vacation week 3

Today begins week 3 of Summer Vacation. The first two weeks have been packed. This week will test my skills as a mom.

Week 1 was filled with drs appointments, baseball games, and a trip to the Philadelphia Zoo.

Weekend 1 was also busy with t-ball, road runners race, father's day and the twins birthday celebration.

Week 2 was Vacation Bible School week, also crazy busy. Getting up and out the door every morning coming up for lunch and then errands in the afternoon. We also went to another baseball game and had a dentist appointment where we were told it's time to take Catherine to an Orthodontist.

This past weekend, Catherine and I went to yet another baseball game, and slept on the field with her girl scout troop after the game. Lots of fun very little sleep. We also had a birthday party to go to on Saturday, and a graduation party on Sunday.

This week the calendar is empty. Today I'm planning a quick trip to the gym and then maybe the mall to get our free birthday cookies from Barnes and Noble. Then it's home to do some cleaning and crafting. Last week was rainy so very little laundry was done. It's time to catch up on that.

So far I have completed 2 water bottle holders. They came out fairly well. I'll try to get pictures up soon. I've also decided on the pattern for the Summer Quilt I want to make for our room (now it's time to start collecting fabrics).

I'm curious to see how everything works out this week now that we are not over scheduled. This is the week that will test the kids. How are they going to handle their freedom? Stay tuned for updates... 

babies on my mind.

It seems to me that a lot of my friends are getting ready to have their first babies. I remember early on in my first pregnancy reading a commentary that spoke of what you go through during a pregnancy. Not the physical stuff but the emotional stuff. One thing that it touched on was how it often feels like every women who has had a baby feels the need to share their own stories with you while you are pregnant.
I found this to be so true. Fortunately for me most of the stories were good stories. I try very hard to suppress the urge to always comment on a pregnant moms thoughts but it's not easy. I think it's the bond of women that makes us share our experiences. It's our way of saying you are not alone.
Because of all of these pregnant people in the facebook world I have been thinking a lot of my own experience. I want to share two things. 1. The best advice I ever got. 2. The thing I wish someone would have told me.

1. The best advice came from a co-worker at the High School I was at. She told me to obey my child's schedule. How true this turned out to be. As long as I fed baby when baby was hungry and let baby nap when baby was tired, we were all happy campers. I learned to plan outings around feeding and napping schedules. I can safely say that this strategy has paid off for me in huge ways. I don't take my kids out when they're tired, even now I won't do it. I know that disobeying my children's need for schedules is a recipe of disaster. It's not always possible to obey the schedule, but the more you do the happier you all will be. And for the record, I don't believe people when they say their child doesn't have a schedule. Every baby has a schedule. Every person has a schedule.

2. The thing I wish I knew before we brought Catherine home. Now this is a biggie. I think the reason no one told me was because it's not a pretty moment. Here's my story. Catherine was born around 3:30 in the morning, after 12 hours in the hospital and another 12 hours or so before we left for the hospital. To say we were exhausted when we finally met her was an understatement. I remember the day we came home, it was the middle of the week and so we didn't have any visitors. My mom was there she got us settled in and then went on her way. Catherine slept a lot that first day home. Paul and I were in a daze of emotion. We had no idea what was coming.
That night could have been one of the most difficult and scariest moments of my life. Nothing serious happened. Catherine just cried. and cried, and cried some more. We fed her, burpped her, rocked her... We did everything we thought we were supposed to do but she wouldn't sleep. Not for anything. I remember sitting at the foot of the bed the next morning panic stricken thinking "is this my new life?".
Turns out it wasn't. We just needed to help Catherine learn the difference between night and day. It turns out that we had a lot to learn. Thankfully it didn't take us more than a few days to get into a wake/sleep pattern that worked.
What no one told me is just how hard the first few nights are. No one told me that the first night home is often the hardest. When Stephen came home we were more or less ready for a few long nights. Knowing what was coming made it all a bit easier.
No one wants to tell you that you have no idea how hard parenting is going to be. We don't want to scare new parents. Being scared isn't going to get you anywhere. The other thing is that you really can't prepare for the experience either.

