Metamorphosis

We arrived home from camping this weekend to find this little guy newly emerged from his cocoon.
The girls didn't want to stop watching him for a second, but were forced to leave him so we could get to evening mass. By the time we got home, of course, he was gone. Never fear, though. His brother in the browned, deadish looking chrysalis was not far behind.
By the time we got up Monday morning, he was out and feeling constrained by the tight quarters.
As soon as the girls were up, we took him outside to let him stretch his wings and fly, but he was feeling timid. I lured the girls away with breakfast, and despite our frequent checks, he managed to fly off while we weren't looking.

What a success, though! I have never (at least in my memory) attempted to raise caterpillars, so this was a bit of a thrill - seeing it all work just the way it's supposed to. I'm bummed Jake missed the exciting bits, but I've saved the discarded caterpillar skins and the now-empty chrysalises for his inspection when he comes home.

*****

I've made a metamorphosis of my own today. It was weeks coming, as it's hard to find time to slip away for an hour for purely personal reasons, but here it is:
I haven't gone this short in a long time, but I needed a change. It's hot here, in case you haven't heard. That, combined with my need for very low maintenance hair, meant it was time to go short. Plus, all my favorite pictures of myself since about the time I turned 20 have been of me with short hair.

The girls were surprised by the new do, but took it well. Marianne's first reaction was a look of shock, mouth in an "o" and eyes as big as saucers. Then she said, "Why are you all popping up like a flower, Mommy?!" I take it she was referring to the roundness of the hair atop the stem of my neck. Or something.

*****

In other randomness, check out this recent acquisition.
Our neighbor across the street is moving, and he's slowly but surely emptying his house onto the street with a big "free" sign next to it all. I was actually making fun of the huge suitcase and how heavy it was, when it fell open and I realized there was a full set of nesting, hardback suitcases, plus the two small bags. And they were free!

I'd never take them to an airport (that's what wheeled bags are for) but we have a lot of people to pack for now, and some extra suitcases may come in handy! I figure worst case I decide they're a waste of space and donate them to charity. Right now I'm just enjoying a few laughs at the mustard-gold color of them, and enjoying the retro feel of the whole thing. They make me smile.

*****

As mentioned earlier, we spent this weekend camping here in Nebraska. We went to a place Nathaniel has camped with his family since childhood, but it was my first visit. It was really beautiful, right in the Missouri River valley. Very lush and hilly. VERY hot and humid. We're talking sweat rolling down your cheeks and no where to run for a/c or for swimming... The trip was a great time, because I love my in-laws and the time hanging out with them was worth it. I'm just a big sissy about heat. I missed Colorado more this weekend than I have yet. I missed the lack of insects, the cooling evenings, the downright chilly nights where you change into jeans and jackets and sit around the campfire as much for warmth as for camaraderie. The second night of this camping trip, we actually set the lantern on the grill over the cooled fire pit so that we could get the sense of sitting around a fire without the torture of more heat. It was fun, but not quite the same.

I had to bite my tongue numerous times to stop from telling more "when we used to camp in Colorado..." stories, because I can tell you from personal experience that no one appreciates people who can't let go. I can't tell you how my coworkers and I used to mock the "back when I worked in the Chicago office, we did things this way..." people.

Blame Potter

Amazingly, I have had time in the past few days when I could have posted more, however I've been unable to put down my copy of the latest Harry Potter novel. Even now, I'm looking forward to getting this posted so I can get back to the book. Kristi always has good discussion about the books once they're out, so I've been avoiding her site like the plague in order to avoid reading something I'd rather not know yet. I can't wait to go and get all caught up on what people think. Plus, I want another look at her "bubble gum pink" hair, which she died for real, in order to look like Tonks at the book release. That's dedication. But then, I don't know anyone else who looks that cool with pink hair, so she didn't have much to lose in going for it.

*****

Speaking of Harry Potter, my in-laws were kind enough to invite Sara and Jake along to the local Barnes and Noble book release party last Friday night. The kids decided the night before the party that they wanted to go in costume. It's nothing too fancy, but below you can see, from right to left, Sara dressed as Luna Lovegood, Ellen dressed as Hermione, and Jake decked out as a dementor. They had a fantastic time, and were home with my new copy of the book by about 12:30am on Saturday. I managed to hold off cracking it open till later Saturday morning, after sleeping for a few hours.

*****

For the past couple weeks, we've had some new pets. We haven't named them, but refer to them alternately as "the worms" and "the caterpillars". I have to believe they appreciate the latter more.

