The Weekend Part 3: Beach Day!

Lat Sunday when we walked out of church it was 90 degrees.

No lie.

A beach day was in order for sure.

But what to do with the girl in the cast?

Oh, just put on a long sock and she'll be just fine.

She was.

The boys brought the big shovels so they could dig a big hole.

And Aaron brought his hat and his pipe.
He doesn't smoke, but likes the way it looks.

Also, it makes a great photo prop for baby.

Davy was intrigued by the sand.

Very intrigued.
He hasn't been to the beach as a crawler yet.

So we let him give it a go.

No dice.
He stayed up on his hands and toes.
That's the move he did before he learned to crawl.
He'd just stay like that.

He stayed like that on the sand too.
And looked at us like, "come on people, pick me up.  This stuff is cold and wet."

There were lots of sea snails.
Some were big.
The boys found this one and had a conversation as they examined it.
They loved the way it protected itself with a hard piece of shell on the bottom just like the big shell that covered the rest of it.
"Just like in Pagoo!"
They have learned more about sea life and tide pool life in that book then they would have by reading a text book for a year.

I gotta say, it makes this school teacher mama happy.

There is so much joy and excitement over each discovery.

The more they learn about the world they live in, the more they enjoy it.
And I do too.
I'm learning right along with them.
I took a marine biology class in college.
I've learned more reading Pagoo than I did in that whole class.
And visiting tide pools since I've read this book, well, they are so much more alive to me now.

If you haven't checked out the Pagoo, you simply must.
It's a great read.  (good review of Pagoo here)


The weather was warm enough that the ocean beckoned.
So my crazy boys went for a swim.

I thought they were crazy.
The water was in the 50s.
It numbed my feet when I waded in.
They plunged right in and even went under.

But after a bit, they had to admit it was coooold.

The girls were smarter.
They cozied up in the bike trailer and ate snacks.
That's right.
My daughter has her hand in a bag of potato chips.

What a fabulous way to spend a warm Sunday afternoon in March.

And since Daylight Savings time starts this weekend, there are lots more beach afternoons in store.

We won't have to leave at 5.

I'm already dreaming of summer!

Happy weekending.

Love from,

Greta

When We Took Our Baby to the Prom

Check us out.

We went to prom.

With our baby.

Scandalous.

I was only 17 when we met, nearly 18 when began dating, but Aaron and I didn't go to prom together.
In fact, I never went to prom.
Collective gasp.
It's never really bothered me.
But now that I have some pictures with 2 of my favorite boys, at prom, I can say my life feels so much more complete.
Uh, yeah...right.
But it was fun to dress up and take cute pictures.

And that's what we did.
We're trying new places for date nights.
We only go out twice a month, but it's fun to search out new places to go and new things to do.
So when I got an email from Reform School saying they were having a Sweetheart Prom photo booth, I emailed Aaron right away and said, "do you want to go to prom tonight?"

There were no trips to the salon, no shopping for a dress.
My sweet friend Rebecca answered my plea for a dress and sent over several choices.
We were feeding the kids dinner, trying on outfits and getting the once over by our kids.
I came out in one dress and James said, "that's a nice dress.  But are you going to wear something on the top?"
Apparently James is not a fan of his mom in a low cut dress.
It's hard to get ready for the prom when you have 4 kids.


I ended up with this little 80s era floral, which I paired up with a yellow cardigan and little pink heels.
My favorite Ronnie Kappos necklace tied it all together.
I even had a corsage, see?

Aaron wore one of his old man jackets and a vintage tie.
He looked good.
David sported his black cardigan and a Kramer shirt.
His hair was awesome.
We had a great time.
I'm so glad we went.
I'm glad for the memories made and especially glad for these pictures.
I'll be glad to hold onto these 8 months of dates with David, this little pocket of time when it was just the 3 of us, and remember.


After 14 years with my sweetheart, I could feel like things were getting boring.
You know, same ol, same ol.
But they're not.
Because we've decided:
We're going to keep on having fun.
We're going to keep on having adventures.
We're going to keep on being best friends.
We're going to keep on being in love.
Even if we don't feel like it.
Because sometimes that happens.


But not right now.
Right now, I couldn't love him more.
Thanks for taking me to prom, sweetheart.
I love you.
Love from,
Greta
*awesome prom photos by Virgie of All Monsters Are Good.

