Friday, June 27, 2014

7 QTs - Dishwasher Discussions

It's that time of the week...



--- 1 ---

Saturday was thrilling with a trip to Pullen Park with Grammy and then off to get E's foot painted. When we got home I discovered M had a NASTY fever like in the 103.5-104 range. Yeah. Muy bad. So I semi-not-freaked out but freaked out enough to put her in a cool bath. I played phone tag with the nurse on call for our peds office who got in touch with the dr on call who said I should take her to urgent care. No problem. If they had told me to go to the ER that would have been a different story.


Welp… turns out the one single urgent care open in the Mount on Saturday at 5:30 does not see anyone younger than 12 months. Awesomeness. Head back home. E screams "Why did you have to come back so early" right when I walk in and then proceeds to shed tears. Yeah nice to see you too, kid. After Papa assured her Cinderella would be watched (as he promised, because that's what they do when Mama's gone) E was better. M was still feverish but not nearly as bad. More phone tag with the nurse and not too much temp taking (because who wants that done), we decide to hunker down for the night which was good because Sunday morning M was fine. Virus. I think so.

Lee did have to go out and get a new non-forehead-scanning thermometer. Vicks ones are great. The number readout is big and they are quick.


--- 2 ---

Pillow surfing


She's got the craziest ways of sitting and sleeping… Promise

--- 3 ---

This is what happens when a big girl bed and crib are dumped… I mean when the 'animals are having a meeting'


Well said animal meeting convened and recessed several times this week. Unfortunately for most participants, the Main Boss Lady fired them all because the Ringleader was supposed to be cleaning them up and instead sat around and took off the Assistant's diaper.

Let's just say it was a dramatic and ceremonious taking away of the animals. A few were spared. Like the one on her bed and one under R's bed that I missed. R was able to save a few during the process. As I took the bucket loads upstairs E sobbed "I want them back in one week, no two weeks!"

Two weeks.

No problem. 

--- 4 ---

Speaking of ceremonious takeaways. I ceremoniously asked R to bring me all her undi-wears after school one day and I took those too. Seriously. Seriously. The girl does not care if she has wet shorts/skirts/dresses. Some days she is awesome at using the potty. But she won't tell me she needs to go. Other days like this past one, she was taken to the potty a few times and not once BUT TWICE after going within 15 minutes had an accident. 

So I'm taking the less stressful route here (after a quick mama-friend consult) and putting her back in diapers. My rule is either undies or Pull-Up and if one gets wet then diaper. But like my mama-friend said, it is stressing me out worrying about it so mark a big X over that stressor. I think I was more frustrated that she doesn't seem to care. 

I'm packing up the undies for a month. I'm not buying the high dollar Pull-Ups (aka glorified diapers) either. I'll take her to the potty if she asks (which she does) but for the month of July… Its on her. One day she will care. Nothing like some positive peer pressure at school to kick the ole diaper habit. 

--- 5 ---
Wednesday was St. John the Baptist's birthday… You know 6 months 'til Christmas because Elizabeth was in her 6th month when Mary visited and John leapt in her womb etc etc… Anyways, I was not planning on doing anything other than Vespers but then Kendra inspired me… So we had dirt and worms because JTB ate locusts (okay it's a stretch but a bug's a bug in this house) and what's a feast day without fire? So sparklers it was except E and R would not get near them. I guess I should not complain. E says 'When she's 11" she'll be ready to hold one : )



Celebrating the liturgical year… Round one. Next year's bound to improve. 


Worms? Locusts? Totally the same right…


Feasting on dirt


Did I mention they did not fall asleep until after 9. Sigh


Waiting for Papa to read about how Zachariah got his voice back

--- 6 ---

Lee and I have recently been discussing the contents of the dishwasher. I don't think we actually discussed it on this load but let me give you the gist of the conversation



Lee - Chicky, why are there so many cups in the dishwasher?
Me - … We just used them
Lee - Well why are there so many bowls?
Me - We ate food
Lee - Why are there so many snack containers?
Me - WHAT DIFFERENCE DOES IT MAKE, THAT'S WHY WE HAVE A DISHWASHER???
Lee - I was just wondering
Me - Okay, there are two cups from breakfast, plus E's coffee cup, two of R's cups from snack - one from today and one from Friday that was left in the van, two of E's cups from snack - one from today and one from Friday, two cups from lunch, two bowls from breakfast, two bowls from lunch, four snack containers because Friday's were left in the van.
Lee - Well couldn't you have reused some cups?
Me - I guess but that's why we have a dishwasher. 

