Back in the Saddle

Well well, first day back to school wasn't too bad at all!  Got a little bit of attitude about writing thank you notes, but once he understood that I wasn't going to back down, he wrote a very nice thank you note (and even seemed to have fun doing it... shhh...)

Otherwise, spent most of the day cleaning out above the desk (which is where papers to be filed go.)  There were TWO YEARS worth of papers to file.  UGH!  Luckily all the utilities have their own folders in the basket and get filed every month.  As do medical expense receipts and Insurance Explanation of Benefits, but still... the stack was mountainous and I'd been avoiding it for far too long... obviously.... 2 years... So the bar was covered in piles of papers and the floor was covered in piles of papers to shred/recycle, and oh MY it gets messy to sort through things!  The storm before the calm for SURE!  In fact, the whole house is rather stormy right now as I go through our possessions one by one, deciding what to keep and what to... do something else with.  I wish it were easier to get rid of stuff.  Like maybe if I had a magic wand and could *poof* it to the homeless shelter and the buy/sell/trade group and the trash and the recycling and Goodwill.  Yes, that would be much simpler than what I've got going on right now.  It will eventually be so much better, but until then... yeesh.  And yet, it reminds me how blessed I am to have so much stuff to deal with in the first place.  We are so spoiled having not only everything we need, but most of the stuff we want too...

Had this yummy Slow Cooker Savory Superfood Soup for dinner tonight.  It was VERY good.  The kids thought it was a little spicy, so next time I'd decrease the crushed red pepper just a touch.  Otherwise, it is good to be getting back to eating well.  My tummy is thanking me.  I just hope I can keep up with the meal planning/grocery shopping.  It's tough juggling all the things that I need to do every day.  Seems like there are always a few balls rolling around on the floor... or collecting dust under the stove... (exercising, laundry, cleaning, meal planning, hobby pursuit, friendships are the ones that seem to fall most often.)

Anyway, not a whole lot else going on.  So I'll leave you with a picture of my now clean/organized desk cabinet.  Be amazed.

Here Fishy Fishy

Today we were FINALLY able to set our aquarium back up for the 2 goldfish we bought yesterday.  The kids had been asking every time we went to Wal-Mart this fall, but I tell you what, this homeschooling stuff keeps me BUSY.  So every time I had to say, "not right now."  Well, we're still on Christmas break so yesterday I finally got to say, "YES!"

Ruby's fish apparently has a bit of an identity crisis because he was originally a girl, with no name; then she was a boy, named George; then she was a girl named Goldilocks, and now, she's a girl named Marley.  We'll see how long that name sticks.  Ira has yet to name his.  That hasn't stopped him from trying to monetize it though... "Maybe if Ruby's fish is a girl and mine is a boy then they can have hundreds of babies and we can sell them!"  Entrepreneur that boy is!

Today was a nice day - aquarium, fish watching, coloring together with new colored pencils, and lots of imaginative play!  And a yummy dinner from a new recipe and scrubbing the floor Cinderella-style (seriously, although it's a pain, it is truly the best way to scrub a floor in my opinion) finished the evening out nicely.  Oh, and we hit 20 patrons for our Love Good Music campaign today (which was our goal)!!!  We are so excited to bring LGM back to our hometown for a concert this summer!!!!  Yes, yes, very good day indeed!!

Journal: February 3

Outside my window: Whaddaya know, grey and cold again.  blah.

Clothing myself in: yoga pants, brown t-shirt - lazy Sunday hurrah!

Around the house: Finally finally scrubbed the kitchen floor, Cinderella style.  It is a pain, but it seems to be the only thing that really gets it clean.  The linoleum has grooves that get dirty and need to be really scrubbed, and the only way I've found to do it effectively is on my hands and knees - thus why I procrastinate doing it endlessly.  Andy got one wall in the bedroom downstairs built (studs, drywall hung)
Got garden plans tentatively made for this Spring.  We don't need to buy very many plants/seeds because of propagating them from last years crops, but I do think we'll be buying two grafted tomato varieties just b/c we haven't found roma or sandwich tomato varieties that we just love yet.  (For those who care, we're looking at a grafted San Marzano and a grafted Mortgage Lifter from Gardens Alive.)

Ira: 
-Got to go to the ER last Sunday night with a high fever and confusion/lethargy.  It was really scary to see him so incapable of understanding things (didn't know/understand how to take the tylenol tablets out of my hand and chew them, didn't know how to get his shirt on, had to be carried out of bed and to the car.)  I don't think I've ever been as fearful for my child's health as I was that night.  They checked him for pneumonia and meningitis at the ER and said that it must have just been the high fever possibly combined with dehydration causing it.  He missed the first two days of Catholic School's Week due to the fever.
-Is getting better at spontaneous jokes.  We were at the dinner table this past week and Andy was talking about someone he works with named Kevin and Ira chimed in "Henno!" (Like Kevin from 3-2-1 Penguins.)  It took Andy and I a second to catch it, but it was SO FUNNY!
-Had a particularly rough time with him Friday evening and Saturday morning as he's developed a "rude-dude-attitude."  He spent over an hour in our room (he just distracts himself with reading in his own room) adjusting his attitude and wow, the rest of the day was really nice.  Andy and I sat down with him after his "room time" and had a great talk with him about  pride, sin, having a contrite heart, etc.  It was good.
-Had his school's winter carnival last night.  Came home with a couple handfuls of junk treasures and the book "The Squire and the Scroll."  I was thrilled as I've wanted to buy the book for him each time I've visited the Catholic Bookstore, but haven't ever been able to justify the brand-new cost.  

