Digging out of my little hole

Whew. Sick kids for the last month and a half and I am one lousy blogger (please don't remind me that I wasn't much of one before, I haven't forgotten). To make myself look even more pathetic, we're going with some reposts from good old Instagram to add a little color to this post.

Things are looking up now, though, and Zach is on summer break, which always makes life better. Since we have been sick for so long, we decided to stay home for the break, and do what we have never really done before - explore more of our area. Almost every break we are driving here and there, and during the trimester Zach is really too busy to do much besides study and take a thirty minute break with us at the playground (I would say that that is an exaggeration, but if you averaged it all out, I think it might even be being generous). Last summer break we stayed home, but a brand spanking new baby kind of put the kibosh on much going out and about.

Speaking of, we have the big numero uno to celebrate on Tuesday! I can't believe this sweet thing has been with us a whole year. 

Her fine, blonde hair.

 On Friday we had the great blessing of attending a Solemn Mass said by our Bishop at a nearby parish. We went there for the Ascension and the music was absolutely beautiful, so you can imagine my excitement at the prospect of a "Solemn Mass" with two choirs and two organs! 

I have never seen Bishop Matano before, and am really grateful that we had this opportunity. He gave the best homily I have heard in a long time, and at the end of Mass gave the most beautiful speech, begging for vocations, and reminding the congregation that the priesthood is irreplaceable, and without priests we will not have the Eucharist, and without the Eucharist we will become a Godless nation. Zach and I are still talking about it. You can tell that he is a true shepherd; he has that charisma that draws people to him, and inspires them. There were many priests and seminarians in attendance, which gives me such hope for the future of the Church. It was wonderful. In the music department we were treated to Gregorian chant. They sang Lotti's Regina Caeli, which I absolutely love. Even Tony could tell that something was special. Mass was just under two hours long and he was very good (I think that the Knights of Columbus in their regalia was a good distraction, too). 

When we got home we enjoyed roast beef, a potato-tomato-squash dish, and zucchini lime spelt flour cupcakes. The cupcakes were excellent, though I will admit that the best part was the frosting - cream cheese based frosting is weakness of mine.

Climbing stairs. In big girl pajamas. I can't handle it.

In case anyone reads this soon, my Mom is at the hospital right now with complications from a miscarriage, and I would appreciate prayers for her, please.

Love,

Jess

I have had so many things on my mind lately. Little by little life is becoming more orderly, and I can sit down and type without feeling guilty.

We finally moved Tony's bedtime to 8pm (it had been 9, sometimes 10, if he was being particularly naughty). We were nervous that he would wake up at an ungodly hour, but that hasn't been the case. He's in bed by 8, and wakes up between 7:30-8am. I've read how important routine is for children, but it has only been now that I have seen how well Tony does with the predictability of our evenings. When dinner is over he asks for a bath, and then he knows it's time for prayers. Once prayers are done, we read, and then he gets in bed. Often times there are momentary tears as we leave the room, but he stays in bed, and falls asleep in 10-20 minutes. He doesn't nap (some days he really needs to, but getting him to settle down takes a million years and Evie has been eating up all of my patience in that department), so I have been savoring the time after he goes to bed like fine wine. It's amazing. Even if I have to put Evie in the carrier to get anything done after that. Right now she's asleep in my lap. 

We are finally saying the Rosary as a family. We haven't been very successful in the past, but we've been going strong for nearly 3 weeks now, which makes me so happy. We haven't been able to engage Tony yet - any suggestions? (Sometimes he will hold his "Rose", but lately all he has wanted to do is make noise and climb on Zach. I have a little better luck making him sit by me, but can't always because of Evie.)

My breakfast lifesaver: Egg muffins. I started making them for Zach, so that he doesn't have to eat the cafeteria garbage every morning. But then Tony asked for one and loved it, and I tried one and realized they are quite tasty. So now I make two dozen egg muffins on Sunday night to get us through until Thursday. That is, if Tony doesn't scarf down more than two a day. He hasn't eaten scrambled eggs in months, and will occasionally eat a single fried egg, but he will eat two egg muffins (which is equal to two eggs, with a little bit of sausage and some frozen spinach), and ask for more. At that point I give him yogurt because I don't want to run out of muffins. People say they freeze really well, but I haven't had a reason to freeze them yet. 

