The Last Bits of Summer

This will not be a sentimental post. 

The weeks before the kids go back to school are super stressful and overwhelming to me with the overload of errands, appointments, paperwork, and more. The house is constantly messy, the kids are bored of the slip n' slide, there's all kinds of fighting, and I am just so tired of feeding them. They want to go back to school and I want them to, too. How did people do it for thousands of years? How do homeschoolers do it? 

To me this is not the end of summer. Summer basically ended on August 6th. I will get out my Fall decorations on September 1st -ish and this time in between is a purgatory of stress and heat and exhaustion. (As an aside, some people think I'm a bit dramatic but I just don't see it.)

I made a playlist to get me through these next weeks. You can see how badly I want to get on with my life in that I titled it "September 2018." Some of the songs are pretty new to me and so I cannot vouch for all the lyrics and content, but if you want to discover some new songs right along with me click over and check it out. There's some safe ones, too, like Ben Rector and Mat Kearney. ;)

School starts with a half day on Thursday, so here's a look the last bits of summer, the things that happened at the end of July and the first week of August. That is, the things that I want to remember.

Jofis celebrated his 5th birthday. He wanted a train cake and party and since his favorite color is green I was able to make all his dreams come true super simply. A few of his classmates and cousins came over, everyone played outside, and we ate wacky cake and drank lemonade. He got a bug catcher and water balloons and his life was made. 

I celebrated my birthday, too. I turned thirty-seven and to celebrate I got coffee with friends, went shopping at Target with Travis, bought a new dress, asked people to donate to baby Olivia's GoFundMe, found a few new grey hairs, and overall had a good day. 

We also celebrated Harry Potter's birthday. The kids listened to several of the audio books this summer and L read the whole series for the first time. They have watched several of the movies, too, so it was a lot of fun to surprise them with a table filled with candles, pretzel rod wands, and this birthday cake. They snacked in the candlelight while watching the first movie before bed. And just so you know, there's a bit of a back story for this cake and you can hear about it if you watch the You're a Bad Mom video here.

In other news, we were given a Days of Creation paper chain (which you can see here) along with a beautiful, giant floor puzzle from WeeBelievers. Both are super sweet but we especially love the floor puzzle because we are just floor puzzle people, people! I mean, look at how happy Tee is with it! The illustrations are so sweet, you guys. I really love it. But the best part is that it's two sided so it's two, two, TWO puzzles in one!

In other news, I caught this super sweet picture of Travis and Tee sleeping one morning a few weeks ago. I mean, be still my heart. 

And now I'll tell you all a secret: this summer we attended 7am daily Mass Monday - Friday. The vast majority of the time the whole family went: Travis, me, and all seven kids. We missed a few days, and occasionally some of us had to stay home but usually we were all there.

Now this was even feasible because:
#1 - we did not have a newborn / someone recovering from major surgery (like last summer)
#2 - Travis is a teacher with summers off and this summer his handyman jobs were all local so he was almost always around to attend with us.

The reasons I wanted to do it are:
#1 - For years Travis and I were daily communicants and I was really missing that Gift.
#2 - I knew that if we attended 7am Mass all summer long our days would still end around 8pm which meant we could keep the same bedtime and evening routine. I knew I wanted to have time with Travis every night and I hoped that the return to the school would feel less like a crash and burn this way.
#3 - I'm hoping it will inspire my boys to love the priesthood and I pray that one of them has been given that vocation.

I don't know what will happen next summer but I know that being able to attend daily Mass this summer was such a gift to me. Even when my kids complained. Even when MJ would not be contained to the pew and had to wander. Even when we had to sit in the cry room because we were so late. It was such a gift.

 Speaking of Mass, this seems like a good time to show you the preview copy of Ginny Kochis's new Mass Journal for Kids. Ginny sent it to me and I promptly passed on to my 10 year old, L. It's really lovely, you guys, and if you're looking for something you can either gift to your own children, godchildren, students or use as a family to prepare for or review the Sunday Mass readings I really encourage you to try this.

L and I were both really taken by the layout and feel of the book. It's big; has room for doodles, journaling, and note taking; and includes all the readings + reflections, quotes from the saints, and more. I also like that it goes by seasons - this one covers the Autumn months - so it's not too bulky nor too big of a commitment. If you're looking for a nice Back to School gift this would be a great one, I think.


One last note: the winners for the Sheenazing Awards have finally been announced! You can head to the original post to see who earned the top three spots in each category! Thank you to everyone who voted - over 1,100! - and congratulations to the winners! I hope everyone had fun along the way!

