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We had family in town last weekend! JR’s cousin Tricia & her beautiful daughter Clara from CO were visiting a friend a little over an hour north of us in Killeen. We jumped at the chance to take a drive in the country and see one of our favorite Andrews cousins. The girls were fast friends and we enjoyed hamburgers & Cokes & the warm hospitality of Tricia’s friend Amber and her sweet kiddos. It was great to see y’all – come back soon!

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The girls & I played outside for a good while this afternoon. We finally decided to go in because it was getting awfully hot. This was especially evident when viewing Molly’s sweaty little head. The curls were dripping with sweat. Molly might have a long summer – it was only 80 today!

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While folding clothes this afternoon I tried to catch up on some old episodes of Lost (I’m still 2 weeks behind, though). In one flashback, Sawyer saw Claire giving birth to Aaron on the island. Kate was there to assist. I found the scene quite humorous. Here’s what I’d like the Lost writers to know about natural labor. When you don’t have any pain medication during labor, you do not need someone to coach you to push. Kate’s counting “1, 2, 3″ and yelling “push, push, push” were completely unnecessary. If Claire had really been laboring naturally, she would’ve told Kate to shut it! The whole point of natural childbirth is that the woman’s body naturally progresses through labor (making it easier on mother & child) and there is only need for support (not direction). I suppose the Lost writers shouldn’t feel so bad for their ignorance – even hospital staff on a labor & delivery floor feel the need to coach a woman through labor. The only coach I’ve ever needed or wanted was JR and he has always done a fantastic job of providing emotional support, assistance with movement & communicating with hospital staff. He really does a good job running interference.

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I got my HS alumni newsletter in the mail last week. There was an article about the tuition having reached $1,000 per child per year (there was only a book fee when I attended – I think it was around $250). A new Catholic HS is opening in north Austin where the tuition will be $8,000 per child per year! Another reason to move ‘home’ . . .

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I met for the first time with a personal trainer this week. It is part of a 14-week program I started at NI’s gym that has a physical fitness portion & a healthy eating portion. It was really cool to work out with a trainer who could give me encouragement, tips & answer questions. I was inspired to try to reach his goal of working out for 30 min three times in the next week (he suggested we start with a day of rest between workouts since we are coming from a point of not having worked out for awhile). So this morning during the babies’ morning nap, I actually went out and spent 30 minutes on the elliptical in the garage. It worked amazingly well and felt GREAT! I’m excited to make it a regular gig.

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We went to an informational session at the local REI last night on family camping. It was fun to get out and there were some useful packing lists and stuff, but we realized that we are a bit unusual when it comes to camping. We tend toward the primitive and we have 3 kids under 3 and we take them with us! We’re weird, we know, but we have so much fun!! Read here and here and here to see what I mean!

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Last Sunday I went to an informational session on the Catechisis of the Good Shepherd at our parish. I am so excited for Livy to participate in this program next year! It is Montessori-based religious education for preschoolers. They introduce the children to the Bible & the Liturgy in such creative & inspiring ways. My favorite was the miniature altar complete with a tiny chalice & paten – adorable! I think this program will be right up Livy’s alley, too. “The Atrium is a prepared environment set aside for the children to worship God. It is characterized by soft lighting, candles, quiet voices, freedom of movement, meditative work, and careful handling of materials.” The child who walks around the house singing Kum Ba Yah will feel right at home!

Hope you enjoyed my 7 Quick Takes – be sure to visit Jennifer at Conversion Diary for links to more 7 Quick Takes Friday!

Have a wonderful weekend!!

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I’m thinking I could really use a beer “Friday”. This is something JR enjoys as one of the perks of working in a Fortune 100 Best Company to Work For (and they’ve made the list for the last ten years, no less). Yes, every Friday around 4:30pm JR decides whether or not to attend “beer Friday” where he &  a bunch of his coworkers sit in one of their common spaces and share a beer before heading home for the weekend. I’m glad he has the opportunity to unwind with his buddies after a long week’s work. I think I’d enjoy something similar, although my “coworkers” don’t seem like the type to handle that sort of thing responsibly.

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I love dictionary.com. I like to think I have a fairly good vocabulary and I enjoy using precise & descriptive words. However, I sometimes think I have an understanding of a word only to learn that I am actually a bit off – usually because JR is laughing out loud or looking at me completely puzzled. So I love looking up what I think a word means (especially when blogging) to make sure I am saying the right thing. It has saved me more than once from an embarrassing misuse. And I swear that my word confusion (and for some reason, especially phrase confusion) is even worse after studying abroad for a year. Completely changing my language for a significant amount of time (10 months) seemed to rattle things pretty good and still 10 years later (yes this year it is 10 years since I was in Uruguay – wow!) it is not all resettled!

