Five Favourites: What I've Been Reading

Linking up with Jenna today!

Feeling a bit lazy - well, honestly, more tired than lazy - after our big ol' field trip to the state house today to see the Senate and the House of Representatives at work, so I'm kind of taking the easy way out today (tonight?).   I've not had a chance to do real reading this past week, so how about I throw some links at you?   For your reading pleasure.......

What I've Been Reading, Five Favourites-Style!

1.

Starting it off with one of my favourite bloggers, Brianna .  There are some bloggers that I'd love to meet in person and chat with over a cup of coffee, and she is one.    This post, about why it's okay to have a large family, really spoke to me today.   Go check it out, but here's my favourite part:

There was a time when I too would have questioned the judgment of a married couple throwing caution, good sense, and money to the wind in exchange for a fifteen-passenger-van and four sets of bunk beds.  But that was before I had the misfortune of actually using the pill to prevent pregnancy, and it was before I became a mother, and before I encountered the life-giving truth about the vocation of Holy Matrimony.  Now, I’m raising my eight kids, ya’ll!  Which is funny, because I never really anticipated having a big family, but here I am.  And I don’t worry too much about whether or not other people think that’s the best thing or a good thing or the right thing for kids, because I know, I know, that children are not only a precious gift but that they are also natural to, and good for, marriage.  And I now know too that children are a gift to one another.

Contrary to what people on Facebook were arguing, raising many children is not the same thing as being a teacher or running a daycare, neither of which ever appealed to me in the least.  And contrary to what most people think you don’t have to be a saint.  Kids (usually) come one at a time.  You learn as you go.  Sometimes you mess up.  There are happy moments and sad ones, too.  It’s life, and it’s full.  Oh.so.full.

2.

We had a long break between Nicholas and Ruthie, and a couple of miscarriages along the way.  There were times during those two rascals where I wondered if we were ever going to be blessed with biological children again, and struggling when I saw families around me growing in leaps and bounds.   Comments were made - even by representatives of the church - about our family size and the fact that there were "only" three children.   I feel like now we're on the "large family" side of the rude comments....but there was a time when we weren't and when every pregnancy announcement felt like a knife-stab into my heart.   Where I'd lock myself in the bathroom and cry because, once again, another friend was pregnant and we weren't....but yet, we were one of the "lucky" ones who had been blessed with children before this happened.   

If you don't read anything else that I link to here, please read this post.   It's important to remember that there's another side to the inappropriate comments and questions about family size.

We Said Yes, Too

3.

I read this one earlier today and it made me so very sad.    There's a lot of truth here about the state of our Church and the role of the family in passing on the faith - and a definite wake-up call to us parents.

What Children's Confessions Reveal

4.

Not into March Madness?   No worries......here's a different kind of bracket competition....Catholic- style.  ;)

March Madness, Catholic Style

5.

I posted this the other day on our Facebook page, but if you happened to miss it, please do us all a favour and go read it now.     Simcha has managed to put my entire life experience of owning animals into one hilariously perfect blog post.   I couldn't stop laughing!

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And a bonus one, in case you still need some reading material.   Check out this hilarious song, and make sure you read the comments!!

Weary Parents of Church

my must-do-this-or-life-stinks list (aka Five Fave Parenting Hacks)

I was going to keep this for tomorrow's "Five Faves" but I decided to go ahead and write it today while Theo is super happy and occupied with his bowl of leftover pho and the three other boys are happy with schoolwork and the baby is sleeping.  No guarantees that it will happen again tomorrow, so today's the day.  I'll probably cheat and still link up with Jenna tomorrow, though.    

I couldn't decide what to call this, so Parenting Hacks it is.  It's not really a list of TRUE life hacks, since I'm not repurposing something to make life easier.....but these five things are necessary in the Circus household.  Without them...I'm pretty sure I'd be curled up in the fetal position on the bathroom floor, bawling.

Too many words, not enough hacking.  

Sorry.

Let me fix that.

Hack #1:

Music.  Never underestimate the power of music.   We are huge Pandora fans here, and let me tell you, I've got that thing trained.  We have schoolwork music.  We have playtime music.  We have Advent music.  We have Lent music.  We have quiet time music.  We have dance party music.  We have "everyone's-a-grump-and-we-need-to-break-the-grumpies" music.     

Need a change in attitudes?   Change the station.  Play it loud.    Need to get the kids on task with whatever they need to be doing (quieting down to signal that it's time for the babies to nap?  Done.   Time to pull out the books and get cracking on schoolwork?  Done.  Time to be goofy and keep the baby out of Mommy's hair so she can make dinner?   Done - it's 80s dance party time).

This works for the car, too.   Once I figured out that classical music calms down the rascals in our tight-fitting car (I love it, but every seat is full and as the boys grow.....so do the fights over space or toys), I mandated that it was the only thing we were listening to on our long drives back and forth to gymnastics practice.    Drives are soooooo much nicer now!