Jake found them in my mother-in-law's garden and cared for them by adding dill and rue to the jar a few time. Now, just days after he left to spend a couple weeks with his grandparents, he's missing all the fun. They were black swallowtail caterpillars, and they've since made the transition to chrysalis (chrysalises? chrysali?). What we don't know, is whether both are truly still alive. The first one is this lovely healthy shade of green:
On the other hand, caterpillar #2 rapidly changed from green to grayish brown after moving to it's chrysalis state.
The question is, was he smarter and somehow camouflaged himself based on the sticks we provided, or did he die and all the color drained from the chrysalis in the process? I've seen images of both colors, so I'm keeping my fingers crossed. We'll just have to wait a couple weeks and see.

*****

On the home front, things have taken a huge upswing recently! Nathaniel took a day off work and he, along with his ever-present construction assistant and friend Jeremy, were able to put up all the drywall around our bedroom and closet. Most of you probably thought this project was long since completed and I'd just forgotten to mention it, right? But no! We've been living in a partially dry-walled space since May, and it feels great to have this next step really completed. It was on hold while Nathaniel worked out all the wiring through the attic and whatever else happens on the interior of the wall. Now, my rooms are surrounded by walls. {sigh of relief}

Coming soon: doors!

Wouldn'tcha know

I have a few minutes to post, and I can't think of a thing to say. That's weird. I'll substitute a little randomness for a real topic today.

Sara and Jake are going to a Harry Potter book release party tonight. I begged out of staying up till after midnight with a bunch of kids at Barnes and Noble, but I have to say I am very excited for Jake to bring home my copy of the 7th book. Thankfully his grandparents, with whom he's spending the next couple weeks, are getting him his own copy. I was worried for a bit there that he and I would have to duke it out over who got to read the book first. Phew!

We still haven't made it to the most recent Harry Potter movie, and I feel really sad about that. I meant to take the kids before this trip to their grandparents, but it just hasn't worked out. Nathaniel's twin brother, Arthur, has been in town with his family for the last week, and it's meant a slew of family dinners with my in-laws. It's been a wonderful week of visiting. I think we may have Arthur and April convinced that it would be fun to move back here once Arthur finally wraps up his PhD next year. Hopefully there'll be a college somewhere not too far away with a need for a Philosophy Professor... How could there not be, right?

The next two weeks are going to be oddly quiet without the big kids around the house. I'll be more "in my element" with just little people to deal with, but I will no longer be able to run a quick errand during naptime, leaving Sara to keep an eye on things for 20 minutes. I can't tell you how many times before the move I'd get Marianne and Ruth to sleep and think "They're going to be down for a good hour... Man! I wish I could just run to the grocery store..." Of course I never did! I felt guilty walking half a block to the mailbox, because what if?! What if they woke up and couldn't find me, or the house caught fire, or someone snuck into the house while I wasn't look (leading to a strange tendency to walk to the mailbox always looking over my shoulder). But the freedom to make that quick run to the store? That's absolutely priceless these days.

We don't actually have Sara babysit much. Three little girls make for a lot of work. And when they're the same little girls she lives with day in and day out, it seems those girls have a lot less respect for her than they would for, say, a total stranger. At least the stranger could milk the intimidation thing. Sara doesn't love babysitting for them, and we don't ask her to do it often. We're much more likely to have Ellen come over. She can lay down the law when needed, and hang out with Sara at the same time. The only person getting the shaft in that deal is Jake, but I'd venture to say he prefers anyone to have the control other than Sara. No 10 year old boy wants to have to listen to his big sister.

I got the summer mailing from the kids' new school this week. It was very fun and exciting and surreal. The school calender with parent-teacher conference days and holiday vacation dates. The supply list requesting boxes of tissues along with all the markers, glue sticks, notebooks and calculators. The update on the uniform dress code to now include forest green shirts because the previously allowed white and light blue are both too easily stained. Wild. I can't wait to go shopping for all of it! I didn't think the kids would kill me, I'd totally go do it without them. I figure I have to at least let them pick out their own folders and spiral notebooks, though, as I totally remember the thrill of choosing the colors and patterns for each class.

Elizabeth made the realization as we looked at her class list, and I told her which of the kids I already knew, that Marianne will not be coming to school with her. It hit her pretty hard. The two of them are inseparable at ballet each week, squishing in between other little girls to make space to sit together. Elizabeth has already met several of her little classmates, and I'm sure she'll be fine once she's there, but the news that she'd be going it alone came as a bit of a shock.

Naptime is coming to an end. I hope I've killed some time for you.

