My Love of the Rotisserie Chicken

I love the rotisserie chicken from the grocery store. There, I said it. I love the several functions it serves and the awesome feeling I have as a provider of deliciousness I get to serve to my family as a result of said amazing bird. That was a lot to say. Below is why I love these birds I hope you take advantage of these very soon!

First and foremost I get not 1 not 2 but 3 yes you read correctly 3 full meals out of one already cooked for you bird from your local grocery store! I will list the 3 recipes I used this week below.  Also, I have found that Costco or Sams club give you a much bigger bird that makes these 3 recipes easier to pull off. If you are shopping at a store that offers a smaller bird be safe and get 2, you will still be paying tons less and you will have 1/2 the work in preparing all of these meals! I must say though I have pulled off all 3 with an average sized bird I compensated a little and I mean little with extra veggies but it was still done and enjoyed by all!

 I hope that you enjoy them. It took me about 1.5 hours to make the first 2. The stock takes about 5 hours total, then to make the soup about another 45 minutes tops.

Chicken and Cheddar Souffle on the Food Network

I love Giada and I love her recipes they are good, easy to make and very crowd pleasing. I Hope to one day look like her as well because man she is a beautiful woman...who can cook! Lordy!

http://www.food.com/recipe/loaded-baked-potato-chicken-casserole-505862

This was a pinterest find. I cook a ton from the recipes I find on pinterest.  This one is great without the chicken as well.

The recipe below is what I have scratched together from the catacombs of my brain. I am very much a throw it in a pot and see if it tastes good kind of cook. I fail A LOT but when I do good I do pretty well! 

Noodle of Chicken Soup

2tbs Olive Oil

2-3 Cloves Garlic

Salt and Pepper to taste

3-4 Good Sized Carrots

3-4 Stalks of Celery

1 Small Onion

2c Cooked Chicken

2c Egg Noodles

Homemade Chicken Stock to cover Veggies and Chicken

Start with a hot pan and cold oil. Sweat the onion in the olive oil over medium heat for about 5 minutes until the onion is approaching clear. Then add the carrot and celery. Sweat all three adding salt and pepper to taste. Then add the garlic and the chicken mixing with the other veggies. Let these mingle and sweat together for about 5 minutes stirring occasionally then add your homemade chicken stock. Bring to a simmer, then give it a taste. Add salt and pepper, I sometimes add a little celery salt at this point. Then put it over low heat and let it be for about 20 minutes. You could throw the noodles in now and enjoy it right away. I like to let the flavors intermingle and get to know one another. Then after at least 20 minutes, add your egg noodles. You can absolutely use any noodles I just prefer egg noodles.

Homemade Chicken Stock

Without a doubt the easiest most valuable thing I have ever learned by working in a professional kitchen. This is one of those comfort things for me. I love the smell of stock on the stove. It takes me back to my more recent days as a server when I was working at The Hummingbird Room in Mill Hall, PA. Chef Eric Sarnow and his wife, also a chef, Claudia Sarnow really took the time to teach me how to never let anything go to waste. This was one of their tricks.

Take all the meat off the chicken. Then raid your veggie drawer! Use those carrots that are starting to get soft, the peels from your onions, the spinach you used half of to make the soufflee, the peels from your garlic bulb, the stems from the celery you cut up. Throw all of that and EVERYTHING left over from your chicken in a pot. I mean everything, skin, bones, anything and everything left over nothing is really off limits here I have used all sorts of stuff! Then cover that with water. Put this on the stove over low heat and just leave it for about 3-4 hours at least. I leave mine on a very long time. Then turn it off and let it cool completely. After it is cool strain the stock into the container you are going to store it in. Absolutely delicious and homemade! LOVE IT!!

So here is my final little celebration over the pre-made so you don't have to cook it, rotisserie chicken. Have you ever noticed how much a chicken is? I ask you the next time you are at the store check out your poultry aisle and check it out. Then go look at the already “rotisseried” chickens. The fact is this is one of those things that grocery stores take a huge hit on to get you into the store! They actually loose a ton of money on these birds because they hope that you will buy more from their store. So you have that going for you as well.

