Seven Quick Takes vol. 142

I'm back, Kelly! I'm back!

{one}

Thank goodness it's Friday/I can't believe it's Friday already!!We 

I'm completely ready to be locked in a room by myself for the duration of the weekend.

Am I the only one who feels like that by Friday? 5 kids x infinite number of asked questions per day + small amount of patience = dead by Friday.

{two}

We've been busy around here though which is how whole weeks go by without me being able to blog even a tiny bit. Last weekend was the long weekend up here and it was my birthday and Gemma's birthday so we had some great friends come up and spend the weekend at our house with their 3 babies. The only problem was it rained most of the 3 days so we basically were in a house with 8 kids for 3 days straight. Oh, and one started vomiting at midnight on the night of my birthday. But we made it and it actually wasn't too bad, and we had a pretty good time! I feel like we levelled up somehow in parenting. I also got to smoke cigars every night and drink great scotch so it was a really memorable birthday weekend!

{three}

Requisit "I can't believe my baby is so old" take.

She's 9.

How did this happen???

I vividly remember her being born yesterday. And now she's a big kid!!

I'll just be over here crying for a while...

{four}

We wrapped up school last week as most of the kids finished up their curriculum programs. I was pretty proud we ended up finishing so early in the year and didn't have things drag out too badly. They're still little enough that there isn't a big workload when it comes to sit-down work, and we will definitely be reading a ton during the summer, plus I think I'm going to let them think workbooks are fun and keep letting them do those when they feel like it, so basically we're just stopping the daily stress of me thinking I have to get a long list of school done a day - but that feels wonderful.

{five}

In breaking news - I finally bought prescription sunglasses. At the ripe old age of 31 I thought it was time to be an adult and finally get real sunglasses. I don't know what exactly I've been waiting for because I loovve glasses. And I occasionally go out in the sun. I hit up good ol' Firmoo for some cheap ones that I won't feel horrible about if some child comes by and destroys them mercilessly.

{six}

I've been meaning to mention this sweet new children's book that I was sent a review copy of, Into the Sea, Out of the Tomb: Jonah and Jesus by Maura Roan McKeegan. It's a wonderfully illustrated telling of the story of Jonah alongside the life of Christ with some beautiful writing. I was really impressed with how well the two stories were brought together, it's a great way to start exposing our kids to thinking about the Bible more wholly while being a great book to read. I especially appreciated Ted Schleunderfritz's illustrations because he's been a favourite illustrator of mine from his work in Gilbert! Magazine. Well worth picking up for your kids! 

{seven}

The weather has finally turned rainy in the last week and we had been in desperate need of rain so it's really welcome. I also love rain so I won't complain at all! We've had showers off and on for a couple days now and it's storming right now so all the kids ran into the house and are hiding in the basement. But everything's so lush and green it's the best time of year! I'll be outside working out, er, I mean, drinking wine outdoors this weekend, hope you guys have a great weekend!

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Seven Quick Takes vol. 139

Happy April! Head over to Kelly's to catch up with the other great takers ;)

{one}

I meant to post a little Easter post this week and lo and behold it's Friday already. Good thing there's Quick Takes!

{two}

We had a lovely Easter weekend and actually made it to 2 out of 3 Triduum liturgies which has to count as a win. We went to a Byzantine rite liturgy for Good Friday and it turned out to be especially beautiful since the Byzantines/Ukrainians celebrated the Annunciation regardless on Good Friday as well. It really seemed special and I'm so glad we got to participate on such a holy day.

We made it through Easter Vigil without anyone starting on fire, although there were a few close calls. Since I was doing music(and there is  A LOT of music) the kids did well in the pews for my husband and parents. By the last five minutes of Mass though, Nora was going on a tear and knocked a brother to the floor, undid the back of Gemma's dress, and was licking her hands in her dad's face, before screaming for Mass to be over. By the time we got home and kid's in bed it was about 11:30. We thought the kids would all sleep in but of course the boys were up before 7.

Easter Sunday begins with a traditional chocolate egg hunt and Easter baskets in the house, then an egg hunt outside in the snow, then dinner with my family. It was a really nice day despite the snow and tired kids. I made carrot cake, ate all the mini-eggs I could, and turkey. It was great.

