Us – Page 7 – Seven Friarys

Gillette Stadium

Published on June 30, 2017 by 7friarysLeave a comment

A few pictures from our annual trip to Gillette with the kids. Some of the kids.

I have to admit that it’s a little sad not having the whole crew together when we go off on these family outings. But, we still had a GREAT time with these three

loved seeing all FIVE trophies!!

Beckett was so cute! He kept throwing his hands up in the air and yelling Touchdown! So funny that he remembered that from the season.

I started taking these Wilfork pictures while Beckett was in my belly 💗

After walking around the Hall of Fame (and yes I cried during the movie….again) we stopped for lunch at Patriot Place

I probably shouldn’t say this out loud but I am SO ready for football season to begin!! LOVE me so Patriot football!

I’m trying to convince Jon into buying me Patriot tickets for my birthday. He’d rather watch from home but I HAVE to go to one this year!!

Last Day of School

Published on June 28, 2017 by 7friarysLeave a comment

Just like that another year is over. I can’t believe that my little Lu is going to be a fourth grader. Where does the time go??

She honestly wasn’t that excited for school to end this year. She LOVES being able to spend the day with her friends!! She loved her teacher this year, too! Luckily one of her very best friends, Carleigh, lives right across the street.

We have a tradition of going out for ice cream on the last day of school. This is the first year that it was just the two of us. Her sisters finished up last week and changed the ice cream tradition to pizza.

I’m definitely looking forward to our summer traditions and lazy mornings but I really wish time would slow down a little. Next year at this time I’ll be crying over the fact that this little girl will be heading off to middle school. Gulp….

Recent iPhone Photos

Published on June 27, 2017 by 7friarysLeave a comment

Today is Lucy’s last day of third grade. I know I say it every year but this has GOT to be the fastest year EVER!!

Jon took Emma, Megan and Chloe to the Red Sox game the other night

I had a very nice, relaxing night with Lucy and Beck. I bought Beck his very first Happy Meal. He wasn’t impressed

He follows her all over the house. The other morning when we went to wake Lucy up he crawled in bed with her

Jon and I took our weekly (sometimes biweekly) date to our favorite restaurant and yes, I ordered the same thing AGAIN. It’s actually the only thing I get there because it’s my FAVORITE

A few more photos from the week

Summer vacation officially starts for us in 1.5 hours!!!

Beckett’s First Birthday Party

Published on October 3, 2016October 3, 2016 by 7friarysLeave a comment

I didn’t take as many pictures as I hoped to at Beckett’s party. I planned on having my camera out all day so I could capture all of his first birthday moments. He was such a good boy and had so much fun with his cousins and friends. But, it’s JUST TOO HARD to be the photographer at a party you’re throwing. There were too many people to chat with and babies to love on. It’s really the first party in a long time where the house was filled with babies and little kids again.

It rained, so our outside football tailgate party got moved inside. Jon did make his famous jambalaya outside though and it was DELICIOUS!

I’m pretty sure that his new giraffe toy was his favorite. He sat on it this morning while eating a bowl of Joe’s O’s.

LOVED his little Beckett #1 shirt that my friend made for him.

I’m missing some of the other kids that were here yesterday but we love them too!!!

He LOVED his football cupcake!!

I can’t believe that an entire year has gone by since my due date. My baby is turning one this week!!!

Thank you to all our family and friends for making his first birthday such a special day!!

Beckett James, Month Five

Published on March 7, 2016March 7, 2016 by 7friarysLeave a comment

This little bubba is getting so big!! I don’t have any weight or height stats right now because he won’t go back to the doctors until his 6 month check up. He is just about fitting in his 3-6 month outfits and he’s moved up to a size 3 diaper. B I G boy!!

We started solids this month and he’s loving them. I bought the jars for a couple of weeks to get him used to the texture but this week I started making our own in my Baby Bullet. I am having so much fun with it! I wish I had this for all of my babies. Right now I am giving him oatmeal and fruit for breakfast every morning and then he gets a veggie for dinner. Most of his calories still come from nursing but I wanted him to get used to eating solids early on. His favorites are sweet potatoes and green peas.