Good luck with our feathered friend!

Be Well!

Of Course Its Great, Its Disney!

Our trip to Disney was, as I am sure it is for most people, a very thought out endeavor. With the large family we have it is essential that every trip we go on we try to plan and anticipate everything! Which of course is completely impossible! However, we do try. So with that said here are some ideas of what to take with you and what not to do. A lot of these ideas I got from a book that I had read 5 years ago when we went to Disney the first time. Its called the Unofficial Guide To Walt Disney World, With Kids, by Bob Sehlinger. This is a great resource to refer to. When we went the last time I wrote down what was good, what was bad and what we had to do next time. This is a great tip for any family vacation. We have often thought of starting a journal for our vacations so that we don't overlook things we missed or want to do again.

Attire

So if you are coming from colder climates like we were, we heard Florida and we broke out the shorts! Well, allow me to tell you, South Carolina, Georgia & Florida can get down right chilly in the winter. After living in South Carolina and Florida you would have thought I would have remembered that. I didn't which lead me to way over pack. Check the weather and keep it simple. If you are at a place that has a washer and dryer you can get away with just a few outfits per person. If not it gets a little trickier. Have your clothes at the ready but really don't pack your clothes until the very last minute! Bring rain gear. Orlando has these pop up thunderstorms at all times of year. Even if you have just silly cheap ponchos that will disintegrate after the first wear. Why? Because you will be dry the first time! Which can make the difference of you enjoying the park for the rest of the day or having to break up your day to go back to change!

Shoes, now this is a big one. Sneakers with socks, for little ones, period. Unless they have some sort of supportive sandal that they have worn for 2 months prior. The biggest mistake people make when going to a place like this is that they buy new shoes and try to break them in while there. Not good because kids end up with blisters on their feet and if their feet are miserable, they are miserable and that means you are miserable...In Disney! Boo!

Diaper Bag

I have thought a lot about this because it is tough when you are expected to spend 5-8 hours with your children in a place that is not home. Think about it, we may run 4-6 hours worth of errands in a day but are we ever more than 20 minutes away from home? I did a lot of trial and error when I was there last and I am not sure I ever quite got it right. There is a lot to juggle but here are the essentials.

Take only what you need.

Diapers,

An extra change of clothes for little littles (something small like a onesie and a pair of leggings),

Bottle,

Drink for baby, you don't have to bring a full day supply just enough to get through the first time its needed.

Wipes

Changing Pads. I have a GREAT changing pad that I actually sell in my store. It is made by a local company here called Baby Goin' Places. It is a terrycloth towel that has fabric pockets sewn on the front. It was a dream! I didn't have to lay my baby on anything hard! Disposable ones will do just fine though, but please use them, people are rude and don't clean up after themselves, yuck!

Bags for bad diapers, I get the scented ones they are great for clothes from blow outs too!

Rain Gear (Only if they are calling for rain)

Camera, I would recommend getting a little snapshot camera if you have a big one. Just because there are professional photographers all over Disney to take your pictures.

A few special snacks, rewards, bribes, just to get them to stop crying long enough to get out of the park!

First Aid Kit You can get little ones at the store, I usually add my band aids so that they have the characters they like. I always have a little first aid kit in my diaper bag.

Pens, simple but necessary!

If you forget or lose anything not to worry! There are baby care stations located through out all of the parks and they have everything! From bottles to formula to clothing, they even have little wrist slips that you can put one on your 2 year old that keeps bolting away from you and one on you! Sounds wrong but you will see the need for one if not by you personally then the person in front of you. They will be having a nervous breakdown because they have run about 5 miles just to keep up with 2 year old Timmy!

You may need something other then your usual diaper bag because your day to day bag may not be able to carry all of your needs. We usually dawn the backpack for these occasions, its just easier for all of us. Now, sometimes people think that they could just get through the Walt Disney world experience without a diaper bag. Just carry a few diapers and that way we won't have to stand in line to have our bag checked. If you are traveling with little ones you need to deal with the fact that you are going to have to have a diaper bag, so get over it!

