The day I learned I am terrible at making bubbles and other museum adventures

Today, Tuesday, is Kyle's Saturday so to celebrate him surviving two 16 hours shifts in a row, my weaning the baby, and general awesomeness.

We have a family membership that gets us in to over 300 children's museums nationwide (watch out world) so we took off this morning (okay this afternoon. I may have slept in til 11 to compensate for those hours I spent awake not nursing the baby) for the Boston Children's Museum. Easily the most famous and yuppie of them all. Or so I am told.

With the exception of having the besneezes scared out of me by two random snakes hiding in two random rooms (really guys? Can't you fence them off like at the zoo so those of us with phobias don't freak and almost leave out children behind trying to escape. A little warning would be awesome.) it was amazing. There was so much to do, so much to explore, so much to touch and try to destroy. The kids had a blast, we had a blast, and the kids are exhausted. I count any trip that leaves the kids tired as a success.

So here are the pictures.

If only I could get her to do this in real life

I tried to get a nice picture with my daughter but she was NOT having it.

Captain Madeleine and First Officer Pet. Or the worst flight of your life EVER.

She wasn't climbing it. She was crawling backwards. Talent.

Something about gravity. I still don't pay attention to science.

Waiting for the bus.

The only thing better than shopping is apparently asking other people for their moneys. And let me tell you, she was not selling quality produce. It tasted like plastic. (Oh lolz. I crack myself up)

This was Juliette's favorite part. Because we clearly do not have a train set at home.

Kyle kept trying to "teach the babies" but I think he really just wanted to play. He was not sharing either.

You were supposed to spell your name here. Madeleine first put up a "M" followed by an "A" and I was filling out the Harvard applications. She then followed it up with a whole bunch of nonsense and I tucked them back away.

In the hard hat on the truck. I'm pretty sure Kyle was jealous.

She actually got that the balls were supposed to roll down the hill. Not get slobbered on by the one-year-old which was her first idea

Sitting like a lady.... if that lady was Lady Mary Crawley. OH BURN!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Driving the house.

Driving the car. Much easier to steer.

I'm not sure if I was taking a picture of him or if he was photo bombing a picture of Madeleine.

Working together. So nice.

Explaining H20 to her sister. Amazing teacher. Juliette says, "Oh captain my captain!"

'
And the little boy had a good day too!

God bless everyone!

Here comes the sun!

Today it was about 80 degrees which is unheard of for this time of year and therefore must be taken advantage of. Therefore before we hauled Hannah's skinny butt to the airport so she could fly back to college (tear!) we made a pit stop at the park.

Unfortunately when we got there I realized that I had forgotten to bring their shoes. Mother. of. the. year. Twenty tear and screaming filled minutes later we were back at the park and ready for action.

After my kids were reacquainted with the concepts of "grass" and "sunshine" we ran around, climbed, stared at the other kids (them, not me), and let everyone go before us on the slide.

I took pictures.

Daddy-Daughter Date Day

They had been talking about it for weeks. Kyle and Madeleine were going on a daddy-daughter date. We'd had to put it off a few times because of illness but this week they were both healthy so I agreed that it should be put off no longer.

Kyle woke Madeleine up on Tuesday and asked her if she wanted to go on a plane. My usually very slow-to-wake toddler sprang out of bed and Kyle got her dressed up. They then took off for the airport, boarded a plane to Baltimore, and headed off on their adventure.

Madeleine would have been satisfied with just going on a plane, heck she probably would have been satisfied by watching planes with daddy at the airport, but when they landed in Baltimore Kyle had more surprised planned for her.

First, they had lunch in the airport terminal and then got on a train (A TRAIN!) to head over the aquarium to see the fishies! While they were on the train they even got to see a helicopter, which Madeleine hasn't stopped talking about since. At the aquarium they saw all sorts of fishies (Madeleine went up to the tanks of small fishes and went, "GUPPY GUPPY!!!" which I think all my Agape friends will appreciate.) and they also saw birds (which were her favorite, go figure), sharks, and a dolphin show! Madeleine came home telling me about how the dolphins were so funny and how they splashed all around in the water.

When they were leaving they made a stop over at the gift shop and Kyle let her pick out one present. She opted for a blue bird for herself and insisted on getting her little sister a pink dolphin, which Kyle obliged since it was so sweet that she even thought of her sister.

