So Much Crazy

 (I wanted everyone to wear their Easter clothes so I could take a photo, but only 3/7 of us ended up in the same clothes this Sunday! At least I got one decent shot and a cute one with the grandparents!)

This season of spring sports and finishing school and having colds and a teething baby and a traveling daddy is a bit rough. We've all recovered from the crazy Easter weekend and the latest cold viruses. We got to enjoy this past weekend together, with a busy Saturday including two baseball games, a ballet practice, and a trip out to the farm for the others while the baby and I rested at home with my parents and later with my friend Beverly.

Sunday mass was a bit reminiscent of the Easter Vigil due to another standing-room-only crowd for a group First Holy Communion mass.  Neither Steven nor I got a seat. The big girls sat with friends and Steven Joseph sat with my parents who came to visit the church. The cry room was total insanity with shoes and colored pencils flying, lots of loud talking, and a mic system that wasn't keeping up with the noise level! We retreated to the vestibule, but couldn't hear in there either. Thomas pretty much throws a fit before church every Sunday, whines during it, and Katie Grace is now loud and active, so I think this is going to be our Sunday mass situation for awhile.  It's all about the grace though; thankfully we get to receive Holy Communion, whether we can follow the mass or not!

On Monday, Steven headed out of town on a work trip, and we were back to school. I was saved by "my Maria" the cleaning lady, otherwise I think I would be losing my mind. I also started back with the Couch to 5K program this week, so hopefully that will keep my mental and physical health in check. We were triple-booked for evening activities with swim team, baseball, and ballet. We skipped swim team (after an attempt to at least buy his gear, but the one-day "swim store" wasn't opened yet), dropped the girls at ballet, and arrived at baseball practice just as the youngest two kids fell asleep. I figured I'd just stay in the car since I had a decent view of the batting cages. But the ending time for his practice came and went, and his team was nowhere to be seen, and I still had a sleeping preschooler. I tried a frantic text to some other moms on the team who I don't really know, but ended up schlepping the cranky, fussing 4yr old and hungry baby around the ballpark to find them practicing on the k-ball field. We got home at 8pm, and thankfully the girls had a ride home from ballet.

We had a little scare that night when SJ got out of the shower and showed me the GIANT bug bites all over his legs. He had about eight, and they were huge, hard, red, and hot. I got some topical creams put on him and hoped for the best (no big reactions, so I think he's okay). After an evening nap, I knew Thomas wouldn't be able to fall asleep with the others, so I let him stay up and watch some Netflix shows. The only problem was that I fell asleep around 11pm before turning off the computer. SJ woke up crying about his itchy legs at 5am, so I got some more medicine on him and went to make sure Tommy was soundly asleep in the living room. WRONG! Yes, I do win Mother of the Year! My 4yr old watched TV until FIVE O'CLOCK IN THE MORNING. I think I probably shouldn't admit this, but oh well. He fell asleep immediately and slept until 10:30am.

Things could only go up from there, right? Tuesday wasn't too bad; I actually got a haircut! That is, I gave myself a haircut which had to be fixed by the 12yr old after she took a photo of it for me and I realized how bad it was. The haircut was done with dog scissors, because they're the newest and sharpest scissors in the house! We were about 10 minutes late to piano in the afternoon, but that was because I got a last-minute offer by a friend to keep Thomas and let MC come over to help. The teething baby would hardly nap all day, until right when I needed to take SJ to swim practice. I left the girls to watch her at home, and let the boys bike down the street while I walked. The lack of sleep started to hit Thomas while I was letting him ride his bike around parts of the pool parking lot (they're doing "dry land" practice). He wanted to bike around the parts of the parking lot where I thought there were too many moving cars, so he just cried and fussed for about 15 minutes and continued all the way home.

Tommy Boy had a dinner of strawberries while I baked a (frozen) lasagna for the rest of us. He fell asleep at 8pm, so hopefully he will catch up on sleep. Katie, on the other hand, would not go to sleep. I tried about three different times, tried the stroller, and tried letting her play. But it was after 11pm before she finally crashed.  Typical day-in-the-life, with maybe a little more crazy thrown in for good measure the past few days! We only have about a month left of school, so we are anxious to finish things up and have a nice summer break! Right now, though, there are quite a few things I need to get done, so here is my very-late-night checklist to refer to...

1. Two items to the tax guy
2. Locate math solutions manual and catch up on grading MC's math
3. Complete grading for last semester and mail the work items and report cards to the consultant
4. Make sure MC is caught up on current work that the grader needs
5. Three returns to Amazon
6. Two returns to local stores
7. Just noticed that I'm supposed to bring snacks to Wednesday game (if not canceled)!!!
8. Wednesday Noon Mass?
9. Friday 4-H and Park Day
10. Confession, Baseball, and Ballet on Saturday
11. Start making peg saints for the exchange!
12. Re-enroll with MODG for next year

And I'm finally posting this late Wednesday night/Thursday after about 24hrs of trying to get my computer to load the photos! It finally worked. We did make mass today, made it to the store for baseball team snacks, and Daddy made it home! Inching closer to the weekend and to summer break! Thanks for following along with my rambling.

And some snapshots from the past week...

Top row: watching another game as we left the ballpark, Katie loved the car at a friends', moms hanging out, and the Resurrection Tea we put together for their girls' club

2nd row: two photos of the lake at our friends', Katie enjoying some baby toys, and exploring nature outside the dance school

3rd row: Couch to 5K with Leo, mega bites on SJ's legs!, Tommy not happy during brother's swim practice, and Katie refusing to sleep

4th row: my trainer following me and encouraging me to run faster, MC's flower arrangements made it a week!, sleeping angel baby, and a selfie found of MC :)

Monday Motivation

I miss blogging!  I just never sit down at the computer anymore. I'm on my iPhone a lot; it's just too hard to blog on it. But I miss uploading and sharing my photos and sharing about what's going on with us. Every day I think I'll find the time, but every day is too loud and crazy, and every night I just want to snuggle into bed and watch a show on Netflix. We also moved our computer into the living room a few weeks ago, so the kids are often watching shows or it's just too busy for me to sit and write. 

Playing Little People, playing AG dolls with friends and reciting Latin declensions, Katie at church after mass.

Daddy looking handsome after mass, Superbowl Sunday with the B dam, and my bday breakfast

My bday fajita takeout dinner, sick boy with his doggy, and 3 kids napping one morning

We just went through two weeks of illness. We had some kind of flu or respiratory virus that went through everyone except Steven and me. It's still lingering through one last victim who has just about beat it.  We've also had some cold and rainy weather here and there, and I'm definitely feeling that February funk! We're struggling with schoolwork and behavior issues, and I'm just lacking in energy to deal with it. Someone has been sick nearly every day of this month so far, so I know I need to give myself a little break but also try to get back on track with our routines. We're in the middle of a likely parish change for our family, so that has added some changes.  And then there's the house. I don't even know where to start except to point you to the last photo of the last collage below which shows the flood that happened in our master bathroom/bedroom today due to a broken pipe. Sigh.

