7 Quick Takes: [3.15.13]

1. Hey! I just started the process of getting a new blog design. I'm pretty excited. This place has been feeling a little blah and pretty outdated lately. It isn't cheap to have someone make a custom blog design for you so I discussed it with Brian first and he wanted to know would it be more for me or more for my readers. I thought about it and while I do so love you, dear reader, the design is more for me. I told him it was kind of like going to work in the same old clothes day after day. Then one day you decide to invest in a new outfit or two and suddenly going to work is fun again. But maybe that's a girl thing and he couldn't relate? I don't know. But I'm getting a new design so watch out for changes coming soon!

2. Habemus papam! Oh you guys, Wednesday was just so cool! I decided to pull up the live shot of the Sistine Chapel chimney while we were eating lunch.

And wouldn't you know it we saw the white smoke start billowing live! I was able to text Brian and my mom even before the media started reporting it. I let Lucy skip her nap that day as we were both glued to the TV. It so felt like we were creating a "where were you when" moment. Lucy explained to me that we needed a new pope to help get Jesus unstuck from the cross. She also told me Jesus came back to life on Easter when the fairies sprinkled sparkles on him. Maybe it's wrong of me but it's too cute to correct right now.

And when he chose the name Francis, the first Pope Francis ever, well, I just melted. Francis, of course, being what we chose as Bobby's middle name. I still remember being at the dining room table reading about the lives of Saints Francis of Assisi and Francis Xavier with Brian when we agreed he would be Robert Francis if we indeed had a boy.

3. My birthday was last week and the day turned out pretty well. It was busy though. I read at Lucy's school in the morning, had teacher conferences for William in the afternoon and went out to dinner with Brian that evening. Brian gave me the most beautiful birthstone pendant necklace and that was certainly a lovely surprise. He pretended my gift hadn't arrived yet and then pulled it out of his pocket at dinner. Jewelry is probably my favorite kind of gift to receive because I almost never think to buy it for myself.

4. I started my couch to 5k running program this week. Remember when I did that last year and had to quit halfway through when I was interrupted by a little thing called pregnancy? I'm not going to lie. My first outing was tough. But I'm convinced it was only tough because of the cold, wind and ice. I would have waited until it got warmer but Brian and I want to run a 5K over Memorial Day weekend and if I don't start now I won't finish the program in time. Besides, weather is such a lame excuse for not exercising. It's always going to be either too hot or too cold.

5. The weather though. I'm just so over winter. Last year we were in the 70s. And I know that was an anomaly of record-breaking temps but still. Couldn't we find a medium? This below-average temps, two-snow-storms-a-week stuff is getting really old. I finally had to break down and buy William all new winter gear. I really thought I could just make it through seeing as we are halfway through March. But nope, we've got another couple of storms on the way and his snowpants with the holes in the knees and coat with the broken zipper just can't cut it at recess.

6. The sun was shining brilliantly on our front porch yesterday so I took some new pictures of the kids even though none of them looked especially dressed up. When you have four kids you just have to seize the moment and forget about the details.

I used to think William and Bobby had the same eyes but I'm now realizing that Bobby's eyes are CRAZY beautiful blue.  It's like I put little baby contacts in him or something.  Ha! What if they made those?!

7.  It's been a tough morning.  It's taken me until 2:00 p.m. to finish writing this even though I started at 9:00 this morning.  Someone is always crying or whining or making a mess or needing to be fed or pooping their pants.  I can't keep up.  Such is the season of my life.  I think I'll go shower.  Or eat some lunch.  I can't decide.  I probably won't have time for both.

Coffee, Water or Just Beer?

William has a half day today and tomorrow. And no school on Friday. So there's that.

This morning I woke up with one of those headaches where you're not sure if you're dehydrated or just going through caffeine withdrawal. And then I had the internal debate...coffee or water? Coffee would provide the immediate relief I needed but water would be better for me.

In the end I gulped down a cup of coffee with a couple ibuprofen and chugged some water later. It worked.

I feel totally behind the 8 ball today with our weekend trip coming up.

I have mounds of laundry to do. And then someone, I won't name names, had the audacity to wet the bed last night. So now I have sheets to launder and a bed to make as well.

