The Ferrie Girls

A Lesson: Making others feel good

2012-02-09T18:07:00.000-08:00

Today we visited a local assisted living facility with other homeschoolers. We all made our own valentines and handed them out to the residents of the facility.

Growing up, my mom worked as a nurse at a nursing home. I used to love volunteering there and spending time with the residents. I have fond memories of the many people I met during that time, and I remember always leaving feeling good about myself. When I found out about the opportunity to bring our girls into a facility, I jumped. I love the elderly, and I feel like there is nothing like watching them interact with the little ones.

This afternoon, me and the big girls (Lilah & Mairead) made some valentines for the residents. Kevin was able to come home a little early so I didn't have to drag Callum and Clara with us - though I know the residents would have thoroughly enjoyed them, too. I didn't want the little ones to take away from the big girls first experience.

Before we left, I sat down and explained to Mairead where we were going. They were a little confused, but I knew they would enjoy their experience. When we arrived, the faces of the residents lit up when they saw all the children (about 10) all their just to hand out valentines. We watched their faces light up, and some were just so delighted that we were there to spend time with them.

We walked around the facility to see if there was anyone we missed. We came across this one woman who was so delighted to see our children. When I told her why we were there, she had a big smile on her face, and started to tear up as she said how thoughtful we all were for coming, and thanked us for making her day. Another women told Mairead that our visit was the highlight of her day and she would hang all of her valentines on her board in her room. Anther told her just how much our visit meant to her as "we don't get special visitors like this" very much. Who doesn't feel good after hearing things like this?

As we said our goodbyes and walked out, I asked the girls what they thought. Mairead said she really enjoyed it. I asked her why. And her response?

"because I made people smile..."

Yes, Mairead. That is why we are here. To make others feel good and do good to others.

And this is what life is all about. Giving. Making people feel good. Because in turn, it makes us feel good.

And these are the things that I really enjoy about homeschooling our children. Life lessons that truly make an impact.

10

2012-02-08T13:30:00.000-08:00

Today, our sweet, amazingly strong little Callum John is 10 months old. And boy, has he come a long, long way!

I am so not ready to sing Happy Birthday to our little boy. It just does not seem feasible he could be only two months shy of his very first birthday. And honestly, I am not ready to relive all those sad moments we had, and how I still wish I could have those first few hours of his birth back again without all those scary moments. I still yearn for those 'newborn moments' I was able to have with our girls. Holding them, nursing them and staring at them well into the night when I should be sleeping but can't. I don't want to relive all those scary feelings all over again, and I will try not to think about the bad things, but the good things, the amazing things, like how he is growing and developing into a normal little boy. He continues to remind us how strong he is in every way of the word.

I am not going to dwell into the past and think about the negative. I need to look at our boy today and think of how very lucky we are to have him with us as healthy and feisty as he possibly could be. I want to act so very thankful to each and every person who prayed for our family, helped our family in one of the most difficult moments emotionally for our family, and it is because of Callum that we were shown the true meaning of family and friendship.

Today, Callum continues to be the easiest going baby. He is happy and smiling every day (even after a little stomach bug we all had, he'd puke, look at me, and go back to sleep). He loves to snuggle, loves his mamma and loves to explore all the new surroundings independently. He is crawling, sometimes on all fours, but with all the wood floors, it is difficult for him because he slides. He can pull himself up pretty much anywhere. He is not really into his exersaucer anymore, as he does not want to be confined. He.Is.Everywhere. I am having to vacuum and scour the floor for small pieces of whatever may be found every second of the day - have I mentioned how much I hate crawling??? He can get into a sitting position from a crawl, and can sit on his knees like a big boy. He seeks out his big sisters more and more, trying to find where they are, and starting to spend more time in the room they are in. After all, they are much more exciting than I am!

And if this trait doesn't scream BOY, I am not sure what does - He cannot be held by me without him sticking his hand down my shirt. I am not sure if this is a boy thing or what, but his big sisters never did this. He loves them. And he will even squeeze them multiple times when he is really wanting to nurse and he can squeeze HARD. He loves to nurse, but has also taken a lovin' to table food, too. He is eating two full meals per day, and starting with a small snack at lunch time in the last few days. He loves fruits of all kinds, eggs, waffles and yogurt for breakfast, and will eat pretty much anything for dinner - steak, chicken, fish, pasta, you name it - he loves it. He loves to drink out of a cup, too. Will scream and smack his lips if he sees me or anyone near him drinking from a cup. Orange juice? He loves it.

His sleeping waxes and wanes - and I am getting ready for him to nurse less and sleep more at night! He takes one really good nap in
the afternoon, about 2.5-3hrs, sometimes a cat nap in the morning, but those are becoming less and less. He is asleep before 8pm at night, and will wake up anywhere from 12am-2am - I am a much happier mamma when it is 2am, and not 12am. He will usually be up around 4-6am, and then for the day around 730-8am. I can't complain. He can put himself to sleep, he loves his cribby and he is a very happy, easy baby....so for now, I will be patient. After all, he won't be a baby forever...I am trying to enjoy all of these baby moments with him...

He has no teeth and no signs of any, but, I know it could be anytime. The girls were between 10-13months when they got their first teeth. He loves to play outside and be wheeled around in his little tykes car. He loves to swing at the playground. And he loves to dance! I joke around with Kevin that Callum will be our "tiny dancer" ;)! He isn't saying mamma yet, but he is really close - he can say baba and babbles a lot, just no mamma or dadda yet. The girls said mamma first. He loves to clap at himself and at his sisters when they're swimming, and has just started signing 'more', too! He is changing so fast. He is starting to look more and more like a little toddler than an infant. I am not ready to not have a baby in the house...So not ready...

One of those days

2012-02-06T12:19:00.000-08:00

Today was one of those days.

You know...where everyone gets together. The kids behave. And we are all enjoying each others company. I wish all days could be as good as today!

Mairead having a blast!

This morning we got dressed and headed out for a drive to the Algonkian Playground. Before we hit the swings and slides, we drove around the park to see the countless deer roaming the area. The girls love to see the deer roaming around in their habitat. Mairead says "Mom! I can tell that one is a girl because it does not have a p.e.n.i.s!"

Yep. Never mind that it doesn't have antlers ;)

Here is SuperCAL on the swing! He didn't like it or anything ;)

After our little exploration, we hit the playground. We were the only ones there. It was peaceful. The sky was a deep February blue. The sun was warm. And the air a little brisk.

Clara & Callum on the swings

Callum and Clara had a blast on the swings together. It was Callum's first time on playground swings and he giggled every time he was pushed!

Cutie pa-tootie Lilah

The girls played happily together for well over an hour. I wish we had brought our lunch because the kids did not want to leave!

Stair Jumping!

After we arrived home. The girls had a picnic lunch outside. And Lilah finally figured out how to start on her own with riding a two wheeler! She has been riding two wheels since fall, but has been struggling to start solo - but she's doing it! She also learned how to stop, which is pretty important around here with the hills!

Monkey'n Around

Then we came in, had a rest, and did a little bit of school! Mairead was super focused today and did great with her telling time and counting coins worksheets. Lilah did an awesome job with her cutting and sorting activity, too!

Beautiful February Sky

Now, us girls are sitting on the couch watching a video on Valentines day enjoying a little quiet time before we head off to swim school later!

Homemade chicken soup for babies

2012-02-01T17:26:00.000-08:00

When Mairead was starting off on solids, she refused anything pureed. She insisted she feed herself. So, after a few frustrating weeks of figuring out what to feed a 7 month old who refused anything pureed, I stumbled upon the baby led weaning approach to introducing solid foods.

As a first time mom, I was amazed that babies this young could eat anything and everything without ever buying a jar of baby food. It was so cool! But it seriously works. No joke.

One of Mairead's favorite foods to eat when she was little (under 1) was chicken soup. It was the only thing she would let me feed her with a spoon! I was new at making homemade chicken soup, but I thought it was the perfect meal for when Kevin and I were having something that didn't suit her well enough (which was a rare event) or when Kevin and I had soup, but wanted to use bigger ingredients or different ingredients.

Now, three babies later, the baby led approach is the way we start our littles on solid food. No purees. No baby food maker. Nothing. And it is easy. And they love it. To this day, our kids eat anything and everything. At 10 months, Callum has no troubles eating any kind of meat, fish or steak.

The other night, we cooked an Organic roaster chicken. I bought an additional bone-in breast because I was going to make some homemade soup, and this time, I would be making a separate soup for Callum. Cooking a roaster chicken is great because it is cost efficient and if you plan it right, can make several more meals.

For us, I never make a separate broth for the baby. They get everything we do - basil, garlic, rosemary, pepper and all the good stuff in the broth. Nothing like starting early with developing a taste for all different things. No bland food for our little fairies and prince! Who likes bland food anyways!?!?

I boil the carcass for several hours. You can either put it in the fridge or freeze to make another day or do it once it cools. Turn off the heat and let the broth cool down. Once that happens, I separate the broth from all the meat, mirapox (Trader Joe's brand that has celery, onion and carrots) and seasonings. I take several cups of broth and put it into a smaller pot for Callum's soup, and the rest of the broth is for us. Depending on how "strong" the broth is, I may or may not add a little bit of water.

When our babies first start eating soup about 7 months, I will shred the chicken very fine, and sometimes will put all the veggies into a food processor to really get them tiny, but not pureed. Now, Callum is about 10 months old, and I will just dice them up for him. Once they cook, they'll get super soft, so they'll be perfect. As they get older, it's the perfect meal for them to attempt to eat with a spoon. It's mushy, and perfect for little spoons.

Going through broth for chicken

Small chunks of chicken

I will put the remainder of the chicken into our broth.

Once the chicken is done, I will get together my veggies. Today, I am using carrots, summer squash, zucchini, sweet potato and peas. The possibilities are endless here. Sometimes I'll use regular potatoes, or whatever you can think of, add it. Just make sure you have enough broth to support the amount of veggies/extras you put in.

Diced veggies - squash, zucchini & carrots (peas & sweet potatoes added next)

Cook the veggies until they are nice and soft for baby. Once the veggies are super soft, add the pasta.

Chicken with veggies in the broth

For the pasta part, I use pastina, orzo or star pasta that is really tiny. I use about 3/4 of a cup. Don't use too much or it will leave you with no broth! Once the kiddos get a bit older and eat the "adult" soup, I will use tortellini or egg noodles.

Soup cooking with the pasta & veggies

Once it is all cooked up, I will let it cool a bit. I have the glad tupperware containers that are the perfect "baby food jar" size. I will separate the soup into these containers, cover them up and throw them in the freezer! With the older kiddos, I like to use the bigger containers, like lunch size ones, and freeze them.

They are perfect for those nights you order pizza, go out to dinner or are having a meal that doesn't quite suit baby or kids (which is not very often in our house)!

And if you're looking to sneak some veggies into your toddlers, make the soup, and just really puree different veggies into the broth so they don't even know they are there. Our girls are not big potato/sweet potato fans, so I will mash up the potatoes super soft, and voila! The vegetables disappear and They love the soup.

Surely not the model parent

2012-01-31T17:21:00.000-08:00

I am surely not the poster parent for safe sleeping.

Here is Callum sleeping like a baby in his crib.

Yes. There is a crib bumper. And yes, I've heard the memo.

Yes. There is a blanket. Yep, heard about that memo, too.

And Yes. His face is planted firmly into his 'lil pup. Never wake a sleeping baby, right?

Please. Don't report me. And I may or may not be the person to ask for sleeping advice :)

Adult Decisions...

2012-01-30T05:18:00.000-08:00

Sometimes being an adult isn't that much fun. And sometimes making adult decisions isn't any fun either. And sometimes no matter which decision you make it won't be the right one. And I hate having to choose between which crappy decision is best.

If you remember back to my posts last spring and summer, Kevin and I went through a period where we considered staying in Maine while Kevin worked in DC. But after everything we went through with Callum and then the ease of renting out our home, we thought we should be together and move. And so we did.

We've been here in Virginia for six months and I have to say we regret our decision to move to Virginia. Kevin and I are both unhappy. We miss our home. We miss our life there. It's just not the same. We feel as though we are not truly enjoying life here in Virginia, and no matter how busy we are, no matter what we are doing, it just isn't good enough. And to all my Virginia friends who may read this, we love you, and appreciate all that you have and continue to do for us. We love spending time with you, but we miss our home.

When we moved to Maine in 2008 we didn't realize what living there would do for us. Kevin and I found ourselves there. We found a place we believed in for our family - it defined us. We were incredibly happy there in all aspects of our life and our children thrived happily there and so did we. We were welcomed by the community with open arms and we felt so lucky to have stumbled upon such amazing people.

Waking up to the smell of the ocean or hearing seagulls in our very own backyard reminded us frequently that we lived in vacationland. In the final six months that we lived in Maine, we could rarely go anywhere without running into someone we knew - a friend, a co-worker, a teacher, the doctor who help save Callum, the respiratory therapist who worked on Callum. I miss going to the store and running into a friend, or chatting with the grocery cashier who remembers my kids names (and she actually cared to know our children). I miss having to drag my kids inside because they have to eat, instead, I am dragging them outside because the "backyard is boring" and they don't like to be outside anymore. They want to ride their bikes outside, but are afraid of the hills, or I am afraid of the cars that fly around the corner, and suddenly helping my kids learn to ride their bikes isn't fun anymore because I am worried about one of our children or dogs being hit by a car.

So, where do we go from here? We've made the decision to be together, but we are both unhappy. Do we continue living an unhappy lifestyle or do we move back home hoping living in a place that has made us all so incredibly happy and fulfilled the better of the two crappy choices? We made the right decision and came together, we know that. We've tried to put our life together here, but it continues to leave us wanting more. Our schedules are filled with fun things and play dates and get togethers...but for some reason it just isn't good enough. I've thoroughly enjoyed homeschooling the big girls and we've met many amazing people!

On a larger, more important scale, The icing on the cake came around Christmas when Kevin received a phone call saying he'd be going (no choice in the matter, but a great opportunity career wise) into a Commander position (still in DC) and would be working/traveling a ton more than he is now. Another huge reason to move home. The thought of us being here without family is daunting, I'd much rather Kevin be traveling while I have to support of family close by and friends. This was the moment when we looked at each other and said something has to change...all the other reasons were dreams of a life we had, but when this additional life change came to be, we put the entire picture together and made a very difficult decision for us. To move home.

The thought of living in Maine while Kevin works here in DC makes me incredibly sad. But the thought of us all being happy in a place we love speaks loudly, too. The times we would be together on the weekends could be spent feeling happy - quality over quantity as Kevin puts it. Kevin can focus on his job more and focus on family when he is home.

There have been events leading up to these thoughts that make Kevin and I think this decision is the best one we could make for our family. Sacrificing a little to be in a happier place. We'd have our home back. The girls would have their friends back. The girls would attend school. We know the grass is greener on the other side because we have been living that life for the last three years. Although the new Maine life would be a little different, we feel that all the positives outweigh living here in Virginia.

It's times like these I could use a little crystal ball to look at our life a year from now to see if we were happier or sad.

And what's the worst that will happen? We move back to Virginia.

Practice is tiring!

2012-01-27T18:42:00.000-08:00

About a week ago, Callum figured out how to pull up on the furniture! He is certainly moving right along in that department.

Kevin put down his crib. And the next day, he was pulling himself up in there, too.

For the last few days, his afternoon naps have not been stellar. I am not going to complain though. And here is why...

When the girls all learned to stand up in their crib, they couldn't get down, but instead of practicing during nap or during the day for that matter, they all felt the need to practice in the middle of the night. I remember many nights with all three girls who were determined to stand up in their crib. The problem? They didn't know how to get down!

With Callum, he doesn't practice during the night (yet) but practices during naps. He will sleep for 30 minutes then want to stand up to play. The best thing about Callum is that he doesn't care about falling, and he has figured out how to sit down pretty quickly.

I guess he got so tired practicing pulling himself up over and over again (how do I know? I watch him on our video monitor) that he fell asleep just like this? I guess he was too tired to lay back down! :)

........and I guess I am a bad mamma for having the crib bumper in there!

A little snow goes a long way...

2012-01-23T18:33:00.000-08:00

Living in Virginia, snow either happens or it doesn't. The last few years living in Maine, the girls had been spoiled with having somewhat "real" winters, but this year, we aren't as lucky.

The last few years in Virginia have been record setting winters, but definitely not this year (and not in Maine either!).

Last weekend, we finally got some snow....about an inch. Nothing to write home about, but it was sure enough to get the girls excited!

In the morning, we headed to skate lessons and as soon as we got home, the girls went immediately outside. No questions asked. Honestly, this was one of the first times since moving to Virginia that the kids had been excited about going outside. Clara was a bit weary, and it took some tears to get her snowsuit on, but once she realized how much fun it was, she was all smiles!

The girls played on the deck together pretending they were at the beach. They were building "snow-castles" and having lots of fun together. Later that afternoon, our friends came over and everyone went back outside - two times in one day!?! Another record, maybe ;)

First thing Sunday morning, Clara was begging to put her snowsuit on. Yep. You guessed it! Another record. I felt like we were back in Maine again with our kids begging to go outside by 9am! Kevin and I were so happy to see the kids so excited about playing outside.

Who knew an inch of snow would have provided so much excitement and smiles!

