Reasons to have lots of children

Time seems to slip away so quickly, and I always make little mental notes of things to 'add to the blog', and then Zip! Zap! Zowie!! Another month has passed, and no new blog entries!! Oh sure, there are numerous blog entries already written and sitting in the 'editing room' of my mind, but ... well, I guess that's just the way it goes sometimes when you either a) have a hard time with 'time management, or b) you fall asleep most nights putting children to bed!!! (Or both a and b, in my case!!)
Nonetheless, I wanted to quickly share a few memorable moments from the last few weeks before they manage to slip from the 'waiting for a moment to add to the blog' part of my brain to the 'um... what was I going to blog about?" part of my brain!!
So, before I forget, here we go!!!! I'm titling this "Reasons to have lots of children", because well, just go ahead and keep reading and you'll see why!

-I had just finished changing our little Caedmon and set him on our bed one morning so I could use the bathroom. He wasn't happy with me and started crying. Well, I sped up my pace and hurriedly finished in the bathroom and quickly headed back to get our little guy. But just before I stepped out of the bathroom and into our bedroom, I saw a little pair of bare feet hanging off the bed next to Caedmon. Aw, I thought, Chiara's laying next to her little buddy, trying to cheer him up. Sure enough, she was trying to cheer him up... but not by just snuggling up next to him. Rather, she was laying sideways next to him, furiously trying with all her might to get her shirt up fast enough and pressing her chest up to his mouth, trying her darndest to aim for his mouth, knowing instinctively that her little brother was hungry! And if that wasn't enough, Caedmon was rooting around, looking for milk from the willing provider!!! (All my children have 'nursed' their dollies and have even tried to 'nurse' their younger siblings similarly, so that in and of itself wasn't super surprising. What made it even more memorable was that Caedmon was equally ready to receive a feast from his sister if only he could just find the source!!!)

-Liam was sick for several days and every night he asked if he could sleep with Mama for the night. One night Papa asked Liam if he would want him to sleep in his room for the night, instead of sleeping with Mama.
Sicky little L's polite and sweet, but very firm response: No, Papa. I want to sleep next to Mama tonight.  Papa: But why, buddy? You're my buck-a-roo!
L: Yeah, I know, Papa. But she's my Mama!! And well, she's just so beautiful!!
(Do I even have to state where he got to sleep that night?!)

-Tonight, L was holding his little brother and said:
L:What'd you say, wil' buddy? Oh, otay, I'll tell her: Mama, Tay-min says he tinks you're pretty.
Mama: Really? He told you that??
L: Yep. And I tink dat, too! You're just sooo pretty, Mama!
(i.e. You see why I have such a healthy ego, when I get boosts like this often from these sweet little souls??!!!)

That "unconditional love factor" is mind-boggling, isn't it?! And to think... that's just barely a taste of the unconditional love God has for us!!! Whoa.
Alright...time to go to bed waaayyy too late again tonight.  But more to come...hopefully sooner than later!

Emotional... or Allergic??

Sometimes you have to deal with attitude problems with an almost-6-year-old-daughter....especially if she has some Irish blood running through her veins!!
Well, our darling daughter had a rather rough day earlier this week- talking back to Mama, challenging Papa, rolling her eyes, stomping her feet, crossing her arms.... the whole gamut.  So, she was sent to her room at one point, and she became rather hysterical. After she finally settled down and could breathe again (!), Papa went in to talk things out with her.

Papa: Why do you think you've had such a hard time today, Mai?

M: Well, I think I'm just ...very... emotional today, Papa.

Papa: Oh? Really? Why do you think that is?

M: Well, maybe it's because I'm allergic to something.

(We're still trying to figure out what sort of allergy causes this kind of reaction!!!)

Conversations about Caedmon

Liam (to one of our friends, who asked what he thinks of his new little brother): "He's just like a doll...except he moves."

Maia (just one of her many exclamatory bursts on any given day since her new baby brother was born): "Ohhhh! He is just sooooo cute! If he was a burrito, I would just eat him up!!"

