The weeks before the kids go back to school are super stressful and overwhelming to me with the overload of errands, appointments, paperwork, and more. The house is constantly messy, the kids are bored of the slip n' slide, there's all kinds of fighting, and I am just so tired of feeding them. They want to go back to school and I want them to, too. How did people do it for thousands of years? How do homeschoolers do it?
To me this is not the end of summer. Summer basically ended on August 6th. I will get out my Fall decorations on September 1st -ish and this time in between is a purgatory of stress and heat and exhaustion. (As an aside, some people think I'm a bit dramatic but I just don't see it.)
I made a playlist to get me through these next weeks. You can see how badly I want to get on with my life in that I titled it "September 2018." Some of the songs are pretty new to me and so I cannot vouch for all the lyrics and content, but if you want to discover some new songs right along with me click over and check it out. There's some safe ones, too, like Ben Rector and Mat Kearney. ;)
School starts with a half day on Thursday, so here's a look the last bits of summer, the things that happened at the end of July and the first week of August. That is, the things that I want to remember.
Jofis celebrated his 5th birthday. He wanted a train cake and party and since his favorite color is green I was able to make all his dreams come true super simply. A few of his classmates and cousins came over, everyone played outside, and we ate wacky cake and drank lemonade. He got a bug catcher and water balloons and his life was made.
I celebrated my birthday, too. I turned thirty-seven and to celebrate I got coffee with friends, went shopping at Target with Travis, bought a new dress, asked people to donate to baby Olivia's GoFundMe, found a few new grey hairs, and overall had a good day.
We also celebrated Harry Potter's birthday. The kids listened to several of the audio books this summer and L read the whole series for the first time. They have watched several of the movies, too, so it was a lot of fun to surprise them with a table filled with candles, pretzel rod wands, and this birthday cake. They snacked in the candlelight while watching the first movie before bed. And just so you know, there's a bit of a back story for this cake and you can hear about it if you watch the You're a Bad Mom video here.
In other news, we were given a Days of Creation paper chain (which you can see here) along with a beautiful, giant floor puzzle from WeeBelievers. Both are super sweet but we especially love the floor puzzle because we are just floor puzzle people, people! I mean, look at how happy Tee is with it! The illustrations are so sweet, you guys. I really love it. But the best part is that it's two sided so it's two, two, TWO puzzles in one!
In other news, I caught this super sweet picture of Travis and Tee sleeping one morning a few weeks ago. I mean, be still my heart.
And now I'll tell you all a secret: this summer we attended 7am daily Mass Monday - Friday. The vast majority of the time the whole family went: Travis, me, and all seven kids. We missed a few days, and occasionally some of us had to stay home but usually we were all there.
Now this was even feasible because:
#1 - we did not have a newborn / someone recovering from major surgery (like last summer)
#2 - Travis is a teacher with summers off and this summer his handyman jobs were all local so he was almost always around to attend with us.
The reasons I wanted to do it are:
#1 - For years Travis and I were daily communicants and I was really missing that Gift.
#2 - I knew that if we attended 7am Mass all summer long our days would still end around 8pm which meant we could keep the same bedtime and evening routine. I knew I wanted to have time with Travis every night and I hoped that the return to the school would feel less like a crash and burn this way.
#3 - I'm hoping it will inspire my boys to love the priesthood and I pray that one of them has been given that vocation.
I don't know what will happen next summer but I know that being able to attend daily Mass this summer was such a gift to me. Even when my kids complained. Even when MJ would not be contained to the pew and had to wander. Even when we had to sit in the cry room because we were so late. It was such a gift.
Speaking of Mass, this seems like a good time to show you the preview copy of Ginny Kochis's new Mass Journal for Kids. Ginny sent it to me and I promptly passed on to my 10 year old, L. It's really lovely, you guys, and if you're looking for something you can either gift to your own children, godchildren, students or use as a family to prepare for or review the Sunday Mass readings I really encourage you to try this.
L and I were both really taken by the layout and feel of the book. It's big; has room for doodles, journaling, and note taking; and includes all the readings + reflections, quotes from the saints, and more. I also like that it goes by seasons - this one covers the Autumn months - so it's not too bulky nor too big of a commitment. If you're looking for a nice Back to School gift this would be a great one, I think.
