Last Thursday I was on the phone talking birthday invites for Baby Z when something bit me.  It was so severe I put the person on hold to take off my shirt and look for the culprit.  Never found it.

Want to know why?

It was shingles.

Yes, shingles.  SHINGLES!

I went 24 hours before having Lance take a picture so I could send it to a few moms to help diagnose the problem.  Thankfully, I had the sense to send it to Paul, who diagnosed me over the phone and sent me to the local clinic.

And now today, I have this crap all over my trunk and it hurts.  Really badly.

Yesterday, the boys had a birthday party to attend.  I was alone and it really hurt to hold Baby Z so I passed her off to anyone who would hold her.  And since I didn’t want to look like a loser mom, I told everyone at the party about my shingles.  EVERYONE.

And that’s how I found out how many people have or have had them.  And they are way younger than me.  Who knew this was so popular?  Not me.

All I know is that it sucks.  Baby Z will be vaccinated for chicken pox as soon as she can be.  No delaying shots like I normally do.  I never want her to go through this.  Ever.

One positive of all this?  I had a play date set up for this week and had to ask my friend if she was pregnant.  (Because you can’t be around preggos while you have this crap.)  She is!!!  So while I hate to miss time with her, I am so excited for her news.  So very happy.

And now I’m wondering what to do about Baby’s party because I’m not sure when this crap will run it’s course.  I’m on Valtrex, which just makes me feel so dirty.  And let me tell you, Valtrex isn’t helping, this stuff is getting worse, not better. The pain medicine they gave me?  Not working either.

And….no gym.  At all.  What am I going to do?

Have I mentioned that shingles suck?

The sweet side

We see this face a lot

 Showing his muscles

This child is my, how do we say it nicely, most spirited child.  Knows what he wants and it’s usually food.  But he is so much fun, full of personality.  Love you, my sweet boy!

For Today…November 28, 2011

Outside my window…it’s sunny and cold.  What a great combination.  I love this weather.  I love having to get a sweatshirt.  I don’t love the fuss from the kids about wearing jeans or long pants.  And by kids, I mean everyone but the Baby fusses about the change in clothes.  Goose was so upset that his jeans were “itching” him that he refused to say goodbye this morning.  Because of course it’s my fault it’s cold outside.

A child who can appreciate the clothing options this weather brings.

I am listening to…No David make letter sounds.

I am wearing…black yoga pants, a grey t-shirt and my Memorial sweatshirt.

I am grateful…yes, I am grateful.  We did a different take on our thankful tree this year, opting to discuss what we were thankful for each evening at dinner rather than do one huge tree at the beginning of the month.  I liked that we were forced to think of our blessings each day.  Trying to implement this practice for myself via a gratitude journal, it’s not like I don’t have enough notebooks laying around this house.  I’d also like to start this with the kids.

Teamwork

The Martimas Lantern

I am praying…that everyone stays healthy and those that are sick get better.  A friend’s sister and for faith.  Faith for everyone.

From the kitchen…please give me some willpower this week.  I gave Squirt the last piece of pie in his lunch today.  I have two more pieces of pumpkin cake and three kinds of ice cream.  The cake is Baby Hulk’s and hopefully, the boys can take care of the ice cream for me.  We’ve planned a decent menu for the week and not over shopped.  I have three weeks before more sweets get going in this house.

On keeping home…my home is clean and neat.  That’s who I am.  Thankfully, I’m blessed with being able to keep house well.  That said, it’s much harder with five kids.  Much harder.

Playtime

Around the house…who knew it would be so freaking hard to find someone to fix my fence?  Still have dead bushes in the front yard.  Do I wait till Spring to change them out?

To live the liturgy…I made it through just fine yesterday.  We’ve been preparing at our church for this change and have said most of the prayers already.  I loved that the priest had the same feelings I had about the changes.  That it was difficult after so many years.  This morning I wondered about all those people who only go to mass at Christmas.  They are going to be so lost.  I immediately felt like a jerk after thinking that.  Those people are all probably much nicer than me.

Love her!

The season of Advent…it’s here, I’ve got some new traditions I’m pretty excited about for this year.  Hopefully, more on that later.

One of my favorite things…Christmas books.  I was going to wrap all of my books and have the kids read a new one each night, but I hate to limit ourselves to one every night.  We have 20 books that I would consider real Christmas books, plus about ten more fluff Christmas books.  (These would be Frosty the Snowman type books, and while I love Frosty and feel reading these are important too, they go in a different basket than something like Jingle, The Christmas Clown or Country Angel Christmas.)  I also have ordered about 12 more books from the library.  Did you read that honey?  The library, not Amazon.

