To Pee or Not to Pee?

Is it just me, or does every mom-of-boys have to wipe pee off the toilet seat and the floor on a daily basis?

Is this the training manual that boys are given when they potty train?

And is it really my little boys that are making these messes, or does my husband just enjoy having others to blame it on?

I knew I never should have encouraged them to pee standing up!

Happy Thanksgiving!

A photo of what I'm the most thankful for:

My Family!



Hope you are all celebrating and giving thanks for all the blessings in your life :)

Here's something else to be thankful for, a link to make a FREE photobook at Photoworks.com

(I just made my 20 page photo book, and even the shipping is free! Woo-hoo!!)

WWW: Week Seven

The Good

Exercise for the week:

Ran - 14.5 miles

Kickboxing - 3 hours

Cardio Kettlebell Class - 1 hour

Walked - 1 mile

The Bad

Didn't write down my points, just kept a tally in my head.

Cheated a bunch of times, I can't even remember specifics, except it definitely involved some cookies and ice cream!

The Results:

Lost 1.2 pounds

Total Lost is 10.6 pounds!

About 6 more pounds to go :)

I am quitting WW as of Nov. 28th so that I don't have to pay another month of membership.

I do love WW, and these two months have been great and taught me a lot about portion control.

Although I can't afford to keep going to meetings, I hope to stay on the plan for a while, on my own :)

No (earthly) Pain, No (eternal) Gain

I brought Maggie to the doctor this past weekend to get her H1N1 flu shot. I was talking to her and pointing out the pictures on the wall, trying to keep her happy and distracted while the nurse administered the shot.

Her eyes filled with tears as she looked at me confused and said "Ouchie! Ouchie!". I fought back my own tears, and was so sad that I had to put her through this pain, even though I knew it was to keep her safe and healthy.

I comforted her with hugs and kisses, and she quickly calmed down and trusted me enough to put her tights back on. She told me "Leg hurt...kiss it", so I did, and she said "All Better!" Then we went out and got some stickers (she had to have three).

Maggie is my fourth child, and I have gone through this MANY times before, but this time (after talking about it to Phil) I was able to realize a more spiritual connection.

We don't want our children to be hurt or sad, but, as in the case of vaccinations, we still allow it to happen for their own good. Our kids don't understand this pain they feel or why their parents who say they love them would help to cause it.

It's the same way with God.

He doesn't want us, His children, to be upset or have to suffer, but He allows it to happen for our eternal happiness. We look to Him and ask "Why God? Why me? Why now?" and He hears us and wants us to know that this pain is for the greater good in some way.

Sometimes in the midst of horrible tragedies, we can see the good come out of it. Take 9/11 for example. How many people lost family members but gained faith? How many of us who were lucky enough not to be affected directly now understood how priceless the people around us are? How many couples who were arguing over who needed to take out the trash suddenly realized the important things in life? How many people heroically lost their lives to save others? What about the firemen and EMT's and priests who ran in the midst of danger to save as many lives and souls as they could? How much more did we turn to God during our times of need? How much safer do we feel as a country now that we have much stronger anti-terrorism controls in place?

Just like our children, we may not understand why God would allow us to suffer in certain times or situations. We do not know why He allows some to suffer illness, or loss, or pain or suffering. If our faith tells us that God is a loving father however, we can know that even in the pain and suffering, He is right there with us and He allows it for a greater good.

It does no good to explain to a small child the reasons we allow them to suffer. They could not understand what a vaccination means and how it will keep them safe later. What a child wants is to be held, hugged, comforted, and told that they are loved, even when they are hurting.

And we still need that as adults. So we comfort and support each other through the hard times. We apply the emotional and physical band-aids that God can't reach. And hopefully, one day in Heaven, we will see with clarity why we were meant to suffer on Earth.

And then we can have as many stickers as we want!

Home Makeover (finally!)

I don't know why it has taken me so long to post pictures from June when we had our house painted, but I just kept procrastinating. Anyway, the pictures aren't the best (I didn't take exact before and after shots of the same rooms), but you'll get the idea.

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Family Room

Old:

Pink walls on top, beige on bottom with a dirty cream trim...yuck!

New:

Linen White walls and white trim

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Living Room

Old:

Beige walls with dirty cream trim (it wasn't bad, just needed lots of touch ups)

New:

Linen White walls with white trim

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Dining Room

Old:

Wallpaper on top walls, sage green on bottom with dirty cream trim

(Wallpaper was a lot of work to remove, but worth it!)

