I'm sitting here typing and rubbing my very big tummy- and wishing that it was not so big- or more correctly I should say, wishing I was holding a baby in my arms instead of my stomach.
When I was pregnant with #1 through 7, I was always comfortable in saying "I'm not sure that we are done yet." But with #8, I'm finally experiencing the feeling that I could not fathom myself saying -"This is it!"
Okay, I wound never tell God no. If He said, "Not done yet," I'd accept His will- maybe with a little questioning, but I'd accept it. I picture in my mind being my mother's age and homeschooling still and I feel sad for the child, because he/she will have an old fogy for a teacher.
Wait a minute, some of my favorite teachers were older. Hmmm. No, the older I get, the more I look for "ways out" in my teaching. I really spent all my creativity on my older children when they were younger- which they totally don't remember about 3/4 of all my wonderful teaching experiences! (Like a totally cool homemade planetarium that ROCKED! Or science WITH experiments- other homeschooling moms- you know what I'm talking about!) Anyway I can so easily justify just reading about how the experiment should work now, or calling on an older sibling to explain the math problem, because after doing it with 3 kids, my brain hurts to try to explain it again.
Who knows though- maybe I'll be like Sarah (Old Testament) who bore a babe in her late age. Perhaps her laughter was more about "Oh Lord- you want me to change diapers when I'm old enough to have to wear them myself?!?" Or "Lord, do you have any idea how hard it is to chase after a toddler when I'm leaning on a cane?!"
Stop- I've always said that having children helps keep you young. There is truth to that too. I've still "got my foot in the door" to the teen world, pre-teen world and toddler world. If I didn't have kids, I don't know that I would be involved in any of those worlds. So, I do have youth at my finger tips, you could say.
I recently put in Google "pregnant and tired" and felt so relieved in what I found there. Many of my problems were not near as severe and it felt good to have companions in those problems I did face. Many good laughs came from that search.
My kids do their own searches on Google that are pregnancy related too- but they usually involve "cute baby pictures" or the like. They are all excited about the baby coming. I'm there with them sometimes- but still am trying to gear myself up to the next chore of taking care of a baby- outside of the womb.
The last 3 children I've had, I went through a "I'm locking myself and the baby in the bathroom/bedroom because I am going crazy with everyone fighting over the baby or just plain fighting." time. I totally expect to have to go though it again this time too. It's really hard to try to please everyone for the first 2 weeks or so after having a baby! The bigger the family gets, the more of a challenge it becomes.
It's time to end this post on a high note.
I am so very, very thankful for 7 wonderful, healthy children, that although they fight and bicker amongst themselves, do indeed have great redeeming qualities, make me laugh and wouldn't trade one of them for the world.
And, even though my ageing body is caving under the weight of a baby, I don't have any serious health risks that I'm fighting- just minor inconveniences- Thank you Lord! (Although, I'm so probably going to have to put in a lot of purgatory time for my lack of suffering in this world.)
And, I do have a bit of creativity left- I'm in the middle of making a "I need something to do" jar for the kids to keep busy with when I'm gone having the baby. Thanks to Family Fun magazine idea, I'm loading a jar with craft ideas and game ideas to keep them occupied and myself sane- hopefully!
So, I'll sign off this post with-
Surviving my pregnant self- who knows, maybe my next post I'll be rubbing my un-pregnant, flabby belly. . . UGH~that brings about a whole new set of complaints!!
Mary
Wednesday, March 28, 2012
Friday, March 16, 2012
Everything I know I learned from homeschooling Mass.
Not that anyone asked, but I am still alive. And yes, overdue on a post. The good new is that in waiting this long to post, I can officially say that I am below 30 days in my baby ticker - WHOOT!
I wished I could say that waiting the extra time allowed me to come up with a genius post that everyone would find incredibly entertaining - so much so that they would beg me to take all of my wisdom and put it in book form.
Sadly, the only reason I'm late is:
a) I'm pregnant.
b) I'm old.
c) I was actually fighting off an infection that threw me into a two day bed rest.
d) I'm old and pregnant - but really number three wins the prize.
So now that I am recovered, we were able to make it to our bi-monthly homeschooling Mass. This usually is comprised of ten families, of course all these families have at least six kids average, so we are talking about sixty kids + parents, so about seventy five people.
Today however, for various reasons, there was only six families. So, I slid behind a certain family. Let's call them "perfect family." My hope is always to stress to The Boy and The Baby Boy how well behaved their children are. Unfortunately, it usually ends up that my children are the entertainment for those who peak behind their shoulders to gawk at the sideshow, staring my children. SIDENOTE: The Bookworm wants to let everyone that she and her sisters were not sitting in the pew at this point. They were in the "quiet choir" that volunteers to sing for Mass, singing songs that are to high to hit for tired homeschooling Moms. And, since I'm partially deaf, I can't pick up half the words anyways. (By the way, did you know that if you mouth the word "avocado" while everyone else is singing, it totally looks like you know what your doing?!)
I don't know whether it was because I was still tired from recuperation, or if it was because I am old and pregnant, but it was not a pleasant experience today. The Baby Boy took a total advantage of my exhaustion and played "keep-a-way" in the pew, pushing me to the point of just ignoring him, after all, why put the effort into that? SIDENOTE: The Baby Boy received his first after-Mass discipline at home today. There is truth to this "It hurts me more than it hurts you." BUT, now that it has happened, I can easily refer to this to snap him into attention.
I was so relieved to know that I was not the only family who was having their own struggles during Mass. But knowing that others were, as I heard about afterwards, got me to thinking about some important lessons that we learn in Mass.
1) Patience. Isn't it true every time you pray for patience, God sends you a three year old?
2) Sign Language: This is often included with a snap of the fingers and is highlighted with the pointing with the index finger to the spot beside you.