The Vegas trip, in case anyone was confused, is not till mid-August, but really, it can't get here soon enough!

Whiny Girl and her sidekick, Little Whine

Those are the super hero names that Jake assigned to Elizabeth and Marianne, respectively. Ruth escaped without a whine-related name because she has Jake wrapped around her little finger, though in truth, she's no less whiny than the other two.

Our house is noisy these days, and the sound of the noise is the most irritating whimpers and wails I've ever imagined. Why is it that kids don't think we, the adults, will give them anything? We're not actually going to deprive them of food, drink, or shelter, but you wouldn't guess that from the way they go about requesting those things.

Marianne needs a drink of water? She can't just say, "Mom, may I have a drink of water, please?" Instead, she collapses on the floor by my feet and begins to moan, "I'm too thirsty, Mom. I can't moooovvve, I'm soooo thiiiiirrrrrsstyyyyyy." As though by sheer length of vowel sound she'll manage to convince me, the heartless mother who refuses ever to allow her child a drop of liquid, that she truly deserves a tiny bit of water, just this once.

Just now, Marianne sat in the chair next to me, and Ruth, rather than asking her to move or tattling on her to me for taking her chair, burst into screams of "I sit theeeeere! I sit theeeeeere, Mommy!"

We have had countless talks with all three girls about the need to use calm words to request what they want, but I'm not sure we're breaking through. There are three little drama queens in this house, and they're all aiming to win the Oscar this year.

*****

Ruth's potty training is going well. She wears her big girl pants all day at home, during nap, and on some brief outings, though we still switch to a pull-up for larger fieldtrips (like today's trip to the zoo) and at night. We'll probably stop that soon. She makes it through most outings dry. She actually makes it through most nights dry, or nearly so, which amazes me since Marianne is still in pull-ups at night and no where near being rid of them. I'll feel sad for Marianne if her baby sister is out of nighttime pull-ups before her. Maybe that's what she needs to motivate her to stay dry herself.

The one big downfall to the training is the poo. Ruth has previously pooed in the potty, several times. However she hasn't done it once since potty training began. She goes in her big girl pants every time, and without any warning or signs that she's doing it. No hiding under the table or squatting or grunting to tip us off. I have no idea how to fight this battle. Ideas?

Fun in the sun

In the month of August, there are currently eight days on my calendar without some activity, trip or appointment scheduled. Yikes.

Amid the busyness, however, is one weekend for which I am already giddy with excitement. We'll be dropping off the kids - yes, ALL the kids! - with my parents so that Nathaniel and I can take a four day vacation by ourselves. The only other time we've traveled together without children since the birth of Marianne was our trip in April to the ordination at ND. While that was wonderful fun in its own way, we were road-tripping in a Corolla and staying in a seminary... so it wasn't exactly romantic.

The trip I booked this time isn't quite the Caribbean beach vacation for which I'm longing, but it was the next best thing I could dream up. It's Vegas, baby. Not sleazy, high-stakes gambling Vegas. Huge pools, gorgeous rooms, yummy restaurants Vegas. From the description of the resort, we may never have to leave other than for a quick peek at the Strip (it is Nathaniel's first time there, after all). Personally, I have no plans other than to relax by a pool, drink the complimentary frozen cocktails, read books and sleep late in the mornings.

(Having just celebrated our 7th wedding anniversary this weekend, I think we're especially deserving of the vacation!)

Leading

Just before the girls go up to their bedroom at night, we gather the family and anyone else who's at the house (often some of my younger in-laws will be hanging around lending a hand) in the living room and pray a decade of the rosary. We start by thanking God for the day and for whatever else we're especially grateful, then we list any intentions we have, always for Marci, always for the friends the kids left behind in Kansas and those we left in Colorado, and often Elizabeth prays for an assortment of animals she had or new while in Kansas. Then, one of us will lead the decade. I ask for a volunteer before we start, and if Sara or Jake wants to lead, she/he can. Otherwise, Nathaniel and I take turns. Tonight, when I asked for a volunteer, Marianne said "I want to lead!" with such enthusiasm I couldn't turn her down. I told her I'd help her if she wanted to, and I fully expected to be the leader in all but title.

Boy was I surprised! It's only the Our Father and the Hail Mary for the most part, but she had every word down. She mumbled them a little, so I did keep praying the words with her, but she had never said them so clearly. It may not sound like much, but to a mom whose been praying these prayers with/for her daughter for three years now, it's awesome to hear her recite them back and lead the rosary for the first time. It was amazingly sweet and inspiring, and I feel it was a lovely vision of something we've done right.

