Belated St. Patrick’s Day

I’m a big fan of traditions and I guess that’s why I love holidays so much.  In a way a holiday is a tradition because we know it will come around each and every year.  And I love everything about them.  From planning weeks, okay maybe even months in advance to anticipating the moment when the actual day arrives.  I’ve thought about it before and I can’t decide what I enjoy more…. the actual holiday or anticipating the holiday for days and days before. 

Some people, ahem my husband, think I might celebrate too many holidays and are creating too much work for myself.  Case in point, the holiday from this past weekend.  St. Patrick’s day.  Although my family is only a wee-bit Irish, Jarrett’s not so much and the boy’s heritage not a drop Irish, we have celebrated St. Patrick’s day with the best O’Brien families out there.  The first year we had the boys, I wanted to celebrate every day and especially days that had even a tiny bit of holiday connected to them.  In researching St. Patrick’s day I came across a tradition one mom talked about where St. Patrick the Irish Leprechaun came to their house on St. Patrick’s morning and left her children a clover and some coins.  I thought, how fun.  I want to do something like that too.

So the first year, on St. Patrick’s Day the boys awoke to coins and a poem from the visiting little fellow (see here).  Last year, with the addition of Isabelle to our clan, the little Leprechaun left a few small coins and a tiny heart to share his love (here).   And so what happened this year you ask? 

Not much.  Actually, nothing.

It wasn’t that I forgot about it.  It was that I was persuaded not to continue with the tradition.  Nothing against my better half, but as we stood at the counter, me washing dishes and he sorting the mail at 10 p.m. on our wild and crazy Saturday night, we both looked at each other exhausted and wanting more than anything to just go to sleep.  Trying with every ounce of hope that we still have a strand of youth and energy in our bodies to stay up for Saturday Night Live,  we instead decided to waive the white flag, admit we are 30-something parents of three, and would rather get 30 minutes of extra sleep than to stay up and pretend we are still in our 20’s. 

As we got ready for bed, I said, “Oh Jarrett, I forgot St. Patrick is coming tonight?  I better get ready.”  To which he replied, “Please don’t have St. Patrick come.  You celebrate too many traditions and only create more work.  Let’s just go to sleep.”   And so with that, against my better judgment, I agreed and went to bed, thinking he’s probably right.  The kids won’t even notice.

Fast forward to Sunday morning and our typical rustling in the closet, the slamming of the bathroom doors and the sound of water pouring out of the shower… yep it must be 5:50 a.m. (darn me for setting the boy’s clock 10 minutes fast thinking they’ll go to bed earlier, not realizing that means they get up 10 minutes earlier in the morning) the boys are awake!  A few minutes later Isabelle joins her older leaders, and echoes from her room and the monitor 10 inches from my head… “Mommy time to get up…. (mommy thought… maybe she’ll go back to sleep, boys please be quiet)… Mommy, I said I’m ready to wake up (mommy thought… please Isabelle, just five more minutes, please play with the toys in your crib….) MOMMY I’m NOT SURE IF YOU HEARD ME BUT I’M AWAKE COME AND GET ME NOW!!!!!”  I roll out of bed, shuffle still half asleep to Isabelle’s room, pull her out of her crib and shuffle back, still determined to go back to sleep, toward our room.  Immediately the bathroom door opens and out pops my two little people dress in all green.  In unison they shout, “HAPPY St. PATRICKS DAY MOM!”  “good morning” I manage to respond with my 2% operating brain power, while also realizing my dream of going back to sleep is quickly fading away.  Walking past them on my determined path back to my bed, I hear Gabriel turn to Michael and say, “Let’s go see what St. Patrick left for us.”  And with that, I was wide awake.

Yep, Mom, big mistake.  Add it to your  growing list of mommy errors.  Big mistake.  Why would you not have St. Patrick visit?  Why was your precious sleep so important?  Turning around, my mind now operating at as full power as it can at 5:55 on a Sunday morning, I said, “boys have you picked up your bathroom?”  trying to buy time to see if there was anything I could do to salvage the situation and the soon-to-be disappointment.  “Yes mom, it’s already picked up, look.”  Of course, the one morning they don’t need reminding.  Again, that’s what I get.  Realizing that there was nothing I could do I just pretended all was well and went on with the morning.

