Heart Surgery Recovery

As soon as we shared our news that our eldest daughter, L, had two congenital heart defects and would need open heart bypass surgery people have been awesome. Like "The Body of Christ can move mountains" awesome. Like every dot, flower, and thorn painted with the Sacred and Immaculate Hearts above represents a prayer, a sacrifice, a rosary, a Mass offered up for my daughter, and those are only the ones that were submitted online. But every time we take a long look at that painting I am overwhelmed by the goodness of others and the way God is glorified by your works. 

The first Tuesday night in May Resa, L, and I sat around our dining room table with L's godmother, Katie, making invitations to their angel penguin birthday party. The next morning, with invites in the mail, I was sitting at my weekly moms' group when I got the phone call from the pediatric cardiologist's scheduler: there was an opening for surgery a week from Thursday. Did we want L to get it? We wanted L's surgery to happen before my c-section so we said Yes and then our life changed gears super fast.

All the potential party-goers were contacted and told that the birthday party would not be later in the month but in three days. The school, whose principal had already said L's last day could be whenever we needed it to be, was told that her last day would be in a week. We made arrangements for L to receive Anointing of the Sick before the surgery, for someone to be with our other kids, for Travis to be off work, for all our "i"s to be dotted and our "t"s crossed. 

The morning of L's surgery everyone got up early and headed to the 7am Mass. We had been given special permission for L to receive a very teeny tiny bit of Holy Communion. Fr. Julius prayed for L  at Mass and asked everyone present to pray for her throughout the day. In fact, a friend of our's had arranged with our priests for there to be all day adoration with a special request for people to pray for L. Parishioners would be at our church until 7pm praying for L and during the school day each grade took a turn before the Blessed Sacrament to pray for our daughter. 

Immediately after Mass our family headed over to the parish school and waited in the gym. Our pastor had arranged with the principal for there to be an all-school assembly immediately following Morning Announcements so that the whole school would be part of the prayers offered during L's reception of the Anointing of the Sick. It was awesome. Our family stood with her on that gymnasium floor as Fr. Julius administered the Sacrament. 

We then headed over to the Children's Hospital of Illinois, Travis, L, and me. From the tremendous outpouring on the blog, Facebook, and Instagram we knew that people were praying for us all over the country and world, and when combined with the powerful experiences at our parish we knew that we were being absolutely covered in prayer and graces. We were afraid and anxious but I can say with confidence that those prayers helped to bring us peace and calm our concerns. We were bowled-over by how many had pledged their prayers and we walked into the hospital knowing that you all were with us as we went.  

Some of Travis' students had made a special blanket for L when they heard about her surgery and as she waited for her surgery she wrapped herself in it. It was covered with hearts, the symbol of love, and anchors, the symbol of hope. I loved it. 

As we waited in the pre-op area we were again blessed in a special way. The hospital is a Catholic one, and in more than name only. The people who update loved ones throughout the operation process are from the chaplain's office. The man who just happened to be assigned to us is also a deacon at our parish's sister parish. He was able to give us a special blessing and as he prayed over us the nurse stopped what she was doing to pray with us, crossing herself when we were done.

After waiting for about an hour, playing Uno and chatting the whole time, it was finally time to go. Different doctors and nurses and specialists had come and gone the whole time, each chatting with L and reassuring us as they explained everything that was going to happen. When it was time for her to head to the OR she gave us hugs and kisses and she walked away from us, hair in a cover, love and hope wrapped around her, Cozy Heart Penguin in her arms, and a smile on her face. 

Travis and I went to the waiting room, getting updates along the way. The worst 

was when the deacon called us to let us know that L was on the bypass machine - meaning her heart was no longer beating. Crazy and horrible and amazing and terrifying, if you can imagine.

Surgery went incredibly well and they finished in just under two hours. We were walked up to the PICU (peds intensive care unit) but had to wait for a bit longer than expected to see her because she was having such a hard time coming out of the anesthesia. When the surgeons finally came out to talk to us they explained how happy they were with how the surgery had gone - they were able to use the hole in her heart as a short-cut to thread her veins through so it could finally be attached in the correct place. They used part of her heart sac to plug the rest of it up and ... all's well that ends well. But it's also just craaaaaaazy.

That first day was pretty tough. As she fought to come out of the anesthesia she was in a lot of pain and incredibly confused. At one point she yelled out, "Help me, Daddy!" and it was literally one of the worst moments of our lives because there was nothing we could do to help our baby girl. There was a chest tube to make sure fluid didn't collect around her heart, but it was what caused her the most pain and discomfort. She threw up several times because of it - can you imagine how painful that would be with a broken sternum?! 

But the nurses were rock stars. They took such great care of her and did everything in their means to make her comfortable. The whole cardiology team was just amazing and we were so grateful to be at one of the best children's hospitals in the country - just 20 minutes from our home. 