Now, in honor of Valentines Day, I am putting out some links here to some of my favorite posts about love.
These are about real love, the hard stuff, the good stuff, the stuff that lasts.
It is always my hope that you will be encouraged, where ever you are in your marriage.
I've been there too.
I like to remember how far we've come.
Here goes:
Working through the hard stuff: go here.
Real Life Romance: go here
A Different Kind of Valentine: go here.

And lastly, the exciting news I promised to share with you.

I am so pleased, honored and excited to be a part of a new online community.

It's called Beautifully Rooted.
Please go here to learn more about it.
There are 25 contributors who will be posting on 5 different topics.
I'll be contributing once a week under the Nurture (parenting) topic.
You can look for my first post today.
Please go visit and then share this wonderful new site with your friends.
Thanks!
And Happy Valentines Day!

Of Pink Casts and Sick Babies

I've been MIA again.

With pretty good cause.

The past week was a blur of very late nights, and busy, busy days.

One day, for example, I took the kids to swimming, then Lilly to the dr., then Lilly (and all the kids because they are always with me) to the hospital for an x-ray because her foot wasn't healing, then the dr. called back to say her foot was indeed broken and she'd have to get a cast tomorrow, then the grocery store (normally I would not add that into the mix but we were out of coffee and that constituted an emergency) then William's baseball practice and then James' baseball practice.  

Through the day, Davy started coughing and by dinner time I could tell his simple cold had morphed into something much worse and he'd be wheezing soon.

Aaron came home with a sore throat and ears that ached.

And I stayed up until 3 holding a very sick, wheezy, feverish baby boy.

The next day, Lilly got a pink cast.

For the first half hour or so, she had a hard time walking.

Her cast slid on our wood floors like an ice skate.

But in no time at all, she said she was going to play outside and was back at it.

Swinging, running, riding her bike.

You just can't slow Lilly down.
She was even giving her brother rides on her trike.

Lilly is such an independent, determined little girl.
Sometimes those qualities make it so hard to parent her.
So hard.
But most of the time, I am so proud of her strong little mind, body and heart.

That same day I took Davy to the dr.

He tested negative for RSV, but had some other respiratory virus.

He was just so sick.

That night I was up with him until 4.

Even as a newborn, he never had to be held in order to sleep.

But I couldn't put him down.

Besides, I was so worried about his breathing that I didn't want to put him down.

Thankfully my parents came up that day and I got to take a solid nap.

And that night Davy finally settled down around 2.

An early night.

Needless to say, blogging, no matter how hard I tried, wasn't happening.

Pretty much nothing was happening except baby holding.

And during the day, it was all  I could do to teach school and perhaps do some dishes.

Perhaps.

I think we made it through the worst of it with Davy.  

He only woke up twice last night and didn't need a middle of the night breathing treatment.

Lilly is finally sleeping well with her cast.

Nights were the only time that she slowed down enough to acknowledge that her foot hurt.

And last night I found a moment to get a small bit of writing done.

Today we have a Valentines party to get ready for.

We're so excited.

And please check back tomorrow because I have some exciting news to share (not pregnant).

It's already done, so I am not making empty promises.

See you tomorrow!

Love from,

Greta

Christmas Past: The Annual Santa Photo

Here's what happens when you don't blog for almost a month: you must go back in time.

Especially when the month you missed is made up of valuable family memories, such as trips to see Santa and the entire family taking part in a Christmas play.

These memories must be preserved.

(this is also why scrapbooking never worked for me.  being 1 month behind isn't bad.  but with scrapbooking I was always at least 1 year behind.  it was too overwhelming.  so I started a blog instead.)

So bear with me and enjoy a mid January trip back into December.

I give you: Christmas Past--2011

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Our annual trip to see Santa saw some changes this year.

We still went to The Grove.

Where we walked around and took in the sights: the giant tree, the snow flakes overhead and Santa and his reindeer flying through the sky.

Just like last year, Lilly wore a Christmas dress that was a touch too short. (when you've got a perfectly good hand-me-down, why buy a new one?)
And she wore pink shoes again.  They were sparkly this time.
But with her new hair cut she looks so much older.

