{pretty, happy, funny, real}

~ Capturing the context of contentment in everyday life ~

         Every Thursday, at Like Mother, Like Daughter!

                                                                         

                                

{pretty}

Craig has been growing hydroponic veggies since January.  Its his latest hobby. I love sending the kids out to pick me fresh tomatoes or peppers.  Earlier in the year we had spinach, broccoli, lettuce and squash.

Nothing is more pretty than seeing Grandbaby #8 with Grandma, who visits almost daily to see her brood.

                                                {happy}

Emma is ALWAYS happy (except when she's hungry, of course).  She's already 10 weeks old.

Catherine loves holding her baby sister!

Happiness is playing with the water hose at Grandma's.  No need for swim suits here.  They just use Grandpa's old tee shirts. 

{funny}

I was teasing Craig when I took this picture.  I told him that he's officially an old man.  Not because he turned 40 this past December, but because he was wearing a white undershirt all day.  Only old men wear white undershirts around the house.  Meanwhile, I've been running around in my Birkenstocks.  Does that make me his old lady??

Anna with her best friend on her birthday.  I know there's nothing funny about casts.  Thankfully its off.  The funny part is that it took us 3 days before taking her to the ER.  She didn't complain and said she was only sore.  Turns out her "sprain" was a small break.  

{real}

Summer time is when I move furniture around.  This summer I'm relocating our books and turning the school room into the boys' bedroom.  The six girls will be divided among the 3 bedrooms upstairs.  I'm starting to feel like the old woman in the shoe!

Kolbe reading to his brother Vincent.  Its ironic that Curious George is being read to Vincent as he's probably related to that troublesome monkey!!  I love that Kolbe doesn't realize he's practicing his reading when he reads to Vincent.  Life is busy and some days the only way I know Kolbe has practiced his reading and Vincent has been read to is by pairing them up.

To see some more {pretty, happy, funny, real} posts, visit Rosie at Like Mother, Like Daughter!!

Ramblings of a lonely wife

Craig left for China Thursday morning. He's due back exactly a week later.

We were able to keep ourselves busy Thursday-Saturday. But today was hard! Sundays are just not the same without Craig.

I'm lucky in that I've been able to speak to him at least twice a day. He's struggling with the food and finally broke down and visited KFC!!

Whenever he's gone I try to keep busy by having a major task to focus on as my goal. This week's goal is the laundry room. Let's just say that my laundry room has wall to wall carpeting thanks to clothing (dirty/clean/who knows??). I'm making headway but still need the next 4 days to finish!!

Tomorrow we're going roller skating with a homeschooling group. That will cheer up our Monday. Tuesday we have piano lessons and the older 4 are singing for tenebrae (evening divine office). Wednesday we'll just stay home and get ready for Craig's arrival.

He's bought us lots of goodies. And has bought himself quite a few watches that we could never afford (actually we could BUT the kids would break them). I can't wait for him to come home. I'm planning a scrumptious American dinner (don't know what, yet, but it won't be Chinese!!).

And I'm looking forward to Holy Week, the Triduum, and Easter! I've ordered some books and videos for Sophia, Kolbe, Catherine & Veronica. I'm still not sure what I'm getting for Isabelle and Anna. They're getting so big and outgrowing the picture books I normally get.

As always, there will be new underwear in their baskets. Its a tradition I started years and years ago. It's a basket filler that also serves a practical need. Maybe I should get the older girls Christian cd's?? Or more chapter books? Still thinking. Any ideas?

I'm also busy crocheting the most adorable baby blue blanket. I hope to finish in a week and start making bibs.

And so that's what I've been up to. That and evening movies. Last night I watched Catch Me If You Can. The night before I saw We Are Marshall. The night before I rented The Blindside. I hope I find something good tonight.

Tomorrow morning I'll be calling Craig first thing and then get ready for mass.

*sigh*

When He's not here I have too much going on in my head. LOL!!

Back to laundry and movies. First I need to read books to little ones, say prayers with kids and get them in bed.

'Night, 'night.

Boys and their hobbies

Growing up I never remember my dad having a hobby. Other than playing raquetball (which he still does daily), I don't remember him tinkering with anything at home. And so in these twelve years of marriage I've learned alot about boys and their hobbies.

Even when we were dating, Craig ALWAYS had various hobbies. Playing chess used to be an obsession. He had books, stop-timer-clocks, had chess buddies, collected chess sets, etc. He tried to teach me but he would never let me talk to him during his turn (I was waiting for him to move so I wanted to talk). He also wouldn't let me talk during my turn. A game that requires silence is no game for me!! LOL!

I remember him playing against himself so he could practice moves. He would play his father weekly, too. And so I came to know and love his mom during these weekly games. After all, those games sometimes took up to 1 1/2 hours!

Besides chess, Craig loves to build things. He loves to be outside. On weekends he hardly steps foot in the house.

In addition to collecting power tools, his other obsession is remote control cars. As a little boy his father used to fly remote control planes. Craig remembers just watching. He could never fly them but he didn't mind. He said he knew he would own one when he grew up.

Forward a few decades to a young man racing a plane at the park and almost crashing into his children. He quickly discovered that flying planes didn't combine well with four kids who didn't sit quite as sedately as he did! LOL!

So he switched to RC cars.

