12): The Year of Faith, New Facebook Page & Fave Fall Shows

By bobbi
October 20, 2012
5 Comments

– 1 –

Year of Faith – The year of faith started this month and I read a great post from Elizabeth Duffy called Re-igniting the Romance of Faith: Using the Year of Faith for refreshment and a good stretch. I love the idea of rekindling your love of Christ over the next year. Patheos also had a timely post from Pat Gohn who has a handy collection of links and resources to make the most of your Year of Faith.
Are you doing anything special to mark this year of faith? Any recommendations for the kids? Let me know!

– 2 –

For My Sweetheart – Speaking of rekindling love, our favorite marriage-boosting-go-to-gal, Hallie at Moxie Wife, started the 30 Day Marriage Challenge on Monday. I’ve joined along with her and have been doing well so far…except for the day I had to go the whole day without correcting Brian. I don’t think I made it the first hour. I’ll have to add an extra day at the end and have a redo! If you want to join in, here is the list. Today (Saturday 10/20) we are doing challenge #6.

– 3 –

Down on One Knee – Speaking of my hubby, this month we celebrated 13 years since Brian officially proposed to me. I pulled out my old scrapbook to find the paper where he drafted what he would say to me. It brings tears to my eyes that everything he promised me that night, he has delivered. He’s filled my life with love and happiness, which is just the remedy to soften the normal family chaos. 😉 God is good.

– 4 –

My Little Man – Speaking of the cause of much of my daily chaos, my sweet Matty turned 18 months last week. He is full of energy and mischievousness but he’s got a smile that melts a mama’s heart.

– 5 –

Me Likey – – I’ve been working on cleaning up the blog, deleting dead links, updating tags etc but it’s a tedious task since I have posts from over the past 8 years. I’ve been debating whether I should change to WordPress or even Blogger for greater design options. I’m also bummed that so many people email me saying they are unable to comment. I’m still trying to work out the bugs but there are only so many hours in the day.
In the meantime, I’ve made an official RoL logo and Facebook page. Check it out and “Like” it. Thx! Mwah!

– 6 –

Making It Count – Don’t forget that this Tuesday is the next installment of Making It Count. You simply start with any one of those fabulous ideas you’ve found online. Then, do it. Make it. Cook it. Create it. Take it from the screen, give it life and let it bless your world. When you’re done, snap a photo, write about it and share it with us. Make your time online count! I think I’ll post about the Tyler Florence Chicken Soup that Brian loooooved!

– 7 –

Ugh, My DVR Is at 90% – How have you been liking the new Fall shows? Any favorites? Any disappointments? Brian and I love the new Elementary and The Arrow on CW. We’ve been trying to get into Revolution but it just isn’t grabbing us. I don’t care much for the Charlie character which makes watching almost tedious. I doubt it’ll last another week in our house. I also love PBS’s Call the Midwife but Brian politely passed. We do watch The Middle together and always get a laugh. Oh and we still love Grimm and Once Upon A Time. I am happy to report that the once annoying David has finally redeemed himself in my eyes as he has started acting like a man. What do you think of Regina? Will she find her inner good and let Cora be the villain instead?
Anyway, if you are not into TV but love period dramas here is a video that was in my Facebook feed this week. I don’t really know the song but it has clips from five of my favorite period dramas – Persuasion (2007), North & South (2004), Wives and Daughters (1999), Jane Eyre (2006) and Pride & Prejudice (2005).
Hopefully the correct video plays. (Sorry Seems to Be the Hardest Word) Sometimes another 70’s-ish period drama video comes up instead.

Enjoy the rest of your weekend!

{pretty, happy, funny, real} -vol 49

By bobbi
October 18, 2012
No Comments

~ Capturing the context of contentment in everyday life ~

Here are my favorite Instagram photos of this week.

{pretty}

Early this morning I could hear the waves crashing from my bedroom window so I knew the waves must be strong because that’s the only time I could hear them in bed. It made for a pretty scene that afternoon although my iPhone seemed so inadequate to capture the beauty.

