Week in Review: Slipping, Visiting, Zooing, Cooking, Relicing and Hiking

Let's start this off with an exciting new development.  I got some orthotic slippers to wear at work because I wear slippers 40 hours a week and was having some foot pain that I think may have been caused my old worn out non-supportive slippers.  

Is it sad that comfort insoles comfort my soul?  

Don't answer that.

Speaking of exciting, Declan's Friday soccer practice AND Saturday game both got cancelled due to the rain.

 

We were looking for a Sunday Funday activity to do with the littles and also needed to drop off a car at the airport for JP to have for his late flight home from visiting friends in college:

So we decided to visit the Roger Williams Zoo and it was a beautiful day!  They kids were delighted to see that they had "real" animals there - giraffes, elephants, cheetahs and sloths - in case you were wondering what qualified.

We thought he was a mammal

My pumpkins

Week in Review: Normal Weeks, the MCAT is over and Pierogies in Poland

Somehow this was a long week yet I can't believe it's Friday already.  I just looked through my phone to jog my memory about what we did this week, and it looks like just a lot of normal school/work/sports.  

Maggie had two home volleyball games this week (lost the first and the second is tonight) and Eamon had two home soccer games this week (won both).  Xander and Brendan had another full week of swim team and Declan had his first soccer game of the season (a loss and he was very disappointed to be put in defense) but his league does have a very cool sponsor:

Declan and Brendan love to watch Wheel of Fortune at night and their excitement for the contestants wins is really fun to see, and as a bonus their guesses are hilarious.  The other night I asked what the last puzzle was and Declan told me "Pouches Salmon".  It was Poached Salmon.  Good thing he's cute!

JP's MCAT went pretty well he thinks.  The first section was Organic Chem and after talking to other test takers who had already taken the MCats, they said it was the hardest set of questions they've seen yet.  But he thinks he did fairly well on all of the other sections.  Scores come out in about a month and thank you for the prayers, he said he felt them :)  He is now off visiting his girlfriend and other friends in Ohio, then his plan is to get recertified as an EMT and get a job and a car, which will thrill Maggie and Eamon who've been sharing.

Martin Family Meals for Nine

My friend at the gym asked me yesterday "Do you cook dinner for everyone every day?" with the follow-up question "What the heck are you cooking every night?" Haha!  

These questions don't bother me, especially coming from a good-hearted person who is genuinely interested in the answers.  I can remember having a young family and looking to older more experienced moms for advice like this.  I also understand that, for me, a normal night of cooking for nine is what others compare to their big holiday gatherings and they couldn't imagine doing it every single day.  Well let me burst some bubbles.

First, cooking dinner on a weekday for a lot of people is so different than hosting a dinner party or holiday meal for that same amount of people.  Way less planning.  Way less creativity.  Way less pomp and circumstance.

Second, we probably have 20ish meals on repeat with a new recipe thrown in here and there and we meal plan for the week.  It's more of a generalized "here's five or six meals for the week" and then the day doesn't matter.

Third, we eat pizza almost every Friday.  We either order it from a place with the best deals (currently Domino's) or we buy frozen pizzas and bake them (usually Aldi's) and I don't worry about veggies because it's Friday and we've all worked and schooled and sported all week so there.

Fourth, whoever is home first starts cooking dinner.  I mean Phil or I.  The kids are pretty useless in this area and it's my fault because I didn't train them and I hate messes and it's easier to just get it done right ourselves.  I'm sorry to their future spouses, but they will learn someday, as did I.

Fifth, Phil and I try to have a date night each week, and the kids either have a meal they like but we don't (like mac n cheese and hot dogs or chicken nuggets) or it's SMORGASBORD night (leftovers/clean out the fridge).

Sixth, my brain creates a meal by thinking of a plate of food.  On that plate we need a protein, veggie, and carb.  

Our go-to proteins are: Chicken breasts, whole chickens, ground beef, ground chicken, hamburgers, meatballs, sausages (including chicken sausages and kielbasa), thin pork chops, pork loins, chuck roast, stew meat, eggs, steak (rarely) and fish (for me).

Our veggies on repeat are: salads, roasted cauliflower, steamed broccoli, sauteed green beans, corn, raw carrots and cucumbers.

The carb sides include: lots of rice, pasta (mac n' cheese or with pesto or red sauce), potatoes, bread (as in garlic bread or cornbread or homemade beer bread) and chips.

To answer my friend's questions, YES we cook for everyone (almost) every day but not everyone is home to eat together all the time.  There's always enough food made and they can heat up a plate when they get home.  I don't want my big teenagers to feel like there's nothing to eat just because they had a late game.  Food is their love language!  