3) Counting. You'd be amazed how many children can count to five, a skill they have learned from the countdown, repeated over and over by the tired mother.
4) How to give "The Look." This is an important life skill, although it seems quiet hilarious when it has been give by a three year old who is imitating mom, and makes you question "Do I really look like that?"
5) Playing with small rocks found in your shoe can be entertaining for a three year old. Especially after following the snap point gesture that tells them they had better sit still.
6) Appreciation for priests who give short homilies........God bless them, everyone.
On that last note, The Jane Austen Wanna-be, the Bookworm, and myself tonight did a Daily Sparks writing exercise to pass the time. (we gave up T.V. for Lent, and this was one alternative we found.) The assignment was to write from the perspective of a substitute teacher, written in first person. We decided that it would be interesting to write a take-off of our Mass from the point of view of the visiting priest that so graciously said Mass for us today. Enjoy what follows, but remember it is loosely based, and actually, it was much worse than this!
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I wished I could say that waiting the extra time allowed me to come up with a genius post that everyone would find incredibly entertaining - so much so that they would beg me to take all of my wisdom and put it in book form.
Sadly, the only reason I'm late is:
a) I'm pregnant.
b) I'm old.
c) I was actually fighting off an infection that threw me into a two day bed rest.
d) I'm old and pregnant - but really number three wins the prize.
So now that I am recovered, we were able to make it to our bi-monthly homeschooling Mass. This usually is comprised of ten families, of course all these families have at least six kids average, so we are talking about sixty kids + parents, so about seventy five people.
Today however, for various reasons, there was only six families. So, I slid behind a certain family. Let's call them "perfect family." My hope is always to stress to The Boy and The Baby Boy how well behaved their children are. Unfortunately, it usually ends up that my children are the entertainment for those who peak behind their shoulders to gawk at the sideshow, staring my children. SIDENOTE: The Bookworm wants to let everyone that she and her sisters were not sitting in the pew at this point. They were in the "quiet choir" that volunteers to sing for Mass, singing songs that are to high to hit for tired homeschooling Moms. And, since I'm partially deaf, I can't pick up half the words anyways. (By the way, did you know that if you mouth the word "avocado" while everyone else is singing, it totally looks like you know what your doing?!)
I don't know whether it was because I was still tired from recuperation, or if it was because I am old and pregnant, but it was not a pleasant experience today. The Baby Boy took a total advantage of my exhaustion and played "keep-a-way" in the pew, pushing me to the point of just ignoring him, after all, why put the effort into that? SIDENOTE: The Baby Boy received his first after-Mass discipline at home today. There is truth to this "It hurts me more than it hurts you." BUT, now that it has happened, I can easily refer to this to snap him into attention.
I was so relieved to know that I was not the only family who was having their own struggles during Mass. But knowing that others were, as I heard about afterwards, got me to thinking about some important lessons that we learn in Mass.
1) Patience. Isn't it true every time you pray for patience, God sends you a three year old?
2) Sign Language: This is often included with a snap of the fingers and is highlighted with the pointing with the index finger to the spot beside you.
3) Counting. You'd be amazed how many children can count to five, a skill they have learned from the countdown, repeated over and over by the tired mother.
4) How to give "The Look." This is an important life skill, although it seems quiet hilarious when it has been give by a three year old who is imitating mom, and makes you question "Do I really look like that?"
5) Playing with small rocks found in your shoe can be entertaining for a three year old. Especially after following the snap point gesture that tells them they had better sit still.
6) Appreciation for priests who give short homilies........God bless them, everyone.
On that last note, The Jane Austen Wanna-be, the Bookworm, and myself tonight did a Daily Sparks writing exercise to pass the time. (we gave up T.V. for Lent, and this was one alternative we found.) The assignment was to write from the perspective of a substitute teacher, written in first person. We decided that it would be interesting to write a take-off of our Mass from the point of view of the visiting priest that so graciously said Mass for us today. Enjoy what follows, but remember it is loosely based, and actually, it was much worse than this!
-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-
I just received the news that I am to stand in as the substitute for the group of homeschoolers that meets once a month for religious education. I do not know a lot about homeschooling, and in my 77 years, I have not had any encounters with this type of student. If I go according to secular views, I am to expect mumbling wallflowers that are constantly repeating to themselves the Pythagorean theorem or the full 550 numbers of pi in the correct order, or they will be intellectual types with thick nerd glasses, high water pants, pocket calculators and the one with the finger occasional slipping up to his/her nose. But maybe this group will be different – the usual instructor only has had words of praise for them.
Wanting to make a good impression, I set about preparing a lesson that was to include 7 points. Why 7? In all cases of doubt, 7 is always a good answer – that, and the letter “c.” Knowing that age range of these children fell between newborn to seventeen, I figured I had better make the lesson entertaining. The best way to start off the class was with a joke. So, after introducing myself, I grinned and said: “Hola, mi llamo es NO Dora!!There’s some Spanish points for you to right down!” I was greeted with the sound of crickets. Moving on. It was then that I noticed that really, most of these kids looked normal. As far as how they acted, I could already tell the teenagers were a-typical, because they obviously knew how to balance a baby, while chasing after a two year old that was wearing plastic heels. Since this was a family class, it was easy to distinguish parents – the ones with bags under their eyes, snot on their should and tight lips that were counting “You have three seconds. One. Two.” Seeing them told me that I needed to take this 7-point sermon down to about one point. Various individual three year olds who found it entertaining to play “skooch bum” down the seats away from their haggard mothers – hence the tight lips and the counting, which was making this room seem like a math class. I gathered my strength and started to condense my points. Then I looked up and saw that 5 minutes had passed. I was beginning to question the other instructor’s thoughts on how this was entertaining. Taking a deep breath, I looked up at the crucifix. Turning back to the assembled group, I very slowly said, “Remember….Jesus loves you.” That about summed it up, right? Just to add an extra 60 seconds to my talk, I asked everyone to repeat the phrase.