Standing and almost walking! sweet paci baby, sleeping Steven.

Tommy ready for baseball, his 1st practice, and another morning bed full of kids.

Apple pie for Valentines week, a happy baby ready to eat, and late-sleeping Ellie in the boys' room

My baby turns one in a few days and I'm not ready for that. I'm not ready to let go of her infancy and watch her head into toddlerhood! Steven reminded me this weekend that it's about to get really hard with her! It has already started.  She can't stay in the pew for most of mass, we have to watch her every minute around the house, and she has become much harder to put to sleep. I miss those newborn days. But I also love watching her learn new things each day and seeing her little personality emerge. I'm not yet sure how we will celebrate her big day, but I know it will be fun and I've already ordered some special surprises I know she'll love!

Katie found daddy's bathroom bag, teaching Blue Knights last wk, slurping fettucine and waiting for the boys to get home from baseball.

Valentine morning breakfast with heart cinnamon rolls, MC selfie, Valentines dance

Watching the iPad with the housekeeper's children, Katie pestering my hardworking schoolboy, and the bathroom flood.

Lent is upon us and as always I'm not ready. Hopefully I'll take some time to reflect tomorrow and prepare my heart and mind for this season. I know I need to carve out some time for prayer and exercise. I know I need to work on my eating habits and my yelling habits. I know I need to focus on relationships and work ethic. May God give me the grace to examine my heart and plan a fruitful Lent for myself and our family.

Goals and plans for this week:

1. Lenten prep: prayer, Confession/Adoration, hopefully Ash Wednesday mass, and Friday Stations

2. Morning routine and school starting in a timely manner

3. Katie's birthday

4. 4-H meeting (make phone calls for Roundup info and backup location)

5. Baseball and ballet

6. Schoolwork catch-up for certain children ;-)

Have a lovely week, friends!

Monday Motivation and Instagram pics

Top row: getting baby to nap (she grabs at my face), dancing time at Pickwick, Blue Knights boys making wooden medallions

2nd row: Tommy making his medallion, SJ running at the park, the floor after Katie's first breakfast buffet

3rd row: St. Kateri and baby Blessed Mother, the babies at All Saints party, and the kids at Nature club.

Tomorrow is Monday. It's November. The year is nearing its end.  Ahhh! Time is moving too fast. Soon it will be Thanksgiving and Advent and Christmas and New Years, and before I know it the baby will turn one! I'm not ready for that! The days continue to drag on and I feel like I'm still holding my breath, waiting to come to the surface for a good long breather.  Hopefully that will come at Christmas!

I'm still recovering from last week.  Steven was gone for about nine days on a big, long-awaited hunting excursion. Of course as it happens, while he was gone we had Halloween, a dental emergency, and a broken washing machine, plus the usual drama with homeschooling and discipline issues. But this weekend he got home and we were able to find a new washer, which will hopefully be delivered tomorrow if I can work out the schedule with the delivery time, schoolwork, homeschool consultant phone call, dentist appointment, and ballet class. 

I am trying to swim hard through the challenges this fall has brought on.  I'd hoped that once we moved things would settle down a little, but such is life! Our new curriculum has given an added measure of stress, but it's an important component of our homeschooling right now. My head hurts and I'm weary, but I will type up my goals for the week, so I can try to get myself on track.  I did my first jog in three weeks this morning, and am trying to start eating better starting today, so hopefully that will help to get my mind and body ready to take on the rest that 2015 has to throw at us!

Goals:

1. Cancel one dentist appointment, and go to two other dentist appointments.

2. Be home to get new washer and wash, wash, wash all week!

3. Prep for consultant phone call for MC, and make sure she completes her lessons for grading.

4. Clothing bins to attic (these are starting to cramp the house).

5. Sort through boys' fall clothing.

6. Phone calls about electric bill.

7. Pay other bills.

8. St. Martin Walk Tuesday night? Maybe?

9. Stay on top of schoolwork and grading!

10. Prayer every morning and noon and 3:00! Special St. Joseph prayers for our house to sell!

11. Jog every other day.

12. Meal ideas: Pork loin/mashed potatoes/broccoli, Creamy pasta/chicken/green beans, Chicken noodle soup, Chicken parmesan and salad.

13. Organization planning/needs: hang pictures and shelves in master bedroom, hang crosses, find storage for Katie's clothes and Ellie's crafts and collections! 

14. Continue search for a family dog, since we don't have enough going on! At least that's something fun :-)

top row: MC crocheting her bag, moldy pumpkins at Walmart, T at cemetery

2nd row: group on Halloween, Katie in her new dress, and Katie in the walker all the kids have used at my parents' house.

3rd row: Skype call with my brother and family, driving away with my crazy crew, and saying goodbye to my helpful parents as my dad gives that silly Longhorn hand sign!

Monday Motivation

Top row: Sunset while driving to the farm, Katie awake late at night, Tommy on his birthday after mass at St. Mary's
2nd row: Katie (7mos) and Pio (6mos), me on the hotel elliptical, MC crocheting and watching Little House while the rest were swimming (old soul)
3rd row: Katie asleep in the Ergo, awake on the hotel bed, and playing in her thrifty play pen...a laundry basket!


Happy Monday!  Except it just ended.  Welcome, Tuesday.  This is a week filled with Catholic feast days.  The Archangels, St. Therese, the Guardian Angels, and St. Francis feasts are all this week.  I'm really feeling like a slacker in celebrating the beautiful feasts of our Church with the kids.  At least the girls had a Michaelmas tea last week at their girls' club!  One of these days I will feel settled again and able to create some more fun family traditions.  I was also reading about some preschool ideas on Catholic Icing, and was thinking about just how much my little ones would enjoy doing a few extras like crafts, games, centers, etc.  Being a former early childhood teacher, you would think I would have a home filled with fun kids' activities, but I think I need to work on some of that, especially when we move.  I'd like to take extra time to make some fun learning memories with the boys.