Along those lines, my secret weapon in the car can be found online for free OR at any public library.  

Audiobooks.

God bless the person who first decided to read a book and record themselves doing so.   They have saved our road trips.

Hack #2:

Keep nap time going.  Long after naps are being taken.

So far, all of my boys have ended their napping routine at a different age - Joseph made it to kindergarten before giving up his afternoon naps.  Graham made it until age 4.  Nicholas started sleeping 12 hours at night and not napping anymore around age 3.  Theo's still going strong with naps at age 5.  We'll see how Ruthie does, but my guess is that she's going to move into the same "one nap a day" rhythm that everyone else has had pretty soon.    Eventually, she and Theo will be on the same napping schedule completely, and it will match up with the rhythm that I have guarded like a Mama Bear the past 10 years:  busy all morning, lunch time, quiet time.

Even the non-nappers recognize and respect the schedule:   schoolwork and playing all morning, lunch time, then it's "feet-off-the-floor" time.  I don't really care WHERE they do their FOTF time, but it has to happen.   Quiet time reading, writing, drawing, or puzzle or Lego building happens immediately after lunch.  (And yes, quiet time music is its own station on Pandora).   

I *need* that quiet time to recharge for the rest of the day, and we will guard it until the last kid leaves the Circus.   I think one of the reasons dinner time can get so chaotic and so many parents struggle with a "witching hour" just before bedtime is a complete abandonment of nap time.   I refuse to give it up!

Hack #3:

Never start a load of laundry that you won't be able to see through to the very end.  As in, folded and put away in the right drawers/closets.   If you don't have time to wash, dry, fold, and put away a load of laundry, don't start it until you do.    Following this philosophy has made a WORLD of difference in our home life, and honestly, our level of frustration.   Meaning.....the frustration with housework is WAAAYYY lower than it once was.  Sometimes I think I'll be able to see a load through to the end and life happens and I end up not getting to it, but those times are few and far between.    It's amazing - without that back up of laundry staring me in the face, I don't feel as incompetent as a mom and housewife.   I actually feel - most days - like I'm relatively equipped for this job I've found myself in!

Hack #4:

Again related to the previous hack....get rid of at least half of your kids' clothing.   You really don't need it.   Especially once you get up to having as many kids as we do, you're going to be doing laundry on a daily basis, anyway, so your kids will have those clothes back in their drawers in no time.    I've found that the perfect amount of clothing for my boys must include:  3 play shirts and 3 play pants.  5 pairs of underwear.  5 pairs of socks.  1 pair of church pants.  2 church shirts.  At least one hoodie (although my big boys get these often as "complimentary" at gymnastics meets, so we have more of these hanging in the closets).    They don't typically wear pajamas, but just sleep in boxers and tshirts, but we do always have one pair of pajamas per child in case they visit somewhere OR we have houseguests.    Ruthie has even less clothes - about 3 sleepers/pajamas, and probably 3-4 outfits, 2 pairs of tights, and a couple of pairs of socks.

Why only 5ish days' worth of clothes?   It's really simple:  they can start to dress themselves earlier - finding outfits isn't as overwhelming for little ones.    There's less clutter.   Things actually get worn until they're ready to be replaced by the next size, instead of brand new outfits going unworn before the child is too big to wear them.   Sorting laundry is easier, especially for those of us with the same gender all wearing about the same size - it's easier to call to mind a picture of which child wears which article of clothing if you see it worn more often.

And the number 1 reason to thin out closets until you only have 5 days worth of clothing?    

It's similar to making it easier for you to do the laundry:   because they wear the same clothes over and over again, the kids themselves recognize their clothing more easily and can FOLD AND PUT AWAY THE LAUNDRY FOR YOU.   

Hack #5:

Teach your children to cook.   Even if it's simple things, empowering them in the kitchen will make everyone's lives easier.   By 6, all of my kids can make a salad, peel and prep vegetables and fruit like carrots and apples, warm up and cut up their own frozen pancakes, and make their own instant oatmeal.     At 7, they start joining me in the kitchen and start learning how to scramble, fry, or hard boil eggs, cook noodles and sauce, or cook rice or quinoa.   At 8, they start learning how prepare meals out of this book.  (that book is, by far, our favourite "kid cookbook", because of the simple-to-read instructions, large photographs, and varied recipe options).  Teaching the kids to cook simple things may seem really overwhelming at first, but, let me tell you....it is game-changing as a parent.   Being able to ask Graham to go make some egg salad sandwiches, from start to finish, for lunch - and being able to trust that he can do it well - is a huge life saver when the baby is teething and only wants to be held by Mommy.   Seriously.  Game-changing parenting move.

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So, there they are.  My five fave parenting tips that were passed on to me and that I refuse to ignore.    