Our first Tomie book remains my favorite.

I am creating lists…of Christmas projects and hoping to finally start a gift list.  I have no ideas and nothing is popping out at me for the kids.  I have a super awesome nativity scene that Baby Hulk and I will make this year.  And by awesome, I mean I like it and it’s easy to do.  Not sure about the nativity blocks that a certain someone promised to make for me.

Learning all the time…it has amazed me how our units have flowed into each other so well and how much the kids and I have enjoyed it.  I love Handwriting Without Tears, and while Baby Hulk’s handwriting isn’t the best I’ve ever seen, it is so much better than it was a year ago and better than Goose’s who never had any problems writing.  Next Spring I start with No David.  We have two weeks before we focus solely on Advent and Christmas which will include lots of read a louds, crafts and cards.  And baking.  Lots of baking.

We never nap together like I did with the others, imagine that.

Towards rhythm…You hear how important a routine is for kids.  They need predictability.  I’m really working on that in all that we do.  From our learning to our evenings.  Trying to find areas where we can “release” the stress from the day so everything goes smoother.  From waking up in the morning to laying down to sleep.  Part of the rhythm I crave is the true family meal.  The meal where we all sit without disruption from the phone or computer.  I hate that my children hear the phone ring and run to get it for me.  I don’t know why, I rarely answer the phone when they are around.  And to be honest, I haven’t missed one emergency so far.  Not one.

A few plans for the week…interview for Goose’s First Reconciliation, playdate, birthday party, prepping house which will be deep cleaning and figuring out when we will decorate.

A few pictures worth sharing…I tried to get my girl in her new winter dress.  This is all I got.

Little girl you are eleven months old.  Just how did this last year pass by so quickly?  While I wish time didn’t pass so quickly, I have no regrets about this first year of your life.  We have enjoyed our time with you every single day.

You are so funny these days, showing us that you will not be forgotten or pushed around.  By anyone, especially No David.  And how that little boy loves you so.  Last week I caught him on the floor sleeping next to your crib.  I can only assume that he was talking with you until you both crashed.  It makes me smile to see him talk with you, bring you toys, give you food and in general just pay lots of attention to you.  He wants so badly to play with you.  He craves a bit more interaction on your part, patience isn’t really his thing,  yet he doesn’t really like when you mess with things he deems not yours.  When he does something that you don’t like, you are very verbal.

You are learning more each day.  While you aren’t talking yet, (so much for girls talking early in this family!) you chatter to yourself nonstop.  You know how to get our attention and are very deliberate in your chatter.  I realize that you are definitely communicating with me and know what you are “saying”.   For instance, I know when you say: hi, mom, dad, i love you and bottle.  This is huge in our home.

You can now sit up on your own (11/8), a big deal to me.  For whatever reason, I have always loved that move from babies.  Like your brothers, you had to crawl before sitting on your own.

You even pulled yourself up on Mimi’s birthday.  So you’re moving right along, progressing just as you should.  At your own pace, which is just fine to me.

And today, you did it again.  You stared so intently at me.  And you wanted me to know that you were staring at me.  You made some noise to make me look at you.  And your eyes, they were incredible.  So intent, staring into my soul.  How I wish that I could hold you in my arms forever.  I promise I will hold you for as long as you will let me.

Sunshine, I could sit and stare at you all day long.  I know we received the best gift the day you were born.  Truly, you are amazing.  We all think so, especially me!  I love you, dear girl.

It’s been a great week.  Seriously.  I’ve had the least stressful holiday I have had in probably my entire life.  And no, I did not medicate myself.

It was just us, my dad and aunt for the day.  My poor mom was sick and stuck at home.  The food was good, at least the potatoes were.  Have I mentioned that I am not a fan of Thanksgiving?  It’s not Thanksgiving I have a problem with, it’s the food.  I don’t like turkey, stuffing, gravy and so on.  Once I graduated from law school, my parents began to take my hatred of turkey seriously and would grill a steak for me.  This year, I forgot to get a steak for myself so I had a huge plate of potatoes.  We had three types of potatoes so it worked well for me.

Since we knew the crowd would be small and no littles would be eating pie, we only had two desserts.  My dad left before we had dessert, and Lance and I have been eating dessert about every two hours since then.  It’s kind of sick.   Each time we open the refrigerator, I say I’m throwing everything away after one more piece.  I will regret this next week.  I am positive.