Ruby:
-Was sick last weekend just like Ira, but her fever never got as high.  Pretty sure she inherited Andy's immune system & Ira inherited mine (lucky girl, poor guy.)   She still has the cough, but it doesn't seem to bother her too much.
-Still concerned about whose turn it is to talk, although not quite as intensely as last week.
-Has been successfully keeping her underwear dry at naptime (and bedtime most nights, although she wears a diaper then.)
-Had a very fun time at the Winter Carnival last night.  Got her hair sprayed red and orange, had quite the arm on the bean bag toss, and won the big prize (a giant pixie stick) at Plinko.
-Had to throw her last two binkies away this week because they were totally, totally torn up/disintegrating.  She threw the last one away today before her nap and no tears were shed and she slept great.  Could it really be that simple?  We shall see!

In the Kitchen:
Bobby's Goulash with Green Beans (this btw is an absolute favorite, easy, delicious, healthy - I can't wait!); Chicken Quesadillas with Black Beans; Hamburger Vegetable Stew with Foccacia

Hobbies:
Made some homemade mama cloth for my sister who should have her baby any day now.  It was the project I referred to in my post last week.  I think I'm finally pleased with my design.  I'm hoping to make some for my own stash before maybe setting up an Etsy shop to sell them.

Bringing me Joy:  This is the month!!!  We get to go to PPVI Institute this month.  I am so anxious/excited/nervous/thrilled/hopeful about finally getting some concrete answers about our difficulties.

Thinking about: Everything I have to get done/ready/packed/talked about in anticipation of aforementioned trip.  Feeling a little overwhelmed and like I just want to retreat to bed and not deal with it at all.  I'm sure that'll help.

Pictures to share:

Fun hair from Winter Carnival.

Sissy got her hair did too!
This is what she did when I said "Let's take a picture of you!" Such spunk!

Journal: January 24

Outside my window: grey and cold.  I hate winter.  Especially winter in January and February.

Clothing myself in: jeans, navy blue long sleeve shirt with turquoise camisole underneath.  It's pretty much my uniform: jeans, tank top, solid colored long sleeve shirt.

Around the house: Finally got all the Christmas stuff taken down last Friday (i think?)  Slowly but surely cleaning.  I made a "schedule" for myself for each month with cleaning goals - it seems to be a step in the right direction.  Life's been a little chaotic lately with sickness and family stuff, so things have had to slide a bit, but it's nice to have goals to work towards.  Finally replaced the water pad/filter in the whole house humidifier (just one of those things I never remember to pick up/look for) I can't believe how much more comfortable the house feels.

Ruby: Gosh she's growing.  There've been so many things in the past few weeks that I've wanted to blog about regarding her, but just haven't had the chance.  She is still into coloring (especially with her markers from Christmas) and cutting paper "candy" - tiny little pieces of colored paper (that she colors after she cuts out - like .25"x.5" pieces) and hanging them on doors (with 2 foot strings of tape - also a Christmas present.)  She's also moved from playing with babies mostly to stuffed animals mostly.  Her chimpanzee is named "Doo Doo"  her dog is named "Sam."  Another monkey is "Thomas" and a big red monkey is "Sir Handle."  She's wanted her hair "like a mama" lately - i.e. I wear my hair in a low ponytail pretty much every day and now that's how she wants her hair every day.  I'm honored and humbled by how much about me she notices.  She's really into whose turn it is to talk/not being interrupted.  For instance, Ira starts to say something as Ruby is finishing what she's saying, so she exclaims, "Ira, I was talking FIRST!"  Hopefully she will learn the ebb and flow of natural conversation soon - it's mildly annoying.  Still has the binkies - although they're like really cracked and beat up.  She says she's giving them to Mandy's baby when he/she is born - we'll see!  She's also been into who/what does and does not poop right now too.  Like, in the car, "does a tree poop?" "does a bird poop?.... why?"  and on, and on, and on.  Fascinating stuff I know...

Ira: Is in 2nd grade math right now.  Before Christmas break, his teacher called to ask if Andy and I would think about him moving up to 2nd grade math because the 1st grade stuff was just way too easy for him.  I was so impressed with her concern for Ira getting the best education and that she took the initiative to clear the logistics of it  (even as his school years continue.)  We decided that it would be good for him and sure enough, it is.  He's said a few times "Second grade math is a little harder than first grade math!" as he's doing his homework.  He was pretty thrilled that he didn't have any homework last week because the second graders were finishing first confession preparations and therefore weren't being given homework.  Score!  He's reading 5.1-5.5 level AR books.  Still loving non-fiction but also really into Magic Treehouse and Flat Stanley Worldwide Adventures as well.  We seem to have come to the other side of the "angrily resisting chores" thing - he's doing better with getting them done and accepting the consequence if he doesn't.  Although, the other night he did yell quite angrily, "Dare I say it, that's the most ridiculous rule I've ever heard!" (When I told him he could eat dinner when his toys were cleaned up.)  Now he's been trying to "engage" me in arguments with inflammatory statements like above, or "you're just a liar, that wasn't really five minutes."  It works best if I can keep calm and respond lovingly "I'm sure you feel that way" or "I love you too much to argue."  It takes a few times of saying it (and sometimes more than a few times), but when he realizes I'm not going to get involved in the power struggle, he comes to terms with whatever he's being asked to do.  Now if I can just consistently do my job and not get in my "I'm going to win this argument" mode.  Still enjoying piano lessons - we're about 15 pages from being done with the Level 1A book.  After our piano lesson yesterday, he was talking to me about something and then said, "you know, like when Father holds up the Eucharist and it turns into Jesus' body and there's that shiny light behind the host."  I was astounded.  Speechless.  What a gift he's been given!  I am so excited for him to receive the sacraments of reconciliation and communion next year!

In the kitchen: Easy Cheesy Chicken Bake, Quick Pasta Carbonara, Cavatini, and Cheese & Black Bean Enchiladas.  The theme for this week is: keepin' it simple.