Alright, time to get a move on. See you soon, you guys!

Seven Quick Takes: music + books + summer

I'm linking up with the wonderful Kelly at This Ain't the Lyceum for one of my favorite old school blogging events: Seven Quick Takes Friday


 - ONE -

The first time I heard this song I thought it was Peter Gabriel. It's Francis and the Lights featuring Chance the Rapper, though if you listen you have to give it to me: it sounds a lot like Peter Gabriel, amiright?

 Man, do I love this one.


- TWO -

This summer I signed myself and the kids up for the Summer Reading Program at the local library. I count any time spent listening to the Harry Potter audio books, reading to my kids, and these babies here. Along with my Bible, these are the books I'm reading. 

Orthodoxy has been hard for me - it's so dense with it's page long paragraphs - but I'm sticking with it because those truth bombs he drops are so, so good. 

I've really enjoyed re-reading Sense and Sensibility for the first time in years. I often find myself laughing out loud and unable to explain why to my kids. Jane Austen would surely not approve  but I'm just not as clever. 

Who Does He Say You Are? is an incredible book and I'm so glad I picked it up. I highly recommend it to read by yourself or in a group. Super good. 

A Wrinkle in Time is one I read in middle school and re-reading it now I'm shocked that it was part of my 6th grade public school curriculum with all the talk about Jesus and quoting Scripture. I'm gonna guess that Oprah's version of the movie changes some of that. True?

- THREE - 

My friend Nell gifted us with the sweetest little dress for sweet little MJ. The material has a Secret Garden print on it and is soft and stretchy and just lovely. I wanted to share it with you because Nell's re-stocking her Etsy shop - Whole Parenting Goods - with all kinds of sweet dresses just like this. The shop re-opens at 10am CST on Monday with it's limited stock so be sure you check it out Monday morning for first dibs! You can get a preview on her Instagram account and if you sign up for her shop's newsletter you'll get a coupon code this weekend! Everything I've gotten from Nell's shop has been top quality and super adorable. I promise you'll love it!


- FOUR -
Tomorrow morning is the first meeting for the Blessed Is She summer study I'm holding with women from the area. I'm only cleaning my living room and bathroom. That's totally legit, right?

I baked these little rectangular gingerbread cookies so I could pipe sweet little pretty things on them to serve with the coffee. The rectangles look wompy and wiggly and who knows if I'll have time to pipe anything on them in the morning. I'll post it on Instagram if I do and then you can see how unimpressive they turn out to be. ha!

Update: here they are! Roses, Fiats, and Marian symbols. You can almost hear the trombones playing, can't you? Womp, womp, woooooommmp!

And as an aside, if you're looking for a good gingerbread cookie use these from Mary Haseltine. Such a great recipe. We use Crisco and egg replacer and they still are amazing!



- FIVE -

My new planner arrived and I started filling in important dates for August. First day of school, you guys! It's on the calendar! Also, see those pens lined up in a row? That's how I organize my life.
Black = whole family
Silver = Travis
Gold = Me
Purple = L
Orange = Ben
Blue = JF
Pink = Resa
Green = Jofis
Red = Tee
Periwinkle = MJ
So this way I only have to write the what, when, & where on the calendar and not the person because the color tells me the who. It's really nice.

And if you're still looking for a planner Tea with Tolkien did a very nice review of some really popular brands. She was fair and honest about all the pros and cons, and the Blessed Is She planners (regular and mini) are included.


- SIX -
I know I just talked about the beginning of the new school year when summer isn't even half way done yet. We've had a good run so far and I thought I'd share some highlight pictures:

Trying to win a free vacation from a local radio station. We're shameless. 

Sprinkler parks: fun and free. The heat index was over 100 this day so I put on my suit, too. 

Our very dear neighbor volunteers at a local museum and we were so happy to get a special tour from him. 

Corpus Christi procession - Ben was asked to help carry the canopy and he was so honored. Nervous, excited, and so honored. 

The fair came to town and we made the kids clean the whole house and then we took them. 

- SEVEN -

Just a reminder about the Kickstarter campaign for Catholic musician Matt Faley's next album. Go, back it, and then make sure you let me know so I can enter you to win some of the suh-weet prizes that are special just for my blog readers. You won't be sorry you did!



And a great big THANK YOU to Kelly for hosting!

A Good School Year

The 2017-2018 school year was sooooooo much better than last. Last year we had good teachers and a lot of fun but this year lacked things like incredibly difficult IEP meetings and open heart surgery. There were a few bumps along the way - which is life - but overall we loved 4th, 2nd, 1st, Kindergarten, and Pre-K4.

