On Friday a thief, on Sunday a King.

He has cheated
Hell and seated
Us above the fall
In desperate places
He paid our wages
One time once and for all

Pause for a moment and let that sink in.

I started with something spiritually meaningful before I digress into pictures of Easter outfits, etc.  It's been awhile since I've done a "proper" photo shoot with my kids.  Proper means they are dressed in outfits that I picked, looking as clean as they come, and standing relatively still for me to get more traditional portraits.    My mother-in-law and I had fun working on their outfits together.  I initially had no grand idea that they would be so coordinated.  I saw D'arcy's dress in Target and loved it.  It passed her sparkle test. I found Schroeder's shirt in his closet, a hand me down from my cousin's son.  Who knew that they would blend so well?  Schroeder wasn't the biggest fan of his tie.  He told me he prefers bow ties.  He has one from a couple of Easters ago, and choose to wear it with his pajamas the other night.  

Despite this being a "proper" photo shoot, I knew from experience that I had a max of thirty minutes to get what I could before we potentially all dissolved into grumpiness.   It's hard to be the photographer and the mother.  My instinct as a mother is to say, "STAND UP STRAIGHT!", but my experience as a photographer is that photos are best when you goof around with the subject.  All Maggie wanted to do was dance and sing and cheese.  I had to give Schroeder a happy jelly bean pill before he would pose for me at all.  We turned on Gagnam style on my phone at the end.  I love the way Maggie sings, "Hey, sexy lady."  

I hate to say that I didn't do much in the way of reading the Easter story to my kids this year.  I did get down the Resurrection Eggs which they spent an afternoon playing with as a group.  A couple of the pieces were initially misplaced and throughout the week a kid would find one and bring it down to me.  One child came down and said, "Hey mom, this goes to the Resolution Eggs."  Another said, "Hey mom, this goes to the Revelation Eggs."  Not altogether inappropriate names.  

The first year we moved into this house (2011), I hid an egg per kid in each downstairs room and we had a little hunt.  Sometime in June 2012, Julian and D'arcy demanded to know why I had neglected to do this for that year's Easter.  I told them to remind me at a more appropriate moment as I'm not really planning nine months ahead.  All month they've been letting me know that Easter was approaching.  So I bought three bags of candy (one of which I had to replace because I ate most of it before Easter arrived) and some plastic eggs and we had a little indoor hunt in our house which they all got a big kick out of.  I'm teaching them to appreciate the little things by being a low key (aka lame or lazy) holiday planner.  

Spring is springing.

After many months of 20-30 degree days, we have finally put our winter coats away!  Who knew how lovely 45 degrees could be?  These greeted me around the corner on my way home from the coffee shop Saturday.

There is no better time than March 29th to share my 2013 resolutions.

I wrote down some resolutions at the beginning of the year.  I've intended to blog about them, and I even sat down to write the blog post at least once.  I got bogged down, though.  I could go into the history of each resolution and why that particular goal was added to my list.  I could.  Did you know that my Myers Briggs Personality type is ESFP (Extorvert Sensing Feeling Perceiving)?  That translates to, truthfully, a pretty short...wait, what was I saying?  So I have to find a short and sweet point to make in a blog or I lose interest.
That said, I will just list for you my resolutions in no particular order of importance.
1.  Learn to have the mental capacity to process my everyday life without feeling bored.  Boredom leads to escape tactics.
2.  Keep my business light, free, and fun.  Take projects that inspire me.
3.  No Mountain Dew.
     I'll stop to say this about Mountain Dew.  I love it.  There were days when I would wake up not thrilled about the day but remember that a cold Mountain Dew was waiting for me in the fridge which would help me get out of bed.  I could (and did) drink Mountain Dew morning, noon, night, and midnight for awhile.  It refreshed me like a cold glass of water should.  While I still drink other sodas, I don't find them as addictive.  I haven't had a Mountain Dew except for a reprieve I gave myself from Christmas Eve until New Years Eve since 2011.
4.  Encourage my affection for D'arcy.
5.  Continue to be inspired by others and embrace differences as opposed to comparing myself with others and finding someone superior.  Inspiration was my word for last year.
6.  Journal more.    Guess what?  These resolutions were written in my journal.  My journal has no rules and no format.  Whatever I feel like writing or listing either big or small is allowed.  I'm not even obligated to date the page.
7.  Speak and write out my thoughts of respect and appreciation for people.  If I'm inspired by them in a big or small way, I should let them know specifically.
8.  Connect with people outside my social class without having the specific goal of serving them in some way.  


