Archive for the ‘my kids’ tag
Getting back in my groove.
I don’t know why life suddenly seems so much more busy! Events ramped up over the holidays and just haven’t slowed down since.I hate when I fall off my blogging groove – it’s so hard to recoup, you know? And the more time that passes since my last entry, the more overwhelmed I get with the backlog of events I keep meaning to blog about! So, mainly so I can STOP feeling overwhelmed and just get on with it, here’s a bullet point summary of stuff going on lately:
- Christmas was fun, except for the part where I got mastitis.
We celebrated on the Sunday before Christmas, when we had all our family gathered ’round. I was feeling the mastitis coming on that day and I KNEW I should rest, but how could that happen, right? So I didn’t and it kicked my ass. I did bedrest the next day and the recovery started.
- We journeyed to Colorado with 5 of our 6 kids in tow on the 26th. Half the trip we spend at Keystone where Scott’s parents have a condo. The kids LOVED the snow. Scott and I got to have a date at the restaurant of the little ski lodge where we were married 2.5 years ago. Our first solo meal since Jake was born!
- We spent the second half of our trip in Pueblo visiting with family, particularly Scott’s grandparents, who got to meet Jake for the first time.
Scott and I had a blast digging through old photographs and learning more of his family history. We also found this amazing photo of Scott’s dad when he was three months old. Look familiar??
- Jake is five months old now and nearly crawling. Noooooooooo – it’s too soon! He is a happy little man. He knows and loves his siblings. It’s so cute the way his face lights up when they pay any kind of attention to him. He was WONDERFUL on the plane. Our flights were fairly short and he slept most of the time. Getting though security with a baby, a stroller, a carseat plus the diaper bag was no joy, however. Not to mention all the other kids. Oy.
- I am ever more dissatisfied with my shape. I got a Garmin Forerunner in my stocking (I asked for it lol) and augmented that with a jogging stroller this past week. I need to get off my duff. Even if I don’t lose a pound (and I’m not likely to until little one is getting most of his nutrition from solids when he is 12+ months old), exercise will help me feel better about myself. I would be a lot more despairing if I hadn’t been through this before. I had a similar weight gain pattern after Mira was born – and I successfully lost the weight and got fit after her first birthday. I want to start with healthier habits NOW though – at least in the exercise department. I don’t know HOW I can curb these insane carb cravings when I’m nursing.
In fact, I’m going to upload my pictures, post this entry, dress the baby, gather up my gear and GET WALKING. Today. (Edited to update: Or maybe I will AFTER the baby wakes up from his nap. )
“Adorement”
I got myself a small Christmas present this year – a token of my gratitude for my wonderful spouse and children.
It was this ring.
As you can see from the photo, it has a lovely sentiment. The band is sterling silver and is inscribed with “I made a wish” and there is a little golden star impressed. Then the inside of the band is inscribed: “and you came true.”
B was looking at it and said, “I wonder why people even WEAR rings. Why do they want to have rings on their fingers?”
We talked about how some, like engagement rings and wedding bands, are symbols of a couples commitment to each other. In other cases, rings are simply decoration, adornment.
And she, my clever little girl, said, “But this new ring you have must be adore-ment.”
Awww. 
I love my family
Hi Scotty: ILY and miss you!!
Wolf girl
I just think this photo is hilarious. HM will get mileage out of this year's Halloween costume for YEARS to come…
Happy Halloween!
First try at moblogging
Photos taken and sent by (new!!!) iPhone. What fun. 
Baby Jake bear
Grandma brought a teddy bear home today for Jake. Everyone wanted to be part of the cuddle action:
Big sister HM with Jake
HM is the newborn in this one, from about 10.5 years ago:
Big sister loves baby brother
New piano
Over the weekend we bought a piano! It's just a digital piano – not an acoustic one – but it certainly works the same way! The keys are even weighted to feel like an acoustic piano.
Anyway, I can't really play – I had very basic intro lessons from my grandma (organist) when I was a kid, but I didn't advance very far. I loved to play it and did so often, but I didn't learn much beyond simple melodies that I played with one hand only. My interest is revived though! I've been doing some self-teaching from a book since we got this on Saturday, but I think I might even take some lessons for a little more structured guidance.
We'll see what we can afford for MY lessons after we determine how many kid lessons we need to cover. Hopefully we can get some kind of group rate.
Apparently at least HM and Mir are very musically talented. Their music teacher actually showed up for HM's parent teacher conference last week just to tell me that. I'd been thinking about getting a piano lately anyhow, but that news definitely motivated me to action sooner vs. later.
Mir is very interested in piano lessons – curious to see how she fares. Ironically, she's the most organized and disciplined of all the kids in our household.
HM said she would prefer to learn the trumpet (and that's the instrument she plans on learning in band next year), but we'll see if she doesn't change her mind about piano lessons once she sees we actually HAVE a piano in our house. (The girls are in OH for the first week of their fall break, so they will be surprised when they come home.)
I have no idea about B's interest/aptitude. And plus we're paying for riding lessons for her right now – we can only afford so much eek. I like how having a piano in the house makes learning music so accessible, though! A is taking guitar lessons right now and says that's enough for him. But we'll see.
Stay tuned! (har)
Mom to 4 kids and 2 stepkids, I work at home in the heart of the chaos. Founder and executive editor of SheKnows.com and various other sites. Homeschooling. Knitter. Family chef. Gadget geek. Wordphreak. LAZY BLOGGER. 