As I sat back down to ponder my 7 in 1 lesson that I just gave in a total of 12 minutes, I took a second look at the group. It suddenly hit me that I was not looking at anything typical at all. Most of these families averaged in the family size of five children or more. That is certainly not typical for our culture. Mental note: pro-life. My second observation was that I noticed that all present were dressed modestly with no shirts proclaiming derogatory messages. The next observation was that the parents looked worn out, but behind their dark circles, you could see love for their families in their eyes. I was beginning to see now with a clear vision why this class was different, but not in a bad way. This time I spent here wasn’t all that bad actually, if I could just get their three olds to sit long enough to fit in another 6 points, then maybe I will volunteer to do this again.
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Surviving myself, at least life isn't a 24/7, 365 homeschooling Mass,
Mary
Wanting to make a good impression, I set about preparing a lesson that was to include 7 points. Why 7? In all cases of doubt, 7 is always a good answer – that, and the letter “c.” Knowing that age range of these children fell between newborn to seventeen, I figured I had better make the lesson entertaining. The best way to start off the class was with a joke. So, after introducing myself, I grinned and said: “Hola, mi llamo es NO Dora!!There’s some Spanish points for you to right down!” I was greeted with the sound of crickets. Moving on. It was then that I noticed that really, most of these kids looked normal. As far as how they acted, I could already tell the teenagers were a-typical, because they obviously knew how to balance a baby, while chasing after a two year old that was wearing plastic heels. Since this was a family class, it was easy to distinguish parents – the ones with bags under their eyes, snot on their should and tight lips that were counting “You have three seconds. One. Two.” Seeing them told me that I needed to take this 7-point sermon down to about one point. Various individual three year olds who found it entertaining to play “skooch bum” down the seats away from their haggard mothers – hence the tight lips and the counting, which was making this room seem like a math class. I gathered my strength and started to condense my points. Then I looked up and saw that 5 minutes had passed. I was beginning to question the other instructor’s thoughts on how this was entertaining. Taking a deep breath, I looked up at the crucifix. Turning back to the assembled group, I very slowly said, “Remember….Jesus loves you.” That about summed it up, right? Just to add an extra 60 seconds to my talk, I asked everyone to repeat the phrase.
As I sat back down to ponder my 7 in 1 lesson that I just gave in a total of 12 minutes, I took a second look at the group. It suddenly hit me that I was not looking at anything typical at all. Most of these families averaged in the family size of five children or more. That is certainly not typical for our culture. Mental note: pro-life. My second observation was that I noticed that all present were dressed modestly with no shirts proclaiming derogatory messages. The next observation was that the parents looked worn out, but behind their dark circles, you could see love for their families in their eyes. I was beginning to see now with a clear vision why this class was different, but not in a bad way. This time I spent here wasn’t all that bad actually, if I could just get their three olds to sit long enough to fit in another 6 points, then maybe I will volunteer to do this again.
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Surviving myself, at least life isn't a 24/7, 365 homeschooling Mass,
Mary
Sunday, February 26, 2012
Finding Happiness
I've been reading lately- not that this is new. In my busy schedule I try to get some reading in here and there. Usually it is in the final minutes of the day, in my bed, by the light of a flashlight (as to not disturb my sleeping husband) - and it's usually only for mere minutes due to the fact that I'm on zero energy and one foot in my nightly coma. The latest book I've found interest in is called The Happiness Project by Gretchen Rubin. I am not necessarily recommending this book- yet. I haven't finished it. I can't totally speak for it. But, I have found it interesting thus far.
This writer set out to find happiness in where she was in her life- not that she was unhappy, she just wanted to take time to really enjoy the stage of life she was in at the time of her writing. I found this intriguing, because I'm the type of person who will find myself in a stage of life and wonder when it will end- kids not sleeping through the night stage, kids telling lies stage, kids being picky eaters stage, kids being picky about what they wear stage. Okay, so my life is revolving around my kids mostly- tends to happen to many homeschooling mothers, I'm sure. Like Grethen Rubin though, I've often thought, "When I get through this stage, then things will be better- I'll be happier"- etc And one day I wake up and realize that I have already passed through the dreaded stage (in fact, I've usually long passed it) and not only did I not find the happiness pot of gold at the end of the rainbow, but I am in knee deep in another stage and again, not happy. Through many of these trips I went from having one child - at 2 years of age to having 8 children- and that 2 year old is going on 17. Where does time go?
So, the idea of enjoying happiness in the stage of exactly where I am sounded perfect.
The book is divided into 12 months, with suggestions that Gretchen found in her research that would bring her happiness. Yes, HER happiness. She is very forward in saying that each person's happiness is going to be different and this is HER journey. Her insight is very interesting though, and I'm enjoying her perspectives.
Some of the suggestions she has include everything from hugging more to starting a blog. While I haven't seen any mention of faith in her journey- yet- I have found interest in her knowledge of happiness comes to one if they stop trying to find it in another person (for her, it was her spouse). She came to the understanding that if you are to find happiness, you have to look at yourself to see why you are not happy.
This isn't a new idea. We can't expect others to make us happy. Such a burden that becomes for that other person. Hmmmm. . . wasn't I looking at my children to bring me happiness by completing stages? Yikes!
Of course true happiness is only found in God. There is that place in us- that "God shaped hole" that only He can fill, no matter how hard we try to fill it with worldly things.
Once we have that understanding, life will be more joyful- more happy.