Timing

Its all in the timing and on vacation we all take our definition of time and literally throw it out the window! Kids stay up later and sleep in longer, parents seem to not care about schedules as much and meandering is highly encouraged. Now, there are the exceptions. A trip to Walt Disney World is expensive and some people like to get their moneys worth so they come equipped with schedules agendas and plans. That is totally fine, please be ready for those plans and schedules to be altered. You are running on kid time here and they do not understand that if you ride every ride in Magic Kingdom 4 times you will get your moneys worth! Also this place is distracting! The phrase of “Oooo! Look Something Shiney!” takes on a whole new meaning! Relax, you are at the happiest place on earth, remind yourself of that, often. Yes, you paid a lot for this vacation and your kids are melting down, you have ice cream on your new shirt and your spouse looks like they are going to climb a tower and start taking people out if they don't start walking faster. Its these times that you need to find a place to sit down and people watch for a few minutes and come up with a new plan. Remember those special snacks you packed? Perfect time for them. Breath, remember where you are and come up with a new plan. I f you take anything away from my little rant here remember this. It cannot ALL be seen, so pick out what is most important to you.

This leads me to breaks. Not all children can make it through an entire day and night without a reset or a break. We all would go back even if it was just to change and grab a quick snack just to get out of the over stimulation for a little while. Do watch your kids and see what their needs are, I promise it will make your trip a lot more enjoyable if you do.

Entering and Exiting. Do keep in mind that if you are in Parks it can take up to 30 minutes to get out of the park alone (depending on where you are) and 15 more minutes to get the tram back to your car. Strollers also must be folded on the trams.

I have to once again climb up on my soap box here. This was the most annoying thing to us and it had absolutely NOTHING to do with the parks but everything to do with the people that were there. This is Disney World people, they have been getting people out of these parks for decades! Millions of people have been there! They know the most efficient way to get you in and OUT. There is absolutely no reason to take out a 6 year old because your family found a pocket in the sea of people and moved up a little further. This isn't the Titanic, you will see them again! I promise! Take your time leaving, seriously, everyone gets out! It may take some time but there is reason to why the wait is so long. If it is that important to you to get out quickly then please leave prior to the closing of the parks. Otherwise, accept the fact that you are going to be sitting and waiting to leave.

Eating

One thing we didn't do was make reservations for every night we were there. Dinner is hard to get reservations for especially when you are trying to feed a bunch of kids at their usual time. Make reservations early as in the 90 day time period before you go. You can always cancel them, well most of them. Some of the character dining experiences require full payment and no cancellations but for the most part you can just cancel on a whim.

We had 2 experiences that I really encourage you to have. The first is have a meal at Cinderellas Castle. This was a wonderful character breakfast that we went to. The food was also exceptional! We went for a 9:15 reservation, the park wasn't even open yet when we got there to walk to the castle (about 20 minutes for us from the entrance) the people at the gate let us in before everyone else! There is a show that goes on prior to the park opening (of course there is its Disney!) and here we are walking down Main Street USA, all the girls dressed up as Princesses, Dean as Prince Charming, and all the cast mates of WDW wishing us a good morning! AMAZING! Then if that weren't enough Aladdin and Jasmine scurry down in front of us leading us the way to the castle! GREAT memory that none of us will forget!

The second was a dinner at Chef Mickey's located in the Contemporary Hotel. This was fantastic! The food was wonderful and the interaction with the characters was exceptional! I always tended to shy away from hotels and their dinners, I won't be doing that in the future.

Disneys Dining is amazing. Compared to the reputation it had in the 80's early 90's, the food it exceptional. However, it does cost a good amount of money. There are dining guides out there as well as a really cool app for your phone that tells you what to expect. MiMi downloaded this app to her phone and was a life saver when they tried to book us at the 5 star French Restaurant that was between $30-50 a plate! Plan ahead!

So there you have it, a few tips that will hopefully make your trip a little bit easier. The next blog I have ready is what we did to save A LOT of money! So stay tuned!

