{7QTs} All About the Birthday Boy/Guy

Today, my oldest nephew turns 13!  He's the guy who made me an aunt.  I remember exactly where I was standing when I found out my sister-in-law was in labor.  I remember driving straight to the hospital from the local community college where I worked/attended classes.  I sat with my brother (who had the panicked look appropriate for every first-time father) and my sister-in-law.  I remember my sister-in-law's mother handing me my brother's car keys (pretty sure that was the only time I ever got to drive his little sports car).  Since the baby was four weeks early, not everything was quite ready - I ran and filled my brother's car with gas and picked up some supplies from their house.  In honor of his ever-approaching journey to manhood, here are 7 QTs on this kid (not so much a kid anymore).


1.  Always ready to lend a helping hand

2.  A little more laid-back than his younger brother these days....

3.   Still not too cool to carve pumpkins with his family (but he drew the line at a costume this year)

4.  Always the one holding a baby (nice face Little Bean)

5.  This perhaps says the most about his heart...this wasn't prompted

6.  Always ready for a game

7.  We're all so blessed to have him as part of this crazy crew

Happy birthday to one of the best young men I know.  Visit Jen for more quick takes.

It's Wednesday and it's time to talk about books!  Linking up with Housewife Spice for What We're Reading Wednesday :)

This week, I have two to share.

I checked back in with an old classic when I found a 99 cent download on Amazon.

 The collection doesn't include Anne of Windy Poplars or Anne of Ingleside, but most of the books are in the series.  I reread Anne of the House of Dreams.  This is one of my favorites...although as soon as I say that, I start to think perhaps Anne of Avolea, or Anne of the Island, or Anne of Ingleside are  my favorites.....Rilla of Ingleside is the most heart-wrenching. 

Anne of the House of Dreams starts at the beginning of Anne's married life.  She has a beautiful love story, so reading about the start of her married life is made the sweeter by starting from the beginning with Anne of Green Gables.  The tale has the characteristic mix of sweet, lovely moments and sadness.  It's written in a style long forgotten and the flowery language might cause impatience in the more modern reader, but I truly believe no girlhood should pass without the advent of Anne. 

I would recommend 11 being about the perfect age to start the series, but as you can see, I haven't yet outgrown them.

The second book I read this week was a little less entertaining:

Hubby and I started learning our third (yes, I know, THIRD) NFP method.  Creighton Model has a reputation of being a helpful model for couples with low fertility.  Being in that camp, we're making the 3 hour round-trip every other Monday to learn.  A core part of Creighton is the relationship with the instructor.  Follow-ups are essential to build confidence for the user and help tailor the model to the couple and their goals. 

As part of the intake, I had to fill out a form which asked how many children we'd like.  "All we can" was not an option, so I had to pick a number.  I was so tempted to enter something like 11 just to freak the teacher out.  I entered a more realistic goal of 6....semi-realistic (given that I'm already 32 and only have 2) maybe, but probably more realistic than 11. 

The book covers all the details of the Creighton Model for the beginner.  So far, I'm thinking this model might be a little tedious to practice, but hopefully effective for bringing many more beautiful little people into our family. 

I'm offering up our drive for those mamas hoping to conceive or anticipating the arrival of their dear one.  Prayer requests welcome :)

The Beginning of Creighton

Last night marked the beginning of learning our third (that's right, THIRD) NFP model. 

When we were newly engaged, we learned the Sympto-Thermal method (temps and symptoms, as the name suggests).  When we were TTC after Little Bean, we learned the Billings Method (no temps, based on observations). 

Well, feeling like NFP flunkies, we made the 3 hour round-trip to start learning yet another way to track my sub-fertile self.  For those who might be interested, here are my take-aways:

• Relieved I don't have to wake up at the same time every day to take my temp.  Those two mornings I get up at 5:15 would've meant a whole week of 5:15.....no thanks.  Delighted to discover no temp taking in Creighton.
• If you've learned Billings, the first session of Creighton is going to be A LOT of review.
• If you don't vibe with your teacher, find a new one.  Luckily, I felt that connection with our teacher from the moment she opened the door....you want someone you feel a certain level of comfort with if you're going to have such personal and candid conversations, for sure.
• We need a ton more Creighton teachers.....I shouldn't have to drive 90 miles four more times in the next 8 weeks just to find a teacher.  Anyone?  Anyone?  They prefer those with a nursing degree already, so, who's ready?!?!?
• They should tell you when you schedule that there's a month of abstinence when you first start charting, just saying, it's a good fact to get out of the way up front.
• That 76% effective statistic in helping infertile/subfertile couples achieve pregnancy (in combination with NaPro specialists) is what will keep me driving 3 hours every two weeks.  

Now, before we meet again in two weeks, I have to get my homework done:

I'll keep you updated on what we learn.  Praying for all those mamas expecting or hoping to expect as I offer up our drive especially for them.

{WIWS} and {Weekends with Chesteron} Beautiful Things

Linking up with Amongst Lovely Things for Weekends with Chesterton 



and Fine Linen and Purple for What I Wore Sunday.




Late to both parties - let's get started!

Dress:  Old Navy (not an affiliate, just thought you might like one too!)
Scarf:  Charlotte Russe
Boots:  Skechers
Girls' dresses:  one of my many Zulily finds :) (if you're new and click this link to shop, I'll get a credit)


I'm trying to get better about having pictures taken of me.  I'm still sitting at the top end of my "normal" range, but am hoping that the challenge from Ashley to do 40 miles in January will help get me back on track.  So far, I've logged 9.6 in about a week.  It'll be a close race to the end of January to get another 30.4 miles in, but it's a great challenge and I love seeing Ashley's Instagram updates to keep me motivated. 