{three}

Nora's 3rd birthday was last Friday as well so we had a really packed weekend. Since this will be the only time in her lifetime her birthday will land on Good Friday we let her celebrate it in our traditional family style with decorations, cake, and presents. She was a very happy girl and I can hardly handle that she's three already. I know I say that with every child's birthday, but I really can't handle it. She's informed me she's no longer a baby, she's "a GUUURL." 

Tears.

{four}

I took this week off school and indulged myself by sleeping as long as the kids would let me, eating what I wanted for breakfast(it was usually cake), and trying to make the days feel different for me. It's hard to homeschool with a bunch of kids and not get burnt out from not having any days off. We've really got to make the days we're not "doing school" as different as possible. Or at least attempt it. Next week we're busy and back at activities and things so I'm soaking up a bit of a break. Although I wanted to write more and completely failed at that.

{five}

I've watched a couple movies lately! It's a big deal because who has uninterrupted time for movies anymore? Not me apparently. I'm always too tired to commit to a movie at night and fall back to Netflix. Btw, I finished Friday Night Lights and felt all the feels. I'm now catching up on House of Cards and as much as I love my political backstabbing, compared to this years election cycle House of Cards feels like I'm watching a cozy 50's sitcom of a bygone era. Scary stuff.

But back to the movies. My sisters and I watched all the girl movies we could over the long weekend. We watched Man Up with the hilarious Lake Bell and Simon Pegg and it was pretty good. Definitely some really enjoyable parts that you kill yourself laughing over. Then we watched Burnt which is a movie about a chef restarting his career in London and stars BRADLEY COOPER. I mean, if you need more to enjoy a movie I don't understand you. It wasn't the greatest movie ever, but obviously it was completely up my alley and I really enjoyed it.

{six}

Since I'm woefully behind in blogging I'll quickly mention our latest podcast was a book episode on All The Light We Cannot See. A truly great book that makes for really great discussion. It's also been really popular so you've probably read it and would enjoy listening to us dissect it, wouldn't you? 

{seven}

This week's weather has been wonderful! It's actually been melting! This is a huge deal since it snowed almost every day last week in truly Holy Week fashion. The kids have been out for hours each day and it feels so good. The babies are out playing on the deck right now, the boys our our exploring the humongous puddles in the fields around our house, and Gemma is chicken wrangling the chickens we let out to peck up some green grass. It's nice. Come on Spring!

Hope you all have a great weekend! It's still Easter!

---

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A Mother's Panic Attack

I don't know what it is. Maybe the turning of another calendar year, the sentiments brought up by Christmas, potty training my baby and not changing a diaper for the first time in almost 9 years, or just Facebook memories, but for the past little while I've been confronted with the shocking realization that my kids are no longer babies and it's throwing me for a loop.

My 5 children were born in less than six years. I'm not just repeating this fact to shock and awe or remind myself because even I still can't believe it sometimes, but to emphasize how deeply, deeply entrenched in the trenches of new motherhood I was. There was always another baby, there was always more than one toddler, sometimes three. I can still honestly swear that I just couldn't even imagine a time where they would be even semi-independent from me. I would go from changing a diaper to changing a diaper to changing a diaper.

But now my older kids are just....kids. They're still young, precious, innocent, and sweet children, which I love and relish. But when I look back at pictures of a couch full of toddlers and toddlers holding their newborn siblings and realize that they'll never be that small again, that I'll never have just small kids again and it breaks my heart a little bit and I'm not sure why.

I've definitely not wished away their small children-ness even though I would have given my eye teeth for a whole nights sleep or the ability for one or two to put on their own mittens. I know I've lived their childhood with them fairly well, enjoying as much as possible their stages and growth, I have no regrets that I didn't savour each baby stage and wish them to the next quicker and neither do I regret the long days where I was more frustrated than doe-eyed at the sight of their patty-cakes.

And yet just thinking these thoughts brought on an almost panic attack feeling last night as I lay in bed. My throat chocked up, the heavy feeling pushed down on my chest, tears at just the thought of old pictures of my big kids as little toddlers.

It's not as if they're applying for colleges!  I know! I feel like I'm becoming the classic, stereotypical mother who laments as her children grow older, but I just can't help it. I've been so attuned to their stages and growth, most of the time celebrating their little steps towards independence and accomplishment, maybe this it just the normal realization of change finally catching up to me who is normally immune to such emotional dithers?

