Brand New

Here are some photos of Joey's newly completed room...


Too bad for Joey that he's obsessed with name brands since he lives in a Target family. But, hey, at least he can dream about them since his favorite logos are right over his sleeping head now.

If you like what you see, please note that this is our guest room as well...come see us and sleep in this paradise yourself!

Short Attention Span

I am such a happy baby. I love to sit around and smile at my mom.

Oh, hey, there's my foot!

This life thing just keeps getting better and better.

Seeing Spots

As a Father's Day gift for Jay, I thought I would start posting again on my recently somewhat abandoned blog. (He has completely given up bugging me about it, which tells me it's beyond time to get back to it.)

I thought I'd share some pictures of what I have been up to since school got out. I promised the kids that, after three years in this house, I would finally make their rooms "their" rooms with paint and some other general updates.

I began with Lindsey's room and just finished yesterday. It started out beige, like the rest of the house, with army green roman shades (a remnant from when it was Joey's room). This is what it looks like now:


This was lots of fun to do...definitely a labor of love. The design and colors were her choice.

My greatest accomplishment was the shades. I didn't have a budget for new window treatments, so I bought 4 yards of complimentary fabric and literally glued it to the existing canvas shades, wrapping like a present and threading through the pull strings. It worked beautifully and, including the paint, kept the total cost of her "makeover" under $50.

I started Joey's room tonight...a red and gray combination. I'll post photos of that when I'm done. Wish me luck, but mostly stamina!

Yep, I Married A Real Man

I know this because, when told by our dryer repair man (who had been over three times in three weeks) that we needed to call a chimney sweep to clear out our filthy vent, Jay did no such thing. Instead, he went into the garage, found a big tank of compressed CO2 and let 'er rip into the vent.

I wish I had been standing outside to witness the quick exit of packed lint, as the resulting scene outside reminded me of a winter wonderland. Except it was made of gray lint instead of snow. I could have created yarn and knitted a mountain of blankets from the "wool". (Good thing I don't have that kind of time on my hands.)

I also wish I knew if our brand new neighbors happened to see this gigantic belch of filth emanating from the Di Silvestri house. Because it just might have served as an ominous warning of what life might be like living next door to us.

More Fun With Fish

I got the fish, the tank, the aquatic plant and the rocks. But I forgot the food.

So, back I went to Petco the next day with Isabella and Natalie to buy fish food. Should be simple enough, right?

When we got to the store, Isabella did not want to ride in the cart because she remembered that she could see the fish better while smearing her greasy little nose directly on the glass. So, I put Natalie in the cart and I let Bella run ahead a little, thinking that there was no harm done by a little toddler aquarium gazing.

Silly me.

I forgot the Betta fish were on display in little tupperware-like containers, stacked in a pyramid on a table. I forgot that Isabella has a razor-sharp memory and likes to repeat things we have previously done. I forgot that she watched Julia select a fish from this stack the day before.

Before I could stop her, she grabbed for a fish at the bottom of the pyramid to helpfully place in our cart. Down went a number of the fish, thudding hideously in a staccato pattern on the concrete floor. One (and thankfully only one) of the containers split and flooded the area, leaving its inhabitant flopping desperately in the broken container. There were no employees in sight.

Panicked, I grabbed the fish and began to place it in the container with another fish who had survived the fall. But then I remembered that these were all male Bettas and that this would NOT be a good plan. So, I did the next best thing. I started hollering, "Help!" in the middle of Petco. No one came.

Plan B was to stupidly dash around the store looking for an employee, shouting something nonsensical, like, "This fish is going to die! Help!" Finally, alarmed by my apparent instability, the checker left the checkstand mid-transaction to save the poor fish by getting a new container and filling it with water in the nick of time.

I quickly paid for the food and left.

(The next time I need something I am going to PetSmart down the street.)

Fun with Fish

Julia's Kindergarten is making a town. Each child is bringing in one building, and Julia chose "aquarium". Anyone who knows me knows I am not crafty at all, so I generally dread these projects. But this one sounded easy, since I had permission from her teacher to use a real mini aquarium.

Off we went to Petco and came home with a Betta fish and a tiny tank (apparently, Bettas prefer small stagnant spaces, so that's why I chose that kind of fish). Julia was delighted with her beautiful fish and sure she would have the best building in town.

Joey came home from school, took one look at Julia's fish and said, "Cool! That's a Siamese Fighting Fish! What's his name?"

Julia, in her sweet six-year old sing-song voice declared, "Rainbow."

Joey, who misheard, shouted excitedly, "Rambo?! That's the PERFECT name for this kind of fish!"

An excellent example of the difference between girls and boys, now, isn't it?

Technological Glitch Makes for Poor Posting

I have so much to post about. May has been an incredibly busy month.