I just hope there is a LOT more snow to come than this! I am ready to get buried here in Virginia...I love seeing all the southerners squeal about a little snow fall...

The breakdown of a "Fairy" sleepover

2012-01-20T17:18:00.001-08:00

Earlier in the week, the girls asked if they could all have a sleepover together. We said that on Friday they could have a sleepover, as long as they had good behavior for the week.

So. Today is Friday. And the girls did not forget. A sleepover it is...

Mairead and Lilah have had "sleepovers" before, and they generally do very well together...but tonight, we were adding Clara into the mix. This would be her very first "sleepover" with her big sisters.

The fun started at about 7:50pm - the excitement was building here in the Ferrie household. This mamma had to whip out her phone to snap a few shots of the happiness going on.

Of course, Clara had to have a little "before bed" snack...

Mairead had to snuggle with Clara before they headed to their own beds.

Then I tried to snap a shot of all three of them together.

Clara was less than cooperative. And Lilah was just plain fed up. You see, when Lilah doesn't nap, she is ready to go to bed NOW. Can you say attitude???

Then, Clara had to cover her face, Mairead thought it was funny, and Lilah thought...hey, if Clara doesn't have to look, then why should I smile - let's be funny!

8:00pm - good night kisses and lights out......

I head downstairs and start to stuff some cloth diapers

8:04pm - Lilah comes downstairs to tattle on Clara not being quiet.

8:07pm - Lilah comes back downstairs to tattle on Clara not staying in her bed.

8:10pm - Lilah comes downstairs again to tell me that Clara hit her. I then tell her that if she comes down again, everyone is going back in their rooms.

8:15pm - no sign of any tattling going on. Did my threat work?

8:24pm - I hear Clara yelling at Mairead. I think I'll ignore that.

8:35pm - I sneak upstairs. I hear Clara chatting away. I sneak my head in and Mairead says "Mom, can you tell Clara to BE QUIET!!!???" Clara is having a grand old time!

8:57pm - Three little "fairies" fast asleep...I'd say a successful sleepover!

Little swimmers

2012-01-18T17:58:00.000-08:00

In addition to skating lessons, the girls have been in swim lessons at Claude Moore. Mairead and Lilah have been in swim lessons for close to 2.5 years consecutively. They love to swim and this mamma (and daddy) couldn't be prouder!

This is the first session that Lilah has been in the swim team pool alongside of Mairead. She couldn't be any more excited. Lilah is in a class of kids who are (not including Mairead) 6-10 year olds. Even Mairead looks incredibly small in their class, but they both swim just as good as the other.

Mairead has been working hard on her elementary backstroke. She can make it clear across the pool (25yds) without stopping and she can do a pretty good freestyle across the pool, too! She is getting stronger and stronger. Lilah can make it to the first flag and back to the side all by herself - it isn't always pretty, but she can do it, which is amazing!

The thing about Lilah is that her mind is way far ahead of her little body. She weighs 29lbs soaking wet, so the strength just isn't there for her - yet. She has the effort, determination and technique - her teacher calls her a "laser beam".

Mairead and Lilah are both fabulous swimmers (if I must say so myself ) - but the coolest thing about them is how they each master swimming so differently! Mairead perfects every step before going to the next, so she is a very pretty swimmer. Lilah...not so much. She just goes for the gusto. She jumps right in and tries to be fast, just wanting to get from point A to point B, not caring too much just how pretty she looks...so she doesn't quite perfect each step, but at the end of the day, they both master the technique. And it is just so awesome to watch!

The last two weeks, I've had various parents come to me and ask how old our girls are - because they are visibly younger and smaller than the other kids in class. When I tell them how old Lilah is, they ask me again because they are in disbelief with her ability to swim.

While we aren't sure where swimming will take our girls - if anywhere, we are just so proud that they are so comfortable in the water. Kevin and I are water lovers and we couldn't be happier that we are raising some mini-me's :)

NAKED. NAKED. NAKED.

2012-01-17T08:48:00.000-08:00

I said it. And I'll say it again. NAKED.

I am tired of seeing people searching for the word naked. So, in the last day or so, I've gone back through my blog to remove that word...that way any dirt bag searching for Naked whatever won't get sent to this blog. YUK YUK YUK.

So, if you ARE that dirt bag, here is a post that has nothing to do with being NAKED. Made ya look! ;0

Mainiacs

2012-01-16T18:09:00.000-08:00

One life saving thing about living here in Virginia is that we are not here alone. Luckily, our good Coast Guard friends from Maine were transferred last summer to VA Beach. We've been able to see them a few times since we've both moved and each time we get together, we leave feeling refreshed.

This weekend we headed to VA Beach to visit them! We arrived Saturday after a 3 hour drive - which seems easy in comparison to a road trip to New England! The kids were so excited to see each other, and us adults were excited to see familiar faces, too. We ordered Thai food, had some wine and just enjoyed each others company. They have a cute house with a great backyard that I am jealous of - and I enjoyed watching the kids play outside with big smiles on their faces! So happy they were!

On Sunday, we had a great breakfast together and let the kids play while Callum napped. After lunch we headed to Williamsburg for the afternoon. We had originally planned to go to the beach but because it wasn't even 40 degrees, we thought that may not be the best choice, so off to Williamsburg we went! I had never been there before, so it was a cool experience to walk around. It had such a great atmosphere! We didn't pay to go into all the houses, but walking around was just as fun, and since Kevin and I aren't really history buffs, we didn't mind at all!

After exploring Williamsburg, we stopped a local to ask where we should take the kids to eat before we headed back to our house. The man recommended a place by William & Mary called The Green Leafe Cafe. The atmosphere was just like a pub located right across the street from the stadium. Their menu selection was fair. The kids ordered pizza and chicken fingers and the adults ordered an array of burgers. The service was good until we got our chicken fingers. Kevin cut into the middle of a chicken finger to split between Clara and Callum, and it was RAW. COLD. UNCOOKED. Thank GOD we cut it and didn't just give it to the kids who would have almost certainly bit into raw chicken.

We told the waitress who apologized and ended up bringing us gross chicken nuggets. No compensation, no nothing. I called to speak with the manager today and he was so rude. Needless to say we will not be going back there again!

Overall, we had a fantastic weekend! FANTASTIC! I so wish we lived closer to our friends...three hours is just entirely too far away, but thankfully we all don't mind making the drive!

DON'T EAT THE CHICKEN!!!

Joining THAT club

2012-01-12T17:25:00.000-08:00

You know. The kids who cut each others hair club.

Ahhh. This mamma was more than glad she was already sipping on some good wine when this occurred.

Kevin and I were chatting in our kitchen about life possibilities. Rather deep conversation. Until...

Lilah's new "do"

Mairead comes running into the kitchen yelling Clara was cutting Lilah's hair. We go running into the school room. And what do you know...

They were playing hairdresser. Clara cut Lilah's hair (giving her a form of a mullet) . Lilah cut Clara's hair - quite miserably, actually.

Then, the truth came out. Kevin said Lilah came to him saying her "hair was too long"

And what did the daddy of the year reply with?

"Well, go get a haircut!"

And that's what she did......

Butcher job...

My attempt to fix - thankfully she has waves to hide all the "layers"

No fixin' this one...all I could do was cut her hair shorter....

The 4th

2012-01-11T17:45:00.000-08:00

You always hear about people who tell you that when you have more than 3 or 4 kids that you become a bit more relaxed than other moms.

And you don't really believe it because You'll never really be "that" mom.

Until this happens.

We were out to lunch with the family and a good friend of ours. We get into a large booth and as we get settled, I lay Callum down on the bench for a second. I turn around, and he's gone.

I look over to my right and the couple sitting across from me says "Your baby is on the floor."

"HUH!" I look down at my feet and there is the cutest little boy starting right at me with a smile.

OOPS! I bend down and pick him up and say "He's okay! He IS number four"

Yeah. I couldn't imagine myself to have been that cool, calm and collected with Mairead or even Lilah, but with Callum, I just wasn't surprised to have seen my kid on the floor after falling off the bench.

He didn't even cry. He was just hoping that someone would notice him down there. And sure enough, that someone wasn't me. Or his daddy. Or one of his sisters. But the random couple sitting across from our table.

Yep. Just as I thought. Another mother of the year award!

Throw me a bone?

2012-01-09T18:12:00.000-08:00

This is probably going to be one of those posts where you either leave shaking your head laughing and totally get it, or stop halfway through because you just don't need to read it...

I am talking about $ex drive or lack there of. And this is your cue to leave if you don't want to continue any further.

Kevin and I clearly are very lucky when it comes to procreating. It doesn't take a whole lot of planning, if any, for me to get pregnant. And to clarify, we are not trying to have another. [After four high risk pregnancies, a critically ill newborn, and thankfully four healthy children, we are done.]

Breastfeeding gives me absolutely no $ex drive and coupled with a bit of lacking sleep, is not a good combination for Kevin. I feel bad. He wants it and I just don't. By the end of the day when I crawl into bed, I just want to relax and zone out. But last night, we did it. And after the fact, I am glad. It feels great to reconnect and be close.

So, today is my first day at home with all four kids without help. We've had a revolving door of visitors since Thanksgiving. I am sure after Kevin got a going back to work gift last night, I thought he'd throw me a bone, too???

I guess not...

I wipe a few asses, let a few dogs out to go to the bathroom, get the kids their milks and see the stupid red light on the dishwasher indicating CLEAN.....Grrrrrrr! He didn't empty the dishwasher for me - one of my #1 hated household duties ever?!?

WHAT!?! He gets lucky (in love) last night and cannot even empty the dishwasher before he leaves for work to express his gratitude and thankfulness for it? Jerk!

Great, thanks, dude! I thought the whole part of having s.e.x with your husband was that he was in a good mood for a few days trying to make you happy so you'll happily oblige again?!? Right....

I called him to give him crap about it - he chuckled and so did I....I am so glad we can joke about things like these together. When I told him to throw me a bone, his response:

"I DID! I threw you one last night!"

Our trip 'home'

2012-01-07T17:39:00.000-08:00

The day after Christmas, we loaded up the car and drove north to my parents house. We spent our days with my parents, my brother's family and our friends. It was great to catch up with everyone. Unfortunately, mother nature has decided we don't need winter this year, so there was no snow, and actually, hardly any cold temperatures at all. We really had been hoping to hit the slopes a time or two while we were home, but there just wasn't any snow to justify the cost of going. We were pretty disappointed, but we have hopes of going at some point this winter!

Maine friends!

In October, my brother, Joe and his wife, Carley, welcomed their second child into their family, Olivia. I couldn't wait to get my hands on her! What a little cutie pie, and their little boy, Landon had a blast playing with our girls! It is so cute to see them all playing together. I took some photographs of her and Landon, too!

Since we didn't see my parents or brother this year for Christmas, we celebrated a little late! We exchanged our presents together, and that was fun! The girls were psyched to get new clothes for their dolls!

We spent about three days total visiting friends in Maine. The kids (and us) had a really great time catching up with friends. It definitely made us miss Maine even more. We are just so lucky to have such amazing friends there - we miss them!

Callum's 1st New Years!

On New Years Eve we spent the evening in Portsmouth with my parents and my brothers family. We had pizza at the Gas Light Company and walked around downtown before the fireworks went off. The girls had a blast, and thankfully, it wasn't too cold. My dad had originally wanted to head into Boston, but with six kids who are 5 and under (with two of them being under a year and two of them being 2 and under) we thought this year may not be "the" year - maybe next year, dad!

Other than that, we had a great time being home.

Here are some more photos:

Meeting their new cousin, Olivia

Auntie Steph (me) and Olivia

Mairead getting some baby lovin' in too!

Callum opening some gifts

Nana lovin' on the girls after she opens her gifts

For Christmas, I told my sister in law that I would take photographs of her with the kiddos. I love practicing, especially on babies, so any chance I get to take photographs, I do it -- so here are a few!

CHRISTMAS!

2012-01-06T13:10:00.000-08:00

I am a little late, but not too late to talk about the magic of Christmas in our house this year. Kevin and I were both super excited about Christmas this year. Mairead and Lilah are at the perfect ages (5.5 & 4) and they were excited. Clara even got it a "little" this year!

A visit to see Santa

The Wednesday before Christmas, Kevin's parents drove up from Florida to spend their first Christmas with us. It was great having them and it was great having the extra help wrapping gifts after last years fiasco. We definitely learned from some mistakes made last year - though, I will admit we were still wrapping gifts on Christmas eve this year, just not every.single.one. And no one was sick this year (well Callum had a little cold, but that didn't slow him down to much).

Gingerbread house making!

On Christmas eve, we continued with our tradition (4th annual) of baking & decorating cookies for Santa. We made chocolate chip cookies and sugar cookies. We used my friend Darla's Sugar cookie recipe of Bakingdom, which we used last year, too! They are super yummy and tasty, not to mention really easy to make! Go check out her website, she has some amazing recipes and ideas over there - I wish I had time to implement all of them! We missed our Maine friends this year who had joined in on our little tradition since we moved to Maine. Anyways...we did lots of baking on Christmas eve and decorating and mess making! The kids had a blast. After we were finished, we brought some of our cookies around to neighbors who were home in the neighborhood. We've been really trying to teach Mairead about what Christmas is all about - giving, not receiving. And that it is more fun to give, than to receive.

The girls wrapped their gifts to daddy and each other that day, too. This was the first year we had the girls exchange gifts for each other. It was really cute taking them out to pick out gifts, and I think each girl did a really great job!

Later that afternoon, we headed to Reston Town Center and went ice skating. I have to say that this year just didn't feel like Christmas. I am not sure if it was because we weren't in New England or if it was because there wasn't any snow, probably a little of both! Going to Reston Town Center definitely helped put us in the spirit. I can definitely see us doing this on Christmas Eve in the future! There were tons of people out who were in the spirit and watching the big girls skate definitely put a smile on my face! They are getting so good! After skating, Kevin and his dad ran to one of our favorite Thai restaurants, Busara and got some take out to bring home.

After dinner, we let the girls exchange gifts. It was so cute watching them open each others presents! Afterwards, we tucked into Mairead's bed to read "Twas the Night Before Christmas" with Kevin's parents.....but this year the kids were just bouncing off the walls with excitement - not to mention I wasn't helping matters any by looking out the window saying I saw "Santa's sleigh" - or was that all the airplanes flying in and out of Dulles?!? Not quite sure ;)

It goes without saying, but the girls didn't take long to go to sleep this year. They knew Santa was close by, and they wanted to make sure he stopped at their house! Us adults enjoyed a cocktail or two and finished wrapping gifts and placing everything under the tree. Each girl had their own chair and all their gifts, it looked like they were very good this year!

Santa has arrived!

The girls were up a little earlier than usual Christmas morning and once Callum awoke, we headed downstairs. The looks on their faces was priceless, but the reactions of the big girls as they opened their American Girl dolls was even more unforgettable! Check out the vimeo links to the right and check out "Christmas morning excitement". Clara did fantastic opening her gifts, she'd open one, play with it, not realizing there were a lot of other gifts to open! We skyped with my parents so they could watch the girls open a few gifts. The girls did a great job opening gifts without ripping into them and not realizing what exactly they were opening.

Of course, the American Girl dolls were the 'highlight' of the morning. We made them open those last, and you could tell as Mairead opened a new gift she was just looking for "Kit" - and at one point, got out of her chair, and started looking around. She didn't say what she was doing, but you could almost see the disappointment on her face when she kept opening gifts and none of them were her "American Girl". Clara was super excited to get her "bitty twin" that she has named "little Belle" and calls it her American girl...too cute! I am so glad we decided to buy her that doll.

The girls spent the rest of the day playing with their dolls, I don't think they even put them down for a second! Kevin and I spent the day packing for our trip north the next day. It was a busy day, but since the girls were busy with their dolls, it made packing easy.

For Christmas morning, we all enjoyed an amazing beef tenderloin for dinner! It was fantastic! A great way to end a great holiday!

Happy New Year!

2012-01-05T19:23:00.000-08:00

Wow! I think this may be the longest I've gone without blogging in a while. Life has been busy with a capital B. I don't even know where to start except to say that I cannot believe Christmas has come. And gone. And here we are in 2012! (I'll post real photos later, but I wanted to let you all know we were alive)

A little nap time with daddy

My parents with the kiddos on New Years

Since Thanksgiving, we've been super busy with visitors. It started off with my parents for Thanksgiving, followed by our Maine friends who now live in Virginia (they were up in the DC area for a week visiting), followed by a dear friend, then Kevin's parents, who were up for their first Christmas with our clan! I don't even think we've attempted school more than once or twice since Thanksgiving.

Cousin dinner

Mimi & Callum on Xmas Eve

Christmas was fantabulous even though it didn't feel quite like Christmas! We had a great time with Kevin's parents. We went ice skating, went out to breakfast, baked Christmas cookies, made homemade pizza, wrapped a ton of gifts, shopped, played Santa, ice skated on Christmas Eve (which really put us in the Christmas mood), ate Thai on Christmas eve and had a wonderful Beef Tenderloin on Christmas day. And watched three very excited children open their gifts with squeals, laughter and smiles.

Daddy & Mairead on NYE

Mommy & Callum on NYE

The day after Christmas, Kevin's parents headed back to Florida and we drove up to New England.

FRIENDS!

Girl cousins!

