A Bunch of Questions

Bridget calls this An Award

I call it A bunch of questions

Which is why I want to play along this time!

Here's the Rules:

1.  Each person tagged must post 11 things about themselves.
2.  They must also answer the 11 questions the “tagger” has set for them.
3.  They must create 11 more questions to ask bloggers they have decided to tag.
4.  They must then choose 11 bloggers and tag them in their post.
5.  These “lucky” bloggers must then be told.
6.  No tag backs

OK, I'm generally a "rule follower"

but

I'm breaking some rules here

I'm skipping number 4, and so 5 and 6 too.

I don't like to hurt anyone's feelings,

so

If you are reading, play along, 

either leave a comment

(sorry anonymous, I don't usually like what you have to say, 

and it's my blog, so I got rid of you)

or

put this same thing on your blog

(well, not the same thing, You can follow the rules, or make your own or whatever you want)

Hmmmm....11 things about myself?

How about things you might not know?

Or maybe you do

1. Since my last baby, or maybe the one before that one, or maybe even after the 4th baby, I have not had time to send birthday cards, or sometimes (gasp!) even thank you's!  (but that last one is more since the last baby)  I think this will get easier and I will have more time for this again, but I'm not so sure at this point.  I'm sorry if you are one of those who have not received one of those things, and I'm happy for you (and me) if you have.
2. Some people say, after I say my house is messy (I have 6 kids), "Oh, well, I'm sure it's surface clean"   Well, it's not, I mean, my kids have jobs and well, let's just say, they need some re-training and I just don't have time.
3. I want 2 lives at once.  I want that life that I catch myself being jealous of.  That life, where the mama says good-bye to her big kids and they go off to school and then, she has all week long to spend with her littles and to go exercise and get all her laundry and cleaning done.  But, I can't let go of my crazy life where none of that happens.  Ever.  Because I believe in the reasons we homeschool and know it's what God has called me to do.  It's my struggle within.
4. It takes me 1 1/2 hours each time I pump to get 12 ounces of milk (2 1/2 bottles) and I pump every 6 hours.  What will I do with all that time when I quit pumping?
5. I cannot do a cartwheel, never have been able to.  I wanted to be a cheerleader, but couldn't because I looked like a toad trying to do it.  
6. I've had 9 surgeries plus my wisdom teeth taken out (technically 10)
7. I'm a "no" mom, trying to be a "yes" mom.  Often, I say "no" first then quickly say "yes". I have control issues.
8. I cannot carry a tune to save my life, but all my girls sing wonderfully!
9. Tom and I met on a blind date!
10. I have no cavities and have never had one 
11. I live in Minnesota, but do NOT like winter, not even one little bit.  

And now for Bridget's questions for me:

1. What’s your favorite fantasy world (please don’t say wherever the heck Harry Potter is from)?
Umm...could you repeat the question?  Ok, I'd have to say, the world that my 3 and 6 year olds live in, everything is happy & sing songy in their world!
2. Favorite prayer?  The Rosary
3. What color is the sky in your world? Bright blue and sunny!
4. Are you addicted to Pinterest too? Nope!
5. Would you be interested in potty training my 2 year old for me? No, but I  have free advice:  If he's a boy, wait til he's 3 years and 3 months, that worked for my son and for all my daycare boys, I trained like 4 boys and this was the magic age...If it's a girl, between 2 and 3, do it yourself, they're easy, 2 weeks, hit it hard!  (and no pull ups)
6. Favorite flavor of ice cream? Chocolate
7. Coffee or tea? Depends on if it's cold or hot....International Foods French Vanilla Coffee only and Ice tea!
8. Star Trek fan? Nope (we are Star Wars fans though, does that count?)
9. What is your idea of the perfect date? Anything with Tom and away from the kiddos!
10. Finish the quote and tell me why it’s from one of the best movies/plays ever: “It profit a man nothing to give his soul for the whole world, but for Wales"  One of the best movies ever, because it's A Man for All Seasons....about the late great St Thomas More
11. What’s your best parenting tip?  Do your best and don't compare yourself to other mamas.

