NEWS FLASH! Cookies!!!

I love cookies.  LOVE.  This time of year used to be my dream season (except the years I gave up sweets for Lent; then it became torture season)...  Girl Sc0ut cookie season.

However, given my feelings about my girls' past experiences with Girl Sc0uts, my husband's boycotting the Girl Sc0ut cookie sales for socio-political reasons (which I support), and the fact they charge WAY TOO MUCH for a box of cookies (they're good, but not THAT good), we aren't buying Girl Sc0ut cookies this year.

Fortunately, I have found something better than a substitute for Samoas.  These things ARE Samoas - with slightly different packaging, a much lower price ($1.40 a box), and year-round availability.

Check this out:

Yup!  I'm convinced these cookies are manufactured at the same place making Samoas.  These cookies look, smell, and taste like Samoas.  The interior packaging is the same.  The exterior packaging is frighteningly similar (the purple box).  So!  There you are!

Oh!  I got these at Big Lot$.  I'm beside myself excited!

If you know of any good Girl Sc0ut cookie knock offs or something very similar, let me know.  Just be warned:  I haven't yet baked a cookie myself that is "just like" a thin mint, so I'm not very keen on recipe substitutes.

A Happy Marriage

"Do you have a happy marriage?"  A divorcing client recently asked me this question.  It's not the first time a client in that situation has asked me if my marriage is a good one and, if so, how do I do it.  I answer with a "Yes" and usually follow it up with "It takes work to make a happy marriage - work from both spouses."

The answer I would like to give is more involved...

A good marriage takes work.  That work begins before a couple marries.  I've seen people who dated six weeks before exchanging vows have a marriage that lasts decades.  I've seen people who date for ten years before their wedding yet divorce within the first year after their nuptials.  While being with someone a set amount of time before getting married may have some influence on the length of a marriage, I completely believe that the expectations the couple has for their marriage has more of an impact. 

Before my husband and I married, we were required to attend Pre-Cana - a marriage course/counseling a couple is required to attend before getting married in a Catholic Church.  What a wonderful experience that was!  While Pre-Cana may mean several sessions privately with a priest or deacon or a weekend retreat led by clergy with other couples planning to get married, our Pre-Cana was a series of weekly sessions led by a couple in our church who had been married for some 20 years.  Our priest would talk with us on occasion about our progress through the Pre-Cana course.  I recall meeting with our mentor couple - discussing our plans for a family, parenting styles, finances, future employment, our expectations from one another.  It was a slow, time-consuming process [that is said with fondness, not complaint] that forced us to contemplate things that would happen in our marriage - and prepare us for the way we would handle the unexpected.  While Pre-Cana cannot coach a couple into knowing every pitfall that might creep up during a lifelong marriage, it does give a couple the knowledge that there will be good times and bad times, and you've got to work through it all...together.

Another thing Pre-Cana taught us is that our marriage is a marriage of three - me, my husband, and God.  Personally, I think it's hard to expect a marriage to work if God is not part of "the deal."  I have been to country club weddings, hotel ballroom weddings, waterfall weddings - and I always have a bit of an empty feeling.  Sometimes there is an invocation and God is mentioned, but there is a lack of the holy, sacramental nature of the ceremony without the church setting.  Without the presence of God, even from the outset, I think the parties to the marriage are going to have to work even harder still than those with a marriage where God is part of that marriage of three.

So, while I know not every couple getting married has the benefit of Pre-Cana, I do believe every couple should take advantage of religious pre-marital counseling. 

It's unfortunate that women (and sometimes even the men) get caught up in the wedding ceremony.  This is NOT the premarriage work I discussed above.  Couples (and/or their parents) spend thousands, if not multiples of thousands, of dollars for one day.  Let me say that again.  ONE.  DAY.  Many of those same couples do not take the time to look beyond that day - or to look beyond that day together.  Months spent buying flowers, trying on dresses, picking colors, registering for gifts, interviewing photographers, and tasting cakes; however, planning for their futures - the highs and lows, the stops and starts - never enters into their minds.  News flash:  The size of the wedding and the money spent do not relate to the length of the marriage!

