JP + Me = 68

The birthday buddies turned 46 and 22 and were able to be together on their birthdays for the first time since 2021.  JP is and always will be my best birthday gift.

Gorgeous flowers from Mr. Martin :)

There were so many lovely homemade cards and generous gifts that it felt like Christmas!  Probably the Christmas wrapping paper also helped make it feel that way ;)

Andrew + Eamon's card made me laugh.

JP's card made me cry.

JP and I both had to work that day like the responsible adults we are, and our local Mexican restaurant has a great takeout deal on Tuesdays so Phil and I went after work and ordered it in person.  While we waited (twist our arms) had a birthday beverage and chips and queso:

Before all the feasting, I was able to fit in a treadmill run/walk uphill interval workout.  One minute for each year.  As JP said "you're not going to be able to do that for much longer".  Oh just watch me!  Also, I did 3.75 miles in total according to the treadmill and I hate when my watch says I do so much less *shakes fist in air*.

I got this email during the day from Phil...my first gift!  I listen to audiobooks on my lunch break walks, and try to use Libby or Hoopla which are free but the books I want are always on hold, and then when I get them I can't finish them in time before they get sent back.  Non-Reader reading problems y'all.  Now I can have way more access to way more books - yay!

After the delicious taco dinner (the kids kept raving about how much better the restaurant tacos were vs. our homemade ones) we had TWO desserts to choose from, both made by Phil the most generous husband and father.  Crème brulee (my choice): 

And his famous chocolate chip cookies (JP's choice):

I'm not allowed to post the video evidence, but we had quite the dance show from certain kids in the house while we were waiting for everyone to gather for presents.

These next two photos show why I hate opening gifts in front of people - I CAN NOT HIDE MY REACTIONS - good or bad you're going to know how I feel.  Also why I can't play poker.

JP's card from Maggie was very sweet

I was so happy to get Dove chocolates

Then I fell asleep at 9:30 which made it the end of a great day :) 

JP's Gifts:

Mac Book Charger

Portable Monitor

Shirt + Quilted Half Zip + Jeans

Caffeinated flavors of Oats Overnight for his early morning shifts at the hospital

Blue light glasses from Firmoo

My Gifts:

Diamond Stud Earrings (similar)

Double hoop earrings

Brooks sneakers

Audible subscription

Dove chocolates (from Declan)

Eucalyptus + Sage candle (from Xan)

Purple plant for my office (from Brendan)

Franciscan Alumni sweatshirt (from Andrew + Eamon)

Texas sweatshirt (from Maggie)

Happy 22nd Birthday John-Paul!  This has been a trying gap year for you, but we love having you at home, especially to celebrate your birthday with you.  You are respected so much at the Emergency Room where you work, adored by the doctors you shadow, supported by SO MANY FRIENDS who call you all the time, are a great role model for the younger six kids, and have become a young man that we love hanging out with.  You kinda made this parenting thing look easy ;) You are open and honest and empathetic and have the gift of yap and we know you are going to be an amazing and successful doctor by the way you treat everyone in your life.  We couldn't possibly love you more than we do and we thank God everyday for the gift of YOU!

Week in Review: February Vacation, The Second Half

Happy Monday!  I never got around to posting at the end of last week but nobody cares so here we go!

Good Doers

Maggie comes home from her mission trip in Texas tonight and we've missed her so.  She just absolutely will never be allowed to go to college m'kay?  I am going to ask her to write a post about her experiences because it seems to have been life-changing from her texts and photos.  We are so so proud of her servant heart.  I'll just leave you with a few photos for now:

Good Days

The weather started warming up into the 40s lately which means lots of outside play time.  Phil brought the littles to kick field goals and Declan has the skills!  Not surprising since he is a soccer player, but it's crazy how much he is like a mini Andrew who was the kicker for one Covid weird fall two season of Varsity football.

Week in Review: February Vacation, The First Half

It's February Vacation here in Massachusetts, which means that Phil and the kids are off of school/work but I still have to work - womp womp.  I do get out an hour early each day at least.  We seem to have lots going on this week, so I thought I would split this week's activities into two posts.  I swear I used to write about all sorts of topics, but after blogging for 17 years, it's mostly just family updates now.  I've said it all y'all!  

