12): Pebble Beach, Dates, & Getting Healthy

By bobbi
February 3, 2012
2 Comments

– 1 –

Today I am doubly blessed. First of all, two of my sisters are here visiting. (One of these days we are going to get our east coast sister EL here so the four of us can all go out together!) I love when my sisters visit but I always feel sorry for Brian. After awhile all the loudness and laughing takes a toll on his introverted quiet ways. Poor guy.

– 2 –

The second big blessing is that since Brian works at Pebble Beach, once a year he is able to “test the product” and we’re given a complimentary dinner and stay at one of the hotels and then we rate how the service/experience was. This year we are staying at The Inn at Spanish Bay, which I actually prefer over the famous Lodge. I am not the least bit interested in golf but Pebble Beach is breathtakingly gorgeous. Besides that, I am just excited to have a whole night out with my husband. Since my sisters are here they offered to take care of the kids for us. I gladly accepted! The following day we’ll take them to the 17 Mile Drive. I’m so excited. 🙂

– 3 –

It’s funny because my sister EL was just mentioning in her post yesterday that one of her goals this year is to have more dates with her husband. Brian and I were just talking about this the other day. We get so busy with the day to day business of running a family that it’s hard to stop and take time out for our relationship, but we must! So far we’ve done a lot of “at home” dates after the kids go to sleep but sometimes it’s nice to actually get out of the house and still know my four “babies” are safe in someone else’s care.

– 4 –

Usually when my sisters come we’ll go out to dinner or go to one of the local bakeries for coffee and a treat but that is off limits this time. Next week the girls are running their first half marathon and right now they are in training. I’m so proud of them! Since I was a little girl I always dreamed of being able to run and run like one of those marathoners. These days I’m lucky to get out and walk around but I seriously need to make a greater effort to get moving (I mean other than chasing kids around) and now that the weather is getting warmer I can get back to walking again…and maybe one day, running.

– 5 –

Okay, speaking of needing motivation to walk/run/exercise, my brother posted this on Facebook. The video is about a man who is really overweight but who wants to fulfill his life long dream of running a marathon. He also wants to get healthy for his family and to raise money for his ill niece who has cystic fibrosis. His transformation, and his niece’s fight, is beautiful and inspiring.

– 6 –

One of the people who commented on facebook about this video said, “…that’s the two edged blade of manhood. We get so focused on everyone else’s needs and lives that we can give everything and have nothing left for ourselves. Our own needs (like staying healthy) can be easily forgotten for righteous reasons. But I will tell you that to be our best at providing and trying to be men of and for God we have to take care of ourselves too so we can do that providing according to His will right into eternity…”
Words to live by for dads and moms!

– 7 –

Well, the baby just woke up so that’s it for today. Have a great weekend!
Love,
B

7 Quick Takes (1/27/12): Baby Showers, Miscarriage & Finding Joy

By bobbi
January 27, 2012
3 Comments

Hosted by Jen at Conversion Diary.

– 1 –

I’ve got a lot to do today so I’ll just take a few minutes to make my Quick Takes this week. I have errands and house cleaning to do since I have company coming over next week. Two of my sisters will be visiting from Southern California and I can’t wait! I get a double treat since not only will be able to spend time with my sisters, they have also offered to babysit the kids, baby included, so Brian and I can go out. He has a special treat planned for next Friday night and I can’t wait!

– 2 –

I’m hoping the weather stays nice next week. It has been like spring! The other day was actually warm, so warm that I saw an old homeless guy on the street with his shirt off sunbathing next to his shopping cart. Not exactly a pretty picture but he seemed to be enjoying the California sun.

– 3 –

Tonight I’m going to a baby shower and I’m looking forward to seeing some of my Catholic mom friends. Sometimes I get so busy with life that the first thing to slip away is spending time with other moms. Yet, I truly need it. There is something about being able to talk to another mom face to face (not that I don’t appreciate my online friends 😉 and being able to have an adult conversation or just joke around about the quirks of motherhood. I miss it and am glad to have it back.

