• WORKOUT
• Santa pics with the two youngest
• swim lessons
• three more gifts
• buy my Christmas and party outfits
• make my Christmas card, already bought the paper and printed the cards
• celebrate the feast of St. Nicholas
• RELAX
• start planning LZ’s birthday
• check out my new washing machine

A picture thought I am sharing…

Yesterday, we went to the pottery place to make our annual Christmas plate. We were running late so we had to find another church since we weren’t going to make it to our parish before Mass started. We went to a parish that I can only say seems to have given up hope. At least, that is how I felt. Honestly, I felt like I needed to go to Mass again today. The pews were empty, people were having loud conversations in Mass, the kids sensed that nobody was taking Mass seriously and acted up. The lady behind us was playing with the boys and laughing out loud, (in a sweet way). It just didn’t feel holy. After we left and I was getting ready to complain, my dear husband stopped me and said, “before you start, I want to point out that we could have had a jerk behind us who didn’t like kids like we had on the airplane.” He then suggested that we come home and read the Mass readings together and talk about them (he was in the bathroom with the boys for the five minute sermon). He pointed out that we are too quick to be cynical about things and that we needed to see the positive more often and that someone loving our kids, especially during Mass was a positive. He is right, although I wouldn’t say we are cynical, just extremely sarcastic, which at times is very dangerous.

Today, I was reading the bulletin from this church, and they have an Advent calendar with beautiful suggestions for each day, plus a morning and evening offering. I was getting ready to make my own daily ideas for the family, but now I don’t have to do that thanks to this parish! Lance is right about looking for the positives rather than the negatives.

This is Goose at the Warhol Museum dancing in the clouds. We weren’t supposed to take pictures in the museum so we had to sneak a few shots with the Blackberry in this exhibit. I figured that was okay since he was allowed to touch the clouds.

The following is an excerpt from the museum’s website about the piece:

Silver Clouds
Created for a 1966 exhibition at the Leo Castelli Gallery, Warhol created an environment that included one room filled with Silver Clouds, helium-filled balloons which moved with the air currents. In addition to creating an ethereal, joyful atmosphere, they challenged traditional expectations by mingling with and touching the viewer.
Made of helium and oxygen-filled metalized plastic film, the Silver Clouds were created with the assistance of Billy Klüver, an engineer and one of a group who sought to bring together artists and new technology.

I’ve been home less than an hour and have unpacked for five people and dried the wet clothes I had to bring home. I had to wash everything before coming home because my new washing machine doesn’t arrive until Tuesday. Thank you, Baby, for my new machine! BUT THIS IS NOT MY CHRISTMAS PRESENT!!! Let’s be very clear on that.

We had a GREAT trip. Before going into any real details of the trip, I have to brag about my kids. They travel so well. They don’t do television or take tons of toys and don’t fuss in the car or on planes. (They do enough fussing everywhere else!) I am not a fan of kids watching DVDs nonstop in cars no matter how long the drive. So, despite having a few young kids, I refused to get a DVD player when we bought our current vehicle. Maybe I’m just jealous that I didn’t have that option when I was growing up. We do let them listen to our Ipods while flying, but even then, it’s not nonstop and there are rules to follow. I am just so proud of our boys and how behaved they are during times that can be pretty stressful.

The biggest news of the trip was that Lance and I were TWO HOURS early for each of our flights. Who can believe this? ANYONE? Before 9/11, I used to show up at the airport thirty minutes before a plane would leave. I missed a flight once doing that, but it was a last minute trip (as in I decided an hour before leaving) so I didn’t really care about that and didn’t learn a lesson about flight timeliness. Even now, I am always cutting it close, but I blame that on my fear of flying and dislike of airports.

Pittsburgh…What a great week we had with our family. Even though the kids don’t see The Zierlein Grandparents but twice a year at most, they were so excited about seeing their grandparents. Baby Hulk can be a pistol with people, but even he was so happy about seeing Grandma and Grandpa.

Since we’re in the middle of the season, Grandpa wasn’t around much at all. You can’t imagine the hours this man works as an NFL coach. He is out of the house by 5:30 in the morning and doesn’t return until 10:00 pm. I don’t know how he does it. Monday night he was able to stay up for about thirty minutes, but by Wednesday night he was so tired that he lasted eight minutes before heading off to bed. The boys were able to see him on Thanksgiving because he had an early day. He got home from the facility at 3:00 in the afternoon.