We don’t have the luxury of a brilliantly colored autumn the way the east coast does, but in between the green of the forest and the blue of the ocean I’ll find glimpses of red and gold.

{happy}

My in-laws were coming over for dinner so I made some Italian wheat bread in my bread machine. The boys insisted that they “help” me. Plus they wanted to try out their new kid-sized boy aprons that I bought at a craft booth at the Mission fiesta.

{funny}

I’m still trying to clean, organize and add a few decorating touches and John-Paul wanted to help me out. His contribution was to decorate my throw pillow with a pack of stickers. He was sooo proud. I guess it needed a boy’s touch.

{real}

This photo reveals a few real things about our family – 1. This was actually taken two weeks ago because it is before we had the rug cleaned. 2. You will always find a Disney/Pixar toy on the floor, whether Buzz, Lightning, Walle, Nemo etc. 3. The rug is dirty because things like baked cheetos are spilled on it. 4. I need to get out the 2T clothes because Matthew is busting out of his 18 month clothes. 5. Like their grandpa and their uncles, when my boys need sleep they can pretty much crash anywhere and take a snooze. 6. Matthew is his daddy’s son because close to him are two of Brian’s favorite pastimes – the Packers and the rosary.

{pretty, happy, funny, real} vol. 48 / 7 Quick Takes (10/12/12) Mash-Up: Preggers Boom, Words of Love & Target-aholics

By bobbi
October 12, 2012
No Comments

~ Capturing the context of contentment in everyday life ~

AND

Time for a Friday evening {pretty, happy, funny, real} / 7 Quick Takes Mash-up/ & fave Instagrams of the week.

– 1 –

{happy}

It’s Beginning to Feel A Lot Like… – We’ve had our first rain of the season this week and it was wonderful! It has become tradition that once the first rain comes I listen to Christmas music and drink a cup of hot chocolate in anticipation of the holidays to come. I love it!

– 2 –

{pretty}

Blue Heaven – The day after the storm the sky was so pretty as the clouds moved out and the sun broke through the freshly washed land.

– 3 –

Biological Clock Ticking? – I’ve got baby on the brain. No, no, I am not expecting, and frankly, Brian and I believe this may be the end. Of course, one can never say never with God. But I have been thinking about it more. Normally, when I talk to people (not other Catholic families who already have a lot of kids but acquaintances or strangers) they are surprised that we have four kids and tell me how my hands must be full, blah, blah, blah, blah. (Bella and I say this often in Hotel Transylvania style. 😉 The other day we met a woman we know from church. She is a retired pediatrician and had 5 kids of her own. After we chatted, she said she was happy that we had 5 children…I corrected her and told her we only had 4. No worries! She said we should have another baby because we are such a wonderful, holy family etc. I smiled because to this sweet grandma, anyone under 45 was still considered young, despite my bones that creak in the morning and the new wrinkles and dark circles I’m finding under my eyes.
A few days later we had our carpets cleaned by a great local company and the guy, who I am assuming was about our age, was asking about our kids and if we were going to have any more. When we said we weren’t sure but didn’t think so, he said we were still young and should have another! He had eight of his own and said it was hard work but worth it. I told Brian if one more person tells us we should have another baby we may have to pray about whether or not God is trying to tell us something. LOL

– 4 –

Baby Boom – I may also have baby on the brain because there is a preggers boom in blogging land! Now, of course whenever you get a group of practicing Catholic mamas together, you are bound to have a number of overlapping pregnancies but it seems like every week another blogger (or two) is announcing the blessing of a little one growing in them. By the way, that reminds me to offer congratulations to Jen, Hallie, Jenna, and the recently announced Dawn. (I could also add Betty and Karianna but they are either farther along or on the home stretch.) Okay, who’s next? (And stop looking at me.)

– 5 –

{funny}

Touché – In the meantime, my little climber Matthew continues to scale the furniture. It has become a game to him. His latest is to climb up on the TV stand and sit in front of the screen. Literally. Usually he then calls, “Mama!!!” and when I walk in he either laughs and say, “Ge Dow” (get down) or he shakes his finger at me and says, “No, no, no.”

