Theme Thursday: Halloween

Joining Cari, for this must have edition! And while I did not make it scary, it was fun, warm and very sweet! I apologize for the quality of the pictures. The kids did not want to be still; and I needed that for the nightly photos:(

 

The Dragon

 

 

Pokémon theme: Kiki as a Misty and her friend - Pikachu

 

 

The fire truck!

 

 

All the trick and treat - ers:)

 

So much for today; happy, funny, different. And all of it with too much candy. I hope for no tummy aches tomorrow; but tomorrow is All Saints day and I need to really think hard how to change Misty, the Dragon and the fire truck into saintly people.

 

Don't sneak the candy at night,

Kinga:)

Wordless Wednesday

 

 

 

 

Kinga:)



 

Party???

 

Sitting.

 

Sitting and listening.

 



 

Sitting, listening and looking around.

 

 

Getting a ...leaf?

 

 

What to do...

 

 

...with a leaf?

 

 

Standing up and dancing?!

 

 

 Coloring.

 



 

Still coloring!

 



We have visited three libraries today; me and Kubus.
They provide so much entertainment for my kids and me, not to count the books, that I would be lost, and very lonely without those fine facilities.

Two of them we just visited for the usual purpose of returning and checking new books and movies; but in one there was a story time. And not just any story time, it was time for Halloween party!

I dressed Kubus as a very simple, red firefighter. His fire truck costume is not ready yet, so I had to improvise. After all you can't go to the Halloween party without a costume:)

When we got to the library, first he was surprised to see kids and babies dressed up in a variety of costumes, starting as bees, going through fishes, bears, princesses and finishing with little devils; not my favorite. There was also one that I quite could not figure out what it was supposed to be. I'll bet the mother knew, but I preferred not to ask. 

After scanning the surroundings, Kubus sat down happily and just listened to the stories and songs. He only got up to stamp the feet after he realized that it is difficult to do it sitting down.
At the end he got a leaf to throw, which he did not, but closely held it until it was time to give it back.

Then it was the coloring part. I must say he is getting better, he actually tries to color. Few months ago he was not interested at all. In general my kids hate are not fond of coloring, but they like to draw a lot, and quite well:)

And then I came to realization that Kubus is not a party animal. He did not want to stay for more fun and snacks; he headed for the bookshelves in search for the truck books. Even though we read majority of the truck theme books already, it is still fine with him. And he prefers that to a party.
I see a lot of his father's genes in him. And I am happy with that!

Kinga:)

7 Quick Takes

 

1. 

 I did not make to Cari's  Theme Thursday yesterday; I could not find "W". The good thing is that she is hosting 7 Quick Takes, and I can hop over to her site in the neighboring state of Connecticut:)

 

2.

I have to say that last evening was the craziest of the school nights so far.

Hubby came home at 5:30pm. He quickly ate one plateful of delicious soup that I was cooking in hopes of joining The Nourishing Gourmet  link up.

( I will do that later ). He then took Zuzia for a swim practice at 6pm. Meantime I took the baby, and Kateri for her social event at scary acres. Yes, she was already scared in the prospect of haunting during hayride and maze in the darkness, yet she did not want to miss it for the world. I told her not to call home. Daddy is going to pick her up at 8pm.

I went home just to feed the baby and myself dinner. Hubby came to pick baby up and head back to Zuzia. I finished making the cinnamon bread ready, ( requested by Zuzia ) and finished laundry plus changed the sheets. After this "work out" I headed to the choir rehearsal, where not counting the choir director, all of the rest of the people could be my grandmothers. And I am middle age woman:)

But I love singing and doing it for the Lord makes it more meaningful and special!

Going back to the evening...Andrzej came home, gave Zuzia dinner, and headed back with the kiddoes to pick terrified Kiki. The event lasted until 8:30pm, just as long as mine. When I came home they were getting ready for bed.

I collapsed on the living room sofa and was hoping to spend the night there. Did not want to move!

I ended back in my comfy bed anyway:)

The craziness lasted 2,5 hours.

I am not going anywhere tonight. Even if somebody offered  free babysitting!

 

3.

 Kubus. Finally. Falls. Asleep. By. Himself.!!! It took only three years...

 

4.

I think I will join the Nourishing Gourmet  now.