The boys were happy with their time with Grandma though. She made breakfast for them each morning and spent time playing Chess with Goose and just playing with the boys. She also took care of Sebastian so we could enjoy a few sights without him. We tried out the original Primanti Brothers, which I loved! We went to the Carnegie museums of Fine Art and Natural History. The boys loved the dinosaur exhibits; their dino exhibit puts Houston’s exhibit to shame. That Andrew Carnegie sure had a lot of money…

We also went to the Andy Warhol museum, which totally rocked. Thankfully, only Goose went with us. I was so sure he would think the artwork was cool, but not so much. He told me he didn’t like the museum because it only had art. We also took the incline up Mt. Washington for a great view of the city. I must admit sight seeing with one child was SOOOOOOOO freaking easy. We’ve talked about taking my mom on vacations with us to help with the kids, but I know her too well, she wants to go to the museums too. (I got it from somewhere!)

I can’t explain how much we ate while in Pittsburgh. There’s just something about mom’s cooking…and thankfully, Lance’s mom can cook really well! She baked banana bread, chocolate-hazelnut biscotti and coffee cake. She cooked some really good meals for us too. She doesn’t get to cook very often, so I know she really liked doing that.

We spent Thanksgiving with some of their good friends. These people were so generous. Larry and Marcia vacationed with them last year, and now we know why. They sent us home with tons of food and a kick ass, expensive bottle of tequila!

Our trip ended with me freaking out about the Longhorns. We are so counting on a trip to California soon and those damn Aggies were giving the defense major problems. I was so frustrated and then Lance fell asleep during the game, which totally pissed me off. Can I admit that? Then, my brother didn’t even call me during the game or text me. Yet, he did text Lance…WTF???? I am THANKFUL that my team won, but it made for a stressful evening.

We’re home now and I am off to the gym tomorrow for two Les Mills classes! Yes, two. You have no idea how much food I ate this week.

We are relaxing the rest of the weekend, getting ready for Advent to start. A big surprise to most people, but I am not putting up decorations until next week. First, I need to do a major clean up before doing so and second and most important, I really want to focus on the anticipation that is Advent this year. For now, I am so grateful for my husband and his parents.

I am posting pictures in another post.

A new washing machine. For the second time in three months, the tub is rocking around in a way that is so not right. I’ve already spent $300 on this machine, so I guess when we return from vacation, I’ll be buying a new machine. Here’s hoping for some really good sales with super, fast delivery times. I don’t think this house of six can live without a washing machine.

Dad, I also want tickets to the Nat’l Championship Game just like last time!!! I am so easy to shop for this year!

I can’t wait until we are on the plane! Whoever thought that would come out of my mouth? I hate to fly and have finally resorted to Xanax to make it through the flight. I take enough for a two hundred pound person and still get extremely nervous. At least, I have stopped ripping my skin (for the most part) when I fly. I don’t fly without Lance which stinks because that means I’ll never have a girls’ weekend.

I have been trying to pack for myself and the kids all day with a break for a pedicure and a party out in Kingwood. It’s been one of those days where nothing seems to go right. My breakfast stunk, my coffee stunk, Goose’s coat didn’t fit, the baby wouldn’t nap, and Baby Hulk has been testing the limits all day. He has refused to do one thing I have asked of him ALL. DAY. LONG. I’ve lost my patience and reconsidered my stance on spanking. Don’t worry, Mom and Dad, I didn’t falter. We’re still a no spanking zone. (Not that he deserves it!)

Thankfully, the little ones are sleeping so I can finish packing for myself. In all the shopping I’ve done recently, I forgot to buy something to wear for Thanksgiving Day. I know we can go shopping in Pittsburgh, but it wasn’t high on my list of things to do. The boys are excited about seeing their grandparents tomorrow. Goose gets a new state book! Hopefully, everyone will be good on the plane ride and it will go smoothly. For now, I’m waiting on Jessica to bring me some dessert! She was over here earlier to say goodbye and saw how flustered I was getting. She is such a good child!

I just asked Baby Hulk if he wanted to watch Word World. Is that bad? We have been running around since 7:15 this morning, and I just want a few minutes to myself. I am so flipping tired and still need to shower from my morning workout. I was trying to sit down and check email, but he wouldn’t stop chattering so I made him an offer of television.

