Mom's New Year's Resolutions - add yours!

1.   Work out.   I'm enjoying the T-25 workouts and need to keep it up.

2.  Teach the children that a closed door means that they shouldn't come in.

3.  Write more letters.  It's so much fun to get non-bill-type mail.

4.  Actually clean the clothes that don't fit out of the clowns' closets and pack them away instead of just moving them into the next child (where they then sit because they're too big).

5.   Instill a love of washing dishes in the oldest clowns.

6.  Read a book.  A real book.   That has nothing to do with homeschooling and/or parenting.  But a book that fosters my own imagination.

7.  Drink coffee while it's hot.  Unless it's a special ice coffee, and then drink it before it gets watered down.

8.  Make friends.   As in, work on and consciously reach out to the local friends that we've made.   I've relied on social media for way too long for human interaction, and I'm coming to realize just how superficial those relationships really are.  We all look so active and interconnected.....but are we really?    I resolve to make time to gather with people in real life, make phone calls (eek, I hate phone calls) and extend, and accept,  invitations to socialize.

9.  Find a hobby.  Or maybe just write more, since that's the hobby that I truly enjoy.   I've tried knitting.  I've tried sewing.  I've tried soap making.  I've tried cooking.  I've tried baking.  And while I enjoy all of these things, none of them has "stuck" as a hobby that I come back to, time and time again, except writing.    

10.  Hang up pictures.  Our walls are too bare.

11.   Tithe more.    Every year, we challenge ourselves to find another couple % of our income to increase our tithing amount.    We currently sponsor a child in Rwanda, and give to various organizations (our parish, Sisters of Life, and the local Catholic radio).   This past year, we added local-level needs as they came up, but it's time to add in more regular donations.   Who do you donate to, and why?

12.  Eat breakfast before 10 am.   Unless I'm sleeping until 9:45, that is.   But try to eat within 30 minutes of waking instead of putting it off to take care of everyone else's breakfast and chores and find myself shoveling carbs in my mouth two and a half hours later because I'm starving by that point.    Chores can wait.  Feed the kids, then feed myself.  No chores.

How about you?  My plan is to attack one of these each month, and focus mainly on adding that resolution in during that month.  So instead of doing it all at once.......build them, one on top of each other.   Share yours in the comments below!

12 in 2014

This is my kind of link up.  :)   Thanks Dwija.     I decided to add something into my photo choices - I limited myself to only cell phone pictures (either mine or Mike's).   I have tons of great pictures that are "perfect" - perfect colors, expressions, framing, etc. - but that's not necessarily what my year really looked like.  Sooooo....here's my imperfect look back at 2014:

January

January found us right in the middle of gymnastics competition season, and traveling to West Point for our first "big" meet for our boys.   They competed against gymnasts from all over the region, and this clown managed to medal in vault.  :)  He was very proud of himself, and we were proud of him!

February

I love this picture because it just captures the oldest circus clown's creativity.  Nothing is safe in our house - if he has a vision, he somehow manages to find the resources to fulfill that vision.   This is the Christ the Redeemer statue in Rio de Janeiro, made out of legos, cardboard blocks, blankets, and bath towels.  

March

March pretty much means Lent in our house, which means that oftentimes, March means Mardi Gras.  This year was no different.   Mardi Gras means.....food.  Lots and lots of food.  This year included making mini king cakes to celebrate with.   One of my favourite things about homeschooling is the ability to work our daily lives and traditions into our schoolwork.    Mardi Gras reminds me of home (the south), and I have a lot of sentimental attachment to the day.   I love being able to focus our lives on stuff like this, without having to share our day with outside commitments.   

April

Okay, April gets two pictures, because I wasn't able to get it all into one picture.   This is the calendar that hangs in our kids' bathroom.   Joseph fills it - unprovoked - with awesome drawings.   My favourite this year was, by far, Easter Sunday.   The question marks above the heads just cracked me up.

May

Uhh....duh.   May can't be anything other than the appearance of Miss Ruthie.   This picture is one of my favourites from her birthday weekend.     She was then, and still is, such an amazing baby.   We are so blessed by her.

June

....and along those same lines....June can't be anything other than the arrival of this little guy.   Even though it's a bit blurry, this is one of my all-time favourite pictures of those first few weeks home with Mr Theo.   I can very clearly remember taking this picture - we first started bonding over colouring and arts and crafts (I love doing that kind of stuff), and I remember taking this picture and thinking, "I can't believe he's really here in front of me."   He has brought so much joy into our lives, and sometimes I still have a hard time believing he's really and truly in front of me.

July

What, not everyone grills their s'mores on the 4th of July inside the house?  ;)   This picture pretty much sums up our whole summer:   family and fun, but inside of the house.   We spent the summer in a self-imposed "cocoon", as we and Theo all got to know each other.    Scenes like this filled our days.

August

August brought our annual trip to the local amusement park and the realization that this rascal was finally big enough to go on the "big kid" rides.   To say he had a blast would be a bit of an understatement......

September

September brought the start of school and another reminder of why I love our homeschooling lifestyle.  I love love love love seeing the kids doing their schoolwork like this - in the sunshine and fresh air.    With 3 out of 5 kids either reading or beginning to read, a lot of their assignments end up looking like this......

October

First Halloween here, which was loads of fun, all-around.   We had two little ones enjoying their first Circus Halloween, and it was absolutely wonderful.   

November

A return to colder days and evenings spent in the dim winter light, by the fire.   Time to break out the board games (or dice games, in this picture), stories, and cuddling time.