Sam celebrated his First Holy Communion. Julia turned 6. Joey turned 11. Jay made his annual Mother's Day brunch. Joey made student of the month for the second time in three months.

Baseball continues. Four kids, five different teams (Joey plays on two) means 9 regular practices and 4-7 games per week. And that doesn't even count extra batting practice! Throw in choir (mine and Lindsey's), dental, medical and orthodontic appointments, and I am going through a tank of gas every three or four days. Thank goodness it isn't $4.50 a gallon anymore!

Joey and Lindsey both have major projects due this month. Lindsey's, on Harriet Tubman, required a costume rental and extensive poster board preparation. Joey's is a science fair entry and has Jay welding a catapult (yes, you read that correctly, a catapult) in the garage during every waking moment while I frantically assist with the presentation board. When did it become so that a child's project is a parent's nightmare? But if we don't help when the other parents do, doesn't that put a child at a disadvantage? A vicious cycle to be sure.

Why then, with so much to talk about, haven't I posted anything? Simply because my camera is broken. It is usually photos of these events that get me motivated to post about them, and no images means no motivation. How slippery is the slope of modern technology! What a crutch is has become to self-expression for me!

At any rate, if I ever pull myself out of the fog that has become my life, I will fix the camera and get back on track. In the meantime, bear with this busy mom. I am simply too busy living my life right now to write about it.

No one, and I mean NO ONE, is looking forward to summer more than I am. Fourteen more days of school. But who's counting?

From Someone Who Has Been Around The Block A Few Times

I have had a bad few weeks, calendar-wise.

Generally, I keep a fairly good calendar. Given how much is on it, I do a pretty good job of getting people where they need to be with the proper items. However, these past few weeks I have been dropping the ball. Kids have missed entire games, I nearly blew a team snack and I have shown up at the wrong time for things that were correctly written on my calendar. What gives?

I was mulling this mystery over out loud while driving the kids to school, when Lindsey said with all the wisdom of someone who has been through this quite a few times, "Mom, are you pregnant?"

I cracked up (and only, mind you, because I am NOT!). Apparently, my nine-year old knows that, in my case, the most obviously explanation for any period of total brain fade is due to pregnancy hormones.

I am guessing that most kids her age would not have gone there first, but I am so amused that she did.

When I assured her I was not expecting, Joey jumped in with, "Well, I guess you're just finally really losing it then."

Thanks, bud.

It Was Inevitable

Someone was going to need stitches, sooner or later.

Joey's teacher called yesterday morning and told me to come fetch him right away, as he was going to be needing some medical attention. Joey's description of the incident: "I was trying to cut the grip off the pencil--which I now know was a really bad idea--and the scissors slipped."

I will spare you the gory photo I took in the urgent care, but the kids are really enjoying grossing themselves out over it.

Two hours and four stitches later, he is on the road to recovery and is quite the celebrity at school this week. Happily, he missed the tendon and should have no lasting effect beyond a "really cool" scar on the index finger. Lucky boy.

Is this a blog or a medical reporting medium? Lately, it is getting hard to tell the difference.

Just Another Day in the Di Silvestri House

Jay, while quizzing Lindsey on her spelling words:
"Calves. When you slaughter calves, they become veal. Very tasty."

Lindsey, without missing a beat:
"C-A-L-V-E-S."

There is little chance our children are going to grow up normal in any sense. I apologize now, kids.

Okay, Okay

Here are some updated photos of Natalie, for those of you who have asked. The last two show her in her new brace, which doesn't seem to bother her too much, happily.





Thanks for asking, and I'm sorry I have been so slow in posting updated photos!

A Surprising Diagnosis

I took Natalie to the orthopedist today.

When she was born her pediatrician noted a "dislocatable hip" and sent us to the orthopedic specialist. By the time she first saw the specialist (at two weeks old) the hip had already apparently corrected itself and was no longer able to be popped out of the joint. The orthopedist thought that all was well but suggested that we do a follow up x-ray at four months (when enough bone has solidified in an infant to be visible) just to be extra cautious. He was so confident that all he would see was a normal hip joint that I almost didn't even keep the follow up appointment since it required a 45 minute drive.

Well, I did keep the appointment and, as it turns out, for good reason. As soon as the doctor looked at the x-ray, I could tell by his silence that not all was well. Natalie has hip dysplasia which means that her hip joint is not forming properly. Left untreated it could cause her to have a limp, early arthritis and likely surgery down the road. The good news is that catching it so early means that we can influence how the joint forms so she will likely make a full recovery without surgery.

Natalie's doctor has ordered a special brace for her that she will wear for the next three or four months to keep positive pressure on the hip socket. It shouldn't bother her (I hope!) although it may delay her reaching certain milestones (such as sitting up) by a few weeks.