This has been a pretty stressful year as a Longhorn fan.  Last week’s loss was pretty devastating for me.  The only good part was listening to Goose yell at the television.  This week’s game was a must win.  There was the drama of the rivalry ending and emotions were high.  And Texas pulled through and won.  (Just in case my readers don’t know this.)

Today I had lunch with a good friend who is an Aggie.  She was at the game.  And was slightly emotional about the loss.  I was surprised to hear that she was so emotional as she’s kind of like me when it comes to crying.  Her daughter was also surprised and wanted to know why mom was crying.  Daughter’s solution to her mom’s tears: “Let’s just cheer for the Longhorns.”  Friend immediately tuned to her daughter and told her to “shut up.”  I love this story.  Makes me love  my friend even more.

Goose just lost his second front tooth.  He looks a bit crazy actually.  Sort of vampire like.  And he now talks just a bit funny.  And when he runs his tongue where his teeth should be, it looks kind of obnoxious.  I hate this whole kids getting older thing.  SIGH.

Tomorrow the new translation of the Mass starts.  I’m 41, in my entire life, I’ve missed mass about 10 times.  Maybe.  Even in college.  No matter the sin, I was at mass.  I’ve said the same prayers at mass my entire life.  Over 2000 times.  Tomorrow the words change.

I don’t like change.

At all.

Even when my priest tells me that these words are a better translation of the prayers.

This week, I tried to find a place where the old prayers would be said, except that during daily mass, it’s much shorter and you don’t say the creed.  Or the Gloria.  I love singing the Gloria.  The old one.  It is hands down, the best part of the Easter Vigil for me.  And this year, it will be different.  Sigh.

I could go on about how grateful I am for my faith, my family and food.  But let’s be real…it’s after 11.  There is one thing I’m happy about right now.

We Won!

I won’t rub it in, that’s being taken care of on Twitter as I type.  The joys of social media.  I need to start following more people.

I say this weekly, but watching Goose is unreal.

Except he fell asleep, and we were winning.  By the last minute, I had moved to the bedroom and had to pick him up to watch the final seconds with me.  (I realize how creepy that sounds.)  Then I nudged him.  Then I started talking loudly.  Finally, I hit him to wake him up.  Not hard or anything, I just knew he wouldn’t want to miss that.

This weekend is why I love college football.   I danced so much afterwards, I might have lost all the weight I gained earlier today.

Hook Em!

Have fun in the SEC, Aggies!

For Today…November 15, 2011

Outside my window…the wind is blowing, it looks like it’s going to rain today.  I’m grateful it’s not so humid right this second.  But seriously, can we have some nice FALL weather?  Now.

I am listening to…The Baby Hulk and No David play together outside.  We skipped our time at the gym this morning due to stuffy noses and I’m glad.  We did a small amount of math, coloring on a grid, then came outside to play.  And spend time with the damn dog.

I am wearing…black shorts and a green shirt, also known as workout clothes.

I am grateful for…the babble of a baby girl, a boy who is ALL boy and snuggles from my kids.

Around the house…in honor of the Feast of St. Martin of Tours, we had another cleaning haul and were able to donate quite a bit of stuff.  Lance’s side of the closet looks amazing, I even managed to get rid of a formal from before Lance and I met.  It had shoulder pads.  Why was I holding onto that thing?  The boys ditched several “noisy” games without any hesitation.  I organized toys so they were more accessible.  No David just came and gave me two more shirts, a red one and blue one.  He wants to donate them because they don’t have any pictures on them.

I am reading…Simplicity Parenting.  Another great book.  How did I luck  out with two great parenting books in a row?!  This book really helps me stand firm in my resolve to limit the amount of crap we have in our house as well as the amount of outside activities we do.  It’s more about being together and giving your kids a sense of security.  (My words, not the author.)  Thankfully, we like to be together.  Most of the time.  I’m wondering if Goose wants family time or a DS.  Hopefully, family time because he still isn’t getting one.

In the yard…I’m taking estimates for a new fence and also looking at my dead grass and shrubs.  Can I be real?  With all the crap I need around here, Christmas for me and Lance is going to suck.  In fact, anyone that gives us cash for Christmas can just send it my way now.  It will be put to good use, might not be fun stuff, but good use.