We breakfasted upon donuts at Bob's.
James claimed it was hard for him to fully enjoy his donut when there were so many other good smelling and looking foods around.
I think I need to take that boy on a date to the Farmer's Market and let him choose lunch.
But for the day of the Santa Photo, it has to be Bob's.

We didn't ride the trolley this year, but took a moment to climb on the old car at the gas station next to the toy store.
And then we spent a long time inside the toy store where some of us pointed to every single thing and said, "and I want that for my birthday." (lilly)

There was one big change this year, though.

The kids said they could sit with Santa all by themselves.

It was the first year we didn't do a whole family photo with the big guy.

The kids handled it just fine.

Especially David.

Apparently he loved sitting on Santa's lap.

Don't you just love the expression on his face?

"Hey guys!  What's with all the babies crying about Santa?  This is cake!"

I need to scan in James' first Santa picture.

Pure terror.

It's hysterical.

As you can see from this picture, he's still not that into Santa.

Sneer.

In the end, I couldn't let the old tradition die and Aaron and I jumped in one of the pictures.

The girl behind the camera was very nice and told me they "do lots of those photos."

I'm sure she was lying to make me feel less dorky.

It was nice of her, but I would have done it anyway.

Who knows how much longer we'll do family photos with Santa?

I've got to get them while I can!

I do love a good family tradition.

Even if it involves driving to LA to sit on the lap of a guy we don't believe in and then loading the kids up with sugary, fried treats.

Christmas only comes once a year.

I say, live it up!

Love from,

Greta

Remembering This Moment: Date Night With Davy

Remembering This Moment: capturing a moment in our day that I want to hold onto.  It doesn't have to be anything special, just one of the myriad of small, beautiful moments that make up our life.  I know someday the memories of these moments will fade.  This is my way of hanging onto them.  

Read more here.

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Friday night was our date night.

It had been a while, what with Aaron traveling, Thanksgiving and all.

Date night is essential.

We can complete sentences without interruption.

We can even tell a whole story without once saying, "hang on, I'll take care of this one," and leaving the room.

Or we can hold hands while we walk and just be quiet together.

We can focus on each other.

I love date night.

Aaron suggested we go to LA for something new.
We went to Monsieur Marcel in the Farmer's Market.
I love the Farmer's Market.
I'd go every day if I lived nearby and had endless pennies for eating out.

Monsieur Marcel's reminds me of when we were in France.
Those chairs are in every cafe.
I love them.

But what I love best of all about date nights right now, is dating Davy.

We don't get a lot of one on on time with our kids.
There are 4 of them.
And because he's the baby and usually so chill, Davy can get  a bit lost in the shuffle.
That's why I love the nights when it's just the 3 of us.
I don't begrudge having a 3rd wheel on our date.
He's the sweetest little 3rd wheel around.

And yes, we keep him out late.
We're now the kind of parents I used to judge.
"I can't believe that baby isn't in bed.  What's wrong with his parents?  Don't they even know what time it is?  Don't they have him on a schedule?"
Yeah.
Those were back in the days when I had 1 kid and I was perfect.
Now I am so not perfect.
Now I know that if Davy stays out late with us it will not mess him up for life, or even for a couple of days.
He rolls with it.
So do we.
Because I know our date nights out with this baby are fleeting.

He's already reaching for our food.
See how he's looking at Aaron's beef bourguignon?
He wants it.
Bad.
He grabs at everything on the table.
He almost spilled my coffee.
Twice.
And before long he'll be wanting to run around and not sit on our laps, chewing his Sophie giraffe and grabbing for our forks.
We have to enjoy these moments while we can.

It's funny.
With our other kids, we couldn't wait to get a night out without them.
But it's so different with Davy.
People ask me all the time if it's he that is different, or me.
And as mellow as Davy is, all my babies were mellow at this stage.
I think it's really more about me.
I have finally learned to relax.
I have learned to just sit back and enjoy my baby.
If it's late and he's getting tired and fussy, I'll nurse him.
I don't worry that it's not "time" yet.
I don't worry that he's almost 6 months old and still sits with us in church.
He's only 6 months old!
Does he really have to go in the nursery?
Nope.
I don't care that some guy in the mall said, "wow, this is sure a late night for such a little guy."
Before, I would have worried about what that stranger thought of us.
Now, I don't care.
Now, I'm just enjoying a date with my baby.


