Small successes XXXI

As wives and mamas, it's important to share in each others' successes no matter how small or large.  Share yours and read about others' over at Faith and Family LIVE!

1.  My sweet, snuggly Kolbe (14 months) is making some small strides in the sleep department.  Small, but strides none-the-less.  (I guess this is really his success not mine).  Lately (since January or so) he has been taking one nap a day, and all but the first 15-30 minutes of that nap is typically spent snuggled on me in the mei tai carrier.  Recently he has been doing better napping in his bed though, some days not going in the carrier at all.  He still has yet to sleep a solid 2-3 hour nap anytime recently, but I've been rocking him back down when he stirs and cries rather than just putting him in the carrier.  He still spends most of the night (from midnight or so on) in our bed, but lately he has taken to snuggling up in my armpit and using his little feet to shove daddy to the edge of the bed so I think once the weather is warmer (read: getting out of my warm, comfy bed during the night is a bit more bearable) I'll work on nighttimes as well.  We are where we are with sleep and I'm good with that (Gemma night-weaned and started sleeping through the night all on her own the June she was 17 months, so we'll see where Kolbe is by then...), but the small progress makes me happy.  I know I'll miss all these snuggles some day though, so I'm trying to savor them even if they impede my productivity (or sleep).

2.  I have handled *some* of Gemma's tantrums this week with grace and love.  This is a success because some weeks it seems like I handle NONE of them with grace or love.  We are works in progress for sure. 

3.  I tackled a couple very gratifying projects this past weekend.  Here are the end results, and you can read more about them here.

He has hair!!!

...a blessed little bit, but hair none-the-less!

Weekend projects

I was motivated to work on a few little projects I've had sitting around this past weekend (thanks in part to all of my friend Debi's great posts about her cool projects around their house lately).  The first...not long after Kolbe was born my MIL gave me a couple little counted cross-stitches that Aaron's aunt (HI Aunt Lorrie!!) had made for him when he was a boy.  They were rather tattered, yellowed and the frames they were in were very dated.  My sweet MIL took them out of the frames and soaked them in oxi which cleaned them up nicely, but they've been sitting in Kolbe's drawer for about a year now, waiting to be noticed and framed.  So finally this past Saturday I decided to take them to Hobby Lobby and have them custom framed.  I started racking my brain for a plan B though as the gal was adding up how much it would cost...to the tune of $65.  I mean, HOLY COW!!  The pieces (there were two of them each about 3.5 by 4 inches) are certainly nice and have some sentimental value for sure...but I mean, really?!!?  Sixty-five dollars?!?!?!!  Yikers!!!!  No way!  I just couldn't do it.  Thankfully the custom framing lady was all about helping me throw something together myself.  (Why she didn't just offer this in the first place, well, who knows.  It wasn't the least bit difficult).  I still ended up spending over $30, which was more than I had figured I would spend, but I wanted to have the matte custom cut and that just ain't cheap.  So I bit the bullet, had her cut the matte, bought some sticky-board to mount the cross-stitch pieces on and found a frame (black was the only color they carried in the size I needed, so I painted it white).  Once I got everything together I was very pleased with the outcome.  This will hopefully be a nice keepsake for Kolbe, and it looks oh so sweet hanging in his room.  Definitely not one of those fun, frugal projects...but I'm still very excited about the finished product.

The second project, however, was totally frugal and I am equally as happy (in a different way) with how it turned out.  Gemma has had a framed poster in her room of Eric Carle's baby bear since she moved to her big girl room.  She LOVED the Eric Carle "bear" books as a young toddler so this was a fun print to have.  But she's not so into those books anymore, and the poster didn't quite fit in the frame and it was just kind of bugging me.  So I had my hubby pick up a piece of poster board (this project's only expense!), got Gemma's paints out and let her have at it!  She really had fun, as I have mentioned previously she does enjoy painting.  After it dried, I took the glass from the frame and traced it onto the "best" part of the painting (thanks for another tip, Mary), cut it out and voile!  ART!!  She's very proud of it, and I think it's a fun way to decorate a child's room.