Hobbies: working on a sewing project right now.  Not 100% thrilled with my design/execution, so I'll continue to tweak it before "going public."

Bringing me joy: Our impending visit to Pope Paul VI Institute.  Test results coming in abnormal (as funny as that sounds, it's a start and an indication that things are definitely not working like they're supposed to.)  My kids.  They've just been pretty good and easy to deal with lately.  Our new treadmill.  It is amazing!  We've put over a marathon's worth of miles on it already (in the less than two weeks we've had it.)  I've run in Hawaii, Rome, Japan, Texas, and New York already.  Don't know what I'm talking about?  See here.  Funny tangential story:  The night we got the treadmill, I decided to do this mountain run in Hawaii.  I ran some of it but walked a lot it because it was just really hard and then felt awful when I finished it.  I told Andy, "wow the incline thing really makes a difference!  That or I've gotten really out of shape in the last month, because I feel like I could barf."  I continued to feel horrible and when he got done running I said, "wasn't it awful" and he was like, "well, it didn't seem that bad, really."  So I thought, "man I am SO out of SHAPE.  I feel like CRAP!"  Well, I finally drug myself upstairs to bed and woke up about an hour later with the stomach flu.  And then proceeded to wake up every 60 minutes for the rest of the night.  Fun times, that stomach flu.

Thinking about: Family.

Pictures to share:

Ira ready for his first day of "Basketball Camp"  He got a shirt last week for being the best at "Chest Passes"  He was so proud!

Ruby's Sesame Street Manicure I gave her.  From left (thumb) to right: Telly, Grover, Elmo, Oscar, and Cookie Monster.

What can I say, I was bored...

Keepin' it Real

No folks, you're not looking at the latest "My home is better than yours" Home from Better Homes and Gardens.  This is what my house looks like today.  Ruby is puking from the overabundance of mucus that has accompanied her bout with "Flu B."  So I'm letting go of the house to take care of what matters most: the people in my life.

Thankfully, Ruby is napping peacefully right now, and in the time it's taken me to upload the pictures, I've gotten the kitchen cleaned up and a load of laundry started.  Nonetheless, I wanted to share a glimpse of raw, unedited "life"  Real life.

The extra snuggling time I've had today has given me time to think about just how grateful I am for my life today:  That I am married to a man who is my world, my love, my best friend, my better half.  That he works hard so that I can live my dream of staying home with our kids.  That I have been blessed twice with new souls to love and nurture here on earth.  That I have a warm home with beautiful Christmas decorations that make my heart glad.  That my family has enough clothes to make that mountain of laundry above.  That we have dishes and food and helping hands to create a dirty kitchen with.  That even on the messiest, most unproductive days I am SO ABUNDANTLY BLESSED.

Sometimes life is so messy and so beautiful all at the same time.

Journal: Dec 4

Outside my window: sunny, 50s/low 60s.  We've had beautiful weather lately, just wishing it would rain for the farmers' sakes.  And wishing it would freeze for awhile so the bugs/spiders would go away.  This coming from the person who loathes winter.

Clothing myself in: Boots, skinny jeans, thermal t-shirt, brown short-sleeved sweater.

Around the house: Well, the house got cleaned in a whirlwind last Monday because I decided (that morning) to host around 20 people for a surprise birthday party for Andy.  We also decorated for Christmas this past weekend.  Ira was really excited about decorating this year (which was good, because I needed some motivation to actually do it.)  We don't do a ton of decorating, but what we do, I really love.

Ruby: Is still insisting that she is (or is going to be) a football player.  Everyone who comments on what a cute little girl she is gets the same response, "No, I'n a football player."  It cracks me up!  She is clinging to her binkies for now.  She loves having the Fisher Price Nativity scene out to play with.  She also loves the ornaments on the tree that make music - so far she's been good about being gentle with the tree/ornaments.  Has been copying her brother's attitude at times.  Replete with door slamming and yelling.  Oh joy!

Ira: Has had an attitude lately.  Last week was kind of a crazy week as far as after-school time went, which really seems to affect him negatively.  We tried to spend good, quality time with him this weekend, which helped some, but still he was doing this entitled/attitud-ey thing, so he had some consequences to face for that.  He really really needs the boundaries and consequences that a good routine provides, so we're trying to stick to it better this week.  Earned computer time for practicing piano ever day last week.

In the kitchen: Crockpot chili, Brown bag burritos, Homemade Chicken & Noodles, Tomato-Mushroom Soup with Grilled Cheese, and maybe Sweet & Sour pork.

Hobbies: I've been editing photos like crazy lately and am so pleased with how easy it has become now that I "know what I'm doing."  I just wish our computer was a little faster.  Maybe someday...

Bringing me joy: Hubby's 30th Birthday party was tons of fun.  Went to the zoo as a family this weekend and then went running at the park afterwards.  A new-found peace that God is asking us to wait for Him in a couple areas of our lives.  I am not usually good at being patient, but I am feeling a certain peace in waiting on God right now.   Started my complete hormone panel for Dr. Hilgers.  Curious to see what  all can be determined from it.

Thinking about: This article that a friend shared with me.  What a weird position it is to feel called to have a big family and physically not be able to (at least for now.)  Again though, I'm waiting on Him, and His plans for my life.

Pictures to share:

The big 30 year old!

I know it's blurry, but I LOVE the emotion is this picture!

Silly kiddos at the zoo!

  

Journal: Nov. 19

Outside my window:  Blogging from the basement - no windows here.  But if there were, I wouldn't be able to see anything anyways.  It's dark outside.  Beautiful day today though - 60s, sunny.

Clothing myself in: Jeans and Black short sleeved shirt.  Like I said - it was a gorgeous day.