In response to goal number one, I was enticed to read the book entitled "The Happiness Project" by Gretchen Rubin after my friend Christie pointed it out to me in Barnes and Noble and said it was pretty good.  I'm not a big self help book reader, but I was able to enjoy this book because it was personalized.  It's her story about a year in her life when she tried to figure out how to be happier.  Remember that I told you I was a ESFP?  Well, I found this written about ESFPs.
             "ESFPs love to talk to people about people. Some of the most colorful storytellers are ESFPs. Their down-to-earth, often homespun wit reflects a mischievous benevolence."
I put that in there because if a self help book feels more like a memoir than I'm 99% more likely to read and enjoy it.  I included the second sentence because I just like that description "a wit reflecting a mischievous benevolence".  Stephen rolled his eyes and chuckled last night when I read that to him.  
Anyway, there is a lot to think about and absorb from this book.  I wrote a few of my favorite thoughts in my journal.  Yes, I did.  So here are just a few.

"A happy atmosphere isn't created by the absence of nagging and yelling but also by jokes, games, and tomfoolery."
"People who enjoy silliness are 1/3 more likely to be happy."
"What did you like to do when you were a child?  What you enjoyed as a ten-year-old is probably something you would enjoy now."
"Sing in the morning.  It's hard both to sing and to maintain a grouchy mood."
"Money might buy some happiness.  Could you hire a teenager to mow the lawn?  Eliminating conflict is a high happiness priority; spend money if it can help."  (Stephen, do you remember that year when we were both working and together making six figures?  And do you remember every six months when I would instigate a horrible fight because you didn't put up the garage door opener that we had purchased for our new house?  Yeah, this thought might have applied to that situation since hiring someone would have cost, what, a $100.  Sigh.)
"Arrival Fallacy is the belief that when you arrive at a certain destination, you'll be happy.  This is a fallacy because, though you may anticipate great happiness in arrival, arriving rarely makes you as happy as you anticipate."
"Remember birthdays."
"Don't gossip."

Here are some other thoughts that I'll paraphrase.
The process might be more fulfilling than the completed task.
Take your play seriously.
Ask for help.
Stop seeking out gold stars even if they mean so much to you.
Stop eating fake food.

I thought it was interesting that in the August chapter entitled "Contemplate the Heavens" she talks about her deep interest in St. Therese de Lisieux's autobiography "Story of a Soul", a book I just attempted to read that struggled to hold my interest.  I've been to Lisieux and when a friend mentioned that she was entranced by this book earlier this year, I picked it up at the library.  However, Therese's story is pretty dull.  She lives, she becomes a nun, she dies of tuberculosis at age 24, I think.  However, one could also see it as she lives, she falls in love with Jesus, she dedicates her life to His service, she lives out his ways in so many small moments, she dies of tuberculosis.  I might have to try to read it again.

On a side note, she also mentions reading this book which was recommended to me by my friend Joy and loved, Expecting Adam by Martha Beck.

One of the ways I hope to process my everyday life without feeling bored this year is to blog more often.  I have no set amount in mind, just simply to decide to blog instead of watch as much TV.  It's, in my opinion, a better, more engaging, and more fulfilling way to spend my time.  So potentially, I'll be blogging on these resolutions more specifically.  We'll see, but for now I must go read a chapter of Anne of Green Gables to D'arcy (see resolution 4).  We could all learn a little about being happy from Anne with an e.

  

Schroeder is 4!

Four years ago tomorrow, Schroeder made a fast escape from my womb.  That's how Stephen put it the other day.  After I changed the sheets on the guest bed (my parents were coming into town that night), Stephen and I spent the whole day sitting on our couch and began the process of getting to know this little guy.
This year, I've been slipping into his room when he sleeps, slowly watching his toddler-hood slip away.  This has been especially emotional for me since he is our middle child.  Sort of like Wednesday.  Once Wednesday passes each week, you gear up for the weekend.  Once Schroeder passes through a stage, I begin the process of grieving that stage.  Soon all of my kids will be potty trained and ready for preschool.  Soon I won't have any babies to tag along with me during the day.  That seems a little silly considering I have a brand new baby due in May, but emotions don't necessarily coincide with reason.
This year, I've discovered that he really is a man of few words.  I've told people that he only has 500 words to expend daily.  If you catch him at the right moment, he talks, but he has long spans of quiet.  (I'm praying that despite his few words, he and his future wife will be able to communicate well.)  I'm used to having big chunks of time with him when Maggie takes a nap in the afternoon.  When the big kids were home for Christmas break, I realized that I really missed him since he was expending all his words on his siblings.  When he does talk, it's typical to hear BOY words like vehicle and minion and weapon.  He still loves the word PUNCH, he still occasionally uses the word NEVER! in response to your question, and if you spend very much time with him, you will definitely hear him say WHAT THE????  He just says WHAT THE? and doesn't fill in the end.  I'm not sure where he picked this up, but I want to say his Uncle Jason says it who passed it down to his cousin Gabe.  (Am I right Connie?)
He and Julian play so well together.  Julian is starting to view him as a peer who is up to par in his playing skills and can talk LEGO and Avengers with the best of them.
He's not perky in the morning and many times doesn't say much until he's been up for a solid hour.  He definitely can sleep in later than any of my other kids.  The big kids get on the bus at 8:30 and despite the noise of them getting ready, he's been known to sleep until nine.
We've discovered that he pays a little more attention to detail than our older kids.  D'arcy and Julian typically unload the dishwasher.  They sort of dump the silverware into the drawer which drives Stephen crazy.  Schroeder has been eager to help lately, and one day I discovered him putting the silverware in the drawer so methodically.  So now that is his job.  One time, he pulled the drawer open to find that it was all disheveled and he sighed in frustration.  The older two said, "Don't worry!  It doesn't matter what it looks like!"  I ran into the kitchen and said, "NO!  It does matter, that's why Schroeder gets that job now."  Schroeder patiently put it all back in order.
He's still our sneaky, stealth child.  Today, I discovered the little pot of jelly beans was missing from the top of the refrigerator.  I asked all the kids who had moved it.  D'arcy said, "Mom, none of us have been in the Jelly Beans!"  I looked directly at Schroeder and told him to go get them.  He didn't even try to deny it.  He retrieved the bucket and D'arcy was sort of flabergasted.  He's gotten more punishments this year for sneaking than probably all other things combined.  We have also had to crack down on the blank stares and his bad habit of downright ignoring people including his parents.  Nope, that isn't cute and doesn't fly.
So now comes my hodge podge paragraph of things Schroeder likes.  He likes blueberries and yogurt, his Croc shoes (even in winter), mooning his siblings (it starts early), the song Ghosts by The Head and the Heart, pistachios, coloring, going to the Children's Museum, Imaginext, going to MOPS, perusing the toy aisles of Target, night time conversations with Maggie (his roommate), helping me cook, puzzles, sleeping on the trundle in D'arcy and Julian's room, dancing to Muppet music, and watching Backyardigans on the iPad.
Here he is in all his beautiful four year old glory.

