7QT: Lent, Kids, and a Gift for You

It's Friday :)  but it's Lent :( so they kinda Switzerland each other out.  Linking up with Kelly because I'm not neutral in my love for linkups.

1)

When I was trying to decide what to do for Lent, I kept seeing an ad in the parish bulletin, on their website, and mentioned at Mass, about a women's weekly group that would be reading Living in the Father's Love, a short study from the Walking with Purpose program.  

I pretty much shy away from things like this because, well, I'm shy.  I don't like talking in front of a group, and especially when it's sharing something as personal as faith, I get very nervous and flustered.  I always assume the worst, that upon entering the group, they are going to make each of us stand up and share our faith journey and I would probably die.  But I went, and it was fine.  I was nervous as the leader started calling on people to read a section or ask them what they thought about it.  I just looked down and avoided eye contact.  This is such a struggle for me.  I will openly talk to anyone one on one, but put me in a group and I'm a toddler looking for her mother's legs to hide behind.  This is why I joined this group for Lent.  It's not only a spiritual exercise for me (I really need to read more of scripture!) but it's also a major sacrifice for me to be there.  Sometimes you try to find Lent, and other times, Lent just finds you!

2)

Eating all the things.

Brendan had his six month old physical yesterday and weighed in at 19 pounds, 26 inches long.  Phil and I definitely thought he was closer to 22 pounds as he is super heavy.  Everything looked great, the doctor mentioned over and over how strong and active he was.  I finally said "Yes, but isn't that normal?" and she replied that he seemed much more active than most babies his age.  Which made me feel a little better about how much I struggle to hold him :)

3)

Oh!  I almost forgot to tell you a related story.  OK, so when JP was a baby, his pediatrician had us get an ultrasound on his head because of how big it was.  The doctor looked at me and said something to the effect of "He probably just has a big head like you, but just to be sure I want him to get an ultrasound".  I do have a big head, but my skin is pretty thin so that memory is one I hold on to.  JP's head scan was totally fine, he's just really smart, hence the big brain ;) 

We switched pediatricians when Alexander was born (unrelated to that big head comment) and as our new doctor was getting the family history, I mentioned how JP's head had been scanned because of it's size.  We both laughed about it because it seemed funny that his head was that outrageously large that the old doc had thought something could be wrong.  Fast forward to yesterday, when she measured, then re-measured Brendan's head, to discover his head circumference had jumped from the 75% to 98%.  She said Brendan needed an ultrasound to rule anything out because if we waited to see if his head went off the charts, his fontanel would close up, and then the only way to check for fluid around his brain would be an MRI or CAT scan.  The ultrasound is a much simpler procedure and she just wanted to be sure.  These kids and their big heads!  Do I get an award for having birthed them?  Kidding, kidding.  But Brendan better be a smarty pants too!  Not kidding, not kidding.

4)

Riding the pine.

We have had CYO basketball games everyday this week from Sunday - Thursday.  I love watching the games, especially since both boys are on the same team, but even this superfan is burned out.  Playoffs for their other teams start on Monday.  Come on Spring!

5)

GIVEAWAY ALERT!!

Can I show you all my beautiful new kitchen art?

Isn't that just the best reminder for the whole family on how to serve one another?  Do you want one?  I am not in any way being sponsored by Lauren and her etsy shop SweetOakGallery, but I love this print so much that I want to give one away.  I'll even frame it the same way I have mine (it's not fancy, but I think the wood adds a certain je ne sais quoi.)  Just leave me a comment if you want to enter to win and I'll pick a winner by next Friday.  Easy peasy, Lenten squeezy.

6)

Declan will be three next month, THREE!!!  He's such a good little boy, very sweet, unless you're trying to make him do something he doesn't want to do.  Namely, eat dinner.  #thestruggleisreal  

Hiding from the nurses.

We need to start potty training him but don't have the desire.  I think over our April break we will give it a real shot.  As much as I would love only having one kid in diapers, I hate potty messes so much.  Maybe I can pay one of my big boys to train him during that week?  Is this a thing?

7)

A few reads worth mentioning...

Mary wrote about Lent's new slogan and why it's weird.

Kathleen is writing again, and I just love reading whatever she puts down.

Jenny nails it when she writes about leaning into Lent.

And a meme for your viewing pleasure :)