New:

Yarmouth Blue walls on top, white on bottom, with white trim

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Master Bedroom

Old:

A pretty but too shiny blue with dirty cream trim

New:

I forget the name of the color, but it's a green/gray color with "spa" or "tranquil" or something similar in the name, and white trim

And I loved the colors and ocean scene in these curtains!

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Downstairs Bathroom

Old:

Light minty green color with wallpaper trim and dirty cream trim

That mirror just looked out of place!

New:

Same green/gray as master bedroom with white trim

And a new mirror!

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Kitchen

Old:

Yellow with dirty cream trim

New:

They repainted it yellow, with white trim which really made difference!

This little sign is right outside our bedroom...I hope it stays true forever!

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Screened Porch

I don't have a picture of the old one, but it was dirty and gross.

Phil and my Dad screened this porch in when we first moved in, and then Phil painted this himself. Pretty handy, considering he is a theology teacher!

We were going for a breezy, beachy, clean type of look and feel, and I think we accomplished it!

Hi Lo: November 20th

HI's:

1) Using a coupon code I got from Together We Save, I ordered this dress from Chadwick's in black. Isn't it cute?? It was originally $59.99, on clearance for $18.99. Then I had a $15 off coupon code (CH15OFF) which brought it down to $3.99. Shipping was $6.99, so the total was only $10.98! Hurray for deals!



2) Eamon went to the dentist for the first time on Wednesday morning. I start all the kids once they turn 3 since we are lucky to have dental insurance, and my teeth are so bad, I want them to get good care early on.

He was SOOOOOO awesome, just sat in the "moving chair" and did whatever the dentist asked of him. At the end he got an electronic firetruck toothbrush, and now we can't get him to stop brushing his teeth ;)



3) The boys got to go Christmas shopping at school and I sent them in with a few dollars to pick out presents for our family. It's always lovely to see what they think we will like...for example these lady-of-the-night earrings John-Paul picked out for me 2 years ago!!



LO's:

1) Phil has been having so many meetings/commitments lately, and we are missing his presence around the house. On Sunday morning he had CCD and a meeting, on Monday night he had a Parish Council meeting, on Wednesday night he had a Family Catechesis planning meeting, and on Saturday he has to proctor SAT exams for 5 hours. All this on top of teaching for 40 hours a week, monitoring the parking lot for 2.5 hours each week, and working his extra security job at the school for 13.5 hours every week. What a poor guy!



2) Eamon had conjunctivitis this week - no biggie, just annoying for him.



What were your ups and downs this week?

We won!

The beautiful and talented Allison over at A Broken Fortress had a giveaway last week for these wonderful Rosary beads. (She even has a tutorial on her blog for how to make them) I entered Maggie to win, and she did!! She was so excited to get a present in the mail, and said "Purple Beads for me?" when she saw them :)

(Don't mind the messy face and hair, this was after dinner!)

Is there anything more precious than little hands praying little prayers??? I think not!

~

Thanks Allison, she loves them, and I love your blog! Go visit this newly-engaged, Catholic convert, and let her know you are praying for her :)

WWW: Week Six

The Good

Weekly Exercise Totals:

Walked - 5 miles

Ran - 8 miles

Kickboxed - 2.5 hours

Cardio Impact Class - 1 hour

Bought a pair of Gap Jeans in a size smaller than normal!

However, I swear their sizes run very big!!

The Bad

Cheated on Sunday night (cheesecake and pizza) and Thursday night (Chinese food and an M&M McFlurry) and Friday night (mozzarella sticks)!!

The Results

After 2 weeks, I lost 2.6 pounds

Grand Total Lost = 9.4 pounds

About 7 pounds to go :)

How is everyone else doing?

Gratituesday: November 17th

With Thanksgiving (fast) approaching, we sure have a lot to be thankful for! Faith, friends, family all come to mind, as well as savings.

I pride myself in being a bargain hunter, and here's a couple things I've come across lately:

Do you like to go shopping on Black Friday? I'm out there at 5 am :) There's a website that you can search for deals and make a plan of attack right here: http://www.blackfriday2009.com/.

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Would you like to save 15% off $75 purchase OR 25% off $100 purchase at Old Navy? Just use code "OnSave15" at checkout.

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Have you checked out "Together We Save" blog? She always has lots of great deals...especially the Chadwicks one she just posted :)

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Being on this Weight Watchers plan, there a few food items that have really helped me get through each day and (mostly) stick to the plan. In no particular order:

Great for sandwiches and burger buns - 1 WW Point

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Sugar-free Jello (Black Cherry rocks!) - 0 WW Points

Sometimes I put a squirt of whipped cream on top...delicious!

