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Look at all I did yesterday:
baked one batch of banana nut muffins
baked on batch of blueberry muffins
cleaned all of the kids’ rooms
vacuumed
did two loads of laundry
put away 1/2 of one load (I hate this task!)
baked two loaves of bread
make two chocolate cakes
prepared one pasta salad
made a big batch of chili
cleaned the kithcen
cleaned up the guest room
made up guest bed
gathered clothes for the next batch of laundy
made dinner for the kiddos
straightened up the house
gave my children a bath
And the best parts:
read books to Spunky
bragged about my cute kids to my sister
spoke to my mom on the phone
taught Punky how to write his numbers
cuddled with Bunky before his afternoon nap
chatted with my hubby mid-day
showed Punky how to play a new computer game
snuggled with Spunky before her nap
called Trish and made plans for my trip to see her
saw the delight in Punky’s face when I put a cherry in his juice
enjoyed listening to the children dance together
witnessed Spunky mothering Bunky
tucked my sweet babies into bed
nursed and rocked Bunky to sleep
and I get to do this all over again…
well, not today, but another day in the near future.
Today, Bunky and I are off to see Trish!
My hubby and I were talking in bed one night, and he accused me of being a wimp.
I am no wimp!
I was induced with three of our babies and delivered them all without pain meds.
I can carry a 30 pound toddler and a 20 pound baby up a flight of stairs.
I go for walks with said baby in a Mei Tai while I push said toddler and her 46 pound brother in a stroller.
I’ve moved bookshelves, on my own, that were filled with books.
I open jars for my husband.
And, once, I moved our china cabinet, by myself, when it was full of our china.
No, I am not a wimp… but muscle??
Now that’s another story.
My husband, jokingly, defined my type of muscle as “chubscle”.
You may not see it, but underneath my lovely chubbiness is one “chubscular “lady!
It was only 24 degrees when we bundled up this morning
to take a nice, long walk.
This is the second walk we have taken this week,
and I hope to take more in the future… even tomorrow!
All this walking is going to help my progress with weight loss. Bunky is now six months old and I only have about two pounds left to lose of all the wonderful weight I gained during my pregnancy with him. However, as great as that may sound, you must take into consideration that I still have about 40 pounds left to lose from my other two pregnancies. Yikes! 
With Punky, I gained a whopping SIXTY pounds. Of that, I lost a little bit less than 40. I got pregnant with Spunky almost ON Punky’s first birthday, so I wasn’t able to lose any more than that. I was incredibly sick at the beginning (first 20 weeks) of my pregnancy with Spunky, and I still managed to gain about fifty pounds– 90% of which was gained in the second half of the pregnancy. Then with Bunky, I was determined not to gain as much. And I didn’t. But I did gain about forty pounds (still not in a healthy weight gain range- although, I tried to eat healthier in this pregnancy and still managed to gain a lot of weight).
So all that to say: I am almost at my pre-pregnancy weight before Bunky, but I have a long way to go before I can get back to my pre-pregnancy weight with Punky.
I love walking, and now that we live in a neighborhood conducive to walking, I think I will be walking a lot more than I did when we lived in the country. The hardest part is getting out the door. With three kids four and under, it takes at least 10 minutes to get everyone in coats, hats, and gloves, and then I have to get them into the stroller and Bunky into my Mei Tai (if you follow that link, you can see how you can even design your own baby carrier). I am looking forward to spring and summer when it will not be so much work to go for a walk.
Now the other part of the issue to eating. I love to eat. Fortunately, I do love healthy food, but I have a serious problem with portion control. I was hoping Lent would get me back on track, but I need to put in a little bit more effort. My biggest flaw is laziness when it comes to preparing food for myself, specifically breakfast and lunch.
And the whole idea that nursing will make you lose weight does NOT apply to me. I have nursed all of my babies for a year (or more) and still did not lose all the weight. And have you seen Bunky?! He’s a super-fattie 
He nurses constantly and is exclusively breastfed. I guess that my body just likes to do its own thing… Oh, and I drink water like a maniac, too.
We would love to have more children, but I would like to lose some more weight before that happens. However, we haven’t “planned” any of our children, so who know what God has in store for us. I’m excited to see… but I hope I’ll weigh a little bit less when that happens.
