- Bonifest 2022 -

It's one of the best weekends of the year...YAYAYAY, Bonifest is here!!!  After marshalling a corner during the Run for Bonifest [complete with cowbell ringing and excited cheering for all the runners passing by]...

 

...we retreated home for quick naps for all... 

 

...and plucked Daddy away from his golf tournament so we could all head back to the party of the summer!  Food/drinks, rides, and live music....?! DON'T MIND IF WE DO! :D

 

 

 Juliette was THE BEST trooper for going along with our crazy amidst the heat and noise.

 

 

And! The magic doesn't die when the actual night is over; there were nugget carnival rides for all the kids and stuffed animals in the house for days to come! 

Until next year... :-*

- Out of the mouth of babes: VOL XXXV -

On the way home from school:
Harper:  "Mom, why did the chicken cross the road?"
Me:  "Hmmmmm, I don't know!"
Harper:  "You have to guess!"
Me:  "To get to the other side?"
Harper:  "No!  ...To lay its eggs in its nest!"
Me:  .....

Still on the way home from school, while attempting to explain everyone's last names:
Me:  "....So if you marry _____, then your last name would be _____.  Or if you marry _____, then your last name would be _____."
Harper:  "But MOMMM, I can't marry ANY of those boys in my class!"
Me:  "Why not?!"
Harper:  "Because!  They are all my age!"
Me: "Oh... Well what's wrong with that?  You planning on marrying an older boy?!"
Harper:  "Yes.  Of course!  So then they'll be really tall and can reach high things for me."
Me:  .....

As a falcon was flying by:
"WHOA!!! MOM!  I just saw a huge bald eagle fly by the side of the house!"

While getting ready for bed:
"Mom, can you wake me up tomorrow really early before you leave for work so I can get all ready and surprise Daddy?  Because he'll be busy taking care of all the other children in the morning."

While overhearing a conversation Brian and I were having in the kitchen about someone who died:
Scarlett:  "Hawpa, what does 'passed away' mean?"
Harper:  "Like...past?  Like in the olden days and stuff?  OH, passed away.  Well, actually...'passed away' is another word for DIED, because that person they're talking about went up to Heaven and died."
Scarlett:  "Oh."

 

 

While Brian was wiring up 20 remote boxes for his fireworks show:
"When will Daddy ever take a break on the 4th of July just to watch the fireworks?"

At Scarlett's birthday as she was unboxing a shiny new [knock-off] American Girl doll:
"I want an American Girl doll like Scarlett because every time I play now I just feel like I always have to take care of littler baby dolls."

 

As Juliette was screaming her head off while we were getting gas:
"Juliette!  You just need to wait a little bit more patiently, ok?  Because we need to get gas, or else we'll have to get a tow truck to take us home!"

A few months after the Winter Olympics finished:
Harper:  "Are you going to be in the Olympics when you grow up, Scarlett?"
Scarlett:  "Yeah.  Are you?"
Harper:  "Yeah.  What are you gonna do?"
Scarlett:  "I'm gonna do 'dat ting [thing] where they go around 'da cones.  And tap dance!"
Harper:  "Oh!  That's nice!  I'm gonna do gymnastics!  I think it will be nice to win a medal for the United States."
Scarlett:  "Yeah. Pob-ee [probably] so."

While unknowingly walking into the bathroom where an unnamed family member was going #2:
Harper:  *shout yelling* "POO! IT SMELLS LIKE POOP IN HERE!"

After spending the afternoon at her friend's house:
Harper:  "Mom, what's my trouble name?"
Me:  "Your what?"
Harper:  "Like the name you're supposed to use for me when I get in trouble!"

Randomly:
"Mom, has your period ever bleeded?"

On the way home from school:
Harper:  "It was so hot at school today that my legs turned red!  .....And you're probably about to start getting sunburns!"
Me:  "Oh, yeah?  Why?"
Harper:  "Because!  You're always trying to get a suntan and instead you get a sunburn!"
Me:  .....

