january 18: cooking with dom...

This afternoon was rough.  From the moment the big boys got in the car, it was "What are we doing tonight?" "Can we go to a friend's house?" "Can we have movie night?" "Pass me your phone so I can play Angry Birds...".  Yikes!  Can't say that I don't know where it's coming from.  We have been ont he move since the day they were born...they've grown to expect a certain level of "fun" planned at all times.  But ya know what???  Sometimes, we STAY HOME!!!...and there is nothing wrong with a little weeknight routine.

So, apparently the stars aligned just right this evening for everyone to be just a bit cranky.  I was pulled in a million and one directions...one of those directions- cooking with Dominic.  He is usually my super kitchen helper...always sitting on the counter hanging out with me while I cook.  I really thought that he, above all others, was going to soak up this whole cooking night thing.  Alas, even he wasn't in the mood.  He did play along long enough to help make salsa and chop up our lettuce for our chicken tacos, so for that I am grateful.

Tonight definitely didn't quite go as expected (my margarita wine cooler made an early appearance), but taking a night a week to cook with each kid is definitely something I am going to continue to do. I think it speaks differently to each child.  For Elijah, he enjoys the praise for doing a good job. For Dominic, he enjoys the undivided attention.  Not sure what Joel will think, but we'll see next week!

  

january 17: "i love you because..."

At dinner tonight, we did a little "gushing" over each other.  We went around the table and each person had to say one thing they loved about their family members.  Tad went first.  The three big boys held their breath while Tad spoke...they were soaking up his compliments.  When it was their turn, it was funny to watch them look for words to express themselves.  We tried to stay away from things like "I like your hair." and steered them towards things like "You are fun to play with."  We heard things like "...you're pretty", "...i like playing outside with you", "...you're cool", "...you do a lot for me", and "...you make me smile."

We won't do this often, but we'll definitely pull it out a couple of times a year...just to remind us how lucky we are to have each other.

january 16: dinner delivery...

So, we did the lakefront clean up thing yesterday, which was great...but, it was very "big picture".  I love the idea of it, but it's a bit long term to explain to the kids about their impact to our ginormous, too big to comprehend, planet.  Today's project was to deliver dinner to someone...a much more tangible experience.

Cooking for someone else isn't difficult.  Over the last few years it has actually become one of my love languages.  Whenever I hear of someone having a baby, losing a loved one, or just having a rough week...my first thought is..."I should bring them dinner."  Maybe it's because with all of our procreating, one of the best things my friends have done for me after coming home with a bambino is taking care of dinner a few nights.

It just so happens that two amazing families we know lost loved ones this past week.  I normally don't know what to say, but I do know that things like not having to fuss over dinner one night has to at least make a small impact.  

Today is Monday.  In New Orleans, Monday is red beans and rice.  So, I threw a few pounds of beans on the stove this morning and cooked them all day long.  Once Tad came home, we loaded the food and all the kiddos in the truck and set off.  On our way we had a good talk with Elijah and Dominic about heaven and what it meant to do things like this just to make people feel better.  Our boys haven't experienced the loss of anyone close, so we tried to just let them lead the conversation...we'll have to have deeper conversations eventually, but no need to push the issue.  

We got to briefly visit with two wonderful families last night...wish we could just drop in on people every night!  Unfortunately, homework, feedings, and baths get in the way of too much lolly-gagging in the evenings.  The boys had a really good time delivering dinner...maybe in the future they can help prepare the dinner too. 

Tomorrow, we praise...

january 15: serve others...

I'm not sure if you are born with a heart to serve, or if it is taught.  My guess is that it's a mixture of the two.  Keeping an eye and ear out for opportunities to serve is something I am working to better myself at.  I know some people who just know what people need.  After finding out you've had a bad day, they show up at your door with a rotisserie chicken and a bunch of flowers...somehow it's just what you needed.  Others who can organize a collection of fast food gift cards for a mom who just lost her husband.  As a family, I hope that we can be in tuned with our community enough to see needs that arise and, without missing a step, swoop in to address them.  If it is a learned characteristic, there's no time like now to start teaching.