For the second time in a month, I am grateful for excellent health coverage and for her amazing pediatrician who caught what was even not immediately apparent to the specialist. Most likely, she will recover fully with no recollection of this ever having happened to her.

Prayers to this effect are appreciated!

Quick Thinking

Sam recently celebrated his first reconciliation. I proudly took him to the church and participated in the opening rites of what was essentially a penance service for him and his classmates.

Sam and I were sitting toward the back of the church, watching as his friends went to the confessional and then returned to their seats one by one. I was thinking to myself that when Sam's turn came he was going to be VERY quick, as both Joey and Lindsey were in for barely a minute or two for their first confessions. I remember thinking at the time that they couldn't possibly have mentioned even a small fraction of the items I would have put on their list of confession-worthy transgressions, and that Sam was sure to have an even shorter list, knowing him.

At any rate, there I am, sitting with Sam who is now only a few students away from being called, when I am suddenly struck by the fact that this is SAM I am dealing with. I look over at him and see him happily playing with his program, alternately making a telescope with it and folding it back into a vehicle of some sort. It occurs to me that I had better inquire as to how prepared he is for this significant event.

"Sam," I ask, "you DO know what you are going to say in there, don't you?"

"Oh yeah," he replies confidently. "I say 'Bless me father for I have sinned' and then I say it is my first confession."

"No," I say. "I mean AFTER all of that. Did you think about what sins you are going to confess?"

He looks at me like a deer in headlights. "Uh, not really."

"You know, Sam, you might want to give it some thought before you get in there."

"Yeah, OK." He looks serious for about 10 seconds and then goes back to his program art.

Before much time has passed, Sam is called to the confessional and he hops right up and trots in. By this time I am SURE it will be less than a minute, since he hadn't even thought of the sins in advance, but what do you know? He was in for six whole minutes. Longer, by far, than anyone else in his class! I was about to send in a rescue party!

He bounced right back to his seat, loudly announced his penance, completed it and gave me a big grin.

I sure would give a lot to be a fly on the wall of that confessional. Ah, well. Some things are just as fun to imagine.

They Ain't What They Used To Be

Birthdays, I mean.

Take, for example, Jay's 45th birthday which was this past weekend. Did he spend it eating at a fancy restaurant, or taking in an opera? Drinking fine wine, hanging out with his good friends or even being waited on by his family? Well, not exactly.

Instead, here's how it went down:

His wife (me, of course) was laid up in bed with the final stages of pneumonia. I did manage to let him sleep in and make him some coffee, but then basically spent the rest of the day in bed. (Sorry, honey, I'll make it up to you!) He is such an amazing man that he actually spent his day not only taking care of the bulk of the children, but also upgrading the irrigation system in my vegetable garden. Yep, he's a keeper!

The next day we enjoyed a nice visit with his mom after mass but then came home to discover that our 17 year old cat Stanley was dead. So, Jay set right to work digging a grave while the kids tearily decorated a box for him to be buried in. Naturally, this did not all go smoothly. Jay hit a sprinkler line when he was digging and had to run to Lowes for an emergency sprinkler repair. Thank goodness, he is quite talented in this area and was able to fix it fairly quickly. But, still, not really how you want to spend your birthday weekend, repairing a sprinkler line you broke while digging a grave for your cat.

By this time it is 4:30 pm and Jay has to leave for his Bingo shift (the Knights of Columbus offers Catholic school tuition assistance to dads who work their Bingo games). But the cat is still not buried. So, we gather quickly for a funeral, say some nice things about our cat, take turns throwing dirt on his grave, and then Jay races out of the driveway for Bingo. Everyone there understands why he is 15 minutes late, but Jay HATES to be late. For anything. (I don't have that gene.)

Did he have any time for himself? No. Did he get to exercise, as he likes to do every day to keep job stress at bay? No. Did I treat him like the king I think he deserves to be on his birthday? No.

Did he ever complain, even once? No. Act a little bit grumpy about the circumstances? Never. He is a better person than I, that's for sure. I have a sneaking suspicion that everyone would have known about it if I had spend my birthday weekend like he spent his.

Happy birthday, Jay. Now that I am feeling better I am planning to take you out to dinner...after I find a babysitter of course! :-)

Wish I Were Him

How come adults never get to go on field trips like this one? Thanks to my friend Julie who took these beautiful pictures so I could experience Tony's field trip to Uncle Andy's Donut Shop from my command post in bed (and thanks to grandma for taking him).

