![The Mother’s Day Trap]()
by Catherine | May 8, 2015 | Faith, Family
I’m not gonna do it. I’m not gonna fall for the Mother’s Day Trap.
It’s so gosh darn tempting to expect what the Hallmark commercials are selling. We see all of these picture perfect scenes of cherub children and adoring husbands gently, lovingly waking Mom with beautifully handmade keepsakes, poetic cards, and expensive jewelry. They shower her with affection. The children, perfectly dressed and coiffed, use indoor voices, remember their manners, and play sweetly with each other.
How many loaves of bread does this woman need?
No wonder it’s so easy to get in a rotten mood on Mother’s Day when the day is, well, ordinary.
This year, I’m not falling for the Mother’s Day Trap. Instead, I’m gonna anticipate ordinary.
I’m gonna anticipate that even on Mother’s Day there will still be diaper blowouts, epic temper tantrums, spilled milk, or fighting children. Full disclosure: I’m anticipating ordinary so much that I asked Philip if we could go to Mass just the two of us on Saturday before our dinner date. That way, we can enjoy a peaceful-ish (with a big “ish”) Mother’s Day morning at home with the kids. (Mass has been anything but peaceful or prayerful the last few weeks. Just ask the other St. Joseph’s parishioners! They can tell you about the Divine Mercy Sunday extravaganza. A smuggled minion, open flames, and a St. Joseph statue were involved.) Any you know what? Praise God! Really. All of the crazy day-to-day stressors and power struggles that I’ve grown to accept as normal are signs of life around here.
I don’t need to cherish every diaper change or temper tantrum to be a good mother. I do need to celebrate the gift of what has become my ordinary, though. When I take the time to stop and think about it, motherhood blows my mind. It is an extraordinary grace to be entrusted with eternal souls. The longer God gives me to hone my skills as a mama, the more I see that He has sent me exactly the souls I need to be the person He is asking me to be. It’s exactly the life I need. There’s so much grace to be found in the imperfect.
So, when it’s Mother’s Day morning and someone has a fever and someone else lost their left shoe, I’ll remember that the imperfect won’t make it a bad Mother’s Day; it’ll make it a real Mother’s Day. Last year, our family spent Mother’s Day in my brother’s basement during a tornado warning, so stay tuned for what’s in store this year. Whatever happens, it’ll be a tailor-made Mother’s Day with opportunities just for me to find the graces.
![7QT: Random photo recap]()
by Catherine | May 7, 2015 | Family
It’s been awhile since I’ve blogged on a regular basis, so I thought I’d use a 7 Quick Takes post as a perfect chance to play catch up:
1. Jane’s new “Quiet Time Corner”
At 5, Jane is down to taking only one or two naps a week. On those days when she isn’t napping, her brain still needs a break. She had been having “quiet time” in her room while the boys napped. The only trouble was she was waking up her brothers during her quiet play. I decided to create a special place for her to go while the boys napped. I rearranged a few things in our basement to create what I’m calling Jane’s Quiet Time Corner.
I simply stuck a banquet table in the corner. Then, I gathered all of her favorite stuff to have at her fingertips in one place–puzzles, arts & crafts supplies, sticker books, LeapReader books, Melissa & Doug magnetic dress-up dolls, Doc McStuffins paper dolls, her fashion design center with rubbing plates, etc. Notice that awesome clock looking thing on the far left of the table? That’s a fantastic timer we got last summer and have been using ever since. You simply turn the nob to whatever desired time you want (in minutes up to 60). When you let go, the timer starts counting down. As time decreases, the red card disappears. This is a great, visual way for Jane to keep track of how much more quiet time she has. This way, she isn’t coming upstairs every five minutes to say, “Can I come upstairs yet?” Everyone’s brain gets a little break since I created Jane’s Quiet Time Corner. She’s happy to have her own space to create and play without fear of waking up her brothers, the boys get uninterrupted naps, and I’m able to get a few things accomplished.
2. I got a whole buncha great paperback books for a steal at a recent consignment sale. Jane and Walt love hearing me and Philip read the Ramona books. It’s so fun to re-discover one of my favorite fictional characters with the kids. We recently had a veeeeeeeeeery lazy Saturday morning, enjoying these books together in our jammies.
3. Sibling sweetness
Harry climbed into bed with Walt after evening prayers. Oh, my heart!
Jane and Walt like to pretend to paint the artwork around the house. They’re so adorable with their little palettes and brushes!
4. Why buy toys when you can give your kids a laundry basket choo-choo joined together by a zip tie? 
Or a hamper full of dirty clothes?
5. It’s all about the minions, people.
BANANA!
6. Current favorite things:
Jane’s favorite part about spring rainstorms? The worms! She’d catch ’em all day and make them little homes if she could. 