I know I'm also not mourning the loss of a "season". I still have small toddlers! I have no plans to never have children again - the thing with this open to life business is that we don't choose or make or even plan how our "seasons" of life will come and go, which is pretty hard to wrap our minds around.

It surprises me how much I feel just plain sad and heartbroken about change when at the same time I'm also really happy and encouraged in a way. I think it's almost as if there's this heart breaking and heart healing happening at the same time.

I know I think, and wish, and feel as if time, and my children, and motherhood reached a high point and just stayed that way - cemented where I wanted it to be, where it felt just right. But the reality is that motherhood and children and family is a constant thing, we're living in this stream of life and love that can't be bottled or stopped. Even though we think it'd be perfect -- it would really only be a puddle.

This heart breaking is probably a good thing. I'm probably beginning to realize and be grateful for how things were (however imperfect), how things are (flying by fast but still oh-so-sweet), and how things will be (probably imperfect and sweet). The heart breaking and heart healing is the way of motherhood.

---

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Seven Quick Takes vol. 132

Making myself blog for Kelly.

{one}

Where has the time gone? Oh, probably sucked into the vacuum that is the week before and the week after Halloween. I really feel like Halloween always zaps it out of me. I think because it's the big whammy of a child's birthday and getting things in gear to have 5 different kids dressed in five different costumes and out the door to do all the trick or treating but also having to fit in all the birthday things so that the Halloween baby doesn't feel like he's just born on a secular holiday. Anyway! Long story short, I was catching up till Thursday and am finally feeling back on track today. It actually makes for a short feeling week now come to think of it....or maybe not....

{two}

Gratuitous Halloween Picture of my kids!

Gemma was a princess but not Elsa. She wanted to be her own princess and since she got that insanely extravagant costume from her grandma she could do whatever she wanted in my book. Dominic was a storm trooper and it basically made all his dreams come true. Luke was Wolverine but didn't feel like wearing the mask. Max was a Ninja Turtle. And Nora just wore a princess dress from out of the dress-up box. They were all really wonderfully easy about costumes and I don't think they even understand that they could demand complicated homemade ones from their mother, so I'm going to enjoy this innocence for as long as possible because I know homemade costumes are a comin'.

{three}

As I mentioned earlier Luke is my Halloween baby and celebrated his 6th birthday. It's official that my babies are now legit kids. And the time has flown and I do. not. understand. it.

Luke is a wonderful boy and I love every ounce of his inquiring, mischievous, self and he is such a caring and generous guy. If that's what happens to middle children then I guess I can blame some of my personality faults on being an oldest child, because his ability to give and be kind is really awesome. He was worth all that labor on a Halloween afternoon, and he may one day learn how I cursed trick or treaters while pushing him out. (TMI? Home birth, Halloween, me. It was really a recipe for cursing.)

{four}

We also did something outrageous and had a birthday party for the boys at a hockey game on Sunday. It was a minor league game but the team puts together these birthday party packages and it just seemed too good for my husband to resist. I can't complain because I loved that I didn't have to clean up anything or cook anything and I think the kids had fun. Probably would have had more fun if they were older, but it was great. 

{five}

But that also means another year, and another year with no official All Saints Day party or saint dressing up or anything. Our parish has no other kids who regularly attend so there was nothing going there, and I really didn't hear anything from my friends who live further afield, either that or we just weren't invited! Basically, another year where Halloween greatly outshines All Saints Day, which is unfortunate. I really just wish there was more celebration generally for a day that is really important on the liturgical calendar. But I think I'd have to go back a couple centuries to a Catholic country for that to happen...

{six}

I really love pyjamas. It's a happy byproduct of stay-at-home-mothering that I can fulfill my dreams of wearing pyjamas as much as possible. Anyway! I just bought this pair from Old Navy and they're the dreamiest. I love em and they're on sale, but the sizes left are scare. But I love them.

{seven}

When we will make the abolition of daylight savings time an election issue? How long must we suffer under this oppression? When will we rise up against the evil minds who think this arbitrary time change necessary?
I'm beginning to think wineries may be behind the perpetuation of this injustice because wine intake for me definitely went up this week. Or coffee growers. Or Starbucks...geez, this conspiracy really does make people a lot of money...