I have many more opinions on the matter, but time and my unwillingness to sit at my computer any longer today, are drawing this little diatribe of mine to a close.  So, I'll end with this...

Wherefore they are no more twain, but one flesh. What therefore God hath joined together, let not man put asunder.  -Matthew 19:6

Curiosities

My four year old, Tricky, asked a question this evening: Who do you like better, Guy Fawkes or Justin Bieber?

[What?!]

The Enforcer

I've recently gone through a Renaissance of my own making - I've changed the way I discipline...to an extent. I'm trying to be more creative with the punishments I dole out. I've never been one for the hot sauce/liquid soap on the tongue approach. Further, our lifestyle simply doesnt lend itself to punishments such as taking away television (we don't watch TV) or grounding from playing with friends (we want to preserve the few friendships our kids have, not to mention when you have several children around the same age, those children ARE friends).

Here are a couple of the new punishments I've recently tried:

* My oldest child called one of her siblings a name. As her punishment, I had her look up that name in the dictionary. For that particular word, there were three definitions. After each definition, I asked Casey if her sibling was [insert definition here]. Then I had Casey write the definitions and, twenty-five times, had her write "My sister is not a ___________."

* The children have started glaring and/or staring at each other and making the staree whine to me that they are being stared at. (Ugh! I really hate this one.) So, yesterday when this occurred, I had the two children involved sit on the sofa and stare at each other for 20 minutes - no talking, no complaining - just staring. They HATED it!

* My biggest misbehavior pet peeve is when the children argue in our vehicle when I'm driving. I used to give them a warning or two, then pull off the road. Lately, I've begun, without prior warning, to find a parking lot to park in and we sit and wait until the argument is over. I say nothing. They get the hint quickly.

* Putting dirty laundry away is a challenge for one of the kids. Earlier this week, instead of getting onto him about it, I had Will pick up his dirty clothes. He then had to walk with each article of clothing, to the washing machine, back to his closet, put the dirty article in the hamper, take it out, then walk to the washing machine again. He did it 10 times per article of clothing not picked up.

I haven't yet figured out what to do about the wrestling around on the floor which usually results in someone receiving some minor injury. I have told them that if they roll around on the floor not to complain if they get hurt (unless, of course, someone is bleeding or broken). That solution isn't working well.

Now, maybe they'll start to heed my warnings or, better yet, will do things the first time they are told!

Tim Loves Tink

In a small town I frequently pass through, there is a bridge - the bridge is for trains to pass over the little road it covers. It's quite convenient if the train is coming through the town; one can simply go on this little road, go under the train, and not get stopped by the traffic waiting on the main road. (It's amazing to me that more people haven't figured out this trick... oh, well.)

Until recently, I have always noticed someone had painted on one side of the bridge Tim LOVES (with a heart instead of the word) Tink. When I say I have always noticed, I mean I've noticed this since I was a child... my grandparents lived in this particular town as I was growing up. My research has borne out some interesting information about Tim and Tink... seems as though this profession of love has been occurring since the 1960s. There are theories that Tim was a student at a local college and he dated a girl named Tina (nicknamed, Tink). Or something like that.

Well, from time to time, the city would paint the bridge - and paint over the love note. Always, I mean ALWAYS, within a couple of days of the bridge being repainted, guess what would reappear? You got it! Tim Loves Tink.

But something strange happened recently. The city painted the bridge... yet again... and someone spray painted (in yellow spraypaint this time) Tim Loves Tink on the overpass. It only lasted for a couple of days. The city painted over it again! Then, the city, in its infinite wisdom went a step further. Can you guess what the city did?


Instead of fighting it, the city honored their local lovebirds!

Ahh... this IS the stuff small town legends are made of!

At Our House, We DON'T Do Organic...

Richard and I have done a bit of research on the topic and, given our research and the outrageous cost of buying organic, we decided to live with the added hormones and pesticides.