For Valentine's Day, Phil and I ate out at The Mooring restaurant in Newport which was beautiful, right on the water.  We got the baked brie (tiny!) and I got the fish sandwich and he got the burger like the seafood lover and hater that we are.  Our hotel was meh, but you get what you pay for, and I had a gift certificate that I had paid half price for.  There was a very large and LOUD group of people that were down the hall from us and we had to be *those people* who called the front desk to complain about the noise at 9:30pm.  Of course I made Phil do it because I was too scared.  I'm not sure they got spoken to, but they all left after 20 minutes or so and we were able to fall asleep by 10 just like we like it, cough cough old.

On Saturday morning, we drove from Newport to Boston to watch Eamon run his two races at the State Track Meet.  We were just so happy to support him in his first track season, qualifying for states in two events and wondering why he has played basketball for the past twelve years instead of running winter track.  Ah well, you live you learn!  Plus he really did love basketball for all those years.  Eamon ended up getting a PR in the 1000m and his 4 x 800m relay team placed 9th, which was just shy of getting a medal.  It was a long but fun day, and we were very surprised to have one of my sisters show up to cheer him on, along with her husband and their son.  We drove home and went to a vigil mass in town because more snow was forecasted for that night, then ate pizza with the kiddos.

Before

After - dead on the ground

Recovering

Week in Review: A Lovely 25 Years, An Eggcelent Family, and Another Snow Day

Happy Valentine's Day Lovers!  

Ick. I actually hate the word lovers, it's too visual for me, ya know?  

The guy who asked me to be his valentine 25 years ago has apparently not changed his mind and is taking me away on a little overnight date to celebrate. 

Valentine's Dance in a ballroom in Gaming, Austria in 2000

 25 years together and he's still my favorite.

I think this all the time :)

OK that's enough mush, let's look back at what happened this week.

Eamon and a cousin went snowboarding and had a blast.  His phone, however, also had a blast when it dropped out of his pocket and was run over by a car or twenty.  He was due for a new phone anyway but man that was an expensive day!

Week in Review: A Pathetic Snow Day, An Almost State Qualifier, A Scam That Worked, and Some Chicken Biology

Another week of illness in the house, this time for the younger three boys.  I'm pretty sure it's the flu, as people they are friends with have tested positive for it.  I didn't bring them in because we are managing their symptoms at home and there's nothing the doc can give us for a virus except advice.  Lots of resting, fluids, and alternating tylenol and advil for the fevers.  Poor babies.  JP says there's tons of it going around at the hospital where he works.  Brendan was the first to recover and is back to school today, but Declan and Xander are still home.

We had our first Snow Day except that it barely snowed!  School was called off the night before and it only snowed a couple of inches, but we will take it!  I always try to do some deep cleaning or organizing chore on snow days because they are bonus days of no work.  I swear I'm fun ;)

Phil and I went through the three younger boys clothes and donated lots (no need to save the smallest boy clothes anymore!) and moved everyone up a size.  

Then we put winter sheets on their beds and washed everything in sight and opened windows and sprayed their room down with this disinfecting mist.  At night they all took showers and put on fresh pajamas, and there's almost nothing that makes me feel like a better mother than turning a sick room into a clean and healthy room.  Aaaahhhh.

Last weekend, Eamon ran in a track meet and got a PR in the 1000m:

He's in maroon tank and blue shoes

Even though he is a senior, this is Eamon's first time ever running high school track...as he has always played basketball in the winter since age 6.  But when he made the Varsity Basketball team last year and was a benchwarmer, he didn't want to go through that again.  The winter track coaches are very happy to have discovered him "where have you been hiding?".  They want him to run Spring Track and think he can qualify for states (he missed it by a couple seconds) at tomorrow's last chance meet.  I guess soccer players make great runners!

Supplemental Income

If health is wealth, then here is how we are supplementing our income diet in the Martin household.

