Homes Sweet Homes

Phil and I were married young.  I had just finished getting my Master's and he had just completed his Bachelor's at Franciscan University.  It was May 2001 and we were 23 and 21 and ready to do this thing called married life.  Only there was a problem.  We didn't have anywhere to live.  Phil was going to be starting his Master's program in the fall at Providence College in Rhode Island, and I would be job hunting while running my parents ice cream shop on Cape Cod.  My parents graciously allowed us to live with them for the summer months, as renting a house on Cape Cod in the summer would have been ridiculously expensive.

We lived with them for a few months, and then (thanks to my brother-in-law's connections) found a job for me at a CPA firm in Providence, and a small third floor apartment in a city nearby.

All the way at the tippy top

That little apartment served us well until John-Paul was born, but then lugging a baby seat and bag and groceries up three flights of stairs became tres difficile.  Phil was about to finish his Master's and I had left my job to stay home with JP so we were able to move elsewhere but with no money to do so. We spent the summer on the Cape and lived in an apartment above the ice cream shop where we worked and ate ice cream all summer.  I remember making waffle cones at night while JP slept upstairs.  We had no idea where we would live in the fall once Phil started teaching.

We lived upstairs and worked downstairs at Maggie's (now Katie's)

My mom had the idea that we should become house-sitters in the cute beach town nearby where everyone left their summer homes vacant during the school year.  I put a little ad in the local paper and voila!, a nice lady contacted us and said we could stay at her house for free from September-May in return for taking in the mail and keeping up with the landscaping.  What luck!  We lived in that beach side cottage for Phil's first year of teaching and then had to move out for the summer.

We lived on the road that led out to this island, so gorgeous

 At this point, my parents had opened up another ice cream shop in the little village where we were house-sitting, and Phil was to run it with my younger sister on his summer break from school.  We were able to rent a home in a town nearby for the summer and lived there with my sister while I was very pregnant with Andrew.  Once the summer ended, we moved back into the home we house-sat.

My biggest memory of this house is that JP got physical therapy weekly because he didn't want to walk!

Andrew was born, and although a free house was great to have, we knew we needed to plant some roots.  All of this moving around so often was hard and only going to get more difficult as we increased the number of kids we had.  Lucky for us, my parents have always dabbled in real estate, as my dad was a builder and property was their investment for retirement.  They found a two-family house in a nice town and bought it, renting out the top apartment to us (we had two floors, 3 bedrooms, 2 bathrooms and about 2000 square feet of living space - it felt huge!) and the bottom apartment to the elderly woman who was currently living there.  Thank goodness she was hard of hearing, as we had many babies in a short time in this house!

At some point, my brother, who was working in New Hampshire, decided to move back to the area with his family and wanted to rent the bottom apartment until they built a house to move into.  It was agreed that my parents would turn the two-family house into two condominiums, and sell one to my brother and the other to us, so that they didn't have to be landlords anymore and we would actually own something!  We looked around at other houses in our price range and couldn't find anything remotely close to what we had, so we bought our condo when I was 31 and we only had four kids.  This is the same house we live in now!

We've seen a number of tenants come and go in the downstairs apartment, our favorite ones being Sarah and Katie.  We have tried to put our home on the market twice to buy a single family home, but both times were met with no success because it's an unusual situation to only sell half of a house.  My brother, who's since moved out, wants to hold onto his condo as an investment property.  Eventually we gave in, seeing that we weren't moving anywhere, and did a remodel by adding a bedroom, and renovating the kitchen and dining room.  Now the space fits our growing (full-grown?) family.