It's a first that I doubt shows up in many baby books, but still one I think worth mentioning.

How is that possible?

I've run the dishwasher four times in the past two days.

Don't even get me started on the laundry.

The pickle plan

I've been holding out on you. Don't feel bad. I did it for myself, in an effort to not get my hopes up. But for a week now, we've been working on potty training Ruth. And it's actually going well!

I admit, I did consult the Farmer's Almanac to determine our starting date, and have received no end of flack for it from my husband and in-laws. It's not as though I really believe it makes a big difference, but if I hadn't had an official date to begin, I'd have had a million excuses why it wasn't time yet (swim lessons, the 4th of July, house guests, etc). I'm good at talking myself out of things. Still, they call it superstition and say I might as well have chosen to start on the sixth day after the third Monday after the next day after I saw a blue bird fly into a dead tree, or whatever. It's all to the same effect. I'll take the criticism. The bottom line is, it's working.

Ruth is very motivated. Had I had the energy I think she'd have potty trained a couple months ago. She goes almost any time I suggest it, and she's started now to let me know when she needs to go. Even more exciting, she seems to be realizing when she's starting to wet herself, and stopping it till she gets to the bathroom! That's huge. It took Marianne months.

My big success has come, I believe, from Ruth's love of pickles. I bought several jars of Vlasic Baby Kosher Dill pickles, and when she potties she can have one. She also has the option to have a couple mini marshmallows or chocolate chips, but the pickles have been the big winner by far. Marianne and Elizabeth both indulge in pickles of their own when Ruth has a successful potty, so they're constantly cheering her on. The bigger kids are only interested in joining the celebration with Ruth opts for one of the sweeter prizes.

Wish us luck in continued success. Ruth made it all the way through church and the walk to Grandma's house last Sunday with a dry pull-up on, and she's been wearing panties at home with only occasional accidents each day. It's very exciting. Not to mention a huge money saver on the diapers!

Making a little girl happy

Shortly before Sara and Jake came to live with us, I sent them each a letter. In the letters I told them a little about the new house, and commented that if they wanted to paint the rooms, we could probably do that. You know, to make them more THEIR rooms. Jake has been pretty lackadaisical about the idea, but Sara was all over it. There was no himming and hawing about color choices either. Pink. Definitely pink. And not just any pink.

That's Sakura. She's a character on a kids' anime show called Naruto and Sara is a, um, BIG fan of the show. Sakura is her favorite character. The name means cherry blossom, and the "cherry blossom pink" hair is the inspiration for Sara's room color. She was also able to match it to the cherry blossom themed bedding that Marci and I found for her before she arrived, which is good since I wasn't going to change the bedding at this point.

We'd been discussing the painting for a couple months now, and I decided that since Marci was coming up for a few days with no big plans, it would be the perfect time to move on this project. Here's a before shot of the room:
The color, as you can see, is a greenish tinged neutral shade. It's not immediately off-putting, but after looking at it for a while, you get a real split pea soup feel in the room. Plus, it's clear that this was a quick "help the house sell" paint job. They didn't bother painting all the way to the edges, and behind the door they'd barely bothered to paint at all. Shoddy, to say the least.

Here's a picture of the newly pink room. Are you sitting?
Yeah, it's pretty pink. The sample card made it look really soft and mild. More so than the reality by a long shot. However, it's a nice warm shade of a pink, a touch on the lavender side (which makes it match the bed spread you see in the foreground beautifully) and I have a good feeling about it. Plus, we know now that if we ever want to sell the house quickly, we just have slap on a quick coat of whatever neutral we have lying around, and prospective buyers won't look all that closely.

Before I wrap up, I have one more quick note on the Naruto fascination (read: obsession). Here's a close up shot of one of the shelves in Sara's room.
Not since my friend Andrea and I watched "Dream a Little Dream" over and over to satisfy our Corey Feldman and Corey Haim passions have a I seen this sort of infatuation (at least mine was live action rather than cartoon...). She has a million printed images, a collection of dvds and yes, those are tiny action figures on the shelf. (Was there ever a Corey Feldman action figure? I hope not.)

Bottom line is, she loves the show. And this being the day and age it is, there are no end to the online images, quizzes, etc. that have to do with the show. She showed me this quiz the other day and could not stop giggling when I checked to see which Naruto character I'm most like. If you want to make a her keep on laughing, though you know nothing about the show yourself, take a minute to see which Naruto character you would be, and let me know in my comments. She, of course, was Sakura. And she swears she answered truthfully without just selecting all the clear Sakura-themed responses. Uh huh.

