Birthdays and Belts

The end of November and early December was extremely full!  On Thanksgiving Day our oldest, the kiddo who made me a mom, turned 18!!!!  What?!?!?!?!  Ephraem must have known it was a special day for Aidan because he really didn't want to leave his side at all.  So sweet!  These two boys are almost 17 years a part in age, but the bond they have is absolutely precious!

 Sweet Ephraem refused to take a nap around mid-day and fell asleep with turkey in his mouth during our late Thanksgiving lunch.  

 Another picture of my two boys!

 These little kids sure do love their brother!  It's hard to believe that he's an adult now and will be graduating high school in the spring.  I know it sounds cliche, but the time really does go by so quickly.  It was unanimous on the night of his birthday that Aidan would get to "do the honors" and read the bedtime book!  😊

The next birthday was Bella's 4th!  She has been asking if it was her birthday for weeks and weeks.  The poor girl got nailed with a stomach bug about 24 hours before her big day so I was a little nervous about what she would be like on her birthday.  Thankfully she made a full recovery and was so excited all day long!  We had a huge snow storm (2 feet!) that day as well so it was a wonderful day to stay cozy inside and celebrate our sweet little girl.

The second Saturday of December we found ourselves watching the two oldest girls test for their adult black belts.  They have both been youth black belts for awhile and it was definitely time for them to upgrade.  7 hours of testing later they were awarded their promotion to First Dan Black Belt!  

 This guy was such a trooper, which means he ran around like he owned the place. The youngest two weren't there for the whole 7 hours, "only" 5 hours.  

I didn't get too many pictures because I was too busy soaking it all in....and running around after small children.  These two were amazing!  It's so fun to watch your kids grow in a skill and gain the respect of those around them.  They worked so well together and encouraged each other (even when they were beating each other up)!  

Winter Clothes Organization

Winter is here yet again.  Every year it's a challenge trying to keep all of the winter clothes from taking over our entire house.  I'm trying some new things this year that will hopefully help to keep everything organized.

 Everyone's snow boots are now upstairs.  In the past all of our boots would be kept downstairs, but our wood burning stove is upstairs which means our basement is significantly cooler freezing cold. This meant no one's boots would dry before they were needed again....not fun! As long as this crew can remember to bring their boots upstairs (or just come inside upstairs) then I have high hopes for this to work!

All winter coats (plus snowpants for Marci on down) are in the closet downstairs. Each of the big kids has one nice winter coat and the little ones have two complete coat/snowpant sets.  They tend to get much more wet and it's not practical to use the dryer mid-day to dry snowclothes (it's usually being used for laundry), hence the extra set.   

Extra hats, gloves, mittens, and scarves are kept on the shelf in the closet.

 Each kid (except Ephraem) has a pocket (Isabella at the bottom and Aidan at top) with hats, waterproof gloves/mittens for being in the snow, and car gloves/mittens for...well...the car.  The younger crew has two sets of each because they lose them or leave them in the car.

Snowpants, scarves, and Stormy Kromers on the hooks.

 In the interest of car seat safety for the winter both Bella and Ephraem wear these in the car.  They are made of a thin fleece material that keeps them warm and allows for their carseats to be tight enough to keep them safe!  All other kids are either in boosters or regular seats (or driving!!!) and wear their winter coats. 

As I type this the wind is howling outside and our first major snow is said to be on it's way. I'm excited to give our new organizational plan a try!  

To see a video of this check out my YouTube Channel here!

There's busy and then there's busy

One of the first things people will say to me when they find out that we have 8 kids (after studying my face to see if I'm actually serious) is, "And I thought I was busy!"  My guess is that they look at their lives and then multiply their "busyness" to equal what they think my life looks like with a lot of kids. I don't think they would believe me if I told them that they are most likely busier than me.

There's busy.....and then there's busy!  Clear as mud?  Let me explain.  

I am busy.  We have 10 people in our family.  All of us need to eat, have clean clothes, a clean (but lived in) home, and time to build relationships.  That all takes work, and sometimes a lot of time.  That is what fills my days. But I don't think that's the busy most people are talking about. 

A lot of people have their kids involved in several different activities and families are run ragged trying to make sure that they make it to everything that they are signed up for.  This is not us.  I'm not that kind of busy.

Brett and I have made it a point, and a priority, to limit what our kids are in and how involved they are in activities outside of our home.  This has looked different depending on what season of life we're in.  Currently six of the kids are in karate, one is in symphony and that same one takes two different music lessons.  What that means is that after being home all day, every day, there are 3 afternoons/evenings/nights where we are in town for activities.  The child who is taking lessons doesn't do as much karate because that's the way life is. Sometimes you have to choose, and sometimes you have to say no.

What I've found with this "guarded" schedule is that it gives us, as the parents, the freedom to make sure first things are first.  For us, family time and free time for the kids to be kids (and build relationships with those in our house) trumps any outside activity.  If we are having "a day" (and if you're a parent you know what that means) I reserve the right to say, "We're staying home and getting outside today" or "We'll just do two classes tonight and get home earlier so the little kids can get to bed", etc.  We do not let our children's activities run our family.  Sometimes the big kids have to sacrifice because the little kids can't handle a late night and the little ones certainly put their time in being schlepped around a few afternoons a week.

