Perfecting Imperfection

The last two days have actually been pretty good days. Yesterday, we took all 4 kids to the mall and then to my SIL's house for dinner. The kids had a blast and were pretty happy - for the most part. The twins still had their "we're 2" moments but they were mostly short lived.

Today, I think they were happy to be home! We did a lot of snuggling and we watched a lot of tv. I didn't get on my laptop until after 2 o'clock!!

While dinner was cooking the twins and Danika were sitting in a row sharing some Fritos, laughing and watching a movie. It was adorable. That's what I want to remember about today. Not that 15 minutes later there were Fritos all over the living room and no one ate dinner because of how many Fritos they ate - I just want to remember how adorable they were while they were laughing and sharing. :)

Today, I went to my SIL's house for dinner today and helped her son, Lochlin, with his homework assignment to disguise a turkey so that it wouldn't be noticed at Thanksgiving.

Here's what it looked like when we were done:

Dear Nate,

Happy 6th Birthday!  I can't believe it was 6 years ago that you were born.  I remember so much about that time and yet, it seems so much LONGER than 6 years ago!  If anyone would have told me that you would have a sister and 2 brothers by the time you were 4, I would have told them they were NUTS!  But . . . here we are and you are an awesome big brother!


This year was a BIG year for you (and me).  It was the first time I actually sent you to school instead of having you in school with me.  I knew you were ready.  I knew you were going to do great and that you needed to kind of spread your wings a tiny bit and do something on your own - you are awesome at it, by the way.  I will say, though, that I missed you as soon as I put you on the bus and it was probably one of the longest days of my life until you stepped off the bus at 3:29.

Now, we are both old pros!  I still love the fact that you want me to get out of the car and actually walk you to the corner when we drive...it reminds me that you still need me.  I also love the days when PapPap comes and sits with the other kids and I walk down to get you at the bus stop because you hold my hand the whole way home. We don't really get too much time just the 2 of us anymore and I love that 5 minute walk!

You are also getting to be so smart!  You surprise me everyday by the things you know and how well you can read things.  I will tell you - I am probably going to have to be more on my toes because you are starting to know the words I spell to Nana on the phone and you can read things I leave up on my laptop.  I'm so proud of you.

You are still a very sensitive little boy.  I worry sometimes that people will hurt your feelings and I really do want to protect you from that but I also know that you are a strong and sensitive little boy and you will have no problem taking care of yourself.  I love that you decided that you wanted to keep up with ice skating and hockey . . . I know you will get better at it with practice and baseball season is coming up again, too!!!

Thank you so much for being such a wonderful son!  You really are amazing and I've learned so much being your mom.  You taught me how to be a mom!  You are a great role model for your brothers and sister and we all love you so much!

Now, you HAVE to stop leaving your shoes and socks in the middle of the floor and put your clothes in the hamper at night and you will be perfect!  hehehe

I love you,
Mama

Tomorrow my first born will be turning 6. I remember so much about the time when he was first born and brand new. I can't believe he's growing so fast - fast enough to come off the school bus wearing this crown from his teacher. I love that he still had it in getting off the bus and didn't just shove it in his backpack. He is truly an awesome kid!

I may have vented a little bit about how much earlier the Christmas season seems to be starting lately.  Honestly . . . I thought my husband was lying when he said that 99.7 was already doing their 24 hours a day Christmas Music thing.  He wasn't.  The kids and I listened to Harry Connick Jr. singing Rudolph the Red Nosed Reindeer on the way home from Nana's tonight - I figured it would quiet them down.  It did.

Growing up an Errico, I have always been a pretty big believer in the "Christmas DOESN'T start until AFTER Santa shows up in the Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade" and now that I'm a Krajci, I also believe that it requires a viewing of National Lampoon's Christmas Vacation after dinner on Thanksgiving to really get going.

So, needless to say, when a small group of my preschoolers started singing Jingle Bells this afternoon I kind of cringed.  Then I gasped and said, "Noooo ~ it's not time to sing Jingle Bells, yet!!!"  Of course, preschoolers find this reaction hysterical and a cue to sing louder and get the rest of the preschoolers involved.  :)  If you ask them, their teacher is a riot.

I will say one thing, though.  The appearance of the Christmas Carols this early and the energy that the kids had today made me VERY happy that we only have 5 days of school (because we are Tuesday/Thursday only) in December!!!  These kids are so excited ALREADY!!!  You would think that they are going to get a bunch of presents or something!  hehehe  (FYI . . . it isn't too early for ME to start counting the days until Christmas Vacation . . . if they can start Christmas Carols, I can start counting down!)

