{pretty, happy, funny, real} - Florida Edition

Linking up with Auntie Leila at Like Mother, Like Daughter for some contentment!

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 Evie loved, loved, loved the beach. She ate lots of sand, and had fun in the pool. All of us came back with a nice little tan, which was desperately needed after that long, cold winter.

My mother-in-law printed and framed this photo for me as a birthday gift. It makes me so happy. I love it.

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 For the first time since our honeymoon, Zach was able to go kiteboarding. One day we drove him down to a beach 8 miles from his parents house, and he surfed all the way up to their beach. I don't know how he did it, because just the thought of it makes me tired, but he had a great time.

 
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 Evie's little head and legs in this picture make me laugh. Turtle baby. Speaking of turtles, a leatherback turtle came up onto our beach one night and laid eggs! We didn't see it, but the marks were left in the sand and the nest was marked off the next morning.

 Before we went to Florida, Grandma D sent Tony a book - Penguin on Vacation. It's a cute story about a Penguin who sails to the beach on a raft made of ice and meets a little crab, who in turn visits Penguin's chilly home. Zach found this toy penguin and built a boat for him to sail around the pool. It was so much fun.

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 I don't have photo proof (yet), but on our last morning, Zach convinced me to take the kayak out in the ocean. Despite the fact that I am not a very good swimmer, and I am terrified of the ocean (it's so big! And you can't control it!), I agreed - provided that he sat with me. Everything was calm when we went out. Underneath of the terror I was feeling sitting on top of a kayak on the ocean, I was enjoying myself. The enjoyment lasted about 2 minutes, as seeing baby waves made me want my feet back on the sand STAT.

Zach saw the waves coming, so he had me get out of the boat and start swimming back (did I mention I'm not a good swimmer?). My feet were on the ground and the water was only chest-high, but I was too slow...Zach was just a few feet away and told me to just go under the wave, realizing too late that I don't know how. Crash! The wave took me under, and unbeknownst to me, it pulled my bathing suit skirt off of one leg. I was trying to move forward in shallower water when I realized that unfortunate fact, and saw my in-laws watching us from the shore. So, as I'm struggling to get my leg back in (never swim in the ocean in a skirted bottom! And if you do, make sure that it isn't even the tiniest bit too big, like mine was), Zach comes over to help, and then we see another wave. As it pulled me down, I thought I was going to die. I hit the bottom, and then I bumped Zach's knee, and thought it was over. I am so lucky that Zach is strong, and a fantastic swimmer, and not scared of the ocean, because he pulled me up and dragged me a little closer to the shore, trying to preserve my modesty through it all.

In the end, I managed to pull my skirt on enough to get out of the sea's mighty grasp, and I don't think anyone was the wiser. Needless to say, I don't think I will ever be venturing out on the ocean in a kayak. Or any other small vessel that could be overturned or give me reason to try swimming to shore.

I cannot believe it is Spy Wednesday already. Or Holy Thursday, depending on what time zone you are in.

My Lent has been closely tied with the difficulty of Zach's classes. This was a particularly hard trimester, simply based on his workload, which was over 30 credits, I do believe. He did make a more concerted effort to spend time with us in the evenings for most of the tri, but midterms and finals are always hairy. On top of that, the issue with his class schedule for next tri became an added burden here at the end. As it turns out, the decision regarding whether or not he starts clinic next tri and does the herbs has been made for him - regardless of the herbs, he has to modify his DC schedule, so he's going to keep up with the herbs. It's been very frustrating, and means that he won't graduate with his DC class, but it's out of our hands. He just came down and told me that he passed the herbs exam today, so there are zero issues continuing with that.

Through all of that, and for the first time in a long while, I have felt the grace of prayers - my own and those of people kind enough to pray for us. I have handled daily frustrations with more gentleness and patience, and been able to relax a little more and enjoy my sweet babies. That has been a huge blessing. I have also been waking up earlier, and trying to get my day started before my needy offspring are demanding things from me. (That has not been very successful, since they have also been waking up early, but oh well...at least I am up.)

The antics of these two are simply too precious to miss.

There is so much more I wanted to say, but it will have to wait for another day when I am not so tired.

A blessed Triduum to you all!