Not lying we have had similar conversations several times in the past week. 


--- 7 ---

M cracks me up!

This is how she drained 4 oz of milk in three minutes this morning


I promise her neck was not broken in the process

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Tuesday, June 24, 2014

Top 8 Reasons Why I Run After Having a Baby

Because sometimes even I wonder…

8. I love running. Nope. Not true. In fact I really don't like running I just force myself to lace up the old shoes and go

7. I have $100 to drop on new running shoes every 6 month. Wrong again. I get a new pair of running shoes maybe once every two years and I usually ask for them for my birthday because I think shoes are so overly priced it is ridiculous. Though Colleen said she got a good deal here, so maybe I'll have to check them out sometime.

6. Running help me lose that last bit of baby weight. No. And this came as a surprise to me when I ran my first half marathon after E was born. I figured I would be training for this half marathon and the last 10 pregnancy lbs would be gone in a heartbeat. Let's just say I've already run a half after having M and I still have about 8 lbs to go.

5. Running two half marathons will definitely kick all the post pregnancy weight. Yeah. I wouldn't count on it. Now maybe if I were running 8 minute miles and running more than once or twice a week - maybe, but that's not how I roll. I did sign up for another half marathon so I'm back on the running train.

4. I love having a pile of smelly running clothes to add to my wash run. Running clothes smell awful. The farther the run the high on the stink scale they go. Am I right or am I right? Whiffes of what my soccer clothes used to smell like brings back memories

3. Makes walking up the stairs at work really interesting. I usually run on Sundays. Because I only run once a week it means my muscles pretty much hate me for a few days after the run. Going up stairs is true pay back for not running more often.

2. Gives me an excuse to give Lee a hand at solo parenting. Okay usually I go during rest time so if anyone is most likely to be up it is E and then M. This was a bit nerve racking when I was training for the half marathon in April because M was 3-4 months old and really not keen on taking a bottle so I would have my fingers crossed half the time that she would stay asleep and I would not get a text from Lee saying "Chicky she's been screaming since you left." Fortunately that did not happen but it did happen on a walk Nani and I took the other night - good thing I didn't have my phone : ) .

1. I love singing to my neighbors. I admit it. I'm one of those crazies who sings while I run. It is usually quite intermittent but I love to sing when I run. Hopefully I don't sing loud enough for my neighbors to hear it but if I do then so be it. I used to sing in the shower growing up but somewhere along the line I stopped and moved the lyrics to the great outdoors.

First run in 10 weeks...


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Friday, June 20, 2014

7QTs - Summer Living

Forgive me readers for I have not posted in five days...



--- 1 ---

Round off the Father's Day wave from last week… I was going to post this but then I realized it might spoil his card. Side note, E 'hid' his card in the hall closet then Saturday Papa found it and was really confused but E was thrilled to have the card 'hidden' from him.

Okay so I got this overly mushy card, right? Wrong. I'm not too much into the mushy gushy mainly because I'll start to tear up reading them and the last thing I need is to have that happen. In public. As I am reading 15 different mushy cards.

Anyways I found this card and there was a bible verse in it. Now if you can understand one thing about Lee it is he is a student of the Bible. He reads commentaries, writes homilies (sermons for all my non-Catholic peeps), he can recall passages and explain them in ways I cannot understand soooo… point of my story is I thought I'd be nice to give him a card with a Bible verse. I really did not think twice about the translation the card company (Hallmark ehem) was using. Then I got to signing it and for kicks I thought why not check the translation for the one Bible we are reading out of (I'll bet you we have 4-6 different Bible translation here - so we are a cross-referencing family you might say) and maybe cross out what's in the card and then that'd be funny and Bible humor Lee can appreciate




Well, then I opened up to the verse and BAM… talking about chains and stuff and then I was not so confident in my Father's Day card humor plan…


#translationmatters


--- 2 ---

Days of summer consist of sprinklers and sandboxes and swings. R still cannot be persuaded to go in the sprinkler and M contently swung in the swing for over an hour the other day



--- 3 ---

Pretty sure all the winged creatures of the neighborhood are descending on our house.


The number of dragonflies and bees and flies and things that buzz in our ears is pretty stinking out-o-control. Or at least I think so. We have not been stung yet. 

--- 4 ---

This one's for you Nani


So the big girls climbed up in the tree house to slide and this rock comes flying down at M and I get up to get vicious and realize it was not a rock. 