I looked into how to get my kiddos to start acting the way I want them to act today.  Of course, I don't have unrealistic expectations that I'm going to have 4 perfect children.  What family have you ever heard of that has 4 perfect children?  Even the Brady Bunch had Jan . . . and in the movie she was positively creepy.

I do know that I am going to have to get a little bit more organized and active with my children if I'm going to get them to where I want them, though.  I'm guessing by what I read today that this is going to be a long search.  I'm not going to find the perfect thing to change my crazy kids the very first day that I try.  Instead, I'm going to have to really research to find something that fits our family and our current situation.

Like I said, I'm aiming for the beginning of January to really start something - so I have the time to prep and research.

I think the first thing that I need to do is really think about what it is that I want my children to do differently.  Just saying, "I want them to stop driving me crazy" isn't going to cut it.  So, Baby Step #1 is going to be coming up with some goals that I want to achieve...then I will have to look into the best way to achieve them.

I found this article on 15 Secrets of Happy Families

Here are 3 that I'm going to start trying to incorporate right away:

Break Bread Together -We tried this in the past and it was disastrous.  The babies just don't seem to want to eat in the dining room with the rest of us...know why?  Because I haven't made a point to make them...I think this is going to change in the upcoming weeks.

Build and Honor Rituals - we have a lot of things that we do . . . but none on a regular basis or with any kind of schedule.  I think I'm going to come up with a few things that we do a few times a week just to help us develop rituals we have as a family...and then those will become priorities - above anything else that may come up and try to get in the way.

Encourage Sibling Harmony - I think this is something I'm going to start doing now . . . really stressing how lucky they are to have each other.  It isn't always easy for them to see.  When Dean and David wreck a Lego masterpiece that Nate had been working on, I practically see the steam coming out of his ears.  Luckily, he doesn't go after the babies because he knows they are babies.  I have to work on somehow getting him to realize that he is lucky to have a baby brother (or 2) who will do that and annoy him.  :)

Okay - that's enough to think about tonight!  More tomorrow!  :)

The past few days have been rough.  Even with me being gone all day Sunday, I feel like I've been listening to whining, crying, cranky kids WAY too much lately.

I need some help.

I'm planning on scouring the internet tomorrow for some sort of reward/behavior program that is REALLY easy to use but REALLY effective.  The thing is . . . I need something that is going to be easy for me to keep up with.  We tried this really neat chart thing with jobs that the kids had to do every day and then they got tokens for the jobs and then they could trade the tokens in for some sort of a reward. . . it lasted about 3 days before they could care less and things were too crazy for me to be able to keep them on track.  It's important that you remember I currently have 2 two year olds in the house.  They wreak havoc every chance they get - at least from the time they wake up until they are back asleep.

I have decided that the only solution for tonight's dilemma of too much whining is to add a little wine to the mix and call it a night . . . I'm hoping to find something inspirational online tomorrow to help with my lack of structure, whining children (ages soon to be 6 and almost 5) and always throwing a tantrum 2 year olds.

Any help would be GREATLY appreciated but I totally understand if you just want to grab a glass and laugh at me from your comfy/quiet computer screen.  :)

Yesterday, I posted this before going to bed . . . Exhaustion Doesn't Cover It.

I'm still exhausted and, according to my husband, I still smell like onions.  Unfortunately, I woke up WAY too late to get a shower this morning so everyone is going to just have to suffer until the twins take their nap and I can grab one.

On a positive note - I'm not nearly as sore as I was last month.  Last month, I could barely walk the day after our OAMC Day.  Today - I actually don't feel bad at all!  I'm going to contribute that to my SIL telling me that I had to keep my shoes on all day.  Although I very rarely wear my shoes when I'm inside,  I took her advice and my hips and back feel fine today!

I'm also happy to report that THE FREEZER IS FULL - again!!!


This month we made:

For Breakfast -

Harvest Pancakes 

Before the Oven

After the oven

Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Muffins

This is the second time (I think) that I am using the Blogger app on my iPhone to write a post. I was all ready to go to sleep when I remembered that I forgot to write today. I'm WAY too tired to go back downstairs to type this up on the laptop . . . so, this is what you get.

Today way another successful cooking day. I plan on sharing pictures and stories about our day tomorrow - but I did want to tell you a little bit about it tonight. Mainly that I'm so exhausted I can barely move. I have no idea how professionals cook for a lot of people for hours at a time. I could never do that every day.

