It Seemed Good in Theory

...but MPD isn't so thrilled when actually presented with real live food to try. For weeks now, he's been slurping and grabbing at mealtimes, trying to join in. But we've tried baby oatmeal a couple of times, and he cries after a bite or two. He seems to like sweet potatoes a bit more--he swallowed three pinky-fulls yesterday.
He's getting used to it, but he's quite a bit different from all his siblings, who always loved their first solids and ate a whole bowl right away. Well, it's certainly fine with me if he takes his time. I'm in no hurry for him to grow up!

You Know What?

Maybe part of the solution to yesterday's woes is that I need to just ratchet down my need for lesson planning. If I go to the trouble of planning out the whole year down to the day/hour for each subject, then what? Of course: I'll just stress out trying to follow the plan, and we'll already be either ahead or behind, after, like, the first 30 minutes.

The thing is, we have awesome curriculum materials. Too many, but that's for another post. If we just start on them, and work on them as best we can, everything will be fine. All the kids will cover lots and lots of good material. Homeschoolers always worry about gaps, but the thing about that is--how can you possibly not have gaps? People learn all different kinds of stuff at different rates.

Today I started working with each of the school-agers on our First Language Lessons and Writing With Ease materials. KLD learned what a noun is--not much, but not bad for the second day of first grade, right? MRD worked on perfect capitalization and punctuation, and WWD practiced paragraph writing.

Everyone did a bit of independent reading and piano practice. And we started our new science curriculum with a unit on temperature and how thermometers work. See us? :) (sorry we're a bit blurry.)
Meanwhile, our schoolroom is still messy. We just worked upstairs today mostly. And guess what I'll be doing over the Labor Day weekend...

History and Grammar and Math--Oh My!

Well, this is our homeschool orientation week. I'm just calling it that because the kids and I REALLY wanted to start this week, but I'm not at all prepared, so we're just working together on organizing the school room and putting together binders and so on. Each day I'm starting them on one or two of their new books, with the idea that we'll start full force next week. Sounds pretty good, right?

I think I am losing my mind! This is too hard! I'm not sure I can do it! Honestly, what am I...NUTS? Why do I think I can homeschool 3 grades plus a partially-potty-trained preschooler and an infant? While simultaneously doing all our laundry, food shopping, cooking and food prep, bill paying, house tidying (okay, not actually cleaning--that one I do outsource), nail cutting (100 finger and toenails, not counting my own!), enjoying time with Grandma, etc. etc. etc.?

Picture me, sitting on the floor in our basement schoolroom amidst piles of workbooks, binders, and papers, trying to help MRD with a logic problem, with KLD on my left, asking me about her math, and WWD right behind MRD, teasing us both that he's already got the answer to the logic problem, and JPD--who I JUST got started on a coloring page--abandoning the coloring page for the much more interesting set of teeny weeny magnetic beads, which he of course spreads all around the rest of us on the floor. Picture all that, and then add the sound of a gigantic poopy diaper, from MPD in his bouncy seat a couple of feet away. Oh, and then the phone rang. This is a true story, and just one chapter.

I'm in a real panic. Several times during the last 48 hours I have almost totally lost it--no kidding--and seriously considered running up to the elementary school and quick signing them up, just so I can have time to take a shower or open the mail. Not only did NONE of my summer organization projects get completed, but I have done NO lesson planning. I was going to clean and organize a lot of things in our house, file and organize and simplify a huge bunch of paperwork, cook and freeze a bunch of meals or at LEAST make a monthly meal plan, and write out plans for at least the first semester of school, just to mention some of my summer ambitions.

I have done NONE of this. None. And now the summer is gone. Of course, I haven't been lounging at the pool with a magazine and a diet coke for the past three months, either. Just nursing, and folding laundry, and nursing, and food shopping, and nursing, and trying to take a shower alone, and nursing, and changing JPD's disgusting poopy pullups, and unloading the dishwasher, and uh...nursing. You know.

Seriously, I forgot how hard this homeschooling thing is. Actually, I've never tried to do it with a baby (we took things pretty easy last spring), without lesson planning beforehand, without organizing our stuff first, and with everyone quite so...excited.

Well, that's the thing. Two days in, they really seem to be loving it. MRD was so disappointed this evening when we had to quit school so I could start dinner. And tonight when WWD came in to kiss me goodnight, his last words were "I love school, Mom!" KLD is fiercely working on her reading, as always. And JPD couldn't be more excited that today he learned the letter sound for "a" and that he has his own workbook for pencil practice. (Don't worry--I promise I am NOT overdoing the 3-year-old academics!)

