It's a.....

Boy! Unlike all our other pregnancies, we, (meaning I) decided to find out what "variety" of baby we were having. We have decided he is a little stinker due to the fact I had an unexpected ultrasound at this last visit because we couldn't find the baby's heartbeat. (Just like last visit!) So after we "heard" the heartbeat, when the tech asked if I wanted to know the gender, I said yes. And I was not surprised at all to hear this little one is of the blue sort. We are all excited and the name game has begun. How to get 2 adults and 4 children to agree...hmm?

When in Rome

We have been studying all things Roman this year in history. We are really enjoying ourselves and so much of what we are learning crosses over into American history that it can be frightful at times. Apparently it is now even in our dreams. Sarah Clare came down to our bedroom tonight with a nightmare. She dreamed she was in ancient Rome on the floor of the Colisseum. She was Irish dancing before the lions came out to get her. (We've been doing a ton of Irish dancing lately too).

Irish dance

Here are some pictures from the big performance. Luke was dressed in a funny costume because he was acting as the dance master. Apparently, back in the 1700-
1800's a dance master went through towns teaching dance. He would stay with one family and teach the children in that family to dance while

receiving room and board. Anyhow, that explains the costume. I'll try to download video another time.

Changes part II

Our new shed to house all the stuff from the basement and the barn. Max thought it was a barn for our animals (too cute...it is a barn for bikes, and rubbermaid containers, and tools).

Also a picture of our "new" bedroom. Oh yea...the interior painting job begins tomorrow. We will have new paint in the living room, hallway, foyer, stairwell, and upstairs hall. Then new paint in the dining room and kitchen once I have picked out the color. I also have new curtains for the kitchen, laundry, and living room coming.

Changes.......

Here are the pictures I promised you mom.....all the changes going on at the "homestead". No pictures of the basement...I refuse to head down that way for quite a while. Supposedly, the door will get cut into the wall later this week, then the stairs after that. The tile is laid, the walls will be drywalled at some point....and my brain turned-off to any more details.

As for Mom's house....we are still waiting for the siding guy. He comes tomorrow to side the 3 sides. The electrician needs to come back to hang exterior lights. We need to build her a front porch by the door (just haven't decided on a style). We put in a path from our driveway to her house to make it more level for walking and less muddy for the golf cart. It is all coming together. Patrick and I need to finish a bit of painting inside and then clear out the ladder, paint cans, etc from the house.

A few of my favorite things

A smiling baby girl with ballet pajamas. Including little slippered feet.

A new student on the piano. He loves it and practices all.the.time.

An indian spice tin

given to me by a sweet friend. Full of wonderful spices.

The fact that big brothers do this to little brothers and little brothers think it is funny...and keep it on for a long...long...time.

Getting ready for the farm

Upon hearing the news, Max summed it all up with, "Am I gonna' be a farmer now? I need a farmer hat!"

Yes to all that. The Keltys have decided to make a greater effort to "live off the land". We will soon be the caretakers of 6 Buff Orpington chickens, and maybe some chicks? We have spent hours looking chicken books and chatting with our chicken keeping friends. We think we have a plan. Now we need to produce a coop and a run, and a fenced area to let them roam for part of the day. What goes along with chickens you ask? Why goats of course. We will soon own two 10 month-old female goats. The kids are excited to name all the animals and are planning out their daily chores.

The biggest project might be the 13 foot x 50 foot garden. It is all tilled-up. The soil has been doctored with lime, horse manure, and fertilizer. It will be tilled up again this week. (Thank God for kind neighbors with tractors and good advice. The best part of operation is my plan......the big kids are the "primary" gardeners. In order to combine math, science, horticulture, and economics.....the garden is a unit study on all those and mostly hard work. Luke has been researching library books and making lists. He and Sarah have started our first batch of seeds that just sprouted and will be planted in a few weeks. They will start a new batch in a few weeks and some things will be sowed directly in the soil in April. My incentive was this. I will help get things set up in the garden (this should be easy due to Luke's scaled map and drawing). Then they are in charge of weeding and tending to their plants. When harvest time rolls around I will pay them for their produce. I will buy it from them like I would buy my produce at the grocery store. They are quite motivated at the moment. We'll see if it lasts. I am hoping for a good harvest and the ability to can or freeze most of our veges for the winter.

She is 10!