The daily doses:

Started taking this iron supplement when pregnant and anemic, worked so good that I was told to only take every other day.

Mini Fish Oil because those big ones are hard to swallow

Nutrafol for the year of Colleen's hair regrowth

Magnesium every night before bed - no more charlie horses in my legs and magnesium levels are so important for so many things (google it)

Probiotics for adults

Probiotics for kids

Vitamin D3 + K2 drops for everyone (you're probably deficient and this bottle contains 600 servings!)

~

Under the weather helpers:

I prefer to drink an Emergen - C every day in the winter, made with hot water

Raw Vitamin C

Zicam (Phil swears by these when he feels something coming on)

Propolis Immune Support throat spray

~

Gummy candies, I mean vitamins:

These are too fun to take, so I'm not sure how effective they are but I figure if we are trying to eat a balanced diet, then these will fill in the cracks of any deficiencies we may have.

Men's multi

Women's multi plus Collagen (I also put this collagen powder in my coffee each morning)

Teen Boys Multi

Teen Girls Multi

Kids Multi plus Omegas

Cheers to a healthy and active 2025!

Week in Review: January's Done, Science Fair Won, Fattening Up a Skinny One

Happy Last Friday of January!  For anyone participating in a Dry January, or Whole30 or Gluten Free January - you made it!!  And yes I am patting myself on the back there, as Phil and JP and I have successfully given up gluten for this last month (minus the eggo waffle I absentmindedly ate one morning when really sick and totally forgot about gluten).  

JP has had really good results going GF including less bloating and he's also lost a good chunk of weight between eating better and his job as an ER Tech which gets him lots of steps and then he goes to the gym straight from work.  Phil and I have been eating too many chips and chocolate to have lost much weight but I think I feel less bloated overall, like I don't have days when I feel gross/stuffed.  I absolutely hate that feeling and try to never overeat so as to avoid it.  The real test will come tomorrow when we introduce gluten back in.  I'm dreaming of a cheeseburger on a brioche roll.  One addition to my diet that I want to keep is eating Oats Overnight for breakfast.  It feels like a luxury to pick a flavor each night, shake it up with unsweetened almond milk, and grab it in the morning.  Yum!  Plus oatmeal = good for my cholesterol levels.

Are you tired of hearing about gluten?  Me too, moving on.

Alexander went ahead and won 3rd place for his 8th grade science fair project which means he is supposed to compete at the regional science fair in a month... which happens to be the same day as their huge end-of-season swim meet.  Dude, we said just get an A.  Kidding, kidding (kinda) we are very proud of him.  

After 14 science fair projects, we finally cracked the code on how to set up a trifold board with ease.  The secret is in creating documents with the perfect dimensions and background colors and borders that get printed at Staples, instead of printing a whole bunch of papers and cutting and cropping and placing on construction paper.  

Old way of creating the board:

New way of creating the board:

My my how he's grown in a year!

Week in Review: Still Sick But Perking Up

 This past week was rough, illness-wise, for the parentals at Casa Martin.  I had a fever for a whole week that had me not sleeping and eventually turned into congestion and a cough.  Phil has had a cold and bad cough for almost two weeks.  We both went to the doctor, which included a chest x-ray for moi, got prescriptions for antibiotics (and steroids for Phil) and have finally turned the corner.  The only upside to being sick?  Not having to go to work!  But the whole catching up at work after a week off has not been fun.

Guys, my glasses were fogging up because of the mask and I felt like I was suffocating.  How did we wear these things for so long?

Let's focus on some good things mkay?

The Washington Commanders won on Sunday night, which was a huge victory, and Eamon got so excited that he threw off his shirt and ran around the family room.  Andrew was freaking out as well, texting and face-timing from Ohio.  These boys have been fans for so long to a team that stunk, and I'm so grateful they are able to see them go this far into playoffs finally.  Next big game is this Sunday!  Go Commies!

Sept. 2010

Lucy Doodle got a DIY bath at our local pet store.  For $12 it's worth it for the ease and to not have a wet dog run around our house :)  Plus the kids seem to think of it as fun and not a chore, muahaha!