Just recently, my parents sold their house and began renovating the downstairs condo so that they could move in.  It seems funny how God's timing works full circle.  While I was frustrated over not being able to sell and "upgrade" to a single family home, God's plans of having my parents move in downstairs is way better than what I wanted.  It was in the works the whole time! Now our kids can see their grandparents all the time, and hopefully we can all help each other out with chores and errands and just enjoy three generations under one roof.  Looking back on our house adventures, I can see how our love for each other and trust in God has paid off.  I'm glad I didn't believe the world's lies that we needed the perfect house/cars/big salary/finished degrees before we started our family.  I am a big believer in hard work and making things happen but at some point you've just got to just do your best and let God do the rest!

Woah

AND

It Takes a Village, But Mostly Just a Team

Oh I can't wait for campaigning and voting to be over.  This whole election has been a freak show made-for-tv situation, and I can't believe this is the future of our country.  But as the VeggieTales sing, "God is bigger than the boogeyman" (or WOman).

As I'm typing this I just ate some of Declan's leftover popcorn.  Declan had a fever yesterday.  Am I going to make it?  Better stock up on my precious probiotics.  By the way, I had the epiphany, nay the EPIPHANY, that popping corn would make for a great snack to send in the kid's "lunches".  It's super cheap, looks like a lot of food (Maggie can finally realize her dreams of having a full-to-the-brim ziplock bag of snack food!) and not unhealthy.  I'm actually going to pop (haha, pop) on over to amazon to see if they have any cheesy popcorn flavoring I can sprinkle on top.  They do!!

Let's try this again,  I have no idea what I'm about to write anyway.  Sometimes I have grand ideas for writing topics, but they always occur when I'm not near a computer...like exercising...falling asleep...nursing the babe...pretending to listen to people talk...you get it.  But most of the time I just sit down and type-vomit some words on digital paper because if I think too much, I wouldn't write anything at all.

Wait, I do have a thought!!

I was thinking about how great it is that when our kids sit down to dinner, they don't even know which one of us to thank for the meal.  They usually start by thanking me, but then I have to stop them to say that it was mostly Dad's cooking, and then he says that I did the majority of it, and we really can't even remember who cooked what because we just did it all together.  One stirring while the other peeled, one changing a diaper while the other chopped the veggies, one yelling at someone to stop hitting someone else while the other cleaned the dishes.  Somehow it all gets done, bellies are fed, and we're both to thank for it.  The best part is, when we're just moving around the kitchen taking care of business, it doesn't even feel like work.  It's actually a little fun!

I know I'm so lucky to have Phil home with me in the evenings, a lot of moms don't have that and I do not take it for granted.  Either one of us can get home and whip up a meal (even if it is just chicken nuggets and french fries and carrot sticks) or take care of the baby's needs, or check the google calendar and do sports drop offs/pick ups as needed.  If I had to do all of that myself, well I probably wouldn't have seven kids!  People say it takes a village, and it's so true, but it's nice to know that our parenting team can do most of it alone.  Our busy schedules can be exhausting, but we're in this thing together and there is great comfort in that.  He's my teammate, my number one draft pick for always and forever.  Besides, at the end of the day we can check off a whole litany of merciful works - just by serving our own family.  Now only if I could do it joyfully and without complaint, I could be a saint :)

The Works of Mercy, by the Master of Alkmaar made for the Church of Saint Lawrence in Alkmaar, Netherlands. The wooden panels show the works of mercy in this order: feed the hungry, give drink to the thirsty, clothe the naked, bury the dead, shelter the traveler, comfort the sick, and free the imprisoned. Circa 1504.

7QT: One Day Late with Giveaway Reminders

Linking up with Kelly a day late and a dollar short because my kids steal all my money, honey!

1)

Wednesday was the day from down under, and I don't mean Australia.  Look at our schedule of after-school events:

On top of that, JP ended up going to Urgent Care because his back was hurting him so bad that he couldn't walk, go upstairs or do anything really.  He had injured it a couple months ago when he jumped down a few stairs (to avoid falling) and then re-injured it playing with cousins over the weekend.  They x-rayed him to make sure their was no fracture or anything, and gave him meds for the terrible muscle spasms he was having.  Phil had to carry him upstairs to bed and he laid around all day on Thursday.  It was so sad.  But I said a prayer of thanksgiving that this was what we were dealing with instead of the family of this little girl who went to my children's school.  What a tragedy.  Go hug your loved ones!!

