2010 a Recap...

Once again, it has been a while since I've been able to post. The fall seems to hit us hard w/husband's school starting, cross country season, oldest daughter's school (and in turn school friends sharing germs), then Halloween, birthdays, Thanksgiving, Christmas. It's enough for me to DO those things, let alone reflect on them and write about them. We haven't been without family drama either... our relationship seems to be built up around family drama, so in some ways it seems par for the course. But.... I'd be lying if I said that I didn't envy those people for whom life seems to fly by effortlessly. Of course, the grass is always greener on the other side. You think your family is the only one with problems, but really, everyone's got 'em.

But I digress... this post was supposed to be a re-cap of 2010....

I started off 2010 pretty pregnant, not that you can tell from this picture. But I also got a snazzy new haircut, which I desperately need again.

On February 21, we welcomed another sweet girl into our family...

Fast forward and we had a fun 4th of July, first having a parade at my dad's and then going to shoot fireworks at husband's grandparent's house.

I got to spend some quality time w/middle daughter while husband took oldest daughter to visit his dad's family.

We had another first day of school... oldest daughter is now in PreK4!

We celebrated halloween as tinkerbell and snow white

I got a little bit of sewing in... I'm doing much better doing applique and made turkey shirts for Thanksgiving for our 3 girls and our niece.

And did a few crafts here and there... this is our advent calendar made from pages in magazines & a gift bag.

Went to see Santa

And had this waiting under the tree (from mom & dad)... we built this play kitchen w/a few supplies & a nightstand!

And most of all... we had a lot of fun as a family. Here is hoping 2011 is just as fabulous!

winner winner chicken dinner

Oh my goodness... I can't contain my excitement... I just won an official Gussy bag! Yeow!

I know I've been a little crappy with the blogging lately... home and work have been busy and stressful and it looks like things will be staying that way for a bit... this alternative certification process is going to end up taking a bit of concentration and preparation... hey... maybe I can keep myself better organized and control the paperwork that it is taking me to get this done in my new Gussy bag?!?!

Anywho, thank you to Gussy and the folks at Love Feast Table for having the fabulous giveaway. I'm super excited!

8

Happy Anniversary to my amazing and wonderful husband!

win a gussy!!!

Go here and follow her instructions for your chance to WIN your VERY OWN gussy bag !!!

Also, if you've never heard of GUSSY, please crawl out from under your rock now.

=)

for June

Within my reach...

... so in a past post, I mentioned some job questions that have come up for me, and since I keep this blog fairly anonymous (not to mention that my boss knows about this endeavor of mine)... I'm putting it out there... for the sake of asking prayers, support, advice, etc.





I want to be a teacher. I have always wanted to be a teacher. My journey has not yet led me to that place. When I went away to college my life was personally in a total upheaval and so I 'upheaved' it right back by changing my 'safe' major of English, to something less steady, yet more personally fulfilling.. Theology.





I've worked for the Church for the past 8 years and have learned a lot and grown a lot. I can't even begin to describe the ways I've been blest. But our family situation dictates that a change is needed and me pursuing this dream (teaching) fits.





Finding a way to break into the teaching field is a whole other story though. Budgets are being cut while standards are being raised, and getting myself certified (I really am CERTIFIABLE ha ha) was showing itself to be 100% completely necessary. The route of finding an office job in a school and then working my way into a classroom became a clearly closed door (just for the record, it is RIDICULOUS how little a public school secretary gets paid... we're talkin' food stamps here.)... we just wouldn't be able to swing that financially.





It was starting to look like going back to school and doing a second Bachelor's degree in English might be my only option, so I started researching programs, online degrees, night classes etc. and while I do have a love of English, grammar (not that you can tell from my quickly written and rarely edited posts here), and literature, going back to school was not very appealing. A necessary evil, basically. (Let me point out here, that I'd love to go back to school someday, but would prefer not to wait until at least my kiddos aren't so little!)





Well, a sudden thought came to me that I should get in contact with someone at our state department of education and look for some professional advice on the best choice available to me. The man I wrote to emailed me back today and gave me the biggest piece of hope I've had in a while... the potential that a letter from my university acknowledging that my Theology degree could qualify me to test for alternative certification in social studies!!!!