Over the next few days she napped. Once they removed her chest tube (and the pace maker wires) she started to feel much better. She moved from her bed to the chair, then her bed to the bathroom, then from her bed all the way down to the other end of the floor and then out to the roof-top garden. She rested there, then walked almost the whole way back until the nurse insisted that she ride in a wheelchair the rest of the way. It was twenty-four hours after her open heart surgery! The nurses said it was the longest walk they'd ever seen in a patient at that state in the game. Eventually she regained an appetite. I read aloud to her and we watched the live action Cinderella. Her uncles visited, along with her godmother and grandmother, mormor and grandpa.

I love this picture of me, 9 months pregnant, brushing L's hair for her and putting it up in a bun as she requested. She was so worn out she fell asleep while I was doing it, but it was so good to have something tangible I could do for her. 

Our sleeping beauty.

L, resting in the roof-top garden. She's wearing her super hero shirt, a gift from Trav's co-workers. 

Saturday morning breakfast.

Sunday, Mother's Day, L was given clearance to come home. After the surgery she had to cough a lot, clearing her chest, and her Cozy Heart Penguin - a birthday gift from her Mormor - was her go-to object to hug during the coughing. It was also used to soften the feel of the seat belt against her incision. 

We couldn't believe that just three days after having open heart surgery she could come home! As soon as we arrived at our house the very first thing she asked to do was go outside and sit on the swing. Once again: crazy. 

Early on L had a lot of limitations. She mostly napped that first post-op week, took pain meds, and was sore. Many people gifted her with books and crafty things and so she colored, molded, sketched, created, and read. Since she could not lift anything over 5lbs, be in public, or do anything that might lead to a fall she could not run, dance, skip, do stairs, ride her bike, swing high, use the slide, climb anything, attend school or Mass, and so on. But a friend from church dropped off the hula hoops her daughters used to play with - 20 some years ago! - and L became a master hooper! Thank God - literally - that Chris was moved to bring those hula hoops over because they were *just* what L needed - something physical, something new to master, and something that was allowed by the surgeons. Several times a day she'd walk around our house, hooping as she went. She'd hula hoop for minutes - over 8 minutes straight once - and even do the chicken dance while hooping! 

With special permission from her doctors L was able to attend the last day of school, two weeks post-op. As a family we went to the all school Mass and she got to sit with her class, though she had to wear a face mask and she carried her cough-buddy penguin. As a special treat she made heart-shaped sugar cookies for her classmates, which she and her daddy took to her class after the Mass. She chatted with her friends and was able to thank them for their prayers. 

At this point L is able to swim, slide, swing, run (with shoes - no flip flops!), and do most of her usual activities. She cannot roller skate, ride her bike, climb trees, or play contact sports until November (so that her sternum is not re-broken) but otherwise she is free to live her life. One of the beautiful things about this time is that L has really fallen in love with reading. In the past the only books she really read were the Junie B. Jones series but now she's been plowing through the Lemony Snicket books, has started the Narnia books, and has read The Secret Garden, Anne of Green Gables, and a few others along the way. 

Over and over again I have said that how well L is doing is a testament to the power of prayer and modern medicine. To everyone who sent money or gift cards or presents or prayers: thank you! Our family was so well cared-for during those difficult hours, days, and weeks and we are so grateful. Learning that L had heart issues was terrifying and we were so scared about the surgery. I admit I was angry at God for giving us another hardship to endure. But on this side of it I also have to admit that we had it easy. L had one surgery, it went well, her incision has healed well, and she has a 99.9% chance of going on and living a normal, healthy life - free to do whatever she wishes - once her body is completely healed. So many heart kids have repeated surgeries and they and their families truly are suffering for a long, long time. We had a community of loved ones supporting us. We were blanketed in prayers. Our daughter is healthy and alive. We are so fortunate and honestly, looking back at the tantrums I threw in prayer I am embarrassed. We've had it so easy. May God comfort and restore those who have not. 

And once again I very sincerely want to say Thank You to everyone who has prayed for us, cared for us, and gifted something to us. I am slowly working on sending out Thank You cards and I'm really hoping that in the chaos that was our life we didn't leave any of the gifts off our record log. Please know that we are so grateful - to God and to you. 

Spiritual bouquet embroidered by Jenna from Call Her Happy

A Head Cold of Jane Austen Proportions (+ what we've been doing in the radio silence)

I owe a very sincere apology to Jane Austen. When Jane Bennet caught cold and had to stay at Netherfield for several days I thought it was ridiculous. I mean, it's a cold. Likewise, when Harriet Smith caught cold and had to stay in bed for days I thought that was also ridiculous. 

But then in mid-December I got sick. I got really, really, really sick with a cold of Jane Austen proportions. 

The last week of school before Christmas break Ben came down with something. He slept 20 hours a day and barely ate anything. One by one all six of my kids fell ill and when Baby Tee was also sick I took him to the doctor. Strep throat for the baby and so everyone got antibiotics. By the time the kids were starting to feel better my throat was starting to hurt, I had a congested headache and a cough. 

And for over four weeks I would cough and sleep and lay around. I would start to feel better and then crash with more coughing, sleeping, and laying around. Often I would wish that *I* was at Netherfield with a household staff to cook, clean, and care for the children while I laid in bed and got better. (Alright, honestly, I often have that wish even when I'm healthy.)

