Four Years

It's Grace's birthday today.  She is four.  FOUR. Wow.

I remember finding out (on March 16th, 2009 to be exact) that I was having a girl. While I was thrilled there was a very big part of me that didn't believe it. For a very long time (almost right up until her birth) I didn't buy any girlie outfits or girlie toys. It just didn't seem possible.

And then came the day of her birth. And from the minute the labor began I knew I was headed for new territory.  She was by far the most painful (which is saying something after births like  this) of my four labors. And she took the longest by half a day. And she kept on surprising us when she was born. Unlike my bald-headed, blond eye-browed, blue-eyed boys, she came out with a full head of dark hair, dark eyebrows, and hazel eyes. My girl. My Grace.

She kept on showing us her originality. She slept like a champ, rarely cried, and was incredibly mild mannered. Everyone in our house was immediately smitten.

As she grew we saw her vivacious side. Her spunky side.

Her silliness and humor.

Her energy and fun.

Her light.

Her intelligence.

Her gentleness and sweetness.

Her outdoorsey, nature loving side. The tomboy.

 Her independence.

 Her bravery.

Her resilience.

 We found out what it is like to live with a princess.

And a little daredevil.

An adventurer.

An animal lover.

A collector (of hearts).

 Grace

You are loved.

In the spirit of the birthday posts I am conducting a little interview to capture where Grace is right now in her FOUR year old self.

Me:  Hi, honey! How are you today?

Grace: Good.

Me: Are you having a good day so far?

Grace: Yes! 

Me: I'm gonna ask you some questions about yourself, okay?

Grace: 'Kay.

Me: How old are you today?

Grace: I'm four! (holding up 4 fingers)

Me: What is your favorite color? 

Grace: Pink!  And red.  Wait!  Just pink.

Me: What do you want to be when you are older?

Grace: I want to be a princess. 

Me: What is your favorite animal?

Grace: A baby giraffe. And puppies. Like Molly!

Me: What is your favorite movie?

Grace: Tangled! And Brave! I like Brave. And Beauty and The Beast! And Cinderella. And Snow White. I like a lot of princesses.

Me: What is your favorite food?

Grace: Carrots, and umm... chicken! And ice cream. And peas. I like peas. They're really yummy.

Me: Where is your favorite place to visit?

Grace: Um... at the zoo.

Me: If you could go anywhere where would you go?

Grace: Chicago. 'Cuz I like Chicago a lot.  We go up to the top. And that was... and my cake is so beautiful mommy!  Thank you so much! I love you!

Me: What is your favorite toy?
Grace: Princesses.  And my puppy.  And Barbie Dolls.

Me: What is your favorite thing to do with your family?
Grace: Play outside.

Me: Are you excited for school?
Grace: Yes! (that is news to me)

Me: How much does mommy and daddy love you?
Grace: This much!
Me: And more!

My dearest Grace, I am so honored and so proud to be your mama. I love you more than you will ever know.  No matter how big you get you will always be my baby.  Thank you for being my daughter.

Happy Birthday, Grace!

May all your dreams come true!

Girlie Time

Sometimes I am still amazed that I have a little girl of my very own.  A little girl who wants to spend time with her mommy even if it means missing out on going up north.  A little girl who gets excited about things like bridal showers, and holding babies, and school shopping, and snuggling up to watch princess movies.  

That is exactly the kind of weekend Grace and I had.

The boys left to go up north on Friday morning.  Shortly after they left Grace and I did a little shopping together for all the bridal showers and weddings we are going to in the next month and we even got all of her school shopping done too.  

It was the warmest day we've had in a while (which is pretty sad because it was only about 82- come ON summer!) so we decided to go swimming. By the time we finally got to the swimming hole the temperature was 78, it was windy, and I was freezing in the water.  Gracie was a much tougher chic than I and swam away. 

Still, we only lasted about an hour before we decided to head back home for dinner.

Saturday we got gussied up, picked up my mom, and headed almost 2 hours away to the bridal shower for my cousin (Actually, she is my cousin's daughter- so what is that- my 2nd cousin? I don't know.  My cousin) It was a beautiful warm, sunny day.  Perfect for a bridal shower.  The food was delicious, the company was sublime, and the games were so fun.  It was a great day.

And bonus! Grace and I got to hold a precious little 5 week old baby (My other cousin's daughter's baby. So is that my 2nd cousin once removed?  HOW does that stuff work? Whatever.) for a good portion of the day. She was a precious little angel and Grace and I were both smitten.  I asked Grace what her favorite part of the day was.  Stuffing her face with candy?  Winning the game and getting a pretty little purse?  All the yummy food?  The dogs that she had fun playing with?  Or getting to hold the baby? She didn't even hesitate before she said, "holding the baby!"

