Alternate title: The Trouble with Fifth Children

Aaaanyway, if you want to skip a million pictures, just scroll down to the bottom and I'll give you my #1 secret to hiding that awkward post partum belly - you know, the one that makes you look 5 months pregnant even though you already had your baby?

But first, some attention for our poor, unloved fifth baby?

Because by the time the fifth baby comes around, everything is old news.

Babies?  We've had them before.

He pretty much gets ignored all day.

It's so sad.

Even when he DOES get some attention, it's short-lived.

Or it's all his siblings bringing their snack for a "picnic" just so they can be close to him during a rare moment when his eyes are open!

Grumpy Mary Claire has warmed to him significantly, nicknaming him "Baby Pteranodon" which is really quite an appropriate nickname for a newborn.

And Elizabeth spends a lot of time talking about how he "squeaks yike a mouse!"

Of course, the rest of the time he's being held.  All the time.  Which makes blogging tricky, obviously!

And because I promised, I'll let you in on my secret to hiding the post partum belly.  The belly that John Paul tells me "still looks like you're in maternity, Mom..."

Wear that baby!  Carrier covers belly, baby stays happy (and totally quiet during Mass!), and discreet nursing is totally manageable!

Seriously, get yourself a wrap-style baby carrier and live happily ever after.  The end.

Linking up with Fine Linen & Purple, because this is what I wore Sunday for a surprisingly calm Mass!

Oh, and that's an affiliate link - if you buy anything from Amazon through that link, I get a tiny percentage that will very likely get spent on science experiment kits for John Paul!  Thanks :)

PHFR - 7/25

Linking up with Like Mother, Like Daughter for {pretty, happy, funny, real}

{pretty}

What's prettier than food?

 

Roasted Cabbage with Bacon

I thought I hated cabbage, but we had a head in our farm basket this week and I was determined to give it a try!  The recipe is intended for winter, but our oven really doesn't heat up the house at all so I've been using it plenty during the summer.

This was SO. GOOD.  I ate 7 out of the 8 wedges.  5 of them that day.  I left the core in so that the wedges would stay together, and I used bacon fat in addition to olive oil.  I also cooked at 400 for about 45 minutes because I had something else cooking at the same temperature.

Andrew was not a fan (big surprise there...), John Paul ate it when I told him to, Cecilia didn't like it (because these days she ONLY likes broccoli and green beans), and the babies ate it happily.  But considering I would have eaten the entire thing myself, I'm considering it a success!

 

Slow-Cooker Brisket

SO easy!  I do the spice rub on a couple of pieces from Costco and then freeze them until ready to use.  You basically just stick it in the slow cooker all day with a cup of BBQ sauce and have a delicious BBQ brisket by dinnertime!  It's so much more tender than any brisket I've had at a restaurant or barbeque joint, you get a really nice char from the slow cooker, and the leftovers are aaaaaaamazing.  One of my all-time favorite recipes!

 

Penne Caprese (my own invention, complete with a homemade pesto from our own lemon basil!)

Delicious cherry tomatoes from Relay Foods - if you're in the DC/Baltimore/Charlottesville area, definitely check out this food delivery service!  They have standard groceries as well as a LOT of local produce, meats, dairy, etc.  It's like having the farmer's market deliver to you AND they do next-day delivery!  AND if you use my referral code (2wf8vw) you get $30 off your first purchase (and I get $30 credit, which enables my cooking obsession so THANK YOU!!!).  Since they have local peaches on sale for $.99 a pound, now's the time to try!

These meals brought to you courtesy tandem-wearing - I could cook even while Mary Claire insisted on nursing!

{happy}

 

I just can't get enough of her infectious smile!
 The other kids have great smiles too, don't get me wrong...  But Elizabeth's is really something else, with the corners of her mouth curling upward and just a hint of a dimple.

{funny}

Cecilia wearing my clothes.  It's just too funny!

Chambray popover - Peep toe wedges - Brown belt

 

I think when it comes to "Who Wore it Best" she will ALWAYS win!

{real}

 

Elizabeth AND Mary Claire have both figured out how to climb onto the hearth.  They haven't been going for the fireplace yet, but I think it's time for us to gate it off or install a screen or something...  Anyone have something that works for them?  I imagine we'll either have to screw something into the wall or into the molding around the fireplace.

Happy Thursday!  Go check out other linkers at Like Mother, Like Daughter.  And check out what Auntie Leila has to say this week!  I loved hearing her talk, even though I had to slink in late after getting the babies to sleep...  She's just as lovely in person as you would expect, and her daughters are so beautiful!  I can only pray that I'll be as graceful once my kids are grown :)

Five Favorites

ONE

Ergos on Zulily!!! 