I cannot begin to tell you how excited this makes me!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

I will go down with this ship...

...I won't put my hands up and surrender.

Abandoned.... that's probably how any of you blog readers of mine (you dear dear people who put up with my mindless drivel) feel. I apologize. Our summer has been more than hectic. So, Iwill update you what's been going on in our lives...

These three amigas were in their gaga & papa's neighborhood 4th of July parade

While this amiga and I watched and cheered.

This sweet little thing

has become this sweet chubba-lubba

(look at those thighs! AND she CAN get her toes in her mouth).

These two jetsetters took off for 6 days in New Jersey

(and obviously a day trip to NYC)

while this little chica

has some fun with her cousin, little sister and...

a dinner date and...

boat ride downtown with mom.

(PS that look of mischief on her face epitomizes her personality right now...

she's probably thinking... "while mom is fiddling w/her camera phone I wonder if I could jump off this boat and into the water and scare those ducks")





And these two cuties were flower girls in our good friends' wedding....

after which we got down and did some shakin' of our booties....

until it was definitely time to go home.

uneasy

Embracing the things that mkae us feel uneasy... that is waht is on my mind these days...

like accepting the chaotic state of my house, doing what I CAN about it, and letting the rest go... even on days when my dad & stepmom are coming over for dinner. My house is not perfect, far from it, but it is filled with LOVE and that is what is most important.

knowing that change is coming... I'm on a job search. This one is not cutting it for us. Don't get me wrong. I LOVE my job. But I do not love my paycheck and I do not love how chaotic our family life becomes during summer when mom is the only one not home all of the time. Not to mention that we have a car payment and an extra kiddo in daycare in the fall. Not to mention that it has been my life's dream to be a teacher and the time has come for me to buckle down and do something to make that happen.

issues... husband and I are trying to work through a lot of STUFF right now. Nothing earth shattering... budgeting, bill paying, debt, family issues.

planning... our parents are all in their 50s. We're starting to put a little bit of thought into making sure that our parents are taken care of when they get older and can't take care of themselves. Not to mention... don't tell anyone... but we haven't done our will... we NEED to take care of that. So many hard decisions to make there.

facing my own weaknesses... I need more discipline in my life. and exercise. and organization. and discipline. and prayer. and did I mention discipline?

some day

Emily at Chatting at the Sky has a beautiful post today about remembering what it is like to be a mom to little ones... which got me thinking about this:

I'll never forget last summer... I was pregnant and nauseous all the time and had just finished doing the 'big grocery shopping' with my then 3 & 1.5 year old in tow. I realized that I hadn't thought to find a parking space next to one of the cart return stalls and I had just loaded up the girls, started the car to get the a/c going (blasted Oklahoma 100*+ summers) and loaded all of my groceries into my trunk. I stood there with my cart, probably looking pretty perplexed, and weighed my options

• leave the cart in the middle of the lot where it will probably get caught in the wind and put a major ding into some undeserving person's vehicle
• make a run for it, leaving the girls in the car, and hope no one notices that there is an unattended car running
• unload the super cranky children and make them go with me to the cart stall

... and then like an angel, another mom pulled up next to me saw the trouble on my face and offered to take my shopping cart for me. I will NEVER forget that small act of kindness. She mentioned that she knew what it was like. I hope that some day I can offer the same kindness to another.

church

Lately, either through suggestions from friends or my own internet wandering, I've stumbled upon a few blogs and sites w/beautiful written word and exuberant faith shared. Of course I'm not forward thinking enough to have, ya know... saved those links or anything. If I find them all again I will edit this post to include some links.

But that isn't the point... what has been a learning experience for me has been to read what has been on some owmen's hearts, their need to journal/blog about their faith and the familiarity of so much of what they write. I find myself thinking... is she Catholic too? More often than not, the naswer has been 'no'. But I'm (just being honest here) workingon allowing myself to remain open after I come to that discovery (that they aren't Catholic).