December

Another first came in December - growing up in the South, going to pick out and cut down a Christmas tree wasn't really an option.  In previous years, Mike's work schedule didn't really give us enough time to go and do it and we'd get our tree from a local tree lot instead.   This year was different - we bundled up, trudged through the snow, and chopped down a tree.  It was a beautiful day, and there's nothing I love more than snuggling up with this little girl in our winter gear.   She's a doll.  :)

So there you go, a year at the Circus, in cell phone pictures!    Your turn!!!  (Link me up when you post - I want to see your pictures from 2014!).

You have my permission....

Well, not really MY permission, because unless you're a Circus clown, that's kind of worthless, but here's St Josemaria's permission:

"Work is man's original vocation. It is a blessing from God, and those who consider it a punishment are sadly mistaken."   (Furrow, 482) To study, to work: these are inescapable duties for all Christians. They are means of defending ourselves from the enemies of the Church and of attracting, with our professional prestige, so many souls who, being good, fight in isolation. They are most fundamental weapons for whoever wants to be an apostle in the middle of the world.  (Furrow, 483) Let me stress this point: it is in the simplicity of your ordinary work, in the monotonous details of each day, that you have to find the secret, which is hidden from so many, of something great and new: Love.  (Furrow, 489) Let us work. Let us work a lot and work well, without forgetting that prayer is our best weapon. That is why I will never tire of repeating that we have to be contemplative souls in the middle of the world, who try to convert their work into prayer.  (Furrow, 497)

It's okay to be busy.  It's okay to work hard.  Even at motherhood.   Even as a housewife.   Dare I say that it's especially okay to work hard (and sometimes that means "a lot") at motherhood and as a housewife?   What really matters is HOW you are doing that work, not how much of it there is and whether or not you're doing "too much."  

And you see, no one can judge just exactly how you are doing that work except for yourself.

So, when I see things come across our Facebook newsfeed with the title "Dear Mom Who Does Too Much..." , I usually totally dismiss it.   People comment all of the time on how much that I appear to be "doing" and how they "don't know how I do it," implying that I'm extraordinarily busy.  And I'm pretty sure that they're thinking that I am, and that I must be ignoring something else in order to be as active as our family is, so I just ignore it.   But for some reason, I clicked on it today when it came across my newsfeed.   

The first thing that I noticed was the date.   Right near the end of the secular Christmas season, which is typically characterized by "hustle and bustle."   I want to assume that part of the "doing too much" that the title refers to might have to do with the time of year, but the authour doesn't reference that, so maybe not.    You decide for yourself. 

I started reading:

"You are constantly going. Wipe a nose, clean a dish, make a call, cook a fish, wipe the floor, make a bed, do some more, get ahead; you are always in a hurry."

Pause.  That was my morning, pretty much.   Well, except replace "make a call" with "send a text."  (Introverts unite!   Separately!)

I hate to break it to everyone out there, but......this is motherhood.  We *are* "constantly going."  We are constantly wiping noses (especially if you have an immunocompromised child like I do), wiping up the floor (toddlers), making a bed (I only make mine now and the clowns make their own, but still...it has to be made every day!).    I don't consider myself "always in a hurry" but I am constantly doing something.   Believe it or not, just sitting and reading a book with a child is "doing something", too.  ;)

I kept reading, and honestly, the blog post didn't really bother me all that much, because it didn't reflect our life all that much.   Constantly moving or "doing too much" doesn't stress me out to the point where I'm barking at people or annoyed by a child's giggle or yelling at Mike.    Being out of the house too much DOES do those things, but that's my introvertedness speaking, and a day of being at home (even if I'm wiping noses and folding laundry and making beds and cooking and cleaning) fixes that edginess. 

It wasn't until I got to the end that I was annoyed.   The authour writes:

"Reserve your yeses for things that really line up. Things that you’ve been missing out on in the midst of Chaos. The simple pleasures in life that you’ve been taking for granted.

The hugs, kisses, meaningful conversation. The relationships. The things that really make life worth living.

To the moms who do too much:

Sometimes less is more."

I'm going to lay it all out here, in bare honesty.

These things are not mutually exclusive.   Wiping noses and making beds and cooking and cleaning does NOT mean that you are "taking simple pleasures in life for granted."   

This blog post is lying to you, and here's why:

The "things that really make life worth living"  *include*  runny noses (because the people those noses are attached to are what make life worth living).   They *include* loads of laundry.   Planning, shopping for, preparing, and cleaning up from meals make life worth living.   Making your bed every morning makes life worth living.    Cleaning toilets makes life worth living.

These are the simple pleasures in life.

What the blog post really is directed at - and the authour doesn't seem to acknowledge the distinction - is the intention and the mindset that you do these "tedious" things with, not the quantity of the tasks.   Motherhood isn't all that glamourous.  We do wipe noses (and butts).  We do clean floors (and toilets and kitchens and tables and dishes).  We do cook fish (and beef and chicken and vegetables and pasta).   This is motherhood.

How you do it is what matters, not what (or how much) you are doing.

My life has gotten busier, and it's been directly related to the size of my family and my husband's job.   That's good and natural.  But you know what?   So has my husband's.  His life and day-to-day experience has drastically changed since our pre-marriage days.  

And would you ever see a blog post directed at OB/GYN's that started:

"You are constantly going.  Filling out another form.  Answering another page.  Catching another baby.  Seeing another patient.  Do some more.  Get ahead;  you are always in a hurry."  

My guess is no.   At least I've never seen one.   (If you can find one out there on the interwebz, send me a link!  I'm sure he'd love to read it.)

For some reason, we accept the fact that Mike never sits down and often never eats or pees during a call shift, but it's not okay for me to do it.   He's never accused of "taking life for granted" or missing out on relationships (some of his closest friends are, or have been, his coworkers).   But me, who isn't even nearly as busy as he is at work (I get to pee and eat!), I am constantly told that I am taking life's pleasures for granted because I'm "doing too much."