Seriously, over 50% off on my absolute favorite carrier!  They sold out pretty quickly yesterday but they keep adding more stock, so check back now if you haven't recently!

I get pretty annoyed about baby wearing during the hot summer months, but I honestly don't mind a baby on my back in my Ergo too much!  And since we have TWO babies, I got a new carrier for myself, and Andrew gets the old one :)

 I may even try layering them for tandem-wearing,  although the straps are pretty bulky...

(My links are referral links to Zulily - you'll get $5 off if you're a new member, and I'll get a $15 credit!)

TWO

Pet Shower?

 

Okay, we don't have a pet...  BUT we have children, and they have their own bathroom that has a stationary shower head, which means any hair rinsing has to be done via bucket.  NOT fun for them.

But all the hose-type shower heads had to be going nonstop, even when Andrew was soaping up the kids.  THIS one has a button on it so that you can spray at will and it turns off when you're not pressing the button!

It's awesome as a diaper sprayer too, and way cheaper :)  

THREE

Hot fudge!

I REALLY love hot fudge...  I made some using this recipe for our 4th of July festivities, and it was sooooooooo delicious.  But it made a LOT!  So I've been using a tablespoon or so in my coffee in the mornings and it makes the most delicious mocha!  And it's delicious straight out of the jar (it solidifies in the fridge), not that I know...

FOUR

This smile:

 

I know, I posted this picture yesterday...  But Mary Claire's little half-smile just cracks me up every time!  She's *just* not amused enough to open her mouth all the way - much more frugal with her smiles than Elizabeth:

Does this headband make my ears look big?

 FIVE

Toddler makeup

What's more attractive than a REALLY dramatic eyebrow on a 2-year-old?

Um, just kidding... 

I caught her using dry-erase markers to color on herself (for...  I don't know, the millionth time?).  

Me:  WHAT do you think you're doing?  WHY are you drawing on your body?

Cecilia:  Um, I just needed to make my hands bwack!

She shows me the palms of her hands, which have been colored mostly black, as if that's supposed to appease me

Thankfully the Expo brand washes off easily, unlike the Crayola dry-erase markers of doom that I seem to stain their clothing and bodies for approximately forever...  But I didn't notice the eyebrow extension until after I had washed her arms!

Not quite as dramatic as some (see below), but impressive for a 2-year-old!

Check out more worthwhile favorites at Hallie's!

7 Quickety Quick Takes

Happy Friday!  Happy long weekend!  Happy Quick Takes!

 

--1--

 

I have a confession to make:

 

I still use Google Reader.

 

You know how everyone has been switching to Feedly or Bloglovin' or Ye Olde Something or Other?

 

I hate them all.  I just want my Google Reader to stay the same, because everything else just gives me STUPID PARTIAL FEEDS!  I DO NOT WANT TO CLICK OVER TO ANOTHER BLOG because half the blogs I read are too fancy with their formatting and it takes forever for me to scroll through them unless I read them in Google Reader.

 

So I'm hoping that Google changes their minds and lets us keep the reader?

 

--2--

 

I added social media buttons to my sidebar!  They're blue and very pretty and if you need realtime John Paul updates or just want to stalk me all over the internet, you can follow me all the places!!!

Am I supposed to make a facebook page now?  Because I feel really awkward every time I share my blog on facebook because I think people don't really want to know...  Thoughts?

 

--3--

 

I bought another swing for the babies (used).  We have one and it's pretty much the only place they'll sleep during the day, which means that if Elizabeth decides to take a 3-hour nap, I'm stuck trying desperately to nurse Mary Claire to sleep that whole time and end up just sticking her in the swing the moment Elizabeth wakes up.  Which means they almost never nap at the same time, which means we pretty much never leave the house because somebody is always asleep and NO WAY am I going to mess with that!

 

I have taken them a few places though, and I'm pretty proud of it - so far we've been on a walk around the block (.7 miles, so a LONG walk), to Trader Joe's, and to the Farmer's Market, just me and all 4 kids!  And ALL the trips were successful! 

 

But it's still a lot of work, so I'm gonna see if I can just host a trillion playdates at our house this summer so that I don't have to try to get all the kids out of the house all the time...

 

--4--

 

This article about yelling was really powerful for me - I try REALLY hard to be patient with the kids and to encourage Andrew to be patient when they do ridiculous things, and I think it's incredible how you can see the compassion this teaches our children when they get older. 

