We did it again.

I've mentioned we have a little tradition that Mr. Maricucu started of having the older kids build a bear for the baby. Yes I know the stuffed animals are dust collectors, but pretty well loved dust collectors around here.




Well, we figured it was high time to get the baby her first pal and seeing as how the toddler kept walking off with the older brothers' bears all the time we added a nicely understuffed new one to her collection as well. It's amazing to see how much the boys have grown since those last pictures. Those two grown boys you see below are now 7 and 5 respectively. The baby that we built the bear for last time is now a super active 2 year old.




The more things change . . . well you know.

We're ready

For some winter play that is. Well, make that North Carolina winter play.




In the past we've braved it out to play in the cold and sometimes slushy NC winters. These boys need to get all that squirrely energy out and winter presents a challenge. Slushy winters meant shoes needed to dry and sometimes weren't ready for the next day's play. Mr. Maricucu suggested a pair of fishing waders for each boy. Yeah, that's not going to happen. This Florida girl finally admitted defeat and went boot shopping. Saw these rubber boots online and they even had toddler sizes (because little girl neeeeeds to do everything her older brothers do). So with a pair of thick socks their feet should stay toasty warm most of the winter. Might have to get a pair of waders for Mr. Maricucu though . . .

Mr. Maricucu and I . . .

. . . have become connoisseurs of expensive toys. No, not cars or jewels or the typical things. We're soooooo over that don't you know? *insert appropriately exaggerated eye roll* No, we've begun to pay crazy prices for actual toys and way before the Christmas hoopla started. Why look, see this lego here?



Pow! We paid $200 for that several weeks ago. Yes, $200 for one very exclusive lego (well duplo to be exact). No we haven't lost our marbles. Why do you ask? This is a rare objet d'art! This type of lego exists only in the rare homes where little boys dare flush such objects down the toilet thus clogging it up so righteously that not even a toilet snake removes said lego.

That's right, Mr. Maricucu and I have not suddenly changed our names to Thurston and Lovey. No, merely paying out the nose for roto rooter to remove the toilet and present me with the perfect opportunity for a homeschool lesson on value. Oh yes, I went there, wagging finger and all. Yeah it went right over their heads too.

Apparently when the plumber comes over all fear of what you might have done coming to light goes out the window. Exhibit A: Couldn't pry him away from the scene.






The bright spot is that we now have a new wax seal and the recaulking of the toilet that had been on the household to do list forever is done. Yippee!




On a more serious note here's a quick shot from the other day. Mr. Maricucu's latest toy, an IR heli from BJs that he'd been itching to get for ages and finally did. Mr. Maricucu used to have a large RC helicopter before we got married but he gave it up for love (well, apartment space) so this feels sort of full circle. While the kids were whooping it up the other day as daddy learned to fly it, I snapped this. All I need is the Magnum P. I. theme song in the background.

My normal kids.

Don't worry. If you come over for dinner I promise to wipe the kids and their mess off the table first. Want to guess what my biggest gripe is when poor Mr. Maricucu slogs his tired self through the door in the evenings? Why can't these children play like normal children? Yeah he can tell it's going to be a doozie from that alone.

From the adventures with our outdoor hose (don't ever open a window to tell a kid to put the hose down. 'Nuff said), to the one where they redecorated the whole back lawn with 20lbs of dog food my children have this penchant for sidestepping their toys and just coming up with other things to do. Sigh. I really do appreciate their creativity, honestly I do. But when my 120" measuring tape no longer retracts and is missing the neck strap because my kids played spider web with it? Well creativity seems over rated right about then.

If you were to walk in the boys 'room right about now you'd see all the typical plastic toy bins on the shelf but you'd also see a mishmash of cardboard boxes that they love to jealously guard as if they were worth thousands of dollars. Never mind that the booty inside is mostly cash register receipts (don't ask, it's something to do with Fireman Sam), pennies, rocks and toothpicks. Fair warning, don't let the two year old playfully knock you with her tote bag. Much like my sister at age 8 (denim purse filled with 20lbs of rocks anyone?) my daughter carries the metal tubing I never used to attach the latest-gate-she-doesn't-know-how-to-open-yet. Brass knuckles indeed.