Around the house: I cleaned the OVEN yesterday!!  It had been awhile since I last scrubbed it down.  That is such a project!  Lots and lots of elbow grease to complete that task.  (It's 28 years old - no self-cleaning burnination here.)  Also, went through the kids' toys and chucked the junky ones (you know, the stuff that sinks to the bottom of the toybox and NEVER gets played with... happy-meal type stuff (although we don't really eat happy meals here much.)

Ruby: Super attached to her "YMCA" jersey.  I never thought I would have one of those kids that always HAD to wear a certain article of clothing, but I am telling you, if we let her, she would wear that jersey (a hand-me-down from her cousin) ALL THE TIME.  It's really funny to me.

Ira: Has been a bit of a pickle lately.  And by pickle I mean really, really hard to deal with.  Just being disrespectful and rude and physically confrontational.  And I haven't handled it well at all.  AT ALL.  Edited when I remembered this: On an upside, we had a humorous conversation today that I had to share:

"Mom, is there still slavery in the U.S.?"
"No, not anymore."
"But there is other places in the world?"
"Yes."
"Like where?"
"Hmmm, not really sure."
"Egypt?"
"I don't know maybe."
"And probably Nineveh.  Did Jonah really get swallowed by a whale?"
"That's the story."
"And do the people in Nineveh really slap each other in the face with fishes?"

Seriously - where does he get this stuff... is that in the Jonah Veggie Tales movie?  I don't remember it, but I'm guessing that's where he got that... And does anyone know where is Nineveh?  By that I mean, what present day country is where Nineveh was?  There isn't still a Nineveh right?

In the Kitchen: Don't really have a lot planned with the holiday this week.  And I just didn't sit down and plan it last night, so I'm flying by the seat of my pants for now.  I don't really like doing that though, so I'll probably have to plan something for tomorrow and Wednesday.

Bringing me Joy: Watching the squirrels in our yard.  I wish I could put a camera on their necks - I would love to see where all they go and where they nest.  Got my hair cut a couple weeks ago and it feels so much softer and more manageable now.  Watching a new episode of Castle.

Thinking about: Focusing my attention on the people in my life not the things.  It seems like my priorities have been a little off kilter lately - keeping my house/internet life up, but not really keeping up with my kids and their lives.  So I've taken to repeating to myself throughout the day, "people first."

Picture to share:

The only picture I took this week is of my oven... Hello my name is Michelle and I have a problem...

Journal: Nov. 5

Today

Outside my window: Mid 50s, gorgeous autumn-colored trees.  Our maples out front are especially beautiful right now.  One is a shade of reddish orange that could only have come from the mind of the Master Painter.  Seriously, even Crayola couldn't come up with a name that is worthy of the color of this tree.  It makes me happy each year to watch it turn.

Clothing myself in: Black long sleeved shirt, jeans with a belt.

Around the house: I did actually clean a lot of the house on Friday.  Still haven't cleaned the swamp aquarium.  I scrubbed the floor last night.  That made the house feel a lot cleaner.  It's odd, but if the kitchen isn't clean, I don't feel like the rest of the house is (even if it is.)  Andy replaced the light pull switch in the kids' fan.  It'd been dark in their room for a couple weeks!

Ruby: Still not potty trained at naps/night - on my mind b/c I had to buy diapers today - I was hoping I wouldn't have to buy them again.  Speaking of naps - she's at that point where taking a nap during the day makes bedtime a total circus.  So we're trying to figure out exactly what we want to do about that.  She was a total riot trick-or-treating.  Totally got into it this year and struck up conversations with everyone who answered the door.  Someone asked her who she was (dressed up as) and she answered with her first, middle, and last name.  She was also really good at getting extra candy by asking "What's that pink one right there?"  "Oh this one, here you can have it too!" Latest phrases: "Dad do you know what's in there? (her cup) It's chem-i-lade!"

Ira: Is all too content to pay me to do his chores.  Something must be done about this...  Was a scuba diver for Halloween.  Did an awesome report on St. Joseph for All Saints day.  Asked what "circumcision" was (part of the research on St. Joseph had about when St. Joseph named Jesus on the 8th day after his birth, the day he first shed his blood for us.  And of course, Andy is not home for this conversation, so I get to answer it.)  There was lots of wincing and grimacing involved when I answered.  LOL.  Still has his very very loose tooth.  Would not allow Grandpa to pull it - even for $10.

In the Kitchen: Spaghetti & Meatballs with green beans; Pumpkin Pancakes with eggs, bacon, and fresh apples; Chop Suey American with california medley; Cheese Pizza with lettuce salad and fresh fruit.

My Hobbies: Well, the gallon and a half of yogurt that I made last Tuesday is totally gone!  As is the granola!  Looks like I'll be making some more of each this week.  Edited some more photos.  In editing, I'm realizing that I need to pay more attention to exactly which of the 9 focus points is/are focusing, and/or changing them to suit my needs.

Bringing me Joy: After never really having a jacket that fit (other than hoodies) I found a Columbia jacket for half price at Marshalls today.  The sleeves are long enough and it fits perfectly - and it's a women's jacket to boot (I may or may not end up in men's jackets/coats most of the time.)  Getting the ball rolling on going to PPVI.  It will still a number of months before we go there, but I am so glad to be getting started.  Having a "clean soul" after going to confession.  Celestial Seasonings "Sugar Cookie Sleigh Ride" Tea.  It is SO good!

Thinking About: The election.  And praying so hard for the future of our country.  Also, I'm reading a book about pathogens (bacteria, infections, etc.) affecting fertility.  It is incredibly compelling and I also found out (happily, because some of the stuff in it really hits close to home) that Dr. Hilgers has studied under this doctor and applies his theories in his own practice.  Hooray!  I am so hopeful that we will get solid answers at PPVI.