The snow plow just came by and instead of just leaving a wake of snow it knocked down the huge pile of snow boulders we had piled up on the boulevard. (You know you're a Minnesotan when you know what a snow boulder is.) Which means a simple shoveling won't do. I thought about standing out there for five minutes with all the babies and a sad look on my face hoping one of those men with the plow on the front of his truck would drive by and take pity and just take care of it for me. I would totally pay in beer. That really happened one year!

Katherine is in to EVERYTHING right now. Her favorites include but are not limited to: the plastic silverware, all the sippy cup parts, the wash clothes under the sink, the toilet water, the bathroom garbage, the full length mirror in my bedroom, my red high heels, her dresser drawers and all the clothes within, the books in the bookcase and climbing on the couch and giving me a hug but only when I'm holding a hot cup of coffee because I'm having caffeine withdrawals.

Lucy is not napping at all for me anymore. And right now I can hear her banging around in her room. I'm sure she has every bow in her hair and every string of beads strung around her neck. She emerges from her "rest" time every day looking like a bag lady.

At 3:00 I'm going to let William and Lucy out of their rest spots. But what they don't know is that I'm going to usher them to the basement to clean up the bomb that's been residing there for the past five days. They're going to be so mad. Why must toy clean-up equate to pulling teeth without pain medication? The whining. The limp bodies. The cries for help. It's too much! She/He's not helping! I didn't do that! Why can't everyone have the love and appreciation of a clean and organized play space as much as I do?

In the end I'll probably bribe them with some sort of snack. Or threaten to throw all their toys away. And then I'll have guilt. But not really.

Tomorrow is my birthday and I'm oddly a little stressed about it. My last two birthdays have been total busts. Two years ago I was in the depths of morning sickness having just found out I was pregnant with Katherine. And last year, of course, was dubbed the Worst Birthday Ever having woken up to two puking kids.

So now when my birthday comes around I kind of get this little pit in my stomach. I really want it to be a fun little day with my family but I'm just so nervous I'm going to end up hugely disappointed and feeling hugely disappointed will make me feel guilty about being so selfish about wanting to have a special birthday and around and around we go.

I'm nursing Bobby as I type this with one hand. He just cashed out. I'm really starting to love this little boy. Not that I didn't before, of course. But you know what I mean. It starts out so hard and you're just not sure. And then, like a fine wine, it just gets better as they age. Until they turn two-and-a-half when things get questionable again. Oh I kid!

A neighbor friend of mine (who also has four children) sent me this video the other day and Brian and I had tears we were laughing so hard.  I'm not sure what it means that we could relate to almost every joke he made.  We've definitely entered some sort of club by having these four kids.

I'll think I'll just end this little post on that note!

7 Quick Takes [3.1.13]

1. It has been exactly eight and a half days since anyone has thrown up in our house. Yay, us! And somehow I've been suck here all week. I started to feel the doldrums yesterday afternoon and couldn't really figure out why. Everything had been running smoothly all week at Casa del Nash. And then I remembered that aside from running to the end of the block to pick Lucy up from preschool, I haven't left the house since going to church on Sunday. I've been getting dressed, putting on makeup and doing my hair for no one except the five people in the world who care the least about it. Well, Brian probably appreciates it. And maybe the UPS guy? OK, I know. That was a stretch.

It's a good reminder to me that I need to schedule at least one outing each and every week. Schedule, being the key word here. Because last minute jaunts always seem half-hearted and I'm usually too disgruntle by the time I make the effort for it to even make a difference.

2. I want to write about the pope's resignation but I'm not exactly sure what to say. I think I feel like most catholics. I'm feel a saddness about him stepping down. He is such a good and holy man. Yet I also feel excitement about electing a new pope. Who will it be? What will he be like? I'm not a very good catholic writer but I found this via Andrea and I think it sums it up perfectly.