You see, I've lived a very beautiful, but somewhat narrow life. Growing up going to Catholic grade school for 7 years, and then attending college at a Catholic university, I didn't have a lot of people of other faiths in my life. In grade school, there was one baptist girl in my class (she attended there because her mom was our music teacher)...

In high school my horizons were opened when my parents moved us to a home in the country to begin life as public school students. There was so much that was unfamiliar about life in a public school (going from a class of 24 to a class of 104!) that in some ways I found myself clinging to the intimacy of youth group and religious education classes at my parish even stronger. While I did make many friends with non Catholics, the majority of my circle of friends (a beloved bunch of misfits) were not church goers in any way- "Chr-Easter Christians" at the very most (Christmas & Easter). So, in my daily life, faith sharing, evangelization, and ecumenism were not lived experiences.

In college, once again I had a sprinkling of non Catholic friends including my room mate and my would-be husband's best friend. They were never much in a position or perspective to be strongly evangelizing their other churches to me, seeing as how we lived an experience of our Catholic faith with witness from professors who were monks & nuns, consistent involvement in our campus ministry group, and an opinionated and vocal group of fellow Catholic friends who loved to gather at breakfast to debate moral theology over waffles.

Here I am now, 8 years (EIGHT YEARS?!?! WHAT???) out of college and with my theology degree in hand (or on wall) deeply immersed in a very Catholic adulthood. I've worked in parish & diocesan environments, my oldest daughter attends our parish school, our daycare provider is a fellow parishioner... I'm living my faith in a professional manner and husband and I are making our way through raising our 3 girls in the Church.

And through happy circumstances (making friends w/an amazing and diverse group of women who all had babies together and all returned to work after our respective maternity leaves- shout out to my beautiful NOV05WM!!- gaining a larger extended circle of friends and acquaintances, plus that beast Facebook brining me in contact w/so many high school friends, and let's not forget the good ol' internet and world of blogging) I've expanded my horizons socially & spiritually... or at least I'm trying to. The familiarity I've found in speaking with and reading the words of people of other backgrounds and faiths have brought to light a tremendous truth for me... we are all church. We are broken and divided and do not see eye to eye on a number of topics, but the Truth that lives in each of us, His Word living and serving on a daily basis is real. I won't be leaving the beautiful traditions and ritual that are so familiar and nourishing to me, but I do relish the opportunity to witness and admire the aspects of others' faith and how it grows in them.

NEED IDEAS!!!

I have 4 days to come up with 2 wedding gifts. The couple I intend to give them to are very sweet and dear friends of ours and I want to give them something personal (i.e. I want to make them something)... I mean... anybody can go grab them a Target gift card or run to BBB and grab them some wine glasses from their wedding registry, right?

I've done several Lorelai aprons from the book A is for Aprons, so I may do one of those (maybe w/matching potholders???

That's the only idea I've been able to come up with.

And seriously, these are close friends of ours... husband is a groomsman and oldest & middle daughters are flower girls in their wedding.

So... if you've got/seen a stellar tutorial online w/some amazing homemade wonderful-ness that would be perfect for some superfun abouttobenewlyweds... hit me up with some LINKS!!!!!

THANK YOU!!!!!!!!

minivan mom

do you think this video could make it cool to be a mini van mom? i totally have a swagger wagon (well, mine is a grand caravan, not a sienna)

bentoish2

posting another bento-ish lunch... we have ONE WEEK of PreK3 left... oldest daughter loves taking her lunch which works out well since I can't seem to remember to send her to school with a check to pay her balance on school lunches...





clearly i need to get to the store... we need FRESH fruit & vegetables





butterfly shaped pb&j, boiled egg, whales crackers, raisins, & apple juice

food

2 posts in one day, I MUST have things on my mind (soon I will share... we will see what happens IRL first)...

I've been doing some reading, some contemplating, some wearing of clothes that are too tight and I really want to work on mine & my family's eating habits... and don't get me wrong... I'm not talking major crazy huge changes like going vegan or something... just healthier... getting away from processed CRAP and filling my body with the fuel it needs to give me the energy I want to do what I have to do (be a wife & mom)... easy enough, right?