One of my favorite things…The Renaissance Festival.  I used to go each year with my parents, we’d eat and drink all day long.  Then all of a sudden, it started taking over an hour to leave the parking lot.  After two years of that, I was done.   That was more than ten years ago.  This year I took the kids to school days at the RF.  While it wasn’t the same (read:no alcohol or Scottish eggs) it was still a beautiful day.  Thanks to my dad for sending us and mom for enjoying the day with us.

In the kitchen…decent menu planned.  Nothing super special, but I won’t be scrambling for ideas during the week.

I am praying…that we all get better.  Almost everyone has this cold.  And quite frankly, it stinks.  I have two family members performing this week, and they can’t be sick.

I am creating lists…grocery lists, Thanksgiving lists, Christmas lists.  It’s kind of slow going on the Christmas lists.  Very Slow.

Baby Z this week…ate a bit of dirt.  What more can you say about that?

Lance…is growing a beard.  It feels like I’m cheating on him when we kiss.  I cannot wait until it is gone.  No David thinks Lance has cactus on his face.

I am trying…to get organized for Advent.  It starts a week from Sunday.  Will we be doing the “gift wrapped book” each night?  Which feasts will we be focusing on this year?  What about the new Jesse Tree ornaments, which have yet to arrive!  I am really excited about my new advent spiral wreath.  It’s a lot to figure out and I want to make sure it’s all done so we’re ready to go.  We have a real season in which to PREPARE, I need to be ready to go.  Which reminds me, I need to make some letters that say PREPARE for the learning room.

Learning all the time…who knew I could get into gardens?  I didn’t grow up with a family who gardened or even got into yard work at all.  That said, my dad did our yard and planted shrubs himself.  The rest of us did our part weeding.  I think most men did that back then.  Unlike today.  Unlike my own spouse.  Have I mentioned I don’t have a housekeeper?  I have a yard guy and dead grass.  Anyway…we’re on G for Gardens, and I have really enjoyed what we’re learning.  Currently, we’re waiting to see what grows roots faster: a sweet potato or sprig of Ivy.  We’ve talked about different vegetables and fruits, as well as flowers.  The Baby Hulk even made a vegetable soup with his dad.  Lance, Squirt and I all loved it.  Even Baby Z tried the veggies.  The other boys, nope.

A few plans for the week…not so much with a sick family, but there is a play my oldest son is in this weekend so I’ll be there opening and closing night!  We have a play date planned and then I’m hoping to attend a conference this weekend.  Trying for some adult evenings, but with my sick self and sick kids, they just keep getting pushed back.

A picture thought I am sharing…

Being a mother is often times a thankless job.  You’re expected to be “on your game” all the time.  I have come to realize that it’s just not possible to be like that all the time.

Which has led to a new appreciation of my mom.  I have no clue how she did it.  She was an amazing mom and home maker.  I love that my children enjoy spending time with her.  I love that I can always depend on her to help out.  I really love that Lance loves her.  He doesn’t like when I get pissy with her.  And wants her around and not just to babysit.

Happy Birthday, Mom.  I hope your day was great.  Once Lance can eat real food, we’ll really celebrate!  I love you so much.  Thanks for being an amazing mother and even better grandmother.

So last week, I decided I was going to play with our dog in an effort to become a decent dog owner.  How has she repaid me?  By chewing through our fence three days in a row.  And then leaving our yard.  Because of course, not only does my dog chew through fences, she also runs away.  She runs in the exact direction which will most likely result in her death.  With me and the children chasing her down.  Which will then result in watching her die and scarring my kids.  No lie, I just ran outside to chase her away from chewing through yet another board.  WTF?  What am I supposed to do?

This leads to the question of when do you cut your losses with a pet?  I don’t give away animals, but this dog might be the one.  I honestly don’t know what to do with her.  Quite frankly, she has become “one more thing to deal with” every day.  That sounds horrible, but I’m being truthful.  The reality is that I don’t have time for a dog anymore.  I play with her when we’re outside, and yes, now I am trying to make a better effort, but I’m spent.  I am at a time in my life where I feel like I am just getting by more often than not.  I’m not being a good mother and if something has to give, it would be the dog not my kids.  I know this makes me a pretty bad owner, but at the same time, I have to be truthful as to where I am these days.  I don’t know…How do I deal with this?  More torn up crap, more barking, the crazy lady freaking out…

In googling advice for “my dog chews through my fence” the best answer on Yahoo was “stay home”.  Really?  This was the best people could come up with it.  Doesn’t do much for me since she started chewing through the fence today when the kids were outside trying to play with her.