– 4, 5, 6, 7 –

This next Quick Take sort of morphed into its own post about miscarriage, suffering and finding joy so I’ll just count the following as numbers 4-7.
It is the norm amongst (practicing) Catholic families to have a number of women pregnant at the same time. But lately, there seems to be a number of people I know dealing with the pain of miscarriage. For some, this is their second, even third. For others, this is their first. Brian and I lost two babies during the years between Bella and Andrew. Both happened early in the pregnancy but that didn’t diminish the anguish it caused. That first miscarriage was honestly the most painful experience of my life. We had been dealing with infertility for awhile and were so excited when we finally conceived.
I remember how happy I was to buy a new pregnancy journal to record the next nine months of my pregnancy. I never thought I’d have to say good bye to my little one in that journal. Years ago I posted my pregnancy journal online on RoL, just as I had done with Bella’s journal. I wanted to show that my little one was no less loved just because I never had the chance to hold him in my arms. How my heart goes out to these moms. I pray that Our Lord brings them peace, comfort and strength as Our Lady takes care of their babies until they can hold them one day in heaven.
Hearing about these miscarriages has also been a stark reminder to me of how blessed I am. This week has been a bit of a struggle for me. The kind of days when my facebook status should read – Although I love being a mother, today sucked. Of course, the problems aren’t really major but lack of sleep and caring for sick ones can make the usual little problems seem magnified. However, when I hear about someone losing their baby (no matter how young) I can’t help but get a swift kick in the rear and realize just how blessed I am. Suddenly things are put into perspective and things don’t look as bad. It helps me find the joy in the chaos.
That reminds me of today’s quote and prayer from Small Steps for Catholic Moms. The quote is from St. Francis de Sales. “To keep the soul continually in a state of gentle calm, it is necessary to perform every action as being done in the presence of God, and as if he himself ordained it.” The prayer goes on to say, “God, sometimes it’s so hard to let go of control! Help me to trust that you are in charge and to find the peace and joy that comes from accepting each moment for the gift it truly is.”
Some days it is easy to refocus and reclaim your joy. Other days, especially when you are carrying a heavy cross, the struggles weigh you down and sometimes you just need some time before you can start to even grasp the thought of joy. God knows that and he gives us just what we need.
I can’t help but think about my little Matthew as he is learning how to walk. I let him go and he toddles a bit and falls down. Then he gets back up and tries again. But at some point he is exhausted and can’t try anymore. He sits on the ground crying with his hands raised up to me. I often think of us as babies and toddlers learning to walk. Like a loving father, God knows exactly when to let us try and walk on our own. And he knows when we are exhausted and can’t go on, we just need to be picked up and carried in his arms.
So whether you are walking upright under the close eye of your Father or being held in his arms while you gather your strength, the point is that God is always there. Surrendering yourself and your situation to him doesn’t mean that the pain will suddenly vanish, but slowly the healing will take place and we’ll be given the grace and courage to walk once again.
(NOTE: I meant only to spend a few minutes doing this quick takes but it has been over an hour and Matthew has miraculously been asleep the whole time. I just now reread my journal and although I lost our first baby seven years ago, all the pain and grief has swept over me as if it were fresh and I’m just sobbing. I can barely type here. I need to stop for a moment…
I guess the pain never completely goes away. Maybe I needed to be reminded that my two little saints are up there looking out for me and praying for me. I’ve reposted my pregnancy journals for Bella and our miscarried Baby Victor Brian on the blog. Maybe reading it will help another mom know she’s not alone in her grief and that there is hope in the end.)
Have a blessed weekend.
xoxo,
B

7 Quick Takes (1/20/12) – Downton Abbey, Spiderman & Thriving/Surviving Motherhood

By bobbi
January 20, 2012
No Comments

Hosted by Jen at Conversion Diary.

– 1 –

Last week I mentioned that I was planning on purchasing the book The World of Downton Abbey. I did get it and I love it. The photography is beautiful and it is interesting to read about how the life and times were back then – from the society in general and the war to fashions and the protocol of romantic relationships. It is perfect reading while I m waiting for the next episode to air.

– 2 –

While I have been obsessing over Downton Andrew there is another obsession brewing in our house since I hear this song everyday, several times a day.