And that's just plain wrong.

Motherhood is a job.  It's busy.  It's my (and yours, I'm assuming, if you're reading this) work that St Josemaria is speaking of.   Just like Mike can sanctify his job by changing HOW he's working....we housewives and moms can do the same.

Pray while working (even as a mom).  While I'm folding the laundry of a family member, I'm talking to God about that person.  Praying for their current needs and hurts.  Asking Him to bless their future.  Praying for their friends.

Consciously, actively, choose to offer sacrifices (because, come on, who LIKES to clean toilets in a house full of boys?!?!) for the needs and intentions of your friends and family.   Sanctify the heck out of that toilet, guys.   If you ever can't think of an intention - the holy souls in purgatory are relying for you. 

When a child wants/needs a hug, stop what you're doing and give it to them.  Kiss them, too.   Throw in an "I love you."  

Spend one-on-one time with each child (and your spouse!) every day.  And guess what?   You can DO that while doing the laundry.  Or cooking fish.   Or making beds.  Those "meaningful conversations" and "relationships" that she refers to?  Our best conversations as mother and child happen while we're working side-by-side.   I have one child who loves to be in the kitchen.   It's GOOD for him to be in the kitchen WITH me, learning how to cook (and clean up after himself!).   "Cooking a fish" doesn't have to be a solitary activity, and it can be - no, it IS - beneficial for relationships to do these things together.   Another child loves to do laundry with me, so we fold clothes and talk about what he's learning in school, or his fears and hopes.   Sometimes, we pray aloud together.   Not only is this good for our relationship, but it's great for his own development and future.   (my future daughter-in-law can thank me later).

And the baby?   She spends a portion of her day strapped into the ergo baby carrier and right up against my chest.   As we're folding laundry or preparing meals, she and I are talking (by the way, her baby coos are ADORABLE!).  We're sharing kisses, and she's cuddling in the heat that my body is giving off.   Those times are some of the best moments of my life - and I have distinct memories of each child in that position (I love babywearing), including Theo (I wore him A LOT when he first came home, to help with bonding).  

Sometimes, it's okay to step back and do these mundane tasks on your own.  You don't need to feel guilty about being busy, even if you're not doing it with a child or spouse.  Alone time, even while cooking meals and cleaning bathrooms, can be a good thing.   Again, it comes down to being intentional.  How are you using that time?  Are you encouraging negative thoughts while doing these chores?  (feeling frustrated that you're the "only one")  That's not okay and will probably lead to the yelling and short tempers that she refers to.   But if you're actively focusing your thoughts on God while doing them?   Or encouraging relationships between siblings?  (remember:  these moments can foster relationships between siblings.  When I'm not directing the scene or involved, the kids find time to play together, to read together, to cuddle together.  These are some of the sweetest things to walk into a room to find, but you need to step back and let them happen!).  That's a wonderful thing!   That's holiness at work.

These tasks don't complete themselves.   Motherhood is busy.  It just is.  Our job never ends - it's a 24 hour/7 day a week vocation.   And you know what?

That is a GOOD thing.  

No one else can find the Love that God has hidden for you inside your vocation but you.    Our job is to uncover it.   Your vocation is your path to Heaven, one that God has called you to.  Sometimes, being busy is part of that vocation.

And, honestly, the noses never stop running.   The kids never stop wanting to eat.   The clothes will always be getting dirty.  Things will always be getting spilled.

Instead of focusing on doing "too much", and demeaning the necessary work of motherhood....let's focus on turning it into a prayer.   Let's join together to sanctify motherhood.   There are too many people out there already who have turned motherhood into a negative, a burden.   Instead of encouraging that by diminishing the GOOD that can be found in these tasks, let's stop focusing on motherhood being too hard, too much work, or too wearying.....let's encourage a desire for holiness found *within* motherhood.  

It's okay to "do too much", if that busyness is pointing you towards Heaven.   God will meet you in those seemingly endless daily tasks if you invite Him in.   Your children will still have a relationship with you.   Your spouse will still find your conversations meaningful.   

....and dare I say it....finding God in those tasks will never be doing "too much."  You'll find yourself never doing enough and constantly wanting to do more......Once you find Him in the busyness of life, it won't feel like too much.   

It won't be enough.

************

Giving you one of my favourite quotes about the "drudgery" of motherhood, so you have something to contemplate while folding your next load of laundry or washing your next sink of dishes.  You can thank me later.  ;)

"Now if anyone says that this duty of general enlightenment (even when freed from modern rules and hours, and exercised more spontaneously by a more protected person) is in itself too exacting and oppressive, I can understand the view. I can only answer that our race has thought it worth while to cast this burden on women in order to keep common-sense in the world. But when people begin to talk about this domestic duty as not merely difficult but trivial and dreary, I simply give up the question. For I cannot with the utmost energy of imagination conceive what they mean. When domesticity, for instance, is called drudgery, all the difficulty arises from a double meaning in the word. If drudgery only means dreadfully hard work, I admit the woman drudges in the home, as a man might drudge at the Cathedral of Amiens or drudge behind a gun at Trafalgar. But if it means that the hard work is more heavy because it is trifling, colorless and of small import to the soul, then as I say, I give it up; I do not know what the words mean. To be Queen Elizabeth within a definite area, deciding sales, banquets, labors and holidays; to be Whiteley within a certain area, providing toys, boots, sheets, cakes. and books, to be Aristotle within a certain area, teaching morals, manners, theology, and hygiene; I can understand how this might exhaust the mind, but I cannot imagine how it could narrow it. How can it be a large career to tell other people's children about the Rule of Three, and a small career to tell one's own children about the universe? How can it be broad to be the same thing to everyone, and narrow to be everything to someone? No; a woman's function is laborious, but because it is gigantic, not because it is minute. I will pity Mrs. Jones for the hugeness of her task; I will never pity her for its smallness.”  G.K Chesterton

Christmas Poem 2014

Twas the night before Christmas, and under the big top,

The Circus was sleeping, the fun had been non-stop.