One last note: the winners for the Sheenazing Awards have finally been announced! You can head to the original post to see who earned the top three spots in each category! Thank you to everyone who voted - over 1,100! - and congratulations to the winners! I hope everyone had fun along the way!
Alright, time to get a move on. See you soon, you guys!
I'm linking up with the wonderful Kelly at This Ain't the Lyceum for one of my favorite old school blogging events: Seven Quick Takes Friday
- ONE -
The first time I heard this song I thought it was Peter Gabriel. It's Francis and the Lights featuring Chance the Rapper, though if you listen you have to give it to me: it sounds a lot like Peter Gabriel, amiright?
Man, do I love this one.
- TWO -
This summer I signed myself and the kids up for the Summer Reading Program at the local library. I count any time spent listening to the Harry Potter audio books, reading to my kids, and these babies here. Along with my Bible, these are the books I'm reading.
Orthodoxy has been hard for me - it's so dense with it's page long paragraphs - but I'm sticking with it because those truth bombs he drops are so, so good.
I've really enjoyed re-reading Sense and Sensibility for the first time in years. I often find myself laughing out loud and unable to explain why to my kids. Jane Austen would surely not approve but I'm just not as clever.
Who Does He Say You Are? is an incredible book and I'm so glad I picked it up. I highly recommend it to read by yourself or in a group. Super good.
A Wrinkle in Time is one I read in middle school and re-reading it now I'm shocked that it was part of my 6th grade public school curriculum with all the talk about Jesus and quoting Scripture. I'm gonna guess that Oprah's version of the movie changes some of that. True?
- THREE -
My friend Nell gifted us with the sweetest little dress for sweet little MJ. The material has a Secret Garden print on it and is soft and stretchy and just lovely. I wanted to share it with you because Nell's re-stocking her Etsy shop - Whole Parenting Goods - with all kinds of sweet dresses just like this. The shop re-opens at 10am CST on Monday with it's limited stock so be sure you check it out Monday morning for first dibs! You can get a preview on her Instagram account and if you sign up for her shop's newsletter you'll get a coupon code this weekend! Everything I've gotten from Nell's shop has been top quality and super adorable. I promise you'll love it!
- FOUR -
Tomorrow morning is the first meeting for the Blessed Is She summer study I'm holding with women from the area. I'm only cleaning my living room and bathroom. That's totally legit, right?
I baked these little rectangular gingerbread cookies so I could pipe sweet little pretty things on them to serve with the coffee. The rectangles look wompy and wiggly and who knows if I'll have time to pipe anything on them in the morning. I'll post it on Instagram if I do and then you can see how unimpressive they turn out to be. ha!
Update: here they are! Roses, Fiats, and Marian symbols. You can almost hear the trombones playing, can't you? Womp, womp, woooooommmp!
And as an aside, if you're looking for a good gingerbread cookie use these from Mary Haseltine. Such a great recipe. We use Crisco and egg replacer and they still are amazing!
- FIVE -
My new planner arrived and I started filling in important dates for August. First day of school, you guys! It's on the calendar! Also, see those pens lined up in a row? That's how I organize my life.
Black = whole family
Silver = Travis
Gold = Me
Purple = L
Orange = Ben
Blue = JF
Pink = Resa
Green = Jofis
Red = Tee
Periwinkle = MJ
So this way I only have to write the what, when, & where on the calendar and not the person because the color tells me the who. It's really nice.
And if you're still looking for a planner Tea with Tolkien did a very nice review of some really popular brands. She was fair and honest about all the pros and cons, and the Blessed Is She planners (regular and mini) are included.
- SIX -
I know I just talked about the beginning of the new school year when summer isn't even half way done yet. We've had a good run so far and I thought I'd share some highlight pictures:
Trying to win a free vacation from a local radio station. We're shameless.
Sprinkler parks: fun and free. The heat index was over 100 this day so I put on my suit, too.
Our very dear neighbor volunteers at a local museum and we were so happy to get a special tour from him.
Corpus Christi procession - Ben was asked to help carry the canopy and he was so honored. Nervous, excited, and so honored.
The fair came to town and we made the kids clean the whole house and then we took them.
- SEVEN -
Just a reminder about the Kickstarter campaign for Catholic musician Matt Faley's next album. Go, back it, and then make sure you let me know so I can enter you to win some of the suh-weet prizes that are special just for my blog readers. You won't be sorry you did!