So, here we are in January, and it's time to get back on track with life. We have just returned home from a 10 day trip to New England to spend time with family and friends. It was so wonderful to reconnect with family and friends and to meet my new niece, Olivia! She was born in October, and this was the first time we've met her in person. What a little love! I am so happy for my brother and Carley, and excited for them to experience the wonders of having a little girl. Little Landon is going to be a great big brother!

Cousin crew

Mairead snuggles with Kit on XMAS night

My dad was able to take the week off after Christmas, so we spent some time with my parents, too. We went ice skating, shopping and just spending some time together. On New Years Eve we all (my parents and brothers family) went to Portsmouth first night. We had some yummy pizza at the Gas Light Company, walked around a bit and watched the fireworks go off. It was a chilly night, but not too cold, so it was great!

Lovin' on my new niece!

We were also able to spend a few days hanging out in Maine with some friends, too! It was so great to reconnect with everyone. We miss home so much, and the girls had such a wonderful time playing with their friends. We connected with my cousin and their three cute kiddos. Once again, the kids had a great time playing together, especially showing off their American Girl dolls (which are made in China, by the way.....that pissed me off when I saw that).

North Church on NYE

Skating on Xmas EVE

The ride to and from New England was thankfully uneventful. The kids did fantastic in the car! We even made it home in 8.5 hours yesterday - an all time record with four kids and two dogs.

Lilah snuggles with Kanani on Xmas night

So, here we are, back in Virginia, ready to get back into a routine again. Trying to start the new year off on a positive note, wondering what 2012 will bring. You never know what us Ferries have up our sleeve this year...

Merry Christmas from our Christmas angel!

Merry Christmas

2011-12-23T17:33:00.000-08:00

Merry Christmas to all my faithful readers. I hope this holiday season fills your heart with lots of beautiful memories with your family!

Enjoy every second. I know I will.

Little Lilah Loo

2011-12-19T17:43:00.000-08:00

I love my Lilah Loo. I love my Lilah Loo. I love my Lilah, Lilah Loo!

Lilah Loo, I love you. Lilah Loo, I looooove you!

I love my Lilah Loo, I love my Lilah Loo, I love my Lilah! Lilah Loooo!

I find it extremely hard to believe that our sweet little Lilah Loo is four years old. If you know Lilah, then you know there is something about Lilah. It doesn't take much for her to capture the hearts of those around her. Her personality and her laughter is so contagious. She is a go-getter for sure, and puts 200% into everything she does - willingly. Whether it is swimming, skating, skiing or riding a bike, she is very good at what she does.

Two weeks ago at skating lessons, the director of lessons came up to us and said if there was a "best skater" award, Lilah would receive it. They are just in shock that she is so aggressive with skating, so much more so than the other children in her class who are often whining and crying. At swimming lessons, she is swimming with boys that are TWICE the height of her and some twice her age, though she has no trouble pushing them aside and jumping in the pool first.

But yet...

I lay with her in bed at night, and she curls up next to me, and we sing the song above together. I look at her petite little feet, all curled up tight next to mine, and it brings me right back to when she was a tiny infant. She was our smallest, 6lbs at birth, and just so tiny. She is so big, but yet, she is still so little. I can still see her as our little Lilah Loo. At about 28lbs she is still little, but she packs a mean punch.

When she's tired, watch out. She can be nasty. Hitting, and generalized not-niceness. And when she's really tired, she doesn't have a problem curling up on the couch or in her bed and going to sleep. She is our best sleeper by far - you never hear from her. Ever. And if you do, you know something is really wrong. She has always been an "all or nothing" kind of kid.

Mairead lovin' on my belly at the start of my bed rest

I will always think back to my pregnancy with her and the terror that plagued us daily. We would wonder if Lilah would be born to us safe and sound. She was the baby I was scared that I would never hold in my arms - alive. At 19 weeks is when I was diagnosed with an incompetent cervix and would need an emergent cerclage. I will never forget seeing my amniotic sac sitting inside of my cervix.....not exactly the way it was supposed to go. I remember being afraid to move thinking that if I moved too much something could happen. And when she was born at almost 37 weeks safe and sound, the feeling of relief just came over me, it was so emotional. It was probably one of the first "family" stressors we had for me and Kevin, but we came out stronger and closer than ever. We were both scared and were worried about how we would care for Mairead, who was just 15 months old, but we did it and we were lucky enough to end up with a healthy baby girl in the end.

Today we celebrated Lilah's birthday as a family. Kevin had a work holiday party, so he made some pulled pork and we all went into "daddy's work" together. We met his co-workers, enjoyed a good old Yankee swap and some nice family time, too. After that, Lilah opened her birthday gifts from her sisters and us, then we headed to Reston Town Center for a yummy dinner at Il Fornaio for pizza.

Mairead (19mos) and newborn Lilah

Tonight, I said good night to Mairead and Clara before making my way into the birthday girls room. Once it was Lilah's turn, I got into bed with Lilah, picked her up, and cradled her in my arms. I looked at her and said "do you realize how tiny you used to be?" I told her about the night she was born, and how she loved to snuggle skin to skin on my chest underneath my nightgown, which I still have and still brings me back to that night. It was a special moment for the both of us. I told her what an amazing baby she was and how she loved to nurse and snuggle. She says to me "Mommy? I will only get bigger and bigger, right? Not smaller and smaller..." - "That's right my love, you grow everyday, inside and out"

Happy Birthday to our sweet little Lilah...words cannot even describe the love that mommy and daddy have for you.

It started BEFORE kids.

2011-12-16T06:35:00.000-08:00

Yesterday morning our oldest dog, Phoebe was being super lovey. Phoebe was my first baby. She has been with me since she was 7.5 weeks old and has been with me through all sorts of ups and downs.
Mairead had asked why she was being so loving, and I said "because she loves her mamma". I explained to her that Phoebe was my first baby. She was with me when I bought my first house at 23, when I met daddy, when I got engaged with Daddy, when we got married, when our four babies were born - Phoebe was there. She has moved to Virginia, to Maine and back to Virginia again. She has been there.

I also told Mairead that Phoebe used to sleep with me in bed. That's right, I didn't follow any of the dog "experts" when they said don't let your dog sleep in bed with you. I guess nothing has changed, has it, whether it is with kids or dogs. Phoebe used to sleep on daddy's side of the bed. Mairead says "On daddy's pillow?" - Yes. On Daddy's pillow.

Before we had a bed full of kids, Phoebe used to jump up in bed once daddy left early for work. She'd go right back up to her pillow as if she was reclaiming her spot.

I guess what I am trying to say is that I guess I started co-sleeping with my babies well before I even had human children. It just felt right - even with a dog. I felt sad for Phoebe when she was a puppy. I was a stranger to her and this stranger had just taken her away from her brothers and sisters. She cried at night because she missed them and her home, and I felt guilty, so in my bed she came. And we both were happy.

And do you know what - at 8.5, Phoebe now sleeps in her own bed, just like a big girl :)

Birthday Bash

2011-12-11T18:50:00.001-08:00

Me and my big girls baking the cake

Lilah showing off the finished project

Yesterday we celebrated Lilah's 4th birthday. For the past few years, we have always celebrated her birthday the weekend before Christmas, but this year, we decided to do it a little differently!

A lot of our friends here in Virginia travel during the holidays, and sometimes having a party the weekend before Christmas is a little crazy, so we thought we'd do it a tad early.

And Lilah didn't have a problem with that. At all.

At first, Lilah wanted to have a gymnastics party, but when she realized she wouldn't be able to invite all of her friends, she changed her mind and wanted to have a party at home with all of her friends. So, that's what we did.

On Thursday, Lilah and I set out on a day together. She came with me to Callum's appointment and from there, we went shopping. We had lunch together at Panera and then she picked out a cute birthday dress at Hanna Andersson. It is a little thing I've done with the girls since they've been little. Every year for their birthday they get a day out with me, we go to lunch, pick out a new dress and buy all the decorations for the party. It's a lot of fun and a day we cherish together. After shopping, we brought Callum home for a nap, and we went back out for more shopping. Lilah picked out a flower cake pan, her "rainbow" colors, and then we headed to Target to buy her pinata and decorations.

That day, I watched Lilah with amazement. I just couldn't believe how much she has matured since we have moved to Virginia. She was just so good with me. She acted like a big girl and I enjoyed every second of our day together.

So yesterday, we prepared for her birthday party. We made her cake together and the big girls decorated their own little cake together, too. Lilah couldn't wait for her friends to get here, she asked and asked and asked "Mom. Are they driving here yet?" "Mom, are they in our neighborhood?" "Mom, are they in their car on the way?"- question after question.

When her friends arrived she was in heaven and I don't think I saw her for more than a few minutes!

Lilah and her piñata

The kids did the piñata. Dove for candy. And they were quiet. Ok...that's not all true. Some of us adults even took part in the piñata hitting :)

Yep. That's me. Swinging away.

While the kids played, the adults did, too. We enjoyed adult beverages and adult conversation. I have to say, birthdays are getting easier, as the parents can actually enjoy each other and not have to watch so closely over the kids.

We sang happy birthday and the look on Lilah's face was priceless. The look of happiness and excitement was just fulfilling.

Our neighbors stayed until past 10pm, but little Lilah couldn't stay awake any longer. She put on her new PJ's from her friends Lilly and Eaton and passed out on the couch!

Tired little girl...

Overall, we had a fantastic party. We are so thankful for everyone who was able to join us and make Lilah's day so special for her! And to our Maine friends.....we missed you terribly.

**Thanks to my friend for taking the photographs of us even though you use a Nikon, you did pretty well!

NICU Developmental Follow-Up

2011-12-09T11:00:00.001-08:00

While Callum was in the NICU we met all sorts of people from doctors to nurses to social workers to lactation consultants. You name it. We met them.

When it became evident that Callum would be discharged home sooner than later, we met with a discharge planner. She sat down with us and discussed the things that had to happen in order for Callum to come home.

Once she went over everything she mentioned Callum was eligible for a special follow-up study. Because Callum was so critically ill and on an oscillating ventilator and nitric oxide, he qualified as one of these special babies. The only other babies who qualified were the ones born before the 29th week. To me, that was scary. Babies who are born before the 29th week are sick and tiny. At that point, it all hit me, Callum had just gone through something traumatic and everything that I had read up on Pulmonary Hypertension could be true. So, at 6 months, 12 months and 18 months, Callum would be seen by a developmental pediatrician to discuss his development.

Since we are no longer living in Maine, our pediatrician here thought it would be a good idea to call INOVA Fairfax Hospital for Children to discuss their follow up study. We weren't sure if he would be eligible for their program, but much to my surprise, he was.

Yesterday was his appointment. I was excited, yet nervous, but mostly very interested in their approach and where Callum would fall. I honestly haven't had many worries with his development, but I could have been missing something.

We entered this small room. He sat on my lap at a table in front of an occupational therapist. Alongside of us sat the developmental pediatrician and a student?. It was very stiff. She started with fine motor skills and watched him as he grabbed toys, switched toys from hand to hand, held multiple things amongst other things. I watched contently as my big boy accomplished the vast majority of these tasks without much coaxing.

After the fine motor skills assessment, we went down to the mat. We laid him down on his back, which he isn't a big fan of, and tried to coax him to roll over. I told them that he doesn't roll to his belly very often because his big sisters tend to do it for him, but he can do it. After that we got him to roll on his belly, he started scooting in circles, pushing up firmly on his arms and grabbing for toys. Not a second too soon did he figure out that he can propel himself forward - crawling....I knew it was close, days away actually, but he waited for his big debut to show them what he could do. They sat him up to watch his posture and how well he sat, and he did fabulously. As the end neared for him, his personality started to shine through with his flirtatious manners and squeals towards the individuals in the room.

Once the gross motor skills assessment was complete, we headed to the office of the developmental pediatrician. She discussed his development - absolutely appropriate for a 7 month old baby (he was 8 months old yesterday, but they use corrected age). On the developmental assessment sheet, I saw the words "high average" - she said at this time she sees him as completely appropriate and has seen no red flags for him. Of course, there is a long way to go to be sure there aren't any other delays like speech, behavior, etc, but for now, Callum is progressing like any other baby - normally.

And that for us is one of the best Christmas gifts a mom and dad could have...

The Hunt for the Perfect Tree.

2011-12-05T17:57:00.000-08:00

For the past two years we have cut down our own Christmas tree. In Maine, we went to a local family owned farm and cut our tree down. Why would we think it would be any different here in Virginia?

We woke up last Friday morning with a plan to go cut down our Christmas tree. We found a place, drove 30 minutes and.....

Left the farm without a tree.

Yeah. That's right. Without a tree.

We trudged through mud, Lilah got bitten by a deer tick and we examined many trees. The selection was just not what we were used to. Trees were growing crooked, and we just didn't find that perfect Ferrie Christmas tree.

But don't worry, this mamma had her camera, and we got some pics, and it looks as though we did get a tree. Clara did have tights on, but she had a run in with some mud, so away with the tights!

The poor girls were all confused as to why we got back in our car without a tree. But mommy. But daddy. I thought we were getting a Christmas tree??

Feeling guilty, we stopped at another local tree place up the street. We got out of the car. I grabbed my camera...just in case. Looked at trees.

$90. Trees.

Once again. We left the place without a tree. And even more disappointed girls.

We got home and realized that today was just not the day. We started to decorate the house a bit more with plans to try again tomorrow after skating lessons.

And that's what we did.

After skating lessons, we thought we'd try a local place selling trees before we drove an hour to a family owned tree farm. We pulled into the parking lot, Kevin got out - without the kids to check prices - and decided that this was the place!

The kids got all excited, jumped out of the car and picked out a beautiful 2011 Ferrie Family Christmas tree! Not only did they get their tree, but they got to talk to Santa! This year both Mairead and Lilah really lit up. Their faces were priceless. Clara was a bit unsure and had to sit on Kevin's lap, but she was in awe, too.

We all helped put up and decorate the tree. The girls had a blast. Last year, Clara was just a little over one, so she hadn't a clue, but this year, she wanted to help just like her big sisters. Callum cheered the girls while they decorated the Christmas tree! Mairead and Lilah, of course, had a blast! They were so into it.

Thanksgiving Photos

2011-12-02T18:45:00.000-08:00

My parents @ Great Falls

I have been slacking on my photos lately. Yesterday we went on a tree hunt...more about that, later, and when I went to grab my camera, the card was just about full. Ooops

My parents were able to come and spend Thanksgiving weekend with us! We had a blast together and the kids were so excited to see and spend time with them.

My parents and our crew

Lilah

In the morning, we headed to Great Falls National Park for some sightseeing and a mid-morning hike. We brought the dogs along and got some exercise before we all indulged in some yummy Thanksgiving food. It was an absolutely beautiful day and we all had a really nice day together.

Mairead

Thanksgiving hike @ Great Falls

Lilah & Phoebe

Nana & Callum

After we got back from our "hike", we got down to business and started cooking. My mom and I worked on the turkey - we decided to do it the "Biggest Loser" way by removing the skin and doing a rub directly on the meat. It was AWESOME...I made homemade applesauce, and we had mashed potatoes, butternut squash, and Kevin's homemade stuffing. It was all oh so good!

Our family

My first Turkey!

Our little turkey's 1st Turkey :)

All in all - a perfect day!

I am Thankful for...

2011-11-24T11:29:00.001-08:00

...my wonderfully devoted husband. He would do anything for me. He would do anything for us. And I love him so very much for everything he does for us.

...the most amazing father to our children. He is the most devoted father and I am so lucky he is mine.

...our parents. For all they do and have done for us.

...our sweet children. They remind me daily of what is truly important in life.

....the health and well-being of our family. I never ever take this for granted. Every day, I thank my lucky stars for this...

....all the doctors and nurses who helped care for our sweet little Callum. Those moments will never be forgotten.

....everyone who graciously helped and prayed for us during Callum's birth and illness. We couldn't have done it without them, and those who were there for us will always have a special place in our heart. We will be forever thankful for all they did for us.

....having a home to live in and grow in. As unhappy as I am living here, I am thankful we are here because that means my husband has a job that continues to support our family and provide us with a pretty nice life.

....plenty of food for our children.

....the ability to be able to stay home and raise our children, and now, teach them. Even though some days I cringe and think about going back to work, I would never change it for a second. I am so thankful to experience all of our children's firsts.

While some times I do not sound or act thankful for the life I do live, that is so not the case. I could not ask for a better life...okay, maybe a life back in Maine, but right now, I have everything I could have dreamed of, and more...

Happy Thanksgiving, everyone...

Ice Princesses

2011-11-20T17:37:00.000-08:00

Since last winter, the big girls have been asking to go ice skating. It didn't happen. I was pregnant. Lilah was too young and our plate was already overflowing.

Reston Town Center, which is pretty close to us, has an outside skating rink in the winter. We were there last week and the girls saw people skating and started talking about skating again. Kevin and I spoke with our parents and we all thought it would be a great Christmas gift to give the girls some skating lessons!

On Saturday morning we bolted out of the house to make it to the trial day of ice skating lessons. We thought this would give the girls a taste of what ice skating was all about, and if they didn't like it, we weren't wasting any money.

Mairead getting on the ice

"this is cool!"