Pictures to share:

Journal Take 1

So, yeah, trying to jump back into blogging, thought I'd jump on the journaling bandwagon...  Before I start though, you should probably know that way back in August, we miscarried another baby - that's kind of why the blogging came to a halt.  We had genetic testing done to see if there were any genetic/chromosomal issues that were causing our miscarriages.  Nothing abnormal showed up on the tests, but they did indicate that our baby was a girl.  That's still just surreal to me.  We've always guessed before, but to know?  Wow.  Other than that, life is still just plowing along. Hopefully I'll be able to document better the quickly passing days with this journal.  I'm not known for my dedication to this blog though, so we'll just play it by ear I guess...

TODAY

Outside my window: Sunny, 60s, the garden finally bit the dust this weekend with a couple freezes.  Except maybe the lettuce might survive?

Clothing myself in: Blue long sleeve shirt and jeans. With a belt. Because they won't stay up without it.

Around the house: I DEEP cleaned nearly 2 weeks ago.  I keep telling myself that "it's still clean" despite the fact that um. it's not. Hmmm... and the fish aquarium needs cleaned badly.  I should do that.

Ruby: Talks and sings all the time.  Is in a bit of a "whiney" stage lately.  We're working on "using big voices."  Has a huge imagination.  Her favorite toys lately have been the Fisher Price Little People and Animals.  We purged a ton of them, but have a few left and boy do they get played with. Daily.

Ira: Has a very loose tooth on top.  Got new glasses that fit him SO much better.  Is reading nearly 4th grade level books for AR for school.  Is getting better at doing his chores (or paying me to do them.)  Has been showing less resistance/anger when he gets in trouble.  But also has been terrible at mass the last 2 weeks.

In the kitchen: Tomato Mushroom soup with grilled cheese, Not Red Spaghetti Sauce with Angel Hair Pasta, Ground Beef Stroganoff, and Pitas and Hummus with Black Beans and Eggs.

My hobbies: Getting ready to make yogurt this week again - it's been awhile.  Finally started my online (self-paced) class on Photoshop last week.  I've learned a TON.  Made a "scuba diver" costume for Ira last night.  Turned out really cute and was very easy!

Bringing me joy: Got our letter from Pope Paul VI Institute today regarding our recurrent miscarriages.  They want to see us and run every test in the book (or so it seems.)  I am SO SO SO happy to finally be going somewhere with this all.  Seriously was a bawling mess when I got the letter.

Thinking about: Family drama, keeping my temper in check, being patient and LOVING even when it's REALLY hard.  How cruddy I've felt lately because of how out of whack my hormones are.  Heap. of. tears. All the time.

Picture to share: (which for now will be totally unedited, because I am still figuring out my workflow and I don't want that to keep me from sharing pictures.)

Andy & I at my Class Reunion a few weekends ago.  

What I Loved About Last Week 19th Ed.

So, I'm reviewing my list of what I loved about last week, and I'm like "did those things really just happen last week?"  I know I'm a little off, because I'm not posting till Thursday, but still, seems like much longer than a week-ish ago.  Whatever...

1. I know I've talked about my monthly meal planning before, but lately it had just become too much for me.  So we'd been more like flying-by-the-seat-of-our-pants.  Never works out quite as well.  So, inspired by my sis who does weekly meal plans, on Sunday I decided to sit down and plan meals just for that week.  Let me tell you, 100% better!  It is much less overwhelming and a lot more flexible than the whole monthly thing, so I can definitely see it sticking.  I actually enjoy it now and it's nice to get input from the kids and Andy for what sounds good to them.  Plus it makes my days so much easier when I know what I'm making for dinner!

1. Took the kids to the zoo.  On the Tuesday before Ira started school on Thursday, we decided to go to the zoo.  I let Ira pick what we did there (since it was his "final fling" and all.)  The first thing he wanted to do at the Zoo was play at the playground. Oh-kay - sure.  So he and Ruby played at the playground for a good hour or so.  We ate a picnic lunch, then they played a little more before we finally got around to seeing any animals.  I paid a dollar so that Ira and Ruby could feed the giraffe.  It was SO awesome.  I had to help Ruby, so I have no pictures of her (Ira tried to take one and captured maybe the top 2 inches of her head) but I love the picture that I got of Ira!

Sweet little boy wanted to hold his sweet little sister.  She doesn't always oblige so kindly to his "affections" but she definitely did then!

2. Celebrated my dad's birthday with all the family.  It is so fun to see my dad be the "center of attention" because he's more of a behind-the-scenes kind of guy usually.  Glad we could help him celebrate his day!

3. Celebrated our 9th anniversary of getting engaged.  What can I say?  Time flies when you're having fun!

4. Went bananas.  Well, sort of, my younger sis had mentioned how they always have bananas on hand because they are like the cheapest fruit, and I was like, "wait what?! - I have so been missing out!"  So now we go through 2 bunches of bananas at our house every week.  And we usually need more by Friday...

5. Ira started school.  Yes, I am now the parent of a 1st grader!  Ira really seemed to grow (physically) and mature (emotionally) a TON this summer.  I really do miss his company while he's at school, but it's also nice to have some quiet time to myself while Ruby is napping.  We've settled back into the "school-year routine" pretty effortlessly (thank goodness!)  Though, I still hate waking up early... blech...

6. Cleaned the house (for no reason, other than that it needed it.)  Usually, I only like to really clean my house when I have some reason to (like someone coming over.)  Alas, last Friday I knew that I needed to clean, so I thought I might invite my sister and her family over to at least make it "worth it."  Why have a sparkling clean house if there's no one other than you (and your hubs) to notice/care.  Yeah, our house will probably never get cleaned when we're old and such (why clean, no one will see it?...)  They couldn't come out Friday, but I sucked it up and cleaned anyway.  And it turns out that they could come on Saturday, so it was worth it in the end.

