Blog? What Blog? (7 Quick Takes)

You practically forgot about me didn't you?!?  I admit, it's been a while since I've been here.  If have no good excuses either -- I just didn't feel like blogging.   But I missed the friendships and conversation here and kept thinking about things that maybe one day I'd write about. 

I'm not sure that I'll be cranking out all kinds of new posts now that I've dipped my toes back into the waters, we shall see...  

For now, my fingers could use a little exercise at the keyboard and I thought I'd hit you with a few quick takes on what I've been up to...

(1)

Not blogging.

(2)

Revamping our homeschool schedule and introducing some new materials.

This has been a really great change for us these past five or six weeks.

Last year James was still a morning napper and we were able to get our work done during his morning nap and then finish up the odds and ends during his afternoon nap.  

This year, no morning napper + only one independent reader = near total implosion of the homeschool.

I got sick of complaining to Russ that everyone needed more individual attention from me in the mornings when all our brains are fresh fresh fresh.  

Apparently Russ got sick of hearing me complain about it too ;)

He offered to keep the three younger kids out of the dining room from 7 - 8am three mornings a week so that I could get in a whole hour's worth of lessons with the boys before he even left for work in the morning!!!

Isn't he the best?!?

Our new routine is: Mondays and Wednesdays, we're up at 6 and Russ and I alternate going to 7am Mass (usually with one or two kids) while the other gets things ready for the big kids to leave the house for tutoring at 8.

Tuesdays, Thursdays, and Fridays, we're up at 6, I have a cup of coffee, take a shower, and do lessons with the boys from 7 to 8 while I have a second cup of coffee.  (They alternate working with me and independently)  Then after Russ leaves for work at 8, I have another cup of coffee (surprise, surprise) and eat my breakfast while I do lessons with Ruth (and James is *hopefully* being supervised by the big boys since they get a break then.)

Here's what it looks like from where I sit and do my thang...

boys have already had breakfast and done morning chores, so after they're done here, they get a break for about 1 or 2 hours!

usually I finish all of Ruth's work with her in the morning (math, reading, and handwriting, as
well as the homework she has for the Study Center)

This new schedule is - to say the least - AWESOME!!  We get so much work done!  And my children get the one on one time they need with me.  It is truly amazing how much work you can do when you're not chasing a two year old around and up and down and over and out and behind and oops!  It's been three hours and we've still only done one math equation........

Now three days a week are crazy productive, important things like reading and spelling are not falling through the cracks like they had been,  and we all still get free time later in the day.  Win - Win - Win.

We've also started using some new books and program after a mid-year review of sorts.  The state of the homeschool was, um, shall we say, lacking.  So it was with much excitement and gusto that I started Aaron on not one, but TWO new grammar books, as well as Wordly Wise for vocabulary.  And Dominic is starting All About Reading this upcoming Monday as our final "push" to get him reading.

So, that wasn't really a quick take, but I really wanted to tell you about it because I think these changes have literally saved us from self destruction :)

(3)

This photo is a hint at what I've *really* been up to during my free time.
And it is the sweetest evidence of a "100 Easy Lessons" child in the home <3 <3 

And I've still be crocheting.  Obvi.  That's probably the main reason I don't blog much anymore.  If I could dictate blog posts into some sort of dictaphone-to-blog program while I crocheted, then maybe I could keep the cobwebs from collecting here.  But as it is, I've been busy working on some projects for (maybe) reopening my Etsy shop as well as pieces of Ruth's blanket...

I've got about 30 of these made... 12 left to go.

AND I'VE BEEN MAKING POMPOMS!!!!

Life is decidedly better now that I have a pompom maker and can just put perfectly puffy balls of yarn on anything I want.

hats for three sweet new little baby girls :)

And speaking of yarn...

Here was a cute little ornament I made for my sister (and fellow crochet lover) for Christmas :)  I just love it!

(4)

James turned 2 last month!  I could just go on and on about how much I love that kid (his singing!!  ohh!!! <3 <3 <3) and about how much of a handful he is (his modern art with diaper cream and baby powder)... but quick takes, I know.  

James thoroughly enjoyed his cake with sprinkles!   And he even got some new toy cars that I "wrapped" by taking them out of their packaging and then putting them back into the brown Amazon box in which they arrived.  It was very... celebratory.  In a kind of distracted mom urban industrial sort of way.

He's still not a talker, by any means, but more and more we know what he's saying, even if everyone else thinks he just said asldkfasldhfjopinrckjsdnfdsfsmcuh.

Man, I love that kid!