They took the train back to the airport and flew home to Boston. When they got back to the house Madeleine ran furiously in the door, her face full of excitement, and jumped on my lap to tell me all about her amazing day with the best daddy in the world. She gave her sister her present and we all settled on the couch to snuggle and spend time as a family... and eat chocolate ice cream.

Basically it was the most perfect date my two year old could have ever had with her daddy. I love them both so much!

Madeleine is growing

I'm not entirely sure how or when it happened but recently Madeleine has become a little girl. Maybe I was blind to it because I still see her as my little baby but the changes in her even since Christmas are just incredible.

Today at the doctors office while her sister was being examined she stood next to the chair and held Juliette's hand the whole time. She kept telling her, "It's okay baby. You doing so well baby. I know baby, it's okay." After the doctor was finished she asked if it was her turn and the doctor asked her if she was feeling sick. Madeleine said, "No Bitty Baby's (her doll) not feeling well." She the doctor examined her doll and Madeleine looked on with a very concerned expression. Later, as the doctor was leaving she told us that she would come back in soon with the medicine and Madeleine stared at her, raised her eyebrows, and said in a very serious tone, "Okay. Be right back." While the doctor was gone she held her sister's hand and my hand and sang the Barney "I love you." song to us.

Later at home she remained focused on her sister and making sure she was feeling okay. Of course, she isn't always an angel. She was throwing a toy around the room and I told her to stop. She looked at me and said, "No it's funny. I know!" It was not funny.

Overall she's a very sensitive little girl who seeks to please almost all the time. She is in tune with the needs and emotions of the people around her as much as a two and a half year old can be. She doesn't talk all the time, she has a more quiet personality, but loves singing and dancing. She loves animals, airplanes, helicopters, and princesses. She also seems to have a little toddler-sized devotion to Baby Jesus and his Mommy and Daddy. She's hard headed and bossy, she knows what she wants and can be extremely stubborn, but if she hurts her sister or gets in trouble with mommy and daddy she tends to be extremely repentant. She loves her family, idolizes her daddy, adores her sister, and can't get enough of her grandparents and aunties. She's imaginative, she tells me about the animals she sees in the trees and the airplanes she sees in the sky (which are usually not actually there) and tends to have "favorite things" (shows, toys, games, songs) that she always chooses over others.

Not everybody cares about every detail about my daughter quite the way I do but you see, that's not the point of this blog post. Madeleine is a person. She is a beautiful little girl with her own unique personality and look and her own beautiful soul. When I was pregnant with her I dreamed of getting to know her, watching her grow, seeing the person she would become. All those days and nights I spent puking or in pain, I knew they would be worth it but I never imagined how worth it. It's one thing to know that two pink lines on a pregnancy test become a person, in fact already are a person. It's a whole new thing when you are there to witness it day in and day out. That little soul that was growing inside me, I knew that if it was a girl I would name her Madeleine. Now that is no longer just a name to me. It's my daughter. My amazing, incredible little person that I get to love. My little gift from God.

I am so thankful for every day I get to know her better, to watch her grow. I am so thankful that God chose me to be her mother. I am so thankful that God has chosen to teach me about His Love in this way, as a mother to one of His little creations. I hope that it brings God as much joy to watch me grow as it brings me to watch Madeleine. I hope I please Him.

Thankful for BABIES

If you ignore the mess in the background (and please do!) you'll see two of the people I am most thankful in the whole entire world... and me... smelling the baby... they smell so GOOD after a bath! I hope you all enjoy your Thanksgiving! I'll be pigging out at my aunt and uncles. Should be a good day!

Things I have learned about Motherhood

Motherhood has a learning curve. With each child you have you learn more about yourself than you ever imagined. You also learn about your child (I hope). Annnnnd, you learn a lot about others and the world in which we live

1. Not everyone wants to hear about your kids.
BUT WHO CARES! Post about them anyway. The people that aren't your real friends can defriend you or block your feed, whatever! You only have a limited amount of time to brag about your babies firsts and their bowel movements and how cute they are before they get a facebook account of their own and yell at you. Your children are a part of you, my children are my heart. Why wouldn't I want to brag to the world about their cuteness? So if someone gives you grief about how your facebook or twitter has been entirely devoted to your little ones tell Tin Man to get a heart and just keep doing what you are doing.

2. Each kid is different.
I only have two kids and even I know this! Your parenting style should adapt to each special personality. Don't be so set in your ways that you don't recognize the individuality of each child.

