Times, They Are A'Changin'

I love writing down the crazy, goofy, silly, and sometimes insane things that happen in our life with four kids.  It's a great way to keep track of things I may (and sometimes, WANT to) forget.  That being said, I've done a pretty crappy job of it lately on here.  This space is my own (no, really, it's MINE - and there are VERY few things I don't have to share around here) and I haven't been owning it the way I want to.  Things happen and I forget to post.  Or I worry that I'll offend someone.  Or I think that maybe it's not worth the effort.

This year has been one of change, most of it for the better.  It started off in the most awful of ways (we lost my Grandpa on January 2nd) and I went into a funk (for lack of a better word).  I didn't want to run.  I didn't want to socialize.  I didn't want to blog.  I didn't wanna...anything.  I started using Young Living Essential Oils in March and that started the ball rolling in a completely different direction.  I can't quite describe why; mostly, it's because I HATE taking (and doling out) medications and I haven't had to do that nearly as much but a lot of it is because deciding to become a distributor has given me a purpose that I haven't had in awhile.  Sure, getting a paycheck is nice (REALLY nice) but I love that the product I decided to promote actually HELPS people.  There are a lot of great products out there that I certainly think are worth the money (Pampered Chef always comes to mind!) but they're not exactly improving quality of life (although a new pie plate would certainly improve the Thanksgiving dinner table...).  I can't guarantee that using Young Living will change someone's life but I KNOW that it has had a significant impact on mine - sleep (glorious sleep!), pain, inflammation, energy, mood, money (don't knock it - it works!), illness, infections, allergies, warts, skin care, and probably a dozen other things I can't think of right now.  (Sleep is happening on a consistent basis since we started diffusing lavender every night, but we ALL - ALL 6 OF US - stayed up until midnight last night which means *yawn* I'm too tired to remember everything)

So, the long of the short is that I want this space - MY blog - to include all parts of our life and right now essential oils are playing a pretty big part of it. 

If you've missed reading about our insanity, you're in luck!  I'm baaaack!  If you don't want to hear anything about YL (Young Living), your luck just ran out. ;)

I am part of the Lemon Dropper team.  We don't sell anything.  We just tell it like it is. 

"Memorial of Mercy"

I tend to steer away from topics that are considered controversial.  Not because I don't have an opinion (I have very strong opinions on darn near everything) but because I don't like confrontation. 

 

Youngest Boy asked to see this painting.  On Sunday, his best bud "D" told him all about it and the ensuing conversation brought tears to my eye.  I just let them talk, only adding my voice if they asked a direct question or gave an incorrect fact.  "D"'s mom gave a great description that was understandable at their 4th grade level and I let them go with it. 

 

Pray.  Now.

 

"Memorial of Mercy" by Nikki Bruni

Maybe you can tell a little better in this closer photo - each tile is a picture of a baby.

Folks always want to talk about the killing involved in war.  56 million deaths - what kind of war would that be?

Mother's Day

Holy Cow! I've got 4 kids! This first year as a mother of four has been about one word for me: Survive. I just wanted to survive the sleepless nights (still going!) and the hours of car pool spent with a screaming baby and the potty training (easy peasy, thank you Baby Girl!) and the colds and the flu and the mess and the work and the constant, "Mommy! I need you, NOW!" And I did. Thank you, my babies, for making it so, so worth it. I love you all. Equally. But differently. Thanks.

And to my husband: Thanks for making it easy (er) than it could have been. I wouldn't have survived without you.

And to my mom: Thanks for making it easy (er) than it could have been. I wouldn't have survived without you. Happy Mother's Day!

38 and "Me" Time

My college roommate and I share a birthday. We celebrated our 19th birthday together at Kinzua Bridge 19 years ago. That means I've known her for more than half of my life! She's one of the only friends who ALWAYS remembers my birthday (because, obviously) and we sometimes compare notes.

This year she celebrated her birthday with happy hour, dinner with family, and then drinking with neighbors in her hot tub. My celebration was vastly different. I spent the morning at the ENT specialist for a re-evaluation for Youngest Boy's surgery (scheduled for Thursday). I made our traditional Friday night dinner (homemade pizza) and baked my own birthday cake. I received two AWESOME gifts from my loving husband (this Vintage Pearl necklace and a Sidney Crosby third jersey) and the kids sang Happy Birthday to me.

Turns out, I don't mind the way I celebrated. Actually, I totally enjoyed it (OK, except for the getting up at 4:30AM with a teething baby part). You see, I spent my 20s largely alone. I had great friends and of course, my immediate family, but no special guy. I spent a lot of time alone. What I would refer to now as "me" time. I think maybe that's why I don't get all of the hype surrounding that term. Sure, I'd like to be able to do some things alone (like pee), but for the most part I enjoy being with someone. MY "someones". I guess I'm just making up for lost time.