We are back home again, jiggety jig, and all that.  I really hate that drive.  I'm looking forward to taking a long break from road trips once we move!  It wouldn't be so bad if we could travel in one car, but doing it separately is rough.  Today I was reading about some moms in Central America who have to walk eight hours to get to a hospital to have their babies or to get any medical help, and it put these kinds of complaints into perspective!  Please pray for Colleen, her family, and the people they minister to in Costa Rica.  They run a home for pregnant mothers who live in a remote forest reserve, to help them before and after delivery, and during other times of medical need.  My other current prayer intention for those I follow online is for Mary and her daughter Courtney.  Courtney has had a seizure disorder since she was a baby and doctors believe she will be going home to the Father in the next few months.  Please say a little prayer for their family too.

We had some drama at bedtime tonight.  Steven was in the guest room watching a movie on his tablet with some of the kids, and Thomas fell off the bed, knocking his head on a wall corner.  After about 30 seconds, they turned on the light to find that he was bleeding EVERYWHERE!  I had just gotten Katie to sleep and rushed upstairs to help.  It was about an hour of cleaning mattress, carpet, bedding, clothes, and people.  Steven looked like he'd been in a war zone with blood all over him.  What an end to another crazy day!

We're having a few challenges staying on top of the schoolwork with all the changes going on.  I really wish this whole move had taken place in the summer!  But more to offer up in prayer, right?  It was nearly 7pm before we finished our work today.  Tomorrow I've got to get going early in the morning!  But today I needed to pay bills and take care of some house things after arriving back last night.  I think I did save us over $1000 by making some phone calls about the baby's hospital bills from her birth, so I guess the late start was totally worth it!

Now I need to get to bed and I'll write out a few goals for the week...

~Start school by 9am, try to finish by 3pm!
~Do grading of schoolwork right away.
~Continue gathering info and forms for a health insurance change.
~Take car to Discount Tire for leak problem.
~Car also needs to go in for inspection and recall updates.
~Grocery store for oil, laundry detergent, etc.
~Returns at Old Navy.
~Cook something other than breakfast fare, rotisserie chicken, and frozen pizza!

Have a good week, friends!

Top row: Katie sitting by the mirror, Ellie doing her online class, Tommy helping with laundry
2nd row: fun at Top Golf, Katie eating keys, a yummy and pretty lunch at Top Golf
3rd row: the shortcut to our hotel room from the pool area, Ellie and SJ at the pool, and Tommy at breakfast asking if I knew where OJ comes from :)

Monday Motivation!

1st row: watching Netflix at hotel, MC disapproves of sofabed-jumping brothers, someone wrote on the wall!, Katie in her bumbo

2nd row: he felt better when floating in the tub, crafts from NeNe, messy school stuff in hotel room, swimming with PaPa

3rd row: Katie loves sitting up by the closet mirror, Tommy proud of his parrot coloring, SJ figured out how to make spit wads without anyone telling him about this concept--a true boy, looking at old photos with NeNe

4th row: a rainbow on daddy's birthday, walking around the waterway after dinner, lunch fun with friends after mass, and my Pretty in Pink girls in their Sunday best!

Another week begins!  We are starting Week 3 of our homeschool year and I'm hoping this will be a much better one than the last, when all members of the family (except the baby and me who had some mild symptoms) were plagued with a yucky stomach virus!  We are still hotel-living at this point.  It looks like there have been two showings for our house so far, and we are going to stay away for now in hopes that it will sell before I need to come back with this crazy, messy crew!  We have been on the road so much this past year, and I am just hoping it's not much longer until we can sell our house and find another here where we can settle back down and not take any road trips for awhile.

I'll do a homeschool update soon, but overall the Mother of Divine Grace program has been a great fit for us this year.  I need the support and accountability, especially with all the upheavals in our life right now.  I love the way I can print out customized weekly checklists with assignments for all the kids!  And I can email my consultant whenever I have questions.  Next week will be my phone consultation, and Mary Clare will have one too for the classes where we've signed up for grading.

We are enjoying seeing my parents a lot, along with our local friends here.  The girls also started back to ballet at their old studio while we are in town.  We have looked at a few houses, one that the girls fell in love with, but we are waiting to see what happens with our Corpus house.  We are entrusting it all to St. Joseph, knowing that he will take care of all of this in God's perfect timing.

We were able to celebrate Steven's birthday as a family last night.  The kids made him banners and we picked up balloons and a little rosary.  We went out to dinner on the Waterway, and then picked up a few special cheesecake slices for us to share!  It was a great night, but I know Steven was exhausted after working all day.  He's back to Corpus tonight and we're just hunkering down, watching way too much TV, and hopefully getting back on track with school tomorrow.

One good thing about being out of town is that I can't have a normal to-do list.  The housekeeping cleans the room if we need it, there is free breakfast down the hall, and I just have to try to keep kids quiet and entertained and stay on top of schoolwork.  It's hard, don't get me wrong, and we've had quite a few minor injuries and kids nearly damaging the hotel room.  One child has a red arm that looks just like a clothes iron, ironically?!?  And we may have left some crayon marks on the wall of our "sick" room next door before we switched rooms (see photo above).  The kids are really getting on each other's nerves by the end of each day.  But I know that keeping our house show-ready with all of us there would be much harder!

I know we will look back on this crazy year and laugh...staying in a cabin while awaiting the baby's arrival, staying at a hotel while the house was on the market, getting a stomach virus on top of it, and the many drives back and forth from Corpus to Houston with all of the children. Our moving plans and Steven's work schedule change by the hour it seems, so we are learning lots about flexibility and patience!  There are so many virtues to practice during this crazy time in our lives!  Please say a prayer for us...and I'll be offering prayers and little sufferings for the intentions of all of you.  Thank you, friends.  

Majorly motivated on a Monday

We got back Sunday night after an amazing long weekend in San Antonio at the Fullness of Truth Catholic evangelization conference. It was held at the gorgeous Hyatt Hill Country Resort, and it was a fabulous weekend full of family, friends, faith, and fun!

I'll share some photos and reflections in my next post because I am pleasantly exhausted as we came back from this trip and jumped right into our school year this morning!  I was up past midnight printing checklists and stressing out. But it went well overall, although it was quite a bit of work for me on the first day. Hopefully the kids will get used to the newness of this curriculum (Mother of Divine Grace), and we will get into our groove soon. It was much better than our summer days with nothing to do, though!

Just as we finished up our schoolwork this afternoon we had a lovely teenage girl come to help us pack up some of the house to get it show-ready. We packed coats, the under-stair closet, our altar area, some books, a lot of toys, and much of Ellie's room. Mary Clare has been packing her own things, and we are also moving some furniture items like bookshelves, kid desks and tables out to the garage. 

We packed 10 boxes and it feels so good! We were very productive today with the schoolwork and packing, and I hope the rest of the week is the same! I'd love to have the house ready to show in about a week, and I think we can do it if we keep working really hard, especially since we have the help of this nice young lady. An added blessing of this week is that it looks like Steven will be working here in town. Even if it's past 10pm when he gets home, at least he will be here if I need him. 