He is getting so much better riding around in the car. I think he’s finally figured out that the screaming and hollering will do no good in the car 🙂 We’re always on the go with all of his big sisters.

We’ve been trying to take as many walks as possible lately. The weather has been so nice. He’s not loving the stroller yet, but it’s just another thing that will take a little while to get used to.

Another big milestone for Beckett this month is rolling over. He can roll from his back to his tummy but hasn’t figured out how to get his arm out from under him yet so he get’s mad and cries. He’s rolled over a couple of times at night and screams until I go get him.

Which leads me to the biggest Beckett news of month 5…. He’s sleeping in his own crib!!! A month ago I honestly believed that I would never sleep more than 2 hours at night again. Ok, I knew that wasn’t true but what a relief it’s been to get back on a somewhat normal schedule. We have a nice little bedtime routine going which is going up to his room (around 6:30) to put a nighttime diaper on, a leg massage with The Honest Company’s new Lavender lotion, we put on his jammies and I place him in his fleece sleep sack and then a quick nursing session in the rocking chair. Then I place him down in his crib somewhat awake. It took almost 2 weeks for him to settle himself down on his own without crying. He still gets up any where from 1-3 times a night depending on his nap situation during the day. He sleeps so well at night when he gets a good nap in. We normally go upstairs around 6:30 and I’m back down around 7:00. It’s been nice to relax and spend alone time with his sisters.

Five month photos:

I love all of these sleeping baby photos!

I have never seen a cuter baby boy!! He is the sweetest little guy. He smiles so easily these days and is constantly giggling at someone. He’ll give you a raspberry if you give him one first and his new thing this week is squealing back when one of the girls squeals at him. He’s turning into a little mimic. I’ve been trying to get him to say mama and dada but he just looks at me and smiles.

He is a little drooler and I’m changing his shirt at least once a day because of it. He always has one bright red cheek and is always chomping on either his hand or a teething toy. No teeth yet, not even swollen gums but they’re coming.

Each month gets more and more fun with this little guy. Love you, Beckett!!!

Pizza Party

Published on October 28, 2015November 1, 2015 by 7friarysLeave a comment

Lucy has been taking a cooking class after school on Wednedays. She’s made some delicious goodies over the last few weeks. Today was their last class and they threw a pizza party for all of the kids’ families. They also made lemon chip, chocolate chip and sugar cookies. The kids served their own families and even helped to clean up. This was such a fun class for her and it was such a delicious dinner for us. Good job, Lucy!!

All Five

Published on October 16, 2015October 16, 2015 by 7friarys2 Comments

We loved having Emma home all last weekend for Columbus Day. She seems to really be enjoying her sophomore year at school. She’s been working hard and figuring out what she wants to do when she graduates. She’s been busy with her sorority and even works part time. Fall is flying by and we’re already looking forward to having her home for Thanksgiving.

Megan has been keeping very busy with cheerleading 4 days a week, helping her dad with the attic project and keeping up with her studies. Her progress report was awesome this week!! She is such a hard worker and is constantly on the go.

Chloe has joined the 100 mile club again this fall but spends most of her time studying. Her progress report had all A’s and 3 A+’s. She has been such a huge help to me ever since I got home from the hospital.

Lucy started a cooking class last week after school. Her first assignment was sugar cookies and this week she made dinner rolls. They went great with the chicken parm we had for dinner that night. She also started Brownies this week. She’s been working really hard in second grade and as soon as she gets off the bus she runs up the driveway to see Beckett. I’ve been so proud of the way she’s been acting. No jealousy at all.

Beckett is already changing so much since we brought him home. He’s been doing great over night with only a couple of wake ups, which I don’t mind. I love that alone time with him when the rest of the house is asleep. The past couple of days he’s been giving me these big gummy smiles when I talk to him. He loves to be held and talked to constantly. He hates to be naked and only gets upset during diaper changes and when his belly is hungry. And boy, can this kid scream!

The best part about last weekend was having everyone under one roof. I couldn’t wait to get this following picture. I waited a very long time for it

Introducing Beckett James Friary

Published on October 12, 2015October 16, 2015 by 7friarysLeave a comment

Also known as, the seventh Friary.