Has anyone else ever printed out those lovely cleaning schedules you see on Pinterest? And then proceeded to not do anything on them because it just doesn't fit your life? Ahem. I'm a person who needs lists and directions. If I don't have a plan for the day, it just kind of evaporates. Nothing extra gets cleaned, and I might make it to bed with the dishes done. Maybe. My mother-in-law is coming to visit this weekend, so I made a schedule for this week of what to clean on what day. Mainly so I didn't forget anything. I started yesterday, and actually did everything I had planned. It felt so good. Today I got most of it done. I locked myself out of the house this afternoon which made me lose a couple of hours while I waited for Zach to finish class. But anyway. I am now inspired to make my own schedule so I can stay on top of cleaning better. Cleaning one room a day really does not take very long, I don't know why I always think it will. 

You know that "one word for the year" thing that people do? I had never heard of it until I saw it on someone's blog last year. I didn't think about it again, until I saw it a couple of different places this year. I've been trying to set goals and get my act together a little better, and when I thought about what my word would be I came up with Patience.

Being the wife of a student is incredibly overwhelming sometimes. I get little to no break from anything. Zach has been trying to help me get the dishes done after dinner since I hate waking up to dirty dishes. And he will take the kids upstairs while I make dinner, which is fantastic. But during the day, and most evenings, it's me. Just me. And my patience with Tony wears really thin. Especially since Evie has not been napping unless she is held the entire time. 

So, I'm making a concerted effort to have more patience. And not just with Tony, with myself, too. That's not to say I'm going to use it as an excuse to be a bum parent, but I am a work in progress, and I need to remember that.

And now that I have written a novel, I am going to go brush my teeth. And get the clean, but not yet folded, laundry off my bed.

Love,

Jess

7 Quick Takes

1. Since we have been home I have been on a search for a few good Paleo muffin/bread recipes to become my go-to recipes. We have had two winners so far - Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Muffins and Hummingbird Bread. I'm particularly picky about gluten-free bread recipes, but these were amazing. They also received rave reviews from Zach, Ryan, and Tony (who doesn't really count because he will eat anything. Eggy coconut flour bread? Devoured.). 

 

2. I have never used Jen's Saint Name Generator before, but somehow ended up using it the other day. It gave me Jane Frances de Chantal. I knew the name, but next to nothing about her. But for some reason I almost cried reading what she is patron of on that first page. On Catholic Culture's page, it says that Abandonment to Divine Providence (Jean-Pierre de Caussade) changed her life. I have it sitting in my nightstand drawer, a gift from my Grandma some time ago. Time to read it? I think so. Zach got Joseph Moscati, a medical doctor in Italy in the early 1900's. I thought that was pretty cool, given the profession he is pursuing.

3. Evie rolled over the other day! She hasn't done it again, sadly, but she gets close. She has also been doing stomach crunches trying to sit up. Makes me laugh. Zach thinks she will be sitting up soon.

4. Zach has taught Tony to say, "Evie Evangelini." Cutest thing ever. It comes out more like "Evie Bangelini." The "lini" makes me think of Sister Evangelina in Call the Midwife. I don't know why. I'm looking forward to March when that comes back on. I love that my favorite shows on Masterpiece are staggered - I have Downton right now, Sherlock starts on Sunday (it's short, though), and then Call the Midwife will begin once those are over. At some point in the very near future I should be picking up Person of Interest Season 2 on DVD from the library...needless to say, there will be a PoI marathon over here.

5. I ordered seeds for our garden! I felt like an idiot last year buying the bean and pepper plants. But perhaps their success is what I needed to spur myself into action to do it myself. I didn't go terribly overboard - kale, lettuce, cabbage, tomatoes, squash, bell peppers, beans, and a couple of herbs (they didn't have many). I'm praying it is all successful. I need to get a grip on gardening while we live in a place with beautiful soil. I ordered from Clear Creek Seeds, which is owned by a traditional Catholic family, which makes me happy.

6. Coming soon to our backyard farm: RABBITS! The hutch is ready, we're just working on sourcing food for them, and finding the breed we want, within a reasonable driving distance.

