Quick Update

Happy Friday!  Three months ago today our Augustine was born.    Time continues to pass in warp speed. Not only am I shaking my head that our little peanut is 3 months already, but also that Karolina will be 19 months old on Monday.    During our snack today I decided to capture few moments to document the day.

Quick update on the newest kiddos...

Karolina:   She continues to make great strides!   She is not yet walking, but she frequently takes independent steps on her own with no problem.  She still prefers to crawl and that is her primary way of getting around.    She is not saying words yet either, but she happily babbles constantly and seems to be exploring her voice.   Again, after hearing Polish for 11 months (and factoring in her preemie status) this is to be expected.   There were some concerns about her hearing, but after undergoing a sedated BAERS test, it was determined that her hearing is okay.   We are currently in line for her to receive several forms of therapy.   She will be receiving occupational, speech, and physical therapy in our home.  I will also be working with a nutritionist to ensure she is getting all the extra nutrients and calories she needs.  She is still underweight but we were told her birth mom was petite, so I expect that is partially in her makeup.   The good news is, she eats like a champ!   She chows down better than any of the boys ever did  and we are very encouraged by that.   The boys continue to dote over her and celebrate every little step.   They are also very protective of her, which Jim and I love to see.

Augustine:   He is officially colic-free!    The painfully long evenings of non-stop crying seem to be a thing of the past, and he is like a new baby.   He is content most of the time, and smiles often.     It is a HUGE blessing to be in this stage.   He is also sleeping through the night,  making mommy a happy camper now that I am back to work full-time.   

I feel like Gabriel Grant and Garrett have been a bit neglected in photos and blog updates, but they certainly still have plenty of the spotlight and are each doing great.

Gabriel finished first place in his 5th grade spelling bee several months ago and will be moving on to to compete at the next level on Jan. 31.    He has been studying his words quite a bit, and we are very proud of him!

That's it for now.  It's Friday and I am late for a diaper-changing party.  Have a blessed, safe, happy weekend!

 

The Family that Prays Together...

When I was a little girl, we had one bathroom in the home that our family of five shared.  I remember my dad shaving and preparing for work while I  brushed my teeth.   He would tell me "the family who brushes together, stays together!"    I laughed at the time, but today I look back and remember his motto with a nostalgic heart.    I believe there was wisdom in his words.   Family fellowship in any form binds us together and makes the Lord present.    

Now, as a parent myself, one of my happiest moments of the day is when we are gathered for dinner.  We share our daily highlights (and low lights) and begin it all with prayer.  We used to go around the table after our traditional "Give us this day.." prayer  and then add a petition, but it became impractical due to the time it took to cover family, friends, neighbors, clergy, sick relatives, etc.  and to restrain our growling tummies.:)   


For a while we just shelved the dinnertime intentions and kept things simple.    That was fine, but I did miss having a designated time to pray for everyone on our "list."    So, enter our prayer jar.   It's a simple way to cover friends/family and remember those whom we have promised to pray for.   Since I am craft-challenged, it doesn't get much simpler than this.   We just took a mason jar, cut out a few web gloss holy pictures and taped them to the jar.   The images are from Magnifikid!

   Next, we just cut out a few dozen paper hearts and wrote down our prayer intentions.

All set!    Now, each evening at dinner we pull out a heart, read our intention and keep that person, family,  or group on our heart in prayer until the next day.  We also ask the Lord to bless all those in our prayer jar (not just the ones we picked out that evening).     As Pope John Paul II wrote in his encyclical "Gratissimam Sane,":   "Prayer increases the strength and spiritual unity of the family, helping the family to partake of God's own "strength."  Prayer makes the Son of God present among us: "For where two or three are gathered in my name, I am there among them" (Mt 18:20)."

This year, we are also working with the Ursuline Sisters of Cleveland to share the good news about the Friends of Saint Angela ministry.   It is a way to be embraced in prayer each week by these holy women.   If you would like to have the sisters remember you in prayer or someone you love,  click here for details.  I love the idea of doing this for someone as a gift.  What better offering could you give someone than the blessing of prayer?   

Sweet Sunday

Have you seen this recipe circulating on the Internet?   It's a mouth-watering recipe for no-bake Oreo truffles.   I gave it a shot today and it was fast, easy and delicious.  This could be a dangerous dish. :)   

On another note, I also wanted to post a few photos from our visit to the new Greater Cleveland Aquarium.  Last week Len and I had a chance to check it out at media day.    It was so much fun!   Although it did feel a little odd to be there without the kids, but at least we snapped a bunch of pics.    Here are a few:

The aquarium is now officially open to the public.  An exciting addition to downtown Cleveland!   Click here for the official website.