What are your must-do-parenting things?  Share on FB or in the comments below!

Five Faves: Pantry Cooking

Linking up over at Call Her Happy again today!

Sneaking in at the last minute because I'm cool like that.   And because I just spent waaaayyyy too long converting our "one-room-schoolhouse-lots-of-verbal-lessons" homeschooling lesson plan for tomorrow into worksheets and activities so we can take it on the road (Mr. Theo has a bunch of therapy sessions tomorrow).    

Today was also grocery shopping day, and I'm trying to clean out what we have in the pantry and restock in time for the projected snowstorms (yes, more snow) this week.   So, I thought, why not do a "What Heidi Always Has On Hand" .... also known as pantry-menu-planning......for this week's five faves?

One little catch, though, not everything in these recipes is a pantry-stable item - some of these recipes include fresh foods or perishables.   But, for me, these are "pantry" recipes.  The things that are produce-based or perishables are things that I consider our staples, and that i always have on hand.  If I don't have one of these things......it is way past getting to the grocery store!

Here we go!

1.

Indian yellow lentils.  

I always have everything for this recipe on hand, and it's my go-to "I don't want to grocery shop" meal.   Usually what happens is that any veggie that i have on hand that needs to be used up gets tossed into the recipe as well - the other night, I included extra onions, some tomatoes, and some kale.  It was still delicious!    Definitely a great "base" recipe to add into the rotation.

2.

Quinoa/black beans/corn

A meal that can be made quickly  (in less than 30 minutes), and tastes great as it is, or wrapped up in tortillas.   Definitely a win-win in this house.  At any point in time, I will have 2-3 bags of corn in the freezer, and since the fridge/freezer are hooked up to what the generator would run if we were to lose power...I don't stress about losing it (too much).   That makes this go-to meal a very easy one to have on hand!

3.

Sweet Potato/black bean burritos.

This isn't an "official" recipe that I can link you to, but it's always something I have on hand.  It's super scientific, are you ready?

1 can black beans (drained and rinsed) + one peeled and diced sweet potato + 1 jar pineapple salsa (we like Newman's Own)

That's it.    Dump it all into a pan, and cook on medium heat until the potato is soft.   Wrap it in tortillas.  If you have it, add sour cream.   If I want to bulk it up some, I'll add some cooked brown rice into the filling for the burritos.   If I have kale or spinach that I want to use up, I'll tear it into tiny pieces and add it in the last few minutes of cooking.   Once it wilts, it's an easy way to sneak greens into a reluctant kiddo - you can't taste it at all!

4.

"Southwest" salads.

It's probably not correct to call this those, but, well.....it happened one day and it stuck.   Again, no recipe to link you to, but it's a stand-by for me.   It's pretty simple:  take your basic green salad (the boys like romaine lettuce for this one).   Top it with a black beans (I used drained, rinsed canned beans), cooked corn, and tortilla chips/strips (crumble them up).   If I have any veggies that need to be used up (bell peppers taste especially yummy with this!), I'll add those in.   Toss it with ranch dressing (again, we like Newman's Own for this), and voila!  Dinner is served.

5.

Black Bean Burgers

I have played with this recipe so many times, just trying to use up what I had on hand, and it has never let me down.     Peppers get replaced with extra onions, bread crumbs are replaced with cornmeal or ground oatmeal, and it still always turns out wonderfully.   Make your own hamburger buns, and keep a bag of sweet potato fries in the freezer, and it's a super quick and easy meal!   Even my carnivore extended family loves these burgers!

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In case you were curious, my "must have" items in the pantry and fridge/freezer are:

quinoa

black beans

frozen corn

kale/spinach/chard

lettuce (I usually keep salad made/prepped in one of these containers)

lentils

onion

sweet potatoes

salsa

tortillas (I buy in bulk and freeze them, OR plan on making them myself)

ranch dressing

brown rice

If I start running low on these items, I definitely hit the grocery store before a snow storm hits!

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Enjoy the snow if you're getting some tonight, like we are!

Five Faves: Baby, baby!

Linking up with Jenna again today!

I thought it'd be fun to revisit this time last year, when we were getting ready to welcome Baby Ruthie and bring a newborn into our house for the first time in five years.   We'd gotten rid of most of our baby stuff, since we'd had to move across the country and less stuff = less cost, and I was starting to think about what kinds of things I needed to have around.   There wasn't much on my "must have" list....very unlike when we first brought Joseph home and I thought we needed oh so much stuff....and I thought it'd be fun to boil it down to my five favourite baby goodies (minus the car seat because, well, that's kind of self-explanatory that it's a "must have").....

Here we go!

1.

