It Was All Worth It, Or, Sometimes You Just Gotta Do What You Gotta Do

To continue on with the story of the minivan that wouldn't start yesterday (see previous post):

Anthony does not like the 11:30 am Mass.  I spent almost the whole time holding him and walking around in the back of church yesterday, until my fingers grew numb.  And no, I can't stand and just hold him, I have to be moving, or he starts squawking. 

I was rewarded with a sudden feeling of wetness on my left side right before Communion.  Looking at Anthony, I discovered that his diaper was leaking (I probably need to move him up a size, but I'm on the last pack of the current size) and there were wet spots on the front of his pants.  I turned him facing out so my shirt wouldn't get any wetter and tried to cover the wet spots with my arm while I walked up to the front of the church for Communion.  Of course we ended up in the Bishop's line (he happened to be there yesterday), but I was comforted by the thought that he would never notice wet spots on my baby's pants.  Then I walked out to change him and realized that now most of the front of his pants were pretty wet.  And his change of clothes was out in the truck.  Naturally! 

So I got his diaper changed and just left him pantless.  After that we stood out in the gathering space until the procession came out.  Then we made a speedy exit. 

As the gas tank in the truck was running on fumes, I stopped for gas and Anthony did not like that one bit.  Then, we stopped at the auto parts store to pick up a new battery for the minivan, hoping that that would solve the problem.  The woman assisting me asked me questions that I could not answer so I called Dan so he could decide what we needed for sure.  Meanwhile Anthony was violently squirming and being very fussy.  And so, the pregnant cashier carried the battery out to the truck for me as my "hands were very full." 

Was it all worth it? 

Yes, Yes, Yes!!!

Dan replaced the battery (which was 7 years old) and the minivan started up easily!  Wahoo!

And we were very thankful that this did not happen while I was out with the kids somewhere far away from here. 

You Know You Live In The Country, #4

You know you live in the country when dandelions are no longer weeds, but pretty, cheerful flowers left alone to grow where they will.

A Change Of Plans Required Today

See the new picture up at the top?  That was taken only today.  Everyone was ready to go to church this morning and we actually had an extra 10 minutes.  Dan had pointed out last night that I had a Nativity picture still at the top of the blog, so he got us all outside and we took some pictures out front, just like the ones we took last spring.  Then everyone got in the van, buckled up, and we were ready to go to church, with plenty of time to spare. 

Except that the minivan would not start!  Aah!

So we had to make a change of plans, since we can't all fit into the truck.  Dan took the older three to the earlier Mass, and Anthony and I will go to the later one. 

After getting Anthony to sleep I had some time to swap out the picture at the top of the blog and post this, so here you are.

Here is one of the pictures that didn't make the cut, but I thought it was funny:

Gardening 101

About a week and a half ago, Dan showed the kids how to plant their own little garden.  So far they have planted onions, spinach, radishes, peas, lettuce, and carrots.  Yesterday they were very excited to see something coming up, we think the radishes.  Above is a video made from clips I took when they were planting.  Anthony contributed greatly.  It's only 1 minute, 22 seconds, so take a look! 

Oh, by the way, Dan is the one who put this little video together.

Another Friday Funny

The kids and I took Anthony in for his one year checkup (he's doing great, by the way) earlier this week.  He screamed when he got shots, which we expected.  The kids plugged their ears with their fingers when he started crying. 

Then, we had to go to the lab.  It was a tiny, windowless room and I sat with Anthony on my lap, while the four older kids stood next to the door.  As the lab tech got her stuff ready, I looked over at the kids and they were already stuffing their fingers into their ears.  Then Catherine said, "Oh, no!  I'm going to get earwax on my fingers again!  Gross!"

And, for the record, Anthony cried so loud through the poking and squeezing of his finger, that when we walked out of the room, everyone at the nurse's desk just looked at us and said, "Wow!"

Friday Funny

Joseph wearing Mommy's glasses.

Pictures From Anthony's Birthday

All the kids "helped" me make Anthony's birthday cake.

Anthony was happy to be included in the fun.  We actually made his cake the day before his birthday.

Hey, Mom, when I get bigger, I'll sweep the floor!

It is amazing how a tiny bit of frosting can go so far!

The morning of Anthony's big day.

Here is the cake, which started out as a smiley-face, per the girls' insistence.  I thought it looked kind of boring, so I started adding hair.  Then we decided it looked kind of like a clown, so I made another color and added a collar.

Hooray for Anthony!

He was just able to reach it, hence the frosting on his fingers.

Look at that smile!  Anthony is very excited to have his own little cupcake.

I think he ate some of it, and he sure liked smashing it up.  Yeah, chocolate cake wasn't my best idea of the day.

New toys!

He got right into ripping off that paper.

This one was definitely a hit.

Happy 1st Birthday to our Anthony!

Guess Who Is One?

We just finished celebrating Anthony's birthday!  I find it hard to believe he is one year old already. 

Last year at this time I had just gotten to the hospital, all the while wondering if he was going to be born on St. Patrick's Day or not.  My doctor came in when I was ready to push him out at about 11:35 or so, and asked me if I wanted to wait until midnight so he could be a St. Patrick's Day baby and I said NO WAY!!  And he was born at 11:44pm. 

We haven't slept much this past year, but our big boy has brought us so much laughter and joy.  The other kids just love him to pieces, almost literally sometimes, and I just love to watch them all play together. 
He has been walking for about 2 and 1/2 months, even outside on the rough ground.  He loves to be outside and I just know he is going to be following Daddy around out there as soon as he is allowed. 

Anthony has 8 teeth and weighs about 24 pounds(our biggest one-year old so far!).  Our house is in an almost constant state of disaster due to his ability to get into things faster than we can pick them up.  Speaking of, I need to go assess the damage.