Five little clowns lay snug in their beds

While Mommy and Daddy looked back on the year they had led.

First up, we have Joseph, or clown #1.

He had quite a year, with plenty of fun.

Around the world, this clown did once go.

To the top of the world’s tallest building, went our big bro.

Clown #2, Graham is his name.

Tumbled and flipped into state-wide fame.

Our little gymnast had quite the great season.

Perhaps ten hours a week of practice could be the reason.

Next up is Nicholas, or clown #3.

This boy in the pool is something to see.

Quick as a flash, he swims down to the bottom.

No matter how many rings are down there, Nicholas has got ‘em.

Theo is next, our clown #4.

Our life got so much brighter when he came through the door.

He keeps us all laughing, and gives kisses, too.

Every day is an adventure, filled with something new.

Clown #5 is baby girl Ruthie.

Our happy little baby is really quite goofy.

She smiles while sitting, and is trying to crawl.

She’s very determined to keep up with them all.

Mommy comes next, the manager of our show.

Where else we need to go, she always does know.

Field trips and adventures, for our little school

She works hard to hear, “Mom, this is so cool!”

Last comes the ring master, whom we lovingly call Dad.

Being named the OB/GYN director made him quite glad.

He works hard all day, and comes home to be goofy,

Making all the clowns laugh, especially Miss Ruthie.

We’ve come to the end of our little tale.

Tomorrow, the Circus will put it in the mail.

But before we go, there is something we must say,

“We wish you lots of love and happiness on this Christmas Day!”

Picture Perfect Somewhat-Healthy Pancakes

At least I tell myself they are somewhat healthy.  haha

Ingredients

1 cup whole wheat flour

1 cup all purpose flour

4 tsp baking powder

1/4 tsp salt

2 tbsp raw sugar

2 eggs

2 cups almond milk

4 tbsp cooking oil  (I've successfully used coconut before, but don't like the flavour of coconut, so it has to be one that doesn't TASTE like coconut for me)

Optional:  about 1 cup of some sort of fruit, either diced really small (like an apple, or something small like wild blueberries), or mashed/pureed (like banana or babyfood of some sort)

Directions

Mix all dry ingredients in a large bowl.   In a separate, smaller bowl, mix the eggs, milk, and oil.   Add the wet ingredients to the dry ingredients and stir until just blended.   Fold in the fruit pieces or puree.   Warm up a griddle until it is hot enough that water sizzles when you drip a little bit on it.   Using a 1/4 cup measuring cup, spoon batter onto the hot griddle.   When the pancake has formed "bubbles" evenly across the batter, flip onto the other side.   Once browned lightly, remove and eat!   This recipe will make about 24 pancakes, using a 1/4 cup of batter for each one.    We like to top it with natural peanut butter and maple syrup for a breakfast that's yummy AND will keep your tummy full all morning!  Enjoy!

5 Faves: Gifts for families with kiddos

Linking up with Call Her Happy again today!

How about a gift post?   It's that time of year when everyone's trying to come up with the "perfect" gift for everyone on their list, and I thought I'd throw some suggestions out there.   All of these gifts below can be used (in my opinion) over multiple age groups and would make a great "family" gift.  Sharing our favourite five gifts over the years.....

1.

cardboard bricks

We got these many moons ago when our oldest was turning 2.  He's now ten, and they're still going strong.   They're just now starting to lose their shape and we just now starting to consider replacing them, but it's not necessary.   Our kids play HARD with them, using them almost daily and doing crazy things like STANDING on them, and they've held up incredibly well.  Definitely one of my favourite gifts.

2.

Snow Fort building kit

This one might be a bit geographically based, but we love this thing.   It comes with us to the beach all summer, and then is outside in the snow all winter.  The kids have spent MANY hours (cough cough not just the kids cough cough) building snow forts and having snow ball fights with this set.   I highly recommend it!

3.

State Parks

This one's a bit pricey, and obviously geographically based, but if you have something similar in your state, I highly recommend you checking it out as a family gift!   We buy the vehicle state park pass every year, and it provides ALMOST ALL of our outdoor entertainment, year-round.  For $70, our entire family can get into any state park and many historic sites throughout the state, and we plan our day trips and camping trips accordingly.   Each year, the boys and I get one of these state park passports from the parks department, and we try to beat our record for visiting more and more state parks and historic sites in a year.   (Current record for us is 32 state parks/historic sites in one year).   It provides literally months of fun for the whole family.

4.  

Amazon link

We gave this to Graham one year for Christmas, as a way to help him with his reading skills.  He LOVED helping in the kitchen, but hated reading aloud when I'd ask him to.   When we were cooking together, though, he'd read me the directions and not even realize that he was reading to me.   It's turned into a huge hit for all of the kids, and the whole family.  The recipes that we've tried have been very yummy, very reliable/forgiving, and the step-by-step instructions (with pictures!!) means that my older two kids can do the entire meal with very little "help."  (I'm in the kitchen, watching, but don't have to actually do much myself).  Our favourite part is that the recipes are not "kid food."   We're not talking things like pancakes, chicken nuggets, and mac and cheese.  There are *some* of those recipes in here, but then there are delicious breakfast smoothies, homemade bread, and Indian-style curries.   It's wonderful!   This book and a couple of kid-sized kitchen tools would be an awesome gift for a family with kids.

5.