Diapers

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I'm a cloth diaper fan, after being converted to cloth when Joseph was about 8 months old.  We were struggling to find a disposable diaper that didn't make him break out in a rash (darn redheads and their sensitive skin!), so we switched to cloth.  I've never gone back!   We do use disposables here and there (when traveling, when I forget to start the laundry, when we have a babysitter), but we primarily use these diapers.  I bought them 10 years ago, with Joseph, and they've now on their 6th baby of use, since we loaned them out a couple of times to friends.  Love love love them.

2.

A Moby Wrap

I was such a clueless first time mom with Joseph.  Baby wearing?  What the heck is that?

I learned quickly when Mr Graham came along.   Sitting down and cuddling a baby who wanted to sleep, or carrying a baby around everywhere just wasn't alway an option when I also had a 17-month old toddling around.   The Moby was by-far my favourite wrap for a young infant, and it was the first thing to go onto my "must have" list when we went shopping for Miss Ruthie.

3.

Bottles

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I knew, from previous experience, that breastfeeding wasn't going to be an exclusive thing for me and Miss Ruthie.   I'd tried so incredibly hard with the three boys to make it an exclusive thing, and each time, I ended up having to supplement with formula and I felt like an incredible failure of a mother when we moved that way.   I decided with Miss Ruthie that I wasn't going to push me or her as hard as I had with the boys (No pumping.   No medications.  Supplements, maybe, but no pharmaceuticals.   No weight checks.)   The stress of the constant scrutiny and worry and then the mad dash to the store to buy bottles and formula just wasn't going to happen, especially because Mr Theo was coming home a mere month after Ruthie was born.   Just nope.

I'd learned with the three boys that these bottles were our favourite brand. They went back on the "must have" list, and I was pleasantly surprised to see that they now had a glass bottle version available.    Definitely a top-five item for us.

4.

A good swing

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This swing may have been the best investment, ever, this time around.  Because of it, I've actually gotten sleep while the baby was stuffed up/sick.   And Ruthie's gotten naps while the big kids were being, well, the big kids.   I love it and will probably cry on the day that Ruthie grows out of it.    It moves so smoothly, and so quietly, and ....best feature......it PLUGS IN!   No more constant supply (and purchasing) of batteries.  No more running out of batteries just when you need it most.....I seriously love this thing!

5.

A Co-Sleeper

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I'm kind of cheating on this one, because we already owned it (it was the one piece of baby stuff that I didn't sell when we moved, because I loved it that much and it works great as a portable crib when babysitting other people's babies!), but it would definitely be on my must-have list if we didn't already own it.

We typically don't bedshare (unless I happen to accidentally fall asleep while feeding the baby!), because of some previous experiences that Mike had in medical school/residency.   Once you see a bad outcome, it's awfully  hard to forget it, unfortunately.   Instead, we co-sleep with one of these side-car contraptions with our babies.   For me, it's a great compromise between bedsharing and the whole "baby-must-be-in-her-own-crib" viewpoints.   She's still close enough for me to soothe at night or to wake up quickly and get to her as soon as she starts to fuss, but yet she's slightly removed from our actual bed and those bad memories.

Our co-sleeper is similar to this one, just a slightly older model (and different colour).  I've been extremely happy with it and would definitely recommend it to anyone looking to buy one!

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So, there you have it, my "must-have" list that had to be marked off before Ruthie made her appearance last spring.   Once we'd checked these things off, I was actually able to relax my pregnant-mom-crazy-brain slightly and focus on the actual process of bringing our little girl home.   

Kind of.   

I still had a good chunk of that crazy-brain, even after securing these things.   Knowing that Mike was leaving 2 weeks after my due date to fly around the world and bring Mr Theo home helped keep a little bit of that crazy-brain around.......

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Have a great day, y'all!

Five Faves: Vacation Brain

Linking up with Jenna again today!

It's no secret around these parts that, although I love Maine winters waaaayyyyy more than Michigan ones, I get super duper stir crazy this time of the year.  Not being able to go outside easily really does me in - and while *I* could bundle up and go outside, these years when I have little little ones in tow get pretty tricky.   Especially when one of the little ones is used to 60º winters and is not a big fan of snow.  And even especially when we've gotten over 40 inches of that awful white stuff (in his opinion) in the past week.  

All that to say that, why yes, I have vacation planning allllllll over my brain.  We have a week off planned for May and all I can think about is "Where should we go?  What can we fit into the budget that will get me some fun?"    I'm pretty sure we've made our decision, and will be booking reservations on payday (this week!  Yay!), but it got me thinking about previous family vacations and which ones I enjoyed the most.   I thought I'd share some of our favourite vacations with you to help with the cabin fever....

1.

Pensacola, FL

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You would think that, after all of the years we've spent vacationing here, this would be the easiest one to find pictures of.   Apparently not, haha.   Enjoy the not-so-perfect-colours of the beach picture, y'all.   Imagine the water to be bluer and the sand to be whiter, because that's what it looks like in real life.

