End of our School Year

 

Last day of 1st grade!

First grade is officially over! Comparing this picture with the one I took at the beginning of first grade, I can tell Beth has blossomed quite a bit this school year.  She has gotten taller and her hair has grown (but she's wearing the same shirt in both this picture and the first day of school picture!).

She told me her favorite subject was math, because she learned how to do calculations faster.  Her reading fluency has really improved, she went from a first grade to a fourth grade reading level (according to the little online tests, are those even accurate?).  She still loves reading bible stories and drawing and coloring pictures of what we've read, and as of last week she wants to be an author and illustrator when she grows up!

Science reading

She really enjoyed our co-op, her favorite part was meeting new friends, bible history, and US geography.  She thoroughly impressed all of her teachers at co-op.  During both semesters, they would come up to me to tell me little stories about how smart and sweet she was. One teacher told me about how Beth kept raising her hand to answer questions, but then stopped raising her hand.  After class, Beth told the teacher that she stopped raising her hand to give the other kids a chance to answer questions!  Another one told me about how Beth politely corrected her when she said something wrong about one of the bible prophets.  And everyone was always impressed with her manners, although I heard that she goofed off a little bit with a couple of other girls in her class. ;-)

Friends from co-op

 Luke and Jack loved co-op too!  It was SO good for them.  It was really good for all of us, actually.  :-) Their class was mostly boys and it was just the perfect atmosphere for Luke.  Their teacher was so sweet and amazing, and Luke also matured so much.  His writing and drawing has grown by leaps and bounds, and I think once he's ready he is going to take off reading.   He's super excited about kindergarten next year (he keeps reminding us that HE will be in kindergarten and NOT Jack) and is looking forward to seeing his friend Sam at co-op again!

I am making myself wait until July to start planning for the fall.  I just want to get past a few upcoming events before I delve into planning again!  I'll do another back-to-school post in the fall!

4 Months Old!

I forgot to post this on Caeli's 4-month birthday!  Oops!

Stop growing, baby girl!  I love you to pieces but this is all going to fast.  I saw a newborn the other day and it made me realize that you absolutely not a newborn anymore.  I'll go with "baby..."  Are you even an infant anymore?  You already have such a bright personality!  Your smiles make your Daddy and I just melt!  You are just the perfect baby.  You let me know exactly what you need, when you need it, and then you're happy and content again.  I just can't believe how wonderful and easy this all is. 

When Daddy is holding you, he spikes up your long mohawk hair to look like a unicorn.  Even during mass.

When I hold you, you reach for my hair or necklace, or even my cup.  Anything you can get your hands on goes immediately to your mouth! 

You are desperately trying to roll over.  And you're so close!  But stop already- you're too little to be doing this!

You suck your middle and ring finger.  I call it "I love you" and some of the mean people out their call it "hook 'em."  But you were born an Aggie and an Aggie you shall remain.  Let's try to suck on two different fingers though, shall we?!

You're in size 6 month clothes and I'm having to change you over to bigger cloth diapers because the size small are too short in the rise.  I think this week I might pull out our bumbo to see if you're ready to sit in it!

I think my favorite "milestone" of yours right now is that every time I put you down on your back, you immediately grab your toes!  I love this!  I loved it with all of your siblings and I love it now!

I know it's cliche but I still just can't find any better way to say it: time is flying by too fast.  I wish I could bottle up the feelings I get when I look at your smile and keep it forever.  I love you my sweet girl!

Thoughts about Facebook

I am on the verge of... quitting Facebook.  I've been a member since it came out in 2005, and have taken occasional breaks but I am really feeling called to just throw in the towel all together.  So often it leads to stress or feeling down about myself, and is usually such a huge distraction that I can't see that the benefits outweigh the negatives.

There are certainly lots of benefits- I have made friends (real and online friends) whose friendships have blessed me!  I would miss that.  But another part of me thinks that I need to nourish the friendships I have and get out of my comfort zone to make new friendships... And as nice as online friendships are, they are not a replacement for a flesh-and-blood-sitting-across-the-table-from-me sort of friend.

Ahh, but what about the professional aspect of it... I used to maintain a business page for my doula business, but since I've been pregnant and on "maternity leave" I've neglected it...And I don't miss it!  I would miss a bit of community amongst other doulas in my area- but again, that's something I would need to maintain offline.

I don't tend to get caught up in "mommy wars," but I do feel weighed down sometimes.  And I will openly admit that I am desperate for close friendships.  Only recently have I realized that my introversion has left me in a sometimes very lonely place.  And I think the solution to that is not in Facebook, but in having to step out and just do something about it. I never kept count of "friends" on Facebook; I am actually pretty consistent about keeping my friend list limited to people I would actually be willing to hang out with in real life.  But making friends intimidates me- I get nervous just thinking about it- but another part of me thinks "LET'S DO THIS!"  I think perhaps I'm hiding a little bit.  Behind the security of Facebook.