Last night our homeschool group had a kickoff Mass, which is part of why I figured this would be a good time to start school. It was a lovely Mass, with a homeschool blessing at the end. (Or at least, I assume it was--I was in the back of the church trying to simultaneously nurse MPD and keep up with JPD, trying to make sure he didn't a) run up to the empty balcony or b) climb on the statues or c) run out the door into the downtown traffic.)

But we did get blessed! And obviously, we need it! When I feel as panicked and overwhelmed as I am now, I really can only conclude that God wants it this way. Not, naturally, for me to feel panicked and overwhelmed. But for me to stop trying to do all this stuff on my own steam, and to let HIM run things around here. So now (or I should say 'again'), my prayer is for the ability to listen carefully, to discern each moment how He would have me focus my time, energy, and attention (does this mean I should skip the monthly meal planning?). A perfect reminder for me to heed the words of Psalm 46:10 and "Be still, and know that I am God," right?

There. Now I feel better, thanks! :)

I Need Some Tech Support!

I could not be more excited about my new birthday present.
Here it is:


I can't wait to use it!
Problem is, it's HUGE.

The Dell guy convinced me that, since I'm not going to be carrying it to class or taking it on a plane regularly (thank goodness!), I should get the 17 inch instead of the 15 inch. That what I really need is a desktop replacement, more than a small, light notebook. Well, yeah. It's mostly for homeschooling and managing pictures, emailing and, naturally, blogging. And I'll be using it at home 80% of the time.

But I certainly want to take it out in the yard while the kids are playing, or in the car, or to the library, or to the park, or to Starbucks(I can dream, right?), etc. And it's--HUGE. It weighs 15 pounds.

On the other hand, if I send it back and get the 15 inch instead, it will only weigh one pound less. And this huge one does fit into my PC bag or into my homeschool book bag. The big one will be good for watching movies or surfing for school stuff with the kids. Having a big screen is really nice. (For a desktop...) And I got a really good deal on this one (especially good since it was a gift, but you know what I mean.). If I exchange it for the smaller one and then regret it, I will really feel stupid. I want to keep this PC for as long as I can.

So...what do you think? Should I keep the HUGE one, or trade it in for the smaller one?

More Birthday Fun

On Tuesday we went to the pool with Grandma...





JPD is now braving the diving board--SO proud of himself!!

Happy Birthday to Me

What a perfect birthday I had!
Two cakes! No faucets! :)
A great day and a great date night with my two boyfriends (Bill and MPD!!!)!
I love my sweeties!

More tomorrow...I'm too tired!
(P.S. I think MPD is crying in the second picture because we wouldn't let him grab the cake, or something. He can't wait to grow up!)

Men's Gymnastics: Going for Gold

Three half-days this week JPD went to a little summer camp at our beloved Little Gym. How exciting--although a bit confusing since it wasn't quite the same as "camping" like we did in a tent a week or so ago.

He had a ball, of course. But I realized: It was my very first time to drop off the little guy, anywhere, ever, for such a long time! Three hours in a row! Things around here were way too quiet; we kept looking around for him. But what a big boy--he really had fun and he was really proud of himself, partly because camp is the kind of thing the older ones do, and also because he knew that he could only do it because of his great progress with--you guessed it--potty training.

Preschool, here he comes!! :)

Two Amazing Things

...happened to me today.

First, this morning I dropped one of my FAVORITE earrings into the sink drain while getting dressed. Almost caught it--couldn't get it. So upset. I called Bill, who informed me that he is not a plumber. And our plumber lives far away from us--like 45 minutes or so. We decided that since there would be a trip charge just for having the plumber come over, we should go ahead and get all those new faucets we've been planning. (Already this is sounding better, right?) I wasn't too sure I could live without my earring long enough to buy the faucets, but I really didn't have much choice.

Then I called the plumber to make an appointment in a few days for new-faucet installation and earring retrieval. I asked him if he thought my earring was okay down there in the muck. Well, he said he happened to be close by this morning and could come get it out for 20 bucks. Hooray, hooray, my earring's back! And now it is! I'm not sure if we'll still get the faucets right now--I'd rather not, actually, because it's just a bit too likely that Bill might decide that the faucets can be my birthday present. Ahem.