I've really had a bug to do little things around the house this spring...I've painted several frames, rearranged the items on our mantle and side-server, updated some pictures in frames...just small things like that, but personal touches that make our house feel more our own.  Cliche I know, but there really is no place like home!

Flying

This is Gemma's favorite way to swing lately. 
We are lovin' us some park time on the days that are of the warmer variety lately! 
YAY SPRING!!!

Baby Elijah

My brother and sister-in-law recently welcomed their precious son Elijah Jude into the world.  He is just wonderful!!  Gemma is quite taken with him.  It is amazing how much she has changed and how much more she understands since our Kolbe-boy was born (14 months ago).  It makes my heart happy watching her with baby Eli, she loves him sooooo much.  She has said plenty of cute things about him/the whole experience (imagine...) One of the funniest things she has said was actually in regards to the birthcare center (or "birthday" center as she referred to it) and not the baby.  We were going to visit him for the second time and Gemma mentioned how we would need to use the "wash our hands".  (She was very intrigued by the hand sanitizer...this is something we rarely use, and the fact that it came out of nifty aerosol cans bolted to the walls was an added bonus).  Anyways, she was talking about how we would use it to wash our hands when we arrived, and then said to me in a very incredulous tone, barely above a whisper..."mom, they don't have any water there!"  I love the way her brain works.  But anyways, the main point of this post is to say congrats Drew and Abby on your beautiful, brand new son!  Welcome to our family baby Elijah, WE LOVE YOU!!!

 

Handsome

Whiney Wednesday XVIII

1. Princesses.  Be forewarned, you're in for a rant.  I am tired of everyone (people at the bank who give us stickers, perfect strangers who talk to us at Target, many other well-meaning people, you get the picture) thinking that because Gemma is the ripe old age of three and because she happens to be a girl that this automatically means she should be completely obsessed with anything and everything princess.  Princesses are something we have chosen not to encourage in our home.  I think the whole mentality promotes self-centered, materialistic and shallow attitudes in today's young girls, and thanks to rampant commercialism the "target audience" for this is becoming younger and younger.  Our society is over-saturated enough with sex as it is.  I feel like I owe my daughter more than the status quo.  A pretty gown, high heels, a tiara and some lipstick aren't what is going to make her happy, fulfilled and successful in this life, and they are certainly not the tools she needs for our ultimate, eternal Goal.   I currently have this book on hold at the library (I'm 13th in line on the hold list, so apparently others feel this way as well). I heard a piece on it on NPR about a month ago and the author brings up some very good points.  I'm anxious to read or at least peruse it.  I'm not dead-set against princesses per se, and I realize we can't "shelter our children from everything" (oh how often I hear that line), but the whole princess phenomena as it currently is simply drives. me. CRAZY.  And now you know.

2. And while we're on the subject of things I tire of hearing...no, Gemma is not currently in preschool and no she is not going to go next year or the year after.  And please don't look at me like I'm from another planet simply because I don't feel that preschool is all that necessary for my child.

3.  I bought some hairspray and got a pretty good deal on it. And then found a coupon that would have saved me five more dollars.  After the fact.

mmmmkay.  Done ranting.  Thanks for bearing with me (if you made it this far).  Feel free to join in the whining each Wednesday.  Check with simplemama for the rules and info.

Cars!

Kolbe particularly likes this little toy car that he got for Christmas (he has several toy cars he plays with, but this is by far his favorite).  Honestly, it's been a fun toy for the whole family ;-D  (It's one of those that you pull back and then it zooms forward...endless entertainment).  Anyways, these pictures were just too cute not to share.