These children gleefully jump over toy cars and play food to be the first to get the empty paper towel tubes. Bonus points if it's the tube from the foodsaver bag refills. Those are harder. Heaven help the poor soul that wants to break down boxes because the pleading for a "good box" would lead you to think you were holding a firetruck instead. And this picture? Apparently the top of our dining room table is a much better fort than the bottom. Our couch pillows do not belong on the couch. If Mr. Maricucu and I had a penny for every time we pick those up he would have retired yesterday. But, at least they're playing together, at least they're playing. And despite my healthy dose of griping in this post it's good to remember the message in videos like this. Just downloaded her book on audible. I hope it's good.

The Gift Of An Ordinary Day from Katrina Kenison on Vimeo.

Hmmmmmm

Back when my oldest was a baby I would hear other parents make comments about how their kid had fallen asleep on the floor playing or even on the couch. Others shared pictures of their child asleep in odd places like a drawer or laundry basket. You get the picture. I would share this with Mr. Maricucu and we were confounded since our oldest just.did.not.fall.asleep anywhere but in bed. Don't get me wrong, he slept well but he was not the type to drop from exhaustion. So you can imagine how surprised I was one day when I hadn't heard my then toddler second born in a while. I walked into their bedroom and he had fallen asleep on the floor as he played with his trains. I do remember grabbing the camera and immediately emailing Mr. Maricucu the picture so he could share in the awe. Apparently he's one of "those kids", the kind that falls asleep midchew at the dinner table. And yes even when he was out of the high chair he would fall asleep in the middle of dinner nearly keeling over sideways from the dining chair before one of us realized it and caught him.

Seems our third is that type of kid too. I was running errands one day while Mr. Maricucu was at home with the kids and arrived to find her face down, bottom scooted fast asleep on the living room floor. Before I could even say a word Mr. Maricucu just looked at me and said, "hey she fell asleep and after the morning she had I was not about to move her." I totally understood. In our house as long as you're not falling asleep in the bathtub, momma and daddy will not disturb you other than to throw a blanket over your body. This third kiddo though, she seems to be turning it into an extreme sport.

As I was nursing her sister the other day on the rocking chair I noticed her doing the usual - pulling out every basket I have on the shelves and dumping them out to fill with her picked up loot from around the house. I saw her walk around the side of the couch and didn't think anything of the silence that followed (yes that was risky). Here's what I found when I got up to investigate moments later:




Yes, she is asleep, in an ikea basket of all things and she of course dragged her poor bedraggled dolly along for the ride. I guess contorting yourself and a porcelain doll into a 13x13" basket is some hard work and requires an impromptu nap. Oh and you better believe I did not wake her up. No way no how. Sleep is precious for both parent and child.
By the way that doll is a porcelain doll my mother bought for her when she was born. When my mom told me she would be bringing the doll up I told her it was under the condition that she knew it was going to be played with and not a dust collector. I'm not an amazing housekeeper but I refuse to add dust collectors, aka knick knacks to our already cozy home. So yes, dolly looks like she's been rode hard and put away wet but she is loved and most importantly used.




In other random thoughts from my head check out these plumcots. So beautiful I couldn't help but snap a pic. They were however way too sour for the kids. Nothing a drizzle of honey and a toss couldn't fix. Then the same container was emptied in moments while the children buzzed around it with their forks.

That was bound to happen.

Those who know me know two very important things:

1. I'm big on natural and home remedies. If it's reasonable (and in my mind that can be a bit of a stretch) then I'm willing to try it. Well, let's look at number two actually . . .

2. Willing to try it as in give it to everyone else in the household. Remember me the former picky kid? My mom was also big on herbal/home remedies. One famous concoction we chugged down involved shark oil, raw garlic and raw onion among other ingredients blended into the most goopy, vile liquid known to a child. So while I have no problem giving my kids or Mr. Maricucu safe home remedies I typically am not so quick to dose myself. However, in my defense my kids are very good remedy drinkers. You should see the stuff they chug down and don't bat an eyelash. Their cod liver oil/probiotic powder morning shot? They will loudly complain when I forget it. I kid you not.