And so one of the busiest seasons of our life has begun. I even took all five kids to Walmart at about 8:30pm for some school and food items. Crazy! I only abandoned the stroller twice, and only once was the baby in it. Oops. I was just a few feet down the aisle. The school supply section was a mad house!  Anyway, I think the rest, rejuvenation, and the blessings of the conference this weekend will help us get through this challenging time. I pray that God will guide us in every step we take, and in all the big and little decisions we are making may His will be done! St Joseph the Worker, pray for us!

Motivate Me Monday! It's our Anniversary!

Summer fun from the past few weeks~
first row: SJ silly at the dentist, watching movie at the dentist, our fav shaved ice spot, girls in their new swimsuits, and MC with half a cake on her half bday
2nd row: pretty baby, calabaza con pollo, ruffle bum, big head nursing, T chasing me while jogging
3rd row: MC holding baby while I jog, MC's jam berry nails, SJ holding K, me with all the crazies on the couch one afternoon, rainbow while jogging
4th row: sunset while jogging, beach day with daddy, big sis lil sis, K in Bumbo, and T and K in the stroller while I jog
5th row: girls at day 2 of regional swim meet, K and T playing in the boys' room, beach day with friends, putting my feet up at swim practice, and girls in the backyard pool

A new week begins!  This will be another challenging one, with Daddy possibly gone for most of it.  But I have a reward at the end with my mom's conference this weekend!  I've done my exercise today, and Katie is behaving herself so far.  We are off to a good start!  Here are some goals for my week...

~Complete my orders of homeschool materials.
~Mail check for girls' club
~Bills from K's birth
~Dentist-decisions about kids, make cleaning appt for myself
~Packing for Edel, clothes for me and for K, buy makeup and dress
~Exercise 3 more days
~Jamberry nail time
~Start some organizing/packing
~Buy some more storage bins for K's keepsakes and clothes
~Post this blog entry before someone erases it!

And a little note to share that we are celebrating 13 years of marriage today!  We won't be able to celebrate together, so last night we had a family dinner at BJ's Restaurant.  It included a chaotic car ride, kids jumping on benches and climbing windows, crawling under tables, biting siblings, throwing spit-wads, shaking wet straws, whining, my "quick" run into HEB that ended in pandemonium, and just an overall reminder of how crazy and fun this life is with all these little people.  I'm so proud of my husband and our little family (except dinner behavior), and am very grateful for 13 years of blessings!

Summer Lovin'

or not.  As I shared in one of the last posts, I'm not digging this summer so much.  Steven is traveling and working long hours, and we have no activities besides 7:30am swim practice.  Normally, many days in the summer are spent at the pool, but here we don't have a neighborhood pool and the nearby one is so expensive that I can't justify getting a membership when the older three kids are already swimming every morning.  The day camps are pricey, would conflict with swim team, and won't take the child who challenges me the most!  We've missed the VBS options.  I've planned a few playdates and homeschool group outings, and am aiming to do those once or twice a week.  I'm also buying some crafts and outdoor projects for each week with the money that we would be using for camps or summer dance classes!  The girls and I are also putting together a Miniature Mass Kit for the boys!

So I'm trying to pull together my own summer survival plan.  We have quite a few things to take care of this summer, and a city by the sea to enjoy before we move, so I'm going to take some time to write out a list and get some "Monday Motivation" so I can start checking off the things we need to do!

~Mail shoes back to Amazon that are too small.
~Make appointments for dental and pediatrician check-ups.
~Call on the medical bills to ask them to resubmit claims to our insurance.
~Call about piano for Ellie in July.
~Prep for Edel Gathering!  Plan clothing and shoes for Katie and me :)
~Continue with the Couch to 5K program, either running each morning or evening around the block.
~Make some saint pictures for Steven's Aunt Katie (we did this last summer but never mailed them and now have lost them a 2nd time).  Aunt Katie suffers from pancreatic cancer.
~Order homeschool books.
~Plan weekly activity with friends (beach, pool, pizza party over here)
~Pray!
~Read to the kids every day.
~Continue with the kids' summer schedule of schoolwork, chores, outdoor time, with reward of 1hr computer time.
~Take them to library to sign up for summer reading.
~Pay library fines.
~Crafts and outdoor activities...playdough, painting letters, sprinkler, kid pool?, mass kit, biking, have them make some videos, look up ideas on Pinterest.

Okay, I'm about to fall over asleep!  Better post this and get some rest!

iPhone/Instagram little memories from the past week...

top row: happy swaddled baby, gumbo girl, tommy and friends playing with cars during swim practice, and boys trying to help with the baby swing

2nd row: Ellie holding Katie to standing, me on my 3rd day of exercise, Katie on the day she turned 4mos, at Daddy's canceled basketball game, and Tommy sitting on the side of my tub

3rd row: girls played with my makeup, happy baby this weekend, big brother loves his sis, and Ellie's new shoes from Payless

4th row: kids playing with playdough sweet shop, in the yard with new sprinkler and tubs of water, Thomas and his new shirt, and me on my jog walk this evening with SJ following me :)

Monday Musings and Weekly Wandering Plans

Just realizing this never posted on Monday. Oops! I'll try again. Annoying phone blogging...

Another week begins! I've made it to 35 weeks and we had a great first week in the Houston area! We kept busy last week with ballet classes, a birthday party, and time with family. We had to move out of our cabin on Friday morning (it was already booked for this week) and then we headed across town to spend the weekend with Steven's family. The kids enjoyed cousin time, had pizza parties, Superbowl sign-making, Candlemas at the downtown church, and a Superbowl party! I got to rest quite a bit with Daddy here, and also got to run some errands alone on Saturday.

This week will be one of my biggest challenges of our stay here. Today we will move from Steven's sister's garage apartment to my parents' house, Wednesday we will head to a friend's and then Saturday evening we should be able to get back into the cabin and settle for almost a month! Tomorrow we'll celebrate my birthday and we also plan to continue the ballet classes this week, plus a big homeschool group Valentines party on Friday. Can I survive? Can we keep baby inside for another two weeks? Let's hope so!

To do:

-Pack up this morning and clean apartment

-Mail Steven's tablet that he forgot this morning 

-Injection at doctor office

-Pick out a cake at my favorite RJ Goodies!

-Ballet classes

-Finish Valentines

-Birthday plans

-HOMESCHOOL (modified). We did great last week, but I'm afraid these moves will make things a bit difficult this week!

And some iPhone photos...

