Tiny Tushies

Just when I think there couldn't possibly be enough new events in this house to warrant a picture a day you find yourself pushing the boys on the swing and watching your daughter walk down the deck stairs until you're eye level with her little naked behind.

Watching Daddy Go

I so wish that I could have snapped this particular photo with a high res. camera and that I could have recorded the boys voices as they called bye bye to Daddy on this morning. It could have been any morning really. They do this nearly every day as Daddy goes to work - pad to the door after him and then get a bit teary as they press their noses to the window and call for their favorite guy to come back.  They wave and cry and yell bye bye for a few moments and their Nono comes to the rescue.  He lifts them up high so they can watch Daddy's work truck dive away and then cleverly distracts them by pointing out trucks and cars on the street, birds in the front yard, and clouds in the sky.

Sand Box

A few sunny shots to remind us of the spring weather we had last week.  Tony and I actually pulled out the deck furniture (realizing that waiting to paint the deck = not having any deck furniture this season), and, more to the point, opened up the little hand me down turtle sand box.  I can't even believe how great the kids were - no sand throwing, no tantrums, just lots of fun.  The girls built little towers for the boys to smash, and then I built big towers for the girls to smash.  We killed the better part of 2 hours out here one evening and it was like a little slice of heaven.  There's nothing quite like getting your hands and feet in some sand to life your spirits.

Don't it always seem to go that you don't know what you got till it's gone...

Mimi and PopPop lead Alex, Jack, Emma (and a trailing Bella) on an after dinner walk.

Aw man.  REALLY?!?  Now, on April 22nd you're going to get all seasonal on us?  We had all settled into Spring.  We put the slightly outgrown winter clothes in bags last week and sent it to Goodwill.  I bought suntan lotion and we've played in the sandbox barefoot.  Suckers.  Winter was like "WHAT'S UP PEEPS!  I've got me one more blast of gross for  Ya'll!"  (Winter is apparently confused about his upbringing - it's part of what makes him so cranky.)  And so it is that we find ourselves currently turning the heat on, scrounging up some footy pajamas, and hunkering in for a week or more of 40 degree rainy nonsense that has even the kids pissed off.  And 45 degrees is SO MUCH WORSE after 75 degrees - am I right?

Do Over...

So that happened... and by that I mean a ridiculous mess and by a ridiculous mess I mean the newly arranged closet organizer that my husband so kindly put back for me a few weeks ago during a particularly keen melt down pulled completely out of the wall.  I'd say it happened round about 4 am.  last Thursday.  One part of my brain heard the thundering crash and thought - that gosh darn closet organizer fell out of the wall again.  The other part of my brain heard the crash and yelled - clumsy intruder!  SCREAM! So I did what both parts of my brain said and then listened to Tony as he swore under his breath, rolled over and said, "well I'm not fixing it now..."  And so we wend back to sleep, hoping it was a dream.

A Little Bit Prep

My OCD comes out of the closet when I get the kids dressed in the morning.  It's a real problem.  Whenever possible, I like to dress all of them (and myself, if possible) in co-ordinating hues, trends, or layers as though we're all on our way to a photo shoot.  The shit of it is, I hardly ever manage to get a picture of all the kids together, so it really is a wasted effort on my part.  I can tell myself this, but when the opportunity arises, I will pull out polo shirts for everyone (skinny jeans and a navy izod sweater for mommy), and I will feel great about the organized and picture perfect start of our day.

Spring

The first tree that was planted at our home was a cherry tree, purchased for Tony and I by my mom and dad.  I know that there are all sorts of lovely trees out there, but cherry's have always been one of my favorites - I love those girly pink flowers that seem to so happily announce that winter is, once and for all, behind us for another year.  I have wanted to take a picture of the blooms every year, and every year I've failed.  Usually a storm blows through right as the blooms reach their peak and in the morning the still tender branches have dropped all of their blossoms on the grass below them.

A Spot of Tea

Their eyes were wide with anticipation as they pleaded silently... desires yet unknown to me.  I knew something was coming as I tilted their heads back in the tub and tried to rinse the soap out of the bottom of their hair.  