The soup I wanted to share, is weather and season appropriate "Southwestern Chicken Soup with Pumpkin ". While it is not my original recipe, it is delicious and warming and just makes you want to eat a couple of platefuls; and I am too lazy to type it, so I took a picture:)

 

The start:

 

 

 The middle:

 

 

 The result!

 

 

5.

On the subject of food; I have discovered this yummy snack:

 

 

While others devour the hot, delicious cinnamon bread that takes a couple of hours for me to make, I am "Kind" to myself. This bar is gmo and gluten free, I am allergic to the latter; while it does not make me seriously sick, it makes me tried and foggy most of the time.

 

6.

Speaking of the feeling sick. On Wednesday I went thought another test that is a part of process of elimination serious illnesses.

To find out if there is something wrong with my inner ear ( the dizzy spells ), I was strapped to a chair and spun for 3*3minutes and 2*45 seconds. So, to diagnose to reason for my dizziness   I was made extra dizzy.  After 30 seconds of this test I was ready to quit, ( I suffer from motion sickness! ) I felt a panic attack coming. Somehow I got myself together and suffered went through it all. And in the end my inner ear is fine. In 60%. There is still 40% chance that there is something wrong with it. I am being encouraged to take another test. Well, as long as I am not being spun...And let's just say that I do not feel like visiting amusement parks any time soon!

 

7. 

 I couldn't stop myself from joining {this moment} at Amanda's. While I won't leave it wordless, nevertheless it was the moment that I wanted to capture:)

 

 

Another "Bajer" that eats and reads at the same time! Those genes...:)

 

Kinga:)

Yarn along and other things

 

 



 

 

It seemed today like a first day of Fall. Rather chilly, and cloudy and damp, but that's OK, since it made it more cozy to stay home and work on few lingering projects.

 

Wednesdays are good for the "tea less tea time".

Weather was perfect for hot homemade cocoa, banana muffins and ten minutes of classical music in the background. I don't ask for much, I try to make the best out of the little time that I have with my children. The older they are, the less time they want for the togetherness:(

 

I have finally knitted something that can join one of my favorite links.
Actually I find it quite difficult to knit during warm months; now it seems like the perfect time!
A couple of weeks ago I have bought for myself a couple of wool skeins. Nothing expensive and sophisticated but nevertheless natural fiber. I could not resist the burned orange, even though I was considering light brown. Orange it is:)
I am working on a vest. Pattern is rather elaborate, so I have decided to use it only in the front. I do want to wear it this winter and knitting this pattern takes time. I have to say the knitting is very therapeutic for me.

As for reading, I am reading few spiritual books for myself and a lot of truck books to others:)

I have to also go back to a night routine of reading to my girls. I am still on "Teutonic Knights" with Kiki and The Narnia series with Zuzia.

I have to say that I am quietly hoping that the changes for better are becoming real.
I still have panic attacks at night and I do get tired and dizzy; I get headaches and my brain gets foggy. But I have also noticed a surge of energy and a will to do things.

I have learned that changes take time, and that I have to be patient.
Yes I still get discouraged but somehow I get up and go on.

I know it did not happened on its own
I think the prayers of my family and close friends are with me, and only through God's overwhelming grace I can see the light in the end of the tunnel, for which I am profoundly grateful!

I hope to visit "My daily bread" as often as I used to and keep recording the simple pleasures of my family's everyday life!

Kinga:)

Headache

Zuzia caught me checking my favorite blogs: "Mom, are working on your post?"
"No, Zuzia, I have a headache"...sigh.

Will that be my excuse now?

 



And today was another glorious day. Still warm, and sunny and full of reds, yellows, oranges and browns!

It was also Memorial of Blessed John Paul II. I should have made "kremowki". "Our" pope favorite dessert.
Another day, another year.

Signing off,

Kinga:(

Turning three!





My sweet little boy turned three yesterday.



First I was planning to have friends over but then I decided to let it pass. Maybe next year will be better for hosting birthday parties!

We had small family celebration and that's what really Kubus needed. He wanted to eat a "truck cake" and get a big fire engine as a present. I have to say that his wishes were fulfilled:)

My boy is growing up. I can't believe how fast those three years went by. The sad part is that we still call him a baby, but he is not such one anymore:(
It is also true that with every child the time passes faster, and that is really scary.