As for what we're cooking, well I kind of answered that already, but I realized that I do plan the weeks thinking about cuisines.  Each week, we usually have (the Americanized versions of):

1.Mexican food - tacos or taco salad or quesadillas or enchiladas

2.Asian/Indian food - something with rice, a stir fry or Korean beef bowl or Thai Peanut Chicken or Butter Chicken or Chicken Shawarma

3. Italian food - anything with pasta, meatballs, lasagna, bolognese

4. Grill food - my favorite because I don't grill!  Mostly hamburgers and sausages and chicken

5. Salad Night - we love to do a salad bar with toppings, or chicken caesar salad and we serve it with garlic bread

6. Sunday Dinner, like a roast or stew or anything that takes awhile to cook, though during football season the kids love "football food" to eat, things like pigs in blankets, baked ham and cheese sandwiches, stromboli

As for amounts, well we usually cook 3-4 pounds of meat at a time, 3-5 lbs potatoes, 2 pounds of pasta or 3 cups of rice or 2 loaves of bread, and 2 big heads of cauliflower or 3 big bunches of broccoli or 3 stalks of lettuce, etc.

Yes our grocery bill is insane, but so is our love for these kids, and one day we will hopefully make the rounds eating at their houses.  I hope their spouses are great cooks!

Week in Review: Andrew Tours Austria, We Tour Sports Games and A Tour of Healthy Pours

Happy Friday!  

This weekend, Andrew is travelling through Poland with his classmates and I'm so excited for the adventures he has in store.  He hasn't been travelling too much yet, just getting to know Gaming, Austria:

Campus

A day trip to Salzburg:

Andrew bought those Birkenstocks as soon as he arrived in Austria.

And a weekend trip to Hallstatt, Austria which looks like the setting of Frozen:

That's his bff and roomie "Smiles" and I'm sure he'll be in a lot of the photos I get, so I wanted to acquaint you all.  Smiles is such a great kid and has been an awesome friend to Andrew.  They played soccer together and have both been officially accepted in the Nursing program (yay!) and are practically brothers from other mothers.  The weather has been awesome over there, and the classes are way harder than he anticipated (reading has never been his thing, and he's taking some English and Philosophy classes).  I sent him a little care package from the German Amazon and found the way they translate into English to be quite lovely.  Adding an item to the cart is called "the basket" and shipping an item is referred to as "dispatched".  Very cute, very demure.

Nightly Prayers and Chores

We were sent a beautiful book that helps children pray along to the Rosary; Mysteries of The Holy Rosary, The Life of Jesus and Mary which is written by Jane Morrone and Heather Lean with illustrations by Yorris Handoko.

This book shows how to pray the rosary and portrays each of the mysteries of the rosary in beautiful illustrations.  The images are a great visual aid to meditate while praying, very helpful if you tend to get distracted like me!

October is the month of the Rosary, and would be a great time to start (or restart) this beautiful family habit.  Lord knows our world can use all the prayers right now.  I have fond memories of saying the family rosary at 7pm while growing up.  My parents would yell out "Rosary!" and whomever was home and wanted to join in would come down to the living room and pray together.  We aim to do the same with our kids, though we are certainly not as diligent as we could be and are trying to recommit for the school year.  Last night, we had a late dinner after a bunch of sports practices and games, and I played the rosary from the Hallow app on a bluetooth speaker as we ate.  Not perfect, but we're trying like the "practicing" Catholics we are :)  

Thank you all for your comments on the chores post.  We've had some discussions with kids and made some improvements and lowered expectations as needed.  Swim teams started this week, so we're at the pool from 4:30-6:30 most nights which means easy dinners for growing kids.  I'm seeing lots of oatmeal, eggs, fruit with nuts, protein shakes, and chocolate milk in our future snack choices.  After dinner chores are back baby, and we are trying to implement some help cooking meals.  The teens truly are busy and such good kids, and I need to have realistic expectations for them.  JP is getting a pass until he takes the MCATs this Saturday (yikes!) then gets a job and and then he'll contribute more or pay rent, his choice.  I know I'll miss these days when they are gone, just trying not to lose my marbles along the way :)

Just a Mom, Slowly Losing Her Mind, One Day at a Time

Normally my state of mind is like this:

But lately, not so much.  Call it summer burnout, call it back to school busy schedules, call it that time of the month when everything feels overwhelmingly overwhelming, call it bad news that keeps trickling in, call it life currently.

If you've been reading here for awhile, you will know that our friend Jean passed away this summer.  She was one of the holiest women I have ever known and I pray for/to her daily.  One of our last conversations was on the night of the July 4th fireworks, as we were sitting on the deck at a friend's house and Jean was listening to me complain that my kids weren't really doing their share around the house, and I was wiped out.  

My summer schedule was as follows:

6am: Wake up and walk the dog with Phil for four miles, mostly to get steps + time to talk, but also because the dog won't walk in the heat of day.

8am - 3pm: Work at my accounting job (normally 8 - 4 the rest of the year) which includes an hour lunch break on which I drive to the gym, run 3 miles or sometimes lift weights, shower and drive back.

3pm: Drive home and pick up little kids at camps, if it is a camp week.

