Thursday, March 13, 2008
Will there ever...
be a night where I'm not awakened by the feeling of a wet bed? Yes it's 3:30 a.m. Yes, someone wet my bed and needed a change of PJs. At least that someone was less than 6 months old, but the night before it wasn't that someone. Now I understand why my friend with 10 siblings said her parents spent ~25 years in a wet bed, LOL :)
Tuesday, March 11, 2008
Contest with myself
How many books can I read at once?
The Vaccine Book by Dr. Sears
The Legion of Christ--A History
Real Learning by Elizabeth Foss
The Legacy of John Paul II by Ratzinger
Swimming with Scapulars
and those I haven't started yet:
Left to Tell by Immaculee Ilibagiza
Confessions of an Organized Housewife
The Vaccine Book by Dr. Sears
The Legion of Christ--A History
Real Learning by Elizabeth Foss
The Legacy of John Paul II by Ratzinger
Swimming with Scapulars
and those I haven't started yet:
Left to Tell by Immaculee Ilibagiza
Confessions of an Organized Housewife
Monday, March 10, 2008
Saturday, March 08, 2008
FOUND
Finally. Thank you, Lord. An affordable, used but new condition, sofa set! Yay! Now what to do about the wall color and coffee/side tables to go in here...
Friday, March 07, 2008
Rodeo pics
Our little cowboy ready for the big night!
Forgot my camera, so Steven's blackberry had to do! Here we are watching the rodeo events...
The kids and I by the tractors
And a fun Friday morning pic playing with baby brother!
Have a fabulous Friday! We're off to First Friday classes...
Forgot my camera, so Steven's blackberry had to do! Here we are watching the rodeo events...
The kids and I by the tractors
And a fun Friday morning pic playing with baby brother!
Have a fabulous Friday! We're off to First Friday classes...
Wednesday, March 05, 2008
RODEO here we come!
Steven got Rodeo tickets from work so we'll be heading across town tonight! Hope the baby does well, please God! This afternoon we were privileged to have an amazing Catholic singer/songwriter named Michael John Poirier sing for our homeschool group at the park. He told lots of beautiful stories and sang some wonderful songs. What a gift!
Organization update: I did order Confessions of an Organized Housewife for a penny (and $4 shipping), thanks to the recommendation! We'll see if it helps. I'll try to write a review soon :) I have yet to really get busy with my new planner, but I hope to sit down and work on that over the next week. The laundry method is still working well. I can't believe how much this is helping. I felt like I did a load a day before but I'm sure I skipped a few days each week, and the backup then gets worse and worse. No skipping days!!! Yesterday we cleaned the playroom. Today was supposed to be the schoolroom and the bookshelves but daily mass, the park concert, and the Rodeo have kept us busy! I don't think we've eaten out since the furniture auction Sunday, although Steven probably has because I've only made his lunch once this week so far. Speaking of furniture, we are getting really worn out with this leather sofa search. But I'm convinced that it will be the right material for our family (after reading a blog today about someone's sons peeing twice on their new couch), and I know the right set is out there somewhere...just finding it is the hard part. It's now been about 2 months of searching...please Lord, I know it's just furniture and totally silly in the grand scheme of things, but my visual tendencies are really messed up in our living room and I'd so love to get this checked off the list! Soon, hopefully!
Another new plan for me is Wednesday morning daily mass. I hope to make a morning mass once a week with the kids, and today was our first in a long while! It was great to see some other homeschooling families, and was easier since we're usually up by 7:30 these days. We have yet to do any schoolwork, but at least the house is somewhat clean! Steven also went into the attic to get the 6-9 month boy clothes last night!!! Yep, that's our big boy! Really it's just the bigger onesies that we need, but I really am amazed at how quick they grow!
Okay, better get dinner in the oven before we head off to the Rodeo. Hopefully I'll have some Rodeo pics up tomorrow. Have a good evening everyone!