Lego.com

Now, if you want to splurge, and you want a gift that will cover LOTS of ages and likes/dislikes, this is by far my FAVOURITE purchase for our children.   All of the bigger kids love it and it provides literally HOURS of play time (and quiet time for mom).   At first, the fact that every brick was white made me worry that they'd be bored by it, but it's provided a TON of flexibility as to what they can use those bricks for!  My boys have built skyscrapers, cathedrals, entire cities, and Joseph even built the Christ the Redeemer statue when we were watching the World Youth Day events from Rio and seeing it all of the time on TV/the computer.    If you have the money to splurge on this, I would highly recommend it!  

Alright, those are my top five gifts for kids or groups of kids or entire families who happen to have kids.   What would you add to my list?

Are you on Facebook?

If so, join me here?  

I don't really want this blog to turn into just a diet/exercise spot - the Circus life is soooooo much more than that! - but there was quite a bit of interest in forming a little community to help support and encourage everyone who is trying to get healthier (and whatever that means in their lives).   So.....This Circus Life joined Facebook.   For right now, it's a page, and all you have to do is "like" it to get updates and to join in on the conversations.   Someday, we might actually create a private group to share information and have conversations, but a page it is for now.  

So, if you want to talk food and recipes and diets and workouts and how to do all of that while managing a house and kids and a job and whatever life throws at you, come join the fun!   Don't leave me standing out here alone......besides....don't you want to hear about our first attempt at T-25?  (hilarious would be an understatement, just sayin').

Easy "sick day" Soup

I very clearly remember the moment when someone told me that chicken noodle soup didn't have to come out of a can.   I'd *never* thought that one of the easiest soups to make was our go-to sick day soup.  It just had never occurred to me.

I was at a friend's house for dinner, well, technically it was her parents' house (hey!  we were in college!), and we were just chatting in the kitchen.  She'd casually mentioned making a big pot of chicken noodle soup as comfort food, and I'm pretty sure I looked at her like she had three heads.   Making chicken noodle soup?   You mean, not just opening a can and dumping it in a pot and reheating it?   Huh.   Never knew you could do that! 

I think about that every time I make some now.   It's still my go-to "sick day" soup, and I hardly make it unless someone in the house is sick.    I guess we've been too healthy for too long, because when I told the boys that we were having chicken noodle soup for dinner.....they didn't know what it was.  haha.  Whoops.  Mommy fail.  (or win?!?!)

Anywho, we don't eat very much meat anymore, so last night's version wasn't quite the same as what I would make in college.  I still make it with chicken broth, but it could easily be made with veggie broth, if that's what you have on hand.  Homemade, store-bought, doesn't matter.  I'm not picky.  

Easy Sick Day Soup (aka chicken noodle soup without the chicken)

*8-10 cups broth or veggie base  (I used chicken broth because I still wanted that chicken flavour.  You want something that has salt in it if you're dealing with sick kiddos - that salt will help to rehydrate them)

*1 pack of egg noodles (I like the extra wide in this soup)

*about 4 cups of chopped veggies  My personal favourite combination of fresh veggies includes onion, celery, carrots, and peas.   If I'm going to cheat, I try to match my frozen combination with that, and I just skip the sauteeing step below

* two cans of small white beans, drained and rinsed

* bay leaves (I do 2)

* 3 to 4 cloves garlic, minced

* your favourite combination of oregano, thyme, and basil.  I really like it with the herbes de Provence mix (you can find a make-it-yourself version here)

In a large stock pot, combine your fresh veggies, garlic, and a couple of tablespoons of broth.  If you're using frozen veggies, only do this with your garlic.  If you're using some fresh and some frozen (that's what I did last night), just do this with your fresh veggies.

After a few minutes (once the onion is translucent and you can smell the garlic), add in your herb combination (not the bay leaves).  Cook for just a minute, and then add all of the broth and bay leaves.  

Bring to a boil, and then simmer for at least 30 minutes.   While this is simmering, drain and rinse your beans, and cook your egg noodles according to package instructions.

Once you can really smell the herbs, it's time to add the beans.   In a blender, puree the beans with about a cup of the chicken broth (drain the veggies out of that cup of broth, or you'll end up with a funky colour to your soup).   You know you've pureed it enough when your broth/bean mixture looks creamy and there are no visible chunks of beans left.

Add the bean/broth mixture back into the stockpot, then add your frozen veggies.   Cook for a few minutes, until your veggies are soft,  and then stir in your cooked egg noodles.  Season with more salt/pepper if you'd like, but I usually don't if I've used store-bought broth.   I find it salty enough as it is.

That's it!  :)   Salty, comfort food goodness that's still filling, even without the meat.   You can freeze the broth/veggie/bean mixture for later use, but don't add the egg noodles until you thaw and reheat.  If you freeze those, you'll end up with a gooey mess once you reheat it. 

Enjoy!   May you never have a reason to enjoy a batch of "Easy Sick Day Soup."  ;)

Even the best laid plans...

...can be totally thrown out of the window when a stomach bug comes to town.

I'm not exactly sure just WHAT has gotten into our house, but it's shown itself as random puking for about 3-5 hours from a child for one day.    I thought we were going to bite the bullet and have a night o'puking last night from everyone, but believe it or not, everyone slept from about 11 pm to 8 am.   Well, other than the baby.  But she just got up, ate, and went back to bed, like normal.

And today, we've had nothing.    Except crackers and applesauce because tummies were still a little queasy.   And lots of cuddling and resting on the couch, under blankets.   And Legos.  Lots and lots of legos.  Right now, the rascals are watching Charlotte's Web (two of the rascals are performing in it, barring any sickness, this Friday), and I'm boiling noodles to throw into a pot of chicken noodle soup.  Well, fake chicken noodle soup.  There's no meat in mine, haha.  Just beans.    So I guess it's bean noodle soup?   

