The Blog - 2015 Year in Review (all the posts you might have missed ;) )

I really enjoyed looking over the posts I wrote at the end of 2014 and thought I'd do the same this year.   Here's a month by month peek at some highlights in case you missed a couple.**

For the most part, the things I've shared here are posts that were the most thoughtful.  Like they had actual content.  If you want to go back and look through the things I wrote that were book lists, curriculum recommendations, quick updates, and "hey, look at what I crocheted!" you're more than welcome to!!  Those you can find by clicking on the month headings or on the "Also of note" items listed at the end of each month.  But (with the exception of the soup and pancake recipes!) the majority of the links here will take you to the more substantial things I wrote :) 

Thanks for joining me for 2015 Year in Review :)  Can't wait to hang out some more in 2016!

** I'm not really that delusional ;)  I know no one's really wondering they missed here.  It's mostly for my own enjoyment - taking a look at what I did here this past year.  But in case you're wondering what you may have missed here.....  hehe :)

JANUARY

Woah!  I wrote 21 posts in January???

Oh, right.  Most of them were soup recipes.  If you missed the 10 Days of Family Friendly Soups recipe series you simply must check it out!  All the recipes are here on the Soup Savvy Page :)

We started off the new year with a dinner of Chocolate Pancakes with Raspberry and Bacon (warning - photos guaranteed to make you drool on your keyboard).

I mused on Christmas carols - The Theology of the Third Verse 

...and grocery shopping for a large family - It's the Club Pack Life for Me (Adventures in Grocery Shopping)




And one of my favorites (because it's one of our favorite family traditions!)...
How I Host a Casual, Family Friendly Soup Party

Also of note: Top 10 Family Picture Books, Crochet Dishcloth Pattern


FEBRUARY


I hosted a super fun blog hop and link-up showcasing what an ordinary day of homeschooling LOOKS like for many different families.  Check it out!!
See Me Homeschool

 Our First Baptism Day Celebration (new to us this year).

I wrote, "I should not grasp at holiness in spite of my vocation, but run toward and throw my arms and heart around the opportunities for holiness in my vocation," and need to re-read it often in Lift Up Thine Eyes: This is Sanctifying Work.

His, Hers, Yours, Mine, Ours (How We Handle Private Property in our Large-ish Family)

Also of note: 7 Gifts for the Youngest Jane Austen Fans, Chunky Crochet Cowl Pattern, 10 Lessons in 10 Years of Marriage, Beautiful Alphabet Books

MARCH

I sort of fell off the grid...  Nothing to report... Nothing of note.


APRIL

In honor of our 10 year anniversary I wrote about How We Kept Our Wedding Small, Thrifty, and Really Special.

And even though I'm totally committed to my husband, I also love Martin and Chris Kratt --
6 Reasons to Love (I mean REALLY love) Wild Kratts

And Dominic and I had a great homeschool success...
How I Got My Struggling Reader Prepped for His First Oral Presentation

Also of note:  The Story of how Russ and I Met,  5 "Extras" I Recommend for Your Child with Diabetes, 5 Things I Do Before Having a Baby

MAY

I wrote about How Lesson Planning Checklists Improved Our Homeschool Days and Attitudes.

And even better -- we celebrated My *First* First Communicant (How He Received Jesus and I Was Granted a Desire of My Heart)  (on Divine Mercy Sunday, to boot!!!)

Also of note: How to Help a New Mom (or Mom to Be),  Crochet Afghan Repair


JUNE

In June I wrote the post that I think has garnered the most attention from fellow bloggers to date.  (That was an honor.  And fun!)  It was my book review of The Life-changing Magic of Tidying Up in which I came to the conclusion that I Want the Tidying Up, But Not KonMari's Brand of "Life-Changing Magic"

And I also chatted about why I think it's so important to keep taking little kids to Mass even if they're squirmy, fidgety, shrieky.  What I Wish I Said to the Mom Who Approached Me After Mass.