And just as we thought...they loved it. They were smiling the entire time and having a blast! Lilah would fall and get right back up again. Mairead quickly jumped to the next level and did fantastic! We were so proud of them.

Lilah ready to go

The girls waiting for their teacher

Momma and her boy

The "trial" lesson definitely left them wanting more and since then, they haven't stopped talking about ice skating! So, every Saturday for the month of December, we will be watching our little ice princesses.

Lilah assumes her "position"

The class

Getting Shot

2011-11-17T13:44:00.002-08:00

We took the crew to get their flu shots at the doctors. Our appointment was at 11am.

We arrived at 1050am.

Got into the exam room at 1140. Because all three girls haven't seen the new docs yet, they wanted them to be seen by the doctors before their flu shot. You can only imagine the four kids inside the exam room waiting for about 20 minutes. They were like lions in a cage getting more and more restless as each minute passed. Every other minute I hear...

"Maaaaaaaaaaaa. When is the doctor coming in"

Finally, she comes in. We go through the girls medical history, or lack there of. We got to Clara's history and I had mentioned in her history that she had questionable viral pneumonia back in February. She was pretty miserable, and I even wrote about it here. The doctor had asked if she had any wheezing with that illness and I said yes (but it was so mild) I hesitated to say 'yes'. The doctor asked what medications she was on with that illness and looked at me like I was crazy when I told her I didn't take her in to the doctors - she pretty much scolded me. May I also add she was a different pediatrician and wasn't the same awesome one we saw with Callum a few weeks back?

Yeah. I was not impressed.

She says in a quietly condescending manner "you always bring them in if there is wheezing" - hmmm, our pediatrician in Maine knew about Clara and said we could keep her home as long as her temp wasn't going back up, she was eating and drinking - which she was - and of course, wasn't having difficulty breathing! Not to mention, she was seen in the office several days after the illness for a well child check and said she probably had viral pneumonia, and would take a bit for her chest to clear. I also didn't feel the need to explain myself to a doc I didn't know for something that happened 9 months ago and has had no negative impacts on her whatsoever. I admit, I am not a parent who takes their kids to the doctors for every cough and sniffle, so I am pretty sure me and this doctor will clash, because she appears very conservative, and I am not unless it is warranted.

And as she was examining Mairead, she kept listening to her chest. She asks if she has had a cough. I said, "A morning cough, but nothing more than that" and she continues listening, without discussing to me or Kevin why she kept listening and listening, like she was trying hear something or make a big deal about something? Strange. It was almost like she was trying to make something wrong? Weird. She was weird.

"I went to get a shot. I did not cry. I got a lollipop" - Mairead

So after all that weirdness, it was time for the lions, I mean the kids to have their shots. Clara went first. She got her lollipop. I laid down with her, tried to make her laugh, she whimpered for a second and it was done! The big girls were next, didn't shed a tear, because they were too busy enjoying their lollipop and then poor little Callum - he cried for a minute, but once I picked him up and nursed him, he closed his eyes and went to sleep.

At 1230, 1.5 hours AFTER our scheduled appointment time for four flu shots, we were on our way home....ugh. Completely an over-the-top appointment for a flu shot!

DUMP DAY.

2011-11-15T08:46:00.001-08:00

iPhone dump that is...

Here are some photos I have taken with my iPhone (with instagram) in the last week...

Miss Clara sportin' some too-big winter boots

Big girl shoppin' trip with my girlies

Our 'Thankful Tree'

A beautiful fall day at the park with my crew

I just want to kiss HIM.

PICNIC!

This boy loves his car!

Hey lady.....wanna ride?

Look who's sitting up!

Tired dawg!

Little Lilah school girl

Robbed.

2011-11-11T09:49:00.001-08:00

I try not to think about Callum's rough start much anymore. I look at our sweet little boy who is growing up and perfect. But sometimes, I get knocked back and feel sad about his birth and how I feel robbed that we didn't get that newborn experience like we've had with our girls.

For Clara, I made a special photograph book about her first 6 weeks. Clara's birth was perfect. I don't think it could have been better, really (except if it had been at home). I look at her book, the photographs, the words and it just depicts that perfect September day. An easy birth. An amazing first few hours with our princess. Her sweet body didn't leave my chest for two glorious hours after her birth. Complete Bliss.

I recently finished up Callum's special book and ordered it. It was delivered on Wednesday and I sat down to read it and all the flashbacks of those horrible moments came back to haunt me. I teared up and felt sad. The first few pages of his book weren't about the joys and sweet moments we had with Callum (well we had just a few...), they were about the fears, tears and scares we had with him. About how sick he was, how we couldn't hold him, I couldn't nurse him and all the tubes coming in and out of his body. The photographs of his puffy body hooked up to all sorts of machines. It sucked. But then, I looked up, and there he was playing happily on the floor with his sisters and I instantly felt grateful for everything. He is here with us. Safe and Sound. Happy and Loved. Healthy...

Then again today, a friend of mine posted a slideshow of a home-birth she photographed. The photographs were perfect. The story of a perfect birth and baby, at home, all snuggled up with his mommy and daddy. The baby nursing. Smiles on everyones faces. And then, once again, for the second time in a week, I started to feel robbed of that experience with Callum.

Is it wrong that I wanted the same for Callum as I wanted with his sisters, especially Clara? I know his birth cannot be changed, and what we went through with him has given us a different, more grateful outlook on life, but I still feel robbed. I still wonder if he had been born on a different day or if something different happened if things would have turned out the same way. I can't help it. But all I have to do is look at Callum, watch him smile and squeal with excitement at his sisters, watching him scoot around the floor playing with toys and get excited as I am about to nurse him, and the feelings of sadness go away. I know I will never truly get over this feeling, but as time passes, I just hope I don't feel so sad when I see others have that perfect experience, too. I am so lucky that we have four beautifully healthy children today.

And that is all that should matter. And I will never ever take that for granted.

Thankful.

2011-11-09T18:14:00.000-08:00

Teaching children the concept of being thankful is tough. When you explain what thankful means, they'll tell you they're thankful for things like their room, their friends, their toys, and their family. But, do they really understand what being thankful really means? I'm not sure.

This week, I wanted to teach the girls about Thanksgiving, the importance of Thanksgiving and most importantly what being thankful means. I scoured the internet and pinterest for some cool ideas on discussing Thanksgiving through projects, etc.

I came across a blog named KarenHarveyCox who is a childrens writer. She wrote a short story called "The Thankful Coat" - I read it and instantly fell in love. This was perfect and exactly what I was looking for! I knew Mairead would get it and it would be a start for Lilah.

During breakfast, we started to discuss being kind and thankful. Mairead had mentioned she was thankful to have food to eat. We spoke briefly about how some people do not have enough food to eat, especially around the holidays. Mairead had a great idea to buy some food at the grocery store to give to those people who don't have much, "that way they can be thankful, mama" - that's my girl. I thought. So, that's what we did. Mairead picked out some canned applesauce, canned soups, and a few other things.

That afternoon we sat down together on our couch and read The Thankful Coat. It was the perfect length for Lilah to be able to sit down and pay attention, but maybe a bit over her head. And it was elementary enough for Mairead to grasp the story line and importance of how being thankful makes you feel. After reading the short story, the girls were very excited to make their very own Thankful Coat. After the story, we went into our schoolroom to make our Thankful Coats. I am getting so impressed with her coloring ability. Just a few short weeks ago, she was scribbling and had no concept of staying within the lines, but now, look at her awesome coloring! I am so proud of her. Mairead wrote her letters by herself and colored her coat, too. Her writing is getting so great, too! She just loves writing and practices all of the time!

Not only did we read The Thankful Coat, make our own Thankful Coats and discuss what being thankful means and how it makes us feel, we also decided to make our very own thankful tree. While the girls worked on their thankful coats this uncrafty mama (who is quickly being forced to be crafty) started to make their thankful tree. I wrote out the letters and Mairead cut them out. I made the tree out of construction paper on the wall.

Today, the girls traced their sweet little hands on paper and mamma helped cut them out onto multiple sheets of paper to be our "leaves" for the tree. Each day, they will write what they are thankful for on their leaf to decorate their thankful tree. I can thank Pinterest for this super cute idea!

Over the next few weeks, we will start to learn more about Thanksgiving as a holiday and what it means to us. I really look forward to teaching the girls about giving back and the true meaning of being thankful. I want the girls to start to understand just how lucky they are to have what they have and when you have as much as they have, it is important to give back to those around us.

Mairead

Lilah

Refreshed.

2011-11-06T12:09:00.000-08:00

One of the few positives about moving to Virginia from Maine was the fact that our very good Coast Guard friends was moving to Virginia, too! Unfortunately, Virginia is a pretty big state, and they weren't moving to Northern Virginia, but to Virginia beach.

For the last month, Laura and I have been trying to plan a weekend that would work for them to come visit us! And we finally got it planned out! ~~The girls were so excited~~ We all were so excited! Both Laura and I have been missing Maine terribly and we were so excited to feel refreshed after spending some time together.

They arrived on Friday and unfortunately, Callum had his pediatrician appointment, so I had to leave, but Kevin took the kids alongside with our friends to the Air & Space Museum in Dulles. We haven't gone since Mairead was little, and Dylan is in love with space and planes. All the kids had a blast together. When we all met back at home, we ordered Chinese food and enjoyed catching up. The kids were so excited to be together!

On Saturday, we woke up and had a big breakfast together. Kevin made pancakes. Derek made eggs and everyone was happy. We decided to spend the day at the Great Falls National Park, which is very close to our house. We had never been there, so we thought it would be the perfect place to visit, on the perfect fall day.

After visiting Great Falls, we went to lunch at a local Irish pub. It was great. After that, we said our goodbyes. Our friends were going to spend another night with friends in DC. It was sad to say goodbye, but it felt oh-so-good to have seen and spent time with them. They were like a little piece of Maine!

Our Big Boy

2011-11-04T05:14:00.000-07:00

Callum had his 6 month check up (at almost 7 months) with our new pediatrician. I had been meaning to get him in earlier, but, it just didn't happen, and it doesn't help that I am extremely picky when it comes to doctors. We loved our pediatrician in Maine and I knew it would be next to impossible to find a practice that was small, intimate with awesome doctors. But, there is hope.

I was recommended this practice by a few people. Three female doctors, which I liked and an overall easygoing, laid back feel. Callum was a complete flirt with the entire staff.

The nurse weighed Callum, 16lbs8oz (25%), up from 12lbs in July! Whoa, boy! He measured 25'' (10%). The pediatrician did a double take with his length, and then asked how tall Kevin was - 5'7'', I replied. Callum is definitely not going to be a tall boy! Our dads are both about 5'7'', and my brother is about the same, so, Callum doesn't have much of a chance to be tall!

Our pediatrician was very interested in Callum's birth story. She looked at his thick chart and said "I'll read this later, I am very interested". I told her the very short version and she looked at Callum with amazement in her eyes and said, it looks like you have one very lucky little boy who looks to be doing absolutely perfectly! And she was right, Callum couldn't be doing any better. He is healthy, happy and developing. And we can't ask for any more than that.

She asked if he was rolling over, and I chuckled. Well, yeah. Kind of. I told her he doesn't roll over very much, but she said as long as he has rolled over both ways, that was all that mattered, and he has, on his own terms, when is big sisters aren't doing it for him. I will be honest, I was a little worried that he doesn't barrel roll all over the place like his sisters did at this age, but she said not to worry. She was impressed with how well he was sitting up, which is a milestone he has been working on diligently for the last week. He is able to sit up for up to a few minutes if he is interested enough in a toy.

The next topic, sleep. Amazingly, he has been swing free for exactly one week. He must have overheard Kevin and I discussing how the hell we were going to get him into his cribs for naps. He was sleeping 2-3 hours in his swing for naps, and nap time is well, very much needed in this house! Then, he started to get really restless for naps in his swing, and we tried him in his crib and he did awesome. And continued to do so. So, he sleeps 100% in his crib and doing great. The pediatrician didn't even bat an eyelash when I told her we continue to co-sleep part-time. He wakes up between 2-5am, and comes into our bed.

She asked about solid food, and told her we just started. She asked what he was eating and told her table food. I told her in the last week he's had haddock, mashed potatoes, carrots, chicken & veggie soup and countless other items, and was doing fabulously. Once again, no weird looks or telling me what he "should" be doing.

I then brought up his NICU follow up study that he qualified for in Maine. Any baby born before 30 weeks or on nitric oxide qualified for this study. She thought he should be seen, even though she didn't have any concerns with his development. So, this week, I am going to call INOVA Fairfax to find out more information on how to get him seen. I am very interested to do this, just to give another data point on how babies with pulmonary hypertension and nitric oxide are doing. I have read a lot of information in the last 7 months regarding outcomes on babies with pulmonary hypertension and it really is such a huge spectrum, with many babies suffering long term affects from their course.

All in all, a very successful well-child check with our new pediatrician. Oh and our poor baby got three shots! His leg was sore that evening, but overall, did just fine!

Halloween!

2011-11-03T05:35:00.000-07:00

This year the girls flip flopped on what they wanted to be for Halloween. For a while, they wanted to be cowgirls, but then they changed their minds to be ghosts. Once again, I told Lilah she didn't have to be the same as Mairead, that she could be whatever she wanted, but when Lilah saw the costume, she had to be a ghost, too. As for Clara, I originally was going to have her be a bumble bee, but when both Mairead and Lilah wanted to be the same, I was afraid she would have a fit, so, a ghost she would be, too!

At first, I had ordered the girls costumes on Etsy, but after a few issues with the seller, I ended up on my own less than one week until Halloween. This not-so-crafty mom decided to make her own halloween costumes. I set off to JoAnn fabric with the big girls in tow, in a store that I felt so very out of place in.

I bought some tulle, elastic, felt and long sleeve white shirts and headed home for my quest to make three little ghost costumes. Project save Halloween.

It took me a few hours to get all three costumes finished. The first tutu took the longest, just trying to figure out how it was going to work, but by the third tutu, it only took me about 20 minutes. Once I was all done, I was so proud of myself, and I had three very excited little girls! As frustrated as I was having to make them, it was the best thing I did! Looking back, the costumes were super easy to make :)

On Halloween, the girls were so excited. They started the day off in their costumes. We went grocery shopping, and all three girls were in their costumes. They attracted so much attention and would run up to people and say "BOO!"

That evening our neighborhood had a little parade and a pizza party afterwards. We were with some of our new friends we have met here, and had fun. All together there were 7 girls, 7 and under and one, cute little boy, Callum. The adults had a few adult beverages before trick or treating and the kids had loads of candy.

The big girls were very into it this year. They sprinted from house to house as if it were a race. It took a few houses for Clara to catch on, but once she realized people were filling baskets up with candy she was hooked! She'd go up to the house, hold out her basket, and wait until they dropped candy in there. Then, she'd continue to stare at them as if she was saying "Ummmm, more, please!"

When we were done trick or treating, we headed back to our house. Kevin started a fire in our fire pit in the driveway and we handed out candy. The kids ran around and had a blast while the adults relaxed, and enjoyed a few treats ourselves!

Snow-Tober

2011-10-30T17:45:00.000-07:00

Woke up yesterday morning and this is what we saw:

Um. Does mother nature realize we live in Virginia? and more importantly, does she also realize it is October? I haven't even put away sandals yet, let alone dig out boots and winter gear.

But don't worry! It didn't take long for the girls to get excited about playing in the snow and wearing snowsuits! I started to ask Mairead why in the world she wanted to put her snow suit on with only a dusting of snow, but then I remembered....she's just a kid and very excited about snow! Ah, to be young again!

Mairead also didn't waste any time getting out her Sunday River ski map to start planning her first ski run this winter!

Not only did the girls get out and play and romp in the snow, they did some serious snow snacking, too! Clara wasn't too excited about the snow. She was too disappointed that she didn't have Bog boots just like her big sisters. She attempted to go outside barefoot, but that didn't last very long!

After naps, we realized we had a very limited amount of toilet paper in the house. So, we went off to Target for a quick trip. Callum was all snug inside my fleece pouch and his cute new reindeer hat we bought while we were up north in October.

I sure hope this isn't the only "winter" we see here in Virginia! I hope we get whacked with snow!

Evidence she IS learning!

2011-10-29T08:20:00.000-07:00

It is amazing that Mairead is learning to read and write! I couldn't be more proud of my big girl! She loves to practice writing and lately, she has done an amazing job at sounding out words all by herself.

Last week, she and Lilah took a nature class on Bats. Here is her latest sentence about Bats:

Translation: "All Bats "c.u.m" out at night"

This one was definitely photograph and blog worthy! :)

**notice I had to put the word c.u.m like this.....I notice a lot of people searching on the internet for dirty things, and definitely don't want that word to attract any more crazies out there!!!!

Queen Vs. King

2011-10-27T18:24:00.000-07:00

Before we were married and had lots of kids, we bought a new bed.

Should we get a King? we thought.

Nah! Won't we always want to snuggle? Plus our children will never share our bed.

Right?

WRONG!

We were blessed with a honeymoon, baby, Mairead. And learned that some battles aren't worth fighting. We learned just how awesome and special co-sleeping was. And in a Queen it was just fine. A little tight, but still cozy.

So, what do we do? Buy a brand new Queen mattress.

Then, our sweet little Lilah Loo comes along. Hmmmmm. How will we co-sleep with a newborn and a toddler in a queen. We moved Mairead into a cot in our room. And we remained perfectly content in a Queen.