"Mommy, can I tell you a question?" 

"What is it, muffins?" I asked - braced for something crazy.

"May we have tea as our snack tonight?" they exploded... "That would be SO great!"

Early Riser

There must be something in the blond chromosome in this family that perpetuates a desire to rise with the sun.  Alexander has now surpassed Amabelle as the first person to rise in the DiStefano home.  He's like clock work... a little 5:45 alarm clock, so reliable that I have stopped setting my alarm.  He's better anyway, I've checked and there's no snooze button.

A little light cleaning

 I once read that your children do not need a play room.  "They already have one" this lovely article said, "it's whatever room you're in".  Now I won't claim that I don't enjoy having our basement "play room" even if it's just a place to shove those extra toys that I want to trash, but Tony says we should keep... It's a change of scenery and a change of pace.  But most days, no matter what sort of super cool activity we arrange for the kiddos to take part in so that the adults can get something done, we more often then not will find ourselves with 4 other pairs of hands and feet that just really really want to do what we're doing.

The obsession continues

Ever since I ate that proverbial frog a few weeks ago and organized the be-jezus out of my closet I've been walking around the house like a slightly deranged person... all wild eyed and jumpy, head darting this way and that... This is out of place... That doesn't make sense there.  Do they really wear these shoes?  No?  Trash them.  Trash them now.  It seems that any amount of extraneous clutter and unkempt areas are mocking my previous attempts at organization and I pounced all over this particular disaster over the weekend.

Concentration

It's an amazing phenomenon.  When my children are removed from their siblings, all of their crazy ADHD like tendencies seem to vanish.  I am always in awe when I witness one of my babies deeply entranced in some activity of their choosing {especially if that activity doesn't involve playing in the potty}...

Of Easter {2012}

Easter Morning 2012

The sun rose on a beautiful Easter morning this year, and in this house four happy and eager kiddos rushed down stairs to see if the holiday delivered a magic that only they could grasp.  The four brightly colored balls hidden around the family room greeted them and sent them into peals of giggles as they bounded around the house bouncing like the balls they were chasing.

{egg}cellent painting

It was a little late in the day on Saturday that we remembered the Egg-Painting.  Whoops.  I can't say that I thought it out over much - just boiled some eggs (after googling and checking with 3 people on how to do it - for some reason I thought it may be harder then it actually is), slapped a table cloth on the table, and coated some Q-Tips in food coloring.  As a last minute snazz-a-razz decision I grabbed some 3-d foam stickers to jazz up any white spots.

Hair today, gone tomorrow

Alex on April 2

Alex on April 7

 Alex's hair has been on my to do list for the better part of a month now.  He has beautiful blond hair that grows faster than Rapunzle's and is straighter then a pin.  This means that within a day and a half, he has a section in the back that stands up like a little fan.

I was bugging Tony to take Alex to the barber - but as Tony doesn't really go to the barber, like ever, that seemed like it wasn't going to happen.  So I was quite surprised to return from the grocery store on Saturday mornings and see this:

Chocolate Syrup

Lately I've been intrigued by all of the DIY home goods that I've come across on the world wide web - namely from the One Good Thing By Jillee site.  That gal churns out ideas faster then I can keep up.  But since we stumbled on her homemade chocolate syrup a few months ago we've been hooked.

Eating the Frog

'

*Disclaimer - this has absolutely nothing to do with my children and thus has no rightful place in this book/blog {whatever version you are currently reading}.

Last month at teacher in service I sat through a particularly un-inspiring session where in presenters that the school paid good money to present to us, in fact, had us present to each other.  The topic:  Priorities.  I was super interested in this session initially as the "pre-test" alluded to the fact that we'd be learning how to balance work and family - something I feel like I need lots and lots of help with.  In the end that never happened and I was a bit bummed.  The only thing that resonated with me was the 3 minute introductory video on eating the frog.

Spring Craft: Collaged Egg Bunting

This was the latest in our spring craft creations.  It was super easy and super fun!   Presenting our Collaged Easter Egg Bunting!