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I know I said that I love Carters brand children’s clothing, but I have discovered that I do not love this year’s line of polyester pajamas! They are so soft & smooth in the store, but get them home and wash them a few times and they are not soft at all and sorta slimey, too. Yuck.

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I am very grateful for my Catholic education (K-12) in a small country Catholic school. However, not everything was perfect and some things were downright odd. For example, I studied the same social studies textbook for two years in a row (covering South America – imagine that!). Our classes were small enough that there were two classes in the same room. So in 5th grade, I had a first-time teacher who decided she would teach all of us from the 6th grade Social Studies textbook (South America). When I was in 6th grade, my super cool young teacher had moved on and we had an old, crabby teacher who had always taught the 6th grade textbook and was not going to teach the 5th grade textbook (United States). So we did the 6th grade book again. Looking back, I can’t believe that was acceptable to anyone, but that’s the way it went and I never learned the US states & capitols, but did end up studying for a year in college in South America. Weird, huh?

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Does it seem like this is a quicker read than the last 3 takes? I’m working on it, but I am such a natural rambler (just ask my parents or my husband), that it does take work to make QUICK takes!

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So Lent is just around the corner and I’m trying to get my plan in place for prayer, fasting & almsgiving. I am trying to turn a new leaf and have my ducks in a row BEFORE Ash Wednesday this year. I think I’ve got a pretty good plan and wanted to share the almsgiving portion with you. I got the idea from my friend Sharon. She has been making goody bags for the homeless for quite some time. She keeps them in her car and when she sees a panhandler (which we have a lot of in Austin), she passes out a goody bag. Her daughter, Therese, is especially devoted to this good work. They inspired me to give a little extra during Lent (and hopefully, we’ll keep it up all year round, just like they do).

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Tonight I had one of those humbling moments where you realize how foolish you were to pity yourself. JR & I took the girls on our Friday night date – pizza & shopping at Costco! While shopping, we came across a woman who had three little boys just like my girls. We got to talking and sure enough, her boys were each within a couple months of our girls. I suggested we exchange emails and meet at the park sometime. Well, turns out they live in Killeen . . . near Fort Hood . . . because her husband is on a 15-month tour in Iraq. Wow. My sorta rough week seemed pretty pathetic all of a sudden. As we continued our shopping, I couldn’t stop thinking about Sandy and her boys. By that point, JR had gotten a second cart for the groceries (the first was full of girls) and I was calling off items from the list so that he could collect them. I knew Sandy was shopping on her own with the boys and when she got home, she would bathe them and put them to bed on her own and when she got up, she would feed them breakfast and start her Saturday on her own. God bless her! And God bless all the military wives (and husbands) who give so much. And, of course, God bless her dear husband & bring him home safely to Sandy & those boys.

I want to add that I read a very inspiring post about not comparing our crosses this week and while I think there is a ton of wisdom there, I also think that from time to time we need a little sobering up to realize that while we may be struggling with something, we are so richly blessed in so many ways. I expect I’ll be thinking of Sandy and her boys often in the coming months, and I’m glad for that because it will remind me to pray for them and thank my husband for all he does for us.

Hope you enjoyed my 7 Quick Takes – be sure to visit Jennifer at Conversion Diary for links to more 7 Quick Takes Friday!

Have a wonderful weekend!!

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I’ve had a roller coaster of a week, emotionally speaking, and decided on Wednesday that what I really needed was to sit in the presence of God for a bit (sounds nice, doesn’t it?). So I proceeded to the Adoration Chapel at St. Helen’s in Georgetown with all 3 girls. I’ll admit I didn’t think it all through prior to departure, but looking back, that is probably a good thing as I probably would not have even attempted it if I had actually thought it all through! The thing is that Adoration Chapels are SILENT places of worship and my girls are almost never SILENT (especially not all at the same time)! Well, we arrived at the chapel (thanks to my friend Jennifer’s on the road directions since I also neglected to print msyelf a map prior to leaving the house) and entered to find only one other person quietly praying. It was a grandpa figure who smiled warmly at us as we entered. I picked up a rosary for each of us from the table of prayer materials and the girls quietly played with their rosaries for about two decades. At that point, Violet wanted out of her carseat, Molly wanted out of the sling & Livy wanted to walk around! With a good deal of bouncing, reminders to be quiet & chasing of the toddlers, I managed to wrap up my rosary in record time. By that point, two grandmas had entered and were also smiling sweetly at the girls. It wasn’t exactly the oasis I was hoping for, but it was good to be there and good for the girls to be there, too. I believe there are graces flowing where the Holy Eucharist is present and I, for one, fail to take advantage of the opportunity all too often. I was also encouraged by the smiling support of the older folks who had come to pray – there were no stern glances or sighs of disgust – it was just the opposite. All around, I consider it a success (though I hope to get back sometime on my own for more in-depth soul searching).

