Monday, July 31, 2017

7QTs - Consecrated Cathedrals, Lots of La Croix, Krazy Kids

---1---

This is how you go shopping with five kids... 


At the check out a supervisor handed me my (discounted) gift cards and asked if they were all mine...  I was like yes, I just bought them. She meant the kids, not the gift cards (which I didn't realize until after the fact)


It was a dicey time to go but laundry duty called and we left the house at 11:30 


Sample Saturday for the win and half of the kids lunch was taken care of 

---2---

Sunday we hit up church in Rocky Mount because Lee hadn't served here in forever. I don't miss the hour drive each way and it made the following Sunday drive seem a bit longer. Also, since we didn't have to spend two hours in the van we hit up donuts after church because, well that's what people do after Sunday Mass, right? 


Clearly...


Papa opted for a non-messy donut for A who wasn't pleased with his selection. E and R aren't into having their pics taken at the moment but they were thrilled for post-church donuts. 

I will say the kids did surprisingly awesome at Mass. I was in the second to last pew with C, A and M. R was in the next pew up with a family friend and E was in the choir loft because she loves to sing and we have an understanding music director. A only got upset after communion and kept charging down the center aisle to see Papa. He also thought it was hilarious seeing E in the choir loft (who was doing her fair share of making herself visible to him!) 

---3---

I took ALL the girls to the pool... 



C slept and ate


I got in the pool (oh pool how I have missed thee) and M got in the shallow end without her puddle jumper - which required extra eyes on my part but she did fine. It was BLAZING hot so we only stayed a few hours 

---4---

Which was good because we got home and it started to thunder and then by dinner (hello London broil cooked to perfection on the grill) it was raining 


And after it was a super loud storm. A enjoyed watching the rain and listening to the booms of the thunder - he clapped and did his happy feet. While the girls huddled up on the couch terrified of the storm - it was quite loud and the lightning was electrifying. 

---5---

My PSAs for the week: 


This is why I use Honest diapers at night... I don't change diapers in the middle of the night - which is debatable I know. But the Honest ones are much more absorbent and don't stink the next morning. What does stink is having to strip your bed and mattress pad and do wash on a random week day!


I confess, I have a La Croix water addiction. 

HT had them on eVic last week and between my four and my mom's four I think I'm good for a week or so. 


If you find yourself at Target looking for toddler underwear don't look in the kid section. Toddler underwear is in the BABY section. I legit thought that there was not 2T-3T boys underwear for several hours and then I thought I was crazy for thinking that boys could be potty trained before the age of 4 and the underwear makers were trying to tell me something. Turns out I just didn't know where to look. Friends help friends navigate Target!

---6---

So A is really cute... but that is nothing new



He has a thing for our neighbors chickens and he loves to go see them and point at them and check them out. LOVES IT. 

He also loves visiting that neighbors house and going in and eating all sorts of foods he'd toss on the floor at home. I'll fight you for my neighbors :  )

---7---

In exciting news of the week...


Papa, me and C went to the Holy Name of Jesus Cathedral consecration (they called in dedication but I think consecration sounds better). There was a moment that really struck me in the THREE hours long Mass - maybe I'll write about it later


C and I camped out at the end of one of the pews. Lee got to sit with all the other deacons - and everyone noticed him in the procession in and out because he sticks out like a sore thumb with his super cool Eastern vestments. 


Evidence... He processed in and out with all the other deacons but he's kinda hard to miss



Once it was done. I was done done done holding C. I had basically held her for 4 hours straight because we got there early (which was good because the clergy had special parking and we took one of the last not-really-a-parking-spot spots AND we were there an hour before!) Plus I left the stroller and carseat in the van because hello 2000 people. So I gladly passed her off to the guy in the cassock for a bit of father-daughter time

Anyhow, I hope I have the time to write about the Mass in depth. I would now but I'm afraid I'd run out of time and not post and I have a post to catch up on from the week before soooooooo.... later.