Hope you all have a weekend that's enjoyed in the scare hours of sunlight now left to us.

---

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Staying Sane in the Homeschooling-Small-Children Game

So we're at the end of September. Our fourth week of getting back in the grind of school and it hasn't been completely terrible.

It's had rough moments, moments of chaos, moments of terror (like when someone cut several inches off Nora's hair), moments when everyone needed to have a nap -- including me. And really, it's basically what I've come to expect from September because September is just a tough month of transition from summer to school, and if you're homeschooling your kids a month where you've got to get things back on track in every direction. It can feel a bit like a giant wave is taking you far, far out to sea and you need to grab on to something or you're just going to throw in the towel. Just back float until someone finds you.

I've got some tips on making that transition, not that I'm an expert, but I feel like an expert on small children wrangling, the homeschooling bit gets a little hairy now and then but I feel like I'm making some strides. So if you're just starting out homeschooling, and have really little kids underfoot who you're trying to ward off from learning children then you might find something to agree with here. If you're not, you might enjoy the laugh.

Aim for routine, but know the routine will need to be adjusted.

I'm saying this mostly to myself because in my head I still want the day to go according to how I want it. 

Which means babies should nap when I want, kids should listen when I want, etc etc. Lots of dreams going on.

But in actuality, although we as the moms have to put the effort into making the routine happen consistently, we're dealing with unpredictable little people. Babies may need to nap at different times, or you may need to move your teaching time to when babies nap. You're going to have to wiggle and jiggle your daily routine until things flow as best as possible. 

Also; your kids who are learning are going to take time to adjust. A couple days, a couple weeks, may not have them settled into the routine of facing a school day and tackling school work with a happy attitude. They may need more time for things to settle in so try to stay as consistent as you can so they can learn from you that learning is happening every day.

It may never get perfect. Actually, if you've got small toddlers and kids you're trying to teach I can probably guarantee that it won't be perfect. Actually, homeschooling will never be perfect at any point. But that's ok, your kids are learning anyway, you're living your life as a family anyway. It's really a good thing. 

Give your kids and yourself time to settle into a curriculum. 

Sometimes different curriculum or subjects need to be tackled in different ways for them to work the best for you and your kids. 

Last year I was trying to cram in all the kids subjects in the morning, while trying to deal with two toddlers who were climbing the walls and screaming and generally driving me nuts. It didn't go well but somehow I thought I had to get everything done before the clock struck noon.

I then changed math time to right after lunch when the babies were usually happily playing downstairs or outside for a bit and had a lot more patience to deal with math with the three older kids.  The math program we use seems to need a bit of mom time to get them started and doing this after lunch when I was refreshed meant I taught better and the curriculum seemed less overwhelming. 

I know reading religion with my kids can be done one on one when someone is out of sorts and needs a refresher. Or maybe your kids like talking science in the afternoon during nap time. Whatever it may be if you feel stuck by a curriculum or subject try changing up when and how you fit it into the day before scrapping the curriculum completely. Although I totally understand needing to scrap curriculum entirely, it happens, no big deal.

Babies can enjoy "quiet time" by themselves and not be scarred for life.

I know, I'm probably the meanest mom on the block but every day my 2 year old goes down for quiet time in the morning for about 30 to 45 minutes while I do hands on phonics and reading with the older kids. She's been distracted and played with by this point for a good long while and just wants to cause a ruckus. She gets to sit and chill out with some books in her crib for a while and she comes out a much happier girl.

We've done this since the beginning and even when she stopped actually sleeping during these times I just kept putting her down. So far I think she's free from physiological problems and she's safe and out of my hair for a bit.

Do not feel bad about giving yourself some toddler-free time! Do not!

Trust me, I am considering having those two sentences tattooed on my body somewhere scandalous.

Wine and Mom-time are good too

Remember when I wrote about how I take a lot of little breaks in the midst of our school day? I do it to maintain a certain level of patience and it helps a lot. I think if I made myself plow through all work at one sitting I'd be completely ruined. It's just so hard to keep up with little kids from a mental point of view for that long myself, let alone their own attention spans. It helps.

But we've also got to take bigger breaks and more refreshing time. It just needs to happen especially if you've got a bunch of kids...or just one,who am I kidding?!

