Answer Me This: Father's Day

I'm linking up with Catholic All Year again this week!

1. What’s something you intended to do today, but didn't?
I really wanted to plant my tomato plants, but it won't! stop! raining!  The summer's going to be over before I get these things in the ground.

* Since writing this post, it did actually stop raining, but somehow I still haven't planted anything.

2. What's your favorite grilling recipe?
It doesn't really have a name or a link to the best of my knowledge and Goggle's as far as my search terms held up, but my sister-in-law told me about this one.  You stuff a whole cabbage with a mixture containing ground beef, ground sausage, bacon, and some of the chopped cabbage that you dug out of the center with some onions all cooked in a skillet.  Add in BBQ sauce before you stuff the cabbage.  Wrap it in foil and grill it for 45 mins or something like that.  Really good, but not for the faint of heart because it is meaty and fatty!

3. What movie did you see most recently?
I can't remember the last movie I saw.  Brian and I have been watching TV series stuff lately and not bothered with a movie in a long time.  Hmm, let me think...yes, I remember now.  The Book Thief.  I read the book and got in on Netflix one night when Brian was out.  He didn't want to watch it with me.  I liked it, but as always, the book was better.  There was too much in the book and some had to be cut for it to be a movie and not a mini-series, obviously.  Come to think of it, they should have made a series out of it.

4. Would you say your tendency is to over or under react to medical situations?
Medical situations, I feel like I don't overreact anymore, but I used to when Hannah was a baby.  I would panic and run to the doctor every time she got a temp of 104 which was every other week for a while once I stopped nursing.  I figured out how they got her temperature down and started just doing it at home.  It seemed like it was always a virus and nothing we could do but keep her as comfortable as possible.
Over the years, I have learned to trust my gut.  When Genna (at 18 months) fell out of the stroller and would not stop crying...ever, my gut told me this wasn't normal for her and something must be wrong.  Right.  Broken arm.
When Isaac suddenly stopped sleeping through the night and refused to take naps anymore, I took him to the doctor based on a gut feeling, but kind of thinking they are going to laugh me out of the office.  Lots of babies stop sleeping through the night and refuse naps, but it turned out it was the first of many many ear infections for him.  He just didn't present any other symptoms, like fever or ear pulling.
When Drew had a high fever and I noticed a big red lump on his knee, I knew I was going to the ER and again I was right to go.  He had a bad infection inside his knee and needed a needle aspiration and antibiotics.
And most recently, when Judah's cough turned into the worst sound I've ever heard over night I knew we were headed to the doctor then too.  He had pneumonia and needed antibiotics.
It's not a perfect system, my gut instinct, but it's been working for the big stuff.  However, I am the worst over-reactor to certain things that involve loud noises sounding like children falling down the stairs or other really dangerous things happening to my kids, especially when I can't see it.  I hate that and I am really working on that reaction since my house now daily sounds like someone is falling down the stairs, and I can't have eyes on everyone all the time.  I am working on letting it go.  (Great!  Now the Frozen song will be in my head all night.)

5. Do you squeeze the toothpaste tube or roll it?
I am a little bit lazy about the "clean up as you go" business.  I don't do things the easy way.  I feel like in my mind is a running ever-growing to do list.  My husband sent me this article.  All the parts where she is distracted by thoughts of new things she needs to do is just like me.  I can't manage to take the extra time to do something like hang up my clothes the moment I take them off or something as proactive as roll the toothpaste tube because of my inner dialogue of all the things that must be done right this minute.  That confession makes me sound a little bit nutty, huh?

6. What are you doing for Father's Day?
We are did our Father's Day stuff on Saturday because of an untimely work trip.  Our 13th anniversary is the next day and I have no idea when we'll get to celebrate that.  But I already got my presents!  Yay, eShakti dresses!  I am going to look very Lucille Ball in one of them while vacuuming.  Picture this:  Lucy vacuuming with one hand up poised and idle in the air and one hand on the vacuum with her perfect hair up with Little Ricky playing quietly on the floor.  Now change Lucy to me.  Keep the hand positions and the vacuum.  Keep the cute up-do, minus the curls.  Replace Little Ricky with one baby crawling around holding onto my leg, one toddler following me and whining that he is hungry or wants to watch Batman for the 4th time this week with his shoulders drooping, one five year old jumping on the couch...AGAIN, and two girls trying to tell me some story or show me their newest rainbow loom creation.  And there you have it!  Domestic bliss.

Here's one of my new dresses!  I wore it to Mass on Sunday.  No time for updo since we went to the 7:30am Mass because of Judah's nap during our normal time.  Plus, I braided both girls' hair so no time for mine.

I love that these dresses are stylish, modest, and button down (nursing accessible).  The last one is a big one since I am going on my 61st month of nursing if you add it all up in the last nine and a half years.

