Someday...

I am so happy that someday Oliver and Bennett will be best friends like Joseph and Henry are.  It won't be long :)

 

Gettin' Big!

Bennett has graduated to the exersaucer!  I am not sure if he loves it, but I like having another apparatus to stick him in so I can chase after Oliver.

 

Wolf & Tiger

We began the second year, of what will be many, of scouts yesterday.  Henry was so excited to finally have his uniform and get to go too.

Oliver was NOT happy about being left out, but Joseph let him wear some of his uniform. 

 

 

Fr. Oliver

If we had to place a bet on which one of our kids would be a priest we would put it all on Oliver (no pressure!)  He is always playing church and singing songs from Mass.  He was so excited when we made this cross for him out of Tinker Toys.  He also was given an old silver cup from my Great Aunt Martha and is thrilled to play Mass with it.  I apologize for the sideways video...apparently you can't rotate a movie as easily as a picture.  

Help?

Another year of homeschooling is staring me in the face and I have to admit I am not feeling up to it.  Being here again was not part of the plan when we finished in May.  I was set on my boys going to school, no matter what and would not be revisiting homeschooling until Oliver was in kindergarten...possibly.  Well, that wasn't God's plan for us.  I have to admit, I am scared of this year.  With a two year old in the throws of the terrible year, an almost 5 month old who wants to be held all day,  and a very stubborn, perfectionist 6 year old, teaching is not going to be easy.  We've been thinking of hiring someone to come in and watch the kids for a couple of hours once or twice a week so that I can maintain my sanity.  I have been feeling a little guilty about doing this.  I just read this article and found it very timely.  I'm not feeling so guilty anymore :-)

Boys & Legos

This is a familiar sight in our home, boys with legos.  Don't let this mislead you, they don't always get along this well.  Fun times like this are usually followed by an argument, then a wrestling match on the floor.

 

Toothless

In the past 2 weeks Henry has finally lost his two front teeth.  This has been a LONG time coming.  I think the first one was hanging on for a couple weeks.  He was so proud when they finally came out!  I'm not sure how long the tooth fairy will be visiting us.  I had the dollar sitting out on the counter to remind myself to put it under his pillow.  He happened to see it before going to bed and said "I think you and daddy actually put the dollar under my pillow and there is no tooth fairy."  Have you ever lied to your kids!?

1 missing

 2 missing

Brotherly Love or Laziness?

It's nice to know that in spite of all the fighting, they really do like each other (or they were too lazy to move while watching tv.)

 

Ratatouille

My kids are so sick of ratatouille, but when I saw the Kroger ad this week with all of the summer veggies on sale, I had to make it again.  I really miss my food blog, so I decided to post it on here.  

I love this recipe because it is healthy and easy.  Ratatouille is usually a side but I have made it as the main dish.  One way that I have done this is by adding about 8 cups in a skillet, cracked some eggs on top, covered and cooked it for about 10 minutes.  When it is finished it is a great cheap dinner.  

(I have to give credit to my mother-in-law, this is adapted from her recipe :-)

RATATOUILLE

2 tablespoons olive oil

1 onion-sliced

1 oz garlic

1 green bell pepper-sliced

2 # zucchini-cut into rounds unpeeled

2 # eggplant-peeled and cut into chunks

2 cans diced tomatoes

1 1/2 teaspoon salt

1 teaspoon pepper

1/2 teaspoon thyme

1 bay leaf

2 T fresh parsley, or 2 tsp dried

Heat the olive oil in a large pot, add the onion and saute for 8-10 minutes.

Mash the garlic with the salt in a mortar and pestle (if you don't have one you can mince the garlic and add it with the salt to the pot)

Add bellpepper, tomatoes and seasonings.

Cook uncovered for 30 minutes

Add the zucchini and eggplant, cover and cook for 30 minutes.

Skinny Boy

I just returned from Bennett's 4 month appointment.  Everything was fine except I have another tall, skinny boy (they take after their Daddy!)  He is  11.9 # (3%) for weight and 24.75 inches (42%.)  All of my boys,  except Henry, have been this way.   I have a new pediatrician who is very supportive of breastfeeding and didn't seem overly concerned.  He did say that starting cereal soon would be helpful though.  I am not sure what to do.  I really believe in the benefits of waiting to start solids but also think that he should be gaining more weight.  

My old pediatrician was very annoying with Oliver and his lack of weight gain.  She really pressured me to supplement, which I never did.  I also found a new pediatrician because I found her very difficult to deal with.  

Normally I would just smile at the doctor and say okay but then not really worry about it.  The 3% kind of concerns me.  I am not sure if my super insane workout program is affecting my supply or if it is just Bennett.  I am hoping to make it to 5 months.  Does anyone else have any experience with underweight babies?  What did you do?