We made a space for you.

I've never really had a nursery.  I've always just carved out a little space for my babies.  I like to have them close to me so that I can easily nurse them at night and make sure they are still breathing (I couldn't tell you how many times I've put my finger just under their nose to feel that little breath).  They sleep in a little cosleeper all swaddled up until about four months when they get too big and start rolling over.  Then the go to a crib that is typically in our room from 4-6 months.  They have all been weaned at night by that six month mark which means they are sleeping through the night and can move into a bedroom with their siblings.
I've never bought a new crib.  I've really never given style of crib much thought until this baby.  I'm all about mid-century modern furniture these days, and I wanted a cool, clean line crib.  When I first started looking for cribs that fit this discription, I was overwhelmed by the prices.  The one that first caught my attention was over $900. Um, no.  That wasn't happening.  I also noticed that most baby stores weren't selling these cribs. I was going to have to buy online.
I found this one on Amazon.  It was originally $400.  I tried to talk myself out of it.  Wouldn't it be more practical to buy bunk beds for Maggie and Schroeder and then use Maggie's crib for Penuly?  But Maggie's crib/toddler bed was the same crib I purchased used for Julian almost seven years ago!  I was finally pushed over the edge when I looked online one day and found the crib on sale for $269.  Stephen's mom had given me $100 towards the purchase.  When I was checking out, I discovered that I had $116 in Discover Rewards points which you can automatically apply to your purchase.  Shipping was free so I paid $53 out of pocket.  I won't say it was meant to be or The Lord wanted me to have it.  I'll just say it was a good deal and I'm so enjoying looking at it and picturing our little laying in it.
I also picked up some gender neutral onesies.  Since both names make me think of the sea, Ulysses or Penelope will don this whale onesie and sweet hat on their first day.  Schroeder called the hat fancy.  Both are newborn size so hopefully they fit for at least a day!
So Penuly, whenever you get here, we've made a space in our home, lives, and hearts for you.

A week from today, this guy turns FOUR!

Oh, yeah, and I cut his hair.  Stephen just shook his head when he saw it.  

Kids say the darndest things...

Stephen and I are pretty big Radiohead fans.  Laura Allen can testify that I listened to them A LOT in college. Definitely, we are listening less often these days.  I've spent a couple afternoons in my bedroom working on making a space for our new baby.  I set up a crib and hung some pictures.  We had a chance to listen to the baby's first CD, Rockabye Baby!  Lullaby Renditions of Radiohead, which was lovingly given to us by our friends Jon and Kelly.
He liked most of the tunes, and told me he thought the baby would really like it.  Forget the music, though.  He wanted to know, "Mom, who is that on the cover."
"Well, Schroeder, that is the Radiohead bear."
A half hour later he said, "Mom, I wonder what the Radiohead bear's voice sounds like."
That is a question I couldn't answer.
Today, as we were hanging some more pictures above the crib and listening to the CD, he says, "Mom, does the Radiohead Bear have a mom and dad?"
We've been reading this barely tolerable repetitive book by Eric Carle called Does A Kangaroo Have A Mother, too?  Eric Carle includes EVERY animal you can think of and we discover that they all, in fact, have mothers.  But that dude left out the Radiohead Bear.
So I said to Schroeder, "Do alligators have mothers?" in the same rhythm of the book, and he instantly understood that despite his crazy appearance, Radiohead Bear was once loved by a Mother and Father.