What saves and makes for good children is the life of the parents in the home. The parents need to devote themselves to the love of God. They need to become saints in their relation to their children through their mildness, patience and love. They need to make a new start every day, with a fresh outlook, renewed enthusiasm and love for their children. And the joy that will come to them, the holiness that will visit them, will shower grace on their children. Generally the parents are to blame for the bad behaviour of the children. And their behaviour is not improved by reprimands, disciplining, or strictness. If the parents do not pursue a life of holiness and if they don’t engage in spiritual struggle, they make great mistakes and transmit the faults they have within them. If the parents do not live a holy life and do not display love towards each other, the devil torments the parents with the reactions of the children. Love, harmony and understanding between the parents are what are required for the children. This provides a great sense of security and certainty.
- Elder Porphyrios
My husband and I were talking about this just this week. I always find myself yelling at the children, when it is really a problem with myself and not them. Yes, they can be infuriating at times, but I need to learn to be patient. “Patience” and “mildness” are not words a person would connect with me. Although, I do have “love”- lots of it! I love my kids like crazy, sometimes too much because I spoil them and let them walk all over me. I have found that when I am not doing my prayers like I should or reading the Scriptures, I tend to be a crankier person. There is definitely a connection there.
As Lent approaches, I am meditating on all of the things that I want to accomplish during this time of the year. As I’ve already said, I want to get my life organized, and one of the most important parts of that is getting on a schedule. I want to wake up in the mornings and pray as a family and read the Bible with the children. I want to teach them about Lent and Pascha (Easter). I also want to share stories of those who have gone before us, the saints, important people in the Bible, etc. I have ordered two books that I plan to read; although, one is 500 pages, so I am not sure if I’ll get all the way through it. I want to say prayers at night, and not just the prayers that we do with the children. I want to take time to prayer by myself before I go to bed.
I know that paragraph is full of ‘wants”, but I feel like we completely missed Lent last year (with being sick from my pregnancy, moving, packing, etc) and I want to point my eyes toward Christ’s death and resurrection this year. If I can make these things my desires, I will then be able to shift the focus on Christ. Then I can be a better example to my children. Our children do understand, as well as they can, Christ’s death and resurrection. But it is just as important for them to see our faith lived out in the day to day.
I hope this coming season is a blessed and fruitful one for all.
Thanks, Emily, for the quote!
For some time now, I have felt like I am just getting by. I’ve been very busy and have had a hard time getting things done. I have piles of papers to go through and organize. I even managed to forget to pay the electric bill at our other house. Oops! I need to get life in order. I am really looking forward to Lent this year. It should be a good time to slow down and focus on the things that are important.
I have to say that many of my distractions have been good. I’ve been spending a lot of time with my children, doing crafts, baking, reading books and just hanging out with them. I’ve also been traveling: visiting family for Thanksgiving, Gatlinburg for the New Years and then New Orleans. I’ve had both good and bad days, and I pray that the coming months are peaceful ones for us all.
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This little girl is a teenager in a two and a half year old’s body. She says things like, “Well, that’s just too bad” and “That’s wonderful” or “I just can’t believe that!” After their stay with Grandma and Grandpa, Spunky went through a terrible phase of separation anxiety, where she wouldn’t let me out of her sight. But that has passed, and she is back to her normal, energetic, stubborn self. She still wants me to “cuddle her” at night and naptime, but she is doing better. She also knows how to use her cuteness to manipulate us. But, man, is she adorable! She loves reading and has reached a new stage where she is pretending all the time. She loves playing with her kitchen and taking care of her babies.
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Bunky is also becoming more independent. Thankfully, he is FINALLY sleeping at night! He doesn’t sleep much at all during the day, though. He maybe sleeps for a total of 1 1/2 hours during the day, but that doesn’t seem to bother him too much. He has started talking. He can say things like “dadadada” “boo” “maaama” and today we think he said his brother’s name. He still adores his siblings and has a lot more fun interacting with them now. He hasn’t started eating any solid food yet, mainly because I want to talk with his pediatrician first. He has terrible eczema, and I want to get that checked out again before I feed him anything. He is a sweetheart!
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Punky is growing up right before our eyes. He is currently in the middle of a growth spurt and is eating us out of house and home! He had FIVE bowls of cereal for breakfast the other day and continued to eat just as voraciously all day long. He has been complaining of his legs/knees hurting; so I think he is having growing pains. He has been in Speech Therapy for two months now, and his speech is steadily improving. He is starting to get very excited about going to school (more on that in a later post). Check out what he did the other day:
He loves practicing his letters, whether that be writing them down or learning how to say them correctly. He always tells me that when he “grows big” he is going to teach his sister and brother how to speak correctly and write letters. He loves being a big brother.