– 3 –

Andrew, my four year old, has replaced his love of Pixar’s Cars with Spiderman. The other day I bought him a pair of Spiderman pajamas and I had no idea the drama I was inviting into the house because now the only thing he wants to wear are those pj’s! He was really upset that he could not wear them to school (in the rain) and I finally convinced him that during the day he had to bundle up and be Peter Parker and keep his Spidey identity “secret.” When he got home then he could change into his Spiderman outfit. He finally agreed. So now every day after preschool he runs through the door and whips off his regular clothes and jumps into his Spidey pj’s. Great. (Did I also mention that I had to go back to the store and buy another pair of the pj’s so I could wash them in between crime fighting?)

Hmmm…on top of it all, Spidey’s mom needs to give him a haircut.

– 4 –

Well, living with a boy that dresses like Spiderman isn’t really a big deal but I felt so sorry for the little guy the other day. He walked into the kitchen with a roll of masking tape. He wanted me to help him tapes his hands to the wall so he could climb it like Spiderman. I told him he was too heavy and that tape wouldn’t hold him. He said okay and ran out of the room. He came back with a gluestick. Surely the double strength of masking tape and a glue stick would hold him. I again explained that it wouldn’t work. After several renditions of “It won’t work” and “Yeah it do, Mom” he finally got the message. Poor Spidey accepted defeat and went to his room with tears running down his face. He broke my heart so I set dinner aside to help him find a solution. Not having monkey bars in the house I told him to play Spiderman under his bunk bed. There are several rungs above his bed and under top bunk bed. He could grab one rung and pretend to swing while he grabbed another. He was overjoyed. So I’m temporarily in the clear until he decides to jump off the top bunk onto his brother/Dr. Octopus. (I am sure anyone with boys or spunky girls can relate.)

– 5 –

Well, besides all the in-house crime fighting it has been rather a slow week. The kids got sick last weekend with colds and while Bella and Andrew got over it in a day or two little Matthew is still sick and has been extra clingy – to the point where he screams his head off when I put him down for a minute. Ugh. I told Brian I am having a hard time getting my work done since he just wants to be held. He told me not to worry and just give him the TLC he needs. Okay, but I told Brian that if he runs out of clean clothes he’ll have to borrow one of Andrew’s Spidey outfits.

– 6 –

On the plus side I have been able to get online much more often than normal. (Even now I am doing the one-hand typing thing while Matthew is resting in my arms.) For this quick take I’ll link up a few of my favorite articles/posts that I’ve read this week.
It seems that contentment, thriving where you are in life, and not putting yourself down when you feel like you are barely surviving life with little ones is a common theme this week.
Comparison Kills Contentment {Catholic Mothers Online Post} by Misty
Moms of Young Children: The Time to Thrive Is Now by Jennifer Fulwiler
Thriving! Who does God want you to be? by Arwen Mosher
Don’t Carpe Diem by Glennon Melton
Lastly, if you didn’t see my previous post already, check out the interview with Mark Wahlberg where he talks about his Catholic faith.

– 7 –

Okay, Matty is finally asleep so I am going to put him to bed and pray he sleeps long enough for me to load the dishwasher and get some laundry done. Spiderman needs some clean pj’s.
Have a great weekend!
xoxo,
B.

7 Quick Takes – (1/13/12): Resolutions & Downton Edition

By bobbi
January 13, 2012
No Comments

Hosted by Jen at Conversion Diary.

– 1 –

I’ve been reading a lot on other blogs about resolutions. I hate resolutions because I’ll do well for a day or two then go right back to where I started. Instead, I have a couple of work-in-process projects. I’ve been working on two areas specifically last year. One was to get my house more organized. For those who know me or have been reading my blog, you also know that my three sisters are neat and organized and I’m the one most likely to appears on “Hoarders: Buried Alive.” Okay, maybe I’m not that bad but I could appear on the show “My Desk Is Covered with So Much Junk I Can’t See My Computer Monitor” as seen here. That is why I started Operation Clean & Organize. I haven’t done much since autumn with all the holiday busyness but things have settled down now and I can refocus.

