End of a long weekend...

On Wed. after noon at 3 pm the boys were done with school until Monday! Which gave us plenty of time to get ready for Halloween, or at least it should have... no I think we are ready but it was an exhausting, very fun, action packed 4 day weekend.

Thursday was Dave's day off which is always fun for the boys since he works almost every weekend when they have their "days off." So we spent most of the day cleaning and playing and then carved pumpkins while Dave made dinner. After we ate we decided since the kids didn't have school the next day and we didn't get a chance to run out during the day that we would all go to Wal-mart at 8 o'clock at night. Strange I know but I was actually quite excited about it, when we just had the two older boys before they started school we use to be night owls and going out shopping at 8 pm was never a big deal but of course having kids in school changes all that so for whatever reason I was tickled to be out at that hour with my family. Anyway of course one of the reasons we went there was to get candles for the pumpkins which I completely forgot... I guess that is what happens when an always tired, pregnant woman tries to shop after her bedtime.

Friday Gage had a play date at his friend Sam's house, so I invited Kain's friend Adam over to keep him busy. Kain just made me laugh since when Adam showed up he said "Gage is at his friend's house so we don't have to worry about him bothering us" I don't think it was much more than a few hours later Kain was asking when Gage was coming home because they wanted to play with him. I guess absence really does make the heart grow fonder. They make me crazy most of the time when it seems they can't do anything together without picking on one another but it makes me so happy at moments like this when I realize just how close they truly are!

I was able to get candles for their pumpkins on Friday since Dave was home sick with a headache I did manage to get away with no kids and run to the store for an hour. These moments honestly feel like a dream some days. I will leisurely stroll through Target looking at anything just enjoying being out by myself. I is like when your parents start letting you stay home alone or the feeling you had when you first moved out on your own and had your very own place or some days I swear my trips to Target or the Grocery store by myself are like most women's day at the spa... how pampered I feel.

After the day at the spa, Sat. morning came all too quickly and it was not an easy task for any of us to pull ourselves out of bed that day... well except for Kain who was bouncing off the walls ready for his last football game. So as I rolled out of bed WAY later than I should with it being WAY darker out than it should, I grabbed the warmest socks and sweater I could find and proceeded to chase the little ones around to get them dressed. When I finally ran into Kain that morning I advised him he may want to dress warmed than the shorts and a t-shirt he was in but he refused and honestly I have bigger battles to fight each morning with four kids than to worry about stupidity. I figure there are some things kids should just learn on their own and dressing for the weather is one of those I choose to let them learn for themselves. You see if I completely exhaust myself arguing with them about what to wear and they finally do they really understand the why behind what happened... but if I let them freeze their butt of for an hour perhaps next time they will think twice when I say they should dress warmer.

So we all run out the door at five after nine (yes the game starts at nine) but lucky for us it is just right down the street. Soon after we get there it starts to rain, not hard but rain in 47 degree, windy weather none the less. So after about 15 minutes of Brody, Aubriel, Gage and I huddled together with blankets wrapped around us to stay warm I decide to bring the kids to the truck. Now the truck is parked on the street and the game is in the park which you have to walk down this little path in between a couple of houses to get to. So I lock them in and put the 6 year old in charge and then proceed to warm myself by running back and forth between the game and the truck crossing my fingers that no one in one of these houses will call the cops on me for locking my children in my truck. I can't give you a complete play by play of the game since I did not see much of it but I did see Kain score the first touchdown, I saw him pass an incomplete pass, I did find a fleece in the back of our truck for him to wear after he decided he was indeed cold, imagine that. Then lucky for him and his half frost bitten fingers someone came around handing out some company brand gloves for free to all the kids! I did at one point see Kain almost intercept the ball but instead the other did in fact catch it and then trampled my kid so he was laying there in the cold wet grass for a while... that is until his friend helped him up and then threw his arm around him in a "buddy" sort of way and they got ready for the next play. I have heard lots of mothers say they don't like their kids playing football because it is too rough of a sport and oh my gosh is it ever but FAR more for us as mothers than the kids playing it! I guess they ended up tying 21-21. Now this is when I truly appreciate how very well behaved my children are (of course they are not always but for the most part they are) I know this when I can leave my 6, 4 and 2 year old in my truck which I later realize had a red gatorade in it, scissors in the glove box and markers in the middle console and they simply played gameboys and drew pictures with paper and pencils. I talk to a lot of moms that do not like their kids playing video games and I am the first to admit that mine could play a LOT less but I swear these gameboys are the best thing we ever bought. Sure one can argue that kids can have just as much fun with paper and empty toilet paper rolls which have been around forever but lets be honest kids on the prairie did not have to spend hours sitting at their sibling games and activities. I also think that kids don't have to be in as much stuff as they are either but then everyone says if you keep them busy it keeps them out of trouble. So maybe years ago when there was no gameboys and less activities there was just less trouble too... or maybe it was just the trouble they feared from their parents was worse than any other. Okay enough analyzing this at any rate.