7. I'm kind of trying to do the Motherhood and Jane Austen book club. I doubt I will be successful, but it sounds like so much fun. Embarrassing confession: I haven't read all of Jane's books. Even more embarrassing is that I can't remember which ones I have read (I know Persuasion and Northanger Abbey...can that be it??).

Evangeline's Baptism

 Sleeping through being changed into her gown.

 Big brother love.

The Exsufflation

We were very blessed to have a Traditional Baptism, after the Latin Mass.

The Imposition of Hands

 Evie's godparents came from Ohio, and we were also joined by Zach's friend Brendt.

The Imposition of Salt

Evie slept through the whole thing, amazingly!

Evangeline Grace Marie, I baptize you in the name of the Father + and of the Son + and of the Holy + Spirit.

The Annointing with Chrism

The White Garment

The Lighted Candle

Our family

With the godparents

Our little saint

Happy Week 33!

I'm not loving this picture, but it was the best of the bunch that I managed last night. 

I had my 32 week appointment on Friday and had lots of great news! All of my blood work came back fantastic. My hemoglobin is at 12 or 13, my vitamin D is at 38, which falls in their "sufficient" range, and the glucose test was totally normal. After finally having a good bit of belly growth at my previous appointment, I was measuring small again this time, but I think I measured small most of my pregnancy with Tony. Baby is head down, and terribly active. Deb is feeling confident that I'm going to make it to term this time. I wouldn't mind going early, but I'm not holding my breath at this point. 40 weeks is only 7 weeks away, and time is passing so quickly, that I feel like I will blink and it will be over. My in-laws are planning to come in September (there WILL be a baby by then, without any question!), and when my Mother-in-law was saying goodbye, she said she couldn't believe that next time the baby would be here. Yeah. Wow.

Tony loves going to see Deb. He talked about it all weekend. He gets to push the button on the doppler, which is a huge deal to a little kid. 

I don't know why he was biting her hand. He loves this doll. It warms my heart when he says "Don't cry, don't cry."

Our last two weekends have been busy, busy. We had my Mother- and sister-in-law for a visit last weekend, and my Mom, Grandma, and three sisters this weekend. I don't know if Tony will know what to do with himself without all of the extra people to play with him. Coming off of a couple weeks of Zach studying like crazy for midterms, it was so nice for me to have company. 

Yesterday we quickly organized the attic, which had turned into a jungle. AND, we moved things around in Tony's room to accommodate the birth pool! I need to remember how quickly things can come together with an extra set of hands. Some days I feel so discouraged because there's only one me, often with Tony hanging on my leg.

See all of that space in the back right corner? It wasn't there yesterday! Now we can build the whole train track!

We're in a bit of a situation about the baptism, and if there are any spare prayers out there that could be directed at Fr. John Hardon, I would appreciate it. I know that we can have the baby baptized by the priest who says the Latin Mass we attend. My only issue is that it is an hour away, and I don't really want to have to drive that far a week or two postpartum. Talking about it with my Grandma yesterday, she suggested that I email him and see if there is perhaps a religious order in the area who might be willing to come to our town and baptize the baby in the Old Rite. Last night I found a group of Franciscans just under two hours away who say both the OF and EF, so I emailed them this morning. IF they are willing to make the drive, we would have to get permission from the pastor here, but I don't really see that being an issue. What would be totally awesome is if we could have someone come here, say a Traditional Mass, and baptize the baby! (Yes, I am optimistic!) Why did I bring Fr. Hardon into it? After emailing Grandma the website for the Franciscans, she went to the main website for the Order (Franciscans of the Immaculate, for anyone interested) and found that Cardinal Burke is very close to them, and he was a great friend of Fr. Hardon (who my Grandma knew, and loved).

I was just perusing our wedding pictures from my MIL on Zach's computer. Had to share one.