7.  Rain, glorious rain!  I take no credit for that one, but I was glad to see it happen.  Although now the bermuda grass has taken an even stronger hold on my flower garded... Pffftttt.

8.  Biking.  In the evenings after dinner, we've been going on bike rides.  Andy pulls Ruby in the bike trailer and Ira and I ride our own bikes.  That kid is a HORSE.  He is definitely more in shape than I am!  I have to try to keep up with him.  So far we've done: 5.5 mile, 4 mile, and 7 mile rides.

9. Cat Chat.  My sister gave us "The Ultimate One" and a promo copy of "Amazing Angels & Super Saints/ The Mass Comes Alive."  We ALL love them.  Ira and Ruby sing all the songs and ask for them in the car (and in the house) all the time now.  Ruby will say "Listen J-e-s-u-s!"  I really enjoy them as well and find much comfort and peace in the lyrics of the songs.  It is great to have great music to listen to.

10. Rubyisms.  "Tomo leche" when she wants to drink milk at night (and only then oddly enough.) "Don't get it all gone! (or "Don't drink it all gone!")  WhenEVER ANYone handles ANY kind of food/drink - this is what we hear.  Not sure what makes her so paranoid about it, but it is really funny, because you can nearly guarantee that if you pick up your water, or pick up the cheese to put it away, or let Ira have a drink of your water in the car, she's going to yell.

11. Work perks.  Andy brought home a HUGE roll of paper that was going to get thrown away on his job.  It is essentially construction paper.  The kids have had a blast drawing big pictures together.  I thought this picture (of Ira and Ruby holding hands on the top of a hill) was too cute not to share!

I think that's about it for this week.  Just wait till next week - I've got a doozy of an"Ira-ism" to share!

What I Loved About Last Week 17th and 18th Ed.

So, I'm doubling up weeks again, forgive me!

What I loved about July 9-15th:

1. Wet and Wild.  Our local volunteer fire dept. came to the city park to spray the fire hoses for the kids to run around in and have fun.  Surprise, surprise, brave, crazy Ruby was more into it than cautious Ira.  Both of them did have a lot of fun though.

2. Playing together.  Ira and Ruby really do play so well together.  The other day, I overheard them playing with dinosaurs.  Talk about your total boy/girl difference.  Ira was knocking them down and having them fight with each other.   Ruby having the dinosaurs bite each other than give each other a kiss and say sorry.   It was so funny!

3. You may have noticed that the pictures I feature on my blog are on SmugMug (a photosharing/storage site.)  Well, it saved my tushy the other day.  I usually try to keep 2 copies of my pictures for back-up purposes: one on my external hard drive, and one on SmugMug.  Well, I was reorganizing some folders on the external hard drive and accidentally deleted the entire month of December 2011.  (And no, it wasn't in the recycle bin, before I deleted it, it said "this folder is too big for the recycle bin - delete files permanently?")  Luckily, they were on SmugMug and I was able to recover them all in about 4 zip files.

4. Put up 7 quarts of dill pickles!

5. Had a new nephew!!  My beautiful sister had her baby on July 11th and we got to go up to the hospital and snuggle him before he was even 12 hours old.  Man do I love me some squishy newborn!  The kids were absolutely enthralled too.  Come on God, give us one in our house too!

6. Picked out Ruby's hair.  What do you do when you're bored... you pick out your daughter's extremely curly hair to see how "big" it gets.  What do you think???

Girl would've been a rockstar in the 80's... or in Texas...

7. Updated our budget.  It was about 6 weeks behind, and although it's a pain to track every penny - it is totally worth it for us.  It feels really good to know where we stand with our finances.

8. Along those lines, I am so proud of my hubby who got a promotion and a raise!!  We sat down together and re-worked some of the budget to allow for more savings in a few places.  We'll see how diligent we can be!

9. Spent a crazy Saturday going to 4 different events.  1.Met up with a good online-friend who I'd never met in real life.  We also got to snuggle her sweet new baby!  2.Went to an anniversary party for a family friend where I got to catch up with some people that I hadn't seen for 15+ years.  It was a really neat party!  3.Celebrated the baptism of aforementioned nephew.  It is such a beautiful ceremony - welcoming a baby into God's family.  Love it every time!  4.Went out to my younger sister's house and played cards and toured their new property.  It was a full day, but boy was it fun!

10. The day after all that craziness, I wasn't sure how productive we'd be, but we actually got something checked off the to-do list that I'd wanted to do for a LONG time.  After we laid Ruby down for her nap, we set out all of Ira's toys in the basement family room and decided which ones to keep and which ones to chuck (or sell, any ideas on how to go about that?)  We started by asking Ira which toy he absolutely couldn't live without (his drum set) and then asking him to pick one that he absolutely didn't care about at all anymore (a hacky-sack.) And continued asking those same 2 questions until we'd gone through every single toy in the house. If you're good at math - you'll realize that means we have HALF as many toys as we used to!  It's working well for us.  Ira seems proud of the job he did and is happy with the toys he has left.  Combatting commercialism/materialism one toy at a time here...

Before

After.  Kind of hard to tell, but there really are a TON less toys.
All the toy box lids close now!

Here's what I loved about July 16-22

Hmm.... I can't even remember what we did last week really...

I know we took care of Andy's parents' plants while they were out of town...

Ruby got her hair trimmed to help some major tangle issues...

I went to the dentist to get a pesky tooth looked at... it still needs some work...

We welcomed Andy's folks home from their trip and looked at awesome picture of whales and eagles and glaciers...

We played at home...

We welcomed Totus Tuus teachers into our home on Saturday...

We had cinnamon rolls for breakfast and homemade pizza for lunch on Sunday...