Organization update: I did order Confessions of an Organized Housewife for a penny (and $4 shipping), thanks to the recommendation! We'll see if it helps. I'll try to write a review soon :) I have yet to really get busy with my new planner, but I hope to sit down and work on that over the next week. The laundry method is still working well. I can't believe how much this is helping. I felt like I did a load a day before but I'm sure I skipped a few days each week, and the backup then gets worse and worse. No skipping days!!! Yesterday we cleaned the playroom. Today was supposed to be the schoolroom and the bookshelves but daily mass, the park concert, and the Rodeo have kept us busy! I don't think we've eaten out since the furniture auction Sunday, although Steven probably has because I've only made his lunch once this week so far. Speaking of furniture, we are getting really worn out with this leather sofa search. But I'm convinced that it will be the right material for our family (after reading a blog today about someone's sons peeing twice on their new couch), and I know the right set is out there somewhere...just finding it is the hard part. It's now been about 2 months of searching...please Lord, I know it's just furniture and totally silly in the grand scheme of things, but my visual tendencies are really messed up in our living room and I'd so love to get this checked off the list! Soon, hopefully!
Another new plan for me is Wednesday morning daily mass. I hope to make a morning mass once a week with the kids, and today was our first in a long while! It was great to see some other homeschooling families, and was easier since we're usually up by 7:30 these days. We have yet to do any schoolwork, but at least the house is somewhat clean! Steven also went into the attic to get the 6-9 month boy clothes last night!!! Yep, that's our big boy! Really it's just the bigger onesies that we need, but I really am amazed at how quick they grow!
Okay, better get dinner in the oven before we head off to the Rodeo. Hopefully I'll have some Rodeo pics up tomorrow. Have a good evening everyone!
Monday, March 03, 2008
Family Resemblance
I've really been noticing how much Steven Joseph looks like the girls did at this age. Here are 3 pictures of all of them at about 8-9 weeks.
Mary Clare at 8 weeks
Ellie at 9 weeks
SJ at 9 weeks
Mary Clare at 8 weeks
Ellie at 9 weeks
SJ at 9 weeks
Weekend Weview :)
I'm glad I'm not the only one concerned about being that close to alligators!
On Saturday Steven and the girls started our first vegetable garden! We still have to clean out the garden area so we started with little planters.
Watering
Planting the seeds. The radishes sprouted the next day!
You can see here what a beautiful weekend it was, perfect for a bike ride (Yes, she did have a helmet on when she left the driveway)! Mid-70s and sunny for the most part. Today we're back to dreary weather with the temperature dropping by the minute!
Saturday night was a fun FAMILIA Family Dance at church!
My two cute dates in their plaid shirts :)
And my chub-man this afternoon!
We went to a furniture auction on Sunday, still on the lookout for a nice brown leather sofa set for our living room at a price we can afford. No sets to be found at the auction, but it was fun watching! I'm hoping March will be the magic month for a good furniture find. This week is First Friday, so I've got to start working on a lesson plan for the homeschool preschool group. We'll be talking about St. Joseph the worker!
The organization around here was a bit lost over the long weekend (since we had a family day on Friday), so I'm trying to get back on track today. I've got my new cool Catholic Women's Planner and need to start using it. The best thing about the past week though is the improvement on the laundry, my hardest chore! Doing one un-sorted load of everything each morning REALLY helps me stay on top of it. No more huge sorted piles of dirty clothes, and baskets with mountains of clean clothes messing up our bedroom. Thanks for this idea, Veronica! Now I really need to do some clothes-sorting. I'm really wishing I could cut down and be like Kristen in her minimalist lifestyle. Then this household organization thing would really be easy! Baby steps...
Hope you all have a wonderful week!!!
On Saturday Steven and the girls started our first vegetable garden! We still have to clean out the garden area so we started with little planters.
Watering
Planting the seeds. The radishes sprouted the next day!
You can see here what a beautiful weekend it was, perfect for a bike ride (Yes, she did have a helmet on when she left the driveway)! Mid-70s and sunny for the most part. Today we're back to dreary weather with the temperature dropping by the minute!
Saturday night was a fun FAMILIA Family Dance at church!
My two cute dates in their plaid shirts :)
And my chub-man this afternoon!
We went to a furniture auction on Sunday, still on the lookout for a nice brown leather sofa set for our living room at a price we can afford. No sets to be found at the auction, but it was fun watching! I'm hoping March will be the magic month for a good furniture find. This week is First Friday, so I've got to start working on a lesson plan for the homeschool preschool group. We'll be talking about St. Joseph the worker!