Just the other day I decided to take the first step to ditching Facebook and I removed the app from my phone.  You know what?  I held my phone a lot less that day, and every day since then. And that's a major goal of mine- to not be staring at a screen, distracted and pulled away by someone else who isn't even actually in the room with me!  And lately all I can think about is the example I'm setting for my children in the way I speak, dress, and in what I do.

I know it's not all bad!  There are certainly things I would miss.  For example, if a major sporting event happened, I could usually get enough information about it to impress Ryan when he got home from work. ;-)  Since we don't have cable and I don't follow major new networks, I would definitely miss breaking news announcements.  Pregnancy announcements from friends, other big life events... And now I'm leaning toward not quitting!

You're probably thinking I should just keep it up in moderation, right?  That's just so hard for me! I have very little self-control!

I do know that my goals are to not hold my phone as much (I do have to keep it with me constantly when I'm on call, but at least I don't have to be handling it), to be less distracted by less-important things, and to make new friends and reach out more to the ones I have. 

I absolutely hate the feeling of reading something that affects my mood for several hours. I also hate a false sense of belonging.

So I have lots of things to consider and pray about.  I'd like to know if anyone has quit Facebook and never looked back?  

So Long, Soccer Season!

Another long but fun semester of soccer has drawn to a close.  It's been awesome watching Luke and Beth turn into some really amazing soccer players- some of the best kids out there in my opinion!  Just over the past few weeks Luke has really started to own the game, I think in part to some daily practice out in the backyard with Beth and Ryan.  He absolutely adores it and loves having Ryan for his coach.

  

I finally got a picture of the "peanut gallery," hehehe.  The grandparents are faithful attendants of our Saturday morning soccer games and are such a big help with Jack- who wants so desperately to play soccer!  I splurged on a plastic-lined picnic blanket because carrying 4+ chairs out to each game was getting very cumbersome, and I knew Caeli would be wanting to roll around and eventually crawl at the games.  Next fall we need to find a nice big umbrella (or some other shading device) and probably a wagon of some sort.  I give up!  I accept this soccer mom life so just give me my minivan and all the soccer mom trappings and make this easy on me!  

Unfortunately I forgot my camera on Beth's last game day, which was the week before Luke's last game.  That day her coach took some time to say some nice things about each player, and about Beth he said, "she's very very assertive, she always goes for the ball and always gets the ball first before anybody."  Because that girl is FAST!  I think maybe next fall her team will start playing positions, and I'm excited to see her develop as a little soccer player.  She's built for speed and I think that will greatly help her game!

After Luke's last game we went to Red Mango for a frozen yogurt treat!  Great grandma sent some money for Easter and said we could kick off summer with ice cream- this is the best we could do! :-)

I have to admit, that as much as I love watching them play, I am sincerely looking forward to having our Saturdays back!

Our Holy Week and Easter

Last week was Holy Week.  I usually am pretty good about being "that" mom and having fun, meaningful, memorable activities that are related to the Liturgical calendar, but not this year.  We spent time all week reading from our children's bible about the different things that happened each day, and on Thursday we had took turns washing each other's feet.  This was very meaningful for the kids, and I have to say it was pretty beautiful and humbling for me to look down and see Jack washing my feet (we had drawn names out of a jar).  I can't describe it... I know he was just having fun but a part of me felt like he was truly serving me.  I think we will do this every year since it was so easy!

Beth and Ryan went to Holy Thursday mass together and got back at nearly 10 pm that night.  I should have taken a picture of sleepy Beth walking in from mass. ;-)  I missed it again this year but next year I think we'll be able to pull it off with the whole family! 

We spent time on Good Friday reading the passion and attending the service at our parish as a family.  Ryan and I watched The Passion of the Christ on the evening of Good Friday, as we usually try to do. 

Saturday was supposed to be a fun crawfish boil, but we got some bad information from the store about not needing to reserve our crawfish, so it turned into a shrimp boil with some friends!  We are going to have to try crawfish again soon- Ryan has had a big pot for several years now and we haven't used it yet!

Then finally came Sunday- Easter!- Alleluia!

We squeezed in to the front row at mass- which we often do- but Sunday was my very first time to wear a chapel veil to mass.   It had been something on my heart for several months, and after special prayer, reading about this devotion, and discussions with several friends, I felt like our Lord was asking me to take this step for Him.  I have always felt a special devotion to our Lord in the Holy Eucharist- even as a high school student I just knew.  I believed.  I should probably write an entirely separate blog post about it (I probably will!) but it was important to me, with the support of Ryan, that I cover my head during mass.  So I did- and I felt a little self-conscious (I think it was sideways half the time!), but it was definitely the right thing for me to do!

