All Hallows Eve

Basic Halloween this year.  Pumpkins, costumes, candy.

Ghouled Cheese Sandwiches and Gore Soup for dinner

We couldn't agree on a theme this year, so it was every man for himself.  My only requirement was that the costume involved as little sewing as possible for Mom, and preferably used pieces we already had.

Miriam

Queen of the Night (with a ghost in the background!) -- she was practicing the aria for days beforehand in case called upon to prove she really WAS the Queen of the Night

Katie

tap dancer (she finally fits into my stash of dance costumes)

Jojo

an archer, with an awesome bow made out of pvc pipe

Daniel

a ninja. he originally wanted to be Yoda, but we couldn't find the mask/wig at our local party store.

Daniel insisted on this sequence of pictures:

1.

2.

3.  (apparently he's not a very good ninja)

Andy

Darth Vader!

(he doesn't quite understand how light sabers work yet)

Dominic

an impish elf (who required help standing still for the camera)

(...because he kept trying to do this)

Trick-or-treating is WAY more fun with friends.

After we came home, Miriam had to separate out the orthodontist-approved items.  (Daniel very sweetly shared all his KitKats with her.)

I spy a little someone helping himself

caught in the act!

Once again the kids noted how much harder they have to work for their loot in our neighborhood now vs. the easy days at the townhouse -- more miles to cover to get a decent haul!  But thanks to the leftovers from the Costco bag of candy, we had enough to last us for a whole week this time.

Next day was, of course, All Saints Day.  Before Halloween we went on pilgrimage to the Basilica of the National Shrine in DC (I love that church more every time I go) in order to walk through the Holy Door.  At the Mass the priest gave a beautiful homily about Halloween, how the Christian ought to view death, and the spiritual symbolism of trick-or-treating.  On the Eve of All Hallows, father said, children knock on doors asking for a treat.  This reminds us of the truth that someday, at the moment of our death, we ourselves will be knocking on the door of Heaven, asking for the greatest treat of all -- admittance to the kingdom of light and sweetness, where we will be welcomed into the fellowship of saints.  It gave me goosebumps, I tell you. 

We have friends who don't like Halloween because of its more grisly trappings as perpetrated by secular culture, and for the most part I agree with them.  (I don't get zombies.  Why exactly are they cool?)  But I always love to see how grace builds upon nature; the church has always taken what was good in a culture and used it to teach us the truth.  At bedtime after trick-or-treating, we can use that moment to thank God for all the sweet things in the world, to be able to prepare us for the even greater sweetness of Heaven and the Communion of Saints.

And no, I'm not just trying to justify trick-or-treating so I can steal Snickers from my kids' candy buckets.

Dominic was here.

Beach Getaway

A few days after I returned from California, Mr. Pickles took us all on a real vacation to Bethany Beach, DE.  I say Mr. Pickles took us b/c my only requirement for this trip was that I wouldn't have to do any planning whatsoever, after already having to plan and execute two big trips.  Mr. Pickles is amazing, y'all.  He put this all together, with the only input from me being my opinion on a couple beach houses.  I helped the kids pack their clothes and got together the beach stuff, but that's the fun part.  He even made tons of food to bring (because allergies) and planned out meals (he grilled every day) and packed the coolers and everything.

A-maz-ing, I tell you.

There's not too much else to say about the days we were there.  September at the beach is the best.  The water is warm and the air is not too hot, and there are not many other people on the beach so it was quiet.  We had to miss a couple classes and drama rehearsals of Miriam's that week, and had to come back a little earlier than we wanted b/c we didn't want her to miss her ice skating class.  (High schooler's schedule pretty much dominates the family schedule.)  I had considered bringing some schoolwork to fill in extra time so we wouldn't get behind, but when it came to actually packing I just couldn't do it.  I decided we all just needed a total break from all responsibility (aside from keeping people fed, of course).

It was glorious.

California, here I come!

So in early September, my Uncle Ranger Dave became Uncle Deacon Dave!!  When I first heard that my retired California park ranger uncle was going to be ordained to the permanent diaconate in Sonoma, I hoped I would be able to make it.  And thanks to Mr. Pickles' superhero status, I was!  Sadly we are past the point where traveling by air all together as a family is within our normal means, so only a small representation of the Pickles was able to attend with me.  I decided to bring my bookend boys -- Jojo (oldest boy) and Dominic (youngest boy) -- while Mr. Pickles heroically stayed at home with the rest for the six days I was gone.

Summer Photodump

Because I'm too disorganized to post pictures as they happen, you get a whole bunch at once!

Well, I suppose technically I DID tell them to put the couch cushions back... just didn't specify which couches!

little miss instigator, right there.

How to entertain a baby in one easy step!

Step 1: Intend to bring the no-longer-used baby tub down to store in the basement, but get lazy and leave it outside the basement door, where the baby who loves climbing on/into things can find it.

Ta-da!  Instant entertainment!

wheeeee!  I'm going nowhere but I'm having SUCH a good time!

Make your voice heard!

On this most depressing of Election Days, please enjoy a political comic by our resident Humor Correspondent, Katie. (You'll probably need to click to read.)

I believe that's a candidate we can all get behind.

...and Back Again

The Great Midwestern Trek of 2016!  Part Dos.