He's is a husband, a father, a hard worker, a good man, and a musician.
You may remember Matt from my Knot Bad Video where we talked about the Blessed Mother, bad Christian music, and his first album, The Only Light. Gosh, that was a good ep. Didn't you love that one? I loved that one.
Did you hear the good news about Matt? He's got a new album coming, ladies and gentlemen! His first album in five years is called Me + You and is half full of songs about life and love and half full of songs of praise and worship. It's going to be so good, you guys.
But back to Matt and the music. Me + You will only be made with help from you and me and so I want to invite you to join me in supporting Matt's Kickstarter to fund this album of thoughtful, solid, good music written and performed by the one and only Matt Faley.
Now maybe you're wondering if you'd even like Matt's music, which is a good question, so I had Matt make us a little Spotify playlist. Basically if you like the music on the A Knotted Life playlist you will like Me + You.
Matt and I have worked together to build in some extra awesomeness for A Knotted Life readers who support the Kickstarter! It goes like this: When you support the Kickstarter email me and let me know. Then, when there are ten AKL supporters I will choose ONE randomly to win something from the Bird's Nest tier. That means the winner will get the Me + You album, a mixtape from Matt, a drawing from their daughter Birdie, and a handmade item from Matt's wife Kara. Plus, I will send you a dozen of my famous chocolate chip cookies.
How can you say "no" to that?! These beautiful girls' creations + great music + my cookies! Quick, ten of you go sign up to support the album right now and send me an email so you can have a super good chance at winning this!
Then, when we have twenty AKL backers those names will be entered to win a beautiful print and a handmade rosary from Indy artist Katie Sahm. For example:
I know, I know. Absolutely gorgeous.
And once we reach 35 AKL backers for Matt's Kickstarter we will do a drawing for a free house concert. How freaking awesome would that be!?!? Matt will come to your home and do a concert in your living room or backyard for you and all your family and friends. This is a bucket list item for me, people, and you could win it just because you buy yourself a new album and support a Catholic indie musician!
So just to hash out the details:
- Pledge $15 or more to the Me + You kickstarter and then immediately email me.
- If you do not win the special drawing for A Knotted Life readers you will get only the items that are included in your giving tier. (Example: $15 = digital download. $30 = digital download + signed cd)
- This is open only to residents of the continental USA age 18 and older.
- If the Kickstarter is not fully funded you will not be charged the pledged money and the Kickstarter incentives will not be sent out. However, I will still do a drawing for whoever pledged and one person will get some cookies because I love that you supported Matt and his dream. You can read more about Kickstarter fundraising and accountability here.
- This is not a sponsored post, this is just me supporting a friend in his dream to make good music that you will like and will honor God.
You know how you miss announcements and then you're all like, "Well, I didn't know," and everyone's like, "Well it was on Facebook," and you're just like, "That stupid algorithm keeps changing and I never see what I want, just my family member who's political views are the exact opposite of mine so I was trying to stay off Facebook to improve my stress levels," and it feels like you just can't win?
Wow do I hate that.
And so while this post does have a handful of affiliate links (denoted with an *) please know that I'm just trying to make sure you know about these things, in case you're interested. But let's start with some music:
But if you'd rather listen to a podcast you might like The Gathering Place or Certifiably Catholic, which are a couple of new podcasts I am loving.
Alright, first announcement: This coming Wednesday I am giving a workshop on Living Out Community in the Every Day and the Extraordinary. It's all about being the kind of friend you want to have and how we can support one another through seasons of crisis or survival but also when we're thriving. There is a $15 price tag to watch though it's free for BIS Members. You can register to watch here - let me know in the comments if you're planning on being there!
Up next: The Blessed Is She Academic Planners are on sale right now but the pre-order sale will be ending soon so don't put this off! The planners always sell out and this is the cheapest they will be. Plus, there are two versions now - the standard, 8x10" one and now a mini version! Both planners have all the liturgical info (prayers, feast and fast days, novena start dates, etc) and follow the academic calendar. They will be shipped this summer. Planners for the 2019 calendar year will go on sale this fall.
This is a little glimpse at the Mini. It has a lot of the same features of the larger, original planner, but was tweaked with feedback from the masses. ;) You can pre-order yours here*.
