It Falls Together.

Remember this handsome guy?

I love him to pieces an all of his hilariously awkward, frustratingly headstrong, loud and obnoxiously defiant ways.  Where I assert authority and, admittedly, control, he fires back with emotional pleas and adamant conditions to his compliance.  

It's like parenting a mini-me.

Once in a while, he does something that shakes down everything I have struggled to establish with him involving the parent-child relationship.  Stupidly and sadly, it is a lesson that I often forget in my totalitarian approach to running a household and educating my children, even in the more casual unschooling environment I seek to perfect.

He must be self-motivated.  He must be given the freedom to fulfill that motivation.  He must do it without me hovering nearby and making corrections, no matter how slight.  If he wants help, he will ask for it.  If he needs clarification, he knows who to ask.

He does beautifully without me.

This is a major lesson in humility for me.  With an autistic son who is not comfortable without an adult presence, a daughter who begs for attention with nearly every task, and a diabolical genius toddler who needs supervision just to keep the house from burning down, you'd think I'd welcome a kid who is independently learning and self-sufficient.  But no, I seem to slide back into this habit of constant instruction and frequent rigidity.

This morning, as I scoured the internet for games and activities to bring him up to speed on his math skills, he pulled out a workbook geared for his age group, sat himself on the floor behind our couch, and began hammering away at double-digit addition and subtraction facts.  I had NO idea until he asked me to clarify an answer he was unsure about.  He had it right.  I left the computer and peered behind the couch to see that he was already two pages into it and doing a beautiful job.  Not a single problem was wrong.

Not only was he doing the work himself, but he was very proud of it, more so than he has ever been when asked to do things like that.  What a joy!  Why do I keep forgetting that these bursts of his more than make up for the days he seems totally unmotivated?  Why do I not grasp that he CAN and WILL do what he needs to do without me harping on him?  Why on earth do I want to consistently rob him of the opportunity and ability to accomplish everything he can on his own terms?  Why do I resist making life easier for both of us with a more hands-off approach?

Who REALLY needs the education here?

He's asking if he can make dinner this evening.  I told him he could.  It sounds like we're having meatballs on spaghetti squash.  I love this kid!

To The Octave And Beyond!

When on Earth did life get to be so crazy?!  Easter seemed like a hit and run, filled with great food and low key enjoyment, but everything since Easter Sunday has been a marathon of non-stop things that need doing!

Firstly, obligatory Easter pictures:
(Sadly, they're mostly food.  Louis looked smashing in his three piece gray suit, but putting it on him was a nightmare wrestling match complete with both of us crying and trying to convince the other about the importance/non-importance of pants.  Maria looked lovely in a cream colored dress she was gifted when she was a flower girl in John's cousin's wedding, but I managed to miss pictures of that as well.  The two older boys got ready in a rush, having taken advantage of Mommy and Daddy being busy trying to get the other two kids spit-shined in time for Liturgy.)

Firstly, we made coconut milk to use in various recipes.

After piercing the coconut, it was drained into the processor.

Then the coconut was split, scraped, and everything but the 

shell went into the processor with the coconut water.

Whirrrrrrrrrrrrrr...

And boom, a lovely specimen of coconutty goodness

(after some straining, of course, but I wasn't a stickler about it).

With the leftover manna/milk mix that didn't fit into the jar...

...we tossed in some frozen fruit and raw honey...

...and had frozen "yogurt" for intermittent snacking 

through the impending bake-a-thon.

Finally, onto the Pascha bread, which is a sweet bread made with

eggs that goes into our basket for blessing after Liturgy.

The obligatory nutrolls, which are understated and delicious.

We interrupt the food for some hair!

HAHA, that sounds gross, but it's just how the girl

wanted her hair done up for Liturgy.  She called it her

"princess hair."

Happy Easter morning, eggs benedict!  You were delicious!!!

And lamb chops for dinner are a tradition for our little family.

Rubbed with little more than a garlic/rosemary/salt/pepper/olive oil paste,

they are simple and truly amazing.

Mashed sweet potatoes were specifically requested by the kids.

Shortly thereafter, we were invited back to our friends' farm to check out the goings-on:

Her cuteness meter exploded and she practically crawled

into the box to see the new baby bunnies.

They were painfully cute, even when they peed on my oldest.

They fit, quite literally, into the palm of your hand!