So the other day I had these two bottles on my counter. They both look pretty similar especially on the darker inner corner of my counter.




I grabbed the yellow the one on the left and gave all three kids a drop of what I thought was vitamin D. The bottle on the right.




It wasn't until I dosed myself that I recoiled in horror when I tasted garlic and bitterness. I quickly looked at the bottle and realized I had just dosed everyone with this.




Yes, ear oil. Bitter willow and pungent garlic ear oil. Thankfully not a big deal toxicity wise but when I tasted that awful mix I immediately asked the kids why they didn't say anything and told Mr. Maricucu to stop laughing at me. The kids responded that they didn't notice. Lovely. Note to self: Read labels carefully.


And because my sister has loudly protested the absence of recent baby photos this is for her. Outfit also courtesy of my sister and handed down from another absolutely adorable little girl.

The birth and an update.

Wow, long break but so needed. My friends may already know this but I tend to become a bit of a recluse as I get near the end of a pregnancy. Then right after the birth Mr. Maricucu and I line up his time off and my mom's visit to make sure our family gets an extended babymoon. Nothing fancy, just a good amount of bedrest for me with the baby and time for the siblings to adjust to all the new hubbub in the household. Mr. Maricucu is now back to work and my mom is back in Florida. The first two weeks Mr. Maricucu carried the whole load on his shoulders. Caring for the kids, the house and then on top of that me (in bed remember?). By the time my mom showed up he was exhausted. Thankfully my mom stepped in to help and gave Mr. Maricucu and I the best gift a parent could ever get. Sleep. She would let the kids join her on the sofabed at whatever early hour they rose, then Mr. Maricucu and I would get to do something we haven't done in years - sleep in together. Even if she hadn't done dishes, cooked us some meals and did laundry (including putting it away - my nemesis) all of which she did, the sleeping in part alone was worth its weight in gold.

Abuela in action.




Now about the birth. I'm kind of a strange one. I'm not interested in recreating romantic detailed birth stories piece by piece. What's more, being the sarcastic cynic, what usually imprints in my memory is what goes wrong in a humorous sort of way. I remember most of the birth until transition and then after that it's all a blur/whirlwind which sometimes comes back a few months later. But I'm also not the type to journal, have babybooks or any other introspective tool besides my camera. I don't have my kids' measurements or developmental milestones written in chronological order somewhere to pull out later. It's either going to make me one amazing mother in law, "Oh I can't remember when his daddy walked but the baby is doing just fine", or a horrible one, "Hmmm, I remember his daddy walking at 6 months old. What do you mean kids don't walk at that age?" Before the horror sets in let me just say that I do mentally catalog sentimental and sweet memories of the kids - I'm not an entirely heartless momma after all.

So do you guys remember John Moschitta Jr. the World's Fastest Talker and better known as the micromachines commercials guy from the 80s? I'll do the birth story a la Moschitta which will give the birth junkies a detailed account and spare the I-don't-want-tmi crowd. Deep breath . . .

Friday before 4th of July weekend having some contractions, Saturday had some amniotic leaking, Sunday more contractions but then they petered out, Monday contractions on and off but nothing consistent, woke up 3am on Tuesday with more contractions but they stopped, off to bed, 7am my older daughter nursed then the contractions picked up and were more intense, called my doula she came to assist and use some tools to keep the contractions consistent, soon called my midwife during the first half of the day to come over and check on me, she did and predicted I'd be calling her over for the birth around 4-5pm, took a walk with my doula/friend, came back and ate an early dinner, bam right around 4pm and at the end of dinner had to stand up during contractions, called the midwife . . .

. . . deep breath

That leaves us here. Me in the birth tub thanking the Lord eternally for blessing us with hot water to soothe during contractions. From this moment to the next picture I can't even recall how much time passed. All I remember was hitting transition and puking (as is usual for me) then feeling very pushy. Once I hit transition I pretty much close my eyes and keep them closed until I've pushed the baby out.




Here we are. Having gone from intense contractions one moment to relief, euphoria and awe in another. Like her other siblings and despite the early leak baby's bag of waters was pretty strong. I'll have to confirm this with an attendant but I think she crowned still in the sac. A few moments after this picture and while we were still in the pool my other three kids each came over and gently touched her on the head all while cooing over her.




