It's Derby Time -- Updated

Tonight's the big pinewood derby for Kolbe's Cub Scouts.  He's hoping that his car is "as fast as a cheetah."

Here's he's giving it the base coat of paint.

Then, the spots.

A proud Cub Scout with with his car:  Cheetah!

We'll let you know how he does in the races!

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Update:  Kolbe won 1st place for his Den!  

His car was also in the finals for fastest overall!  

Way to go!

A tired boy accepts his prize.

Respite

Next week, Nate and I are going to Chicago for a few days--without the kids.  This is the first time in our 9-years of marriage that we'll travel for 3 nights without our quiver-full in tow.

In our first years of marriage, it was easy to feel truly connected, so the need for some time away was never a question.  Besides, we hated the idea of leaving our little guys behind.  Wouldn't that scar them for life somehow?

Add more children, more years, and more busy-ness to that equation and you have two parents who can feel more like roommates that share child-duties than intimate best friends.  Now, a few days can easily pass before the opportunity to have a deep conversation or simply the sharing of what's on your mind can occur.

It is during these times that I remind myself that the best parents are those that are connected and in love.  In "The Five Love Languages", the author describes each spouse as having a "love tank" (like an inner gas tank) to be filled with love of and for the other.  When our "love tanks" are filled up, we are better parents (more patient, more fun, more present, etc.).  When our "love tanks" feel low, it's easy to become frustrated or discouraged.

How do we stay connected and keep our "love tanks" full?  One way is to go to dinner together.  An hour or two of conversation will do wonders for both of us.  We try to do this about every 6-weeks.  Another way is to simply spend the day together as a family.  A Saturday that has no outside commitments and the only item on the agenda is "time together" rejuvenates all of us.  Games, movies, cooking together or reading aloud are activities that we all enjoy.

And, now, we'll add taking a short trip away to our list.  My thinking on this has come a long way from those early years.  The boys are fully supportive--they think THEY are the ones going on vacation, spending 3-nights away from us.  The "baby" is over 2 years old and thinks of our friends as his extended family--I am confident he will be just fine.  The scarring, if any, will be minimal.  ;-)

Nate and I are looking forward to spending lots of time together talking, eating good food, discussing our goals for the future, and just being together--filling up our "love tanks" along the way.

In the end, I think we'll all enjoy the time of respite.

19 weeks

Library Tuesday

Today was a typical day at the library today for the Raiche family.  We found some books, DVDs and audiobooks.

Oh, and did I mention a bump on the head?  Jerzy decided to pull a computer cart over onto himself and became lodged underneath it.  After tempering his cries I found he was no worse for the wear, other than an egg on his forehead.  He and I aided the befuddled librarians in picking up the pieces and he apologized for the disaster.

Upon checking out I handed the clerk my library card and she handed me an incident report to fill out.

Yep, just a typical day at the library.

A Birthday 4 Marcel

Marcel turned 4 years-old this past week.  We celebrated with a Toy Story birthday party.

Stickers for everyone!

A homemade cake with Buzz, Woody and some army guys!

Four!

His brothers worked hard for two days decorating with streamers, balloons, and Toy Story colored pictures.

It was a birthday to remember!

Slow-Cookin'

When is the slow cooker not a Mom's best friend?

When just thinking about beef cooking for 8+ hours is enough to turn my stomach.  Presently, our dinner is in a slow cooker.  The cooking is taking place in the garage rather than in the kitchen.  It's a little unorthodox but it's one way to make dinner easily, while maintaining a sense of calm in my stomach.

I am now 18-weeks pregnant and into my second trimester, though I think this queasy stomach is here to stay...until the end of June.

Meanwhile, the flutters in my tummy remind me that this is indeed only temporary.  In the end, I'll have a settled stomach and a beautiful baby to remind me of the glory of God.

A Saint to Spend the Year With

 The other day, I happened upon the Saint's Name Generator at Conversion Diary.  The creator, Jennifer Fulwiler, decided it was a great way for the faithful to randomly select a Saint to learn about and become acquainted with.  She challenged readers to use it as a tool to select a Saint to "spend the year with".  I decided to take the plunge.

The result?  St. Gianna Beretta Molla.  I already am aware that she was a wife, mother, professional doctor, as well as a woman who put her life on the line for the unborn child in her womb.  The baby survived, but Gianna died after allowing that pregnancy to come to term.

I really need a friend like Gianna and can't wait to learn more about her and to ask for her intercession.  At times, I can be discouraged at the riggers of daily family life.  My life is more "survive" than "thrive".  So, my prayer for the year?  To begin to thrive, rather than survive, in family life.

I know I need to allow this time of pregnancy (and the accompanying symptoms) to be a time of thriving as well.  Maybe I won't make homemaker of the year, but I can still pray, read to and snuggle with my boys.  I can thrive in the circumstances God puts me in.

St. Gianna, pray for us!

photo credit: saintgianna.org

The Next Biggest Loser

Dear Magnetic Alphabet & Numbers,

A few years ago, when the Raiche family only had one little boy, an education-minded Mom purchased you.  She was thinking of the joy with which her children would manipulate each little letter to write the alphabet or spell small words or create a row of numbers along the fridge.

After a few successive moves across the country, you were relegated to a zipper bag in a random box in the basement.  Then, one day last week, you were found by a curious boy in the storage room.  What a glorious find (he thought)!

But now we've flashed forward 6 years and this family has four busy boys.  Each boy has his own idea of how to play with magnetic letters and they vary widely.  Little did this Mom know that she would soon have 26+ extra pieces to jump over as she navigates the kitchen while making dinner--magnets are lots of fun to fling off the fridge.  Or, that, in addition to 10,834+ LEGOS, she would get to continually chase you down throughout the living and bedrooms in order to replace you on the refrigerator. Or that one boy would feel they would make a perfect weapon and simply hurled the letters about and towards bystanders.

This letter is to inform you that times have changed, and, unfortunately, this Mom is not planning to pick up your pieces once again.  You have become an additional burden and your days are numbered--no pun intended.  The boys do not see you as an educational tool but merely as an accessory to toss about and move on.  Hasta la vista, alphabet.

Signed,

A Harried Mom


**please note that while the magnetic alphabet and numbers were harmed in this event, the cute young boy was not.

Catnapper

My Holiday Boy

I am finally taking down our Christmas tree.  Today, I am finally feeling well enough to consider lugging up the bins and carefully packing the ornaments away.  The boys don't really care either way.  Well, all but one of them.

Jozef is my "holiday" boy.  He loves the festivities, adornments and celebration of any holiday.  As he watches me remove ornaments from the tree and pack them away he asks, "Can we at least leave the lights on?"  "Honey," I reply, "Mom and Dad are going to put the tree outside.  Soon, it will die.  Besides, Christmas is over."

He's undeterred.  As the trinkets and treasures are packed away, he keeps asking about keeping out this one or that one.  Finally, he's caught on that Mom is determined to finish the job.

"Mom?" he says, "What's the next holiday?"  "Well," I say, jarring my mind out of the Christmas decorations and into what's next, "Valentine's Day."  "Oh!" he announces, "I was thinking about making some Valentines this afternoon!"