Non-Catholics can’t possibly understand the connection truly faithful Catholics have to their pope. He’s not magic, he’s not a god, and oddly enough he doesn’t even need to be holy or even particularly inspirational. (Fortunately, this last part is rare in the history of Christ’s Church.) What he is, is this: a promise. He is a promise, made by the Incarnate Lord, of a visible leadership that will last for all time, beginning with the flawed, hot-headed, cowardly fisherman who sat at His right hand, and stretching down through the millennia to us today. -Thomas L. McDonald

3. Moving right along to Bobby boy who is a beast. A beast in size and not 'tude, thankfully. I have never had an above average sized baby. This kid is a tank. Brian finally got his linebacker. The other day I noticed I was having to stretch his 3-month onesies to get them to snap. I didn't know what to do. Could I really put 6-month onesies on a newborn? I dug some of William's old ones out of the cedar closet and lo and behold he filled them out completely. In fact, I need the 9-month size close at hand. I wasn't kidding when I said that pretty soon he and Katherine will be able to share clothes. Now I think he might pass her up.

Kate & Bobby

4. The other day my friend, Carla, was perusing my cell phone pictures with Lucy when she spied this little gem.

Was Brian Batman for Halloween, she wanted to know. Um, no. This was just a few Saturdays ago. She asked why I hadn't blogged about it and I think the fact that it never occurred to me shows just how normal crazy has become around here.

5. More crazy...

This was last Sunday.  We caught him sitting like this in the tree watching the TV through the porch windows.  He was here for quite a while.  At least he was outside???

6.  Next weekend Brian and I are taking a mini trip to Chicago for our nephew's baptism.  We're spreading the kids (minus Bobby) out amongst relatives so I just need to take a moment say how wonderful it is to leave town for a couple nights and know that our kids are in the care of someone who loves them as much as we do.

Every once in a while Brian and I play around with the idea of moving out of state.  There are often far bigger and better professional opportunities for Brian elsewhere.  But we always come back to family as the reason we could never leave.  How we would manage to raise these four kids without the help of grandparents, aunts and uncles is beyond me.  If you're one of those people and you're reading this, know that we are grateful.  And we love you dearly.

7.  Finally, tonight is the first of two lenten fish frys at our church.  This is always a big hit for our school and neighborhood.  With beer and a band, a sacrifice it is not.  But it's such a great community builder I can't help but think God is smiling down in spite of it all.

So Good, So Bad

Oh you guys. We just got through the worst week of the year. That post I wrote about Monday being awful? That was just the tip of the iceberg. Wednesday was...wow. Everyone got the tummy bug except Brian and Bobby.

But I'm going to skip the gory details and instead just tell you that we are all now healthy and our house has been scrubbed and scoured from top to bottom and then three times over again.

Instead let's talk about going out in public with four children.

We have a tradition on Saturday mornings. Brian and I always get the good coffee from the coffee shop instead of making it at home and the kids, provided they had good behavior the night before, get some sort of breakfast treat; donuts, rolls, or the like.

Typically Brian and a few of the kids go out and pick up the goods and then we all enjoy at home. But this last Saturday we decided we were all in desperate need of a little time away from the confines of these four walls.

So we ventured out as a family. And, because we were really up for a challenge, we went to a very popular cafe right in the heart of a busy retail area of St. Paul. Parking our bus of a vehicle would be a challenge. Finding a table suitable for all six of us would be a challenge. And warding off any major meltdowns would probably be the biggest challenge of all.

The kids were fantastic.  Nearby patrons even commented.  At one point we crossed all of our little ducks at a very busy intersection.  William and Lucy were each holding a full cup of hot chocolate.  No one spilled a drop and they even avoided the huge puddles at the end of each curb.  We loaded everyone back in the car and Brian and I patted each other on the backs.  We were doing something right.

Did you see that couple that had the one child who was totaling melting down?  Not our four kids!  We're awesome!

And then...and then...

God humbled us to our knees.

We all went to church on Sunday.

We go to church every single Sunday but we don't always all go at the same time.  Many times we split it up and take one or two of the big kids with us.  But we try to make it a priority to go as a family at least once a month.  Once we're past this season of too many babies and toddlers this will be the norm.

William and Lucy have arrived at an age where they are both very good in church.  Except when we go as a family.  What is this phenomenon?!  It drives me crazy.  At the exact moment I'm dealing with one of the babies and I need them to just be on autopilot and expect them to carry themselves in an acceptable manner is the exact moment I spy, out of the corner of my eye, Lucy snatching up every single pamphlet in the pew and demolishing them with some stray pencil she found on the floor.