Being weighed by the midwife's assistant.




Mr. Maricucu doing what he does best. The thankless behind the scenes support work. Yeah he's a good egg.




Of course after baby and I were looked over each sibling had to take a turn holding "their baby".

Number 1, he's a veteran at this birth thing. This is the third sibling birth he's witnessed. He's blossomed into the designated baby soother, patting and shushing as she fusses while I change her diaper.




Number 2, snuggling and smiling at the baby sister that looks just like him as a newborn.




And number 3, who alternates between wanting to dress the baby up like a doll and looking at this suspicious creature who now forces her to take turn for nursies.




So here's the newest member of our family. I hope she doesn't mind growing up the youngest or at the very least that the chaos of three older siblings makes it interesting.








Oh and lest he feel forgotten a certain someone in our home turned the big 4-0. He's lucky I was incapacitated by a little syndrome called pregnancy-in-the-southern-summer otherwise there could have been a lot more devious planning on my part. One day . . .

Another project finished.

I went from setting up the birth supplies last week to labor this past Tuesday. The end result is pretty darn adorable if I do say so myself. So yeah the blog will likely be slow for a while and you might have to put up with some more pictures of little Miss M. as I come off the babymoon high.

Another round of photographing the kids.

Yes, it was Father's Day around here just like everywhere else in the US. This year my kids were very amped up about sharing their surprises with Mr. Maricucu. To the point that they kept almost spilling the beans had it not been for Mr. Maricucu's placating "You guys don't need to be telling me that right now. Let's wait until Sunday." They made him cards, gave him a couple of gifts and let him sleep in just a tad even if it was me convincing them that 7:30am was not a good time for gifts.

Of course, every year I update Mr. Maricucu's office photos along with his Daddy memory book. This year instead of the DAD photos with the wooden letters like the years prior, I went for straight shots of the kids. In part because I really wanted to capture their faces and mostly because whenever the letters came out it was a round of "I don't want to carry the D, I want the Y (which we never use). How come HE gets to carry the A. Well then I'm not gonna smile." Oh yes, good times, good times indeed. If I were just a tad wealthier I'd prepay my children's portraits to a great photographer for the rest of their lives and just capture the informal shots. But I'm not rich so I get the joy of receiving direction from my little herd while gritting my teeth and trying to engage them.

Today I introduce the final cut. An 11x14 collage of the shots that actually came out decent and were framed for Mr. Maricucu.




And yes, it's totally killing me that in about a month the collage will not be current with the new child headcount. I'll live though. But for now this collage represents three days work on some of the hottest days in the last couple of weeks, trying to shoot them quickly in the early hours of the morning. All while hearing, "are we done yet????? You said one picture [I said one nice picture]. Why do we have to take these photos? I want to go play on the slide." Never mind that on Father's Day it was all, "look Daddy the pictures we took for you." So we finally got one decent individual shot of each kid and at least a few of them together if not all together. That will be the next post, the outtakes which are just so not funny in the moment but I'm sure will get funnier as the years go by.

Meeting of the minds part 2.

This was totally spontaneous. The older one, inspired by finding an old notebook of mine (just another failed attempt at journaling) said, "let's write a mystery!" My other boy grabbed the tray to organize the papers and when she saw there was a buzz of activity the little one grabbed her chair and planted herself right in the middle.

Older one scribbled furiously in what he calls cursive, filling the page then handing his younger brother the pages to organize in the tray. The baby pretended to file the papers as well and did everything in her power to test the 4 year old's patience (which admittedly is not that much). They then distributed the papers to each other and walked around talking about mysteries, robberies and bad guys in 20s tough guy speak.

A busy day.

I keep most of our days pretty low key. Anything that involves packing up everyone up into the car is a production and instantly gets weighed on my grand scale of "is it worth it?" But we had an errand to run the other day and then I figured if we were all in good spirits we'd hit Target for our annual summer stockup.