The organization around here was a bit lost over the long weekend (since we had a family day on Friday), so I'm trying to get back on track today. I've got my new cool Catholic Women's Planner and need to start using it. The best thing about the past week though is the improvement on the laundry, my hardest chore! Doing one un-sorted load of everything each morning REALLY helps me stay on top of it. No more huge sorted piles of dirty clothes, and baskets with mountains of clean clothes messing up our bedroom. Thanks for this idea, Veronica! Now I really need to do some clothes-sorting. I'm really wishing I could cut down and be like Kristen in her minimalist lifestyle. Then this household organization thing would really be easy! Baby steps...
Hope you all have a wonderful week!!!
Friday, February 29, 2008
Our Alligator Adventure!
Today we went on a State Park adventure with Bop-Bop (Steven's dad)! Here it is in pictures:
Snacking before our hike (This is unfortunately the only picture with Bop-Bop in it, in the background. How did he keep avoiding my camera?)
How baby spent the afternoon
The first alligator sighting (the girls and I only saw him from a distance)
Some father/daughter moments
Next alligator sighting...this was the path we were walking down. Look how close he is! We walked as far away as we could and he didn't move. The girls were terrified!
Steven gets a close-up of this guy
We make it to the observatory (or the "playhouse" as Ellie called it!)
Looking out over the park. SJ is asleep in there!
Yes, those 3 brown spots along the water are ALL ALLIGATORS! We had to walk by all 3 of them. This was the one time Steven asked for Mary Clare's walking stick and apparently had a plan to use if he needed to, one that included poking alligator eyes!
Deep breath...we made it!
MC in a tree
Sliding Stevens
Baby's First Park Swing!
What a day!
Snacking before our hike (This is unfortunately the only picture with Bop-Bop in it, in the background. How did he keep avoiding my camera?)
How baby spent the afternoon
The first alligator sighting (the girls and I only saw him from a distance)
Some father/daughter moments
Next alligator sighting...this was the path we were walking down. Look how close he is! We walked as far away as we could and he didn't move. The girls were terrified!
Steven gets a close-up of this guy
We make it to the observatory (or the "playhouse" as Ellie called it!)
Looking out over the park. SJ is asleep in there!
Yes, those 3 brown spots along the water are ALL ALLIGATORS! We had to walk by all 3 of them. This was the one time Steven asked for Mary Clare's walking stick and apparently had a plan to use if he needed to, one that included poking alligator eyes!
Deep breath...we made it!
MC in a tree
Sliding Stevens
Baby's First Park Swing!
What a day!
Happy Leap Year!
Steven is taking the day off (when he gets back from a quick visit to his office with Mary Clare), so we can have a fun family day! We're not sure yet where we're going, but I'll be sure to take some pictures! Hope you all enjoy this day that *doesn't* come once a year!
Note: Anyone who has been trying to call my cell phone: it's been broken for about 2 weeks now but hopefully I'll get a new one today!
Note: Anyone who has been trying to call my cell phone: it's been broken for about 2 weeks now but hopefully I'll get a new one today!
Tuesday, February 26, 2008
Mission Organization Update
Days 1 and 2 are going well so far! I feel like I'm getting a handle on the laundry and keeping the house clean. I can't wait to get my planner, I'm very anxious to start putting things on a real calendar (I've kept all appointments and meetings in my post-partum brain so far this year; thankfully I haven't missed anything important!). I'd also like a place to keep a running to-do list and grocery list. I have some other new goals and ideas for myself below and here's how I've done on the schedule so far:
6am Wake up with Steven to make his lunch. Allow myself to “rebag” (during this transition at least)
Mon-Yes, Tues-No
7:30am Morning prayers and meditation
Sort of
8am Morning chores w/ girls: get dressed, brush teeth, make beds, put in laundry, unload dishwasher if needed
Yes to all but dishwasher today
8:30am breakfast
Yes, except me (I'm not a breakfast person)
9am schooltime: lessons w/ Mary Clare, reading to Ellie, etc
Mon-No, Tues-Yes
10am playtime for kids, breaktime for mommy
Of course :)
11:30am start preparing lunch
Mon-Yes, Tues-late
12noon Angelus and lunch
Yes
12:30pm Chores: laundry, tidying
Yes
1pm REST
N/A to the rest here...yesterday we went to the park and had make-up dance class, today we have dance, yesterday we had leftovers and today we'll eat w/ my parents
3pm Play with kids
4pm Dinner prep
5pm House clean up
6-7pm (when Steven gets home) Dinner
7:30pm kitchen cleanup
8pm baths and pjs
8:30pm books and bed
Kids in bed by 9pm, me in bed by 11pm
Yes to this so far!
