I’ve not been posting pics for a few days as I waited for my new phone to arrive. It’s here at last! Hooray! Here’s my Ash Wednesday look. Bangs pinned back to make it easy on Father. Here’s the after Mass shot.   Read more

#4 had her quarterly appointment with the rheumatologist this morning.  As I watched my daughter hopping around the exam room, I kept thinking back to last year when she couldn’t hop at all. This year, we are creeping ever closer to the magic word — REMISSION. This morning, the doctor cut out one of her drugs and lowered the dosage of another. She still gets two shots a week, but the amount of the one that burns is less. I... Read more

The second time through teaching first grade math to #3, it was obvious that there was more going on that just a boy who wasn’t mature enough for school, wasn’t trying, or wasn’t paying attention. For some reason I couldn’t understand, the facts on the page weren’t sticking in his brain. I could give him a page filled with the same addition problem over and over again, and he would have to work out each one on his fingers. The... Read more

 **Today was fun, which means an over-use of exclamation points!  Wheee!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!** We played hooky today, the girls and I. Okay, I played hooky and the girls joined me after they did their schoolwork. They wouldn’t just walk away from it. It didn’t matter how bad of an influence I tried to be. Once the responsible children were done (they get that work ethic from their dad), we told the boys good-bye and skipped off to the American Girl store! It’s... Read more

Abigail over at Abigail’s Alcove has been having a discussion on the value of poverty. Where she and her husband have embraced the idea of “voluntary poverty”, my family has tried to move in the other direction. There are times when I question the wisdom of the way we are living. There was a time in our lives when my husband and I were poor. There were years when we dreamed about actually having a comma in his monthly paycheck.... Read more

Curls! The way I wore it when I was in college.  Awwww…this takes me back to the early 90s. Holy time warp, Batman!   Read more

Abigail from Abigail’s Alcove and I started a novena for our husbands this morning. Our loves work hard and we appreciate all they do. Plus, we love them madly! If we start today, we finish on the Feast of St Valentine. Sure, chocolate is nice for a treat, but we decided they needed our prayers more!  If you’d like to join us, here’s the prayer we found: A PRAYER TO ST. VALENTINEDear Saint and glorious martyr; Teach us to love... Read more

Some days the hair I need to control isn’t on the top of my head, it’s on the front of my face. before after Got the brows threaded (it cost $4!). It’s amazing what a difference it makes. Plus a ton of make up, professional lighting, and a bit of editing doesn’t hurt either! The after is part of a shot for the book cover. It’s getting pretty exciting! P.S. Don’t think it’s all glamor though, the eyebrow lady finished... Read more

It’s February…again.. I have this theory that we have so many holidays in February because it’s the longest month to get through. Don’t even talk to me about the number of days on the calendar. I’m pretty sure that it’s lying about its “February is the shortest month” schtick. Everyone I know seems to be hitting some sort of imaginary wall. The looming burnout seems to be universal. The view out my window is a depressing gray brown drab. The... Read more

Running Saturday errands with my husband. My dear friend calls this a Rooster Tail. It’s a French twist with the ends flopping up and over. It’s held in place with a cute clip. Nothing could be easier. I may never do my go-to pony again! Read more