My honest and humble opinions on what you need in order to make it:

• flexibility - you might have a plan before your child comes a long, but in actuality your child will let you know if your plan was the right one - it's okay to change from your plan. I planned to breastfeed, and found it nearly impossible, once I accepted that it was okay to bottle-feed life got a bit easier
• a sense of humor - sometimes you just have to laugh
• courage - a wimpy parent is not going to get it done. Don't be afraid to tell people that you don't want visitors when the baby first comes home. If you have a rough labor and delivery you may just want to sleep and not worry about guests. Anyone who has had a child will understand this, those who have not will have to trust you. Honestly, the first 24 hours are hard enough without having to worry about visitors. People try to kid themselves saying no one cares what the house looks like, or what I look like, they  just want to see the baby. BUT we all know this isn't true. It's ingrained in us to clean up if someone is coming over. You don't need this kind of pressure. 
• acceptance - having a baby is a traumatizing experience. Both physically and mentally. Accept that you could never have been prepared for such a moment and all will be fine. Accept that you don't have all the answers or even all the control. Becoming a parent is a learning experience. We learn as we go, it's the only way. No baby book could ever get you 100% prepared. The thing about babies is they don't follow rules. 

I love being a mom. I pray that all future moms experience the same joy and love that I have. Motherhood isn't always pretty, but it's always rewarding. 

quick tip.

If you have children that leave the house with lots of stuff I have the perfect product for you. When we enrolled Catherine in kindergarten I knew we would have our hands full trying to keep track of all the stuff that leaves the house.
I found the perfect labeling system from this company. The vinyl labels go on anything and they don't come off easily, but when they do they don't leave a mark. Also, the are dish-washerable. Every thermos, bottle, cup that leaves our house leaves with a label. And the second part of the tip: Order them with only your last name. That way there is no sibling sharing issue.
We ordered the vinyl labels and the iron on labels filled with Anderson on them. And we use them for everything. The iron-ons are really easy to put in and they have staying power. I still have a bunch from my order three years ago, but if I ever run out I'm going back to get more because I have been so happy with their product.

Trust me, if you are sending your kids out of the house for anything school, day-care, sports, park-meets, etc these labels will come in handy.

Happy weekend. 

summer vacation.

This week was our first week of summer vacation. And I am loving the break. We haven't been out of bed before 7:30 all week (sorry this doesn't include Paul).
Most mornings haven't even started until 8:00am I know for those of you who don't have kids that's not late, but early. But most parents know that is a small miracle.
My four kids are an independent breed. They do not require my immediate attention. What does this mean? It means I can get up when I am ready to and take my shower and come down when I am ready. Regardless of what time my kids get up (within reason that is). My children will get up on their own, get dressed on their own and go to the play room to watch tv (locked on PBS for now), or play until I am ready. This makes mornings awesome. I can come down without feeling rushed and get breakfast going with little chaos.
Since vacation has started I have worked on a few routines with the kids. They are now more helpful then ever getting things out for breakfast. Putting out the juice and cups, and clearing their dishes properly when done. I also now have all four of them emptying the clean dishes from the dishwasher. (I have them work in pairs, everything they can't reach gets neatly stacked on the counter for me to take care of)
This week was a packed week of excitement. Monday was Catherine's yearly check-up (okay that wasn't exciting). Tuesday we took the kids to a baseball game. Wednesday we watched Stephen's t-ball game. Thursday we went to the Philadelphia zoo. Today is Friday, we wen't to the fabric store to pick up supplies for my next sewing adventure.
In between all that I am getting more time in at the gym. I swear if I would stop snacking I would lose the weight that I need to. I seem to keep the same weight all the time and I know it's because I work-out that I don't gain weight, but I don't lose any because I haven't changed my eating habits enough.
This weekend should be fun, we have so much cleaning up in the yard to do in time for Father's Day and the twins 5th birthday celebration. Next week will be filled with VBS activities as well as another baseball game, a dentist appointment, and a girlscout camping event.
It feels like it's a lot of running but it really isn't. In order to stave the boredom I try to fill my days with activities, but never more than one thing at a time.
For example.
Monday - gym and any needed errands. We are usually home by noon and tend not to go back out. After lunch I kick them out to play and then they come in and if all chores are done then they can have computer/wii/movie time. After dinner it's outside to play until bed-time.
Tuesdays - gym then library visit.
Wednesdays will most likely become the days we go to the free movies at the Rave.