But indeed a frog that almost landed in M's lap. As in the frog that was a likely prey of the snake from a few weeks back

#scarred4life

Not even lying. EVERY single time I open the flipping door to the garage I pause before stepping out. Listen for the slithering snake noise. Bolt to the van to get whatever and run back inside. OR if I'm loading up the van with my peeps or getting home from school with my peeps I carefully scan the area in the garage where the snake was.

I wish I were kidding. 

--- 5 ---
I've been mulling a pile of blog topics recently. But clearly I have not followed through. Top topic is…

To Disney or Not to Disney?

Pre-thoughts to the topic?

--- 6 ---

Remember when our insanely professional weather gauge said it was minus four? Well this is what it said Wednesday:


#notcomplainingbecauseatleastwecangooutside


--- 7 ---

I got nothing else so I'll close with the way some humor courtesy of Lee's diaconal counterpart who preached last week:

Knowledge is knowing a tomato is a fruit
Wisdom is not putting it in fruit salad

Oh and might as well throw this in because every time he brings it up I cannot help but laugh:

"Holy P.O.T."

Prayer
Obedience
Trust


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Sunday, June 15, 2014

7 QTs - Fathers Day Edition

Here's to Papa… Reasons why the girls and I love Papa and other thoughts



--- 1 ---

I love that after at 13.5 hr work day first stop is to check to see if the girls are asleep (and they are not) and give them a squeeze and a kiss goodnight. When he is not not home when we do our night time prayers I tell E and R they have to pray extra hard for Papa (and actually they are halfway more attentive). Then we have family squeeze except without Papa. Friday E said she "really needed a Papa squeeze" so we did a pretend Papa squeeze. I'm just glad she really got one when he got home. 

--- 2 ---

For an early Father's Day… Papa took both E and R to breakfast. First he was only going to take E but I reminded him it really was R's turn to go somewhere special with him so instead he just took both!

Then he headed out for a half day of work and then he and E mowed the grass before we all went to dinner. Yup. All of us. To a nice restaurant. Not white tablecloths nice, but we got dressed up anyway just for Papa. The girls had surprisingly excellent behavior. 










--- 3 ---

Both Lee and my dad have this fantastic ability to make me laugh.

{while he's holding M}

Lee - Alright Chicky what's your plan
Me - {continue doing what I'm doing in kitchen}
Lee - What about M?
Me - What about her?
Lee - What am I supposed to do with her?
Me - Keep on holding her
Lee - I cannot do anything when I'm holding her
Me- Okay, now you know what it is like
Lee - No it's different
Me - How?
Lee - You have those Chicky abilities
Me - {raised eyebrow; M is relegated to the swing}
Lee- I going to make some tea... and have a few cookies. That's very English of me


--- 4 ---

See Grandpa Joe can make everyone laugh! 


Happy Father's Day Dad!!!

--- 5 ---
R's skewed view of what Papa does all day and why he is not home for lunch

Me - Where's Papa?
R - At Wurk
Me - What is he doing?
R - Playin
Me - With what?
R - Soc-ca ball
Me - Why?
R - Be-tuz

--- 6 ---

{while rocking/talking/singing to M}

Lee - Par-rum-it-dum-dum me and my baby
Lee - I'm a little baby short and stout 
Lee - M when are you going to grow some hair? You just have a fuzzy head now. We could call you Fuzzy.
M - {let's out a cry}
Lee - What is it? You don't want to be fuzzy?
Lee - Chicky! M needs her mama...

--- 7 ---

In case you needed a reminder… These girls and I love you so so so much





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Tuesday, June 10, 2014

Answer Me This - Olives and Pickles



1. Do you have a land line?



Yes. We have a security system so landline required. I love our security system so I'm will to fork out the extra $ for the landline. 

Also we live in a bit of a valley (and I mean little) so cell service on the first floor of the house is less than perfect. 


2. What is your least favorite food?

Hmmm.. Probably would have to be pickles and olives. I recently tried olives because my girls love them - trust me olive ice cream was not a pregnancy craving. E caught me in my own words about trying food on the dinner table so I ate my words and reminded I DON'T care for them. 



3. What's on your summer reading list?

Well.. I have to finish this one.



And I just started this one. First in a series of four. 

 

And after the SUPER intense metaphysics I dealt with yesterday - I'll have to add this one for good measure. 

The Ladder of Divine Ascent - St John Climacus

I've heard this one is a good one too.