3:30pm: Cook dinner.  Yup, pretty much every night there is a home cooked, balanced, albeit simple meal made for all nine of us even though everyone eats at different times depending on their schedules.  The night shift at the shop starts at 4:30 so it's a bonus if I can have it ready before then.

Evenings are for taking the kids to a pool/beach /park if they were stuck at home that day, loads of laundry, cleaning, prepping for the next day, doing work for the shop (ordering, bills, shopping, cooking) and eventually watching tv in bed until I fall asleep.

Phil worked at The Cottage six days a week and tried to take Sundays off so we can be together as a family.  That means I am home with the kids on Saturdays alone and feel pressured to spend quality time with the kids plus clean the whole house and run errands, meal plan and get groceries so that Sunday can be a fun day when Phil's off work.  Phil does more than his fair share around the house (no complaints there) but I want him not to have to do much on his one day off each week.

Let me point out - none of this makes me special.  So many moms have a lot to juggle physically and mentally when it comes to raising a family and also being a breadwinner.  So many dads have a lot of weight on their shoulders to provide for their family and also be present and available to their wife and kids.  We're all busy.  We're all burned out.  And we keep thinking "Oh when summer's over or when this sport ends, it will get easier" but it never seems to get any easier, you know?

In our case, it feels like Phil and I are going at max capacity and we need the kids to help out more.  I have a guilt that comes along with having a big family that was our choice, not their choice, and I never want them to feel like they had to be little moms and dads, raising their siblings.  They always had chores to do because they are members of our household, but we are definitely slacking in enforcing the chores and consequences of not doing them with our last three kids.  We also never really upped the ante for the big kids when it comes to helping out around the house.  Nobody can cook a meal for the family, nobody cleans the house without being asked, nobody puts in an extra load of laundry on their own, etc. etc.  Often times it takes me reaching a breaking point (aka mom's yelling so look busy!) before everyone starts running around picking things up.

It has become complicated since the ice cream shop opened last summer because our older kids who work there feel like they are helping us out, which they are since they can manage the store for us at night, but yet they are actually just employees who get paid.  If they had a job anywhere else, they would be getting paid and not feel like they were doing US a favor somehow.  So if I ask a big kid to throw in a laundry for me, I get pushback sometimes about "I work at the shop so much and then I have to come home and do chores" since we are their "supervisors" at home and work.

Last night, for example, Phil had a Back to School night and I went to watch Eamon's soccer game straight from work, then I had to bring Declan to his soccer practice, and when I came home at 7:30 there were dishes in the sink (from a dinner of chicken fajitas that Phil had cooked for everyone before he left) and crumbs on the table and the dog needed to go out and obviously nobody did a load of laundry and everyone has an excuse about why they can't help.  JP is studying for MCATs and Andrew is in Austria and Eamon and Maggie had sports games/practices and are now doing homework, and Xander didn't know that he was supposed to do anything because nobody told him, and Brendan is only 8.  But like how is a mom not supposed to lose her mind when she's been going, going, going all day and then comes home to that mess?

No really, I want to know.  

How am I supposed to not lose my mind because it feels imminent.

Which brings us back to the night of chatting with Jean.  She told me that one of her friends who was a mom got fed up and told her family that she QUIT for a week.  For one whole week, she didn't cook or clean or run errands or do  laundry until they all realized just how much she did on a daily basis and started helping out more.  

I keep fantasizing about it.  

Could I do that?  How disgusting would my house be after that week though?  I would still have to be a chauffeur, no getting out of that.  What is really making it seem impossible is that Phil would just be the one picking up all the slack, which isn't fair or the point I'm trying to make to the kids.  So do we both quit?  Then of course, that would feel like horrible parenting so we can't.  But at what point is it okay for a mom and a dad to feel like they can take time for themselves without being selfish?  Does anyone have any helpful advice?  I'm open to anything since what we are doing now is not working.

The plan for now is that Phil wants to call a family meeting and instill a chore chart that has daily and weekly chores for everyone.  He says if the kids don't do the chores than they can pay us rent.  I have no idea how wee Brendan will come up with rent money so chores it is :)  

I actually feel better just getting this off my chest, so thanks for reading, you guys are cheaper than therapy!

Week in Review: Days Late and Dollars Short

 I didn't do a Week in Review last week, so let's play catchup.  A new school year really throws a wrench into things but we are here for it!

We went to the beach with friends, per our usual summer Sunday activities.  Some of us swim and dig and play and some of us are indoor cats:

Then for ice cream, of course:

The science department at our Catholic high school came to The Cottage after the first day of school, and I had happened to take a half personal day from my real job to go scoop that afternoon since all of our workers were back to school, so JP and I served them.  They were very happy to know that JP graduated with a Biology degree, thanks in large part to one of these teachers below:

I posted that photo on our social media, and the English department showed up the next day, as not to be outdone by the scientists.  Please note that the readers are all protecting their eyes: