My five favorite blog reads of late

Today I'm liking up with Ashley from The Big White Farmhouse for #FiveFavorites. :)

This is my Best of the Web version of #5Faves - some of the best posts that popped up in my reader over the past few days. I hope you enjoy them, too.

How to Deal with Little Hoarders at House for Five
Now if Deme could just write a post about how to deal with hoarders when the hoarder is you. ahem. And her story about Mr. Steve is really beautiful - I am inspired by this post on several levels.


Is It His Money or Mine? at letlovebesincere
In a funny move of bloggers inspiring bloggers, Mary's post on tithing is, in part, the fruit of my Financial Hardships and Surprise Pregnancies series, and I found this post to be incredibly thought-provoking.  Also, please do click through to read Colleen's post Giving Uncomfortably at Martin Family Moments. It is another inspiring read and obviously impacted Mary and me.


The 10-Year-Old Trip to Chicago: Part 3 at Team Whitaker
I live in Illinois and have a fairly strong dislike of Chicago. I even refuse to drive in the city, or in any of the suburbs beyond Aurora. But Kathryn's three part series has me thinking I just might be missing out. (Or maybe I just want to spend time with Kathryn - that could also be true.) Either way, her list at the end of this post is really great, especially #7.


A New Chapter at Audrey Eclectic
As a mom who tries to squeeze creative things in during nap time it was so nice to read about how Heather paints and what this new chapter in her life will mean for her - as a person and an artist. I also love the explanation she gives on one of her paintings - what inspired her to create it and what it means to her.


Beyond Candy and Crafts: Living Liturgically with Older Kids at This Ain't the Lyceum
You know what, maybe this post did make me tear up a little bit, I don't even really know why, but I think it is beautifully written, thoughtful, and practical all at the same time.

My Five Favorite Things About Being Catholic

In all reality a list of what I love about being Catholic and why I am Catholic could go on and on. And on. 

Last week's episode of The Visitation Project was actually about our favorite things about being Catholic so I thought I'd add to the conversation by playing along with Jenna's lovely link-up. So, in no particular order:

My five favorite things about being Catholic! 

#1 - The consistency. Everything we believe is connected and I love that. The Teachings of the Catholic Church are clear (even where they are empowering us to use our own discretion) and they are all intertwined. What we believe about being made in the Image and Likeness of God is directly related to what we believe about the moment of conception, and those are both related to what we believe about marriage, and those are all related to what we believe about salvation, and those are related to redemptive suffering. When a minister of the Eucharist holds up the Sacred Host and says "The Body of Christ" I say "Amen." And that "Amen" means that I believe. I believe that Host really is the Body of Christ, which means I also believe in transubstantiation, Holy Orders, the authority of our local bishop, papal succession, papal infallibility, and really everything that the Church teaches. It's all connected, there's no loopholes, and everything is bathed in charity and love of God.

#2 - The Sacraments. Of course of all the Sacraments the Eucharist is my favoritest favorite but they are all incredibly special to me. The holy gift of Baptism and Confirmation, the blessing of Marriage, the awesomeness of Holy Orders, the restoration of Confession, the peace and healing of Anointing of the Sick, and my Lord and my God in the Blessed Sacrament. What gifts! Thank you, God, for the Sacraments. +

#3 - The beauty The mural in my parish literally and figuratively looks like hell though it is supposed to depict the Last Supper. A lot of recent music is horrible. But then there's singers and songwriters like these two, creating beautiful songs of praise.


And then there's videos like this one, from Likable Art:


Okay, even if you don't usually watch videos in blog posts, please watch the one above. It's short and lovely. The birthday cake part makes me cry every. single. time.

#4 - The community. Catholicism is possibly just as quirky as it is beautiful and true, so it's really great to have a tribe of people who get it. In a special way I appreciate my Catholic friends who live near me, those who I connect with online, and those who are in Heaven. All three of those groups of friends have been irreplaceable in my life and in helping me to grow in my faith. The Catholic community has often prayed for me when I just didn't have the words and I have literally seen the dead come back to life because of this community.

