Bits and Pieces

Um, Ok.

 So I found my camera.

And I found the cord that plugs the camera into the computer.

And I found the time to put all the pictures from the camera onto the computer.

But now I have no energy to write.

 That's cool, though. I think the pictures speak for themselves.

Homeschooling- For Trill

It is 3:00am. Esther has decided that sleep is for the weak-minded. I try to explain to her that I would like to fall into that category for just today. She cares not. She starts singing the theme song to Star Wars (as far as we know) at the top of her lungs. I fear that the young padawans still in their beds will hear her and decide that they, too, despise sleep. I bring the Queen of the House downstairs and place her in her throne. As I stumble around the kitchen, looking for something that resembles a coffee maker, a thought occurs to me: ...

Nope. Nevermind. No thought. I need brain cells to have a thought. I just stand there, in front of the sink, blinking.

 

Ok. On with my day. The children descend upon our living quarters sometime after 5:00am, but definitely before 6:00am...because I told them that they had to remain in their beds until 7:00a, that's why!

I decide that fighting with them about staying in their beds for one more hour is really not worth it, since I have been awake with the Hot Mess for about 3 hours now and I am ready for lunch.

I make a mental note to be more firm about them staying in their beds until 7a, starting tomorrow.

 

After their usual breakfast of everythingbutthekitchensink, I have the children do something that I like to call "get ready for the day". I start with a gentle reminder.

 "Ok friends! It's time to get ready for the day!"

The four oldest feign understanding and run up the stairs. Esther, needing to be different, starts crying for more food. It has been precisely four minutes since our last feeding.

 

I take a swig of the coffee I made at 3a with Queenie and realize that coffee should be reheated probably one time less than has occured with this particular mug of mine. I wish I could remember how many times that was this morning. I lost count at four.

I have given the children a considerable amount of time to wash their faces and hands, brush their teeth and get dressed. I am ready to go upstairs and assess the troops. On the top step, in the upstairs hallway, I step on a toothbrush. WHAT THE?

"Whose toothbrush is in the hallway?" I yell, to (apparantly) no one in particular.

The upstairs is a Ghost Town, bathroom water running and toothpaste cookies on the sink. I hear faint giggling coming from the gentlemen's bedroom. I open the door and a pair of Batman underwear hit me between the eyes. Giggling. Nay, guffawing! My offspring are laughing at me! 2 out of the 3 boys are naked. The third is still in pjs...but they are wet...from the bath he tried to take in the sink while he was supposed to be brushing. The next ten minutes are chaos as I try to tackle and stuff the boys into any type of cloth covering I can find. I have to change Nathan again because I put him into another pair of pajamas the first time around. (Be kind. Let's not forget my waking time, k?)

I send the boys downstairs.

 

I am disheveled and exhausted and I start to softly cry as I walk into Sarah's room. The sun is streaming in through the window and reflecting off her golden hair as she, completely dressed in appropriate clothing, is teaching her dolly to pray the Morning Offering.

*Sigh*

I take two steps into her room, in a trance, and trip over the fire hazard on the floor. I remind her that I would really like her to clean up her room sometime today.

She reminds me that I remind her EVERY SINGLE DAY.

I send Sarah downstairs.

 

Nurse Esther again because...why not?

 

Tom and Nate disappear into the playroom as I gather the older children's books at the dining room table. Joseph starts the school day by stabbing his hand with a pencil.

 "It wasn't this sharp yesterday!" he cries, on his way to the bathroom.

Sarah does her independent work first. Handwriting, reading, phonics...it is practically everything.

I nurse Esther.

 

Joseph comes back to the table with a clean bandage and resolves not to play with the sharp pencils anymore. He begins his math, the only subject he likes. He tells me he will only do math today.

One hour later, I tell Joseph to leave the table and take a break. He cries. He wants to do more math. His book is not finished yet, he says.

I nurse Esther.

 

Sarah asks if we can have lunch. It is not yet 8am.

I make snacks.

I read Catechism to the four children as they "quietly" eat their second breakfast.

It is a beautiful moment.

I nurse Esther.

 

The two littles go play again.

Sarah and Joseph do school until lunch.

I nurse Esther.

 

After lunch, we pray our rosary. This should be an Olympic event.

Seriously.

 

After rosary, we school a little bit more and I wait for the sign from Sarah that the school day is over.

Sarah starts crying for no reason.

Done!

I excuse them to go join their friends in the playroom downstairs.

I nurse Esther.
I will do better tomorrow.
After I have had more sleep.

 

 

 

Rolling Deep

Matt and I are constantly getting remarks about how large our family is. Most common?

 

1) "You have your hands full!"

This comment is usually made in the grocery store as I am trying to maneuver a huge "car" shopping cart full of cheese sticks and coconut milk around the crystal dishes display table in the middle of the aisle while my beautiful offspring decide to play chicken with the other shoppers' carts and see who can make the loudest echo in the store. (Run-on sentence? Yes.)

Usual response: "Sure do!" Smile politely and bite tongue.

What I am thinking: "Thank you, Captain Obvious!"

What I will say in the future: "No, I just roll deep."

 

2) "I know what you do in your spare time!" Wink. Wink.

Ummmmm....ok. This one is strange.

Usual response: "You certainly do...I take care of these children!"

What I am thinking: "Why, oh why, do people feel the need to say things to me? At all?"