Illness By the Numbers

Number of days I have had a fever: 7
Number most commonly seen on the thermometer: 101.3
Number of medications I am now taking: 6
Number of times I have been to the doctor: 2
Number of diagnoses I have received: 2 (pneumonia and mastitis)
Number of grandmas working themselves to the bone to cover for me in my downtime: 2
Number of children who seem to notice that I am ill: 0
Number of times I cough in one hour: too high to tally
Number of naps I will take today: at least 3
Number of pounds I have lost: 5 (see, there is always a silver lining!)
Number of shots received in the behind: 1 (ouch!)
Number of blessings in my life: too numerous to count (so none of this is really all that bad, is it?)

Perceptive Little Fellow

I am sick. Fever, cough, general yuckiness. Not enough to kill me, just enough to annoy me.

When Jay finished working this afternoon he encouraged me to climb in bed and stay. He didn't have to ask me twice! Twenty minutes later, Tony assessed the situation and gleefully declared, "The whole house is a playground and we can eat whatever we want!"

Yep, Daddy is in charge.

Happy (Belated) Birthday Isabella

I don't know where the time goes. It seems like we were just celebrating Isabella's birthday in the snow and here I am two weeks late in posting the photo!

As you all know, I live by "better late than never", so here we go...

Happy 2nd birthday, Isabella. I can't believe it has only been two years since you were born, because it feels like you have been a part of our family forever--I can't remember what things were like without you!

This is because you add so much energy and love (and, of course, noise!) to our family. You are smart, confident and determined, yet so sweet, kind and loving. I like to joke that if you had been my first child you would have been my only child, because watching you takes a lot of commitment. But honestly, I wouldn't change a single thing about you. I love your sense of adventure, your vehemence, your absolute sense of self. You are a complete, unique, wonderful person in a tiny little package. I can't wait to see what you become. Watch out, world!

I love you intensely. Happy birthday!

Pennies From Heaven

Our family spent the weekend in Big Bear. We had a beautiful cabin to enjoy, lots of snow to play in and snowboarding/skiing fun for Jay and the older kids. It was really a fantastic weekend for our family in every regard.

We went to mass on Sunday at St. Joseph's, the parish serving Big Bear Lake. We had never been there before and found the church to be very welcoming to visitors (they must be really used to them). In fact, as you will soon learn, I have never felt quite so welcome in a church other than my own!

After experiencing the usual struggles one endures having seven children in church, an older man approached us just as mass ended. He asked me if all these "angels" (his word!) were mine. I replied that they were, all seven of them. His eyes filled with tears, he grabbed my hand and stuffed something into it and said, "Do me a favor and buy them all an ice cream cone. I never had seven, but I had five under five once and seeing you brings it all back. God bless you for what you are doing."

I correctly assumed the "something" he had stuffed in my hand was money, and while normally it would be my inclination to say I couldn't possibly accept his gift but thank you very much, the look on his face let me know that I should just graciously accept it, so I did. Very obviously, the giving of this gift gave him enormous pleasure.

As fast as he appeared, he disappeared, and when he was gone I looked at what he had given us. To my utter amazement, it was a $50 bill. I was absolutely speechless, and this time it was my own eyes that filled with tears.

You know how on TV there are shows about God walking on earth looking like an ordinary person, subtly changing the lives of people he encounters? I felt like that. Like God had touched me very directly through this man. Like He was affirming our choice to raise a large family, and our efforts (more intense lately due to general economic conditions) to save more and spend less.

It will be a very long time before I forget this encounter--it impacted me far more than the actual cash value of $50. I hope to pay this forward to a young family some day. I already know I will enjoy the giving even more than the receiving, as did our benefactor.

See? I've been trying to tell you: it pays to go to church!

We're Buying A New Vacation Home

Unfortunately, it's not for us. It's for our orthodontist, who began treatment today on our second of many children with teeth alignment issues. We'll be paying Dr. Buckley for many, many years and can only hope he chooses something with a nice ocean view as a tribute to the family that helped him obtain it!

Seriously, Dr. Buckley is a very nice man, super generous to the community, the first to sponsor his patients' sports teams and various endeavors, active in his parish and in the Knights of Columbus with Jay, so if we have to give it to someone, I'm glad it's him. And, our insurance pays nearly half so it isn't as bad as it could be. But my kids had better take care of those teeth--every time they smile I see dollar signs!

Lucky Joey has the best teeth in the family (no cavities, ever, and no orthodontic treatment required as of yet--maybe something minor later, but so far so good). Lindsey is done with phase one and is looking lovely. Sam begins next week with the medieval stretching torture device that will make his jaw big enough to accomodate his giant man-teeth. Julia hasn't even lost a tooth yet and she can take her time...we are on a one child at a time treatment plan here.

Well, here we go again. Here's to wires, bands, brackets and children who won't truly appreciate our sactifice for many years to come. Yippee!