#5 - The order it brings to my life. I struggle with pacing myself and creating a rhythm to our days. That's why I'm glad the Church does this for me. Advent and Lent help me prepare for Christmas and Easter and not lose sight on why they matter. Feast days and Friday's fasting help me keep in check the calendar and what's important. Grace before meals, morning prayer, the angelus, compline... all these things (if and when I use them, which is almost always for some, often for others, and rarely for the rest) help me mark the moments of the day and return to Christ repeatedly. The way the Church breaks down the liturgical seasons and the hours of the day truly is a blessing to me.


Also, want to know more about my love, love, love! of God and faith? Well here you go:
Creating a Catholic culture in your home
Ideas for building a Catholic culture in our parishes
Tips you may not get in RCIA

Five new-to-me blogs I'm loving right now.

- 1 -

Anna from The Heart's Overflow has a wonderful series of 31 things she learned from her parents. I found her after reading her wonderful Blessed Is She devotion and ended up reading through all the posts in her series. You should too, and then subscribe to her sweet blog - it's really well done.

- 2 -

Amanda was one of the bloggers I was able to meet at the Edel Conference. Her blog is beautiful and I love her writing - like a friend sharing her life with you. So much good: Erring on the Side of Love.

 - 3 -

Olivia writes from Australia and fills her blog with lush, gorgeous pictures. I don't remember how I came across her site but I love it: The Magic and the Mundane.

- 4 -

Seashell Nell - who first told me about her blog? Was it a Mary? Maybe a Mary. Anyways, I really enjoy reading her blog. She comes from a close, fun, Polish, Catholic family and she often writes about their adventures (like literal "Let's walk The Way of St. James together!" adventures). She is also a single Catholic woman I like reading her perspective. 

- 5 -

Now, I know that Mary told me about Graceful Living {at Home}. You guys! Jennifer's story is amazing and heartbreaking and beautiful. Her pictures are gorgeous and I really love her posts about her home and decorating, and the way she brings her faith into it all.


Linking up with Jenna for her Five Favorites.


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It's Craft Sale Season, People! Bring it!

This past weekend I attended a craft sale and intentionally left my wallet at home. We don't have cash to spend on anything but groceries and gas and while I found some really awesome stuff none of it was groceries or gas. I did collect some business cards and looked my favorites up online. I thought I'd share them and a couple other awesome crafters with you today. 

- 1 - 

My friend Alicia makes the. most. adorable bows. Oh my gosh I could gobble them up! You can check them out at Polka Dot Boulevard's FB page and oogle and oogle because: how do you deny the cute?

- 2 -

Speaking of bows: I saw the cutest, greatest thing - a bow board made by Anna and Cindy, the ladies behind Bowlicious. There was a super great My Little Pony one that I wanted to buy for my girls' so, so badly. 

- 3 -

Angie is the woman behind Simply Grace Designs and she had some really beautiful necklaces, bracelets, and earrings. She's just starting her website so there's not a lot of pictures online of her handmade goods, but I loved these earrings.

- 4 - 

I've talked about my friend Katie a whole heck of a lot. She's the one who created the Halloween catechesis book for me, helps me make all my kids' birthday invitations, and created the Sheen curriculum. She also works with two of her friends on a project called [Un]common Workbasket. I'm not sure which of the three made these headbands but I am enamored. Which one do I even like the most? I don't know. How do you decide?!

- 5 -

I learned about Her Bunnies Three from a This Inspired Life podcast. So technically this one isn't at a craft sale in my neck of the woods, but I still had to share it. Oh my goodness. Can you even handle the the adorableness?

Linking up with Jenna at Call Her Happy for Five Favorites.

Etsy Artists I Love (and you should too!)

Linking up with Hallie!

- 1 -

Georgie Pie has the cutest little crayon aprons and totes, but I really love her berry watercolors.

-2-

Call Her Happy has the cutest little embroidery hoop necklaces. The Sacred Heart one? Oh be still my non - sacred heart!

