S.tay A.t H.ome M.om at Work

It’s important for moms to recognize that all the small successes in our days can add up to one big triumph. So on Thursday of each week, we do exactly that. To participate go here! 1.)  Finished monster laundry job (yes, from two weeks ago post) 2.)  Tried new Paprika Turkey / Noodles recipe, used up leftover turkey AND most of the kids ate it! 3.) Yesterday, Babe got much needed haircut, now he can see again. 4.) 1st Communion suit, tailored and dry cleaned.  All set for Sunday! 5.)  Noticing large Magna-Tiles leaning tower in middle of family room, I said, "Wow, nice Leaning Tower of Pisa".  6 Year old Serious laughs.  "It looks like pizza?  It's not PIZZA!  You're so funny, Mom."

HH and I just watched " Extraordinary Measures " last night, lead actors being Harrison Ford, Brendan Fraser and Keri Russell. Basically Brendan Fraser plays a father whose children have a fatal disease in which they probably won't live past their ninth birthday. I recommend it. It's truly amazing what a father will do to save his children. After we shut off the T.V., HH and I talked about how parents muster the strength to do all they must and still handle the truth of their children's impending future, or lack there of. We admitted to each other, we just weren't sure how we'd handle it.  Silently, I said a prayer, asking for the grace to never find out. Our children have been blessed with amazingly good health. Many others find themselves struggling with illness, disease or accidents. If one day, we happen to find ourselves in a situation where it requires more than what we've got, then for certain, it will re-enforce that belief, that God has a pl...

For the past few weeks we have been looking into the Mind of the Good Man. Catch up with Part One, Part Two, Part Three and  Four . Part Five involves that mysterious necessity of all good relationships:  Communication. Communication Differences This should be no surprise. Men and women communicate differently. We talk, they want to solve. They talk, we tell them not to feel that way. For both, men and women, we just want to be heard and understood. Take what he says at face value and don’t overanalyze it. Accept what he is saying. When talking with him, be honest, not manipulative. When you need help on a tough decision, give it to him, he loves the challenge. Make simple short requests. When you need help on something, asking lovingly will always result in action, especially if you have been working on steps one through four of this process. He’s not a mind reader, he won’t know it until you ask for it. If your good man could tell you this, he would: Conversa...

It’s important for moms to recognize that all the small successes in our days can add up to one big triumph. So on Thursday of each week, we do exactly that. To participate go here! 1.  Got groceries for tomorrow's Star Wars birthday party.  He only turns 8 once right? 2.  Bought 1st Communion gifts, and cross tie clip....he'll look so handsome! 3.  Made it home just in time for lunch and naps, ahhhhh an afternoon of quiet and peace, now that's no Small Success!

Some people think to show emotion is showing weakness. I think to be emotionless is to be a machine Last Sunday’s homily brought me great peace with an incident which had occurred about 6 years ago…. When Serious was just 9 months old she and I had a tragic accident together. I was 6 months pregnant, with Entertainer, when rushing out the door; I fell down three concrete steps in our garage while holding Serious in my arms. We both went down, and went down hard. She ended up with a fractured shoulder. I had a sprained ankle and over all, a sore body. I thank God that’s all it ended up being, as I could have lost Entertainer in the womb, or massively caused head trauma to Serious. For years, and until recently, it has been one of those moments that causes a knot in my throat, and even now is difficult to type and admit. Minutes after the accident, my mother in law came to the house. While I am sure she intended to settle my franticness, she calmly came in and hugged me. I put my ...

First, allow me to apologize, as I know some of you have been getting feeds with those dreaded words, "test" on them.  See, I know a few things about computer tech stuff, but I realized over the past week, I've got a lot to learn, yet.  I have been embarking on this tech world only for the past two years with little disruption, everything self-explanatory, and overall, pretty easy to manage......It all did it for me....and I didn't really need to know how it did it, it just worked. Well, let me tell you, after researching terms like RSS, Ping, Feeds 101, Atom something, and probably a variation of others, I realized, the tech world is moving faster than I am!  While I have learned a thing or two including HH drawing pictures to explain the process, I realize I have limitations. For me that's saying a lot.  Sometimes I know I get into the groove of life and see fruit or see good things happening, and think, I've got things under control.  Well, Go...