Also of note: Summer - Time to Ramp Things Up, Homeschool Mom!,   DIY Coconut Oil and Sugar Body Scrubs


JULY

Dear Catholic Parishes, Give the Sacraments of Initiation Back to the Community was an open letter I wrote explaining why I was so happy that my son received his First Holy Communion not at the parish special FHC Mass and why I think more Sacraments should be celebrated at regular weekend Masses.

How do we keep a house reasonably clean and operational while homeschooling and life-living with five kids??  Our Chore System is Use ALL the Chore Systems.

This post, Today I Told My Children About Abortion, was one of the hardest things I've ever written because I wish it never had to happen in the first place.

Also of note: The Best (FUN) Math Apps for Summertime Review

AUGUST

Oh man.  THIS ONE STILL GETS TO ME.  I was weeping like a baby.  Heaving sobs, snot dripping from my nose.  I'm still pretty upset about the whole thing... definitely HAVE NOT made peace about the read-aloud rights I was cheated out of :( :( :(  
Exhausted Mom Syndrome, Narnia Read Alouds, and Why I Was a Big Fat Crying Blubbering Mess Today

Creative and Contented: Large Families Living in Small Homes (a Mini Series!!)  This was such a wonderful guest series with lots of insights and encouragement from moms making smaller homes work for their families - lots of clever practical tips and wonderful words of wisdom about attitude and gratitude.  I encourage you to check out the whole series!

The Great Colored Pencil Comparison (or Are All Colored Pencils Created Equal?)

I know this is weird but I had so much fun conducting the comparison and writing about it :)

Also of note: My Homeschool Curriculum Favorites,  All the Homeschool Extras that I Love,    If it's Late August, I Must be in the Throes of a Panic Attack
SEPTEMBER

Hmm, sort of a slow blogging month.  I wrote a little about my weight loss and health improvements on a meal plan called Trim Healthy Mama (unfortunately.)  If you're into that sort of thing, you're welcome to click on over and check it out :)

We're also big on using audio resources for learning, so I wrote My Favorite Audio Learning Resources for Homeschool

OCTOBER

In late September we found out we were expecting a baby and miscarried in quick succession.   I was so very touched by, and grateful for, the total outpouring of love, prayers, and sympathy I received from friends, including those I've made here through blogging.  I loved writing this post, as it actually brought me a lot of comfort to share my thoughts on the little one we lost.
Thoughts on Loving our Recently Miscarried Baby

NOVEMBER

November got away from me.  I had intended to write a few posts for Diabetes Awareness Month, but instead I wrote one.  I hope I get to write more, especially since Aaron started on an insulin pump in early October and our diabetes journey has been very different, but for now, you can read about why juice causes such upheaval in my soul each time I go grocery shopping :)
Guilt and Misunderstanding in the Juice Aisle (Diabetes Awareness Month, Nov 2015)

December

So, I wrote a couple posts about Sants Claus... like Why We Don't Tell Our Children that St. Nicholas is Santa Claus   and then a sort of follow up about why we don't "do" Santa at all and how Not Believing in Santa is Not Ruining Christmas for my Kids.

And I wrote a couple posts about having a c-section or two.  Or five.
If Practice Makes Perfect, I Might Be A C-Section Expert (in which I felt like I shared a big, tender piece of my heart by posting pics of all my c-section babes and me in the surgery) and So You're Having a C-Section (Tips, Tricks, and "Expert Advice")

So now you're up to date.  Anything remotely worth reading from this past year is here at your fingertips ;)  I imagine that "worth reading" is subjective....  But it really was fun for me to go back and look at all I typed out this past year, especially when I came across something I totally forgot about!  

Thanks so much for being an Ordinary Lovely reader!  If you're new, I'm so happy to have you, and you're welcome for giving you all the links you need to get caught up on all the juicy stuff from 2015 ;)  And if you've been a reader for a while... I'm truly flattered and grateful!  It's so wonderful to have friends here!

Want to make more fabulous friends!  Head over to Like Mother, Like Daughter.  I'm linking up with their Favorite Posts of 2015.  Thanks for hosting, ladies!!

Happy New Year everyone!