Traveling Big Time!

This is a series of about 3-5 separate blogs. All of these are in reflection to our recent trip from Pennsylvania to Walt Disney World in Orlando, Florida. Hope you enjoy them and I hope that you find some of the tips useful. Just to give you some background, we originally were going to drive the 18 hour drive to FL. We did a test run to Kentucky to visit family. That was a 9 hour drive that we turned into 12 just because of all the breaks we had to take. When we returned we realized that our kids had done really well so of course we had no reason to think that they wouldn't do just fine on the trip to Orlando. As we got closer to our trip I started thinking about the drive home from Disney. I started worrying about the kids, frankly, I started worrying about Patrick and I. Everyone was going to be a little on the bummed side.

I remembered as a kid taking the auto train with my mom and wondered if it was still in operation. The rest was history!

So we began our actual journey this morning at 8:30am. Classically, an hour and a half past when we wanted to get on the road. This was a day of firsts for us mainly due to the fact that our dvd in our car had died on us. We were about to embark on a 4 and half hour car ride without it for the first time. Its amazing how we all have relied on these marvels of technology to entertain our children, especially in the car, making our lives a lot easier. I can see why some would wax and weigh about these things being horrible, what ever happened to family sing alongs right? But I for one am not one of those people. I have one intention and that is to arrive at our destination without wanting to eat my young. Needless to say it went well until the last 45 minutes, which of course was the most stressful navigating around the beltways of Northern VA.

So we get to Lorton, Virginia, follow the signs to the auto train, talked to the nice lady at the booth & pulled up to the terminal and started unloading. Everyone was so nice and kind as we unloaded all of our carry-ons. Then they took our car away to load it onto the train. We went into the terminal, checked in, got our dinner tickets, waited about an hour then boarded the train. That was it! A little too easy. So we decided to take cover & wait for that other shoe to fall. It never did!

Our seats are large, spacious and comfy. Complete with foot rests. It’s like a little lazy boy recliner. What I am personally loving is that there is enough room between the 2 sets of seats for the kids to sit on the floor and play. I had filled their bags with all sorts of new coloring books and small toys. The Bigs had their DS’s and we loaded up ipods with movies, we were beyond prepared to keep them occupied. The one thing though I hadn’t thought of was the most obvious thing of all. Just the anticipation of the train ride and the train actually moving kept everyone occupied for a few hours. Everyone was just so excited to be on the train. I am not sure who was more excited the kids or the adults! Yes I was jumping up and down so happy not to be driving, and frankly not to be flying.

As I sit here typing this, all our bellies are full of delicious food we had for dinner, all included in the price of the ticket mind you. We have been lounging around for about 3 hours just playing and reading stories, spending that quality time that you don’t normally get in the hustle and bustle of the day to day. Those moments alone were worth the price of admission. We are whisking through North Carolina, and I am loving the fact that we aren’t sleeping in a hotel off the interstate. I am a spoiled, spoiled girl. I know it, this is really living for me. Glass of wine in hand, kids all resting, not asleep mind you but resting and I am enjoying peace and quiet while quietly being chauffeured to our wonderful destination.

Already memories are being made for our family. I think one of the things that I will remember most was when my dear husband who works so hard for our family, shut down his laptop (he worked a full day by having me drive the Lorton and then once we were on the train he continued to work.) and said “okay guys I am yours for the next 10 days.” Wow. We were really on a family vacation, complete with Mimi. And to make it better, we are going to Disney World! Amazing.

Couple of things to know about the auto train.

1. You are not allowed into your car during the travel period so take what you want to have with you when you unload your car.

2. If you have small children as to be seated towards the back of the car. There are large areas behind the last row of seats that are great for spreading our further, even building a little bed.

3. Do bring blankets and if possible pillows. They will make your trip a lot more comfortable.

4. Dinner is served at 5pm, 7pm and 9pm and is included in the price of your ticket. Breakfast starts at 6am. If you go during the "snow bird migration get ready"! They will be all scooting through the aisles at exactly 6am to get their muffins and cereal!