Lunch at Fudruckers with NeNe and PaPa last week

Boys playing at the ballet school. We've really enjoyed being back, and felt so welcomed by our friends at the Christian ballet school. 

Friday afternoon was cousin time! They loved playing outside, Tommy is obsessed with the motorized police car!

Mommy resting in the lovely garage apartment on Saturday. 

And I got to have my favorite solo lunch at LaMadeleine. 

After Sunday morning Mass, we went out for BBQ and drove by the neighborhood where Steven grew up. This is the lot where his house was...the houses on his street have mostly all been torn down to build new ones. But their old leaning tree is still there!

The boys playing with a cousin at the Superbowl party

More Superbowl

They surprised me with singing and some early birthday gifts, but the cupcakes were all gone so I blew out a scented candle!

The cousins wanted to stay and watch Indiana Jones, but alas it was a school/work night so we had to pull them away!

It was a great week and weekend and we're truly blessed to be spending this "Baby Wait" with all our family and friends!

Monday Motivation

Let's start with a belly pic from what I wore on Sunday...

Getting bigger and bigger! I'm 31 weeks and out of breath all the time. Mass can be exhausting and the stuffiness of the churches (and often the incense) makes me feel light headed. So I'm not singing in the choir anymore but am enjoying these final weeks with my boys, before my body and mind will be devoted to our new baby girl! We didn't do anything special for the Epiphany, although the girls are really wanting to bake a cake. Steven took Steven Joseph on a hunt with his boss last night and on Saturday we saw our first family movie together, Frozen! The boys had never been to the movie theater! It was a good weekend. 

Today we started back to homeschool and it actually went pretty well, all things considered. We even had a special visitor in the late morning. I was reading the kids a Nativity storybook when all of a sudden there was a nun at the front door bearing Christmas cookies for our family!  Apparently my kind husband paid for the nuns' items at Hobby Lobby last weekend when I was home sick, and I guess they asked everyone's names. Somehow they found out where we live and came to deliver this sweet Epiphany gift to thank him!

I dropped the girls at ballet and Steven is picking them up now. I think it's probably best I do drop offs the next few weeks because wrangling the boys at the dance studio tends to make me feel bad in the evenings. So I came home and made a nice dinner of chicken and rice, while the boys have some Netflix time and Mary Clare is likely getting her pointe shoes checked so she can put ribbons on and wear them later this week!

We'll have about three more weeks here until we head to Houston for the baby wait. So I'm going to write down a few goals for these weeks!

1. Confirm lodging arrangements for the Baby Wait. Also, make furniture and packing lists.

2. Complete 3 weeks of homeschool and pack up books to take with us. 

3. Co-Op planning day tomorrow for the new semester. Make sure all is taken care of for my absence. 

4. 4-H Livestock show entries due next Monday.

5. Purchase a few baby items needed (car seat, etc), and pack up the things we need to bring with us (clothes, blankets, diapers, etc)

6. Register Steven Joseph for t-ball, decide on piano lesson plans for January, and pay for January ballet. 

7. Godchildren birthdays coming up and I didn't send anything for Christmas either. 

8. Take down Christmas decorations. Our tree is drooping badly!

9. Rest!

10. Meal plans this week: chicken and rice, roast and potatoes, leftovers, and that's about all I've got so far!

I think the crew is back so it's time to eat!

More Sunday outfits at Fine Linen and Purple:

http://www.finelinenandpurple.com/2014/01/05/what-i-wore-sunday-volume-64/

Monday Motivation

Another Monday is here, and we are over halfway through November!  The days are long, but the weeks are flying by!  I haven't blogged much; I still need to catch up with the last few Disney posts.  Let's see if I can do those by Thanksgiving!  Here are a few goings-on, Instagram-style, since I haven't done a collage in quite awhile...

Top L-R, 1st row: Girls playing a Catechism board game at 7am, girls claimed it "National M Day" to help SJ with the letter M (confetti, games, and a trip to McD's), Ellie with Vera Bradley bags at the mall, MC under the covers protesting the new Latina Christiana Latin video which Ellie enjoys!
2nd row: boys got new helmets for a long bike ride with daddy and taped on drinking straws to be "helicopter pilots," Ellie and SJ finishing schoolwork at like 6pm (long days), Tommy playing on the side of my bath, SJ telling me about his dream that he didn't want to end (at the Garcia farm and they were about to go hunting)
3rd row: Me and my JoJo, SJ self portrait, Tommy with the lizard Ellie caught at nature club, SJ at nature club with his shades
4th row: butterfly garden, babysitting a friends little girl and they all want her attention, Ellie's piano Hymn Festival, and a funny face by MC found on my phone!

So far, I've only been interrupted by one potty accident situation, so let's see if I can finish up before my little world here implodes!  Let's see, the girls are still busy with Nutcracker rehearsals, and we're thrilled that some family might be able to make the drive to come watch them perform!  I think Steven Joseph just has one soccer game left, so that season is almost over.  I'm not sure he was crazy about soccer; he likes baseball better and will probably play that again in the spring.  Some friends here moved into a new house this weekend, so the past few days have been filled with babysitting, menfolk helping with the move, and getting to spend some time visiting with friends.  Ellie also had a piano hymn festival and is preparing for her Christmas concert at a local assisted living facility.  In fact, some family might be visiting that day, which would be really special!  It's sometimes hard not being able to share the fun milestones of their little activities and performances with our family.  It's hard for everyone to travel, with health issues or just busy kids of their own.  We were grateful to have many summer visitors, though :)

Which brings me to a big milestone we passed last week.  TWO YEARS living here in South Texas.  I've started two blog entries that both just seemed like long whines and complaining, so I'll opt not to post those.  Suffice it to say it's been a hard transition and I'd hoped that two years in we'd feel at home here and at peace with living in this new city.  I do have peace in the knowledge that God has sent our family here, for Steven's good job, for the opportunity to slow down, and for some time away from the busy world back in Houston.  But I miss the joy that comes from sharing our day-to-day experiences with close friends and family.  I don't feel like I fit in, which is hard for me as an extrovert who gets energy and motivation through other people.  And right now, the biggest stress with living here is that my OB is 4+ hours away, and it has been hard going back and forth.  It's also hard to imagine how the next few months are going to play out with holidays, doctor appointments and at some point, actually staying in Houston for a few weeks awaiting baby's arrival and living away from Steven.  Please pray for us during this time!  The pregnancy is stressful as it is, with various little complications and facing a 5th cesarean.  I'm trusting in God to work out all the little details and to help me to have peace in all the unknowns of the coming months.

Well, kids are getting restless and distracted, so we'd better get busy with schoolwork.  And maybe I should get dressed.  Let's get some goals down for the week...

