Changes

Joseph will be starting preschool in September. How and when to prepare him has been a struggle for us. He received an early birthday present this past weekend. A bookbag. He can already put it on by himself and walk around like a big guy, even though the bookbag is as big as he is! The transition begins...smoothly.

Church School

Our home parish, Holy Ghost, runs their Religious Education program in the summer for two weeks. Sarah, our social butterfly, was so eager to be a part of it. I, the insanely clingy mother, was not so eager to let go: How would she do being gone most of the day? Would she cry for me? She has never been away from me like that! What in the world was I going to do without her!?!?! She doesn't know the first thing about school or how to raise her hand or be quiet when a teacher is talking or how to...

We get to the class room.

She finds her seat independently.

She puts her name tag over her head.

She flashes a smile and says:

"See ya, Mom!"

Joseph, Thomas, Nathan and I cry all the way back out to the car. Our girl is so big.

Summer Birthdays

Celebrating the summer Pernot birthdays. So many memories. So much laughter. Oh, so sweet.

Playtime with Uncle Nick

Top 3 things I am always saying to Nicholas:

1) Nick, please stop scaring the children!

2) Don't teach them how to do that! 

3) When they wake up at 2 in the morning with nightmares, I am going to call you!

They look severely traumatized, no?

Thanks for always making us laugh, Uncle Nick.

Sunrise/Sonrise

It is 5:30am. I am laying in a trundle bed that I have slept in every summer at my parents' cottage. The breeze is blowing the shades on the window, ever so slightly. The sun is peeking over the bluff, almost afraid to rise. It SHOULD BE AFRAID to rise. I threaten it EVERY. SINGLE. MORNING. "Don't you dare rise," I say. "Don't you dare wake my children!" Then I plead, "You know what happens when you come up! Can't we just squeeze you in the schedule around 7 or 8?" Then I panic, "All I wanted was 5 more minutes. Have you no pity?!?!?!"

Then I see this face. This is what I wake up for. These are the moments. So my brain might not be operating at 100%. I am told that brain functioning is over rated, anyway...

Shutdown Part III- Just Funny

That's a lot of babies in a pack n' play

That's even more!

Right after I told Sarah and Joseph that they couldn't drive the boat.

Loving the whole experience, anyway.

So happy to be on the water, passing the pier.

Shutdown Part II

Since our vacation was hodge-podge, these posts will be also!

Sarah, always the fish, spent as much time as she possibly could in the water.

Fishing...with a log...and two sets of toddler hands?!?!

Facials with Honey/Making a salad

Nathan really wants to know why he has to be a part of the insanity.
"Are these people really my relatives?!?"

Precious Moments

Tom-Boo looking dapper

Perfect

Twins (love the foot)

Trouble

Shutdown Part I

GM shuts down completely for a whole week in July. Matt is FORCED to take a vacation...which is a very good thing for our hardworking Daddy! This year, we went to the cottage for the entire week. We did absolutely nothing and LOVED IT!

Thomas made himself a boat. Why do we bother getting the children toys? Coolers work just fine! By the way, it is really disturbing to me that Boo fits in this one.

Not to be outdone by his younger brother, Joseph emptied out the toy box and decided to just chill in his "new boat".

Steve and Emily at 6:30a. Tommy woke up at 6, asking for milkshakes. Vacation has begun!

Nathan: "Why are we awake?"

Bean, looking forward to a day at the beach.

"Cute and Cuddly, Boys"

This may look like the face of innocence, but it's not. It is, most definitely, NOT! Nathan was downstairs in the playroom as I was getting some dishes done in the kitchen. I turned around to empty the dishwasher, and there he was...in the kitchen...upstairs...asking me politely if there was anything he could help me with... Yeah, right!

He is now climbing stairs. T-R-O-U-B-L-E.

I love how so many people have told me that I will miss the fingerprints all over the walls and windows. Take a closer look at that first picture. Will I miss the face imprints and tongue marks too?!?!

Probably.

Happy Birthday, Nonna!

You are the best Nonna any kids could ask for! We love you and hope your day was blessed!

Friends

The greatest gift you can give your child is another sibling. - Pope John Paul II

Things I love today:
~The children pray for eachother at grace before meals.
~They really DO love one another.
~I was finally able to say "Your face is going to stick like that!" this week.
~It only took me two hours to clean a bathroom this week, during which I nursed the baby twice, broke up 5 fights, gave out 3 snacks, filled 3 sippy cups, answered 2 phone calls, gave 1 time out, and began the rosary 6 times.