Other things to work on:
~Laundry-(Veronica's method) Put a load in each morning, don't worry about sorting. Hopefully this will help keep me down to ~1 load a day, besides diapers every few days
~Kitchen-clean and sweep each night, wipe down table after all meals, swiffer wetjet once a week
~Bathrooms-clean kids' bathroom when bathing them, master bath once a week
~Dishes-run each night, unload each morning
~Kids-dress before breakfast and brush teeth in morning (we always forget this), they help with a few chores in morning and afternoon
~Internet-remember how easy it is to get sucked in! Quick early morning check after making Steven's lunch. Then no internet until 10am, after prayers, breakfast, and chores!
~Night routines for kids-bathe and PJs by 8:30, then books and going to bed in their bed! Ours is getting too crowded with 5 people!
And some pictures from our park outing yesterday (and the Moby is perfect for the park!):
6am Wake up with Steven to make his lunch. Allow myself to “rebag” (during this transition at least)
Mon-Yes, Tues-No
7:30am Morning prayers and meditation
Sort of
8am Morning chores w/ girls: get dressed, brush teeth, make beds, put in laundry, unload dishwasher if needed
Yes to all but dishwasher today
8:30am breakfast
Yes, except me (I'm not a breakfast person)
9am schooltime: lessons w/ Mary Clare, reading to Ellie, etc
Mon-No, Tues-Yes
10am playtime for kids, breaktime for mommy
Of course :)
11:30am start preparing lunch
Mon-Yes, Tues-late
12noon Angelus and lunch
Yes
12:30pm Chores: laundry, tidying
Yes
1pm REST
N/A to the rest here...yesterday we went to the park and had make-up dance class, today we have dance, yesterday we had leftovers and today we'll eat w/ my parents
3pm Play with kids
4pm Dinner prep
5pm House clean up
6-7pm (when Steven gets home) Dinner
7:30pm kitchen cleanup
8pm baths and pjs
8:30pm books and bed
Kids in bed by 9pm, me in bed by 11pm
Yes to this so far!
Other things to work on:
~Laundry-(Veronica's method) Put a load in each morning, don't worry about sorting. Hopefully this will help keep me down to ~1 load a day, besides diapers every few days
~Kitchen-clean and sweep each night, wipe down table after all meals, swiffer wetjet once a week
~Bathrooms-clean kids' bathroom when bathing them, master bath once a week
~Dishes-run each night, unload each morning
~Kids-dress before breakfast and brush teeth in morning (we always forget this), they help with a few chores in morning and afternoon
~Internet-remember how easy it is to get sucked in! Quick early morning check after making Steven's lunch. Then no internet until 10am, after prayers, breakfast, and chores!
~Night routines for kids-bathe and PJs by 8:30, then books and going to bed in their bed! Ours is getting too crowded with 5 people!
And some pictures from our park outing yesterday (and the Moby is perfect for the park!):
Monday, February 25, 2008
Big Boy!
Look at him sporting his 6-9 month shirt (thanks to the B family for the shirt and blanket)! He was ~14 lbs at the doctor last week. A big growing boy!
Sunday, February 24, 2008
Organization
It's the name of the game for me these next few months! Organizing and scheduling are NOT my strong points. I love having no schedule, waking and sleeping as I please, and spending my days doing whatever I fancy. Sometimes we wake up at 7am, sometimes 10am. Some days we do homeschooling work at 9am, sometimes 9pm, sometimes not at all. Sometimes lunch is at 11am, sometimes 3pm. Some days I wash the laundry, but rarely do I fold it so that it tends to pile up in baskets until I can no longer handle the mountainous sight. I clean like a mad woman when guests are coming over. Some nights I go to bed with my family around 9pm, and other nights like tonight I’m up at midnight with my own bowl of popcorn. It’s a wonderful life!