Then there's William who, in the loudest voice, is asking me what's for dinner that night.  I'm shushing him and bounce rocking the baby at the same time and it's like he can sense my desperation and just keeps tugging.  Just tell me, Mom!  Just tell me really quick!  Then I squeeze his arm, probably a little too tight, to let him know I mean business and he collapses at the perceived pain making a total spectacle for all those in the pews behind us to enjoy.  They're all ready to speed dial Child Protective Services after mass because it is totally obvious based on this little boy's reaction that he is abused all the time.

And then Bobby loads his pants so I have to leave Brian by himself to play goalie for all three kids throughout the homily.

And when it's time for the consecration, the most sacred part of the mass, is it the kneeling that cues Katherine to really turn it up a couple notches?

After we had received communion I took Katherine to the back of the church to let her walk around.  Keeping a 16-month-old contained is only fair for so long.  But somehow the other kids thought this was their signal to depart as well and with Brian too occupied in keeping Bobby content to notice, they made their exit.  So then I had all three of them stomping around back there.

Oh lord.  It was total mayhem.  And believe you me, they heard about it once we were in the privacy of our own vehicle.

It isn't like this every Sunday.  It isn't like this very often.  But when it is, it just feels awful to have every eye on you.

It was a nice reminder to me to be gentle about passing judgment on other kids' behavior I see in public.  We've all been there at one time or another.

My good friend Kali put it best when she said, "At this stage in life, God just expects you to show up."  Everything else is extra credit.

Today Will Be Better

These are the days they don't tell you about when you become a parent.

I already knew it was going to be a tough day.  William was off of school and my to-do list was long.

Then I walked into Katherine's room and instantly the smell hit me like a ton of bricks.

"Go get the phone!" I yelled to William.

It happened.  Throwup did not forget to stop at our house this winter.

I called Brian, who had left the house not a minute earlier.  He turned around and came home, knowing full well that caring for a puking one-year-old while also trying not to cross-contaminate a nursing newborn would be near impossible for even the superest of Super Moms.

We white-knuckled our way through the day.

William and Lucy each complained of aches and pains and tummyaches but Throwup did not pay them a visit.  Thank you, Jesus, for this act of compassion.

These are the days you don't think of when you say, Hey, let's have four kids!

But we survived the day and collapsed on the couch.  Unfortunately we collapsed on the couch to watch the season finale of Downton Abbey.  That did not provide relief on my anxious heart.

Early this morning William's dark figure stood at my bedside.  For a minute I thought I might need to get the clean up crew back to work.

"I feel better, Mom!"

And so went our morning.  Two off to school.  Two down for a morning nap.  And me, the Today Show and a lot of steaming coffee.

Yes, today will be better.

These Days of Nothing and Everything

Oh these days. They are so long. And so boring. Yet so busy.

Just when I think I can't take it any longer, I blink and Bobby is almost eight weeks. And a whole new baby, I might add. Just smiling and snuggling and sleeping and NOT CRYING. It's awesome. And I'm in love.

I battled a stomach virus early last week.  It was my worst nightmare come true.  Brian stayed home from work all day and tried to pick up my slack.  It just wasn't a good situation.  The next day things were pretty much back to normal and THANK THE LORD so far no one else has caught the bug.

The hardest part of the day, which I'm sure every other mother in the world can agree with, is the 4-6 block of time.  Waiting for Dad to come home.  Everyone's tired.  Hungry.  Bored.  I've been trying to brighten everyone's mood with some YouTube music videos.  But oh my, how many Gangnam Style requests can one person handle?

So I mixed it up with some Steve Miller Band.  But now my kids are walking around the house singing: "I'm a smoker. I'm a joker.  I'm a midnight toker."

So Call Me Maybe it is then!

This is a picture from Bobby's baptism a week ago.

What cracks me up the most is those two little partners in crime over there on the left.  They really are quite the duo these days.  Getting into lotsa trouble but remaining best friends through it all.  It's almost like they've worked up their whole strategy beforehand.  "While Dad has one baby and Mom has the other, let's me and you go in the basement and trash the place!  We'll make it sound like we're really getting along and playing nice and then when Mom and Dad finally remember to come check on us, geez whiz will they ever be surprised to see what we've done!"