5. Shoes must be worn every time you walk through the train.

6. Lights out is at 9pm

7. When you get to Florida or Lorton, they call your car number, you go out and get into your car and away you go! It really is that easy! It was about a 10 minute wait, that was it!

8. There is a movie provided, however, this is probably the last form of transportation to still allow smoking in the downstairs lounge car. The smoke filters upstairs to the main lounge car where the movie is shown. We didn't want the kids to smell like smoke so we didn't take advantage of this.

The Great Formula Debate

It has been an age since I have blogged. Mostly due to the craziness of kids schedules, our schedules, but also because this topic was very sensitive to me. Actually, it is very sensitive to a lot of people. I never really knew what an amazing debate this was. I just really thought that it was a matter of preference and that you just had people on both sides of the playing field, kind of like political associations. Little did I know how passionately people felt about how they feed their infants/babies & how strongly they felt about how I chose to feed my child. I have found that Linus from the classic Peanuts movie, The Great Pumpkin, has left out a topic in what is not to be discussed amongst friends, Politics, Religion, Breastfeeding vs Formula and The Great Pumpkin!

So, from the time Ava was born she was on the tiny side. She was 7lbs when she was born but she dropped down significantly from the time we left the hospital and it seemed that we were having a real problem keeping her gaining weight. She was gaining too little between visits, off the charts low. In July we were so excited because she had finally gained the correct amount in the 2 weeks between appointments, we didn’t have to be seen for 4 weeks! Well, within those 4 weeks she did not gain one ounce. She was getting taller, her head was gaining girth but she was this tiny little string bean.

Breastfeeding and I have always had a love hate relationship. I love the nutrients it gives my child, I love the closeness it fosters between mother child, the added brain power that it gives a child, I love the calories it takes to breastfeed a child therefore, helping me lose weight (Hey, at least I am honest!) and I love the money it

saves us from buying formula. The actual act of breastfeeding though I have never been good at, thus making me hate the actual act. It can be painful, inconvenient (everything is timed around babies feeding schedules) and because I worry about making others uncomfortable I would leave a crowded room to breastfeed, making me feel like I was missing out on things. Its been really annoying, something that cave-women did I struggle and have struggled to do with all of my children. I have tried lactation consultants, changing my diet, fenu-greek, milk tea, homeopathic remedies, other moms advice, acupuncture, chiropractics, everything. Within about 4 months my milk supply starts to dwindle and my children either get very cranky and upset constantly or they start losing weight. The latter is what always scares me. Well, the doctors scare the hell out of me. They start throwing terms around like, “Failure to Thrive” , that usually involves a visit from Children and Youth Services. Not good times. So we have made the decision each time to supplement with formula and each time it has gotten harder and harder for me to do.

I went into this pregnancy and birth determined I was going to breastfeed Ava until she was a year at least. I had a great support system from other moms, since I worked I did a ton of research on how to make sure that I had a good milk supply in the freezer. I had a great system down but in the back of my mind there was some doubt. I knew something wasn’t quite right. She ate all of the time, and she would spit up huge amounts after each feeding. Back to research I

went, I took her to doctors, they put her on zantac, it was still not enough.

When we finally had to come to the decision to supplement Ava, it was because she was in a dangerous weight for her age and length. She was 5 months old and looked 3 months old, a friend of mine had had a baby 2 months after me and her daughter was giving mine hand-me-downs! Both Patrick and I were scared. Ava was also still waking up about 6 times a night to eat. I would pump and bottle feed so that I could see how much she was getting at each feeding. The spitting up was horrible and constant and nothing seemed to be working. So, we had to try the one thing we hadn’t tried, formula with a high rice starch content. I would breastfeed her and then give her a bottle. Within 2 weeks she was slowly gaining weight. The thing that I noticed that even though she was still spitting up, she was spitting up worse after being breastfed. I kept this up for a month and then moved her 100% to formula. She is now finally on the charts, for weight, just barely but she is there. She is a tiny 14 pounds at 7 months old.