I left the game with my three warm children and my one frozen one and rushed home to get them in their Halloween costumes to go to De Pere and trick or treat at the downtown businesses where my mom was working that day. Kain did not argue about dressing warmer and Gage even asked to bring a jacket... how refreshing. Lucky for us though the sun came out and the wind died down which made for a perfect afternoon.

Today everyone woke up with either a cough, runny nose, breathing problems in Gage case and/or a headache unfortunately. So we took it easy this afternoon and tried to get some stuff done around the house. We didn't even make church this morning but still had to make the drive to pick up our milk from my friend. My mom made her weekly visit and helped me a ton as usual which is always appreciated. Now here it is 11 pm and I am more than ready for bed.

Tomorrow night is the school dance and then trick or treating again on Wed. so I will have more pictures to share!

Names that tell a story...

This is the topic on mine and David's minds most right now as we try to find the perfect name for our newest family member. It may seem rather early to some seeing as how I am only 10 weeks but I am sure it will take us the next 30 weeks if not longer to do so. David said we can't think of any more first names until we settle on middle names, he likes to be able to say the whole name out loud before deciding if he likes it or not. I am sure most find a middle name that goes with the first name that they like but I suppose this makes us a little different. We like our children's names to tell a story... we feel since we get to pick the first name we like and middle names for the most part are useless they should be used to honor someone or tell something beautiful about your life to be carried on in the next generation. Neither of us believe in naming children after ourselves, although I know this is a popular tradition and by only pure coincidence do David and Kain have the same middle name, only because Kain Samuel sounded better than Kain Dean.

Kain was named after David's Grandfather, Samuel, whom he has such fond childhood memories of so that was picked out from the very beginning. It just so happens David was named after him as well but that was not the reason for the name being given... I suppose the name was actually given for the same reason to each of them... for an amazing person that impacted lives greatly.

My middle name is Rose and I was named after the Dr. and dear friend's of my parents that helped them with my home birth. Rose was their last name. So considering our Dr. with both Kain and Gage was also a friend of ours and given the way childbirth most often happens in hospitals these days we were grateful to have such a natural minded Dr. in our corner. So we stayed with that tradition with Gage and gave him the middle name of Peri after her.

Aubriel's middle name is after my Grandpa. It was a struggle for my husband to get past the fact that she was being named after a man but knew how very important it was to me. My Grandpa meant the world to me and I know I did to him as well, or so my father tells me often. I have had many male cousins named after him but little girls made my Grandpa's heart melt and with only ever having one daughter of his own and living long enough to see two of his grand-daughters I desperately wanted to give my daughter the middle name of Keith after him.

When Brodric came along our dear friend and midwife, Becky had helped with both Aubriel and Brody's home births so we decided to keep it even, stay again with tradition and honor her with our deep gratitude for all she had done for us and give him the middle name of Becket. It just seemed so right.

