Winter Odds and Ends

The incorrupt heart of Saint John Vianney came to the John Paul II institute in DC, and we brought the 3 little guys to visit.  It was a true pilgrimage: Mass, confession, relics, and rosary.  I realized we don't often make a trip to such a wealth of tourism and fun in DC, and we will try to fix that over spring break.  But the best plans of mice and men.....

 We also visited National Arboretum, and will try to come back when there is more green on the trees. It was lovely!

 William prepared our home for the birthday of Dr. Seuss.  One of my favorite photos of their time together.

The day after my birthday turned out to be snow day (one of many this winter) for everyone in the family!  Tommy made a cake, we watched Henry V and spent a quiet day together.  Introverted me loves being home with all the family!

Since we live in Virginia, our seasons have such a variety, and sometimes the weatherman is spot on, and other times we are surprised with the result. Our superintendent of schools has been calling a holiday the night before, even when some of the area doesn't get "weather" that has been predicted.  It has made for some interesting "rain" days, but when it is cold and Flu season, there are some days that I think it's okay to keep the kids away from each other.  It has made each school re-evaluate their decision on how to call snow days, so we shall see.  I'm such a chicken that I don't think I would drive on bad days anyway, so we will have to see.

Snowstorm, Blizzard, Snowzilla - Whatever you called it, there is a LOT of snow!

Greetings!  Winter has finally come to Northern Virginia. 

All at once.

All in one day.

All outside our windows.

Snowstorm Jonas came and dropped snow on us from Friday afternoon to Saturday night.  We received over 2 feet of snow here!  We are on snow day numero 3, with one more (at the very least) tomorrow.  Yep, lots of togetherness.  Lots of shoveling, and movies, video games, science fair, and food.  Oh man.  So much food. 



I am so grateful for my strong husband, who went out to shovel numerous times without a complaint.  He was rewarded in his duties when our generous neighbor used his snow blower to clear the snow the plow had put at the end of the driveway, and then helped us finish the driveway!  I gave that sweet man some cookies!  It didn't seem like enough!

Our little area doesn't see snow this often, and not EVER this much so fast.  We were told to stay home.  Just stay home.  My husband went out in the beginning of the storm, before it got bad, and I texted him to make sure he was okay.  He was taking his time, and I worry, you know.  It's my job.

This was his response.


Yeah, he's a keeper. 

So, here a few more obligatory snow pictures!







Lucy didn't go out in the snow.  She put everything on, went on the deck and promptly fell down and cried.  So, this is all we got.  The boots were too much!

Christmas Photos (Of course!)

It was a wonderful Christmas!  We were so blessed with plenty of family time, and relaxation. We went to early Mass on Christmas, and the kids still were smiling and happy to open gifts after taking pictures!  William still has trouble with the flash, but we got a pretty good family photo.  And, this is my Christmas morning photo dump.  Because that is what we all want to see.  The joy of each face.  And how well my crew cleans up.







Second grade gifts are some of my favorites.  I love things that the kids make at school.

Patrick loved his new jacket for school, and though the weather was quite warm, he was determined to wear it as much as possible.  Warmest Christmas I can remember, as we went out in shorts later that day!





I tried my hand at making a gift.  It's not perfect, by any means, but I think Emma will love having it on her wall.  She chose the fabric. 



This note came from Patrick, in a gift of chocolate popcorn, paid for by himself.  My children NEVER write me note like this, but especially the almost teenager!  I blubbed quite a bit when I saw this. 

I love this photo.  The aftermath, the silence, the joy. 

7 Quick Takes: January, February and March

Well hell-O, dear blog readers!  My dear, sweet readers that will be patient with me.  I am so excited to put my fingers to the keyboard tonight and give you a snippet of the happenings here in my world.

1. I'm sure you are all checking in to see the latest Lucy sweetness, and I won't disappoint.  Lucy is still smiling and loving to each person she meets, and has not decided to roll over yet.  She will, however, do crunches. Long, long crunches.  She will lie on the floor while I am exercising and do this.  Almost the whole time.  This is a moment in time, but it is not untrue!

 Five months have flown by, and she is the first baby that is actually in clothes that are near her size.  Little dainty flower we have. 

2. Scouts!  William just received his Tiger badge (one thing I figured out, the boys get the badge after the year is over.  Go figure.  They gotta earn it first).

We also had the Blue and Gold Banquet and I tried my hand at some creative cake decorating.  It was Space themed, and I attempted the moon.  I am not trying to start a business anytime soon. 



 

3. Sensory bins.  I have always wanted to have something like this for the kids to play with, and I threw some things in a bin, and apparently it seems that all the kids enjoy it.  ALL  On the deck, in the house, I love it.  It keeps them so occupied, and the sound of the scooping and digging is so fun.

 

4. Bubble machine.  Best $8 ever spent.  I love bubbles, but I can't ever blow enough to make it fun.  We have been taking care of Tommy's nephew about 2 days a week.  He is about a year and a half, and the cutest little stinker.  James loves having him here and it's so special to get to have this time.