However, after reading this article (click on the link in "this") I completely believe we've made the right decision.

Limitations

It's time I set some boundaries for myself. Life is taking over, but I've been ignoring parts of it. Unfortunately, I haven't been as diligent with my housekeeping as I would like. I've also been spending far too much time online. I have goals that I set for myself months ago, that I haven't met yet. I feel as though everything is whirling by and I'm standing on the edge watching it happen.

I think if I write about it here, it will force me to be more diligent. I'm very sentimental and read my old blog posts on occasion. Not to mention, this entry will be visible for a few days, at least. So here is what I hope to accomplish:

BASEMENT
Our basement is in desperate need of attention. I'm going to spend 5 minutes per day cleaning up and reorganizing. By the end of August, I want to take donations to the local thrift stores. By the end of September, I would like Richard to take all the junk that I can't donate to the dump. (I refuse to have a yard sale - too much work for too little return.)

VACUUMING
I just got a new vacuum. I had been using a shop vac or hand held vacuums throughout the house. I need to use my vacuum weekly - or at least in accordance with my Motivated Moms calendar.

MOTIVATED MOMS CALENDAR
Ah, the next logical step... I need to abide by the chores on my MMC. When I do, our house looks fantastic, but I've been slacking quite a bit lately.

PICTURES
I am almost a year behind in getting pictures printed. For the past several days I've been uploading them to a site to get prints, but it's very slow going. Nonetheless, it's getting done. I hope to be finished with that portion of my pictures project by tomorrow. But that's not the only pictures project I have. I also need to assemble and order a photo book online - to be used for Casey's first grade yearbook. Finally, I need to make a photo collage (in a multi-picture frame) of Tricky. She's almost 3 and there is but one photo of her in the hallway - and that will not do! I hope to have the last two picture projects finished by the first week in August.

WII FIT
I got a Wii Fit for my birthday last week. It's so fun! Now, I actually need to use it. Goal: 20 minutes per day.

ONLINE TIME
Richard and I discussed this about two weeks ago - we need to get off of our computers some! We've decided that every evening from 6:00 to 9:00 and every Saturday are blackout times: no going online. The exceptions being if either of us has some work-related emergency we must tend to, if we are looking for a family activity/outing, or if the online activity is directly related to something we are doing for home school - otherwise, nothing. This one is going to be difficult, but necessary.

So, those are some of the many goals I need to accomplish. I have others, but I'm not to the point where I want to share every facet of my life online. Some are things I need to work on daily, others are merely tasks I need to just do and get over with. Sometimes it's hard not to procrastinate, but it's time to stop!

"Why are you doing THAT?"

Throughout my few years of parenting, I've been asked a question several times about a variety of different things regarding my parenting/pregnancy/mothering decisions. "Why are you doing THAT?" So, here are some of my answers...

Breastfeeding
I have nursed all of my children and plan on doing so with the next. I breastfed because of the many benefits: bonding, best for baby, immunity transfer, cuts down on likelihood of ear infections (3 kids, 1 short ear infection - not bad), facial and oral structure development, intelligence, some weight loss after having baby... But, in all honesty, my biggest reason is that I'm lazy (don't laugh). I value my sleep and what little time I have after homeschooling, child-rearing, housekeeping, and working. I don't want to spend what precious time I have left sterilizing bottles, boiling water for formula, etc. So I breastfeed - easier for me, good for baby. I'll keep doing it.

Cosleeping
For the same BIG reason I breastfeed, I cosleep - I don't have to wake up during the night to prep a bottle, thus I get sleep. We start from the time a baby is born until about 12 months old. When there is a baby in my bed, I instantly wake up at the slightest noise from the baby - I instinctively, subconsciously know when my baby is hungry, sick, or just needs me. And, please, don't lecture me about my decision. I've heard about the studies, the reports, the criticism - but it has worked for three of my children (all three of whom I can proudly exclaim now sleep in their own beds every night, all night - can you say the same thing?).