 

I'm not perfect - I certainly resort to yelling more than I'd like, but it's absolutely always just a quick fix, and I'd like to think about how a patient approach to parenting can mold my kids into such incredible individuals:

 

"And that’s when I started to cry – not so much about the three chapters, I knew they could be rewritten – my heartbreak was more of a release due to the exhaustion and frustration involved in writing and editing a book. I had been so close to the end. To have it suddenly ripped away was incredibly disappointing.

 

To my surprise, my child reached out and stroked my hair softly. She said reassuring words like, “Computers can be so frustrating,” and “I could take a look at the time machine to see if I can fix the backup.” And then finally, “Mama, you can do this. You’re the best writer I know,” and “I’ll help you however I can.”"

 

Yeah, I teared up.  Go read it!

 

--5--

 

 

A friend of mine just made us a beautiful mei tai and get this:  IT'S REVERSIBLE with STAR WARS on the other side!  I haven't let Andrew wear it yet though, because I love the girly blue flower side so much!

 

I need to work on how exactly to cross all the straps to make tandem wearing easier, but it's definitely less bulky than the ergo-mei tai combo here:

 

 

--6--

 

Selfies!

 

 

Once again, proof that the twins look nothing alike!

 

--7--

 

Elizabeth is getting perilously close to crawling. 

 

I think we'll still be safe for another week or two, but this is one major reason why my blogging is going to take a serious hit - the babies are rolling all over the place and want me on the floor playing with them, plus they don't nurse for the marathon sessions they used to have, so I don't have nearly as much "sitting on the couch not being able to do anything" time - I know my mom will be sad, but I'll try to take plenty of pictures to make up for it!

 Check out more Quick Takes at Jen's!

 

5 Favorites - 5-8

ONE

 

Source



Yes, it's a 12-dollar hunk of plastic.  But for some reason the big kids LOVE holding it while they walk with the stroller.  We used it extensively on vacation last summer because we didn't want to bring a double stroller, and John Paul calmly held the strap and walked as fast as his little legs would carry him through the airport and everywhere else! 

TWO

These teethers:





Source



Not that we're anywhere near teething, but I picked these up at TJ Maxx the other day (um, don't pay that Amazon price...) and Elizabeth LOVES them!!!  Mary Claire doesn't particularly care, and neither baby is teething but they're super-grippable and chewable.

 

 

THREE

Guacamole

I used to hate it, because I had never tasted it and the idea grossed me out.  Then when I got pregnant with Cecilia avocados suddenly seemed like a good idea and I started liking it.  And now I LOVE it!  So much so that last night I had to use up our ripening avocados, so I made this guacamole (minus the jalapeno and cayenne pepper because I'm a wuss) and ate ALL of it.  And it was delicious, although I ate it at about 10:30 and every time I woke up (and there were oh-so-many night wakings last night, courtesy the twins) I regretted the garlic and onions just a little bit...

But seriously!  All the good fats!  And all the deliciousness!

FOUR

Countertop herb garden

 

 

3 plants fron the Farmer's Market, 3 pots from the Dollar Store, and I've got my favorites right there!  Sage, basil, and oregano.  I might pick up rosemary & thyme another week, but I've already been using them lots!

 

FIVE

Tandem babywearing

 

 

 

Okay, I don't actually enjoy it that much...  But it makes me feel like a rock star!

 

 

Linking up with Grace this week, the substitute hostess with the mostess!  Hallie's basking in the wonders of a sin-free child, so check out other link-ups at Camp Patton!

 

 

5 Favorites!

Linking up with the lovely Hallie this week for Five Favorites!

UNO

People who link their blogger accounts to their email addresses!

I'm just going to send you over to Grace's for the tutorial, because that's how I discovered my email wasn't linked.  (Also yes, I may be addicted to linking to Camp Patton lately...)

But seriously, I LOVE getting comments on this blog, and I try to respond to as many as possible and I didn't realize that tons of my email responses were just getting emailed into the noreply-comment@blogger.com abyss!  So if I ever didn't respond to your thoughtful comment, it's because I DID respond via email but I didn't realize your blogger profile wasn't linked to your email!

Do yourself a favor though, and link it up!  Because then you don't have to check someone's post that you commented on just to see, "Hey, did they respond?" because half the time you know you (I) forget to check and that poor little comment thread dies right there.

But if your email is linked, you can end up with a beautiful, 41-email-long comment extravaganza without having to check Blogger every 30 seconds!