So now that leaves us with naming this little one... and what to do... and how to do it. Do we pick a family name? If so which side of the family? Do we try to find a neutral name with deep meaning for both of us? David and I have known one another for over 15 years one would think it wouldn't be so hard! About the most neutral people in our lives we have already used.... my brother and our friend, Jason, the reason we met. Aubriel's first name is a combination of the letters from my mother and brother's names and Brodric is a combination of David's grandpa's middle name and Jason's middle name. So that kind of leaves out simply naming a child after my mother... because honestly who deserves more honor than a mother or grandmother... really? What kind of parents would any of us be without them, even if some of us even had poor experiences, we know what not to do, right? Ha, ha, ha. That of course was not the case with my mother. I was incredibly blessed to have such a wonderful mother that continues to make me crazy on a daily basis and I will do the same with my children because good or bad that is our job.

So now here we sit trying to find a middle name, that tells a story, one that our children will hopefully be proud to continue to tell, that isn't "after" us necessarily, but shares with them an important part of our lives which in turn ends up being an important part of theirs.

Wedding Bliss

I title this only partly tongue and cheek.... I honestly LOVE weddings, I mean their is nothing better to remind one of your own love that you have and to look back on how it has grown since your own wedding than watching to people deeply, madly, in love pledge themselves to one another before everyone they hold dear. And I must say I truly melt at the opportunity to dance with my loving husband at a wedding, that is to say if we get a free moment but more often than not we can always squeeze in at least one dance... although I must say after last night I think that may become harder and harder to get with my daughter deciding she has more right to dance with her father than I do.

Last night Ryan and Laura got married and although I know getting four kids ready for a wedding and getting there on time I love having my children there. I am not sure exactly what it is that raises the parents of many children expectations for events like this but it seems to be consistent of other large families I talk to. It is almost like because we have so many we need to some how compensate for it by having "perfect" families... maybe it is the comments of the few such as "well, you asked to have this many" or "boy do you have your hands full" or "wow, you have more than you can handle" or maybe it is just our anticipation that they will say or think this or maybe it is really just that at some point each of us have thought these very things to ourselves. Although if any or all of the above are true that doesn't change the fact that we wouldn't change one thing about having them. But it is frustrating when we feel like the mom's of few are allowed to have the "bad days" but we aren't since we asked for it.

None the less, Dave helped as much as he could before he left for the church and I was able to get Aubriel's hair done and only had to dress the children.... I mean really how hard can this be... right? I got the kids a snack, went and dressed myself and then called the older two up to help them into their suits, at this point things were going smoothly... almost too smoothly. Just as Gage was putting on his coat and said to Kain "you look just like Mr. watch and game" which made me laugh as I had NO idea what that meant (I guess it is video game related) Brody came walking in covered in poop. At some point between having a snack and me getting the boys dressed he managed to undress AND poop, in that order. So I as quickly as I could bathed and dressed him and then dressed Aubriel to walk out the door at 15 minutes to! Only to arrive to the church and have Aubriel almost fall off the back of the truck while playing in the parking lot and come very close to locking the keys inside it. At this point I am just hoping no one heard the crazy lady screaming at her beautifully dressed children that probably looked so nice it would make anyone wonder how one could even raise your voice to them. We quickly found Dave to seat us and I broke out the quiet toys for the kids.

The wedding started within minutes of us getting there which was probably perfect. Brody was sleeping and the others were quiet and I was able to collect myself. It was a beautiful wedding and it was SUCH a nice day outside. Such a rare thing for a late Oct. day in Wisconsin but I don't think more perfect weather could have been ordered for the day. Brody woke up half way through and was a little fussy from his shoes that were too small (I have no clue how that happened, he is like Cinderella, I bought 3 pairs and all were too big or too small). So after the wedding and family pictures we stopped by home to get, yes, his favorite orange boots to wear at the reception. Sure it didn't exactly go with his suit but one needs to be flexible right?