-3-

Audrey Eclectic has such gorgeous prints! I would love to buy up a ton of her seasonal prints and switch them out. The St. Lucia, The Headless Horseman, Hanging the Christmas Stocking, Thankful Harvest, The Easter Egg Tree, The Lamb of God - I love them!

-4-

FlorLarios has such lovely paintings and prints and a wonderful mix of sacred images and whimsical fairies and mermaids. I love the one of Bernadette the most, methinks.

-5-

Jude Landry is actually not on Etsy, but I love his stuff and wanted to share it again. If I had it my way, Makers Gonna Make would hang above our bed or surrounded by pictures of all our kids, Bottoms Up would hang in our kitchen, and I'd own a USA t-shirt.



What about you? If you have an Etsy shop  you love - your own or someone else's - please share!

5 Favorites

I know this is a major blogging cop out, but I have been so busy, we have been so crazy busy, so I am once again posting a list of excellent blog posts written by other people.

1 - Jenny's post "Let's Be Done" is intelligent, beautiful, and like a horrible, cruel suckerpunch in the gut.


2 - Modern Mrs. Darcy's "Buying a House vs. Buying a House AND a Life" hit close to home because we, too, are trying to sell our house and are trying to find something that's affordable, in a good neighborhood, big enough for our family of seven, and closer to my family and Travis' job. Oh but we need to sell our house first.


3 - Britt's "A Smorgasbord of Food" which basically makes me want to be her best friend, next door neighbor so I can pop over for an afternoon playdate that involves the German chocolate cake. And wow, great photography skillz, Britt.


4 - Kate's reflection on figuring out feast days and how she celebrated the Annunciation in "The Angelus." It's just lovely.


5 - Christie at Everything to Someone wrote a perfect little post called "Riches (and Letting God of Little Luxuries)". Short, sweet, to the point, and with a beautiful picture to boot.

Thank you, Hallie, for hosting!

Five Favorites

Linking up with Hallie to share my Five Favorites for the week.


1 - This song:

Seriously, I heard this song on the radio and fell in love. I made myself remember "pray to the moon in the middle of the night" until I could safely jot it down (I was driving when the song came on). Then I googled the lyric and did a little happy dance when I found the right song. It's a little different, but maybe you'll like it too.



2 - This support:

From the Chicago Tribune you can read about how people all over the state are trying to get belongings (pictures, bridal veils, unopened mail) carried away by the tornado back to their belongings.

The 173 thousand people who have liked the Washington IL Tornado Recovery page is just awesome.

My old friend Cassie is raising money with her son, Logan, to donate to the efforts in Washington. You can give to her American Red Cross campaign by clicking here.

Thank you for your prayers and support.



3 - This image of Mary:

It's called Our Lady of the Night and as a mom with a baby who isn't sleeping so well right now, well, I just really really really love it.



4 - These books:

Yes, I am very late to the game. They never sounded good to me but then I watched the movie and really liked it. Then my friend mentioned she owned The Hunger Games and said I could borrow it. I devoured it. Another friend said her daughter had the other two books and now they are in my home. Tomorrow, I begin Catching Fire.



5 - This ring:

It's definitely not a possibility for our budget but I would love to have a ring like this with birthstones for my kids' births and in the center the stone for our anniversary month. That would be turquoise in the middle, two emeralds, two sapphires, and a ruby - with room for more in case more is needed. (I am not pregnant.)

Five Favorites

1 - Dial antibacterial hand soap White Tea and Vitamin E 

2 - Celebrating the feast of Blessed John Paul the Great

Why yes, I did put a holy card of JPII in the center of the table, warm up some pyrogies I found in the frozen food section of the grocery store, have the kids watch the auto-tuned Pope "sing" and call it good. 

3 - Cutting up the meat food before I cook it.

Maybe this was a no-brainer for a lot of you but I just realized in the last week that it's waaaaay easier to do meal time this way. When I'm trimming the chicken breasts I just go ahead and dice them. Instead of making sausage or hamburger patties I just plop it in the skillet and chop it up. The meat cooks faster and then I don't have to go around to each kids' plate and cut the food for them at meal time. 

