Happy Days

There have been some moments in the past couple weeks that have caused me to do a double-take, catch my breath and praise God, again, for this beautiful life.

This moment is kind of happy and sad. Look at all these babies in a row. But, sadly, they are also all sporting their "train video on YouTube" antennae.
Matt says I can't win them all.

 Sarah has been growing and wanting to stretch her wings quite a bit lately. She asked me last week if she could go take a run around the neighborhood alone.

Nope! But DAD CAN TAKE YOU IN THE MORNING!

She was so excited that she had trouble falling asleep that night. She laid out their clothes on her floor and told Matt to get ready, because she was going to run for a really long time.

The next morning.
 No, Matt is not wearing war paint. It's spackle dust from the schoolroom, of course.

Teaching Sarah the importance of stretching.

Coming home.

Rosy cheeks and more bonded than ever before.

Sarah teaching Matt the importance of re-hydrating.

 Also, we just discovered that carseats expire...and that our infant carrier met its untimely demise in December of 2011. So we ordered a new one as quickly as we could, worried that it wouldn't get here before our bundle of joy arrived. Little did we know that human pregnancies could last this long...

Right! Sorry! Focus, Anne.

 

So the UPS guy in the Big Brown Truck came and dropped off this delicate box for the children to mutilate into submission.
Matt got out his Gerber to cut the box open, but I told him to put it away...this was going to be good.
The children jumped on it and kicked it (boy, I hope that doesn't hurt the warranty) and had a jolly good time.

Then my tiny engineer, brilliant Joseph, found the seam and the tape to pull.
Smarty pants.

This was the last picture I have of that poor box.

Oh no, wait. THIS is the last picture I have of that poor box.
Yes, Sarah is still inside.

Sooooooo... pregnant forever and not-at-all hormonal or emotionally-revved Anne decided that she didn't like the fabric on the new carseat.

And she made Matt put the old cover on the new seat.
Oh, Anne, so NOT vanilla of you.

Then I borrowed Rose Karen and plugged her in, just to practice with the new buckle.
Then I cried because I just love babies.
Then Matt said I had had enough excitement for one day and needed to go to bed.
Happy, Happy Days.

I'm Still Here

Got a couple of text messages this past week...asking if I have delivered yet.

 

"Heard you were in labor! How did it go?"

Ummmmm.... Gosh, I hope it went well.

But, MAN! I have a TON of excess baby weight to lose this time around!

 

My Sweet Sarah is getting anxious about how tired I have been lately. She has been leaving notes around the house for me, following me around, asking if Daddy would be ok with me doing "that chore", and tattling when Matt gets home from work.

 

"Daddy! Guess what Mommy did today that she shouldn't have?!?!?"

I think she numbers the offenses, but I am too tired to remember for sure.

 

The good news in all of this is that I am almost positive I will deliver this baby at one point or another in my lifetime.

 

The reasons I am sure that Number 5 will make an appearance within the next 3 or 4 weeks:

 

1) I am not an elephant...(please don't look back at the cell pic from above. The camera adds at least 45 pounds, rendering #1 questionable.)

2) I have been nesting for so long that my list of chores to complete before the baby arrives has stepped into Matt's biz. I am currently building a patio.

3) My house has never been cleaner. I follow my children around with a broom, dustpan, and vacuum.

4) Instead of putting Do Laundry on my daily list last week, I wrote "Give away clothes".

 No, seriously.

5) I walk into the bathroom and forget why I am there.

6) I cried during a toothpaste commercial this week.

7) I had to number my water bottles around the house so I could remember how much I was drinking. (This turned out to be a terrible idea, because Sarah goes around the house and refills them without telling me... I consumed eight 16.9FL OZ of Wegmans bottled Spring Water yesterday. I think.)

8) Matt swears that he is going to take my cell phone away if I don't stop texting him at work about:

-wanting to know where his power tools are

-needing another gallon of bleach

-crochet hooks and all that that implies

-threatening my OB if he tries to send me home after this next appointment

-how to sharpen lawn mower blades

-putting the house on the market

9) People keep telling me how fantastic I look. This is really just self-defense on their part. They tell me this because they are afraid I might sit on them if they say anything else.

10) I ironed my shower curtain this week...and offered ironing services to any and all parishoners at Church on Sunday.

 

Being The Parent

Sometimes, it is hard to be the parent.
Like when:


You have to drive in the car for the entire weekend with a motion-sick toddler.
And you don't complain.
You bring extra plastic bags, wipes and clothes.

You really want to present yourself as well-put together at Church, but all you can do is grab the box of 64 Crayola crayons for your tantruming 4 year-old and throw on a semi-crazed look.

You just walked in the house from a loooooooong day of work and the first child that greets you wants to take your picture.
So you smile.

You have to play "defender of the present-opener".
Without hurting anyone's feelings.

You try to read ONE, SMALL section of the Bible...and only ONE, SMALL child listens.
The other three are off, role-playing David and Goliath.
But you still read it for that one child.

You really would prefer that your two-year-old wore shorts.
 But he never smiles like this when he has a full outfit on.
So you let it go...

You have sleepovers on work nights because you haven't seen the children in forever...
and you kind of miss them...

You make a big deal about birthdays and baptismal days and the days she takes a shower, etc.
 But HEAVEN FORBID you forget another FEAST DAY!
So you celebrate that child, again.

And have another sleepover in the living room on a work night.
Complete with princess tent and air mattress.
Because, really, being the parent isn't so bad...and it just goes too fast to not appreciate these moments.