So, my exercise plan hasn't happened yet.  And my diet has been less-than-stellar as I try to clean up from the puke and keep everyone happy.   I guess we'll start tomorrow for real.  

I need to go get myself ready for Mass - as soon as Mike walks in the door, I'm running out, so we can both make it today (it's a holy day of obligation).  Since the kids are all claiming that their tummies feel "funny",  they get to stay home, but I feel fine and Mike can be home to relieve me, so  there's really no reason that I should miss it.  Besides, I *want* to go.  How could you not?

I'm feeling all disjointed today.  I think this is going to end up like a quick takes, haha.  I read a blog earlier today about why moms are so constantly tired.   According to the authour, it was because we're always in a state of hyper-vigilance, always watching out for the danger hiding around the corner.   (I'll go hunt down the link in a minute and post it here).  There's so much truth in that.  My brain is constantly surveying the scene and weighing the dangers and "triaging" the kids.   Sometimes I wish that I could turn it off, but no such luck.....While the authour focused mostly on exhaustion, I think it has another effect on a mom.   We're disjointed.   We're constantly in ten different places at once - and our brain is all over the place.   At least, it feels that way to me.   I've got ten different conversations going on in my head:

"Where's the baby?"

"Who's screaming?"

"What is that small thing on the floor ?  Oh it's a lego.  I need to get that before the baby does."

"What am I making for dinner/lunch/breakfast today?   I wonder if I have _____ in the freezer still?  I need to go look."

"Oh, we're low on clean clothes.  I need to start a load of laundry."

"Oh, right!  _____ emailed me last night.  I need to go respond."

All at the same time.   

Now, I guess I could be totally wrong and this isn't just a mom thing.   I've never been inside anyone else's brain except mine, so maybe guys do this.  Maybe no one else does this, and I should make an appointment with a psychiatrist.  ;)   I don't know.  All I know is that I don't remember being this distracted before having kids, or feeling so "busy", mentally, before having kids.  So, that's my story and I'm sticking to it.

All that was a long, rambling way of saying that there's really not a point to this post.  I've got so much swirling around in my head that I need to find a way to express, but I'm not quite there yet.   Instead, I'm jotting down notes about things I want to look into and read up on before writing about (first up:   I missed pretty much everything this summer/fall because I forced a "news fast" on myself and focused solely on new babies and the family, but I heard a REALLY interesting interview the other day that was related to Ferguson and I can't stop thinking about it.  It was the first interview that I've heard from the perspective of language - why we need to use (or stop using) personal names when talking about issues.  It was fascinating and I need to write about this whole idea of "names" but I'm still thinking through it), and trying to compose our family Christmas poem (I let the boys "help" today, but have had a ton of editing to do since then.....we don't need that much poop in our poem, thank you, boys), and clean up from sick kids.   There are lots of sticky notes around the Circus right now.......

....and with that, I need to draw the rambling to a close.   Mike should be home soon, so I really should get out of my hoodie and into something a bit more appropriate for church, haha.   I'll leave you with a picture.   This one picture totally captures my life.  This is my kitchen.  I'm not sure when it happened, but I know for a fact it was Joseph who did it.   This kid cracks me up.

.....along those lines.....

I need to get back into menu-planning.   This is usually one of my "strengths" as a stay-at-home mom.   Mealtime, I got it!

But not recently.   Trying to do our regular activities with 5 kids instead of three (since the two new ones require MUCH hands-on work for me and lots of breaks) has really thrown my organizational system out of whack.  It always cracks me up - the number one comment or question I get from people is always "You're so organized!  You have to tell me how you do it all!"

Want to know my secret?

I don't "do it."

At all.   

It's kind of a crazy chaotic mess over here.   I am SO flaky, it is kind of comic-movie-entertaining.   I guess maybe I fake it well?  People don't get called back, bills get paid ON their due dates (thankfully not after), and most of the time I'm making my grocery list in bath crayons on the shower wall and (most of the time) then leave them there and end up sitting in the parking lot, frantically trying to remember everything and write it on whatever remnant of a napkin and whatever colour crayon that I can find in my car.     Most of the time......I'm a mess.

I guess what I've come to realize is that I just can't do it all.  I can't be on top of paperwork and returning phone calls and a clean house and homeschooling and food prep/meal planning and maintain my sanity.  Something has to go.  I guess, unfortunately for everyone else.....what I've let go has been more of the "social" stuff.  (I'm sorry if you're one of the people that I haven't emailed back or called back or set up a playdate with!).   It's taking all of my focus to stay on top of homeschooling, paying bills, and keeping a somewhat clean house.   

This week, I'm setting a goal of getting back on top of the grocery shopping/meal planning game.   I'm honestly tired of realizing - as I'm making something - that I've forgotten yet another ingredient for yet another meal.  Or that, once again, it's lunchtime and I don't know what I'm going to feed the kids.  Luckily, no one has gone hungry....but we have had to rely on  more grains and quick trips to the grocery store (hahahahahahhaha QUICK TRIP with five kids hahahahahhaha I kill myself) than I would like.

So, tonight, I'm sitting down with cookbooks, paper and pencil and making a meal plan for this week.  And a grocery list.   And I will pack lunches for tomorrow later tonight, so that in the chaos that is tomorrow (let me give you a play-by-play:  Theo has an audiology evaluation at 8:30.  Then speech therapy at 9:30.  Then we have church at 12:15.  Then music lessons for Joseph and Graham at 2:30.  Then gymnastics practice from 3:30-6.  Oh, and at some point a glass company is coming by to check out a broken window to see if they can replace it for us.   Fun, huh?), I don't have that deer-in-headlights look and end up scrambling for lunches again.   