Now your turn:

1. Cookies or cake?
2. Halloween celebrations?
3. How many cavities do you have?
4. Coffee or Diet Coke?
5. Rainy day or snowy day?
6. What's your favorite season?
7. If you had one hour to do anything you wanted, without kids or interruptions, what would you do? 
8. What's your favorite movie?
9. What's your favorite holiday?
10. What is your favorite day of the week and why?
11. Salty or sweet?

You can answer in the comment box or on your own blog, but don't forget to tell us so we can go read your answers!

19 pounds, 10 ounces!!

Simeon had his pre-op appointment today and is a hefty, chunky, 

chubby, wonderful

19 lbs 10 ounces!!  

He's actually ON the charts now and is in the 38th percentile!
Big jump from the barely 10 lbs end of July!

Celebrating All Saints Day (Years Past)

 I've been looking at old pictures (while I pump breastmilk)

This picture is from 2009

I think anything before this was not digital

We have

 St Zita, with the broom

St Ursala

The Blessed Mother with Baby Jesus

David, with his giant prop Goliath

(it helps to have a really tall daddy)

and a Y shaped stick and rock

 This is from 2010

I included it because if you click on the picture,

you can see St John the Baptist with his head on a plate!

Creative kids we have in our homeschool group!

 Here's our kiddos in 2010

St Juan Diego

St Kateri Tekakwitha
St Clare

The Blessed Mother with Baby Jesus

I always want to bring something really cool to share, 

but usually do something lame like this cake....

 Last year I made these cookies

a little better...

 Above, we have St Maximilian Kolbe

I just took an old Tae Kwon Do uniform and painted it

 St Joan of Arc

(she's borrowing Goliath's shield from years past)

 St Veronica

(yes, we do the same art projects every year--notice the door)

 I just taped the Holy Face of Jesus

 (a printed off picture from the Shroud of Turin)

to a flour towel, (her veil)

 And, shocking, I know, we have once again,

The Blessed Mother with not Baby Jesus, but the world in her hand!

 OK, we actually had 2 Blessed Mothers

And the snacks were not too bad!

Holy Ghost cookies!

Nutter Butters dipped in melted white chocolate chips, with mini choc chip eyes!

For some reason, we were running late (I know, you are surprised)

and I didn't get a shot of all of them lined up, dang it!

This year we have coming up:

St Longinus

St Maria Goretti

St Philomena

and

I talked Colette

 out of being the Blessed Mother

into being St Kateri Tekakwitha

But 

no worries, Sweetie Pie will take over 

The Blessed Mother and Baby Jesus!!

Just thought I'd share, in case you needed some ideas!

For more ideas, go to Lacy at Catholic Icing!!

or 

go to Catholic Inspired and get tons of ideas, 

click on her sidebar for Saint costume ideas

Of course you can also go to 

Jessica's Shower of Roses for tons of ideas too!

Great Grandma Bauer

 Tom's wonderful grandmother died tragically at the age of 97

in a car accident Saturday.

(here she is holding Sweetie Pie here, 3 years ago, at age 94)

 She was so full of spunk and life

Here's Tom, his mom and her mom, Great Grandma, holding Sweetie Pie

We love and miss you so very much.

Eternal rest grant unto her, O Lord

and let perpetual light shine upon her

May her soul, and all the souls of the faithful departed

rest in peace.

Surgery Scheduled

November 8th

His lip will be thinned and brought down

 and

 his nostrils brought in closer

Although, I've gone through surgery with him already,

I still get sick to my stomach every time I think about it

(which is all the time)

My sweet little Sims is going to look different.

I just want to soak him up, just the way he is.

You know, when you are feeding your baby

and you kiss them and breathe in their milk breath 

and air as they breathe...you know right?

(one of those things I love with babies)

Please pray for him

(I know you are)

Thank you so much.

My sweet little Sims, I love you so much.

*I'm praying this novena, which starts today,
for his doctors, nurses and all who care for him, for a quick recovery,
for this surgery to move that front thing down and into place where it needs to be
for his palate surgery, and for our family to remain strong.

Excellent Movie!

I watched this last night!

Great movie!