You can bet your bottom dollar I will be getting another standard sized academic planner. This baby is beautiful but works hard. And the new one has a Grocery list I can remove to take to the store! #loveit If you have any questions about it please feel free to ask. It's definitely an investment piece but I use it almost every single day and it helps me stay organized like nothing else has before. You can pre-order yours here*.
That Eucharist sticker in the margin of my Bible was purchased from Look to Him Be Radiant Etsy Shop.
I also have started memorizing Scripture again and this time I'm trying to rope my kids in it with me. We're using the Encourage Bible Verse Cards* the first of which is pictured above.
My Love Like Therese / Serve Like Gianna / Fight Like Joan / Love Like Mary mug is from Sancta Bovina.
Oh! And I wrote the devotion today BIS. It's called Build that Bible Habit and it's a reflection on the interaction Philip has with the Ethiopian eunuch in Acts.
And that's it! Now you're in the know. I hope something here was helpful, even it was just having some good Praise music to worship with.
Photo by Brooke Lark on Unsplash
Lyrics from JJ Heller's This Year
It's negative one outside with a windchill of negative 17. I'm wearing my slipper boots and cardi and drinking warm tea with honey cause baby, it's cold outside! And this post may be a heavy dose of navel gazing but my fingers want to type and I want to write this out and so I hope you don't mind sitting with me through this.
(Here's hoping my kids will play by themselves long enough to let me do it!)
Thirteen months ago started a really, really rough time for me. Sickness, death, grief, hard parenting, open heart surgery for L, and major surgery for me. Months and months of hard but I remember holding my sweet newborn while recovering from my second c-section and thinking to myself, "It's all done. We're through the thick of it." And especially as the school year started and a routine was established I saw us all thrive and I felt like it was really true. In my prayer I felt this
p e a c e like an exhale and I repeatedly had this image of a clearing in the woods. The woods, dense and dark and scary, were behind me and in the distance there were more woods, though not has thick or scary. But I was standing in an open field with tall green grass and sweet flowers.
In September I attended the Blessed Is She writers' retreat and there the fabulous Beth Davis was praying over me. She said, "Bonnie, I don't know if this will mean anything to you but I just see this huge field of wildflowers for you" and BAM: ugly cry. There it was from someone else - the same Holy Spirit showing the same promise for me to both of us. I will readily admit, I was overwhelmingly relieved.
It was at that same retreat, though, that Travis called me to let me know that he was at the emergency room because he was experiencing loss of balance, numbness, and other signs of a stroke. The ER doctor thought it was actually his body reacting to stress and exhaustion (football season + seven kids + hard work around home) and I wasn't scared. Because that field of wildflowers was as good as Noah's rainbow.
I came home from the retreat and there were more tests for Travis. Our family doctor suspected that Travis had MS which was showing itself because of exhaustion and stress but I held out hope. In the end all the neurological issues went away with allergy medicine and sleep. Seriously. And the words from Isaiah rang so true in my heart, "God indeed is my Savior. I am confident and unafraid."
Halloween and Thanksgiving and Advent came and went. Our family was healthy and happy with the kids growing and learning and things going well. A clearing in the woods, filled with thriving wildflowers.
And as the New Year approached people started talking about adopting a saint and a word of the year. I've never done the word of the year thing before because, well, I thought it was weird, but as the conversations began I remembered that St. John Paul the Great was the saint appointed to me by Jennifer Fulwiler's saint generator last year. Back then I thought, "Oh yeah! He's great! What wonderful, evangilistic things will come my way?" but now I see that he probably wanted to walk with me through all that suffering and I had, for the most part, forgotten about him. Stupid me.
But this year I am paying attention. I have this feeling that God is calling me to do beautiful work for Him in the hidden, quiet, normal of my home and daily life as wife and mom. St. Cecilia was the saint given to me this year and I think she wants to show me how to live so that my heart is always glorifying God.
And this year I decided to try the whole word of the year thing and as I prayed about it, at home and Mass and adoration, I kept coming back to the word "be." It isn't flashy, in fact it seems to reinforce the hidden and quiet that I already mentioned. And then (!) the word that was randomly chosen for me from Jen's word of the year generator was BLOSSOM. It's different than thrive, you know, which seems to have to do with *doing* whereas blossom seems to be about *being.* Just do what you do, be who you are meant to be and you will blossom... in a a field of wildflowers... in a clearing in the woods.