Although on this day Pocoyo came on the screen and he was too absorbed to repeat to me all the things I usually tell him.

That look says, “You know, Mama, if you were really mad at me you’d stop taking photos and laughing about it on your blog.”

– 6 –

Mother of the Zombie Apocalypse – There is nothing sweeter than hearing your kids say their prayers. There is often also a touch of humor as they are still getting the correct wording down. The other day Andrew was praying the Hail Mary and I just caught the end which sounded more like dialogue in a zombie movie…”Holy Mary, Mother of God, pray for our innards now and we are deaf.”

– 7 –

He Sounds Like Buckwheat from Little Rascals – In the past, since Andrew and John-Paul were both speech delayed (and A. having borderline apraxia) I would long to hear them say the words “I love you.” The other evening as I was kissing them goodnight Andrew said, “I love you, Mommy” and John-Paul echoed “I lub you, mama!” I was moved to tears. As I kissed them and told them to have sweet dreams I got JP’s signature, “Otay, mama!”

– BONUS TAKE 8 –

{real}

Like Mother, Like Son – Speaking of John-Paul, he is usually my shopping buddy but I think I created a bit of a shopping monster. Everyday this week when I took him to school, as I turned off the highway to go towards his school he would yell from the backseat, “No, no! Go Target!” Every day. This morning he was off from school and I told him he had to get dressed so we could run errands. He exclaimed, “Go Target, Mama!” Yes, we were going to Target. Brian looked at us quizzically and I explained that he loved to go shopping at Target. He just shook his head and prayed under his breath, “Save us, Jesus.” One Target-aholic in the family is enough.
Have a wonderful weekend!

Operation Clean and Organize: Vol 15 – Bulletin Boards & Wall Photos (Part 1)

By bobbi
October 9, 2012
4 Comments

Taming the procrastinating, ADD, mess cat within me.

It has been quite some time since I have worked on Operation Clean & Organize. Now that the kids are back in school I have been able to snag a free ½ hour here and there to work on a project. Seriously, my biggest obstacle is the upkeep. I’ve been trying to take a few moments each day to clear problem areas but my whole house could be considered a problem. However, I must admit the areas I’ve already organized are sooo much easier to keep clean on a daily basis.

I finished a small project and I especially love when I can get rid of a mess and add a touch of simple beauty instead. As you may remember, I organized the “school” bookshelf in the family room. Beside it we have a shorter shelf of kids’ books as well as a section for baby supplies like diapers, wipes, tissues etc. We recently moved the kids’ two fish tanks to the family room on top of that shelf. Originally, above the shelf, I had a large cork board with our family calendar, Brian’s schedule, church bulletins and various other information. Unfortunately, to make room for Rocky and Spike’s tanks I had to raise the cork board and it became impossible to use. Besides, since putting together our Home Management Binders, I really didn’t need all that info displayed on the wall since I had it in a central location in the binders. I didn’t take a before photo but you can get a little glimpse of the cork board on the wall before I added the fish tanks. It looks so cluttered and messy. (Photo courtesy of John-Paul, who likes to go around the house and take countless random photos with my iPhone.)

I removed the board off the wall and found a smaller unused cork board I had stored in my closet. I hung it up in the kitchen behind the swing door that leads to the family room. Below it I added the family calendar. It’s nothing fancy but it serves its purpose.

Next I had to decide what to do with the blank spot where the old cork board used to be. I loved the ideas Postal Pix had on their Pinterest board where customers hung up their Instagram photos on what looked like a garland clothes line such as this:

Source:

http://pinterest.com/pin/155514993353528263/

Source: http://pinterest.com/pin/155514993353421510/

A couple weeks ago I was browsing Target (a favorite pastime) and found this cute photo display with two birds holding up a line for your photos. (There were three more birds but I’m debating whether to add those or not.) Then I saw an unframed canvas with a picture that had the same theme. I loved the work “HOME” and thought they would look perfect together. Here is the result.

So now instead of that ugly, unsightly corkboard I have this cute reminder of the people that make our house a true HOME.