This Chesterton quote struck me as especially fitting for a What I Wore Sunday post.  Even on the Sundays when I don't link up, I am inspired by the other women striving for 'order and beauty' to put my best foot forward for Mass each week.

{Theme Thursday} Bear/Bare

Time for Theme Thursday with Clan Donaldson!

I was walking through my local big box general store yesterday and saw this:

I can only assume that large retailers are now getting in on Theme Thursday.

Last night, we babysat for bio dad and had Sweet Baby and her younger sister in our care.  It was the first time we'd seen Sweet Baby in three weeks and I think Sweet Baby's sister was freaked out by Hubby's beard, but it was overall good to see them.

Sweet Baby is still suffering the trauma of moving houses.  Every time she's slept over at our house the last few months, she's woken up every hour or so to make sure I'm still there.  So, it was a long night of reassuring her I was still there. 

In the morning, we took it slow as I got three babies instead of the usual one ready.  By 10am, I had everyone bundled and ready for their various locations.  (Seriously, how does anyone do it in fewer than 2 hours?)  Sweet Baby and her sister were bundled into my car for daycare and my MIL came to get Sweet Pea and Little Bean for some fun time.

Dropping off Sweet Baby's little sister was a piece of cake, but Sweet Baby got agitated from the moment we walked into her room.  She started outright sobbing when I tried to leave.   The teachers in her room know the situation and they were very kind about it.  They offered to hold her until she calmed down after I left.  They reassured me that she wouldn't be left in a pool of tears, but that they would sit with her until she was okay.  The poor sweet girl sobbed and called out for me as I left and I was less than dry-eyed as I walked away.

With Sweet Pea and Little Bean otherwise engaged, I took the opportunity to spend a Christmas gift card at my favorite hobby store that my babies have enthusiastically called "wobby wobby".  I couldn't believe it when I looked at the clock in my car when I walked out, but I spent an hour perusing the aisles BY MYSELF.  I can't tell you the last time I got to just look at and touch everything I wanted with no one asking me for anything or trying to jump over the side of the cart. 

I followed my shopping with a couple orders of crab rangoon for lunch and I felt much better about the harrowing drop-off.  Especially since I picked up a couple embroidery pieces to try out (on the advice of Jenna) and LOTS of pretty, sparkly beads....I am a magpie, so much shiny makes my heart sing.

I'm looking forward to some crafting and if something turns out well, I'll be sure to share.   

{Which reminds me that I'd like to submit CRAFTY as a Theme Thursday word.  My SIL is a native Mexican and thought we were calling her shady/suspicious every time we remarked on her creative-handiness.  There's word-play in there for a fun TT}

So, for all of our amusement, BARE:

Bare feet

Anyone have a baby that actually keeps socks on?

7 New-to-me Blogs {7QT}

With all the link-ups going on lately (Dwija had a big party at her place), I found some great new-to-me blogs this week....I'm probably exceedingly late to the party, but here are seven bloggers I'm looking forward to getting to know this year in the written word:

{1}

Domestic Apologist:  Catholic mama of two, living out her calling in Washington.

{2}

A Woman's Place:   Catholic mama, Etsy shop owner, recently weathered Christmas without electricity.  From my ancestral stomping grounds of Michigan.

{3}

Everything to Someone:  Her blog is named after a wonderful G.K. Chesterton quote....what's not to love?  Plus, she takes beautiful pictures!

{4}

Barefoot and Sometimes Pregnant:  This one gave me a sense of deja vu....probably because I follow along at her sister's blog :)   This mama is expecting in June and blogs about homeschooling, celebrating liturgically and her life in general.

{5}

We Make This Look Good:  With a title like that, how could I not click the link-through?  Mother of special needs children with a delightful sense of humor.

{6}

 Heart Hearth:  A couple of blogging mamas.  If you do nothing else on this site, check out the pictures of Jenn's daughter's hair here!

{7}

Ardent Devotion:  A young blogger with beautiful pictures and that young zest for life (I sound one hundred....feel slightly younger).

Check out Conversion Diary for more 7QT!

{Theme Thursday} Ridiculous

It's Thursday.....or so they tell me.  I'm among the ranks of thoroughly muddled mothers trying to figure out how to recover home and habit from weeks of holiday revelries.  Linking up with Clan Donaldson for a Theme Thursday:  Ridiculous.  Since we're being ridiculous, here's a ridiculous number of pictures from our Christmas.

Happy New Year!

St. Nicholas Day

How did he know she wanted press on nails?

A Christmas outfit I never got around to photographing Sweet Pea in

December 15th - Special Christmas Party for Sweet Baby before she left on December 20th

 

All my favorite people

Sweet Baby with my brother

With one of my sister-in-laws and my oldest nephew

My godmother made her new slippers

She loved opening presents

This is so them

With both babies

Christmas festivities

 

Excited to open

Trying to get Sweet Pea excited

A rare picture of me from Christmas - with Little Bean, the Christmas musician

Yes, she does live on cheese

Wet onesie competition

Trying to tell us it's time to go

Christmas morning at our house

There's no prettying up before presents

Matching shirts

I can't imagine what princess was mad about

She got everything she wanted; pretend food and puzzles :)

And that's just the quarter of pictures I'm going to subject you to.  Hope your Christmas was merry and bright.  Prayers for a beautiful New Year.