Plus, leftover chicken can quickly be reheated and tossed on a salad for my lunch and the leftover burger can be mixed with some tomato sauce for an even quicker spaghetti dinner.

4  - Italian Nachos

We first had these at Old Chicago and they were awesome. We've since recreated them at home and it's pretty simple.

Line a baking sheet with foil and cover with tortilla chips. Place pepperonis, cooked Italian sausage, mozzarella cheese, and pepperocinis on top. Warm in oven until cheese is melted. Devour.

5 - This video on how to open a pomegranate. Very helpful.

Five Favorites

Here's five things I've loved lately


1- this Columbus Day meme

 2 - Shalom Tidings Magazine for publishing an article I wrote.

3 - Seeing old friends at an anniversary party.

Raul told me all about being an extra in the new Transformers movie that's shooting at the Chicago building where he works. He even got to meet Mark Wahlburg!

Andrea and I chatted about our kids behavior as Mass, and she looked super cute, or course.

The lovely Jen and Joey, with a Casey in the middle.

My college chaplain, Fr. Caster.

 4 - This picture. I don't necessarily like them fighting or pouting or having attitude, but I do like this picture.

5 - Halloween decorations

Thanks, Hallie, for hosting!

Five Favorites

- 1 - 

My favorite one week old:

I went in to have a baby last Tuesday, he was born on Wednesday, and then jaundice kept us at the hospital until Sunday. But now we're home and happy.

- 2 -

My favorite blogger meet-up:

I was trying to explain to Travis' uncle why we were leaving the 4th of July family camp out early so a family of people I've never met before could hang out at our house for a couple of hours. 

"She's from New Jersey?"

"You've never met her?"

"You only know her from online?"

"What will you do if she's weird? Fake labor?"

I told him, and the rest of the family who was all listening in by this time, that Kelly wanting to meet me was like having one of the popular girls in high school invite me to sit at her lunch table. Trav's uncle blinked and probably felt bad for Travis and this Kelly woman I was about to host. Travis' cousin said, "We can understand why this would be important for you."

Let me tell ya: Kelly was a delight. She was funny and kind and interesting. Her husband was kind and is obviously a good man. Her kids were well behaved, smart, and didn't complain that I had accidentally watered down the lemonade. They didn't complain that we have no toys for older kids - they just made the best and were sweet and kind.

So the running theme in Kelly and her family is that they're kind. And to further prove it, they brought me a gift basket full of beer. Good house guests indeed! 

- 3 -

My favorite stairs:  

After a good four years of being carpet-less and unfinished and, ya know, ugly, we finally have thick, lush carpet to comfort our feet on the way to our bedrooms.

- 4 -

My favorite Hulu discovery:

Stephen Fry in America

It turns out that Fry's father was offered a job at Princeton when Mrs. Fry was pregnant with Stephen. Mr. Fry turned the offer down but Stephen has always been wondered what his life would have been like as Steve, a man who grew up in the USA instead of GB. 

I think Stephen Fry is charming (in the best way), funny, kind, and warm. In the BBC mini-series he travels through all 50 states and samples little bits of American life: coal mining, Ford vs. Chevy, trolleys, plantations, Vegas, the humidity of the south and the freakin' cold of the north. There were several parts that Travis and I especially liked but I think my favorite was his reaction to Truck Nutz.

- 5 -

My favorite thing about the internet:

When it works, which it stopped doing at some point yesterday but has begun doing again today. 

Five Favorites

Many thanks to Hallie for hosting!

1 - Benedryl

Because sometimes, while you're showering, your highly allergic boy will - for some god forsaken reason! - get into the fridge, find the bag of shredded mozzarella cheese, dump it all over the dining room, kitchen, and even track it into the living room. He won't ingest it (big shout out to J's guardian angel for that one because that would have ended in vomit and probably another epi pen / er adventure) but he will get the oil or residue or whatever on his hand, rub his eye, and break out like crazy.