This is where we'll be heading back this May for our vacation time - it's our go-to vacation spot.  Why?   It's partly because it's "home" for me (I lived there from about age 11 until college), but it's also because it is a fantastic vacation spot for families.   The beach is clean and beautiful (sugar-white sand) and not nearly as crazy as places like Panama City (it's just not as touristy and populated), and the price is right.  Because it's not as touristy as places like Panama City (2 hours east) or even Destin (1 hour east), you can find a very affordable beachfront condo for rent.   Our favourite place to stay is the Portofino Resort.  It may not be the cheapest place on the island, but for us, the extra expense is worth it - reserved beach seating (if you book through them) with actual chairs (and cough cough cabana boys/girls that deliver drinks), a kids swimming/play area with trampolines, dolphin cruises, golf (if you like that), multiple heated pools - both indoor and outdoor, and beautiful condos.  It's also at the end of the beach business/restaurant section, just before you get to the National Seashore, with its pristine beaches and fewer people.

There's plenty to do, too!   The Naval Aviation Museum is nearby and free to visit, and if you check the schedule beforehand (and plan for it!), the Blue Angels, who are based in Pensacola, will likely be practicing.  Practices are open and free to watch (usually on Tues/Wed, just check first), and afterward, the pilots come into the museum to sign autographs and take pictures.  It's a little boy's dream come true!

There's also a zoo, an aquarium, a historical district, a fort (where Geronimo was held!), and nearby cities  (Mobile, AL is only an hour away, with a great children's museum).

2.

The Big Apple

Visiting Saints at St Patrick's Cathedral

Experiencing the Macy's Thanksgiving parade

After moving back to Maine, we decided to travel down to New York City for the Macy's Thanksgiving Day parade.  I was hesitant: 3 young children in a huge city (I'm not a big city fan, normally) on one of the busiest weekends of the year?  In the cold?   I thought Mike was crazy, but when our friend told us about a Catholic guesthouse in the heart of Manhattan, I gave in and went along with the craziness.

I'm glad that I did - that weekend, to this day, has remained one of my absolute favourite family vacations.  Mike had done his research, and knew exactly where we needed to go for great sights of the parade (Central Park West), and the Leo House was the perfect spot for our family.  It was like staying in a bed and breakfast...without the crazy cost.   The staff was warm and welcoming, and kept tabs on our family, which made it feel like a little slice of home.    Returning from a busy day in such a huge city where you feel so anonymous to a smiling face who not only remembered your plans for the day, but who honestly wanted to hear about what you had seen or experienced was such a comfort for us.   Not to mention, the homemade bread at the breakfast table every morning (and DAILY MASS!! when there was a priest staying there....you truly can get your daily bread at The Leo House!) was such an added blessing.

We spent a lot of time just walking around, since it was the start of the Christmas shopping season (window displays!!), but we managed to find a couple of tricks to keep the cost down and the comfort level high.  Biggest trick (for us)?   Trump Tower.   The bathrooms were clean, it was conveniently located, the food wasn't too horribly priced (and it actually was good!), and there's a Starbucks upstairs.    Mr Trump knows what he's doing......and we spent so much time there that weekend on bathroom breaks that I thought we might actually run into him.    The Leo House also would pack you a sack lunch (on homemade bread!!) for a small fee, which helped us cut back on costs, and we very much would have relied on that if it weren't so cold outside.  Picnic lunches could very much save a family a ton of money!

3.

The Pacific Coast Highway

This may be one of our more Circus-specific vacations (we *love* road trips!) and not up your alley at all, but it still remains one of my favourite trips as a family.   When we lived in AZ, both Mike and I were severely craving some ocean time, since we both grew up on the water, but our budget and his vacation time didn't really allow for our typical beach vacation (Pensacola).    We had a few days off over the New Years holiday, so we decided to be a bit crazy....or what most people would think of as crazy.

We packed up our little Prius with all three kids, a griddle, and lots of bread, peanut butter, jelly, cheese, fruit, and bagged salad, and hit the road.  We traveled over 1400 miles (Phoenix to Monterey, CA) in a four day period, spending all day exploring in the car.  We had picnic after picnic along the side of the road, finding fun new places and sites (Dr Seuss trees!  Redwood forest!  Elephant seals!), and crashing in a hotel room at night.   It was so much fun, and the boys had a blast exploring.

(And no, we do not have, nor did we borrow, a DVD player or any electronics for the car)

4.

The Maine Coast

This one is kind of cheating because we've only done weekend getaways and I'm kind of globbing them all together.   These pictures are from a weekend trip to the Samoset Resort  in the Rockport, ME, area that wasn't technically a vacation (I was speaking at a youth ministry event) since I was kind of working, but the whole family came along and we relaxed and played during the times I didn't have to be doing anything.