Nay Nay de Koala's Birthday

This summer was slightly hectic, to put it mildly.

Although I am not posting this until now, we really did celebrate Nathan turning 2 on his actual birthday! 

We try really hard to make each child's birthday fit their particular temperment and personality. Although Sarah wanted us to go to Hawaii for her birthday and Thomas would have us rent a jump house and a clown, Joseph and Nathan are VERY VERY VERY low key. Things like that would drive them crazy and they would be incredibly unhappy. Nice for Mommy that the low key birthdays come around in the fall...when I need to slow down a bit.

 

Pancakes for dinner

The three olders wrapped these presents behind closed doors. Most are pink, so I think I have a very clear picture of who spearheaded the whole ordeal.

"Chewing here, Mom!"

Sarah hand wrote and decorated birthday cards for Koala and gave them to him in a box she made herself!
So thoughtful, my girl.

Buzz picked out a motorcycle for Nate. He was so excited for the 5 days leading up to Nate's birthday, that he cried every time he thought about the gift. It was worth the wait though. Joseph's present was the favorite, hands down.

Tommy and Sarah picked out books for Nathan. But he really couldn't read them because of the crowd...and because he only had one hand from holding his gift from Buzz.



Never thought it would happen, but our children actually like documentaries more than cartoons.
They get that from their father.
Here is Nathan, holding America's Railroads- The Steam Train Legacy
So strange that they sit through these movies.



How low key, you ask?
He got a Rice Krispie Treat Cake.

Sarah also wrote Nathan a birthday poem and read it aloud to everyone.
Such a sweetie.



His ride-on motorcycle from Mommy and Daddy...and the one from Joseph.
It is hard to ride one-handed, this we learned.

I laugh just thinking about how much effort Nate puts forth to blow out candles.




Nathan's only desire for the day was to jump off the couch.
So he did.
A lot.

 

 

Teresa's Pictures/Why I Love Mike

The pictures after the ceremony were really fun! The wedding party had to behave, but the rest of us got to play around and take pictures of our own.

Papa, helping the girls cross the road.

My brother-in-law, Mike, is consistently the life of any and all Schwalm parties...which is strange, because he technically isn't a Schwalm.

Keep a sharp eye in the following pictures for the sharp dressed man in the grey suit.

 

These are pictures from my sister Teresa. I actually have zero pictures of me and Matt from the wedding, so it was "nice" to know that someone else was able to document the gigantic human being that I was that day. 



Rob was actually the original photo bomber for the three sisters picture.
But, look carefully.
"There is... another... Skywalker."



Yes, he is stomping through the rose garden.

Joseph and Nathan stripped halfway down after the wedding. Papa is helping them scope out red trucks and motorcycles on Main Street, Canandaigua.
 

The wedding party arrived at the reception, at the golf course next to the water, by boat.
Way cool.

Matt and Kylie's Wedding

This past weekend, my younger brother was married.

Wow.

I am sad that my pictures turned out so grainy and blurry. It may have been because my flash wasn't up to par with the darkness of the church. It may have been that my eyes were filled with tears of joy, and I really did think my camera was focused. Either way, the day was perfection.

The rehearsal. Father Joe, Matt and Ky.
Isn't Kylie classic?



Nathan with Honey. SO confused as to why we were at Church at nighttime.



The flower girls.



Practicing the LOOOOOOOONG walk down the aisle.



Peter and Stephen deserve medals. Their jobs were to watch over the ring bearers.



The tools necessary were cups and steel-toed boots.



Again, those ring bearers...AWESOME!



The morning of the wedding was psychotic...for everyone but me. Emily and Christina went out of their way, disregarding their own plans and preparation, to help me get the Pernot household in order.



Christina was so patient and so kind to Sarah.
If I hold a brush in my hand, Sarah starts to cry just thinking about having her hair brushed.
She sat still for Christina...who I will now refer to as Saint Christina of the Curling Iron.



SEE?!?!?!
She is SMILING!



I would have stopped doing Sarah's hair after the curls were set.
Christina has come crazy tenacity and Sarah's hair just kept getting better.



BESTIES!



Finished product.
Then Saint Christina of the Curling Iron went on to tame my crazy pregnancy hair, without mumbling or complaining.
Thank you, Girl!



Soooooo....because the ladies spent so much time at our house in the morning, Emily had approximately 30 seconds to do her own hair, makeup and get dressed. So she totally missed her ride with Peter to the Church and she had to put up with the hooligans in the BACK SEAT of a Suburban.
She must be able to change like Superman, though.
Because, seriously, look at that girl!



We made it to beautiful Saint Mary's in time for LOTS of cousin pictures!

The (other) happy couple.

Father and Mother of the Groom





Everyone always turns to look at the bride when she walks down the aisle. My eyes ALWAYS go to the groom. Best part of the entire ceremony is watching his eyes when he finally gets to see his future spouse!

Terrible picture.
Beautiful moment.



 This was a cool moment after the ceremony. Everyone had left the church and the little people went and sat on the steps next to Father Joe. He baptized all three girls in white, even making the trip to Long Island for Ella's baptism!



Being so, so silly.

Love the girls' expressions. You know EXACTLY what they are thinking.

Again, with the need for steel-toed boots.

The Skinny Sistas!

Try Again.

This is my favorite picture from the ENTIRE weekend.
The photo bomb of the century.
Every family has to have a Crazy Uncle Mike.
(Mike, I had to change my pants after I saw this picture.)



The Crew