After passing a homeless woman and her three kids at a stoplight in town:
"Why would she stand there and ask us for food when she could just ask a farmer for one of his tomatoes or something?"

One evening as we were watching a Disney movie:
Harper:  "Ok, Juliette, let me tell you a story.  Once there was two parents who loved to look at their phones and sleep a lot."
Brian:  "That sounds like your parents!"
Harper:  "Yeah!  I'm telling her a story about you two nut jobs!"
Brian, me:  .....

- Out of the mouth of babes: VOL XXXIV -

As evidenced in this post, our Scarlett girl leaves us speechless quite often these days!  I hope her inquiring little mind never dials back! ;) :)

***********

Randomly:
Scarlett:  "I think God is a boy, what do you think Hawpa?"
Harper:  "Yes.  He's definitely a boy."
Scarlett:  ".....But WHERE is God, 'da boy, then?  Is he flying up in 'da sky holding onto a broom?"
Harper, me: .....

 

While watching me try on a new dress that I got for my birthday:
Me:  "Do you like my new dress?"
Scarlett:  "Yes!!!  ...Because it looks like a short-sleeve robe!"
Me: .....

While listening to Harper study/recite the Stations of the Cross in anticipation of her test at school:
Scarlett:  "WAIT. A. MINUTE. ..........  Jesus DIIIIIIED????!!!"
Brian, Harper, me: ..... 

While pointing to a coloring sheet she made at school during Holy Week: 
Scarlett:  "And dere's [there's] 'da cross 'dat Jesus was STUCK on."
Brian, Harper, me:  .....

While using the restroom at Target, loudly:
Scarlett:  "MOM! Can I open 'dat box on 'da wall and see if dere's any BLOODY tampons?"
Me:  ....

After walking past a girl her size in a wheelchair, still at Target, still loudly:
Scarlett:  "HAWPA [Harper], DO YOU THINK 'DAT GIRL IS HANDICAPPED?"
Harper:  .....

Randomly:
Scarlett:  "Mom, when will Dad have ginormous boobs like you?"
Me:  "Probably never, since he's a boy.........."
Scarlett:  "Oh.  Well I'm a girl!  So when will I have ginormous boobs like you?"
Me: "When you're old enough to be a Mommy."
Scarlett:  "...............Oh."

While watching Juliette nurse [a few hours after examining separated breastmilk in the fridge]:
Scarlett:  "......Is 'dere fat in 'DAT NIPPLE 'dat Ju-wee-ette is drinking out of?!"
Me:  "Yes."
Scarlett:  "Whattttttt?! How can 'dere be FAT IN NIPPLES?!"
Me:  .....

 

While driving home right after sunset, approximately 8:02pm:
"I see allllll 'da neighbors' lans-camping [landscaping] lights on! I wonda [wonder] if anybody is awake inside?!"

On the way home from school:
Scarlett:  "MOM!  When we pick our nose at school, afta' [after] we are done, 'da teacha [teacher] says we have to wash our hands or use Germ-X!"
Me:  ..... 

While driving home from the grocery store:
"Mom!  Mom, mom, mommmm, MOM!  Is 'dat a hewa-copta [helicopter] or a bird?!"

 

While playing outside:
"Mom, did you know bees only have ONE stinga [stinger] to sting people, 'den 'dey die?  ...So once ALLLLL 'da bees have stinged people, 'den 'dey will all die and we will NEVA [never] have to see bees again!"

 

On the way home from the grocery store:
Scarlett:  "Mom! What would we DO if we got home and Dad and Ju-wee-ette jus' appeared?!"
Me:  "Just appeared where?"
Scarlett:  "No. JUS'. APPEARED."
Me:  "........Ohhhh. Disappeared?"
Scarlett:  "Yes! Jus' appeared!  Would we have to look alllll around for 'dem 'den call 9-9-1???"