1. Complete sales of our Nutcracker tickets both for weekend performances and signing up our homeschool group for the school shows.
2. Decide what to do about needed black ballet shoes for Nutcracker (spray paint old ones or buy new ones or what?)
3. Co-Op on Tuesday and work towards a decision for the rest of the year, since the daily mass time is changing and will require us to adjust our schedule.  Plan hand motions for Timeline lesson.
4. Video tape the girls doing the Timeline and post to blog for other co-op families to be able to watch and practice.
5. Some important grocery items
6. Hosting Mom's Night here on Thursday.  Plan some snacks and drinks.
7. Start Christmas shopping.  We'll keep it simple and I have most of my ideas already.
8. Meals: Cheese-stuffed Manicotti, Pork loin, grilled chicken/steak, Papa Murphy's :), leftovers

Monday Motivation!

Happy October!  Hopefully I can find some time to write a little more this month.  My iPhone just fell in the toilet (pretty sure it's fine), so I was motivated to blog tonight.  My biggest obstacle with blogging is my desire to just lie down with my iPhone and get to sleep at a decent hour.  I'm almost always asleep by 11:30 these days which is a huge improvement.  We've also seen some improvement with the weather here in Texas.  It rained and cooled off today, and we have a lot to look forward to for this month of October! 


The girls were cast as Party Girls for the Nutcracker Ballet this year!   This is the role they've been dreaming of, and we are all thrilled that they get to do it together!  On Saturday morning, they had fittings for their dresses, which are beautiful.  They will get to dance in six performances over two weekends in early December: 2 school shows, 2 with a live orchestra, and then 2 shows on the last "family" weekend.  They are dancing with a new company since we've switched ballet schools, and we've all made a lot of new friends.  There is much more of a community feel here, and we are so happy it is working out.  Mary Clare is also dreaming of pointe shoes come January since she is in a "pre-pointe" class this fall.

 

Steven Joseph is on his first soccer team.  He has been a bit timid about it since he has never played before.  His team seems to mostly be "newbies," so they are still learning the ropes.  They play 3 on 3, with no goalie.  Last weekend they lost their first game to a few of his t-ball buddies; I think the score was 0-12 or so.  For their 2nd game this weekend, they actually scored a goal!  We also had a couple friends on the other team.  They had pictures on Saturday, but I didn't make it in time to take any with my camera like I usually do.  Hopefully I can get a team shot at some point, maybe at the party at the end of the season. 

 

The three youngest are also participating in the Catechesis of the Good Shepherd Montessori CCD program with our homeschooling group.  Mary Clare and I have both been helping with the younger class.  There are beautiful lessons of God's love for all of us there!  The girls have 4-H once a month and Ellie is still taking weekly piano lessons.  Finally, the girls and I are singing with the church choir most Sundays when we're in town.  So we're keeping busy, though not too busy to have a lot of time at home and down time with Daddy on the weekends.  I still need to document Daddy and Tommy's birthday dinner and Tommy's little party with family in Houston.  I can't believe he is THREE!

Our computer crashed on Monday morning this week, after I'd spent quite awhile the night before researching online backup services and tried to install the uploader for one called Crashplan.  Thankfully, Steven had just backed up all the photos to the external hard drive.  But we were able to get the computer working again later in the week, and deleted enough files to make it work for now as we wait the TWO WEEKS or so that it will take to do this online backup program!  I was able to load some of the Disney photos, but iPhoto is now having problems with editing, so we'll see if I can finally get some records up of our days at Disney sometime this week.

Oh and the baby?  How could I forget to update on that?  I am 18 weeks along today!  I can feel some movement especially when I'm sitting still.  My bloodwork all looked normal and my 16 wk appt went well, except that I'd gained quite a bit of weight.  I knew I ate poorly at Disney, but figured all the walking would balance it out!  I'm afraid the amounts of macaroni and cheese and pizza I've eaten this weekend are not going to help the scale any.  I was hoping to start back to ballet this month, but I'm just not sure it will work out.  I need to do some walking or something!  At least I've been feeling well, I haven't needed much napping, and I'm getting a good amount of sleep each night.  The big 20 wk ultrasound is in 2 weeks; we're all anxious to find out the identity of this little one!

I'm having a hard time getting motivated each morning and the kids are too.  Our homeschool days have been kind of frazzled the past few weeks, so hopefully this week we can get it together and also enjoy some time outdoors since the weather might be pleasant for a few more days!  I'm planning to document our day in photos and words tomorrow for Kendra's link-up.   I've missed doing the link-ups each week and getting to encourage and be encouraged by other blogging moms.  I stopped taking What I Wore Sunday photos this summer in early pregnancy.  This was the first week in awhile I'd actually considered it, but felt more like putting on yoga pants than doing a photo shoot after Mass today!  I'm also missing doing photography and the Pretty, Happy, Funny, Real link-up.  With the computer on the fritz, I just haven't been able to take any photos except family events. 

Well, it's my bedtime, soo here are my goals for this week.  It's been awhile, but let's see how I do!

1. Wake up and smile at the kids each morning.
2. Start school by 9:30am
3. Blog goals: Homeschool Day in the Life, at least the First Disney Day, Starting a Co-Op
4. Computer goals: Keep erasing files and try to load Tommy's birthday photos.
5. Portion control at meals and sugar detox
6. Some kind of exercise...what will it be?
7. Potty training, don't lose heart!
8. Meals: Spaghetti, Baked Potatoes, Breakfast for dinner, something with chicken...???

Off to bed.  Have a great week, everyone!

Monday Motivation

 He may be awake at 1:00am, but how can you be mad at this kind of face?

It's been quite awhile since I've done a Monday Motivation post!  And it's technically Tuesday already, but I'm up with a toddler who took a nap from about 4pm-6pm, which means he is just about ready to hit the hay.  We've done the same puzzle over and over again, had some snacks, and watched some "first dental visit" YouTube videos. 

What a day!  I ended up canceling my own dentist appointment (I'm going to enough appointments as it is!), had lunch guests, naptime, did some co-op planning, and we all experienced a scary choking incident for Daddy.  Thankfully he's okay!

Now that we're just a couple days from August, it's time to get organized and get back into a routine. Let's see if I can jot down some plans and goals for the week.

1. All 4 kids to the dentist first thing Tuesday morning! 
2. Another OB visit this week, get labwork faxed.
3. Visit homeschool convention's vendor hall and purchase some of the last few books.
4. Pay bills and update budget.
5. Email co-op group and plan workshops.
6. Mail the kids' artwork to Steven's aunt suffering from cancer (Please pray for Aunt Katie).
7. Read a bit in photography book and take some "posed" pictures.
8. Confirm last Disney meal and start making some daily plans.
9. Research a few purchases for the trip...kids' lanyards and pins, shoes for everyone, purse for me.
10. Daily prayer

We'll having various overnight trips this week, and we have a lot of leftovers, so I'm not going to worry much about meals.  Right now my biggest issue is just getting out of bed and trying to muster the energy to be a happy mom, do some housework, and feed the kids.  I'm not feeling my best, but this little baby is worth it!

