What's on my mind these days...

Note: The pictures in this post will be totally unrelated to the post content. But, I snapped these pics of Clara playing with the big pile of soil we had delivered last week (we were building a new flower bed) and just wanted to share!

1. Potty training
We took about a two month hiatus from potty training Gustin and we just started up again. I don't really feel like I quite know what I'm doing with potty training, even though this is my third time to do it. But, I do know one thing: Gustin is an exceptional case. Exceptionally difficult! How many 3 year olds do you know that have peed inside the refrigerator?

So we're on day #6 of potty training now and yesterday he went all day without a single accident. Dare I say that things are looking up? I sure hope so because this boy will by 4 years old in a few months and I do not want him to still be in diapers!

2. Getting easier
For me, it really takes about a year after a baby is born to get completely back on my feet. It takes that long for me to physically, hormonally and logistically recover. Of course, the first two happened months ago, but finding a rhythm to our days and not feeling like life is running ahead of me and that I'm constantly trying to catch up takes a little longer. But, I'm actually staying caught up on laundry these days! And we're getting little organizational projects done around the house that are really helping things run a little smoother. Eric put some hooks on the wall for the kids to hang there coats, he put dividers in the junk drawer so now it's organized, I reorganized the pantry. Ahhh... getting even these little projects done sure feels good!

3. American Heritage Girls
Elizabeth joined a new troop of American Heritage Girls a few months ago. It's similar to Girl Scouts, but in my opinion, it's better. Girl Scouts does not seem to be as organized, and if you start looking into the things they support at the national level (such as Planned Parenthood), it's a little disturbing. American Heritage Girls is much more faith centered (Girl Scouts does not focus on faith at all) and is the only scouting program for girls endorsed by the Boy Scouts (a program I really respect). AHG is not as wide spread as Girl Scouts, but if you are interested in scouting, I highly recommend it! Both Elizabeth and I are absolutely loving it!

4. Still loving my kindle!
Right now I'm reading Middlemarch by George Eliot which is a massive book. I've been reading it for weeks. But, since I'm reading it on my kindle, I don't have to haul around a humongous book and since it's taking awhile for me to get through, I don't have to worry about late fees at the library. Love, love, love it!!

That's all I can come up with for now. I'm off to take my girls to a birthday party while Eric takes the boys to a Cub Scout event. Enjoy your Saturday!

Too much cuteness!

I really need to take my camera out more often!

There is just too much cuteness around here for it not to get captured in a photo.

Clara will be 13 months old at the end of the month.

She's been walking for a few months now, but she'll still crawl occasionally. But, when that occasional crawling happens on the concrete outside, it tears her precious little shoes to bits (see the first picture in this post). About a minute of crawling ruined her shoes! Good thing she'll be growing out of them soon because I can't justify the expense to replace them otherwise.

To help me get my camera out and shoot more, I started a 52 project at the beginning of the year. I joined a group on flickr (mcp project 52) where the goal is to post one photo a week that matches the weekly theme. One photo a week for a year; I can do that! And, trying to conform to the given weekly theme will hopefully force me to get out of my comfort zone a bit.

The theme for the first week was "Around the house" (I didn't have much time so I snapped that one with my iPhone), week two was "Illustrate a song" (no surprise which song I chose!) and week three is "Shades of gray." So far I don't think my submissions are all that inspiring (it's really hard for me to try to come up with something to match the themes!), but I'm shooting a lot more and that's key to growing as a photographer.

Isn't this picture just beyond cute! I absolutely love it!

I mentioned a couple of posts ago that I think my blog has an identity crises. Mainly I feel that way regarding how much blogging I do about photography. Would any of you be interested in an occasional post with some photography tips? I'm no expert, but I have learned a few things over the last couple of years that may be helpful, especially for a beginner who wants her pictures to look a little less snapshotty (how do you like that for a word?!).

Fantastic!

Over the past week or two I saw several other bloggers recommend the book UnPlanned by Abby Johnson. I was drawn to the book because of her amazing story (she was the director of a Planned Parenthood abortion clinic and had an amazing conversion and is now pro-life) and because her amazing story happened in the Bryan/College Station area, home to Texas A&M, my alma mater. I even recognized some of the names in the book because they were active at my church while I was at school. But, what finally pushed me to buy the book (I've never actually read a memoir before so I don't usually buy that genre) was that I wanted to put my money where my mouth is and to support the pro-life cause. Buying the book right now will help it get on the bestseller lists, giving her story even more attention.

