Seven Quick Takes (vol. 9)

I haven’t posted in almost 8 months! Want to know why?

Here is my seven quick takes of excuses for being to busy to blog.

1.

We are pregnant with baby #3. When this bundle of joy arrives I will have been blessed with three children under the age of three. This pregnancy has been exhausting and when I have free time I sleep…not blog..haha

2.

My only brother (finally!) got married this summer. He got engaged the month after I did…needless to say he has some catching up to do. The wedding was beautiful despite me crying through my reading. That is why my husband is the one that reads things in church and I don’t.

How could I resist NOT putting a photo in of the ceremony? They were married in a Roman Catholic church.

 

3.

Since it was my only sibling getting married I went all out and got my hair done, bought a fancy dress and got a manicure. It was lots of fun but I’m glad that it doesn’t take me 5 hours to get ready every day!

4.

My husband got a job promotion. Which is such a HUGE blessing in that he gets to teach what he loves AND we get a little more $$ which helps when you live on one income. That being said he also works more, which means I work more.  Another reason why blogging has not been on my radar lately.

5.

I’m teaching an iconography club at my husbands school again this year. It’s lots of fun to teach the kids about our Eastern Christian traditions through icons! I have been preparing all kinds of fun field trips and hopefully there will be as good of a turn out as there was last year.

6.

I am trying to potty train my son…isn’t that excuse enough for being to busy to blog..haha.  Anyone with potty training advice is very welcome to pass it on. My son is of the variety of man that “likes to sit”  in his mess. (he told me so!) It  has not been easy to convince him it is in his best interest to lose the diapers, even bribery has fallen short.  I am CONVINCED that this is the LAST month I will buy him pull-ups. Two weeks to go, pray for me..and him!

7.

I’m reading a new book! It’s called Rediscover Catholicism by Matthew Kelly. It’s really great, especially if you are (or know) a lapsed Catholic that could use a little boost in their faith and authenticity (don’t we all!).  It’s been a nice quick read before I hunker down for some more serious academic reading prescribed to me by a good friend. Wish me luck, I am not the academic reading type usually. I enjoy quick reads about family, kids, childbirth, domestic church. Reading about the history of the liturgy is going to take some discipline. But Matthew Kelly talks a lot about the need for discipline in his book..so maybe it was a good one to start with :)

 

Have a great weekend and head over and say “hi” to Jen and www.conversiondairy.com!

Mother’s Rule of Life

I was given a book by a dear friend of mine called A Mother’s Rule of Life by Holly Pierlot. I mostly read it because she is also reading it and I thought it would give us something to chat about together. I get a bit sceptical about self-help books because they always seem to push their worldly advice which often does not ring true with the teachings of the Gospel. (I also get secretly discouraged and think that I suck at my vocation, which is a whole other post.)

That being said, this was actually a very good book and has brought a lot of positive change to our family.  The basic principle is that,  just like religious orders have a rule or schedule that they follow to help them focus their attention on God, mothers can also benefit from having a schedule of prayer, work, and play.

Holly Pierlot is a VERY organized individual and I am not. I tend to be a little cluttered, a little lazy and a little scared of schedules (mostly because I don’t like to be told what to do, even by myself).  Unfortunately my weakness for being a sloth has caught up with my prayer life, my poor floors and the dirty dishes that seem to haunt the sink.  As of late I have felt overwhelmed by life. Two weeks ago, thinking I had nothing to loose, I put The Rule into action with surprising results.

My house is cleaner, the dishes are done, I have time to pray in the evening and my husband has noticed the changes in our family life. Spending the time to organize my days  means that I don’t worry about the floors being cleaned because I know that it will be done at 3pm when it is scheduled. Of course, having two babies under 2 years old means that The Rule needs to be VERY flexible and accommodate the days then The Screamer doesn’t nap and The Princess wants extra attention. But even on those bad days (when my husband has to come home from work early to save me from my children) we still do family prayer every night at 7:30 and I get to go to out ALONE every Thursday night…and that in itself is worth being told what to do by a book.

Proof that boys are different than girls.

 

Me: “Good morning son, can I have a kiss?”

Son: “ARRRGGGHHH!!! (body slams me in the head)”

Seven Quick Takes (vol. 8)

The weather has been miserable this week and the Screamer has been stuck inside. Here are seven things he has done to entertain himself…..

1.

Got into my Honey Trap lip balm from LUSH and ate it.

2.

Found the saline drops I use for the Princess’ nose and sprayed them all over the bedroom mirrors. (notice the mirrors in the above picture?)

3.

Used my hardwood floors to express his artistic talent. Thankfully crayon comes off with a little elbow grease

4.

Gotten his first pet. A goldfish, who he has named Ish.

5.

Taken every single book off the shelf at least three times a day. This is not the end of the world. Books are pretty easy to clean up as far as messes go.