Laundry Lamentations

It's no secret that my least-loved household duty is laundry.   I thought it was overwhelming when we only had 3 kids and since we've added 2 more, I just feel downright defeated by the piles.  I definitely need a new strategy.  The good news is, I've been gathering some creative ideas and went to work this weekend on a few.
Objective #1:  Fix Gabe's hamper.   It's been over-stuffed so frequently that it finally caved under the pressure.  Lest you think that I never clean his clothes, :)  I must add add that many times the hamper is filled with "fake laundry" that's really not dirty at all, but ends up there when the kids don't feel like hanging up a clean shirt in the closet or placing it back in a drawer. Anyway, As you can see, his hamper has seen better days.  The wooden dowels are broken and crooked.

Martha Stewart had an easy (and inexpensive fix)!   A drawstring bag attached to an embroidery hoop

 Since the fabric on the hamper was still good, I just used that.  We also bought a quilt hoop since it was a tad bigger than the embroidery hoop.

I like the fact it's off the floor and can double as a basketball net for dirty clothes. :)   We still have to install a hook on the door, but in the meantime we used a wreath holder (no holes and just as sturdy)!    It's small victories like these that brighten my laundry life. :)


Next,  Jim and I are hoping to tackle this project:

It would be great to store this in the laundry room, and you can modify the design to the size/space that works for you.   Click here for the plan.

Don't get me wrong, I am grateful for the gift of laundry and what it means.   More laundry means our family has grown, our kids are cared for with clean clothes, and I have an amazing new-fangled machine to help make the loads lighter.  :)  So, the "lamentations" also come with a dose of understanding that sometimes I do sweat the small stuff.     On that note, I had to smile after reading this poem.   Thank God for laundry.  Just not the "fake" laundry. :)

A Song from the Suds

Queen of my tub, I merrily sing,
While the white foam raises high,
And sturdily wash, and rinse, and wring,
And fasten the clothes to dry;
Then out in the free fresh air they swing,
Under the sunny sky.

I wish we could wash from our hearts and our souls
The stains of the week away,
And let water and air by their magic make
Ourselves as pure as they;
Then on the earth there would be indeed
A glorious washing day!

Along the path of a useful life
Will heart's-ease ever bloom;
The busy mind has no time to think
Of sorrow, or care, or gloom;
And anxious thoughts may be swept away
As we busily wield a broom.

I am glad a task to me is given
To labor at day by day;
For it brings me health, and strength, and hope,
And I cheerfully learn to say-
"Head, you may think; heart, you may feel;
But hand, you shall work always!"

~Louisa May Alcott~

Absent

Tomorrow on our program I am looking forward to our interview with filmmaker Justin Hunt.   He is behind other award winning documentaries and is currently promoting a new project, called "Absent."     It first caught my attention when I realized we were running a commercial for it, voiced by Metallica frontman James Hetfield.    I was caught off guard hearing his voice on our Contemporary Christian radio station.  Effective and exciting.    Turns out, he narrates a portion of the film and shares his own personal story.    A short description of the film reads:


"The film explores the nature and consequences of the "father wound," the most universal affliction on the planet, according to Hunt. Franciscan spiritual leader and author Richard Rohr popularized the term, which he used to describe the negative psychological and developmental effects on children when they lack positive emotional contact with their fathers."


I commend Hunt (who happens to be a single dad) for shining a spotlight on this epidemic.   I pray this documentary reaches the hearts of all those affected by the "father wound" and is a vehicle of healing and inspiration.    You can tune in Thursday morning to hear our interview live at 8:15 with Justin.  There will also be a screening at Cathedral of Life Church in Canton this Friday.  In the meantime, I invite you to watch the trailer and encourage you to spread the word.

Crisco Kid

Last week, we watched "The Help" for family movie night.  It was, in part, in preparation of Martin Luther King Jr. day.  After reading the book and seeing it several times already, it was a film Jim and I thought would be teachable, but not too intense.    Of all the lessons and insights they could've come away with, the thing that seemed to make a noticable impact was....the fried chicken.   Lol.  Go figure.   After Minnie's lip-smacking scenes of frying up chicken in the pan, the boys were craving a home-cooked fried chicken dinner.    Truth be told, I have never actually made fried chicken (who can top KFC anyway?) ;)       Another movie takeaway was Grant's newfound discovery of the magical frosting-like concotion of.. Crisco!   Ha.     All weekend he talked about it.   I didn't know I had any Crisco until I was cleaning out the baking cupboard and saw a small tub.    I had to show Grant.  And his reaction...