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On that same trip, we stopped at two Hallmark stores to look for a Baby’s First Christmas Ornament for Violet. Yes, I am a little behind (okay A LOT behind), but I am definitely one of those better late than never people and I figure that Violet has no idea whether she had her ornament on Christmas day or not (I’ll have to delete this post before she can read, I guess). Well, I was quite proud of myself for having all three girls in two Hallmark stores without an incident and then it happened. As we were buying our ornaments at the second store, I heard a crash behind me and turned to Livy who immediately said “It was an accident!” She had been admiring a Precious Moments figurine and it toppled over and the head broke off. I turned it over – $45!!! Whew – not really in my budget right now, especially knowing that it would surely never survive since it had already broken before even purchasing it. I took it to the counter and explained that my daughter had broken it. I asked what their policy was and said I was willing to purchase it if need be. The manager said that wouldn’t be necessary – what a kind soul! We had a good talk on the way home about not touching things in the store, being especially careful with fragile things, staying close to Mama, and admitting it when we make a mistake. We also talked about how nice it was of the store manager to forgive us and not make us buy the statue. What a “teachable moment”!

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Is it just me or are JR’s posts so much more entertaining than mine? I thought at first that it was because he had better subject matter (camping, for example), but then I really enjoyed the technology one he posted last night. I have always thought it was quite impressive that he has this incredibly gifted left-brain/analytical/logical side of him, but he is also incredibly creative (how many kids did both science fairs & playacting). I guess it is that combination that makes him a natural engineer. And lo & behold, I found this definition in Wikipedia which states that “Some consider this profession (engineering) to be the link between art and science.” There you have it. I am married to a renaissance man (he didn’t make the official list yet, but he is only 30, give him a few more years)!

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I don’t have a Facebook account. It’s just not me – I mean, it all seems so superficial. I don’t mean that as harshly as it sounds – I just mean that you don’t really know people if you read their status updates and see their pictures. JR has an account and has befriended a good number of my friends (some current and some from way back when) and so from time to time, I look through their pages and I am always left wanting – in many cases, more than before I even saw their pages. I really want to know the story behind it all – who are those folks in the pictures, what does it mean that so-and-so is “wishing today were over” – what happened? I guess I’m saying I’d rather have the whole story than just a headline. And especially with regard to “long lost friends” from high school or beyond, I’d be curious what kind of person they are today, but don’t really need to know that some random classmate is dying to see the next episode of Lost. And I just have to add my two other complaints while I’m at it – what does it mean to have 800 ‘friends’? You can’t possibly have a relationship with that many people nor be interested in what these 800 people have to say to all of their friends (since you get notice every time they write on someone’s wall as I understand it). And additionally, why is all of that communication public – I mean if I have something to say to my friend, why do my 799 other friends have to eavesdrop? Anybody with me, here?

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So the fitness center at National Instruments has started this program called Healthy Eating Every Day with an exercise component. It is a 14-week program with the goal of nutritional and physical fitness education. There is a weekly meeting on nutrition (including a textbook!) and a weekly workout with a personal trainer. It is only $35 and you don’t have to join the gym! So I signed up. I figured it would help me lose the last 20 lbs of baby weight (yeah, that much still to go and 30 lbs already gone!) and give me a better foundation for understanding what makes us healthy so that I would be a better role model for my family. They had a pre-assessment last week where they measured height, weight, etc. and then did screenings for blood pressure and cholesterol (they will repeat all the tests after the 14-week program). I was surprised to learn that my “good” cholesterol was low. The nurse suggested I google “raise my ‘good’ cholesterol” and start adding some new foods to my diet (she mentioned salmon & flax seed). So apparently, this little program is actually going to require that I change some of my behaviors – yikes!

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Liv had some funny stuff to say after preschool yesterday:

I’m a good eater.

She must have said this 20 times yesterday afternoon. Her teacher told me that she ate more pizza at the Valentine’s Day party than any other kid – 3 pieces!

Brittany & Blair are the same . . . except different.

Brittany & Blair are twins. She also has twin boys in her class of 10!

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Didn’t JR do a super job sprucing up the website? I am especially fond of my new Shared Items box to the right. I’m sure you’re dying to know what I was reading last October, so feel free to click the “Read More” link and scroll through the history of my shared items. I will fully admit, however, that for the longest time, JR was the only one reading my shared items so I would just put personal notes to him in the notes section (I know, I know, that was a completely inappropriate way to use this technology) so some of it comes across really random. Now that I have “people” reading my shared items, I will try to be more professional!

Hope you enjoyed my 7 Quick Takes – be sure to visit Jennifer at Conversion Diary for links to more 7 Quick Takes Friday!

Have a wonderful weekend!!