You thought I was kidding, didn't you?

DOS

 

My Ergo baby carrier - I've been using it TONS lately to wear the babies on my back (one at a time :P) while doing everything else around the house.  Mary Claire almost ALWAYS falls asleep, and it helps free up space for Cecilia in the double stroller, since she's the slowest walker ever and we've been taking lots of walks lately.

 

 

I can nurse a baby in it while cooking, too!  And it's such a pretty blue and green :)  I was really a fan of the Mei Tai we borrowed when the twins were littler, and the sleepy wrap was good for that stage too but now that they're bigger I reach for the Ergo a lot more often because it's a lot more comfortable for me to wear.

 

Mary Claire fell asleep on my back while I was making taquitos from scratch.  Yes, twin moms, you WILL have time to cook again!

 

TRES

 

 

 

Books.  All of them.  I never understand how it has to be recommended that you read to your child for 20 minutes a day - I'm lucky if I can get away with only 20 minutes!

 

We love books a LOT in this house, as you can see from the children's early morning pre-breakfast choices.  Cecilia's?  Carl's Afternoon in the Park.  John Paul's?  Latin chant in Andrew's Missal.

 

And today I stopped by the library on the way home from work to choose some new books for the kids and you should have SEEN John Paul's face when he saw the stack.  "BOOKS???" he squeaked excitedly!

 

QUATRO

 

Consignment shopping

 

We hit up one of our favorite stores (check them out if you're in the Northern VA area) to pick out insane amounts of clothing for the kids at ridiculously low prices.  I LOVE it because everything's in style and sorted better than thrift stores and there's none of the intense craziness that you deal with at those seasonal consignment sales.

 

And I feel comfortable letting the kids pick out some of their own clothes when things really don't cost very much.  Cecilia's favorite pick?

 

 

Her new (to us) Gymboree pink polo shirt dress with embroidered frogs.

 

Those legs are a story for another day...

 

CINCO

 

Zulily!

 

Okay, if you're not already a member and you want to be, you can click my link and if you buy anything I'll get some credit (no extra cost to you, don't worry!) which will be awesome because they have SO much cute stuff!!!

 

But that's not the whole story - their customer service is AWESOME.

 

I bought Cecilia a pair of baby TOMS (pink with butterflies) and after they shipped they emailed me to say, "Oh shoot, the pink with butterflies you ordered was the wrong picture and you're actually getting THIS pair of pink with butterflies shoes that are PINKER with SPARKLY butterflies, but here's your money back and also $10 in credit and you can keep the shoes!"

 

So...  Free shoes because they were too pink?

 

Cool.

 

And we generally have really good experiences with the stuff we get from them, but recently I bought Cecilia a pair of dress shoes that ended up being WAY smaller than advertised.  They said, "Sorry, we can't control the sizing but here's your money back and also $10 in credit but you can keep the shoes!"

 

And on that same order the sandals I ordered ended up being way BIGGER than advertised and also not the brand listed...  So they refunded me that money!

 

I just can't get over how awesome their customer service is.  It can be a little bit scary to order things online but I feel so much better about it since they handle these mishaps so quickly and awesomely.

 

*Edit:  This makes it seem like they screw up all my orders...  I've been shopping there for years and have never had an issue until these two orders - none of these errors were due to any fault of their own, and they rectified the situations perfectly in my opinion!

 

Okay this was a LONG 5 Favorites post (I blame the babies not going to sleep until 10:20...), so go check out more at Moxie Wife!

 

Mud!

Mud.  We have it in abundance, as is shown on the kids' shoes every time they come in from playing outside:

 

Side note:  He clicked this pin and wanted to make nature shadow boxes, so I told him to go on a nature scavenger hunt.  30 minutes later, he returned with a bin full of crocuses with a rock and a leaf.  BUT we found out last week that the crocuses pop right back up in a couple of days, so I let the kids pick 'em now!

But hands-down, my favorite kind of mud?

 

 

These are SO. GOOD.  An entire stick of butter goes into one 8x8 pan, that's how good.  For some reason, I've only ever found them at Target.

 

So I figured I owed it to the Theme Thursday participants to strap a baby on my back, bake these, and show you a couple real-life pictures.

 

 

Minus 3 that had already been eaten...

 

Close-up of the crumb crust, gooey marshmallow & fudginess.

 

Playing with perspective, a la Cari.

 

 

You're welcome.

 

Now go check out other takes on the theme - Mud should be a fun one!  Thanks for hosting, Cari :)