Not Getting A Lot of Sleep

Why am I on my blog at 1:15 in the morning?

My brain will not stop, which means I can't sleep.

We found out yesterday that we will be in a new house next week. So I'm constantly thinking about furniture arrangements, new curtains, how to pack all of this stuff...

I have a 3 day volleyball tournament this weekend that is out-of-town, which requires extra planning since now I will have the baby while Tom stays home with the big girls to pack. Plus, there are the 12 middle school girls that I will be worrying about all weekend.

Family is coming in 3 weeks for Tom's promotion.

I'm falling behind on everything else and I can't stop thinking about it. Did I mention that February was turning out to be way too busy even before we found out about the move?

Oh, and Maire still doesn't want to sleep longer than 2 hours at any one time so I'm exhausted through all of this. Needless to say, I need to scale back on anything that does not immediately benefit my family. Simplify, simplify, simplify.

If you don't hear from me until after Easter, you know why.

Praying for Donuts

SECONDS after telling the 2 year old that she was not behaving and would not be getting a donut after Mass, this is what we saw...

Be There, Even if You Can't Be There!

A Middle of January Daybook

Outside my window: It is still pretty dark. I think all of the snow has melted in our back yard, so it must be time for another storm.

I am listening to: Nothing. The girls are all still sleeping and Tom is downstairs working. All is quiet up here.

I am wearing: Navy blue sweatpants and tshirt from the high school volleyball team I coach and tennis shoes with my hair pulled back in a pony tail. I just finished working out with the Wii.

I am Thankful for: a husband who ignores my stupidity when I am feeling bad about myself and tries to refocus my thoughts to the positive.

I am Planning: EVERYTHING. Really trying to get the family’s act together with schedules and activities instead of just surviving from day to day.

I am reading: Signs of Life and Total Money Makeover but not making much progress on either

From the kitchen: I am trying to tighten the belt on groceries this month, so we’ll be emptying our cupboards and freezer. It’s all about using what we already have.

On being Healthy: Increased exercise, decreased snacking, those are the goals and I haven't been doing very well. Tom bought a new workout "game" for the Wii that I did for the first time this morning. Definite potential for getting the job done. I also need to focus on getting more sleep at night.

I am Thinking: about how tired I am and why do I never get anything I want done. Maybe one of these days I will realize it’s not about what I want, but what He wants.

I am Creating: A space to CREATE!!! We are PURGING quite a bit in the house (we should have done this long ago!) and I am getting a new craft space. The ideas are FLOWING on what to do with it.

On my iPod: I recently received a new iPod Touch. I have not spent a lot of time getting things on it yet. A little Christmas music to get through Christmas Eve dinner and Christmas morning, but I am really looking forward to customizing it and learning from my last iPod.

In the Learning Baskets: The letter R and Winter books are filling the baskets this week. I haven't been doing everything I want with the girls and I am letting it get me down.

Towards Rhythm and Beauty: The focus is all about establishing SCHEDULES in order to establish rhythm in our house. Again, there are many struggles in this area of my life. Just have to keep trying.

To Live the Liturgy: We don't have much planned this week. I am VERY EXCITED about a mom's bible study beginning next month at church.

I am Hoping and Praying: for converted hearts; brand new babies; PATIENCE; comfort to those lives touched by the tragedy in Haiti

In the Garden: All of the snow is gone out back and we've had some really nice days, but I'm trying not to get my gardening wheels spinning too fast because we most likely have plenty of snow to come still this winter.

Around the house: Cleaning, organizing, PURGING!!! We finally put away all of the Christmas decorations last week. Current projects include rearranging girls' room, switching out sizes in the closets, reorganizing the basement, getting rid of general clutter.

On Keeping Home: So much learning needs to be done on my part. It really is embarrassing.

One of my Favorite Things: little girls all tangled up in my bed, sleeping soundly

The Children: Isabel and Alexis went ice skating for the first time this weekend and did suprisingly well, especially Alexis. Afterward, I said that was all I needed, a ballerina AND a figure skater. Bring on the sequins!
~Maire slept for 6 hours last night. And that is all that I need to say about that :)

A Few Plans for the Rest of the Week: Maire's 9 month pictures this afternoon, volleyball practice and then our first tournament of the season this weekend. This coach is a little nervous, both for the girls and herself.

A Picture Thought I’m Sharing:

See more Daybooks here.