Clara is born and we realize space is getting tight in our Queen size bed. Story time was leading to fights over space and who is or isn't too squished.

What do we do? We bring just one more sweet little baby into our bed. Uh oh. And story time in our Queen size bed is no longer fun and enjoyable with everyone fighting and screaming over a comfy place to lay under cozy blankets with mommy and daddy.

So, we move to Virginia. We have a nice, large master bedroom. Our Queen boxspring won't fit upstairs. Is this a sign?

Kevin and I look at each other. YEP. We need a King.

Six years after we buy a brand new sleigh bed (hey, our parents need a bed now at our house) and four years after buying a brand new queen mattress, we buy a KING.

But, with a King comes more trouble. It doesn't fit our sleigh bed. For our 6 year anniversary (which is WOOD for the gift) we go on the hunt for a brand new bed. We spent a few weeks dragging four kids through furniture stores trying to find that perfect bed, but unfortunately, nothing was made that great, and everything was so expensive. Why does everything have to be made in China and appear so cheap? And cost an arm and a kid.

Kevin gets online and visits Ethan Allen. He finds the New Country, Quincy Bed and I literally start to drool. Oh. My. Gawd. That is THE bed. It's made in VERMONT. Pure 100% WOOD. And absolutely beautiful.

We visit the store and it's the first piece of furniture you see as you walk in the door. It is just as beautiful in person. I looked at Kevin and said:

"I want that bed. Aren't you glad you showed me this???"

He was thrilled.

No, really. We both loved it and thought it would be perfect. It was American made in New England. Solid wood and perfect. We felt special for employing American workers.

We waited close to 12 long weeks for this bed and it finally came today.

The girls were all dressed in their halloween costumes, and had to get the first jumps in on it!

Then tonight, all six of us snuggled up together under blankets and watched the Charlie Brown Halloween special on TV. It was awesome...

So. Moral of the story? If you're going to have kids, don't waste your money on a Queen!

Speeding by reason of Insanity?

2011-10-25T12:57:00.000-07:00

Today was one of those days.

I'm tired. I need a break.

Mairead has been great today. Lilah not so much. Her behavior has been less than spectacular these days and I am just not sure what is going on. We are trying to be consistent but sometimes it seems as though she could care less about consequences and when when we do take something away, she appears very apathetic. Trying to find something that will really impact her to behave appropriately has been tough.

Today, I gave her a warning. Her response "No" - in a very sarcastic manner.

Me: "Two strikes"

Lilah: "Uhhh, No."

Me: "Three stikes, Lilah, and you've lost movie night"

Lilah: "Oh nooo (sarcastically), I will watch a movie"

She just doesn't care. We were late for gymnastics and I still had to change Callum, wipe Clara's butt and make sure we had everything to get out of the house.

We get in the car. Clara wouldn't get in her car seat. Ugh.

We're off to gymnastics and we will be late. I hate being late. I hate feeling so unorganized and rushed.

We're driving along, the kids screaming and fighting about which song they want to listen to - of course it's different than what the other one wants. I try to ignore it without screaming and I look in my rearview mirror and what do I see???

Police lights and sirens. Right. On. My. Tail.

Perfect. Just frickin' perfect.

He was pulling me over. Jack Ass. I thought.

Of course, the kids lit up. Mommy, why is he pulling you over. Mommy, is he going to yell at you. Mommy, Mommy, Mommy, MOMMY. MOMMY

61 in a 45 zone. Sure. Whatever you say officer. You see, this mommy was trying to drown out the sounds of her screaming, fighting children in the back - hey, this was one of the times I wish I had privacy glass! Hell, I could have been going 100mph and I probably wouldn't have known it. Give me a damn ticket jack ass and let me get my kids to gymnastics so they'll be good and tired for the rest of the day.

He tried being nice. Asking me why I had Florida plates. Told him my husband was an active duty Coast Guard officer and we just moved from Maine. Dude, stop being nice and let me get on with my day. He walks back to his car and the kids start blasting me with questions.

Me: This is what happens when you don't follow the rules.

Mairead: Are you going to get a ticket? Can I see the ticket? .............repeat times 100.

Lilah: Why did he pull you over? Were you going to fast? What is he doing now?........repeat times 100

Clara: Goin' too fast maaaaaam? Police man pull you over? ............repeat.....repeat.

All these questions all at the same frickin' time. As if being pulled over wasn't bad enough - getting grilled by your kids was just as bad.

The guy gives me a ticket. And then more questions. Then the biggest question, that I couldn't answer:

Mairead: Mommy, why did you get a ticket and daddy didn't when he got pulled over?

Me: I don't know. Maybe Maine police men are nicer than Virginia ones.

Court date is in December.. Thinking about bringing all four of my kids with me. It's at 130pm, prime nap time. You think I could plead "speeding by reason of insanity" and they'll just let me have a warning???

It's about time, mom!

2011-10-23T17:57:00.000-07:00

For the last few weeks or so, Callum has become increasingly interested in what we are eating. I can no longer open a container of yogurt or eat an apple without him lunging towards food. So, whenever I am eating something "Callum friendly", I will give him a bite, let him suck on my apple and explore different tastes and textures of things.

On Friday night, we were out to dinner with the kids. Callum was in my lap and practically diving into my plate of food. The big girls were eating applesauce, so I grabbed a bite with my spoon and he took the spoon and shoved it into his mouth, as if he had been eating food for months.

From that moment on, he was in love. He would grunt for more, and kept sticking his tongue out as if he were a snake. His tongue is so long!!! I guess I can no longer keep him solely on mammas milk!

Then, on Saturday night, we sat down as a family, like we usually do every night. Instead of Callum being in his jumparoo, he sat like a big boy in his high chair for the very first time. I mixed up some applesauce and oatmeal, and he went to town. The kid was crazy. He would grab the spoon and shove it into his mouth as if I wasn't giving it to him fast enough. He made it virtually impossible to get the food into his mouth without his hands grabbing for the spoon. When we weren't feeding him, he was either screaming or grunting for us to give him more.

The girls thought this was awesome. They had one gazillion questions about why he was eating, and what he was eating, you name it, they asked about it. It was super cute. Even Clara kept yelling "He likes it! He likes the applesauce!"

For our dinner, we had chicken and gnocchi with a lemon butter sauce. So, what do I do? Cut up tiny bites of gnocchi and gave it to him. Did he like it? Of couse he did!

If you know me well enough, you know that I don't follow any of the rules of "feeding a baby" - we feed them what we eat, unless it is not baby friendly. We follow the Baby Led Approach to feeding, just as we did with the girls and it has worked out fabulously! It's amazing to see just how ready an older infant is to eat. There is no tongue thrusting. No belly aches. And they know exactly what to do with the food. It is amazing. In the very beginning we will give them soft foods, but once they learn to manipulate new things in their mouth, there isn't much they cannot eat.

I think the only thing we give them that has "baby" on it is YoBaby yogurt! So from here on out, our sweet little boy is turning into big boy. I am so not ready to have him eating big boy food yet, but, I guess at 6.5 months old, he is ready. For the next few weeks, we'll take it slow, and then he will be off and running!

*I posted some new videos - on the right side.

Small town living

2011-10-13T14:35:00.000-07:00

I wrote this a day last week after I had lunch with a dear friend...

As I drove through the back roads of New Hampshire and Massachusetts, and through the streets of my hometown, I flash backed to my childhood. Passing homes of past friends, and memories flashing through. Windy roads, farms, old homes, you name it. It all spoke to me.

When I was living there, I used to wonder about life outside the small town. I couldn't wait to escape to a bigger, more exciting place. And then when I did, I started to slowly understand just how special small town living was. Every time I returned, I loved it even more. I appreciated the beauty. I appreciated the "boringness" even more.

Then, we had children in a metropolitan area. Lots of people. The complete opposite of where I grew up. I started to realize what I wanted in life. And when we moved to Maine, I realized the awesomeness of small town life. Every day, I fell more and more in love. It was everything I believed in for our family.

When we moved from Maine and back to Virginia over the summer, it was like a piece of me had been taken away from me. There was no more small town living and more people, buildings and craziness. Everyone always in a rush, sometimes too busy to stop and enjoy life. And here we are back in New England for a visit with family and friends, and I am once again reminded of how this lifestyle speaks right to my heart.

It's beautiful. Deep blue skies. Fresh air. Beauty.

Our girls have smiles plastered all over their faces. They remind me of why I love it here. They remind me why I believe in such a place. They beg to go outside. They beg to run. We see other children outside enjoying - running, biking, skating, you name it - they're outside enjoying life. I feel so relaxed and underwhelmed, and I know the girls do, too.

I guess I had to leave to understand just how much New England has to offer. I am so very lucky to have grown up in such a place. I am so very lucky to have been able to experience life in other parts of the country to truly appreciate the beauty of where I grew up. I look forward to settling back into the New England way of life with our family so they too can enjoy and appreciate some day in their life. So for now, I will soak up all the beauty, grace and everything else this place has to offer and try to just enjoy. Watch the smiles and laughters on our children as they enjoy it, too.

Where we've been...

2011-10-11T18:59:00.000-07:00

From the day we moved, I started counting down the days until our trip home. And it finally came.

The trip home was originally planned so Kevin and I could run the Maine Marathon relay, but due to horrible weather, we bailed at the last second. We just couldn't justify having the kids outside in cold, wind driven rain while we ran. And let's be real, while I may "like" to run, I don't "like" to run in the rain. So, we didn't run. I'd lie if I said I wasn't disappointed in myself, but some things cannot be avoided.

On Thursday (Sept30) we loaded up the car and set off for a 505 mile drive to my parents house with four children, two dogs and a car packed. The kids did absolutely amazing. We stopped three times, two of them being short stops. The big girls did awesome. Clara did shockingly well. There were just a few times she yelled "out", but she was easily distracted. Callum did amazing, too. He slept and was very content.

The first day we were there was absolutely beautiful. We set off for the beach and some ice cream to kick off our vacation. The kids were in heaven and so were the dogs. Hell, who am I joking!? I was in heaven, too. It felt so good to be home.

On Saturday, we just hung out. My brother and his family came over and I made homemade pizza. The next morning we set out for a quick overnight trip to Maine to visit with friends. That evening we met several other families out at Flatbread pizza for some fun. It felt so good to reconnect with everyone. Mairead was in heaven and wouldn't stop hugging her good friend, Julia.

Monday we woke up and enjoyed the morning with some friends. It was like I never left, and I liked that. We then set out to visit our friends at Our School, Mairead's old preschool. After our visit, we went out to lunch with a good friend. It felt so amazing to be home again. Catching up with friends. Driving around our neighborhood. It sparked so many amazing memories of our three short years there.

After lunch, we headed back to my parents house. My parents live across the street from another Coast Guard family who have three children the same ages as the girls. The kids play great together! That night, the kids went to bed and at 6am, we were awoken by a screaming Mairead. She was screaming that her right leg (groin area) hurt and she couldn't walk. I had never seen her so upset before. It was scary. Over the last few weeks, she had mentioned that the same leg was bothering her. I was really nervous. Once we all got dressed and ready, I took Mairead to the emergency room. Yep, what would a trip away from home be without a trip to the emergency room? They did X-RAY's, bloodwork and we waited. Mairead couldn't walk and had to be carried everywhere. We waited some more. And some more. The X-RAY was normal, and we got reassuring news that her bloodwork was normal, too. We left the hospital without any real answers. The next morning, we had a follow-up appointment with an orthopedic doctor. He diagnosed her with toxic synovitis, which made sense because the kids all had a viral fever a few weeks back. Thankfully there are no longterm implications and she was fine....oh, and could walk, just fine, too!

That afternoon, my mom took the big girls to their very first movie theatre experience to see The Lion King 3D. While they were there, I took Callum to visit a dear friend ( an old co-worker) who was diagnosed with leukemia over the summer. I brought her and her husband lunch and spent a few hours with her. It was a nice afternoon with her. She has helped me so much with any breastfeeding questions I have had, so the least I could do was bring them lunch. That evening we had dinner with some friends of ours and their three children. It was great to catch up with them!

On Thursday, we had plans with some more Maine friends - the activity never stops!!! We headed up there for the day and hung out with friends. Once again, the girls were in heaven playing all day long. Being home makes me so homesick. I never thought I'd miss that place as much as I do. I think it was also hard to see the girls so happy. They just had smiles of joy on their face for the entire day and comments such as "Mommy! I am having so much fun!" or "Mommy! I love playing with all of my friends."

Friday we went apple picking. It was a gorgeous day! We all had some fresh baked apple cider donuts and then headed out into the orchards. The girls ate countless apples. Clara had some two year old troubles, but thankfully, she quickly snapped out of it and had a great time. After apple picking, we headed to our favorite sandwich restaurant for some lunch. Mmmmmm! That evening we headed to my brother's house to celebrate the birthdays of Clara, my mom, Kevin, and my cousin Sean. It was great to see everyone.

Saturday we took an impromptu trip to the Topsfield fair with my parents. When we got there, we had a massively flat tire. My dad and Kevin changed it and when we got home, we had to buy new tires. Ugh. I hate cars. We all had a great time at the fair. It was HOT outside, almost too hot for a fair, but overall, we all had a great time, and it was a perfect way to spend the last day of our vacation. When we got home, my parents neighbors came over, the kids all played, we drank a few drinks and ordered pizza. The perfect way to end our vacation and to spend a Saturday night. God, I miss this place.

Our ride home was thankfully uneventful. The kids did just as awesome on the way home as they did on the way to New England. We had such a great time and I cannot wait to go back home again to see everyone. The girls are already asking when we are going back, too.

Half of a Year

2011-10-08T18:51:00.000-07:00

I don't know about you, but life with kids is equivalent to life in the fast lane. Time goes by fast. Really fast. And when you have a baby, time goes by too fast.

Somehow, our sweet little Callum is six months old already. A half of a year. How is this possible? I know I sound like a broken record, but seriously, where the hell has time gone? How is it that he is 6 months old already? I am not ready for him to grow up. I love having a little baby to snuggle with. To nurse. To hold. To sleep next to. I love having a baby. I love babies. I could keep having them, really, I could...but don't worry, I won't :)

We've been in New England enjoying time with family and friends for the last ten days, which explains my absence on my blog. All of our family and friends cannot believe the changes in our sweet Callum. He is no longer the little baby. He changes everyday. No really, he does.

Callum is so laid back. His demeanor reminds me of Lilah as an infant. Just easy going. Happy just being with you. He may be even more laid back than his sister and I don't blame him. He has so much entertainment going on around him that he doesn't need to do anything on his own. He can roll over from belly to back, but it's only when he feels it is completely and utterly necessary to try - but why does he need to do it on his own? He has three sisters that will come over to him as he is screaming on his belly and roll him over. Yep. No need to even try. Drop a toy? No need to try and grab the toy, he'll just scream and one of his sisters will run over asap and grab the toy for him.

Sometimes his utter laziness worries me. I try not to think about his rough start and everything he went through. I try not to worry that everything we dealt in the beginning is a reason he is so lazy, and not barrel rolling across the room like his sisters did at this age. I tell myself that babies have such a wide range of "normal" when it comes to achieving milestones and the fact that he is progressing is the most important, even if it is slow.

I love that all I have to do is look at the prince to get him to smile, coo, laugh at me. He's just happy being with me. I love it. He is such a good baby, no, really he is. He is so easy. SO easy. I deserve it though after everything he put us through in the beginning. He had me wrapped around his little finger from hello. He loves his sisters. In the last month or so, he has really started to recognize them. He loves when they play rough with him. Clara's favorite line "He's laughin' mamma, he's laughin' at me!" - and he does. Just as I go to say "Clara! BE nice to him"- he starts laughing or has a smile on his face, which makes it tough to say "You're going to hurt him!" - "But maaaaaa! he likes it! he is smiling at me!" - they're right :).

Callum is a pretty good sleeper. He takes two good naps per day. One around 10am for about 1-2 hours and then another around 130-2pm for 2-3 hours. Depending on how well he naps during the day, he may/not take a quick evening snooze before he goes down for the night. He naps in his swing. I've tried breaking him of this habit, but it's just not working, so for now, I am not messing with success. I think once he can roll freely, he'll do great in his crib, but for now, he's in the swing. He generally is more than ready for bed around 730pm. I'll nurse him before Kevin and I head for bed around 1030 and he'll sleep anywhere from 4-8 hours. I never know. Overall, he has an amazing potential to be an awesome sleeper, so for now, I will just enjoy the cuddling at night. It surely won't last forever and I promised myself I would enjoy every last second with our last baby. He is also a "blankey" baby - he loves to snuggle with a blanket every chance he gets - in the car, stroller, bed, swing, you name it, he loves blankets.

I shouldn't have to mention that he loves to nurse. And I love to nurse him. He is nursing every 2-3 hours during the day and I have yet to even start solids with him. He just seems so immature and seems perfectly content on mamma's milk. Probably in the next few weeks, I will start giving him more and more tastes. He has however tried sucking on my apple, and loves it, but that is all he has had. If you were reading my blog when Clara was an infant, you may remember how lazy I was to start solids with her. Yeah. It will be a while before he is getting solids on a regular basis. I want to keep him little as long as possible :)

So, I just can't express how lucky we are to have such an amazingly sweet little prince. I can't hold him enough, love him enough, and snuggle with him enough. He's just so good. We are so lucky to have him with me. I honestly try each and every day to enjoy him because soon enough, he will be running around with his big sisters and not need his mamma so much.

