{one big fat catch-up post for january}

Yes, another whole month went by without me posting.  Today the kids are home for a snow day (because it's too cold, -30 degrees), and since my to-do list is going to have to wait, it's a perfect time to do a little catching up.

First of all, the weather made up for lost time.  We had the warmest December in 125 years, with temps in the 50's.  It was crazy.  No snow, and no white Christmas.  I was SO sad.  I would love that weather right now...but December is the month I want snow!  Since January came though, it's pretty much snowed every day.  I remember reading that this area averaged 8 feet of snow per year, and I think we're pretty much on track for that to happen.  I can't complain though--the kids are loving it, and I am too. I'm also greatly looking forward to a beautiful spring, summer, and fall! The one major downside is that our little apartment doesn't have a garage, and I will be SO glad next winter not to have to dig out and clean off my truck every single day!

Caroline wore this skirt everyday for almost a whole month.   Over everything.  She also thinks she can do anything, including catch Kate.

A lifelong dream of mine is finally coming true--I started violin lessons!!  I finally found a studio and teacher for Emma, and it was the perfect time for me to start too.  It's a Suzuki studio, and they actually require parents to take lessons for the first 6 months to a year, and then I can keep going as long as I want to.  We have our lessons at the same time, and it's been really fun for us to do together. I can now play the Twinkle theme and all its variations, so I'm making progress. :)  It's been interesting to start another instrument, especially since I can't even remember learning how to play the piano.  I love it.

This is the usual scene after school.  Snack, homework, listening to music, then practicing the piano and violin.  

Rick was gone for two weeks in January, as he traveled to Germany and Switzerland on business. This is the picture he sent me one night, of the view he had of a 2000 year old cathedral while he ate dinner.  We were eating pretty fancy too...French toast.  He did bring home a ton of Swiss and German chocolate, but I haven't had it yet, since I'm still on my 6 weeks without sugar.  But it's waiting for me...two more days!!

I went in one night to tuck her in and cover her up after she was asleep, and I just could't make myself leave.  I've been having a hard time lately with how fast my kids are growing up, and it just hit me how big she was getting.  I'm working really hard to make myself slow down everyday, and enjoy the moments that will never happen again.  I'm not perfect at it, but I'm grateful for the little reminders on a regular basis that help me remember what's the most important.

These boys.  I love their guts.  I have plastic cereal containers that are in the pantry, but they like to look at the boxes. So every morning, they go down to the basement and get the bog boxes off of the shelf, and then put them back again after they're finished eating.

Two of our grocery stores have free child watch areas, and this one is their favorite. I love it SO much, I can't even tell you.  They love going there--they have computers, tons of toys, art supplies, books--and I can get my shopping done so much faster.  

This girl.  STOP GROWING UP!!!

January brought us some FANTASTIC news.  While she was intubated in the ICU back in September, it also required her to have a central line in her leg.  She developed a blood clot because of it, and she has been on twice daily shots since then.  A couple of weeks ago she went in for an ultrasound to see if it had diminished, and it was gone!!!  No more shots!  Seriously--the best news ever.

Kate and Emma catch the bus right in front of our apartment every day, but they usually have a few minutes before the bus comes. They worked on this "snow rainbow" for a few days to get it the way they liked it.  I love it!!

I've been working with Jack and Henry to learn how to read, and they are both doing very well.  We put the baby down for a nap, then snuggle on the couch.  It's one of my favorite times of the day.

Emma's hair is getting really long--this picture doesn't really do it justice.  She's been growing it out forever, and it's finally getting there! It's so curly, that you can't really tell how long it is, but she's so excited.  I have curled her hair every morning since she was about 18 months old. She started sitting up on the sink, then standing on a stool, now she's flat on the floor. Soon I'll be the one that has to stand on a stool! Secondly, I love that she likes to read while I do her hair, because that's what I would do too.

It was a pretty exciting moment when we came out of the grocery store and saw this scene from our truck.  We had to sit in the parking lot for an extra twenty minutes so we could see the whole process.  I love having boys!

Can I just tell you that I cry every day about these boys leaving me in the fall?  Seriously.  I'm just not ready. I know my life will be "easier", but I don't care!  I've always loved having my kids home with me, even though it can be crazy busy.  I just enjoy their company, and once they start school--that's it.  They're gone more than they're home, and life totally changes.  I will so miss these "three amigos" going everywhere with me.  I know Caroline will have a hard time too--she loves playing with her brothers, and they love playing with her.  