In the meantime, I am having fun finding the humor in the little quirks in life. Which, by the way, the latest humor in The Clown's life is seeing and laughing at a picture of Mike Myers- I'm not sure why. It's not even a pictue of him in make-up or costume:
OKAY- so maybe looking at Mike Myers is a bit uplifting! I'm at least signing off with a smile.
Surviving myself with happiness and smiles in tow,
Mary
This writer set out to find happiness in where she was in her life- not that she was unhappy, she just wanted to take time to really enjoy the stage of life she was in at the time of her writing. I found this intriguing, because I'm the type of person who will find myself in a stage of life and wonder when it will end- kids not sleeping through the night stage, kids telling lies stage, kids being picky eaters stage, kids being picky about what they wear stage. Okay, so my life is revolving around my kids mostly- tends to happen to many homeschooling mothers, I'm sure. Like Grethen Rubin though, I've often thought, "When I get through this stage, then things will be better- I'll be happier"- etc And one day I wake up and realize that I have already passed through the dreaded stage (in fact, I've usually long passed it) and not only did I not find the happiness pot of gold at the end of the rainbow, but I am in knee deep in another stage and again, not happy. Through many of these trips I went from having one child - at 2 years of age to having 8 children- and that 2 year old is going on 17. Where does time go?
So, the idea of enjoying happiness in the stage of exactly where I am sounded perfect.
The book is divided into 12 months, with suggestions that Gretchen found in her research that would bring her happiness. Yes, HER happiness. She is very forward in saying that each person's happiness is going to be different and this is HER journey. Her insight is very interesting though, and I'm enjoying her perspectives.
Some of the suggestions she has include everything from hugging more to starting a blog. While I haven't seen any mention of faith in her journey- yet- I have found interest in her knowledge of happiness comes to one if they stop trying to find it in another person (for her, it was her spouse). She came to the understanding that if you are to find happiness, you have to look at yourself to see why you are not happy.
This isn't a new idea. We can't expect others to make us happy. Such a burden that becomes for that other person. Hmmmm. . . wasn't I looking at my children to bring me happiness by completing stages? Yikes!
Of course true happiness is only found in God. There is that place in us- that "God shaped hole" that only He can fill, no matter how hard we try to fill it with worldly things.
Once we have that understanding, life will be more joyful- more happy.
In the meantime, I am having fun finding the humor in the little quirks in life. Which, by the way, the latest humor in The Clown's life is seeing and laughing at a picture of Mike Myers- I'm not sure why. It's not even a pictue of him in make-up or costume:
OKAY- so maybe looking at Mike Myers is a bit uplifting! I'm at least signing off with a smile.
Surviving myself with happiness and smiles in tow,
Mary
Sunday, February 12, 2012
Sorrow and Stubble
This past week has held some life lessons- one very hard and one fun.
The pig stands alone:
Unfortunately, one of our guinea pigs died this last week. I must say that despite the supposed 4 to 8 years, we hold a constant record of about 1 year. I'm not exactly sure why this is so- I would categorize our pet care as acceptable- cleaned cage each week, fresh food and water twice a day, regular baths and nail clipping - overall I couldn't complain about how the little pigs live. Okay, there is an occasional "drop and scamper"- but VERY rare- only once, I promise! We've learned that pigs cannot fly - no matter how high their tossed. And, we've witnessed that though not overly fond of dressing up, piggies will tolerate a doll outfit or two. Again, this is VERY rare treatment. Mostly our pigs are happy and safe in their cage, whistling and "popcorning" to their heart extent.
Our previous pig- Roxanne- was a pet from years ago. Sadly, one day I went to check that she'd been fed and found her stiff. There was no explanation for this death. Our best guess was that she chocked on food. . . at least it sounded good to the kids.
Our next pig, Mr. Knightly, passed away this last Sunday. RIP. When my husband came down to start the coffee before Mass, he noticed a "wheezing" coming from the pig cage. He came up to inform me of this and after checking on the pig- I knew that he was not long for this world. Now, personally, I am not a pet person, not really. But, I hate to have my children experience the death/loss of a pet- especially The Jane Austen Wanna Be and The Cute one who gets everything free at garage sales- they are both tender-hearted. And, beings that these were the two who took care of the pigs the most, their loss would be harder. I sent for The Cute one who gets everything free at garage sales to come and be with her pig, explaining that he was going to pass away soon, but she was very blessed to be able to spend his last moments holding him and talking to him. Though this wasn't a great consolation, I though it would be better to offer this. I even told her we would go to a later Mass so that she could stay with him.
Tears and sobs followed, along with more tears and sobs. This, of course brought the pregnant, hormone enraged mother to virtual breakdown. Which brought in The Diva, who promptly joined in, making a three part harmony of cries.
Okay, I wasn't really going to miss his THAT much. I mean, he was just one of the pigs- which meant he was one of the sources to my constant "Have you fed the pigs yet?" And after the newness wore off- the ritual gather of the pigs from the cage to love on- my involvement was more of a drill sergeant than a loving pet owner. But, I am a mess when it comes to my kids crying. Never mind that The Jane Austen Wanna Be had decided that she was having NOTHING to do with the tear fest- she'd remember Mr. Knightly the way he was.
Moving past the sorrow- on to the stubble.
The pig stands alone:
Unfortunately, one of our guinea pigs died this last week. I must say that despite the supposed 4 to 8 years, we hold a constant record of about 1 year. I'm not exactly sure why this is so- I would categorize our pet care as acceptable- cleaned cage each week, fresh food and water twice a day, regular baths and nail clipping - overall I couldn't complain about how the little pigs live. Okay, there is an occasional "drop and scamper"- but VERY rare- only once, I promise! We've learned that pigs cannot fly - no matter how high their tossed. And, we've witnessed that though not overly fond of dressing up, piggies will tolerate a doll outfit or two. Again, this is VERY rare treatment. Mostly our pigs are happy and safe in their cage, whistling and "popcorning" to their heart extent.