I feel like approaching busy-ness this way allows me to gauge how things are going.  If I'm feeling particularly stressed out or if I notice the kids are snippy and constantly arguing then that usually means we are all trying to do too much.  Reassessing who is doing what and when is my first go-to approach of bringing peace back into the house.  I will admit that sometimes my solution is to quit absolutely everything and stay home all the time.  When I feel that way usually there is something else to blame, not my kids' activities.  The temptation to throw in the towel usually boils up when I'm not keeping up on laundry or the groceries or the housework and not because I haven't had time to do it.

One other point that I want to bring up about this insane busy-ness business is this.  Rarely have I met any one person that is absolutely phenomenal at multiple things.  Of course exceptions exist.  The basketball player who is also an all-star baseball and football player who has a 4.0 and is socially charming is out there for sure. That's not the norm though.  I hope we are raising our kids to see that it is okay, and maybe even desired to do a couple of things and do them well.  Take the time to perfect a skill, not just dabble in several. 

At the end of the day it doesn't really matter how much we got accomplished or how many sports' jerseys we wore.  It's about what we did with our time, how we treated those we were with, and maybe even how we appreciated the natural beauty around us.  It's food for our souls to be able to breathe, to be bored (yes, I said it!), and to have extra time to just be.  Being still and silent (or at least tolerably quiet) gets lost in the busyness our society has created. 

I hope that my kids will look back on their childhood and appreciate and long for the quiet and time they were given to grow and thrive into who they will become!

A New School Year Begins

As is tradition we started school this week since Brett started going back full time for meetings! Students start next week for him. 

I did the bulk of my prep work throughout the summer and only had a a handful of work to do last minute.  I, as always, underestimated the amount of time I would need, and also underestimated what I would be capable of 2 weeks after having a baby. 

Our first week this year hasn't been ideal, or even close!  In fact at the end of Day 1 I was quite serious in my appeal to my husband when I asked if we could maybe hire both a tutor and a nanny.  It was *that* good of a day.  Oh dear! My poor husband. He and I had a meeting the evening of the first day and re-thought my approach for this year.  The rest of the week has been getting better and better each day.  Today (day 4) is a little bit of an exception since I had a big day and evening yesterday and had to take my 3 week postpartum self to bed because I clearly had overdone things.  Ugh.  I did get a chance to work with the kiddos who need me before I called it quits for the day so that's good. 

So, without further ado....the obligatory "back to school" photos:

 I'm not doing any formal anything with Isabella this year or next year.  She is sporting a backwards dress-up dress in the above picture.  She's been doing a good job of just going along with whatever we're doing.  She's part of "Ora Time" and our read aloud every day, but beyond that she just plays. When she asks to do school I hand her a piece of paper and a pair of scissors and tell her to cut. 

 Marciana is quite easily the brightest little one we have.  She is always thinking (and always expressing whatever it is that she's thinking).  Last year she taught herself all the numbers and letters and started sounding out words.  With my "Kindergarteners" I usually just focus on teaching how to read and basic math skills.  However, this one always wants to be "doing school" so she's doing science with us and history when she feels like it. 

 Felicity is plugging away where she left off last year.  I'll write more about this later, but the short story is that she's clearly not at "grade level" (whatever that means).  She's making great progress already this year.  I think this will be the year she really takes off.

Veronica has grown so much over the summer.  She is mostly doing independent work, only joins me for a little science this year.  She's a list-checker-offer and a rule follower, which is awesome, except for when the pages assigned for her history reading don't line up with the book!  Oops.

Gianna is just a fraction shorter than Emma. If we hadn't switched to a virtual charter school (more on that later) a few years ago she would be in 8th grade, but alas, she has a February birthday so the grade level for her age it is.  She'll be taking clarinet this year and Brett will still teach her piano. She's ready to be "farmed out", but Brett is having too much fun with her.

Emma is loving her classes this year so far. She especially is enjoying the British Literature course she's doing. It starts with Beowulf so if she's already liking it I'll consider that a bonus (not a favorite story of mine) She'll start orchestra in a couple of weeks.  She made the top youth orchestra this year and will be playing piccolo and flute. 

We all laughed when I took these pictures because I'm pretty sure every year Aidan makes the same silly face, and every year I tell him I'm going to post it. 

That's better. A big junior this year! We've recently started discussing future plans which is a bit surreal as I sit and snuggle a newborn, trying to wrap my mind around my first baby leaving home. Aidan has his driver's permit and will hopefully get his last driving time in and take his test soon.  We are really in no hurry to have him drive (or to pay for insurance).

And then there's Ephraem. Although he's as sweet as can be and we all love him dearly, he's not the happiest baby we've had.  We're still figuring each other out and I know we'll get into a good routine soon.