And my calm transfers to him.
At the restaurant that night, 4 different people commented on how mellow Davy was.
Our waiter asked if we were giving him wine.
Another lady told us we were hipster parents (ha!  it's the glasses we were both wearing) and so "together" in our parenting.
(doesn't that sound like a very LAish thing to say to someone?  it made me smile)
Ironic, when we were doing just the thing I used to think was terrible parenting.
Each day that I parent my kids, I am learning the value in making the most of a moment instead of making a lot of rules to live by.
Yes, there is a time for schedules and routines and organization.
But there is also a time for bubble baths in the middle of the day, cuddling your 5 year old to sleep and keeping the baby out late.

After dinner, we walked around The Grove.

Davy loved the lights in the mall.

10 o clock at night and he was wide-eyed, taking it all in.

We loved watching his wonderment and sharing a little Christmas magic with our smallest boy.

He won't remember it, but I always will.

Davy's first Christmas.

Great.

Now I have totally made myself cry.

We really don't know when our last day will be.

Will you be here to enjoy next Christmas?

Will I?

Don't think I'm trying to depress you.

I'm not.

I'm encouraging you to live each day fully and enjoy the people you love instead of being too busy for them.

It's Christmas.

There's no easier time to tell people you love them.

Or show them.

Do a little of both.

Today while we were driving, a Christmas song by Mannheim Steamroller came on the radio.

Their music reminds me of the Main Street Electrical Parade at Disneyland.

It makes me laugh.

It also makes me think of my dad.

Because he loves Mannheim Steamroller.

And he always tries to make the rest of us like them too.

And we just laugh at him because we just can't get past the Main Street Electrical Parade vibe.

So I told the kids, "this is some of Dziadzi's favorite Christmas music."

(dziadzi is grandpa in Polish)

And then I called my dad and told him that I just heard his favorite Christmas music and it made me think of him.

And that I loved him.

It only took a minute.

I know I am not the only one who gives into the temptation to feel frazzled and stressed about getting it all done in the 18 days until Christmas. 

(crud.  really?  18 days?) 

But I am trying not to.

Remembering instead that it's all about relationships and not "getting it done."

Remembering it's about this:

"JOY TO THE WORLD, THE LORD IS COME!"

Love from,

Greta

Remembering This Moment: The Backwards Crawl

Remembering This Moment: capturing a moment in our day that I want to hold onto.  It doesn't have to be anything special, just one of the myriad of small, beautiful moments that make up our life.  I know someday the memories of these moments will fade.  This is my way of hanging onto them.  

Read more here.

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When James was a baby he crawled backwards.

Only in the beginning--for a few, short, sweet, and funny weeks.

At least it was those things to us.

But he got pretty frustrated after a while.

He'd get up on his hands and knees and push with his arms.

And somehow, his little body always ended up going backwards.

Farther away from that toy he was reaching for, farther away from me, and often, he'd end up stuck under the couch.

Before long he figured out the right way to do things and that little moment was gone; only a part of our memory.

But look who's crawling backwards now?

Well, more of a slide on our wood floors, but it's the same idea.

And he is so happy to be on the move.
Yesterday afternoon I laid him on the blanket next to the window to play.
When I came back into the room, he had scooted himself under the coffee table.

Watching him made me laugh.
And, I admit, made me get more than a little teary remembering another little boy who did the same thing.
It wasn't that long ago, was it?

Davy reminds me a lot of James as a baby.
I wonder if they'll be the same kind of kid?
Lilly and William are like twins.
It might be nice to have another James in the house.
Except then I'll really be talked to death!

And just the way his biggest brother did it, Davy has the same moves.
He pushes up, gets his knees up, then they slide out from under him on the wood floors, and he pushes.
Backwards.

He maneuvered his way around the entire living room this way.
Until he ended up under the couch.
Stuck.

It doesn't seem to bother him yet.
After all, he's only been doing this for a day.
His whole world just opened up!
He can move around by himself!
Who cares if it's backwards!

I'm celebrating the big moments of your 5 month old life, Baby Davy.

5 months ago you couldn't do a thing except cry and poop.

And look at you now.

The world is your oyster.

Live it up!

I'll remember this day always.

You're growing up.

Love from,

Mommy