Too Ambitious

Thursday, April 5, 2012

Perhaps I was a bit overzealous this morning... I think the disposal of the high chairs yesterday made me think that perhaps I was the mother of 5 and 7 year olds, not 1 and 3 year olds... and so it was that in a serious lack of judgement I called to the kids:  Let's play out front this morning! (insert the threatening musical tone:  dum dum DUM!)

A Monumental Occasion

Originally posted on Wednesday, April 4, 2012

I have been waiting for this day for the last 3 years.  3 years is a blink of an eye when you're watching your children grow, but 3 years is an ETERNITY of bruises on your hip from the two oversized high chairs that really don't fit in your small/normal sized kitchen.

I Can't Believe He Ate The Whole Thing...

Originally posted Tuesday, April 3, 2012

 Proving that I really have no idea what my kids will eat:  Jackson, following a morning bowl of oatmeal, two banana's, and grapes, proceeded to climb on top of the table, grab an apple, and eat the whole freaking thing.  To the core.

School Days

Originally posted on Monday, April 2, 2012

Today was a snow makeup day for preschool - (from that bizarre-o snow in October) - and my first day of spring break.  It was actually really super cool getting them ready for school and taking them there without having to rush back home to teach lesson.  Instead, I went to the grocery store, came hope and unloaded the groceries, then made it back in time to see their Easter Egg Hunt.    It was pretty much exactly what I thought our days would be like.

About Amabelle

Originally posted on Sunday, April 1, 2012

Our Amabelle can be such an enigma - at times we can't figure her out at all.  Some times she is so in touch with her feelings that it's like looking through a window into her soul.  She is a tough little package that hides a super sensitive interior.  Just when you think everyone in the family is under control Belle will surprise you by being the one that's the most emotionally effected by what just happened.

A trip to the ER

Originally posted on Saturday, March 31, 2012

It was bound to happen sooner or later - we've ben lucky so far, really.  It just seemed an odd coincidence that this happened almost exactly a year after my trip to the ER for a kidney infection.  Both incidents happened the day after Mimi and PopPop flew to California to visit with Aunt Ben and Uncle Brooke.  This particular incident happened approximately 24 hours after Mimi gave us a hug good bye and said "now try to stay out of the ER this time".

Alex's Smile

Originally posted on Wednesday, March 28, 2012

 Mr. Smiles... How cute is this kid?!?  I want to eat off his little face it's so cute - and those twinkly eyes?!?  Sigh.  I love him to bits and pieces.  Don't let that smile fool you though - he hides quite a few things behind that smile... (namely tormenting a sibling and then running to us with a big smile on his face so we don't think he had anything to do with the tears in the adjoining room) but we're onto him, and that smile.  But man, what a smile.

Movie Night

Originally posted on Tuesday, March 27, 2012

The girls favorite treat continues to be Movie Night with a big bowl of daddy’s popcorn.  We all snuggle together on the couch (girls legs - mommy included - covered in blankets).  Sometimes we paint nails first for a real treat - other times just the snuggles and movie is treat enough.  Today was a bit of an anomaly - in that movie nights generally occur on a Friday or Saturday, definitely not a Tuesday.

Craft for Mommy

Originally posted on Monday, March 26, 2012

I saw a necklace in J.Crew back in December that featured a few strands of pearls secured by a ribbon... at the time, as so often happens to me, I thought to myself: Don't buy it!  You could make that.  And as so often happens, I never ever got around to it...

A Night Out

Originally posted on Sunday, March 25, 2012

Sometimes you take the days when you can get them!  Generally, after a week like I just had the ideal thing to do would be sleep for two days straight - but that’s not really possible with kids anyway - so when Matt and Jeanine asked if we wanted to join them to see the Berks Jazz Fest sponsored Bella Fleck concert at the Sovereign Performing Arts Center we agreed - happily!  

2012 Spring Musical

Originally posted on Saturday, March 24, 2012

This weekend brought an end to the two months of work on the set of Anything Goes... but more it brought an end to the 4 years that I spent working with a great group of HS kiddos.  The show actually surprised us all and turned out to be a real crowd pleaser - great dancing, laughs, and of course one kicking set.