So, I bought the book on my kindle on Friday and I could not put it down! Well, actually, I had to put it down over and over again (such is the life of a mother), but every chance I got I picked it right back up. I finished it yesterday. Wow! What an amazing story of the power of love and forgiveness! She also writes very honestly about why she was pro-choice, about what the pro-choice and pro-life people she met were really like (neither side was all good or all bad), and how ultimately love from both friends and strangers transformed her. The stories she tells of her years in the abortion clinic are gut-wrenching and real and at times they were hard to read. But, her story is also full of hope and proves that the love and prayers of those faithful to protecting life truly are effective.

I loved this book! Ask Eric. I haven't stopped babbling about it all week. I think I just about retold the entire book to him in bits and pieces because I just couldn't stop talking about it!

These pictures were taken last Saturday

Yes, it was warm enough for the kids to be barefoot and for Clara to be out in only her diaper, though not for long. 

Today the high temperature barely made it into the 40s. That's the way the weather is in southeast Texas. Up and down. After living here for 10 years, it still amazes me.

Eric top-seeded our lawn with rye grass so portions of our lawn where it actually came up are a nice, bright, spring green right now; a perfect background for snapping a few pictures.

One of my resolutions this year is to take and share more pictures. There were times last year when I went for weeks, almost months, without picking up my camera. I don't feel like I really grew much with my photography. Being stagnant is no fun. But, it was what needed to be done for the good of my family.

Things are getting a little more under control now so I'm trying to get a bit more balance back into my life. Balance is good.

I'm also trying to blog more. So, I'll probably be blogging more pictures since there is only so much time in the day. I hope you don't mind!

I feel like this blog is having a bit of an identity crises. Is it about faith, mothering, photography, books? I guess it's all of the above. Thanks for allowing me to share it all with you!

Alone on an island

Can you roll your R's? I have tried and tried all my life and I still cannot roll my R's. I managed to come up with a way to kind of fake it that helped me get through three years of high school Spanish. But, alas, no matter how hard I try, it just ain't happenin'.

Jonathan, on the other hand, can not only roll his R's, but he can also make every other possible sound effect known to man, at least the ones that sound like some kind of weapon. He has quite of range of destructive combat devices in his arsenal. In the course of less than a minute of listening to him play, even this non-weapon savvy mommy can identify machine guns, rifles, shot guns, grenades, light sabers, laser blasters, and that's just what I hear while we're sitting in church! (It's so embarrassing when you have to tell your 8 year old that he's not allowed to shoot anyone else during mass.) I think Jonathan has some extra gene that gives him these abilities.

At least I have Elizabeth who is equally inept in the sound creation department. She can't roll her R's either and her attempts at gun noises are... amusing.

During our recent holiday travels we had some long drives. As in 10 hour long drives. The kids did really well entertaining themselves, making up games. The following exchange left Eric and I absolutely rolling.

Jonathan: Let's try to shoot everything. We need to blast every car and truck and train. You get the ones out your window and I'll get the ones out of mine.

Elizabeth: Ok.

Jonathan: Rat-tat-tat-tat. Pow! Bang! Pi-too, pi-too. Bang. Bang-bang. Cabloowie! (Jonathan's actual sounds are much more impressive, but I don't know how to spell them. Imagine a combination of a high speed car chase, a shootout between gangsters and a battle scene in Star Wars.)

Elizabeth: (in the most girlie of little girl voices) Pam, pam. Pam, pam.

Jonathan: Boom! Boom! Rat-tat-tat. Rat-tat-tat-tat-tat. Pi-too. Bam, bam!

Elizabeth: Pam, pam. Pam, pam. (I've never heard a gun that goes, "Pam, pam," either.)

Jonathan: Elizabeth, there's a train! Throw some bombs! (Imagine the sound of a bomb flying through the air and exploding impressively when it hits its target.) Throw your bombs, Elizabeth!!

Elizabeth: Throw, throw! Throw, throw!

This is the point where Eric and I couldn't hold it in anymore. We burst out laughing. Poor girl. She doesn't have the right genes for that kind of play, but she tries!