We went back and forth with what our service should be.  We thought about raking a neighbors leaves, washing someones car, and even crashing a friend's house to clean up.  In the end we chose to go down to the lakefront and pick up litter.  It was a beautiful thing, and the boys really got into it! Abram watched from my hip as the bigger ones climbed up and around rocks gathering cups, fast food bags, and beer cans.  We explained how if the trash gets into the lake, the fish can get sick.  We also talked about how it makes the park a prettier place for our neighbors to visit.

Our final loot filled up 5 Wal-mart bags...not bad for 30 minutes of work!  Little experiences like this will hopefully add up to boys who look beyond themselves to the greater needs of our world.

Picking up trash helps our whole community...tomorrow we teach them to serve on a smaller scale...

january 14: outdoor play...

Boys LOVE being outside! We have four boys.  We are ALWAYS outside!

After living for a year without a backyard, we are so in love with the grass that came with our new house.  I can't wait to get our playset built so the monkeys have something to climb on (thanks Mom and Chris!)  For now, we have a basketball goal, an infant slide, a hand me down ride in car, and a whole lotta nothing.  I am enjoying watching the boys lack of toys bring out their imaginations!  Today, we made sure to spend some good family time outside.  Papa Gene was wrangled into a game of "horse" and quickly learned that Elijah was going to win...at one point Eli had an "H", an "O", and a 1/2.  Dominic then pulled Dad into a soccer match in which he won with 900 points...Papa Gene didn't stand a chance!  Joel was all over the place, shooting bad guys and turning the slide into his own personal pirate ship.  My little Abram holds his own too...he is always one step behind his bigger brothers.

january 13: movie night...

Papa Gene is in town!!!  When I originally scheduled movie night, I hadn't remembered that my Dad and his friend Anita would be in town this weekend.  Usually we do a Redbox rental or a new movie on Netflix, add sleeping bags and popcorn and...voila!  good family fun =)

Instead, the big boys actually went to their school for their Movie Night in the cafeteria, and Joel watched Lion King in the playroom while us adults visited in the dining room.

Movie Night in the Patella house wasn't up to it's normal standards, but getting to visit with my Dad and Anita were worth it!

Tomorrow, we go outside and play...

january 12: try a new food...

My kiddos aren't necessarily picky eaters, but they definitely go through phases.  Sometimes they decide that they don't like peanut butter and jelly...oatmeal...chili...  Now, I am kind of picky, so we don't we don't go out on a limb very often.  No sushi for dinner in this house, folks.  But as a family we were going to try something new tonight.  I chose something that I had eaten, but never made.

Stuffed Bell Peppers!

The boys were a little wigged out from the get go, because they usually pick out the bell peppers off of pizza and spaghetti.  We have a little game though when something might not be everyones favorite.  Everyone puts the "offender" on their utensil...we count to three...and all eat at the same time.  It works to get at least one bite of something into their mouths.  Mom did a good job concocting a pretty tasty dish, and her boys ate almost all of what was on their plates.

Next time we do this we will probably cook something a little more edgy, but I was happy with our little guys participation tonight...

bon apetit!

january 11: cooking with Eli...

We are always looking for ways to have one on one time with each of our kiddos.  This has been a rough week for Eli and I, so even though I was supposed to cook with Joel tonight...I needed to spend some QT with my biggest buddy.

We pulled out a family favorite, homemade pizza!  I thought it'd be fun to "make" pizza dough, but after realizing the directions required the dough to sit for 5 minutes in 85 degrees...other than turning on the heater in the bathroom...not sure where that location would be at the moment.  So, the dough flopped.  Luckily, I had just bought a couple things of biscuits...worked in a pinch!

Elijah's favorite part was definitely the cutting.  I had bought a kid safe knife from Pampered Chef a few months back.  He was able to safely cut up our cucumbers for salad, and our strawberries for dessert.  I love the expression he makes when he is proud of himself and excited...he tries to hide it.

Can't say the biscuit pizzas were my absolute favorite, but hanging with my biggest boy was the highlight of my day.  Tad got home a day early tonight, so we were able to commend him as a parental unit and praise his efforts as a whole in front of the whole crew...he had the spotlight for a few seconds today, and for Elijah, that's important.  Special moments like these help set the tone for the rest of the night.  He an I were more in tuned with each other then we have been lately.  Hopefully he remembers things like tonight...I know I will.