The Theology of the Third Verse :: Thoughts on Christmas Carols (from the archives)

This was something I wrote last year, but I wanted to share it again :)  

It's the twelfth day of Christmas!  Are you still singing carols?  You can, you know!  I am.

There's no rule that says the carol-singing has to stop when the sun sets on Christmas day.  In fact, if you're a practicing Christian who's paying attention, you probably already know that "Christmas" is often considered atwelve-day ordeal - a dozen days of Christmas!  If you're a really attentive Catholic, you may know that the season doesn't officially end until the the Baptism of Jesus (celebrated on the Sunday after Epiphany).  And some people who really really like to extend their celebrating, keep it all going until the Feast of the Presentation in the Temple (all the way out there on February 2)!  

But even these Feasts and dates don't "contain" Christmas.  

Christmas isn't merely about celebrating the birth of Jesus on one particular, finite day over 2,000 years ago.  That was one day.  We cannot "be" there.  We can imagine it - all that there was to see, hear, smell - the stable, the hay-filled manger, the baby's soft breathing and tiny cries, the mother rocking, the skies filled with angels and light, "Glory to God in the highest!!,"  the astounded shepherds, the bleating of their sheep, a blinding star.  Indeed, we know these sights and sounds well from Scripture and from Christmas carols.  

For the most part, not exclusively, but for the most part, the first and second verses of the well-known Christmas carols tell the story - the one with the angels and shepherds and kings.  

 Everybody knows the first verses.  Lots of people know the second verses.  But if you never make it to the third and fourth (and fifth!) verses, you're missing the whole of the Christmas message.  Because celebrating Christmas is not about one day, or twelve, or 39.  Just as the songs are not over after the second verse, Christmas is not over after the Christmas season.  To be sure, we should never stop celebrating, because Christmas celebrates much more than the one-time birth of a baby.  It is about God made man, the Savior of the world entering into that world to change it from within, and the holy anticipation, joyful expectation, and life-giving hope that He will come again.  "Christmas" doesn't end because Christmas is about our the Savior, our present-day King of Kings and the expectation of and preparation for Christ's coming to Earth... again.  

This is the message that is so often conveyed in the later verses of Christmas carols.  Sing them to the end.  Theentire message of Christmas is often contained in the entirety of the song, from the birth of the baby, to his Saving work, to his promised return.  Sing to the end!  The meaning of the Christmas "story" - the donkey, the shepherds, the star, the gifts - finds its fullness in the theology of the third verse!

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Here are some lesser known verses you might enjoy...

Hail the Heaven born Prince of Peace

Hail the Sun of Righteousness

 

Light and life to all He brings

 

Ris'n healing in His wings

 

Christ the highest Heaven adored

 

Christ the everlasting Lord

Come desire of nations come

Fix in us Thy humble home

Come desire of nations come

Fix in us Thy humble home

(3rd verse of Hark! the Herald Angels Sing)

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Then let us all with one accord
Sing praises to our heavenly Lord,
That hath made heaven and earth of naught,
And with his blood mankind has bought.

(6th verse of The First Noel)

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O holy Child of Bethlehem,

Descend to us, we pray;

Cast out our sins and enter in,

Be born to us today.

We hear the Christmas angels

The great glad tidings tell:

Oh, come to us, abide with us,

Our Lord Emmanuel!

(4th verse of O Little town of Bethlehem)

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No more let sins and sorrows grow
Nor thorns infest the ground
He comes to make
His blessings flow
Far as the curse is found
Far as the curse is found
Far as, far as the curse is found

(3rd verse of Joy to the World)

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Yet with the woes of sin and strife
The world has suffered long
Beneath the heavenly strain have rolled
Two thousand years of wrong

And man at war with man hears not
The tidings which they bring
O hush the noise, ye men of strife
And hear the angels sing

O ye, beneath life's crushing load
Whose forms are bending low
Who toil along the climbing way
With painful steps and slow

Look now, for glad and golden hours
Come swiftly on the wing
O rest beside the weary road
And hear the angels sing

For lo, the days are hastening on
By prophets seen of old
When with the ever-circling years
Shall come the time foretold

When peace shall over all the earth
Its ancient splendors fling
And the whole world give back the song
Which now the angels sing

(3rd, 4th, and 5th verse of It Came Upon a Midnight Clear)

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Merry Christmas, dear friends!  He Lives.  He Reigns.  He will come again.  Merry Christmas!

