Hi Lo: December 10th

HI's:

1) Giving to charity makes me feel so good!  Each of the kid’s classrooms has it’s own charity for Christmas time.  Andrew’s class is collecting baby clothing and items, John-Paul’s class is filling backpacks with school supplies and hats and gloves, and Eamon & Maggie’s class is helping out children in need with the specific gifts they have asked for.  Sometimes when I am feeling sorry for myself, I think that we are a family in need, but then I get these reminders that there are so many families in much worse shape than we are, and I am more than happy to help them out.  These kids are asking for warm clothes, diapers and supermarket gift cards…they need the basic necessities of life, not the newest electronic gadget, and isn’t that the least we can give them?

2)   Phil and I got to go to a Christmas party at the kid’s school (because I do the accounting work for them) and it was very nice.  Good food and great people!

3)   John-Paul has been such a good boy lately.  I don’t know if it was the First Penance that made him more conscious of his good/bad deeds, or just because it’s Advent, but he has been exceptionally good.  We expect a lot out of that kid, and he has been giving even more J  The other morning, I went down to start the car before school, and John-Paul came with me and opened up the door on the other side of the car.  I asked him what he was doing, and he said he always opens the door for the little kids because they need help, then he opens his door.  So sweet!

LO's:

1)   I'm having a hard time adjusting to this new job.
(Disclaimer: I know I am lucky to have a job at all!)

How were your weeks?  Ready for Christmas yet?

Eamon the Wii Little Jumping Bean

A Clean Slate

John-Paul made his First Penance yesterday.  Although his First Communion won't be until May, our pastor likes to do it in Advent so that the kids can go in preparation for Jesus' birth, than again in Lent, and then again on the day of their First Communion.  I really like this approach.

Through his Catholic school, his CCD class, and having us as parents, J-P was thoroughly prepared!  When we would go over the Ten Commandments to help him think about what sins he had committed (we didn't ask him his sins, just gave examples) he was so cute.  He said "I could never break the First Commandment because I love God waaaaaay too much.  I think all my sins are under the Fourth Commandment (Honor thy Father and Mother)."  Ha!  He's so honest :)

When he was done, he reported that he was not nervous at all, the priest told him he made a great confession, he had six things to do for his penance (I had to stop him from telling me what it was...telling him that it was between him and God), and that he wanted to go again tomorrow!  Phil told him that if he didn't commit any sins between today and tomorrow, he wouldn't have to go to Confession at all...and that's the whole point!

Speaking of points, our pastor made a great one while talking to the kids before Confession.  He said that just because a priest gives us a penance to make up for our sins, it doesn't really make up completely for our sins.  Using his example, he said: If you punch Johnny in the face, does saying One Hail Mary really equal the sin committed?  No.  But if a priest said to say 3,000 Hail Mary's as the penance, the person might get discouraged and never go back to Confession.  So the priest's "job" is to give a suitable penance but then our "job" is to make up for what was lacking in our penance in our daily life.  That's when we can sacrifice our wants, pray, and commit good deeds.  And once in a while we can get lucky and participate in a plenary indulgence to really wipe the slate clean.

We celebrated after by getting ice cream at Coldstone's.  Nothing better than a clean soul and a yummy dessert, am I right?!?!  Heck, I'll bring them to get ice cream after every Confession if it will help keep them away from mortal sin :)

On Working Full Time

Last week I officially began my full-time position as an Accountant at a very prestigious boarding school.  I would love to tell you all that I love my job, but unfortunately, I can't.  I can handle the accounting aspects of the job, and I'm definitely picking things up quick, but this place is so overwhelming.  There's 125 acres of land for me to get lost on...millions of names I have yet to memorize...new computer programs that seem archaic to me...and I'm in a position where I have nobody training me because the old person left before I started.

All of that makes the job difficult, but what is the worst is the schedule.  I work from 8 to 5 with an hour lunch break.  On top of that my commute is 45 minutes each way.  So every morning I get up, get the kids out the door by 6:45 to drop them off by 7 at school and then drive to my job.  By the time I get home again, it's 6:00 at night, which leaves me about a half hour to see the kids before bed. 

And not only do I miss time with the kids, but I feel so badly that Phil has so many of the house responsibilities now - picking up the kids from school, getting homework done, getting dinner on the table, and he somehow manages to have the house clean too - all after working a full day!  We knew that my acceptance of this full-time job meant Phil would have to pick up a lot of the slack, but it doesn't make the guilt any easier. 

I want nothing more than to be home when my kids are home, to do all the grocery shopping and cooking, and *most* of the cleaning (I'm not a saint, ok?).  I would love to be a stay at home wife and mom and take pride in all these "old-fashioned duties".  Luckily, I've been able to have that role before Eamon was born...but even then I had some bookkeeping clients, tutored kids in math, and babysat to make extra money.

Phil would love nothing more than to be able to provide a salary that would allow me to stay home.  He already works full-time as a severely underpaid Catholic school teacher, does security in the morning hours before school starts as well as a couple afternoons, and is the CCD Director at our parish.  Oh yeah, and he is getting his second master's to one day be able to take a job (in school administration) that he will hate but that hopefully will provide more money.  (He is a saint, ok?).  Especially because he doesn't think he is.  He thinks if I'm helping him earn the money, than he should help me in the home.  Love that guy.

For now, I'm going to struggle through this job, but changes are coming soon.  I'm not sure in what direction I want to go (or what we can financially handle) but I can't do this much longer.  My kids, my husband, my sanity, and our happiness are worth way more than this paycheck.

Wordless Wednesday: Maggie Turns Three!!

 

Can it Be?

Can my baby girl...my baby...be three?

Let's see:

Birth Day - December 1, 2007:

First Birthday:

Second Birthday:

Third Birthday:

Yup, it's true.  She's shockingly three already.

Maggie had a birthday cake last weekend at her Nana and Gramp's house.  We will be celebrating tonight with Snowman Sundaes.  She is beyond excited to be three, and I am happy that she will officially be done with the Terrible Two's.  It does go away overnight, right?

Happy Birthday to my favorite sweet and beautiful little girl!