We also saw the new group of meat chicks.  They look like they will be very delicious.  And the lambs are all getting to be huge... and delicious-looking. :-)

I managed to get a few stitches worked into all the craziness:

This is the beginning of a jersey knit maxi dress for the duration of

my pregnancy and into post-partum "I'm dressed, leave me alone" time.

It starts simply, with a giant "pillow case" of fabric.

Cut at the center of the top fold to create a back-and-front V neck.

Too easy.

You then clip off a 9+ inch section on the side seams for each arm.

I then tacked on this white cotton lace that I got many years ago

from my mother-in-law while in SC.  However, after trying it on

and conferring with my mother and sister-in-law via text message,

we decided the lace was too much.  Time to hit the fabric store

for a less matronly alternative.

We've kept up with schooling, shockingly enough, and have ventured into the science of human reproduction in the interest of keep up with the baby's development.  My oldest latched onto this with true fascination and immediately got to work developing Lego visuals to complete the picture:

Here are the sperm and the egg.

One of the sperm infiltrates and a person begins.

This is an embryo in a tiny placenta.

This kid is BEYOND creative!

We also ventured into the "naked egg" experiment.

The shell was dissolved in vinegar and everyone thought

it was really neat.

To boot, we've managed to keep the kids active and inquisitive:

Daily piggyback rides?  Yes and please!

You can tell who gets the better end of these deals...

And this kid is just a sweetheart anyway.

Impish grin and a pair of shoes is all this kid needs 

to conquer the world.

Run and play, sit and pose, it's all the same!

Time to swing!

We need to work on our form, but you get the idea.

We were there just as the nightcrawlers began to emerge.

Playing with worms?  What little kid wouldn't?

One last glimpse:

This kid is already giving his little brother gifts, which more or less

means he finds something he likes, stuffs it under my shirt by my belly,

and exclaims: "It's for baby John!"

Today, it was a blue baby shoe.

Back to real life, filled with quotes for fence materials, eye appointments, garden transplanting, more schooling, end-of-the-academic-year wrap up, baby prep, house cleaning, meal planning, library fine "walk of shame," grocery runs, budgeting, car maintenance, and soooooooo much more!

Holy Thursday, Holy Mackerel...

Here we are, staring down the barrel of the Paschal Triduum, and I feel like I have little to show by ways of sacrifice and spiritual enrichment.  The house didn't get the deep-cleaning treatment I was hoping to give it, though it still remains in better shape than before Lent started.  That counts for something, right?  I did get to confession two days ago and received Anointing of the Sick last night, which definitely counts for something.

Maybe the lesson to be learned is that I will find what healing and sanctification I need, just not necessarily on the terms I set for myself.  I can live with that.

Switching gears: At about 12:30 this morning, my youngest woke up gasping for breath and terrified.  Between panicked gasps came the telltale barking cough of croup.  After making sure he had a quick drink of water and a trip to the potty, I brought him to bed with me where I worked to calm him down and get him back to sleep.  After that, it was the usual knees-in-the-back and loud-but-contented-sighs that normally accompany having him camped with us.  The rest of the day has been a consistently runny nose and a less "barky" cough, but his "nurses" have been making sure that he is well cared for.

It's a rough life, having your siblings trip over one

another to get you set up with pillows, blankets,

and a good book.

As for contractions, they still come and go.  But, like I predicted, my OB confirmed that everything is maintaining "bank vault" status and I am in no danger of hatching this kid anytime soon.  To appease the concerns of my husband, I will be packing an overnight bag... later... after I get the house cleaned...  and the Pascha foods baked/cooked/assembled... and after I finish up getting the kids' school year in the books and cleared by the district... and everything else I have to do...

Oh, This Week!!!

A solemn Holy Week, friends and family!

This past week and the week ahead is filled with bombardment.  I just got news that my husband's roommate from college, a vehemently content Protestant, is converting to Catholicism on Saturday!!!  This is a bit of a shock, because he was so convinced that Catholicism was ridiculous, even though he married a Catholic (she told me she had nothing to do with his decision to convert, and rather challenged his motives to make sure he was doing it for the right reasons).  I'm so happy for their family, and especially for him!

Days filled with sporadic contractions continue.  Some days, it's one or two hard contractions and a dash of Braxton Hicks, while last Sunday had me sidelined in bed completely from noon until six or seven in the evening with a 50-50 mix of worrisome and "meh" contractions.  If there were any regularity to them, I'd be on the phone with my OB to discuss options, especially in light of being 5 weeks out from my estimated due date.  However, they seem to do little more than interrupt my daily plans with their annoying unpredictability.