I love living in Maine - a friend once remarked that it's the most "geographically perfect" state in the country, and I have to agree.  And I've lived a lot of places!   Maine has it all:  rocky beaches, sandy beaches, mountains, plains, even a desert!   A $70 state park pass has often been the ticket to some of our favourite family vacations.  Unlike other states that we've lived in, Maine does a really good job maintaining and running its state parks.  The campgrounds are beautiful, and the list of things to do (and places to explore) is crazy long.   I'm not sure I'll ever get tired of our little staycations in our "backyard."

5.

Disney  World

Now it's time to "out" myself.  It seems that you can't really be on the fence about Disney when it comes to being a young family - at least a young family blog.  The emotions run high when you start talking about the Happiest Place on Earth (and the company that owns it).    Well, here's my big confession:  I am totally pro-Disney when it comes to family vacations.

A few years ago (2009 according to the pictures, I guess!), Mike was given the opportunity to speak at an ACOG conference, held at....Disney World.   Since his trip was being provided/paid as a presenter, we decided that this would be the perfect time to tag along to one of his boring conferences - taking his cost off of the total bill made it much more doable for a young family in the midst of a medical residency.

So we packed up the car (see a theme here?  We don't fly much - it's much more fun to explore along the way!  I'm a homeschooler, through-and-through, I guess), and hit the road.   24 hours later....we were rolling into the Contemporary Resort at DisneyWorld.   My mom met us a little bit later, after flying in from PA.  (Mike was at the conference and I was *not* doing Disney on my own with three super young kiddos!)

This trip has remained at the top of my favourite family vacations since then.   For all of the expense, Disney was a great family-friendly vacation.  Nursing rooms (villas, really - private rooms (with an "aide" to grab you anything you needed...or leave you alone if you'd prefer! with great changing facilities and quiet, dimly lit rooms), the option to bring your own food in, and lots and lots of staff to help direct you, help you get your food to the table, or just to help you get where you needed to go, really made it an easy vacation for us.   We were lucky enough to be staying at the Contemporary, which was on the monorail, and made traveling between parks super easy.    Our experience at the resort itself was so great that in the future, we plan on staying on-site again.

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So there you have it, our five favourite family vacations for your own planning and dreaming pleasure.  Feel free to email me with any questions or if you want a recommendation as to what to do or where to stay in any of these places - I tried to keep it short here for this post, but each of these places really deserves its own blog post and review.   Maybe someday......

Five Faves

Sigh.  In the time between I hit "post" on the hamburger bun recipe and opened up this page to write, a certain Circus clown dropped my cell phone into a bowl of water.  It's currently getting to relax in a bag of rice, but if you need me, shoot me an email or call the house number.   

On with the show!

Hanging out with Jenna today for Five Faves!

1.

This soup.  Seriously.  I'm craving it on these cold, snowy days.  So so so good.  (and we do add sweet potato to it, to bulk it up a bit).

2.

This dress.   I drool over most of the clothing on ModCloth, and finally gave in and bought this dress.  It shipped today.  I'm so excited!

3.

While we're talking dresses, these ones for baby Ruthie.    I bought a couple back in October, and she wears them almost daily (I'm not exaggerating.  I pretty much take them off, wash them, and put them back on her).  They're so cute and they have held up SO well.   You honestly can't tell that they've been washed and worn so much.   Great quality!!

4.

We've had a rough winter so far with cold viruses - I think Theo's weakened immune system and the fact that he's in school 3 days a week has meant that we are bringing home EVERY bug possible out there.  While we are pretty good about fighting them off quickly, it's meant that every couple of days, someone comes down with mild cold symptoms.    Poor baby girl has had a cough quite a bit this winter, and it's often one of those coughs that comes on *just* as she's falling asleep and makes getting her to sleep a bit tricky.  (trickier than normal, which is saying something, considering she HATES going to sleep).   Mike came home with some of this stuff one day, and we have become total groupies.  It smells GREAT and it really does work well - if I can remember to put it on her when I'm getting her pajamas on, she falls right asleep with no coughing.  It's fabulous stuff.......we call it her happy hippy baby rub.  

5.

Hmmmm....why do I always blank on the fifth one?  I need to start writing these things down....it happens every week!  OH RIGHT!  I was going to tell you guys about this shop on Etsy.    We purchased Jesse Tree ornaments from them this past year, and I was so happy with the quality and beauty of the ornaments.    So much so that I'm planning on going back and ordering these Stations of the Cross ornaments for Lent.   They're beautiful and I can't wait to add this into our Lenten journey as a family.  Go check them out!  (Just don't buy her out because I still need to get ours!).

Have a great day, y'all!

*******

If you didn't already know, we did deactivate our FB accounts.  You can still follow us through the blog FB page at this link:

This Circus Life

Just go to that page, click on "Like", and our blog updates will show up on your newsfeed.   If you use FB to communicate, please think about adding us!   You can send us private messages through that blog page, so it's super convenient if you're on Facebook a lot anyway.   Thanks!