Our previous pig- Roxanne- was a pet from years ago. Sadly, one day I went to check that she'd been fed and found her stiff. There was no explanation for this death. Our best guess was that she chocked on food. . . at least it sounded good to the kids.
Our next pig, Mr. Knightly, passed away this last Sunday. RIP. When my husband came down to start the coffee before Mass, he noticed a "wheezing" coming from the pig cage. He came up to inform me of this and after checking on the pig- I knew that he was not long for this world. Now, personally, I am not a pet person, not really. But, I hate to have my children experience the death/loss of a pet- especially The Jane Austen Wanna Be and The Cute one who gets everything free at garage sales- they are both tender-hearted. And, beings that these were the two who took care of the pigs the most, their loss would be harder. I sent for The Cute one who gets everything free at garage sales to come and be with her pig, explaining that he was going to pass away soon, but she was very blessed to be able to spend his last moments holding him and talking to him. Though this wasn't a great consolation, I though it would be better to offer this. I even told her we would go to a later Mass so that she could stay with him.
Tears and sobs followed, along with more tears and sobs. This, of course brought the pregnant, hormone enraged mother to virtual breakdown. Which brought in The Diva, who promptly joined in, making a three part harmony of cries.
Okay, I wasn't really going to miss his THAT much. I mean, he was just one of the pigs- which meant he was one of the sources to my constant "Have you fed the pigs yet?" And after the newness wore off- the ritual gather of the pigs from the cage to love on- my involvement was more of a drill sergeant than a loving pet owner. But, I am a mess when it comes to my kids crying. Never mind that The Jane Austen Wanna Be had decided that she was having NOTHING to do with the tear fest- she'd remember Mr. Knightly the way he was.
So viva la Mr. Darcy. (by the way, these pigs were named after 2 of Jane Austen's famous characters -Mr. Knightley from Emma and Mr. Darcy from Pride and Prejudice. The favorite amongst the girls- both in character and pig- was Mr. Knightly. We probably bragged a bit to much on Mr. Knightley's superior qualities- the character, not the pig- thus bringing the untimely demise of the pig, not the character.)
Moving past the sorrow- on to the stubble.
The Baby Boy had his 3rd birthday this last week. He is growing so fast! He, out of all my kids, has had a fascination with all things health and beauty- make-up, lotion, perfume, (hmmm. mostly girl things) and watching daddy shave. The perfect gift for him thus was the play shaving razor/cream. I thought this was going to go over well!
Who would have thought that the squirting sound of shaving gel coming out of an aerosol can could be so scary?! Needless to say- the shaving gift scored a zero with the Baby Boy. However, the Boy loves it, now along with my various morning greetings from the Boy, "I need a shave."
An idea just struck The Bookworm and me- her gift was a bearded hat that she made (similar to picture below.) Perhaps if we sneak it onto him during the night, he'll echo The Boy's cries of "I need a shave!" in the morning. Unfortunately a bearded hat is as scary as squirting noises of shaving cream coming out of an aerosol can. It's yet to grace his head.
An idea just struck The Bookworm and me- her gift was a bearded hat that she made (similar to picture below.) Perhaps if we sneak it onto him during the night, he'll echo The Boy's cries of "I need a shave!" in the morning. Unfortunately a bearded hat is as scary as squirting noises of shaving cream coming out of an aerosol can. It's yet to grace his head.
I love toys that teach life lessons- you know...like the toy vacuum, toy broom, toy lawn mower, etc. Anything that makes play out of life chores is great!
Did I mention The Baby Boy got a toy chain saw? Maybe he'll figure out a way to get rid of the pesky cottonwood tree that causes so much allergy problems for us. One can always hope. Unfortunately the talk of chopping down has involved more of things like my chairs, my sofa, my doors. Of course I guess I have to give him leeway on his sawing outside; it is only 20 some degrees lately and Mom is a meanie when it comes to playing in the cold.
Did I mention The Baby Boy got a toy chain saw? Maybe he'll figure out a way to get rid of the pesky cottonwood tree that causes so much allergy problems for us. One can always hope. Unfortunately the talk of chopping down has involved more of things like my chairs, my sofa, my doors. Of course I guess I have to give him leeway on his sawing outside; it is only 20 some degrees lately and Mom is a meanie when it comes to playing in the cold.
Surviving myself through tears and laughter,
Mary
Mary
Sunday, January 29, 2012
Princesses vs. Transformers
OK, so I'm going to let you into a bit of my horribleness- not all of it, I have to have a shred of dignity to my name. By the way, I totally blame my pregnancy hormones for the whole incident, but what happened happened.
Last weekend I was up at the crack of dawn with The Boy and The Baby Boy, who are both early risers. That is not good for me- I am NOT a morning person, at all. Yet nearly every morning between 5:15 and and 6:30 they are greeting me with "Mom, can you change my diaper?" . . . yes. "Can we go watch t.v.?" . . . no.
I'd like to say I'd be a more excited about seeing them each day if it was "Good morning Mom, I love you." But, truth be told, I'd probably still be a grumpy morning person.
I must interject here that I've been reading a book with The Diva in her religion class over that last month or so. It is called The King of the Golden City -
http://www.chcweb.com/catalog/TheKingoftheGtoldenCityAnAllegoryforChildren/product_info.html
It is an allegory about living a Catholic life. Very good read- lots of valuable lessons. It's not my first read; I've read it with the previous older 3 sisters. It's funny how you can read something years apart and it can strike you differently each time. God does His best work that way though, doesn't He?