Hard to believe this
 happened less than 100 years ago

This movie was really well done 

and 

is one of those movies where you are changed 

forever after seeing it.

(and Eduardo is in it)

Thankful

 

 Thankful for Jedi's old clothes...some are timeless,

some are going to goodwill, some the garbage.

(who knew that socks would lose their elasticity after 12 years?)

 I mean, a person just can't find clothes like these anymore, 

Bonjour!

 Thankful that some of my kiddos are so very photogenic and always ready for a picture...

 and others are not.

 Here's some reality Thankfuls, 

so no one thinks my life is perfect or something from reading my thankfuls

In fact, I write the thankfuls to remind myself how blessed I truly am, 

through the muck and reality of every day life homeschooling, 

and raising 6 kiddos.

Thankful I almost always have a pile of laundry like this waiting 

for me to fold on our kitchen table.

(I have the kiddos lay everything flat, fold the socks, washcloths and underwear, 

but let's face it, some fold better than others and I'm pretty picky about laundry, 

it's my thing--I think I need a whole separate post about laundry)

 Reality about cute babies in the sink:

He always needs a bath after he eats, always.

So

there are always piles of dirty dishes waiting to be rinsed and/or washed

and 

dirty washcloths from the day behind the faucet...

Thankful for babies in sinks and dishes to wash, 

it means we always have plenty of food to eat.

 Thankful for fall walks....

Reality:

I wanted to go for a walk all day, 

but it just never happened, til finally after supper, 

so

at 6:30 I was trying to find hats and mittens for the kiddos and yelling,

because I just wanted to get out of the house and it was already getting dark outside!!

 Thankful we did catch this....

 Thankful that since we couldn't find our mittens, it was actually not too cold outside!

and we made it to the end of the road and back...

 Thankful (more reality here) that we homeschool and can wear our jammies

if the kids don't get dressed if we want to.

 What did I tell you about the good posing  kiddos?

 Thankful for cute handed down winter hats and beautiful curls sticking out...

 Thankful for giant blue eyes...

 I mean seriously, look at those eyes, they take up half her face!!

 Thankful she's always right there ready to put on an apron with me while I cook.

A little reality:

I am constantly telling her to get off the counter and not to eat anything...

 Thankful we still have a little color left in our yard, but this is the last tree.

(except one that waits til spring to lose it's leaves)

 Thankful we found a new Tae Kwon Do place and Jedi loves it!!

We are back at it twice a week!

Reality: 

we have not done it since last November, things just got busy with the baby

and then our place moved....and it cost a ton of money....

Thankful for generous grandparents who help out with extra curriculars!

Thankful we found some time to do some fall art...

(water paint some white paper, then glue a black tree to it, add some pumpkins if you want)

Have a blessed weekend everyone!

Update on Simeon

 So many of you have prayed (and are still praying) for Simeon

I am so appreciative for those prayers

I wanted to give a sort of update

We've visited with a dentist, his surgeon and

are meeting with his surgeon and another surgeon to look at his 

mouth,

 (we call it his "front piece" lovingly, but it is called

 his Prolabium and Premaxilla, 

it contains his front teeth buds, including his adult teeth buds)

His top lip (the one the surgeon made for him with his first surgery)

has grown attached to his "front piece"

That top lip is supposed to push that piece down inside his mouth, 

into place and then the next surgery would be the palate surgery, 

usually around 12 or 13 months.

His sides of his mouth, his gums have grown closer together (from sucking, which is natural)

so there is actually not enough room in his mouth for this to go down

The dentist looked at his mouth to see if anything could be done,

nothing can from his standpoint, there are no teeth yet and they really can't do anything with that 

til his adult teeth start coming in, around age 7

They would first need to surgically move his sides of his gums (mouth)

out more, to make room for the next surgery of pulling that front piece down and into place, 

with some kind of mouth piece (attached surgically)

SO

in my quick version of this:

He will look like this, with added teeth sticking out

(like the children in pictures you see in other countries)

til he's 7!!!

His Premaxilla is unusually large compared to most babies with a bilateral cleft.

(hat made by Amy)

 Now, you must know that we love him, exactly and perfectly the way he is.

The way God made him.