My favorite thing about summer is that there is no real schedule. We can always change plans and do whatever we feel like doing. My kids are becoming more and more flexible as they get older. I am truly enjoying the season of life. 

dinner is in the pot.

Yes, it's going into the 90s today. Yes it's almost perfect grilling whether. Yes I'm obsessed with grilled food. Yes, I'm using the croc-pot for dinner tonight.
It's not even lunch-time and dinner is cooking. For the first year of the twins life we practically lived on croc-pot meals. It was a survivors tool. We learned that when juggling more than one child the croc-pot can be a life-saver. Paul and I are big on eating dinner as a family. It is a rare occasion that we don't all eat together. Sports schedules can jeopardize the family meal, but the strong willed can still make it happen. Thus, the croc-pot.
Today is the Last Day of School!!! Kids should be home any minute. It's Friday. We always celebrate a Friday. Stephen has t-ball practice. Lot's going on in the Anderson House today. So what are we having for dinner?

Drumroll please......

Braised Beef For Tortillas

1-2 lbs beef round steak

2 large cloves of garlic

1 tsp salt

1/4 tsp pepper

2 tbs lime or lemon juice

3/4 cups chopped onion

1 tsp marjoram

1/2 cup beef broth

1 can undrained diced tomatoes

Put steak at the bottom of the pot sprinkle with salt and pepper. Mix all the other ingredients together and pour on top of steak. Set your croc to low and enjoy in 8 hours. 

the joy of growing up.

I remember when the first time Paul went back to work after the twins were home. I was terrified. Catherine was still in day-care but here I was at home with a 10 month old and 2 week-old infants. The only thing I remember was how scared I was to be on my own. Somehow I made it through the day. Then the week, then the month. Before I knew it we pulled Catherine back out of day-care and I was managing a household of 4 kids under the age of 3.
This is what I can tell you from the first year: I made it. We didn't always get out of the house. I didn't always get the dishes done before Paul came home from work. I did manage to get a shower in every day. I did manage to keep the kids well fed and clean. Year 1 wasn't pretty, but we survived it. In truth, after about 6 months I transitioned from surviving the days to living the days.
Every mom has days that they simply survive. But every mom needs to switch from surviving to living or they won't make it. That much I am sure of. The distinction is this: Surviving is going through the motions. The simple act of getting from point A (wake-up) to point B (bed-time). Living is actually breathing between point a and b, and maybe even enjoying some of it.
Fast forward from the first few weeks of trying to figure out my new life to the twins turning 1. This was a huge thing for me. I was learning how to love my life with my children. That summer we took our first family vacation. A 13+ hour road trip to Myrtle Beach SC. I can honestly say that the trip on a whole was a success. We found a way to have fun and relax. My parents and sister were a part of what made that trip work. There is no way that we would have went that far without them.
I think after that trip I knew that Paul and I were all right. We were in a place that was good. It was still challenging, but we were definitely moving forward. It was the fall of 2007 that things really started to shift again.
Catherine was 4 and it was time for pre-school. We decided on a 3 day/week program that was in the mornings. Our rationale for sending her was to help her learn to take direction from someone other than me. Granted, she had been through day-care but this was different. I saw this as the transition from home-life to school life. It was time for her to learn to work with kids her own age, and to learn how to handle the school structure.
That year, again, was challenging on me. I now had a 2 yr old and two 1 year olds that I had to manage to get out the door to get Catherine to pre-school. For the first time, we had a schedule that we had to keep. It was another shift in the family dynamic. We were overjoyed to be sending Catherine off to school. This was not because it got her out of the house, but because we (the parents) had helped form the child who was now ready to be away from us at school. Catherine blossomed under the guidance of her pre-school teacher. She grew exponentially in one short school year.
When that year came to an end I was so excited. My children were growing up right before my eyes. I was proud beyond measure that my child's school year went so well. I couldn't wait to do it again. We enjoyed the summer break and in the fall of 2008 we were at it again. This time it was full-day kindergarten. And somehow we landed Stephen in a state-funded pre-school for 3 year olds. My days were crazier then ever. We lived close enough to Catherine's school that I had to bring her and pick her up every day. Stephen's program was clear across the city. So every day I would drop Catherine off drive through the city and drop Stephen off. Spend the day with the twins, go get Stephen and then go get Catherine. Catherine was 5, Stephen 3, David and Joshua were 2. Because of the timing of everything nap-times became a thing of the past. (My trick to walking three small boys)
Each year my kids get older and a new layer gets added to our routine. I can't say that I am sad that my kids are growing up. I'm excited and thrilled. I love what each new year brings. I love watching my daughter learn to read. I love watching Stephen mature and step away from his brothers to advance in his own way. I love watching David and Joshua grow and develop and discover their individuality.
When Stephen was 4 we ended back at the same pre-school Catherine was at (the state cancelled its funding for pre-school programs). David and Joshua just finished the same program (3 days a week a few hours each day). The pre-school teacher at the end of this year was gushing at how much fun she has had with my two boys. She commented on how much she's enjoyed watching them grow over the years. From little babies that could barely walk. To toddlers clinging at my legs, now to boys who are ready for the challenge of school.
I love it. I love all of it. In 2006 I was terrified that I wouldn't make it, that I would somehow fail as a parent. Within 6 months I knew that I couldn't really fail as a parent, but I had no idea what the end-point was. Now almost five years later I know that there is no end-point. I don't think it gets better with age, just different. You start off with this tiny ball of pink fuzz, that you ooh and ahh over. The first sign of communication is when they smile at you as a sign of recognition. You're heart melts at that fist smile, then leaps at the first laugh. It darn near breaks your heart the first time they say I love you and mean it. As they grow they become less attached to you and more eager to explore the world. The thing about it is, they always come back to you.
I've been a parent for eight years. It has not always been easy. But I can say with certainty that it has always brought me joy. Friday marks the end of another school year. Catherine finished second grade, Stephen kindergarten and David and Joshua pre-school. I am not sad to see the end of the year, instead I am filled with joy. I can't wait to start the summer fun, going to the movies, parks, vacation, and library days.
Come September I will be filled with joy once again. Not because I want my kids out the house, but because they have been made ready for another year of growth and discovery. 