The second thing is even more amazing than the plumber's miraculous proximity. Last Thursday Bill lost my mastercard at Sam's Club. Okay, not really--but we don't know where it is. It's probably somewhere in the house (remember, we're dealing with a messy situation here), lost in the handoff from Bill back to me. Whatever--it's MIA, and enough time has gone by now that I really had to call our financial institution just to check that the Sam's charge was, in fact, the last one.

It was. But even better, they just changed the terms of my account to give me more travel insurance or something. And they had mailed me a new, different card which should arrive tomorrow, to replace the older one (that just happens to be, of course, lost).

Now what are the odds of that? Two lucky things in one day. Do you think I should rush out and buy a lottery ticket?

Le Francais Encore

More from MRD's French Camp...
Today was Mardi Gras, so they made masks and learned about New Orleans.
They also made a Canadian Sugar Pie (while learning about Quebec) which Mary came home raving about. Here's the recipe.
How great is this camp?!!

Everyone had a fun & busy day. WWD had a big playdate featuring intense Batman Lego action, and KLD attended a really fun birthday party at the splash park. JPD and MPD had some fun staying home w/Mom, who's feeling much better today--that is, back in control regarding the messy buildup at our home. It's a never-ending clutter war around here, and for a while it seemed the clutter was going to completely take over. Isn't it amazing what something like just sweeping the kitchen floor can do for one's attitude??

A bientot...

Elle peux parler Francais!

MRD is going to a French Language and Culture camp this week. She is loving it, and so am I! Well, I love that she's starting French, but it's funny--now that I'm not used to the kids being gone, it is really noticeable when one is away all day. Too quiet when they're not all here! And I really miss them!

Anyway, here is a piece of her work that I just received from her teacher:

Where Does the Time Go?

So a couple of my favorite people added me as a friend on Facebook, so naturally I had to go and sign up (after letting weeks go by, of course). There from my high school class I found another dear friend who I am SO looking forward to catching up with!

But when I looked at my college graduation class (huge, from the University of Texas) I only saw one person I knew just a little from my classes. Other than him it was a bunch of people I never heard of. In fact, I think maybe Facebook has things a little screwed up. With my college year, they had profiles of all these middle-aged people! Imagine that!

Now I REALLY must get working on homeschool lesson planning...no more facebooking or blogging for today. REALLY.

Now I Get It

As I've said before, my understanding of Catholic doctrine is always evolving. Probably the hottest topic of all--birth control--has taken me a long time to get. Even after "getting it," sometimes I forget. Not as in, I forget to obey it (!) but as in, I forget how to explain it.

Today at our Bishop's annual picnic, our wonderful Bishop gave a great talk about this very subject (among other things). Although I doubt I can even do it justice, I wanted to try to share some of his explanation of Church teaching on this hot (steamy!) topic.

(A quick disclaimer for those of you who were actually at the picnic with me: Please don't laugh!) :)

I think most readers of this blog would generally agree that God created the world (in six days, or otherwise). And that He's the mastermind behind humanity, too, having also created Adam and Eve. (Are you with me so far?) And in His plan for Adam and Eve and humanity, He conceived (so to speak!) of the whole process by which the human race would, well, go forth and multiply. In other words, God, being the author of life, planned that His people would be not only His created beings, but actually become co-creators along with Him. And of course, the way that we would do this is by the, uh, marital embrace.

When we participate in the marital embrace, then, we have the amazing, incredible privilege of sharing with God in His eternal creation. We are even--if you think about two people becoming one and then (nine months later) becoming three--imaging the Holy Trinity. Sex is, then, a truly sacred, holy, awesome gift from God. (Kind of puts "hooking up" into a whole new perspective, no?)

So God has given us the privilege of participating in His creation. But He's still the one doing the creating. Without Him, the miracle of igniting a human soul can't happen. But by using artificial birth control, we are taking matters into our own hands. We're excluding Him from the very thing that He created. And that's why contraception is considered sin. Sex that is not open to the possibility of new life isn't really sex as God intended it. It is, I suppose, a perversion of His plan. And as the Bishop pointed out, it's no use waiting for the next Pope, or the next--this matter is not subject to the Church's authority. Only God's, and He's not likely to change His mind about something as important as how people are made!

The Church never claims that this teaching is easy. As the Bishop reminded us, that's why She offers us the Sacrament of Reconciliation and the opportunity for prayer and Eucharistic Adoration. So we can have the wisdom to discern God's will for our family, and the self-control (one of the fruits of the Spirit, right?) to follow His will.

And all that time I just thought the Catholic Church was just trying to make us have more Catholics!

A Question to Ponder

What IS fat-free half-and-half??