A Little Flash Back

Originally posted on Friday, March 23, 2012

While perusing our old blog, I happened upon these postings of the four kids from this time last year.  You don't always realize how much they change until you see it smacking you in the face.  I thought perhaps the family would enjoy this little time warp as much as I did.

Swinging

Originally posted on Thursday, March 22, 2012

How do you like to go up in a swing,

Up in the air so blue?

Oh, I do think it the pleasantest thing

Ever a child can do!

Treasures

Originally posted on Wednesday, March 21, 2012

She's a collector, our Bella - we've returned tape and wall decorations to Preschool, store goods to shelves, jewelry and makeup to mommy's bathroom.  We've learned to check her pockets before leaving family and friends homes - as we'll most likely find stones, leggos, blocks, and acorns when we empty them.

Field Trip

Originally posted on Tuesday, March 20, 2012

What a particularly stellar day today was!  Cashing in on the job perk of working from home (and a personal day) I was able to accompany the girls on their preschool field trip to the Reading Planetarium.  

Chasing Shadows

Originally posted on Monday, March 19, 2012

This is a crazy week coming up - with me working 8-4 and somehow managing  to be Muhlenberg High every day from 3:30-10 for Anything Goes dress rehearsals and performances.  Our wonderful family was working overtime, coming to the house early and helping to watch kids overnight or at odd times... All this is to say that I FAILED in my picture a day mission.

A Little Bit Irish

Originally posted on Sunday, March 18, 2012

Aunt Carole, Mimi, and GG all decked out in their Irish finery

What is it about St. Patrick's day that makes us all feel like we're a little bit Irish?  No one fake celebrates Republic Day on June 2.  We don't don lederhosen on St. Swithin day... but St. Pat's?!?  We're all over it. Maybe it's because we all look good in Green - or because we need SOMETHING to make us think spring is coming before Easter gets here... Or perhaps it PopPop's amazing selection of Irish inspired beverages (I'd like to recommend the Irish Gold Martini - seriously delish!)

Birthday Cards

Originally published on Saturday, March 17, 2012

Ah the March Birthdays... and this time rolling around just after I verbally made a promise to only MAKE my cards this year.  (Seriously, I have such a ridiculous amount of craft paper, stamps, and ribbons that it seems ludicrous to spend $3.50 on a card when I have all the necessary pieces to make one stacked in the office.)  However the making is a different matter entirely...

Emma

Originally posted on Friday, March 16, 2012

You are currently 44 months old... that’s a bit over 3 1/2 - but sometimes you sound like you’re closer to 13.  You love learning and then applying what you’ve just learned.  You crack us up when you repeat your knowledge for us, adding your usual sensitive spin:  “Mommy, I bet Pluto was sad when they told him he wasn’t a planet anymore... maybe when he gets bigger like the other planets he can ask to be one again.  It would be so nice of the other planets to do that, right?” and...  “It’s important to save water, Mommy - some places don’t have clean water so we must save it for them”.

Collapse

Originally posted on Thursday, March 15, 2012

This morning while getting dressed in a bleary state of desperation - the closet collapsed around me.  The organizers ripped right out of the wall, leaving me covered in a mountain of often unused clothes.  I sat amidst the rubble for a moment or two, lip quivering, not sure which way to turn. 

Early Spring Walk

Originally posted on Wednesday, March 14, 2012

Tony corralling the boys pre-walk

We have been cooped up for far, far, farfarfarfarfaaaaaarrrr too long.  Did I mention that it seems like a really long time since we've been outside?  It sounds crazy, even to me, because this was just about the most mild winter the north east has seen since the Dinosaurs roamed, but it's difficult!  

Co-Sleeping

The boys...  (co-starring my shoes)

You guys, I did it... I snuck in at night and caught Alex and Jack sleeping in the same crib!  It was all for you, Aunt Sallie!  Picture taking was a bit rough - as it was DARK!, but you can hopefully absorb some of the adorable quotient here...