Tuesday, July 18, 2017

The Minibus - A Review of Ford Transit as a Family Van 4 months in

It's been almost four months since we traded our minivan for the minibus or microbus (for anyone who may get that reference)... The Transitasaurs is our now family car and if you are in the market for a larger-than-life family car here's what I think... 

Why did I park in a puddle? To try and keep A out and that worked up until the moment we had to leave...

There's lots that I really appreciate about the Transit. Everyone (five kids) has a little elbow room. Everyone is still in a carseat (E is in a Britax Frontier functioning as a highback booster). I can actually help with carpool. I took E and a few of her friends to camp one morning and I didn't have to pull out a million carseats to seat the older girls (because the littles were still at home) - installing and moving carseats is kind of a pain. I really like having extra seats to help out because friends help us with shuffling kids around OFTEN and it is better to give than receive and we are on the receiving end a lot!


It drives nicely. You are up really high which is great. The mirrors are A+ so changing lanes takes some getting used to. I will say the gas mileage isn't amazing but better than I expected. I've seen it as high as nearly 16 and averages about 14 - with BOTH city and highway driving. The sticker stated 11 city and 14 highway. 


Another huge plus is that there is an aisle (if you will). The older conversion vans are straight benches. I like the aisle pass through but more than that - there is separation of seats sooooo.... less chance for fighting/arguing. Also, the Transit is quite industrial/utilitarian. No carpet floors = spilling water/crumbs isn't getting ground into the carpet since the floor is hard plastic



I do TRY and keep the dirt to a minimum though. As of now we store the stroller behind the passenger seat / right in front of the infant bucket. That was a major annoyance is that there were only 2 LATCH clips so it was either infant bucket all the way on the window side (which would require lots of reaching and me sliding in and out of the row) OR right by the door. No middle seat LATCH. Which wouldn't have been a big deal but the stroller is perfect behind the passenger seat because there is ZERO space in the back for cargo.

Exhibit 120938190374

There is just about 

________________________________________________________________________________




________________________________________________________________________________

this much space in between the door in the fourth row of seats. Yes we can unbolt some or all of the fourth row - and probably should but we seem to be getting along MOSTLY fine as is. 


So I resort to grocery stowage on the floor, between rows and in the seats next to the kids - not a huge deal. It just makes loading up alittle interesting and kind of puzzle like at time 



Bulky items get a front row seat. There is no center console in the front which isn't terrible. I have a trash bag hanging on the gear shifter-thinger - which Lee doesn't love but I tell him that it's better than trash being everywhere in the front - which was the case in the mini. Also no center console means I can easily step and reach the first (and other rows) - when I'm not actually driving - maybe if it's raining. 

I did manage to get locked out of the van once. When we were in the driveway and I had cranked the van to get the air going but fortunately E was in the van and I got her to unlock it and we were at home so I could have gone in and gotten the spare key. I have been much more vigilant about doors since then. 

Speaking of doors, the sliding door is not an auto sliding door which might be the single biggest thing I miss about the minivan. The door is heavy and locks into position when fully opened so it is really hard for E and R to open and close plus it makes me nervous with little fingers. There is an option to have an auto sliding function put in for a mere $2500! So maybe when we pay it off that can be put on? I really do like the ability to motivate my slow movers out the door by forcing them to chase the van/bus up the street to school/practice. Now I have to get out of the van to close the door for the feet draggers - which is fine but I'm usually annoyed to begin with soooooo.... yeah, miss the auto slide. 

Speaking of leaving the house, our minibus is a midroof height. So I can stand up completely = awesome. BUT it does not fit in the garage : ( 
Which is very : ( on rainy days. 
And we haven't had the van during cold weather so that will also receive a : ( 

My two biggest issues are #firstworldproblems so I'll stop right about now : ) 

Saturday, July 15, 2017

7 Quick Takes - Compound Confusion, Soapboxes and PBJ sandwiches

---1---

Overheards (recently and not as so recently)... 


Lee - What is that thing on her head for?
Me - For keeping her hair out of her eyes????