  I ran across an oven-fried chicken recipe from Laila Ali and although it's not Minnie's, I think it still satisfied the craving.  Here's the somewhat-healther version (Crisco-free).  Sorry Grant. :)
Enjoy!

Winter Weekend

It's a blustery, snow wintry day here in Northeast Ohio. 

I am grateful it's Friday and everyone is cocooned inside for the weekend, warm and cozy.

Gus is sleeping, the boys are in the basement playing spies and Legos and Karolina and I have been content to look out the window, talk and pray as we gaze at the snow.

Tonight's menu consists of grilled cheese, tomato soup and hot cocoa.:)   If you are in the mood for a comfort food recipe too, click here for a list of 61 ideas.  Mmmm Mmm good.

Have a blessed weekend and I hope you will feel like the subject in this video.  She dreams she is floating (and I LOVE the  creativity with the stop-action) and then she comes back down to reality when it's time to go to work...the way many of us feel on Monday!:)   For now, enjoy the floating and have a wonderful, relaxing weekend!

Good Jeans

Like most women, shopping for clothes  after having a baby is not at the top of my list.    Currently,  I'm  in that in-between stage of not needing maternity pants, but not yet fitting into my pre-pregnancy clothing.   For a while I could pull off elastic-waistband sweatpant chic, but now that I'm back at work, I have to at least make an attempt at business casual again. :)     So, a few weeks ago I set out in search of jeans I could wear to get me by.    I decided on the Land's End skinny jean because the reviews were so fantastic, and because they were on sale (yes)!     
 I will preface my next statement by saying that my expectations were low.   I am still pretty "curvy" so I didn't think skinny jeans would look all that flattering but... they. are. awesome!   I just had to share because even in my pre-preggo sized days, shopping for jeans was not my favorite.  Where has this pair been all my adult-post-baby life?!:)      These jeans aren't too tight, aren't too saggy, or too "young" to pull off:

For anyone in the same boat, I HIGHLY recommend these super slacks.  The indigo color is also slimming, but you do have to watch the dye transfer (I didn't wash mine before wearing,  maybe gross, but I paid for it by having blue all over my white cami shirt).      Aside from that, they are an A+, and it gave this mama a much-appreciated boost.   Thank you Land's End!  Click here to check them out.

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We Have a Winner!

Thank you to all who took the time to enter the Noonday Collection giveaway.  We have randomly selected a winner (and when I say "we" I mean Jim and Gabriel as they picked a number). :)     Our winner is:  Courtney P!   Courtney will receive a $50 gift certificate to Noonday and support artisans in Uganda, adoptive families and their future children.  Thank you again for your kind comments and feedback.    Please check back often, as more goodies are coming your way this year!


At the moment I am in blog-brain overload (so many things to tell you about) but not enough time to get it posted.    It's been a busy week planning upcoming guests for our program, getting back into the swing of school and schedules, and juggling babies.  In the middle of all of it, Len and I also had an appointment on Monday with Ellie Vayo photography in Mentor.  We are getting new head shots and morning show pictures and I realized that having a full-scale photo shoot just 10 weeks after giving birth is a good penance for the sin of vanity.   Nevertheless, they can work magic these days with the retouching, and I am looking forward to seeing the final products.   Here is one so far....

Len and I have worked together for 6 years and this is the first time we've actually had "official" photos together.  This is more of a business shot, but she also snapped some goofy/silly poses as well.  Gotta go, Gus is crying calling!

Books and Beads Pt. II

Did you enter the Noonday giveaway yet? You still have time to register.   Just click here to enter for a chance to win a $50 gift certificate!

One of the things I like about the shorter winter days is that it allows for more opportunities to read. Although I am constantly contending with the kids' gadgets, from the DS to the Xbox, Wii and computer, we have run across a few fantastic books lately that have captivated them even more than Mario and Luigi (gasp)!

First is The Squire and the Scroll:

When the boys saw that was a somewhat long story (for a picture book) they let out a collective groan "no mooooomm!" By the end, my youngest was on his feet and only inches from the page as the story came to a dramatic climax. I loved it because it teaches the importance of staying true to your morals and living virtuously. Here is a brief description: "Children will gain valuable insight as they learn, along with the young squire, what it means to face the dangers of temptation, and what it takes to guard one's heart from all that is impure."