Later that same trip, Elizabeth suddenly cries out, "Mama! I can roll my R's! Listen to this! Rrrrrrrrrrr!"

And, she was right! She did suddenly figure out how to roll her R's. Now it's just me, the sole member of the sound-effect-inept club. Both Clara and Gustin have already proved that they can out perform their mother. Here's a picture to demonstrate Gustin's ability to roll his R's:

"Look, Mama! I can roll my arms!"

So, I'm left here all alone, on an island. A blessedly quiet one.

What's been going on around here

After a busy Advent and Christmas season, it sure is nice to be posting something here again! And, I've got quite a list of things that I want to blog about; there's so much catching up that I need to do! So, I'm just going to jump in...

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Back in September Eric got me a kindle with a pretty, green-leather case for my birthday. It was quite a surprise!

I've been curious about e-readers but honestly didn't know if I'd really like owning one. I got more interested when I learned that most classics are free, but I was still skeptical. Now after using my kindle for a few months, I have to say that I absolutely love it! It's convenient (the ability to turn a page one handed is fantastic while nursing a baby), easy to read on (I have trouble with eye strain and quickly get a headache after reading on a computer screen for only a few minutes. No problems with my eyes with my kindle!) and since it has a web browser, I can read all my favorite blogs on it as well. I also put the Bible on it and I love the ability to easily search in the Scriptures when I can't remember what book or chapter a particular passage is in. It really is one of the best birthday gifts I have ever received.

Clara likes it, too!

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Probably my favorite Christmas gift this year was a nice flash for my camera. It already had a small, pop-up flash, but my new flash is so much better. I can control the strength of the flash and I can point it in any direction. Bouncing the flash off a wall or the ceiling creates a much softer, more natural look to photos. Now I can take all the pretty pictures I want while indoors or where natural light is limited.

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I was so excited to be able to put my new flash to work this past Thursday because it was Clara's birthday!

My little girl is 1! I still can't believe it. They say that as you get older the years go by faster and I believe it. My little baby is now toddling around, clapping, saying "mama" and "dada" and can scarf down a birthday cupcake like nobody's business!

I took dozens of pictures of this messy face!

And the pictures turned out great even though it was dark outside and the lighting at our kitchen table is not bueno. Love. It.

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I just finished a fabulous book! Unfortunately, it doesn't have a kindle edition, but it was well worth buying the paperback. I saw Rachel's Contrition by Michelle Buckman recommended on Faith and Family Live and a couple other friends recommended it as well. It's a Catholic novel but it is so well written that it is in the top 5 in women's fiction on Amazon right now. It's one of the best Christian novels I've ever read and certainly takes the top spot for Catholic Fiction in my opinion. The characters are real and interesting, the plot keeps you turning pages and the power of God's love and forgiveness is beautifully woven into the fabric of the story. Seriously, you need to read this book. All Catholic book lovers out there need to support this amazing Catholic writer and mother of five!

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Over the Christmas holiday, I asked my brother to take some couple portraits of Eric and me. My brother is to blame for my photography obsession as it was his new DSLR camera that hooked me after the very first time I heard the click of the shutter release button. He's an excellent photographer in his own right and has quite a bit more gear and experience than I do. So we loaded up his flashes, softboxes and fancy shmancy lenses and headed to a local park in my hometown to take some pictures. Somehow we found some pretty scenery in the dead, brown of West Texas in winter time and I'm really pleased with how the pictures turned out!

These are the first portraits we've had done since our wedding day more than 10 years ago.

Note: The backlighting in the second and third shots make my husband look even balder than he already is. Just add some glasses to those pics and he could be George Costanza from Seinfeld! :)

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To celebrate Clara's birthday we took the entire family to see the movie Tangled. The birthday girl enjoyed the movie in the way one-year-olds do best, by taking a good long nap in Mommy's arms. The rest of us thoroughly enjoyed watching the movie. I don't think I have seen an animated movie that good that wasn't a Pixar movie in a very long time. Even Eric and the boys enjoyed it. It's definitely a winner of a family movie.

