Zombie Apocalypse

Molly is just beginning to walk, but she is not in the least bit good at it.

She usually has her hands out like a zombie and her legs are real stiff like Frankenstein's Monster.

When she does walk, the boys must show their support by walking with her mimicking her awkward style so I am usually facing a wave out kids walking toward me, arms outstretched and I either feel the need to take a picture or run before they eat my brains.

On Waiting...

So, we've been waiting for a long time to get news on a house we would like to buy.

It's a hard type of waiting because it's either: Yes, you got the house! Hooray! or No, you didn't get it and you have to start the whole process all over. There's no real middle ground.

It's like, proposing to a person and waiting for them to answer for 7 months, and it's not like the answer is, well, I'm not get ready to get married yet, but let's keep dating. The answer is just simply, "No, and let's not see each other at all anymore, now get out of my face."  And you get to start over trying to "meet new people."

I know acquiring a piece of property is not as important as marriage, but I can't really think of a lot that comes close to the level of anticipation we are feeling waiting for an answer.  Especially now as the answer we are waiting for is quite literally coming any day now.

So, waiting for the past several months has been difficult, but we weren't necessarily waiting by the phone all the time. It's akin to the person you proposed to going off to Europe for six months. You're waiting, but you don't really expect an answer at any given moment. But then that person gets back from Europe and is ready to tell you "Yes" or "No."  And you sit by the phone, and you check your e-mail, and you make sure the kids didn't toddle off with the phone or that you didn't put it on silent so you don't miss the call that will one way or the other, alter the course of your life in a pretty significant way.

We have been in that spot for a week now. There was a flurry of paperwork submission and we've been in that "any day, any moment now" mode every since. And it has been hard.

And we've gone through various exercises in detachment and various cycles of preparing for the answer to be "No."  We've spotted another property that looks promising that wouldn't be a bad alternative if the answer was No, but if we wait too long that property probably will not be there. The market is hot right now and things are moving fast.

Through all this, the obvious lesson is trust.  And it's funny. I have no problem (at least intellectually) trusting that if we don't get the house we want, that there will be tremendous good that will come from it. I don't feel "owed" this house and like it was taken away from me.  It's a great house, and I'd love to have it, but if we don't get it, I won't feel betrayed or like someone wasn't being fair. There are a stack of ways not having the house will be a relief (there are snakes in that area, it's near a canyon, and hence could be at risk for fires, it will stretch our finances to an uncomfortable level).

But you know, right now, my lesson is waiting for an answer. Any answer. We're not sleeping well at night, I've been nauseated pretty much all day, and I don't think five minutes go by where I'm not thinking about my phone to make sure it's within earshot.  There is some relief when 5 o'clock rolls around because at least I know we won't hear anything until the next day, but there is inevitably disappointment too when 5 o'clock rolls around because it means another evening and night of waiting for an answer and waking the next day hoping that day will be different.

One of these days, one of these hours, the phone will ring and the answer will be on the other line. And when I see our real estate agent's name pop up, it will both the phone call we've been waiting for, and at the same time the phone call we've been dreading. It's either news we'll be thrilled to get, or news we'll receive with a good dose of disappointment as we battle our emotions to fall in line with all the work our intellects have been doing knowing that we can trust in God, that He has never  nor will never let us down.

Right now, either option is possible.  We still could get the house, the answer hasn't been decided yet (to our knowledge). But once that call comes, the direction of our next steps have been chosen and the new phase has begun. Maybe at the time my phone rings with the realtor on the other line, this time of two possibilities won't feel nearly as despicable and I'll long for a time when there was still hope and we could still entertain our dream house, and still go on Pinterest and plan for how I want to decorate each room.

Anyway, I've killed about 10 minutes of that waiting time rambling on to you, you poor reader (there's probably only one of who you made it to the end of this anyways!).

Thanks for the distraction!

My Little Artist

Motor control has always been Matthew's strong suit..look at his letters as he practices writing the fruit of the spirit for the day!

Window Washers

The boys have been doing this for two days straight. I gave them a bucket of soapy water and some sponges and they are in Heaven.

Our little patio ain't much, but apparently it works for them!

The Baby Whisperer

I've commented before about my regard for the Baby Whisperer, whose advice I feel is responsible for our having three out of our three babies be incredible sleepers and all-around happy kids.  It could be luck and we could be in for a surprise with the next one, but I'm still sticking with her advice.

But that's not who I'm talking about.

I'm talking about Matthew. He is so good with Molly it's unbelievable.

You know how some people are just good with kids? Matthew is one of those people. He can get her to stop crying, he is always coming up with silly songs or silly things to do to entertain her.


For him, Molly is not someone who is just sort of there and he has to work around, but he really is a good friend to her and he seems to really enjoy playing with her.

So much so, as our family was battling pinkeye the past two weeks, we caught Matthew, who was pinkeye's latest victim out with her in the morning wiping her eyes, "Taking care of Molly." .

As horrifying as it was to see a person with a very contagious disease using a tissue he was just using on his own eye to wipe his baby sisters, it was very endearing. And so far, she is pinkeye free.

I'm so blessed we have such a good helper as Matthew! I'm hoping the trend will to continue when his baby brother arrives in September!

More Best Friends

After Mass on Sunday the boys simultaneously wrapped their arms around each other.

I had to snap a picture a) because it was so endearing and b) because that kind of unprompted affection is definitely not the norm...

Nighttime Adventures

We love that the boys are best of friends and have their little bonding time at night.

But sometimes their antics, especially lately, are getting a little silly.

Somehow, in the recesses of a boy brain, they discovered that it's funny to "shake their bottoms at each other."

But, this isn't just a boy doing a silly dance, in order for the humor to really take effect, the shaker has to be totally naked.

So, after we say our prayers, kiss them goodnight and send them to bed, one boy or another strips off his clothes and shakes their bottom to peals of laughter from the other boy.

We've asked for a demo of this ritual. I'll admit, it's hysterical, but not really conducive to bedtime.

The next thing they do comes from this hyper-competitiveness to be the first one to get dressed in the morning. 

It's awesome that for the past several months, I haven't had to even suggest that they get out of their PJs because they wake up and instantly get themselves dressed and so they are ready for the day before I even know they are awake in the morning.

But if one boy should get dressed before the other and the slower one woke up on the wrong side of the bed, he SCREAMS and yells and pouts. Michael and I run in there because it sounds like someone got seriously hurt only to find out that he was just the second one to get dressed and that merited a total meltdown.

So, trying to get a head start on the other to guarantee he will be best first, the boys have started to just get themselves dressed in their day clothes....at night!

We put them in their PJs, read them a story, say goodnight and turn out the light, and sometime after that, one or both of the boys will clamber out of the bed and get dressed and ready for the next day.

Overall, they are pretty good about going right to bed. Every once in a while, we have to get in there and quiet them down, but boys will be boys.

Taken a few months back when we had to put our video monitor to keep an eye on the chaos. A  blanket as a very warm scarf?