Five Faves: Bathroom Edition

Linking up with Jenna today!

It's winter.  Blah.   

It's winter in Maine.....which means very dry air, even drier skin, and the "winter blues".   I thought I'd go through the bathroom in today's five favourites and share a little bit of what keeps all of that at bay for us around the Circus.

1.

Hair

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Okay, this is my one big splurge when it comes to personal care products.  I love this shampoo - I really struggle with dry scalp in the winter, and this seems to really help.  I can tell when I don't use it for whatever reason, that's for sure!

2.

Skin

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I had originally bought this lotion to help with Theo's dry skin - if I don't keep on top of it, he scratches and picks at it until it scabs.    One day, I ran out of my own lotion and "borrowed" his, and fell in love with it!   It's so good for the winter dry skin that happens around here, and I've started using it on all of us.  It smells good, isn't too oily/greasy (a big problem with a lot of the "intense moisture" ones), and doesn't break the bank.   The baby version smells absolutely perfect on Baby Ruthie, too.....

3.

Hands

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This stuff is amazing.  I don't even want to know why or how it works, but my gosh, it does work.   With changing diapers, a baby, and a child with a compromised immune system, I wash my hands A LOT.   They end up cracked and bleeding and painful....one night of lathering this stuff on just before bed almost brings them back to 100%.  Two nights take care of the cracking and dry skin completely.  Highly recommend trying it, if you have a problem with dry hands!  (There's a feet version, too)

4.

Shower

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This may not seem related, in any way, to the dryness of a Maine winter, but I promise it is!  A few years ago, Mike switched to using a safety razor while shaving instead of buying the "normal" ones in the store.  We were both amazed at how well it helped with his sensitive skin - he didn't struggle with razor burn at all anymore!  (red hair = majorly sensitive skin)   I decided to give it a try a few years, because I'm a good follower like that.  It's been the same thing for me - my dry skin used to give me such a problem when it came to shaving.  Razor burn, super dried out skin, itchy patches, no matter what shaving cream or lotion I used.  Did this razor eliminate any of those symptoms?  No, but it did drastically improve them - I'm not sure why or how it works, but now shaving leaves me with soft, smooth skin, and no dry patches.   It was worth the investment (that ended up saving us mucho money in the long run, because the replacement blades are crazy cheap!).

5.

The Winter Blues

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******Before I start this one, a disclaimer:  I am not a doctor, nor do I play one on the internet.   I am also not my husband*****

A couple of years ago (pre-Baby Ruthie), we were trying to get my cycle under control and strong enough to sustain a pregnancy.  A friend of ours, who is WAY more knowledgeable about things like this told us about maca root and how it works, and I thought I'd try it to see how it would help out my cycle symptoms (not super clear ovulation signs and a luteal phase deficiency).  Not only did it help even out my cycle (and I credit Baby Ruthie to the work maca did straightening out my chart), but we noticed an interesting phenomenon.   When I was taking the maca regularly, I struggled MUCH less with depression symptoms, even during the winter.  (I'm one of those people who really struggles with lack of natural sunlight and I'm guessing that if I went to the doctor, I'd officially be told that I have "seasonal affective disorder".   Reading a list of symptoms for SAD is like reading a playlist for my winter life).   When I was good about taking maca on a daily basis, my SAD symptoms were virtually non-existent, and my chart looked picture-perfect.    Could it help someone else?  I don't know - but it might be worth asking your doctor about and/or researching it on your own.   I personally have not noticed any negative side effects, but there are documented instances of things like sleeplessness, and if you have thyroid issues, you should definitely talk to your doctor first because maca contains iodine.   Remember, I'm not a doctor or even pretending to be one, and am only relaying one personal experience with this supplement.  

*****

Alright, I'm off for the day!  More laundry awaits me after our weekend away and school starts back up today.  Have a great day, y'all!

Five Faves: gymnastics pics from last weekend

Linking up with Jenna over at Call Her Happy today!

I'm kind of cheating this week.  Normally, Five Faves is all about five things that other people would like - kind of a recommendations post.  I'm using it to share five pictures from last weekend because it's, well, easier, and I'm in the midst of packing for West Point and trying to do laundry in order to pack for West Point and do school and all that fun stuff.   So, cheater-cheater-pumpkin-eater Heidi today.  (By the way, I hate pumpkin.  Just sayin').  That and we are lucky enough to have an awesome photographer as a dad of one of the teammates, and I love to share his work!  (If you're local and want his contact information, email me here).

Here goes!

1.  

The pommel horse = the arch-rival of any boy gymnast

2.

The team and their assistant coach.  Love these kids so much! (coaches included!)

3.

I kinda want to turn this one into a silhouette and frame it.  Look at those lines!

4.

Not technically FROM the meet itself, and I didn't even realize he'd snapped this picture, but how about a little baby girl picture from the day?

5.

Getting his game on.

6. 

And a bonus because it's awesome and I'm generous like that.  Look at that focus!

Happy Wednesday, all!

Five Faves - Toddler Busy Boxes

Linking up with Jenna today!

Well, the 12 Days of Christmas are officially over, so that means school starts back up today.   Notebooks are restocked, pencils are sharpened, and worksheets have been printed.    I love the "first" day of school!  

Getting ready for school to start in a house where a toddler lives also means getting our "Busy Boxes" ready.  Theo has a box for each day of the week, and he only gets to play with the contents during official school time.    For the most part, these boxes buy us a little bit of non-interrupted school time where I can focus on the big kids and let Theo work on his own activities, either at the table next to us or on the floor in the schoolroom.  I thought I'd share five of my favourite busy box items.

I'm a cheapskate (and kind of a procrastinator), so I try to keep these boxes full of things that I can just find around the house.    I mean, it's kind of required when you realize at 9 pm the night before school starts that you've haven't prepped the busy boxes yet, but we can claim that it's actually planned and I'm just an awesome creative, thrifty Catholic homeschooling mom.   Yep.  That's it.  It's not laziness at all.....

1.

Pipe cleaners.   Yep.  Pipe cleaners.   They go into a busy box, along with a colander, and anything else I can find that he can thread on them.   Tube pasta.   Beads.   Lacing cards.   Fabric (felt squares work great) with little notches cut into it.  Anything that he can practice lacing or threading with.   For a little guy like Theo, string or yarn is just too flexible.  He gets frustrated easily, and whatever he's trying to thread falls off of the other end super quickly.   Pipe cleaners, though, provide just enough stability to give his little fingers time to thread it through the holes, and they are thick enough to provide just the right amount of friction to keep things in place as he's trying to thread multiple objects at a time.   And they're super crazy cheap.   Perfect busy box item!

2.

Play-doh.   This is one constant - I rotate through items in every other busy box, but there is always one with Play-doh in it.  One of these days, I'll get ahead of the game and it will be homemade play-doh, but for now, it's store bought.  It's not super pricey, and all of the stuff he uses to play with it comes right out of my kitchen, so it's still a quick and inexpensive busy box item.    The packs of play-doh are $5 or less, usually, as long as you stay away from the specialty toys.   I usually just give him two colours at a time, and we use them until they get dried out, so that $5 pack will last months.   Definitely a hit with Theo - he'll spend hours at the table playing with this stuff!

3.

Craft pom-poms and egg cartons.   This was from our first round of busy boxes, when I was trying to get him accustomed to the idea of independent activities while the big boys worked on their assignments, so it's the bare minimum.  Literally just 12 pom poms and an egg carton.  Once he understood what to do with them (fill each egg cup with a pom pom), I painted the bottom of each cup with a bit of washable paint.   Nothing perfect, just a dab of colour on the bottom of the cup.   Each pom pom matched up an egg cup, so we'd dump them out and he'd sort them by colour.  Eventually, we'll paint numbers and/or letters on the bottom of the egg cups and use ping pong balls instead of pom poms (that way, I can use sharpie to write matching letters/numbers on the ping pong balls).  He's not there yet, though, so it's pom poms for now.

4.

This one takes a little bit more supervision, but it's worth it for the end result.   It's a piece of construction paper, with a shape or letter cut out of the center (so the shape/letter is "framed" by the construction paper).   Tape a piece of wax paper to the back construction paper, making sure it's large enough to cover the cut out.   Now all you need is some glue (I pour it onto old sour cream or yogurt container lids and give them a q-tip to "paint" with) and little squares of tissue paper.   The child glues the tissue paper to the wax paper, and the finished products look something like this:

5.

Paper bags.  No joke.   Paper bags and crayons, a glue stick, and scraps of whatever you can find (paper, magazines, felt, ribbon, yarn).   All of my kids have LOVED making paper bag puppets, and Theo is no exception to that rule.   He loves to create them, and will happily spend a good chunk of the school day making the little puppets sing and dance and bounce all over the house.  As a bonus, it's super cute entertainment.  

********

So, there you go.  My go-to, inexpensive toddler busy box goodies.   When we first started homeschooling, Nicholas was about 2 years old, and I tried the busy box method with him as well.  However, I made the common mistake of thinking that the contents of the boxes had to be flashy and "fun" and "cool."  Ummm, nope.  Those held his attention for hardly any time, whereas these hands-on, creative activities kept him occupied for almost all of the time that I needed to work with his brothers.   They're time-tested, fun, easy to throw together, and, best of all.....super cheap!

Hope that helps someone out there!  Happy Wednesday!