7QT: Walmart Groceries, Sins of Others, and Halloween Costumes

Happy (rainy) Friday!!  Linking up with Kelly and the betters...

1)

My sister told me about Walmart Grocery pickup and my life became instantly better.  If you have a Walmart near you that offers this, you must try it.  There is no extra cost or hidden fees and you're not even allowed to tip the workers.  All you have to do is order online or through the app and as long as it's over $30 (isn't it always?!) you just choose a pick up time, and tell the app when you're leaving home. Walmart will know when you pull in and they bring the groceries right out to your car.  It's amazing.  If you use the code Walmart1, you can save $10 on three shopping trips, $30 total.  

2)

The other online shopping tool that has made my life better, in the form of extra cash, is Ebates.  You just sign up and get the app on your phone, and go through that to shop online and they send you a check in the mail every few months.  I just got 20% cash back from Macy's which is huge!

E-man the Tween

Eamon (rhymes with Damon) Philip Martin turned 12 years old today.

This 6th grader was excited to have gym on his birthday... no uniform!

My heart could just burst with love and pride for this guy.  I asked him if he felt any older this morning, and he said "nope".  I don't think he's any taller than he was on his 11th birthday either, but all good things come in time, and I'm not ready for him to grow up quite yet anyway.  Yesterday, I mused out loud in the car about how it was his last day being eleven, and Andrew claps his hands giddily and says "Called it!"  Apparently, Andrew had bet Eamon that I would make note of his last day being 11 because I "always do that" on the eve of a birthday.  Guilty as charged, I suppose, but a mother is allowed to feel the passing of time of each child at least once a year.  I always feel a twinge of sadness, but then it's immediately replaced with excitement at all that lays ahead for them in this new year.  Twelve is a great age, innocent enough so as not to make a parent worry too much, but grown up enough to be able to participate in fun adult conversations.  Eamon has always had a sweet and mature soul, and although I've started to (shockingly) hear him argue back with his dad from time to time, for the most part, he's still our most obedient and happy-go-lucky kid.  He's probably our easiest, if I had to choose, which is a long departure from how hard he was as a baby!!!!

Maggie's Surgery: Tonsils & Adenoids & Auricular Pit

One morning in August, Maggie started complaining about her "ear hole" which is the auricular pit she's had since birth.  Apparently it's just a part of the ear that never finished closing up during the sixth week of pregnancy when the ear is developing.  It's not super uncommon and it tends to run in families, Brendan has it too.  When a baby is born with one (or two) the doctors test their kidney function as it can be associated with some other abnormalities, but in Maggie's case, it was just a little "ear hole" and they told us not to worry about it unless it became infected.  

Ten years later, it became infected.  

We took her to the doctor after trying warm compresses and draining at home to no avail.  She was immediately placed on antibiotics because an infection that close to the brain is no bueno and two weeks later, we were sent to the ENT from Boston Children's Hospital.  The doctor there explained that once it becomes infected, they like to remove it/close it up, as frequent infections are most likely in her future and that leads to scarring which leads to a tougher surgery.  Upon going through her medical history and discovering how many times Maggie has had strep throat (so many times!) she suggested we have her tonsils removed during the same surgery so as not to make the poor girl have two different surgeries in a couple years.  She said she would look at her adenoids while she was in there to see if they needed to be removed as well.  The surgery was scheduled very quickly for September 20.

The Week of Too Much Medical Stuff

I have been dreading this week, and yet, here we are!  

Time slows down for no mom.

I should make that into a sign.

On Wednesday, I will have my yearly physical, and even though I love my doctor and would love any chance to chat with him, nobody likes a physical, right?  I told myself back in August that I would start eating really clean in order to bring the numbers on the scale and on my lipid screen down, but alas, I am still eating ice cream and pizza as of yesterday.   What can I do in the next two days to undo what I’ve done for the last 363?  Lots of water, protein, fruits and veggies and nothing else.  I’m hoping that will somehow make a difference, but I know it doesn’t work like that!

On Thursday, Maggie has her surgery.  Poor girl.  She is getting her auricular pit removed and closed up, and also her tonsils removed and possibly adenoids too.  We are going to Boston Children’s Hospital so she is in grrrreat hands, but surgery is surgery and it’s a 2 hour one with a 2 week recovery.  Maggie is sad to be missing school for two weeks, but we are very hopeful that these surgeries will mean an end to the antibiotic train she has been riding for the past few years with recurring strep and an infection in her “ear hole”.  She mentioned recently that she is going to ask for a new robe for her 11th birthday in December, so I got her a new one now so that she can have as comfy a recovery as possible.  I'm sure her Dad will be getting her some flowers, since flowers make everything better :)

We are grateful that this is an in/out same day surgery and that my parents live downstairs and will be taking over her care starting at Day 5.  Her school will send homework via her brothers, and she will be able to stay up to date that way. We are heading to Confession tonight, Adoration tomorrow night, and therefore I think we have all the spiritual bases covered.  If you could spare a prayer for my Maggie in the Middle, it would be much appreciated.  Kelly’s son, Fulton, could also use some recovery prayers.  Thank you! 