Last week, I read about the family cloth.  Ever heard of it?  In a nutshell, it’s reusable toilet paper.  This is not something that interests me in the least.  Of course, that didn’t stop me from reading several (as in over 50) comments about it.  From the comments, the people who seem to be using this are those who also use cloth diapers.  However, there were many who use cloth diapers that don’t go for the family cloth.  I don’t use cloth diapers, but don’t think they’re weird at all.  In fact, I have a lot of friends who use them on their babies.  (And all their babies are potty trained much faster than my generic disposable diapered babies.)  One of the commentators asked “what do these “family cloth” families do when company comes over”.  Easy, they have toilet paper for those occasions.  That answer got me thinking…do any of my cloth diaper friends use the family cloth in their homes?  And do I want to know?

I have a nasty cold and was in the mood for soup.  I wanted something easy, so I made this soup called Chicken Tortilla Soup.  I use that term loosely; this is not what I would consider a tortilla soup.  Regardless, Lance loves it and constantly tells people about it.  I’m glad he likes the food I cook and that he brags about it.  But this recipe…it’s a soup from a ton of cans.  Canned pinto beans, canned great northern beans, canned hominy, Rotel, and more.  The recipe even calls for canned chicken, but I draw the line at that and buy rotisserie instead.

Today is Veteran’s Day, and also my mom’s birthday, more on her later.  As a member of ROTC, Squirt will be marching in the parade today.  In his uniform.  He wears his uniform to school once a week.  And on those days, he has been asking me to drop him off at the ROTC building rather than have him walk across campus.  Why?  Just some asshole kids who make fun of him for aspiring to be in the military.  I am so proud of Squirt for not quitting ROTC.  It’s hard to do something that people consider different.  He wants to do this, he wants a career in the military.  And while I am like most people, wanting someone else’s child to serve our country, I couldn’t be more prouod of him today.  A huge thank you to those who have served our country, a big hug and kiss to my son for supporting those who have served.  And a big F-you to the kids who mock my son.

I just had my first true “I’m the mother of a lot of boys” moment.  Kind of strange that it has taken this long.   The boys collect treasures on a daily basis: rocks, acorns, leaves and sticks.  These items end up in the house with Goose having a huge collection in his closet.  We also are trying to implement a nature table around here.  I have a nice little basket with our thankful leaves and acorns the boys have found all week.  Today there were white worms with brown little heads crawling around.  I want to puke.  My boys thought this was so cool and started picking them up.  I didn’t freak out in front of them, but I want to puke right now.  In fact, this is much grosser to me than the above mentioned “family cloth”.   Now I am thinking about Goose’s closet.  And after telling Lance, he used the word MAGGOT.  No, not in acorns, right?  I am not even going to Google it because I DO NOT WANT TO KNOW.

update: my dog chewed through the fence again.

I shouldn’t mock, but sometimes it’s hard to keep these whoppers to myself.

While Goose may be all over the television one day with his sports knowledge, I can pretty much guarantee that he won’t be hosting any blogs, winning awards for his writing or authoring a tell-all about his mean mom.

His writing is so poor, it is painful.  Sitting with him while he write sentences is hard because he quits within five minutes.  He can’t think of anything to write, real or fake.  Once he quits, I get upset and the whole bad cycle starts.  Tonight he wrote on his own, and I’m sure he thought he did a great job.

Here are his sentences tonight based on the word family: bright.

1. The sun is so bright today.
2. Look, that’s the brightest star we have seen all night!
3. Do you realize the stars are getting brighter each night?
4. The moon’s brightness glowed so bright I could read a book in bed.
5. The stars are brightly glowing across the sky.
6. I hope the day doesn’t brighten up because I may not be able to see for a whole day.

I don’t know which one is my favorite, but if I have to choose, 6 is the keeper, with 4 a close second.

I guess I should be happy he didn’t start crying while writing these tonight.

Yet.

Goose is a lot like me.  Writing isn’t his thing.  And he’s not really good with the BS.  On day 2 of the bar exam, there was a property question, and I had no clue what it was about at all.  So I left it completely blank.  Blank.  (And I still passed!  Go me!)

A week ago, I asked Goose to write a journal entry about his family.  Basically, if someone asked you about your family, what would you say.  He couldn’t answer orally, so I told him to think about it and write it for me.  Nothing.  I persisted and if I’m honest, I might have badgered him a bit.  “There is NOTHING you can tell anyone about our family?!”  To which he responded,” Sometimes we’re not nice.”

He might not be able to write, but he is pretty smart and at times a bit cutting.  I’ll take that.