There is a peace in heart and a hope in my Lord and I know that whatever happens God is good.
I love music. I enjoy a pretty wide variety of music and there are seasons when the genres I listen to vary greatly from one to the next. Right now we listen to a mix of country, oldies, pop, and Christian music. CD's that frequently get played in the van belong to The Head and the Heart, Sarah Groves, JJ Heller, and some other contemporaries - Vance Joy, Matt Kearney, Matt Mahrer, The Lumineers, Eric Church - are much appreciated.
I have a desire to not only pass on a love of and appreciation for music to my kids but also a knowledge of music from the past and present and across genres. I want them to hear a song that samples another song and know what song is being sampled. I want them to watch a movie from that takes place in the past and be familiar with the soundtrack. I want them to be the life of the wedding reception, dancing and singing along to all kinds of music.
So far in this endevour I have introduced the kids to a few bands and singers from varying decades and genres and to mixed reviews.
Johnny Cash
The kids love him, except for our oldest. I have a (affiliate link) four-disc box set (remember those?) that we listen to in the car. It helps that he sings about a lot of trains and my boys looooove trains. I love that they are experiencing American folk songs, country, gospel, and more through him.
The Beatles
I gave them a big talk about how The Beatles is Papa's favorite band and how much I loved them in middle and high school. I talked about how they made music for a decade and some of it was really fun, some really weird, and some really lovely. The first time they listened to (affiliate link) One they were not impressed. The next time, they liked it a lot more.
The Beach Boys
I played them (affiliate link) Pet Sounds. They didn't like a single song on the album. I have no idea what's wrong with my kids and so we'll try again later.
Weezer
The (affiliate link) blue album is one of my favorites and it's songs instantly take me back to the halls of my high school. (Is that weird? It's true.) Jofis thinks it's too loud so I have to move all the sound to the front of the van but I think they otherwise like it. Ben especially seems to really like it. It came out in 1994 (!!!) and I realized that me playing it for my kids was like my dad playing one of his Beatles albums for me when I was a girl. I'll let that sink in and you can guess how that makes me feel.
(PS - the cd is for sale on Amazon for $4!)
(PPS - the answer is OLD. It makes me feel OLD.)
Bruce Springsteen, Queen, Michael Jackson, and the Counting Crows will also be highlighted in the future. And then there's a running mixtape of songs that I want my kids to know. I've spent way too long writing this list already but I'm sure I could add so many more songs. So. many. more. songs.
So help me fill in the gaps. Comment and tell me who I'm missing and what songs I need on my list. I feel like my country section is lacking and songs from the 90's - early 2000's definitely needs some help.
Signed, Sealed, Deliverd - Stevie Wonder
Superstition - Stevie Wonder
Brown Eyed Girl - Van Morrison
Shake Senora - Harry Belefonte
Friends in Low Places - Garth Brooks
Fast As You - Dwight Yokum
Always on My Mind - Willie Nelson
Hound Dog - Elvis
Crazy - Patsy Cline
I Fall to Pieces - Patsy Cline
R-E-S-P-E-C-T - Aretha Franklin
Unchained Melody - The Righteous Brothers
You Really Got a Hold on Me - Smokey Robinson and the Miracles
Star Man - David Bowie
Small Town - John Cougar
Jack & Diane - John Cougar
Hooked on a Feeling - Blue Suede
American Pie - Don McClean
I Wanna Dance With Somebody - Whitney Houston
Take on Me - Aha
Living on a Prayer - Bon Jovi
Stairway to Heaven (for Travis) - Led Zepplin
Bron-Yr-Aur Stomp (for me) - Led Zepplin
Ain't No Sunshine - Bill Withers
I Tell Me Ma - Van Morrison & The Chieftains
Lonesome Town - Ricky Nelson
Hello Mary Lou - Ricky Nelson
At Last - Etta James
Blue Moon - The Marcels
Mr. Sandman - The Chordettes
In the Mood - Benny Goodman
It Don't Mean a Thing - Duke Ellington
Chattanooga Choo Choo - Glenn Miller
Sing, Sing, Sing - Benny Goodman
Doo Wop - Lauren Hill
Zion - Lauren Hill
Rapper's Delight - Sugarhill Gang
Let Me Clear My Throat - DJ Kool
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.
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! :)
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!"
9:15 - 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.
.JPG)