Spring on the Deck

Originally published on Monday, March 12, 2012

This moment of brotherly joy brought to you today by Jackson and Alexander.  A little sunshine, a folding chair, a push toy and lots of smiles.  The two boys were out here for over an hour, giggling and playing as happy as could be.  Even though financially I occasionally regret putting on the deck, I simply cannot argue with the benefits it has brought to us as a family

Easy Like Sunday Mornings

Originally posted on Sunday, March 11, 2012

Out treat at the end of a long week is Sunday mornings.... the only day that neither Tony or I work, is Sunday Mornings... No one has to get dressed by 7:30, no one has to rush out the door, or log on anywhere and we all LOVE it.  Daddy, in particular, has taken ownership of the Sunday Morning and has now perfected the waffle.  Each Sunday we all gather round to eat his creations  everyone of us consuming far more then we should, in all rights, be able too.  Everyone has their particular syrup/butter quotient and individual eating style... 

Crafty

Originally posted on Saturday, March 10, 2012

The sun is shining... all sorts of spring holidays are approaching, but what’s a gal to wear?!  Yes Emma, Belle and I had a serious discussion about our spring accessories where in we planned a series of small crafties to make our winter wardrobes pop.  It went a little something like this: {hit it}

The Kingdom Dance

Originally posted on Friday, March 9, 2012

 Seriously Cute Disclaimer:  VIDEO COMING SOON {as soon as I get to it }

This may have been one of the cuter things I’ve witnessed in a long time.  The girls are pretty much in love with Tangled {Rapunzle} right now... they ask me to play the songs over and over as they act out what happens at that particular time in the movie.  Tonight it was the Kingdom Dance.  Over and Over...  I played it and they danced. 

My Welcome Home

Originally posted on Friday, March 2, 2012

The last two days were spent commuting to Harrisburg for teacher in service.  Though I came home in between the days of work (which, incidentally, were pleasantly organized and probably one of the more enjoyable in-services that I’ve attended) the kiddos didn’t see me, as they were already tucked into bed.  Today I was up at 5:00 and out the door at 6:00 to get back to in-service a bit early so I could man the sign in table.  The two days of driving, packing, and mixed up sleep patterns had totally caught up with me and coming home tonight around 6:00 I was completely exhausted. 

Sister Snuggles

Originally posted on Thursday, March 1, 2012

 I love the moments when we find the kids in a loving moment together... here are the girls cuddled up in mummy and daddy’s bed waiting for their turn to get ready in the morning.  They pull the covers up tight and then tell each other jokes and change characters and voices more often then any adult could possibly keep up with.  Their giggles fill the room, muffled under covers, until we uncover them, shove them into clothes, get them breakfast, and push them out the door to preschool.  

Kid Cave

Originally posted on Wednesday, February 29, 2012

Today was one of those days where I could feel my school work piling up and creating a constant weight on my shoulders... as soon as dinner was over I found my mind drifting back to the office and the unanswered emails, the files that had to be downloaded before the two day inservice, the to do lists to post, the study guides to get ready, the bags to pack...

Bella's Morning Cuddle

Originally posted on Tuesday, February 28, 2012

 Each morning our day is ushered in by the padding of little Bella feet. Our first riser, who climbs silently into our bed, clicks her lip rubbing her favorite spot on her blanket, then after several minutes will usher a bit of wisdom. 

May I help you? No...

Originally posted on Monday, February 27, 2012

Starring in the role of our first child to respond to every question with no:  Jackson Oliver!    (And the crowd goes wild!)

Orchid

Originally posted on Saturday, February 25, 2012

I’ve had Orchids before.  They are so exotic and gorgeous and for me they are typically dead within a month.  Generally I think I’m okay with plants... but Orchid’s have proved the exception.  Last year, after PopPop Hilbert passed away the staff of the Musical sent me an orchid.

Job Perk

Originally posted on Friday, February 24, 2012

I know I get grumpy about working and all down in the mouth about “this isn’t how I wanted it to be” and blah blah blah... (How can you stand it really... I’ve been an incessant whiner for the last two years!?!)  Granted, the current employers are a bit nuts and the requirements enough to drive any sane person to the brink... but today, as I led an art staff meeting with Jack on my lap and the happy chatter of Emma and Belle creating “paper airplanes” in the background I had to stop and think:  How freaking lucky am I?!?