If you can fit in some time while the kids are at an activity: great! If you can get a babysitter or drop them off with the grandparents for a couple hours: awesome! If you need to lock yourself in your bedroom after your husband gets home with a glass of wine, Netflix, or a good book: wonderful!

You got to and need to.

Take the Long View

Life with little kids, including homeschooling small kids with smaller kids below that, changes quickly even if we can't tell. It's really easy to look at a couple days or a week and think it's all going terribly.

But take the long view -- working on your daily routine will pay off, your kids will learn much more than you realize even if they're not learning it all in a day, and you've got to take care of yourself every week if you want to homeschool for a whole school year, not just when you can fit it in.

These are really all common sense things --really, to remind myself when I'm feeling overwhelmed. Homeschooling isn't easy, it's not neat, and it has a lot of ups and downs.

But if you feel like you and your family are called to it, your children are learning and becoming better people for it, then you're on the right track even if the day has gotten away from you. You can do this, even with little kids.

---

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Our First First Communion (and Confirmation)

Saturday was Gemma's big day!

It was a wonderful day full of sweetness and excitement and family and faith. It was just lovely.

I didn't cry, to Gemma's shock, but it did feel somewhat incredible that somehow this baby who I could swear I just was holding as a wee, screaming infant, could be old enough for her First Communion. I remember in those early, really rough days postpartum soon after her baptism thinking, "I can't imagine how it could be possible that one day this girl will celebrate her First Communion." That exact thought. I swear. Her baptism felt like a staggering responsibility at the time, and the thought of actually getting my own child ready to receive Christ seemed like such a tough job that I was very unworthy of.

But Gemma was so excited and joyful and a bit nervous, and I hope I remember how much I loved seeing all her emotions because this girl has a lot of them! She was so happy and proud and proclaimed it "the best day ever!"

She was surrounded by family that love her to bits and even her little brothers leaned over to kiss her during Mass. Actually, there must have been excess grace flying around because the boys didn't even fight during Mass, not even a little. Which is saying something!

She was a bit intimidated by a bishop being there, but turned around after being confirmed with a big smile. A few more nerves at Communion, but she could hardly contain her excitement!

I'm gushing and beaming over how happy and proud of my little girl I am. She's really growing up, they're all really growing up, but it's taking a while for that idea to sink in for me I think. I'll try and let it all sink in for awhile I think.

It was really just a lovely, blessed day.

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Seven Quick Takes vol. 117 - Road trip!

Joining Kelly and the gang for Friday frivolity!

{one}

Well, this week flew by as we took a little trip to Calgary for a few days. As a testament to how little I leave the house, this was a big deal! Since my husband was taking a week-long course for work there, he thought instead of me languishing, suffering, whining, moaning, at home by myself slowing being taken over by tiny humans who only want to impose there individual wills upon me, that we all go down for a couple of the days. Which in theory sounds fine. It just required some pre-planning, two hotel rooms, and an ample supply of courage for me who had to travel in the car alone with all the kids for about six hours both ways.

{two}

We visited dear friends, enjoyed the fine dining experience that is the continental breakfast with small kids, and partook of city extravagances like ordering pizza directly to the hotel room. It was really great seeing friends I don't get to see nearly enough, and the kids had a great time as we hit up the big science centre and let them go crazy at the hotel pool with waterslide. 

{three}

Since the husband was in his course during the day I handled everything with the kids including breakfast solo. The first morning at breakfast there were chuckles from the whole room as Nora yelled at me for "MO MILK, MOMMEEE!" I brought the little dictator her desired beverage only to find her scooping jam out of the tiny packages with her fingers and promptly applying said jam to every surface within a fifteen square foot area. It was like free breakfast entertainment for the whole hotel!

That night one of my offspring, whom I feel I should protect by not giving his name, ended up puking in the hotel pool. He was swallowing water and well...let's just say our embarrassment was slightly lessened by the fact we were the only ones in the pool...but it's looking like it'll be a family tale told every time we stay at a hotel.

The following morning we journeyed back to the continental breakfast room, but I was half way down the hall from our room when I heard four of my five children yell from the elevator, "Oh no - the door's CLOSING!" By the time Nora and I got to the elevator I could hear them all freaking out and yelling at each other as they descended sans-parent to the lobby. Of course I had to wait about half an hour for the other elevator, and by the time I got down to the lobby they were gone, so I figured they went back up to our room's floor and by the time the elevator slowly opened for me on the second floor I saw four slightly panicked faces hoping really badly it was me in that elevator. Just me and my superb parenting...