So returning East from Chicago, we first stopped at South Bend to visit cousins.  The great thing about big families is that when you get just two of them together, you have an instant party!

The South Bend cousins had recently moved into a gorgeous big new house with an awesome swingset in their backyard.  We couldn't stay for long, just a few hours, but it was a good visit.  We always have great conversations when we hang with them, as you would expect from a lawyer, a mathematician, and two homeschooling mothers!  It's also encouraging spending time with other people who are in the same stage of life and trying to do this big, Catholic family thing well.  When you feel freakishly different from the rest of society, with all eyes watching and critiquing your every move, it's comforting to be with others who are struggling with similar challenges -- and appreciating the same joys.

There...

The Great Midwestern Trek of 2016!  Part Uno.

Soooo... every summer there's a big geekfest for Statisticians in a different city.  When we heard this year's conference was going to be in Chicago, we thought, "Perfect!  We can use that as the springboard for another Great Western Trek!"  But a bit of the wind was taken out of our sails when we realized that Mr. Pickles would have to come back home right after the conference, due to the need to prepare for another important meeting soon after.  So no Great Western Trek. :(  However, we could still enjoy a Great MIDwestern Trek, getting to relish our time with our Chicago peeps without having to hurry through on our way to points west or east.

And then we learned that due to a tight work schedule beforehand, Mr. Pickles was going to have to fly into Chicago.

...by himself.

And stay in a hotel near the conference.

...by himself.

Which meant that in order to make a Great Midwestern Trek at all, Mrs. Pickles was going to have to pack, close up the house, drive 700 miles, and otherwise take care of 6 minors for 5 days all on her own.

Long overdue Baby Update!

Dominic has been doing all kinds of amazing things!!  I'll go month by month.

7 months continued (March)

Welllll, he did NOT start walking at 8 mos -- however he was still quite mobile!  After he mastered pulling up to a stand, he seemed to hit a plateau for a while, and spent some time perfecting his skilz.

aw, yeah, I'm all dat!

Must. Stand.

His new-found mobility meant that he could now Get Into Stuff.  The good news: he can now entertain himself.  The bad news: he can... get into stuff.

hmmm what have we here?

look, Ma, it MOVES!

power tooooools.....

His favorite thing was using big people legs to stand up.

he LURVES my maxi skirt especially -- so many hand holds!

Stairs are also PERFECT for learning how to stand.  They are exactly at the right baby height.

these are awesome!!

 Finally, when you're the youngest of six and you can't run or hit back yet:

life is rough when you have older siblings

 

but I'm so cute they just can't resist!

 8 months (April)

We attempted to introduce Dominic to solids at around 7 months-ish.  For a long while the relationship was shaky -- he much preferred "real" food (i.e., Mom).  However, every once in a while the planets would align and we would find something he didn't turn his little baby nose up at.

sweet potatoes are acceptable

Really well-ground oatmeal with apple sauce or with pureed bananas seemed okay, too.  In tiny doses.  At the right time of day (which varied).  And as long as he was a little hungry, but not too much.  And he had to be sitting in Mommy's lap and holding his own spoon.  #mrpickypants

We were lucky if we could get a teaspoon into him -- meanwhile he wanted to nurse about every 45 minutes.  That was rough.  (Finally at 9 months he learned that eating was all right, and was able to handle more textures so I didn't have to super-puree everything.)

He also popped out six teeth!  The first two came one by one, and then the next FOUR came altogether!  After that we were finally all sleeping better, hallelujah.  Those naughty incisors did not make their appearance painlessly, for him OR for us.

but look how cute my widdle teethies are!

Speaking of Getting Into Stuff:

how thoughtful of them to put in a wall-mounted entertainment device just for me!

9 months (May)

Nicky TOOK HIS FIRST STEPS!  He was so amused by the whole process and giggled hysterically each time -- even though it was more like barely-controlled falling.  His siblings are the best cheerleaders, and loved providing ample opportunities for him to land on his face practice taking steps.

Babies born into large families really have it made.  For one thing, they never have an opportunity to get bored cuz their siblings are always thinking of fun things to do for them:

baby-sized personal ball pit!

Apparently I spent the rest of May gardening because I have tons of pictures of the yards, but only that one for Dominic.

10 months (June)

After a few weeks practicing his controlled falling, Dominic officially started walking!!!1!.  Soon after that he figured out how to go from a squat to a stand without using furniture or conveniently-located big people legs. 

And soon after THAT, he figured that he could actually go UP those magical stairs. Our baby gates were in a sorry state, so this is what we rigged up at first:

so ghetto.  but hey, it works!

as you can see this baby gate doubled as a lemonade stand

Our slightly more permanent solution until we get some new ones (after I scrubbed the dirt and spider webs off -- remind me WHY we were storing the gates outside again??):

not much better -- still held in place with bungee cords

July (11 months!  I KNOW!)

Another entry in the Getting Into Stuff category:

ooh! it's the happy box!

how do I get them out?

success!  om nom nom

Dominic hasn't said any real words yet, but he is experimenting with new sound effects.  His latest are saying "oo" with adorably puckered lips, and a shrieking cackle that he uses when chasing his siblings. 

Even though I'm sad at the thought that someday he will no longer be a baby, we all rejoice with him whenever he masters a new skill!  Every age has been the best age, so far. :)  And he is so, so loved.