Our day basically broke down like this:

Packed the car @ 7:30
Got to Christine's @ 8:00
Started cooking - after unloading the car @ 8:30
Cooked until 7:30 pm
Planned next month's shopping list and took inventory until 8:00
Jim helped me load the car back up @ 8:00
Home by 8:30

In bed @ 10:15

I plan on being sound asleep in 15 minutes and know it will not be a problem. I'm going to get the best night's sleep I will get all month because I'm exhausted AND because I feel a huge sense of accomplishment, which will help my mind to stop thinking about what else I should/could have done today!

Good night all - more about today . . . tomorrow!

Tomorrow will be my 3rd time spending a day at my friend Christine's house following Once a Month Mom's Once a Month Cooking menu.  I am excited for a few reasons and already kind of tired thinking about it.

I'm excited because -

1.  I get to spend all day with Christine and her Family.  :)  I love that her girls know the house is going to be filled with music and good smells when I come over!  Her husband, Jim, is always so nice to me, too . . . not that we get to talk much but he is a big help when I have to lug everything back to the car at the end of the day - he also is the one who makes sure we take breaks to eat something so we don't fall over.
2. I get to try new things - I get to learn how to do new things in the kitchen.  Each month, I've learned something new and I'm sure that next month won't be an exception!  We are making Granola Bars!!!!  I've never done that before!
3. I get to stock up my freezer with new meals.  I've been enjoying the things that we have but I will say that by the time our next cooking day rolls around I am ready to try some new stuff.  I still have some stuff from September (only 1 frozen Baked Ziti) and some from October in the freezer. It will be nice to be able to add some new stuff to the menu, though.
4. I'm also excited that I get a break from my kids.  I know . . . what a horrible thing to say . . . but this week I only worked one day.  So, I've been at home with them since Wednesday - with the exception of the 2 hours that I went grocery shopping with Jerry last night.  I need a break.  It will also make Monday so much easier to deal with.

Today is Veteran's Day - it really does mean more than the kids being off of school, the banks and post offices being closed.  This morning on Facebook I came across this explanation of what a Veteran is . . .

My grandfather was an amazing man - think John Wayne . . . he was quiet and never really made a fuss (at least not that I know of) but when he did have something to say, everyone listened.  He worked in the Steel Mill after serving in WWII.  He was a hard worker.  I remember my grandfather as a man of few words but he had the best laugh in the whole world.  It was a big laugh.  A big belly laugh that would make you smile.  I'm sad that he isn't here to meet my children.  I know he would have loved them and they would have adored him.  He is definitely one of my heroes.

Next up is a guy who I've always considered my "little brother" - even though we are in no way related.


Derek is the handsome one on the left . . . with the glasses.  We didn't really meet until I was already in high school but we became really close as we both went through High School and I went off to college.  I remember Derek's going away party when he left for Basic but I don't think it really sunk in what he was really doing.  I talked to his beautiful wife, Jodi, a lot when he was deployed and I remember thinking how strong they all were while he was gone.  Derek has 2 awesome children, Dominic and Mia, who both had to make sacrifices, too.  After he came home, Derek would tell me stories of what he did while he was deployed and all I could think of at the time was, "Thank God you didn't tell me that when you were gone!"  I really do appreciate his sacrifices and the risks he took.  He even made it a point to fly home for my wedding!  He told them his sister was getting married!  :)  I remember practically attacking him when I saw him the night of the rehearsal dinner!  Derek is definitely another one of my heroes.

Speaking of my wedding, the next Veteran I would like to thank was my husband's roommate in college and one of the groomsmen in our wedding . . .


Justin, or Uncle Lu Lu (as the kids knew him), is one of the funniest guys I've ever met.  I always had a great time when he was around.  He is also one of the nicest guys I know.  I remember when we moved into our house . . . Justin had just come back from being deployed and he stopped over to help us take down wallpaper and paint.  He also bought us our microwave - that we still use to this day - as a wedding shower present.  I remember him bringing microwave popcorn over, too . . . so we could try it out and eat popcorn while we painted.  Life has kind of gotten in the way of us keeping in touch with Justin and we miss him a lot (especially during the summer and grilling season because he was always around to help us test new barbecue recipes and throw back a couple beers) - but he pops into conversations every once in while and we are able to keep tabs on each other through the power of Facebook.  Justin is another one of my heroes!

Another guy who is always willing to help test out some recipes and throw a few back is Matt.


Matt and I became friends just from being around the same people.  Honestly, for a while I thought he was literally insane.  However, after a couple of late night conversations, I now know that Matt is one of the smartest people I know.  Matt and Jerry are hysterical to watch together.  They are almost EXACT opposites in personality but when they are together you can't help but laugh at what ensues.  I remember when Matt was leaving to be deployed - I wanted to give him something.  He's not very religious but he had commented a few times about how he liked my grandfather's rosary...so, I told him to take it with him.  He didn't want to because of the sentimental value it held for me, being my grandfather's and all, but I told him I wasn't giving it to him . . . just letting him borrow it!  Jerry and I were lucky enough to attend Matt's wedding a little over a year ago.  It was a great party and we are so happy for him!  Matt is certainly one of my heroes.