This read through talked to me through the main character who was battling "Self"- our conscious- who wants to sleep in just a little bit later one morning. See where I'm going? She has to overcome her selfish desires and learn self control. It didn't go to well for her at first, and I'm afraid I had a comparable experience.
The family attended a Saturday Mass this weekend, so the plan was to sleep in on Sunday morning. I'm sorry, that plan was for my husband and all the daughters of the house- not for me. (Did I mention that I'm NOT a morning person? That I treasure sleep- especially in the morning? Oh yeah, I guess I did.)
This time was going to be different though. When the boys were to greet me in the morning, I was going to get up and spend some fun "Mom and sons" time with them. Maybe we'd play with their trio blocks, maybe we'd play sword fighting. Whatever it was, we'd have some fun before the rest of the kids got up.
5:45 AM and I squashed "self" as I got out of bed an followed the boys to their room. We made their bed and I plopped down amidst a sea of Hot Wheel cars. Suddenly The Baby Boy handed me one of the toy Transformer cars that belonged to The Boy. It was a bit banged up. In fact, the two back fenders were popped off. Not a problem. I've battled this Transformer before (which if you have not transformed a Transformer, it's not too different than a Rubik's cube- only slightly easier). So I made myself comfortable on the floor and set to work.
One hour and twenty minutes later, I was still battling "Barricade", and he was winning. I sill hadn't managed to attach the fenders, and the boys had so moved on to something other than spending time with Mom. Sadly, I'm not even sure what they were totally up to- I was too engrossed into the challenge that faced me. I was in it for the principal of it. No toy was going to get the best of me! I didn't get a college degree or earn a few degrees in mothering 101 for nothing!!
I was in so deep that I hadn't noticed The Diva came into the room. The boys had moved onto playing with her. They were having fun. But I was NOT going to let this toy beat me! They all 3 asked me if they could go eat breakfast. I told them to go ahead, I'd be down later- after I finished.
I know, you can so see "Self" was running this show. I had failed; she was winning. Not only was I not getting the toy fixed, but I was now in tears- completely aware of how I'd messed up, yet unwilling to give up. Have you ever been there? It's not a fun place. I'd lost control. I'd lost control over a silly little toy.
Slowly I made my way downstairs. The 3 were sitting at the table eating and enjoying the Sunday morning. I slunk past them, headed to the computer, looked up how to fix it, popped the the pieces in place - finished. Somehow it didn't matter though.
You know the great thing about life? Forgiveness. It is great to receive it. It felt beautiful to hear my boys to say "It's okay Mom. And hey, you fixed it!"
It feels even better to receive it from the Lord. I think the some of most beautiful words in the world are
"I absolve you from your sins, In the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit."
If you haven't heard them for awhile, I recommend meeting our Lord in a special place with one of his chosen men. It's good for the soul!
Take two:
Monday morning. 7:00 AM. I was sitting at the table with my boys. We were laughing and having fun as they hovered over their sister's look and find princess book. Not very manly, I know. But, they weren't into for the dresses or crowns. They saw a challenge and they weren't going to back down from it for anything!
Thant's my boys!
Surviving myself as I pick up the pieces and try to control Self,
Mary
Last weekend I was up at the crack of dawn with The Boy and The Baby Boy, who are both early risers. That is not good for me- I am NOT a morning person, at all. Yet nearly every morning between 5:15 and and 6:30 they are greeting me with "Mom, can you change my diaper?" . . . yes. "Can we go watch t.v.?" . . . no.
I'd like to say I'd be a more excited about seeing them each day if it was "Good morning Mom, I love you." But, truth be told, I'd probably still be a grumpy morning person.
I must interject here that I've been reading a book with The Diva in her religion class over that last month or so. It is called The King of the Golden City -
http://www.chcweb.com/catalog/TheKingoftheGtoldenCityAnAllegoryforChildren/product_info.html
It is an allegory about living a Catholic life. Very good read- lots of valuable lessons. It's not my first read; I've read it with the previous older 3 sisters. It's funny how you can read something years apart and it can strike you differently each time. God does His best work that way though, doesn't He?
This read through talked to me through the main character who was battling "Self"- our conscious- who wants to sleep in just a little bit later one morning. See where I'm going? She has to overcome her selfish desires and learn self control. It didn't go to well for her at first, and I'm afraid I had a comparable experience.
The family attended a Saturday Mass this weekend, so the plan was to sleep in on Sunday morning. I'm sorry, that plan was for my husband and all the daughters of the house- not for me. (Did I mention that I'm NOT a morning person? That I treasure sleep- especially in the morning? Oh yeah, I guess I did.)
This time was going to be different though. When the boys were to greet me in the morning, I was going to get up and spend some fun "Mom and sons" time with them. Maybe we'd play with their trio blocks, maybe we'd play sword fighting. Whatever it was, we'd have some fun before the rest of the kids got up.
5:45 AM and I squashed "self" as I got out of bed an followed the boys to their room. We made their bed and I plopped down amidst a sea of Hot Wheel cars. Suddenly The Baby Boy handed me one of the toy Transformer cars that belonged to The Boy. It was a bit banged up. In fact, the two back fenders were popped off. Not a problem. I've battled this Transformer before (which if you have not transformed a Transformer, it's not too different than a Rubik's cube- only slightly easier). So I made myself comfortable on the floor and set to work.
I was in so deep that I hadn't noticed The Diva came into the room. The boys had moved onto playing with her. They were having fun. But I was NOT going to let this toy beat me! They all 3 asked me if they could go eat breakfast. I told them to go ahead, I'd be down later- after I finished.
I know, you can so see "Self" was running this show. I had failed; she was winning. Not only was I not getting the toy fixed, but I was now in tears- completely aware of how I'd messed up, yet unwilling to give up. Have you ever been there? It's not a fun place. I'd lost control. I'd lost control over a silly little toy.
