High-top Sneakers

June 18, 2013 By Leave a Comment
sneaks

By most accounts, I am a young mother. I had my first daughter at 22 and I still feel pretty hip at 31 years of age. However, I have certain style prejudices for "mother-age" women which are now coming into conflict with my own membership in this age group. OK, prepare to be alienated: I don't even think women over 40 should have hair beyond their shoulders, it seems absurd. I am not sure about women above thirty wearing shorts either. Fingernail polish colors should become limited to about two … [Read more...]

Filed Under: Miscellaneous, Motherhood and Parenting, Uncategorized Leave a Comment

Staying Safe in the Summer Sun

June 17, 2013 By Leave a Comment

We have been spending a lot of time out in the sun this summer, and this means that we have had to be extra careful about protecting our skin from those potentially-harmful rays. Our routine includes using a good quality sunblock on our bodies and a sunblock stick on our faces, making sure that we apply extra to our shoulders, nose, and ears, which are all susceptible to getting burned. The kids wear goggles in the pool and the adults wear sunglasses to protect our eyes from sun burn, and I have … [Read more...]

Filed Under: Children, Health Tagged With: , , Leave a Comment

Little by little…

June 13, 2013 By 4 Comments
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My just-turned-8 year old daughter survived her first Troop Tekakwitha overnight campout in the woods of Pennsylvania. And I survived the experience of letting her go. This past weekend, I confided in the Builders that I was uncomfortable with the camping trip. I went away to sleepover camp too young, and I spent about 20 too many nights camping with my family as a pre-teen... so childhood camping experiences left me with a bad aftertaste. Also, while I love running outdoors and … [Read more...]

Filed Under: Children, Motherhood and Parenting 4 Comments

Order in Chaos

June 13, 2013 By 4 Comments
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Our boys love to collect and create. But my hyper organized self has a hard time accepting the mess that comes with such creative genius. What I want hidden from sight, my boys want to proudly display (to the piano teacher, neighbors, even the exterminator). My trash is their treasure (I know this is true because I often find them creating with things I have recently thrown away). Recently a priest told me that "the perfect is the enemy of the good." I had to think about this a bit because I … [Read more...]

Filed Under: Home Organization 4 Comments

Happy 1st Birthday in Heaven, Annie

June 12, 2013 By 12 Comments
Annie Rose

  Dear friends, it seems like just yesterday that I was writing a post about Annie's birth, and now it has been one full year since we welcomed her into the world. We are celebrating Annie's birthday today by going to Mass, making a visit to the cemetery, and then having some fun together as a family. I have a feeling that we may be making a trip to our favorite cupcake spot, spending some time at our neighborhood pool, and just enjoying each other's company.   I have … [Read more...]

Filed Under: Motherhood and Parenting, Spiritual Life Tagged With: , , , 12 Comments

Afraid of Commercials

June 11, 2013 By 6 Comments

It has happened... our five-year-Army-subsidized stint in Germany is drawing to a close. We have had two children here, traveled to countries of which I never dreamed and generally expanded our minds and opinions. The packers have taped the last box shut, we are vacuuming Cheerios out of our van to put it on a barge and I am more than a little pre-nostalgic. (is there a single word for this feeling? If you know it, comment please, I need that word all the time!) One thing we will lose when we … [Read more...]

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As We Begin Summer…

June 10, 2013 By 5 Comments

Our summer has just begun, and so far we are having a great time! I should qualify this statement by disclosing a couple of things: I just got my hair cut at a salon that is part of a fancy fitness club (not ours), so my kids were in a very cool Kids' Club for over an hour while I got my hair washed, cut, and blown dry by somebody else. The kids were excited to play, and I got my head and neck massaged - I see this as a win-win situation. Right now I'm feeling very refreshed and relaxed, so … [Read more...]

Filed Under: Children, Home Organization, Motherhood and Parenting Tagged With: , , , , , , , 5 Comments

Inside Our Inbox: Kellie’s New Toy

June 7, 2013 By 12 Comments

Lest this blog succumb to the temptation of presenting only a picture-perfect, carefully-edited facade... We have decided to post email conversations of ours from time to time. This blog began five years ago as an extension of our ongoing email chats about all the big and small thoughts and happenings that punctuate our days. Through emails, we have shared inspirations and sorrows, lots of laughs and way too much information (in fact, we have unofficially nicknamed it the "TMI Listserve") … [Read more...]

Filed Under: Inside Our Inbox 12 Comments

Must-Read Article as Pool Season Begins

June 6, 2013 By 3 Comments

I just finished reading an article entitled "Drowning Doesn't Look Like Drowning," by Mario Vittone, and feel that it was filled with a lot of relevant and potentially life-saving information. The general gist of the article is that drowning victims often do not look like they are drowning, and therefore nobody jumps in to rescue them until it is too late. A couple of noteworthy quotes from the article: Drowning is almost always a deceptively quiet event. The waving, splashing, and yelling … [Read more...]

Filed Under: Children, Health, Keeping It Real, Motherhood and Parenting Tagged With: , , , 3 Comments

Living the Dream – The Joys of Home Ownership

June 5, 2013 By 11 Comments
I'd rather live in a bouncy house...

Recently, we had a plumber come out to fix a slow drain in the children's bathroom.  This particular bathroom is the handwashing and toothbrushing station for 6 children, so it is heavily trafficked, and the plumber recommended that we put an organic septic solution in the drain once a month to prevent future back ups.  It's a fifteen minute process of mixing the solution, letting it sit for a while, putting it in the drain, flushing with hot water, and then not using that drain overnight. … [Read more...]

Filed Under: Uncategorized 11 Comments