Next week Dominic gets a turn, the next week Joel...Abram is always attached to my hip, so he's always involved.  This was such an easy way to spend time with one of my boys...we will do this again.

Tomorrow, we try a new food...

january 10: mad/sad/glad...

Dinner time is supposed to be a time to recap your day with your family.  We ALWAYS eat together at the table...gonna try and keep that going as long as possible.  I see already, though, a decreased vocalization about daily events from my strapping offspring...my boys don't talk about their day!  So, insert "mad/sad/glad".  We don't always get a whole lot out of it, but they do look forward to the family spotlight, even if for just a few seconds.

Tonight, we all shared the same sad sentiment...Daddy isn't home.  Tad is out of town for a few days...sigh.

I tried to explain my purpose behind our nightly routine.  Hopefully it sunk in...either way, tomorrow I'll look forward to a tiny glimpse into what made their day.

january 9: a day without loud voices...

There are lots of boys in our house.  There are also lots of personalities, needs, wants, and voices.  On a normal day, I/we try very hard to keep our boys in check using calm and direct voices...but sometimes our voices raise.  Our boys have the ability to talk things out...we've seen it done!...but sometimes their voices raise.

A goal of one day where we are super cognizant of our volume, seemed attainable!  We did fine...the day came to a close with several reminders of "we aren't speaking like that today"...both to the kids and to us parents.

Once the kids went down...it was much harder to follow through with our goal.  Our Tigers sucked it up against Bama in the National Championship...I thought Tad's head was gonna explode. =)

january 8: "super" dinner...

Tonight was silly =)  Originally, I had thought that tonight would be a "fancy" dinner.  We'd all dress up in unusually fancy attire and dine all fancy-pants style.  Maybe that's the girly-girl inside of me.  Reality was, that when I asked the boys what they wanted to dress in...they all named superheroes...sigh.  So, that's my life!  Well, I get it...and if this project has taught me anything so far...it's to be flexible =)

So, I'm not sure if you knew this, but superheroes LOVE...burritos!  OK, so maybe it's just my superheroes.  Tonight at dinner we had the privilege of eating with Batman in his jammies, Wolverine, Superman, mini-Superman, and Super Mom & Dad.  After dinner, Super Dad cleaned the kitchen and Super Mom ran around the house with her entourage like a fool...it was fun!

Here are a couple of priceless pictures from our adventure =)

Tomorrow, the boys go back to school.  Sure am going to miss them!  Although Super Mom is looking forward to some MUCH needed time to her self =)

Next up...a day without loud voices...

postponed january 7: favorite things...

We've hit a milestone...my two big boys had their first sleep over last night!  It's taken a little mental preparation on my part for this day to come, but I took a deep breath, prayed hard over my boys, and let them sleep out... 2 doors down.  They had a great time!  All that to explain why we postponed our family project for the day.

So, this afternoon I finally was able to pull the boys aside and do this =)  I had gotten this idea from this blog and thought "why re-invent the wheel?"  I took a moment with the 3 biggest boys and asked them most of the same questions she listed.  I videoed our little interview for a more accurate account of their demeanors and exact answers. Some of the questions were...what's your favorite color, drink, snack, dinner, friend, movie?  It was cute!

The point behind these questions on the inspiration page, was to capture their thoughts on their birthday.  I like this idea, and might do it when our next birthday comes around.  Her questions were good, but after hearing the answers...I think I'd ask things like...favorite ice cream, outfit, thing to do with mom/dad?

All in all, glad I got some footage of my boys.  We'll see if this revisits the Patella household in April.

january 6: game night...

Tad's grandma is Russian.  "What's her hurry?!"  (I find myself hilarious!)

Every January 6th Tad's side of the family gets together to celebrate "Little Christmas".  Grandma K gives us all a small wrapped gift of candy with a "little" money attached, and we eat a "little" dinner.  Nothing fussy or fancy...just a nice way to regather after the formalities of the past month.  This year we hosted at our new house!  We ordered pizza and had king cake...