Three children and one more on the way (and who knows what the future holds)
Yes, I have three children. Yes, I'm expecting a fourth. No, by God's grace, this won't be the last. Yes, I'm Catholic. Yes, I know what causes "it." No, it's none of your business so stop asking me. And don't look so shocked!

Finding out
We're waiting until the baby is born. When I've said I want to be surprised, I've been told that it's a surprise when you find out at 20 weeks, too. Well, sort of - but not the same kind of surprise; you still have 20 weeks to get ready, to think of names, to decorate rooms, to alter your idea of what your future would have been with a baby of the opposite gender. A father of 12 children once told me that he and his wife never "peeked at their presents." I like that idea - this baby is my Christmas present, a baby I've prayed and waited patiently for. I can wait until late-December when my baby arrives for Richard to tell me if it's a boy or girl while holding our sweet newborn in his arms. Besides, since we cosleep, there will be no room to decorate - only the time it takes to go down to the basement and bring up all the tubs of newborn girl or boy clothes.

Homebirth
We have decided to have this baby at home. It wasn't a difficult decision to come to. After three childbirth experiences, I decided the time was right to abandon the hospital and opt for the comfort of my own home. With all three of my hospital birth experiences, I felt as though I had to fight with either my doctor or the hospital staff about something. I don't want that again. I want the calm, comfort, and peace that my home can afford me. I want to be able to play my piano, sing along with my music, go to my refrigerator for some juice, and roam in my own hallway until the time comes for me to slip into my birthing tub (hopefully) set up in my living room. I am not planning on having my children present - I want grandchildren one day - but they will be welcome to meet their new sibling as soon as my husband, my midwife, and I feel as though the baby is ready.
People I know have expressed concerns such as, "What if something goes wrong?" Well, for one, I'm not freebirthing (i.e., having an unassisted childbirth). My midwife with years of experience will be on hand with an assistant. She is armed with an arsenal of weapons to counteract anything that could go wrong and if something goes beyond her control, I'll be rushed to a hospital. That was my initial response when I heard that question. Now, my response is... I'm pregnant. I'm not sick. Hospitals are for sick people. However, should something happen that is outside the realm of the usual things that can happen to one while having a baby, the hospital is close. I'm not worried - as a matter of fact, I'm more worried about what the baby and/or I could pick up at a hospital than anything potentially going wrong at home.

That said, I still vaccinate, I don't buy much that is organic [a lot of organic foods just don't appeal to me to the extent I feel as though I have to pay double for them - besides, I like a little bovine growth hormone now and then] and my children do consume refined sugars, but that's me. By posting the above, I don't mean to belittle anyone or their parenting choices (with the possible exception of any comment to me about the size of my family - so don't go there), but just to state this is what we do and why we do it.

Living a Beautiful Life

When I was about 15 years old, I discovered a lovely magazine called Victoria. It was everything I wanted my adult life to look like - beautiful dresses, lace everywhere, rose bushes in flower gardens, white furniture.

Alas, that is far from what my adult life is like. For one, I'm a practicing attorney. That, in and of itself, somehow seems to brush some of the soft focus from my form. I don't litigate, but I work for a litigator and I'm married to a litigator; and being in the midst of that world, I fear, makes me a bit more harsh than I would otherwise be.

My home is not covered in lace. Well, actually, my dresser is, but that lace is covered because my dresser is my clutter spot - the area that cleaning gurus such as FlyLady warn me I need to spend 5 minutes decluttering each day, or something to that effect.

I also don't have white furniture in every room. I have cherry - I love cherry now that I've grown up. White furniture is still something of an object of beauty for me. It's so clean, if it's kept that way. My daughters' furniture is white - and, for now, barely nicked. As a matter of fact, their room is probably the closest thing to my teenage-version of the ideal adult setting for me than anything else in my home.

I don't have time for gardening - and I'm also coming to realize that I may not even have the desire. I would LOVE to have beautiful gardens and clip blossoms to place around my cherry furniture laden home, but it takes time and patience - two things on which I'm quite short.