If she has to be indoors, she has to be with Monty. Here they are, fighting off exhaustion around nap time.
Harry loves his bunny, Clover, and his fuzzy blanky. 
I love this delicious beer! Illusive Traveler Grapefruit Ale is my new favorite summer beer.
It might be May, but Walt’s favorite shirt is this hand-me-down Halloween shirt. “Hands off my stache!”
Okay, so I’ll admit that those 7 things aren’t real categories and were just an excuse to dump a buncha photos. It’s my lazy blogger attempt at archiving my favorite moments. Someday, hopefully in the not-too-distant future, I’ll be a more regular blogger again! Until then, enjoy the random.
To read more 7QT posts, head over to Kelly Mantoan’s blog, This Ain’t The Lyceum!
![May Day]()
by Catherine | May 7, 2015 | Family
Ever since I was a little girl, May Day has been one of my favorite holidays. I loved creating the little baskets and ding dong ditching our neighbors as we left the goodies on their front stoops. I thought this would be a good year for us to start doing May Day baskets with the kids since Jane is 5 and Walt is nearly 4. First, we assembled our baskets:
The “basket” was a plastic cup. I attached the pipe cleaner handles by cutting two holes into the cup with my hole punch.
We wanted the baskets to have a touch of spring, so we added some paper flowers. We used a big hole punch that we previously used for cupcake toppers, and Walt glued ’em on with his gluestick. Jane helped me cut out and glue paper tulips the next day. Then, we added the candy. I finished the baskets off by attaching the handles and sticking on a little label.
To me, May Day epitomizes the beauty of the “little way” of St. Thérèse of Lisieux, so I included a little quote from her on the labels. (A big THANK YOU to Philip for helping with this step! He even included a pretty rose on the label for the saint also known as “The Little Flower.” What a guy!)
Our family’s St. Thérèse was due in May, so I think of her every year around this time. She would have been 2 this May. Instead, we continue to pray to her in heaven and are so blessed by “Happy Happy” who will be turning 2 in August. St. Thérèse, pray for us!
I loaded the baskets into the minivan trunk the night before. I thought, “Maybe I got a little carried away.” Then, I realized that most of the families we were delivering to in our neighborhood had multiple children, so we went through those baskets in less than an hour! I was glad we had made so many.
The best part: The drop (and sometimes getting caught!)
We have one of the captain seats in the minivan removed, so I drove slowly alongside the curb with the baskets on the van floor. Jane and Walt ran back and forth from the van with the baskets to our neighbors’ front stoops. Harry is looking forward to next year when he can keep up with the big kids. For the most part, he was content to be inside the dry van with me since it was sprinkling outside. By the end of their hour of not-so-stealthy deliveries, they were exhausted, so we headed home for naps. Even Mama took one!
Look what was on our front stoop when we woke up! The kids were SOOOOOOOOOO excited!!!
Walt, checking out the May Day loot. He agrees with Mama. May Day is simply the best! What’s not to love about doing something little to bring joy to your neighbor’s lives?
![Put It To Work 26]()
by Catherine | May 4, 2015 | Faith
Another Monday means another opportunity to swap prayer intentions and start “putting them to work” for one another!
Here are my prayer intentions for this week:
- That abortion will not legally return to Lincoln and for all those participating in the candlelight vigil tonight at Planned Parenthood. That their prayerful witness will change the hearts of those considering abortion.
- For my sister and brother-in-law who are celebrating their wedding anniversary today
- For my sister and brother-in-law and their family as they commemorate the death of their daughter, Veronica, on Wednesday
- For all those struggling with infertility or have estranged relationships with their mothers as we near Mother’s Day on Sunday
Your turn! What prayer intentions can I “put to work” for you this week? As always, I will add them to my prayer journal and pray for you by name throughout the week–especially during my morning prayers. Please share your intentions in the comment box below, on the blog Facebook page, or send them to me via the blog contact form. Thank you in advance for your prayers.
Have a great week!
![Put It To Work 25]()
by Catherine | Apr 27, 2015 | Faith
Another Monday means another opportunity to swap prayer intentions and start “putting them to work” for one another!
Here are my prayer intentions for this week:
- That abortion will not legally return to Lincoln and for all those participating in the candlelight vigil tonight at Planned Parenthood. That their prayerful witness will change the hearts of those considering abortion.
- For our GodTeens home Mass on Wednesday
- For Philip as he runs in the Lincoln Half Marathon on Sunday
- For our time management during a busy week
- For all of the victims of the earthquake in Nepal and their loved ones left to heal and rebuild
Your turn! What prayer intentions can I “put to work” for you this week? As always, I will add them to my prayer journal and pray for you by name throughout the week–especially during my morning prayers. Please share your intentions in the comment box below, on the blog Facebook page, or send them to me via the blog contact form. Thank you in advance for your prayers.
Have a great week!