For the past few weeks we have been looking into the Mind of the Good Man. Catch up with Part One , Part Two and  Part Three.   Part Four continues below: Men Feel Hard to believe, but yes, they have feelings too, and his feelings are important. Every man wants to feel that we approve of them. Simple creatures, remember? A wife’s approval is as important to him as the air he breathes. If your good man, is barely surviving because of lack of approval, he suffers from emasculation. He needs his ego stroked, enthusiastic approval and encouragement. Don’t we all!? When we ask him if we look fat in this outfit, do we really expect him to say ‘yes’? No, we expect an ego stroke. We expect, ‘Honey you look wonderful’ even if we don’t look wonderful. Same goes for him, an ego stroke goes a long way to bolstering his self esteem and confidence. By complimenting him we make him feel that we approve of him….something he is always looking for. Let me tell you, a man who feels that h...

For the past few days, Thinker has been challenging my authority. Thinking that our Spring Break was long and so fun, I gave her a bit of slack as it can be tough to get back into the grind of daily school schedules. Thinker brought home a book from a friend yesterday. I saw her reading it in the car, thought nothing of it, as her teacher often gives reading assignments to the class. But….. this wasn’t one of them. At home I noticed that this book was occupying her time and distracting her from just about everything else. When I asked for the book she was reading, she suddenly got nervous and said, “It’s a book from my friend.” I asked, “Did I approve this book for you?” She said, “My teacher has the same book.” I asked her to bring it to me, to which she made a scowling face. I said, “Now.” She brought me the book, “The Diary of a Wimpy Kid”. Immediately I was suspicious. I instructed her to start homework while I looked over her new book. I can see why this book and its...

It’s important for moms to recognize that all the small successes in our days can add up to one big triumph. So on Thursday of each week, we do exactly that. To participate go here! 1.)  Started on overwhelming laundry job.  Only six more loads to go. 2.)  Played Banagrams with 5 year old Entertainer, she can now spell 'bat', 'rat' and 'cat' 3.)  Hugged and kissed Babe's ouchies when falling from the kitchen chairs...yet ....again. And yes, I know, I misspelled my title, should be "Thursday", I guess that shows just how I am functioning this morning....guess I need another cup of tea....

I am including a link below to a well-written article, "Baby's first Holy Week".  While I know we've past Holy Week, and this article is two years old, it's really timeless....written by Ginny Kubitz Moyer. Here's my comment: beautifully written By sahmatwork (not verified) on Thursday, April 15, 2010 I often think just as you've explained here, that at times, we Moms sacrifice our own wants and needs, even spiritual ones at times. - If only more Moms could do as you did here, simply look around them, the birth, life, suffering, death and rising of Our Lord is often within our grasp simply by paying close attention to the mysteries that surround our daily business. I cringe so often when I see good holy women leave their children too many times in a sitters care, to attend a spiritual function, tending to their own soul, but missing their own motherhood. Could you imagine Our Lady leaving Christ with a neighbor to go to temple? I really enjoyed t...

Today, with HH coming home late from work, and having fallen asleep on our recliner, I quickly realized dinner was no where in sight.  I had about fifteen minutes to create something edible, which I knew was literally impossible.  I made a quick call to our favorite 'So Fast, You'll Freak' Jimmy Johns, and I ordered a sampling of all the good stuff.  It's one of the kids favorites, and I couldn't be happier when they request J.J.'s rather than McD's. With dinner being served, and kids munchin' on their favorites, my little Serious, decided to show her colors in the only way she knows how.....Seriously.  Serious:  Mom, this is the best dinner! Mom:  I am glad you like it. Serious:  You're the best, Mom. Mom:  Why, because we got fun dinner tonight? Serious:  No, because sometimes I want to do things the way I want.......  And you want me to do things the way you want. ....... And I think my way is best.  And you thi...

Over the weekend, our Pastor used his homily to preach on the most recent Catholic Church scandals involving child sexual abuse, and as this has been filling up news agencies, I wondered why I wasn't bothered by the whole thing.  Perhaps I should be, but in reflecting on his homily, I've discovered something I knew all along.  As humans, we aren't perfect and never will be.  Only God is perfect.  Only God can claim that.  We should seek out perpetrators and bring them to justice, but if it shakes our very nature, if the crimes shake our Faith, then we have placed our Faith in imperfect humans, who are prone to sin and fail us. The Church is made up of humans.  We sin, we fail, we make big mistakes, small mistakes, all the reasons why Christ came as a man, lived and died for us.  Our Pastor said something that stuck with me: "We are all members of the Mystical Body of Christ, and that Body has wounds." Now that's profound....and true. T...