Wednesday Motivation

Hardly had room to fit all my Insta-Pics from the past couple weeks.  Here goes:
Top row L-R: Fun times at the new pool we joined, Tommy's first time taking the running bike to the part, Tommy and his meal of choice frozen waffles straight outta the freezer, library day, mama at sunset.
2nd row: Tommy and the shark at the library, me and the girls at the Quarry in SA, Gift shop at St. Mary's in SA, with friends on the Riverwalk, and at the Alamo!
3rd row: He was determined to fit all the strawberries in the bowl, SJ and his new math book started Sunday night when we came home from the conference, flowers in the front yard (anyone know what they are called?), kite at the park, and like father like son after the grandparents arrived.
4th row: all the kids in the bed one morning, at the Hooks game with Grampatti and BopBop, friends from Houston came for a playdate while in town, Tommy poured himself a plate of syrup, and Tommy so proud that he can write a T and an O!

I think I've turned a corner with the computer, since I figured out how to empty the trash!  Yay!  My photos will load and Firefox is working again.  We have been busy busy with our guests and dance classes.  We very much enjoyed my in-laws' visit over the weekend, celebrating both Father's Day and their 51st Anniversary! 

With all the activity, we're having a better time at home since we have a change of scenery usually once a day.  My lists of chores and schoolwork are helping to keep the kids motivated, we even finally got around to our spelling and reading program yesterday!  We've been to the pool a few times each week, and are looking forward to my parents' visit this week.

I didn't get around to Monday Motivation, so how about some Wednesday motivation today?

From a couple weeks ago:
1. Finish reading/skimming the 2 books that need to go back to the library this weekend.
2. Stay on top of housework/laundry as we start having guests come over the next few weeks.
3. Discernment about Catechesis of the Good Shepherd and training.
4. Planning for the CCM co-op for next year!  Decide this week which cycle we will use.
5. Planning for trip to homeschool conference.
6. Make a front door wreath with supplies already bought.
7. Start making a checklist for summer schoolwork and reading.
8. Join a local pool and figure out an exercise plan for the summer.
9. Potty train Thomas
10. Write out plans for next year of homeschooling.

For the next couple weeks:
1. Budget on mint.com
2. Continued planning for CCM co-op (meet with another mom and determine day/time for co-op)
3. Register for Catechesis of the Good Shepherd training
4. Continue with summer checklists, especially reading for MC
5. Ballet class bi-weekly
6. Find another exercise 2x week
7. Track all food intake on My Fitness Pal.
8. Healthy eating and better food budgeting.

I'm loving the ballet class, but man my body doesn't do those moves very well anymore.  It's a new motivation to get healthy and lose enough weight to be able to dance better and fit in my clothes again!  We'll see how it goes.  Off to the pool....

Hope everyone is having a wonderful week!

Monday Motivation, Summer Goals

Top row, L-R: Motorcycle man on his bike, Tommy on his trike, Tommy with his truck, Ronald McDonald House service night with 4-H, boys and trains
2nd row: cute girl watching cutegirlhairstyles.com, Tommy beach boy, first big beach day 2013 Rockport, busy boy Steven, the O family and firepit fun
3rd row: Kateri's bday after mass, Mustang Island beach day, "beach bum", art after friends left, and a tired boy eating pancakes
4th row: oops that same pic again (too lazy to change it), Mommy and Tommy, brave mama letting kids curl and comb my hair, late night at HEB wishing I could shop by candlelight and classical music, and a restful day on the couch.
5th row: new headbandz game, Visitation Tea Party, May crowning crown and pillow made by MC, boys doing an art book after the tea party, and Tommy getting spoiled by Mommy while siblings and Daddy were fishing (first sno-cone of the year!)

Oh and I realized this was the photo that was supposed to go where the doubled MC drawing picture is in the collage.  I'd have to start over to add it.  But I love this...the boys playing in the helicopter cockpit made by MC :)

Manic Monday.  What a day.  I started writing this in the morning and am now finally finishing it while hoping the kids go to sleep.  Please, kids.  Steven came home for a big lunch of ribs, chicken, mashed potatoes, and corn on the cob before heading off to their other office hours away.  I should have just called it a day then and there.  Potty training was a bust.  We had about 4 accidents.  Once we hit a messy one, I decided it was back to the "monkey diapers" (Luvs).  My iPhoto and browser kept crashing all afternoon.  I lost my temper in a major way around 10 times and got a phone call from Steven in the midst of the craziness letting me know that our house near Houston that we're renting out needs a new AC.  I responded, "And you thought this was a good time to tell me that???"  I think maybe he had 2nd thoughts about telling me that information. Normally he keeps info about the Houston house to himself :)  Actually it's not as bad as it sounds, we're blessed that something like a broken AC isn't a game-changer in our life right now.  So blessed.

After offering to take the kids to the park multiple times I finally realized at about 6:30pm that we needed to get out of the house right that minute, if we didn't want someone to get badly hurt or emotionally scarred by the wrestling, biting, throwing things, and mommy's temper.  Tommy insisted on riding the running-bike to the park, which meant that I was pushing the running-bike up the hills and through the mud.  Everyone was doing alright at the park when I got an important phone call about the homeschooling co-op program that I needed to take.  I can't believe I was able to actually talk on the phone without much interruption!  Beware of calling me at home; you will then know why I prefer to email or text if we want to have a coherent conversation.  There were only about 2 scary park incidents where I thought Steven was going to fall and break his arm and I'd have to take all 4 kids to the ER tonight, and another where a teenage girl nearly trampled Tommy who was climbing up the slide.

We walked/biked back home and I convinced them to pick-up messes for about 10 minutes and then we were off to the fried chicken joint.  This was a night that called for Pete's Chicken and More!  After scarfing down two meals for the 5 of us, I sent them all to the bath and shower and was determined to finish the above collage which had gotten erased by someone earlier.  They were getting loud in my bathroom, so I went in and found the boys had been throwing water at Ellie in the shower, getting it all over the floor and ceiling.  A few more yells, and now everyone except Tommy has gone up to bed, scared of the wrath of crazy Mommy tonight.  This is a time when I wish I actually enjoyed a glass of wine!