R - E called me a doodlehead!!!! - and proceed to epic meltdown

Me - You've had your two bowls of cereal
M - If God doesn't let you have three bowls you will die!
Me - You won't die

Anonymous Kibbe kid - yeah and boogies taste horrible and they get stuck in your teeth

R - Do squirrels like butter?
Me - Sure
R - Well I've never seen a squirrel throw up before

---2---

In other amusing situations...



I was check through E's summer workbook (which she is seriously dragging on) and I come across this page. I am reading her answers... Grandbrows, Snowbud, Eyebook... WHAT?!?!?! I mean compound words aren't totally foreign but all of these make ZERO sense. So I go back and read the directions and they state 'make new words'. So E basically invented eight new words... Needless to say I clarified the new words probably should have stated COMPOUND words (that are real, not actually brand new words)

---3---

So we had another blisteringly hot swim meet this week... 



And despite the moving up news from last week, R swam pup squad again because she's still not 100% ready for 6 and under - which was very apparent this week. 


She was pretty bummed when I told her, especially because we had ordered a new suit BUT we are keeping it in a safe spot for when she's ready - and she was good with that. 


E swam IM for the first time this season - and got DQed - and totally deserved it. She cannot do her breaststroke kicks correctly (in the water) by a long shot. She has finally started doing them out of the water the right way but in the water is another story. 


Despite that she still wants to do it next week and fly and back - because those are her routine, according to her. 


C survived but was happy to be home

---4---

We had a bit of heated excitement this week...


Monday around 4 in the afternoon the power turned off - not flickered - just went out. Fortunately someone was bringing us dinner so I didn't have to fool around with making PBH (honey is king around here) sandwiches for dinner. 


We escaped the deafening silence of the house and went to swim practice as planned and stayed longer when we found out that at 7:30 it was still out. It would be before 10 if it was the transformer or the next day if it was something else?!?!?!?!?!?!??! I realized I wouldn't be able to see well when we got home if we waited too long so I dug out the candles and called in an emergency water and ice run for Lee - we are on a well so we don't have water when the power is out which makes things even more interesting : ) 

We put the kids in bed and settled in for a quiet, warm evening and then flash and the hum of the ACs kicked in and we were back in business. The guy who was out there in the long sleeves and pants and hit voltage gloves for 5 hours deserves a beer or two from the neighborhood. 

---5---

C got a bath this week... 


Finally because her belly button got right. She was thrilled

---6---

A is at such a fun stage (mostly)



He's stinking cute... I think he ate a PBJ for lunch and decided to get it in his hair



We eat PBJ/PBH sandwiches very often around here


He insisted on wearing this coat and then came out with his bag...


I've been trying to catch/convince him to sit on the potty - because raise your hand if you like changing stinky diapers...

He will sit sometimes and I'll reward him because anything to not change a dirty diaper. He doesn't love it but he loves the treats so I have high hopes... NOT

Also note the scribbling in pen on the wall... That's A. He snagged a pen from our room and took it to that wall (because there's other crayon writing and stuff) and had at it. I told Lee we'd probably just have to repaint the wall because the MagicEraser isn't that magical. And we should be grateful he decided to add to the current doodle wall and not start on another!

---7---

I'm about to get on my soapbox about two things:

1. Breastfeeding and the need for support - now that I'm four weeks out of the hospital it is time for me to sit down and write this letter to the hospital especially after reading this post. 

2. If someone else asks me 'You know how this happens, right?' upon finding out C is numero 5 - I think I might scream or explode. Gracious. People. Listen to yourselves. You are asking a 30 something if she understands basic biology - something that is taught in middle/high school. It's not cute. It's not funny. It is straight up annoying and insulting. I think I'd prefer the question are you Catholic or Mormon? over you know how this happens. At least the C/M questions implies we know what we are doing and we are forced to have tons of babies because our religion tells us we have to we chose to PRACTICE what the Church teaches regarding openness to children 

More on both of those points later if I get around to it. 

Tuesday, July 11, 2017

Spring Sports Wrap 2017

Spring Sports seemed like a lifetime ago even though they wrapped up not too too long ago.... 



