I Heart February and February Hearts Me

How is it the last day of February???  I know February gets a lot of hate as far as the months go, but I personally love it.  It's a short winter month (as opposed to January and March which seem so long!), we get a week off from school, there's Valentine's Day, and of course, the best day - the double birthdays of John-Paul and me (I?)!

After a morning filled with Mass, Religious Ed (him) and a workout (me), we went out to lunch to carb-load for another big year ahead:

February Break in Freeport, Maine: The Adults Only Version

For Christmas, our goddaughter Haley had given us the gift of an overnight of babysitting.  We planned a trip up to Freeport, Maine at the tail end of Christmas break...and then Declan came down with the stomach bug.  Unsure of whether or not the bug would spread through the house, we cancelled the trip and decided to go later on in the spring when the weather would be nicer.  My parents had reserved a week at a condo in New Hampshire for last week, and we figured that would be our winter trip up north anyway.  But then my mom hurt her hip, and my sister (who was supposed to share the week with us) got the flu, and that NH trip also got cancelled.  The cherry on top of all the sadly cancelled plans was that Valentine's Day fell on Ash Wednesday and it just seemed like 2018 was starting to be a very disappointing year.  I wanted to get away real bad.  I looked at the weather reports for Maine and the tail end of vacation week looked nice, and the Inn where we had originally wanted to stay had a room available (with a jacuzzi!) and Haley was available to babysit and even the NFP angels were smiling upon us...so we booked it and off we went!

February Break, The Kids Version

 February Break 2018 was a good one!  I worked only one day, and we tried to do something fun with the kids each day to make the most of our staycation.  We had originally planned on going up to New Hampshire for a few days, but the trip got cancelled because of sick/injured family members and I admit I always feel a bit guilty that my kids don't go on real vacations.  But they have parents who love them!  Lots of siblings!  Etc. etc. etc.  Onward and upward...

Phil made this bacon and spinach fritatta for breakfast one morning, and I thought it was pretty:

The littles got matching clearance outfits, and I reminisced about the days I used to dress the older kids up all matchy-matchy:

Shirts and Pants (mismatched footwear not included!)

Every time I take out my camera, Brendan (age 18 months) runs to this spot in the kitchen and says Cheese!  He is well-trained :)

7QT: Olympics, VaLENTines and Crushing Dreams

Happy Friday!!

1)

I started some Notes from the Couch about the Olympics this year, but then kind of lost interest.  I LOVE seeing the back stories more than the actual sports events this time around.  When I see videos of the athletes training, I say to Phil how I wish I could train like an Olympian, and then he reminds me that means I would have to be best  in the world at a specific sport, and then all my dreams are dashed.  Phil Martin, Olympic Dream Dasher.  

Anyway, from the opening ceremony,I thought the hats were cute (and really expensive!)

But the gloves were U-G-L-Y you ain't got no alibi:

I knew they looked familiar!  Dumb and Dumber!

Lent's Pinch

I've been dragging my feet as we head into Lent 2018.  I'm not feeling terribly motivated on how to fast, sacrifice and give alms this year, and to be honest, hearing about all the books and journals and best-laid plans of others left me wanting to fight against it even more.  I'm very rational that way.  So mature, so adulty.

Good Men Raising Good Men

While digging through Phil's wallet to get a copy of his license, I stumbled across this beautiful sight:

Phil made a promise back when he was just a young teenage boy to wait for true love and live a chaste life, and he is a faithful man of his word.  Finding this card and picturing my husband signing it filled my heart with love and my eyes with tears. He is SUCH a good guy, not just a nice guy, not just a kind guy, not just a holy guy, but a very very GOOD guy.  Although I had my own Dad as a great example of an all-around good guy, for some reason when I started dating I didn't think that I would ever find a man like that for myself.  But God is good and led us to each other, and I am so lucky and grateful for my husband.  

Five Favorites and Two More Things

Linking up with Kelly for my list of Seven Quick Takes and also with Ashley for Five Favorites.  TGIF y'all!!

Some things I've been loving lately...

1)  Pants without buttons. 

 I've told you about some of my fave pull-on work pants before, and now for some pull-on jeans that are just a step up from pajamas but socially acceptable to wear in public:

Jeggings for me (above) and Maggie (below)