But as much as I seem to “love” the lack of structure, I feel like a lazy mom most of the time. And I know for the kids’ sake, some routine is needed. And for the husband too, who I’m sure would love to stop eating fast food lunches if I could only drag myself out of bed with him in the morning…and maybe even have the dinner planned before he gets home at 7pm. We would all feel better with a clean house. And now that the baby is 2 months old, we seem to finally have gotten rid of the evil flu bug, I’m actually having my final OB checkup tomorrow, and I’ve had a nice reflection on my faults with my spiritual director last week…I know it is now time for me to figure this out. I also read a wonderful post on a blog I've been enjoying, These Thy Gifts, which discussed the importance of organization and routines starting now when the kids are preschool age.
I know there is no way I can effectively homeschool Mary Clare with this kind of structure-less lifestyle. But it will not be easy for me. It does not come naturally, and I’m the type of person who gets lofty ideas only to ditch them a few weeks later. So you guys are now my accountability factor (along with my real-life friends and spiritual director), and this is in the mail:
I’ve heard good things about this Catholic Women’s Daily Planner from Family-Centered Press, and it even has extra sections for meal planning and lesson plans! I really hope it can help me implement some of my goals. I’m going to write out my rough schedule plan below to help me figure out how to start some routines in a natural way.
6am Wake up with Steven to make his lunch. Allow myself to “rebag” (during this transition at least)
7:30am Morning prayers and meditation
8am Morning chores w/ girls: get dressed, brush teeth, make beds, put in laundry, unload dishwasher if needed
8:30am breakfast
9am schooltime: lessons w/ Mary Clare, reading to Ellie, etc
10am playtime for kids, breaktime for mommy
11:30am start preparing lunch
12noon Angelus and lunch
12:30pm Chores: laundry, tidying
1pm REST
3pm Play with kids
4pm Dinner prep
5pm House clean up
6-7pm (when Steven gets home) Dinner
7:30pm kitchen cleanup
8pm baths and pjs
8:30pm books and bed
Kids in bed by 9pm, me in bed by 11pm
I’m sure this will require some tweaking and will not be an exact science, especially with a small nursing baby. I’m sure it will also take a long while for me to get committed to this. With our busy schedule including lots of activities, I will have to learn how to adjust it when we have a morning out. But hopefully it will be a good starting point for me. We’ll see how this week goes.
(That was written last night when we had no internet connection to post--yay for free wireless in our neighborhood--but the connection is not the best. So far so good this Monday morning. House is fairly clean, I've had my last OB appointment, and Mary Clare was even asking if we can make a list of chores for her. Hopefully the rest of the week goes smoothly!)
But as much as I seem to “love” the lack of structure, I feel like a lazy mom most of the time. And I know for the kids’ sake, some routine is needed. And for the husband too, who I’m sure would love to stop eating fast food lunches if I could only drag myself out of bed with him in the morning…and maybe even have the dinner planned before he gets home at 7pm. We would all feel better with a clean house. And now that the baby is 2 months old, we seem to finally have gotten rid of the evil flu bug, I’m actually having my final OB checkup tomorrow, and I’ve had a nice reflection on my faults with my spiritual director last week…I know it is now time for me to figure this out. I also read a wonderful post on a blog I've been enjoying, These Thy Gifts, which discussed the importance of organization and routines starting now when the kids are preschool age.
I know there is no way I can effectively homeschool Mary Clare with this kind of structure-less lifestyle. But it will not be easy for me. It does not come naturally, and I’m the type of person who gets lofty ideas only to ditch them a few weeks later. So you guys are now my accountability factor (along with my real-life friends and spiritual director), and this is in the mail:
I’ve heard good things about this Catholic Women’s Daily Planner from Family-Centered Press, and it even has extra sections for meal planning and lesson plans! I really hope it can help me implement some of my goals. I’m going to write out my rough schedule plan below to help me figure out how to start some routines in a natural way.