I got this guy. After laughing her head off with a friend over instant messager, (you know, they were all "hahahahahahahah" and "lol" in the chat windows) they informed me that though he's a total nerd, it's probably a compliment because he's super nice. Shocking.

Happy 4th!

We had an action packed 4th of July yesterday. I hope all of you had as much fun.

As I mentioned before, I'm not big into fireworks. Watching the little girls experience the joys of snaps, champagne poppers and sparklers made it fun, though. We went to a farm owned by Nathaniel's aunt and uncle for the evening. There were easily 50 people there (maybe way more, but I didn't take a count) despite it being a tamed down affair compared to prior years. Within minutes of our arrival, Sara and Jake were off lighting the big booming explosives with the other older kids and pyromaniac adults in the group. Nathaniel exhibited his always impressive patience in dealing with both the little girls (who had a few chicken and car fireworks to light) and Jake, who thought he should have access to the most dangerous explosives on the farm and didn't want to stop playing with fire even to wolf down a hot dog.

I spent most of the evening well away from the fire with the older crowd and the other moms of small children. We chatted, ate, drank and generally made merry until the kids were breaking down from tiredness and over-stimulation. All three of the little girls were hard asleep in the car before we made it more than a few miles toward home.

Sadly, no one in our group remembered a camera, so I have no evidence of the event. Every person in our family over the age of four does, however, have at least one burn mark as proof. Yes, even yours truly. In trying to transfer a new sparkler into Ruth's hand while keeping her from burning herself with the old one, I managed to jab myself in the wrist with the still-super-hot end of the old sparkler, resulting in a combination puncture wound and burn. It wouldn't be the 4th otherwise, I suppose.

The sound of silence

Nathaniel and my sister just drove away with the five kids to buy fireworks. I volunteered to be left behind so that they could fit into a single car. Don't think I'm too selfless. I have no interest in fireworks. I can't remember the last time I bought some, nor the last time I lit one. I don't mind watching other people play with the things, but I could do without. Watching a big fireworks display? Sure, that can be nice. I mean, if I happen to be there anyway. I think I've been totally spoiled by working at Disney and seeing the Magic Kingdom fireworks display night after night. Most other shows don't live up to it, and I've seen enough that some of the magic has been lost for me.

All that aside, the offer to stay behind was almost entirely selfish. I'm now sitting here, in my house, in complete silence. I thought about putting a cd on, but decided to enjoy the nothingness. It won't last long, after all.

*****

Last night I hosted my new bible study group. Renee invited me to join and I've been amazed by what incredible, inspirational women make up the group. I've only been going for a few weeks, but every week something has come up in the discussion that has motivated me to be a better wife or mother or both. We haven't actually been reading the Bible. I'm not sure what the last book was, as I just had copies of the last couple chapters, but currently we're reading "Catholic for a Reason IV: Scripture and the Mystery of Marriage and Family Life" Since life is feeling anything but scriptural these days (other words like "stressful", "overwhelming" and "exhausting" come to mind instead) it's wonderful to be reminded of what a blessing every thing in my life is. To have someone point out God's hand in even the most mundane things, and encourage me to spend a little time, when I feel like I have not the tiniest minute to spare, thanking God for what I have. Because I know and I have seen proven over and over that if I put God first, and if I trust my cares to God, things will come together and work out to the best end.

Then this morning, when I'd set my alarm 10 minutes earlier so I'd have a few minutes for prayer before beginning the chaos of my day, I pulled out a book I'd been reading a couple months ago, but hadn't looked at since the move (The Apostolate of Holy Motherhood). I picked up where I'd left off and the connection was astounding. The clear message, no beating around the bush, that without prayer and time for my relationship with God, I won't master the stresses in my life. I know it. But to have it come at me from all sides when I'm feeling a little under water is enough of a shout for even me to hear. I love when God doesn't make me try too hard to figure out what He's saying.

*****

There are a million things that I could/should be doing around the house right now. Instead, I'm taking a moment to gather my thoughts, and sharing them with you in the process. I'll take a couple minutes to relax and listen to the silence (without even the keyboard tap-tapping to interrupt) and then I'll do a couple of the chores.

*****

ps. See Renee's site for some beautiful pictures of my Godson, Henry, at his baptism. It was a very happy day for everyone on Sunday as he was bathed, oiled and blessed. God bless you, baby Henry. (Or "Baby Honey!" as Ruth always calls you).