Thanksgiving!

So the Turducken was a hit. Very tasty and I think it will be a new tradition around here. My turkey was enjoyed as well, but it was nice to try something new! Of course we over indulged on the many side dishes and desserts that were laid upon the buffet table, but isn't that what this day is meant for?

Besides, I won't be heavily training again until January. I am hoping I'll be up to it by then. Matthew wants to train with me so that we can Run through the Woods next year together.

My body seems like it is ready for training now, but timing is terrible. With the holidays and trying to finish up school for this year, I'll be happy to work on my walking trying to get my heart back in shape. I don't know what it's response will be after the trouble I had while I was pregnant.

Back to Thanksgiving. It was a great day. A bit emotional when I thought about Mom not being with us this year. In fact I broke down while saying our traditional grace. I think I saw a few tears in a few other eyes around the table as well. I felt her with me today, but I really would have loved it if she could have been here eating Turducken with us.

I am thankful for my family. Every single one of them. For my extended family and my wonderful friends. God has blessed me so very much. I should never have a complaint, yet I always manage to muster one up.

I look forward to this season of Advent. A time of preparation. A time of reflection. A time of reconcilliation. I pray that I can truly prepare myself in body, mind and spirit for the season of Christmas. I pray that peace will reign in the hearts and souls of those I love.

A few pictures from the wonderful day. He still smells of the chrism, even after his bath. I hope to get a few more shots up soon.

Baptism Day!

Today is the day my son will be perfect! Not that he wasn't already, but truly, in God's eyes, he will be absolutely perfect. I long for the scent of the chrism on his sweet little head. It is such a holy smell. Similar to the incense that one would smell during Mass. It drives home the fact that Christ is truly present along with the Holy Spirit.

We will be taking lots of pictures today, so I will post them as soon as I can. For now, you can enjoy some of the bathing beauty pictures!

me and the boys

Hospitals

Ok, pet peeve. I despise the medical BILLING industry. I have worked in the field myself for 15 years, but I can not stand the way these places do business!

My son is one month today. Guess what I get a bill for? His hospital stay. The hospital is billing me for 682.67 for his room and board. This would be fine with me, except the insurance doesn't pay for the infant's stay as it is included in the mother's charges. Oh, and did I mention that the hospital doesn't even provide a nursery for the baby? That's right! The baby rooms with the mom! So, what exactly am I supposed to be paying for? The breast milk that I feed my child from my breast? The space that he took while sleeping next to me in my twin size plastic bed? Maybe there is a fee for the air which he breathed in while in the hospital??

Another example of stupidity. Another few hours on the phone with various people who can't help me and don't care...

I swear... If I ran the world.... LOL

Back to Reality

Well, the time has come to get crackalackin'!! Baby B is 4 weeks old tomorrow, so I need to get the other children back to their full schedule of school work. They have actually become quite bored with things around here, so I think that they will embrace the change of pace.

I have changed a few things on their schedules, nothing major, but more of a shift in focus. Back to the Shakespeare, writing, and read alouds, as well as our faith formation. I seemed to have let the boring "table work" invade the house. I miss cuddling up with the kids and reading to them. Hopefully Baby B and J will cooperate enough to let me get some reading in.

I have had some time to organize a few things around the house. It seems I am always trying to organize something... I guess that is the control freak side of me. Hopefully the cabinets and binders will stay somewhat organzied for a little while.

The kids always LOVE me when I revamp the chore chart... LOL!!! But I've done that too. I decided to make a "chore wheel." Now they can alternate chores once a week. We'll see how that works. I have added the aspect of Room Patrol to the chore wheel. For instance, whomever is in charge of emptying the dishwasher is also in charge of doing the room patrol for the kitchen. They need to make sure the surfaces are all clean, the floor is swept, and the garbage in emptied, BEFORE they have their free time in the afternoon. We'll see how this goes...

Now if we could just get the weather to feel more fall like. Thanksgiving is next week and I just can't get into the cranberry, pumpkin pie making mood when it is over 85 degrees!!!

Baby B is going to be baptized next weekend. I need to spend some time this week preparing certain items. It looks like we'll have about 80 people showing up for this "little" get together!

Thankfully, my wonderful extended family is helping out with food! I love those guys!!


J drew a picture of the Alchemist from "Leggo my Ego" (the Veggie Tales Larry Boy cartoon). I thought he did a great job!!

The other picture is of Baby B's feet. They are so precious.

A few new pictures

It seems that the days are just flying past me now. We waited so long for precious little man to arrive, and now, as much as I want to stop time and enjoy him just as he is for a very, very long time, the clock seems to be on overdrive! He is already 3 weeks old.

He gained a pound his first two weeks, and according to my scale at home, he has gained another 1.5 to 2 lbs. this week! He is quickly growing out of his newborn diapers and layette. NO FAIR! I want him to stay so little for much longer. Of course, 9 lbs of baby is not little to start with!

The kids are so great with him. Each has their own job. B helps with diapers and walking him around, M likes to put him to sleep, E helps with the baths and dressing, and J is the diaper fetching boy! His job is to bring the diaper basket to me when we change baby. He loves his job and will have an outright fit if someone else tries to do the job for him.

All of the above is an excellent exercise for me. Letting go of the "Contol" that I so desperately want to hang onto. I have to make myself relinquish control to the kids so that they can bond with him to. Poor DH, I don't give him enough time with the baby either. Of course, I'd love all that extra help on the 2 am- 4 am shift! Where are they then??? Oh well, I must admit, having the dark, quiet, still house all to ourselves is pretty neat. We just admire one another and fall deeper in love...

Battling the blues has been my biggest challenge the last week or so. I've never really experienced this before. I feel like I am coming out of the funk a bit today and yesterday, but I am still not back to my usual self.

I am coming to realize a few things about myself that I suppose I knew before, but finally recognize that I need to either change or accept, whichever is applicable. I am a control freak. I said it. I hate it. But it is true. Knowing this, I have to make a decision sometimes hourly to allow others to do things THEIR way sometimes. Boy, that is an eye opener for me.

Next, I am very, very, very hard on myself. In turn, this is how I judge others. I expect that I should live up to a certain standard, and I hold the bar just as high for my family members. Totally unfair, but true. I know that there must be a positive aspect to this trait, and I am determined to find it! But in the meantime, I do need to assimilate a more gentle list of expectations on myself and those closest to me.

Now, has anyone seen that ridiculous infomercial that comes on late at night regarding "elmination habits"? Don't even get me started....

All Hallow's Eve

Here are a few snapshots from Halloween. We dodged the terrible rain storm and got in an hour of Trick or Treating. Just enough to guarantee we rot our teeth out of our head!