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I have another book recommendation and I have to confess that I haven't yet finished the book. But, I've gleaned so many gems of wisdom from the first two chapters alone that I can't wait to give it a shout out. Smart Martha's Catholic Guide for Busy Moms by Tami Kiser is full of realistic, practical advice on everything from taming toy clutter to controlling our kids access to media to fostering spiritual beauty in our children. This Catholic mother of nine has an easy writing style and I have already implemented several of her tips. I'm not a big self-help book reader in general but I would definitely recommend this book!

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One last story from "The Things People Say!" chronicles.

Over Thanksgiving we were at Eric's parents house and we were blessed to be able to spend Thanksgiving day with all of Eric's extended family who are wonderful, Christian people, but not Catholic. Eric's sister had recently announced that she is expecting her second baby and everyone was still talking about the big news. Eric's Aunt M came up to me and told me this story:

Aunt M: After we heard the news, I told K (her son) that D & D (Eric's parents) were going to be grandparents again. K immediately responded, "Oh, no! Not Colleen!"

Then Aunt M burst out laughing. I didn't know what else to do but laugh along with her. She thought it was hilarious! But, it seemed to me that K's response would have been more appropriate if someone had been diagnosed with cancer, not with the announcement of a new baby! I hope that when the time comes when we do announce that we are having another baby that our family will be happy for us and not think some horrible circumstance had befallen us.

Oh, well. Obviously there is an opportunity there for evangelization. I guess I really need to work on exhibiting joy in motherhood so that everyone around me can see babies for the blessings they are, regardless of how many siblings they might have!

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May God bless you all in the new year!

Tis the busy season!

It's that time of year! And, I'm afraid my neglected little blog will have to remain neglected for awhile longer. My task list is insane right now and it is only filled with the essentials. I still want to squeeze in there some seasonal baking and projects around the house. We'll see.

But, there are a couple of things I have gotten done. First, we took our family photo on Sunday for our Christmas card and I think today I'll actually get the cards ordered today. Go me!

Here's our smiling faces!

If I was a little more adventurous, I would have used this picture for the cards...

... but I didn't.

Have a wonderful Advent season! I actually bought candles for our Advent wreath yesterday. Next on the task list is to find it!

A day in the life

I always find it interesting when another mom blogs about what a day in their life is like. Of course, these bloggers are amazing, interesting women who balance homeschooling at least twice as many kids as I have while free lance writing for magazines, raising chickens, writing a book and baking homemade bread daily. In other words, their lives are not only more interesting than mine, they are also much more efficient and capable than I am at running their lives. So, for whatever it's worth, here's a peek into the life of a somewhat frazzled, inefficient mom whose only goal each day is to somehow make it to the end of the day without any major catastrophes while maintaining the ability to smile at this crazy/wonderful life. 

Here's what I noted happening on a Friday in September when the kids didn't have school because of parent/teacher conferences.

I began the day by sleeping in and nursing Clara.

7:15 Get out of bed.

7:30 Breakfast of cold cereal for everyone.

7:55 Get kids dressed.

8:10 Blackmail Jonathan into picking up his room. He can't go to a playdate with a friend until it is done.

8:45 Leave to drop Jonathan off at a friend's house.

9:20 Arrive back home. Blackmail Elizabeth into vacuuming Jonathan's room. When she's done, she can watch Dora with Gustin.

9:30 Sit down to nurse the baby.

9:37 Remember that it's been awhile since Gustin went to the potty. Remind him to go.

9:38 Realize that I reminded Gustin too late.

9:55 Finish nursing and put Clara down for nap.

10:00 Get Gustin out of his poopy underpants and stick him into the shower. The mess is too ridiculous to attempt to clean up with wipes alone.

10:15 Start episode of Dora.

10:20 Start baking cakes to take to our Living Matrimony group meeting that is tonight and includes a potluck. I want to get them into the oven before Clara wakes up.

10:23 Clara wakes up

10:25 Notice that the entire house smells like poop. Ugh, I forgot to wash out the poopy clothes. Look at the clock. They'll have to wait until later.

10:26 Mix up cakes (with Clara in my arms) and get them into oven. Realize they will be done 5 minutes after I'm supposed to be leaving for the parent/teacher conferences at school.

10:50 Feed the dog. (Jonathan forgot before he left this morning)

10:55 Wash out the poopy clothes.

11:00 Realize there is not time for a shower this morning. That's what I get for sleeping in!