Happy Handmade Christmas, Vol 4 (2015)

Merry Christmas, friends!!  We had a lovely celebration yesterday - morning Mass with my parents, a small gathering at our house, our traditional Christmas Snack Table, and lots of delightful family time (including a walk in the late afternoon warmish weather!)  I hope you and your family enjoyed a beautiful day of merriment and joy to celebrate the birth of our Savior!!  

Anyway... Christmas Day is done, so that means I finally get to show you what I had been working on for gifts!  This year I had been working on a few crochet afghans, so I ended up giving fewer (but bigger) handmade gifts than usual.  

Over a year ago I started making afghans for my older boys.  The girls each have a quilt that I made them, so I making blankets for the boys was a priority.  They chose the color scheme themselves and then I did the "design" and work.  

Aaron chose red, orange, and yellow.  So here's what I came up with....

Oh wait - please understand that it's super hard to take pictures of blankets that are spread out on the ground.  If I was suspended from the ceiling I could get an ok shot perspective-wise, but as it it, standing on my tip-toes on my coffee table or couch, you get a picture that makes it look like all the blankets I make are trapezoids.  They are not.  It just looks like they are :)

So, here's Aaron's blanket...

Dominic chose blue and green...

We had to check Aaron's blood a gazillion times last night but it helped ease the pain and annoyance of late-night arm wrestling with a sleeping child to see him snuggled up like this :)

James didn't really have a say as to what his blanket looked like...

I suspected that this would happen, but James definitely did not want a new blanket in his crib last night.  You know how babies get used to the things they have in their beds night after night... well, it's going to take a warming up period before James is ok with adding this to his "comfort things" :)

The last afghan I gave was to my parents.  It's a granny rectangle that I started back in March.  I LOVE this blanket.  The colors!  The softness!  I'm looking forward to having one in my living room :)  It was so big that I couldn't even get the whole thing in a picture -- so you'll just have to use your common sense to visualize the rest of the rectangle...

Finally I made a few hats for the little kids...

I used this pattern for the Viking hats and this idea for the princess hat....

They're good for dress up indoors...

 Or for playing outdoors...

Or for dressing up your brother...

And the only non-yarn items were the saint dolls I painted for St. Nicholas Day.  Added to our collection this year were St. Nicholas, St. Joan of Arc, St, Juan Diego, St. George, and St. Lucia :)

So, that was it this year.  Now starts the season where I typically make something for myself.  What will it be???  Last year it was cotton dishcloths.  I think I need a new blanket :)

You may also like...

Previous years' Happy Handmade Christmas posts:

Volume 1 (2012)

Volume 2 (2013)

Volume 3 (2014) 

So, You're Having a C-Section (Tips, Tricks, and "Expert Advice")

 Despite the title of my previous c-section post, in the case of major surgeries practice does not actually make perfect.  You may know when your c-section will happen, but you certainly can not plan for every eventuality.   I'm may not be an expert but I have had five rather un-eventful c-sections.  Well, wait a minute.  They were monumentally eventful because they were the births of my children!!!  But you know what I mean.  They were routine.  There were no hiccups, no surprises, and my recoveries were a cake walk (as compared to many difficult c-section stories I've heard about...) 

While a c-section is not usually what any expectant mother is hoping for, it may be a reality for you or someone you know.  I've done it enough times to have a few tips for you :)  My list is not exhaustive, but these are things that stand out to me:

Before You Go to the Hospital

Here's a whole post I wrote on the things I like to do before going off to have a baby.  The one I wanted to mention again here is stock up on stuff.  Stock up on all your regular household items (shampoo, toothpaste, laundry detergent, etc...) because the fewer trips you have to make to the store in the next two months, the better.  One of the all-time dumbest things I ever did was drive by myself to Target the day after I got home with Dominic.  I still beat my up over how idiotic and potentially dangerous this was.  Please don't ever make this terrible, horrible, no good, very bad mistake.  Stay home.  And send your husband.  Or a saint bernard.  