This year L loved her teacher, broke her right arm roller skating, began altar serving, and earned eight badges in American Heritage Girls.

Ben had a beloved teacher this year, made his first confession, and received his First Holy Communion. He also had a lot of fun in Boy Scouts, got braces, and impressed us with his penmanship and ability to retell Bible stories.

JF spent his mornings at our parochial school for Religion and then headed to the public school for the rest of the day. His teachers and aids were all amazing and he really made ground in speech and reading.

Resa L O V E D kindergarten. She loved her classmates, she loved her teacher, she loved learning, she loved recess. The only thing she didn't love was being hot in the air condition-less school.

Jofis got a lot out of pre-k4 but he also struggled a bit. Some of his classmates were a year older than him and the gap was obvious at times. He had a great teacher and some really good friends last year but he'll be doing pre-k4 again next year so he can really be ready for kindergarten instead of struggling and hating school.

"I am excited about learning. I want to be a Mommy and a baker when I grow up. I love to color and bake."

"My favorite part was EVERYTHING. I want to be a baker. I love all my teahcers, baking, Granma Bert and Papa, Mormor and Grandpa, reading, PBS Kids, Daddy and Mommy, Tomas, Meriam"

"I am excited about First Communion. I want to an engineer, train driver, when I grow up. I love pizza, friends, fishing, and working with Daddy."
"My favorite part was Math! I want to be a priest when I grow up! I love God, playing ball tag, and pizza."

"I am excited to play at recess. I want to be a choo choo man when I grow up. I love to play with cards, play Old 97 with Joseph, fishing and going on a walk."
"My favorite part was Math. I want to be a train engineer. I love hamburgers, sausage, inside recess, Star Wars, Grandma Bert, Mormor."

"I am excited about going to school. I want to be a Mommy and a rock star when I grow up. I love
Thomas, going to Neighbor's house, reading books, and going to Mrs. H and Bill's house."

"My favorite part was Math. I want to be a Mom. I love Jesus, strawberry pretzel salad, playing at school, Mommy and Daddy."

 

"I am excited about riding the bikes and trikes. I want to be a Dad who's not allergic when I grow up. I like to ride bikes and trikes and scooters and eat. some. bacon! And ice cream with sprinkles and oatmeal with sprinkles."

"My favorite part was playing. I want to be a train driver. I love chocolate bars, ball tag, B from school, and Jesus."

We have some fun things planned for the summer - the library reading program, a trip to a Lodge, and lots of adhering to the Summer Daily Schedule. We'll see how this goes.

A Staycation Trip to the Zoo

Since Disney and other grand vacations are out of our price range we have to keep our fun local and not too expensive. Last week I mentioned all the fishing we've been doing but we wanted to also plan a fun day trip for the kids. A few years back  Travis' mom, grandma, sister, aunt, cousin and I headed to the Niabi Zoo with my two kids. I was big and pregnant with JF and it was one of the hottest days of summer but it was so. much. fun. When the opportunity came for my family to receive some free tickets to return this summer I jumped at the chance because I knew we would enjoy the day. While the Niabi Zoo gave us the tickets for zoo entry, my mother-in-law and I purchased tickets for all other rides and the stroller rental, and I am 100% telling you the truth: it was a great day.

We started the day by feeding the kids a big breakfast and then having them pack up snack bags to eat on the way home. We knew that with our food allergies we would buy drinks at the zoo but not food, but the extra little fun of coloring a brown paper bag was exciting to them. (Which sorta boggles my mind, but it's a win for me so I'm taking it!)

The Niabi Zoo isn't a huge zoo but there was plenty to do and see. Like the giant mist-maker that delighted my kids.

And the train that circles the park. It's a great way to get your bearings and cool off a bit. JF and JP looooove trains so we had to stop and wave every time it went by. The boys also delighted in crossing the tracks occasionally and all the kids loved the ride.

But, yeah, there was a lot of this throughout the day:

Various Junior Zookeepers and other employees were stationed around the park to answer questions and talk about the animals. Everyone was super friendly, knowledgeable, and helpful. And when we were on our own L was the official keeper of the map. 

A family favorite was the pond - filled with ducks, geese, giant goldfish, and a couple of swans.

The pony rides were another hit. JP literally had to be pulled off his pony - he did not want it to end. 

\

We also loved the larakeets. Well, JF freaked out when one landed on his shoulder from behind and Resa was a little leery. But L loved feeding them nectar and my mother-in-law was like a magnet and loved every minute of it.

