John-Paul's 8th Birthday Party

John-Paul and his cousin, Katie, had a joint birthday celebration.  John-Paul turned 8 and Katie turned 6.  They had a pool party at the YMCA and it was just (some of) our immediate family.  It was great, we had the whole pool to ourselves!  Everyone had tons of fun :)

 The cake was made by the baker at the boarding school I work for.  It was huge!  And it had chocolate shells all around the sides.  So yummy!

Hi Lo: March 4th

HI's:

1) We have had a menu planned out for this past week (and are following it), and even have a grocery list in process on our cork board.  Geez, I feel like a real adult now!  We usually kind of go with the flow when it comes to food in our house, but I think I'm liking this much better.

2) Happy Birthday to our dear friend, Fr. Jay Mello, and Phil's mom (Nana) this week!

3) After the ultrasound, we went out to dinner at my favorite restaurant, where I got a free entree and dessert because it was close to my birthday.  I ordered the Sole Florentine and the Peanut Butter Ice Cream Cake, both were so delicious!  And what should have cost me $24.98 cost me nada :)

LO's:

1) Maggie has a cold and Andrew has a sore throat.  Even though Maggie is the dramatic one in our family, Andrew is definitely the hypochondriac.  You'd think he was dying from this sore throat....he's got the man-cold thing down pat ;)  We are so lucky to be in March, and this is the first cold that is going through our house.

2) Phil's car went in for an Inspection sticker and ended up needing an oil change, a new part for the airbag sensor, an alignment, and a sticker.  What we thought would cost about $40 is going to end up being $400.  But this van of his has no payments, so we are trying to keep it running for as long as possible.

3) Since I now think this baby is a boy, and we already have the most beautiful girl name picked out, I need help finding a nice boy's name.  We like the Irish names and/or Saints names, but can't settle on one that "sticks" with this baby.  Help, please?

Baby Boo's Ultrasound

Yesterday we had our ultrasound where we could have found out the gender of Baby Boo.  I know you want pictures (and don't tell me otherwise!) , but this is from Phil's phone, so it's not the best quality:

Anyway, that was the best shot...the baby looked so darn cute on the screen, moving around, trying to suck it's thumb.  I love our ultrasound tech, she always just tells us about everything she's seeing, and lets us know how healthy and good the baby looks.  I know some techs are scared to say anything before the doctor reviews the pics, but she's so laid back and works for our likewise laid back midwife. 

The baby looks great, (s)he is only 9 ounces (which leads me to wonder why I've gained 12.4 pounds!?!) and is the perfect size for how far along I am.  This miracle never gets old, I am so thrilled to see the baby inside of me every time! And to hear everything looks wonderful is truly a blessing.  It's amazing how every single cell develops correctly and everything lines up to make a healthy baby.  When you think of how easy it is for something to go wrong, it's an amazing gift to have a healthy baby. 

I did try to sneak some peeks at the gender, and I think there definitely was something between the legs...but maybe that happens either way?  I'm going to go with boy - I guess we'll have to wait until labor day to know for sure.

Oh, and I did ask why I wasn't feeling this baby move as early as the others, and she told me it's because the placenta is on top (near my belly button) so it's like extra padding for the baby to bump through.  I should be able to feel more when (s)he is about a pound.  I definitely saw the baby moving all around on the ultrasound, so it's all good! 

Done with Facebook

I just deactivated my Facebook Account, and boy does it feel good!

I jumped on the FB Bandwagon waaaaaaaay after it seemed like everybody else was on it.  At first, it was addicting, meeting up with old friends online, and seeing how everyone has changed since high school.  I even thought maybe I could heal old wounds by "friending" my old high school boyfriend that I had dumped when I met Phil.  Guess what he wrote back?  "You've got to be kidding me."  Ouch, I guess someone doesn't want to forgive me.

After the initial enthusiasm, I basically used FB as an email system.  I never checked other people's updates, because really, I don't have the time or energy to care if it's 3 am and you can't sleep.  And I didn't post anything like that because why would you care? 

Phil thinks FB is from the devil.  He thinks it's a major time-suck, it makes people live in the past instead of moving on, and it creates false friendships.  He thinks if you were friends with someone in real life, you would pick up the phone and not turn on your computer.  Would these "friends" bring you a meal after the baby is born?  Would they come to your parent's funeral?  Would they lend a hand in a difficult situation?  Or do they just want to see pictures of you and your family (sounds a bit stalkerish, right?)?  He's finally led me to see the light.

I really have a hard time finding any value in voyeurism and nosiness, even when  weighed against the opportunity to connect with friends.  FB creates idle curiosity and steals time away from doing many other productive things. 

It's not only FB that can do this....I have been becoming more and more convinced that watching tv, blogging, reading magazines can all be wasteful when used to the excess.  There is a benefit to downtime, after all God rested on the 7th day, but I think we will be judged for what we do with that free time.  If our physical bodies are properly cared for, our spiritual souls at peace, our family all looked after, the financial needs of our home being met, and our good duties done for the day, then sit and relax! 

But, until I can get the rest of my priorities in order, I will be limiting my time with all things idle (if not cutting some out completely) during Lent to help improve my sometimes nonexistent prayer life.  I need all the help I can get, and if unplugging from the computer or tv will help me get a bit closer on the path to holiness, then I would be a fool not to do it. 

"Idleness appears as desire for a quiet life; yet can rest be assured apart from the Lord?" ~St. Augustine