Paints

Gemma has really enjoyed painting lately.  I decided to get her some watercolors, as they are much easier to get out and clean up quickly in comparison to our regular paints.  This way she can paint more often at her request.  She has been enjoying them and is quite the little artist!

Small successes XXX

1. After resigning myself to the fact that I'm just not going to gain the weight I need to make my pants fit me, I took five (!!!!) pair to my alterations gal to be taken in (and a couple lengthened a bit) earlier this week. Can't WAIT to get them back and have pants that fit me correctly.

2. Tidied up the sewing room (lately the catch-all room it seems) and filed a whole stack of papers.

3. Found a really tasty bread recipe we've been enjoying. (If you're interested, I used my breadmaker for dough prep and baked in a loaf-pan in the oven.  Subbed butter for the oil, used a bit more than 1tsp. of yeast and used some whole-wheat flour instead of all white.)

Share what you did over at Faith and Family Live!, where Catholic moms share in eachothers' successes each Thursday.  Blessings!   

Whiney Wednesday XVII

1.  Epic three-year-old meltdowns.  We're talking epically epic.  Arrrrggghhhhhh!!!!

2.  Dear Monica: When you put the steamer basket in the pot, and put the green beans in the steamer basket, it is a very good idea to put water in the bottom of the pot before putting it on the burner and turning it on high.  And then wondering why it's not boiling.  And why the kitchen smells kind of funny.  Oops.

3.  Why is it that some days it seems like nothing goes right? Like, the harder I try the worse it gets.  Oh life.

Just keepin' it real.  Join in the whining fun, each and every Wednesday if you wish!  Click here for the rules and info.

Random funnies

So here is a post of some of the random funny things that happen in our crazy daily life.  For your enjoyment at our expense.

1. Gemma likes to floss.  Only she doesn't floss.  She sucks the mint flavoring off the floss and then chews it.  I also think she would eat an entire tube of (fluoride free) toothpaste if left to her own devices.  
2. Kolbe likes to play with the laundry.  The other day he put a pair of Aaron's underwear on his head and crawled across the room and into our buffet/side-server cabinet.  I felt badly for him but I couldn't help but laughing.  It was honestly very funny.
3. Gemma broke the baby gate trying to climb over it (don't worry, it was just gating the hallway, not the stairs).  She didn't think this was very funny when it happened (and neither did I), but she didn't get hurt, I was able to fix it and I think she learned a very valuable lesson (kind of like the time she ate soap), so now I can look back and chuckle.
4. Kolbe likes to throw things, and not just balls anymore.  Toys.  Big toys.  Books. Toy cars.  The step stool.  I mean, really child, do you have to throw everything you get your hands on?!  I'm seeing a future baseball player.  In the meantime...
5. Aaron recently shaved his beard.  (He has a beard during fall and winter and goes clean-shaven in the spring and summer.)  Later that same evening Gemma and I were taking a shower and I felt her moving her hands up and down on the bottoms of my legs.  "Gemma," I asked, "What are you doing?"  Her answer..."I'm shaving the beard on your legs, mommy." heh heh.  Oh dear.
6. We were driving to my sister Mandy's house and I decided to take a different route.  Observant Gemma noticed and asked why.  When I told her it was just because we were going a different way her reply was, "oh, are we going to a different aunt Mandy's?"  Her logic cracks me up.
7. The other day Kolbe had something blue in his mouth.  How on earth did he get ahold of an M&M? was my first thought.  Upon doing the finger swipe I pulled a blue bead out of his mouth.  From our children's Rosary he was playing with.  That happened to be missing another three beads besides the one in his mouth.  Not so child-friendly, methinks.
8. After her nap on Ash Wednesday, I caught Gemma furiously rubbing her forehead with a tissue.  I asked her what she was doing.  "Wiping my Lents off, mommy," was her reply.  

Never dull around here, that's for sure.  Some days it's easier to hold onto my sanity than others, but that's just how we roll.  Happy Tuesday, everyone!