My mother and my husband seem to think this kid may not see his due date.  I'm not convinced.  My body latches on to these kids until threat of a c-section is floated around.  And even then, it's a toss up.  Anyway, I have an internal exam on Thursday.  I'm expecting a round of "you're closed up like a bank vault, see you in two weeks."  You know, the usual.  Even still, my husband has put the brakes on nearly EVERYTHING that I have/want to do that isn't absolutely essential.  Mom, fear not, someone is FAR more insistent about me taking it easy than you.

This morning, Kid #4 began a round of the pukes.  I'm hoping beyond hope that this is a fluke.  I have so much to do between now and Easter Sunday that I shouldn't even be blogging.  As soon as I finish, the house is getting doused in cleansers to keep from spreading the fun.  If the other kids fall like dominos, I may totally lose my mind.

I'm also face-deep in menu planning, scheduling babysitting duties at our friends' farm while they visit Ohio for Easter, working my days around my husband's crazy schedule (thanks to minor medical procedures and looming deadlines), getting our garden out of starter pots and into the ground, and getting the kids' school year wrapped up before the baby is born, which includes portfolios and evaluations.  I may rent confetti cannons to fire off every morning as a means of motivation.

On that note, I'd better be on to getting this day on the move.

This, That, And Others Still...

Nesting has hit with a vengeance this morning.  The fact that I'm sitting here blogging is figuratively killing me, but I promised my dad I'd update with various birthday pictures from our oldest's 10th.

I could be scrubbing toilets, Dad!  ;-)  But seriously, I'm all fidgety about getting cleaning done, so this may be a really sloppy post.  I didn't edit the pictures, so the lighting will be worse than usual.

The boy told us yesterday that he hadn't used the computer in two days, but he didn't mind because he was having the BEST DAYS EVER with all of his birthday loot.  I love that crazy kid!

Thank you so much, Ahee and Avia!

This is one happy guy!

Boooooooooooooooks!!!

And more booooooooooooooooks!!!

And more Lego sets, still! The boy was euphoric.

In the kitchen, the cake went like so:

In some stainless steel mixing bowls, I baked the cake.

You can't really tell by this picture, but I baked the yellow layer

in the orange layer, so the orange layer was bowl-shaped to the perfect

size to fit the yellow layer.

Both layers cooled while I mixed and dyed the frosting.

Again, you can't tell, but the orange layer is hollowed out.

Once I nested the two layers, I frosted the dome-ish shape

and did my best (and failed) to make recognizable continents.

Surprise!  Mantle and core layers!  The boy LOVED it.

It isn't half as pretty as the inspiration from my last entry,

but he didn't care.  He was enamored with it.

That was more than worth it.

Other wheelings and dealings lately:

My oldest was reading one of those Basher books on US Presidents.

He asked me if John Quincy Adams was the actor who played the first

Doctor Who.  I can totally see how he made that connection.

It's uncanny!!!

My youngest gave himself a chocolate pudding facial.

That face...  it kills me!

Oh, and he thinks "go to bed" is open to interpretation.

My food processor has known almost nothing else lately.

It's become my main source of sustenance for this pregnancy.

I love you, guacamole.  You understand me.

As for projects, I am anticipating a June baby and June in PA is a veritable sauna.  I shouldn't complain, as we are not as close to the equator as other friends and family, but humidity and I do not get along.  And with hormones swinging back into non-pregnant mode, I anticipate a summer spent perched over a register in my living room, positively living off of the AC being pumped into the house at a nearly abusively cold temperature.  In the spirit of preparation for having to actually leave the house with the new baby, I'm planning summer-friendly swaddlings for the baby, thanks again to Pinterest.

source

The source link is also where the insanely easy tutorial is.

I'm eyeballing this gauze over at Fabric.com, 

as well as the lime and apple and dark ivory colors.

Ok, that's enough.  If I don't start cleaning, I may actually start pulling my hair out.  Room #1 on the list is our bedroom.  It is almost always the last room I get to, if it isn't outright ignored entirely.  Not today.  Books will be packed or relocated to other shelves, dusting will happen, windows cleaned, walls washed, sheets laundered, clothing purged and donated, blinds cleaned, room made for the baby, ALL OF THE THINGS!!!!  Before and after pictures may be pending, but we'll see if I can even remember to take them before diving into this thing.