And then there's this little chica who is so totally toddler all of the sudden.  A little sassy and a little tantrum-y.  I hate to peg my kids, especially when they are so young, but she really has become a mini Lucy.  She's like Lucy lite.  The nice thing about going through this stage the third time around is that I know it's not bad-kid syndrome.  This too shall pass.  So I just sit back and have a little giggle when she throws herself on the floor for not being able to keep my cell phone as her very own possession.  Then I plop a steak in front of her and remember, oh yeah, you only have six teeth!  She's still my baby after all.

Every single night after dinner we load all the kids in the bath.  We mix it up.  Sometimes William takes a shower.  Sometime we do big kids first, then babies.  Sometimes I do just the boys then just the girls.

Last night I ran out of the bathroom to grab a towel and when I came back Brian had all four in the bath at once.  Which is funny because he's always the one complaining that there isn't enough room in that tub.

"Are you serious?" I said to him.

"Yep!" He said.

He left the room and I shouted to him to go get the camera.

"That's where I was going!"

Because we both thought the same thing when looked in that tub.  This is pure ridiculous-ness.  And also a little awesome.

I know Bobby is a little spaced out here but let's instead focus on the fact that I just posted three pictures of him in one post and he wasn't crying in a single shot.  Way to go Bobby boy!

Not Quick Takes

Good Friday morning to you all! We're all snuggled up in our jammies and fleeces and me with a hot cup of coffee on this negative ump-teen degree morning. I really need to make a Target run but decided that just wasn't prudent with three kids and the risk of immediate frost bite. So that will have to wait.

I'm not going to write Quick Takes today. Mostly because if I do that would mean I have two Quick Takes in a row making it all the more apparent that I haven't blogged all week and I just can't have that kind of in-your-face proof that I could never be a real blogger.

It was a busy week. It's Catholic Schools Week which is always fun for the kiddos. They get to come out of uniform for all sorts of wacky and fun theme days. But does anyone else find hunting down the perfect attire for these special days a bit stressful?

Thursday was Color Day which meant each grade was assigned to wear a certain color. The Preschoolers were supposed to wear green and the Kinders were supposed to wear purple. If this would have been flip flopped it would have been fine. But trying to find green in Lucy's wardrobe and purple in William's deemed impossible. In the end we borrowed a Vikings jersey from a neighbor for William (How my child has no Vikings gear is beyond me!) and because Lucy threw a fit at the thought of wearing one of her older brother's shirts, well, she just wore a dress that had not one speck of green in it. But that's just Lucy for you. Always living life outside the lines and not caring a lick what anyone thinks about it.

I feel like I should give you an update on Bobby. Because raise your hands if you thought my absence from this here blog was because I was standing on a bridge somewhere ready to jump?

I kid.

He is doing leaps and bounds better as far as the nonstop crying thing goes. Today he is six weeks old and he finally seems to have come alive. He will now sit in his bouncy or swing and is content to interact with his mobile. He is very responsive and extremely verbal for a one-month-old. William was the same way and we all know how that turned out. Mr. Talks-ALL-THE-TIME. Great. Doesn't look like our house will be getting any quieter any time soon.

After I gave him a bath yesterday I dressed him in a real outfit instead of the sleep sacks and footie pajamas he's been living in since he was born.

I know I'm the mom but I think he's getting cuter by the minute.  It was touch and go for a while there.  But maybe that was just because he was always red-faced screaming.

This weekend is his baptism.  We're not having a big ol' party and I only feel a little guilty about this.  It's tough to have a slew of people over to our house in the middle of winter because we only have so much square footage to work with when the backyard is closed for the season.  I thought about reserving a room somewhere but working out all the details of food and drink didn't seem like a manageable project for me to tackle right now.  So it will just be grandparents and godparents and brunch at a local restaurant afterward.

Which brings me to my next challenge.  I have no idea what to wear.  Without a party it's a bit more casual.  But it's still a baptism with pictures that will be looked at forever.  A dress isn't a option because these whitey-white legs should be seen by no one at this time.  I thought about leggings with a tunic but then remembered that it's near impossible to breastfeed in public while wearing a tunic.  I guess I could do boring black dress pants but I'm not even sure my pre-pregnancy ones will fit me yet.

It looks like a Saturday afternoon shopping trip is in order because, as always, it's all about me.  Send me suggestions if you have them!