While recounting the "Last Day Luau" AKA her last day of preschool:
"We got to play outside for like a HALF AN HOWA [hour] which was pretty much like 'da whole day!"

On the first day of summer break:
"I whooshed [wished] Hawpa go'ed to school every single day so I don't have to wisten to her bossy talking!"

- Let Love Win -

Every time tragedy strikes, I become a prisoner of my own mind.  

During the day, I'm full of sadness and empathy; I read every interview, testimony, and news report I can find online to get details from all angles of the story. I put myself in the shoes of the victims ...or at least in the shoes of the victims' families, constantly wondering what I would've done or said in the moment and also trying to imagine how I would ever find the strength to pick up all the broken pieces and start putting my life back together in the days and weeks to come.  This stuff we're living through right now is heavy.  Whether miles or hours or states away, these events are not isolated.  They rock us to our cores.  The human heart was made for Love, and when senseless evil occurs it really changes our views of the world ...of other people ...of ourselves ...and maybe even of our purpose here. 

When the sun sets and nighttime falls, I switch gears and become full of worry and anger.  There's something about the darkness that encourages fear to fester.  I lie in bed and rake my mind over and over and OVER the coals just trying to get a grasp on how we've spiraled downward into who we are.  Not just America as a country, but the human race as a whole.  Who have we become?  ...How have we strayed so far from the people we were created to be?  Also!  How can we protect our babies from this insanity?  ...We can't keep them under our wings in a completely protected nest forever.  Will things get worse?  Have I already failed my babies?  Will they ever be safe outside our home?

Last night, my mind was going one hundred miles per hour and randomly came to a screeching stop when I remembered I had this blurb saved on my phone.  I originally saved it from a Facebook post that my friend Jamie shared a few years back, and I find so much comfort in reading it every now and then when I feel like -- despite our deepest desires to foster a safe and loving environment for our children to grow up in -- the world has ultimately failed our babies:

_____

"Don't feel sorry for or fear for your kids because they world they are going to grow up in is not what it used to be. 

God created them and called them for the exact moment in time that they're in.  Their life wasn't a coincidence or an accident.

Raise them up to know the power they walk in as children of God. 

Train them up in the authority of his Word. 

Teach them to walk in faith knowing that God is in control.

Empower them to know they can change the world. 

Don't teach them to be fearful and disheartened by the state of the world but hopeful that they can do something about it. 

Every person in all of history has been placed in the time that they were in because of God's sovereign plan. 

He knew Daniel could handle the lion's den.
He knew David could handle Goliath.
He knew Esther could handle Haman.
He knew Peter could handle persecution.
He knows that your child can handle whatever challenge they face in their life.  He created them specifically for it!

Don't be scared for your children, but be honored that God chose YOU to parent the generation that is facing the biggest challenges of our lifetime. 

Rise up to the challenge.

Raise Daniels, Davids, Esthers, and Peters!

God isn't scratching his head wondering what He's going to do with this mess of a world.

He has an army He's raising up to drive back the darkness and make Him known all over the earth. 

Don't let your fear steal the greatness God placed in them.  I know it's hard to imagine them as anything besides our sweet little babies, and we just want to protect them from anything that could ever be hard on them, but they were born for such a time as this." 

~ Alex Cravens

_____

"They were born as such a time as this."  While I often feel so hopeless in being able to change the world, that blurb always gives me goosebumps and brings me back to a clearer focus.  And while a ton of my friends on social media have been hating on the "thoughts and prayers"...you know, this post: 

...I have to say, I disagree.  Of course policy and change is a must, but so are thoughts and prayers.  Love casts out fear, and love is the essence and vocation of the human heart.  If we dial it back down to the basics and work really really really hard to build up a strong foundation of love for ourselves ...for our families ...for others also in the Body of Christ, I think the policy and change would come naturally whether our politicians choose to intervene or not.