This is a common scene at our house. These kids have total blogger mom problems.  They can't ever eat anything without me taking pictures first, and as you can tell, they're usually anxiously waiting for me to be finished. I get asked a million times "are you done yet?", because they can't wait to dig in!

It's really hard to be one.

Caroline is obsessed with music, and also with electronic devices. An iPod is basically her favorite thing ever, and Kate is always kind enough to share.

My baby lost his first tooth!! I was literally in shock, and totally not prepared.  Is he really old enough for such a thing to happen?  YIKES!  He was pretty thrilled when the tooth fairy showed up with a dollar.

Jack decided to delegate his job of putting away the silverware.  She was happy to oblige.

Magna Tiles have been the BEST investment ever.  They are played with every single day, by every single child.  Every time they build something, they have to take a picture and send it to dad.  He gets a lot of texts.

These two found the girls' puffy vests, and spent the whole morning playing with them.  

Emma has group violin lessons on Saturdays, and it's another fun time we get to spend together! 

I had to go to the store to "pick up a few things".  This is what that looks like in our family.

Can you tell they were excited about helping to make bread?

The girls made biscuits for the first time all by themselves, and they did a great job! They did accidentally triple the shortening, but they were extra buttery--no one complained.  :)  I can't believe they're getting big enough to be in the kitchen.  I remember loving to make cookies and brownies, and my mom always let me do it.  I'm excited that it's something they enjoy too.

Yes, January was a good month--a busy month.  I've been extra busy with blogging, writing for Babycenter once a week, and a few other special projects.  Another MAJOR project is in the works right now, and I'm really excited about it.  

Our house?  We just got the final plans yesterday, and the lot should close soon. We are crossing our fingers that we can start in the next month.  

Life is good!

{a new ward}

 The property where we are building our home *just* outside the ward boundaries of where we've been attending, and on the outskirts of our new ward.  In fact, no one even know which ward we were in, and we all had to do a little investigation to figure it out.  The boundaries are pretty large, so if no one has lived in a certain area, and it's close to a boundary line, it can be a little tricky. 

So...we went to our new ward today.  It's the fourth ward we've attended in the last two and half years, and oh my goodness, we are ready to just BE.  

It's a far cry from other wards we've been in.  Midland was a pretty "normal" sized ward.  Not too big, not too small, and even though numbers went up and down, it didn't vary too much.  Our Texas wards were enormous. There were so many people it was impossible to get to know them every well, if at all.  There were several new families every week, and we just couldn't keep up.  At the peak, we had 200 kids in Primary, with 62 in nursery, Sacrament Meeting was to the middle of the gym, and it seemed more like Stake Conference than a regular ward meeting.  Even after the split (two brand new wards in less than two years), we had 135 kids in Primary, and in area with such growth, I am positive it's growing fast still. The ward we've been going to since we moved here is more like the Midland ward, and it was easy to get used to it.  

 Our new ward is very different, and the extreme opposite of Texas. They were only made a ward a couple years ago, after being a branch for a long time.  It started out in a Phase 1 building, which means no chapel--just classrooms.  There was the addition of a chapel a few years ago, and it's now a Phase 2 building.  We've always gone to a stake center for church, so it will definitely be a change.  We pulled into the parking lot, and it was kind of shocking to see so few cars there.  There were less than 100 people in Sacrament Meeting, and we TOTALLY stuck out.  Hello--a family of eight, with lots of little kids sticks out anyway, but every little sound seemed like it was reverberating off of the walls.  Seriously.  They are in for a show. :)  

Primary is also small--a total of around 38, but with our kids it's a whopping 43!  Senior Primary had only 7 or 8 kids, and nursery only had 4!!! The set-up is interesting---the Primary room is in the middle, and classrooms are around the outside, in a circle, all facing it.  Kind of cool!  Sunday school is held in the multi-purpose room (along with Priesthood), and Relief Society is in the chapel.  

As you can imagine, we caused quite the stir.  We are a big family, and in such a small ward, it really makes a difference.  We felt like celebrities! :)  The meetings were very good, very intimate, and I could tell people know each other and care about each other.  I am so excited to live in a ward where we will really be needed--I already played the piano in RS today, because they didn't have anyone to do it.  The kids loved it.   There are actually more boys Ryan's age in this tiny ward, than there were in our bigger ward, both in Texas, and where we live now.  There's a good group (12) of kids that are his age and older, so I'm happy about that.  I actually sent Caroline to nursery, because there were so few kids, that it's no different than being at our own house!  She was hysterical--as soon as we walked in and she saw a pink stroller and pink playhouse, she gasped, "oh", pointed her little finger, and grabbed my arm to take her over there.  She was in heaven.  