So, while I had the whole family held hostage in our house...I announced that they were all going to participate in game night WITH us!  The boys were super excited.  Game night is something we normally do as an immediate family, so adding "hostages" is AWESOME.  Tonight we played Kids on Stage, which is a kid's charades game.

Everyone had to take a turn...

Pops was a LION.

Jackie was a PIG.

Joel was a HORSE. (Although his elephant and monkey looked a lot like this too.)

Katie was FLYING A BALLOON.

Dominic was PLAYING PIANO.

Mommy was a KANGAROO. (Katie's guess, "a jumping camel?"...thanks.)

Granny was a BUNNY.

Elijah was a SPIDER.

Abram kept watch ON the board.

Josh was a good sport, too.  I think this was him after someone guessed he was using a computer. (I won't post the pic of you being a chair...heehee.)

And my favorite...Tad being a FLOWER.

Game night was a success! 

Tomorrow we do a favorites checklist...

january 5: friends...

I have to admit...today snuck up on me.  I hadn't totally thought it through.  Part of me really wanted to just stay home.  As nice as it has been to have the boys home, I am starting to feel a slight tug for them to return to school.  

So, today was supposed to be about friends...  Fortunately, we don't have to look too far anymore! We walked a whole 2 doors down.  What was supposed to be an attempt at 3 mommas doing P90X for an hour, turned into an all day playdate...complete with fried green tomatoes (it's a hard, hard life...I know).  We have two families that have a bunch of boys just like us, and although my original plan was to be a bit more intentional with this project...hanging with this crew is pretty much what my kids have grown to expect.  It's funny, but they are more like cousins than friends. We now have 11 boys between us!  Each family has their kids in different schools and will play sports at different playgrounds, so their circles are going to be growing in the years to come.  We hope that this crew will have solid foundation and history, and remain close despite that.  This is the age where you start to remember your friends, and I want to make sure we are helping our boys become friends that are going to be wanted and valued by the other kids they are around.    

When it was time to go, I was glad we had gone.  The boys love hanging out with each other...I love when the boys are happy.  

Getting 9 boys (the babies were inside) to smile...quite a feat.  But here they are...the Band of Brothers...our little world changers...friends since the day they were born.  (It was an "arranged marriage", but it's working out wonderfully.)

Tomorrow, we have Game Night!

january 4: nursing home visit...

Today we visited Chateau Living Center to visit with the residence and pass out a little gift.  I love old people...I was/am a therapist and love how little effort it takes to make a big impact.  Before we went we stopped at Walgreens to pick up a few small gifts.  I wasn't really sure how many people would be in the atrium, or how long the kids would last...so we bought 5 little snow globes...on clearance.

The boys were briefed on the do's and don'ts. (Do ask "How are you feeling today?", Don't ask "How old are you?"...you get my point.)  I explained that all the people we were about to meet lived here.  Some have family that come and visit, but some don't.  We need to make sure that we smile and say hi to anybody we see...cause we might be the best thing that happens to them today!

We only spent 20 or 30 minutes there.  The boys were wonderful.  They spoke up.  They endured hugs =).  They said "Happy New Year!".  They brought a little life.  Oh, and don't forget the snow globes.

Tomorrow we invite friends...

january 3: chores...

We have tried to do the chore charts in the past, but after a week or so they all fizzled out. Well, we are going to give it another shot. There aren't a lot of things on each boy's list...just a few things to hold them accountable for the condition of our home. The chores were laid out at dinner tonight, and everyone is eager and on board...for now.

Another system we rolled out tonight was our "Better Choices" jar. It is not uncommon to hear Tad and I say "You need to make better choices." as we try to corral our herd of boys. I got to thinking about that, and...it's kind of a vague statement. Never fear...the "Better Choices" jar is here!! Now, when someone does something that they really should know better...we won't put them in time out...we won't fuss...we will explain that they need to choose a "better choice."

"Choices" examples...clean downstairs bathroom, tell each brother one nice thing, draw someone a picture, clear your brothers dishes after dinner, and bring laundry downstairs to laundry room.  

Here's hoping this sticks around a while!

Tomorrow we visit a nursing home...

january 2: thank you notes...