Later that night I thanked Grace for coming with me to the party.  She said, "I love doing stuff with you. I'm always going to go places with you and do stuff with you 'cuz I love you.  I'll always be your buddy."

I hope so, my dear.  I really and truly hope so.

Going Broke

This month is gonna break me, people.  I'm seriously starting to get nervous.

This weekend I have a bridal shower to go to.  Grace's birthday is on Thursday.  Next weekend we have a wedding on Saturday and a graduation party (for Todd's nephew/godson) on Sunday.  The next weekend after that I have another bridal shower and the weekend after that another wedding.

Add in the fact that my van stopped working (that happened when we had the van all packed for our trip to Chicago and then we had to unpack everything and pack the truck because the van wouldn't work) so we have a nice bill for that on the way.  We also had all four kids go to the dentist and a nice $400 bill for that.  Let's not forget the expense of our fabulous Chicago vacation.  That has to be added in there.

Oh, and then there is the BACK TO SCHOOL SHOPPING FOR FOUR CHILDREN to do yet as well!

AHHHHHHH!!!!!!!

*deep breaths*

Must think happy thoughts...

Whew. Okay. I feel a little better.

Laughter really is the best medicine.

Except now I kinda want another dog.

WW- A Little Hard Work

The Mower

 The Bucket Brigade

The Clean-up Crew

The Reward

There is no substitute for hard work.

Thomas A. Edison

The Birds And The Bees

He is growing up.  Getting older.  In a few weeks he will be starting fifth grade.  Fifth grade!  How did that happen so soon?

He has gone off to camp on his own.  He is feeling his independence.  Slowly, slowly becoming more mature.

It seems that he has developed a much more positive "can do", "never give up",  attitude in the last couple of months as well.  Something I have been praying about for him and will definitely help him in the long run. I know he will always struggle with being too hard on himself (the curse of the firstborn) but I think a positive attitude is everything.

Recently, he has been taking very good care of his room.  Folding his clothes, making his bed, keeping things tidy.  He is given an allowance for it now to ensure he keeps up the good work.  

He had also been begging to cut our grass for months now.  Finally, Todd showed him how to use our push mower.  People, we have a huge lawn. Huge. Todd uses a riding mower but wasn't quite ready to hand that over to Joey just yet. Instead, Joey got a quick lesson in push mowers and then proceeded to cut our entire front lawn. A couple of days later he cut the backyard. He loved it. Loved it! He was hooked. The novelty wore off a bit but he has still cut our lawn a few more times since then.

The kid is growing up.  

And it was time.  

I knew it would be coming soon.  I mean, the kid is going into 5th grade.  I think I knew about the birds and the bees when I was in 3rd grade, tops.  But, bless my dear, sweet, innocent Joey, he knew nothing. Probably another bonus of him going to a sheltered parochial school. The subject just never came up before with his friends or at school.  He really didn't know anything. Not a thing. And it was time. 

There were times when I considered telling him before. Like when I asked him not to say "Humpin' Honeys" even though that was the name on the side of his war plane.  Or when the kids repeated the word "sexy" after they heard it in the car commercial and I told them I don't want them saying it.  I tried to say that it was inappropriate talk for kids and leave it at that but there comes a time when more of an explanation is needed.  

That time was tonight.

It came up completely innocently and when I said, "Maybe it's time we had the birds and the bees talk, Joe." he was very receptive.  Although, I honestly think at first he thought we'd be talking about birds and bees. When I told him that I meant I think he is old enough to know how babies are made he was all for it.  

As I walked him to our library and closed the door (the younger kids just aren't ready to overhear this conversation yet) I said a silent prayer asking for guidance to say the right things.  I grabbed a book off our shelf (It's Not The Stork) for a visual reference and then I began.  

I started by telling Joe that women have eggs that need to be fertilized by a man.  And then I told him exactly how that happens.  I used all the correct terminology (something I had been doing with all of my kids since birth so it never felt weird saying "penis" or "vagina").  I pointed to pictures in the book explaining the uterus and ovaries.  I even talked about puberty and menstrual cycles a bit.  I was comfortable, he was comfortable, and we talked freely.  

Joey told me he thought it was disgusting. I told him that I know it sounds that way but it really isn't.  It is a wonderful thing but it is to be taken very seriously. I explained more about how I feel that God intended for sex to be beautiful, since you are creating a life, and that is why it should be between a married couple. Joey vowed that he would never have sex.  Fine with me.