Our first stop was at a local meeting point to pick up some fresh produce. We're trying out a CSA of sorts but one that allows you to pick the produce and the quantity as well as offering extra options like local honey, jams, dairy products and baked goods. Knowing we've got hearty appetites and love to have leftovers I opted for the large box, added a pint of local heavy cream and a flat of strawberries. Ummm, wow. See those green onions? There were two large bunches at least three feet long. The two leafy things behind them are jersey cabbages which will be put to good use for some pulled pork sandwiches tomorrow.





The asparagus we had tonight with meatloaf and smashed potatoes using those beautiful new potatoes. Delicious but since there were two large bunches of asparagus, I cooked up both and chopped up the leftovers to toss into some quiche. It's my half-hearted attempt at stocking up our freezer with meals for after the baby arrives. We'll see if it works. I tossed some of the tomatoes into a batch of Huevos Flamenco last night and even put together a simple cucumber and radish salad to go along with that meal.




Oh and we did not forget the berries. Heavens no. Around here any sort of fruit is fair game (we've got two full fruit baskets) but fresh and in season North Carolina berries are a treasure and we dig in. The kids had the two large 2qt baskets the first day the berries were home and that evening we used more from the flat of strawberries to give a strawberry shortcake recipe a try. The shortcakes were absolutely divine and we've got only about 2-3 quarts of berries left. We've had strawberries with breakfast, lunch and dinner. I'm going to have to order some more flats just to be able to put up any jam.




Now regarding our annual stockup it's sort of an informal tradition. We replace the wading pool if necessary, get a few new sandbox toys and one or two items of interest for the backyard. This time the object of desire was a snorkel set. Apparently after a couple of episodes of Curious George my two older boys wanted to give snorkeling in the pool a try. Like my mother says, "que duren mis penas" loosely translated, may they last as long as my pity/shame which is usually not long.

When you have two older brothers . . .

. . . this is the only proper way to swing . . .






And if you must swing the proper way then fast is the only acceptable speed for you.




Of course it helps that your big brothers are more than happy to oblige.*




* Guess who's ready for his summer shearing? Also, momma is not so convinced that speed or alternate swing positions are safe for her babies. She just bites her lip and stays close by.

Pausing for a bit.

The other day I left the baby napping at home with Mr. Maricucu while the boys and I visited the local museum of science. I don't know what it is about sibling dynamics but it doesn't matter how many kids you have, remove one from the equation and suddenly the leftover ones are totally different. I imagine a good bit has to be the parent who is used to running on all cylinders and hyper aware of what the kids are into suddenly feeling just a teensy bit more leisurely. I know it's going to get a little hectic in just a few months and this seems to be tradition to slow down with the kids a little more in preparation (or perhaps just a heavy dose of mama guilt after being so snappy and hormonal).

After walking around the exhibits we ended up in the discovery room which is hands on all the time. I caught my 4 year old staring out of the window wondering what had caught his eye in our pedestrian downtown area.




Ahhh, of course. A sandpit and construction vehicles are always a big hit. This is the intended site of a brand new nature center that will be a hit I'm sure.




Then both boys split up according to their personalities. My younger one found a little niche and plenty of puzzles. He delved right in and didn't move an inch.




While his older brother covered territory across the room and back. First a quick peek at the museum's bee hive.






Then the hide table to identify various animals.




Not five minutes later I saw this scene. Now as the mother of this child I find it highly entertaining that as a toddler he would cling to me for at least the first half of any new situation/location before attempting to explore on his own. I filled that need of his to have me play homebase but never did I imagine that he would walk up to a kid at a museum and just ask for help then introduce himself and ask her to be his friend. The little girl, a year or two older than him, graciously agreed.




And so they spent the rest of the afternoon side by side while I tried to keep my distance. Sniff. He's growing up.




Feeling just a bit unnecessary I went back to peek on my puzzle builder. Yup, still there.




I find it an entirely amazing and bittersweet process to watch the boys grow up so fast. I remember holding my oldest in arms, just barely a few days old and speaking to an aunt of mine over the phone. She asked me if I was smelling the top of his head and finding it hard to stop myself from kissing him. I shyly admitted that yes, yes I had. She replied, "Go ahead and kiss him some more. Snuggle him as much as you can because in the blink of an eye he will be grown up and moving fast. Enjoy this now." Truer words were never spoken.