 Oh, and one more thing, because this isn't long enough. Last night I stumbled upon House Unseen, and read about Dwija's very risky pregnancy. Today while I was looking around, I saw this post: "NFP doesn't work. You have so many kids!"  She makes really good points, and I appreciated reading her perspective. Some of the comments are awesome, too. We had someone close to us ask if this baby was planned. It made me so angry. How do you answer that question? "Yes." is the shortest, end-the-conversation answer, but if you're talking to someone with a contraceptive mindset, to them it probably means that you went off your birth control. Not the impression we want to give. "Well, it wasn't not planned..." I feel like a moron saying that. You could say, "Planned by God." but sometimes that feels like far too mild of a response, depending on the questioning party. Thankfully I encounter that question far less than my poor husband. It makes me so sad that this society looks at children as such a burden! The debt incurred during our four years here will be a far greater burden than a child could ever be! And yet people don't even blink to take on $150k worth of loans to start a career.

On that sunny note...

Fr. Hardon and St. John the Evangelist*, pray for us! 

Love,

Jess 

*St. John the Evangelist is the patron of this baby, should we be having a girl (Evangeline), and perhaps Fr. Hardon's patron, too!

Some preparations for Baby

 Another bad cell picture. The weather has been bad when I think about asking Zach to snap one of me, and taking self shots with the timer is difficult. But, here we are. 32 weeks. 

 Some months ago I read about postpartum belly binding over on Hong Kong Housewife (her post here). Shortly after that my Mom was telling me about a class she was going to that teaches exercises and uses binding to help heal diastasis recti (the technique taught in the class can be found here). If you go searching online you will find all kinds of binders. Most of them are elastic, and short, so you might fix the diastasis recti, but you could end up with a muffin top. No thanks.

 Also, if you're going to be wearing something every day for at least 6 weeks, elastic/polyester is probably not the most comfortable blend.

I almost ordered this traditional Malaysian wrap, called a bengkung, but couldn't get myself to pay $17 to have the thing shipped from Malaysia. Quite luckily, they list the measurement on their website! I had a big piece of linen (I'm hoping it is 100%, but it has been so long I don't remember) in my stash that I decided to use. It needed to be 11 inches by 12 yards, and my fabric was 4 yards long, so I ended up with 2 seams joining the pieces. I used the narrow rolled hem stitch on my serger to finish the edges, which was awesome. From cutting to finishing it took me maybe 30 minutes.

I'm excited to try it out. After Tony was born that empty tummy feeling really bothered me. This is supposed to help with that.

I still need to get Tony's room ready for the birth pool, and I think once that is done I will feel ready. Tony has been potty training like a champ, and I am so happy to have a break from washing diapers for 2 months.

Physically I'm starting to feel very ready. Today I could hardly get myself to move and after breakfast and the dishes were done I did my best to rest. Even spending 3 hours in and out of sleep did nothing to alleviate the utter exhaustion I felt. I'm praying this doesn't become a daily problem.

Speaking of praying, I cannot recommend Cardinal Mercier's prayer to the Holy Spirit enough. I taped it to my bathroom mirror and have been saying it daily (provided my dressing time doesn't get interrupted by a certain little boy). Not even needing to replace the van's battery has upset me the way it would have before. The battery is another humorous story that I hope to share soon.

Anyways, stay cool!
Love,
Jess

Living in the Here and Now

Today I started reading Dom Hubert Van Zeller's Holiness for Housewives (and other working women). I'm not two pages into the first chapter and already feeling a sting of shame. 

"If the mother looks upon her children as obstacles to the prompt response to grace, she is missing the whole point."

I don't look at my children as obstacles, but I make excuses for a lack of prayer in my life because I'm too busy taking care of Tony, tired and pregnant...the list goes on. And the days go by without a single spontaneous prayer.

"Your occupation, associates, material surroundings, health, and strength are there, are real, are the solids, are the substance from which the here-and-now house of God is to be built."

I don't know what I thought when I was single, but I don't think I realized how totally my time would not be my own as a wife and mother. How many more cares would be weighing on my mind. Until now, I've been waiting for that day when things slow down. When I'm caught up on housework and can sit down and meditate. IF that day ever comes, it will probably be the day that the dog chews up the 3rd pair of my sandals since April (true story). Prayer would be the best thing for me right then, but all I can think about is throwing the dog out the front door and sitting down to cry. 

This brought to mind other things I wish I had done before I was married. 