This was the first time that we've had a two year old and didn't also have a newborn or a newborn-coming-soon.   It feels... different.  Like maybe he was the last newborn and maybe there won't be any more two year old birthday parties here.  Obviously I don't know for sure.  Some days I'm sad about the prospect of no more babies to come.  And some days I'm loving that prospect.   But mostly James keeps me running so that there's little time for melancholic introspection on any subject, and of course we're open to life and we're planning to keep on loving the family we've got, so it's all good.  (That's the best way to wrap up a topic when there's plenty more to say about it but this is not the time and you just need to shut it down.  It's all good.)

(5)

Dominic made his First Holy Communion and started altar serving!!!

The story starts back in early December when we had our pastor and parish seminarian over for dinner.  During the course of the dinner, Father invited Dominic to start altar serving even though he hadn't received his First Communion yet.  So the the Sunday before Christmas, Dominic went to speak to Father after Mass.  Both the priest and I thought he was going to ask about when he could start serving, and instead he said, "Excuse me.  When can I make my First Communion?"  Our pastor said, "How about next week?"  And so he did!  

It truly was blessed circumstances!

(You can read about why I've been so happy that my children have (thus far) received their First Holy Communion at the regular Sunday morning Mass we attend here)

And he's since been altar serving <3

(6)

I said that the school changes were the biggest changes around here lately.  Not so, actually.  Russ started a new job the Monday after Christmas.  It's been a huge change.  We had been praying about a change for him for well over two years, and when this new opportunity worked out (when many others hadn't) we thought it was the right move.  It's been a rocky transition, and while we feel certain that we didn't make any changes lightly, it's hard to see that this was the right one while we're trying to navigate what it means for our family.  There really have been so many changes, and most of them don't feel like good changes or "worth it" changes as this point.  If you have a spare prayer to offer for Russ' peace in his new position, I'd truly appreciate it.  I know he would too.  I think the fact that we, along with many other friends and family members, have been praying for this situation for so long, keeps us believing that we made the right decision and now we just have to have faith (and patience!) that it will improve.

I sure do love and appreciate this guy :)
(so do the kids <3)

(7)

And finally, a few words about Lent.  Here is my motto for the year:

Who needs a hair shirt when you can wear jeans? (Lent 2016)

One of my Lenten penances this year is to wear jeans at least once a week.*  

 Sheer torture.  

If you know me in real life, and have seen me recently and I was wearing jeans, believe me, I was in appropriate Lenten agony.  I just hid it.  Because I didn't want to be like one of the pharisees and their phylacteries.  Or the fasting hypocrites and their disfigured faces.  Or whatever.  You know.

On Ash Wednesday the reading was "Rend your hearts, not your garments."  Basically, God was talking to me, because if there's anything I want to do to a pair of jeans, it's rend them.

*I'm doing some other things like, prayer, fasting, and almsgiving.  So, don't worry ;)

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Friends, I've missed you!  I hope you had a wonderful and fun-filled January.  
And I pray your have a blessed and transformative Lent.
Hopefully, I'll be back here again soon.  But if you're on Instagram, that might be the best place to stay in touch with me.  Quick and easy Instagram really lends itself to my busy life these days -- and I'm grateful to have that outlet to continue sharing little bits of this blessed and lovely life <3  

Check out what other Quick Takers are chatting about this week over at This Ain't the Lyceum.

Oh, yeah!  And I got to participate in a spiritual reading recommendations post that Kelly shared!  Check that out too!

Keeping it Quick and Random (please don't forget about me!)

Hi!  It's been a while!  It's not that I've been taking a break from blogging, it's just that I haven't been doing it so much lately.  So.... I guess that's a break?  Well, it's not an official "I'm taking a blogging break and I will announce it to the world in this blog post" break, but more of a "I have a lot of responsibilities that have been neglected lately  because I'm at the computer too much."  And I also started to notice this unfortunate trend - if I'm blogging during the kids' afternoon rest time and I'm not done by the time they get up, I'm snippy and irritated for the rest of the afternoon.  And who wants that??  And I also noticed that if I blog less, I get to read and crochet more... but not at the same time (I think that must be what Heaven is like - reading and crocheting at the same time.)  

Anyway... I'm just here for a few quick quips, mutterings, and musings so that you don't forget about me!

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Clare has started calling James "Lil BooBoo." 

Where did that come from????

That's the absolute last nickname I would ever give a child of mine.

But that's what she calls him.  It started out as a high pitched cutesy thing: she'd scrunch up her face and stick it into his face and say, "Hi there Lil BooBoo!  Hi there!" while mauling hugging him.  But now, it's just a normal part of her life and conversation.  She'll come into a room and very matter of factly address me in a perfectly normal tone of voice like there's nothing bizarre about what she's saying at all: "Mom, is Lil BooBoo still in bed?"  No cutesy, high pitched voice.  Just a brother who is now referred to by one of the most ridiculous nicknames ever.