That picture is 5 minutes after a large dose of Benedryl. Eye is less swollen, red skin and hives have gone away, snot needs to be wiped. But the poor little poor is still smiling and saying "eese".


2 - When the back of my hips do not hurt from the sharp and horrible pain of the sciatic nerve. So like those 30 minutes that are sprinkled through each 24 hour period - those are my favorite 30 minutes each day.


3 - Series 1 & 2 of Sherlock are available for streaming on Netflix.

I do not love that I'll have to wait until 2014 to watch Series 3, but at least I've got 1 and 2 any time I want.


4 - When my husband calls me from work. I love it. I love him, I love that he's checking in on things, I love that he's thinking of us, I love talking to him, I just love it.

Unless he's calling to tell me he's gonna be late. But otherwise I love it.


5 - My birthday girl.

Every day for a year she's been making up for the fact that she weighed 11lbs 9.5oz when she was born.


Dear Lord Jesus, please please please please please make the baby in my womb have as sweet a disposition and be as good of a sleeper and not have any allergies just like her big sister Resa.

Five Favorites

Thanks to Grace for hosting!

#1 - Emeli Sande's song Next to Me.

Love this one.


#2 - Birthmother's Day

Source

This coming Saturday is Birthmother's Day, the day before Mother's Day when we commemorate the women who lovingly placed their children with adoptive parents. It falls the day before Mother's Day because their motherhood came first and allowed for the motherhood that is celebrated on Sunday.

I stand in awe of birthmothers and if there's any birthmoms out there reading this I just want to say YOU ARE AWESOME! THANK YOU for your bravery and love.


#3 - Naps.
I've already had one today and it's not even 9am!


#4 -  This girl.

#5 -  Silver Lining Playbook

I've been waiting for this one to come out on video and it was SO worth the wait. I may actually need to own this film because I liked it so much. I like that it shows how people do stupid, dangerous things when we're in a bad place. I like that it doesn't have a sex scene (well, there is a sex scene and some nudity but it's in a different context where the people are obviously in the wrong). I like that the characters and situations seem fairly real and are believable. I love the dialogue and I laughed out loud through much of the film. I love how quirky it is. If you like the tv show New Girl I think you'll like this movie.

UPDATE: Please note that if you do not like New Girl you will probably hate this movie and find it vulgar and unfunny.

Five Favorites

Thanks to Hallie for hosting!

#1 - The EpiPen. Because JF would maybe be dead without it. Really. Here's the story:

JF's mother is illiterate and stupid and buys her milk based on the color of the carton and not the actual words written on it. Because of that two weeks ago today, after baths and while we were getting the last child ready for bed I gave JF a bottle of whole milk instead of soy milk - because they both have red tops. After drinking less than 2oz he started to break out into hives, itch, get really snotty, and then throw up. Obviously he was having a reaction but I didn't know to what since I was still thinking he was drinking soy milk. Travis was at a track meet so THANK GOD my mom had decided to come over that night to help with dinner and bedtime. I gave JF some Benedryl, which he threw up. Then I went to change his diaper and laying on the changing table his eyes started to swell up, he got a spacey look, and his breathing began to sound wheezy.

I swung the EpiPen into his thigh and took him to the ER.


#2 - Living in a small Catholic world.
Last week I saw my irl friend Elizabeth tag Ashley Collins on Facebook. Since I follow Ashley on Twitter and think he's super awesome I became super excited, in a "oh-my-gosh!-you-know-Ashley-Collins!?!" kind of way. Which of course he saw. Only slightly embarrassing.

Then I finally put a bunch of things together about Jenny Uebbing. Like that she was a FOCUS missionary and her husband's name is Dave, and their last name is Uebbing and then I realized that when I participated in FOCUS training in 2004 I met Dave. I sent her a creepy email asking if Dave was smart and funny and an Eagle Scout and I looked a pictures of them on Facebook. I've never met Jenny (unfortunately) and Dave doesn't remember me but I'm still counting it!


#3 - Spiced chai at Leaves and Beans. 