I'm really looking forward to our time here, and what we can do to help.  Sometimes, it's just nice to be needed. 

{frequent flyer miles}

All of the kids except Emma were sick the week of Christmas.  One week later, I thought we had made it--she had made it--and we were safe.  Oh man, were we wrong.

The day before New Year's Eve, she suddenly got sick. Like literally out of now where. But it was different than the other kids, who had high fevers and respiratory issues.  She was throwing up like a madman--at least 20 times over the next 24 hours.  The next morning she looked terrible. She was clearly very dehydrated--sunken eyes and dry mouth were the two most noticeable signs.  I called her doctor, and they suggested we take her to the ER, where she could get IV fluids.

Once again, we were on the road the to the children's hospital in Buffalo, but this time I was hoping we wouldn't have to stay longer than a few hours.  When the admitting nurse saw her, she told the other nurses to get the IV started immediately--she was looking even worse.  After two bags of fluid, blood tests, and an x-ray, they decided to keep her overnight---she just wasn't responding how they wanted her to.  

We ended up staying two nights and several days--her little tiny body had just such a hard time catching up from all the fluid loss from that first day. The whole floor was filled with kids in the same boat---it's a wicked bug that has swept through many states, and hit this area pretty hard.

One major bright spot was being serenaded a guy from The University of Buffalo.  He was with a program through The Center of the Arts, and they sponsor musicians to come into the hospital and perform for the patients in their rooms.  He played his guitar and sang, and even brought instruments for us.  We played the tambourine, sticks, egg shaker, bells, and more.  We heard The Beatles, Bob Marley, Christmas songs, and so many other fun songs. What a treat!  We were so lucky!

Even though it's never fun to be in the hospital, and it's definitely not the holiday break we would have wanted or planned, it was wonderful to have so much one-on-one time with Emma.  We spent New Year's Eve together, looking out over the Buffalo skyline (perfect view of the fireworks), then the next couple of days watching movies, and talking.  The timing was also good---she was out of school, and Rick was off of work, so he could be home with the kids.  It's those small blessings that make such a difference, and I'm so grateful for them.  

It was also so sweet to see how much her siblings missed her. They sent her the pajamas that they were all wearing one night to bed, so that she could match the too.  Kate sent her her favorite books from Christmas, and they packed her her favorite stuffies.  

We finally made it home last night, and we were all SO happy about it! 

{a new favorite place}

The week after Christmas, and after everyone was feeling better, we finally were able to get out of the house and do something together as a family. We were really disappointed that there was no snow, because we had been looking forward to sledding, tubing, cross-country skiing, and even downhill skiing over the break. We have been keeping a running list of all the other fun things there are to do here in the winer, so we headed to  the Children's Museum in Rochester--we had heard really wonderful things about it, and thought it would be perfect for a wintry day.

It didn't disappoint.  In fact, it's our new favorite!  The only downside was that could only go in the afternoon--in the middle of Caroline's nap time--and I ended up pacing one of the only quiet spots I could find about a million times until she fell asleep. 

It is ENORMOUS. We only visited one part of one floor, and the kids were eating it up.  One of their most favorite areas was the miniature replica of Wegman's grocery store.  Now, I've been to other grocery stores inside of children's museums, but hands down, this one was the best.  Every tiny detail was attended to, and it was so like the actual grocery store it was amazing.  They even had a gluten-free section.  :)  The best part?  Miniature cashier lines, with a moving belt, food that was actually scanned, a working cash register, and a printed receipt!  SO adorable.  Oh my goodness, they were so enthralled with the whole process, and I have to say, I was too.  

In the end, we walked away with a year's membership, and can't wait to go back!!!  

{a very merry christmas}

It hit three days before Christmas.  Henry was the first to fall, and he fell hard.  Poor kid--you know he's sick when he doesn't want to eat anything.  Jack wasn't far behind, then Caroline and Ryan.  They were all very sick--listless, not eating, and totally miserable.  We were SO sad to miss a few parties and activities--Christmas Caroling, and a Live Nativity, both with good friends.  It's HARD being sick anytime, but especially right before Christmas.  Christmas Eve I took Kate and Emma to the movie, because the boys and baby were all sick. We couldn't do anything as a family, and I wanted to get them out of the house for a little while. It was also the CRAZIEST weather.  It hit over 60 degrees that week, and it was 56 on Christmas Eve.  These temps haven't been seen in this area in over 125 years, which means we must have brought Texas with us.  All I wanted was a white Christmas, but it wasn't in the cards this year.  