It wasn't strep; it wasn't bronchitis; and while I thought it had turned into walking pneumonia and was even treated for it with some antibiotics I think, in the end, it was just a super duper, really bad cold - just like the prompt care doctor told me. Five weeks later I am still occasionally coughing but I finally feel fairly caught up with life. 

There were a lot of really good things that happened in those five weeks, especially in December, and I wanted to share some of the highlights. 

St. Nick brought a gingerbread village for the kids to assemble and decorate. 

Travis was able to finish and hang my shelves. They are made from the wood of an oak tree that stood in my maternal grandfather's yard. We kept the bark on them and glossed them up. This is pretty much the first and only time where how I imagined a finished project looking is how the finished project actually looks. And I loooooove it!

The little Fiat sign is from JustLovePrints.

So Fresh & So Clean Clean print from Brick House in the City.

On Christmas morning we put on our finest, went to the 7am Mass, and tried to get a good family photo. This is as good as it gets, and yes, there is a hideous mural on the back wall of my parish. I dream of whitewashing it. 

My parents, my uncle, and my paternal grandfather came over to watch the kids open their gifts and to eat homemade sausage bread and cinnamon rolls, bacon, and coffee. Behold: the only picture I took:

Five days later we celebrated Baby Tee's first birthday and our tenth anniversary with a party. Our parents, siblings, and friends were invited and so I set out a yummy spread, decorated with fresh greens and items used in our wedding reception, and...

put on my new favorite outfit and (a rare thing these days) make-up.

L, my 8 year old, was pursuing her Cake Making badge in American Heritage Girls and so she spent the day with her aunt, a professional baker, and designed and baked the anniversary cake for us...

And the birthday cupcakes for Tee.

 We were married on my paternal grandfather's 80th birthday so along with Tee's 1st, we celebrated Grandpa's 90th. L made him a special cupcake and everyone sang Happy Birthday to him.

Fortunately I was feeling fairly well for Christmas and our anniversary but right after each I crashed again. Instead of doing an Advent Calendar I like to celebrate the Twelve Days of Christmas but this year the only thing I was able to do was make and decorate Christmas cookies and that was only because my mom came over to help. Oh well.

If you're looking for a good gingerbread cookie recipe Mary's from Better Than Eden is the best I've ever had. Follow her tip and save them for the next day. I don't know why, but they are so much better Day Two. And that St. Nick cookie cutter came from Catholic Curio, in case you were wondering.

 And if you're looking for a good something to watch, well I have been busy with all my laying around.

Amazon Prime: Mr. Holmes, the BBC's Emma, Grantchester, Endevour, and the Matt Smith Doctor Who episodes all kept me company.

Netflix: Spotlight, Sherlock, The Crown, A Royal Night Out, Death Comes to Pemberly, Madame Secretary, The Imitation Game, The Returned, and E.T. have also been good distractions.

Gosh, I look like such a bum, don't I?

I'll leave you with my current favorite song, a reward of sorts for making to the end of this post.

Alex da Kid's Not Easy

Stay healthy, you guys. Oh man, stay healthy.

Our Grocery Budget + What's for Supper

One year ago I wrote a series called Financial Hardships & Surprise Pregnancies. In it I talked a bit about groceries, our food budget, and our meal plan and there were requests for me to write more. So here it is, under the category of "Better Late than Never": the follow up post.

I want to start by touching on a couple of things that help to make this work for our family.

First, because of our food allergies I have to make almost everything from scratch but I do love to cook so it's a small sacrifice. However, it can be hard to figure out what we can eat based on what we have, what we can afford to buy, what everyone can and will eat, and then balance that with feast days and evening activities. All that to say, I love having a meal plan but I sorta don't like sitting down and writing up a meal plan.

Second, our income has increased a wee bit since last year and now our weekly grocery budget is about $130. Travis gives me $260 every two weeks. About once a month I will go to Costco for any variety of things: crackers, bacon, chicken breasts, flour, rice, detergent. I will spend about $50 there and then the rest will be divided between my two weeks shopping budget. Sometimes I will spend $120 one week and less the next but with the envelope system I always know how much cash I have and that I have to make it work for me.

Third, we bought half a cow in the spring from a local farmer (whose parents were the witnesses at my grandparents' wedding!) We still have about 1/3 of that meat in the deep freeze. Buying from the farmer is a big expense up front but it means we only spend ~$3 a pound on roasts, steaks, stew meat, ground beef, and liver (what do I do with liver?).

Updated with a fourth, when I say "groceries" I actually mean everything we eat and use in our house on a daily basis: tissues, paper towels, food, drinks, diapers, wet wipes, make-up, deodorant, cleaning products, garbage bags, hair products, feminine products, tealight candles used in holiday decorations, fresh flowers, and so on.

And fifth, we are a family of eight, six kids and two adults. Our oldest is eight and our youngest is almost ten months. While the baby is not eating a ton of food I am buying some special things for him and his diapers come out of our grocery budget so I think it's fair to include him in the count.