Slowly I made my way downstairs. The 3 were sitting at the table eating and enjoying the Sunday morning. I slunk past them, headed to the computer, looked up how to fix it, popped the the pieces in place - finished. Somehow it didn't matter though.
You know the great thing about life? Forgiveness. It is great to receive it. It felt beautiful to hear my boys to say "It's okay Mom. And hey, you fixed it!"
It feels even better to receive it from the Lord. I think the some of most beautiful words in the world are
"I absolve you from your sins, In the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit."
If you haven't heard them for awhile, I recommend meeting our Lord in a special place with one of his chosen men. It's good for the soul!
Take two:
Monday morning. 7:00 AM. I was sitting at the table with my boys. We were laughing and having fun as they hovered over their sister's look and find princess book. Not very manly, I know. But, they weren't into for the dresses or crowns. They saw a challenge and they weren't going to back down from it for anything!
Thant's my boys!
Surviving myself as I pick up the pieces and try to control Self,
Mary
Sunday, January 15, 2012
Survival?
Well, it has now been almost 2 weeks since we've replaced our carpet in 4 bedrooms, hallway, and stairs and I can say that I'm lovin' it! And, since I'm am writing this, it means that we did survive the move of 3 twin beds, two sets of bunk beds, one queen bed, 5 dressers, 3 bookcases and I'm guessing somewhere close to 150 shoes and surely 2 tons of clothes (and that was just from the oldest 3 daughters' closets!)
The great thing about this new carpet is that it is dirt color- meaning that I am enjoying that it hides things well. Not that I don't try to keep a clean house, mind you - it's just nice to have a little camouflage to help me out! Plus, we are each thrilled by the "puffiness" of new carpet and pad- so comfortable that I had many of the kids opt for sleeping on the floor instead of their beds.
So, the labor of moving was worth it- and I have to say, even at 5 months pregnant, I was able to pull my weight and share of the help. Who knew a very pregnant woman could lift a top bunk bed in place on the bottom one. Well, okay, it didn't have the mattress in it, but still- not bad, huh? Honestly though, if it weren't for the older 3 daughters and my father, my husband would have had his hands too full. He put out plenty of hard work himself though- and I was quite impressed and totally relieved to have the excuse of being pregnant!
I do have to share though that I am the type of person that hates disorder- enough so that it unnerves me to be surrounded by chaos. You probably have heard of the show Hoarders? I couldn't help but be reminded of this show as I sat in my bedroom surrounded by my children's stuff, with only a path to the bathroom and out of the room, just wide enough to fit my pregnant belly through- barely. AGHHH! It was mentally painful.
Even better news about the carpet- it gave us the excuse to go though 3 years of build-up in the house. Not much removal for my husband and myself, not much for the boys-the girls though? Well, we are still delivering donation bags to the local second hand store. It feels very refreshing to clean out and give to others.
There was one item that I did take out of my own room, and although I didn't give it away, I did give it a new life. I had a pillow that I had bought- the type that is like an armchair, also known as "boyfriend pillow' or backrest pillow-
So, the labor of moving was worth it- and I have to say, even at 5 months pregnant, I was able to pull my weight and share of the help. Who knew a very pregnant woman could lift a top bunk bed in place on the bottom one. Well, okay, it didn't have the mattress in it, but still- not bad, huh? Honestly though, if it weren't for the older 3 daughters and my father, my husband would have had his hands too full. He put out plenty of hard work himself though- and I was quite impressed and totally relieved to have the excuse of being pregnant!
I do have to share though that I am the type of person that hates disorder- enough so that it unnerves me to be surrounded by chaos. You probably have heard of the show Hoarders? I couldn't help but be reminded of this show as I sat in my bedroom surrounded by my children's stuff, with only a path to the bathroom and out of the room, just wide enough to fit my pregnant belly through- barely. AGHHH! It was mentally painful.
Even better news about the carpet- it gave us the excuse to go though 3 years of build-up in the house. Not much removal for my husband and myself, not much for the boys-the girls though? Well, we are still delivering donation bags to the local second hand store. It feels very refreshing to clean out and give to others.
There was one item that I did take out of my own room, and although I didn't give it away, I did give it a new life. I had a pillow that I had bought- the type that is like an armchair, also known as "boyfriend pillow' or backrest pillow-
It did look a lot like the above pillow- Target $14.99. I bought it about a year ago to help me to sleep/take my husband's place in bed. Okay, that sounds weird, but what I mean is that I usually sleep leaning up against my husband. With him on second shift, and me getting older and unable to stay awake until he gets home, I needed something more comfortable than my fluffy pillows. Hence- the boyfriend pillow, or as I affectionately called mine- Dwayne. (yes, that would be Dwayne Johnson- aka "The Rock"- which is what this pillow was as hard as- a rock. Which was a good thing! While it didn't replace my husband per say- it did offer a good solid substitute- and if my hubby is reading this, he probably would get a kick out of me looking for something "rock hard" as a substitute to his biceps : ) You're the man honey!)
But, due to a job change, my husband is now on fist shift and gets to bed a lot earlier - in fact he usually hits bed before I, so I get the bonus of a warm, full bed to come to each night!
I really no longer have a need for Dwayne, and so I recycled him the living room, by the fireside, thinking that he would make leaning against the fireside much more comfortable. He was to have a good retirement.
That was the plan.
I forgot that I have 2 boys. Two boys ages 5 and 2. Two boys who have no concept of respect for Dwayne.
Poor Dwayne, he looks more like Nick Nolte now- worn out by kicks, punches and slams to the ground- and that was in the first day!