summer treat.

I made frozen strawberry lemonade and it was so yummy.
Here's what I did:

Grabbed a bunch of frozen strawberries and put them in my blender. After the were chopped up I added a few cubes of ice and some lemonade.
I kept blending until I got the consistency I wanted. It was really tart so I added about tablespoon of sugar to the thing and it was great. I had enough for one full glass for me and one for each of the boys.

There's no science to it, just keep blending and adding until it looks and tastes good. Last time I added bananas and used water instead of lemonade, it too was really yummy.

We have also bought yoplait frozen fruit smoothies and the kids like them. I don't like yogurt, so it's not my thing.

BTW, the Ninja food prep is the best machine ever!

projects I've done.

It turns out I have a thing for sewing. I might be the laziest sewer ever though because I don't like complicated projects and I often take short-cuts. In the past few weeks I have made a few purses. I started with one for me and then made two more. One for my MIL and one for a Cousin. Pictured below is a completed bag for my cousin and the fabric from my MIL's bag.

It is such an easy project to do. I put a few hours into each bag and love the results. I found this project at AC Moore and the fabric comes from jelly rolls that I buy from the store. The selection at AC Moore isn't huge but they always have something. It's fun because the rolls are tightly wrapped so you can't really see much but the first few strips. You don't know what you're getting until you get it home. 

Using coupons I can manage a bag for about $10, adding a snap is an extra $5!!! One magnetic snap is $5 again I can wait and use a coupon and get it for less. 

Second I got adventurous and made a dress for Catherine. This was far more ambitious and the most difficult thing I have ever made. It isn't perfect but it's wearable. I'm hoping to do better next time. It wasn't so awful that I'll never do it again. But I do have a lot to learn. For one thing, I need work on zippers. 

Yup, I made David model it for me. :-) I needed to see how the straps were attaching and Catherine wasn't home yet. He was a good sport about it, and asked me to take the picture. 

My next project will most likely be some curtains for the kitchen, if that goes well I'll see what it takes to get more curtains in other parts of the house.

I find that it's not always cheaper to sew things but it is more satisfying.