October 2017 – Seven Friarys

Halloween Tradition

Published on October 30, 2017 by 7friarysLeave a comment

I realized last night that Halloween was only 2 nights away and we hadn’t carved our pumpkins yet. When one of my older daughters (who shall remain nameless) asked what was up for the night I told her that we were planning on turning on Halloween music and carving pumpkins. She rolled her eyes and said, “yeah, not really feeling it.” Ha! Gotta love teenagers. I told her that it was fine and she didn’t have to participate if she didn’t want to. I actually didn’t expect any of the older girls to want to do it this year. But, I’m a sucker for family traditions and I want to make sure that Lucy and Beckett get everything out of their childhood that the older girls got.

Lucy was sick yesterday and spent the morning on the couch watching home movies. It made me realize how important these traditions are because time is flying by so quick. It’s great to know that the traditions we started in our old house with three little girls are things we still do today.

By the time we put the newspaper on the kitchen table and put the Monster Mash on the stereo all five of my kids were gathered around our kitchen table. I have to admit that I LOVE the fact that my kids (and husband) are also suckers for family traditions.

When we finished with the pumpkin we baked the seeds and watched Its the Great Pumpkin Charlie Brown. The kids were less enthusiastic about that one. Ha!!

Just Wait

Published on October 24, 2017 by 7friarys2 Comments

“Just wait”, they would say to Jon whenever we told people that we were expecting our third and fourth daughters. “Just wait until they’re all teenagers”. “You poor thing”. “Your poor husband”. “Hopefully the next one will be a boy”, they would say. People can be so dumb, so insensitive. Especially since they would say this in front of me. A WOMAN!! Our third baby girl is 15. Our first is 21! I’ve been parenting teenage girls for 8 years now and I LOVE IT! I even had three teenage daughters at once. They’re good girls, all of them!! Sweet, kind, caring, helpful. Fun to hang out with and talk to. They’ve never given me any trouble! I can count on one hand how many times they’ve each given me an attitude. They don’t get into any trouble, and if they do then they’re pretty good at hiding it, so I’m going to go ahead and give them props for that, too! I feel blessed to be a mom of 4 girls. I’m on the couch right now, sick. (Probably just a 24 hour thing.) Three of my girls are home with me right now. Chloe made dinner while Megan and Lucy entertained Beckett and cleaned up the kitchen. While putting Lucy’s laundry away this morning, Emma kept me company and made Lu’s bed. I didn’t ask any of them to do anything. They all took over and did what needed to be done to help me out. So the next time I see a pregnant woman who is carrying a baby girl I’m going to go out of my way to tell her how lucky she is.

Life Lately

Published on October 23, 2017 by 7friarys1 Comment

Busy! That’s the only way to describe life in the Friary house these days. I have 2200 pictures on my phone because I am desperately trying to capture everything because if I don’t I’ll forget.

We celebrated Beck’s 2nd birthday with a construction theme party

We went shopping for our Halloween costumes and crafts.

We’ve been working on senior pictures

We had senior night

We’ve been spending an insane amount of time outside because the weather has been fantastic!!

Jon’s been spending all of his free time putting in hardwood floors

And a few more photos just because

October is flying by!!

Beckett James, 2 Years

Published on October 5, 2017October 4, 2017 by 7friarysLeave a comment

I have a hashtag on Instagram that’s #OhBeckett. It’s something I say to him about 20 times a day: When he crawls up on my lap and gives me a hug and a kiss without me asking I will sigh and say “Oh Beckett, I love you”. When he runs towards a cup of water or Daisy’s dog bowl and pours it out before I can reach him I sigh and say “Oh Beckett, why did you do that?” When he throws a temper tantrum or pulls someone’s hair I get annoyed and say “Oh Beckett, behave yourself!” When he’s playing in another room and I can’t see him I will call out “Oh Beckett, where are you?” Normally he yells out “Dining room”. Ha! He always hides in there.

Oh Beckett, I am sitting here trying to wrap my head around the fact that you are two years old!! Wasn’t it just yesterday that daddy and I were walking miles around the apple orchard trying to get you to come out and meet us? I think back at how much you’ve changed from even just a year ago and it’s amazing how you went from being a sweet baby to being an even sweeter big boy.

Some big changes this year: Walking!! You were a late walker. You didn’t walk unassisted until you were 15.5 months. I really don’t blame you, you are living with 6 other people who love having you on their hip. Your vocabulary has exploded!! You give out ” I Love You’s” all day long. You are so independent, too! If I say “let mama help you” you’ll look at me and say “no, Beck help” or “no, Beck do” . You went on your first airplane ride to Disney World where you fell MORE in love with Mickey Mouse and his friends. You started sleeping through the night. F I N A L L Y!! It only took 21 months but we did it!! We stopped nursing (completely at 23 months). You still ask for it every couple of days. But, we’re done. Which is a big change because I really thought you were gonna be attached to that boob until you were 5! You whip around on your little bikes and play all by yourself for a good, long while. You don’t need anyone to sit there and entertain you anymore.

Eating: You wake up every morning and the first thing you ask for is a banana. You sit and watch Mickey Mouse Clubhouse with a banana EVERY morning! For breakfast you usually have a waffle or a piece of toast with a yogurt. Lunch is different every day. You usually nap through lunch so it’s something quick like chicken nuggets, pasta or sometimes eggs with spinach. Dinner is whatever we’re eating for the night. You snack pretty healthy throughout the day. You LOVE LOVE LOVE berries! I always have to have them in the house. Favorite foods: Pizza! Good Earth baby granola bars, yogurt, bananas, berries, pretzels with hummus. Tortilla chips with salsa, cheese, crackers with cream cheese, ice-cream and m&m’s. I had to bribe you at a football game with them recently and you ask for them almost daily now.

Playtime: You LOVE your cars and trucks!!! You sit for the longest time pushing them around and playing with your little garage. You still LOVE football and yell touchdown whenever you see a Patriots logo. You love to be outside and love having Lucy drive you around in your new truck!

You love to go to the park and on walks. You LOVE when the girls have friends over because you LOVE teenage girls. Especially Chloe’s friend, Mia. As soon as she walks in the house you go running towards the door yelling “Mia!!” It’s pretty cute. You love teasing the dog and wrestling with whoever is sitting on the floor. You make me sit on the kitchen floor with you whenever you want to sit down for a snack. You pretty much have everyone in this house wrapped around that cute little two year old finger.

Oh Beckett!!! I love you with all of my heart!! I can’t wait to see what new things “2” brings this year!! Happy Birthday, buddy!!

This Moment

Published on October 3, 2017 by 7friarysLeave a comment

This was my view from the kitchen this morning while I was busy getting everyone ready for the day. They sat snuggled under blankets while watching Nickelodeon. Beckett usually gets up an hour before Lucy and has his banana while watching Mickey Mouse but today he actually slept in!!