Poor Dwayne, he looks more like Nick Nolte now- worn out by kicks, punches and slams to the ground- and that was in the first day!
From this:
to this:
I can only pray that the real Dwayne would be able to survive the horrors of two boys, age 2 and 5!
I only know that there are to many days that I feel like Nick Nolte looks! Yes, I can lift a top (okay, empty) bunk bed while 5 months pregnant, but there are days when surviving is the highlight of the day!
Hoping to survive like (the real) Dwayne,
Mary
Hoping to survive like (the real) Dwayne,
Mary
Sunday, January 1, 2012
New Year, Old Me
Happy New Year! I hope you all brought in the New Year safely last night. I, along with the rest of my family shared a few "finger foods" (which, being pregnant, left me tasting them the rest of the evening), dodged swords left and right as we watched the first Narnia movie (reliving the final battle right in my living room), and the made a trip to the gym- knowing that it would be practically empty is an incentive for a pregnant woman- especially when she wants to try out the new stepper machine and doesn't desire an audience for it, and then we finished the evening with a chorus of snores as we slept in the New Year. I would like to say that my excuse for sleeping in the New Year was because I'm pregnant- and that is a very viable excuse, but I also knew that 5:30 AM comes early every Sunday- which is the time I need to get up to get a shower and ready if I'm going to get everyone out of the house for 8:00 AM Mass.
I feel just a wee bit cheated having Christmas and New Years on a Sunday this year. I know, I should relish celebrating the birth of our Savior on the Lord's Day and having the Feast of Our Lady on a Sunday too, but it seems like the vacation days were a bit "gypped" due to the weekend holidays.
Now, if I were an organized homeschooling Mom, we'd hit Monday Jan 2nd off and running. And if I weren't 5 months pregnant, I'd have the assignments laid out, along with the kids' daily lists ready to go. Well, let's just say that my kids are getting a little extended vacation due to the above mentioned and probably due to many other reasons- which I'm sure will not bring any objections from them!
I am so thankful for the new job change that my husband has made. He has adjusted to the 1st shift hours well. I am also thankful that the change brought about an extra paycheck- which we were all to eager to spend on carpet for the bedroom and stairs. It was so nice picking out the carpet, exploring the possibilities, imagining the floors not stained from 24/7 foot traffic (at least for a month), that I forgot how much work it was going to be to move furniture from 4 bedroom in just 3 days. What was I thinking?!? I told my husband that I would love to be the "he-woman" that I usually am and tear down bunk beds (2 sets of them), moved dressers, and clear out closets- but let's face it- I'm old and I'm pregnant. Not to mention I'm always tired! And I'm pregnant and old. (There is no excuse like being pregnant to get out of some things!!) We'll see how this adventure goes- starts this week- you know, the week we are supposed to dive back into school, choir practice and symphony practice. Nothing like dumping it all at once!
But, back to my wonderful excuse- pregnancy. I keep saying that I'm going to get a picture of the sonogram up. I actually have 2 of them. I may have to differ to The Jane Austen Want to Be for the technical side of that. I see she has already placed the "baby ticker" on the blog- which I swear makes the days seem longer than shorter- 14 MORE weeks!?!.
You'll have to let me know if you can make head or tails of them (better not be any tails!). I'm sure a lot of my readers have had enough experience with sonogram pictures that deciphering them is easier than grading 9th grade algebra!
God's blessings to you all on this New Year. May you find multiple reasons to celebrate and praise the Lord for all He has done!
I'll have to update on the carpet install/likely husband with back thrown out saga.
Overwhelmed but surviving myself,
Mary
I feel just a wee bit cheated having Christmas and New Years on a Sunday this year. I know, I should relish celebrating the birth of our Savior on the Lord's Day and having the Feast of Our Lady on a Sunday too, but it seems like the vacation days were a bit "gypped" due to the weekend holidays.
Now, if I were an organized homeschooling Mom, we'd hit Monday Jan 2nd off and running. And if I weren't 5 months pregnant, I'd have the assignments laid out, along with the kids' daily lists ready to go. Well, let's just say that my kids are getting a little extended vacation due to the above mentioned and probably due to many other reasons- which I'm sure will not bring any objections from them!
I am so thankful for the new job change that my husband has made. He has adjusted to the 1st shift hours well. I am also thankful that the change brought about an extra paycheck- which we were all to eager to spend on carpet for the bedroom and stairs. It was so nice picking out the carpet, exploring the possibilities, imagining the floors not stained from 24/7 foot traffic (at least for a month), that I forgot how much work it was going to be to move furniture from 4 bedroom in just 3 days. What was I thinking?!? I told my husband that I would love to be the "he-woman" that I usually am and tear down bunk beds (2 sets of them), moved dressers, and clear out closets- but let's face it- I'm old and I'm pregnant. Not to mention I'm always tired! And I'm pregnant and old. (There is no excuse like being pregnant to get out of some things!!) We'll see how this adventure goes- starts this week- you know, the week we are supposed to dive back into school, choir practice and symphony practice. Nothing like dumping it all at once!
But, back to my wonderful excuse- pregnancy. I keep saying that I'm going to get a picture of the sonogram up. I actually have 2 of them. I may have to differ to The Jane Austen Want to Be for the technical side of that. I see she has already placed the "baby ticker" on the blog- which I swear makes the days seem longer than shorter- 14 MORE weeks!?!.
You'll have to let me know if you can make head or tails of them (better not be any tails!). I'm sure a lot of my readers have had enough experience with sonogram pictures that deciphering them is easier than grading 9th grade algebra!
God's blessings to you all on this New Year. May you find multiple reasons to celebrate and praise the Lord for all He has done!
I'll have to update on the carpet install/likely husband with back thrown out saga.
Overwhelmed but surviving myself,
Mary
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