I poured everything into my job, but totally neglected to better myself. I didn't learn more about my Faith, I didn't really try to pick up new skills or study a topic I found interesting. I had camped out in the "waiting for a husband room" and let that be it. You don't realize how much valuable time you have lost, until it's long gone. It never comes back, and time is only more difficult to find when you have a home to care for.

After I was married, I thought about becoming a doula. But doing it with small children seems really daunting to me (though I know women who do - the lady who taught our childbirth class is a doula and had her baby in a wrap carrier while she taught our class). Looking back, I wish I had taken a weekend before I had children to worry about and gone to the class. Then when I have a break between nursing children I could do a birth or two. Maybe when we are out of here I will get a weekend to do it.

Life is so many stages. I suppose learning to be content is part of our struggle on this earth. What we will eventually realize is that no time is perfect. We need to take advantage of the time we are in. Live in the moment. Do everything we can to better ourselves. Learn all that we can.

Zach and I just made a commitment to live in the present. It's really easy to put things off because he has so much studying right now. But graduation won't be the end of being busy. We'll have a couple more children by the time we leave here, and will be trying to start a business. Life will be every bit as hectic, if not more. You won't catch me complaining about more date nights and trips to the park with Daddy.

Praying more is at the top of my priority list. I have a stack of holy cards ready to be taped around the house to help remind me (please don't laugh at my childish methods. I'm trying to get out of my slump). Reading more is probably second. Zach suggested a good book rotation - one theology, one fiction, and one health-related (since that's a passion of ours). I think that that will prove a good balance for me. I could read a Mary Stewart novel a day, but for me that's like eating brownies instead of a real meal. Enjoyable, but not giving my body any nutrients. One could even say, that like too many brownies, it is detrimental to good health, as fluffy fiction can make one wonder why their life isn't a romantic dream like the book. (This is not to decry reading fiction...I love fiction. I went through 3 MS novels in far less time than it took me to read the book on Anti-D. That's my problem.)

Speaking of brownies, my Mom has now added her praises to the brownie recipe on Like Mother, Like Daughter. Since I have a bag of white flour in my pantry (thanks, Mom) and sugar that I bought for kombucha, I'm feeling like a naughty splurge might be in order tonight...maybe under the excuse that I'm celebrating these...

I'm so proud! Zach works incredibly hard, and even though things can get really crazy, he still finds time to at least have dinner with us every day. I'll be at the Convocation ceremony in the fall with a little baby and a wiggly toddler to see him receive his Phi Chi pin.

Love,

Jess

Happy Corpus Christi!

We had a rare treat at Mass today - Panis Angelicus. Sadly, there was no procession, but maybe next year?

This is the last week before our CSA begins, so I decided to try out some new recipes before I'm finding ones that use just the veggies from the CSA. (Though I think I'm going to have to buy cucumbers at Wegmans. I've started a love-affair with cucumbers, and have discovered that I could drink Tzatziki Sauce with a side of feta cheese.)

Tonight it was Vegetable Coconut Stew, from Mark Sisson's Primal Blueprint Quick & Easy Meals. We had a guest for dinner, and the stew disappeared between the three adults (along with grilled sirloin and gluten-free biscuits...the stew would not be enough alone, though in the notes it says if you want to add meat to it, saute it first then start adding the vegetables). It was kind of like a curry, without the curry. Totally delicious.

Vegetable Coconut Stew

Time in the Kitchen: 20 minutes

Servings: 4

• 1 large shallot, roughly chopped
• 1 cup shredded, unsweetened coconut
• 2 garlic cloves
• 1 jalapeno, seeded and cut in half (I forgot to put this on my list, so I made it without)
• 2 tablespoons coocnut oil
• 1 large cucumber or several small cucumbers, peeled, seeded and sliced
• 1 small head of cauliflower, broken into florets
• 1 carrot, peeled and cut into rounds
• 2 cups green beans
• 2 tomatoes, chopped
• 1 teaspoon turmeric
• 1/2 teaspoon cumin
• 1 13.5-ounce can coconut milk (about 1.5 cups)
• salt to taste
• 1/2 cup full fat Greek-style yogurt (optional, and I left it out since I didn't have any)

In a food processor, combine shallot, coconut flakes, garlic and jalapeno for about one minute until very finely shredded.