Right now, this is what our meal plan looks like:

Monday:   slow cooker veggie stew

Tuesday:   roasted sweet potato and hoisin lettuce wraps, egg drop soup

Wednesday:  red beans and rice (New Orleans style, haha), salads

Thursday:  "Southwest" salads (salads with beans, corn, tortilla strips and ranch dressing)

Friday:  Golden split pea soup

Saturday:  Lentil stew

Sunday:  slow cooker Indian daal soup with mixed veggies

Some of these recipes are new to us, so after we try them out, I'll link up the good ones!

What's on your menu for this week?

How about a food/exercise post?

As I sit here feeling super duper gross, thanks to bacon (yuuuummmm - what can I say?  Br Rex came over for brunch.  That means we HAVE to have bacon, haha) and donuts from the Italian bakery (double yummmm).

Alright.  The baby is 6 months old.  I've done a lot of half-hearted restarts of the diet/exercise routine since she was about 3 months old, but then, well...life.   Teething, bionic, non-sleeping babies.   Nightmares in toddlers that required middle-of-the-night cuddling.   Too much coffee.   Not enough prep time or grocery shopping time that ends up leading to reaching into the pantry and grabbing something, ANYTHING, to eat.  Arctic weather making it oh-so-very-hard to get out of my nice, cozy bed and workout.   You get the idea.  Life happened.

But I'm still in that annoying "Nothing fits because maternity clothes fall off and make me look still pregnant but pre-maternity clothes are not comfortable yet" stage, and I'm tired of it.  I'm not buying more clothes, so I have to find a way to make the ones that I have fit somehow and getting pregnant again isn't really a great option when it comes to fitting into my clothes.  ;)  My blood pressure wouldn't appreciate that method of fitting into my clothes, haha.

I'm also starting to have what I now think are gall bladder symptoms when I "cheat" and eat off of the diet I want to be eating (90% plant-based, just a little dairy and meat sprinkled in).    I used to think that things just "didn't agree with me" and forgot about it, but now I'm thinking that my years of symptoms of indigestion, heartburn, etc, were related to my gall bladder more than anything else.   Hindsight and all that jazz.....

So.....back on the bandwagon I go.   Who wants to join me?  I'm sure I'll blog my way through it, and I'm going to be doing a lot of experimenting in the kitchen to try to find a way to work substantial, healthy meals and snacks into our crazy hectic lifestyle.   I think sharing some of that with you guys will help keep me motivated.   And who knows...maybe a few of you will join me and we can commiserate   celebrate  together!    

My biggest struggle is, if we're going to be honest and real here, directly related to what I think is maybe some form of situational depression?   I don't know.  I don't think it's really depression, at least not clinical depression.   Maybe conditioning?   I've always been the fat kid - my whole life, I was the girl who would suck in her stomach to try and make her measurements (stupid presidential something or other in school where they'd measure the fat on our bodies and see how many sit ups and pull ups and whathaveyou that you could do and then everyone would compare their numbers) just a tiny bit smaller so it wasn't AS big compared to everyone else in the class.   Or the kid who would be teased in gym class.   Or the kid who could NEVER borrow clothing from anyone else because even the pants that "are kind of big" didn't fit me.  I think my brain has been kind of conditioned to think that I will forever be that fat girl and so why even bother?   Then, throw in all of the "big is beautiful" campaigns that kind of reinforce the "it doesn't matter" whisper in the back of my mind, and finding motivation is just, well, hard.  

You see, it *does* matter.   At least for me.   Not because I need to have a skinny waist to feel good about myself, but because I don't want to have surgery.   I know I know, it's so common and "not a big deal," but for me, it is.   I'm married to a surgeon and all, but I don't really ever want to be on that operating table.   Ever.   For lots of reasons, haha.

Add in the fact that I don't really want to go through the whole blood pressure thing again during pregnancy, and that we're most likely NOT done with having babies, and the number one predictor of recurrence of all of that fun stuff is obesity, and well.....I need to get back on the bandwagon.   

So, here it goes.  Climbing back up on the bandwagon.   Who's with me?

So how DO you "decorate for Advent?"

I mentioned in this post that we had decorated for Advent at the Circus, and since then, I've gotten a couple of questions as to what that looks like for us.  So, here it is - 

"The Circus at Advent"

A few years ago, Mike and I made the decision to try and change the way we "did" holidays.  We were both getting disillusioned with the way it seemed like we were sliding into secular traditions, and wanted to find a way to bring our Catholic faith into our own little family.  One of the first changes we made was to actually pause and celebrate Advent, and not skip straight to Christmas like we had been doing.    

This is actually kind of hard.  Christmas is everywhere, starting at Thanksgiving!  (this year, it seemed like it started with Halloween!).  Christmas music is playing.   Decorations are everywhere.  Santa is at the mall.   Taking the time to celebrate Advent and not Christmas is an intentional decision, and it takes a lot of commitment.

For us, it takes the shape of four major changes:

- School 

- Decorations 

- Music

- Actions/Tradions

Let's go through each one together, 'mkay?

School

The biggest change in our Advent routine really comes in the form of our schooling schedule.  I have grand plans of adding in Advent lesson plans, but it hasn't happened yet.   I just can't seem to get my hands on everything and get it set up in time.  Whoops.   However, we still change the way we "do" school.  Instead of doing a week's worth of lessons in one week's worth of time, I stretch one week of lessons over two weeks of time.   We take "off" 2 to 3 days a week, and leave them unstructured.  This gives me time to add in extra feast day celebrations, family time, and give the kids time to get their Christmas gifts ready for each other.  We school throughout the summer anyway (the kids do better with that consistency), so I have plenty of wiggle room with our schedule to stretch out the weeks like this (I do the same during Lent).   