So #BRB while my babies and I are down on our knees praying for the victims and victims' families -- and even the gunman and the gunman's family -- of the latest school shooting.  BRB while we allow our hearts love as they were created to do.  BRB while I continue to show them that love casts out fear.  BRB while we take it back to the basics and start building up a super strong foundation of love for others.  BRB while I empower them to know they can change the world.  BRB while they grow and flourish and rise up to the challenge, because they know they were born for such a time as this.

My very deepest desire is that all of you reading this also feel inspired to rise up to the challenge of raising Daniels, Davids, Esthers, and Peters!  ...For surely if we dust off our hearts' vocations, uncover true love, and therefore let Love shine, we will become the army placed here to drive back the darkness.

We were born for such a time as this.  

Let's let Love win!!!

- Juliette: 9 months -

Just an afternoon at the park with the most beautiful 9 MONTH OLD girl we know!  You are loved beyond measure, Juliette Thérèse!!! <3

Always stay small and sweet! 

 

xoxox

- Grandparent's Day [OUR WAY!] -

Who are our very favorite people in the world?!

What's that you say?

Oh yes, GRANDPARENTS, GRANDPARENTS! 

They're always here to save the day!

Due to being on quarantine last fall during the school's Grandparent's Day celebration, Harper sadly had to miss the long-awaited day.  Then, this winter, Scarlett's preschool had to cancel their planned Grandparent's Day celebration all together due to a surge of COVID cases in the community.  Both kids were sad about missing the special events with their grammies and papas...

...so we said, "TO HECK WITH IT!" and decided to throw our own Grandparent's Day bash from home in February!  [And yes, I know it's now June...........but #life.]

Alas!  Coupon books and crafts and coasters for the grandparents abound:

We had the very best morning full of feasting and fellowship with our favorite people!  The kids were so excited to share the gifts they made and took extra special care in setting the dining room table juuuust right.

Next year's school calendar was released last month, and we have Grandparent's Day 2022 onnnnn the books! Fingers crossed that second grade/4's preschool is THE YEAR to celebrate these very special people -- in the flesh and at school -- as planned! :)

 

- EIGHT & NINE MONTHS -

First there was this...

...and then we blinked, and there was this...

...and now it's officially official: this girl is BARELY a baby anymore!

Juliette spent the days between 8-9 months hitting new milestones here, there, and everywhere.  She's a girl on the move [log rolling, scooting, rocking on hands and knees, and crawling backwards -- still not forwards!] and so proud of herself and all of her new skills. She mastered the thumb/finger pinch within the last couple of weeks and picks up little pieces of food now to feed herself. She loves dialing up all of her grammies on FaceTime and also thoroughly enjoys sitting in a pile of toys on the floor.  Grocery shopping is also a hit these days since she's able to sit up in the top portion of the cart.  "Da-da" is her jabber jam, but you better believe I'm over here waiting with bated breath for her to learn Ma-ma [hopefully coming super soon]!  She finalllllly cute her first tooth, and I believe the second tooth is on the way! She loves all "big people" foods that we put on her highchair tray [which we've been trying more and more of lately, especially since she's in a horrible habit of blowing her purees all over the place!], and we were shocked to see her shoveling little chunks of salmon into her mouth as fast as her still-kind-of-uncoordinated fingers could get them in!  She is thrilled that Harper and Scarlett are home ALL DAY, EVERY DAY on summer break and absolutely loves being a part of the sister pack.  Most of all, she lovessss playing the "big girl game" where she puts her arms up in the air and someone says, "How big is Juliette??! ...Sooooooo big!" But, she FOR REAL is soooo big... I can't believe how this 9-month mark has changed her in so many ways! 

The tiniest human with the HUGEST personality...  We love you, big girl/girl on the move!!! 