I got into a great conversation recently while getting a haircut with my oh-so-favorite salon gal, Chris.  She's the best.  She knows just when to talk during my visit, and just when to be quiet and respect my alone time having bugged out of the house alone and child-free. Our visits over the years have revealed a lot about Chris.  She's Catholic, but not a 'bible thumper' (her words), she's about my age (hum...mid-30's), and she basically raised her younger sister when her own mother passed in her teen years.  She's independent, outspoken, and lastly, she absolutely loves my kids.  She has become the only one I will allow to come near them with a pair of scissors.  She is an amazing hair stylist and overall one amazing woman.  Over the years, we have talked about all kinds of issues, from Catholic schools to my marriage, from child-rearing to grocery shopping.  During most of our conversations, it usually turns to her wan...

See my past post on Does Money Corrupt. The last question in the ad below sums it up.  "Did you learn anything?"  

Happy Easter and Happy Spring! For the past few days we have been on a Spring Vacation!  What a joy!  HH made reservations at an indoor waterpark not far away, and off we went for a three day adventure.  It truly was a great vacation, renting a 'villa' complete with enough beds for all, a kitchen, dining area, family room and washer and dryer.  All that a family of seven needs!  And across the street from the water park, an indoor amusement park, complete with games and rides! Today on our way home, we talked about our favorite parts of the short vacation.  Most talked about the huge water slides, fast roller coaster rides or the villa we stayed in.  Usually HH asks for my comments to share, and for some reason he didn't this time, which gave me a bit of time to reflect on my most prized moment of the trip.  Once we got home and realized the fridge was a bit empty, Thinker and I made a quick trip to the grocery store.  She also noticed...

For the past few weeks we have been looking into the Mind of the Good Man.  Catch up with Part One and Part Two .  Part Three involves praise and gratitude, 'Good Job and Thank you!' I admit, I often fail in this regard. I am all too often worried about praising my kids and showing gratitude for any of their small efforts that I can often forget to praise and say ‘thank you’ to my spouse. If your good man has a job, then he works hard, guaranteed. It’s in their DNA to want to succeed. If he succeeds in any accomplishment, praise him, as you would anyone else who overcame a difficult situation, as you would expect him to do for you. If he helps you around the house, don’t micromanage him, let go of the need for control and let him do it his way – and get this; just say ‘thanks’. In the end, he’ll see he’s needed and appreciated, which is so much more important than if he cleaned the bathroom just to your preference. This is really a more simple concept.  We ALL want ...

Today, during our 'whispers time' between the hours of noon and three o'clock, I found myself struggling to maintain the quiet disposition in our little home.  With Babe napping, the other children coloring their stations of the cross coloring pages, I took a moment to step outside, and away from the rising noise level in our kitchen. I sat on our front porch, watched a few cars pass by, and enjoyed the beautiful sunny day, complete with a fresh breeze on my face.  I closed my eyes, and pondered in prayer, 'Lord, I haven't spent time with you enough today...today, when I really should.  I'm just keeping up.  I'm just going through the motions, and not really living the Passion with you.  Lord, just give me a few minutes, and I'll take those minutes to contemplate you on the cross.' I opened my eyes, and looked at the ground.  Last week I was looking to see which of last year's flowers will re-emerge and what I will have to plant again.  Sa...

Happy Holy Thursday! While there is so much to reflect and contemplate for this Holy Day before Easter especially when considering the Last Supper and the Institution of the Eucharist, for this blog post, and the plans for this evening....the focus in our house is the Washing of the Feet. Mr. Carefree was asked by our parish to participate in the Foot Washing Ceremony at our parish with our pastor. Being a First Communicant in a few short weeks, he was asked to join in with eleven other parishioners. Upon delivering the news to our seven year old, I was forced to explain this important part of our Faith, in more simplistic terms to allow for his understanding. So much of this important act of Christ's was a demonstration of what true leadership is. To lead is to serve. And service isn't always pretty. Sometimes to serve someone else is difficult, takes us out of our comfort zone, or it's a smelly job, a messy job, a sacrifice. To lead, you can't just say, '...