I was met with a lot of eye rolling and a lot of people telling me to not listen to my doctor about supplementing. I was also met with people passive aggressively attacking me with their opinions on the decisions I made. Others weren’t so passive and just flat out told me I had made a very big mistake in supplementing Ava. It was then that I realized how sensitive this topic was. Usually, I just let things like this roll off my back. We have a very opinionated family, and even though I have very strong feelings about this and that, I really do try hard to acknowledge everyone’s opinion and not push mine on people. Everyone is entitled right? Here is the problem, these comments and opinions hurt me, cut me to the core. I was a mess.

I felt like such a failure. What a horrible feeling this was. It was determined that my breastmilk did not contain enough fat for Ava. So here are both sides of the coin. In one instance, I felt very selfish because here is my gorgeous baby girl that depends on me to keep her safe and fed, and I couldn’t naturally do that. I was selfish from the stand point that I continued to breastfeed her even though I knew that something wasn’t quite right. As I mentioned before, the calories being burned and the money saved were also wonderful bonuses of breastfeeding as well. Then on the other side of the coin was that I was inadequate to feed my child. My body wasn’t only not producing enough milk but the milk that it was producing was not high enough in fat. So in short, in my mind, I was inadequate and a failure when it came to one of the most natural things a mother can do, and people had no problem telling me so.

I have formula fed all of my children at different stages in their early lives and it still is not right with me. I feel like I have totally let them down, that somehow, I cheated them out of something. It hurts, a lot. I am envious of mothers that can breastfeed for long periods of time. Sure I have a opinions on when a child should be weaned but I keep those to myself, that is for a mother to decide and it does absolutely no good to push those thoughts on anyone else. It is interesting though to look at the social ramifications that we encounter on the topic. I know there are certain that people look down at me when I start shaking up Ava’s bottle. For a long time it was a dirty little secret, I hid formula cans in the back of my store or would pre make bottles and then just heat them up. I was still so disgusted with myself and mad at myself for being inadequate. Honestly though, I did this to keep the scrutiny at bay.

Over the last 2 months, with the help of my wonderful husband I have come to terms with our decisions. Had this been before the days of formula, Ava may have died. A lot of babies did

before formula was available. So of course I am really very happy that we had that option. As she gets older it does become a little easier knowing that she is only a few months away from being able to drink cow’s milk. Really, she is none worse for wear, she is very happy, barely spits up any more and finally is filling out her clothes! One thing this situation has reminded me though is that it is important not judge a person because you never know what they are going through. Keep your mind open.

Timely "Episodes"

Avalina Elise

Days 7-10

I think it is absolutely amazing how quickly 10 days can go by when you have a newborn. I just want to make time stop so that I can catch my breath. I am quickly learning that with a family that has 5 children time can be a reclusive cousin that you only see once every 10-15 years! There are those moments though, as few as they are where time does stand still and you realize that life is truly good.

Ava, is a great baby. I hate to brag, but I will she is amazing. She does everything a newborn should do, she eats, sleeps, poops, & cries only when one of the other things is affecting her. She is filling out although her legs are SO skinny! Right now she is all legs and she has the longest fingers I have ever seen on an infant. Perhaps she will be the concert pianist that Patrick has always wanted. Only time will tell…There’s that word again, time.