Maybe it's because I didn't become a parent until my 30s. I can't say that's the best way to do it, but I can say that it's working out alright for me. Looking back, maybe if I hadn't spent so much time doing exactly what I wanted exactly when I wanted to I may be looking to do it now. But I'm not. If anything, I wish I had more "alone" time with my husband, but we're both patient enough to know that the time will come when we can have that time without having to worry. For now, we're happy to be surrounded by our little "someones". Nothing makes me happier than snuggling on our bed with our babies wrapped around us like a giant (squirming, squealing) quilt. I don't need the party crowd. I have everything I need. My family.

Unexpected-ness

I wasn’t really sure what to expect when I started blogging. I knew that I was at least literate enough to be able to put words on paper and make some sense. I knew my main goal was to have a way to remember all of the stuff that my kids did. But it turns out that there’s so much more.

One unexpected benefit is in my spirituality and closeness to God. I used to have prayer time every morning where I would use a prayer journal. I had pictures of my family and one or two close friends who I would offer up in prayer every day (or as often as I could with this many munchkins running around). And then I started blogging.

At first I was just reading other people’s blogs. And they touched my heart. Through some encouragement (and frankly, it didn’t take much) I started my own. And I soon found myself praying for other bloggers. I prayed for Fishsticks after the loss of Quinn and during her pregnancy with Briar. I prayed for "Aunt Becky"'s little Amelia before she was even born and then more consistently during her brain surgery. I was completely moved by Stellan and his miraculous healing. I prayed for Jennifer and her twin girls. I cried and prayed for Multiple Baby Pile-Up when they lost their Jack. I prayed for Matt Logelin and Madeline after the loss of Liz. It seemed not a day would go by when someone, somewhere in the virtual world was hurting. I had to take a step back when the hormones that come with pregnancy and post-partum hit because I had to focus on surviving.

I stopped visiting every website that was “tweeted”, asking for prayers. I quit linking to every sad, heart-wrenching story because my own heart needed protecting. You can only cry so many tears. But God hears them all, even the prayers that aren’t spoken.

And then I followed the link to Layla Grace…and my heart broke for this family. They are living a nightmare and doing their best to make sure that her life is not in vain. I cannot imagine having to hold my child while she is dying and knowing there is nothing you CAN do except pray. For peace. For freedom from pain. For what? It’s so hard to know what to ask God for. They wanted her to be healed. And they truly believe that she WILL BE. They’ve accepted that it may not be on their terms but when the Lord holds this sweet, sweet girl she WILL BE perfect. That, my friends, is faith like no other. May God bless them and sweet, sweet Layla Grace.

Too Much...Sports?

My husband is a sports fanatic. Football (college and pro), basketball (college and pro), and hockey are his favorites. Baseball, well, if you're a Pittsburgh fan, baseball isn't really your "thing" any more. He turns on some sporting event every night, even if one of "his teams" isn't playing.

I started to suspect maybe we were watching too much when Baby Girl's evening routine included her climbing onto our bed - where we read all of the kids' bedtime stories - and declaring, "Daddy! Put HOCKEY on!"

But the real clincher was during mass on Saturday night. I took the boys and Mr. MOTH stayed home with the girls. The boys are...getting better. I would say they were downright angelic this week. However, at one point they made me nearly laugh out loud. Youngest Boy turned to me and said, "Is it halftime yet?"

That was right before he apparently (without my knowledge) took his shirt off and turned it around. Note to self: Never point out wardrobe mishaps to Youngest Boy until AFTER church.

Coincidence Is God Working Anonymously

Last week I began sorting the last three boxes of boys' baby clothes to be donated. It's necessary to get rid of all of the unnecessary "stuff" from the room that will (someday soon!) be our computer room. I had been planning to drop it off on Tuesday. And then I wanted to drop it off on Thursday. And now I know why neither of those worked.

There's an orphanage in Port-au-Prince with local ties. Those folks are accepting donations of much-needed warm clothing and baby supplies. I hate it when the news makes me cry. But in this case I can at least help. Follow this link to an update for the BRESMA Orphanage. If you're like me, it's always best to have specific needs and instructions on how to best help. And it also helps to know that you WILL know the results. If you feel lead, please give.

And if you're local, I'm making Mr. MOTH drop our stuff off on Monday. If you get it to me before then, I'll make him take yours, too. If you need to know where "local" is, my contact is longdazeshortyears at zoominternet dot net.

Opinions Are Like...well, you know the saying

I try not to give out a lot of advice to new moms (unless specifically asked), but the one thing that I tell all of them is this: "You don't have to take advice from a-n-y-o-n-e. Not your mother. Not your mother-in-law. Not even your pediatrician. It is YOUR baby and only you can know what's right for both of you"* Because everyone has an opinion when it comes to raising a child. And everyone thinks that their way is right.

There's the little old lady at the grocery store who tried to tell me that I should always pick up something for the kids so that if they misbehave I can take it away. Um, no.


There are well-meaning relatives who think that a child should never cry. Um, no. Giving in to a temper tantrum just shows the child that the best way to get what you want is to pitch a fit. And results in living with a tiny tyrant.



There's my pediatrician who tried to tell me to NOT hold a "fussy" baby - they just want comfort. Um, no. If my infant wants to be held, that's my JOB. Sometimes I just want to be held for comfort, too.