"More"

I think I've mentioned before that Kolbe does really well communicating with the few signs he knows (namely "more", "milk" and "all done").  Here are a couple pictures of him signing "more" (which for him is typically a fist against an open palm instead of the standard two fists).  On the left he is signing for me to swing him more at the park, and on the right (with cousin Anna) for more graham crackers.

Swingin' bubby

SO happy to be outdoors!!

What we're up to

I feel like I've been terrible at updating on the kids lately, and I know that's why most of you keep coming back ;-D so here you go.

Gosh, where to start.  We've really been enjoying the days that are warmer and nicer outside.  We've been taking more trips to the park (our neighborhood one and another area park we like to frequent), blowing bubbles, chalking (as Gemma calls our sidewalk chalk adventures) and just soaking up the good 'ole vitamin D that finally returns every year around this time. YAY!  My MIL brought us some pretty pansies and we have them in a pot on the deck.  They make me absurdly happy and anxious for spring every time I see them.

picked out her own outfit

extremely rare piggytails

Gemma is getting very independent, in some senses. She dresses herself most days and has even washed her own hair a few times lately (with limited assistance).  She has figured out how to open the curtains and blinds on the window in her bedroom and has become quite possessive of that task.  She's really been enjoying coloring lately and is beginning to understand the concept of staying inside the lines.  Oh I am looking forward to doing some preschool activities with her in the coming year!  I think we'll have lots of fun.  It is definitely giving me a whole new perspective on homeschooling, which I really thought I'd never have any interest in.  Catholic schools are still the "plan" but I'm open to whatever God has in mind for us...just need to figure that out here in the next few years.  ;-D  We will definitely "homeschool" (if you can call it that) preschool though.  I don't think either she or I would be ready for the separation preschool would bring.  Speaking of, she's been going through some major separation anxiety lately.  And I don't leave her much, the main time is that either my mom or MIL come over to play with the kids while I teach 2-3 piano lessons a week (so only 1-1.5 hours).  Well, we'll talk about it all day, about the fun things she will do with grandma, and she will seem fine with it until grandma comes and I go down to the basement to teach.  She flips out.  She has spent the past month or so of lessons sitting in her little rocking chair beside the piano while I teach.  She's really very good, either sits by me or plays quietly on her own, so I really don't care that she's down there.  I'm just not sure what has caused this sudden change, she's previously always done fine when I've left her with grandma.  She's even starting getting upset the day I have a lesson and daddy is home.  It's crazy. Hmmm....

Hey, where'd the apple crisp go?

Kolbe, oh my Kolbe boy.  He is alllllll boy.  Have I mentioned that?  He loves to throw things.  Namely balls but he will really throw anything he can get his hands on, so watch out.  Still not walking but he'll pull up to standing on things and cruise along the furniture a bit.  He crawls fast.  He loves to crawl over to the TV and turn it on.  Grrrrrrr.  He likes to sign and uses "more", "milk" and "all done" very well to communicate with us.  I can tell he understands a lot even though he doesn't say much.  He loves to play peek-a-boo and if you ask him what Max (our dog) says he'll say "oof".  Doesn't talk nearly as much as Gemma did at this age, I'm still amazed when I look back at old posts how early she talked, but they each develop at their own rate and he's doing great.  He is very active and definitely keeps me on my toes, probably more so than Gemma ever did.

sharing icecream with daddy

Aaron is gearing up for spring yard projects (champing at the bit, really) and has prepped one wall of the garage for painting (it is currently sheet-rocked and partially taped and mudded).  I've been keeping busy with the kids and some political work I've been doing.  I'm working with a group that's in the process of trying to change our state's current vaccine mandates.  Vaccines are a hot topic, I know, and I really don't intend to start a big debate over it here on the blog (if you'd like more info, feel free to leave your email in the comments or private message me on Facebook). We're simply working towards giving parents back the right to make informed vaccine choices for their children in our state.  It has been consuming a lot of my time of late but it is good, rewarding work, I'm learning so much about the political process and I've been blest with an amazing group of women with whom I'm working.  God is good.

