Typical day

After breakfast we broke out the board games!  We played chess and checkers before I realized it was time for lunch!  R beat C and me at chess.  Checkers is always a fun game but difficult with little H since the pieces are tiny.  (Our checkers are small compared to the regular sized checkers.)  I love checkers.  I have fond memories of playing with my mom and dad (and of course my siblings).  My mom had rules that none of us liked though...if faced with a jump, you MUST jump.  Is that a real rule?  I always disliked that rule.  Real or not, I haven't taught my kids that rule.  I remember double-jumping my dad--that was a great accomplishment.  He was/is considered a great checkers player in my book!  After lunch, we got out the water colors and had fun painting!  They are really talented.  H enjoyed coloring and did a great job too!  We still have the same fat crayons R used 6 years ago when he was just starting to color.  It's kind of cool to think they've lasted this long.  After dinner, Daddy played R then C a game of checkers.

We played outside a bit today too.  It was nice out~a bit damp but still really nice.  My older two are outgrowing our current swing set.  Daddy and I are hoping to replace it next summer.  R just loves swinging and they both love the glider-swing.  H likes her baby swing and the slide.

I love having my kids at home!  I am so blessed to be a stay at home mom/wife!  There are days when I miss working outside the home but I truly wouldn't trade my current job for anything!  I love talking with and being around my kiddos.  They have the best stories, plans, and ideas.

How was your day?  Were you able to spend some quality time with your kids?  What did you do?

How to feed a hungry family

I'm always looking for new ways to feed my hungry family, in healthy yet inexpensive ways.  One meal never fails, homemade chicken soup.  I started this morning by putting a whole chicken (minus the organs and as much skin as I could get off) into the crock pot along with water and some spices.  By the afternoon, I was able to take the chicken out and get rid of the bones.  I then transferred the chicken and stock into a pot where I added chopped carrots, celery, and onion.  I let it boil for awhile to soften the veggies.  It was filling and we had enough leftovers to fill an old tomato sauce jar! :)  Ok, so I know the chicken was $6.49 and the veggies and spices, well, I use them in everything we cook so I'm not sure how much the exact cost was for what we used tonight.  I'd say for 5 people (yes, even little H eats the same meals) we did really well tonight!

Do you have any go-to meals that are healthy and inexpensive?  Please share them with me! Thanks in advance :)

*One great way to save $$ is to garden.  My in-laws have been sharing their veggies and they are delicious!  We had a ton of strawberries in the beginning of the season but haven't had much else from our garden this year.  Next year, I hope to have a grand garden! :)

What do you talk about at the dinner table?

Funny things come up at our table. 

R (boy 7yrs): When do you think we can all fly to the moon?  I mean, as a family, for vacation...
C (girl 4yrs): Why do we have to say excuse me when we burp? 

R:  When do you think we can have a sleep-over at Grammie's? 
C: I'm going to drink all the apple cider vinegar to be healthy! I HATE peas.  Don't give me peas! 

R: Let's not let H take naps, that way she can be our baby forever! :)  (I told him she needs her naps to grow.)
C: When will I be older than R?

R: Mom, we didn't pray the Rosary today and I promised Jesus I'd pray the Rosary every day...(in a fussy voice).  (I admit, we don't pray the Rosary daily.  We try but almost never get more than a decade....any tips from those of you that are able to pray it daily with little ones?)
C: I'm going to be the first one done eating!  (Said with most of her food still sitting on her plate when most other plates are 1/2 eaten!)

R: Can I have more?  I could eat this for 600 days and still love it!
C: Let's all take a bite together.  (followed by...) Everyone drink your water now! :)

R: I want to be like Jesus!
C: I want to be like you, Mom!  (I'm honored...and in big trouble!)