Love,

Jess

{pretty, happy, funny, real}

~ Capturing the context of contentment in everyday life ~

Every Thursday, at Like Mother, Like Daughter!

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 Flowers for Valentine's Day! Zach came home with flowers in hand for both of his girls. I thought they looked pretty mixed together.

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 Daddy with his little girl. Evie was tearing petals off and trying to eat them. It took approximately 586 shots to get one of them both looking at the camera. And Evie still has a funny look on her face.

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In an attempt to be a little healthier, I followed my Mom's advice and made the LMLD brownies sans flour. My sister had accidentally forgotten the flour when baking them one night and they turned out fine. So I did, and they were delicious (I was wishing I had some whipped cream to balance out the sweetness). Next time I think I'll cut the sugar in half and bake them in a smaller pan so they are a little thicker and not so overwhelmingly sweet. The two that I had set aside for a friend didn't end up making it through the next day. They were even better the next day because they were a little chewy. Time to move on...this is making me hungry.

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Sitting with Daddy during Rosary. He isn't perfect every night, but overall his behavior is good. His church behavior has greatly improved, too, to my great joy. Other than his new found interest in digging for gold in his nasal cavities... how do you handle that mortification as a parent? The woman behind us last week sweetly complimented his behavior, which was reassuring, but still.

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 My sweet lovebird. Her outfit, courtesy of Grandma, arrived just in time to wear for St. Valentine's Day. I have just realized that those little leggings and onesies and shirts are the best outfits for growing babies. She has nearly outgrown the 9 month sleepers that she only recently grew into. And it isn't just because the cloth diaper gives her a larger than normal tush. She's simply too long.

 I couldn't resist snapping these while she napped earlier.

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These two make me happy, happy, happy.

 He was dying to go outside and shovel snow, so his Grandma D took him out and was able to get some awesome pictures.

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Hey, Jack. Over here.

 This sequence of events was rather amusing to me. Jack adores Evie. He loves to climb on the bed if she's sleeping, he plants himself on her blanket on the floor...he's incredibly patient with the tugs (and in Tony's case, whacks).

 Kisses.

Enough, enough.

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 I hate posting cellphone pictures when I have a nice camera, but I didn't have my camera outside earlier. That poor bush is weighed down with icicles.

 Tony calls them "bicicles."

Another few inches came down last night. The snow seems to never end. At least they are more prepared for it here, as opposed to the poor southern states that are getting lots of snow.

Linking up with the ladies at Like Mother, Like Daughter!

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These sweet smiles help me through the hours when she just wants to be held. Dear Angel of Teething Babies, please, hurry this one along!

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 We had a snow day yesterday! For the first time this trimester, the school closed because of the snow. We greatly enjoyed the extra time with Zach, and Evie even napped long enough for the three of us to go outside and play!

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The boots. His determination to keep from smiling. Perched upon the freshly vacuumed stairs.

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 We live in an area with many, many Amish farms. I'm always amazed by their clothes hanging out in the middle of winter. I wish I was so dedicated to using my clothesline.

This cow was just asking for a picture to be taken as I was leaving the farm where we get our milk. Despite my great dislike for the usual annoyances that come along with snow, as long as the roads are clear, it is incredibly beautiful.

Head over to Like Mother, Like Daughter for more contentment!

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

{pretty, happy, funny, real}

Joining Rosie at Like Mother, Like Daughter!

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Watching her brother. One of her favorite activities.

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 We have snow...since last Friday. (I will spare you the story of how snow continually ruins my life. Between the freezing temperatures and the snow, I'm dreaming of a tropical getaway.) Tony finally decided that going outside was worth putting a snow suit on for. I braved the balmy high of 7 degrees to snap these photos.

 It's a challenge to catch him looking at the camera.

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 These boots have become Tony's favorite article of clothing. I ordered them last week, and nearly every morning he has come to my room wearing them. He will wear them all day long. If he's putting them on himself they often end up on the wrong feet. I put a pair of thick wool socks on him if we're going out and they keep his feet pretty warm. Definitely dry.

I agonized over which style to get - the Sunshower or the Stomp. Kamik didn't list what the differences are, so the more attractive colors won. I think that the Stomp boots have wider leg openings, but we have skinny legs, so...

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And, because I didn't take many pictures this week, we will end with Jack.