In a deep saucepan, warm coconut oil and add the shallot mixture to the pan. Saute several minutes.

Add cucumber, cauliflower, carrot, green beans, tomato, turmeric and cumin. Saute a minute or two then add coconut milk and bring to a rapid simmer. Cover and cook 8-10 minutes until vegetables are cooked, but still a bit crisp.

Add salt to taste. If using the yogurt, which will make the broth thick and creamy, stir in right before serving.

In case any one needs some dessert ideas, I'm salivating over this and this. If only I had the ingredients on hand. One of them is going on Saturday's shopping list for sure.

I can't believe that we have little more (or less!) than 10 weeks left before we get to meet this baby. The activity level in my belly gets absolutely ridiculous, occasionally keeping me up at night. It's so amazing that a small human can fit inside another human. Zach wants me to come to open lab sometime and see the stomach on one of the cadavers. He said it makes it that much harder to believe that a baby grows in there.

Love,

Jess

Unexpected Encouragement

On our way to Mass tonight, Zach and I were discussing Tony's bedtime. After the great start to having him sleep in his own bed, things totally backfired. He screams and screams, without any sign of settling down. This week I started sleeping in his room with him to keep him asleep through the night. If I lay down with him on the twin bed, he has no problem getting in bed. Of course, he's sensitive to my movement, so getting up without him waking up is difficult, but I'm glad he's at least sleeping.

Holding a Loquat. We found a tree by a playground in South Carolina. They were quite tasty. Seeing them reminded me of my Grandpa - he knew a lot about trees and fruit.

With that on my mind as we went into Mass, I was feeling like a bad mom. I don't want two kids in our bed, but what do I do if he's going to scream? I can't handle the screaming, and it doesn't have any kind of positive outcome.

Taking him to Mass always feels like a nightmare, too. He loves to talk - purse, Thomas, train, Jesus, Mama. On Sunday we let him bring in two of his Thomas trains. At one point he got mad and threw one of them under the pew. It made a loud noise, and then he was fussing. I wanted to die. If we sit inside the church, we sit in the back row, which makes for an easy escape, but I feel like we're always dragging him in or out. He does best when I bring a snack in, but I'm not always that on top of things...and I question if food and Mass are a good association to be creating? Though, is spending the whole time walking around the back being fussed at any better? Ironically, he behaves better at the Latin Mass than our local Novus Ordo.

Some days I feel like he's never going to learn to be quiet and reverent.

Then walking up to receive Communion tonight, he was holding my hand, instead of being carried, and before I could kneel down in front of the priest, he was already on his knees. Since he had gone down a little too soon, he scooted closer, still on his knees. 

I might not know how to fix bedtime, and Mass behavior may need some work, but something is sticking in his little mind. 

And for that I said a tearful prayer of thanksgiving.

The fruits of my labor

The family room rearranged. It feels a lot better!

I'm not very good at observing Lent when I'm pregnant. I get wimpy. Food (dessert) items never seem like a sacrifice, since we rarely have dessert. 

So, I thought on the virtues. It didn't take long to see the glaring vice of laziness. I never finished the day's dishes before bed, I washed laundry but didn't fold or take it upstairs and put it away. Every time Zach told me his friends were coming over to practice adjusting, I cringed. My kitchen was a mess. My table was cluttered. God forbid they needed to use the bathroom, because not only was the bathroom a disaster, the family room was covered in laundry (clean laundry, but laundry nonetheless). For a while I blamed it on pregnancy, and having a toddler, but I can't use that excuse my whole life. God-willing I will spend the next many years pregnant, or with a new baby and toddlers.

Ignore the craft table. That's still a work in progress.

 We're oddballs here - we're young, married, and we're expecting our second child while the breadwinner is attending graduate school full-time and I'm a stay at home mama. Society is so discouraging towards marriage and children, it finally hit me that every time his friends saw my messy house, I wasn't helping the cause. I was hurting it. Who wants to get married and have kids if it means their house is going to be a wreck all of the time? I love my life, and I would never want anything different, but I'm discouraged by my own example!

 If that wasn't enough motivation to make a change, laziness is a vice. A vice I don't want to have! My Lenten resolution was to stop being lazy. To wash my dishes before going to bed. To finish my laundry. To get rid of the clutter around my home. 