11:05 Feed Elizabeth and Gustin a snack.

11:10 Get Gustin dressed (he's been running around naked since the shower).

11:15 Grab a snack for me and tell Gustin to stop head-butting the baby.

11:16 Realize I never gave Jonathan his prescription medication this morning.

11:20 Pack all the kids into the van, pull the cakes out of the oven and head to parent/teacher conferences at school. 

11:40 Conferences. They go great! My kids are geniuses and perfect angels. Ha ha.

12:00 Pick up all the puzzles that Gustin dumped out on the floor in Elizabeth's classroom during the conference with her teacher.

12:15 Head to sonic for a treat of slushes for the kids and a Cherry Diet Dr. Pepper for me.

12:30 Gustin spills his blue slush all over himself.

12:45 Get home, clean up Gustin, prepare and eat lunch.

1:20 Send Elizabeth and Gustin upstairs for quiet time. Nurse Clara.

1:45 Lay Clara down for her nap.

1:50 Browse a few blogs.

2:00 Laundry.

2:30 Quiet time is over. Snack time for the kids.

2:45 Water the vegetable garden in the backyard.

3:00 Read a couple of books to Elizabeth and Gustin.

3:30 Clara wakes up.

3:34 It starts to rain outside. Love it!

3:48 Catch the dog up on the table eating some scraps left there from lunch.

3:50 Eat some dark chocolate.

4:00 Jonathan comes home, dropped off by his friend's mom.

4:05 Nurse Clara.

4:30 Finally time for me to get a shower. Look for Clara's walker that she usually hangs out in
while I shower. Finally find the walker outside on the back patio, soaking went from the brief rain shower. Pull the highchair into the bathroom to contain her instead. Quick shower.

4:50 Cook dinner for kids

5:15 Eric gets home from work.

5:20 I get dressed, put on make up, etc so I will look presentable in public.

5:40 Leave for Living Matrimony.

6:00-9:00 Pot luck, great speaker, nice time catching up with friends while the kids stay at the church's childcare ministry.

9:25 Arrive home. Brush teeth, jammies, prayers, kids to bed.

9:45 Watch an episode of Lost with Eric (our new addiction, we're on season 1).

10:30 Crash in bed.

And that's it. A fairly typical day in our crazy, messy lives and I wouldn't change a thing about it (except maybe the dog stealing food off the kitchen table)!

You go, dude!

Eric is the den leader for Jonathan's cub scout den. They begin every den meeting appropriately with the pledge and a short prayer. Now that the boys are a little older, Eric has been letting a boy lead with a prayer of his choice, traditional or spontaneous. It's very cute to hear what 8 year old boys come up with when they choose to do spontaneous prayer.

After a very scientific selection process (eeny meeny miny moe), Jonathan was chosen to lead the prayer at a recent meeting. He solemnly walked up to the front of the room and began -

"I believe in God the Father Almighty..."

Yes, he chose the Apostles' Creed! That little rascal (No, actually a rather big rascal these days. He's growing like a weed!) never ceases to amaze me!

But, don't think this is proof of some deep level of piety in my child. He just wanted to show off by saying the longest prayer he could think of!

The things people say!

Eric and I would like to have more kids (but this is not a pregnancy announcement!). Honestly. I really can't imagine never holding a newborn again and, besides, it just feels like our family is not complete yet; if we stopped having children now, it would always feel like someone is missing from our home.

But, even though we are open to life and sincerely hope that we are blessed with more children, I still have some fears about having another child. Some of the fears are silly or rather superficial and others require serious consideration.

1. As I've mentioned before, the big passenger vans scare me! Can I please have a boatload of kids without having to drive one of those humongous things?!

2. Each pregnancy is physically and emotionally getting harder. Nausea, exhaustion that lasts the entire nine months, pain!, difficulty sleeping, difficulty sitting, difficulty walking, difficulty breathing, you get the idea. The postpartum phase hasn't been the most fun either (I am much, MUCH better now, by the way!). These fears are real and I'm working them out through prayer, support from my husband and through trying to plan ahead and prepare for these difficulties before I get completely overwhelmed.

3. I think my biggest fear (and probably the least rational) is of the comments that people make to those of us with larger than average families.