Unfortunately, that turned out to not be the greatest idea.  With about twenty minutes left in the movie, Kate turned to me and told me she didn't feel well.  The theater has seats that completely recline (it's fabulous!), so I had her just lie down until it was time to go.  Thirty seconds later, she told me she felt like she needed to throw up.  About two seconds after that, she did.  

It was ugly. 

I'm trying to get Emma's attention, get my purse, and hold something out for Kate.  She was throwing up over and and over, and continued to down the aisle, and out into the hall all the way to the bathroom.  Poor thing.  It was all over her, and she was so embarrassed. It's miserable anyway, but in front of other people? Even more so.  I had to tell the manager, and he didn't look so happy--which I can't blame him for.  We went home, gave her a bath, and tucked her in bed.  We were now down five kids, and only Emma was left standing.  

We usually go out to eat, but that was definitely not happening. So, we ordered pizza, and had a cozy picnic with the few of us that could eat.  We opened our Christmas pajamas from Gramme, then snuggled up on the couch to watch a Christmas movie.  We couldn't do our Nativity, which was so sad, but with everyone sick, it just wasn't going to happen.  So, we read the Christmas story, tracked Santa to see where he was, then tucked them into bed. 

I did have a hilarious conversation with Kate about cookies for Santa Claus.  She asked me if he gets tired of eating all the cookies kids leave for him, and I told her that she shouldn't be offended if he only takes a bite or two.  She suggested that we leave a peeled orange--something healthy--which I agreed would be a great idea.  Then she asked me if she could eat whatever was left of Santa's cookie, to which I asked her in return if she would eat it after he had already bitten into it.  Her reply?  "Well, he does brush his teeth before he leaves!"  I guess that settles it.

Then...the work began. Rick brought up from the basement all the boxes we had hidden that were full of gifts I had purchased.  I ordered almost every single thing online this year, and it was the best thing I've ever done.  I got all my shopping done very quickly, at great prices, and free shipping.  It was fabulous.  I love to shop, but at the holidays, with SO many crowds, and SO much traffic, it just takes so much more time and I have so many other things I want and need to do.  However...because our apartment is so small, it was a challenge to keep them hidden, and I couldn't really take anything out to wrap it. So, it all needed to be done Christmas Eve.  Actually, we traditionally save it all until that night anyway--and do it together, which we've always enjoyed.  However, with six kids, it's started adding up, and we thought this year we might try starting a few nights early.  I guess we ended up keeping the tradition!

The stack of boxes seemed daunting, but I set to work wrapping, and Rick started building, and we were actually done by 10pm.  Probably the earliest Christmas Eve yet!

Christmas morning dawned bright and early, and they were all dying to come downstairs.  After quick pictures on the stairs, stockings were opened, and the excitement began! We totally hit the mark this year.  They love every single thing we got them, and they are things that will be played with for a long time. I thought long and hard about it, because we're in a small apartment, but won't always be.  I'm so glad, and it was SO fun to see them enjoy everything so much.  By 9am, I had everything cleaned up, vacuumed, and new toys in bins that I had purchased ahead of time.  I love Christmas, but I hate the mess and chaos.  This helps me stay sane.  :)  

And pictures on Christmas morning make me crazy. I love them, but trying to balance my phone, watch kids open, answer questions, and get crawled all over by a baby--I can never get very good ones.  But at least there are pictures, right?

We spent the day playing with toys, games, watching movies, and just relaxing.  A few kids were feeling a little better, which was good news.  I hate cooking on Christmas Day--I do not want to spend my time in the kitchen on my favorite holiday. That is NOT my idea of fun!  So, we set out a spread of pretty much every yummy thing my kids love, and told them to go for it!  We had it out all day, and they could help themselves whenever they wanted it.  That was super exciting for them, because I never let them do that.  It's Christmas, right??!!  