– 2 –

The second work-in-progress is to eat healthier and move more. (Do you ever watch Good Luck Charlie on Disney? As the overweight Bob Duncan was told – “Less bacon and more shakin!”) I already joined Weight Watchers and I’ve lost the baby weight but, again, once the holidays came everything stalled. I stopped keeping track. I kept what I lost off but I haven’t made any progress on the still long road ahead. So that, too, must be refocused.

UPDATE: For info on Bob Duncan’s weight loss, read this post.

– 3 –

The last two are more mini-goals than projects. And they are more “fun.” The first – don’t be afraid to try some “feminine touches” in how I dress. When I was younger my favorite colors were navy blue, army green and burgundy. I wore either converse of doc martins. However, as I’ve gotten older, I have finally let go of that more “tomboy” mentality. I still hate wearing dresses or skirts and run from any shoe that has a heel more than ½ an inch but I can now say my favorite colors are red, orange and yellow – bright and happy colors. I like wearing pink and buying things that are less boyish and more cute. I think I have also been influenced by Betty Beguiles and have learned to better embrace the feminine side of myself. For example, when I see my sisters wearing pretty flowers in their hair or a really pretty accessory I think to myself – that looks great on them but I couldn’t wear it. Well, Bobbi, why not? So I experimented with little things. For Christmas I wore a flower clip in my hair. I also love headbands so I wore this crocheted one I found that had a pretty crocheted flower on it.

I liked it and no one laughed at me. (Do we ever get over those negative junior high feelings that sometimes creep up on us?) And who knows, in the future I may even be blogging about the day I wore one of those cute dresses I pinned on Pinterest. After all, I do believe in miracles.

– 4 –

The other mini-goal is to watch a little less TV. Having cable TV and a DVR, I can pretty much record whatever I want and just watch it later, especially when I am up with the baby. However, it has gotten a bit out of hand. I have had to delete some shows that have just become time wasters. (Sorry, Mom, if I can’t discuss the latest person voted off Biggest Loser or why I voted for so-and-so on American Idol.) I will still watch favorites with Brian in the evening and I will certainly still obsess over Downton Abbey (See, Mom, we can still discuss how much we can’t stand Vera Bates and how we long for Mary and Matthew to finally get together.) but paring down on TV in general will give me more time to read a few of those books I wanted to get into and read some of the mom blogs I’ve wanted to follow.

– 5 –

Speaking of reading more, I have already started reading more on my new Kindle Fire. Yes, as I mentioned in last week’s quick takes, I finally decided to use my Christmas money to buy one and I don’t regret it! I love my iphone but reading on the kindle is so much easier. Plus, I can also read my magazines (did you see that the National Catholic Register is available on the Kindle?) and my Google Reader is a lot easier than on my phone. It is perfect for the evenings when I am trying to get the baby to sleep and have extra time to myself.

– 6 –

And speaking of mom blogs, I first came across By Sun and Candlelight when I was reading a post about Downton Abbey. (Great comments in the com box. btw!) I started browsing around and I am really enjoying Dawn’s posts. You should check it out.

– 7 –

Lastly, Dawn (from above) also mentioned that she got the book The World of Downton Abbey for her birthday. I browsed through the pages they had on Amazon and it looks so pretty and informative. It’s the kind of book a Downton geek would love. (It is available on Kindle but a book like that, you have to hold it in your hands and feel the paper.)

And I do happen to have a few dollars of my Christmas money left…and it is burning a hole in my pocket…and who wants to bet that for next week’s {pretty, happy, funny, real} you are going to see a photo of that book sitting on my desk. I’m just saying… 😉

LOL! Have a great weekend!
xoxo,
b.

7 Quick Takes – 1/6/2012

By bobbi
January 6, 2012
4 Comments

Hosted by Jen at Conversion Diary.