I have to say that I never would dream that one of my children will be this calm, and sweet and easy going. He is playful and yet very polite. When adults talk to him he listens attentively and either nods his head or says "yesh". He loves trucks, books and story time in the library. He is my great companion for neighborhood walks, and a shopping buddy. He rarely throws a tantrum, and he is awesome during family vacations. Ride in the car with him is a bliss; so may trucks on the road!
Could I just dream that he will stay like this forever?

I know he will change. I know he will start demanding things and talking back. I know he won't be always giving me his sweet hugs and kisses. And that's why for now I will enjoy the time spent with him. These are very happy moments indeed!

Happy Birthday Kubus, I love you dearly !

Kinga:)

 



7 Quick Takes

 

1.

After reading the 7quick takes edition on various blogs for the past 2 years I decided to join it . At least for now. Because I like Jennifer and she lives in one of my favorite cities, Austin:)

 

2.

Jennifer, if ever read my post, which I doubt, I would like to ask where you live in Austin. I promise I am not a stalker. We might end up living there again, and I would like to stay away from all of the scorpions and centipedes that you write about!
 

3.

Another thing that I would like to ask you is about the wonderful parish that you write about. I am still looking for something special. I can't find it in RI:(

 

4.

Moving forward to other subjects. My little boy turned 3 today. It should have been the number 1, but I think he deserves a post of his own:)

 

 

5.

The Matt Walsh blog. I started reading it a couple of weeks ago. I still can't believe that I have just discovered him recently. I got to say I love every. single. post. of. his! But the one about children, struck close to my family and my heart. Really.

 

6.

After enjoying the closeness of Trader Joe's for the past five years, I had just discover this...

 

 

...heavenly!!!

 

7.

Last but not least, my fresh new YMCA card. Yes I joined it and so far I am using it everyday. My muscles hurt, but this a kind of pain that I can deal with. The other things that bother me are hard to deal with.

 

 

Until next time,

 

Kinga:)



{pretty, happy, funny, real} in orange

Our annual Columbus weekend getaway... happened last weekend. Coincidence?:)
The girls had Monday off, and Andrzej took one day of vacation. I have to say that recently we are very lucky when it comes to the weather. It does not rain!
We decided like last year, to start with Fall festival at the Sunapee Mountain and spend the second day in Vermont, before heading to Wachusett Mountain "swap and sell" event. Kiki needed new ski boots. Now she just needs a good attitude, because that's what she is lacking when it comes to family trips...sigh.

 

{pretty}

 

 

I took pictures of those glorious colors while being driven by a tractor; commonly know as a hayride:)

Aren't those splendid?! Here comes the orange, for Thursday Theme with Cari! It made me pretty happy to see this theme. My favorite color is orange:)

 

{happy}

 





The Sunapee Fall festival had plenty of activities for everybody. I was happy to participate in potato on the spoon race. I promise, that did not lose it until after I crossed the finish line.

Kubus definitely enjoyed the hayride and a digger really made this little boy extra happy!

 

 

For those who will appreciate my sense of humor...don't the pigs heads look happy too? The pulled pork was delicious!!!

 

{funny}

 

 

I think the most fun my kids had was while eating the donuts off the string. They like it so much, that they wanted to participate few more times!!! No, we did not allowed them:) There were plenty of other contestants. Kiki tied for the first place. She has no trouble eating sweets. If that was an apple, that would be completely different story!

 

{real}

 

 

On Monday we went for very short, but real-ly pleasant hike to Gile Mountain. The main attraction of this place was the fact that on top of the mountain there was a fire tower. The tower stairs were tall and real-ly steep, and I think I got more tired just climbing that tower than the rest of the mountain! The views were awesome; we could see the White Mountains in the East, Ascutney in the South and Killington in the West. I can only imagine how real-ly fantastic they look during cloudless weather.

 

Then we headed toward home with few more short stops, and a couple of loud tantrums:( yes, they are a part of every of our trip. It makes me sad and wonder if it is all worth while. But then I look back at the pictures and realize that maybe it was. There are smiles that are real, so as I join Like Mother, Like Daughter in capturing the context of contentment of everyday life, I get to hope that I will only remember the good times!

 

Kinga:)