4. Is there something that people consistently ask for your advice on? What is it?

No. I think I have a whole lot of learning left in life. Maybe when I get to be 30 people will start thinking I am worthy of handing out advice


5.  What's the most physically demanding thing you've ever done?


Ehh.. Ran a marathon. Given birth to three times. I've only done one activity once. Would have to say the marathon required much more physical training in the months and weeks leading up to it. Still running half marathons because those seem much more reasonable. 


Don't have anything much more interesting than that


6. How do you feel about massages?

Good. I feel a lot better about them when the hubby and I are having a couples massages. Makes me feel WAY less creeped out about them.



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Monday, June 9, 2014

Metaphysical Discussions with a 4 year old

This morning at breakfast E kicked off the morning conversation with a:

"Mama, I don't wanna to go to hell" {please note 'hell' in a very Southern accent}

I followed with I didn't want to go to hell either so that is why it is important to obey God and part of obeying God is listening to Mama and Papa and praying and being nice to other people etc etc. Then somehow the conversation turned to Jesus being in heaven.

"Jesus is alive so He cannot be in heaven"

Oh but He is in heaven, I told her. He died and then went to heaven. When we die our bodies are put in graves and our soul leaves the earth. Our body and soul separates.

"So they just leave our bodies out???"

No someone will put it in a grave. If you follow God your soul will live in heaven.

"How?"

God can do anything He wants to and that's what He wants.

"Well I want to go to heaven"

All this was happening I was getting the snacks and drinks and bags ready for school. I was getting something out of the frig and I thinking about what to say next - "If you get to heaven, will you try and find me?" But I could not get it out.

Tears started welling up. I bit my lip and then the conversation turned to something else.

I have been thinking about what I wanted to ask E all day and I am reminded of a few things:

1. As much as her little 4 yr old self can drive me bonkers - by licking the sliding glass window after eating half a can of tuna (yep she did this at lunch today) - I cannot imagine what life would be without her. Life here on earth and life in heaven (hopefully). Makes me want to live the most godly life possible so that on the day of judgement I will be granted entrance into God's eternal Kingdom.

2. I wonder what God feels like when He cannot find one of His children in heaven? His love for us is so much bigger and greater and more perfect than the love I have for my kids; it must be that much bigger and greater and painful to Him.

In case you are wondering, this conversation is not totally out of left field.



It is brought to you by St. John Climacus and the Ladder of Divine Ascent.

We have this icon in our chapel and E was asking about it last week. We talked about how the ladder is our life and we need to live our life with our eyes on Jesus (who is at the top of the ladder) so that we can go to heaven. And the devil (and his minions as seen above) will try and tempt us with evil and sometimes it is hard to do the right thing but if we keep our eyes set on Christ, He will help us through it.

Whew! And it wasn't even 7:20.

Saturday, June 7, 2014

The Sisters… An Update

Grace just posted a life update on her kiddos… Got me thinking it might be a good idea. I'll try not to get too sappy.


M - Mother, why am I here???


E - Mother, seriously? Another picture?!?!

E
- Loves school and is missing it during the summer
- Sings Christmas songs pretty much any day of the week - mother's daughter in that regard
- Loves to swing super high and sing random songs from school
- Screams bloody murder at the sight of a dog
- Builds Legos almost everyday
- Claims she wants to do ballet but then at the last second changes her mind


E instructing R on how to trace bodies

And it is not going as planned

R
- Call her sisters Bill-lis and Mon-Ka (one of them is not a fan and the other thinks it's hilarious)
- Hates peanut butter but loves peanuts
- Not a huge fan of showers and really not a fan of the sprinkler much to big sister's annoyance
- Commandress of numerous bumps and bruises and scrapes but generally no worse for the wear
- Mostly potty trained but her laissez-faire attitude to wet undi-wears is not helping her cause
- Loves playing with E but does not like getting yelled at by her so she will stick with M who is happy to get the attention

Flower child

Girl has the craziest way to sleep


Sisterly love

Except when you pull my hair


M
- Sleeping through the night some times - making me really love the mornings she actually does
- Eater of lots of food - those little squeeze food packs are awesome and she's the first Kibbe to use them
- Loves throwing her sippy cup on the floor. Repeatedly
- Not much into sitting up or crawling or growing hair
- Best naps are taken while at work while in the bathroom with the fan on - nothing like a cool dark room with white noise , ya know
- Sometimes will hold her breathe for no reason. Maybe she'll be a swimmer one day


Haha, nope not crawling today


So stinking cute

Hello : ) 

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