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Sorry for leaving you hanging last Friday. I was going on an all day retreat on Saturday and spent Friday getting the house & the girls ready for a fun day with Dad. They all did great together – JR took the girls to the library & the park, they all 3 took good naps (Olivia, Molly & Dad) and had a ball together! Violet & I faired well at the retreat, too. It was called Trinitarian Faith Renewal and focused on our relationship with each person of the Blessed Trinity. The first person addressed was God the Father, drawing heavily from the story of the prodigal son. I have heard many reflections on this powerful story before, but got a better understanding of the older brother from the retreat leader. It had always kind of bothered me that even though the older son had been a loyal, devoted son, he was never celebrated like the younger son. Our retreat leader said that the reason the father had never “killed the fatted calf” for the older son was that the older son had equal ownership of the family’s property. There was no need for the older son to be offered the fatted calf – it was his for the taking. I had never thought about it like that before. The next portion of the retreat focused on Jesus’ life, death & resurrection and it was a good refresher, though I admit that most of my understanding of God comes from the New Testament revelations about Jesus. The last portion was the most thought-provoking for me. The retreat leader said that it is the Holy Spirit who gives us the ability to make Jesus our Lord. In other words, it is the Spirit that brings the gifts necessary to live a good Christian life (wisdom, understanding, counsel, fortitude, knowledge, piety, and fear of the Lord). It occurred to me that it is my relationship with the Holy Spirit that is most in need of improvement and I’ve decided to focus myself there for the time being. This will surely help me to develop the fruits of the Spirit I have been seeking (charity, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, generosity, gentleness, faithfulness, modesty, self-control, chastity).

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I have often wondered how I would answer the question when it presents itself – “Mama, where do babies come from?”

I loved how Danielle Bean explained to her two-year-old how he was created:

That day, when I told Daniel that God made him, saw that he was good, and placed him inside of me to grow, his brown eyes glowed. When I told him that he stretched and moved and grew until at last he was big enough to come out of the darkness and meet us, he beamed. When I described what a joy it was for us to see him, kiss him, and hold him at last, he wriggled with delight.

Every child likes to know how he began. And he especially likes to know that his beginnings were rooted in love.

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So this week it is typical Texas warm again, but last week, my goodness was it chilly! Not once, but twice in the same week, I had to bundle up my babies and head out in the bitter cold to take Olivia to preschool and pick her up. And once, I even had to scrape ice off the windshield! The horror!! It occurred to me that as much as I miss four seasons, as much as I long for cold winter days during our unending summer, I have to be honest – winter must be an awful chore. Seriously, having a bunch of babies that need to be bundled in coats, hats, gloves, boots, etc. every stinking time I need to go somewhere would probably be more than I could handle. So here’s my hat tip to all you northerners – wow, I really don’t know how you do it!!

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I must say, I found this little bit of on-line reading fascinating:

Reboot Your Brain with a Caffeine Nap

I intend to give it a try following this post (since I have foolishly spent nearly the entire time the girls have been unusually simultaneously napping writing this silly post)!

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There is a new meme that started over at Faith & Family Live called Small Successes. I admit I’m tempted to participate, if for no other reason than to remind myself each week that I am making some forward progress (even if my To Do list never gets any shorter). For this week I would have put:

1. Got Livy a really good book about going to the dentist that set her up for success (though, I would have to add that it was Daddy who actually took her back to sit in the dentist’s chair and built up her enthusiasm to the point that she happily participated in a full dental cleaning and exam – way to go Daddy!). Oh, and by the way, no cavities (for Liv & Daddy, that is, can’t say the same for myself)!

2. Maintained a fairly orderly email Inbox for the past week (and started the daunting task of sorting through 200 unread emails I’d collected over the past year).

3. Actually spent time enjoying the children for a bit of time each day instead of worrying about how much was not getting done during that hour.

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Since I’ve been writing more, it has occurred to me exactly how real this blogging thing should be. And just so y’all know, I’ve decided that while I want it to be real, I also want it to be positive. It won’t do me any good to wallow in my misery on-line and it won’t do you any good to read about it. So that’s that. The blog is a place to gather treasured memories, pictures & stories – a place to remind myself of our blessings – a happy place. Okay, group hug!

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JR set me up with my own shared items box on the right-side column (thanks, dear). So if you just can’t get enough and are dying to know the most interesting things I’ve read on the web lately, go check it out. There is a really good one in there from Jennifer at Conversion Diary on taking your kids to Church – a must read for young families. Here’s one statistic that I copied & pasted and then forgot to note the source, but trust me, it was a good one so I’ll share anyway!

Exercising for only 30 min a day, 3 times a day reduces the risk of natural death by 55%!

Isn’t that amazing? I’ve got to get myself moving more . . .

Hope you enjoyed my 7 Quick Takes – be sure to visit Jennifer at Conversion Diary for links to more 7 Quick Takes Friday!

Have a wonderful weekend!!