The boys spent a few minutes looking for their coins and I was finally able to distract them with the mentioning of breakfast.  We went on about the day as if it was any other day and while I carried a load of guilt it wasn’t until yesterday that it really sank in.  On our way to school yesterday, backing out of the garage, Michael said, “Mom, why didn’t St. Patrick leave us anything?”  and Gabriel chimed in, “Yeah Mom, why didn’t we he visit us.”  And that’s when I realized I had to right my wrong and an idea popped into my mind.  I said, “Boys how do you know he didn’t visit you?”  “Have you looked in your room lately, you have stuff all over the place.”  Continuing on with my brilliant plan I said, “Maybe he did visit you and you just didn’t notice because you haven’t picked up your room lately.  I bet if you pick it up and have it clean you might find that indeed he did come.”  I paused wondering if they would buy into my story.  Within moments Gabriel said, “Mom- I think you’re right.  I bet he did come and it is just under all the stuff.”   Hearing Gabriel’s support, Michael jumped on the bandwagon also and chirped, “Yes, I bet it is under all the pillows and sheets from my bed that are on the floor.”  And with that my idea had been sold.  The entire way to school the boys talked about how crazy it was that they thought St. Patrick didn’t come because they didn’t see the coins or a note and that if they had a cleaner room they would have found it.  Michael joked, “Gabriel isn’t it funny that the leprechaun probably got lost under all my sheets on the floor and he probably didn’t know how to get out?”  Driving, I smirked with pride and a teeny bit of guilt that I had to tell such story but thankful that the boys bought in and our tradition can live on longer. 

After dropping the boys off at school I called Jarrett to tell him what had just transpired and that I would be letting St. Patrick visit our house before the end of the day.  Realizing the boys have become just as excited and in love with traditions as their mom, he gave in, and agreed it was a good idea to let St. Patrick back into our home. 

I’ve come to realize that some of the best memories of my youth come from believing in the traditions and magic of Santa, the Easter Bunny and even the Tooth fairy. And now as a parent, I feel like I get to relive some of those special times from my youth through the eyes of my own children.  I know we tell our children not to lie and to always be honest, but I have to believe God and the Universe is forgiving when it comes to bending the truth with these special traditions created only with love and fun at its core.  And if that means more love and special memories will be created by having a silly tradition of a visiting Leprechaun, than I’m going to buy into it completely.    Who can’t use more love and happiness in their lives?

Until next time,

Angie

PS:  In case you’re wondering,  the boys found their gifts left by St. Patrick this morning.  At 5:50 a.m. the closet door slammed into the wall, the light in the hallway turned on but instead of a shower faucet pouring out water, I heard the sound of two little voices cheerily announce on their way from their room to ours, “Mom- we found St. Patrick’s present look!!!!”  “He left us a green heart and .40 cents”  “I knew he wouldn’t forget us”  “Yay!  St. Patrick came!”

My heart overflows with happiness.

Hi Ellen, here's my talent

We are a fan of the Ellen show.  And by we I mean the kids and I.  With my change in work schedule, twice a week I pick the boys up from school and we watch Ellen in the afternoon.  The boys think she's funny, especially her favorite guests Sofia Grace and Rosie.  If you haven't seen those girls, google them, they are funny.

Recently we were watching Ellen and noticed she started a new contest where her fans should submit a video with their talents.  Some folks talents are singing, others are sticking their tongues to the nose and beyond.  After watching a few of other people's talents Michael decided he wanted to submit his own talent to Ellen.  So for the past two to three weeks, every day Michael asks me if I will tape him so we can send Ellen his talent. 

Today was the day and Michael was very excited to submit his video.  He wanted to "practice" his talent before and what he was going to say.  Then I told him I was ready and I hit record.  After recording a few videos I showed Michael, who found at least one wrong thing with each video and soon enough I found ourselves outside because the lighting was perfect and because his talent would only work outside (why I have no idea).

On our first take outside I hit record and we had success, finally a video Michael approved of.  I hit submit and we uploaded it to YouTube in the hopes Ellen will view it. 

I share with you tonight the video, we uploaded in the hopes that Ellen will get to see it and be just as impressed and proud we are of our talented little Michael.

Until next time,
Angie

She's learning so much...

What's that old saying?  If you learn one thing new each day, consider it a good day.  Well if we were to apply that to Isabelle's life, we'd have a continuous stream of great days.  It seems she's learning so much each day, she continues to amaze us (all of us, including the boys who shriek with excitement every time she does something new).

Here's a glimpse into some of her new accomplishments...

Yep, although crawling continues to be her preferred method of movement, she is gaining confidence daily about taking more and more steps.  It is so exciting to see her start this newest adventure but it also makes me realize she's now able to get into so much more!  Today's adventure was walking over to the Kleenex box on the end table and realizing it would be fun to pull Kleenex after Kleenex after Kleenex out of the box and throw it on the floor.  Before at a crawling level, we would have never noticed the intriguing box on the top of the table.  But seriously, we are very happy she is starting to walk.  I think if you'd ask the boys, that is their one and only goal during their spring break... teach Isabelle to walk.