What I will say in the future:"You do? What is it? Explain it to me!" 

 

3) "Don't you have a TV?"

This one has only been asked once. I think it is because Matt's answer was so brutally painful that no one will ever dare to ask it again.

We were at a church picnic. A CHURCH PICNIC, y'all! The man selling tickets for something or another was astounded at the number of children at our table. (I didn't even have Esther at this point.) He turned to Matt and politely commented, "You know how that happens, right? You should get your TV fixed! HAR HAR HAR HAR!"

Matt's response: "If you think TV is better than sex, then you must be doing it wrong."

Matt says this in a serious tone with a HUGE SMILE.

My response: cry inside. turn fifty shades of red. look furtively around the room to make sure our priest is not within earshot of this conversation.
Matt turns to me and, as a way of comforting my embarrassed state, says, "What?! If he wants to talk about sex, let's talk about sex!"

Having many children/rolling deep is a blessing. I am learning so much all the time. Since we are homeschooling, I have the added benefit of never(ever) having a blessed moment to myself. It is good for me. Builds character.

Homeschooling is going really well, I tell people. Then we have science lessons like last week, and I question my sanity and my ability to continue to lie to people...

The Science Lesson
Since Sarah and Joseph are so close in age, they have been doing much of their learning together. I read lessons from both their books aloud and they get the opportunity to fight over who learned it better and understood it faster and who is more amazing, etc.
"Centrifugal force," I tell the cherubs, "is what holds water in a bucket when you spin it around very quickly. It is the feeling you get in your hands when you twirl your body with arms outstretched."
I ask the children to spin as I have explained and request them to pay close attention to the feeling in their fingertips.
 "The force," I continue, "is..."
"I love the Force!" interrupts Joseph, as he spins uncontrollably.
"I'm Obi Wan!"

Rollin' deep with my Star Wars addicts at the Pernot Institute.
 

 

 

Christmas 2012

Nathan was an angry elf this year. He didn't like the fact that he was no longer the baby and that Esther got the job of putting baby Jesus in the manger. Every picture I took of him this Christmas morning was a scowling picture.

 

While Esther put Jesus in the manger, Thomas started yelling, "He's finally here!!!"

I am assuming he meant Jesus and not Santa...because that is the kind of mother I am.

This advent was neat for us because the children understood the whole "counting down" thing. Every week, they would talk about how many candles we had lit and how many more we had to light. We did our Jesse tree again, and it was remarkably successful. Studying the lineage of Jesus was inspiring for all of us...even Nate, who requested daily that I "do the Goliath one again".

It was a small gift-giving Christmas this year. Each child received one gift from us and one from Santa. They all picked out books for one another. It was simple and beautiful. Matt and I were so grateful for each and every moment and blessing.

The face of content holding the face of "I'm starving! WHY ARE WE WASTING OUR TIME NOT EATING?!"
I don't know if that double chin will ever go away.

The children all bought Matt a Christmas Tie Fighter ornament.
I've never seen Matt so excited...his smile rivaled our wedding day photos.
Hmmmm...

Bean bought the Hot Mess a little stuffed bunny which kept her entertained most of the morning, along with the clementines from her stocking. I don't know what Santa was thinking, giving a 3 month old citrus products.

Stickers. Everyone else's stickers. Nate loves them. Don't take them or he will scream...non-stop...until you give them back...even if it takes 2 hours...imnotkidding.

Santa did Legos this year. It was awesome!

The Hot Mess got all sorts of lovely clothes for Christmas, including bunny Uggs from Uncle Peter and Aunt Emily.
The bow on her head is to show that she is a girl, I tell my sons.
They don't believe me.
(I jacked Matt's new Buffalo Bills coat for this picture.)

The first sleepover is always the scariest, Esther.

So, we got some snow this vacation. It was amazing and dream-like because we didn't actually have to go anywhere or do anything.

Both, Esther. We are Both.

Twins.

Advent 2012

If you received Christmas Cookies from us this year, you were among the lucky few.

The cookies had to make it through three stages.

1. Nathan

2. Nathan

3.Nathan

Yes, his mouth is full of cookie dough.

Don't lecture me.

I know.

In all seriousness, the cookies really did have to make it through three stages.

1. Baked into some form of recognizable Christmas pattern

2. Frosted without being licked

3. Delivered without being eaten or stepped on in the car

 

The five cookies that made it out of the house went to our next-door neighbors.

Watching the train go around the tree

Learning how to throw airplanes in the house with Daddy.

Esther is still not amused.

 Filling out job applications/ Bonding time.

 



 I showed this picture to Matt. He says, "That's A LOT of babies!"

 

 

Santa Claus came on Christmas Eve, before the children went to bed.

He rang the doorbell and when we answered the door, there was a package waiting on the front step.

Thomas was so excited that a present could ring the doorbell!

 Then we showed him the packaging and tag. He was even more excited...and then got nervous that Santa wouldn't be coming back.

 How in the world did Santa know their affinity for trains, especially the PRR and GG1?!?!

 Super-psyched about Santa and Mrs. Claus visiting on Christmas Eve, before bed!

 Nathan took two hours to fall asleep. He couldn't stop singing about his trains and Santa being at his house.

 We had to settle the children down to read The Night Before Christmas. At the end of the book Joseph said, "And that's NOT the true meaning of Christmas! Jesus is! But I really like presents!"