3. Calm the heck down.
There is no reason your baby needs to know their ABCs by the time they are two. Do some art projects and play outside. If your kid is advanced, great. If not, don't sweat it. Kids tend to do things at their own pace so don't compare them to other kids and don't push them too hard because YOU think they should be somewhere they are not. If you have concerns, talk to your pediatrician. If he or she assures you that they are on track, listen to them. If they are concerned about anything, don't freak out. Many kids struggle through different developmental stages and they turn out just fine. It's pushing too hard or ignoring problems all together that compounds issues in the future. Love your child where they are and trust your instincts, just not the crazy ones.

4. Laugh at the crazy
There will be nights where both kids are up until one in the morning screaming and running in circles. You are exhausted and ready to put them on the front lawn with a sign that says "Free". Laugh about it. All moms have been there and they can share in your pain. If you let yourself get too stressed you will end up being cranky with the kids and that is no good for anyone.

5. Ask for help
Whether it is your hubby or a baby sitter, your parents or your in laws, don't be afraid to ask for help when you need it. It doesn't mean you are a failure, it just means you are tapped out. Take a nap or a date night and forget about the laundry at home. We all need a break at times. Motherhood is the only job you work 24/7, no matter if you stay home all day or go to work as well. Take some time for you and you will be a better mother to your kids.

6. People will think you are wrong.
About EVERYTHING. The nice people make suggestions. Others stick their noses in the air and tell you that if you do/don't get your kid vaccinated, etc that you are a disgrace to motherhood. Honestly, just ignore them. Do your research, talk to your spouse, and make a prayerful decision together. Then stop worrying about what others think. Nobody wants the best for your children more than you so when people try to tell you what to do, it's usually to make themselves feel important. Not to actually help. If they have good advice, don't be so prideful you won't take it but ignore all the negative. And then laugh about it later with your spouse.

7. Pray every day.
It's really the only way to stay sane and it's the only way you will be able to do motherhood right. Our babies are a gift from God and no one knows how to love them better than Him, so just talk to God all the time and let Him lead you.

8. Less is more.
You want your kid to have everything, that is normal. But it's also a pain in the butt to clean up. Limit toys and books, store things you aren't using. For differnt developmental stages I rotate out toys. That way they have new things to explore and learn with and everything they own isn't all over the floor at once. Same with clothes. My kids have a lot more clothing in the smaller sizes than they do in their larger sizes. That's because I finally go just how much money I spent and how little they wore each item. It's cute, but not necessary.

9. Give them siblings
My sisters are so incredibly important to me and the person I have become. Juliette is already Madeleine's best friend. I know some people may not be able to have large families because of health, infertility, or severe money issues, but those things aside nothing is a better gift than a sibling. If I had to make a choice between a fancy vacation, an upgrade to my house or car, jewelry, new electronics, new toys, new clothes for myself or a new baby... I would choose a new baby every time. With that said, spend quality alone time with each child you have and celebrate the gift that THEY are. Don't beat yourself up if you aren't keeping up with the Duggars. I know I won't be! Use NFP and you will be trusting in God's plan for your family. No plan is better than His.

10. Make time for your spouse
You wouldn't even have your babies without him. The happiest children comes from families with happy marriages. You can't have a happy marriage if you don't take time out to spend with each other. Always put your spouse before yourself and look to exemplify a marriage centered on God for the world by loving each other like He loves His Church, so much that He died for it.

That's ten things and I am super tired so I am done for the night. I'm a beginner mommy so I know these things may seem "duh" but the were amazing things for me to learn over these past two and a half years. I am thankful for Kyle and my super awesome and adorable babies to teach me every day. Motherhood has changed me to my very core and made me a better person than I ever dreamed I could be. I still have a looong way to go but I'll have God and my family by my side for the journey so I think I'll get there.

Seven Quick Takes- Maybe if I had more coffee I would be coherent.

1. Juliette Marie will be the death of me. She started walking this week (hooray) and today while we waiting for Kyle to show up she carried a chair around Carters looking for something to climb. I spend most of my day trying to prevent her from diving headfirst off of chairs and couches... or from choking the one small magnet that slip down the fridge to where she could reach it. I'm gonna go grey sooner than I thought.

