The Call to "Retreat"

Sent this e-mail to a dear, dear friend this morning. Someone I knew wouldn't judge the state of my brain at 6 in the morning.

 

 "I have strep and something "itis" with my nose or throat or something or another. All I know is that I begged Matt to run to the pharmacy as quickly as possible to pick up my antibiotics before I diiiiiiiiiiiieddddddddddddddd of pain and agony and all the good things that I should complain about when I have had FIVE (count them, 5) natural labor and deliveries. I am going to go complain about this on the blog now. Just so everyone starts feeling really bad for me and making me chicken noodle soup. "

 

So here I am.

 

I thought of it. Sinusitis. Whatever that means. All I know is that my face and all the parts under my skull feel like they are the hippo from Fantasia trying to fit into that silly little tutu. Crammed and stuffed and busting out all over the place.

There it is.

 

Anyway. That hippo is happy, which is weird. I am not happy yet, but will be after I blog about the babies...

and after I eat the chicken noodle soup that Matt's mom (mind reader and saint that she is) already delivered for:

1. breakfast

2. lunch

3. dinner

Because I want to get healthy. Fast. And if a little bit of soup helps get me a little better then a LOT of soup will get me a LOT better. Do not argue with a sick Momma's judgement.

Marilyn, if you are reading this, you know what good patients nurses make.

 

Back to the real deal.

Sarah "borrowed" my camera when I was too "busy being sick" to take pictures.

Playdoh creations.



Sarah's artistic rendition of my brother Steve.
Made completely out of hair things and bangles.



We had a few car troubles this past weekend.
But Matt was still able to give Sarah a smile as he brushed up some parts.

 We spent a great deal of time in pajamas this weekend, and missed church and a birthday party because of our fantastic ability to infect people.

 

But now, as I look at these, I am reminded that we had quite a few laughs. There were some peaceful moments too. This was, most definitely, God's call for our family to retreat.
Feeling grateful, better already, and am no longer in need of pity or chicken noodle soup.
Thanks for the therapy!
 

 

A Peek at the Week

 

Daddy is tired. Let's all jump on him.

Pink Eye. Day 2 of Antibiotics.
Brave Boo.

Thomas' camera skills.

Favorite pair of Sarah's jeans got a new patch.

Avoiding schoolwork at all costs.

"I only like people who feed me."- Esther P.

"I da WING BAYO!"- Nathan P.
(ring bearer)

Double Duty

Math

Spelling

Fine Arts

Star Student.

All Types of Wonderful

Tom reminded me that I have a picture of him, taken sometime near his 2nd birthday, with Nathan in the exact same bouncy seat.

 

Click Here: He Is Right!

 

 

Then there is Nathan.

Oh, Nathan.

 

One LUCKY reader will receive a BRAND NEW (to you) CHILD(!) if they can guess what in the pants Nathan is trying to do/be. 

I have been doing a lot of "laying the baby down and letting her cry it out". How is it working?

Quite frankly, it's not.

The girl has got some serious tenacity.

And some older siblings who like to sneak in and give her toys during her nap when I am not looking.

We took the children to Friendly's last night as a celebration for a job well done in school. I know it is Lent. I know we didn't even get the grades back yet. We were seizing the moment and letting the children know that, in the midst of all this change, we appreciate how hard they have been working.

 

It was delightful. They were perfect. It was our first time out with all five kids at a restaurant. The waitress was sweet and the children used their manners. During dinner it was relatively quiet, as I had starved them for a full 30 minutes before we left for the restaurant...in the hopes that they would eat when we sat down instead of the usual mayhem that ensues at our dinner table at home. 

 

I thought we would escape without incident, but then came the SUNDAES. Joseph ordered the ice cream that resembled a monster. We have been teaching him that monsters are not real and have been practicing coping mechanisms to use when he is afraid...which is alot!

Well, the waitress brought out Joseph's Monster Sundae, and he quickly brought it within inches of his face and said, "So SWWWWEEEEET!" and laid a big kiss on the monster's face.

He devoured his ice cream in less time than it took Thomas to eat the 3 M&Ms on top of his Happy Face sundae.