I'm a shy and very non-confrontational person and I really don't know how to handle other people's rude, inappropriate or nosy comments. It seriously stresses me out!

For instance, the typical "Are you done yet?" question. When people ask this question, they usually only want to hear one answer: yes. You can see it in their eyes. Sometimes I want to give them their "yes" just so that will be the end of the conversation and then I can be left alone. But when I say, "Not necessarily" or "I don't know what God has in store for us" or even a vague "I don't know, we'll see," it throws them off and they get very uncomfortable and often very defensive about their own choices. Then I have to listen to long explanations about why they're "done" or how they're "done" or how insane it would be for them not to be "done." And, in the mean time I try to smile and nod and give the necessary "Oh..." or "Uh-huh" while trying to find an exit to this uncomfortable conversation.

The other reactions I get to my "No, we actually wouldn't mind having more kids" response are complete shock and they walk away in a stunned daze or I get the "Oh, that's right, you're a good Catholic" reply. I really don't know how to respond!

Then there are the people who don't ask me if I'm done, they tell me I'm done.

"You have four kids? You're done."

"Aww, you have 2 boys and 2 girls. You're done."

"What a beautiful family you have! You're done."

Huh?

I'm on a bit of a role here so please hang with me as I continue.

Shortly after Clara was born, we were at mass and I had to take her to the bathroom for a diaper change. As I was finishing up a lady came in who I recognized as a Eucharistic minister but had never actually met. She obviously recognized me as well and started up a conversation.

"So, you had a little girl?" she asked.

"Yes!" I said as I held up my baby girl and beamed with motherly pride.

She goes on to say, "That's nice! You know, when I saw that you were pregnant I told my daughter 'Oh Lord! She's having another one!'"

I think my jaw completely dropped at that point and I didn't hear the rest of what she said. I mumbled some vague response and then got out of the bathroom as fast as I could!

I recently attended a talk by Cathy Garcia-Pratz, a Catholic author, speaker and mother of ten sons. She is a beautiful, faith-filled and wise woman. At the end of her talk I asked her how she dealt with people making comments about the size of her family.

Her response surprised me.

She says when people say mean or inappropriate things to her she looks them in the eyes and smiles and says, "What a tacky thing to say!" This way instead of her having to go on the defensive about the size of family God blessed her with, the rude person has to decide if they are going to defend their tacky comment. Maybe next time that person will think before speaking.

I have yet to call someone out for being tacky as I am usually too shocked, upset or uncomfortable to form any words of any kind. I really need to formulate a standard response so I don't feel so completely lost when I get dragged into these conversations, especially as our family continues to grow. My husband has all kinds of snarky comments that he's just itching to say, but people don't say these things to men. We women take the brunt of this verbal abuse.

Anyone have any suggestions, comments or stories of your own to share? I'd love to hear them!





P.S. Here's a example of one of Eric's snarky comebacks. A friend of mine was recently in the grocery store with her three young boys and an older woman came up to her, put her hand on her arm and said, "I'm sorry," referring to her three kids standing there in ear shot. My friend was shocked and more than just a little hurt at such a comment. When I told my husband the story he said my friend's comeback should have been, "You don't need to feel sorry for me. I've taught my children that it's inappropriate to say such rude things to strangers in public."

This and that: A picture post

I can't believe it's been two weeks since I posted last! Life is going way too fast! So, how about a quick catch-up picture post.

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We've got two kids playing soccer this season. We've only had one game so far and I can already tell that keeping up with the practices and games is going to be a real juggling act. The biggest problem is that I want to see every one. I love watching my kids play and it kills me when Elizabeth's game is at the exact same time as Jonathan's. I wish I could be in two places at once!

Here are my soccer stars in the "action shots" that they requested.

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Apparently naps are hard to come by in our house and kids have to grab them wherever they can get 'em!

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The photographer who took our family portraits also took a few with the girls dressed up in her frilly skirts and headbands. While all the pink, tutus and feathers are not exactly my style, a certain 6 year old girl loved it!

She was 6 months old in this shot. My she has changed since then!

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Miss Clara. 8 1/2 months old.

She is now a girl on the move. She crawls on all fours and just started pulling up. She's everywhere!

Yoga baby

She found the dog.

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One more thing, but this time it's a video. Try not to laugh as you watch this. I dare you.