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My beautiful mother has some tests done recently, and they revealed something on her sternum. Tomorrow afternoon, she is has a CT-guided biopsy of her sternum. She also had a bone marrow biopsy of her hip done two weeks ago, and everything came back normal with that. She feels healthy. She has been back to her normal self, working hard and enjoying time with her friends and family. Please say a prayer that the biopsy will come back negative for cancer and that the doctors will be able to determine what is going on. Thanks!
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In January, we found out that my husband’s aunt has a malignant and rapidly growing tumor that is taking over the speech area her brain. Surgery would only remove a portion of the tumor, thus leaving cancer in the brain. Radiation and chemotherapy would of necessity follow that kind of surgery. The risks of surgery would entail the high probability of further deterioration of speech, as well as the side effects of radiation and chemotherapy, in addition to a significantly diminished quality of life. To do nothing, allowing the malignancy to run its course, would mean a life expectancy of less than a year. Even with surgery, radiation, and chemo or without it, there is no cure. Her condition is terminal. Taking the approach to “do everything possible,” would only promise minimal additional time.
After prayerful reflection and medical advice, in addition to prior personal consideration of these kinds of circumstances over the years, his aunt has made the decision to allow the cancer to run its course. While choosing this course will mean a slightly less life expectancy, it will mean an increased quality of life while she is with us and result in a peaceful home going.
From their online journal: “Recently, Joy has made her intentions clear. “I’m so tired. It would be fine with me just to fall asleep and go to Heaven. All I can think about is the joy of Heaven. I don’t want to fight this.” It is with our deep faith in God that we believe He is the Great Physician and is our Healer. We do believe God could choose to heal her while on this earth, but we also know the ultimate healing will be in Heaven. It is with the assurance and promises of a gracious God that as a family we face the future. We rest in the confidence that, “For whether we live, we live unto the Lord; and whether we die, we die unto the Lord: whether we live therefore, or die, we are the Lord’s.” (Rom 14:8) Finally, “While we look not at the things which are seen, but at the things which are not seen: for the things which are seen are temporal; but the things which are not seen are eternal.” (2 Cor 4:18) Our faith still holds to an unfailing God.”
Please keep her and the family in your prayers.
We’ve racked up enough points that my husband and I (with the baby, of course) can take a free trip!
Punky and Spunky get to spend the time with Grandma and Grandpa!
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I am so blessed to have a husband who works hard, and through his working hard is able to provide his family with such wonderful opportunities.
It is amazing to me that since July, I have been to England, Gatlinburg, and now New Orleans. Before we had children, we rarely took trips like this, and now that I have three small children, I need these types of trips even more. It is good for me as a mother and as a wife to take time away from the day to day of being a stay at home mom. It helps me relax and enjoy time with my husband and invigorates me for the days ahead when I won’t have a break at all.
I do not take these things for granted.
I feel blessed, very blessed.
Thank you for your prayers for our littlest monkey.
The RSV seems to be getting better and his double ear infection has definitely cleared up.
Now, if only he would sleep.
Last night I was up about every hour with him. He wakes up screaming, nurses for maybe a minute and then passes out again. But this goes on all night, and many times the screaming lasts a while before he will even attempt to nurse. I am not sure what is going on … I am a little bit worried that something else is wrong, but he has no other signs of illness or anything strange going on with him. Even when he takes naps during the day, they are short and he always wakes up screaming. Poor little guy. I hate to hear him scream like that.
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He is currently installed in his favorite seat in the house, laughing and jabbering to his brother and sister. I don’t know what I would do without this little car. He loves it, and since he always wants to be upright, it is either the car or me holding him. He is such a sweet little guy and just wants attention all the time.
If you wouldn’t mind, please say a prayer that I’ll get some sleep tonight.
I feel like I am barely functioning today…
On Sunday, Punky and I made Pink Piggy Cookies. I bought a cookbook around Thanksgiving that I plan on cooking/baking from and then blogging about over the course of this year. It is a cookbook full of recipes for foods that kids would like. It cost $10, which is more than I usually spend on any type of book, so I promised myself that I would try to make the majority of the recipes over the course of a year. We’ll see how that goes…
But here is the first!