Changing our school schedule has one major result:  we relax.   Things quiet down, because our stress level goes waaaayyyyy down.  Instead of trying to cram everything into one day (school, meal prep, cleaning/chores, family time, extracurriculars, etc), I have multiple days per week that I can use to either get caught up or ahead on some of those non-time sensitive duties.   The result is a calmer, quieter, more peaceful household.

Decorations

Our mantle:  you can kind of see our Advent "wreath", and some mini Christmas trees that come out this time of year.  Right now, they're bare and tied with purple ribbon for Advent, but they will get decorated with shiny Christmas goodness on Christmas Eve.  I like the simple look of winter berries, and try to use them everywhere.  The "wreath" is actually just a plate with four candle holders and more berries - the lower profile seems to make it less likely to get knocked over by little hands when we bring it down during meals.

Felt Advent wreath - I made this a few years ago to hang up for little ones.  It's just a simple piece of felt with leaves, a wreath base, berries, and candles with separate felt flames.  I put it all out and let the kids play with it whenever they want, building an Advent wreath over and over again.  I love to watch them carefully construct the wreath, and get so excited about "lighting" the right number of candles to match our family Advent wreath.

This is our Jesse Tree.  Last year, we just used a branch from outside, but we had a horrible time trying to get the dogs to stop 1) eating it and 2) knocking it over, so this year we went out and got a simple, thin, pre-lit Christmas tree.  We add an ornament every night (see picture below), and have it decorated with purple and pink bulb ornaments.  Just like with the mantle trees, I have bright, shiny Christmas ornaments that will replace the pink and purple ones on Christmas Eve.

I should have saved this one for last, because it's so picture heavy, but maybe it's more of an intermission?   Yeah, we'll call it intermission.

I love changing what our house LOOKS  like.  It seems to refresh all of us and really help us focus on what's happening in life at that moment.  Advent is no different.   Our decorations are more subtle than what we do for Christmas, but it adds a bit of visual focus to our daily lives.   It's a great prelude to Christmas decorations, too, which tend to be shiny and bright and elaborate.   

Personally, I love the way these few decorations point toward something special happening.  I think that the tiny bit of light and "specialness" that they add to our daily lives really help foster a sense of excitement and anticipation for what is to come, which is kind the role Advent plays in our lives.  We focus on being ready for the day of Christ's coming, while reflecting on the events that led up to His birth.  The sense of joyful anticipation is almost palpable.   For us, these few but special decorations help bring that sense of excitement from the Church sanctuary into our home.

Music

This is a new one for us this year.  I tried to avoid Christmas music in years past, but we struggled without having something to replace it with.   Things are going much better this year, after a friend shared this post at Carrots for Michaelmas with us.   I've downloaded the Advent at Ephesus album and switch back and forth between that and the Spotify playlist suggested.   I've noticed that this music has a similar result in our attitudes at home as the decorations:  we all feel this sense of peaceful anticipation.   We're waiting, and the music is the perfect "backdrop".  

Actions/Traditions

We *do* things differently at the Circus during Advent, too.  I didn't want to call this just "traditions" because it's more than that.  It's certain actions that we take in order to make Advent the season that it is here at the Circus.   

First and foremost, I do everything I can to have ALL of our Christmas and birthday (there are 3 of them between 12/13 and 1/4) shopping completed before Advent starts.  Some years are better than others, just depending on how the paychecks and free time fall that year, but I do my best to make it happen.   If I can have everything planned and purchased before Advent, that helps take away some of the stress that tends to invade December and distract me from focusing on what Christmas is really about:  the birth of Christ.   If I can't stop thinking about what to buy the rascals, it severely impacts my ability to make Advent a meaningful season for the Circus.  

Once Advent starts, we really have two main traditions:  the Jesse Tree and the wreath lighting.

Lighting the Advent wreath during dinner.   We do this every night, with Mike being the one to lead the prayer and lighting.  Some years we use Advent reflections, but others we just incorporate it into our dinner blessing/grace.  The kids love having a real, live flame in the center of the table, and they act accordingly.  It brings a sense of reverence into what is usually NOT a very peaceful time (toddler meltdowns, sudden onset food aversions, missed naps and sleepy kids, you know the drill!)

Reading our Jesse Tree reflection and Scripture passage.  Each ornament represents a certain event or period from the Bible.  The Jesse Tree is a way to reflect upon salvation history, from Creation until the birth of Christ.   We read a Scripture passage, and then a short (couple sentences, no more) reflection and prayer that corresponds to the Scripture.

.....and then we hang the ornament.  Each night, a different child gets a chance to hang the ornament.   It's an exciting moment when you realize that it's YOUR turn to hang the ornament, and you'd better listen well to know when it's time.  ;)

I had made our own Jesse Tree ornaments in years past, but with the dogs and their attraction to the branch (sigh), some of them didn't make it from last year.   Instead of making new ones this year (since the Circus has gone from slightly chaotic to absolutely crazy in the past 6 months, with two more kids joining our troupe), I gave in and ordered ones from this Etsy shop.    I'm very impressed with the quality and beauty of these ornaments, and plan on ordering these in future years as gifts.   I was also thoroughly impressed with the speed at which they got here - I had the ornaments in my hands within days of placing the order.   I highly recommend them!

***

So, that's what Advent looks like at our house.   We tend to get our Christmas tree up as close to Gaudete Sunday (the pink candle on your wreath) as possible, and just base that on Mike's schedule/availability.   Sometimes we decorate it then, sometimes we wait until just before Christmas - it really just depends on what Mike's schedule is like that year.   Until then, though, the house is all Advent, all the time.  ;)

Do you do anything differently for Advent in your house?  Share in the comments below!