– 1 –

Happy feast of the Epiphany! I hope you all had a lovely Christmas and New Year’s. We have been out of town last week and I am still catching up on unpacking the suitcases and packing up the Christmas décor. I think that is why I am so reluctant to clean everything up…I don’t want to box up my favorite time of the year. (Well, truth be told, I’m actually a procrastinating messcat but the other scenario sounds so much more romantic…)

– 2 –

For Christmas I bought Brian a Kindle Fire. Anyone who knows me also knows that I am always the first one to get an electronic toy and then later Brian joins the bandwagon. However, I wanted to get him something special and being a book lover I thought this would be a nice match. He was very excited and has been using it frequently.

– 3 –

I have been holding off buying one myself because I have been saving up for an ipad instead. However, the more I think about it; maybe I should get myself a laptop – one of those sleek, thin ones that you can carry in your bag. It may make more sense than an ipad. However, it will take me awhile to save up extra money for that so I may just use some gift money I have saved up and get a kindle for me as well. Brian said that I could have his Kindle Fire and he could get one of the basic Kindles since he mostly uses it just for his books. Tempting, but I don’t know. Doesn’t it seem like I am taking back the very gift I gave him? I’ll have to think about it.

– 4 –

Speaking of electronic toys, a few months ago Brian and I both needed to replace our old iphones that weren’t working. We bought the new 4s and I love mine! (Should I admit that I even sleep with it? Hmmm. No, I better not.) I happen to also like the new Siri and I’m always telling her to set up reminders or asking her to read me new texts when I’m busy. I showed Brian how to use Siri and he swears his iphone is defective. He asks her a question and she almost always responds, “I’m sorry. I do not understand what you are saying.” I don’t know if he is speaking too close or talking too robotic but he insists it is not his fault. To prove to him that his phone was fine I used it and asked Siri a number of questions. She always gave me the correct information. So I don’t know what it is. He thinks it’s a conspiracy. You know, the same conspiracy/evil plot that allows things to be hidden from his sight. Yet, when I walk into the room to look for the hidden object it is always right there in plain sight. (Yes, Siri and I have it all worked out.)

– 5 –

The one thing I do not like about the iphone is how delicate it can be in the hands of young ones. I bought a cute decorative case cover for my iphone and I loved the personal touch but it gave no protection whatsoever. If I was the only one using it, that would be fine. However, the kids will often use my phone to play games or watch videos, especially in a long line at the market. (One lady at Costco was amazed because I handed my phone to John-Paul and at the age of two he was able to zip through pages and folders and open up his games. It’s second nature.) So my cute but worthless cover had to be replaced. My brother suggested that I get one of those ToughSkin rugged rubberized tread cases or one of those military grade ones made out of tires but that seemed a bit extreme.

Instead I settled on the Marware SoftGrip Core Case, available in black, white and pink. I like that it has a protective silicone skin, textured dimples on back to minimize impact shock and extra coverage around the display. It makes the phone slightly bulkier and it doesn’t slide easily into my pocket – I have to shove it in because of the silicone traction – but it is sturdy enough to handle the drops it has received so far.

– 6 –

Okay but enough talk about the electronic gadgets. How about a quick take about sewing something crafty and beautiful? (Obviously, not something I did.) My sister-in-law Maria is not only an incredible artist as you can see from this painting she gave us a couple years back…

… but she is also gifted at the sewing machine. Look at some of this handiwork!

She even made her own gift tags, gift bags and bows. And did I ever post what she gave me for my birthday last year?

A card with one of her sketches and matching magnets. So pretty! I’m trying to get her to open her own etsy shop and maybe when she gets over the tough first year of having a newborn, she will. I’ll keep you posted. 😉

– 7 –

I could make my last quick take about the cute aprons my other crafty sister EL made but she may want to post about that herself. Besides, all this sewing talk is depressing me. (I’m getting flashbacks of when I hemmed my pants with duct tape.) So instead I’ll put one last plug for Downton Abbey, Season 2 coming Sunday night. Jen mentioned it on her Quick Takes and I was elated to see others are as smitten as I am. Brian and I will still quote lines from it to each other. (“What is a weekend?” hahahaha! Love it.) Okay, here are some closing photos for all you on Team Mr. Bates & Anna. 😉

Okay that is it for now. I’m meeting up with some local Catholic moms this afternoon – something I’ve been sorely missing! Have a great weekend! xoxo