He's Here!

Introducing Ephraem Andrew!

He's 8lbs. of deliciousness!  This sweet baby has already carved out a huge spot in our family, and we're all absolutely madly in love with him!

He was baptized at just 5 days old (other than Felicity, I think that's the youngest).  His godfather (far right), will be leaving soon to study Canon Law in Canada and we wanted to make sure he was here for the Baptism!  It was beautiful and wonderful and the smell of chrism has just now faded a bit.  

I'm trying my hardest to rest and recover from this little man's entrance.  I'm finding myself getting a wee bit impatient, and wanting to just jump back into life, but I am trying to take the time I need to care for myself...having a sweet baby to snuggle with all day sure does help! 

Stuck

The above is a picture of our way into town.  A couple nights ago we had a monster storm that dumped nearly a foot (!!!!!!) of rain on us.  We went into town the next morning for Mass, but as we crossed this bridge and another further north I wondered aloud to Brett if he thought we should even be going to town.  We went to Mass and booked it home.  Sometime that night, with no extra rainfall, the bridge gave way.  There is rumor that a detour has been established, but no official word on where that is. We have a lake and large state park to get around so it's looking like we may have to go a handful miles south in order to get to a place where we can go north.  Might double the amount of time it takes to get to town.  Looks like I'll be hanging out at home quite a bit this summer since I'm also not convinced that our big van is going to make it very far on the detour road, which is a horrible road under good conditions.

I'm so very grateful that we are all safe, our house stayed dry, and I'm not due to have this baby boy for another 6 weeks or so.  I've already had a chat with him about staying put until his official eviction date.  I'm pretty sure he'll obey.  Pretty sure that bridge will be out for the rest of the summer, but at least by then there will be a clear and established way to get to town.

And this photo is of the smaller of the two waterfalls that are near us.  Usually there are two distinct stream/small falls going down the rock face.  What rock face you say?  Exactly!  Shortly after taking this picture we saw a huge tree fly over the falls.  Pretty incredible! 

November Check In

I didn't take these photos too long ago, but our yard looks completely different now.  Our first snow, which is generally a dusting, ended up being over a foot.  A lot has melted, but it's winter now for sure.  Getting a picture of all seven of these kids looking their best is absolutely impossible.  First of all, I'm not a photographer.  I'm a mom with a camera, which is close, but I don't have an artistic eye and I'm usually feeling pretty lucky if people are at least in focus.  Second of all, they're kids. 

Little Miss Bella is the star of the show these days.  She's fun, and playful, and cute, and just an absolute delight.  Her facial expressions are hilarious and her desire to hang with the big kids is adorable. 

Marci remains the most independent kid we have ever had.  She is driven and smart and focussed.  She observes things that most kids would never notice and is the first to want to help.  She loves "doing school" with the big kids and got extremely offended one time when I suggested that cutting a piece of paper "was" school.  

Felicity continues to do everything her own way in her own time, God bless her!  She is the leader of the pack (her two younger sisters) and is quick to give a random hug or compliment.  She doesn't always love school, but get's motivated when she gets to do "tricky stuff".  

Nica is a favorite amongst her little sisters and will oftentimes play with them for hours.  She loves when she gets to stay up late with the big kids and read or hang out with us.  She thrives off of affirming words and is always making sure she is doing everything "just right". 

Gianna is loved by all. Truly.  We often joke with her about her "fan club" at karate.  It seems that every kid always wants to be her partner.  Can't blame them really.  She's quick to get up and get going in the morning and will make breakfast for anyone who comes into the kitchen demanding requesting something to eat.

Emma has been and will forever be the peacemaker in our house.  She's kind and sweet and thoughtful.  Don't let that fool you into thinking she's a pushover though.  She has a famous "Hmmm..." you'll hear whenever she disagrees with you, but doesn't want to be rude about it.  She will sweetly play along with her sisters even when they don't ask her to and has made a name for herself as the resident banana bread baker (but don't ask her to cook anything, trust me).

Aidan is becoming less kid and more man every day as he approaches 16!  What?!?  He recently completed driver's ed and it won't be long before he's behind the wheel.  His sisters love it when he humors them by filming something and turning it into a movie.  He's the resident artist and film-maker.  He's been working on a project with a friend of ours that will be released soon.  I love it when he laughs and has a great sense of humor.

Last but not least...duck.  We find duck in the most unusual places doing the most unusual things.  We haven't figured  out what inspires duck to be so duck-like, but we all love duck's "quack, quack" and soft, squishy cheeks. 

We've had a few transitions this fall, but I think we're at a good place now.  Not that we were at a bad place before, but being in the midst of a transition is never very enjoyable.  Brett is chairing his department at work, which is basically a fancy way of saying he has a different title and a lot more responsibility.  There have been a few fires to put out and currently there's a bit of an uproar on campus.  Without going into too many details I'll just say that it's been more than a little stressful, but I want to say that we're handling it well.  There's not a lot we can do about most things anyway so we'll just keep plugging on and doing our best.