Another week gone by

Well, it is Saturday. And I am so glad it is the weekend! This week seemed so long to me. It is funny how some weeks go by so quickly, and others take FOREVER! I'm not sure what made this week longer than others, but all in all, we did a lot of fun things. Monday was our cleaning day. I can't say that I am too efficient these days with it, but it needs to be done, so I give it my best shot! The kids do quite well if I space the chores out so that I can play with them in between each chore, and sometimes, Dominic will even "help"me! As he is getting older though, he actually can at times be helpful with picking up his toys. It certainly saves me the trouble of having to bend down all day, and I think that it is never too early to start introducing the children to the idea of being helpful. It is a great lesson! Tuesday my friend came over with her children. She has a 3 month old, who was very fascinating to Dominic and Stella. I think Dominic and Stella are going to be great with our new baby! Wednesday we went blueberry picking (for the third time this season, as blueberries don't tend to last very long in our house, and mine are the only ones we get to take home anyways as the kids' buckets are always empty at the end of the picking!) and then to our friend's pool. Swimming was fun as usual, though Stella has become quite the dare devil with the water! Dominic normally loves the water, but spent most of his time exploring the beautiful landscaping, rocks, and ponds, that surrounded the pool area! Their Nana gave them these cute little body suits for the water, that have floats throughout the body part. The kids looked soooo cute waddling around in them! I will post some pictures as soon as I take some. I forgot my camera that day! Thursday I continued my chores during the morning and then after the kids got up from their nap, my sister in law brought her kids over so she could do hers and my grocery shopping. The kids all had a great time playing in the living room, downstairs, and out side in the sprinklers! Friday, we really took it easy. Despite the fact that Dominic woke up at 4:30 am, and I brought him to our bed where he promised he would continue sleeping but did not, we had a very nice and relaxing day! We had a nice breakfast of cereal (which Dominic loves, and asks for everyday, even over pancakes or waffles!), and fresh blueberries. Then, after watching parts of Finding Nemo, we got dressed and played with play doh. Then we went to 11:30 am Mass, which Dominic particularly loves because Father always hands out teats to all the kids after Mass. Dominic will frequently remind me very loudly that he gets a treat, always during the really quiet parts! It can be difficult to take the kids to Mass without Peter there to help, as they can be quite loud and rambunctious most of the time, and there is really no place to go in this little church, to keep the noise away from the other people. I want my kids to grow up knowing the Mass and frequently making it to weekday Mass. After all, Jesus did say, "Let the little children come to me". I know it is good for all of us and as they get older, I hope they will truly appreciate it! After Mass we went to the library where I rented a couple of movies for the kids with their free movie coupons that they earned from the reading program, and I rented some books for them too. Stella specifically picked out a book about babies and a book about kittens! So that was our week. Full and fun, and at times, challenging, but I only wrote about the fun parts!

A few pictures from summer 2007!

Smiling for mama!
Playing with barrettes
Dressing up in sunglasses
Trying to hide from mama, so she couldn't take another picture!
Smiling for mama!
Eating some ice cream

Giving Mini (Nana's Horse) a bath

Playing in the hay

Inspiration

We just found out that the baby in my womb is a girl! We are going to name her Gianna, after Saint Gianna Beretta Molla. I have been reading up about her. I just finished a book named "Love Letters to My Husband", and "St. Gianna Molla. Wife, Mother, Doctor". The first one is a collection of the letters she wrote to her husband during their engagement, and during their marriage when he was away on business trips. It really gave me a sense of what she was like as a person, living a very similar life to many of us mothers and wives. During their marriage, all of her letters would at some point talk about their children, and this was especially touching to me because you could just tell through her words, how she loved her children so much, and was so proud of them, and how affectionate she was with them. It made her life even more tangible and real to me. She also expressed some of her very motherly concerns for her kids, which I found to be very much like my own at times. The other book was a collection of interviews with her husband about her life. It included her life before she was married, and her life after her marriage to Pietro Molla, during which, they had 4 children. She died one week after the birth of her 4th child. She was diagnosed with a tumor in her uterus when she was only 2 months along in the pregnancy, and against the doctor's advice, continued with the pregnancy, telling her husband and doctor that if there has to be a choice, save the baby. She was a doctor herself, so she knew that her chances of living were slim, but she willingly and adamantly endured the pregnancy for the well being of her child. As the loving and devoted mother that she was, the choice to sacrifice herself, knowing that she would have to leave her other 3 children behind had to be the most excruciating and painful decision of her life. But she was equally devoted and in love with the child in her womb, and knew that the only way to protect that baby's life was to be willing to give up her own. Both books were extremely inspiring and touching. She is a modern day Saint, who lived a modern day life, but with so much more love! There are so many other things I didn't mention about her, but it was her devotion to, and love of her husband and children, and of course her unwavering trust and submission to God that particularly inspired me. I really wanted to name one of my children after her, since she is a very important Saint and example in my life, one whom I consider my advocate, especially in things pertaining to marriage and motherhood, and I hope that as my little Gianna grows, she will know that St. Gianna is her advocate too.

Play doh

Yesterday we made play doh! It worked really well. I have never done it before, but thought the kids might enjoy something different for a change. I used a recipe that my sister in law had found awhile back, which called for kool aid! Dominic really loved playing with it, and Stella spent most of her time trying to eat it. Luckily, all of the ingredients are edible, but I can't imagine it tasted very good! I have been trying to come up with some new activities for the children, as I have a tendency to get a little stuck in a rut, and offer the same sorts of things on a daily basis. Sometimes, they are pretty happy with just playing with their toys, and I will play with them on and off throughout the day, but sometimes, they need a more planned and structured activity to hold their interest. We often go outside, where they love to play with the water hose and their riding toys. Dominic LOVES his little tractor, and Stella really likes her little pony! One was found at a garage sale and one was for free, and both are apparently the best toys we own! They also sometimes enjoy their wading pool. We do a lot of reading together, and once a week make it to each the library and the park (at least usually). But recently, Peter has started over time at work and so our days have been a bit longer lately. I have found that it is really helpful to have some other activities for the kids, so the day doesn't seem quite as long and repetitive for any of us.
The overtime thing is kind of hard, because I was so spoiled with Peter's original schedule, where he would come home by 5:15 pm, give or take 5 minutes! Now he gets home around 7pm, perhaps even later in the future. I know it is hard on him but he is such a good and dedicated husband/father/worker, that you can hardly tell. However, it does mean that we have a lot less family time during the week days, and pretty much no "us" time during the weeks days either. I have already found all of this to be quite hard, but do a much worse job of hiding it than Peter does.
But rather than focus on the difficulties (small and insignificant as they are), I'd like to close by turning my attention to how thankful I am for my wonderful and loving husband, and amazing children! They are my gifts from Heaven!

Potty training

We have recently introduced Dominic to the idea of potty training. He is very motivated, because he receives treats, every time he successfully goes potty in the toilet! We have actually decided to tone down the treat thing, as he was totally getting into it and consequently, becoming eligible for like 4 or 5 treats a day! We set up a potty points system, where he needs to receive 3 stars/stickers, in order to get a treat. It is working quite well, and he is very happy with this. We are not pushing him to be potty trained right now. We are just slowly getting him used to the idea. He is only two and a half, so I figure that we can take our time with it, and not stress him or ourselves out! It is pretty funny how excited he is about potty treats! He will often remember to tell anyone who has just gone to the bathroom: "You can get a potty treat now!" with a huge smile on his face.