Around Here Week 20: 05/16-22

 A glimpse into what it is like to live in our home during this very big, special, happy week. 

Intentional Outdoor Hours:  106+ hours (of 1000)
My first 100 hours (finally!), I am grateful to have reached the milestone! I am already finding that with the back porch roof, I am earning more hours in the summer because there is a spot for shade - thank goodness! It was an absolutely beautiful weather week and it has us all aching for summer and swimming. It was so warm and sunny that Brandon and Gem pulled out a (ripped) canopy we've had stored in the garage since when we lived in Erie (!) and rigged it up in the pasture to give the goats some shade - they love it! 

Reading and finishing Station Eleven by Emily St. John Mandel. It had such polar views; either people loved it or really hated it and I'm part of the 'Loved it!' side. It was a story sort of like the movie Life Itself or how This Is Us (the show) is written. Flashing between various time periods to see how all things are connected somehow. It is winding and interesting but if you aren't a big time reader, you'd get lost in all that flip flopping and description. But I loved it a lot and was a little sad for it to end (it does wrap up kind of quick at the end). Also still reading Sing Unburied Sing by Jesmyn Ward. 

Wrapping up the stomach bug plague at Studer HQ. Gemma was the last to get hit with it and she was home for Monday and Tuesday while she puked, fevered, and slept her way through it. She mostly slept, but we got a few good chick flicks in and she was happy to help me grade too which was much appreciated. 

Transplanting half of the seedbabies to the garden! Fingers crossed! 

Releasing our Painted Lady butterflies into the wild. 

Enjoying a mini last-night-as-a-family-of-7 celebration at Silver Bell with Miss Nell and her family who all came to cheer Violet on at her soccer game and then treated us to ice cream after. Miss Nell was Violet and Rusty's preschool teacher and she is so beloved by us. What a perfect sunny, yummy evening as we closed out this chapter of just five kiddos. (thank you!)

Coordinating plans for our hospital stay and thankful for my mum who had her day off on standby at work for whichever day this baby was going to join us- which happened to be induction day all along! Mum stayed with the little boys all day on Wednesday tidying up and obsessively texting Brandon to check in on her own baby (me!) thank you mumma, love you.

HAVING OUR SIXTH BABY. Olive Irene arrived after a very long day of induction at 7:32p at 8lbs 5oz and 19inches. I knew her as soon as I saw her - those Studerbaby genes are strong and she looks just like every other baby in our family has looked as a newborn, hah. She is lovely and squishy and perfect. We all just adore her. 

Relaxing in the hospital for two days soaking in the very last quiet time with just a newborn. Such a strange suspended time those first days after having a baby. Nothing quite seems like it's moving at regular speed. It is something that I do cherish when I think back on the birth of each of our kids. That weird, delightful suspension between kissing all their brand new from heaven soft cheeks and not really digging into the raising up in your own house yet. What an odd, unique, and special few days it always is for us. 

So very grateful for Miss Hannah who flew in like Mary Poppins to hold down the house for Wednesday night. She arrived for the big kids to get off the bus with take out pizza in hands. She slept over that night and did all the bedtime duties (tucking kids in on a school night! AND tucking in goats, chickens, dogs, and guinea pigs!) Then pulled morning bus/daycare duty - making sure all three big kids were on the bus for school and the two little boys were at daycare with lunchboxes to boot! This is also while fielding 300 questions about the baby sister from the kids, answering video calls from me at the hospital so the kids could see their baby sister, and comforting Red and Rust who were worried and heartbroken that neither mom or dad were at home. Miss Hannah, you cannot even imagine how grateful I am for you. Not only because you kept this house together while we were in the hospital, but also because you love our kids so well. We are so so blessed by you. 

Smiling all the way to my soul to see everyone's reactions to our newest Studerbaby. The kids couldn't come into the hospital due to covid regulations about visitor ages - but my Mum helped them make signs to hold up outside of our hospital room so that Olive and I could wave to them from the window. My dad brought along the binoculars for them too and they were all thrilled to get a peek at her. Brandon's parents, my parents, my sisters, and Miss Hannah all stopped by to visit Olive in the hospital and they lit up with joy at the sight of our sweet new girl. Plus we had visits from our nurses and doctors that were family and friends like Kara Pisczek and my cousin/midwife Meg. 

Introducing Olive to her siblings. It was magic as bringing home a new baby always is. 

Checking the boxes on some of the end of school year traditions for the big kids. Grey and Gem had their spring concerts (thanks for going in my place Abba and Kitty!) and Violet had her last homework packet of the year! Only two more weeks of school for the big kids and then it's a wide open, no bummer, no bedtime, outside summer! The countdown is on!

Finishing daycare/preschool for Red and Rusty this week. Those two cannonballs will be starting their summer a little early at home with me and their new baby sister! They are thrilled and I am too! 

Loving the fresh new cuts on most of my family (B, Grey, Vi, and Rust) thanks to Lamont at Ambitious Cuts who always does an incredible job. 

Getting new chickies! HON.EST.LY. Please imagine my face as Brandon gets home from Tractor Supply with Gem, Vi, and Rust and 3 BOXES of new chickies on Saturday. Hahhaa, we've been discussing his vasectomy plans and apparently it's sending him into a "must get all the babies" vibes. So, now we have 12 new baby chickies to add to the roost. 

Sporting with a tournament team soccer practice for Gem and a regular soccer game. Violet had one soccer game and Rusty had a whole week off of soccer because the other team had to reschedule. Grey had two baseball games with his CT team (thank you to the Conn family who took Grey to and from the game on Wednesday night! and to the Shubert family who covered our concession stand duty that night!). Grey got called up to the Laurel Highlands team on Saturday. 

Teaching not actually in school, but still emailing and grading and answering questions because I'm very very very bad at boundaries. Can't fight it, just embrace it. 

Prom Week! I pulled out the tablecloths that we ordered for last year's cancelled prom from the garage and made sure they were all good to go. Placed a final order for more plates (oops!) and confirmed with the kids at school that all of our decor had arrived and was ready to go! I finalized the guest count to confirm with the hall and the venue and by Friday it was go time for decorating! So very very grateful to my friends and coworkers Brenna and Renee who held everything together for me at school while I was out and to my Prom Committee juniors who were amazing and made sure everything was going to be perfect! And on Saturday night, I pulled on a sundress and dropped in to prom for about a half hour to see all my kids dressed up and the hall decorated and felt so much relief that it looked great and the kids were happy. One of my students said, "I'm not surprised to see you here even though you just had a baby, Señora - you always say you'll be there for all your kids and I know that means us too." Yep, a teacher's heart is not so different than a mother's heart.

Making frozen pizzas and enjoying ham pot pie leftovers from my parents. Then it was baby go-time and Miss Hannah delivered Big Daddy's from Fox's Pizza and then we enjoyed Chicken Alfredo pasta that Heather delivered to us. Heather and Caleb also dropped off two other meals (!) and goodies from the Farmer's Market while getting in a little snuggle with Olive. (Thank you so much Rummells!!)