In Honor of the Holy Assumption Day

...I wanted to share this picture of Mary and Our Lord. I love how it really shows her as a real Mom, with a real toddler!

Baby, I Love You!

MPD is 5 months old today!




And JPD is 3 and a half!! :)


I love what Danielle Bean says about loving babies:

When God gives us babies, planned or unplanned, He gives us innumerable physical, emotional, and spiritual challenges. But He also gives us a glimpse of Himself. It’s God’s face we see in a helpless baby’s smile. It’s God’s voice we hear in their needy cries, and it’s God’s enormous love we feel wrapped around us when we nurture them within us, when we hold their infant bodies, when we accept them as He sends them, whether it was part of “our plan” or not.

Check out the rest of her article here!

The Communion of Saints

As I mentioned, I have only gradually been learning the subtleties of how different the Catholic faith is from my former Protestantism.

Here's an example. I recently got "Woman After God's Own Heart" by Elizabeth George from the library. I read about it somewhere (probably on someone's blog), and it sounded good. It is, but--my goodness, how different from all the Catholic-mom reading I've been doing of late! One of the great points that Mrs. George strongly makes is about the importance and efficacy of prayer, including lots of amazing examples in which prayers have dramatically influenced people's lives. Here's one:

"The daughter of Bob Pierce, founder of World Vision, said of her grandparents: 'Within two years of Grammy's homegoing, God took both Papa and Grandma Pierce to be with Him also. All three had been powerful prayer warriors on my parents' behalf--praying through the various crises, supporting the ministry, and generally providing a consistent covering of prayer. It's significant to note that once those prayers were silenced all hell broke loose."

I found this idea--that someone's prayers were "silenced" after their death--quite startling, because I don't believe that anymore. I like the Catholic idea of "Communion of Saints"--they're still there, after death, still watching and loving us from Heaven, and their prayers are even more powerful, once they're on the inside! The book that first introduced me to this idea was the fabulous "The Story of a Family: The Home of St. Therese of Lisieux" by Stephane-Joseph Piat. My father-in-law gave the this book shortly after I became a mother (no pressure, right??? ha ha!).

It turns out that Bill Sr. has had a lot to teach me about the doctrine of the Communion of Saints. No kidding--since his death the summer of 2003, our family has been absolutely showered with blessings. And I don't just mean blessings that feel good or result in new cars and healthy babies. Blessings, after all, don't always feel good to us when we're getting them. "God never takes away anything that is good for us," I read recently (can't remember where--Scott Hahn, I think). That has been SO true for my family, but that's a story for another post.

But speaking of blessings that don't feel so good when we're getting them, my three babies who are already in heaven (lost to miscarriage in 1997, 2001, and 2007) have also proven to be incredible, powerful forces in heaven for my family still here on earth. I know this to be true; it really is. When we lost my precious Margaret (2007), who I actually got to hold, the immediate and amazing shower of grace and peace and blessings we received upon her arrival was truly awesome. No kidding--we're still truly feeling the power of her being up there in Heaven. I imagine her smiling down on us with love--along with her siblings and her grandpas and all the rest--and the grace we receive from her is much more than just some kind of warm feeling because of this wonderful mental picture I have of them all together. Saints really can intercede on our behalf, I just know it. This includes "saints" who we assume to be in heaven, as well as real, canonized-by-the-Church "Saints," who are officially decreed to for-sure-with-actual-proof be in Heaven.

It helped me to understand, by the way, that nobody is praying to any of these saints. It's more like just asking them to pray for us, just like we would do with a friend on earth. Their prayers are believed to be extra powerful, even more than our own from here on earth, because they're actually closer to God. (To me, this makes sense, given that I do actually believe that Heaven is real.) And that kinda broadly sums up my understanding of this notion of the "Communion of Saints," something which, though I professed to believe whenever I said the Nicene Creed in church as a Protestant, I never really thought about.

Football Guys

Look out, Peyton and Eli Manning!
The next generation of NFL brothers is on the way!

Who Me? Type A?

The kids and I have come up with a meal plan for our weekday breakfasts and lunches. We've been at it for less than a week, and so far it's definitely achieving all that I hoped, including fewer last-minute meals, no more nagging, back-of-mind stress all morning of "is-there-any-food-in-the-house-what-can-I-make-for-lunch-today," and most of all, most of all, no more constant arguing about what we should have, who gets their way, how long it's been since we had my favorite--you get the idea.

