Just Normal Everyday

Well, I'm happy to report that the kitchen is moving forward.  We now have a new paint job, compliments of Josh.  Paint color was decided on by Josh and approved by several of his siblings while my dear one and I were out of town.  I love the color and love even more that I did not have to choose it.  I took a photo of it, but it just looks white in the picture.  It's really a light beige.  Perfect.  My favorite picture looks lovely on it.

We have new cupboards hanging (and full) with under cabinet lighting.

 New floor cabinet!


There is still a ways to go, but for right now cooking and other food prep is getting easier and the family room is getting bigger as we get rid of boxes and temporary shelving.  Ahhh!


Our tenacious one has been busy painting her closet-turned-bedroom. Her creativity is wonderful.

Also, while golden tickets are hard to come by this year (her spelling words are ridiculously challenging) she did manage to score the highest on her recent Social Studies test: 103%.    

We are also busy planning the next wedding shower.  We have invitations, thank you notes and stamps purchased and the date set.  Full speed ahead!

In the 'more fun news' category, we got a "new" van.  The kids cannot figure out why I keep buying big vans, but I've been driving them since 1994 and I like them.  This one seats 8; although not eight of our kids will fit because they are no longer quite so little.  But, the four I drive around the most often fit nicely and it has significantly fewer miles.  And, it's a pretty color blue.  

Josh will find out in a couple of weeks if he got his Air Force pilot slot.   Stay tuned.  Hoping the next photo of him shows him wearing his "pajamas",  aka flight suit!  

Our Bathroom Saga

We have 2.5 bathrooms in our home.  Through the years they have come to be called by different names depending on who is using them the most.

For example, the master bathroom is known as Grand Central Station.  It's big, well-lit, has a three-way mirror that is awesome when curling, cutting or dying hair. It also holds the store of Q-tips, soap and towels.  So, though it should be 'mom and dad's bathroom', it's really everyones'.

The small half-bath is Erin's because she cleans it (though everyone used it, too!)

The kids bathroom is called the "girls'" bathroom because we have more girls than boys and only the girls ever clean it.

Speaking of cleaning, apparently there has been a little less diligence on the part of some showerers which led to the main bathroom cleaner to leave the following notice taped to the wall:

I'm not sure if it had the desired impact right away, but it did inspire another note: 

Not a bad song title...

Which then inspired the original note writer to write a song, apparently sung to the tune of a popular song with which I am not familiar.

 To the tune of "Say Something"

Do something. I won't clean up after you

I'm an adult and you are one too.

All I want is some help from you.

Do something, I won't clean up after you.

Hang up your wet towel, 

Grab all your dirty clothes

And take them with you.

And I will be so pleased

You learned your lesson, 

The bathroom is clean.  

I guess it worked, because the door actually opens all the way now, as there have not been any dirty clothes left behind it since the song posted.  That makes it a number 1 hit in my book!

www.centeredinchrist1.blogspot.com

Those Wedding Bells Keep Ringing!

Christmas Eve 2012 brought us the engagement of our second eldest daughter, Caitlyn, to Jimmy.  Their September wedding was lovely and the newlyweds are doing well.

This Christmas Eve passed with no new announcements.  However, New Year's Eve did not!  At our family Christmas party, our oldest daughter's long time love requested her father's permission to marry her.  Permission was grated and Jim told my dear one that he was planning to ask her on New Year's Eve.  I can't be certain, but I believe this photo, also taken at our Christmas party, was snapped just after permission was granted.

The first Sunday of the New Year, we celebrated their engagement with a houseful of family, a big pot of goulash, some cheesecake and pumpkin pie, and the customary engagement gift. (see www.centeredinchrist1.blogspot.com A Tradition Continues 12/26/12).

Our tenacious one needed to share the joy of the moment. 

The wedding planning has begun in earnest with hopes of a summer event.  We look forward to welcoming another Jim to the family!

Rifle Season 2013

For the past several years we have been beneficiaries of venison from other family members who have successfully hunted and shared their bounty with us.

This year, we hit the jackpot.  Son Josh and daughter, Amanda both had luck!  This was Amanda's first hunt, just after finishing her hunter's safety course.  She sat in the blind with her dad for several hours and only saw a few small does.

My dear one left his blind to go into the woods to help bring out the two bucks that had been shot earlier in the day.

While Amanda sat alone in the blind for a couple of hours, her frustration mounting at only seeing antlerless deer, she made a decision to shoot the next good size doe that she saw.  As my dear one was walking back to the blind to sit some more with her,  Amanda spotted the doe of choice and took her shot.  She dropped her in her tracks!  Not bad for a first timer.