The carousel was how we ended the day and then it was back to the van for our hour drive home. The kids ate their snack bags, chatted about the day, and eventually a couple even fell asleep. Later, when I asked the kids what they liked best their answers were:
L - feeding the birds
JF - the train!!!!
Resa - the thing that went around and around and up and down (the carousel)
Jofis - the horsey ride!

My favorite part, though, was that that the grounds were lovely. It was clean, well cared for, and beautifully landscaped. I was really, really impressed with it - it was like walking through a garden.

The zoo has actually grown some since the last time I was there six years ago, and I was pleasantly surprised by the improvements. If you live within a couple hours of the Quad Cities I encourage you to take a little day trip to visit. You can learn more about the Niabi Zoo at their website, on Facebook, Instagram, or Twitter.  

A Summer Schedule and What We've Been Up To

I don't know about your kid, but mine can look at a clock and tell me exactly what they would be doing at school at that exact time. They can tell me what they do right before that time and what they will do right after that time. Within the schedule there are plenty of opportunities for surprises and choices and flexibility but there is still the structure that can guide the day. And I don't know about your kid, but mine love that. 

Now I don't know about in your house, but in mine if I don't have anything to do I end up doing nothing. Kids get fed popcorn for lunch... at 1:30. Dishes never get done. Copious amounts of fruit snacks are eaten. And around 3pm I realize we've been watching hours of horrible Ninjago episodies in our stinky pj's and I have no idea what's for dinner. 

For some people that would be a dream day but usually those days, especially too many of them, leave me falling behind and stressing out. I didn't want to spend my summer like that and I also knew that my kids, especially two of them, would need to keep up with handwriting, reading, and basic math concepts or they would struggle in the Fall. Enter: the Daily Schedule. It hangs on our fridge and guides our days.

I knew writing out the schedule would mean the kids and I would both have something to reference and keep us all on track. What I didn't know is the amount of authority it would carry in our home. You want to watch TV? Sorry, it's not TV time. You can go outside and play. And they go outside and play! BOOM! Just like that!

The keys to making this work in our home has been the following rules:
- The kitchen is closed at 8:30.
- Fresh fruit or veggies are the only snacks allowed between scheduled meals / snack time.
- iPad and computer games can only be played during TV time or Free time and only for a limited amount of time (10 minutes).
- Shoes must be left by the front door.
- Play outside first and for as long as possible. 

We don't do school every day and we've missed some reading but my kids are still reading more and getting more books read to them this summer than they have had in a very long time. All six kids are here all day long and still my house is relatively tidy and they are brushing their teeth twice a day. All because a piece of paper on the fridge tells them to! It's amazing!

Anyways, obviously I am a little in love with my schedule, but now I'll share some pictures of what else we've been doing this summer. We've been trying to do fun things for a low cost - like most of America, methinks - and so far, so good.

We introduced the kids to The Sandlot. There was a lot more language than we remembered and once JF said, "Oh shit!" and it wasn't because of me I knew I needed to remove it from the Netflix options. But we ate nachos, popcorn, and hotdogs (baseball food) for dinner and had s'mores at just the right time in the movie. ;) The kids loved it. 

Travis and I attended a Diocesan Institute day that was totally free! My mother-in-law babysat the five older kids and Travis and I had breakfast, lunch, and dinner in between a beautiful holy hour, lessons on Lectio Divina, Mass, and really great presentations by Dan Burke and Peter Howard. Baby Tee got some good tummy time in, too.

Travis introduced the kids to fishing. L ended up spending some of her birthday money on buying herself a pole and the kids like to practice casting in the backyard.

Most of our fishing has been done at a local lake. L and B can bait their hooks, cast, set the hook, reel in, and take the fish off the hook all by themselves. I'm pretty impressed since about all I can do is cast and reel.

I have had on and off success with my daily Bible reading and prayer time. My Scripture memorizing has pretty much fallen off the wayside, which is both bad and good. Doing one a week was too much - I wasn't retaining - and I've noticed that letting the passages come to me has been more impactful.

In the last few weeks JF has gone to the ER twice because of allergic reactions to food and when I was overcome with fear I thought back to my memory verse from a few weeks back: Do not be afraid; just have faith. Mark 6:36

Travis started the summer with sciatica pain so severe he was on all kinds of pain meds, sleeping most of the day, laying on the floor, crawling from room to room. Friends and neighbors helped us through that time, mowing the yard and bringing a couple meals and it was so appreciated. Now he is better and working on a couple of projects for family members. We're doing the summer reading program at the library, along with Lego Club, swim lessons, grilling out, eating popcicles, and tending our small garden. So far, ladies and gentlemen, so good.