Tomorrow can only improve, right?  Any ideas for us?  Was planning to go and get a membership at a nearby pool, but I'm not sure we're ready to take that (pricey) leap yet.  I probably need a summer "bucket list" that does not include Netflix, sibling arguments, Facebook, or blogging.  Or we just need to start school again very soon...

I do have some things floating in my head so I'll write out a little list of some goals for the near future...

1. Finish reading/skimming the 2 books that need to go back to the library this weekend.
2. Stay on top of housework/laundry as we start having guests come over the next few weeks.
3. Discernment about Catechesis of the Good Shepherd and training.
4. Planning for the CCM co-op for next year!  Decide this week which cycle we will use.
5. Planning for trip to homeschool conference.
6. Make a front door wreath with supplies already bought.
7. Start making a checklist for summer schoolwork and reading.
8. Join a local pool and figure out an exercise plan for the summer.
9. Potty train Thomas
10. Write out plans for next year of homeschooling.

Summer Goals for each child:
Mary Clare-read a chapter book each week, continue with AAS, Grammar book, and complete Prima Latina, started learning some guitar today
Ellie-continue with AAS and readers, complete her Map Skills book, work on two of her difficult issues right now (finger-sucking and bedroom cleanliness), summer piano lessons
Steven-continue with AAR and math, keep him active and make a list of outdoor activities for the boys when they're rowdy
Tommy-outdoor activities, potty training, letters and sounds
Mommy-getting to bed by 11pm, exercise, eat better, pray

And so it's now 12:30 and I'd better hit "post" or I'm going to keep rambling on and on and on.  This day needs to end, now!  Hope you all have a lovely first week of June!

Monday Motivation

Top Row L-R: Tommy with Bonnie Bunny, MC and one of her cute new outfits from her cousin, T in the tub, crazy kids at HEB.
2nd row: Tommy at the park, baby R napping at our house, brother J and SJ having fun, Tommy self portrait.
3rd row: SJ doing math, and then the haircut progression on Saturday.  Can you believe I chopped it myself?  Sad, sad day.
4th row: MC can mow the lawn, SJ hit his first homerun at their last game, visiting the grave of friend Avery after attending a funeral there, and Ellie's piano recital.


I'm going to be easy on myself the next few weeks.  We've finished up school and will be getting ready for all our summer guests!  My main goals these next couple weeks are clothes organization and fall activity discernment, along with lots of reading for/with the kids.  I'm looking at two co-op options as well as being trained as a teacher for the Catechesis of the Good Shepherd Montessori faith formation program.  The training for CGS is intense (8 long days in July), starting a co-op is hard, and teaching at a co-op can be a big commitment too.  I need some Holy Spirit guidance in what to do!

So I'll probably skip a few weeks of my goals list.  I know I need to do the weekly bills and budgeting, prayer, and bed-making, and laundry is a major important goal this week!  But now all of our activities are over so we have a lot of free time to just relax!  Yay!

Monday Motivation

Top L-R: Spoiled Tommy in our bed, SJ's alphabet!, girls in new clothes from their cousin, Vera Bradley eye candy in Houston, Tommy working with priest vestments in the Atrium, Girls with NeNe at Bering's in Houston, driving back from Houston with my new shades, Mother's Day dinner at PF Changs, and the fortune and a pretty rose from a valet!

(I'm having issues with the margins from the new template so I can't do the full-sized photos...Hoping they can help me fix it!)

Today has been a lazy day.  I can't seem to find my energy and took a long nap this afternoon.  Hopefully I've rested enough to survive the rest of the week!

And just before I published this I checked on what day Steven's t-ball game would be this week and realized it was in 20 minutes!!!  We rushed over and made it just a few minutes late.  A close one!


Last Week's Goals:
1. Bills and budgeting
2. Make bed most days
3. Read aloud most days
4. Continue reading Charlotte Mason and Optimistic Child
5. Winter/summer clothing change-out and donations
6. Vacation planning :)
7.  Morning prayer on patio
8.  Meals: Calabaza con Pollo, Steak and broccoli, Parmesan chicken bake, lots of leftovers.  Print the recipes from meal-planning website.

This Week's Goals:
1. Bills and Budgeting
2. Make Bed most days
3. Read Aloud most days
4. Continue reading Charlotte Mason and Optimistic Child
5. Kid Clothing change-out
6. Morning prayer on patio
7. Finish off school year!
8. Meals: Steak, leftovers, Spaghetti, Pasta Bake, Brown Sugar baked chicken

Monday Motivation

Starting with another Insta-collage...

Top L-R: MC gave me a "lace braid into a messy flower bun", blow-drying the baseball glove AGAIN, Daddy and kids by the firepit one evening, Tommy and Puppy on the drive to Houston,
2nd row: all the kids in the car (yay for sleeping boys!), badminton at my parents' house, Tommy loves these headphones and uses them as his helicopter pilot headset, the view at Little Way Farm.
3rd row: kids had picked dewberries at the farm, Mary Clare with her lace braid, pretty fabric at Hobby Lobby, boys playing with a turtle during the baseball game.
4th row: SJ had fun watching Enriquito's baseball game, Ellie and me by my fav restaurant!, bottling honey at the farm, and BopBop enjoying our back porch last night!



Happy Monday!  We had a fun long weekend in the Houston area, staying at our friends' farm.  We brought my father-in-law back home with us, so I have some extra hands this week!  Looks like we are in the final 2 weeks of school, if everything goes well.  We're winding down and starting to plan our new school year, looking at different curricula and co-ops, plans for our homeschool support group, and also our big vacation.  So excited!

I should actually be able to get a lot done this week with the motivation and help of Steven's dad.  Here are my goals:

Last week:
1. Bills and budgeting
2. Make bed most days
3. Read aloud most days
4. Continue reading Charlotte Mason and blog about it
5. Continue reading "The Optimistic Child"
6. Print Communion photos and find thank-yous
7. Prep for another Houston trip!
8. Make decisions about our family vacation :)
9. Meals: leftovers, Parmesan chicken bake, leftovers, traveling!

Woohoo!  I did pretty well this past week!  We ended up eating out on Tuesday after the t-ball game, and just had a breakfast dinner on Wednesday.  We ate out way too much on our trip though, and need to work on our food budget for next month.  And, budget work in general is needed and keeps getting postponed. 

This week:
1. Bills and budgeting
2. Make bed most days
3. Read aloud most days
4. Continue reading Charlotte Mason and Optimistic Child
5. Winter/summer clothing change-out and donations
6. Vacation planning :)
7.  Morning prayer on patio
8.  Meals: Calabaza con Pollo, Steak and broccoli, Parmesan chicken bake, lots of leftovers.  Print the recipes from meal-planning website.