The shots that my dear one heard earlier in the day were from son Josh's tree stand and from our nephew's blind. 

Josh has bagged deer before, but it's been awhile since he's been hunting due to busyness from school and ROTC.  This year he had free time and was raring to go!  He was able to shoot an 8 point buck.  But, in the process of finding it, gutting it and hauling it out, they forgot to take a pre-skinning photo. Sorry if the next photo grosses anyone out but it's the only one I have.  

The other buck that was shot was by our 13 year old nephew, Braeden.  This is not his first deer but he's still pretty proud of his 8 pointer! 

Due to all this success, I had my first try at canning venison.  Dear one, son Josh, daughter Erin and I all took turns cutting up the meat from Josh's buck (grandma and grandpa said they would take care of Amanda's).  We cooked up some of the steaks for Monday's dinner, and oh boy, was it delicious!!  

Much of it was cut into small pieces to be canned for a quick meal.  I am now  no longer a novice at cutting and canning.  All my jars (11 in all) sealed and I had fun learning.  More good eats for the winter!

www.centeredinchrist1.blogspot.com

The Kids Are Not the Distraction

On Parenting:

I have talked to a number of women lately with either one baby or with several kids all quite small still.  The thing I keep hearing over and over is that they can't keep up with all the work that needs to be done around the house because the little ones need so much of their time.

If there is one thing I would like to impart, now that I've not only "been there, done that", and am almost through it (though still have an 8 year old who really needs me) is that the children are the job and the other things are the distraction.  I know it feels like it is the other way around because before kids the housework, shopping and cooking were the jobs.

The children have to, need to, must, come first.  If they are cared for; fed, dressed, read to, played with, kept safe and most of all, loved, your duty for the day is done.  Yes, they need clean clothes and dishes so those jobs must be done.  The garbage needs to go out, the towels folded and the beds made (although I'm not so sure about that last one all the time.)

The point is to not make the children feel as though they are in your way, and taking time away from the "important" things that need to be done.  They need to know that they are the important ones.

I know a lot of young moms can't afford a mother's helper or a cleaning lady. I sure know I couldn't.  So I offer some suggestions:  On Sunday evening when everyone is safely tucked in bed, make a list of things that absolutely must get done in the coming week.

-Don't make it so long that you'll never accomplish it and then feel guilty.  Make it manageable.

-Start you day by getting dressed, including shoes.  It makes you feel ready.  Staying in pjs just makes you want to go back to bed.

-Let the kids help!   No, everything will not be done to mom specifications, but they will learn the value of working together and having fun getting the job done.  (Remember Mary Poppins!)

-Make life easier.  With our kitchen re-do still in progress, I have all of the silverware in a plastic storage container.  I have found that it is so easy to empty the dishwasher silverware rack these days because I just grab and dump--no sorting.  Not one person has complained that it is not all lined up neatly in a drawer.

And, finally:

-Never, ever apologize for the mess when someone comes to visit.  They are there to see you, not critique your home.  If you bring it up and then belabor it, the visit is wasted.  Instead, clear off a spot on the table, give your guest a glass of water and enjoy their company. If you feel you must say something, make it light. Perhaps: careful walking through our obstacle course.

Trust me, the day will come when the house is clean all the time. (I'm so not there yet!!)  But, it will also be a lot emptier.  Enjoy your littles, and the rest will fall into place in its proper time.



www.centeredinchrist1.blogspot.com

Flour Power

Today was a creative day for us which, of course, involves messes!

Our tenacious one always has a book at the ready for me to read to her at the breakfast table.  This morning it was a Nancy Drew Clue Crew mystery that we were trying to finish.  Since she was done eating before the book was done, she decided she would try the volcano experiment the Rad Scientists were doing in the story.

She got out her plastic containers (many more than she needed for this simple experiment-she tends to love to be surrounded when she plays), her vinegar and baking soda, and a couple of spoons.

When the experiment went off without a hitch, she decided to add some more variables (she did not call them this but one day she will know the terminology).  She added green Kool-aid and sugar and still the chemical reaction for her volcano worked just fine.

By then I had finished the book and needed to get some work done.  So, I left her to her own devices with permission to add a few more ingredients to her concoctions.

She came upstairs about 40 minutes later and told me she had cleaned up her mess and she was ready to move on to another activity.  I checked on her clean up job.  Whoa.  Flour was one of her main ingredients and it was EVERYWHERE!!!  Not a lot, mind you, but a very thin layer over every inch of the floor in the dining room and some of the kitchen, on the seats of every chair, and all over the table. The only thing I can figure is that she shook out the towel she had used to contain the mess.