Okay, I think that's enough groundwork. Here goes:

Today I went grocery shopping and spent $109. It should feed us through the week though come Friday (pay day) I may pop back into the store in case I've run out of milk, bread, or sanity. My grocery list looked like this:

I also picked up apples, bananas, strawberries, hand soap refill, Earth Balance butter, shampoo, conditioner, mini bagels, bread, and a fountain soda. I didn't use coupons this week but I did make an effort to buy Kroger products so I would save with my Kroger card + earn fuel points. I know my meal plan says chili on Friday but we eat meatless on Fridays and I don't know why I wrote that down. So I bought no beans and we'll have something else instead.

After shopping my fridge looked like this:

And my freezer like this:

The cupboards have the bread, crackers, cereal, pop tarts, fruit snacks, oatmeal, chips, pretzels, canned food, and other items that make up our other meals. Generally speaking those menus look like this:

Breakfast options:
cold cereal, oatmeal, pop tart, bagel, toast, Eggo waffle, and sometimes homemade coffee cake or pancakes

Lunch options:
chicken nuggets, hot dogs, mac and cheese, fresh fruit, chips, pretzels, mini mallows, carrot sticks, leftovers

Snack options:
fresh fruit, carrot sticks, crackers, baked goods, popcorn, chips, mallows

And then for this week here's what we're having:

Monday: Shepherd's Pie and Biscuits
I make my Shepherd's Pie in a cast iron skillet so I can just bake it in the same dish. Both the pie and the biscuits are easily adapted for our food allergies and I use ground round instead of lamb to save on cost.

Tuesday: Italian Sausage + Homemade Red Sauce + GF Spaghetti Noodles and Frozen Veg and Applesauce

Wednesday: Chicken + Rice + Stir Fry Veggies

Thursday: Soup Bones + Noodles and Frozen Veg and Canned Peaches
I don't have a recipe for this because my mom made this up, but let me tell you it's amazing. She boiled the meat off the bones, took bones out, added noodles to the meat and broth. Then she made a roux, added that to the cooked noodles, meat, and what was left of the broth. She seasoned it with salt and pepper and it's delish.

Friday: Potato Soup and Home Baked Bread

Saturday: Ribs and Rice and Frozen Veg

Sunday: Brinner (that's breakfast for dinner)

I don't know if this is helpful at all but if you have any questions please feel free to ask. I'm sure there's ways I could save even more money (I have two friends who are amazing at gardening, canning, freezing, and baking and I know that really helps them a great deal.) but, again, this is what works for us here and now. Please share your tips and tricks, because the point really is about helping one another feed the masses on our budgets and I'd love to learn from you.

Eat up and enjoy!

Infancy Without Postpartum Depression, what we did this time around

At the end of October Baby Tee will be ten months old. He is crawling, pulling himself to standing, cruising, and saying "mama." He laughs at his older siblings' silliness and they love to perform for him. He likes cheerios, sweet potatoes, graham crackers, and his mama's milk. He has seven teeth and sometimes I think he looks like an elf.

Can I just tell you that I am completely smitten with him? Some things are tough, of course, like teething and night nursing and all the food he drops on the floor, but he is so sweet and so lovely and my heart bursts with love of him.

I've never had an experience like this before. All my other children's infancies were shadowed by postpartum depression and now that I see what life with a newborn is like without PPD touching it I am incredibly sad that we were all robbed of happier days and a lighter, more peaceful, more loving home. But I am also so incredibly grateful that this time I have not suffered from PPD.

There were moments I was afraid it was coming. One night in particular I was so tired and so anxious. My anxiety kept me awake after a night feeding and I paced the house, I sobbed in the family room, I shook with fear, and I kept seeing this picture of a spiraling, Wonderland-like fall of which I was standing on the cusp.

When exhaustion or stress crept up on me, as they did a couple of times, they showed themselves through anger and an inability to tolerate anything. In the past I would have succumbed - I would have gone crazy. I had...

... but this time was different. We were proactive and we had plans in place. We knew that exhaustion and stress triggered my spiraling into PPD and so my husband, my mom, and I decided what we would do. In the end I would say three things really helped me get through this postpartum period without succumbing to postpartum depression.

First, and probably most importantly: sleep. My mom basically moved in with us for the first few weeks, waking up with Tee's cries, tending to him until she had to get me to nurse him, sending me back to bed immediately after he finished eating, and putting him back to bed. She and Travis made the meals and with he and me sleeping well at night Mom was able to nap during the days. My mother-in-law also helped by relieving my mom and occasionally keeping the older kids at her home. I sat with the kids, rested, and nursed the baby  - and for months that was pretty much all I did. In the months that followed those first six weeks I did not hesitate to put on a movie for the kids and nap, ask my mom or husband to watch the kids so I could sleep, and / or go to bed at 8pm.

Second, I allowed for a lot of quiet and introspection. I spent a lot of time observing how I felt physically, mentally, emotionally, and spiritually. I prayed, I read my Bible and Beautiful Mercy, I asked for other people to pray for me, and I used Jenna Hines' book 30 Days to Calm.