Be right back while I scamper off to baby proof the house! :-* 

- MAY I change my mind? ...onto MAY: PART II -

After gushing on and on about the first half of May and all there was to celebrate and do cartwheels for, I've reformed my opinion on this month and have to say: I will not be sad to kiss the second half of May 2022 goodbye!  

After celebrating the "holidays" and all the people we love wrapped up in Teacher Appreciation Week, Nurse's Day, and Mother's Day, sh*t hit the fan right away!  The day after Mother's Day, Juliette developed a fairly "severe" case of [what we thought were] allergies.  Watery, itchy, glassy eyes + constant sneezing + thin, clear snot shooting straight out of both nostrils every time she sneezed sureeeeely seemed like a perfect storm of seasonal allergies, #amiright?  After a full day of misery, I sent Brian and Scarlett to Walgreens that evening in hot pursuit of some children's Zyrtec. [Ok, as a side note NOT related to Juliette's symptoms, can we just take a moment to complain about HOW HORRIBLE the tree pollen is this year?! I don't usually have seasonal allergies but am certainly struggling this year! Every time we go outside to sit on the patio furniture, we have to first wipe a fairly thick layer of yellow pollen off the table and cushions... The minivan is also coated in pollen after being parked outside my work building for 8 hours each day. Insanity!!!]

Back on topic!  

The children's Zyrtec seemed to take the edge off initially for Juliette, but within a few days her symptoms had progressed to thick congestion and yucky cough and it was seeming not so much like allergies anymore!  With an alarming increase in fussiness by day 5 of symptoms, I had her evaluated at the pediatrician's office and boom! Double ear infection + amoxicillin x 10 days.  Her first ear infection and first round of antibiotics.  We were thankful to have an answer [to the fussiness at least, who knows what the allergies/virus was!] and a solution.

As an added bonus, the antibiotic cleared up the congestion and cough right away and Super J was feeling "quite super!" again within a couple of days! YAY!  ...But also BOO, because her gut did not enjoy antibiotics, and the constant pooping/wiping gave her the worst diaper rash she's had to date.  With lots of diaper rash ointment, many sessions of allowing her naked booty to "air out" on a puppy pad, and so much diligence in keeping her clean and dry, THE BOOTY RASH FINALLY RESOLVED and we stopped going through new diapers every 10 minutes.  And most importantly, our girl was her smiling, happy self again!

Phew!  After the completion of 5 days of "allergies" and cough/congestion followed by 2 days of unusual fussiness followed by 10 days of antibiotics/diarrhea/diaper changing combined with cutting her very first tooth somewhere in the middle of it all, we [thought we] were finally in the clear! 

But no!

After finishing the antibiotic course on a Sunday evening, the poor girl woke up Monday morning with a 100.2* temp that eventually progressed to a 101.6* fever by the afternoon. This all went on for 3 more days, and juuuust when I was about to take her in for re-evaluation [resistant ear infection?  COVID?  Flu?  RSV?  Something bacterial that could progress to pneumonia?  My nurse brain was going insane!], the fever broke and never returned and halle-hallelujahhhh, AMEN, [I'm scared to say this out loud, but] I think we might actually be on the upswing from a few weeks of hell.

Oh, did I mention that in the meantime of all of Juliette's issues, COVID cases were on the rise [again] in our community and at the kids' school? We were just holding our breath -- literally, like yell/threatening the kids before school, "DON'TCHU DARE TAKE A BREATH AROUND ANY CLASSMATES THAT HAVE A COUGH!" [Jk but for real.]-- trying to make it to the end of the year without another quarantine for the big kids.  Soooo very thankful that we were able to celebrate the last day of school and preschool spring program for Scarlett + Field Day and last day of school with early dismissal for Harper!  IT'S OFFICIALLY SUMMER BREAK!!!

#normalcy

#at

#last

But oh, no! Not a chance. 