In addition to walking, Isabelle is now doing this...

Yep, she joins in as we pray each evening.  I noticed it last week that at night when we tuck the boys into bed Isabelle would start clapping when we were praying with the boys.  I then started helping her by holding her hands together while we'd pray at dinner.  Fast forward a few days later, and all on her own Isabelle will hold her own hands together when we announce it is time to eat.  If you couldn't tell, we're pretty proud.

It has been so much fun watching her grow, learn and change.  It makes me excited for each day because I'm pretty sure Isabelle will impress us with the next thing she's learned.

Until next time,
angie

Stretching and the splits...

This week starts spring break for the boys, so last Friday when they got home from school I asked them to make a calendar with a list of things they'd like to do while they are on break.  Yesterday's activities consisted of teaching Isabelle to walk (Gabriel) while Michael decided it was a good day to swim (never mind the 50 degree overcast and rainy weather the valley had). 

On today's agenda the boys both decided "stretching" would be fun to do all day.  Yes, they didn't plan more than one thing on each day because as Gabriel told me, "Mom- we can practice these things all day so we get really really good at it okay?"  Sounds like a plan to me.  And I understand Nana and Papa (who so graciously agreed to watch the kids for us this afternoon) were able to participate in the "stretching" activities as well.  How exciting for them! 

After dinner tonight the boys decided they needed to continue to stretch and while they begged me to participate, I asked the to demonstrate to me exactly how to "stretch."  They decided instead to show me how to do the splits.  While Gabriel said it is easiest done in the shower (how, I have no idea), he obliged by showing me the inside tricks on our tile floor. And I couldn't help but share their expert advice on the best way to do the splits (who spends a whole day anyway practicing it?)  Play close attention to the specific instructions Gabriel gives about what to think about and what to do with your arms.

Oh and of course after Gabriel showed us how he does the splits, Michael had to add in his two cents. Perhaps I'll skip the way Michael finishes his splits, the next time I attempt one.


Without further ado... I share with you my two splitter specialists.

Until next time,
Angie

PS:  Stay tuned for the rest of the week's activities, I'm sure there will be more highlights to come!

Mom, did you know I'm your brother?

Yes, that was yesterday's question in the car home after I picked the boys up from school.

Proud to say for the first time ever, I was the 5th car in line, in what seems the never-ending line of parent cars waiting to pick up their kids.  The boys eyes got all wide when they realized they weren't going to have to wait the normal 25 minutes for the 20 cars in front of mom to pull through.  I opened the doors, "Hi boys, did you have a good day?  Get in quickly, we've got to keep the line moving." 
They rolled in, piled in, or spilled into the car, threw their backpack in what ever direction their arm was aimed in and buckled up.  As I pulled away Michael said, "Mom- did you know that I'm your brother?"  Reviewing the weekly lesson plans the teacher sent home on Monday in my mind, I didn't recall any lesson about family connections or labels.  I responded, "Really Michael how's that?  I thought I was your mom."  He followed up, "Remember mom at Sunday school we learned that God says we are all brothers to each other and need to be nice."  "Oh I see,"  as I quickly changed topics in my mind, throwing out all highlight of lesson plans.  "You're right Michael."

Upon hearing Michael's comment, Gabriel chimed in, "Mom- did you know I"m really special?"  Although I agree with his statement, I still admit it sounds a tad proud and funny as it was said. "You are special Gabriel, that's right.  Everyone is special because we are all unique right?"  He continued, "But Mom, I'm extra special because my name is Gabriel, and I'm one of God's angels."  Awe, I see where this is going.  "Gabriel that is correct, Gabriel was one of God's archangels.  Did you know there was another one?  Can you guess what his name was?"  "I don't know," he responded.  "The other angel was named Michael."  Surprised as all get-out, he looked at Michael and in a very shocked tone said, "Really, Michael was the other angel?"  Laughing out loud by this point because of his obvious perception that one of God's angels couldn't possibly be named Michael, I went onto explain that yes, both of you have names with Biblical references. 