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Sugar-free Chocolate Pudding - 1 WW Point

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I love to snack on any of these - 2 WW Points

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But these are my current favorite! Sweet & Salty combination :)

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Vita tops are great for you (high fiber and tons of vitamins) and taste like a real treat! - 1 WW point

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These veggie burgers are SOOOOOO good. They are a little spicy, and I'm not a huge spice lover (or veggie burger lover for that matter) but I could eat these every.single.day.

~

Ahhhh, food and financial savings are what I'm grateful for today. How about you?

Deep Thoughts Again

Things that have popped in my head recently:

1) Did you know that you can tell the intended audience of a tv show by the commercials? If the tv show is directed at kids, there will be toy commercials, if it's main audience is young women, there will be commercials for feminine products, etc.

2) September, October, November, December all end with "ber", and "Brrrrr" that's when it gets cold here!

3) Babies don't stay babies for very long. How is my baby turning two in a couple weeks?

(Maggie on Thanksgiving last year)

4) Even though the days sometimes seem long, the years still fly by. How does that happen?

5) NFP keeps romance alive in a marriage. Really, it's like you get to date for a while and then have a honeymoon every month!! Who wants Christmas everyday...it wouldn't be as special, right? Same goes for the period abstinence involved in NFP - it's worth the wait :)

6) Exercise makes life better in so many ways (Physical health, Mental health, Sleep better, Feel better, Live longer, etc). I am amazed when people who can do it choose not to.

7) Is it worth losing weight if you have to go buy all new clothes in a new size? This could get expensive!!

8) Why can't people say "Merry Christmas" instead of "Happy Holidays"? I would have no problem saying "Happy Hanukkah" to a Jewish person, so why can't Christians say "Merry Christmas" to each other? That IS the holiday we are celebrating, right? Would you say "Happy Celebration" to someone on their birthday? No, you say what it is...Happy Birthday.

9) It just seems cruel that it takes a month to lose 5 pounds, and 3 days of unhealthy eating to gain it right back.

10) Can we make a pact to not put out Christmas decorations or play Christmas music until after Thanksgiving? Deal?

Hi Lo: October 13th

HI's:

1) Did any of you follow Baby Cate's heartbreaking story a while back? Well, now she has a new baby brother, Jacob William. Go check out the Cantrell Family here.

2) All the kids are healthy again, and so am I!!

Yay!

When we were sick, I vowed that I would never send them to school, go to a public place, or go to the gym again....then reality set in and we just bought more Purell :)

3) The boys all got to go on a field trip yesterday to see Henry & Mudge at the local theater. They LOVED it! And Eamon loved the bus ride just as much as the show!

4) I went to get my eye exam this week, and my vision hasn't changed at all! Yippee! Even better, Phil looked at my glasses, bought some super glue, and they are almost back to new :)

5) Happy Birthday to Aunt Kelly & Aunt Erin this week. We love and miss you!

(This picture is from our Rehearsal Dinner, 7 and a half years ago. Erin has her eyes closed, and Kelly is to her right. They are gonna kill me for posting this picture!!)

LO's:

1) I can't think of any! It was a great week!! Oh, well I guess it IS Friday the 13th, if that kind of thing creeps you out. Me, not so much.

What were your highs and lows this week?

Thankful Thursday

Since I missed Gratituesday this week, I am going to tell you what I am thankful for today.

Remember those Baby Einstein DVD's that were aimed at the new moms with newborns, playing on their emotions and mom-guilt?

They made outrageous claims that if you sat your baby in front of the tv and turned on one of their DVD's, your child would grow up to be a genius.

A friend loaned me one, and I thought it was pretty crazy to watch, but the baby (number 3) at the time seemed to like the music, and it allowed me some time to clean up the kitchen.

Well now, makers of the Baby Einstein DVD's are admitting that having your baby watch one of their DVD's will NOT make them a genius.

No duh!

Seriously, I hope nobody really believed that claim!!

The part I am thankful for, is that they have issued a recall on any Baby Einstein DVD's you have laying around. You do not need the receipt, and you can get back $15.99, or some other coupons/Disney store incentives.

Get your Baby Einstein DVD Refund form here, and send back those useless movies. Instead you can read to your baby, play with your baby, cuddle with your baby, and love your baby....that's what matters in the end!

(I must admit, I do like their Little Einstein series for toddlers!)