My Birthday Post

 

See these smiling faces?  All of them, minus the two youngest are celebrating my 33rd birthday together in Disney World.

Felicity is absolutely lost without her friends and keeps asking where they are.  

Do you have 2 little ones at home?  4 little ones?  7 under the age of 8?  If you don't have any ''big" (10 and over) kids in your home, regardless of how many, it is hard work.  I've been thoroughly enjoying the time I'm getting with my little girls, but I'm definitely exhausted by the end of the day (and it's only been 1 full day)

Are you here from Margaret's blog?  Imagine my surprise when I checked blogs this morning!  Thank you!!!!  

On a Gloomy Saturday in November

I'm hearing...An obnoxious toy in my ear, being played by the 2 1/2 year old.

But, it's keeping the baby happy so I can blog.

Outside...The sun has gone into hiding.  I don't think it's particularly cold outside, but it sure doesn't look too inviting.  The girls went outside and the "men" (1 man, 1 not-quite-there-yet little man) went out into the woods to shoot guns.  Maybe I'll have to take a stroll down to the chicken coop just so I can say that I went outside too. *Update:  I guess there was no gun shooting as the menfolk got lost on some back roads.* Insert grumpy men.

Inside...It may have taken longer than it should have, but every one finished their "morning chores" this morning so the house isn't a complete disaster.  I'm ignoring the stagecoach covered wagon that is in the schoolroom.  The kids have assured me that the blankets will get folded and put away. 

My kitchen...I made oatmeal for the kids this morning and scrambled myself an egg when I was making Felicity her breakfast (the only kid who gets a hot breakfast every morning, little stinker).  My children love old fashioned oatmeal with a little cinnamon and sugar.  I, honestly, can't stand the stuff.  I used to choke it down with them when I made it, but now I find something else to eat.  Lunch was pancakes and bacon and dinner didn't quite go as planned.  We said "yes" when the kids asked for some Halloween candy for dessert, and "yes" to seconds. 

I'm grateful for...A second weekend in a row with Brett home!

                           A bazillion guests who have bopped over from Margaret's blog.  Wow, she has quite a readership! 

I'm feeling...A bit sorry for myself.  Never did get outside today.  I will remedy that tomorrow.

I'm excited for...The game of "Dominion" that is about to take place. We were introduced to this game by our pastor and it has been a favorite ever since.  I'm horrible at describing it, so I'll just say that it's a lot of fun and Brett and I have been known to play a round when the kids are in bed. 

The rest of this week...Mass bright and early tomorrow morning.  Then, unless our calendars aren't lining up I believe that we have a full week without any extra evening obligations!  This is the calm before the "end-of-the-semester-and-my-husband-is-a-music-professor" storm. 

I'm reading..."33 Days to Morning Glory".  I think Brett is going to join me.  Can't wait.

In the schoolroom...Well, besides the covered wagon?  I'm hoping to get some planning done this evening.  This semester has been sorta thrown together more than usual, but next semester will be better.

A Picture:

I love this snow outfit.  I bought it the first year we lived here in blue/red, thinking we would have it around for awhile.  Little did I know that the first girl who wore it would be followed by 3 more girls!  I believe Felicity does "snow elf" very well.

 

Recharged and Redirected

*I began this post on Monday, oops.

First, our weekend!  Saturday brought sunshine and a fabulous family up from the Cities.  You already know Margaret and her family, I'm sure.  If you don't...please meet them.  What a blessing it was to get to spend the day with them.  We officially met at the Catholic Homeschool Conference a couple of years ago, but Margaret had been blessing me through her blog for many years prior to that.   Our visit was filled with yummy food (note to self: get that recipe) a lot of unfinished conversations and activity of children.  Just the way it should be!  The husbands hit it off, but with great guys like we have that was hardly surprising.  The kids hit it off, and I could go on and on.  We had a great day and I went into the rest of the weekend feeling refreshed and recharged.  Nothing beats spending time with a like-minded, faith-filled, fun family!  Can't wait until next time!

Tuesday brought a great conversation with a great friend.  God spoke through her as we spoke.  I think what was said was "Meghan, get over yourself and stop worrying so much about what gets done and what doesn't.  I got this!"  Okay, so I paraphrased.  And thus ends my "series" of lists.  You're welcome!

Have a great weekend, eat something yummy, and spend time with someone you love!

Break it Down-Part 1

Okay, this whole postpartum, self-reflection stuff.  Not for the light of heart.  Or for the hormonal, postpartum mom.  Oh, wait.

It dawned on me after I wrote my "ideal day" post that my day consists of 3 parts.  Not morning, noon, and night.  More like personal stuff, school stuff, and household stuff.  I thought it would be a good idea to break those sections down so I have a clear idea of what would be a "successful" day.  Ideal, perfect days would be, well, perfect, but probably not going to happen around here for awhile.  Realistically, we live in a fallen world, and a perfect day would be hard to come by...and the end of the world would be here so we wouldn't be able to enjoy it anyway. 

Alright, moving on.

I think if the following is in place I would consider myself having had a successful in the "personal" category.

-Time spent in prayer (at least one of the "Hours" and the daily reflection from "In Conversation with God")
-At least 20 minutes on the treadmill
-Drinking water throughout the day
-Make some connection with the "outside" world
-Read something not online

This is a bare bones list.  This list could also be called "survival mode".  I would love to accomplish more in my personal life (like go hiking every day, spend more time in prayer than online, sit and write a real letter to someone, sew, knit, crochet, solve the healthcare problem in the country, raise my own livestock, garden something other than weeds, etc...).  However, if the above is in place I could go to sleep at night and know that I have lived a day instead of letting a day tick by.

*I feel the need to add that I don't usually work like this.  This whole "write out a list to measure personal success" thing is new to me.  I guess, in this season of raising medium and little ones (11 and under), something that I don't often see in "real life", I need a concrete vision of what in the world I'm doing here.  And...being a list person, I thought a list would be great! 

Had to throw this in here because a post without a picture of sweet people just didn't seem right.

Gift

John Paul II is credited for stating that the best gift you can give your child is that of a sibling.  That JPII guy, smart dude. 

What Marks Success?

Let's begin with some cuteness, because why not?

Maybe, just maybe, 6 weeks postpartum, during a crazy semester is not the time for self-reflection, but I just can't help myself.  Lately, I've felt like I deserve a medal for "mom who is home all day and gets nothing accomplished".  Admittedly that's a bit harsh, I can see that, really I can. 

So that's why I wrote down a list of "what would make an ideal day."  I'm not going to share the list because it's long and because rarely do we have "ideal" days.  I wrote the list late at night when I was feeling completely overwhelmed and under-appreciated.  Running a house, raising 6 kids, and homeschooling them just seemed like too much.  How do those successful Catholic homeschooling mothers do it?  Then I got to thinkin'.  What does that mean anyway? 

We chose to homeschool, we chose to have a large family, and we're choosing to raise them in the Catholic Church.  So, when it's all said and done (not when the kids move out, more like when I go to bed at night), how do I know that we've had a successful day?  Surely, "I didn't burn the house down and every one is still alive" doesn't really count as a successful day.  Enter my list.  In a couple of days I'm going to take that list and whittle it down to the items that I feel should happen every day.  If those few items are in place I can tuck my cherubs in at night and feel good about a job well done. 

I'll let ya know how it goes. 

In the meantime.  Some more picture fun.

It's Dangerous Out Here

 Good thing Daddy is here to protect her.  You never know what the baby will be up against.