But there are beautiful things in my life. I have beautiful children and another on the way. I'm so thankful for them and I am making a conscious effort to thank God for them each day. I have a wonderful, supportive, hard-working, loving husband - someone who loves me and respects me and who has real conversations with me, beyond the normal "what did you do to day" banter some married couples share.

I have a home filled with things that, as an adult, I find beautiful. My cherry furniture and large mirrors with touches of floral patterns throughout my home. And I have a piano - the piano that my grandparents purchased and my mother learned to play - I have it tuned every year, and should have it tuned every 6 months, but it's mine and it brings me much joy.

Earlier, I mentioned my job. I'm actually quite happy at my job. While I do miss being with my children full-time, I am fortunate in the fact that I can work part-time as a lawyer - with very little stress. Being an attorney is not what I ever imagined myself doing (until I was about 25), but here I am! I'm not career-driven by any stretch of the imagination. I just do my work to the best of my ability, I enjoy the company of my coworkers, and then I come home...

To the beautiful life I have been blessed with!

Email

I used to like email, but now I dread it.

* I get too many emails every day - well, I only get around 20, which is probably nothing to some of you, but it's a lot for me. Actually, let me rephrase that... I get 20 on my main email address. My email address linked to Facebook gets about 90 a day - due to my FB activity. My inner-office email gets 40 or so a day, but that's because our IT guy took off the filters and now I get advertisements for certain products I don't want, need or otherwise require. I also have a couple of email addresses I never even bother to check any longer.

* Many of the emails I receive at my main email address I don't want. I get emails from various Bar Associations, which in turn causes me to get email from other law-related outlets (attorneys running for office, continuing legal education courses, law book publishers). I get emails from online companies I've ordered from or have requested catalogs from.

* I have developed the terrible habit of reading emails I need to respond to, but then forgetting to respond. Oh the guilt I feel when I realize that I haven't responded!

*I don't delete enough emails. I'm afraid I'll need it later on. Stupid, I know.

* I have too many email addresses. I can't/don't check them all. Well, actually, I only have 5, but that's about 4 too many. But, I need one for junk, one for FB notices, one for work, one for homeschool stuff (which is actually one I don't really check any longer), and my main email address.

So, I've started unsubscribing to things. Unsubscribing to newsfeeds I no longer care about. Unsubscribing to the sales advertisements and legal publications. Unsubscribing to groups. Unsubscribing to Facebook notifications. I'm trying to simplify. No, it's nothing huge, but every little bit helps!

Decluttering is Strangely Liberating!

I inadvertently began decluttering this morning. It started in our school room which has become nothing short of a book and paper depository. I found stacks of paper I'd forgotten existed, but once I discovered them, I happily threw out most of it! Then, I started going through the bookshelves, taking unnecessary items from notebooks.

Soon thereafter, I was called away by one of the children to my bedroom. Well, I couldn't leave before cleaning out my jewelry box. It is the kind that has lingerie drawers, but since I have a small supply of lingerie which is rarely, if ever, worn, I use most of those drawers for stuff - pictures, children's drawings, NFP charts, receipts, and random papers. Twenty minutes after I started, I had a clean jewelry box and a full trashcan! I'm so proud of me!

Now, to clean out the kitchen clutter drawer, my desk drawers, and finish the school room. Considering we're stuck inside for the day, decluttering has become quite a fun project!

Snow in April...

As you may already know, my family does not watch television. Now, that's not to say that we don't have a television; we do. However, we don't have satellite or cable or even rabbit ears (is that even an option any more?) to watch shows or the news. [I do, by the way, stream via the internet a few television shows, but otherwise, I'm quite clueless as to that area of pop. culture.] My husband and I read the news online.

On Saturday and Sunday, we went on a plant-buying frenzy - Confederate Jasmine, azaleas, boxwoods, herbs, bald cypress (technically a tree, but you catch my drift). Of course, at lunch on Sunday, I was told that temperatures would be dropping. Well, in a panic yesterday, I checked the weather forecast for our area and found that we would have a hard freeze. "Did I read that right? Hard freeze?" I asked myself, though I was alone, with an air of disbelief. Yes.