Every time I see him and hold him and kiss him,

I am reminded of God's Creation,

How when he was being Created, there is just one thing that was not attached, and 

brought together (his cleft lip and mouth)

God made him this way on purpose,

God does not make mistakes, He does not forget things.

I know I love my children, but to go through the things we have for Simeon,

I am amazed at how much love we have for him (and all our kiddos)

and that if I have that much love for my children, 

how much Love then, does God have for us?

Much, much more!!!

What a gift he is to all of us.

Tom and I have decided to get a second opinion, in the Twin Cities,

at the Children's Hospital down there

Hoping maybe that they have seen something similar and 

will know what could be done if anything.

In my mind, I thought he would look "normal" (to the world)

by a year old.

I knew he would need several surgeries by age 18

but

now know it will be many, many more and til he's actually 25!!

All this can cause a person to question

to wonder "Why?"

To wish different

To feel it is the worst news.

But

We have faith

We TRUST

We love and accept him, always, no matter what he looks like, 

We only see a beautiful little boy, with bright eyes and a killer smile
that melts my heart every time I see it!!

So

we know

it's not the worst news.

I think God sees us that way too

Through all our flaws, 

(we have many)

He only sees our soul

and it's potential

It's beauty.

Thank you God for this beautiful, perfect little boy!!

(Simeon will also be having surgery on his Ureters/Kidneys on December 18th)

I'm Hooked!

I started watching this show last week, while pumping during the night.

(via Netflix streamed to the TV)

I'm almost done with the first season.

It's pretty good

I really like the take on storybook characters

and

I like that with each show,

 the viewer gets to know another character

and

the cliffhangers are small,

 but interesting.

Any suggestions for anything else I'd like? 

I've watched Full House, George Lopez, 

every episode of Dr Phil from 2006, and

just about every infamertial on during the night.

(when I try to pray, I fall asleep, and when I fall asleep, my milk spills and 

stops coming out...need to sit up straight and stay awake, so I pray during the daytime ones)

Thankful

 Thankful it does not have to be Thursday to be Thankful...

Thankful for fun trees at the park for kids to play in....

 Thankful for these cool red bowls I found at Target

(for really cheap)

When I go to Target, I feel like I'm shopping at a fine department store 

compared to good ol' Wal-Mart where I usually go.

At Target, everyone seems to be dressed up, the shoppers are just...different.

 Thankful I can get lots of milk still...

last week, I tried to take away one pumping

(the middle of the night one)

big mistake

it effected all my pumpings

my supply went down.

(by 3 ounces)

SO I'm

back to pumping every 6 hours, even in the night.

I pump for over an hour to get the 12 ounces Simeon needs

for the next 6 hours

At least 4 hours per 24 hours, I'm sitting pumping

SO Thankful I've made it almost 10 months!!

My goal is to pump til he's 13 months, then

use my freezer supply 

and somehow ween him to whole milk....

 Thankful we had beautiful weather here in MN

the first part of the week and we were able to escape to a park to enjoy it!

"Wait!!  Are you throwing rocks at the ducks?"

 Thankful...

 Thankful for big sisters who help so much.

Look how she's holding her hand, just automatically.

I didn't even have to ask her to!
Big sis helping in the picture above this one too...so blessed.

 Thankful for as crazy as life is

as hard and busy as it is, I'm still so very thankful 

for these kiddos!

 Thankful for funny things like this.

Seriously, who put away the napkins like this?

Ya have to laugh.

 Thankful for cuuuuuute cub/boy scouts like these that come to my door, 

Now, how is a mama to resist buying popcorn from these cutie pies?

(I couldn't even resist kissing them and taking a picture!)

It's OK, we know them!

 Thankful for chubby babies

 Baby kisses and baby giggles and baby hugs and baby fuzzy heads 

Oh, the joy babies give to us.

 Thankful for little girls and this grocery cart that has made it through 

all my kiddos, she pushes this cart everywhere, and plays shopping all the time!

 Thankful again, for babies!!

 Oh, yeah, and babies in the sink...

 and rolling babies....

why crawl, when I can just roll everywhere?

Have a great weekend everyone!!