It was a really nice Christmas, despite the sickness that was lingering. I'm grateful that Rick and I never got it (knock on wood...), because that did happen several years ago, and it was terrible.  We also kept Caroline out of the hospital, which really was a Christmas miracle.  She woke up Christmas Eve morning so, so sick, and I thought for sure we would be going to the hospital. We prayed and prayed, and gave her lots of medicine, and we avoided a major crisis.  SO happy.  

Another wonderful holiday and Christmas season...it always goes too fast for me!  Merry Christmas!

{a little bit of christmas}

What a whirlwind this Christmas season has been!  I can't believe that we are a week out...I always seem to think that the time flies by, but this year in particular really seems like that.  I'm one of those "crazies" that starts to enjoy Christmas early--music comes on the beginning of November at least!  It's the best time of the year, it's never long enough, and I want to enjoy it for as long as I can. Fortunately I can still have a good Thanksgiving holiday while preparing and enjoying for Christmas.  :)

This was a year of old traditions made new, and new traditions formed. It's always fun to discover things about a new community, and we've added several favorite things to our list.  We still have a bunch we weren't able to get to, but they will be first up next year.  

Upstate New York is absolutely beautiful.  We live out in the country, about 15 minutes from "town", and a busy road with all of the stores that we need.  When our house is built, we'll be about 25 minutes out.  I adore it.  It's perfect for us. I love the trees, the quiet country roads, all the farms and barns--but still being fairly close to everything we need.  At Christmastime it's especially beautiful. I'm finding that I don't mind the snow one little bit.  I don't know if that will change in March or not, but I just love having the different seasons, and all the fun things that go along with it.  Our weather has been up and down this winter--warm, then cold, then warm again. We get a bunch of snow, then it melts.  So...I'm still praying for a white Christmas.  I think it should be an automatic perk if you live somewhere cold!

The kids are always thrilled when we wake up to snow!

Once again, I utilized my Christmas card assembly line to get all the cards ready to mail out.  After living so many places, we've accumulated more and more people on our card list, and I love that.  I love sending, receiving, and displaying cards...one of my favorite parts of the Christmas season!

The kids LOVE writing letters to Santa, mailing them to him, and getting a reply!  They always get the cutest letters, and it's just such a fun part of Christmas. We usually do it for FHE one week, or on a Sunday afternoon.  It's a favorite, for sure!

Just a few miles from us us a fantastic musical Christmas lights display. We went there last week, and literally stayed for over an hour, and the kids were begging to stay longer.  We will go at least twice more before Christmas arrives, it's that good! During that hour we were there, we didn't hear a repeated song even one time--it was so amazing and well done.  

One of the things we miss most about Christmas in Midland is the Santa house.  It was a tradition for many years, and it was hard when we moved to Texas and were stuck with the Santa at the mall.  But...guess what!  There is one here too!  It's called the Christmas cottage, and it's a Santa House! They even have a Santa School, and it dates back more than fifty years.  They have memorabilia displayed inside, and it was so fun to look at Santas clear back to the 1950's.  It's a tiny cottage, with just one or two families in at a time, but it's darling.  I'm so, so happy!  We took the kids last night, but Caroline would have no part of it.  She did take a candy cane from Santa, but her love of sugar overcame her fear of the man with the white beard.  :) Kate didn't want to tell Santa anything on her list, because she knows he isn't the "real" Santa.  Santa Claus is much too busy getting ready for Christmas to be anywhere else other than the North Pole, so she knows they are "helper Santas". She wrote her letter to him already, and that's good enough for her!  Love that girl. 

The boys had their last day of preschool yesterday, and they were lucky enough to have Santa stop by!  Two times in one day!  They absolutely love their preschool, and so do I. They have 5 teachers, and only 19 students, so the ratio is awesome. One of their teachers, "Mr. Matt", is a talented musician, and he's always playing something for the kids when we come to pick them up. Yesterday he was playing Christmas songs on his saxophone, and it was beautiful.  Lucky kiddos!!

Don't you love the height difference?  Henry isn't standing on anything. :)

This week I hosted a book exchange party, which I loved for many years, and was excited to continue the tradition here.  There was a great turnout, we laughed and laughed and laughed, and I got to know some new friends. It was a great evening!  

Only 6 more days to go! All the shopping is done, but I haven't wrapped a thing. Traditionally. Rick and I do all the wrapping together on Christmas Eve, but I think we have too many kids to do that.  We might need to start a little early this year.

I'm looking forward to Sunday--I love the Sunday before Christmas, with all the music and performances. I'm lucky enough to be doing several numbers, and I can't wait!  

Merry Christmas!!