Once Richard was home, he covered the bushes he had planted, and we dragged inside the ones he had not planted. Hopeful.

While I was driving in to the office this morning, what do I see wisping about my windshield? Snow!

[Michele, I think Casey, Will, and I will be studying the weather about this time next year. You're right! Everything happens this time of year!]

Happy St. Patrick's Day!

To all, and especially to my son on his patron saint's feast day,

Happy St. Patrick's Day!

Consignment Sales

I shop 'em. Yes, I do. I've found beautiful things at the two consignment sales I attend twice a year. The first of the two for spring came this weekend and I dragged all three children with me. Before we encountered the festivities, however, I told my children they had to stay with me and if they did, they would be handsomely rewarded - well, sort of.

It was a madhouse! I got there at 10:05, a mere five minutes after the doors opened. I could tell from the parking lot that it would be hectic. I've never seen so many cars at this particular sale. (Another sign of our waning economy, I suppose.) I grabbed my super-huge IKEA shopping bag and reminded the children of their solemn vow to behave - and they reminded me of my solemn vow to get them something - and we braved the crowd.

I purchased a few polo shirts for Will and a cute spring sweater for Casey - Tricky didn't get any clothes... she'll get plenty from the stores of spring/summer 2T outfits I have in the basement. And I made good on my word because the children were so well-behaved (I actually had a couple of people comment on their good behavior)...

Each got a book and a toy (total on those items: $7).

Here's a picture of my favorite purchase - and quite timely, too... upon our return home, we read the SOTW 1 chapter on gladiators!

By the way, the set was $3, and was missing a couple of pieces of the gladiator's armor - and I made the Colosseum from the set! (That Colosseum was brutal to put together... the kids got bored watching me and ran off to play; I gave up on doing it with glue and, instead, used at least 10 feet of tape. But it looks pretty neat.)

I Learn Things From Blogs... and I'll Prove It!

We don't watch television. Yes, I watch, via the internet, 3 shows - Lost, the Office, and Grey's Anatomy (please don't think less of me) - and we share family movie night on Fridays. However, we have no cable or satellite. As for news, I get that online as well.

So imagine my surprise, as I was perusing other homeschooling blogs, to learn that time changes to Daylight Saving Time at 2:00 a.m. tomorrow morning! Good thing I found out - we would have been an hour late to Mass in the morning (as opposed to 5 minutes late as is our norm).

IKEA

I discovered the joys of IKEA in January when my family and I traveled to the big city for a museum exhibit. The exhibit was fabulous, but I fell in love with IKEA.

[PICTURED: Trofast storage system and hanging storage baskets.]

The first time we went, we were there 4 hours. The second time, a trip made in February, we were there for 5 hours - that is NOT an exaggeration. Between all of the furniture displays, the shopping store area, and the warehouse, there are so many things to see. There is also a small grocery area, a cafe (with Swedish meatballs that are so good, Casey was begging for them for a snack!), and - here's the best part - FREE babysitting!

Yes, free babysitting... of course, there is a bit of a catch. The babysitting is only for one hour, the children have to be potty-trained, and the children have to meet certain height restrictions. When you drop your kids off at SmalLand, you fill out a form for each child, they take your kids' shoes and put them in a bin, and they give you a pager (one of the restaurant coaster pagers that flash red lights in a circle and vibrate) to remind you to get your kids. Occasionally, you can hear parents being paged over the intercom system - I suppose they forgot their children because they're having so much fun shopping. I can see how that could happen!! Ha!

And, about the cafe... Swedish Meatballs, with a side (macaroni, applesauce, yogurt, rice, or mashed potatoes with gravy) and a drink (milk or juice) for kids: $2.49! The adult-sized portions are reasonably priced, too - and so good! During our last IKEA trip, we wound up talking to another family about homeschooling as we dined in the cafe.

[PICTURED: Children's dishes - they're the same ones those GREAT kids' meals are served on at the store.]