The second book is a little late to tie-in to the Christmas season, but a timeless story nonetheless. It's called: "The Carpenter's Gift"

The Carpenter's Gift tells the story of eight-year-old Henry and his out-of-work father selling Christmas trees in Depression-era New York. They give one of their leftover trees to construction workers building Rockefeller Center. That tree becomes the first Rockefeller Center Christmas Tree.

If you long to have your children understand how far our country has come and the blessings we often take for granted today, this is a home run. We all left the book feeling a little more encouraged by the goodwill of neighbors and the value of hard work and kindness.

Also,
A big thanks to Karen who sent a tip about the sacrifice beads that I blogged about last week. She writes:

I heard about the sacrifice beads and knew I had to have them. I did a search and found a website, littleways.com. They will send you a kit to make one or send you the materials to make one yourself.

I am not Roman Catholic and I wanted to know if they had other crosses besides the Crucifix. I got a reply within 12 hrs. that they have a few alternatives. I wanted to pass this on so you may pass this on to others that they can be found other places than easy.


Thanks so much Karen! The boys have been asking for their own set as well, and I may just order a few kits of the website. Tip appreciated!

Noonday Giveaway!

I am positivley delighted to offer you my first blog giveaway of 2012! Lisa recently alerted me to the amazing work and ministry of the Noonday Collection and I quickly became a fan. Noonday is a fair trade company that sells jewelry, home decor, handbags and accessories made with love by skilled artisans who are learning a trade which is giving them they key to a better future. Lisa shared the history and heart of Noonday with me and I was swept away.
It began when the founder of the company was in Rwanda meeting a little boy she wanted to adopt. She was given items made by Ugandan artisans who wanted her to use the profits towards her adoption, and to build a market for their products.

That was the mustard seed that has since sprouted into a company that continues to blossom and bless others! Fundraisers are available with Noonday products for adoptive couples, and proceeds go to bringing children HOME to their forever families. I only wish I would've known about this during our adoption journey. What a wonderful way to bless everyone involved.

The products are fantastic and I am grateful to extend to one blog reader a $50 gift certificate!! Simply leave a comment (below) with your e-mail address and you will automatically be entered into the contest. Deadline for entering is Tuesday, January 10. The winner will be notified through their registered email address. Be sure to check back in case the email didn’t get through your spam filter.

In the meanwhile, check out some of the beautiful, hand-crafted items available in the Noonday Collection...

Gorgeous, and for a good cause.

Happy 2012, Baby!

Augustine wishes you a most blessed and happy New Year!   A smiling baby makes life more optimistic and joyful doesn't it?   I hope this happy little bow-tie clad lad,  makes you crack a grin too. ;)


I was fortunate enough to have another week off of work as our morning show ran "Best of 2011" segments all last week, and the extra time was much needed and appreciated!   I was able to get some things caught up, snuggle with the family and gear up for 2012 by setting some new goals.     Some of them include:  
-Drink more water
-Have 1 day per week completely "unplugged" as a family.  No TV, no computer, Wii, Xbox, cell phone, etc.  
-Read more books as a family 
-Build better self-discipline * (I'll explain more about that later)
-Re-structure this blog!


There....they resolutions are officially set!   I think that means I'm accountable now. :)     In terms of the "build better self-discipline" I realize that achieving my goals would be easier if I built up my willpower muscle first.    


For example, when it comes to resisting chocolate I just can't do it.  I cave.  Every time.   I would love to give up chocolate for Lent but I know myself better than that, and realize I need to "get tough"mentally,  before I can follow-through.  I know it's in there somewhere because I've completed 3 half marathons and experienced natural childbirth (but yet I can't resist chocolate?!)  Ha. 
  
So, I have started by uniting my sacrifices to the Lord,  and praying for the grace to build fortitude.   Here's how it works.   It's the practice of St. Therese's sacrifice beads.    You have it in your pocket move a bead for each sacrifice you make.   It works for me because it's an actual tangible way to show that I am making progress...even just baby steps, and as I attempt to "die to self."   For instance, if I'm tempted to make a critical remark to my husband, instead I just zip it and move a bead, and pray for the willpower to let it go.    By the end of the day, even if I've just moved 2 beads, I can still look at it as SOMETHING in the way of progress.  The next day, hopefully I can do more.   Here's how it looks:

Progress:

My mom was kind enough to give me this one, but they also make beautiful sets on Etsy.     So, we'll see how it goes!   


Wishing you the BEST of a year full of promise hope and much joy.  Happy New Year!