Happy 7th Birthday Kolbe

Kolbe is now 7 years old! Wow, how time flies! Today he had the best Star Wars party ever. Darth Vader even made an appearance. He and his friends all dressed up as their favorite characters. They all brought light sabers and enjoyed fighting Darth Vader. Kolbe and Craig had a wonderful time. I'm still unsure as to which one had more fun!


Here's Kolbe as Jango Fett. He's actually wearing a NASA spacesuit. We had to improvise but he was happy with the outcome.

Here are all the boys in their costumes, plus Anna & Sophia. Anna was Padme while Sophia was Princess Leia. Isabelle opted out of dressing up. Can you guess who's Darth Vader?? LOL!

Darth Vader setting up the movie camera. He's much nicer in real life.

Kolbe's Star Wars cake. The grocery store had discontinued making it so I asked them to just decorate the cake the way they used to. I added some of Kolbe's toys to the top and found a cool Darth Vader candle. I accidentally scraped the sides while trying to take it out of the box.

Kolbe was so happy while everyone sang Happy Birthday to him. This party will probably be one of his most memorable ones.

Cool!

"Oh, Mom! Will you print that out for me?" asked Kolbe as he was peeking over my shoulder.

He was looking at this picture.

Of course, I obliged. He is now practicing his drawing. LOL!

Deep Thought for Today

Kolbe: Mom, would you rather die by sweating to death in the hot sun OR by freezing to death in the cold?

Kolbe: And you can't say neither. You have to choose one.

Me: Hmmm? What? Why?

What would you choose?

**Three days have gone by and I have yet to give my answer!! It seems to be the recurring dinner question. I better decide quickly!**

Monday Update

Well, I kept some of my resolutions. I read to Catherine.

Kolbe and Sophia listened to Ferdinand before the telephone interrupted our reading. I forgot to go back and finish our pile of books. *sigh*

I'll share a funny Catherine story. After the rest of the kids had gone to bed, I sat to read to Catherine. She had spent the afternoon at my mom-in-law's and had taken a long, late nap so she was WIDE awake at bedtime.

I read her books that were probably above her level but she likes the pictures and sits still. I read Millions of Cats, Pretzel, The Gingerbread Boy and The Little Red Hen. I enjoy reading these over little board books.

Anyways, the last book was The Little Red Hen. When we got to the end she asked me why the dog was so sad .......

Catherine: Why is the dog so sad?
Me: Why is he?

Catherine: Why is he sad?
Me: Because the Little Red Hen wouldn't let him eat the cake.

Catherine (pausing): I'll give him cake. I'll give cake for the dog. Why does he want to be so mean? I'll give cake for the dog. Can I give him cake?

Obviously, Catherine didn't get the lesson the Little Red Hen was trying to teach!! I wonder if the dog, cat, and mouse got the lesson. I feel like the Little Red Hen might be my kindred spirit. ;-)

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Today was the first day of swim team for our neighborhood. Kolbe will be on the team for the 1st time this year. And Anna has said she wants to try some swim meets!! We'll see if she follows through on her own! I promise to resist the urge to push her off the block. LOL!!

My scale wasn't nice to me this morning. I'll blame it on traveling and not drinking enough water. I wonder if I can join swim team?

'Fess up Friday

Kolbe had his first, informal confession today. Father was very loving and forgiving. Mom and dad aren't too happy about the penance. Resident church pigeon is grateful Kolbe's aim was off and is glad to still be alive. Kolbe is helping pay for restitution by returning a brand new Godzilla movie he's been dying for. He's crushed and promises never to throw rocks at birds again.

On a somewhat related note, I feel like I heard the general confessions of several older men in our parish. This morning after mass a few old guys recounted all the windows they broke as a child. They felt so sorry for Kolbe. And still seemed sorrowful about their actions.

They are now daily mass goers. So there's still hope for my son.

*sigh*

Now to email these pictures to my insurance. I've already forwarded these shots to the parish office.

Laugh of the Day

Today Kolbe had to narrate & illustrate his Bible story. I read to him about the Garden of Eden. The last sentence REALLY stuck out to him. It was something to the effect of: "They were naked without shame."

Kolbe immediately said, "I know what I'm drawing!! I'm going to draw the boy naked with his body tail and the girl naked with her nurses."

I almost choked on my water (which I'm not drinking enough of).

He did draw the woman but thankfully he's a very poor drawer AND he didn't ask me to label any body parts! LOL!!




I know, I know .... he should learn the proper anatomical terms so he doesn't grow up confused and messed up ..... yada... yada ... yada.

When mom says to put your shoes on before you go outside ....

...you do what you have to do to get outside ASAP!

Kolbe Learns to Ride His Bike!

Yesterday Kolbe started learning to ride his bike without training wheels. Of course, I wasn't home since I was at swim practice with Isabelle. But my wonderful hubby thought to videotape most of it.

This morning Kolbe gave it another go and did wonderfully! Here is a video clip and some pictures. Notice his overly helpful sisters. Poor Kolbe! He is certainly mothered to death around here! LOL!

Also, I'm very aware that he's barefooted and without a helmet. He did have them on yesterday but I suppose that doesn't count.