I had to change how I think about keeping my home clean. Cleaning isn't something you do when you absolutely have to, you do it every single day because it's just part of your job. I used to get up at 5am and drive an hour to work to serve people, and part of serving them was keeping the store clean. I don't get up at 5am now, but my job is still that of serving. I'm serving my family, and through that I am serving society. I would have been fired if I didn't perform all of my duties at Chick-fil-A, and while I can't be fired from being a wife and mother, I can make them unhappy by not trying to overcome my vices.

I wasn't perfect every day, but I tried. Now I get my dishes done 95% of the time, and my laundry has made it upstairs. I do have a lot of clothes that still need to be sorted, probably many will be given to Salvation Army or consigned. But I don't feel so stressed. I come downstairs and feel calm. That calmness gives me the courage to go back upstairs and start tackling the clothes.

I ended up saying a lot more than I intended to. For some people this is probably a no-brainer (y'all are lucky!). For people like me, I hope it's some kind of encouragement.

I hope everyone had a fruitful Lent. 

Love,

Jess

PS: I thought about taking before pictures, but I don't have enough humility. :)

Christus resurrexit!

Christ is Risen! Alleluia!

I spent my Holy Week spring cleaning like a madwoman. I have to say I felt rather like I was living my own Passiontide, but I persevered with the Palestrina channel on Pandora keeping me company. Easter felt even more beautiful because I was able to look around my home and be happy because it was clean and mostly clutter-free!

One of my favorite things about spring are flowers! I have tulips, Easter lilies, hyacinth, and a daffodil plant making the main floor smell amazing. 

 I used the technique for making a balloon arch (with helium filled balloons) to hang across the kitchen/dining room opening. It looks so festive, and Tony loves to look up at it.

We did Tony's egg hunt before Mass, but also before he had his church clothes on. Oh well. It was so cute to watch him get the eggs. I put a gummy bear in each one and once he discovered that, he would shake them to see if it was worth trying to open. Today he is still playing with the eggs - he has a paper plate and plastic fork that he carries around with a basket of eggs. Kids are so funny.

I...Can...Reach...

 

Choc-late. Said in a grovely baby voice. While I was showering yesterday he swiped MY chocolate eggs. I came to the kitchen to find two foil wrappers on the floor, and him watching Tarzan with a mouth full of chocolate. I guess he knew Mommy had had enough chocolate already...and would have more after dinner.

Never give a small child truffles. They don't understand that truffles must be eaten quickly, or they will melt. Thankfully I had put him in his high chair with it. Otherwise that mess would have been all over my dress.

The truffles. One of our guests is allergic to dairy and eggs, so I tried to find something easy to make that she could enjoy. These truffles are just coconut milk, coconut oil, vanilla, and Enjoy Life chocolate chips. Oh. My. Word. I posted the recipe here.

My first leg of lamb! I left the bone in, and the fell on. On Saturday I inserted garlic slivers, and rubbed it down with olive oil, rosemary, thyme, salt and pepper. I added a little red wine to the bottom of the pan, which it soaked up by Sunday. Before roasting I added more wine. It was perfectly pink inside, and absolutely delicious. It will definitely be an Easter tradition from now on!

 My vegetable dyed eggs. The pink one was made from beet juice, and the blue from boiled red cabbage leaves. I did orange, too, from carrot juice, but they were fairly light. I think the beet juice needed a little water or something because, as you can see in the picture, it was kind of sticky and left bubble spots. Next year I'm going to plan ahead a little better and try more colors.

And last, but certainly not least, my 20 week bump. Last week I had that awful burning/stretching sensation around my belly button. I'm feeling the baby move a lot more, though still not enough for Tony or Zach to feel. One of these days. 

I had high hopes of making an Easter dress, and my Mother even went to the trouble of mailing me a curtain that was on clearance at Target to use for it (Target's Shabby Chic line had voile curtains on clearance for $9. I got a whole dress out of one panel!). I cut it out, and thought I would get to it, but cleaning took priority. I wasn't too sad, though, because I love the dress I made for Easter when I was pregnant with Tony. 

Wishes for a joyous Easter week! 

Love,

Jess