Craig is the silent type. Unless he's talking about something he is passionate about (biochemistry, chess, woodwork, RC cars, etc.), he's not talking at all. He doesn't do small talk. And he doesn't listen to small talk, either. At least not for very long.

So for someone who can sometimes be so silent, I'm amazed at how he attracts boys with his RC cars. That probably didn't come out right so let me explain.

When we lived in our last home, Craig would race his RC cars up and down the street any chance he could. Soon, boys on bikes starting coming to our home. Anytime they heard the loud motor of these tiny cars, boys all over the neighborhood would hop on their bikes and race to our house. I got used to seeing dirt bikes strewn all over my yard.

What amazed me was that Craig didn't actually talk to the boys. He just raced and they just watched ..... for hours! And then when he was done they would just ride away.

I couldn't understand why he didn't engage them. Talk to them. Ask them about school. Find out about their families. Craig would just shrug and said he didn't want to talk and neither did they.

Well, this went on for weeks and FINALLY one boy spoke and broke the silence. He asked where he could buy a RC car and how much did they cost. Craig gave the poor boy sticker shock but then told him to come do yard work and he would give him a broken car.

And so Justin started hanging out and doing odd jobs. After a few weeks Craig gave him a broken car. I thought that was mean. I didn't understand. Craig said he would learn more about the car if he had to fix it.

Pretty soon Justin would show up at my door asking for "Him." He never called Craig by name. He would just ask, "Is He here?" I would send Justin to the garage where he would ask Craig about a part or how to fix something. Well, a month later Justin got his car working!!!

And soon Justin was coming over with his car to race Craig. This relationship went on for over 1 1/2 years. And we later came to know about Justin and his family and all the questions I had wanted to know on the first day. Turns out he didn't have a father in the picture. And soon his mom was coming over and asking Craig where she could buy parts for Justin.



It took me that long to realize that boys are so in need of hobbies and of father figures who have hobbies. It didn't bother me that my dad didn't have hobbies. But Craig did have a father who had LOTS of hobbies like bee keeping, photography, poetry, wood working, etc.

I know an amazing family with 11 children and that father also has lots of hobbies that he shares with his sons. No wonder Craig gets along with them so well. They get together and talk hobbies! LOL! And of course I get with the mom and girls and just talk, talk, talk, talk.

Men and women are so different.

Now that we've moved to this new neighborhood, Craig has already become a "Pied Piper" of boys with his RC cars. Already boys are hopping on their bikes whenever they hear the motors of his RC cars. A boy two houses down went and bought himself a RC car this week after picking Craig's brain. Ironically, he is home schooled and I've been unable to establish a connection with that family. For over a year we've been waving but not talking. And Craig has managed to connect with them by just pulling out his RC car. The father came down today and spoke with Craig for a long while.

Of course I wanted to know everything. What did they talk about? What do they do? What does he know about their family? Craig just shrugged. They only talked about RC cars. I guess I'll have to wait another 1 1/2 years to find out about this family, too.

Meanwhile, I'm glad my little boy has a father with hobbies. And I'm glad Craig has a world apart from mine. Boys need space, quiet, lots of outdoor time, and hobbies. And they need wives who understand.

If Kolbe should be called to marriage, I'll be sure that Kolbe plays weekly chess with his father so I can get to know his young lady. And I'll share all about Craig's and Kolbe's hobbies. And I'll pray that she isn't the clingy, needy type but rather a girl that understands a boy's need to have a hobby free from chattering.

As for my girls, they're learning a valuable lesson. They understand and have even entered Craig's world. On Saturday evenings all the kids go with Craig to the "race tracks" to watch him race. And I, the understanding wife, get a quiet house all to myself. Its a win-win situation! ;-)

Happy Father's Day!!

Just want to wish a Happy Father's Day to my sweetheart and all the fathers out there!!! My kids were so excited and couldn't wait to give him his gifts so they actually gave them to him last night. Isabelle, Anna and Sophia went shopping with me and picked out their own gifts. Isabelle bought him a red tie (pretty nice looking I must say, she almost picked out a hideous green and pink one .... although I wouldn't have said anything if she had). Anna bought him a clock that doubles as a jewelry box. Sophia bought him a travel bag. I was really surprised to see them really think about his needs and pick out nice gifts (within their budget of $10). Right now we're visiting family in SA and Craig is out to lunch with his Dad.

Also, just want to say how proud I am of him! Last night he finally took part in a race and won. He's REALLY, REALLY into Remote Control Cars. They're his hobby and he's been fixing/building RC cars for a while now. He's always wanted to race but never has. Last night he did (despite the butterflies) and creamed everyone!! Unfortunately, he had some mechanical issues and had to stop racing after a few rounds. In the beginning, I really hated this hobby of his! It can be time consuming and he spreads his stuff all over the table. I never realized he loved them as a child but didn't have the means ($$$$$$) to have them and fix them up. When he works on his cars I realize that this is his down time. It engages his mind and is something other than work, children and YES, even me! Kind of like my sewing. So when he said he was going to race I was excited for him. I have to remember that he still needs to have his interests just like I have mine.

Now that I have Kolbe (3 yo), I understand that boys and girls are different. As children we play at our dreams. We are lucky if we get to live out that dream. I'm so glad Craig realized one of his dreams last night. Congratulations Craig!!!