{four}

I even made it through the drive home Wednesday, although I felt as if I were run over by a truck by the time we got back at the wee hour of 6 pm. I felt like I was in a nerves of steel contest which made the whole trip home feel as if it were at least 12 hours worth of driving. I swear. I'm not winning any ironman-traveling-with-kids awards, and I'm probably good to not leave the house again until...July. 

{five}

I hope everyone's gotten a chance to listen to the Fountains of Carrots Podcast episode from this week because it's all about my favourite G.K. Chesterton! I think we had a really fun conversation with Michael Lichens about Chesterton without getting too pedantic. The only problem with Chesterton is that his career and writings cover so much that it's hard to cram it all into just one podcast! But we tried!  

{six}

I'm really excited to share that I've contributed to an upcoming book that will be released next month!  It's a book complied by the lovely Michele of My Domestic Monastery and she's brought together some really wonderful writers and mothers to talk about the mysteries of the rosary from a mother's perspective. From what little I've read it's going to be excellent, and I just hope that my contribution isn't bringing the whole thing down. It'll be available in May, and I'll let you know the details when it's released! 

{seven}

I feel as if April is really flying by quickly. We've been lucky to not have any April snowstorms this week or last, and I'm feeling like I can aaallmost pack up the kid's snow clothes. Almost. I'm not going to start packing things up and go and jinx everything now! Or, much more likely, I'm not that organized! But I will feel gloriously lighter when I have those mounds of clothes packed up for a few months and the non-sight of snow boots will not be taken for granted. 

Hope you all have a lovely spring weekend!

---

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Easter, Smeaster

I'm trying hard to get back in the mommy blogger saddle, so I might as well get things off to a bang with massive amounts of photographic evidence of our Easter! Does Easter always go by for you in a pastel hued blur? I feel as if I blink and it's over, but only after a lot of hours worth of forethought and effort put in by myself, of course.

Dying eggs was not Nora's jam...at all.

Holy Week didn't go off as I'd hoped of course. I feel as if I should just give up the idea of ever getting to every Triduum liturgy until all my kids are out of the house and/or I move. We only had Easter Vigil in our home parish, the other services being about 45 minutes away. But it turned out I couldn't even load myself into a vehicle because last Tuesday I came down with this nasty cold that by Friday I couldn't even get out of bed with. I should have offered up my sufferings, but naturally I threw myself a giant pity party and was just so angry that I had to so sick on the days that I wanted to be healthy or at least attempting to get to places. It felt so anticlimactic after 40 long days of Lent to get hit with another sad bout of sickness on the holiest days of the year.

I figured I had to dress them alike one time in their lives. And I thought it should be sooner rather than later because I don't have long until the boys are going to be bigger than me!

Does every family picture dissolve into multiple children picking their noses? Because it really, really feels like it does.

But with the help of an unknown combination and quantity of cold medication I made it to Easter Vigil. With all the kids.

Don't nominate us for sainthood just yet, because it was our only Easter option and I had already committed myself to doing the music...so the husband got to put up with five kids for two hours far after everyone should have been in bed. They all did pretty well though, we didn't have to take anyone out and only dealt with a couple dozen meltdowns, tantrums, fights, crying episodes. Nora was in full party mode by the end of Mass and walked out with some strangers. We found her...she didn't get too far.

Sunday turned out to be nice and relaxed although the weather was typically horribly cold. My green Easter dream has yet to come true. One year tropical climate...I'll come for Easter! The kids had Easter baskets with books and a few small treats, then an indoor egg hunt, then a frigid outdoor egg hunt in the afternoon because we're Canadian and no weather is going to stop an egg hunt, dammit!

Thankfully I didn't have to worry about any food because we just schlepped a couple steps down the road to my parent's house and everything was taken care of. And yet...I was still pretty exhausted and relished putting the exhausted Easter kids to bed early Sunday night, cracking open some Reese eggs and Riesling (just kidding I never drink white wine by myself!), soak up Mad Men and go to bed by 10:00.

Here's to 50 days of living the Easter season - Alleluia!

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