I think this will probably be the beginning of another series of posts (haven't forgotten that financial journey series... just need to think through some of it some more)...

so, first I will think about the ways we've done better as a family and where we could stand to improve...

once upon a time husband and I went out to eat 3 or 4 times a week... and that was just dinner... it didn't include stopping at McDonald's or Taco Bell for lunch... horrible (what budget problems?)

once upon a time making cheeseburger macaroni was 'cooking'

once upon a time (like this morning... ) our favorite breakfast item was toaster streudel (i blame husband for this one... talk about filling your body with pure sugar and crap to start your morning... and oldest daughter is hooked... I think the store will have to be out of toaster streudel in the near future)

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one of my favorite 'changes' has been to stop using jarred spaghetti sauce. since pasta is a go-to meal at least once a week, it feels good that we are taking the time to make our own sauce & we know what is in it... depending how this summer's garden goes, i think it would be great to be able to jar our own italian stewed tomatoes to take the 'homemade' to a new level (we do start w/canned tomatoes...)

i LOVE wholewheat pasta... husband.... doesn't. i wouldn't buy white pasta again if it were completely up to me (same goes for rice)... there are a few dishes (mac n cheese, penne, etc) where I can usually get him to go with it...

beverages... when I was on weight watchers, they made me very aware that when you have soda or alcohol you are drinking your points away... you aren't getting much or any health benefit in return and you are probably hardly staying hydrated. 95% of my liquid intake comes in the form (in this order) of ice water, ice (DECAF!) tea, coffee, milk or juice. every once in a blue moon I'll have a dr pepper or alcohol, but really, the cheapskate in me doesn't like spending the money on that stuff... plus I feel yucky after I've had it (exception would be a nice glass of wine at the end of a hectic day)

speaking of garden (what? i mentioned it like 4 paragraphs ago!)... i am trying out another garden this year... i had mixed results last year, and I hope things go better this year... so far we've planted okra, tomatoes, basil, jalepenos & zucchini. i'll be adding yellow squash, onions, cilantro, & maybe some pumpkin to that mix... yay!!!! looking forward to a jar of grown-by-us salsa!

what do you do to help your family eat healthier?

Twister!

This movie was filmed in my husband's home town. Oklahoma is considered to be 'tornado alley' and we are 'famous' for our tornadoes. Unfortunately, the one we experienced yesterday has claimed at least 7 lives. Trust me, we have EXCELLENT reporting (and forewarning) when it comes to tornadoes in Oklahoma. For there to be numerous lives lost means SERIOUS weather... of course that is confirmed by the reports this morning of no fewer than 26 seperate tornadoes. Scary.

Now, here's where I start to sound like a fool... many of my non-Oklahoma friends know that we are famous for our tornadoes and make it a point to tell me how they don't know how they could possibly live here... tornadoes seem so scary. And, don't get me wrong, they are. But to me, it isn't any different than any other kind of impending threat that is based on your region. Sure, we get tornadoes, but coastal people get hurricanes or earthquakes. Some get ridiculous fires, others get monstrous snow storms (take into account that Oklahoma's great blizzard over Christmas 2009 resulted in about 12 inches of snow w/3 ft drifts. Some of my east coast friends would consider that to be a dusting)... we all get bad weather and other natural disasters, so instead of thinking that one is worse than another, I prefer to do my best to stay educated about what WE have and know how to keep my family safe. We do not have a basement or shelter at our house. I'm sure eventually we will prioritize that in our finances, but for the time being, our hall closet protects us well (with the girls wearing bicycle helmets) or, if it looks particularly ominous, our next door neighbors do have a shelter in their backyard.

So, please pray for our safety and when I hear about your wildfires or blizzards, I will pray for yours.

mommy

my first mother's day w 3 darling daughters.... LOVE LOVE LOVE!!!

occasionally I still get the question "are you going to try for a boy"... ummmm.... no. not that I have anything against boys, but really, I believe God will give us the children we are meant to have, our hands are pretty full at this point, and the assumption that our family isn't complete without one of each gender makes me feel like the person asking me must not realize that there is not one canned 'boy personality' and one canned 'girl personality'... with 3 daughters I know that they are each very different, and they are each such wonderful gifts to me

I thank God for that!!