Finally, I took pills, but not medication like before. My midwife prescribed for me to take Omega-3 supplements (EPA-DHA 720, 1-2 at a time, four times a day) and Magnesium Glycinate (300mg, 4 at a time, 4 times a day). They were amazing. They helped me relax and just... feel good. I know that seems like a vague statement but it's true. If I started to feel overwhelmed I would take my pills and within thirty minutes I was calm and relaxed. I felt little to no anxiety and I slept better with them. I don't think these pills alone would have worked for bringing me out of my former PPD, but they were wonderfully helpful for keeping it bay this time.


In the end, this has possibly been the best year of my life. I have six amazing children, a husband who loves me immensely, and a devoted mom (and mother-in-law). As a family we have hit our stride and we are thriving, happy, and full of love. That might sound cheesy but I don't care. I've always like nachos.

PS - Speaking of babies, I was invited to be a contributor to the Waiting in His Word: A Couple's Journey Scripture Study on fertility. Nell, Nancy, and Laura have done a fabulous job of bringing together women and men with a wide variety of experiences: loss, adoption, infertility, hyper-fertility, foster care, and more. You can learn more and buy your copy here.


PPS - Not to sound silly, but I would love it if you'd vote for A Knotted Life over at the Fisher's Net Awards. I mean, who else gives you blog posts about food allergies, miracle babies, parochial school, parties, and fashion for barrel-shaped bellies? I mean, when it comes to that combination you know that I am the BEST.


PPS - I am definitely not saying that these three things are all you need to do to beat PPD, and please, please, please know that there is no shame in getting help - be it a therapist, medication, a nanny, etc - to overcome postpartum depression or any mental illness. If you think you have PPD please talk to your doctor or midwife. If you are still pregnant and worried about suffering through another bout of PPD, as I was while pregnant with Baby Tee, then perhaps this post will inspire you to think about your own triggers and create a plan with your loved ones so you can get the best care.

 

Life Lately

I have finally caught up with my life and it feels really good. ~whew~ I needed a breather after the back-to-school rush of it all. Our family has hit a stride and as long as I can keep my act together and continue to fold and put away the kids laundry we should be okay.

So tons of wonderful things have been happening. Birthdays, the Blessed Is She team retreat (which deserves its own post, really), cooler weather in my neck of the woods, and all the little things that make life so great. So this is a bit of a highlight reel type post, but first let's start with a song. Catchy with depressing lyrics:



Second:
Ben lost his first tooth, right at bed time last week. He was so excited and we were so exhausted that we went to bed at the same time as the kids. In the morning Ben was disappointed because the Tooth Fairy hadn't come but Daddy saved the day. As Ben was eating breakfast Travis passed the kids room, still dark at 6:15am, and caught something out of the corner of his eye. He told Ben and L this and they immediately *knew* it *was* the Tooth Fairy and she *hadn't* forgotten him, she just didn't know that we'd be up already and he was her very last stop. So all's well that ends well.

He lost his second tooth after much wiggling, pushing, pulling, and apple eating at breakfast on Wednesday of this week. Big sister L was an active participant in getting it out (and I think caused him some pain, too. : /  )


Third:
Funny story: Last week the new Hatch Prints tote came in the mail. When I pulled it out of its USPS packaging it looked like this:

 And Ben asked, "Is it garlic bread?!" This kid looooooves garlic bread so he was pretty sure it was the best mail day ever.

He was unimpressed and uninterested when he saw that it was actually this awesome bag, but I was incredibly happy.

Currently it is holding: library books, LuLaRoe leggings, wallet, diapers, wet wipes, baby toys, and a pouch filled with rosary, kleenexes, pens, chapstick, and lipstick. It's gotta work hard at this house.


Fourth:
Baby Tee started pulling himself up to kneeling. And then he figured out crawling, abandoning The Worm to master the official crawl. He has great confidence and found his way to the bathroom for his first time to play with the toilet paper. Within two days of that he was pulling himself to standing and within a week he took his first "cruising" steps.

With all these accomplishments comes the need to constantly yell at people for leaving the bathroom and basement doors open and a little (or a lot) of sentimentality and mourning as my baby gets older.


Fifth:
Jofis is wearing big boy undies all through the day. I waited until he was well past three and interested, making potty training super easy. I bribed him with candy for pee and sorbet for poop and in no time he was good to go. I am down to one in diapers again and it is awesome.

Jofis is also becoming a master story teller. He will passionately tell you "ooooky" stories about ghosts and ditches (witches) and big, big, big scary monsters. He acts things out and illustrates size with his arms and hands. His face is incredibly animated and he gleefully smiles when he gets to the really juicy parts. In short, it is adorable.


Sixth:
Last week was a lot of fun for liturgical feasting. Michaelmas (the feast of St. Michael, St. Gabriel, and St. Raphael - the archangels) was celebrated wholeheartedly. The kids and I read about St. Raphael in the Book of Tobit at breakfast becuase I couldn't quite remember what was up with the fish. Inspired by Molly's clever post about St. Michael's leggings, the girls and I wore our own leggings.  

Inspired by Haley's blog name and book Feast! we dined on roasted chicken and carrots for dinner with cake topped with blackberry compote for dessert. As Ben ate he asked, "Am I making the devil mad by eating blackberries?" eager to bring a bit of consternation to the guy.