2. Right now Madeleine is playing with her ABC puzzle, Juliette has climbed up the couch and is leaning over the box with their cardboard blocks in it, removing them one by one and laughing/grunting happily. (Not that I just put them all back in there five minutes ago or anything. Really, that was just a stupid move on my part.) Madeleine looks over periodically, shakes her head, and says, "No Ju-etch. No baby."

3. Madeleine is now interested in TOYS. This means while we shop she reaches over and puts something she wants in the cart. If I take it out, she tells me, "No. Madeleine like (insert toy/movie/sock here)." This makes check out interesting. She places the item on the belt and I stealthily signal to the check out person that said item will not be going home with us. I distract Madeleine with my awesome dance skills or something equally embarrassing to us all and we get out of the store without incident. I know I could explain it to her and just tell her no from the beginning but I'm tired and just want to shop without the screaming. My system works for now.

4. With her new found interest in TOYS, Madeleine requests on a daily basis to go to Toys R Us to play with the trains. She hasn't figured out yet that we can actually buy stuff there so I'm usually good with it. She also has no idea that SANTA is getting her a wooden train set for Christmas! Until then we are making our weekly pilgrimage to visit Tomas and his friends.

5. My kiddos are tough. While we play with the train sets little boys twice their age and size usually show up to do the same and they always try to push my girls around. They hold their ground without pushing back. I am a very proud momma. We need more strong women in this world.

6.I've recently realized the power of phrasing things the right way. For instance, "Madeleine you need to eat your fruit." gets an emphatic, "NOOOOO". However, "Madeleine if you eat your chicken I'll let you have some fruit." gets an "OH YAY MOMMY." I'm hoping I can use this power on Kyle, "Babe if you do the dishes I'll let you sweep the floor!" Brilliant.

7. I'm trying to figure out ways to involve my two year old in Advent this year. I'm praying I come up with something soon... my theology and catechetics degrees should be able to help out with this. I mean, hopefully that knowledge isn't stored in the part of my brain that was wiped out when I gave birth and replaced with Goodnight Moon and every book by Sandra Boynton. Actually, I think that was the "math" and "reasonable hormonal responses" sections so I think we should be good. Advent here we come!

See more at http://www.conversiondiary.com/

What mass is like with kids

Back before I had kids I would see the two year old climbing all over the pew and think to myself, "Horrors! Surely my children will never do such a thing!" or something like that. That makes it sound like I think in "British"... normally my mind is not that proper.

Nowadays when I see a toddler standing on a pew who isn't pelting other parishioners with hymnals I wonder what they have done to get their kid to behave so nicely.

Our real problem is that because of Kyle's schedule we have to go to either the 4:30 Saturday or the 5:00 Sunday mass and that means that we don't even TRY to get the kids down for their naps. The only thing worse than a baby who has not napped is a baby who was from her crib untimely ripped. (five points to anyone who gets the reference.)

So we usually roll into mass about 2 minutes late. We like less that a mile from our parish but even if we left our house at about a half hour before we had to be there we would probably still end up late. I'm convinced our neighborhood has a Bermuda Triangle thing going on.

And of course, because this is Massachusetts and everyone talks "wicked fast" the priest is just about to begin the Gospel.

Madeleine genuflects before entering the pew and I am proud. Super proud. I'm beaming. We sit down, she sits and folds her hands and goes, "Jesus. Hi. Amen." I'm not smiling like the Cheshire Cat. SO CUTE!

Kyle usually starts off holding Juliette and I am trying to explain what is happening in the mass to Madeleine. Everything is quiet for a minute or two. Soon enough however Juliette is squealing so loud I'm convinced no one can hear the lector and Madeleine is crawling under the pew back and forth transporting the hymnals.

Kyle hands Juliette to me. The squealing gets louder. He tried to pick up Madeleine who now is making a fort out of said hymnals. He picks her up and tells her it is time to pray.

NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO

Kyle heads to the back of the church with her where there is no cry room. She is told she has lost her cookie. I hear her NOOOOOOOOs tapering off as he distracts her. Usually she is trying to wash her hands in the holy water font. I'm down with that.

Meanwhile Juliette realizes that I am holding her but she is not nursing. That won't do. She is pulling at my shirts and head butting me in the chest. Kyle comes back just in time. Madeleine says, "HI MOM! HI BABY!" I hand Juliette over to him who starts teething on his shoulder. Madeleine sits in the pew for about a minute. Then she puts down the foot rest, stands on it, and starts leaning forward into the pew in front of us. Her butt is in the air and she cannot get down.