I don't know how it happened but Sarah is now 10! It seems only yesterday she had little pigtails on her head and a pout on her lips. Now she sports a short haircut since donating 10 inches of her hair and a smile on her lips most days. She is the joy of her brothers' hearts. She is often found playing with one of them and will always run the aid of a crying little brother or sister. We love her dearly and are so thankful she is a part of our family. I like to think I may be the most thankful for her presence as she is so very helpful to me. She is an extra set of hands always willing to help and almost always cheerfully. She loves to work outside with her dad. She is a pro and shoveling and hauling things all over the yard. She loves legos with the boys and pushing Lucy in the swing. She is very kind and patient. One thing she has grown to dislike this year.....unloading the dishwasher. Of all the things...I can't quite figure that out. She is looking forward to her new job.....chicken keeper. She has asked for years for a chicken coop and chickens and she will soon get her wish!

The Good....The Bad....The Ugly

I remember when Luke and Sarah were quite little and Patrick was a busy student. I recall thinking, "Once they get a little bigger and start doing things like school, sports, and such.....it will be so fun!" Not that life was boring. There just seemed to be sooooo....many hours in a day to fill. We played, went on walks, baked, went to the library, the grocery store....and every day my house was very, very clean. Because every day I had hours of afternoon naps in which they slept and I cleaned. Well, now life is just so B.U.S.Y. I hope I have learned from my early days of motherdom, not to wish for things to be different. So we are embracing this stage of life. A stage with filled up calendars and nightly chats about "if you drop off child A here, I can take child B here, and we can meet up with all the rest here". I will admit it makes me tired and a tad overwhelmed some days. Saturday was such a day.... and just so I can remember what life was like at this stage, I want to get the good, bad, and very ugly of Saturday down on paper.

Schedule:

9am Sean to Irish dance practice (Sarah and Luke miss it due to piano competition)

9-10:15 am Sarah and Luke to piano competition, take Max along for "fun"

10:25 pick up Sean and take the crew home

11:00 make lunch for the kids and house guests (yes, houseguests staying for the weekend)

11:30 Patrick home from a morning at the office---Patrick starts outside yardwork, chores with

kids helping, Jessica laundry and inside chores.

1:00 Sean and Sarah tennis meet. Drop them off, go pick up needed groceries and medicine for

sick baby.

2:00 Go home and pick up Lucy and Luke.

2:30 Drop Luke off at tennis, wait for Sean and Sarah's lesson to end.

3:00 Go home start dinner, clean up, help with some outside work.

4:00 pick up Luke from tennis.

4:30 return home, only to hear there was an accident with the dog and golfcart. An accident needing a human husband to pick the golf cart up off of the dog. Immediately begin to cry due to stress and tiredness upon hearing the words, "Don't freak but I ran over the dog with the golf cart and I think his leg might be pretty hurt".

5:00 Finish dinner while looking up number to emergency vet clinic, because our vet was already closed for the weekend.

Then the normal feeding the crew, bathing the crew, and getting ready for the next day amid attempts at wrapping ice on a dog's paw. All in all we survived. Even the dog. Thankfully he only has a broken toe and lots and lots of swelling of his paw.

This is how we roll. I remember a clean house and trips to the library. However now we are blessed with a house full of action and mostly laughs. And wonderful moments like these......

Our house guests included a six-year old who lost a tooth. She was Sarah's roommate for the weekend. Despite a house including 4 adults, the toothfairy forgot about the hidden tooth. But Sarah did not. Upon a middle of the night bathroom break, she checked underneath her young charge's pillow and noticed no treat. So she quietly took money from her piggy bank and placed it underneath the pillow. She saved the day for us all.

Last week, I had a meeting with Max's preschool teacher. And despite the notice of his lack of letter and number knowledge (although several kids into this process, I have realized he'll learn it when he is ready....he is very uninterested at the moment....teacher agreed) she couldn't say enough wonderful things that he brings to the classroom. Things, that I now realize, bring me more joy and relief than letters and numbers. She commented on the fact that he is extremely verbal for his age. So verbal that he has never once lost his temper and had a problem because he can always find words for what he needs and wants. She told me how his classmates cheer his arrival on the playground when I drop him off. They run to greet him at the door. (I have noticed this trend...and it is no longer just the little girls running to say hello!) She said he is the favorite friend of nearly all in the class because he is so kind, gentle, and nurturing. She noted the youngest child in the class (Max) is kind and generous to all his friends. She has never had to correct him for being unkind. Over the past year we have really noticed this behavior at home, but I was unsure how he was with his school-peers. And now I know. He'll learn to read....heck he might learn the alphabet someday soon. But he has already learned more important skills.

That is life at the moment. In a nutshell.