Valentine's Day

The start of my day...Eggs in the shape of a heart.

And the end of my day.

Despite the CBs below, our day was nice. Squirt's nasal surgery went well, supposedly we're/he's fine, but we will see in about two years. Lance surprised me with breakfast in bed. I stopped by Pete's for filet for dinner. Glad to celebrate US. Thanks, Hallmark.

Pissed because they were kicked out of the dining room.

Scenes From Christmas~ 2010

While this time of year is a bit busier for us with a newborn, we managed to keep most of our traditions, just on a smaller scale. My mom even let us borrow a Charlie Brown type Christmas tree, which all four boys HATED. It's not that Lance and I loved it, but I am more than happy that I don't have much work dealing with a tree this year.

Despite my plans to bake before Baby Z arrived, it didn't happen. So last week, I spent a day and a half power baking for family and our butcher. We didn't bake as much as normal, but we did have five kinds of cookies plus bread.

1560 party...yes, I went and took ALL. OF. MY. KIDS. Chelsea came into town to drive us out there. I think she has a future as a nanny, but she seems committed to finishing school at Bama. I love this party, Chelsea had never been before and was surprised at the amount of people there. It's hard to explain, but it's something that listeners really enjoy being a part of. Everyone was super nice and excited about the baby. And I got to meet Jill in person, someone I met through the blog, that I feel like I know really well! The only thing missing from the party was Ragin Bull Tailgaters.

The kids were finally able to check out some lights on Christmas Eve. I don't know why they love it so much, but they do. Despite all the tackiness out there, nothing says Christmas time more than outdoor lights.

Lance offered Squirt the chance to eat at Trulucks alone. I thought it would be nice, just the two of them having a nice meal alone. Squirt would have none of that. He wanted to pick up the food and bring it home so the entire family could eat together. There are so many times that I wonder if we have this parenting thing down, ESPECIALLY now that we have a teenager, but this is proof that we are doing something right. It must be. Now to remember this the next time I get pissed off! Of course, he did walk to the dining room table in a sleeveless shirt, and when I asked him to change, he put on a white undershirt instead. He finally got it right on the third try.

The boys, even Squirt, had some sort of X-mas pj's. The Baby Hulk picked out Baby Z's pj's, which were not my favorite, but turned out to be the only thing that fit. And while Lance grumbled the entire time, he managed to get some great pictures of my kids!

This is it as far as the nativity scenes I set out this year.

First thing Christmas morning, the boys placed baby Jesus in the nativity scene!

One of my all time favorite nativities...there is a larger version that could go on a table, but I have nowhere to put it.

We went to Mass before opening gifts, and the boys were so good again. It is so awesome to me that they can see all their presents sitting under the tree and not fuss about having to wait. They are very normal kids, they love presents, but on this day, they amaze me with their willingness to wait and worship before opening a single thing. And this year my parents went more overboard than usual, but as my mom said there weren't any gifts she regretted or wanted to save for a later date. The kids have been playing nonstop with their new loot, so while they may be on overload, I am happy to report that both the kids and I are satisfied with their choices. Now for time to sit with my new MAC.

Merry Christmas

Merry Christmas!

Our first family photo taken on the 23rd. What a glorious thing to celebrate, the birth of a baby. And while we are so overjoyed with our newest child, we are more overwhelmed when we think of the love of our Father. The Father who sent his Son for us. When we think of Christmas, we don't always think past the birth of a beautiful baby. It's easy, babies are so sweet and delicate. But this child was so much more. He was our Saviour who sacrificed all for us. What a humbling thought. May everyone have a blessed Christmas and look upon the Child whose birth we celebrate with adoration and thanksgiving. Merry Christmas from the Zierlein Family.

We Are Thankful

It's been one of those days where I just wanted to go back to bed. And to make matters worse, nothing bad even happened. I just didn't get enough sleep and was tired and sore from my work out yesterday. Poor Lance, he kept getting text messages during his show about why my morning was so, so bad.

I read something about having an "abundant life". I like how that sounds and generally think like that. It is busy and there is always something on my list, but that doesn't take away from the joy. And there is so much joy in our lives. These boys are truly a gift to us and my hope is that we treat them as such.

The picture was taken this morning and it's our grateful tree. Every one in the family contributed, some more than others. It took us a while to get here, my plan was for us to write something every night in November and talk about what we were thankful for during dinner. Nobody was interested. Finally, the Baby Hulk and I started our tree yesterday and had things ready for the other boys when they came home from school. I had to bribe No David with food to let me trace his hand. Lance didn't understand why he had to trace his hand, and the Baby Hulk said "I guess I'm thankful for my family."

Looking at what everyone wrote, we are grateful for a lot of things, but mostly each other. I am so grateful for my amazing husband and four beautiful sons. I'm grateful for the chance to hold another baby soon. We're grateful for friends, two special girls in our lives, grandparents, cousins, football, Snoopy and my favorite from Goose and the Baby Hulk...God, Jesus, Mary and the Saints. Abundance is a good thing.

Happy Thanksgiving from The Zierlein Family

Explain

Okay, I'm going to say it out loud and there is no way I am the only person who thinks this way...

Why is it that there is Teacher Appreciation WEEK and then there is Mother's DAY? How did I get the raw end of that deal? To make it completely obvious that I'm getting screwed on appreciation, I am reminded of their week during the same week I should be celebrating my motherhood. Who thought this was a smart idea?

I'll admit I'm not a fan of Hallmark holidays to begin with. I don't buy Valentine's cards for anyone including my Valentine. And Mother's Day is no exception. I have already declared that I will never go out on one of these holidays again after my experience on both Mother's Day and Father's Day last year. How is it that parents get one day a piece, a day that includes going to eat at an overly crowded restaurant with a set menu? And teacher's get a week. Oh, I know, they are teaching our children. GUESS WHAT??? That is their job! I didn't get a week when I was a lawyer for people to bring me food and gift cards. Nobody ever felt sorry for me as a lawyer and they don't now that I'm a stay at home mom. And they shouldn't. It's what I have chosen to do.

Disclaimer: While I think the idea of a week is STUPID, I do LOVE Goose's teacher this year. I know I won't always, just ask Squirt how I felt about some of his teachers and if those teachers got anything during teacher appreciation week except a complaint for their files.