Hot, iced, blended - this is the best chai I've ever had. Travis and I just discovered this coffee shop and we love it. It's delicious. If you're in Morton, IL - pumpkin capitol of the world - do yourself a favor and get one.


#4 - The first batch of fresh asparagus from our garden. Holy schmoly - fresh, tender, yummy asparagus picked by my husband and daughter - the best. Everyone loved them and the 12 spears were not enough.


#5 - That Resa and I have the same gait.

She waddles. I waddle. We both waddle. Except my hands are usually on my lower back/hips/whatever is near that I can lean on for extra support.


#6 - Okay, I'm cheating a little bit and adding this one to the mix. OSF St. Francis Hospital / Children's Hospital of Illinois.  I hope you've all seen the awesome news about the 2 year old girl who was born without a windpipe but just had successful surgery at OSF (as us locals call it) for a transplant that included her own adult stem cells.  I loved this part of the Huffington Post article: 

Hannah's parents had read about Dr. Paolo Macchiarini's success using stem-cell based tracheas but couldn't afford to pay for the operation at his center, the Karolinska Institute in Stockholm. So Dr. Mark Holterman helped the family arrange to have the procedure at his Peoria hospital, bringing in Macchiarini to lead the operation. Children's Hospital waived the cost, likely hundreds of thousands of dollars, Holterman said.

Part of OSF Saint Francis Medical Center, the Roman Catholic hospital considers the operation part of their mission to provide charity care, but also views it as a way to champion a type of stem-cell therapy that doesn't involve human embryos, the surgeons said. The Catholic church opposes using stem cells derived from human embryos in research or treatment. [emphasis mine]

OSF really is a great hospital. It's where JF's alleged miracle happened and where he spent 7 weeks in the NICU. There's a crucifix in every. single. room. There's daily Mass in the chapel. There's a beautiful adoration chapel, separate from the main chapel, that is open 24/7 and is located in a high-traffic area of the hospital. The nuns who run it are serious about their mission and completely orthodox. The doctors, nurses, therapists, techs and so on are encouraged to pray over their patients. It is a St. Jude affiliate and its Children's Hospital is the best in the world for several treatments. And from personal experience I can tell you that the people in billing are very kind, easy to work with, and helpful when it comes to applying for charity and payment plans. At this house we love OSF.

Five Favorites

#1

The pizza cutter trick, featured in my Thoughts throughout the day post.

Travis thought of this one. It's so quick and easy. Much better than a fork and knife.

Pancake

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#2

The tumblr Mary Is My Homegirl.

Seriously - that lady is hilarious!  You have got to check it out.

But Hallie, if you are post partum you might want to wait a couple of days. You will laugh so hard it will hurt your stomach muscles.

#3

My new KitchenAid immersion blender. 

I love this bad boy. We got the two speed one, on sale, with our tax refund money. It's been great with soups, whipped potatoes, smoothies, and milkshakes so far and I can't wait to use it this summer when I make fresh marinara sauce with tomatoes from our garden.

Here's a little updatae: I meant to originally say that if anyone is looking for an immersion blender America's Test Kitchen rated KitchenAid the best. We're big ATK fans and so that was all we needed to hear.

#4

Also featured in my stream of consciousness post:

The "baby-proof the kitchen drawers" yardstick trick.

I learned this one from a woman in the parish I grew up in.

The boys also use the yardstick when they play Mass, processing in with it like it's a crucifix.

#5

The tulips that my husband brought home for me. There were so many I have three bouquets throughout the house.

He loves me.

It may also be true that the other reason he got them is this:

He was driving home from Mass and I asked if he would be playing racquetball with his co-worker as he usually does on Sunday afternoons. 

Travis: I don't know. Text him for me.

Me, texting co-worker as Travis, using Travis' phone: Are we playing today?

Co-worker: Yeah. When?

Me, again, as Trav: Any time. I just have to be home by 4 with flowers.

Co-worker: How about 12:30?

Me: See you then.

He was home by 3, with my favorite flower.