Nothing really crazy has happened in the last 3 days, unless of course you consider my “episode” as note worthy news. I am an extremely outgoing person. I LOVE meeting new people and I adore being invited to parties and hanging out with friends, showing off my family and just having a really good time in general. Apparently this is true for all times except 8 days after having a baby. We were invited to a party on Saturday for one of our dear friends’ birthdays. They are very chill and lovely people and their friends really do reflect that. They were cooking out, there were kids there my kids’ age, and there was Frisbee and a huge yard for the kids to run around in, sounds like the makings of a very relaxing and beautiful time right? Well, apparently miss social butterfly, aka me, could not handle all the people. I have never experienced anything like this in my life. One minute I am sitting there having a conversation, the next minute I am having full blown panic attacks because I can't figure out how to get my entire family together in the case that aliens start attacking! Ok maybe that’s a little over the top but you get the idea. I was a wreck an absolute wreck. What was also interesting were people were saying “I can’t believe you’re here”. In my paranoia that made me question if I had done something wrong by coming. I know now that there was absolutely nothing hidden in that statement, people just couldn’t believe that I was brave enough (ha ha) to commit to a party like that. The truth was, I had no business being there. My psyche is still way to fragile to be exposed to a group of people that I hardly know. Luckily, there were 4 good friends there to keep me from completely jumping out of my skin, my kids had an absolute blast, and I got to be a part of the celebration. Those were the positives that came out of it. Still, as soon as I was in the safe hold of my home and my kids were happily playing the backyard and sweet Ava was asleep, I cried my eyes out for about 45 minutes. My poor poor amazingly supportive husband had to endure it, this was a rough one. There was really no rhyme nor reason to the tears, just a little embarrassment, a thought of will I ever be back to my old self again, and am I now the laughing stock of all our friends because I made a poor choice. Goodness, I hope not!

Here is the deal though, I think a lot of times new moms are terrified that they are going to miss out on something because we just had a baby and our obligation is to that baby. Yet, we forget that we also have an obligation to keep ourselves sane as well. I have to tell myself that it is ok to sit out of some parties, its ok not to be in the center of everything. If you know me, you know that is very, very hard for me! Does this go deeper though? Perhaps it does. Another issue of having a larger family is not being included in things that we were once included in. Lets face it, if you invite our family over we are a party in and of ourselves. When you include us in a party setting, you are inviting 7 people, that’s a lot. I understand that but over the last few years I have noticed our dance card has not been as full as it once was, and when you are as social as Patrick and I are it can be a little hard to take at times. So maybe, that had a little something to do with my snap decision on Saturday to attend that party. Not only did I not want to miss out on being a part of the celebration but I also wanted to feel included.

In the end though, the positives of having a larger family, in my mind, definitely outweigh the negatives. It all goes back to those moments that stop time and you know that you are truly blessed and you are doing exactly what you should be doing.

The First of Many Challenges with 5......

Avalina Elise

Days 4-6

I would have to say that the biggest challenge for us over the last few days have been our “Littles”. To be expected right? They are little, they don’t quite grasp the concept of “just hang in there a few weeks and everything will return to normal”. Or become the “new normal” which just seems normal because this is just what we do now! Our 3 year old has a mind of her own, will not listen to anyone to save her life and is now teaching our sweet little 2 year old how to behave very badly. They are like little tornados, whirlwinds, hurricanes, earthquakes and any other natural disaster you can think of! I think that once we get a handle on that (Ha! Ha!) the family should be in full swing. Our “Bigs” have taken it all in stride. Millie had a few adjustments, she was worried about me, she saw and understood that I was not feeling well the last part of my pregnancy. I think she also worried about her role in the family. Once she saw it was business as usual just with an extra little person hanging around, she has been really good. Of course we are dealing with the usual not listening, “they know better then the parents” etc issues of life. For the most part we have been really very blessed with our kids and their behavior…. Although, Celeste really does go against the grain in everything! I promise this will not be the last time you hear about her!

So the freak out that we have had over the last day and a half has been our car situation. We currently have a Dodge Grand Caravan, bought 3 ½ years ago when we had Celeste. It was a big jump to do the whole “mini van” thing. We had previously made some very poor automobile choices prior to this which made us upside down in our current car loan. In short we have to stay in this vehicle until Millie is old enough to drive it!

So there is the background, here is the freak out. Car seats! Sure, I have a van that seats 7 right? Wrong! Unless you take out the 4 car seats that we have to have, otherwise, we have a ¼ of a seat left for Millie to sit in since she is the only one not in a car seat. What it comes down to is that we need an 8 passenger vehicle. Well, crap! So, as Patrick and I tend to do we frantically ran around to every dealership we could find locally looking for the perfect car to handle our entire family. We found one, but its not what we wanted. What we want is way out of our reach right now so we would be settling and that is really something that we are not wanting to do. So after a lot of freaking out, a little research and some deep thought, we found 2 booster seats that are a little smaller in width then the others. They will fit in the back and then Millie will have her own captain’s chair in the first row. So, for now, everyone is safe and has their own seat! Who knew car seats would pose as one of the many challenges that we have with the number of children that we have? Not the last I am sure!