 

Easter morning at home was quite a celebration!  At the last minute, I decided to make homemade cinnamon rolls- and I realized I'm not sure our kids had ever had cinnamon rolls before!  They are cinnamon fanatics, so of course they loved them!  Ryan and I had mimosas while we cooked a yummy brunch.

The kids had seen their Easter baskets before we left for mass, but finally they had the chance to "open" them.  Mini Dover coloring books for the boys and an Old Testament sticker book for Beth, new animal finger puppets, glow in the dark stars for their bedroom ceilings, and pewter saint figurines.  And of course, candy!

Beth introduced the new animal friends to the old friends.  I think we have 10 now- probably enough to recreate Aesop's Fables, Peter Rabbit stories, or the Burgess Animal book.  Or make our own stories!  I love these Folkmanis finger puppets, they're so well-made and so cute!

A

The boys got busy working on their books- an alphabet coloring book for Jack and a hidden picture book for Luke.  Oh- and new pencils!  Because pencils disappear around here into the same dark hole that eats socks and Trio blocks!

I had to take a selfie with my love, my hard-working kitchen chef and kid-entertainer extraordinaire.  Because he's awesome and I'm so blessed to be his wife. 

This was Caeli's first holiday, since she decided she didn't want to participate in Christmas last year. ;-)  She wore a $3 white organic cotton dress I picked up at a consignment sale, and a headband that coordinated with her big sister's skirt.  I really wanted to have her dressed in teal to match the others but I didn't manage to get out and shop much!  I ordered the boy's ties and Beth's skirt from a company that makes coordinating clothes.  The boys shirts were from Target and they matched perfectly!

 

Gaaahhhh they're all so cute!!!

The Easter celebration continues around here because Easter is a season!  We have the house decorated with fresh tulips and gladiolas, we continue to feast, and we look forward to celebrating Divine Mercy Sunday and the canonization of John Paul the Great!  (Did you know I saw him, inches away, in Rome in 1998?)  

Happy Easter!

Holy Thursday

   So when he had washed their feet [and] put his garments back on and reclined at table again, he said to them, “Do you realize what I have done for you? 

 You call me ‘teacher’ and ‘master,’ and rightly so, for indeed I am. 

 If I, therefore, the master and teacher, have washed your feet, you ought to wash one another’s feet.

 

 I have given you a model to follow, so that as I have done for you, you should also do.

 Amen, amen, I say to you, no slave is greater than his master nor any messenger greater than the one who sent him.

If you understand this, blessed are you if you do it. 

John 13: 12-17

Boys at Play

The scene: Playroom floor.

The toys: A collection of wooden blocks; little people, animals, and accessories; trio blocks, fashioned into rocket ships; diggers and dozers; two "guys" with a jeep.

The story: The rocket ships have to fly fast.  And be repaired.  And he had to move the dump truck so the other guy could mow underneath.

These two are 20 months apart.  They share a bedroom now and are together all day, every day.  Some days I wonder if it's too much- maybe they need some alone time?  But since they've started sharing a bedroom (it's been about a month or two), their daytime play together has increased and become more mature.  The stories are elaborate, and they easily get lost in their own world for an hour or more at a time.  They hardly noticed me taking these photos of them today!  I hope they are the best of friends for the rest of their lives.

Bluebonnet Babies

Planning Ahead

Am I the only homeschooler with next fall on my mind already?!   Pretty catalogs are arriving in the mail, we are preparing for next year at our co-op, and I'm already thinking about how I'm going to formally school TWO kids!

 I will admit.  I've had a day planner since 2000, when I graduated high school and got a summer job at The Container Store.  I used their August to August day planner for 12 years, and every June I would look forward to my annual trip to pick one up in a new color.  That's the sort of stuff I get giddy about, y'all.  Finally last year I pulled myself away and purchased The Catholic Daily Planner from Michele Quiqley (who has also written the curriculum I use).  This gave me a little more space, a calendar/day planner with my lesson plans for Beth in the back.  It's been fabulous and I think I will purchase another one soon... So I can start planning our 2014-2015 school year. ;-)

I do love having my history written down in my day planners.  I wrote down everything- classes and dates, trips and interviews, wedding planning, babies, doctor appointments and playdates.  I can see the progression of my life.  And you know things were written in color-coded ink!

The Restore workshop I am "attending" right now addresses our day planners, and how as busy moms it's important that we not let it rule or dictate our lives.  I am not sure that I've had that problem before (though I can certainly see how one might), but I am a list-maker and I do feel a certain obligation to check items off.  And I can't cheat and write down things like "wake up" "eat breakfast" or "breathe."  That's just not me. ;-) Right now we are in maintenance mode, and I'm really not getting ahead at all.  I do feel such accomplishment from checking items off my lists, rewriting the lists, and throwing the old ones away.  Because to me, it means I'm getting something done. 