Putting off the Inevitable

2011-09-28T09:15:00.000-07:00

Do you ever wake up before the kids and think "Wow. If I got up now, I could actually get some things done" but choose not to because you refuse to accept that a new day is beginning. I am not a morning person, so that doesn't help mornings like these.

Most days, I wake up and I am so excited to see my little cutie pies. I wake up next to a snuggly little prince, and sometimes a little princess, and then the others come running into our room, jump into bed and do a little snuggling. And I love it.

But today, wasn't one of those days. I was in one of those moods where I just wanted to stay in bed, and put off the inevitable of having to get up, take care of four children, teach two of them, get ready to pack for a long ass drive to New England either tomorrow or Friday among countless other duties that I have going on. And remind myself that we do not live in Maine anymore.

I hate to sound like debbie downer, but I just am not digging this Virginia living. I miss Maine terribly. I miss anything and everything that goes along with it. Our family. Our friends. Our house. Our yard. Just about everything. Don't get me wrong, the fact that we are together as a family is the most important, and that is why we are here in Virginia. I hate thinking about "what if's" and I try my hardest not to, honest, I do, but lately, all I can think about is "would we be happier if we stayed in Maine".

When we were deciding whether to move or stay, a huge positive of staying was that it didn't have to be permanent. We could have tried it, and if it didn't work out, we could have moved to Virginia. But once we moved to Virginia, that was it. No moving back until Kevin's time was done here. We knew what living here was like, but I just didn't realize how miserable I would be. I try to look on the bright side on a daily basis and try to make living here sound like lots of fun to the girls, we are meeting people, doing new things, and staying very busy....but...I feel as though it isn't good enough.

Every day Mairead and Lilah still say how much they miss Maine and ask how many days until we move back. While we lived in Maine I used to have to drag the kids inside. Here, I practically have to bribe them to go outside. I've almost resorted to locking them out of the house so they'll stay outside! I've asked the girls why they don't like playing outside here like they used to in Virginia, and their responses are so valid "Our backyard is too tiny here" or "Our backyard is boring" or "We have no swingset" or "We have no room to run, ride our escalade, etc etc" all so very true, and one reason I hated this house. Our house is great, and if we could move the house elsewhere, it would be so much better, but I would take our little 1800sq foot three bedroom house in Maine any day over this.

I have to admit I feel lonely on most days, and I've told my two girlfriends who live nearby (and another that doesn't live too close) that if it wasn't for them, I would cry everyday. Other than them, I don't have any other true friends and we don't see those friends too often because they're busy. I've met lots of moms, but no real friendships as of yet, and I hope some come along really soon, because I am a social person. We are a social family. We were so lucky to have such amazing friends in Maine. When we moved to Maine I remember feeling like we were on such an awesome adventure. We were so excited and loved it. Even when we were renovating our house and stressing, living there was still great. But here, I feel so different. I feel like every day I just have to get through it because that is one day closer to moving.

So for now, I will try to be positive and be thankful to be spending a week up north to visit with family and friends while getting some New England fresh air into our bodies to rejuvenate us all.

We will survive.

PS: I want to add that I don't mean to sound ungrateful, because I am grateful. We are lucky to live in a house, a big house, and lucky that Kevin has a job that supports our family and allows me to stay home with our children, allows us to live a good life together, but I'm just in a funk...just didn't want to sound like I am ungrateful, because I am so very grateful for everything I have.

Party time!

2011-09-26T19:05:00.000-07:00

Getting ready for Clara's Birthday dinner

This past weekend we had two birthdays to celebrate! Clara's and Kevin's.

Kevin's parents drove up from Florida to spend the weekend with us, so it was a fun filled weekend with family, friends and a little bit of partying.

On Saturday morning, me and Clara made her birthday cake together as the big girls looked on. It's a special tradition that I've made with each of our kiddos. They pick their cake, the type of cake, and they help me make it. Of course, the other girls want to help bake, too, but, the birthday girl gets to do the vast majority of the baking with mamma. It's a lot of fun, and a tradition that I cherish with my children.

This year, Clara chose a butterfly cake, she also chose her colors, too. Clara had a blast making the cake, and I believe she probably ate just as much batter as she could possibly eat! The girls were out of control trying to eat every last drop of batter, but who can blame them!

Clara having a blast!

Obviously enjoying herself!

Me and Clara

Once our friends came, the fun began. The kids were off and playing, having a blast together, and the adults were having some fun of our own. I enjoyed my favorite drink...Cold River Blueberry Vodka - straight from Maine, with some sprite and a splash of cranberry. Yummmmmmm!

Clara so proud of her cake

When it came to sing 'Happy Birthday' the kids were ready for cake. We sang, and then at the end, Clara bursts out into tears! So cute...she can be shy! Poor kiddo. The big girls thought that was the best time to start diving into the cake. Her tears only lasted a few seconds and she bounced right back to her crazy self.

Yep! She's TWO :)

Our fam

The girls taking advantage of crying Clara

Mimi & Callum

Kevin's parents and our crazy crew

While we missed our Maine family and friends so very much, we were so thankful to have had Kevin's parents and some of our close Virginia friends here to help celebrate such a special day for us. It was a lot of fun for everyone!

Our Birthday Girl

2011-09-20T19:16:00.000-07:00

Today, our sweet Clara belly turned two. I know I say this over and over again, but I honestly cannot believe she is two. Some days, it feels as though Clara has been two forever, but most days, she is still my little baby - well, all the girls are, but she is my baby, baby girl. I always go back to her birth because hers was just so.....so, perfect. Having her warm body on my chest for two glorious hours was just unforgettably amazing.

For the last few days, we've been talking about her birthday. We tell her she is going to be two, and she almost always says:

"No, I three."

And then I say "No, you're going to be TWO"

And then she responds with:

"I five. No, Six!"

And the game goes on. But, if you tell her she is three, she almost always replies:

Our sweet Clara...

"No! I two!"

Clara is just blossoming. Her vocabulary is staggering. She says sentences that make me turn my head in amazement and say "HUH?" - wondering if she actually said that sentence. Todays crazy sentence was:

"Mommy! Why is there a potty over there?"

Whoa! What? Yep. That's what she said.

She is 100% potty trained, though wears a diaper at night. She still naps once per day. And still keeps up with her big sisters. She loves to be n aked! She loves to swim and has just recently started swimming without a bubble or anything! She is insane. Absolutely insane! She loves to play with her sisters and looks at them with big eyes. Her sisters are so good to her, and love her just as much as she loves them. She is even more love with her little brother. Every day, she holds him at least once. She sings to him, and has now talks to Callum in this high pitch voice - just like a baby. It is the cutest thing. Ever.

Not only is she capable of keeping up with her big sisters, she can also be shy, but once she is comfortable, watch out!

At night, we love to lay together, sing songs, and of course, nurse. I am not sure when she will stop, but as of right now, she has no signs of stopping. She very rarely nurses any other time than before bed, but on the rare occasion she asks, I oblige. After all, she won't be nursing forever, and she's still little in my eyes.

Today, we woke up, and we all sang happy birthday to her. She had a great big smile on her face. I dressed her in her special birthday dress we bought for her, and she looked absolutely beautiful. Tonight we went out for a special birthday dinner and came home to sing Happy Birthday to our favorite little Clara. My parents were on skype to join in on the fun. On Saturday, we will have a little party for her here, and Kevin's parents will be here, too, so, it will be a fun birthday weekend, especially since we'll be celebrating Kevin's birthday, too!

Tonight, I picked her up with her blanket and lovey (her favorite things to snuggle with) and rocked her in the rocking chair. I nursed her, just like I did two years ago as she laid on my chest. So bittersweet.

The girls singing Happy Birthday!

"Now what do I do now?"

We love you our sweet Clara belle. This next year is going to be awesome with you!

Life is Busy.

2011-09-19T18:52:00.000-07:00

Somedays I wonder...what was I thinking about homeschooling! It is busy!

But most days, I don't regret for a second about our decision to homeschool our children. The one thing I love most about it is that we're on our own schedule. We schedule things into our week that work for us. I love that our mornings are generally not hectic, and if they are, it is because we chose for it to be for a reason.

The last week was our first week of full blown activities and it was busy! Who said homeschool kids weren't socialized or stayed home all day? I'd have to say "homeschool" is a poor word for such a thing!

On your right, you'll see a bunch of videos. I just uploaded a few new ones to give you an idea of what are kids are doing now!

On Monday, we met some other homeschooling kids at the Reston Town Center. The kids ran around, listened to some live music and the adults socialized. It was a beautiful day! That afternoon was the big girls first swim lesson. It's great here because Clara can swim while the girls are in class! In the middle of the day we attempted to fit a little bit of schooling in...

On Tuesdays, we try to do school in the mornings because Mairead and Lilah have gymnastics from 12:30-2pm, and it's nap time by the time we get home! Depending on how much we (didn't) get accomplished that morning, Mairead and I will sit down together and learn.

On Wednesday, we didn't have anything planned, so we played outside, did a little school and ran a few errands. That afternoon, we did some school, and then the big girls had swim lessons again.

Thursday, the big girls went to the local recreational center and participated in a class about Turtles. It was a 90 minute class that the parents drop off, so me, Clara and Callum went shopping together. It was fun for everyone! The girls had an absolute blast!

Friday, Kevin took off, and brought the girls to a homeschooling field trip to a local police station, and then to a park with some other friends. That afternoon, Mairead had swim lessons (I placed her in the wrong lessons, so now, we're at the pool Monday, Wednesday for Lilah and Fridays for Mairead).

It makes me tired just thinking about it! We've got a lot going on! But we're having fun. Clara is learning to swim without a bubble - she's amazing! And Callum is a talking fool!

The one thing I've learned so far about homeschooling...

Is that it makes me a better mother. It forces me to spend time doing things with my children that I normally wouldn't do on a very regular basis. And I am able to finish my day feeling accomplished and good about myself.

The other thing I've learned...

Is that my house suffers. No time for cleaning....bummer.

6

2011-09-18T18:09:00.000-07:00

Moving to Virginia has been quite a transition. Life is just different here. It moves fast. People don't have time to stop and chat, so making friends has been a very slow, painful process. On Friday night we finally had dinner with a family we met at the pool soon after we moved here. They are also somewhat new to the area, and have noticed the same thing about Northern Virginia. It seems impersonal. I am just glad I am not the only one who feels this way! I was starting to think I looked strange or something.

For the last month, I've gotten back to exercising on a regular basis and starting to train for the Maine Marathon relay on October 2nd. I am working hard at feeling as amazing as I did last year at this time, and losing the weight I've gained from Callum.

Today, I set out to run six miles. I've run six miles one other time in my life, and that was well over a year ago. The weather has been much cooler here in Virginia. I put on pandora and set up my running app on my iPhone and set off for 6 miles. My route had me going through all sorts of neighborhoods and areas, and was looking forward to exploring new areas of our town that I had yet to run through yet.

After I ran about 2 miles, I noticed one thing. No body was outside on this beautiful Sunday afternoon, though cars were in the driveways. From that point on, I made an effort to to pay attention to who was doing what on this beautiful Sunday. After a while, not only did I not see adults outside, but I didn't see any children either. Big, Beautiful homes, with beautiful yards and ginormous swing sets, but no one playing on them. No children riding bikes or playing hoops. Where was everyone? After 6 miles ran, I did not see one.single.child. Not one. It makes me sad because I rarely see children in our neighborhood playing on a daily basis. Our girls ask "where are the kids, mamma?"

We knew when we moved here that our backyard would be significantly smaller than it was in Maine. A lot smaller. When we lived in Maine, our kids were outside all day, everyday. I couldn't keep them inside. They would play on their swingset, bounce in their bounce house, ride bikes, play with toys, you name it, they enjoyed it. Here in Virginia, it has been completely different. Our girls don't beg to go outside. They beg to come inside. I find myself throwing the kids outside to play, harping them to get out of the house. Our backyard here is fenced in, and it's nice to know they can't escape, but on the other hand, I hate that they are unable to drive their escalade around the backyard because it is too small. There is barely enough room for running and exploring. Mairead says "it's boring" or "it's too small". The kids prefer to play in the driveway, riding their bikes, but you see, our driveway is a small hill, and our street is on a hill, so I have to be outside at all times watching them, making sure no one is going out into the street, or getting hurt.

We aren't the only ones with a small yard in Virginia, and we actually have a "bigger" backyard than most here. But where are the kids? Where are the people? Are they inside? Their cars are there, but no one is around. Six miles and not one child playing. It makes me sad. I am an outside person. I loved the fact that in Maine our children craved the outdoors. But not here. I hope it changes.

Mooty

2011-09-12T18:00:00.000-07:00

At just shy of two, I declare Clara officially not a baby anymore and 100% toddler. She has the vocabulary explosion, temper, attitude, indecisiveness and sweetness (the list could go on and on, really) to show for it, too.

The one little baby thing she has left is that she is still nursing. Usually it is just once a day, though sometimes two, but almost always at bedtime.

The last few nights she will ask for "Mooty" and point to the breast she wants to start. Keep in mind that Callum always nurses on my right side when he goes to bed, so that side is generally a big disappointment for her, and always switches to the left side (which Callum will nurse on before we go to bed).

Tonight, she says "Maaam, I want that mooty" as she points to my right breast. She nurses for a few seconds. Comes off and says "Maam, I want that mooty" as she points to my left breast. She nurses for more than a few seconds, comes off and says "Maam I want the other mooty" and as you may have guessed, nursed on the right side. Not joking, she does this about 5 or 6 times before she finally settles on my left breast.

Once she is done nursing, we lay belly to belly, and I sing a few songs to her. She will wrap her right arm tightly around me and just hold me as if I am her great big lovey. You can't even imagine just how tight this little girl holds you, but it just feels so good. It makes me feel so loved and special. Sometimes I will try to get up, she'll say "nooo, mamma" and pull me even tighter. Such a great way to end the day...

A Weekend of Happenin's

2011-09-05T18:28:00.000-07:00

Ahhhh....long weekends how I love thee!

Labor day weekend brings a lot of mixed emotions. Kind of sad because it's the unofficial end to summer (my favorite season), the start of school and the gateway to fall, but happy because it brings a lot of wonderful memories of our wedding anniversary weekend back in 2005.

This weekend was filled with memory making, fun with friends and relaxing moments.

On Saturday, we enjoyed an afternoon with friends. Kevin fired up the grill and did a pork butt, I made some homemade Mac N' Cheese and tried out yet another new recipe from Pinterest called Cinnamon Roll Cake. Kevin's friend, Brian, was here from Florida and it was great catching up with him! All the kids had a blast playing together, eating lots of food and wearing each other out!

Sunday, Kevin and I celebrated our 6th wedding anniversary! It's hard to believe we have been married for six years. We've accomplished a lot in those six years, too! Two moves. Four children and countless other memories - both good and not so good! I am so grateful to have married such a wonderful man, and an amazing father to our beautiful children. The last 6 years have truly been the most awesome years of my life!

For the day, we spent the day as a family, took a family nap together and just enjoyed being together. In the morning, we did a little shopping and the girls talked Kevin into buying them a new fish! They were so excited!!! While Kevin napped, I wrote in our journal. You see, a friend of mine, gave me a great idea for our first anniversary to keep a journal where we write a note to each other at each anniversary to reflect on the past year and life. It's been a wonderful thing that I truly look forward to doing each and every year. I also love reading back to our first entries and see how much Kevin and I have grown as a couple AND as a family!

That evening, we had a babysitter and went out on a date to celebrate. We had reservations at The Melting Pot nearby and enjoyed a quiet, romantic dinner together. We shared our journal entries to each other and enjoyed uninterrupted conversation. It was a really nice dinner!

Today, was more of the same...family time. Since we are expecting some intense rain over the next several days, we spent the morning grocery shopping and playing outside. Kevin and I were able to get a chance to go out for a run. While the littles napped, me, Kevin helped the big girls paint their birdhouses. It was a lot of fun and the girls did a great job! The girls learned a little about colors and what happens when you mix certain colors. Mairead was fascinated that yellow and blue make green! After that, the girls wanted to do some "schoolwork" so we did a little bit! Too cute, I wonder how long they will keep asking :)

The big girls show off "Rainbow" the new fish

Clara fascinated by Rainbow

Mairead painting her birdhouse

Lilah painting her birdhouse

Two beautiful birdhouses

Overall, it was a really nice, relaxing weekend together. I love weekends like these...

Oh, and Happy Anniversary, Kevin! I love you so much...

Rockin' NoVA

2011-09-01T18:25:00.000-07:00

Yep! Just like I had imagined, the Ferrie girls would rock the NoVA community.

If you don't know me, you may not know how "lax" I am about letting my n aked children run amuck. Now, don't worry, you won't be seeing our children n aked in a store (well not on purpose anyways), but just like the night in Portland when Clara had an accident and this mindless mamma forgot clothes for her, she trekked down the streets of downtown Portland in a shirt and squeaking shoes, bare ass and all. Tonight wasn't any different! Except, we aren't in Kansas anymore...