What to Bring to the Hospital

You may think that you can pack your hospital bags like everyone else when you're headed in for a c-section.  Not so.  Your hospital stay will be much longer and very different from other mothers, and you should plan accordingly.  You'll need to pack all the stuff on all the "normal" lists for your hospital bag (phone, camera, sanitary products, baby's first outfit, etc...)  and you should also plan on...

• Light reading material.  You may think it's the perfect time to delve into that long philosophy book you've been waiting to read (what with all the quiet time you'll have), but the meds you'll be on won't allow for deep thoughts.  Bring a beach-read novel.  My personal recommendations are the Jane Austen mystery novels by Stephanie Baron  (Oh my gosh, they're so fun!  Read them.)

• An iPad or other tablet or "smart" device.  In my experience, hospital TV and radio are so, so, so bad.  My last hospital stay was like a dream because I had my beloved Pandora stations and Netflix at my fingertips.  Sometimes you just can't read and you want to watch a show or two.  Or three or four ;)   (When I was in the hospital with newborn Ruth I watched 57 episodes of Cash Cab with my neck strained to see the TV strapped to the ceiling...Just bring your iPad, ok?!)  

• Prayer Intentions.  You might think you've avoided the pains of child birth by delivering via c-section, but believe me, your body will have gone through the wringer.  You'll have pains and unpleasantness aplenty.  And you'll certainly feel some of those child birth-like uterine contractions when you start nursing that little one (actually, postpartum nursing my fourth and fifth babies was the most painful thing I've ever done.  Certainly the closest to natural child-birth I'll ever get....)  Anyway, my point is, have some special prayer intentions in mind so that you can offer up the pain and discomfort you'll experience when your anesthetic starts to wear off.  

• Something to do.  My last two hospital stays were marked with copious amounts of crocheting.  In fact, when James was born, a visiting friend remarked that my room looked more like a yarn shop than a hospital room.  I have the dearest memories of crocheting peacefully with my sweet, new James in bed with me.  I managed to make him a handful of custom-fit hats since he was right there (!) and worked on my first crochet blanket during our hospital stay.  Having something to do is a must for me!  It will make your time in the hospital feel more like a cozy getaway instead of a week of confinement. 

• Nursing tanks and cardigan sweaters.  You really are going to be spending much of the first two days in bed.  The nurses will be doing a lot to tend to your lower half, but that doesn't mean you have to wear a hospital gown the whole time :(  If you've got a nursing tank and a cardigan, you'll be warm on top, and ready to easily feed your baby (if you're nursing).  

• Loose fitting pants.  Really loose fitting pants.  And loose underwear.  You may be one of those women who can mysteriously fit into pre-pregnancy pants on her way home from the hospital, but after a c-section, even if you can fit in 'em, you shouldn't wear 'em.  You'll appreciate having something very loose and stretchy to fit over your incision site.  Tight underwear is the worst.  Plan to wear loose underwear and stretchy pants in the hospital and on your way home.  Take care of that incision site, mama!

• A soft cloth diaper.  Or something comparable.  I really want to protect my incision site for the first week or so after surgery, so I tuck a soft cloth baby diaper in the front of pants in between my skin and underwear.  This gives me a barrier between the incision and whatever elastic I may be wearing.  I know this sounds like ridiculous TMI, but it really makes all the difference in preventing your incision from being irritated.  And I'm just looking out for my fellow section moms ;)

• THIS NECK PILLOW.  You're going to be on your back for the majority of two days, and then for a lot of time all the other days during your hospital stay.  I seriously can't tell you how wonderful this pillow was for me.  A memory foam neck pillow allows you to rest your head to the side (with enough support that you don't get a terrible crick) even when you're not able (or it's too uncomfortable) to shift your whole body to one side.  I honestly don't think people without major abdominal surgery will get why this is so important, but let me assure you it is.  I can only say over and over again, this pillow was probably the BEST "extra" thing I've ever brought to the hospital.  

