This week

Some happenings this week…

We spent Saturday at the lake celebrating Joe’s birthday. The weather was wonderful and we did some sledding and ice fishing. Jena also did Popcorn Olympics with the kiddos! Nine little people and 6 adults made for a crazy (as always) and super fun day.

 

All the boys got to shoot Joe’s birthday BB gun. I never thought I’d be letting my three year old shoot a gun. Life in a hunting family… Although I mostly blame his uncle

 

We’ve been struggling with Lucy this week to take a bottle again. Between Christmas break and then having sick kiddos so much, Lucy’s hardly been to daycare and has had no need to take a bottle. Now she is on bottle strike. Luckily, I only leave her for about 2 1/2 hours at daycare so she isn’t really starving by the time I get there. She just thinks she is. But she’s super cute…

We had a special Valentine’s breakfast yesterday. $1 table cloth, $1 plates, $2 worth of stickers and puzzles, heart shaped donuts and there ya have it! We never sit down for breakfast together on weekday mornings, so it was fun to do something special.

Every year around this time I have to remind myself that parenting isn’t awful, it’s just that February is awful. We’ve had some pretty crabby days (can’t blame those entirely on the kids…) around here and everyone is ready to get outside again! We did some swimming at the Y and also played there yesterday. Dominic is doing drama camp at the Y and the rest of us spent a good chunk of time playing while we waited for him. The kiddos were making a maze out of giant Jenga blocks.

One of the goals for 2014 is to strip the wall paper off the twins’ walls and paint them. It is a big room. This photo represents an hour and half of work. I borrowed a friend’s steamer, which made a very, very tedious and time consuming task slightly less overwhelming. But only slightly. Apparently the steamer was too much for our electrical system, which sent Patrick upstairs yelling for Luke, “Dad! Mom blew a circus!”

 

 

Luke and I are off to a much anticipated date night tonight, with Lucy in tow, of course. I think we’re going to go crazy and do Applebee’s!

Our World

Here’s some of the things we’ve been up to lately…

Little Lucy has absolutely stolen our hearts. She is so sweet and such a happy, happy baby. She is never happier than when she is being talked to! She seems to be pretty used to the chaos around here, but there are many nights around 8:00 when the only thing that will settle her down is to be swaddled and left in a quiet room by herself. I feel ya, sister! Her brothers love her—especially Dominic who likes to get in her face and talk and sing to her. She looks quite a bit like Dominic still.

 

The boys still play together well, but I’m sure this fighting “stage” is here to stay. There’s lots and lots and lots and lots of wrestling in this house. It often begins as fun and always ends with tears. You can often hear them yelling at each other, “You’re a naughty word”—not “You’re a ______” but literally they will say to each other, “You’re a naughty word.” It is the ultimate in insults.

Patrick learned to tie his shoes today! And not to be outdone by his younger brother, Dominic learned a few hours later. Patrick was beaming all afternoon and reminded Dominic, “Isn’t it crazy that a six year old can’t tie his shoes and a five year old can.” You can imagine how well that went over.

Dominic is reading quite a bit and his favorite thing to read is the Bible. Not Bible stories, but the real Bible. Crazy.

 

Leo’s potty trained, Praise Jesus! He went to the potty kicking and screaming, but he is now officially potty trained! It’s shocking how much easier that has made my days.

 

We had Catholic Schools Week here last week. The highlight was having two School Sisters of Christ the King stay with us for two nights. The kiddos and the sisters played games for 4 hours on Friday afternoon. They spoke at our Pub Theology and a GodTeens panel as well. They are so amazing and it was a real joy to have them here!

 

We’re on round 5 of sickness around here. Poor Jackson’s had the flu twice now—violently. Everyone in the family has been sick once or twice except Lucy and I. Is it spring yet?