Week in My Life - Let's Try This

It was a Monday, y'all, no photos. I'll try to do better tomorrow. I'm not sure about this series, but I trust Kathryn when she says it's a good thing!

 

15 Gifts from Monday:

Lazy Morning - I am not a morning person. When I stay up until 2am to prepare lessons for the week, I'm really not a morning person. But, I managed to make banana bread with the little boys and sneak some z's on the couch for a couple more hours until the big kids woke up. Seriously, my little boys are up at 6am, but the big kids sleep until 8am. Someday, I'll use this time more wisely, but I've always been Jenny-Bear in the mornings, so for now, the couch time is best.

Speedy Facebook - Having been sick for two weeks, I have been feeling really lonely and a little too attached to my FB feed. This morning, I resolve to just look for Messages and Notifications and leave the scrolling for when I take my mid-day break or at night. This is so hard for me, to focus on the people around me instead of knowing it all and not missing a thing.

Divine Office Podcast - I love the rhythm of the prayers of the Church, and I have been using the apps and websites to try to do Morning Prayer and Night Prayer the majority of days for a few months. Since I discovered the podcast, though, it's happening a lot more regularly. Today, with such a late start, I decide to listen to Morning Prayer while getting dressed and sit down for a few minutes afterwards for my offering.

My Children's Complaints - This is a funny one, but honestly, I realized how firstworldproblems their complaints are. And that makes me happy. Of course, we practice not complaining, which is why I'm on a gratitude kick this month, but here's a sampling. My tween daughter's morning fit was that her shirt didn't fit right around the collar, so she eventually changed shirts. One son is out of undies? Throw a load in my brand new washer and dryer! Another boy must have asked me a dozen times throughout the day if he could watch a show, play on my phone, or play on the computer. We played learning games and painted until I sent him outside. We are so blessed.

Homeschooling - Love it! After two weeks of barely doing much school, I revamped our checklists to eliminate extras and get us back on track. Our Morning Basket prayers and memory work evoke wonderful conversations, and even my daughter's difficult math lesson resulted in a victory when I stayed patient and she finally understood. The pre-Kindergartener was begging to do more school at 4:30pm.

Our Faith - This year we are preparing the two big kids for Confirmation, and I love the discussions we are having. Sacramental prep years are such special times to dive deeper into the faith we try to live on a daily basis. Of course, attending a "Mass" said by a four-year-old in our pajamas was probably the highlight of my day. You still haven't made one of those Mass kits for your kids to play Mass? I finally managed it last Easter and highly suggest it, even if it's not Pinterest-pretty.

My Baby - He's 20 months now, so I probably need to stop calling him that. His little personality is so special, fussing frustrated one minute and crawling into my lap sucking his thumb for a cuddle the next minute. He is also my only baby who prefers to be put down to sleep and left alone rather than rocked or carried or bounced. It's a little sad, but it's so sweet when he reaches for his crib.

My Husband - We were supposed to enjoy a little getaway this weekend, but with everyone being sick for so long, we decided to cancel the trip. I'm sad as I click around canceling hotel rooms and plane tickets, but I'm grateful for our marriage. See yesterday's post for more.

A Mommy Nap - While the big kids wrap up school, I get a nap. Most days, I am able to rest if I want/need. As long as I find something to occupy the four-year-old, I can nap while the baby naps. I have found that my mommy attitude is so much better when I rest for a bit, especially when it's time for the dreaded bedtime rituals. I don't fall apart at 5:00! This probably means that if I went to bed a lot earlier, I could skip the naps, but then when would I watch my adult shows and eat my ice cream and Godiva chocolates?

Homeschool Conferences - We are in the midst of having to make some decisions about our San Antonio Catholic Homeschool Conference, so we are scheduling conference calls for later in the week. I am so grateful for these resources! Not only have I had so much fun and learned so much at the conferences I have attended, now I am making all sorts of new friends and being challenged in fun, new ways by leading and speaking at conferences. If you have one nearby and have never been, do go!

Folding Laundry - When I put on a Pioneer Woman show while I fold laundry, the kids will usually hang out with me. They help me fold, and we decide which of the yummy dishes we want to try. It's really fun to share this time, late in the day, and chat about fun stuff. It's part of my resolve to do more things I enjoy.

Freezer Meals - Y'all, this is my first time to try this idea of freezer cooking, and we are almost halfway through our stash. I bought a Costco freezer meal plan from the $5 Dinner lady, and it's working pretty well, so far. I'll write up a longer post sometime about it, but today I defrosted some chicken for tacos and tortillas and whipped up some frozen veggies. Easy. Just what I need. And when hubby's not home, it lasts two meals, so tomorrow is done, too!

Read Aloud - Inspired by Sarah McKenzie's Read Aloud Revival and Alice Ozma's book, the big kids and I are trying a 100-day read aloud streak. We will hit our halfway mark next week. So far, we have read Tom Sawyer and are currently reading The Wonderful Wizard of Oz in preparation for a book club we're hosting next week. Currently, after the little boys are in bed and everyone's chores are done, we sit on the couch and read for ten minutes then pray a decade together. It's a special bond.

The Internet - For all of the awful things about it, I do think there is so much goodness. I usually click on a bunch of links in my Facebook feed throughout the day and keep them open for when I have time to sit down and read lengthier articles. Today, I found good news, sad news, interesting ideas, and challenging thoughts. Finally, I watch that viral video of Garth Brooks stopping a concert to honor a woman battling cancer. Yes, I cried. My husband proposed to me sixteen years ago after a Garth Brooks concert, and I suddenly want to put his music on an endless loop and sing along at the top of my lungs (but the kids are in bed). I think it's amazing to learn all about this wonderful world and the other people in it.

This Blog - I'm not sure how much I like this Week in My Life stuff, since I don't really see myself using this space to document our lives like some mommy bloggers. I do know, though, that when I take the time to write what I want to write, I am inspired. Yes, silly and selfish as it sounds, I inspire myself with my writing. Plenty of bloggers (like Hallie) admit that writing helps them process things and embrace life, and I feel the same way. When I think of something to write and take the time to actually start writing, I actually work through the idea, rather than cast it aside and rush off to the next big thing. Good stuff.


For what are you thankful today? What was your Monday like?


For more Week in My Life 2014 Posts, check out Kathryn's link-up:

Bless Your Heart!