Our project today was to make thank you notes for the wonderful gifts we received for Christmas. We are not always very good at this...but we want to get better! We also need every teachable moment available when it comes to gratitude.

Each boy had a job...

Joel stamped his name on the inside...

Elijah wrote on the cover....

Dominic added sparkly "snow"...

And here it is!

Love, the Patellas!

They are all addressed and ready to be dropped in the mail...go us!  A simple card, filled with love.

Tomorrow, we roll out chores...

31 Days of Family...

Our family is starting a little project! Every day in the month of January we have come up with something to do as a family. Through this we hope to make everyday things more intentional, learn new things about each other, focus on others, and try new things. I have spent a good amount of time processing this little endeavor...hopefully our family gets a lot out of it. I am going to post our schedule, and if anyone else would like to join in...we'd love to hear about your experiences too! Explanations about my thoughts behind these events will be posted as the month goes on.

 January
1. pray
2. thank you notes
3. chores
4. nursing home
5. invite friends
6. game night
7. favorites checklist
8. fancy dinner
9. patience/(a day without loud voices)
10. mad/sad/glad
11. cook with joel
12. try a new food
13. movie night
14. serve others
15. outdoor play
16. deliver dinner
17. specific praise
18. cook with dominic
19. love languages
20. picture day
21. dessert
22. bible reading at dinner
23. nature walk
24. music night
25. cook with elijah
26. stories in the dark
27. date night
28. technology free day
29. hugs!
30. silence
31. pray

Some of these things we already do, some we do occasionally and really enjoy, and some are just good excuses to add an adventure to our day.

Today was 1. pray. We prayed as a family before bedtime. This is something we usually do, but Tad and I had more behind it than a typical night. We prayed for our house. For our health. For our friends. We had the boys each pray for something. Elijah prayed "thank you for our house." Dominic prayed "thank you for my brothers, a great mommy and daddy, and please let Abram be healthy and get all the vitamins he needs." Joel prayed "thank you for mommy, daddy, brothers, and doors, and doors, and doors." We really do love our doors in this house =). They were typical young boys and were only somewhat interested. That's okay...they'll get it eventually. Before we go to bed tonight, Tad and I will pray together as well. We have so much to be thankful for...

Tomorrow, we write thank you notes!

Year in Review...

So, I'm realizing I haven't sat down to write since our Batman birthday party...it's been quite a year. I started this blog to journal our little lives, but had no idea how emotional of a year it would be. As fun as it is to write out the nuances of our life with kids, there were times this year that I felt very overwhelmed and didn't quite know if I wanted to air out our true feelings to the world. In a nutshell, our entire 2011 revolved around a house. We sold our's last December. We thought we had another one lined up. We spent a year living with 4 kids in a two bedroom townhouse with a majority of our belongings in a POD. I have to say, though, that this experience more than any other in my life...has been led by prayer. We felt it was time to sell our house and prayed it would sell. It sold in 3 weeks. We prayed for a place to live. A friend called and told us their townhouse had just become available that month. We prayed God would find us a new house...that one took a little longer.

The roller coaster that followed included highs of accepted offers, to lows of 5 houses falling through with little potential on the market. Feeling temporary is very unnerving. I took deep breaths almost daily and asked for God to replenish my patience...some days it worked, some days it didn't. It's funny, though. I have learned so many invaluable lessons this past year that I honestly wouldn't change the way things happened. I learned to be grateful. "God, we need a bigger house." turned into "God, give us a house that meets our needs." I learned to accept help. "I can handle this on my own." turned into "I could use a hand." Friends came out of the woodworks for us...it truly is overwhelming to think about. Tad and I, more than ever, had to lean on each other for patience and perspective...luckily we make a good team.

So, we bought a house! This house would not leave us alone...we tried buying it twice! It's bigger, it's down the street from amazing people, it needs a lot of work, it's perfect.

We spent the last year saying "When we get a house, ____________". I am so glad to say we have already started filling in the blank. Last night we had our first get together (despite the mess), and the boys had their first sleepover. We are so looking forward to 2012 to fill in the blank with more amazing adventures!!!

On that note, we are planning a month full of activities to kick off our year on the right foot. I am going to post it on here, so that anyone else who'd like to play along can...

Here's to a great new year!!!