 Then, my Joseph picked up his silver sundae dish in both hands and raised it above his head, closed his eyes and began to sing:

"AAAAAAAAA-MENNNNNNNN"

"Look MOM, I'M A PRIEST!!!!"

 

Daddy's Valentines

That's a Whole Lotta Love

Happy St. Valentine's Day!

Usually I demand that Matt not make a big deal out of Valentine's Day. I tell him it is ridiculous that people spend as much money as they do at retailers that jack the prices up like they do. "PLUS," I add, "you are supposed to love me EVERY SINGLE DAY of the year!"

  Do I still feel this way after all that has gone down in the past year? No way! Bring the over-priced retail home, Baby! Just kidding. But, we do need to celebrate the love this year. Life gets so crazy, busy and over-run that I think we forget to celebrate the thing that brought us to this place! I am glad we have a day dedicated to love. It is important.

 

It is a gift from God.

 

Valentine's Day is a day of thanksgiving for me. A day to be grateful to God for the gift of Matt...and all these other little people that followed.

 

The children are psyched. Sarah asked yesterday if she could have off from school for Valentine's Day.

 We made Valentines for eachother and hung them up all over the house. It was awesome. Seeing them when I woke up this morning was such a delight!

Joseph made me a mountain. He also made a Valentine for his new best friend, the Dinosaur.

See? They DO love me!

 

 

Meet Dinosaur.

Besties.
There is a story, of course.
Joseph's godparents gave him a K'NEX set for his birthday. This particular set makes a number of different dinosaurs. Joseph's goal was to figure out how to make the most difficult one...the one rated three stars. After he accomplished the build, I think he realized how much energy and love went into it. He refuses to take it apart and now Dinosaur is a part of the family. He even asked permission for Dinosaur to join our family rosary. Dinosaur is adept at finding the right bead and following along.
At one point during the rosary, Thomas got too rough with Dinosaur.
Joseph: "TOM!! The Dinosaur was gonna pray the rosary until you distracted him and pulled off his head! BUT THEN, (as Joseph is patiently putting it back together) MY DINOSAUR NEVER GAVE UP!!"

Welcome to the crazy train, Dinosaur.
Happy Valentine's Day.

I Can't Believe...

I can't believe how quickly these days are flying by. Esther is over 5 months now. The doctor says I really need to stop waking her up in the middle of the night to eat...and he means it this time. "Let her fuss. Don't rush in to her. She is actually big enough now to sleep through the night. (She's been big enough since 6 weeks)," he adds under his breath.

He's outta his noggin' if he thinks I want to be with this crazy all night long.

Side Note: Babies, in general, should not have bags under their eyes.

 

I'm slightly (very much so) under the weather. I think it may be exhaustion or maybe the flu. Either way, I tried to call in sick yesterday and here is what my bosses said.

 

Sarah: "Oh Mommy! You are such a good Mommy. I will watch all the children while you take a hot bath and a nap."

Joseph: "And Mom. Hey Mom. And Mom. So Mom. I really think that I can do Legos pretty good while you sleep. That might be a good idea! And I will put an exclamation point on the end of my last sentence because I am excited...so that is like school, when I tell you about punctuations. So I did schoolwork all by myself, Mom."

Thomas: "If you go to bed, I will eat all the Hershey Kisses!"

Nate-Dawg: "Dar Wars! Da Na NA! DAR WARS! NODDING WIKE DAR WARS! DA NA NA NA!"

Esther is not amused. She feels like all her siblings are ganging up on her.

 

Anyway, Matt will continue to be my Knight in Shining Armor. Two weeks ago, I texted him at work and told him (very sweetly, of course) that I was worn out. He showed up that night with Chinese food and two bottles of wine. I think I cried. The dinner was awesome and I was so grateful for a night off from making dinner, but the exhaustion still hasn't left.

Matt says in order for things to change, I have to initiate different bedtime parameters.

Esther, it is time. We are really going to do this. "Sleeping through the night" will be our mantra.

I just realized that I write a lot about sleep.

Switching gears now.

 

The four "olders" have been so good.

Get ready for a whole bunch of happy...

 

 Nate, working hard, clearing the yard.

 

Sleep

Dear Sarah,

I love you.

Love,

Mommy