6.

Leaned how to climb onto the coffee table to get to the TV. I can no longer leave him alone ANYWHERE!

7.

Hidden the controllers for the TV, DVD player and stereo. I cannot find them anywhere!?! We don’t live in that big of a place, unless he flushed them down the toilet there are not many places to hide them. Maybe they are in the dishwasher……(see here)

I think I can, I think I can…….

 

Someone  should write a book called:

“ The Little Train that could…go to confession!”

Is anyone else terrified of confession? I can’t be the only convert that makes up a million excuses for why I can’t make it to confession on a regular basis.

The Screamers needs a diaper change.

The Princess needs to be fed.

I want to see Fr. X instead of Fr. Y.

The floor needs to be moped.

My moms group has begun to meet every second Saturday to help each other get to confession by watching each others kids. It is one less excuse for missing confession.

I understands the theological significance and importance of regularly participating in the Sacrament of Reconciliation. For some reason the Protestant in me still has hard time with the actual act of going to confession. Reconciliation is just that, a chance to renew the broken relationship with God caused by sin. It is not a punishment but a chance to say “I’m sorry, please forgive me.” 

Who wouldn’t want to experience the relief of forgiveness, you ask? People who are scared. I’m scared of admitting I’ve made mistakes, I’m scared to say them out loud, and I’m scared the priest will look at me and say:

“It’s been HOW long since your last confession!”

Or better yet:

“You have no idea what you are doing, go away!”

When you tell someone how you have sinned, when you admit you have fallen, you will be held accountable. I am hoping that by sharing my weakness for avoiding confession I will feel a little more accountable for my actions. Hopefully, next time, when I see the little light on in the corner of the church I will walk towards the light instead of hiding from the One who is the Light of the World.

 

As a side note:

If you want a good book on the Sacrament of Reconciliation try:

“Beginning Again” by Catherine Doherty.  I originally wanted to quote something from her book, but it was all so good, how could I choose?!

Seven Quick Takes (vol. 7)

 

1.

I’ve hit a road block with my writing. I’ve got a couple things in the works but I can’t seem to find the words to finish the thought I’m trying to write about. So I’m sorry that I haven’t posted anything lately.

2.

My moms group participated in the Pro-Life March yesterday. I walked from my house, downtown, participated in the walk, and came back. For a total of 10.56km!

3.

Do you every feel like you always talk about the same things? Maybe I’m going crazy, but all I want to talk about it how fat the Princess is and how much I love my new double stroller. This must be how Mike’s Baba feels. She is old and she talks about the same four things over and over again. I must have great friends because I’m pretty sure they are sick or hearing about how chubby my baby is and how my stroller has this great cup holder…….

4.

My husband is away tonight and tomorrow. This will be the first overnight alone with the kids. I plan to take the Screamer out to the park and get him nice and tired so he will go down easily.

Pray for me.

5.

What are your thoughts on organic, locally raised meats? I am trying to convince my husband to eat less meat so that we can afford to eat organic. Any tips?

6.

The Princess is really chubby. Have you noticed her thunder thighs? I’m so proud of her.

7.

My stroller rocks! I can go anywhere and the kids can nap and it has a cup holder and I LOVE it! Freedom!

Seven Quick Takes (vol.6)

 

1.

Our good friend Roman is being ordained to the priesthood tomorrow. I have never seen the ordination of a Ukrainian Catholic priest before. I’ll let you know how it goes. I’m not expecting it to be any shorter than three hours. ;)

2.

Don’t you just LOVE teachers?! Mike’s staff had a baby shower for the Princess yesterday afternoon and they all got her books. She got at least two dozen. They were very generous! I am going to have to hide some of them from the Screamer or he will rip them up before she is old enough to enjoy them. She got lots of great pop-up books.

3.

I still haven’t gotten around to planting those tomatoes on my patio. I hope I don’t chicken out.  Maybe I will ask my green thumbed mother to help me out when she visits during the May long weekend. *hint, hint* mom if you read this I really suck at gardening and need help :S

4.

The Screamer is cutting his eye teeth. They are apparently the worst. I have decided to try having him wear a necklace made of Baltic amber. It is supposed to help with the pain. I have only given him pain killers at night for the last two days and he seems to be coping well during the day with just the necklace. Has anyone else tried on of these?

5.

Every single weekend in may as been double booked. We have weddings and stag parties and guests visiting and birthdays and  and and and and.

Does anyone else find that May is crazy busy?

6.

Harvey (see #4) is STILL not here! Please pray that Erin goes into labour soon or she will have to be induced at a hospital. She is really hoping for home birth.

7.

We have a friend who is flying in for Roman’s ordination sleeping on our couch this weekend. So today is a cleaning day, with a walk thrown in for good measure. :)

Have a great weekend!