When I was in college my chaplain was Fr. Gary Caster - a wonderful priest, preacher, and friend of St. Therese. He instilled in my friends and I a deep love of St. Therese and so October 1st cannot pass without some roses and something to honor my friends - Therese in Heaven and those on earth. I didn't get the chance to make something French for dinner or decorate rose cupcakes (like Tracy's - hers were gorgeous!)  but while all but the baby were with friends or family Travis and I ate Five Guys burgers and fries for dinner so I still call that a win.

Seventh:

St. Francis' feast day was this week of course and to celebrate our water heater broke and we had to buy a new one. We are following Dave Ramsey's Baby Steps so fortunately we had the money in savings to pay for it, but it's a big purchase. It seemed like a fitting day for it to happen.

In what I would describe as a parenting win, though, my school aged kids climbed in the car at pick-up and asked what we were going to do to celebrate St. Francis' feast. I had not even thought about it but it seems that I have established a precedent in our home: feast days = a special dinner, dessert, or activity. This has been my goal the whole time - for my kids to love living out their faith - and so we brainstormed on the way home. In the end spaghetti in honor of Francis' Italian heritage and cut out cookies shaped like animals were the winners. 

We used dogs, dinosaurs, butterflies, Easter bunnies, and Halloween bats and cats. Afterwards I found our Thanksgiving turkey; I'll have to remember that one for next year. 

So that's it. A pretty good couple of weeks. And now I'm off to link up with the wonderful Kelly at This Ain't the Lyceum. Have a fun weekend, you guys! :)

Back to School for 2016

This year we've got kids at the public school, parochial school, and a little homeschool.

While my kids in the brick and mortar schools went back in August, Resa Rie didn't begin her PreK4 Homeschool until just last week.

L, Ben, and JF love their school(s). Resa was not impressed. Oh well. Here's the First Day of School pictures.

L is a third grader and still wants to be a mom when she grows up. She loves coloring, being outside, and spaghetti. Ben is in first grade and wants to be a train driver, pilot, taxi driver, and farmer when he grows up.  He'll be busy.

And yes, he's taller than L, but don't talk about it with her.

JF is in Kindergarten and is dual-enrolled at the public and parochial schools. So far it is working really well for him. As you can see he wants to be a pirate when he grows up.

Resa was excited about "all the things" associated with school, which perhaps explains her disappointment. She wants to be a mom when she grows up and she loves coloring, jumping, sliding, and writing her name. :)

Wishing all of you a happy back to school time of year, too.

A Day in My Life (yesterday, to be precise)

Here's a good ole fashioned Day in the Life post, complete with photos, some unedited to really throw it back to old school blogging. This is from yesterday and I did a mix of typing in chunks - so some of the time is 'ish' (like 9:15-ish) - and typing as I went - so some of the time is accurate. Some of it is summary and some of it is commentary but please note that this was both an ordinary day and a not so ordinary day. Usually I stay in bed until 6:30 and my kids do not get fresh, warm coffee cake for breakfast. Also, Mondays - Wednesdays we have morning activities but I'm thinking of keeping Thursdays to myself. It is so nice to have a long day at home (even if that means the mid-day transfer).

Okay, here goes!

4:23 - Thomas wakes up. Nurse him in the living room, like always. Listen to the downpour and feel bad for the garbage man who will have stinky, soggy trash to deal with.

4:37 - Lay back down in bed, super thirsty but don't drink anything and try to will myself back to sleep so I can sorta take a sorta accurate temp at 5am for my nfp charting. Dose off at some point.

5:00 - Alarm goes off, I take temp and wonder if I should go back to sleep or stay up.

5:30 - Stay up. I head to the kitchen and immediately start mixing up a double batch of coffee cake.

5:35 - Remember to turn on Mother Assumpta praying the rosary. (This is a tip I just learned on Instagram - a woman named Becky shared it on one of my pictures and I LOVED it! I pray along with the nuns when I can but I let them pray for me when the kids or life interrupt. Plus, as Becky stated, it creates an incredibly calm and beautiful atmosphere in our home and hopefully for the rest of their lives the rosary will remind my kids of peaceful times at home. Hopefully.)

5:38 - Travis comes out, ready for work. I stop the coffee cake and turn on the coffee for him. We discuss his work day, a bill, what time he'll be home, and dinner plans (pizza party for Mary's birthday!)

5:40 - Travis leaves, travel cup filled with coffee. (Because it's the little things, right? And in our marriage, me making him hot coffee for his morning commute is a way I can communicate my love to him... when he's not communicating his love to me by letting me sleep in.)

5:50 - Coffee cake goes in the oven. I check Facebook and then turn off the kitchen light, but leave the light on over the sink, and then walk around the house lighting candles, knowing the kids will love it as much as I do. Tidy up a bit as I go.

6:00 - I pour myself some coffee, put on a classical music playlist, and sit down with my Bible, opening it to the end of Mark, which I finished yesterday. Think about if I should read Mark again, choose another Gospel, or do an epistle. Say a quick prayer to the Holy Spirit and then...