As I am getting her down Kyle is distracting Juliette with the hymnals. He hands her one and she immediately throws it on the floor and reaches for the next because that is just the stage she is in. Madeleine picks up the hymnal, examines it, and starts pointing and loudly saying, "Jesus mommy! Jesus mommy!"

Luckily for us they are normal very good during, as Madeleine calls it, the "HI JESUS" part. The point where I point up at the Eucharist being held in the hands of the priest and tell Madeleine, "There is Jesus." To which she usually says, in a whisper, "Hi Jesus."

On the way back from communion there are people pointing and smiling at them. Those people have clearly not heard what has been going on in the back of the church.

We get back to our seats and without fail one of us has to take one of them to the back of the church again. This is made particularly tricky if we have arrived late and the person at the end of the row has refused to move in so we were stuck in the middle. Usually by the end of mass they have let us out and back in again so many times that my guess is no "isle seat" is worth that amount of trouble. Or they have peaced out right after communion. Once again, this is Massachusetts.

We stay until the priest has processed back up the isle and head out. We stop at the statue of Mary in front of the church because Madeleine loves Jesus Mommy Hail Mary. It hasn't been a peaceful experience and I didn't have much time for contemplation. However I have the Body, Blood, Soul, and Divinity inside of me so I know that I am the closest I can possibly be to God.

Being a mom doesn't give a lot of time from prayer but it provides a lot of opportunities to grow in holiness.... even though by the end of mass I am usually more tired then when I hit the gym.

Even through their craziness I see the fruits of taking my children to mass in my day to day life, especially in how Madeleine has grown in her prayer life. And she is only two! It's hard but I certainly wouldn't do it any other way. While my children are young I'll have to remember that even though I don't get long peaceful stretches for prayer that God is still working within me through my husband and children. Putting the needs of my children before my own is part of my vocation and it's by living my vocation in even the smallest details that I will grow closer to God. Outside of receiving the Eucharist nothing revitalizes my faith like loving my family because they are my gift from God and my path to Him as well.

I guess what I am saying is that I will take my time alone with God whenever I can get it, those are essential to restore me for day to day life. However since those moments can be hard to come by I am slowly learning how to make the little moments of life a prayer as well. Dishes, laundry, even peeling Madeleine off of the pew during mass. I'm just thankful for the richness of our faith, the goodness of God, and the vocation of being a wife and mother. Especially to such a holy man and such sweet little girls.

Another perfect family day

Today we went apple picking and came home with a haul of over 20 lbs of Fugi apple bliss! It was such a fantastic day. As I type some Apple Blondies are cooling on the counter and are being shipped out to one of our friends tomorrow. Now what to do with the other 18 lbs...

Here is our adventure in pictures. For pictures of Sundays' adventure with the petting zoo and animals see my last post. My kids are so sweet all my recipes are now calling for a cup of them instead of sugar.

We never get to get a family picture taken so when a nice lady asked us if we wanted one done we took full advantage.

Unfortunately Madeleine was in a bad mood at the time and only two of the pictures turned out somewhat well. Can't say we didn't try!Madeleine was much more impressed with the trip once the actual apple picking started. I, however, thought that the day was all about me and started picking the apples without her help. I was way too excited about the whole thing.

The "good mommy" part of me kicked in soon enough and I was very happy helping my little girl enjoy our big day out. Even if she didn't always pick the most perfect apples like I would have. She was just so darn cute. And really, the all look the same when baked up yummy like.
Juliette got in on the action too. And by that I meant she held an apple in her hands and examined it closely.She also enjoyed watching her sister pick the apples.
Kyle and Juliette bonded.
This may be one of my favorite pictures ever.
Madeleine was allowed to munch on one of the apples she picked after mommy cleaned it up for her.
Pure bliss...
OMNOMNOM
We then headed over to the swing set to enjoy the beautiful weather.
This was clearly Juliette's favorite part of the trip
Adorable!
Madeleine had "big girl time" when daddy helped her climb the latter to the big slide.
I just love the color of her hair. Auburn...
Down she goes!

Now for the even bigger slide.
Down she goes again!
Look at the hair go!
Mommy was scared of the goats but Madeleine held my hand.
Back home, stripped down to her diaper and ready to destroy some blocks