I will soon (hopefully) be posting pictures from his birthday party.  Stay tuned!

Will Somebody Please Tell Anthony He Is Still A Baby?

On Sunday we were all relaxing in the living room and I was attempting to read the newspaper.  The kids were playing over and around us, including Anthony.  Out of the corner of my eye, I saw a kid on the coffee table and I turned my head, ready to tell whoever it was to get down.  Much to my surprise, it was Anthony, standing on the coffee table!  He was quite proud of himself. 

Please Help Me, Um,... Whoever Is The Patron Saint Of Dryers!

You know the slot in your dryer that holds the filter?  Well, all the kids love to pull it out and clean the lint off.  Anthony is no exception.  Well, he doesn't clean it off, he just pulls it out and tries to put it back in again, over and over.  This morning, he came into the laundry room with me and sure enough, as I opened the dryer, he reached for the filter and pulled it out.  Only to drop the blue marker he was carrying(which I unfortunately hadn't noticed) down the slot!  The slot that is too skinny even for a child's arm to reach down. 

I peered down that slot and I saw many clumps of lint and that marker sitting down at the bottom where the vent curves and goes under the drum of the dryer.  What to do?  I didn't really want to run the dryer with that marker sitting down there and I had loads of laundry waiting to be washed and dryed.  So waiting until Dan got home was not my first choice.  I needed something long and skinny to try to fish it out.

First, I tried a plastic sword.  It could reach far enough, but I wasn't able to use it to get out the marker.  Next, I thought of the long attachment on the vacuum cleaner.  Maybe I could suction it out with that.  I went to get the vacuum from upstairs and while I was gone, a "helpful" child shoved the marker down farther into the curve of the vent with the sword.  Aaaaaah!

Banishing all children from the laundry room, and sending one for the flashlight, which I had forgotten, I tried the vacuum cleaner attachment.  It would not go down far enough to suck out the marker.  Failed again.  I sucked out the lint however, so that was good. 

Then, I went and got a wire hanger, bent it into a good shape, and tried to move the marker into a better spot so I could reach it with the vacuum.  It was really tricky!  At this point, I thought to myself, "I wonder who the patron saint of dryers is?"  Definitely needing some assistance, I sent up a prayer to the Patron Saint of Dryers, whoever he or she might be, rebent the hanger, and tried again.  This time, the marker moved, but into an even worse position.  I could only see about an inch of it.  Oh no!  I bent the hanger some more and fished again and what do you think happened? 

Somehow that marker moved out of the curve and partway back up the slot and the end of it was right next to the end of the vacuum cleaner attachment which I had left sticking down into the slot as far as it would go, running.  Holding my breath, I moved the vacuum tool a little and the marker moved with it.  Cautiously, I pulled out the vacuum tool and the marker came out with it and I was able to grab it!  Hooray!  I think the neighbors could have heard me whooping and hollering in my excitement. 

So, today, I am thanking the Patron Saint of Dryers for his or her assistance!

Today We Are Remembering...

...Dan's father, Dr. Joseph Balthaser Brungardt, who died 7 years ago.  Here he is with Dan's mom and baby Catherine at her baptism.

May his soul and all the souls of the faithful departed, rest in peace, Amen.

Spring Training

Batter up!

Dan got the kids some baseball gear, so for the last week or two, it has been baseball fever around here.

Dan hits the ball to the kids so they can practice fielding it.

Anne pauses for a smile.

Stop the ball, Anne!  (I don't think sandals are the preferred footwear for baseball, though.)

Dominic is getting ready for the grounder to come his way.

Catherine in action.

Ball boy #1

Ball boy #2

If it is warm enough for just jackets, the kids will grab the gear and go play baseball together in the afternoons.  They take turns hitting the ball (we have the T-ball thing) and fielding.  I still have my glove from when I was growing up, so I get to play sometimes, too.  So, we've definitely got PE class covered these days!

Scrumptious Cobbler

It has been a while since I made a cobbler, but a few weeks ago, I made an apricot cobbler, as pictured above.  You can see we ate some before I took a picture.  :)  I got this recipe from my mom, I don't know where she got it, but it is super easy and good!

 

Cobbler

3 Tbls. butter   (4.5 Tbls.)

1 cup flour     (1.5 cup)

1 cup sugar     (1.5 cup)

2 tsp. baking powder  (3 tsp.)

1/4 tsp. salt    (3/8 tsp.)

3/4 cup milk    (1 and 1/8 cup)

The measurements in black are for a square pan, those in orange are for a 9 x 13 pan.  Preheat oven to 350 degrees.  Put butter in pan and place in oven until melted.  Meanwhile sift dry ingredients (I never sift them, I just mix.) in bowl and gradually add milk.  Pour batter evenly in pan over melted butter. Put fruit over batter (apricots, cherries, apples, blueberries, blackberries, peaches, strawberries, etc.).  Bake for one hour or until done.  Enjoy!

Oh Nooooooooooooo!

A couple of days ago, we were all outside enjoying the warm weather as long as we possibly could.  I finally brought Anthony inside with me so I could get dinner on the table.   I went into the living room to get something and a few seconds later, I heard the door to the deck open.  I said, "Who came in?"  Nobody answered and I walked over to see Anthony standing in the open doorway looking outside.  Yikes!  He's only 11.5 months old!  Luckily, I can deadbolt lock that door, but still! 

Unfortunately, he can also open the door to the garage and I have no way (as of now) to lock that one so he can't open it.  Oh my, we will need some vigilant ears around here. 

You Know You Have A Bunch Of Little Ones, #20

You know you have a bunch of little ones when you need a putty knife to help you scrape the gunk off the floor when you are mopping.