Halloween!

BOO!

We had a fantastic Halloween!!! The kids were dressed as:
Drew - army zombie
Jack - Harry Potter
Bo - a cheeseball
Ellie - a pumpkin princess

The cheese ball was all Bo's idea. He loves those puffed cheese balls and decided that's what he wanted to be for Halloween. He has since asked if we could call him cheese ball as well. We regretfully declined.

All the kids got $5 from Aunt Jackie in Chicago. HUGE! They are so excited! Ellie was able to purchase her first real Barbie today with that money. She is still so excited!

Ellie's First Day of School

Just a picture that needs little description... This is Ellie ready for her first day at Mom's Day Out with her new backpack (that she picked out herself).

Seven SHORT years ago...

Today is a special day - Jack turns 7! It is such a cliche, but it really does seem like he was a baby yesterday. He is turning into a very special young man with many neat talents. He is smart. He loves music - and Aunt Katie is teaching him to play the guitar! He asks a million questions every day. He is going to play basketball this winter and it already loving Cub Scouts.

I remember being so excited to have him - we had just had a big storm and lost power at our house for three days. The power came on and we went to the doctor on the 21st and they decided to induce labor today. Then the hospital called and told us to wait because they were full already. We scrubbed the house and got lots done before heading to the hospital around 9am. He was born around 3:45 weighing in at 7 lbs., 15 oz. He is a miracle every day.

Today, I will bring him Chick-Fil-A for lunch at school and doughnuts to share with his class. I am going to surprise him with a movie after school. We are very, very lucky to have the beautiful family we have. We know that. I am grateful for a day like today to help me remember it!

Happy Birthday Jack!

My Better Half

What a cliche! John truly is my better half though.

He challenges me to be a better person every day. He is my biggest fan. He doesn't get mad when I mess things up. He eats my cooking happily. He knows my limits. He helps me be the mom I am, the person I am. I am very lucky that he has spent 10 years making me the happiest person - thank you, John! Happy Anniversary!!

Slacker.

I know, I know... I am not the best at keeping up sometimes. School started. Football started. Birthdays, anniversaries.

So, here is a recap...The start of school went well. The kids like their teachers. Bo started full days of class this week and was very excited to 'eat lunch there'. It's the little things!

Football is fine. It's a tremendous effort to get him to practice sometimes - balancing homework, three other kids and the fact that we are 28 miles from practice at home. He finally figured out how to tackle and likes the sport more. I am torn between the 'mama bear' instinct to go tackle the boys who tackle Drew and this innate competitiveness for him to just be more aggressive. Weird. I find the encouraging him is best. I try and keep the mama bear at bay. There were two injuries on the other team (which was a LOT larger than ours - in size AND numbers) during the game. Our kids all took a knee until the child got up. The other team were just yelling at the poor kid down to 'get up!' I do love our team.

I still love being at home. Part of the whole being home was to relieve some stress with running around. Part was to keep up with house, laundry, etc... to enjoy our time we are all home together more. Part was to be there for the kids. I am finding that part the most critical right now. I really did think it got easier when kids went to school. It was harder when they were babies and toddlers. I was wrong. Not that you can't do it all - working too. You absolutely can. I could still do it. I do like that I am not though. It's where I need to be right now.

Drew Bear

Football kicks off this weekend, so I might not have time to post this later...

It's our first born's birthday - I am so proud of the young man he is becoming. He plans to go to Auburn (playing football, of course) and then to the NFL. Not sure that will happen, but I know he will work hard to get wherever he wants to go.

He amazes us each day. I won't say that he never makes a mistake or loses his temper, but so do I. He's just a really cool guy and we couldn't be happier to be his mom and dad.

Why it's good to have family

When you need a pick-me-up, they are there... Thanks mom and dad for the coolest wine glass and coming to see us Monday - a highlight of my week :) I love you guys!

The Truth

These days, I am home with Bo and Ellie. They are pretty much on the go constantly. They may watch 15 minutes of tv, but that's all they care to watch. Then it is on to something more exciting.

Ellie wanted to watch a few minutes of Dora this morning as I was folding laundry. Bo was playing 'jet ski' with his Bass Pro Shop toys in the sink upstairs. I know that I have to check on this play every now and then (before he floods the house). I went upstairs and noticed that Drew's light was on. As I walked in, I noticed legos scattered on the floor and paper shredded all around his desk. I know I made his bed and straightened up no more than an hour prior to this. Then Bo comes in.