"Mom- why did you name us Gabriel and Michael?" Gabriel asked.  "Honey, I didn't give you those names, your birth mother did."  Isn't that really nice?  Now thinking we were going to have a conversation about their birth mother and why or how she gave them the names she did, I waited for their response.  Michael chimed in, "Mom does that mean Gabriel and I are more special to God than the rest of you?"  No, Michael, God loves us all equally.  In fact, Mom's name Angie comes from the word Angelic, which is kind of like Angel, and Isabelle's middle name is Grace, as in the Grace God gives us, and Dad's middle name is Joshua from the Bible as well.  I guess we all have names that have a religious connection huh?    Immediately Gabriel chimed in, "Mom- is Jack one of the angels too?"  Michael continued, "Mom- is Jack in the Bible too?"  Now scrambling to figure out how I connect Jack to God, I stuttered over my words and finally decided to lay it out... "Boys, I don't think Jack's name is connected to any Biblical reference."  "But Mom- what's Jack's middle name?"  "He doesn't have one Gabriel."  "Then I think we should give him a middle name" Gabriel retorted, "I think we should make his middle name Angel, then he would be connected to God too."  Objecting immediately to Gabriel's suggestion, Michael said, "No- we should make his middle name Michael, that is the name of God's bestest and most special angel."

Until next time,
Angie  

My little helper...

Some how my tiny baby has turned into a little person who can actually follow instructions and help.

I love this video... it makes my heart melt.

Until next time,
Angie

Isabelle's Hundred Acre Wood

For Isabelle's adoption celebration, we, okay I, decided to have it be Winnie the Pooh themed.  In a way, planning this party was catharlogic for me as it gave me something to look forward to, a project to put my nervous energy to use for and a great way for me to count down the days to when she would officially become ours forever.

With 9 months to plan for a party, I guess it would be fair to say, this party became a main focus, and I may have taken the party planning to the extreme.  I wouldn't say that of course, that is only what my family would say if you ask them.

So with the months and then weeks leading up to the party, I had assembled a party planning binder, spent hours researching idea's on Pinterest and many a nights dreaming about how great this party could be. 

I want to thank our family for all the help with the party.  From getting the wood platters for me, to helping make food, set up decorations, and even painting a picture for the party.  I'm extremely thankful and will always remember Isabelle's party as one of the best celebrations we've had.

To capture the party in words would be fine, but we tried to take as many pictures of the planning and actual party so that some day, when Isabelle is old enough to remember, she can look back and see just how special that day was, how many people care about her and how we had one big party in her honor.

And so let the pictures roll....

I put mom to work making her yummy sugar cookies...

And dad to work with all the home improvement projects...

Can you tell he was annoyed with me taking his picture?

On the day of the party we had a bounce house... of course Winnie the Pooh themed...

Isabelle's dessert table...

One of my favorite pictures from old school Winnie the Pooh is above.  I asked my brother in law Adam if he could paint a large picture for Isabelle and he obliged.  We were thrilled with his final product...

 The painting my wonderful brother-in-law painted for Isabelle.  Didn't he do an amazing job?!!!!!

It was so good in fact, it deserves to be shown twice.

And then my favorite part of the party... all of the food!

 The menu...

The honey comb decanter filled with Sangria (for the adults of course)

 The snacks (Pooh graham crackers) and the Winnie the Pooh quizzes at the table. For decorations, I framed quotes from the movie I find touching...  The quote below was one of my favorites and fitting with our baby girl.

For Isabelle's guest book, I created these "Hunny" pot cards that people could write a special message to her.  As a keepsake, we have scattered them throughout her hard-cover The Story of Winnie the Pooh book. 

The guest table with the sign in cards, her special book and the answers to the quiz (on the door).

The Winnie the Pooh quizes we had scattered around for the attendees to complete... then we asked them to sign in at Isabelle's guest book not only to check their answers but to write her a message to look back upon some day.

Some decorations we had throughout the house...

And her cake...

The dessert table. 

Where we had gummy bears, pumpkin sugar cookies, cake, and candy coated pretzel rods. 

A little take home gift for those who came to celebrate with Isabelle and her family.

The wood platters my parents helped me get all the way from Iowa.  Wanting to go with a forest theme, I had seen wood platters advertised on Etsy.com, however they were $40.00 a piece.  Given I needed more than 15, thankfully growing up in a state where trees are pretty common to find, Mom and Dad helped me get some wood, shipped them to me, which Nolan and MaeLyn helped stain and walla, our very own wood platters for much much less.

So now with the party well behind us and having Isabelle home for good, I'm happy to be able to look back and reflect on the fun that was her special day. 

Nine long months of hoping and praying she would be ours forever, finally culmated in an adoption celebration to reminise on for years and years to come.  I made the sign below several months before the party and I remember picturing what this sign would look like in our front yard, I just hoped I'd get to put it out on display.  Although a sign made from an old cardboard box, the three words on this sign mean oh so much to us.

Welcome Home Isabelle.  Welcome Home!

 We're so happy to have you in our lives. 

Until next time,
Angie