Generally, I tend to resist this kind of planning. It makes me feel locked in. And what if it's waffle day and we're all out of waffles? But I'm starting to realize that planning of this sort, "routinizing" if you will, actually doesn't "lock me in," but frees me not to have to worry about little stuff like this. Because now, if it's Tuesday, it's egg salad sandwiches, period. I can even cook the eggs right after breakfast, in the same pan left over from the Tuesday morning oatmeal (pretty smart, right?). Making the meal plan was a group effort, so everyone got input, and so far, it's great.

Without further ado (or do you want some MORE rambling intro?), here's the plan:

Mon. Breakfast: Cheese Omelettes
Lunch: Pasta(noodles w/cheddar, parmesan, or pesto)

Tues. Breakfast: Oatmeal
Lunch: Egg Salad Sandwiches

Wed. Breakfast: Waffles & Bacon
Lunch: Chicken Noodle Soup

Thurs. Breakfast: Cream of Wheat
Lunch: Sandwich Day

Fri. Breakfast: Fried Eggs & Toast
Lunch: Soup or Chowder

So that's it. I should do something like this with dinners too, but I'm not ready yet. It's a bit more complex when Bill's in the picture. And I just love that 4 p.m. excitement of "what can I make tonight?" It's such a great creative outlet. :)

Happy Campers

WWD: "You know, this is the beginning of the end of summer."
Mom: "That seems right to me. Well, what has been your favorite thing we've done this summer?"
WWD: "You mean BESIDES this weekend?"










And look who lost her first top tooth!!
Oh KLD you are growing up so fast!

We're Going Camping

...this weekend. In a few hours, actually. I'm busily working on getting things ready. (Obviously, I'm busily PROCRASTINATING by writing about getting things ready instead of actually getting things ready.) Here's our weekend menu, almost all of which I'm preparing in advance to simplify things at the campsite-o-kids:

Friday Lunch: Still Home, eat leftovers

Friday Dinner: Roman Soldier Meal, salad, carrot & celery sticks, s'mores--of course
Turns out that the most common camping meal recommended by most of the websites I consulted closely resembles a fun activity for the first chapter of our history curriculum, which we're due to begin in a couple of weeks. It's a meal in foil: hamburger patty, slice of onion, sliced carrots, sliced new potatoes (ours have olive oil, kosher salt, and rosemary), to be wrapped tightly in foil and put into the campfire coals--while reading our history chapter on the Roman soldiers, of course. :) Last night I chopped and prepared all the stuff to go into the foil wraps.

Saturday Breakfast: Scrambled Eggs w/Ham (pre-scrambled in a container, ham pre-chopped)

Saturday Lunch: Cold Cut Sandwiches, Apples, Milk

Saturday Dinner: Baked Beans w/Hot Dogs, Cornbread (JPD and KLD helped make this last night), Salad, maybe-some-kind-of-dessert-I-dont-know-yet.

Sunday Breakfast: Oatmeal with brown sugar, cinnamon, raisins(all pre-measured); also bagels for a backup.

Snacks: I'm bringing all the random one-off granola bars and teddy grahams from our cupboard, plus little fruit cups, raisins, chips, etc. Also, bottled Starbucks (we may need more coffee than this) and Diet Cokes (of course) for the grownups. (Maybe some adult beverages, but maybe not--adult beverages just make me more tired, which is not something I'm needing to be lately!)

Being a camping rookie, this all seems like a big deal to me. For example, thinking ahead that we'll need brown sugar for oatmeal on Sunday morning, so I should measure some and put it into a container. And pre-scrambling the eggs and putting them in a container. All of it, really. While it's kind of nice to leave my home kitchen behind for the whole weekend, and relying on restaurants really seems to take a lot of the "camp" out of "camping," I must say that the jury is still out on whether camping is actually a vacation. Wait--what am I saying? No family "vacation" is actually a vacation for the Mom. Silly me--I always forget.

Now I'm off to actually finish packing all of the above...

Mass Breastfeeding

"In my family, we're movers and shakers and I'm not going to let the fact that I breastfeed keep us in when we'd rather be out. Nor am I going to sequester my baby and me in a public bathroom when she's hungry and needs to eat.

But there's one place where I was reluctant to breastfeed. "

For a good laugh (or cry), read the whole article, plus comments!
See if you can guess where I stand on this issue!

What We Did Today

Are You Ready for Some Football?

We are!!

A Joyful Family

To maintain a joyful family requires much from both the parents and the children. Each member of the family has to become, in a special way, the servant of the others. -- Pope John Paul II

I need to keep reminding myself of this one!