2)

On that note, life is a gift.  So I'll be voting pro-life even though I don't really like the candidate with those views.  I just can't in good conscience vote for anybody else.  That's all I'll say about that.

3)

How about something happier?!?!  Geesh Colleen, lighten up!  Well how about some of my giveaways?  Winners will be picked on Sunday night.

If you want to win:

4)

$50.00 to Diapers.com

 enter here

5)

O Emmanuel CD

 enter here and here (ten winners!)

6)

50 Christmas Cards

enter here and here

7)

Wow, what a boring set of quick takes this morning.  Hmmmm, in fashion news, I got these shoes and love them.  So cute and comfortable with pants or tights, like a dressy shoe but also an ankle boot.  A Droot perhaps?  I always find that my interest in shoes grows along with my waistline, because when it's too depressing to try on clothes, shoes will always fit.

Have a giveaway winning, shoe buying, last soccer games of the season kind of weekend everybody!

Sinners and Saints of 2016

On Friday night we went to a Halloween dance at the kid's school.  JP's eighth grade class hosts this dance and haunted stage as a fundraiser.  They each make a funny tombstone for themselves and the teachers at the school, here's JP's:

John-Paul Martin

February 25, 2003 - October 31, 2016

"I wonder what this button will do..."

On Saturday, my family had a Halloween party/October birthday party, and Phil and I threw together this costume:

Ice Ice Baby.

Last night, the kids went trick or treating as a mishmash of characters:

We went to about ten houses and still had enough candy to feed a small country.  Declan loved the whole experience, and after getting candy at each house he would run off proclaiming "More houses!"

This morning was a mad rush to get out the door in time for their All Saints Day celebration at school.  They dress as saints and walk to Mass and then go Trunk-or-Treating in the parking lot back at the school.  Parents and teachers dress up as saints and decorate their cars and hand out candy from their trunks.  This year's communion of Martin saints include:

Alexander as St. George

Andrew as Blessed Pier Giorgio Frassati

Eamon as St. Michael

John-Paul as a young Pope St. John Paul II

And Maggie as St. Gianna

Here's the whole litany...

Happy All Saint's Day to you and your future little saints :)

7QT: Enfamil, Basketball Drills, and Family Mills (I mean Meals)

UPDATED: Winner is Tricia!  I'll email you soon, congrats!

Linking up with Kelly, as usual!  See the 2nd post if you want to win a gift card for FIFTY BUCKS!!

1)

I really dislike pumping.  I am so amazed at the moms who do this for any extended period of time, as every single pumping session I have is like a taste of purgatory for me.  But, I know I'm lucky I can produce breastmilk at all and that whatever I can squeeze out is good for Brendan, so I do it for as long as I can.  That being said, I am not opposed even the tiniest bit to using formula.  Brendan eats all the breastmilk I can express from the day before and then fills up on formula for the rest of his feedings until we're home together.  The most important thing is that baby gets nourished and grows, not about any mommy wars.  We're all just doing the best we can!  Phil bought this container of Enfamil when Brendan was born and here we are 10 weeks later just finishing up the last of it.

We will have to order more soon, though I think we are switching to this brand after doing much research (aka talking to friends who do all the research!).

2)

Speaking of baby formula, how would you like to win a $50 gift card to buy some baby goodies from Diapers.com?  Just leave a comment in the post about the best tip you have when it comes to baby feeding, and I'll pick a winner on November 6th!!

3)

Alexander still reigns in this house with making us laugh the most, though Declan is becoming a comedic master as well.  The other day we were watching Mickey Mouse Clubhouse from an old DVD.  I saw that there were only 3 mouskatools instead of the four mouskatools that are on the current episodes and asked Xander about it.