Thanks for checking in with us!  Happy (almost) spring and don't forget to set those clocks ahead this weekend.  BLESSINGS!

Gemma, 3yrs 2 months.; Kolbe, 14 months

Small successes XXIX

1. Successfully completely a rather large mail-merge with envelopes (addressed and return addressed) without killing my computer or printer.  Woot.

2.  Finished up our Lenten plans and posted about them.

3. Scored some sweet clearance deals at Kohls.com on some pants for my growing son.  Love the coupon codes at retailmenot!!

Celebrate one small success at a time over at Faith and Family Live!

Duck at the Door

If you are looking for a seriously cute children's book, check out Duck at the Door.  I can't exactly put my finger on just what it was I loved about this book (we got it from the library last week), but I smiled every time Gemma asked me to read it to her.  It was just plain cute.  There appear to be several other titles featuring duck, so I am Gemma is anxious to check those out as well!!  Happy reading!

Enchiladas

I'm making enchiladas for dinner tonite and thought I'd post the recipe I use.  There are a million tasty versions of the enchilada out there so I'm not going to make any claims about this one being the best, but I think it's pretty good, and it is easy too which is always a plus in my books!

Cook around 1-1.5lbs of your choice of meat (ground beef, shredded beef, cubed or shredded chicken or pork) with a chopped medium onion and salt/pepper/garlic to taste.  I either saute or crock-pot the meat and onion.  Once cooked and prepared, stir in 1/2 to 3/4 cup of sour cream, around 1 cup shredded cheese (of the cheddar/mexican variety) and some parsley.  Set aside.

In a sauce pan combine:

• 16 oz. tomato sauce
• 1/3 cup (or so) water
• a 7 oz. can of chopped green chiles
• 1tbsp. chili powder
• 1/2 tsp. oregano
• 1/4 tsp. cumin
• 1 tsp. garlic powder

Bring to boil and simmer for 5 minutes.

You'll need around 8-10 standard size tortillas (we use whole wheat).  Put a tortilla on a plate, spoon some of the sauce onto it and spread it around.  Spoon in some of the meat mixture (more or less as is your preference), roll it up and lay it in a greased 9x13 pan.  Repeat until all meat mixture is gone. 

Pour remaining sauce over pan of enchiladas, sprinkle with cheese and bake at 350 for around 20 minutes. This is a meal I like to make in advance and refrigerate until I'm ready to bake it.

Serve with beans (we like refried or black), sour cream and avocado slices. 

Lent 2011

I'm excited about some of the things we have planned for Lent this year and wanted to share them here as a record for myself in coming years and also in case anyone else was interested in using some of them; namely because all of these ideas are ones I've gotten from others as well.  Not a whole lot of originality.  But why reinvent the wheel, right?

I have drawn from three main sources.  The books Lent and Easter in the Domestic Church and Guiding Your Catholic Preschooler and Catholic Icing's blog and subsequent linky's etc. (check out this post).

First off, I really like Guiding Your Catholic Preschooler's take on fasting. (quoting) "Your child is too young to fast, or understand the purpose if you have him "give up" something.  For example, abstaining from meat on Fridays may be something you do with him, and this is good.  But he will not understand its purpose when he is 1-4 years old!  ... Instead of 'giving up' for Lent, have him 'give out' food."  It goes on to explain a really neat activity that I've modified a bit to use with Gemma (3yrs).  While it has you having your child pick an (inexpensive)  grocery item each day to give to the poor at the end of Lent, we're actually going to use baby items.  I have some friends who run a pro-life outreach, so I bought a bunch of small baby items (socks, onesies, toys, teethers, sippy-cups, etc.) and Gemma will get to choose one on the days that we focus on "fasting" to put in a box for the babies and after Easter she'll get to deliver them with me.  I am hoping this will be just right for her, because some of the items are potentially things that she might like to have for herself but doesn't "need" (the cups, toys, etc.) so hopefully the message of generosity and giving to those in true need won't be lost on her.  It seems fairly age-appropriate in my mind (we'll see how it works in practice), and I think it will be more effective (for her) than food items would.