E played soccer after taking a break from it in the fall (for swimming). She really benefited from being able to run around for awhile without getting exhausted. The fields are pretty big and there's only 5 players on the field - including the goalie. She liked playing goalie but her team really needed her running in the mid-field (if you can call it that). Her coach was great. He had was really great with the girls and they all definitely learned as they went. I cannot say that I saw huge leaps and bounds of improvement but she did score a few goals and had fun so what more can I say?

R played round two of tee ball. The coach and a core group of kids were from the fall team - yay! - so I think that helped a lot with not starting from scratch with drills and expectations. She definitely got better as the season progressed and she even hit it to the grass - which was her goal that we set from last season. She hit it on the last hit of the last game. It was pretty neat. We had said that means she could get the bat of her choice BUT as soon as we got in the car she announced that she did not want to play tee ball in the fall and she was switching to soccer?!?!?!?! Sigh. I have heard her wavering on what she wants to play so maybe it will be back to the baseball diamond for her in the fall?

M played soccer again. Thank goodness for 20-25 minute practices and games. She did great in practice but clammed up during the games and decided she wanted to sit out more than play - probably because I had an overabundance of snacks for A. I think she could do really well in the fall but I really need to talk it up with her. I don't know how much Lee not being able to make it to the games made a difference but maybe it did. He came to her last game but by that time she was pretty much checked out of soccer - along with most of her other 3 yr old counterparts.

I coached M's team because I enjoy it. I will say it was super hard not having Lee there to help keep everyone in line - the team parents were great but it's different when Papa is there and can actually tell our kids to stop acting like crazies. : )

It was actually a really long sports season with Lee's work schedule. After Pascha, insanity broke loose and all the carting around was on MOI - which is totally fine, just exhausting. We really want to give our kids experiences of playing sports (amongst other things) and pool season just happens to ramp up in the middle of one. So everyone got schooled in patience and sacrificing this spring all while having (more than) a little fun.

Here's to summer swimming and whatever the fall holds :  )

Saturday, July 8, 2017

7 Quick Takes - Swimming, Kissing, Stitching

---1---

On Saturday most of us took one last dip in Jibbe's pool... 


The infamous rock that the kids love and moms worry that kids are going to slip down


Lee even got in the pool (mostly because I couldn't)


A has really warmed up to the pool and M still isn't a huge pool fan


I couldn't convince her to dive of it 


A is so so so so so big 

---2---

The big girls headed to the beach on Sunday so most of the week it was just A and C...



This is A's version of giving C a kiss (the only person he will kiss)


It looks like he's going to lick an ice cream cone


And then he's super proud of himself and he moves so fast I can't get a clear picture

---3---

A was treated to not one but two of Papa's big machines sitting in the yard... 



(yes it looks like a car lot sometimes)


Papa was fixing some rain drainage issues and A was very excited to have a front row seat :  )

---4---

Just to prove my point about how big A is... 


I'm glad he'll actually sit with C... I can even set her in his arms for a second 


Happy 4th of July!

---5---

In the big girls absence I found myself with a little extra morning and evening time on my hands... 


So I finished all the cross stitching on M's (yes I'm that behind) stocking. Onto backstitching which doesn't seem like it should take forever and forever and hopefully it won't. I've got A's waiting in the wings and I've got time to decide what I want to do for C

---6---

A mirage on the way home from the beach?


This oasis of a playground was stumbled upon on the way back from the beach... A and C were troopers because they ended up being in the car for about 5 hours round trip. The big girls were antsy to get home but when C piped up after about 4 hours of not eating I knew we'd have to stop. And we did right at this park on the outskirts of Goldsboro. I'm going to have to save this one for future beach trips when little legs need to get some energy out or babies need feeding in the parking lot while the big kids play on the playground 

---7---

Thursdays during the summer = sweltering swim meet


This girl just got upgraded to 6 and under 


Because she swam her lap by herself


She'll swim on an outside lane next week just in case but.... 


Let's discuss just how excited she is!


Mom, why do you always have to take my picture? 


C survived the swim meet too. And so did M who has come to realize that swim meet = snack time

Onward and upward, Happy Weekend!