Every mom wants some kind of guarantee that the choices and decisions we're making are right. Sometimes they are. Sometimes they aren't. But God chose ME - not the little old lady or my peditrician, or any one else - but ME to mother these children. They are MY gift from above. I sometimes lose sight of that and wish that someone would remind me that I'm doing the best that I can. Even if NO ONE else agrees. I had to find a way to remind MYSELF of that:

That's right, I bought myself a coffee mug. It's how I start every day anyhow, may as well make it positive! It says, "You are the best mother in the universe" While I may not agree with that entirely I am the best mother for my children. Screw anyone who thinks otherwise!

*the only other person whose advice you do have to consider is your husband (or father of your children if you're not married). Sometimes they know what they're talking about, too! :)

Baptized

Our Little One was baptized on Sunday. If you're not related nor particularly religious, the following pictures might bore you. However, our daughter is just beautiful and I had to share.

This is us and my aunt and uncle (her godparents) with the priest (obviously). Aren't my aunt and uncle just adorable? They have so much going on in their lives and yet they did this for her. They're the best!

I have to be honest, thess pictures were taken the following day. There was just too much going on afterwards to get any decent photos:

And for comparison, here's one of Baby Girl on the day after her baptism as well:

Baby Update

*Still working on "names" for the kids. For now, just bear with me.


The baby (for the record, I hate it when people call her the "baby". I spent 9 months coming up with her name. USE IT!) had her follow up doctor's appointment yesterday morning. She's up to 7# 3 oz (from 6# 13 oz just one week earlier)! Woohoo! The jaundice seems to be better so she didn't send us for any blood work. Woohoo! I can continue to supplement with formula for another week if I want to or I can stop; she left that up to me. I will most likely continue to offer a bottle before "bedtime" every night for two reasons: 1) She tends to sleep a little bit longer with a stuffed belly and 2) I really don't want a repeat of her older sister who refused to be weaned and wouldn't even consider having a bottle, thankyouverymuch.

I also ran a TON of errands yesterday. I can't believe what a difference there is between having your first baby and your fourth (4!). I was much more relaxed carting my newborn daughter around than I would have been with Oldest Boy when he was a newborn. We went to Target, the fabric store and Babies R Us. It's insane how much STUFF a baby "needs". Also, it's insane how much STUFF I have, uh, "misplaced" over the last few years.

Speaking of STUFF, I am gleefully (yes, I said gleefully) packing up all of my maternity clothes. Woohoo! I am makin' a list, checkin' it twice and shipping it off to charity. It's so hard to explain, but I feel like we can finally make plans for the rest of our life. It's difficult to make plans when you don't know if/when you'll be pregnant or how old the "baby" will be if you plan to do something. Is any of that making sense? Even planning a vacation or to take a class or, well, ANYTHING is difficult when there are a lot of unknowns. Now that we're done with the child-bearing years, we can truly, totally, 100% focus on the child-rearing years. I'm so excited!

A Loose Tooth! ...And Some Other Stuff

Oldest Boy was eating his standard breakfast fare (this morning, a bagel) when all of a sudden he yelped and told me it was hurting his tooth. I went to investigate and, sure enough, he's got a loose one! To some children, this would be cause for much excitement. To my son, not so much. He's been worried about this day for oh, I dunno, 2 years or so. He made me promise the last time we discussed this that when we left the tooth for the tooth fairy I would leave a note asking her to please either leave the tooth or keep it safe in an undisclosed location so that he may one day see it again. This worries me no small amount because I'm pretty sure he's got a genetic predisposition to hoarding disease. My dad is a hoarder and I'm certain that if he lived alone we wouldn't be able to find him for all of the "stuff" he thinks he needs to keep. BTW? He's in COMPLETE denial of this. My sister and the older of my two brothers also have definite hoarding tendencies - a fact which they also ignore but would become blatantly obvious if they lived in their own homes. No one wants to acknowledge it. They call it "collecting" or some other BS, but it's ridiculous. When you can no longer walk in a room because of your "collecting"? It's time to re-evaluate. But I digress.

Oldest Boy is growing up and he's not happy about it. I'm trying to put a happy face on it, but I'm a teeny, tiny bit sad, too. A gap-toothed grin is one of the first signs that he's truly not a baby any more. {SIGH} I need time to adjust.

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On a separate note, Thanksgiving is just around the corner and I'm doing my best to be very, very thankful this year. I know that not everyone has it as good as we do. Some have lost homes; some have lost jobs; some have lost loved ones - even children. For those of you who are thinking charitable thoughts this year but don't necessarily know who or what to give, visit this link. I read this woman's blog and it nearly breaks my heart to do so. I can't imagine the bittersweetness of the holidays for her and her family. Please consider choosing a gift from this wish list and contributing it to the toy drive in her son, Jack's name. The toys will be donated to a New Jersey children's hospital - where one of her daughter's recently had heart surgery. Again, we are so blessed when others are suffering. As our priest likes to say, don't give until it hurts, give until it feels good!