What to Ask for at the Hospital

• You can ask to hold your baby immediately after it's born.  I have never done this, but have heard that my doctor and hospital are becoming more amenable to it, so if I'm ever on the table and under the knife again (hehe), I will request this.  At the very least, you can ask to see your baby right after it's delivered.   (James, my most recent baby, was my baby that I got to see the quickest.  Maybe Clare too...)

• Speak up for yourself.  Ask for more warm blankets if you need them (oh! I love thos hospital blankets!), ask for help moving, ask the doctors to tell you when they see your baby and how they're removing the baby, tell them you'd like your husband to cut the umbilical cord if he wants to, tell them if you want nurse your baby in the recovery room, ask to replace IV pain meds with oral ones after you're in your room (IV meds, while more convenient, tend to make your drowsier.)  In short, be your own advocate.  It is after all, still the birth of your baby that's happening.

• Ask for anesthetics that are non-drowsy.  I have always been very alert and aware during my c-sections, but I have heard that that's not the case for everyone.  I wasn't loopy or trippy during my deliveries.  I was just pain free and present in the moment, and I'm so, so very grateful for that.  

• Ask for more pillows.  Even though I always have my aforementioned neck pillow at my head, I always ask for additional pillows to prop behind my back and under my stomach for the times when I do start to shift and want to rest more on one side of my body than just on my back.  You can also use pillows for the first few days of nursing to protect your incision and to "boost" the baby up without straining your lower abdominal muscles.  

• Before you are discharged, ask if they have an elastic abdominal binder to give you.  They better!  Binding your abdomen will serve two purposes - it will protect your incision site from daily activity (like toddlers crashing into you and the baby resting on you while nursing) and it will help support and hold your muscles in for quicker repair and and healing.  Also - sorry I have to mention this - ask for a stool softener prescription to go.  (You'll probably already be taking one during your stay)  After your section, you have nothing in the world left to be embarrassed about, so don't be shy about asking for this :)  Even though they won't let you leave without making sure your system is moving again, it's better to have some gentle help in this area for the first few days back at home.  Trust. me.   

A few final things...

• Let the nurses change your baby's diaper.  You do all the cuddling and holding and singing and stroking, but leave the changing to the nursery staff (except maybe till your fourth day or so)  It's a strain on your abdomen and incision that you don't need until you get home.  Don't feel guilty about it.  And don't feel guilty about asking the nursery to bring your baby to you any time you want.  And don't feel guilty about asking them to take your baby back to the nursery when you need to sleep.  You are recovering from major surgery and should not wear yourself out before you even get home.  

• Take your pain medication when you get home.  They won't give you anything that's harmful while nursing, so feel confident that taking your pain meds will help you take better care of your newborn and other family members.  That doesn't mean you can overextend yourself just cause you're feelin' no pain, but it does mean that you'll be able to heal more quickly and love on your newborn more because you won't be suffering unnecessarily.  

So, I've been around the c-section block a few times.  Let me know if you have any questions or if there's anything else I can share that would be helpful.  And if you've a multiple c-section mom (and I know there are a lot of your fabulous gals out there from the comments on my last post!),  please share your wisdom with us too in the comments!   I know there must be some other tips, tricks, and suggestions out there!!

Disclaimer: I've had my five surgeries, cared for sick kiddos, bandaged my share of cuts and scrapes, etc.... but I'm not a doctor.  Shocker, right?  I think there might be a responsible bloggers rule that says I have to tell you my suggestions are not medical advice and you should consult an actual physician to get actual medical information.  I just offer casual conversation mom-to-mom advice, so take or leave it ;)  

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Bonus Material :)

I love my pictures of when I spent hours and hours crocheting and cuddling with Sweet Baby James, so you get to see them <3

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You might also like...

If Practice Makes Perfect, I Might Be a C-Section Expert

Dear Cousin Miles, Birth order Matters.  Love, James

Thoughts on Baby Wearing from a Self-Proclaimed Non-Baby Wearer

How To Help a New Mom (or a Mom to Be)

Creative and Contented :: Large Families Living in Small Homes