My mother hens!! LOL!

Finally, here's my ingenious little Catherine. She's figured out that if she runs up the street a few houses, she can ride down the incline. No more begging siblings to push her (although they still do at times).

A week or so in review

I always find that whenever I've not blogged for a while, I never know where to start?!? Should I go back and catch up and recount all that has happened since I last blogged? Or do I just start with today?

Well, how about an abbreviated version of the past several days?

Kolbe had his birthday party and it was grand. I made him a basketball cake. The first time it broke while coming out of the mold. The second time was a charm and barely completed before the party.

He had a wonderful time opening his presents! He got lots of transformers, bionicles and Hot Wheel tracks. What more could a 5 yo boy ask for?

The following weekend was Easter and we had family over for a BBQ. Craig took off on Holy Thursday and Good Friday (the first time he's been home for the Triduum in over 3 years) and built the kids a swingset. They've REALLY been missing their old swingset (which he also built). I'm so proud of his skills and the fact that it was made with love. Of course, he had to buy himself some tools to build it!! LOL!! ;-)

Here's a birdfeeder the girls built with their dad. We've had so much fun watching all the birds!!


A project isn't worth doing if it doesn't call for new tools. Specifically, Craig bought himself a compressor, air nailer and air hammer (don't know if those are the proper names) as well as a new tool belt. All together the tools cost more than all the parts and wood for the swingset!! LOL!

This week Craig had to travel. No big deal EXCEPT he's been home for the past two weeks, something that never happens except around Christms time. So, of course our homeschool wasn't as focused. Whenever Craig is home, we don't get as much done. We love him so, we do!!

Sophia started her speech therapy 2 weeks ago. FINALLY!!

And we've decided that we will go to the local birthing center for this baby. Our insurance isn't covering as much as we'd like and I had resigned myself to the idea of having a midwife attended hospital birth. But Craig gave the go ahead for the birthing center. YEAH!!

So of course I offered to not enroll with MODG if he didn't think it was necessary. I don't know that Craig ever thinks anything is necessary. But yesterday morning he called me and told me to send in the re-enrollment form with the full payment. DOUBLE YEAH!!!

I love how I no longer nag or give guilt trips or hound him for what I want. Letting go and letting him be the head of the household with the final decision has given me so much peace. Especially because I can stew over decisions forever. For example, I was so undecided as whether to re-enroll or not. Its not like its a neccesity. It is definitely a luxury at this point. And I know how many other expenses we have. And so I was going back and forth all of February and March. The MODG Yahoo loop I belong to had a GREAT discussion on being submissive to our husbands (not a doormat, rather recognizing their authority).

And while I don't have a problem with this, its also never occurred to me to actually lay my problems at his feet and just ask for his decision. The women on the loop were suggesting (for those on the fence about enrolling or re-enrolling) to give the decision to their dh. And so, I did just that. At first Craig was surprised because he leaves most homeschooling decisions to me and just gives the okay to release the funds. But this time I really needed a decision to be made without the second guessing. Men are good at that, you know. They don't second guess themselves. Women, on the other hand, can second guess themselves to death!! LOL! I think it has something to do with men being natural decision makers while women are more the deliberators. We can investigate and research and list the pros and cons to any decision. But we sometimes lack the ability to make the final decision and live with the consequences.

And so, while we usually make decisions together, I learned that sometimes I need to hand over my problems to him and ask for more than just his opinion. Its okay to ask for his final decision because I just can't.

In other news, in two weekends we're going to Houston to a Catholic homeschooling conference. The keynote speaker is Laura Berquist ... YEAH!!! But I think the best part is that we're going alone! ALL the kids are staying behind with grandparents. I can't begin to tell you how excited I am! And we're flying there too!! No nauseating drive!!

Well, that was a recap of my days here at home. Today Craig gets home and he called to say to meet him at the zoo. This past week I've been feeling homesick for "the woods." I told him how a bunch of families were going to the zoo. This morning he called to say good morning and to suggest we take our own trip. The kids are so excited!! And of course, so am I! I love homecomings!! With every year that passes I'm amazed how much my love grows for this man!

Enough mush!! Have a great day!

Kolbe's TooF

Would you believe the one time I step out for a mother's night out I miss my only son's 1st tooth falling? When I asked him how he lost it, he said, "Daddy punched me." They were rough housing and playing Transformers. His tooth was already VERY loose.

Kolbe was upset about losing his tooth even though he knew it was loose. Apparently he wanted to keep it. So he refused to put it under his pillow. But today his outlook has changed, thanks to his sisters. He now understands the benefits of leaving his tooth for the "tooth fairy." He's hoping he can buy an Optimus Prime for a dollar (the going rate around here).

I'm afraid not, sweetheart! LOL!

Bluebonnets

Every year we take pictures of the children in Bluebonnets. These are our favorite pictures!!! Every year we drive back to the same Texas hillside! We've been taking these pictures since Isabelle was four. Its beautiful to see other families following this same tradition. You can even tell how recently another family has visited the same spot by the flattened circle among the flowers. We're always careful to follow the already-made paths among the bluebonnets so as not to ruin them for future visitors.