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Lent.

It's going.  It's half way over.  

It was one of my goals this year to have the kids and I make our new Stations of the Cross before Lent started.  Sadly, that didn't happen.  I bought frames, and hopefully they'll be up this weekend so that we can squeeze in a few family Stations during the season.

Other Lenten things are going well.  The kids gave up chocolate chips in their trail mix (usually a bi-weekly morning snack) and the whole family gave up boxed cereal.  Even though we don't eat that much boxed cereal to begin with, it's really been a sacrifice for some of the kids (especially when they witness James obliviously consuming his Cheerios, because he's exempt :) )  It's been hard on Russ who would live off of raisin bran if I let him, and it's been a little tricky on me because I've had to be on top of the bulk oatmeal buying, granola making, and remembering to get an occasional pan of baked oatmeal in the oven.  But I think Easter week will be especially fun and tasty for the kids - Russ and I decided to celebrate Easter with extra special cereal the kids love, like Puffins and Kix!!!

Nothing says "He is Risen!" like overpriced packaged breakfast grains :)

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Binge watching Gran Hotel on Netflix has made me appreciate the efficacy of foreign language immersion programs.  I'm only a few episodes into Season 2 and I don't think it's beyond the realm of possibility to think that I might burst out in Spanish at any given moment.  It's in my head and I can't get it out... eventually it will all come spilling out of my mouth and I will have officially learned another language via a media program that was not Rosetta Stone.  Granted, I may only be able to say things like, "The clean linens have been pressed and stacked," and "I'll take my tea in bed this afternoon," and "I know you don't love him," and "I just have to find one more clue and then I promise I'll go," and "it was the butler in the dining room with the candlestick" but you can't be too picky with these free language programs, you know ;)

I have so much more to say about Gran Hotel, but I'll spare you... for now...!

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My birthday was last week!  On days when I can remember it (or there's a calculator nearby) I'm 36!

We had lots of lovely family time to celebrate.  Russ offered to make a cake for me (as he has done a few other times) but when I mentioned that I wanted something very decadent involving chocolate and hazelnut, he wisely admitted I should probably make my own cake.  I followed this recipe to a T and ended up with a delicious dessert - every bit as decadent and chocolate-y and hazelnut-y as I had hoped for :)

Pinterest came through for me again.

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The snow is melting!  The warm weather and daylight savings time have given the kids the opportunity to play outside after dinner this past week!  That makes it feel like summer practically!

One evening they built a pretty cool sled run down our back deck...

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Not much else to write about, other than to assure you (and myself!) that I haven't given up here.  I'm just using this little down time on the blog to read to my kids, pray, do dishes, maybe start to make some Easter decorations, clean out my craft/sewing room, work on a few big crochet projects, and bake chocolate cakes from scratch :)
When I'm ready for some down time from all that, I'll be back to blogging!

I'm Back... Conditionally

I'm back from a couple weeks' hiatus.  Yipee! 

Taking a few weeks off to think and breath and pray about what this tiny corner of web-space is for me was good, but I haven't come to any earth-shattering revelations about blogging or the direction of Ordinary Lovely.  As for the future of this space...  I will only be here when the rest of my life is properly ordered.  I have not given up blogging for Lent, but I have taken on a variety of small Lenten sacrifices toward an improved home culture.  This is my focus this Lent, and if I am not advancing in that effort I won't be allowing myself to spend time and energy here until it is back on track.  Whatever disorder there has been was not the result of blog reading or blog writing.  Not in the least.  But it was the result of my own disordered priorities compounded by legitimate fatigue and by Laziness wearing his favorite costume, imagined fatigue.   

Anyhoo... even in my absence I was thinking and plotting and writing, and I have a few things set to publish here soon.  In the near future you can expect to read a few reflections on Faith and family life, homeschool, the art we've been doing, crochet (of course!), and some "scrap-tastic" sewing projects (projects that only use stuff from my scrap pile!)   I've even been imagining a mini-makeover in terms of how things look here at the blog.  (Goal for March - get a photo of myself up here to welcome you every time you click on Ordinary Lovely!)  I'm not planning anything that will knock your socks off, but I've got a handful of fun and simple things to get me rolling again!  I'm looking forward to it!

And in case you were wondering, here's an update on the fireplace mantel and the living room.  Status: neat and tidy for a week now!   It's been so good for my soul - it's easier to "see" the needs of my family with the clutter gone and some order restored! 

See?  No leg!  Our new family motto is, "a place for every leg and every leg in its place."
Catchy, huh?!

Clutter be gone!  Even the kids are on board and need no other explanation than,
"we're keeping the house like this because it's Lent."
(Clare is not clutter.  She can stay.)

And I leave you with my favorite picture from this weekend:

Love!