I don't know - apparently last week wasn't that exciting.  I have no pictures, and no notes written down about anything that happened.  So there you have it I guess.  I bet you're hoping I take notes about this week.  Definitely makes for much more exciting posts!  Blessings!

What I Loved About Last Week 12th & 13th Ed.

So I realize, I'm still a week behind, but no more!  I'll catch you up on the last two weeks around here. (Don't mind the highlighting, blogger is being dumb...)

Week of June 4-June 10:
1. Picked dozens of cups of snap peas and started digging up potatoes.  This new method of gardening is rocking our socks off so far.  We are digging up red potatoes that are 4 and 5 inches across.  I've never  seen red potatoes that big before.  They are also mighty tasty!

2. Celebrated 7 years of marriage to my wonderful hubby.  He surprised me with flowers and dinner out sans kids.  We ate sushi at our favorite place and took my ruby ring to get it fixed (I lost the ruby on vacation.)  We also browsed through a kitchen store and found lots of cool gizmos and gadgets.  It was a just our style of date.  Love that guy more and more with each passing year!

3. Took the kids out to harvest wheat with Grandpa Bill.  We all got to ride and eat lunch out at the field.  We took lots of pictures at Bill's request because this was apparently the best wheat they'd ever had at that particular field (and probably the best they ever will.)

4. Washed my car.  We borrowed the power washer from the farm to wash the dune buggy (it's for sale by the way, so if you know anyone...) and decided to wash my car as well.  It was a fun family project with everyone scrubbing and spraying.

5. Got new tires on the car.  One of those things that you love to hate spending money on.  I always get a dorky satisfaction from taking care of things like that though...

6. Along the dorky lines.  I got new laundry baskets and I could not be more excited.  They are red and sturdy and so much nicer than the falling apart ones that we were using from when Andy was in college.  It's the little things, really.

7. Probably the biggest news of the week (at least in Ira's books) is that he finally got all of his toys back.  Not sure if I ever shared that story on here, but about 6 weeks ago, Andy and I were so disgusted with how Ira had acted at church the last 2-3 weeks, that we took every single toy he'd ever gotten and put them away until he could behave as we thought he could at Mass.  He improved little by little each week and finally on the 10th, he was good enough to earn them back.  It was like Christmas morning at our house seeing all the long-lost toys.  I must say, I didn't really miss them much, and quite honestly, the kids didn't seem to either.  I foresee a toy-clearing-out-athon in our future (if the hubs and I can agree on what to keep and what to let go of.)

There you have it for that week, now onto this past week - June 11-17:

1. Legos.  One day during Ruby's nap, Ira and I spent some time building with his newly-returned Legos.  It was really, really cool.  I built a fire truck.  I don't think I'd ever really built anything with Legos in my life, so it was a lot of fun to share that experience with Ira.

2. Laundry.  When Ira ran out of shorts (I know, I'm a terrible mother), I finally decided it was time to do the laundry from vacation and the week following.  It was a TON of laundry, and my washer ran pretty much the entire day nonstop, but it sure felt good to get it all done!

3. "Blunk beds."  Well I thought I would just be bragging about the fact that I finally ordered bunk beds for the kids, but the company we ordered them from is awesome and after ordering them on Monday afternoon, they were delivered on Thursday afternoon (for free no less!)  Andy got them set up that same night and both kids were sleeping in them by Friday (when Ruby's mattress came in.)  The kids have done excellent in their new beds.  I think all they really needed was their own spaces, because the circus that is bed time has calmed down significantly and I think everyone is sleeping better!  If you are ever in need of bunk beds, I would highly recommend Bunk Bed King.  The service was excellent, the shipping was free, the prices were great, and the bunk beds are S.O.L.I.D.  No fake wood here.  We could not be more pleased with our purchase. (And no, I am not receiving anything for this review, just a satisfied customer.)

4. Ira has figured out how to snap (for the most part) and it is so cute because he does it whenever his hands are free (like when he's waiting for his turn in a game or when he's in between steps on building legos.)

5. Swimming.  We've been spend a lot of time at the pool lately.  I can't believe how much more confident Ira is in the water.  I also cannot believe how comfortable Ruby is with it.  She'll wear just her floaties and float around the 4-5 ft. range just kicking and splashing and having a jolly good time.  Going to the pool this summer is so much more fun than last summer when all she'd do was stay on the step!

6. Celebrated my nephew's 6th birthday.  He had a swimming party and all the kids had fun swimming and "slip & sliding"  - even Ruby!

7. Climbed a silo.  Now that was pretty awesome.  After the birthday party, Andy's parents watched our kids so that we could climb the silo at the dairy farm.  I picked the tallest one (figured if I was going to do it, I might as well do it right) and up we went.  It was kind of grueling climbing it (but that could be because I'm an out-of-shape-lame-ozoid) but boy was the view at the top worth it all!  Just amazing.  Such a fun mini-date with my hubs!

We climbed the one on the right. About 85 feet tall.

If you look real close (or click on the picture to make it bigger,) you can our town on the horizon. It's about 6 or 6.5 miles away in this picture.

And if you look real close (or click on the picture to make it bigger,) in this picture, you can see the town I grew up in on the horizon.  It's about 13.3 miles away in this picture.

Although the sunset surely would have been beautiful to watch from on top the silo, there was no way I wanted to climb down in the dark!  So this was as close as we got to a "sunset" picture. Ad n by-the-by, you can see Andy's parents' house in this picture (the two silos in the middle of the photo are theirs.)  We were going to climb them, but decided to climb the taller ones at the farm.