Week in Review: Look Away, Look Away

This week has been a yucky blur - with illness, a full moon, fires on my mind, hormones, and some other bad things sprinkled throughout.  If you want to be uplifted and have a laugh on this Friday morning, then I suggest you, in the words of the theme song from A Series of Unfortunate Events:

Just look away, look away

There's nothing but horror and inconvenience on the way

Ask any stable person "Should I watch?" and they will say

Look away

Look away, look away

On Sunday, Andrew left at 3:30 am to drive back to Franciscan University with his cousin as his passenger.  The trip was far from uneventful and I was happy to receive the text that he had arrived safely after a ten hour drive.  The next day he filled me in on what had happened:

I guess the police officer cited him for a traffic violation to save him $100 but the ticket was still $170.  Of course, I'm so glad they were safe but also SLOW DOWN BUDDY!

~

If you read here regularly, you may remember that Andrew had his heart broken right before arriving in Austria last semester, which led to a really horrible time of his life.  We were all very sad and scared and reached out to his RD, a therapist, a priest and a sister over there so that he could have people to talk to and help him.  During this time, we told him that we didn't care about his grades/school, we just wanted him to feel better.  He pulled through and ended up having a wonderful semester with so many new friends (that he never would have met had he still been in a serious relationship) but he also ended up getting a 77 in his one nursing class (taught via zoom from the main campus).  

It turns out that if you get below an 80 in a Nursing class, that's considered failing and you have to retake it before moving on.  The problem is that he can't retake that class until next fall, so he is unable to move on with nursing classes this spring and in the end it means he has to stay a whole extra year at college.  We all got involved via emails to see if there was any other solution, but the Nursing Dept. would not budge.  On the one hand, I understand if they feel he doesn't know the material, he shouldn't move on (who wants an untrained nurse?) but on the other hand, he has to go to college for an extra year because of three points in ONE class.  It's a tough lesson to learn and one I pray he doesn't repeat or he's out of the program.  He's back at campus taking a full class load of non-nursing classes he needs to graduate, but he's not with his friends in class anymore and they are all moving on without him.  This is sad but he has a very good attitude about it, thinking it might make it easier for him to work as a CNA in his last two years when he has fewer classes, and we hope we will see the reason clearly one day.  Faith and God’s timing yadayada.

Week in Review: Not Really Knowing, Not Really Teeth, and Not Really Resolutions

The first full week of 2025 was sort of...boring? ordinary?...and it felt really difficult getting back into the normal schedules after having two full weeks off.  What a luxury those weeks were.  Now we're back to track practices/meets and swim practices and violin lessons and piano lessons and basketball practices/games with a bunch of dentist appointments and evening meetings thrown in.  Ya know, life!  I miss Christmas already :)

One Christmas gift that I forgot to talk about was the book I made for Andrew:

This link should allow you to see the finished project, a labor of love, and one that I thoroughly enjoyed putting together bit by bit each week as he emailed me updates and photos.  I used Mixbook to create the scrapbook because it allows you to copy+paste text from an email right into the book so it's all in his own words.  After my own semester abroad in college, I had to print photos and start scrapbooking my adventures from what I could remember, and I never even finished the project.  I'm so glad to be able to give my kids this finished book right after their semester is over that they can cherish forever.  

JP sent me a TED Talk that both validated our family rules re: screen time and social media, and also made me think a lot about what I'm doing with the time I have on this earth.

 

I think the issue is that we never know how much time we have left in life, and if we did, what would we do different?  If I knew I had one year left to live, I would quit my jobs, eat whatever I wanted and travel and spend all my time with family and loved ones and volunteer.  But if I knew I was going to live until 100 years old, I would eat as healthy as possible, exercise daily, save money during my working years, etc.  Since we don't know "the day or the hour" I'm coming to the conclusion that we have to find a balance between those extremes.  Which leads me to a question - would you want to know your last day on earth?

(The planner in me would want to know, but the anxiety in me would probably have a terrible time living with that knowledge.)