This is going to be a long winded post about Beckett’s birth. I just don’t want to forget any of the details and since I keep everything else here I figured, why not?

I went to my 40 week appointment on Friday the 2nd. I had been having contractions all week and figured I’d be sent over to the hospital to deliver. After all, she told me that if I made it to 40 weeks then she would induce me. It was a pretty disappointing appointment. I hadn’t dialated anymore since the week before and I had gained over 40 pounds. She scheduled the induction for Monday the 5th. In the meantime, she told me to take some castor oil to see if that would help. Jon and I drove to Target to pick up some castor oil but they were out so we stopped at Walgreens. I came home and took the castor oil and almost immediately began to have contractions….. they died out later that afternoon.

I took a little more on Saturday afternoon but nothing happened. I woke up in the middle of the night with a few contractions but they didn’t amount to anything.

Here I am taking a belly shot at 3am Sunday.

I didn’t want to try anymore castor oil on Sunday. I knew that my induction would be here soon enough and decided to just wait it out. Jon and I dropped the girls off at CCD and quickly went apple picking. Our last official date for a while.

My parents got to our house early on Monday morning. After sending Chloe off to school we headed out to the hospital for my 9:00 induction. I was like a kid on Christmas morning. I couldn’t wait to get the IV’s in!! I couldn’t wait for them to start the pitocin! I couldn’t wait for the painful contractions to start! I couldn’t wait for my water to break! I couldn’t wait to start pushing! I’m so weird like that…..

At 9:15 they hooked up the heart monitors……

Then I sat and waited….. and stared at the walls…….

For two hours before they came in and started my Iv’s with antibiotics (Group B positive).

About an hour later they started the pitocin. I got up to use the bathroom about 45 minutes later and my water broke. YAY! But, there was miconium…. there went my excitement. I was nervous about the baby at that point but they explained to me that it wouldn’t be a big deal and that they were going to have 2 NICU doctors and 2 NICU nurses come in while I was delivering to make sure he was fine. I was contracting every 3-5 minutes but they weren’t as painful as I remember with the girls so I figured I was progressing slowly.

Around 3:30 the nurse came in to check me and I was already 6cm dialated. I was concerned that I wouldn’t be able to get my epidural in time and the nurse told me not to worry and that she would go out and order it. Turns out that the anesthesiologist was out in the hallway and he could do it right then. I wasn’t in any pain… I had maybe 5 contractions that were painful but I could deal with them. I didn’t want to miss my opportunity though so I faked the pain. HA! While he was putting the epi in he kept stopping and talking me through the contractions (that I couldn’t even feel). I felt like such a fraud. Within 10 minutes I couldn’t feel ANYTHING!! At about 5:15 the nurse came in to check me and I was ready to go. I did NOT believe her because I didn’t feel any pressure at all. I’ve done this many times and I just couldn’t be ready. She told me not to push and that she was going to get the doctor.

I was going to deliver a baby!! But first, let me take a selfie

OMG! In walks 2 NICU doctors, 2 NICU nurses, my doctor, a resident doctor and my nurse Lisa. My first thought was “these people are going to be pissed waiting for this baby to come out… it’s going to be a while” I pushed three 10 second pushes and about 3 or 4 3 second pushes and I felt him slide out. Easy as that.

Beckett James was born at 5:30pm. He weighed 8lbs 12oz and was 21 inches long. It was love at first sight

Daddy is in love too

The girls came with my parents right away. Emma was sick at school and wasn’t able to meet him until Thursday.

It’s a little blurry but look at Lucy’s face!

The sweetest little boy I ever did meet.

After two days in the hospital we were ready to take him home and start our new life together

It’s amazing how someone so little can complete a family so instantly.

Welcome to our family Beckett! You are already So loved!!

Our Weekend and a bump update….sort of

Published on September 14, 2015September 14, 2015 by 7friarys1 Comment

I complain about winter, too cold and too much snow! I complain about spring, darn allergies have me miserable 24/7 and I complain (sometimes) about summer TOO HOT!! Especially this summer. But you will NEVER hear me complain about fall. It’s the best time of the year!!!

We were all pretty excited to watch the Patriots game on Thursday

Now that I’m pregnant I will find any excuse to use frosting

YUM!

Megan had her first game on Friday night. I LOVE being able to go to these football games. I never went before she started cheering, wait that’s not true. I went once with a friend. But I never felt like it was “our” team until she started.

Lucy found this giant M&M and wanted to pretend that she was back at the M&M store in London

A doggie mugshot

Ha!

Saturday we went apple picking. Our usual spot was closed for the season so we tried some place new (Lucy’s idea)

Look at how old she’s looking lately. She’s gonna look like a grown up by the time the baby gets here

I wish this picture of Megan wasn’t so blurry but I still love it

Sweet Chloe

This picture cracks me up. Maybe it shouldn’t, maybe I should be embarrassed by how much weight I’ve gained and how big I am but I’m not. This is definitely the biggest I’ve ever been in my life but I have enjoyed food SO much this pregnancy and plan on taking off all the weight. I’m not too worried.

BAM! That’s one big lady!

We saw some sky divers while we were there

Of course Jon and I had to pose together

After a little while of apple picking my belly started to get heavy

Hahaha!

Jon worked in the attic most of the day yesterday and then made us a big pot of jambalaya.

As for the bump updates:

I didn’t feel like doing them this week or last. I have hit my 35 pound weight gain. I’m not craving anything new. I’ve been nesting or resting this week. Depends on my mood. Last night I had a few really strong contractions wake me from a deep sleep. I was crampy all morning and had tons of pressure. I thought that today could’ve been the day but it all fizzled out. I walked to my friend’s house up the road about an hour ago and contractions started again. Then fizzled out. Walking back up in a little while with Jon so we’ll see what happens. My due date is in 2 weeks but he’s measuring a little ahead so I know that it can happen at anytime. I’ve already made it further along then I did with Lucy.

Today after doing some nesting I rested with a cup of red raspberry leaf tea, i bounced on my birthing ball and watched some pretty graphic youtube videos on childbirth.

I can’t wait to meet this little guy and fill up this stroller with all that baby goodness

Dinner For Six and a College Sophmore

Published on August 30, 2015September 14, 2015 by 7friarysLeave a comment

Everyone knows how much family dinners mean to me so while typing out an email to Tracey on Thursday morning it hit me that dinner that night would be our last family dinner as a family of 6. Give me a break here, I’m pregnant and emotional about every little thing. I quickly finished my email and thought about what we were going to eat. I thought about putting “6” on everything but let’s be honest, by 6pm I was ready to throw some tacos on the table and call it a night. This pregnancy has wiped me out.

Dinner that night was typical. There were a few tired and grumpy kids who had slept out the night before. There were a few (me included) who weren’t really in the mood for tacos. There were a few arguments over stolen socks, bras and clothes. There was some laughing, some teasing and some reminiscing. In the middle of it all I heard Lucy giggle and mumble under her breath “I love this family”….. me too Lu, me too. By the time Emma comes home for a long weekend we’ll be joined by a new little member of the family. The only thing better than a dinner for 6 will be a dinner for 7.

After dinner we loaded up my SUV and Jon’s truck full of Emma’s school things. By Friday morning she was SO excited to get going. I remember dropping her off last year and how nervous we both were. This year was completely different!

She couldn’t wait to start her sophomore year. I could barely keep up with her! Not that I can walk quickly right now anyway………

We had quite the moving crew that day! I knew that I wouldn’t be able to lift or carry anything and the extra help was greatly appreciated!!

Emma is rooming with 3 close friends this year. Two of them were there when we got there so that added to the excitement!

Like I said, dropping her off was different this year. She said she felt like she was home when her and I were walking in. That made it so much easier on me!! Especially knowing that she has a great big support system there with a lot of good friends.

It was a long and tiring day!! This one needed a lift back downstairs 🙂

She sent me a few pictures of her room all set up a couple of hours after I left. She settled right in. Right before I fell asleep that night my phone rang and it was Emma. It was great to hear how relaxed and happy she was. Makes it so much easier for me to relax this time around.