My Beggars

The gang all ready to head out for Trick-or-Treat night.

Gabe the Giraffe hung out with Grandma at home to pass out treats.

Joseph thoroughly enjoyed his new train wheels. He also was quite fond of going door to door to get candy. Once he got the hang of it, he was full steam ahead.

Juju the Ladybug was easily frightened. Steam machines, masks, and people running amok made her quite nervous. This was more than made up for by the cute way she would say "tank oo" to all the neighbors.

Bophie, always my princess, is forever caught between being a "little" kid and a "big" kid. She spent the night trying to run with the older girls as Dad lad them on a quest to make it through all the houses in the neighborhood. He ended up carrying her for the most part.

Bear, a pilgrim/St. Eliazabeth Ann Seton (once I dye the cap black), packed on two pairs of jeans and three shirts under that costume. It was cold out there!

Banana, a doctor/St. Gianna Molla, led the quest for candy. She also handled pumpkin carving this year like a surgeon.

I should've taken pictures of the loot. Five beggars, two hours, and generous neighbors make for a house too full of chocolate for this low on will power, sleep-deprived mom.

Wednesday Afternoon

In Pictures

Just call him Scooter. Our little Gabe is finally on the move. He isn't crawling, he puts his arms down, moves one leg back and scoots-- everywhere. His current favorite scooting locations are the fireplace to see his reflection (and leave lots of fingerprints that drive Dad crazy), and the dog's water bowl (must be a boy thing). Don't tell dh he is wearing his Baby Legs (dh calls them leg warmers, the girls call them his caterpillar legs), they are really handy for diaper changing, and I think they are cute!

The girls are schooling outside this afternoon. It is unseasonably warm, but forecasters are calling for a cold front. So we are taking full advantage of the sun and warmth. This is, after all, reason 326 for home schooling.


In case you missed it, here is a close-up of little Bophie. This is what happens when Mom is too busy to help in the morning. A dress two sizes too big. I think I put those pigtails in on Monday and her hair hasn't been brushed since. Most of all the shoe choice. Not only mismatched, but in typical Bophie fashion, the shoes are on the wrong feet.

Ooooo Gross!

After a decade of life with girls, Joseph has brought a whole new level of "gross" to this family. Leave it to the boy to eat the dog food, incessantly play in the toilet, pull off his diapers and leave it for the dog, and.... well, I am sure you've heard enough.

Today, one can only hope, was the heighth of grossness for us. After finishing a grammar lesson with Bear, I walked into the living room to see Bophie playing with Little People. Joseph is uncharacteristically quietly watching her. I look down to see dog poop. Yuck! I quickly try to move everyone out of the room. As I pick up Joseph, a piece of slobber covered poop comes falling out of his mouth. Y.U.C.K!!!

Now, I am in panic mode. How sick is he going to get from dog poop? Am I going to get sick cleaning up this poop? Really, kid, dog poop?!

In the process, I move Bophie's pretty little purse to find more dog poop falling out of the purse. There is even a white piece in there! White? How did the dog poop in the purse? Then it suddenly occurs to me, this isn't poop. Thank goodness, it was only rocks.

Note to self: no collecting small rocks that when wet may closely resemble dog poop. Let's stick to the white, colorful, larger rocks, especially when stuffing our purses with them :)

It also really says a lot when I am relieved the boy was eating rocks...

We Will, We Will

In Juju speak "Bock tyou!"

While walking through the park, one child turns to Joseph and says, "You have mud on your face!"

The older girls in unison respond, "You big disgrace, Kicking your can all over the place!"

Dh replies, "It really says something about what you are teaching our daughters when they respond to such statements with refrains of Queen."

This sort of thing only happens during college football season :)

I'm No Supermom

I'm just a regular soccer mom...

Last night Banana had her last practice for the fall season. Her team was the regular season champs and are headed into the tournament in the #1 seed. This is really fantastic for a team that didn't win a game last season. I am so proud of her. She is working harder each day to be better at something that doesn't come easy for her. She may never be the best soccer player on the team, but I am truly impressed with her diligence and good attitude.

Since we home school, soccer is my one affiliation with other moms in our community. I am blessed to have a wonderful home schooling support network, as well as a parish that is chock full of large families. These sometimes become a little bubble world for me. Soccer takes me out of that bubble. I am forced to confront society at large. Except that by society at large I mostly mean the middle class, suburban, society that is my local community.

I have a rule that when meeting someone new I can mention that I have six children, OR I can mention that I home school. However, it is in my best interest not to divulge both in a single conversation. Either one of those things is so out of the norm for these soccer moms, that one can be somewhat explained, both must mean I am a certifiable.

Thankfully no one has been downright rude (OK, one of the soccer dads said, "Ohhhh, you're one of those crazy people" when I said we homeschooled-- of course following my rule, he had no idea I had six children. I just blew him off.). Mostly I hear things like, "You must be supermom." "You must have a lot of patience." "I could never do that." or worse, "You must be a saint."

What am I supposed to say to that? Do I offer some half hearted, even if it is true, rebuff at my parenting skills? Something that lets them know I'm no expert, and occasionally (truthfully, quite frequently) make just as many parenting mistakes as the next soccer mom. Do I mention how little patience I have, especially in those moments where the baby is fussing, Joseph is again playing in the toilet, while I am attempting to give a spelling test to Bear, Banana is asking some Math question, and Juju and Bophie are again bickering over a doll that is adding its own silly cries to the rabble that seems to be growing louder by the minute? Really, does anyone want to hear that? Do I really want to divulge those gory details of family life to practical strangers? (Better to divulge them to complete strangers by posting on the Internet :) )

On the other hand, I could agree with them, tell them I am supermom. I mean here I am (always with at least one extra kid in tow) on time to practice, after finishing a day of school, preparing dinner, and, usually, I even make it a point to shower and be presentable. As any homeschooling mom of six (with four under five) knows, this is quite the feat of superhero proportions. Never mind that I am well aware that I am anything but a superhero. Do I try to explain that I am only a saint in as much as I try, albeit very feebly, to live out this vocation I am called to? Would they even know what I meant by vocation? Not a job, not a chore, not a responsibility, not a choice, but rather a calling.

In the end, I mumble something mostly unintelligible. I fumble my words. I am quite certain my face turns about six shades of red. I stammer, look down, and then do my best to change the subject.

The truth is, I want to say something. I want to tell them how great my kids are. Tell them that each child brings a new wonderful dimension to our family. That life without anyone of them would seem somehow incomplete. I want to explain about the grace God gives me each day to handle a task that, while often overwhelming, brings innumerable and completely unfathomable rewards. That, yes indeed, my life is chaotic, noisy, and busy. My vocation as a mom is tiring, overwhelming, and often menial, but it is my calling and in the midst of immense chaos there is a truly beautiful peace that I know I am doing the will of God and fulfilling that call.

Since I can't seem to eloquently respond, how could anyone (least of all frazzled and inarticulate me), encapsulate all the beauty of the vocation of motherhood in a sound bite? I only hope that when they see me on Saturdays schlepping all the little ones through the soccer fields, they can sense it. That somehow God's light shines through the chaos of snacks, diapers, and keeping little ones busy while cheering on older ones.

After all, I can't do this all on my own, I'm no supermom.

Almost Wordless Wednesday

**Game Day Edition**

Gratuitous Cuteness

Our Ohio attempt minus one little boy

He was "helping" his dad make the chili :)

I Need One of These

Or rather Joseph needs one of these so his father and I can keep our sanity at the dinner table, especially after this weekend's squash soup encounter. Unfortunately, there are no videos of that.



This could also be filed under the "Why didn't I think of that?" category.