6:10 - James calls out for his dad; I see him at the end of the hall so I turn on the light and invite him to come to me. We sit on the sofa together, snuggling in the dark, candlelit room.

6:15 - I wonder about getting up Bennet and Lydia, whose bus will come in 45 minutes but just then Ben comes into the living room, fully dressed and checking out the candles.

6:18 - L comes out and sits on the sofa, commenting on the candles. Ben asks if he can light up the jack-o-lantern which I currently have displayed as just a pumpkin because it's only September 8th. I tell him yes, because why not?, and then we go to the basement to find another votive candle, me carrying a folding chair and laundry basket with me.

6:20 - I put the chair away, fill the laundry basket with the kids' whites from the dryer, and walk back upstairs with Ben, who grabs and the matches and happily sets up his jack-o-lantern. I pull the coffee cake out of the oven.

6:25 - I begin to pack the kids' lunches and discuss which fruit option they all want. (Applesauce, apple slices, or grapes? And you better eat it, too!) Jofis comes down the hall and into the kitchen with his blankie over his head "wooooooo"ing and for the one thousandth time we all cry out, "There's a ghost in the house!" He pulls the blankie off, showing a huge grin and we all say, "Oh it's just Jofis!"

6:35 - I slice up and serve the coffee cake to JF, Ben, Jofish, and L. We pray the Morning Offering and Grace. I pick up a few things in the living room and grab a brush, ponytail holder, and bow. While L eats I do her hair.

6:45 - I go back to making the kids' lunches. Fill the water bottles, put everything in the bookbags, ask Ben if his homework is in his bag, thank the kids for bringing their plates to the sink and then send them to the bathroom to wash their hands and brush their teeth.

6:55 - Step outside to check how hard it's raining. Hear the kids' bus and call them out. Watch them run down the drive as I yell, like every day, "I love you. Have fun and make good choices." Watch the bus drive away and feel really content because they love school and I love our life. That sounds really cheesy and chipper but it's true and I'm grateful.

7:00 - Take a picture of the cake mix box and blue frosting to share on social media as a reminder that today's the Blessed Mother's birthday. PBS Kids gets turned on.

7:05 - Make breakfast for myself - eggs + bacon, wrapped in a tortilla. Freshen my coffee and sit down with my breakfast, planner, and Bible. Look over the day, my prayer intentions, my to-do's. Decide to go with an epistle and open my Bible to Titus. See that it's super short and dive in, reading the intro and first chapter. Sit with a couple of verses, thinking them over and praying about them, looking at my own life in comparison.

7:38 - Get Thomas out of his crib. Take him to the living room to nurse. Resa wakes up and comes out in the meantime.

7:40 - Change diapers, wash hands, get breakfast for Resa.

7:55 - Wash breakfast dishes. Decide to start this blog post, despite the fact that it has so far been an unusual and not at all typical day.

8:20 - JF gets on bus. I turn on PBS Kids.

8:25 - Play with Tee on the floor, watch the rain, freshen coffee.

8:45 - Put Tee in highchair for breakfast. Work on blog post while he eats.

8:50 - Draw bath for Jofis and Resa, divvy out bath toys and make a firm warning of "no shampoo or conditioner!"

9:00 - Facebook, blogging, read the article about the 10 kids just like everyone else.

9:15 - Tee is done with breakfast. Wipe him off and dump all crumbs on floor. Vacuum floor. Decide to cut his super long hair. Cut too much, giving him a "Caesar" haircut straight outta 1996.

9:30 - Kids are done with bath. While Tee plays in living room, go to bathroom to wash Jofis and Resa's hair. Tidy bathroom, note ring in tub that needs to be cleaned, turn off light.

9:40 - Put lotion and clothes on kids; brush their hair. Tell them to play while I work on blogging.

10:00 - Pull Tee out from under the table and lay him down for a nap. Try putting a pretty Cinderella dress on Resa only to have her take it off because it's itchy. Put on Halloween music at Jofis' request, pass out bananas, refill water, work on editing pictures for a blog post.

10:23 - Realize that I have to pick James up in 50 minutes and dash off to the shower, updating this blog post first - of course.

10:25 - Plug in computer to recharge, make bed, attend to personal hygene, try blow-drying hair to control frizz and fail.

10:55 - Exit room looking absolutely fabulous! (in yoga pants and a shirt I've already worn once this week.) Round up the kids and send them to the van. Wake a sleeping baby and notice how bad his hair looks. Shoot.

11:02 - Everyone is buckled in. I put Sara Groves in the cd player and we are rolling.

11:05 - Arrive at the public school. Sign JF out, chat with his aid, allow JF to carry the huge rainbow umbrella which means I walk in the rain. Whatevs.

11:15 - JF is buckled in and eating his lunch, we head over to the parochial school.

11:23 - Arrive at parochial school. JF and Resa need to use the bathroom. Jofis requests "Train Song" so I put in Johnny Cash cd and play "Orange Blossom Special." Take the two in for the bathroom and check in at the office. Go back to van so JF can finish his lunch. Just as I'm about to record a *brilliant* Instagram Story JF tells me he's done with his lunch and ready to go in.