So as with anything with our children, I stress for weeks before and the day of but as soon as we get somewhere they behave wonderfully (well Brody had some normal two year old moments but not too bad), they look amazing and I simply relax and really enjoy the time spent with my large family. We had dinner with Dave's grandparents and then enjoyed dancing and socializing the rest of the evening. The kids had a blast and we had so much fun watching them.

Kain Dancing

Gage and Brody Dancing

Kain and Gage Dancing

Dave and Gage Dancing

Brody thinking about dancing with his cousin

Yes, that would be Brody and Bailey playing under the table

Aubriel Dancing with her Daddy

Aubriel Dancing with Uncle Scott

Aubriel Dancing with Grandpa (Aubriel did a LOT of dancing)

All the kids by 11 PM

So I guess even if it is just our own insecurities that make us wonder if we can really do it again that causes our stressful moments of over whelming children it is definitely the latter moments that keeps us coming back for more. It is these precious, perfect, serene, moments in time, that always far out weighs the bad and stressful ones and makes us so in love with the family we have!

Our Baby is 2!!!

Yesterday our little Brodric Becket turned two years old! I swear it goes by faster with each child. He is what is known as our "bonus baby" around here since he was truly our unplanned but by no means unwanted baby. Although I think David and I only actually "tired" for 1 of our children I think every couple enters marriage with some magic number whether that be more or less children then you end up with. It must run in my genes since my parents magic number was 0 and then ended up with 2. For us our "magic number" was definitely less then what we will end up with. We planned on having 3 when we first got married but after Aubriel it just never quite felt complete, sometimes I don't wonder if our magic number is what made the experience of having Brody just that much sweeter. Not only was he not "planned" but he was in the truest sense a bonus. Webster defines bonus as "something in addition to what is expected or strictly due." We expected to have 3 so when we were blessed with another that we didn't even know we needed until he entered our lives we were over come with just as much joy and happiness as our first 3 but with an added sense of gratitude that once again someone would pick us to be their parents. Some cultures believe that it is the soul that choose their parents, I believe this must be true because for the life of me I can not imagine what I could have done or been to deserve someone gifting me such an amazing present as my children. Plus when I am being told I am the meanest mom ever I like to remind them that they choose me as their mom. I am just kidding I don't really do that.

Now that is not to say he has not come with his challenges because he has plenty to make up for his incredible cuteness. But in the two years he has been a part of our family he has made each and every one of us feel so blessed to have him in our lives! Two years ago he was welcomed into our family by everyone in our family, his brothers and sister were there to witness his birth, cut his cord, help dress him, kiss him, hug him and love him from the first moments of new breath. It was such a beautiful beginning to a life, one that I feel not only he will benefit from but the other children as well as the bond that was forged between them in the first moments of life.

Here are some pictures of our baby's last birthday as the "baby." I am excited to continue to watch him grow, to watch his relationship with his older siblings and then with his new younger one on the way. He continues to be such a light in all of our lives, I just know our lives never would have been quite as bright without him!

We just keep getting larger...