Liam (just a week after Caedmon was born, when another friend asked about his new little brother): "Yeah, he's pretty toot (cute). I wuv him a wot. Um... (looking at me and cocking his thumb over his shoulder towards the picnic table where Caedmon's carseat was sitting)... What's his name, Mama??"

Maia: Oooooh! Can I please change his diaper??  (And yes, she is serious. Bless her heart, and praise the Lord!!)

Liam: "Mama, when's he going to get big so I can wrestle and punch him??"  (O dear!!!)

Chiara, often when Caedmon starts to cry, she will quickly run over to him and very matter-of-factly inform him: "Baby! Eat! Eat, Baby!"  (kids are so smart, aren't they?!)

One more Liam: "Mama, how come I didn't get to see the Baby come out of your tummy?? I really wanted to see that. (He was at the neighbor's house, having a total blast, completely oblivious to what was going on!) But Mama...how did he come out of you? Did he come out of your mouth??"  (Oh boy. These birds and bees talks just seem to be coming earlier and earlier!!! :-)

And finally, my very favorite so far:

Liam (to one of our friends, just out of the blue): "You know, my brother's a saint. And I want to be a saint, too,  just like Jesus is!"

***********

I don't know too many greater, more precious blessings than being witness to so many special, unprompted, totally heartfelt interactions between siblings. Oh, the things God teaches children through their relationships with their siblings and family- especially the virtue of love. I cherish all these moments in my heart and savor them, knowing that Christ takes such deep pleasure in them, too... Wow. How very very blessed I am.

Milk Humor

This morning there was no milk in the refrigerator, despite half a box of cereal left.  Before Caedmon was born, we were on a roll with delicious oatmeal every morning- and I mean delicious: rolled oats with ground nuts, honey, a dollop of vanilla protein powder, raisins, cinnamon, and topped with fresh fruit, mixed with hot water and milk (or, my preference, almond 'milk'). Mmmmmm!  And this is after we ate cereal for breakfast most mornings for the last 6 years!!! (And to think I was never a cereal person until meeting B!! Not to mention a nice glass of orange juice to go with every morning's bowl of cereal! I used to think that wasn't a tasty combo- cereal with milk and a side glass of oj... but again, that's thanks to B!)  When Caedmon was born, I informed B that I wanted to take a break from the oatmeal prep every morning (yes, it is a little production to get ready for the breakfast table every morning! We're talking grinding the nuts, warming up the water on the stove, yada yada...) Soooo.... we got some boxes of Publix Greenwise cereals - still cereal, but at least on the 'more healthy' side, so I didn't feel too bad eating it! But we decided that once we ran out of cereal this week, we'd get back on the oatmeal track.

So this morning I went to the pantry and pulled out the cereal only to find there was no milk to accompany the cereal, except for about a quarter cup of almond milk. I finished that off and made the kids oatmeal, and they happily finished off their bowls (which I might add was so nice that they enjoyed the oatmeal again! They had been complaining about breakfast for awhile, getting tired of the same ol, same ol oatmeal, and I guess they just needed a little break to appreciate it again!) 

Liam then declared, "I want some cereal with milk, Mama." 

"Sorry, buddy- we're out of milk, so no cereal this morning."

Then, after a momentary pensive look into the heavens, he matter-of-factly stated, "You tan just squirt some of your milk into the cereal then, otay?"

I paused, suppressed the shock, surprise, and pure hilarity that threatened to overtake me, looked into my son's eyes, and with the best serious mother look I asked, "What'd you say, Sweetie?"  (partially because I wanted to make sure I'd hear him correctly, and partially because I plain ol' wanted to hear him say it again!!!)

"Just squirt some mama milk into my bowl, and then I'll have milk wit my cereal, otay?" And he smiled proudly, obviously pleased with his problem-solving ability and practical solution.

If you're interested in how this story ends, you'll have to pick up the phone and call for the rest of the story! (How's that for a cliff hanger?!)

My Boys

Just had to put these two pix together...
Ah! How I love little boys! Especially my "little men"!
Too tired right now to expound any more than this,
so I"ll just let the pictures speak for themselves tonight...

(1st pic- Liam Patrick, second pic-Caedmon Michael)