Mommy of Many®

What a day!

I wanted to share my thoughts even though they don’t seem to have a common thread-

What amazing people I have in my life! People who take time and give of themselves simply because it makes life easier for others and “why not” share what you can. Each day I give thanks for the beautiful example of such people, who help me see the ease of giving of one’s self.
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I don’t the know the plan for this hectic, busy and very full life of mine, but I trust that there IS a plan and that I only need to focus on today and leave the rest up to each day and what God has laid out.
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Sitting at Costa Brava with my sister and my oldest son is a really, really great way to spend an hour or two!
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I LOVED meeting Bonnie of The Shape of a Mother and sharing in an afternoon with her and some other great ladies! May all meetings with new people feel so comfortable!
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I’m pretty sure I made some new friends tonight when I handed over the rest of my pitcher of sangria. I felt done and really didn’t want it to go to waste. The table next to me promised it wouldn’t
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The kiddos and I are enjoying this video so much! I hope you do too~

Doing the Dance of the Children…With My Hands~

Yesterday was such a beautiful and relaxed day! I took many little pieces of it and tucked them into my Heart Envelope. That little envelope is becoming full and cushiony and I love to place things into it and revisit what’s in there. I believe everyone should be conscience of their Heart Envelope and fill it up bit by bit. You know, that little place inside your heart where you store the bits of Good Stuff that you draw from in the times of life when nothing seems to be going right. Deciding to grab those good things and save them has been a key tool for me.

Yesterday I put in a relaxed conversation with friendly companions, the smell of the ocean (though this one was already in there. I like to have some duplicates), the feel of the ocean breeze (another duplicate), a bike ride with one of my daughters and a laugh over a silly one-liner. From time to time I go open that envelope and check on the contents-A rock thrown at a window from an admirer when I was a teenager, the zing of holding a crushes’ hand for the first time, a drive near the water in a convertible, a ride on the back of a motorcycle, standing on an overlook with the kids and watching Clay vertrep, riding a bike with no hands, being at a Rod Stewart concert, doing an interview, holding my newborn babies, the pure joy of my lil one when he wakes up to my voice, listening to and watching the pure joy of the St. Greg’s guys after graduation while they sang their hearts out, spending the night alone in a hotel room, etc. etc.

These are the important pieces that keep me from sinking low in the times when life gets hard. I’m always able to peek inside that envelope and remember that the tough times are just mere snippets in this life that’s been cushioned with the contents of that Heart Envelope.

Don’t forget to grab your moments and tuck them away. I promise you’ll find a reason to smile whenever you open your Heart Envelope up!

Here’s to the beauty that life gives us and to holding onto and drawing from it~

I don’t usually write about work, but every so often, we do a project or have an event that’s too good not to share.

Yesterday the teacher I work with came up with this fun and beautiful project. It did take time, but the end result is worth it!

You will need-

Brown paper bags

red, yellow, green, brown, copper and gold paint

Paper plates

Wire, ribbon or string (we used copper wire)

Leaf templates

Scissors

Glue sticks

Tape

Cut brown, paper grocery bags. Use the 2 large portions. Discard the rest. Crumple each section.

Cut the center out of paper plates (we saved the centers for future projects).

Cut out leaf templates (we got ours from familyfun.com)

Dilute red, yellow and green paint with water. Have children paint the entire section of bag with each color, encouraging them to overlap colors.

While bags dry (they dried quickly), paint each of the paper plates with brown paint. If you are working with younger children you may want to paint the wreath portion for them. Older children can do this step while they are waiting for their bags to dry.

Then have the children sponge gold and copper paint onto the dried and painted bags.

Use a toothbrush dipped in brown paint to lightly splatter across the bag.

Let bags dry.

Trace the leaves onto the painted and dried bags. Cut out the leaves. Have the children use glue stick to glue the leaves around the painted paper plate wreaths.

Cute wire, ribbon or string, loop and tape to the back of the wreaths.

Fall Leave Wreaths!

We love how these came out!

It’s 84 degrees in San Diego right now and this is the coolest day in the last 3.

What in the world is going on?! After a couple weeks that were cold enough to break out the boots and sweaters, I’ve found myself re-polishing my toes, putting on my sandals and breaking out my shorts. Yes, I know that I live in San Diego and that we don’t tend to have much seasonal change, but this is weird, even by San Diegan standards. Just try getting kids to do homework when they’re sweating like it’s summertime and the beach is RIGHT THERE!  If this keeps up, I’ll be planning cold turkey sandwiches, potato salad and fresh fruit for Thanksgiving!

For now, I’ll turn on the fans, open the doors and windows and listen to the whispering of the ocean breezes calling my name and then I’ll get back to work and try to keep my kiddos on track with their homework.

Doing the Dance of the Children on a Warm and Sunny November Day~

So, the surprise of having my oldest 2 kiddos home for the weekend has come and gone. Kateri went back to school Monday night, but JJ (or Clayton and he now prefers to be called) is sticking around for a little while. Though, he’s quickly becoming disenchanted with being home because everyone’s gone during the daytime and it’s a flurry of homework/chores/noisy kiddos/bathtime/dinner/grocery shopping in the afternoon/evenings. We can not presume to live up to European travels and leisure or the excitement and feeling of brotherhood that St. Gregory’s offers. But hey, I offer hot showers, clean clothes, hot and tasty food and an occasional good laugh. It’s all I’ve got, but he’s welcome to it, as long as he’d like to stay. He’s already talking about where he might find his next roving adventure. This is how it will go until next Fall, when he’ll settle back into being a full-time student.

It was interesting for me to be out with my big kids. I needed to go to Costco and 3 of the girls and JJ-oops, I mean, Clayton decided to come along for various reasons. Clayton wanted to get some driving practice in. There was no need for him to get his permit and license while he was away at school, but now, at 18 yrs old, it’s probably a good idea. So, I did something I NEVER do-NEVER. I let him drive. As nerve-wracking as it was for me to be letting him drive, let’s look at it from his perspective-Let’s see, Mom in the passenger seat next to him and 3 of his opinionated sisters in the back seat. The poor kid couldn’t drive slow or fast enough, couldn’t brake too soon and certainly couldn’t turn on his blinker at the proper time.

It was really a learning experience for me, though, because here I was with these “Big Kids”, 2 of which have been out of my house for the last 4 years and yet, I was still in demand as a vital part of their teaching process. It got me thinking about how we really ALWAYS need our parents. Granted, we don’t always WANT them, but who among us hasn’t picked up the phone, sent a text or an email to ask our mothers for a favorite recipe, tips on laundry or what a baby’s particular cry might mean? Who hasn’t called to ask Dad why the car might smell a certain way, sound a certain way or drive a certain way? I realized with great clarity the truth of being a parent. It’s for always! From the moment you find out that you’re carrying a new life, until the moment you die, your kids are going to need you. What’s this notion I sometimes hear about it all being over when they turn 18?! Sure, they might move out or head off to school, but they’re never really gone. They often find reasons to pick our brains for the knowledge we’ve learned in each phase of our lives. ~sigh~

It was really good to have everyone here and to do this job of mine to the fullest. I love having everyone around me and look to the future, knowing that the number of people and lives that will be brought into my home will be ever growing. A great thought!

Doing the Dance of the Children-Forever~