Whenever we return home from an IKEA outing, Richard starts drawing and measuring and exploring how we can reorganize our lives. I just stare at the IKEA catalog and wait for our next trip!

Lent...

I have a great camera! I'm VERY happy with my camera...

But I keep forgetting it!!! Fortunately, I had it when Casey had her piano recital on Saturday night. I remembered to get it out when the kids were trying out our lung model that we made yesterday. However, I forgot to take pictures of the TWO king cakes I made last night. I forgot to bring my camera to Nonnie's birthday party tonight. I keep forgetting...

I don't know if I should chalk it up to stress at work, three children at home, or all the chaotic messes swirling about me all of the time.

Tomorrow is Lent. I've decided what to give up - hopefully that will help me clear my mind and tend to the swirling chaos. Hopefully I will be able to adjust and prioritize. Hopefully I'll be able to focus more on the spiritual me - and all of the sacrifices made for me.

On the first day any given new year, I start working on my resolutions. I mentally establish them, then write them down, then start off on the new me for the year. Amazingly enough, so far, I've kept my 2009 resolutions! (I'm quite proud of that - although, I didn't make resolutions that were impossible or even extremely difficult to keep - they do require some effort, though.)

Lent seems to me to be the time of setting spiritual goals: focusing on Jesus's sacrifices for me, setting Lenten sacrifices for myself and working (not struggling) to uphold those sacrifices, strengthening my religious/spiritual self. A time for Lenten resolutions - if an analogy is to be drawn to the New Year, then working on the inside as the New Year forced me to work on the outside. [I find it interesting that some use Lent as an opportunity to lose weight by giving up certain food groups, i.e. sweets, with the goal that their Lenten fast from sweets is nothing more than a 40-day diet. Not judging; just commenting. And, no, I did not give up any sort of food or food-like group.]

As the new year is passing to recent memory (but not my resolutions), and camera-remembering doesn't seem appropriate for a Lenten sacrifice, maybe remembering to take my Nikon will be a mid-year goal!

A New Year... A Better Year

It's 2009. I hope it's better than 2008 - well, at least the last 2 months of 2008.

Tonight brings the close of the birthday season at my house. My children and husband celebrate their birthdays the last two months of the year. Along with the holidays, that makes for a very busy year-end. And, given the misfortune in our family over the past several weeks, things have been more hectic than ever.

But tonight we're finally having Casey's birthday party - a slumber party, in fact. Five little girls, plus my own children... Have I completely LOST MY MIND?! I hope not. I actually think there is some potential for real fun!

I missed wishing Casey a Happy Birthday on her actual birthday, so... Happy Birthday my 6 year old girl! She and I celebrated by going to the Nutcracker at the Fox Theatre. She was so surprised!

As for the new year, I'm keeping my resolutions minimal - but somehow typical, I suppose. I'm keeping up with the housework using my Motivated Moms calendar. I am going to be more diligent about sending birthday cards (something I've become terrible at remembering ever since I had my first child). I also want to maintain my weight... unless I am blessed with a pregnancy this year.

As for homeschooling, I'm getting back on track with the kids. With everything going on in November and December, I didn't make it through as much material as I had hoped. I guess that's the beauty of home school - you can adapt for your situation, right? We did A LOT of adapting! The new year is also bringing in some new courses of study: for science, we're starting the Human Body (some dissection included!); Art; and I'm going to reintroduce Latin. Keep your fingers crossed for me!

I hope everyone has a wonderful 2009!

What should I say?

Blogging has been on my mind a lot... I visit my page at least once a day, but I can't seem to think of anything interesting to write about. So... I think I'll just write about things as they sort of pop into my head (at least for a few minutes).

I hope Tricky is able to go to sleep without me kneeling at her bedside. I feel bad for telling her I'll be right back when I know I will only return once she's asleep.

I dread meeting with a certain client tomorrow.

I hope Richard gets home from his bar meeting safely. He was elected President tonight!