Tonight, Mairead had her very first soccer practice here in Virginia. I wanted to watch, so we dragged the entire family along - ugh, nothing like a 630-730pm soccer practice. I knew things would end on an interesting note because Callum was ready for bed, Clara was tired, and she was on the edge of throwing temper tantrums - actually she did throw one or two. About 10 minutes before the end of practice, Clara told me she had to pee. Mind you, we were a few hundred yards away from our car, and I thought she wouldn't make it even if I tried to make the trek back, so I said......we'll wait a minute, okay???. She then walked about 10 steps away from me, and peed. The pee got on her shoes. And a little on her dress. And if you know Clara, she doesn't like wet clothes, especially wet with pee, so..........you know what that means, right???

Yep! You guessed it! Off with the clothes and onto the soccer field to join in on soccer practice!

A few people gave me glaring dirty looks like they couldn't believe I would ever let my child run n aked in public, but thankfully there were a few lighthearted people who actually thought it was cute!

(Oh, and you can see Lilah all decked out in her ballerina dress up dress on the soccer field, too)

....and it begins!

2011-08-30T18:45:00.000-07:00

We'll, I've survived our first two official days of homeschooling. The question is will I survive the school year being a homeschooling mama?!?

Yesterday was an exciting day for both Mairead and Lilah. They woke up ready to go to school! On Sunday, we went to the mall and they each picked out a "first day of school" dress, so they were very ready to get dressed in their special dresses and start school.

After lunch, I put Clara and Callum down so I could be with the big girls with minimal interruptions. We went immediately outside so we could do a little project for their first day. I've been a pinterest addict and found the idea there. One thing about homeschooling is that I want to make sure that our children get to experience all the "special" things about starting school. Just because they are being homeschooled doesn't mean it isn't any less special. Mairead is starting kindergarten, and for me, that's a pretty huge milestone for a kid.

Mairead's Kindergarten work basket

Once we came in, we went over some "rules", and did a few activities. For Mairead, she started to practice writing her lowercase letters, did some coloring, drew in her journal and had some computer time. For Lilah, she focused on the letter "A", practiced some mazes and did some coloring for her journal, too. I found mazes helped Mairead tremendously in learning how to draw straight lines and copy letters. Lilah did really great with them! I was really proud of how well each girl did.

Kevin and I decided not to do any particular curriculum with Mairead and instead try the Time4Learning online learning. It could be used as a full curriculum or just a supplement. For us, we'll just be using it as a supplement. We've bought some activity books for both girls, flash cards, etc. And we'll see where that takes us. Since we're both new to homeschooling, it will be a year of trial and error....probably more errors than success, but thankfully Kindergarten isn't that serious :)

Mairead's journal entry for today

Today, I had Lilah go upstairs for a rest and had Mairead stay downstairs to do some more work with her letters. I want to make sure Lilah stays excited for learning and school, and don't want to bore her, so we'll probably just do "school" with her a few days a week and see where that takes her...also, she's a December baby, so she won't be ready for school for another two years.

Here in Loudoun County, Virginia, elementary school starts before 8am, so I am very thankful to be homeschooling Mairead this year as I couldn't imagine waking her at 615am every morning for school. She'd be a bear by the end of the week! Another positive of homeschooling is that Mairead can wear whatever she wants while learning........

Even in her underwear :)

The Farm - Foto Friday

2011-08-26T18:59:00.000-07:00

Over three years ago we lived here in Virginia. Our life here in Virginia was much different than it is now. When we moved to Maine, Mairead had just turned two, and Lilah was only five months old. Babies. Little Clara and Callum were just twinkles in our eyes...

During our time here in Virginia we used to frequent a place called Frying Pan Park. It is a great park that used to be one of Mairead's favorite places to visit. The farm has live animals such as cows, pigs, chickens, goats, etc - and it is a great place for learning, too.

On Wednesday, Kevin was home so we thought it would be fun to take the girls back to Frying Pan Park. The girls were excited to see some animals and explore a bit. Once we got there, we asked Mairead if she remembered going and she said no....does it ever make you sad to think children don't remember such a large part of their young childhood???

To put things in perspective...

Mairead, April 2008

Lilah, Clara & Mairead.....3 years later.

Mairead, April 2008

Mairead - isn't it amazing how much children change?

She's not a baby anymore!

....And there's Clara!

Of course, prince Callum was sleeping away in his stroller, just like Lilah did when we were there the last time! Amazing how time changes everything, but some places never change.

Bladder Control

2011-08-24T18:22:00.000-07:00

After giving birth to four beauties my bladder control isn't what it used to be!

And today was a reminder of that...

You know before you have kids you hear on TV about women leaking urine or having all types of issues like that, and you think "Awe! That won't happen to me."

Well, think again! Unless you were one of the lucky ones who ended up with a c-section you may be left unscathed!

Since having Callum, I have been trying to get back in shape. Now that we are moved and fairly settled, I've been committing a lot more time to exercising. Since I am nursing Callum exclusively, I have to make sure I am drinking lots of fluids, which means, lots of trips to the bathroom.

Today, I got sidetracked dealing with the kids while doing some jumping jacks and other crazy warm-up tricks before my run. As soon as Kevin came downstairs to watch the girls, I darted out the door.

As I am running up our hill, I am thinking "Uh oh. I have to pee"

But, I was too lazy to run back home.

Bad move.

So, I keep running. And as I continue to run, my brain is fixated on the fact that I have to pee.

What do I do? Keep running.

And I continue to think about it as my bladder is starting to scream at me!

As I am thinking about how badly I have to go, I am thinking how I am not in Maine anymore.

There are people everywhere.

So, I continue to run. And run. And then I see a trail that leads off into the woods through some neighborhoods. Perfect.

But, the trails weave in and around homes. What if someone sees me? So, I keep going.

Then, it gets really bad, and the last thing I want to do is to pee myself. So, I start seriously looking for a place to go. As soon as I find a tree, two people pass me on bikes. Great.

I keep running.

Finally, I have no choice. I have to pee. IN the woods. Not in private. I find a tree, a big one. I squat down. And pee. Ahhhhhhhhhhhhhh.....

I pop up from my squat and start my way heading back home. Then, I get a hammy cramp. Great. This run is just going perfectly.

I keep running. And then I take some other trails, figure out that it isn't where I want to go. My hamstring is killing me. I get out to the main road and call Kevin.

Poor guy has to load up four kids, including a screaming baby who doesn't want to go into his car seat and pick up his wife. Yeah. I could have walked home, but it probably would have taken me forever.

Somedays it's just better to stay home and deal with the kids...and I've learned my lesson...Always go pee before a run! Peeing in the woods cramps my style!

EARTHQUAKE!

2011-08-23T18:05:00.000-07:00

Today was just like old time Virginia for us! When we moved from Virginia we left some good friends behind that I am thankful to have kept in close touch with since May of 2008. Since then, we have been able to reunite each summer in New Hampshire, but today, was the first time we have had an official play date since May 2008.

Zoe, Mairead, Jasmine and Lily (all about 11 months)

Lily, Zoe and hair pulling Mairead (11 months)

Last year in New Hampshire (minus Clara)

And boy! times have changed...

When I left Christina and Jacie had just given birth to their second children, and Lilah was just 5 months old. Today there were 3 five year olds, 3 three year olds, an almost two year old and a 4 month old. Since we've returned to Virginia we've gotten together with Christina and Jacie separately, but today we were all together and it was so much fun!

It was so crazy in our house today the Earth shook! No, really! It really, really did! While the kids were running amuck, us moms were catching up in our kitchen. When the house shook. At first we thought it was my unbalanced washing machine - which by the way, didn't even have clothes inside....and then I thought it was the kids upstairs jumping on the bed. But guess what? It wasn't!

Lily, Zoe, Mairead, Quinn, Clara, Lilah & Eaton

Then, Jacie gets on facebook to find everyone posting about an Earthquake! We quickly turn on the news and sure enough a 5.8? magnitude earthquake rattled Virginia, which was felt all the way up through the Northeast! I called Kevin immediately to make sure all was okay with him. At first I couldn't get in touch with him as all the cell phone towers were jammed up, but then he texted me to let me know he was okay. It was pretty crazy for a while, but thankfully had good friends with me to laugh and joke around with...you know, only moms would have thought the shaking could have been a washing machine :)

While we watched the news, the kids (minus Callum) sat on the couch together watching a movie. We snapped a few photos and laughed at how cute they were. I called it the "Earthquake! party" :)

American Girl

2011-08-18T18:46:00.000-07:00

Today we took a little adventure to the American Girl Doll store today at Tysons. We met some friends and spent the day "ooh'n and ahh'n" over dolls and headed to lunch.

When Callum was born, he "gave" Mairead and Lilah an American Girl "Bitty Baby". Callum made the mistake of not giving Clara one and of course, there was some tears shed. I felt so guilty, I knew we should have bought Clara one, too, but I honestly didn't think she would have been so upset. After that day, Kevin took Clara out to pick out a baby doll to make her feel better, but, I still had mommy guilt.

Before we left for the store, I made sure Mairead and Lilah knew they would not be leaving the store with an American Girl doll today. Of course, Mairead kept asking why, but those dolls are not cheap and it's not just a toy you give in to...at least that is how I feel. I explained to the girls that today would be a look day, and if they wanted, they could bring their bitty babies shopping, and they could each pick out an outfit for their babies. Thankfully, that appeased them for the most part. Clara on the other hand got to pick out a new bitty baby - four months after Callum's birth and mommy was still feeling guilty. So, she bought one.

Of course as soon as we walked in the store the girls started asking questions about when could they get a doll....maybe Christmas? maybe your birthday? Clara wasn't old enough to ask, but she eyed herself on a stroller with a bitty baby in it. Trying to get her to release the stroller was.......impossible? I picked out her doll, and when they cashier tried to give it to her, she threw it at the lady. She wanted the stroller. Nice. Thankfully, that didn't last too long and she was happy again!

The big girls picked out their baby outfits and were excited to explore the store. The place is insane. You can get the dolls hair done.......for $14! Or their ears pierced....not the kids! the dolls ears! Whoever says there is a recession or the economy is shitty, obviously hasn't been to a store like this. For a Thursday morning, it was jam packed with parents and their kids. Their arms FULL of items, dolls, you name it....spending lots of money! I felt weird that my hands weren't full of items, just kids!

I have to be honest though. I think it was a great lesson for Mairead to see that just because we go somewhere special that she doesn't always walk out with what she wants. For the remainder of the day all she talked about was which doll she wanted and when could she get one. I tried to explain to her that those dolls are very expensive, she is still young, and maybe if she showed us how well she can take care of her babies, that maybe Santa would bring her a doll or maybe we would get one for her birthday.

Overall, it was a fun day, and I think the girls had a lot of fun hanging out with some girlfriends!

Homeschool preparations

2011-08-14T18:42:00.000-07:00

A few weeks before we moved to Virginia I filed our letter of intent with the Loudoun County public school system. This was the first step in making it official to homeschool Mairead for Kindergarten.

Since our life has settled a little bit here in Virginia, I've had some time to really start to think about how I am going to tackle this huge undertaking to keep Mairead home from Kindergarten and Lilah from preschool. I haven't regretted making this decision for a single second and for the majority of the time, I am excited to tackle this challenge. And if you don't know me well, I like challenges.

From the moment we've made our decision final, I thought I'd not use a curriculum for Mairead this year. I thought it would be pretty easy to use various resources from workbooks to the internet to community outlets. But, for the last week, I have started to doubt myself and wonder if I am making a mistake. I am thinking I may need some sort of guide on what to do and when to do it. Having four kids makes my brain a big jello mush on some occasions, okay a lot of occasions, and the last thing I want to do is hold Mairead back. So maybe "winging it" may not be the best option for me or the kids!

I have already applied for a local Waldorf co-op for Mairead. I hope to have an interview with the head of the co-op this week. If we are not accepted, then I may opt for Oak Meadow which is a Waldorf based curriculum. I like this because it gives a different approach to learning and education, and the curriculum would allow Lilah and even Clara to easily participate and learn on their own terms. I like this. I like this because it sounds like a realistic way to homeschool our children without sticking Mairead in a book. Another curriculum I am looking into is an online based one called Time4Learning. I like a lot about it, and I love the fact that it is a monthly fee instead of putting all my chips on the table hoping that some curriculum will be great. If we like it, we keep going, if we don't, then we don't have to continue. I like it because it can supplement anything we are doing, so I don't even have to use it for the "full" curriculum.

Others I have looked into are: Sonlight, which I like because you can pick and choose which parts of the curriculum you want. For example, we are looking for a secular curriculum. Now, we are Christian. Catholic to be exact, and Kevin and I have had some doubts on how to raise our children with Faith. At this point in our childrens education, I don't want to mix the teachings of the Bible with ordinary education. I can completely understand why people want to - it's just not where we are at right now.

I have looked into the K12 and Calvert program, too, but, they are pricey and seem a bit academically rigid for us, and I am trying to stray away from that for Kindergarten.

Hmmmm.....there's a lot to do in a short amount of time. It is the middle of August and I need to get my ducks in a row to start playing school house here at the crazy Ferrie funny farm!

This will be another interesting challenge! I wonder where it will take us.................................

It's funner in Maine

2011-08-12T17:36:00.000-07:00

This morning, out of the blue, Mairead says "I can't wait to move back to Maine."

I wasn't sure exactly how to respond (appropriately) to that comment because I was in agreement with her!

I asked her why and she responded "It's funner in Maine. Plus, I miss all my friends there."

We've been here two weeks, though for some reason, it has felt like a very long, long two weeks. The girls were so excited for the first week, but I think the last week has really got them homesick. And hell, who am I joking. I miss home, too. I miss my friends, too. I miss my family. But, we will continue to make the best of our (temporary) home here in Virginia.

I think the toughest part of moving has been friends. We had such an amazing group of friends back in Maine that it makes it that much harder here in Virginia. We have some great friends here in Virginia, but they don't live too close. We've met a lot of really nice neighbors, but none of them have children the same ages as ours. We've been to the pool almost every single day since we've moved here, yet, we've only made one friend. The girls have tried making friends with kids at the pool, but, they've not been very receptive or welcoming, and that breaks my heart. I don't want Mairead to think like she is failing at making new friends. And when she says "Mom, why won't she play with me?" or "Mom, why does she keep swimming away from me?" that just hurts.

Today, at the pool, the big girls befriended a five year old boy. At break, they headed for the baby pool to play. I was sitting with Callum when I got a strange vibe. I handed Callum off to Kevin and went into the baby pool to check things out. The boy says "Ohhhhhhhh.....there's going to be something smelly coming out of my pants!" and then a BIG brown cloud bellows out from underneath the kid.

QUICK! Think fast, I thought! I said "Come on kids! It's snack time!" - nothing a little bribery couldn't fix, and just like that, our three girls were saved from the brown cloud.

There goes that friend!

Kevin goes back to work on Monday and we have some playdates planned with some groups and I really hope they go well. The girls are so ready for some real friends they can play with on a regular basis....and as much as I love spending time alone as a family, I am also ready to meet some friends who don't mind grilling out, drinking some beers and having a good time.

But, no matter what, I'd have to agree with Mairead...

It IS funner in Maine!

Four months old...

2011-08-08T17:59:00.000-07:00

I stared at our sweet baby boy for a while this morning as he lay snuggled into my side nursing away, wondering how it could be possible that four months have passed since he came into our lives.

I will admit, having baby number four scared me a bit, and I may have mentioned this before. I often wondered how I was going to manage four children. When I had our first, it didn't phase me. Number two didn't rock my world much either, and I was pleasantly surprised with number three (though looking back, Clara was a bit high maintenance), so I knew that number four must throw a wrench into my life somehow. When Callum was born and we went through his intense NICU stay, I often wondered how I was going to manage. Was his illness our punishment for not stopping with three healthy girls or for something else I/we did wrong? I know now that isn't the case, but of course, when something so traumatic happens to your family, you wonder what you did wrong to deserve this. But just as I look back to last year as Kevin was being sent to the gulf and think this is the worst thing ever you come out knowing that much worse can happen, and I think we were/are so very lucky with Callum. Things could have been much worse.

Looking at Callum this morning made me realize just how lucky we are to have him in our life. He is the sweetest, easiest baby ever. Since he has come home from the NICU, he's never had a bad day. He wakes up every morning with a smile, and goes to sleep the same way. He is so easy going and he has showed me that life with four can be just as wonderful as life with one, two or three. He is a love. I love how he just goes with the flow.

In the last week, he has really settled into a real routine. He wakes up, takes a nice morning nap, plays for a while, takes an afternoon nap, plays a while, cat naps during the evening and then is ready to go to bed around 8-830pm. He had been sleeping 10pm-5ish, but since he's going to bed early, he has been waking around 4am. I can't complain. He nurses every 2-3 hours during the day, and is starting to get excited when he knows I am about to nurse him! He has a hard time smiling and nursing at the same time, too! Sometimes I find myself trying not to look at him so he'll eat and not smile so much! He still loves the swing for his naps, but is getting much better about sleeping in his crib. For the last week, he has slept the night portion of sleep in his own crib before coming into our bed. He loves to be swaddled, too.