The Trouble Tree

The Trouble Tree

-Author unknown

The carpenter I hired to help me restore an old farmhouse had just finished a rough first day on the job. A flat tire made him lose an hour of work, his electric saw quit, and now his ancient pickup truck refused to start.

While I drove him home, he sat in stony silence. Upon arrival, he invited me in to meet his family. As we walked toward the front door, he paused briefly at a small tree, touching tips of the branches with both hands. When opening the door, he underwent an amazing transformation. His tanned face was wreathed in smiles. He hugged his two small children and gave his wife a kiss.

Afterward, he walked me to the car. We passed the tree and my curiosity got the better of me. I asked him about what I had seen him do earlier. "Oh, that's my trouble tree," he replied. "I know I can't help having troubles on the job, but one thing's for sure, troubles don't belong in the house with my wife and children. So I just hang them up on the tree every night when I come home. Then in the morning I pick them up again."

"Funny thing is," he smiled, "when I come out in the morning to pick 'em up, there aren't nearly as many as I remember hanging up the night before."

Two Reasons I Love the Blogosphere

Empty Yourself


Sacramental Windfall...

Shopping for a Church

Over at Faith and Family Live!, they are having a discussion about whether or not to "shop" for a parish. I went to put my two cents in and came out with a comment that deserved its own post.


Ideally, I think you should attend your home parish. If it's broke, then you be the one to fix it. Or at least get the solution started.

Having said that, I think I have "shopped" for every parish I've belonged to in my married life and have been greatly blessed by doing so. When we were stationed in Utah, just finding a Catholic church was difficult. We really only had 2 options. The church off base turned off my then Protestant fiance with the very senior priest's fire and brimstone homilies. We ended up becoming members of the base chapel, mostly because my husband worked with the woman who was in charge of the RCIA program on base which he became a part of. I will always cherish that chapel because that is where my husband entered the Church and because of a very important couple we met there.

We then moved to Boston and encountered the exact opposite, having a Catholic church on every block it seemed. Of course, the Church in Boston is facing great challenges which has affected its attendance. We attended Mass at our "official" parish that first Sunday in a large, beautiful church. It did not feel welcoming, however, with only a few parishioners in attendance and most of them elderly. We eventually became members of the next closest parish, still only 5 minutes away. This parish was a blessing because of the priest who was very personable and great with children. He even attended our oldest daughter's birthday party once. I have yet to see another priest so involved with his parishioners, especially the children.

Moving once more, we took a different approach this time. We "shopped" for a parish before we decided where to live, in hopes of influencing our decision. Having decided on a parish (a large factor was the number of young families with children in attendance) it is still not our "official" parish because we decided to live on base. But, for some of the same reasons as Michelle stated in her comment, we have stayed with the off base parish. It still isn't perfect, I don't care for the architecture and I don't know if the priest recognizes us (despite baptizing one of our children and our very regular attendance at Mass), and we didn't put our 4 yo in CCD/Faith Formation this year because of some negative comments we heard. But this is where I can step up for this parish and help to strengthen what may be a weak link. Maybe that is why God put me here. And again, the blessings are many. A new family sat in "our pew" a month ago and we are fast becoming good friends. And remember that special couple from the chapel in Utah? They were already parishioners here (the Air Force is a small world) and have since become godparents to our youngest child, not only blessing her, but spiritually supporting our entire family.

This is all not to say that we won't be switching again. I have already thought about it due to our oldest attending Catholic school at a different parish because this church does not have a school. If we were to move off base, a possibility in the not so distant future, this would be a HUGE consideration.

Reality

So, obviously my last post was not of the positive variety. I know a lot of bloggers choose to focus on only the positive in their life and try not to use there blogs as a tool for complaining. I don't feel like I whine too much on here, but I do want to keep it real. The other night, I was feeling pretty bad about myself. I was yelling at the kids, even the baby, and had zero patience for anything and anybody, including myself. Of course, after a little sleep and some fresh perspective in the morning, things looked a little less horrible. I went a head and posted my thoughts, though, because sometimes it is nice to know that other people are struggling and we are not alone in facing our challenges. Life is hard. But with God's grace, we can get through any tough time. And sometimes, just sharing our thoughts (letting it out, so to speak) can help relieve a little of the stress. That is a lesson I desperately need to learn!

Feeling Like the Worst Mother Ever

(and wife, friend, etc...)

And that's all I've got to say about that.

Before Becoming a Mommy...

...I didn't realize that phones only ring when

-I'm nursing a baby.

-I'm changing a diaper.

-I'm putting a child down for a nap.