Bo: "I didn't come in here."
Me: "Are you sure? Did you play with the legos?"
Bo: "It was an accident. I'm sorry."
Me: "Why is there paper all over the floor?" (I couldn't tell what it was from)
Bo: "I didn't eat any candy."
Me: "What candy? Did you eat candy here?" (then I remembered that Drew had a pack of pez in his desk)
Bo: "Well, he should've put it way back on his desk where I couldn't get to it."

Ah... I realized he has no idea what the 'truth' is and what a 'lie' is. This isn't easy to explain to a 4-year-old. I had to really break it down to him and I think he gets it. I guess that might be a pitfall of having four kids. Sometimes you assume kids understand concepts that the bigger ones already do. Anyway, after explaining the 'truth' to Bo, telling him things and making him decide if they are true or not ('Mommy slept in Bo's room last night" - not true. "Bo ate candy and knew it was Drew's" - true), he cleaned up the mess.

I count this as one minor mommy victory this morning.

Nine years ago...

I was D-O-N-E. The sweet baby I so looked forward to cuddling would simply not come out. This picture is actually from just a few days before we delivered him. We had a yard sale - why we chose to do that in August, I have no idea...

Having Drew is not more important than the other births. It's just different because that's when I first became a mom. So, I am reminiscing a little this week and thinking about what an incredible 'job' I have in raising these four people. Expectations are high for them - we want them to be smart, healthy, kind to others... But most importantly, we want them to be happy.

The 'H' Word

Hate is one word I can't stand to hear the kids say. I don't even like them to say it in reference to certain vegetables (although I strongly dislike brussel sprouts).

I saw a teaser on the Today Show for a segment on 'The Most Hated People in America'. Seriously. Is this necessary? To me, it almost goes beyond meaningless gossip, not to mention - how is this NEWS? I am not saying that the people on the list are good people. I have never met any of them and I do not trust the media to give me enough information about anyone to judge them - oh, and it's not my place to.

Everyone is someone's child. I just hope I can help my kids maintain a slight bit of their innocence and teach them that such a strong word isn't necessary - ever.

Birthday Parties - Grown Up Style

We had four different birthday parties this past weekend - insanity. We missed one, but enjoyed the three we did go to. As for the 'raising myself' portion of this blog, the biggest eye opener to being home full time with four kids is that we do what we can do and don't worry about the rest. I have so little stress now. Right now, my house is a disaster. There were 10 kids roaming through here yesterday and I am still recovering :)

Back to birthday parties - I am distracted this morning...

What if grown ups had parties like kids? We could have play time at a park. We'd swing, slide and play tag. Then, we could have cake and ice cream. Finally, the birthday adult could sit down with all their friends around them. Present time. Gifts wouldn't be big things. A new potholder. A cool magnet. A makeup bag. A new shade of nail polish. Little things. And you could tear through them and your adult friends could giggle about it. As a farewell, everyone would get a goody bag. I vote for a chocolate bar in the goody bag.

I think it would be fun. Random? I know.

Finally, we are venturing into trying the mediterranean diet. We had the realization that, even though we think we may be 24, we are not. We are approaching 40 at lightning speed. Time to think about longterm health we suppose. I have created our menu for next week from the Eating Well website. Here's to health! Maybe instead of the chocolate bar in the goody bag, I should have some plain nuts for heart health.

Ellie's Birthday

Just a couple pictures of Ellie's birthday. I made her tutu based on a tutorial online. I just ironed-on the sequin cupcake.

The cupcakes are a Williams-Sonoma recipe... Vanilla cake (more like a pound cake) and a buttercream frosting.

The Bath.

There are things in life that are optional. Others are not. The bath, for instance. In a house with four kids under 9, baths are a frequent necessity.

I had a brief meeting Sunday evening. John was fending for himself with the kids after dinner for an hour. He is so kind and helpful, that he started cleaning up the kitchen for me. Apparently, no more than a couple minutes into cleaning he noticed how quiet the house was. I call that the 'child-induced eerie silence'. It's rarely a good thing. He ventured out to the porch to find Ellie and Bo playing in the charcoal ashes from the kettle grill. They had taken the lid and grate off and were having a party. Yes, a bath was a necessity.