6am Wake up with Steven to make his lunch. Allow myself to “rebag” (during this transition at least)
7:30am Morning prayers and meditation
8am Morning chores w/ girls: get dressed, brush teeth, make beds, put in laundry, unload dishwasher if needed
8:30am breakfast
9am schooltime: lessons w/ Mary Clare, reading to Ellie, etc
10am playtime for kids, breaktime for mommy
11:30am start preparing lunch
12noon Angelus and lunch
12:30pm Chores: laundry, tidying
1pm REST
3pm Play with kids
4pm Dinner prep
5pm House clean up
6-7pm (when Steven gets home) Dinner
7:30pm kitchen cleanup
8pm baths and pjs
8:30pm books and bed
Kids in bed by 9pm, me in bed by 11pm
I’m sure this will require some tweaking and will not be an exact science, especially with a small nursing baby. I’m sure it will also take a long while for me to get committed to this. With our busy schedule including lots of activities, I will have to learn how to adjust it when we have a morning out. But hopefully it will be a good starting point for me. We’ll see how this week goes.
(That was written last night when we had no internet connection to post--yay for free wireless in our neighborhood--but the connection is not the best. So far so good this Monday morning. House is fairly clean, I've had my last OB appointment, and Mary Clare was even asking if we can make a list of chores for her. Hopefully the rest of the week goes smoothly!)
Thursday, February 21, 2008
Wednesday, February 20, 2008
Moby Wrap!
So I've heard that a lot of my friends are making their own Moby Wrap carriers, so I decided to buy some fabric while out at Wal-Mart today. He loves it! Fell asleep immediately and it is very comfy too! And the best part...they only cost $2.50 each and don't require a sewing machine! Thank you to Stephanie and Kristen for the idea!
How to:
1. Buy 5 yards of stretchy fabric (mine is kinda lycra-y) in the $1/yard section at Wal-Mart.
2. Take it home and lay it out on the floor. Cut it in half lengthwise (so it makes 2 wraps!). Width should be about 24 inches.
3. Go to mobywrap.com or search "moby wrap" on you tube for directions on how to "wrap" yourself!
4. Watch baby fall right to sleep...
Pictures:
Try to entertain baby for 10 minutes while you cut fabric!
Fabric ready for cutting
Happy baby!
Thanks to my photographer, Mary Clare :)
How to:
1. Buy 5 yards of stretchy fabric (mine is kinda lycra-y) in the $1/yard section at Wal-Mart.
2. Take it home and lay it out on the floor. Cut it in half lengthwise (so it makes 2 wraps!). Width should be about 24 inches.
3. Go to mobywrap.com or search "moby wrap" on you tube for directions on how to "wrap" yourself!
4. Watch baby fall right to sleep...
Pictures:
Try to entertain baby for 10 minutes while you cut fabric!
Fabric ready for cutting
Happy baby!
Thanks to my photographer, Mary Clare :)
Tuesday, February 19, 2008
Do you think...
...poop in the bathtub will just go away if I sit here at the computer? Maybe it's not such a good morning after all!
Jumping back in!
After almost 3 weeks of sickness, spending our long days at home, we are back into the game again! We had a great Valentine's Day and then a quiet Friday. This weekend we spent Saturday furniture shopping again (to no avail!), and had a fun trip to IKEA. On Sunday we got together with our homeschool group to help prepare a big welcome home for baby Khloe and her family! Here are some pictures...
Decorating banners in our friends' garage:
Daddies with babies
Steven squared
My sweet baby boy
Yesterday we got together with a few other moms and kids to finish filling balloons. Then a couple of the moms went to decorate the yard while we held fort watching kids at the park. Here's how it turned out! A big "WELCOME HOME TO KHLOE JULIA!"
We have a busy week ahead of us! But this morning is a quiet one at home. I woke up today with a bedful of children and just sat there thanking God for this wonderful life. With the sun shining in, my baby grinning and cooing at me, and the girls thrilled that Mommy agreed to make pancakes, we started off on a good foot and hopefully the rest of the day will follow suit! Hope you have a Terrific Tuesday too!
Decorating banners in our friends' garage:
Daddies with babies
Steven squared
My sweet baby boy
Yesterday we got together with a few other moms and kids to finish filling balloons. Then a couple of the moms went to decorate the yard while we held fort watching kids at the park. Here's how it turned out! A big "WELCOME HOME TO KHLOE JULIA!"
We have a busy week ahead of us! But this morning is a quiet one at home. I woke up today with a bedful of children and just sat there thanking God for this wonderful life. With the sun shining in, my baby grinning and cooing at me, and the girls thrilled that Mommy agreed to make pancakes, we started off on a good foot and hopefully the rest of the day will follow suit! Hope you have a Terrific Tuesday too!
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