 

5.  Baby's first Ash Wednesday!  Lent has come, and gone, since I am tardy to the party, but we had our Lucy's first ashes, and our first protest of the ashes from James.  I was NOT prepared for the screaming at Mass that we have had with James.  I am grateful that my arms are strong enough to carry the both of them in those moments.





6.

 

I love firsts!  This boy pulled out his own tooth in the morning, as you can see he is all packed and ready to go to school.  He pulled it out all on his own.  The earliest teether in the house, so he is the youngest to start losing his teeth.  Very exciting!  Now, if only the tooth fairy can get on her game to be sure he doesn't lose the tooth fairy excitement.  They were just learning about the tooth fairy at school too.  According to William, she leaves a toy (!!) in place of the tooth.  Nope, sorry.  This fairy doesn't take the teeth and leaves a dollar. These kids are rich, in my opinion. 

 

7.  Snow! Our January, February, AND some of March has had snow.  We had about 13 snow (some not so snowy) days, and thankfully don't need to make up any days for the year. 

 There was one really big snowfall which gave us a 4 day weekend with Daddy, and was so needed!  Sledding, movies, and family time are always nice to have.  The kids all enjoyed hot chocolate after the sledding and shoveling, and I was happy to oblige.  Too cold for Lucy (and me!  Emma wears my boots, and I don't have any pants to go out in either.  Pretty soon she will be taking my coats and gloves.)

January Highlights

I am well aware that I hoped I would be blogging more often with the new machine in the house, but I didn't count on the learning curve, and when someone else gives you a computer that is not of your choosing (IOW a type that you are not familiar), it will take some getting used to.  Including the fact that I can't just put my memory card from my camera in the side and upload my pictures for the blog.  Curses.  So, I will give you some highlights of our month, through the eyes of my phone. 

• In Patrick's world, we finished our first Science Fair project.  (whew) No awards, but we are super proud of his hard work.  He ended up with a good grade in that class for the quarter, and was aware of the things he needed to work on the next time around.  It.was.so.stressful.  I am grateful we had a great set of teachers to walk the kids through each step.  We are waiting to hear back from my high school to see if he was accepted, so we can decide if we will send him at 7th grade or defer to 9th.  I think he has his heart set on going to Seton, especially since his cousins will be there.  I pray we have the path set for us so we can follow the best one for our Patrick! 
• Much to my and Emma's excitement, we made a trip to the American Girl Store in our area, with some of her cousins.  It was a really fun girls day out, and she was able to buy some new items for her doll, and start her wish list of more dolls and dreams! 
  
  
  
  
  She is also doing basketball again, and enjoying the time with Tommy as assistant coach.  Emma also became a Squire Rose this month!  I was so impressed with all the young ladies that were there to join, and I loved the symbolism and words of the ceremony, which, of course, I can't tell you about. 
  
  And, as you can see in this picture, she got her braces off! We get a little break for her teeth.
• William excelled in Pinewood Derby for the scouts this year.  He was second in his den, and 10th overall in the pack.  His is the red "Flash" car.  He did very well! (My other pictures are on my camera.)

He is progressing really well in school, and has told me that he "is the smartest in the whole class" and I don't doubt it.  I also think he has been told that by his teacher, who wants to encourage him to work harder, and challenge himself more.  He did spend a time in the desk next to the teacher, all by himself, which didn't seem to bother him too much.  But I did see that his new years' resolution was to get out of that particular "lane" in his classroom.  I am glad he realized it wasn't a privilege!  He reads everything he can get, and is at that awesome stage of soaking it all up.  We just need to work on his temper with his siblings, and to learn NOT to touch the baby when she is sleeping!

• We took the kids to a handbell concert at our parish, where they got to see the largest handbells in the world be played.  It was a phenomenal concert, and even James just about jumped out of his seat when they played the big bells.

 

 

 

The kids got to experience the big bells, and poor William was a little too excited and hit his lip when he tried to play it.  It's not nearly as heavy as it looks, but he did have a little blood on his lip.

 

• Lucy is just a sweetheart, giggling, smiling and giving and receiving lots of love!

• James is still enjoying the time with Mommy, being a superhero, growing pains, and still not potty-trained.  He will say, "Sorry, Mommy, I went stinky in my diaper."  Sigh.  The fact that it is winter time makes it harder, as I can't just leave his diaper off and run around the house.  I can't MAKE him go, as he has come out with a super stubborn streak.  He is ALMOST 4, so I know it will be soon.  All my boys have gone on the potty closer to 4, and only when they are ready.  Still makes me feel like I am a failure. 
• Tommy is super busy with all the Boy/cub scouts, and will be the new Scoutmaster for the troop come next month.  Can you see the extra gray hairs on my head from all this?  He has also begun working out with my friend in a class in the evenings.  I am SO excited for him, and so proud!  He will be sore, but he will love it.