Drew (our oldest) started football practice yesterday and I thought it would be a fine idea to bring the other kids and let them run around and play during the practice. Never trust my fine ideas... Besides giving all the other parents heart attacks by jumping up and down the bleachers, Ellie decided to jump off the side. Then she hit the concrete - with her knee and chin. Halfway through practice, we have a dirty mess that is now bleeding as well. Yes, a bath was a necessity.

I decided to have a moment to myself and take a bubble bath when John was home. What a treat. I relaxed and it was so nice to have no disturbances for that moment. Yes, at that moment, the bath was a necessity. When I got out of the tub, the questions began. I don't just take a bath like that in the middle of the day. Bo was confused. His face showed the confusion and he asked, "Did you play with my toys?"

All in all, you have to love a bath. All in all, anything that makes children clean is a good thing. I'm glad I took time for myself too... Even if I didn't play with Bo's toys.

My Little Girl

We were so surprised at Thanksgiving a couple years ago to find out we were expecting again. Then to be expecting a girl - I was in a little denial. I was sure she would come out and end up being a surprise 'he'. But she didn't. She arrived a girl and so tiny that my first thought was that she was too small.

A couple years later, we are celebrating her birthday. Wow. Each day she surprises me. She is fearless. As in, if we go to the pool, she will jump right in. The other day we were there with neighbors and she was standing at the side of the pool. I turned to do my headcount and she jumped onto my head/shoulder. No fear. Now, the other people in the pool who caught the resulting quick 'swimsuit malfunction' were probably afraid, but it was corrected quite quickly.

She is a girl's girl. Most folks made the same statement when we found out she was a girl. "She'll be such a tomboy with all those brothers." She is tough. She can swat Bo to defend her things so fast... But she loves shoes. She loves pink things. And she adores her dolls. Don't get me wrong, I am glad she is tough, but it is fun to have someone so different - no trains, no cars...

Today, we will watch Dora, we will make a cake, she will wear her feather boa play shoes and we will indulge her whims all day... It's a good day.

Bo.

Many of you know him. He's a mess. I was telling a story about him to a neighbor and she suggested I post this here.

We have a dog. She is still somewhat of a puppy - 8 months old. Bo loves her. He loves to feed her. He loves to pet her. He even loves to hug her. I don't think she appreciates the hugs, but she puts up with it.

After the dog's breakfast, Bo will often try to take her out on her leash. I don't usually allow just him to do that. I like someone to be with him. A couple days ago, I heard the door slam in the morning. I hurried to follow him out and then I saw it. He did have the dog out to go to the bathroom, but he was also going to the bathroom. His pants were around his knees and he was going to the bathroom IN THE FRONT OF THE HOUSE. I asked what he was doing and he calmly replied, "Well, I had to go too!"

We have since discussed that we use the restroom INSIDE the house. In the bathroom.

I'll try anything again...

I know - I've blogged in the past. I am working on ideas for a blog I started in January with table discussion topics - this is not a replacement for that.

These are true stories about our family. Sometimes, it's a perfect picture of family bliss. More often than not, we're just a mess.

Today, my son was contemplating a second helping of cheese balls. In his own wisdom, he told me, "This will be all, mom. I won't have anymore, even though I want some more. I am sacrificing. You know, like Jesus." We are Catholic. The kids are in Catholic School. I love that he is aware of the sacrifices of Christ, but to compare his sacrifice to not having more cheese balls? Still pondering that one.

I took all the kids to Target for groceries. We spent a small fortune it seemed, but finished successfully. As we are walking out. I am so confident that no one has had a meltdown. No one threw a fit. We had no tears. Success. Then I ran over my four-year-old with the shopping cart in front of the customer service desk. Sounds terrible, but he bounced up quickly and was fine. I had to remind myself that too much confidence in my new role as a stay at home mom can quickly turn. Very quickly.

Finally, as my friends, you all know that we didn't arrive at the decision for me to stay home lightly. However imperfect my house still is, however forgetful and crazy busy I can be still, I am so lucky to be home with these four little ones.

That's why I named this blog Raising Four Kids and Myself. I have as much to learn as the kids do.