They have mentioned the importance of writing down goals, and that used to be something I was really good at.  In fact, Ryan and I used to write out a yearly plan, mapping out the vacations, parties, birthdays, holidays, and other events or goals through our year.  We haven't done that lately, but it's something I would like to get back to.  I like to plan ahead, as you can see!

I feel lucky to have a friend who is just as crazy as I am in all of this, so I know I'm not totally alone!  But- are we the only ones???

My First Seven Quick Takes

I'm trying something new!  For anyone who doesn't know, "7 Quick Takes" is a way to document the events from our past week, sometimes related events and sometimes not.  I think it will be good for me because right now I'm not really good at organizing my thoughts (I'm sort of lacking on time!) and so I can work on it when I have time, without having to worry about it "flowing."  It's "hosted" by Jen Fulwiler, and awesome Catholic convert blogger and author.  I hope you enjoy!

---1---

Sisters.  Finally, at last!  Beth still tells me, almost daily, about how happy she is that she has a sister.  She was so disappointed during my pregnancy that we didn't find out the gender; she would ask me how other women knew if they were having a boy or girl.  Beth always wants to hold or play with Caeli, and now that Caeli is getting older and becoming more interactive, Beth is wondering when they will share a bedroom.  I hope she still wants to share when Caeli is older and digging through her toys and clothes!

---2---

These are my great-grandmother's flowers. She passed away in 2007, and after her funeral, we gathered at her home.  Somehow I received a pot of flowers from her backyard, and I brought them back and cared for them the best I could (I don't have a good record of keeping plants in pots alive!).  Last year I repotted them, and I guess a little new soil was all they needed because this is the first year I've had them that they've actually bloomed!  Not only that, but they've spread throughout my gardens and they're blooming all over the backyard!  It's been so neat to see them everywhere!

---3---

Not only are the violets blooming, but now everything is in bloom!  The weather finally cooperated and Ryan was finally able to give the yard it's first yearly trim.  Wouldn't you know, the boys were both right behind him!  Luke still uses the weed wacker we gave him for his second birthday, which is now so broken and old that it hardly resembles a weed wacker anymore!  Ryan and I agreed that we'd buy them a new one this year, and probably another lawn mower as well.  They both spent 3 hours following Ryan around in the yard- taking turns riding on the mower with him, edging and weed wacking, and finally blowing everything off.  The yard always looks so fabulous when Ryan is done!

 

---4---

Yay!  Look at this happy girl!  She generally loves diaper changes and she especially loves baths!  I've had her in cloth diapers since she was about a month old and started to fit into them a little better.  She's mostly wearing the same diapers that both of her big brothers wore, but I will admit to buying a couple of new pink ones. :-)    She's also been wearing her amber teething necklace for about 2 or 3 weeks now, I put it on her after I noticed that she was starting to drool a lot.  I don't know that I completely believe that it will help with teething pains, but since: 1. I know it's authentic 2. I won it during a black Friday contest, 3. she's totally cute wearing it, and 4. I have friends who swear it helps with pain, she's going to wear it. I shall report back later!

---5---

My day planner.  Oh how I love it.  We talked about planners last week during my Restore workshop, and it renewed my interest in passion for how I use mine.  (In fact, I have a whole post about it that I'll publish next week!)  The workshop has also mentioned several times about the need for art and creativity in our lives.  I am pretty bad at this, in fact I'm certain that I'm the worst artist in my family!  (Beth is always asking me why I can only draw stick people!)  I'm making a concentrated effort to pick up and use the crayons or colored pencils or water colors when the kids are using them.  I drew a violet the other day, from my great-grandmother's pot, and it inspired the kids to get out their nature notebooks and also draw too, but they were afraid of...

 

---6---

...the wasp!

Can you see him inside of the bird house?  Ryan killed one the other day- he said it was super easy because it appeared to be sleeping or hibernating?  The next day we noticed this one in there, clearly at work building the nest, coming in and out throughout the day.  I'd go and peek in on him every few hours and I could see the progress of the nest- in a day, he made 3 or 5 little "pods."  My theory is Ryan killed a female and this guy is still building the nest, not realizing his lady isn't coming home!  I keep meaning to google it!

---7---

They were brave though, and decided to draw anyway.  They used crayons and spent about 20 minutes working on this.  Then they decided to play on our fort and build a pirate ship.  I am loving this nice weather! 

How did I do with my first 7 Quick Takes???  I hope I can keep it up, to get back to chronicling our lives!

For more Quick Takes, visit Conversion Diary!