Julia and the Phone

Ok so I have pondered whether or not to blog this...do I really want to remember when my daughter became an official iPhone carrier..well sort of.. Here's the lowdown Tony and I always stated our kids would NEVER carry a cell phone until they carried an income to pay for it. Well when Tony got his new phone last week we assumed the old iPhone would be turned in. Not so the guy said it was ours to keep and still could be used as an iPad/iPod type of device with free texting and all those fun free games...we didn't need a third iPhone ( or so I thought) then Tony and I realized it could serve a great incentive to Julia. Get your chores done and you can earn some phone time, get caught doing extra math and hey text away! For the last week the kid has been on cloud nine...she has complained about the uncool case but gladly texts away and takes pictures and video of what she fancies. Now if you are curious what a 10 year old needs to text here are the following texts I have received: I love u
Hi!  can I play a game?
And my fav: u r the best mom ever!!!
Now as far as pictures go well I saved them so you can enjoy them as well and they are true Julia spirit...so we stand corrected and giving her the phone has not proven to be a nightmare. She responsibly uses it only for a limited time and I am enjoying my new texting buddy!

Remodel

Today is the day we begin our remodel! A remodel of Blaise's room. When God blessed us with boy number two it became apparent that with four kids someone was to share a room unless we moved...the girls are totally polar opposite in taste, style, and sleep patterns so they requested to keep their own bedrooms. Blaise loved the idea of having a roommate so we told him this year we were going to remodel his room and the "boys" would room together. He is thrilled! We have decided to purchase bunk beds and built in storage for the boy toys! Blaise is picking the color blue but mom decides on the shade. Hey he wanted orange and I have been that route with Julia in past so we are compromising!
As far as theme goes we have decided to wait until we choose the bedding. Currently the baby is still sleeping in our room and will continue until probably after a year old and then he will transition into his bottom bunk. I have found with my other kids when they start walking and climbing it is great time to introduce a big boy/girl bed.

True Beauty

There is nothing more attractive than holiness.-mustard seeds

These are some attractive folks aren't they!

Scavenger Hunt

Today it is our turn to host math club at our house. I came up with idea of splitting kids in teams and doing a scavenger hunt. Team pink consists of (1-2nd grade) and Team turquoise consists of (5-6th grade). They have separate clues which lead them around house solving math equations until they get to end where they will be greeted with a treasure of valentine goodies and coloring books! We are trying to make math seem as fun as possible and they certainly look as if they are enjoying themselves!

Rich girl Poor girl

Yesterday afternoon the girls had Little Flowers. It was an exciting meeting as they all performed a play entitled Kat's Parables. It was an account of Mother Seton and some of the trials and tribulations she faced. Julia played a rich girl who wanted to join a convent but her father wanted her to marry...Emerson portrayed a young poor girl that cleaned at the convent....all the girls did a marvelous job and friends and family cheered and applauded when it was over. My pics are horrible as I was sitting in back with a construction zone around my feet (Blaise) and a wiggly baby in my lap. All in all I was so proud of them all. Their leader presented them with pink carnations at the end and they learned a little bit more about teamwork and confidence!

Dishes

I have this pet peeve that when I wake up in morning my sink should be clean and without dirty dishes. Every night before I goto bed I do a wipe down of entire kitchen and then rest easy. Normally it stays clean...,but lately a ghost has been consuming peanut butter sandwiches and orange juice at night and every morning I am greeted with a dirty knife, plate, cup and sometimes bowl. Time is of the essence in the morning.... I don't like spending it cleaning up from night before! It makes me grumpy I admit. This morning was no different... And I found myself letting it rule my attitude. Then the "ghost" whom shall remain nameless sent me a text which reads as follows:
When two people love each other it is a wonderful thing, but when two people love God and each other this is the kind of relationship from which the future of the Church will spring. When you both burn with a love of God the fire will consume the impurities of your human love. The more you love God the more you will be able to love each other-mustard seeds
I know if I did not have God in my life the little thing like a sink full of dirty dishes could fester into a much bigger thing!

Boys Life

At Benedict's last doctor appointment Blaise and I made an amazing discovery. They have a magazine for boys! Not your typical highlights but a bona fide dirt, snakes and mountain climbing type of magazine. He made me read it to him cover to cover. I am embarrassed to admit this but he liked it so much there was talk of smuggling it out in his jacket! I assured him we would look at the library or research it online and possibly locate another issue. Well yesterday at the library my faithful librarian helper showed me years of back issues you can check out. Blaise was in boy heaven. Tony has told me he also had a subscription thru the boy scouts? I chuckled at idea at Tony being a boy scout...I suppose all little boys like adventure and dirt and things like that!

The Orange Hat

About two weeks ago Blaise had commented that he liked Papa's hat. Orange is Blaise's favorite color. Papa kindly gave it to Blaise and it became his favorite wardrobe piece. He wears it around the house, when he eats, brushes his teeth, plays with toys, and goes in van. The only time the hat "disappeared" was on Sunday mass, but we miraculously found it the next day. I explained to Blaise that gentlemen like his dad and papa never wear hats in church. He was not too keen on it but agreed. He loves his hat and it is cute and I hope a phase until warmer weather.... He has shared it with Benedict and told me when he outgrows it then his brother can wear it all around! Oh boy!

Baby Well

20lbs! Eating well!
Above average for milestones!

Lucky Seven

Benedict is 7 months old today... The past month has been a plethora of new foods and tastes. He loves green beans, peas, avocado and just yesterday we tried carrots. He eagerly eats anything but unfortunately the barley and oatmeal upset his tummy so we are waiting and reintroducing that later on. He is a crawling machine and speeds all over the house now. He does this peek a boo game where he hides his head and if you shout " peek a boo" he giggles and looks right up at you. It has been fun watching his personality blossom. He tends to be more serious than my others but I think he is just in awe at all the activity going on around him. He is copying some hand gestures so I have been doing baby signs with him the last two months and I noticed he makes the cup sound when I show him his cup. I have always done sign language with all my kiddies and I noticed it really helps the communication process as toddlers. He still loves looking at his button face in a mirror and his favorite thing is utube videos of his cousin Stevie. He laughs and laughs wondering how that baby got inside the phone?!?!
Today he goes for a well baby check up and I am sure he has grown as he is getting heavy! My little lucky 7! How I love him!