The kids had their Happy Birthday Jesus party at school today. Anyone who knows me knows I can't stand that sentiment. Along with all the commercialism of the holiday season, making birthday cakes and singing Happy Birthday to Jesus seem to trivialize one of the holiest of holidays by making it seem like any other birthday. I just don't like it.

This year, we're doing our decorating in accordance with the teachings of our Church. We are celebrating Advent this year. We'll put up the tree on Christmas Eve day. It is truly making me feel the importance of the birth of Christ. I'll be in the Christmas spirit on Christmas Eve - for now, I'm in the Advent spirit.

That said, I'm mailing out 60 Christmas cards tomorrow. I hope...

Speaking of things I need to do -
Buy the items I chose to donate to the local battered women's shelter
Clean off my desk
Box up the presents for the relatives we won't see this Christmas and mail them before Saturday
Ask Nonnie what I can bring for Christmas Day dinner
Practice Dona Nobis Pacem with the kids
Print and frame pictures from Tricky's first 2 years
Finish printing calendars (Michele... the printing isn't working like I thought it would... sorry)
Mentally prepare for the office outing on Friday
Help Casey with her piano work
Finish the pile of laundry

I wonder how my father-in-law is doing today. I wonder how my mother-in-law is doing today. I never updated my blog with what has transpired with my husband's father. He has no brain stem injury. He is still on life support. The doctors are trying to figure out what is wrong - what is causing him to have no voluntary muscle control (and no reaction to stimulus). I mean, there is something going on other than the injuries directly sustained by his accident. Please pray for him, and for my mother-in-law, and for my husband and his three brothers.

Okay, I guess that's enough. I'm going to cozy up in bed and watch a movie on Netflix On Demand while awaiting my love's return home. (By the way, we watched Planet B-boy on Netflix last night. For a documentary about an international breakdancing competition, I was pleasantly surprised. I actually expected I'd fall asleep, but I had fun - and Richard had the funniest little boy grin on his face during the entire movie.)

My absence explained...

Two weeks ago today, my father-in-law("FIL") had one of those freak accidents you hear of from time to time. He was standing on a flat carport, cutting limbs from a tree. A particularly large limb he was cutting must have been under a lot of tension. When he cut that limb, it snapped and hit him in the face. A neighbor who was outside heard the crack and turned to see my FIL holding his hands to his face. Blood was everywhere. Then, probably because he was disoriented, my FIL fell headlong from the carport onto the concrete below. The neighbor, who is an EMT and his wife, a nurse, ran over to help my FIL.

He was taken to a local hospital but quickly transported to a larger, better-equipped facility. He had multiple skull fractures, including his eye sockets; according to a CT scan, he did have some brain damage, although they said it was only to the prefrontal cortex (meaning that he wouldn't lose any motor skills, but may lose the ability to schedule and coordinate things and may not be able to experience joy); and he had broken a few ribs completely through.

We drove the 12+ hours out to Louisiana that Thursday. We were here until the following Tuesday morning. Richard and I (along with his mom, his brothers, and their wives) saw my FIL in ICU at the hospital. At first, he was intubated and unresponsive, but soon he became very responsive (kicking, pulling out the ventilator tube), he also talked to us some, albeit just a couple of words at a time. Once we left on Tuesday, we heard that my FIL was becoming disoriented, not recognizing people, etc.

My family and I went on, as planned, to Florida for Thanksgiving and then returned home on Sunday. On Monday, my FIL had to be reintubated because his oxygen levels had dropped some. On Tuesday night, my MIL called and said that he had a seizure and the doctors believed he may have had a stroke. Then yesterday, Richard called me and told me that the doctors believe my FIL was brain dead.

We drove all night out to Louisiana again where we are now. Last night, the doctors ran a test and found he did have some brain activity, but it's very minimal. He'll never be able to breathe on his own - or function in any sort of way. Knowing what my FIL would have wanted, they will probably let him go within the next couple of days.

It's so sad...so surreal. He was fine two weeks ago and now, for all intents and purposes, he's gone.

Please pray for our family...