If you have no clue what I'm talking about, then thank your lucky stars.

He said, "Oh, yeah, this show is from like 1968, so there were only three mouskatools back then."

Well, that explains it.

4)

Phil and I have been killing it in the dinner game recently.  We make a meal plan on Friday nights (wow how our Friday night plans have changed!) and then create our shopping list from it (sometimes I even look at the circulars to see whats on sale!) and hit the grocery store on Sat morning.  Soooooo basically we are finally acting like responsible adults instead of stressing every afternoon about what we can whip up for dinner.  I'm sure you all already do this, but it's new to us and I love the results.  Plus every kid likes knowing what's on the menu and giving their two cents while we're in the planning stages.  We've made the following delicious meals lately:

Lemon Chicken (with rice and roasted cauliflower)

Milkcan Supper:

Weeknight Chili (with veggies and dip) 

Pasta w/ Prosciutto & Peas (but replaced some of the cream with chicken broth to lighten it up)

Maple Roast Pork (with baked potatoes and green beans)

5)

Do you want to hear our basketball saga?  No?  Then move onto numero six.  Otherwise, here we go.

  Andrew and Eamon are in 6th and 4th grades respectively.  That means this year they could both play on the same CYO basketball team.  We were looking forward to the simplicity of life that would bring us this winter (the season actually runs from November through March).  We just found out last week that their CYO team had neither a coach nor enough players and it might be cancelled.  Phil was asked to be the coach but he said no due to the fact that we will also have Maggie on a basketball team and Maggie & Xander in swim lessons this winter so he couldn't commit to certain days/times.  

The boys were devastated that they might not be able to play basketball and asked if they could play for the town league that Eamon played for last year.  I did some searching and emailing and pleading and discovered that the 6th grade tryouts were that night but the 4th grade tryouts had already happened.  We were told Andrew had to come to tryouts or he couldn't play and Eamon might be able to be placed on a team since he had played last year for this league.  

Of course the night of tryouts was also the night of Parent Teacher conferences for Phil, so I schlepped all 7 kids out to a 1.5 hour tryout in the hottest sweatiest most crowded gym you can imagine.  Brendan slept for the whole time in the carrier (well, he may have just passed out from the heat, but either way he was quiet!) and JP was such a huge help to me by taking the littles out to the playground until it got too dark.  Ninety 5th and 6th grade boys tried out and about 10 coaches were their watching their every move, taking notes, it was so intense!  

Andrew and Eamon were placed on town teams and we were crossing our fingers that CYO would be cancelled.  But alas, it looks like they've found a coach and are working on getting more players.  We can't pull them off the CYO team because then we would be the reason the other boys couldn't play.  And after we asked the town league directors to jump through hoops (ha, hoops) to get our boys on teams, we can't pull them out there either.  So I think we will now have 3 basketball teams between Andrew & Eamon when we could have only had one.  I must have done something to upset the basketball fairies.

6)

Aren't you glad you skipped straight to number 6?  Smart move.  This one's a freebie because 5 was too long and whiny.  Here's an All Saints Day photo from last year:

This year will look very similar because new family member = old costumes.

7)

I can't believe it's Halloweekend already!!  We have a Halloween dance at the kids school tonight with a haunted stage that the 8th graders work so hard on to fundraise money for their big events.  I have no idea what it's going to look like but JP has been gathering sticks to bring in.  Tomorrow night is my family's October birthday party celebration complete with Halloween costumes.  And then Monday is the Halloween parade in a nearby town and trick or treating after. 

Halloween 2015, when I had my stuff together

Then Mom and Dad get to pick out all the best candy for themselves and throw the rest in a huge bowl which becomes family dessert for the month of November :)

Have a spooky fun-filled, raking leaves, meal planning, weekend everybody!

(Don't forget to leave a comment about baby feeding tips to win a $50 gift card!)