Just One Of The Girls

I have always wished that I came from a large family. I remember my neighbor from down the street in New York had 2 sisters and a dog.

I wanted to be Janine...REALLY BAD!!

My other friend had 3 brother...how cool.

Even when I was a teacher I was always attracted to the kids who came from larger families.

 I know my family is far from large.

 I know I will NEVER have a sister.

 I also know that I love to see these sisters at work. I feel lucky to be part of their lives together. Even if I never got to have my own sister, I get to be best friends with these 4 sisters. God really knows what he is doing.

Lenten Confession #1

Today being Ash Wednesday is the kick off to my favorite Catholic season, Lent. I always look forward to this time of year to recommit to some devotional practices that I let slip throughout Ordinary Time.

I also analyze what I have been doing with the children to help them grow in virtue and faith. I stop and assess how much faith formation all the children have been getting, especially the little ones. Emily and Molly have religion built into their school day, but what about Jack and Lucy? I know I did a lot of Bible reading with Emily and Molly when they were 2 and 3 and I am now looking at my progress with my other little ones. My initial review indicates I need to do more with them, go figure.

And of course we go through our list of sacrifices and other offerings we are planning to make this Lent. The kids (and let's face it, their mother too) don't yet fully grasp this concept because to them the fact that we don't go to Disney every weekend is a living sacrifice and they are not sure if they want to offer more. Yet, we try our best with simple sacrifices, such as the typical no dessert and no chocolate offering.

Now for the confession part. Every Lent this gets me, it just about takes me down within the first moments of this beautiful penitential season. I CAN NOT FAST! I am just about the worst "faster" you will ever meet. If there were a word for the person who thought more about food than ever before, that would be ME (that's right there is a word for that GLUTTON) . I know the rules. I want to try and somehow I ALWAYS let myself off the hook. I let myself give myself every excuse in the book, "I was nursing, last year...does that still count?", "I have to eat or I will explode on my children...you don't want that to happen right LORD?", "I will fast in the future when I am not having to prepare 35 plates of food a day. There is only so much will power a hungry mom can have."
I know all this "wimpy" complaining does nothing for me compared to the Grace God has in store for me if I would just trust His faithfulness....but yet I have not been able to take that hungry walk with Him.

Making My Man Smile

I am trying to be a good mom to a boy!



I am trying to remember that boys are different than girls.

They don't use as much toilet paper.

They don't want their picture taken and if you ask more than once you are a "nag".
It is hard to get good pictures of Jack!
He hates the camera and makes ridiculous faces when he sees me coming.
I love the kid more than I can say, but he is not well represented here on Catholic Mommy 2 Five. Not because I don't try...it's just
he is a boy and not a goofy girl who loves to have her picture made...go figure!

Where Have I Been?

I have lots to blog about to catch you all up on what has happened since last week and my small meltdown. I would like to start by saying I wish all meltdown weeks ended with a Mardi Gras Ball escorted by a handsome Coast Guard officer, wouldn't life be grand?

I would like to report that we danced the night away and had one romantic occasion after another, but that would be another persons
night, not mine. As previously reported here on Catholic Mommy 2 Five, Pete was in charge of the Military Mardi Gras Ball this year, a small affair with 500 guests, a band, DJ, formal dinner and a full Military Program. He basically planned a large scale wedding with no bride as his guide. Nevertheless, we had a blast "working" the party all night. I loved every minute of it . I love rushing about putting out fires and making small talk (wait a second, did I just say that??? that is what I do all day EVERYDAY...interesting).

What I really love is standing next to this guy. He is such a good date and I love him to pieces. He can take me to a ball any day!

And I have to say this whole weekend was brought to us by Pete's Mom and Grandma. They came to stay with the kids so Pete and I could stay the night at the hotel where the ball was. We have not been away for the night in 7 years. I have woken up every night for 7 years for some reason or another.

So, thanks Mom

And thanks GG

By about 5:30, right in time for us to get to Mass, the kids were FINALLY coming down from their sugar highs.

And an extra thanks to Mom and GG for giving the kids some yummy sweet Valentine prizes.  You saved us BIG TIME!

And a final thanks to you mom for giving me my sweet Valentine, your son!  The love you gave him as his mom made him who he is today.  I get to celebrate Valentines Day with him everyday!!

Love You!

Grin and Bare It

I am not sure if anyone has noticed, except one dear friend, I have not been blogging as much lately. After my friend called to ask if all was OK, I had a small meltdown. This may be going into the category of "too much information". But in the hopes of "keepin' it real", I feel full disclosure is of utmost importance.

So here it is folks, I am in a funk. There is no other way to describe this reality. I am not talking can't get out of bed funk, just a general lack of enthusiasm funk. I have been through these before, we all have. It just feels a bit magnified this time around because there is no specific reason. I am not pregnant, not nursing, not loosing baby weight for the 900Th time.

After talking to my friend today, reviewing some of the reasons for my funkiness, because doing that with Pete for 2 weeks straight has not been easy on the poor guy, I had a break through. I don't even think I shared this light bulb moment with her at the time, but I realized this is the first time I am homeschooling with a 1,2, and 3 year old. That's right 3 of the hardest ages under 1 roof, add in subtraction, multiplication, cursive handwriting, piano, poetry and not a moments peace and I think I may have some insight to the source of previous mentioned funk.

I hope I do not sound as though I am complaining. I really am not. Complaining would require way to much effort at the moment. Taking this funk one day at a time is about all I can handle right now.

What to do? I have been trying to figure that out for days now. I have some tricks that I pull out whenever I am feeling trapped in the "funk". Some of my tried and true "funk" remedies are as follows:

1. Look through old scrapbooks remembering what fun my life has been (oops, most of my scrapbooks have been burned. NEXT)
2. Try a new recipe to spice up the day and night (I have had a stomach virus for a week and food is no fun right now).
3. Pray
4. Keep busy (stomach virus making that hard to do)
5. FAKE IT TILL' YOU MAKE IT!!
6. Take a long weekend at an all inclusive resort with lots of hiking, running, sleeping and healthy food (something I have never tried but I imagine it would do the trick of funk removal)

I think remedy #3 and  #5 will have to do for now.
Happier Blogging to come...I promise!

When Is It Too Much?

This is a question I struggle with in several areas of my life.

When I like something, I REALLY like it. I am not the best at moderation. And right now when it comes to all things white, I feel as though I may be crossing a line.

If it is white, functional and pretty I have to own it. Slap a good price on it and I can't control myself.

Pete always holds his breath upon entering the house, "Has she painted the children white and sanded down their edges?"
...not yet!

A Skirt A Day

...keeps a grumpy mama away. I have been a bit of a blog surfer lately and recently came across a debate between moms on the merit of women wearing pants vs. skirts.

I readily admit I spent way to much time reading all the comments from women all over the spectrum. Some women can't imagine wearing anything but jeans. Other women don't as much own a single pair of pants. I can't say I am that extreme on either point.

I will say this, I prefer wearing skirts. I feel pretty when I have on a "flowy" skirt and a ruffly top. Call me old fashioned!! I like feeling that way.I also own a couple pair of jeans that turn up the heat on certain occasions that I feel the heat can be handled (mostly dependant on my cycle). However, looking at my work day I would have to say a skirt, blouse and shoes are the preferred uniform.

I am by no means someone who judges women for wearing either to many jeans or to little skirts. I have enough people to "judge" when it comes to personal fashion choices, thank you very much.
And let's face it, with 5 girls in this house a lot of our day, money and energy goes into personal fashion choices!