Well, I think by now the "cat should be out of the bag" and just about everyone knows we are being blessed yet again with another baby in May. As the calls and emails have been coming in over the last weeks there has been some mixed emotions mostly happiness but some feeling out of the loop which was certainly not our intentions. We weren't exactly sure how we wanted to approach the issue at first... we were planning to wait even longer but it gets harder to hide the fact you are pregnant by the time you get to your fifth. We are so happy to be expecting another baby, anyone that has more than one child knows that the love you feel for one simply belongs all to them, it is like when you welcome another life into the world you create new love (from who knows where because before them you were sure the others had tapped all you had) that is tailor made just for them. However the utter shock that you see one some peoples faces when you tell them that you are expecting your 5th child is sometimes hard to take. Followed by the top 3 comments; Wow, another one!, did you plan this?, and my personal favorite boy you are going to have your hands full. Well, anyone that has parented knows your hands end up full as soon as that baby is born no matter how many you have and after 3 Dave and I really reached a point where it was like what is one more. I think it is hard for someone that struggles with their 3 kids to even think of adding one more to the mix but honestly I think 3 is where you reach the turning point of it going up hill to back down, I must say the trip down although easier sometimes is much faster. I thought having two kids was far and away the easiest. When you just have one you have to be everything, mommy/daddy, friend, brother/sister, entertainer you name it, if they are bored you are not just going to hear about it but you are going to WANT to do something about it. After Gage came along about one year later Dave and I were introduced to the bliss (and sometimes pains) of siblings but more often than not Kain and Gage found a best friend in one another and luckily for us continue to which made our job so much easier... then Aubriel came. That was when Kain and Gage found they could use this to their advantage and we found ourselves completely out numbered. There were many days with Brody's pregnancy that we wondered what we were doing but after he came we knew it fit our family perfectly. Aubriel found out that she was a "little mama" inside and that I had given birth to her very own live baby... aside from nursing and changing Brody's diaper and I am really not even sure who in the last two years of his life has mothered him more. He has proven to be mischievous of a child than any of the others but luckily we have done well enough raising the first 3 that they help to look after him. I think after surviving 3 children and Brody (which has been a feet all in itself) # 5 should not even faze us... or it will completely push us over the edge and Dave and I will end up crazy but if that is to happen we will be leaving them in the loving arms of their amazing, wonderful, brothers and sister.

The kids were thrilled when they heard the news, even on the days that Brody drives them nuts they can't go too long without saying how much they love having a baby brother. Family is such an important part of life and I always want my children to be surrounded by it. It is true we can not pick our families, nor do we always like them even but if I give my children many siblings I can hope that at least some of them can create bonds that will never be broken and if some choose not to maintain those at least they will know they have someone there for them if they need/want it!

I am 9 weeks today and "due" on May 16th but I am just saying mid May. I have had late babies and early babies so one never knows when this baby will choose their birth day and we would not want to prevent that in any way. I will keep you up to date on the progression of the pregnancy as I have news... probably not a lot to start with. We will be having another home birth and most likely a water birth as well.

Thank you to all who wished us well in our up coming adventure it means so much to us!

Just another October in Wisconsin

So here are some pictures taken last Sat. it was SO hot we broke out the kids new slip and slide we got on clearance at Target and were saving for next summer...

And now just two days later here is the picture of our slip and slide still set up in the back yard...

The weird thing is this is just "normal" for around here.
Kain played his second flag football game on Sat. and I think they are starting to realize what I have already known because Kain got the ball right away as soon as the game started. They are doing a little better, they tied this week 21 - 21 but Kain and I believe they really should have won but Kain did not realize stripping the ball from the other team is frowned upon in "this" football game... his Dad was quite proud though. I missed his first touchdown, bringing Aubriel to the bathroom but got a play by play from Gage when I returned, cheered him on for his second touchdown and missed his interception for a touchdown at the end of the game tying it up because I was bringing Bro to the bathroom. Kain can't wait for his Grandma to see him this coming weekend and his Dad to catch his game the nexted Sat.!

19 to 10...

That was the score of Kain's first football game today (the last two weeks have just been practice), unfortunately Kain's team was the 10. Now I know what I am about to go off about is pretty much any mother bragging about their child but for the record in MY case it is different because it is actually true. Kain is by far the best player on the team... not only did Kain single handily keep the team from getting totally crushed because I swear he was the only one out there pulling flags BUT he had a hand in everyone of the ten points their team scored. So after Kain not getting the ball for most of the game, while his mother sat on the sidelines contemplate giving his coach a piece of my mind, they FINALLY gave him the ball... Kain scored the first 2 points with a safety, was the QB on the their only touchdown and took out the sting of losing with a run and dive just hitting the pylon on the final play of the game for the last 2 points scored! I was so proud (just in case you couldn't tell that already) too bad his Dad wasn't there to see him in all his glory. I unfortunately brought the camera but got no pictures of the game since I forgot to make sure the memory card was in it... that seems to happen more often after David uses the camera last I have noticed. Oh well, he has 4 weeks left and is loving every minute of it. I think he will enjoy it even more next year when he plays more "real" games as Kain claims the score should not have been that bad as they never called a penalty on the other team... his father is turning him into a football monster!