In Good Times and In Bad

Growing up, I looooooooved babies.  I was obsessed with babies, always trying to hold any I could get my hands on.  After hearing about my sister's medical school experiences, I dreamed of volunteering in a hospital to hold the babies who were born addicted to substances.  I babysat, worked in a daycare, and talked about how I hoped to have 12 kids one day.  I eventually grew up and met Phil, knew I wanted to have HIS babies, told him about my plans for a dozen kids, which he was cool with (!), and then we got married and started Natural Family Planning. 

Why would we use NFP when we wanted a huge family, you might be asking?  Because I had just graduated with my MBA and didn't have a real job yet and Phil was about to start his Masters Program.  We still knew we wanted lots of babies, but just not quite yet.  It actually bothered me a lot that we couldn't start our family right away, that was the point of marriage, right?  I couldn't wait to become a mom!  We figured we would try to wait a year and then Phil would be finished with his Masters and would be able to get a job. 

If You're Worried About What Your Family is Seeing Online...

...join the club ;)

We don't send our little kids out into the world alone, so why would we send our big kids out into the online world alone?  We have a lot of rules in place in our home for screen time, and make sure screens are only accessible in family living areas, but for every other scenario, we turn to Covenant Eyes for help.  

I've written about why we started using Covenant Eyes here, and it's been an awesome addition for our family safety and holiness goals.  It does cost $15.99 per month for a family subscription, but it buys peace of mind.  Sites that could be dangerous are blocked, and each user's history is tracked and reported weekly to the main account holder(s).  Just knowing that we are all accountable for our online actions is a major win in preventing things like porn addiction.  We are not naive, we read the stats and see the results of teens on screens (we both work in a high school) and we know the dangers.  We have been entrusted these seven souls that we are called to protect and nurture, and Covenant Eyes helps us in this technological world.  

I'll be writing more about this topic later, but for now, if having kids search the internet causes worries for you, just get it.  I really don't think you'll regret it.

It's All About the Children

And since I have seven lovely cherubs, I am linking this family update up with Kelly and her 7 Quick Takes.  Happy Friyay!!

The Catholic School Crew 18-19

Should we go Oldest to Youngest, or Youngest to Oldest?  I'm someone who always lists my kids ages from oldest to youngest (yesterday I heard a mom say her kids were 1, 3 and 4, and thought "I would have said they were 4, 3 and 1") so Oldest to Youngest it is...

I Feel So Bad!!

Since the beginning of this summer, I have not been getting any comments on my posts.  I don't usually get a lot, but ZERO was a little saddening.  I know that the trend in social media has moved away from blogs and onto Instagram and Snapchat.  The feedback there is instantaneous, there are more people to connect with, and the likes can be addictive.  I see why so many former bloggers have closed up blog shop to have a more instant and faster way to share.  I have thought often about just calling it quits here since I was feeling a bit defeated, but then I pulled up my big girl panties and reminded myself that these posts are my family's scrapbooks and I would be sad not to have any Martin Family Moments recorded here.

I just got an email this week from Blogger asking if I wanted to continue using Comment Moderation (where they email you when a comment is left and you can post it or delete the spam) and I chose yes, and all of a sudden I had tons of comments show up ready for moderation.  I read them ALL and I wish I could respond to you all individually, but alas, my time for this is limited.

So I will just say this:  I LOVE YOU!!  

I love you, my faithful readers over the past 11 years, I love you, any new readers who take time out of your day to check in here, I love you, people that comment to agree and disagree, I love you, people who don't comment but I can make smile.  Even if you just come here to see a cute photo of your nephew or niece or grandkids (hello family!) I'm happy you are here.  It makes my heart sing to have this little corner to call our own. 

So Long, Long Weekend

Hi!  Hello, just checking in from the end of a fun and long weekend.  We had a weird start to school last week, full of half days and non-uniform days due to the heat, and tomorrow is already promising another sweltering one, unfortunately.  JP is taking a photography class this year, and brought my camera to my family's Labor Day/September birthday party yesterday and took some great ones....I'm happy to pass on the photography torch.  The kids actually pose for him, whereas for me, it's lots of bribing and eye-rolling to get a good one.