 
(The little lump is her creation, and if you look closely you can see the pile of flour on the rung of the chair and the dusting on the floor.)

  Thankfully, she stacked her used dishes and put them on the counter and did not rinse everything down the drain for I am sure it would have turned to the consistency of plaster of paris in our garbage disposal.

I called her into the kitchen and told her I needed a little more help cleaning up.  When I asked her to sweep, she said, "I just did!"  Oops.  I did it the second time around.

The afternoon brought on a flurry of pie baking.  A friend of Michael's brought over two pies last week and, since the pie plates couldn't be sent back empty, our second youngest daughter decided to make pumpkin and apple pies.  (Yes, more flour!)

I had purchased pie pumpkins which still needed to be baked, and we had no apples so, while the pumpkins baked we hit the road to the fruit market (and squeezed several other errands in as well.)

I made the crusts and our little baker peeled, sliced and seasoned the apples.  This pie is going to work with Liz on Monday so we don't know yet how it tastes.

The pumpkin pies turned out beautifully.  My dear one went to Kroger for whipped cream because everyone knows you can't eat pumpkin pie without whipped cream.  He also helped clean up the mess that ensued during the baking process.  (Did I mention flour?)

Our tenacious one used the left over crust to create .  .  .  I'm not sure what.   Apparently it has apples and cinnamon.  I had to taste the pie first, so I'll find out tomorrow what this little creation tastes like. 

www.centeredinchrist1.blogspot.com

More Wedding Bells

This time wedding bells were ringing in our house!  Our second oldest daughter, Caitlyn, married the love of her life, Jim Beam, on Saturday, September 14, 2013.

They have had quite the year with finishing school, graduating, starting jobs, Caitlyn taking her nursing boards (and passing!), Jimmy going through chemotherapy and then getting his wisdom teeth pulled, and pulling together a wedding.   And pull together a wedding they did!!

Caitlyn and Jimmy were married at our parish,  The Church of the Divine Child.  Their vows were witnessed by our family friend Deacon Patrick Prajzner, who flew in from North Dakota to be here for their special day.

The day started early with a little breakfast and a whole lot of bobby pins and hairspray.

 

There was also nail polish, make up, laughter, and a few minutes of anxiety when we could not find the bride's shrug that she needed to wear in the church.  There must have been too much estrogen for my dear one to handle (there were, after all, 11 females roaming the house in search of a free mirror or empty room in which to change). He decided to do something manly.  He changed the shower head in our master bathroom for me! Thanks, sweetie.

We finally found the shrug (thanks to St. Anthony) and then the photographer arrived.  

I wish I had had the forethought to take my camera out and capture what she was photographing but I was in awe watching her do her thing.  

The ceremony was lovely!  My brother John, and Jimmy's Aunt Darla both did scripture readings, my nephew, Everett read the prayers of the faithful and my sister, Connie sang Ave Maria (wow does that NOT describe what she did!)  I'm not the only one who had goosebumps.  So beautiful.  (nope-didn't think to record that either.)

Three of Caitlyn's sisters and one brother were in the wedding party.  Older sister. Liz, was her maid of honor (beside Caitlyn on the left), Erin and Amanda are next to each other on the right.   On the far left is Jimmy's sister, Kayla, then friend Heather and on the far right, friend Teresa.  Brother, Josh walked with Amanda. 

The ladies were allowed to choose whatever style black tea length dress they liked, but they were each assigned a different shoe color to wear. (Amanda wore a boot for six weeks and did physical therapy for two weeks to strengthen her right ankle enough to wear those orange shoes!!)

The guys' ties matched their walking partner's shoes.  The girls also had nail polish that matched their shoes.  

 Caitlyn's two younger brothers were assigned to be ushers. They decided to wear bow ties, suspenders, 

 and Dr. Who high tops. 

There was, of course, the father-daughter dance. 

 

The food was delicious, the company wonderful and the memories made, beyond compare. 

One of the highlights of the day and evening was that both my mom and my dad were there; a huge miracle for which I am eternally grateful. 

Caitlyn's younger sisters, while not in the wedding party or assigned any role other than "sisters of the bride", had the time of their lives dancing the night away.  They danced with shy cousins who had to be dragged onto the floor.  They danced with Caitlyn's friends (male and female who were dear enough to indulge them.)  They learned to spin and dip, they slow danced and fast danced, and then they slept like rocks.  It was not a night any of us will soon forget.  

The best part is, we have 8 children and 16 nieces and nephew who are still single, so we will likely get to do this many more times in the coming years.  

Wishing countless blessings and many happy years to Jim and Caitlyn Beam.