I will admit that over the last few weeks I started to become a bit worried about his development. He hadn't been tracking toys, though, I knew he could see because he'd follow me, but I still worried. He wasn't grasping for toys, just looked at them. I admitted to Kevin that he concerned me. He was born one month early and being critically ill definitely set him back. Once I spoke to Kevin about it, things changed. He must have heard me! Over the last few days he has started reaching for toys, especially under his play gym. He is belly laughing now when we talk to him. He is starting to track a bit, too.

We are so very lucky to have Callum in our lives. He has taught us more about life and he continues to do so. He brings so much joy to our family. I could just look at him all day long. The move to Virginia didn't seem to phase him too much!

So, happy 4 month birthday to the sweetest prince we know! We love you so much, Callum boy!

We're ALIVE!

2011-08-07T06:34:00.000-07:00

Whoa! I can't believe it's been over two weeks since I have blogged last - you know, the hot night in Maine where we all went swimming naked in our backyard?

Since then, life got super crazy. Instead of writing a diatribe of a blog about the last two weeks, I will just post a hell of a lot of photos, and go from there....but the gist of the story is.....we had a shot-gun Baptism for Callum, had a moving party on the same day, the movers came that Monday, packed up our home in two days, we took off to spend our remaining New England days at my parents, the movers left for Virginia, we flew to Virginia, moved into a house we have never ever stepped foot in, unpacked and now trying to adjust to life in the fast lane............oh, and should I mentioned we saved a baby bird, too.

We went lobstering out in Casco Bay...remember, when it was 104 degrees? Yeah. It was hot. Even out on the water was hotter than hell, but still better than on land! The kids had a blast together. We caught a few lobsters, and the kids helped bait the traps, band the lobsters, and all sorts of other cool stuff. It is one of our favorite Maine things to do with the kids. We will certainly miss it...

The kids learn about lobsters

Waiting to bring in the lobster trap

Me and my great friend, Dawn

Our friends son threw Clara's dress overboard! Oops! She didn't care though, as she was already naked :)

On Saturday, my brother and his family came up for the day before the Baptism. We went to Scarborough beach together. The kids had a lot of fun together. It was sad to think that our beach days were very numbered in Maine...

Lilah and Landon

On Saturday evening, we had a shot gun Baptism. It was a last minute thing and we wanted to get it done in Maine as it proved to be quite difficult to Baptise Mairead when we lived in Virginia previously...so, we did it! And managed to tie it in with a going away party for us! The Baptism went well, but it was soooooo hot during Mass that the Priest cut the service short! Poor Callum was too hot to wear the Baptism gown (which used to be my wedding gown) so the Priest said he could be naked! So, little Callum stayed naked through the Mass until it was time for the actual Baptism - we then got him dressed so fast! It was quite funny to see a naked baby in Church!

My brother and Carley with Callum

Our "attempt" at a family photo before the Baptism...mind you, it was in the high 90s and we were all sweaty and hot!

After the Baptism, we held a little going away party with our good friends at our house. It was so great to see everyone, but sad to have to say goodbye to all of our amazing family and friends. We had an awesome turn out and thank everyone for coming. The kids had a blast playing with each other. We had our infamous waterslide up and that was a huge hit with the kiddos!

Me and Kim, she was one of our very first friends here in Maine.

Me and my love

My mom and Mairead

On Friday morning, my mom flew with me and the kids down to Virginia. Kevin and my dad drove our two cars down and met us down there. It just seemed surreal to think we were getting on a one way flight to Virginia and not going back "home"...The kids did awesome on the flight. Mairead and Lilah did soooo awesome! They were so excited. Clara was a little antsy, but overall, did really well, and I should mention Callum slept the entire flight. When people saw we were on their flight, the look on their faces told the story, but, our kids surprised everyone and did fantastic!

On Saturday morning we met the moving truck bright and early at our new home. It was hard to believe we would be living in a house we had never stepped foot in...you know, the crazy rental market here in Virginia kind of forced us to do so, and thanks to good friends here in Virginia, they were able to scope it out for us. The kids were so excited to watch the men unload the huge truck right in front of our house.

See all of our crap???

My parents were so helpful with unpacking and with helping the kids. It was great to have them here, but sad to say goodbye...it will sure be an adjustment living away from family again.

And if life wasn't exciting enough...Kevin went out into the garage the other morning and heard "chirp, chirp, chirp"- yeah, a baby bird...I called a local vet to referred me to an emergency vet who takes in wildlife animals. The man recommended us try to find the nest, and luckily, we did. Kevin placed the sweet bird back into its nest in hopes it's mother would come back or he would be strong enough to fly on his own. After a while, Kevin went back to check in on the bird, and he was gone...I'm just hoping we don't find a dead bird in our yard anytime soon! The girls think he's safe, and I hope that's true!

Heat induced delirium

2011-07-22T19:59:00.000-07:00

I have think we have really gone insane. And I blame it completely on this heat.

In case you haven't heard, Maine is suffering through a heat wave (along with the rest of the country).

We have no AC. Really, here in Maine, there is no need, and living in Maine on the water, there haven't been many times where we wished we had AC. We usually have a great sea breeze and our home is usually very comfortable.

Except for today.

The highs hit at least 88 degrees.

Inside of our house.

It hasn't been fun. We've been dripping with sweat all day. I feel bad for Callum because he's like a heat box, and putting him near me makes me sweat even more. It's tough. I've taken two showers, soon to be three, and a few dips in the kiddie pool!

Tonight, we went lobstering out in Casco Bay with some friends. When we arrived to Portland, it was a balmy 102 degrees. HOT. Thankfully, there was a nice breeze out on the water which made our trip tolerable and a lot of fun! The beer made it more tolerable, too. After dinner, we headed out to dinner with friends and suffered through some more beers!

As we were driving home, we were dreading walking into our house.

We walk in. Look at the thermometer and once again.....86 degrees. It was hot.

I told the girls to take their clothes off and head outside to take a dip in the waterslide pool. They stripped so fast and before we knew it, we had three n aked girls swimming in the pool. They thought it was the coolest to be swimming in the dark.

I went outside to dip my feet and before I knew it, the delirium set in.

I look up and there is my husband coming outside. N aked.

Don't worry, our backyard is secluded by trees. So no one was scared.

Then before I knew it....

I was n aked.

And then finally, Callum was n aked.

Yep, you read that right, all six of us were sitting in a kiddie pool n aked.

And it felt ohhhhh so good! And I blame it all on the heat!

Would you like some iron with your breastmilk?

2011-07-20T14:56:00.000-07:00

Today, Callum had his 4 month check up at 3.5 months. Since we are moving next week, I wanted to get Callum's well visit in now so I wouldn't have to find a pediatrician right away - I'd prefer to have time to find a pediatrician that fits our parenting style.

Anywho, we had to see a different doctor (ended up to be a pediatric nurse practitioner), since ours was on maternity leave :( She was very pleased with Callum's growth and development. He is now weighing in at a whopping 12lbs (10%) and 22'' long. It's hard to believe he has DOUBLED his weight since coming home from the NICU. For being 3.5 months and being 4 weeks early and having such a rough start, he is developing normally - smiling, cooing, starting to laugh, starting to grasp at things, etc. It was like music to my ears. Of course, I still worry about what is in store for Callum down the road, but for now, we will rejoice in the things he is doing normally and only hope things continue this way!

We talked about his demeanor and his home-life, etc, and then I got the big question....

"So, have you thought about starting solid foods?"

The question caught me off guard because our regular pediatrician knows I don't feed our children solids at such a young age and has always been 100% on board with this. I told her with the girls we did not start solids regularly until about seven months. She then started to tell me about the research done and how infants should be given food at an earlier age, particularly breastfed babies, because of iron stores. I was cringing because there was no way in hell that I would be giving my infant - who can barely hold his head up, or grab at a toy, or know what solid food is - something other than breastmilk. She then said, well you can give him an iron supplement (hmmmm, a possibility, I thought), and then......the kicker!

"Well, a side effect of iron could be hard poops for the baby to pass. So, you may want to give him some juice, or water.

Great, thanks. So, tonight, I'll just puree some fish or chicken or beef, and give it to him by spoon, then I'll follow his big meal with a bottle of apple juice. Yep.

I also tend to follow the lead of Dr. Sears, and this is what he has to say about babies and iron. Now, maybe there is some other, more cutting edge research than what he says, but to me, if our bodies were meant to make breastmilk, and meant for our babies to receive breastmilk, then there should be plenty of iron in our milk to support our babies and need for sufficient iron. Don't get me wrong, there are reasons some babies should receive supplemental iron, but I don't think our children qualify for any of those reasons.

None of our girls have ever had food any earlier than 6 months. I tend to follow the baby led approach with our children. Meaning, they don't get pureed foods, other than yogurt, and start pretty much with table food. I was a bit peeved at the appointment and thankful we have had such an awesome pediatrician for our family, who has been 100% supportive of our parenting decisions thus far. Our girls are happy, healthy and normally developed children, and I won't change anything for Callum - unless of course, something different presents itself.

I tend to think about first time mothers who don't have the education on breastfeeding and think about why they may choose not to breastfeed, or wean early, or give their young babies solid foods (which puts your milk supply at risk, too!) or other things. Giving my young infant juice or water or anything other than breastmilk at this stage is just not needed - no way, no how. Yeah, maybe an iron supplement may benefit, but for now, we will not be giving my 12lb infant chicken or beef. That will come, but for now, he will continue to receive breastmilk and breastmilk only. Obviously, he is having no problems growing and thriving on just that, and I intend to keep it that way until he is developmentally ready for something else.

GUM

2011-07-18T17:53:00.000-07:00

I hate gum. I will chew a piece of gum every now and then, but overall, I hate gum. I hate that it sticks to everything. And it makes me cringe that my lovely husband introduced our oldest girls to gum. Thank you, honey.

To me:
kids + gum = disaster.

Tonight, Kevin and I took the kids out for ice cream. He is finished with work until we move to Washington DC (which is in less than two weeks - cringe!). So, until we move to DC next week, we are enjoying our last days here in Maine by doing the things we love to do!

On our way home, Mairead starts crying and yelling at Lilah. After ignoring it for a few minutes, praying they will work it out themselves, it was clear that was not happening. Kevin finally asked what was going on...

"Lilah threw gum at me and it landed in my hair" says Mairead.

"HUH???" (how the *@$! did she get gym?) "LILAH where did you get gum???" thinking she had saved it from a time she's had gum...

"I picked it up off the ground" says Lilah

"At the ice cream place???" I ask

"YES" (lilah)

"Did you chew it???" I ask, praying she would say no.

Lilah........"YES"

Can I also mention that I had the honor of pulling the already chewed gum by some stranger out of my daughters hair???? GROSS.

She may be rough and tough...

2011-07-14T18:38:00.000-07:00

...but, she's still a baby.

And she still loves to nurse.

I don't talk about tandem nursing our children nearly enough. It's been a huge part of my life, and our children's life. I never thought I'd turn into this earthy crunchy mamma who breastfeeds her children until they are over two, cloth diapers, tandem nurses, homeschools and all the fun little things that go with it - though, I admit, I will always like a little glamour with my crunch. Always.

It's hard to look at Clara and think of her as a baby. I don't know what it is, but the moment you give a child a sibling, it seems like they grow up instantly. I remember seeing Clara after I had Callum, and she looked so grown up, but yet, she was barely 19 months old. A baby. She is a baby, and I try to remind myself of this daily.

I don't nurse Clara that often in a 24 hour period, she is too busy for that, but come bed time, she will grab her lovey and her blanket, say "rock" and we'll snuggle together. I'll cradle her in my arms and then she'll say "Moot...moot", meaning milk. I'll let her nurse, and while she enjoys rocking and nursing with her mamma, I will sing her favorite song, 'The A,B,C's' , she will come off of my breast, and say "C,D" asking me to repeat the song. I will sing again, and maybe again, but almost always, I will finish the night off with 'You are My Sunshine". We will talk about our day, and enjoy some quiet time together.

I usually do not nurse Clara and Callum together. For some reason, I have never enjoyed nursing my children together. I feel like it is their own special time with me, so whenever possible, they nurse separately. On occasion, Callum will be fussy while I am putting Clara to bed, so I will nurse both of my babies together while I rock and sing to them. It's special because I really think Clara enjoys rocking and nursing with her baby brother. She will hold his hand, touch his head, and be really, really sweet. I love seeing her love on her brother so gently because usually, she is so excited about Callum, that she can be quite rough with him.

Sometimes Clara will ask to nurse at nap time, and sometimes I will let her, and sometimes I will say "not today", and she's okay with it. When she's sick, she can nurse whenever she wants. I love that I still nurse her, she is still a baby, and it is still a very important part of her life. I feel so lucky that I have been able to nurse all of our children together.......Mairead and Lilah....Lilah and Clara and now Clara and Callum. It's something I never thought I would ever consider, but now, I couldn't imagine doing it any other way. It is something they can share together right from the very start.

Mammas just wanna have fun!

2011-07-12T19:02:00.000-07:00

Tonight we ordered pizzas and roasted s'mores at our house with friends.

The kids had lemonade.

The adults had strawberry mojitos.

Kristen had this grandiose idea of jumping into the marsh up the street from our house. At first, it sounded crazy. After some mojitos, it sounded fun!

Me and Kristen threw our bathing suits on, and our hubby's and all of the kids walked down to the water.

The kids were crying because they wanted to go swimming, too.

But....it was time for the mammas to have some fun and for the kids to watch for a change!!!

This is what we looked like:

Just another night...

2011-07-09T18:37:00.000-07:00

With four small children 5 and under, there generally is never a dull moment.

On Friday afternoon, we set out for an evening in downtown Portland. We had to make a stop at a local children's boutique as they carried pediped shoes for the girls. Clara was in desperate need for another pair of shoes, and being the shoe connoisseur she is and only wanting to wear pedipeds, we had to make a stop!

Of course, as the six of us enter this little boutique, the silence ends. We are instantly noticed and recognized by the owner. Clara, almost immediately, notices these pair of shoes. Kevin lets her put them on, and as soon as she gets up to prance around the store we hear something....

"Squeak! Squeak"

What the ............... Kevin says.

The shoes squeak. LOUD.

Of course, the shoes were on sale, and thank God for that as I am pretty sure there was no way Clara was going to take the damn shoes off. Thankfully, the owner told us the squeaks can be removed from the shoe. So, on they went, and Clara was a happy girl!

After our mission was completed, we met friends for dinner at Flatbread pizza.....an awesome pizza place! Nothing like fresh, organic flatbread pizza and beer, of course!

Clara would run around, and the squeaks from her shoes were quite obnoxious. Everyone noticed them, and laughed. It was hysterical, but I am sure everyone thought it was even funnier because it wasn't their child.

At the end of dinner, we all left and gathered outside. Clara came to me telling me she had had an accident. I took her to the bathroom, removed her pants and underwear (she's been in underwear for a few weeks now!) and took her back outside. Pant-less. Yeah, I surely am not getting mother of the year award for forgetting an extra pair of clothes.....but whatever.

So, we said our good-byes to our friends and make our trek back to our car. Poor Clara had to walk back to the car with her bare bottom and squeaky shoes. A perfect combination for lots of attention from others walking in downtown Portland! It was hilarious! I am sure people were thinking "what the hell????"

Three months.

2011-07-08T18:08:00.000-07:00

Happy three months to the sweetest baby boy we know.

Three months seems like it was so long ago. I find it hard to believe that three months has gone by since our sweet baby boy came into our lives. While the first 11 days of his life hit us like a ton of bricks, and brought emotions that we prayed we'd never have to deal with in our lifetime, he showed us what is important in life, and just how strong a newborn can actually be.

I can barely remember what our life was without Callum. I look at my belly and am still in awe that he was inside of me just three months ago. It just seems so long ago. Callum is the sweetest baby. He is so good and we are so lucky to have him in our life. He is the easiest baby, so content and lovable. He is an awesome sleeper. He still sleeps a lot of the day, with times of wakefulness for about an hour or so. Those hours are generally full of smiles and him starting to really come into himself. He's starting to make those sweet baby sounds and recognizing familiar faces. His sisters light up when he looks at them and smiles. It truly makes their day. He is starting to enjoy time under the play mat, that is, when none of his sisters are around to sit on him, smother him, and interrupt his time to just play quietly!

As far as sleeping goes, he generally goes down for the night between 10-11pm and will wake up anywhere between 4-6am, generally more towards the 6am time. There are times, like today, that I will wake him up at 6am to nurse because my boobs feel like they are going to burst open! I will bring him into bed when he first awakes, we will snuggle, he will nurse, and we'll go back to sleep. Most mornings I am up before he is, and he'll stay asleep in our bed until 9-930am. It's like a gift! As it gives me time to give the girls breakfast, prepare for the beach or whatever it is that needs to be done.

As a mother to four children, 5 and under, I have to say having a baby who is so easy is like a gift from God. He makes my life easy. All those days I was worried sick about how I would handle four small children, little did I know, it would be like this. We are so unbelievably lucky. But, I am sure once he is mobile, payback will surely be a bitch! That's okay, I'd rather him be easy now :)

So, as I sit here and he is snuggled tightly into boppy against my skin, nursing, I will enjoy every precious moment I have. He is such an easy baby, loves to nurse, and is starting to show signs of "excitement" as he begins to nurse. I love it.

What joy he has brought to our family. I cannot wait to see what this little prince brings to our house full of princesses. We love you, Callum John.