I made a Lent calendar for her from this template from Catholic Icing (again, love that site).  On each day I wrote either a "prayer", "fasting" or "alms" item, and we'll color each day purple as we go.

• The PRAYER days we will pray for things like peace, an end to abortion, grandparents, priests, etc.
• The FASTING days she will choose a baby item to give away.
• The ALMSGIVING days she will count a specific thing in our house (pillows, rooms, windows, etc.) and then put that number of "moneys" in a jar, also to be given to the pro-life outreach after Easter (this was another idea from Guiding Your Catholic Preschooler).

Then, I am using the Lenten Cross Readings idea from Lent and Easter in the Domestic Church.  I think most of the Scripture readings from this will be a bit above Gemma's head, but I still think it will be a really good family activity and something we can do as a family each Lent in years to come as well.  Basically, it is kind of like the Jesse Tree for Advent, only there are 40 images in the book that I copied, cut, colored, laminated and glued velcro on the back.  I made a big cross on a piece of sturdy foam poster-board, and attached 40 pieces of velcro to it as well.  Each day we will add an image, talk about its meaning, and read the corresponding Scripture, which follows the messianic prophecies through the Old Testament and their fulfillment in the Crucifixion narrative.  I (intend to) put a picture of the Risen Lord and "He is Risen, Alleluia" on the back, and we will flip the board around Easter morning at the end of our forty days to see what the Lord has done, how He makes all things new!  I am glad that I decided to make this more "permanent" so I don't have to either do it again or come up with something new next year.  I am really excited about this.  I don't read the Bible nearly as often as I should, so I think this "rich in Scripture" activity will be just perfect.

I plan to focus on one Station of the Cross each morning when we do our morning prayers.  I have a few children's stations books with good, age-appropriate meditations.  I'm hoping we can make it to Stations of the Cross once or twice at Church as well during the Lenten season.

Maybe next year Gemma will be old enough for this jelly bean activity.  I debated about it this year, but honestly I think she would just want to eat the jelly beans and would totally miss the point.  And that's not the kind of battle I want to fight all Lent.  So we'll see. 

And there you have it!  I'd love to see what others are doing.  Feel free to share any ideas in the comments section, and if you have a post you've done on Lent (this year or another) you can link it up on this Catholic Icing post as well.

BLESSINGS!

Small successes XXVIII

1. Went on a date with my husband!  Just the two of us!! This was the first time we'd gone on a real date, outside our house, sans children, since before Kolbe was born (13 months ago)!!!  It was really nice.  Of course I was equally excited to get back to my sweet little munchkins when we picked them up at their grandparents', but it was sure nice to spend some time out just the two of us.

2. Painted a rather dismal looking oak picture-frame a nice baby blue for my son's room.  An inexpensive and quite satisfying project!  Thanks for the tips, Mary!!

3. We've been making it outdoors/to the park on a more regular basis now that the weather is warming up.  This isn't a success so much I suppose, but it sure makes me happy!


It's important to recognize the small things we do each week can add up to big successes!  Share your successes and read about others' each Thursday over at Faith and Family Live!

Whiney Wednesday XVI

1. I love my children.  And I love going to Mass.  But some Sundays, especially the ones when my husband sings with the choir, I feel like asking for a bourbon on the rocks at coffee and donuts instead of the usual orange juice.

2.  The screaming game.  I do not like the screaming game.  AT ALL!!!  

3. Grumpy teething baby.

If you'd like to join in the whining each Wednesday, click here for Simplemama's rules and info!