Book study filled my cup just as expected.  I have lots of great nuggets to chew on...

• "I need more of You.  I desire more of You in this situation."
• How are you going to give glory to God as you grow up?
• To St. Monica from her spiritual director: "You need to stop talking to Augustine about God, and start talking to God about Augustine!"
• Rise on time.  Stay recollected.  Glorify God in your eating and drinking.
• Exaggerate the good and positive to effect a change.

4~  We have NO plans the rest of the weekend.  I don't remember the last time that happened.  I love having a blank slate

5~  We will celebrate St. Therese one week from today.  She begins October for us, one of my favorite times of year.  I'm looking forward to planning a sweet feast day for us and some dear friends.

6~  "I can rally."  Courtney looked it up.  "rally:  1 a: to muster for a common purpose.  b: to recall to order.  2 a: to arouse for action  b:  to arouse from depression or weakness  3 a: to come together to renew an effort.  I foresee lots of rallying in my future.  This might just be my new favorite phrase/action.

7~  We went to noon Mass twice this week!  We cashed in on a gem of a parish that's literally minutes from our house, and the wonderful, holy priest offers the Holy Sacrifice in about 20 minutes.  Now, I'm not one to look for a short Mass, but when you're going with four children, 20 minutes is great.  The kids asked to go back...they really enjoyed it.  Big score in the grace department!

Lookie Here...

Jacob's latest creation...

Last night's dinner...homemade calzones.

Last night's dessert...cupcakes from Sophi P. Cakes=pure heaven.

The gadget that will allow me to perfect Oreo Truffles...make them into cupcakes!

My latest ebay steal:  new with tags cupcake shoes ($9 with shipping).  They should fit for her birthday and match her dress that Nana's making.

My littlest cupcake showing her inner genius.

Ava's Birthday Cake!

This Is How We Wake Up

Morning cuddles with "ba ba ba".

Ava trying to wake up, Annelise saying "What's taking so long?", and Mary-Grace trying to let go of those fingers.

Mary-Grace still working those fingers, Ava waking up enough to play with the baby, and Annelise saying, "What the heck are you trying to do to me?"

Just Because

Couldn't you just eat her?

Today's Cupcakes

Here is my bread store purchase from today:  $15.33!

2 loaves butterbread

2 regular loaves white bread

1 giant loaf white bread

1 loaf whole wheat

6 packs of 20 tortillas

1 pack hamburger buns

1 pack sandwich thins

1 pack of 6 large bagels

Post bath sister lovin'.

And these little "cupcakes" are the shoes I scored on ebay for my littlest cupcake for next spring.  Couldn't resist.

This is the batch of cupcakes that my cupcake friend showed up with today...I ate six, I think.  She left four for Phil and I to share...he never saw them.  They were delish!

And here is sweet John John in the only place we could think of to keep him still for more than a nanosecond. We even tried blocking him in with the loveseat, but he got through a small crack.  He also discovered how to turn our tv on and off, much to Joseph's chagrin.  John was proud of his mischief.  Hehe.

Today's looking better...

It got off to a rocky start, but my littlest is now sleeping, my middle is at school, and my bigs are currently outside and NOT dying from the heat.

The coffee this morning was grander than usual, school is about to finish up nicely, and the afternoon brings a promise of naps, a play date (kids and moms!) and an evening of listening to Papop sing at the park.

Oh, and the laundry is caught up.  Life is good.

But I still want a cupcake.

One of those days...

...I need a cupcake something fierce.

7 Quick Takes

1~  After a morning of playing in the back yard, I told the kids they needed to shower before rest time.  Then, in a shameless attempt to buy myself some more cleaning time, I offered Mary-Grace a dollar to bathe Ava.  Ava caught wind of the money offer, so I offered her a dollar if she cooperated.  Worked like a charm.  I could potentially go broke with this kind of deal, but it's very tempting to repeat it on a nightly basis for the next few years until Ava can tend to herself.

2~  FND:  Green Apple Bite Smirnoffs hidden in ghetto paper bags with our names written on them....pancakes....pigs in blankets....Pioneer Woman cookbooks....girls singing Barbie songs but changing the words to make it a Boy Scout cheer....boys disappearing for hours in their Legos and Mars Missions....juggling babies and crankies and drinks and flipping pancakes and waiting on daddies/husbands.  Perfect way to end a week.

3~  We started school on Tuesday.  The first two days went smashingly well.  The second two were good enough.  I'll take it.  I'm so glad I waited.  It was a gentle start and worth the wait.

4~  Annelise is flying on her hiney.  She's going to have great abs and hip muscles.