As for Avalina, she is getting acclimated to this big world very well. She LOVES to be held which is just fine with us. As a matter of fact, she is curled up in my lap as I type this. I am becoming a wiz at typing with only one hand. She lost a little too much weight after she left the hospital so we had a follow up weight check today and she is doing great. She is so beautiful and sweet, I promise to get a picture or 2 up here very soon. I think one of the most special moments you can share with your child is in the first few months when they aren’t distracted by other things. You are their main focal point, you are their main source of entertainment. I believe this is the time that bonds you, that you fall in love over and over and over again. As parents, we tend to get bogged down with what went wrong, what went right, we forget these little things, like gazing into the eyes of a 6 day old for hours on end. It really is a beautiful thing.

Welcome Home Avalina Elise…. Days 0-3

So here we are, baby number 5 making us a proud family of 7. New Moms whether they are bringing home baby number 1, 6 or 8 all go through some form of Baby Blues. For each woman it is very different. For a lot of women each child brings about their own set of fears, wishes or wants. For me, I have had the same sadness for my last 2. I find it very hard at times to comfort myself this time though, even though I know it is what is best for all concerned.

When we brought our beautiful little Stella home 2 years ago, she was our last child. I knew that after having 4 Patrick and I would not “try” anymore. I was a wreck thinking that my baby days were over for good. Then, two years later, by some sort of miracle and not for trying, we discovered that baby Ava was on her way. Number 5, a blessed miracle in her own regard. After the shock and awe wore off I was secretly giddy at being pregnant again. My days weren’t over after all, I had one more shot at feeling those feelings and reliving those experiences. I was going to make this one count, and I really think I did, but right now 9 months, as long as it seemed on Thursday, just doesn’t seem long enough.

I know for some women it is a relief to know that they are done being pregnant because they detested being pregnant. Trust me; I was NOT a good pregnant woman with any of my babies. This time though, I was very Zen...I enjoyed feeling her move around in me, I enjoyed growing this tiny human. I appreciated the changes my body was making to accommodate a baby, and thankfully for Patrick, I really didn’t complain all that much. I truly enjoyed being pregnant until the very end. In the end I realized that my pregnancy was taking a toll on my younger 2 children. I couldn’t keep up with them I couldn’t play with them like I had been earlier in my pregnancy, I was just sooo tired. It was then that I realized that I may just be past a good age to be pregnant.

I was A.M.A., in some practices that’s what they call you, Advanced Maternal Age. At others they call you Geriatric Pre-Natal or Elderly. I am 35. I also had to deal with the fact that my Nurse Midwives who had seen me through my other 4 pregnancies were no longer practicing due to cutbacks and insurance issues. My 2 biggest fears, having a Dr. I didn’t know and not being able to get an epidural! Well, luckily for me the Dr I had even though I hadn’t met him was wonderful and the epidural was just fine. My labor was so fast though. Not at all what I had had with my last 2 and that has left me feeling a little jipped. Patrick and I had had such amazing connections during those hours walking the halls. Going through the pain of labor together, as one. This all adds to me thinking my child bearing days are over and done.

Its scary for me. I love having babies, I love what they add to our family, I love connecting with my husband in that way. I am devastated to know that this phase of my life is over. Then there is the optimistic side of me really trying to pull through all of these thoughts. It really is reminding me that things change usually for the better. I had extremely wonderful and uplifting moments not being pregnant. My husband and I have one of those scary amazing relationships in which we connect often. So why am I so down about all of this? Time will tell, in the mean time I am enjoying this beautiful little baby that has chosen us as her parents. I owe it to her to be the best mom I can be, and I intend to be.

I plan to go through the next 60 days (hopefully more) of Ava’s new life as well as managing a house of 7. So check back.