Bento Bento Bento

Just a Girl had a list of links and one of them that I checked out was this great blog...

the goal: HEALTHIER lunches for your kiddos... the kind that they will actually eat, mind you.

why it works: We all know that toddlers/preschoolers tend to be grazers. They love to snack rather than sit down for a giant meal (at least that's how my 2 older girls are)... so, to me, this idea meets that preference and at the same time fills their bellies w/healthy attractive meals that will keep them fueled through their busy days. I'm no pro yet. I don't have fancy egg shapers or anything like that, but I finally remembered to take a picture of one (I bought the gladware disposable divided containers and they fit PERFECTLY in older daughter's lunch box)...

what's for lunch for her today?

~1 boiled egg (she would eat her weight in these if she could)


~1 slice of american cheese (it's under the juice box... usually we have string cheese, but momma needs to pick that up at the store)


~1 apple juice box


~2 big cut up strawberries (she's picky w/fruit, so we will see how this goes

~a handful of whales crackers (whales are Target's version of goldfish)

my other lunch tip... oldest daughter loves to get a 'special note' in her lunch each day (sometimes I have trouble thinking of something)... but to multi-task, I buy colored beverage napkins (you can usually find fun ones on clearance at Target) and write the note on the napkin w/different colored sharpies... fun!

Sewing challenge...

I'm on a bit of a crafting/sewing kick these days... not that I've accomplished all that much, BUT I have scoured the internets =P and found some great tutorials that I'm trying out a few at at time. I have already done this tutorial once, just to try it out... and came up with this:

I'm pretty happy with the results, although it turned out MUCH bigger than I was expecting, so I think I'll make a few adjustments to the size. The size of this lime green beauty is perfect though on my teal oversized bag. Anything smaller would have been swallowed up, I think.

Anywho... my budget is tight this year, so with Mother's day right around the corner, I've got some crafting planned for gifts. I'll be making those flowers for my mom & stepmom, one for oldest daughter's teacher (because of course, in honor of mother's day coming up, we busy moms also get to busy ourselves with thoughtfulness & stress of teacher appreciation week), and one for each of the girls' godmothers.

Additionally, for my mom, I am working on this little project. As I've mentioned here before, my family has never been one to keep any kind of history or link to our past. I'm determined to change that for future generations and starting by having each of my parents do a little journaling for me.

I'm hoping to take a few pictures and show off the results of these projects soon, so stay tuned!

sewing...

Well, little number 3 got 'all washed up' this weekend, but leading up to it, I was itching to try a few tutorials that I've found online... the pictures are NOT great, and I didn't even get a picture of the baby in her matching outfit (after mass), but the main goal of this post is to link to some great tutorials that I recommend....

the girls skirt came from here

the rosette (which actually comes out MUCH smaller than the tutorial pictures would make you think, fyi) came from here

and little one's matching onesie/dress (not shown... I'll try to get a picture of her in it in the

next few days and update) was an interpretation (I didn't use elastic for the skirt, I just sewed a ruffle - one long running stitch set at highest tension and longest stitch, then pull the threads... next time the elastic may work better) from here

Happy sewing!

never forget

So many of my facebook friends are saying "I can't believe it has been 15 years"... but I know there is another side... a side that KNOWS it ahs been 15 years... 15 years since they kissed their momma goodbye before school, 15 years since their sweet daughter called to check on them before heading off to work at her new job, 15 years since holding that sweet baby boy, 15 years since he could keep from feeling scared to go to work... think of what has happened in the last 15 years of your life... for me, I completed high school, college, got married, started my first job, and had 3 babies. Lost my nana and papa. Traveled to Tennessee, Texas, Louisiana, Colorado, New Jersey, New York, Canada, Jamaica, Mexico, Pennsylvania & Minnesota. In other words, I've lived quite a lot of life in the last 15 years. My heart is especially with the Enoch/Alexander family who lost their sister/wife/mother. They have lived 'a lot of life' in the last 15 years without her.

And my prayers are with the perpetrators and their families. I can't imagine the pain, guilt and remorse they feel.

Never forget.