5~  I rearranged my den today.  I might take pictures tomorrow if I finish up all that's in my head.

6~  Cool weather, WHERE ARE YOU?

7~  More fun tomorrow...a morning with just the baby, afternoon naps, Mass, and take out with Courtney and our four babies.  Can't wait.

Ava-isms

"We had language muffins for snack today."  (English muffins)

"I love carbonated drinks!  They just make me happy."

While playing at the Hamiltons':  "Mom, it's raining!  Now we'll have to stay here for the rest of our lives!"

She's something else, this love of mine.

I don't want to forget...today's joys

...the joy of waiting for our FND friends to arrive (and waiting to have my Smirnoff).

...two new lipsticks and letting my friend try them out.

...watching John John play Wii Outdoor Challenge.

...Annelise's kisses and sweetness.  This kid is totally a cupcake.

...a great nap.

...girls playing Barbies.

...boys playing Legos.

...babies playing sweetly tonight.

...my husband doing the dishes.

...all of this and it's only Friday night.

7 Quick Takes

1~  Annelise will not crawl.  She will however get almost anywhere she wants to go by scooting on her butt.  It is adorable.  She is so lady like in her demeanor, and I just imagine her deciding that dirty hands and knees are so not worth it.  Sliding on her rump is working just fine.

2~ Our bathroom tile will be installed on Monday!!!  It will be so nice to have two toilets again...with five people needing a potty, having one is just a pain.  I am so grateful to Andrew Bollich who has offered his time and expertise to help us get this done.

3~  I am out of coffee creamer and being forced to drink what I refer to as ghetto coffee (milk and truvia).  Wal-Mart jacked up the price by fifty cents a bottle.  That just seems crazy. I might be permanently out.  This might be the way I will kick the coffee habit.  I'm checking around for a better price.  If I don't find one, at least I know that it will actually be a treat when I do buy some.

4~ If the next two days go as planned, I am leaving town on Sunday morning for a 24 hour getaway before we start school on Tuesday.  Can. Not. Wait.  (I'm bringing the baby and my Smirnoff Ice.)

5~ I am very much looking forward to FND.  Beignets, eggs, sausage, pina coladas.

6~ I bought stuff this week to have a cupcake party for Annelise's first birthday.  I know that first birthday parties are really for the parents, but I am really looking forward to celebrating her first year with a reasonable amount of gusto.  She is such a joy, such a sweet little cupcake.

7~ I am in love with all things cupcake.  It is just contagious.  After a whole summer of hanging out a whole lot with the Hamiltons and their cupcakes, I have caught the cupcake love.  At first, I thought it was precious and fun and so sweet to see cupcakes at their house, and also so sweet to see joy in my friend's face.  But, by George, it's caught me.  And since she doesn't have a little girly girl to have a cupcake party for, I'll just have to do it for mine.  She got the rough and tough linebacker who's learning to be gentle with my girly girl.  One day, these cupcakes will be great friends.  I can feel it.

Has It Really Been a Whole Year?

photo credit:  Charlotte

One year ago yesterday, August 31, 2009, (when I was 7 months pregnant) I was present for the birth of my godchild, John, while in the room next door, another friend delivered her 18 week baby who was stillborn.  One mother grieved as one rejoiced, and yet the prayers each offered for the other were so profound and so Spirit-filled that our Lord saw fit to have them deliver within minutes of each other.

The very next day, one year ago today, I got a call telling me that a sweet friend's three month old baby had died in his sleep.  I cannot imagine the pain and devastation of such a loss, let alone the kind of faith it takes to pick oneself up from such a tragedy and continue to be faithful.  I have been amazed by Colleen's faith over and over this last year.  She even shared her journey with Faith and Family last week:  http://www.faithandfamilylive.com/blog/dealing_with_loss/.

Having my fourth baby just two months later was a very different experience than my first three births because I was so acutely aware of the frailty of life.  I was much more cognizant of the fact that these little children have only been entrusted to me; they are not truly mine.  I think it was one of those grown-up realizations because it brought pain and joy in the same moment.

Today, we remember St. Bryce Philip and the sweet family who will forever miss him in this life.  Last year on All Saint's Day, Colleen posted this clip that had been made by her dear friend.  I started to watch it, but had to stop very quickly because I had a two day old baby, and the hormones just couldn't have handled the whole thing.  Time really didn't make that much better, but I was changed somewhere in my soul when I did watch it for the first time.  Here's the video (scroll down to see it): http://www.footprintsonthefridge.com/2009/11/the-feast-of-all-saints-tender-mercy-for-a-grieving-heart.html

God is good.  He is faithful.  He sees us through.