11:40 - Take JF down to his classroom. (As an aside, JF *really* likes routine and he really likes me. He dislikes change and being on his own. We had just gotten to a point where he was comfortable doing drop off when there was outdoor recess. I would park by the sidewalk to the playground, his friends and siblings would help him out of the van, and I could drive away with him happy. But indoor recess is different and we're working on what to do. If you could say a prayer for us that would be great. I don't feel bad for him - I feel bad for the staff having to deal with my crying kid.)

11:50 - Chat with the principal and Spanish teacher about how I should best get James in school on indoor recess days.

11:55 - Back in the van, driving home.

12:05 - Put Tee in the high chair, cut up a banana and give him some Ritz crackers. Make salami and butter sandwiches for Resa, Jofis, and me while I watch the latest season of Once Upon a Time on Netflix. Call kids to the table, catch up this blog post, eat sandwich.

12:25 - Wipe down Tee, dump crackers on floor. Nurse Tee in family room and try to ignore the curtains that Jofis has arranged. Put him down so he can play,  watch him do the worm across the floor. (Seriously, that's how he crawls. It's amazing.) Scroll through FB and IG.

12:40 - Begin to work on scouting stuff. Almost cry. Want to quit. Record an Instagram Story about it. Literally put head on counter. Sigh a bunch. Send a bunch of texts to Travis. Put Tee down for a nap. Email people. Continue to want to cry. Wonder how in the world other people do it. Resist the urge to drink or eat a bunch of chocolate.

1:24 - Bake Mary's birthday cake while watching Once Upon a Time so I can forget how dumb I feel for not understanding what the hell I'm supposed to be doing so my kids can have a wonderful time in Scouts. Okay, bake the cake.

1:41 - Cake in oven. Update calendar with all sorts of stuff. Text Travis about a sitter and camp and all kinds of stuff.

2:05 - Decorate family altar (aka the buffet) with all things Mary for her birthday. Tell kids it's time to turn off My Little Ponies and play.

2:27 - Tidy kitchen. Again. Get distracted and tidy living room. While taking dirty bib to laundry shoot remember ring in tub. Clean tub, sink, and toilet - praying for Steve Husband as I always do. Refill handsoap, clean master bath. Use term "master" loosely. Daydream of having more money so we can re-do the bathroom - at least the vanity!- and then the carpets... and then the windows... and then tell Jofis that he shouldn't play with the light saber in the bathroom. On the way back to kitchen notice the curtains in the family room and tidy family room, like 50%.

2:53 - Get back to kitchen. Unload and load dishwasher.

3:05 - Get Tee out of the crib. Nurse him and miss a phone call. Tell kids to get their shoes on. Change a poopy diaper. Tell kids to get their shoes on. Put Tee in carseat. Yell at kids for not having their shoes on; send shoeless kids to van.

3:15 - Head to parochial school to get kids, forgetting that we're done with the heat schedule so *errbody* (read: all public and private schools) is getting out at the same time and the drive is a bit slower.

3:30 - Arrive at school, unload three kids, walk over to where the kids are let out, count to six over and over and over again as I keep track of my kids. Load six kids (all mine) into van and head home. Tear up a little bit listening to this Sara Groves song:


3:55 - Daddy's home!!!!!! Unload. Yell at one kid who is pouting. Remind two kids to bring in their bookbags. Carry in baby Tee, noticing his haircut. geesh. Tell the kids they can only watch PBS Kids - no Netflix. Chat with Travis. Look through mail. Ask Trav to make pizza dough so it can rise while he runs to bank.

4:10 - Begin frosting cake. Drop the knife repeatedly. Clean up blue frosting from floor, kitchen cabinets, and my clothes. Praise Ben for his A+ spelling test. Praise L for seeing her brother in need and helping him without asking.

4:23 - Finish icing cake. Check out FB and IG. Yell at kids about after-school stuff. Look over L's homework. Put Tee in crib for nap. Take multiple phone calls reminding me about stuff.

4:38 - Go outside to pick oregano and begin sauce for pizza. Travis comes home and we have talk, argue, talk, hug, laugh, talk. He goes to living room with kids and I stay in kitchen  a l o n e !  

The rest of the evening went something like this: make dairy free pizza, burn my finger on the pizza pan, eat dinner with my finger in a glass of ice water, listen to four kids praise the pizza - one kid state she does not like the dairy free cheese - and Travis say nothing which means he also does not like the DF cheese but is kind enough to eat it for the sake of the rest of us, clear the table, quiz kids on spelling words,  work on sight words, sing happy birthday to Mary, eat white cake with blue frosting, clean kitchen while slopping water all over the place (my finger is still in ice water) sorta oversee pj's and brushed teeth and clean diapers (were applicable), nurse baby Tee and put him down for bed - all still with my finger in the glass of ice water. Kids in bed by 8. Kitchen clean by 8:25. Finger still throbbing at 8:30 so some pain meds and then off to bed.

9:00 - Put down The Princess and the Goblin and fall asleep.



PS - Not a sponsored post, but my super cute leggings in the title pic are from LulaRoe and you can get a pair from my friend Megan here.