Last but not least is a guy I haven't seen in probably 10 years or more . . .


I knew JR from good old St. Joseph High School.  JR and I weren't super close in High School, but we hung out with the same people.  He dated a few of my friends and I dated at least one of his.  We would see each other at parties and later on at the weddings of friends.  I remember someone telling me about JR joining the Marines and I was surprised.  Then I saw JR on Facebook a while later and was totally amazed at how different (and amazing) he looked!  He now has a beautiful family and loves what he does.  In an odd sort of way I was kind of proud of him . . . it's only odd because I don't know what right I have to be proud of him but I am.  JR is absolutely one of my heroes.

Since having children, I realize even more how important our service men and women are to me.  I appreciate that they protect me but I am absolutely humbled and eternally grateful for the fact that they protect my 4 children in a way that I cannot.

Thanks to all of you - the ones I've mentioned and the ones who I haven't - it amazes me that you would sacrifice so much for people that you don't know.  You are truly amazing men and women and I can only hope to raise my children as well as your parents raised you!  :)

It hasn't been a really overly joyful atmosphere at our house the past couple of days.  We've tried to hide it from the kiddos as much as possible - in fact, I'm pretty sure they haven't heard anything about it - but Jerry and I have been horrified by the details of the PSU scandal that has been rocking the university and it's alumni.  Jerry is one of those alumni.  He didn't play football or any other official university sport but he did love his school . . . he still does love it.

It is a beautiful campus.  The surrounding areas are quaint and scream college life.  I loved the weekends I would spend up there with Jerry...it really is a special place.

The scandal doesn't change that.  I think a lot of people are losing sight of what is important in the whole thing.  I've seen several people saying how it is unfair to this person or that person.  The ONLY people who I feel bad for in this whole situation are those poor, innocent boys who were robbed of their childhood and who suffered something no child should EVER suffer.

I also feel bad for the football players that currently play for Penn State.  Rest assured, I know this scandal isn't about football - other than the sick individual who is ultimately to blame was part of the football program.  It has nothing to do with the current football program - but they are unfortunately getting a lot of backlash from it.  I feel bad for them for that.  I would hate to be known as part of the team when Joe Pa was fired.  It isn't fair that their football careers are overshadowed by this.  It isn't fair to any of the students.  It's just another reason to dislike the man behind it all - Jerry Sandusky.

I don't know too many details about what is going on.  I don't really want to know.  I get so angry when I read about adults who abuse children.  I get so sad and scared for my children.  I get so incredibly irate that ANY adult would be able to hurt a child like that while other adults KNOW what is going on.

 I'm not sure if you all have seen that YouTube video where the father, Judge William Adams, beats his disabled daughter for using the internet.  It is REALLY disturbing and something I wasn't sure I wanted to watch.  I did watch it.  I'll be honest with you and say that what the father did was awful.  I felt horrible for that girl BUT what the mother did was WAY worse, or at least as bad, in my opinion!  I have no idea how she could allow her husband to do that to her daughter and to tell her daughter to lay down and take it like a woman (I don't know if that is exactly what she said . . . but it is close) - I was horrified.

As an educator, I know I have a responsibility to make sure that the children I teach are safe.  It is my responsibility to make sure that they are safe at school but also that they are safe at home.  I'm required BY LAW to report any kind of abuse that I witness or even have strong suspicion of taking place.  I have been lucky enough to never have to do that . . . but I would if I had to.  If I had a child come to me or another person come to me and tell me that there was abuse taking place, I would have no problems calling authorities to let them know.  I would also tell my supervisor what I was going to do but I also know that it is MY responsibility to make the call.  I wouldn't be able to live with myself if I didn't make the call . . . I don't know how they continued with day to day life knowing what they knew and doing nothing about it.

As a mother, I know that I will do everything in my power to make sure that nothing like this happens to my children.  I also know that I can't always be there.  I can't always have them in my sight.  What do you do?

My roommate in college has a blog and she wrote the most awesome post about this whole thing:

Comm Couture on PSU

I felt better after reading it.  I felt like I knew what I had to do.  I felt like my boys will be okay if I follow her suggestions.  (And my little girl, of course . . . but I think she will have a lot more protection than just me.  hehehe)  Thanks, Jess . . . I needed that!