I’m so tired because I am on a mission to finish all my Christmas shopping by Sunday. I had a short list today, but it still took until 1:00 p.m. to finish my list. I was so excited and decided to make another list to see how much I have left to do. Big mistake. I haven’t done as much as I thought I had. We buy gifts for so many people and certain people are pretty difficult so even though I am crossing people off my list, the list doesn’t seem to be getting any shorter. Then there are the gifts I need Lance to pick up for me. He’s had a busy week, so his list just keeps getting longer.

I am rewarding my kids with a playdate tomorrow with the twins. They will need it because they are going shopping again once we pick up Goose and Squirt from school. I think it might be a pizza night!

For Today~ November 16, 2009

Outside My Window…It’s damp and warm. I haven’t checked the weather for the week, but I am hoping that it finally cools down. I would love to put the boys in some winter clothes.

I am listening to…Liz Phair and Tivo beeping in the background. I hate the sound of the fast forward on the Tivo. It drives me crazy.

I am wearing…boxers and a t-shirt.

To be fit and happy…I feel like dirt again! I am so over being sick every other week. I’m off to bed as soon as I finish this entry. Maybe getting more than six hours of sleep will help. I’m working out regardless though! I have great workouts planned all week long so I’m hoping to sweat the sickness out. Does that even work?

I am thankful for…my husband. Today he really pissed me off, and I was so prepared to stay mad at him all day, maybe even tomorrow. Even after he apologized. But something wouldn’t let me stay mad at him. I guess it’s his example. No matter what I do, he doesn’t hold a grudge and I am so blessed to have that lesson. I can’t say that I have been so forgiving with other people so I am glad he has taught me how to act.

I am reading…Discipline That Lasts a Lifetime by Ray Guarendi. Lance and I heard him speak this week and bought two of his books in hopes of raising perfect kids. (Yes, in addition to the other books I purchased!) There is no perfect answer to raising children, but this guy offers pretty sound advice and also made me feel like we were doing okay, basically that we’re not too strict.

From the kitchen…we haven’t planned the menu yet, but it will be healthy and simple. We have one week before Thanksgiving and all the heavy eating that comes with it. Plus, we’re leaving town which means eating out a lot. I am hoping to eat really well this week before leaving.

I am thinking…about my friends. I have some friends that I haven’t been able to talk to lately, and it makes me so sad. The fourth kid really did me in as far as the phone goes. Besides family, I only talk to Marivi and Paul almost daily. And this week, I only caught both of them twice. One of the reasons for the blog was so I didn’t have to keep a list of things to talk about when I was finally able to talk to my friends. I know we all have hectic lives, but I miss talking to them so much.

I am creating…Another blog for Super Saints. I am going to make progress this week, I promise.

To Live the Liturgy…We are focusing on Christ the King this week at Super Saints. The kids continue to love Super Saints and are really learning something. Advent starts soon so I am trying to prepare the children.

I am praying…for peace and patience. I really want to be patient, but then something pisses me off and all my plans go south. This week, I am getting up early and praying before my kids wake up, not while I’m getting them dressed.

On Keeping Home…I was bad this weekend, I never really cleaned the house. Of course, it’s neat, but I have to clean really fast tomorrow before Super Saints. As always, I want to create a home for my children. Their home will always be clean and neat, but I want them to have so much more than a clean place to play and sleep. I want them to have memories of a loving home.

One of my favorite things…when people do what I tell them to do! Ha!! Seriously, I do like when Baby Hulk goes to bed without screaming though. Makes me more patient. So really, one of my favorite things….crossing things off a list. I am such a list person it is ridiculous. Tonight, right before The Gap closed, I managed to buy Squirt some pants for Christmas. Usually Lance has this job, and it happens two days before Christmas. I am so psyched about this and so is Lance.

A Few Plans for the Rest of the Week

• Super Saints
• The Zoo
• Shoe Shopping for Squirt and Goose (Christmas Shoes)
• Making my Christmas card
• Making blankets for my newest Godson and Kobra
• Finishing my Christmas shopping
• getting better
• going on a date during the day with my hubby! We are going to see two movies this week

A picture thought I am sharing