Two More Days

It's almost that time of year again and everyone in this house is getting excited...


Some new members of the family aren't quite sure what to make of the refrains of Carmen Ohio (all the older girls are well-versed in OSU fight songs) being sung at the top of little lungs. Others are doing their best to imitate the I-O response to Mom's O-H shouts...


With three new little Buckeyes this year, this house will be rocking with even more loud cheering (or at least screaming and crying because Mom is glued to the tv screen).
Little Gabe, while excited for the quickly approaching college football season, must have some sense that he is about to lose Mama's attention on Saturday afternoons.

Two more days!
O-H!!

Wordless Wednesday

Gabe and the Giant Peach Edition

captioned- My two new teeth just aren't cutting it :)

Binky Wars

When Banana was born, I read all the books, all the books. I knew from that reading that when she was born, we would have nothing to do with binkies, pacifiers, or nuks. Whatever you called them, I didn't need them. While I gave these instructions explicitly to the hospital, on Banana's first return from the hospital nursery, she was contentedly sucking on a new bright green binky peaceful as can be. From that early moment, the binky became a part of her baby days, and her toddler days. Thankfully, breastfeeding went so well, the binky was no trouble.

You sure can tell she was a first child with a binky to match the dress :)

There was another problem though. We could never find a binky when we most needed them. After countless episodes of MIA binkies at the most inopportune moments (baby screaming, food in the oven burning, on an important phone call, you get the picture), I invested a small fortune in binkies. We had them everywhere, except when we needed them most, like the middle of the night. Dh thought this was all too much hassle, not to mention expensive, so when Bear was born he said NO BINKY!! I went along at the beginning. I remembered those sleepless nights searching for a binky.

Look at those pursed lips--no binky for her

After a few weeks, however, I missed the binky. I missed it terribly. Bear had no other pacifier but me and I was exhausted. I had a cough I couldn't kick, we had just moved across the country into a new house, and I needed her to take a binky. So I bought every kind you can imagine. Who knew there could be so many varieties? I tried them one after the other, but she would have nothing to do with any of them. Oh how I longed for that binky in many rough moments.

Gabe, my dear boy, loves his binky. Maybe not as much as Banana, but enough to give me a few moments of peace in a pinch. For many months we had the same binky, and one on reserve. I thought that perhaps the key to not losing binkies was to only have one and keep track of it. That tactic seemed to work. Until a new war was waged....

Me against the dog. Bella decided the binky makes a great chew toy. She chews every last one she can wrap in her paws. She pulls them out of the swing, off the bouncy seat, and I speculate she has jumped on the couch to get them. I have bought at least six new packages and today, after this, I am once again down to my very last binky!

Thirteen Years Ago

Now subtitled "You're So Vain, You Probably Think This Post is About You"

Last week I began this post. I just wanted a fairly short, hopefully witty, somewhat sweet, post to wish my wonderful dh a happy anniversary. A post that let him, and the world, know how thankful I am for him and our marriage.

The problem is nothing witty made its way across my keyboard. Each attempt at wit seemed either overly sarcastic or fell short of humor. Other attempts at sweetness seemed more like a sugar-coated marshmallow approach. In the end I scrapped the post, or rather I left it to wither in the draft column of unfinished blog posts. Then I began new posts, posts about summer activities, the finished kitchen remodel, our coming vacation, and school starting.

Dh, however, feels thirteen long years of marriage to me deserves, at the very least, a small blog post commemorating these years together. So here it is, several days late, still not witty, and probably so sickeningly sweet it will cause our children's teeth to develop cavities...

Thirteen years ago, I began the adventure of a lifetime with my wonderful dh. Who knew thirteen years later I would love him more than I did that day? Thank you for your constant, faithful love of God, His Church, our beautiful children-- and me.

Happy Anniversary, I love you very much.

Ramping Up

"Organization is what you do before you do something, so that when you do it, it’s not all mixed up."

~A. A. Milne

With the kitchen renovations finished (the fourth, and hopefully final, stove was delivered yesterday), and the great basement clean up wrapping up this afternoon, it is time to turn my attention to the coming school year. The books arrived much too early for me to think of opening them. They are currently in a pile in a corner of what will soon be the homeschool room. A silent reminder that the days of summer are quickly passing. New desks for Banana and Bear are scheduled to arrive tomorrow. I still have a few books to order, a schedule to finalize, a trip out for basic school supplies, and I am trying to think of creative strategies for keeping two toddlers entertained.

Our summer of family visits, park days, VBS, swimming, and the occasional lazy days is coming to an end much too soon for me.

Best Seat in the House

Our little Gabe (Gaby Baby is his current nickname, although I am sure he won't tolerate that too long) finds the floor a pretty dangerous place to be. Not only are there 7 people walking around, there is a little two year old boy who likes to run his cars and trucks all over the floor. The baby becomes a favorite makeshift garage or collision center for the cars (and occasionally the boy too). To save him from impending disasters, I keep little Gabe off the floor. As a result, he is a little behind his peers in the sitting up department.However, he is not behind in his desire for solid foods. He carefully watches every bite I take, he hones in on my spoon and makes many attempts to intercept whatever goodies are making their way to my mouth. Now that it is time to start some solids, I needed a place to sit him. There are already two highchairs monopolizing too much space in my kitchen, so I am not open to another high chair. I found this seat a few nights ago and it has worked beautifully. In fact it has become a favored seat...

For girls and boys...