8. Father's Day.  The kids and I got Andy a new smoker for Father's Day (along with all the fixins - wood chips, charcoal, a cover, ribs.)  We decided to have both of our dads (and moms too of course!) down for dinner on Sunday night.  Andy smoked ribs and potatoes and we had a delicious meal together.  Ruby thought it was pretty fun having two grandmas and two grandpas in the same place.

9. Rubyism - "Ira give me my stink eye back!" (She was referring to a pirate eye patch.)

10. Iraism - "Mom, I know you want the house clean, but that won't happen until nobody lives here and they demolish it."  Thanks Ira, thanks a lot.

Hope you have a great week!!

What I Loved About Last Week 6th Edition

Lots of things to love about last week (April 23rd-29th)!

1. Ruby. doing. puzzles.  65 piece puzzle.  Perhaps 2 pieces? connected together that actually go together.  So funny!

2. Ira's Baptism Anniversary.  We celebrated with cookies and one of his favorite meals (fried chicken with mashed potatoes) as well as a Renewal of Baptismal Promises.  It was the first year he seemed to really understand what was going on with the renewal and that was cool!

3. Spring Music Program.  Ira's school held their second concert of the year.  His class sang 5 great songs.  One of which I cannot get out of my head! ("Never Polka with a Porcupine.")  The whole concert was very well done.  I am so impressed with the way that their music teach has them singing (enunciating, breathing, holding notes, and dancing.)  It was a very enjoyable program.

4. Cleaning.  Got my car washed/vacuumed, cleaned our disgustingly dusty/sheetrock-muddy oscillating fans, and cleaned out closets and cabinets throughout the house.  Not fun tasks, but definitely feels good to have them done!

5. Confession.  Needed it.  Did it.  Got grace.  'Nuff said!

6. Date night!  Sweet Andy surprised me with a much needed date night on Friday night.  We ate dinner at our favorite Thai restaurant that we hadn't been to in probably 5 years, then went out for ice cream and coffee after that.  It was so nice to spend some time together away from the crazies kids.

7. Visitors.  Ira got to meet with a very special lady on Saturday who sends him postcards from all over the world.  It was wonderful to get to meet her and have her meet Ira.  She is traveling to Hungary/Austria/Slovakia in July and we are excited to see the postcards and stamps from those countries!

8. Garden.  We FINISHED the 6th and 7th beds.  All told, we moved between 35-42 tons of dirt by shovel over the course of 3 weekends.  I. am. SO. DONE! with that!  

9. Professional Pictures.  We got 2 and 6 year pictures of the kiddos taken as well as family pictures.  Although I've had better experiences, I think Portrait Innovations still did a great job on the photos.

Look at that Farmer's Tan!!!

9. Sleeping kiddos.  The circus that is "going to bed in the same bed at the same time" is mildly improving.  They both slept in the big bed all night twice this week.  We have a "zero-tolerance" policy on Ruby getting out of bed/goofing off too much.  That's really seemed to help her understand the boundaries and to be successful twice!  Hooray!

10. Shout out.  A  dear friend of mine started doing her own "What I Loved" posts.  I always enjoy her perspective on things.  Can't wait to see more posts from this beautiful woman!

Have a GREAT week!

Make your own Swiffer Wet-Jet resusable cover

So, after using the Wet-Jet covers in this post for about two weeks, I decided I could make something a little better on my own.  I recently got new towels for my kitchen but couldn't bear to just throw the old ones out.  They are nice, absorbent bar-mop-type towels, and I thought they might be good candidates for Wet-Jet covers.  I am thrilled with how these covers turned out, and thought I would share my process with you.

First off, my Wet-Jet is fairly old, and I'm not certain they're made exactly like this anymore.  It has a "bump" on one side of the head that originally had a scrubber on it.  It makes making the cover a little more difficult than if it were flat (as I suspect the more recent models are) but really, it wasn't hard to work around.  So, check your Swiffer Wet-Jet first, because if it's different than the one I have, your directions will vary from these slightly.

See the little "bump" on the right side of the head?

My old dish towels measured 18.25" by 16."  I wanted to utilize as many of the finished edges as possible, so my only cut was to make a rectangle 18.25" by 6.75"  (You will be able to make two covers with each towel!)

I LOVE my Gingher brand scissors.  They were a little pricey (I got them half price for 18 dollars) but they cut through everything as if it were butter!  Well worth the money!

Next, so that you don't have fraying when you wash them, turn the cut edge under (about 0.5") and iron, and then under again and iron. I chose to use the "terry" side of the towel to be the bottom (the part that will scrub the floor.)

Using the rick-rack stitch on my machine, I sewed along the turned-under edge to secure it down.

Then I folded up one side 3.25" to make a "pocket" to go over the "bump" side of the Wet-Jet head.

Now, if your Wet-Jet head is like mine (with the bump) you'll want to just tack the corners of the pocket down so that it can easily slide over the bump.  (If yours doesn't have a bump, you could just sew along the edges of the pocket.)  My machine has a cool star stitch that worked really well for making a nice strong stitch here.

For the other side, fold under 2" than under again (just so you don't have to cut and make another hem.)  This will make the pocket for the flat side of the Wet-Jet head.

Using a zig-zag stitch, sew down both sides of the pocket, making sure to catch all 3 layers of fabric.

Pardon my messy zig-zag.  My machine wasn't very happy with me for sewing through 3 layers of finished edges.

And voila, you're done!  You now have a cheap, easy, reusable solution to those expensive disposable Wet-Jet covers.

P.S.  If you're like me and hate to pay for the bottles of Wet-Jet solution sold by Swiffer, use a vise-grip to take the cap off of one of your existing bottles and clip off the little flanges around the inside of the lid with a fingernail clippers.  You will now be able to easily remove the cap in the future.  Fill it with your favorite floor cleaning solution.  I use 1 quart of hot water and 1.5 teaspoons of borax on my linoleum for a great clean shine.