PS – If you want to know where I prefer to print my Instagrams, see this post.

{pretty, happy, funny, real} vol. 47 / 7 Quick Takes (10/5/12) Mash-Up: Heat, WTH Gas & Zombies

By bobbi
October 5, 2012
No Comments

~ Capturing the context of contentment in everyday life ~

AND

Time for a Friday evening {pretty, happy, funny, real} / 7 Quick Takes Mash-up.

– 1 –

{happy}

I Love You, Fog – This morning Brian worked the early shift and he told me I could go out and take a walk at the beach. It has been awhile since I’ve taken that trail. It started out foggy but then it warmed up and the sun came out. Although I am not complaining about the fog! I was soo happy to see it return after this week’s heat wave!

– 2 –

Source: Brokensports.com

Daddy Long Legs – My hat goes off to all those people who have endured the summer heat for three long months. We had a heat wave in Carmel (with the hottest day hitting 90 by the coast) and we barely lasted three days. Although I was ~~a major grouch~~ able to remain incredibly cheerful, the kids were like zombies on the couch begging for cups of ice. I was hunting high and low for shorts that would fit the boys since it was never hot enough all summer to buy any new ones. I finally found some in a box of too small clothes and for three days the boys looked like retro basketball players with their too small, short-shorts. We are so cool-weather spoiled, it is ridiculous.

– 3 –

{happy}

Spoiler Alert – Remember when I was telling you about Ryan Charles Trusell and his publication Ora et Labora et Zombies? Well, we got the next two letters this week and Brian and I were so happy! Well, at first we weren’t though, because it caused a little ruckus in the house. After I told Brian about the novel and encouraged him to read with me, he became intrigued and got into the story too. So the other day when he got the mail and found the envelope he was excited to open it right away. I told him it had my name on the envelope so it was actually my mail to open. (Okay, so I was teasing him a bit.) I told him he could read it first but he knows the rules – he can’t give me any spoilers or tell me what happens. Well, later I asked him how the next installment was and he said, “It’s getting good! So-and-so does such-and-such…” Nooooo! He broke the only rule he had. Now he knows he is not allowed to read the upcoming installments until I a have read it first. LOL.

– 4 –

{funny}

Here is a sample of things the boys do in the room with me, while I am on the computer. There’s nothing quite as fun as leaping from couch to chair, especially if you happen to land on your brother.

– 5 –

{real}

WTH! – After my walk this morning I went to go fill up my car with gas. I could not believe how much the prices have jumped up in just a week! It is flippin insane! The guy who got gas before me paid $136. That is a huge tank and huge bill!

– 6 –

Monkey See, Monkey Do – Speaking of WTH, speech therapy has been going well for Andrew and John-Paul. Andrew still needs a lot of work with the blends and clarity in general but we are making progress. JP is not as bad and has been saying words clearly and making short sentences now. I knew he was making progress when he came into the room exclaiming, “What de heck!” Now he says it all the time. Brian just gives me that look that says, see what you’ve taught him. I don’t get it. I was proud that I was able to control my language to not say “what the hell” in front of the kids. I guess we better stay away from the holier homeschool groups for awhile.

– 7 –

I was debating whether the next take should be about a new soup recipe I tried (that Brian loved!) or about all the awesome church feast days in October. However, I just looked at the clock and realized I am late starting dinner. We are having homemade (lower fat) mac ‘an cheese, ham steaks and broccoli. Yum! So I’ll save those other takes for later.
Have a great weekend!

Revolution of Love

Do small things with great love.

Blog Archives

7 Quick Takes (10/20/12): The Year of Faith, New Facebook Page & Fave Fall Shows

{pretty, happy, funny, real} -vol 49

{pretty, happy, funny, real} vol. 48 / 7 Quick Takes (10/12/12) Mash-Up: Preggers Boom, Words of Love & Target-aholics

Operation Clean and Organize: Vol 15 – Bulletin Boards & Wall Photos (Part 1)

{pretty, happy, funny, real} vol. 47 / 7 Quick Takes (10/5/12) Mash-Up: Heat, WTH Gas & Zombies