At one point Joey said, "I can't believe that you and dad had to do that 4 times just to have babies." Dear sweet Joey. He also told me (after I told him about periods and how eggs get old eventually) that he hopes my eggs aren't too old yet because he wants me to have another baby.  Crazy kid.  He always loved holding his siblings as babies. So sweet.  Unfortunately, I believe that ship has sailed.  Four is our magic number (says the hubby). 

I tell you what, people, I could not have dreamed that this little talk would have gone this well. I am so thankful. I let Joey know that he shouldn't talk about it with his friends because their parents probably want to be the one to tell them about it. I also said his siblings are too young to know, and he agreed. I admitted to him that my parents never had this talk with me and that many people are embarrassed to talk about it, but not me.  I let him know that he can always come to me with any questions.  He can ask me anything. I won't be embarrassed.  

He handled it like a man. Actually, probably better than a man. He asked thoughtful questions.  He didn't make silly jokes out of embarrassment. He took it like the little scientist I always thought him to be.  It was awesome.  Very breezy and casual.  Quite a bonding moment, actually. 

One more milestone down.

He is growing up. I can't stop it.  Nor do I want to.

Trippin'

We are back.  And we are exhausted.

Chicago is a much different city when you are toting four young kids with you. Todd and I have been to Chicago many times, enjoying the nightlife, the food, the music, the art museums, the theater.  I have always loved Chicago, but I knew taking the kids to Chicago would be a different experience all together.

I fell in love with Chicago all over again through my kids' eyes.

We drove into Chicago on Tuesday night.  It was fun driving into the city in the dark and watching the kids' eyes pop out as they took in the Chicago skyline.  Very exciting stuff.  Then of course there was the excitement of staying in a hotel.  The kids were CRAZY after the long car ride and it was near impossible to settle them down.  Bedtime that night was madness, and there was far too much scolding and yelling.  I was afraid we were off to a bad start.

The kids were tired the next day (surprise, surprise- messing around until after midnight makes you tired) but the day went surprisingly well.  I think Todd and I started off to a grumpy start (we were also tired so we were less able to handle the kids' fighting and whining) but we managed to turn it around.

There is so much to do, and we tried to cover all the major bases. We bought Chicago CityPasses and that helped immensely.  We got in to all of the attractions we wanted to see.  The problem was fitting it all in to our two day trip.

Our first stop was The Shedd Aquarium.  It was a very cloud/foggy Wednesday morning but that didn't stop us from walking from our hotel to the aquarium.

We spent 7 hours walking around the aquarium, taking in a dolphin/beluga whale show, and seeing thousands of amazing fish.  The kids loved it.  So did I. (i won't bore you with the hundreds of fish pictures i took- your welcome)

The kids were bone tired after walking for over 7 hours but we dragged their little bones over to the Field Museum to see some very old bones.  A dinosaur named Sue.

More walking, walking, walking and the kids were practically crying.  So, we walked them back to the hotel (we are so mean) and relaxed in our room for a little while.  As a treat for all their wonderful walking we took them to The Rainforest Cafe. Not exactly what Todd would have picked for a birthday dinner but he sure was a trooper.  

It was another very late night and the next morning we were up bright and early so we had plenty of time to fit in more adventures.

This time we took a cab (it was a little too far to walk and I think the kids' feet weren't working so well anymore) to the Sears (Willis) Tower. The kids marveled at how fast the elevator went up 103 floors and they LOVED the little glass observation decks.  As you can see below, I did not.  I was clinging to the wall and only managed to stick a foot out onto the glass.  Watching my kids go out onto it nearly made me pass out.  I'm sweating just thinking about it.  I'll probably have nightmares tonight.  Grace, Tommy, and Ben later admitted to me that it REALLY freaked them out too.

When that was done we went back to the hotel and packed up our stuff, grabbed our truck, and drove over to Navy Pier.  We took the architectural riverboat tour.  I absolutely loved it.  And I think the kids liked it too.  When they saw the glass observation boxes sticking out on the side of the Sears Tower they couldn't believe that was how high up they were.  Yikes!

It was a perfect day for hanging outside on Navy Pier, and a perfect way to wrap up our Chicago trip. Hopefully the kids will only remember the awesome sites we saw and fun activities we did and forget about mom and dad losing their patience one too many times in the beginning.

Overall, I'd say the trip was a huge success. 

Kids exhausted.  Mission complete.

No rest for the weary. Tomorrow morning we are leaving early for a trip up north.  I'm sure the kids won't be thrilled for another 3 hour car ride, but they are willing to put up with it for a visit to the cabin.  Hopefully there will be much fishing, and swimming, and bonfires so we can properly and thoroughly exhaust them again.  

Ahh... summer.