Daily......hahaha

So much for blogging daily.  Oh well, at least I am enjoying my family, even if I can't blog about us daily! :)

You know what happens when you're 2 minutes late to Mass...oh, you've never been late to Mass...you get a little reminder from Daddy while driving to Mass that even though we'll probably be in the Narthex, we will still be IN Mass and must still behave.  When we got there, we told the usher how many seats we needed and he nicely waved us RIGHT TO THE FRONT ROW!  That's right folks, the FRONT ROW!!  Front and center...we were RIGHT THERE, BABY and all! :)  (I must admit, I've always wanted to sit up front.  I've heard that sitting up front is a great way to get kids to listen, after all, staring at people's heads isn't much fun and makes it tough to pay attention.)  Other than a few (normal) outbursts from little H, our kiddos were their typical behaving selves! :)  After Mass, a sweet lady came up and commented on our family.  She said she has a 58 year son whom she was reminded of when watching our pride and joy--R!  She said she had turned 90 this past month--she didn't look or act anywhere near 90!  When we went to the Narthex, Father Dan joked with us about the saints we had in our family!  One of these days, God-willing, we really will have Saints for children, and we too will be Saints with them!  :)  Who knows, maybe we'll sit in the front row again sometime, and NOT be late for Mass! 

R is SEVEN!!

I can't believe it's been 7 years already!  My little baby boy is no longer a baby but a big boy!  He is my pride and joy!  R, you make me laugh and you make me proud.  Every day I love you more than the day before.  You are so brave and are such a great big brother.  You are so loving and so kind.  You are thoughtful and helpful.  I love it when you read to me and to your little sisters!  I love listening to your big ideas and plans!  You are so fun to be around!  You are inquisitive and imaginative and creative.  You love science and learning new things.  You enjoy building and cooking, playing and crafting, camping, fishing, swimming, hiking, exploring, dreaming, star-gazing, digging, swinging, painting, riding bikes, going to airports, playing with C, forts, reading, going to the library, helping Daddy, computer time, Peter Rabbit and George, chicken, ketchup, and R (what else can I say?!) These are a few of your favorite things!  I am so thankful you came into our lives!  You are one incredible and amazing seven year old boy!  HAPPY 7th BIRTHDAY R!  I LOVE YOU SO MUCH!

Shopping with 3 kids

I guess in this day in age 3 kids means you have a large family.  I don't see it that way but whenever I go shopping and have my kids in tow, I seem to get a few comments.  My children are well-behaved for the most part whenever we go out (sometimes they get loud and silly but that's about it).  I have read many stories and have many friends with 4-6 children and my mom is from a family with 11 children.  I hope to be blessed with more children someday~I wonder what people would say in the grocery store then! ;)  Okay, I don't really wonder nor do I care what they'd say...

The most common comment is "Wow!  You have your hands full!"  I normally smile and say something like "Yes, I do."  I'm trying to come up with something more positive to respond and have tried out a couple of other lines.  Once, I replied "Yes, they are full of the good stuff and I wouldn't have it any other way!"  That got one man to give me his life's story...he totally agreed with me.  He and his wife have 2 young children.  He wants more but she doesn't want to have another c-section (I guess their children were both c-section births).  He was a nice person.  I've had others comment things that I couldn't believe they were telling me--a complete stranger!  One lady (who had a boy and a girl) said she was surprised my husband and I had more kids after having one daughter because if she had had her daughter first, she wouldn't have had any more kids.  She thought her daughter was way too sassy (not her word but my nicer word).  Interesting lady...I went home and prayed for her and her family.

I know I'm babbling on and on...

I enjoy shopping with my three young children.  I LIKE shopping with my three young children.  I LOVE hanging out with my three young children.  I wouldn't want it any other way--unless my hubby were able to join us or we had more young children to bring along!  They bring me so much joy and happiness!

Do you shop with your children?  If you don't have children, do you comment to those that "have their hands full"?  

A good laugh and a blast from the past

This morning someone said "You can't touch this" (referring to a pair of sun glasses).  Well, that lead to Mommy singing a silly rendition of MC Hammer which lead to us looking up his song on You Tube.  While laughing at the song and dancing R said "Why are they wearing skirts?"  Hahaha!  Enjoy your day! :)