On the second night of summer break, we were jolted from a deep sleep at 1:15am when the smoke + carbon monoxide detectors in our home began flashing and alarming off obnoxiously.  As Brian scampered around the house looking for a fire and/or some kind of gas leak, I was furiously searching Google from our bedroom like, "How long does it take to die of carbon monoxide poisoning?"  After a thorough search through the house and Brian being "pretty sure" it was just a false alarm, I remained on the opposite end of the spectrum.  ...Likeeeee, should we wake up the kids and get a hotel just in case?  ...IF we go back to bed, should we at least have every door and window in the house wide open so the outside air can dilute the carbon monoxide fumes?  ...Wait, are the kids already dead since they didn't even emerge from their bunk beds when the fire alarm was blasting off?  ...BRB while I go check pulses. 

After it was confirmed that everyone was, indeed, still breathing and pulsating [pulsing?], I talked Brian into at least calling the fire department to see what they recommended.  Not like the 9-1-1 phone line, but just the regular non-emergency line, you know?  I mean, the writing was on the wall for the next day's newspaper headline: "FAMILY OF 5 DIES IN THEIR HOME AFTER IGNORING CARBON MONOXIDE ALARM AND GOING BACK TO BED."

So grudgingly, he called...

...and eagerly, 3 night-shift firemen and their XL firetruck arrived to our front door 10 minutes later.

[And let it be known that I spent their full 10-minutes-en-route throwing sh*t stuff -- anything out of place I could get my hands on quickly enough -- into closets and under beds because #HOLYMESSYHOUSE which was ever so embarrassing to show off to a group of strangers at 2am.]

After an up-and-down search/assessment of our home and all the smoke detectors on the ceilings, one fireman brought some little nifty handheld carbon monoxide detector inside. After that one didn't alarm off anywhere in the house, he stated he was "99.999% sure that, even though the house was only built two years ago, one of the carbon monoxide detectors is faulty and needs replaced.  This was almost certainly a false alarm, and you may go back to bed, ma'am!"

And the best news??? Brian, Juliette and I were all able to fall back asleep relatively quickly after all the excitement fizzled down...

...AND...

..........drumroll..........

...all 5 of us woke up alive the next morning! [Clarification:  I woke up less than 3 hours later to my alarm for work, but #minordetails.]

Tick tock, tick tock.  I feel like I've been typing this post for an eternity, so where are we now?! 

Resting up for a jam-packed Memorial Day weekend is where we are now!  [Anybody else's offspring nap in the weirdest positions?!]

Family graduation party, Mass, Memorial Day BBQ with friends, flower shopping, sleepovers, and soooo much more...! We have our fingers crossed for lots of sunshine and swimming and zero sickness or senseless 2am drama!  

STAY TUNED TO SEE...

...and let's welcome in a less-obnoxious June in 1...2.........3!!! :D

- May I love on MAY?! -

MAY!  The month we celebrate teachers [and Teacher Appreciation Week], nurses [and Nurse's Day], and Mary and all mothers [and Mother's Day].  <-- As if each one of those categories of fine humans don't deserve their own entire month or year of recognition, whoseeeeee idea was it to jam pack all 3 of them into the very same weekend??!  ...I digress.  

 But!  Sending all the love in the entire world to my kids' beautiful teachers...

...and a set of wonderful nurses I am blessed to work alongside... 

...and the nurse at our pediatrician's office who talks me through so many things over the phone...

...and a handful of mothers, grandmothers, aunts, and godmothers that we are SO LUCKY TO LOVE! 
{ H A P P Y   M O T H E R ' S    DAY ! ! ! }

Still May!  The month of long-awaited spring and new life and warm sunshine.  The month of graduations and goodbyes and new beginnings.

May, we're only 18 days deep into you, and you've certainly taken us for a ride around the block -- and a fast ride on two wheels with no seatbelts, at that!  So much to celebrate!  So much to still look forward to! 

Spring is here...

...summer is on the way...

...and the best is yet to come!  

I can't wait!