Domestic Exhaustion

Oh, yeah, Father's Day, we went to a brew pub for dinner and the kids made him some cute crafts and cards.  I got him two t-shirts with "Come and Take it" in Greek on one and "Don't Tread on Me" on the other.  Plus, I made my Primal husband some of his favorite flour-less brownies (secret ingredient = black beans).  We spent some good family time together this weekend.  Brian finally got to take the kids to the Lego brick store.

Father's Day Dinner

We got a late start heading to the restaurant on Saturday night due to the busy schedule of the day and Judah had us all a little worried on the drive up there since he wouldn't sleep and was exhausted from being awake since 2pm.  He never did sleep until we got home around 8:30pm and could put him properly in his bed.  However, he was a stellar patron of the brew house eating his weight in Cheerios, avocados, and sweet potatoes and everything else I could find to give him.  "Just keep feeding me, Mom, and everything will be O.K.  I won't cause an uprising with food in my mouth."

Answer Me This: Smart phones, dinner, and baths

This is my first attempt at joining in Catholic All Year's Answer Me This.  

1. Do you have a smart phone?

Yes, as a matter of fact, I just got one in May.  A better question would be Do I know how to use it yet?  Answer:  Mostly, but there is so much I don't know yet.  I resisted getting one for so long thinking it was more a toy than useful tool.  Then I saw all these people doing crazy things like looking up the Amazon price before making a purchase at a store or looking up a restaurant, spur of the moment, without having to drive home first to look it up on the computer.  Now a month later I can't imagine my life without Google at my finger tips.  I am trying my best to keep it a tool and not a toy though.

  

2. Which is your favorite meal of the day?

Dinner.  It's the only meal I am guaranteed to have and to sit down for.  Plus, my whole family is there usually to scream through it enjoy it with me.  I usually put a good amount of thought into my dinners as well.  I don't typically make it for dinner if I don't like it.  That's the benefit to being the chef of the house.  The downside, of course, is that I do most of the work.

This week, among other things, we have enchilada soup, minestrone (with sausage for hubby's benefit,) and brisket (a kid favorite) with a new carrot salad on the menu.

3. Shower or bath?

I currently do not have the master bathroom of my dreams and it only has a shower, If you've never seen it, here it is.  BUT if I did it would have both a shower and a separate bath so that I could take baths whenever I have time.  Don't know when that would be, but I'd like to think it would be at least once a week when I don't have to do some crazy shower circus act, juggling babies and toddlers like Jenny at Mama Needs Coffee.

I can dream, right?

4. Think of a person you love. How many days have you been in love with that person? 

The obvious person here is my husband.  I have loved him for 5,831 days as of June 1, 2014.  I used the date calculator here and the start date being the day I told him that I loved him.  So the math is fuzzy since who knows when I actually started loving him.  I am certain it was before this date, but since I know this date this is what I am going with today.  

This is the earliest picture of us dating that wasn't completely humiliating.  We must have been at his best friend's place at t.u. because he was the one in love with Audrey Hepburn.

And just for fun these were our engagement pictures.

My husband looks soooo young!  When did we get old?

5. What's the best church you've ever been inside?

Well, that is a loaded question since we went to so many beautiful churches all over Europe.  The obvious answer would have to be St. Peter's because, well, besides it being in the Vatican and amazing, Pope Benedict XVI was there and he blessed my oldest three children (the last two weren't born yet.)  It was an amazing moment is all I can say and we have the picture of the top of the my head and Hannah's head head to prove it.

6. Happy Feast of the Visitation! Has anyone ever come to help YOU?

So.  Many.  People.  

The person who has helped me the most often would be my mom.  She has come to help me after almost every baby was born.  She is a wonderful and supportive mother and I am blessed to be her daughter.

There have been two times when I have been in the hospital (for other reasons than a planned childbirth kind of thing,) living far from family as usual, and really needing someone to help with my children.  Once when Brian and I both got a crazy stomach flu at the exact same time.  Hannah had just turned a year and I was pregnant with Genevieve.  Overnight I became super dehydrated and the next morning drug myself to the OB with Hannah while Brian went to the doctor too.  Brian got a bag of fluids pushed and came and got Hannah from me because they admitted me overnight to re-hydrate me.  We didn't want Hannah to get sick and a friend of ours, Sherry, came and took care of Hannah and even tucked her into bed that night for us.  Brian felt better the next morning and was able to take over, but I was so grateful, especially since we hadn't lived in New York very long and didn't know very many people.

The second time was when Brian was gone for a year and I had surgery.  My friend, Jill, whose husband was gone with my husband, was so very supportive the whole year.  When I was putting off surgery until Brian got back, she gave me the push I needed to go ahead and have it done with before the men returned.  She promised to take care of my sweet children while I was in the hospital and recovered.  She is so great with little kids that I never once worried about my babies.

That was fun!  I might just try this again.