Never a dull moment...

Here is a picture of the kids playing in what our basement NOW looks like. Yesterday Kain had a football game and when returned Kain yelled up the basement "why is the carpet wet?" Well, needless to say it was more than just the carpet that was wet! We got a bunch of rain the night before and at some point our sump pump stopped working, I guess it isn't broken though so we are exactly sure what happened. So Dave left work to come home and help us clean everything in the basement. Then it turned out to be rather dead at work so he took the rest of the day off which enabled the kids and I to continue with our plans to go to the botanical gardens with my mom. Of course I forgot to bring my camera with me but it was a perfect day for being outside in nature.

This morning the three older kids and I headed off to church and Dave happened to have taken today off so not only did he keep Bro home with him but he cleaned even more of the house for me and made dinner as well... I am so lucky! I took this picture of the kids playing in the new open space this evening and of course right after this picture was taken Aubriel pointed out to me that spiders live in the corner I was standing in... nice. In any case it is motivating Dave and I to do a thorough cleaning of house starting at the ground floor and moving our way up, of course give it a week and the kids will take care of that!

Purple Team AGAIN!

This was Kain on Sat. morning when he started Flag Football for the season. He takes Flag Football and Basketball through the Y and for some reason he always seems to get put on the purple team. But he is just happy to be back out there playing the game he has waited all year for. Dave and I sat down and asked him if he wanted to do this again or start pop-warner but he was not sure he was ready for tackle... this of course was back in Jan. when you have to sign up for pop-warner... now he is thinking he probably would have been ready. Kain knows the rules of the game inside and out (thanks Dad!) and is very competitive so the Y's approach to "just having fun" and "not keeping score" (or even following what he KNOWS to be the rules) isn't sitting too well with him. But he still loves it and is showing great improvement over last year so no doubt he will be ready for tackle football next fall!

Anniversary Presents

Well, yesterday and today was mine and David's 9 year anniversary! It doesn't seem like it has been 9 years at all! About 4 years and 2 kids ago I would have wished for a sweet romantic anniversary present such as my children's birthstone rings with Kain and Gage's names engraved on them, we never did get around to getting the other two kids, but now I would be thrilled with a maid for a day. My first present of the day came from Aubriel which was a split cup on chocolate milk on my living room carpet... that was fun to clean up.

Then we come to Brody. Brody, Brod, Bro, well be fore I start with his lovely gift I should back up a little. Thanks to my father-in-law and lots of hard work by both him and Dave we have this beautiful garden now in our back yard...And this is what our vegetables look like after I pick them...And this is what they looked like yesterday after Brody decided to play ball with them in the living room....

And this is Brody desperately seeking sympathy from a mom that really had none left...

So, that was my present from Brodric yesterday afternoon.

Then my poor little Gage had an asthma attack for most of yesterday and throughout the night. We think now it is just a cold but my goodness it hits him SO hard!

What did Kain get me you ask? Nothing! Beautiful, wonderful, blissful, peaceful nothing. Luckily not only is he usually quite healthy but is also old enough to know that my threats may result in very real beatings.

So for this anniversary Dave and I exchanged sleep for our anniversary presents. He got to sleep from 3 am - 8 am and I got to sleep from 12noon - 2 pm, I think I may have more sleep coming. We did get to go out for a very nice dinner last night before Gage got real bad and today while I was snuggled in bed between my milk monster and tomato tosser, saying a prayer for my blue boy and counting my blessings for the well one, I remembered what my true anniversary present is... the same one I have gotten every day for the last wonderful 9 years... such a thoughtful, loving, husband and 4 sweet, amazing, sometimes very "special" children that makes up the most wonderful family a person could ask for!