WIWS: When Baby out-dresses Mommy

So I may have slipped up a bit in the dressing up for Mass last night. We have started going to 5:00 pm Saturday mass with Elena because it is less crowded. Our usual mass is the 10:30 Latin novus ordo, which I love (even though I'm still learning all the latin), but it's packed. Standing room only packed. And, I figured if we got stuck in the middle of the pew, it'll be just that much harder to climb over everyone with a baby carrier. Of course, we haven't even had to get up once in the last two weeks. Elena has been PERFECT! Well, she sleeps the whole time, so there isn't a lot of room for error on her part if she's actually sleeping. I feed her, pop her in her car seat, and by the time she arrives wherever we are going, she is fast asleep.

Of course, last night, I was running a little behind in the feeding department. We got to mass during the opening hymn, so it could have been worse. But, I didn't feel quite as put together as last week, and I didn't get to the whole putting on jewelry goal, but at least I was out of sweatpants (Don't worry, I would never wear sweatpants to mass)!

Top: Express

Cardigan: New York and Company

Black dress pants: New York and Company

Elena: Adorable Carter's outfit

I actually did get to the make-up, but obviously, my hair kind of flopped. It was in a much better put together pony-tail when I left the house (Or that's what I told myself). I had Elena beat in the shoe department, but she totally wins for cuteness. 

Mass was wonderful. I'd say I was a bit less distracted than last week, but Jeremy sat next to Elena, so that probably had something to do with it. The readings were about not worrying about the next day; God has everything in control, and He will always take care of us. I really needed that reminder. I've been worrying about Elena, about being on my own and not accomplishing "anything" (see previous post), and the house we are in the process of buying. Obviously, I still need to care for myself, home, and family, but I need to worry less. God will always care for us. 

I also felt pretty humbled when I found this post after writing my last one. I was hoping my complaints came across slightly amusing despite my desperate tone, but I kind of missed a major point that I have observed about motherhood. It's already been the most rewarding thing I've ever done. It's the most important job I'll ever have. Even though I'm tired, and sometimes it's not "fun", I'm so grateful for the gift God has bestowed upon our little family. I just pray that I can be the best steward of this little soul God has granted us. 

Happy Sunday, and please head over to Fine Linen and Purple for more WIWS. 

7 Quick Takes: Entering Motherhood

Some honest reflections on first time motherhood.

--- 1 ---

You don't have time to do anything. At least in the beginning. If you do, I consider you superwoman. I'm starting this post on Wednesday and typing with one hand while holding the sleeping infant in the other. I consider this a great feat in the world of multitasking. However, the amount of time it took to type this paragraph probably disqualifies my post from being a "quick take".

--- 2 ---

If my beautiful girl ever becomes a terrifying teen, who says I don't love her after not letting her wear a mini skirt in public, I'll retort, "Oh darling, of course I love you. I breastfed you." You definitely don't breastfeed people you don't love...Oh, and I'd love to throw "The Baby Book", which is larger than the Bible, at the author who stated that breastfeeding is relaxing. Ok, I've heard it gets easier.

--- 3 ---

Enough cynicism (which really wasn't my intention). I really love being a mom. Even the sleep deprivation is worth every tiny, sleepy smile (I keep telling myself it's not gas- she's really just content), every little finger grab, and each stretch, coo, and gurgle. Even the crying really isn't that bad- because she stops when I pick her up, feed her, or snuggle on the couch, and I feel like she looks at me with such adoration.

--- 4 ---

Naptimes are worth a million dollars. However, you  have to choose to use them wisely. Best move is probably to go down for a nap yourself. Although, if all you're doing is lying there and thinking about the million other things you need to do, I've found it's better to just get them done. Or feed yourself. Food is good too.

--- 5 ---

I thought I'd have a lot of prayer time, but sometimes I find it hard to finish even a single Hail Mary before she poops, wants to be fed, or I just fall asleep. My sister told me it's ok, that just saying "help" is enough. God will still hear me and know what I need. I've since cried "help" frequently and urgently. It really is effective. 

--- 6 ---

A quick story about baby lotion. I first got some Aveeno Baby lotion because I was conned by the word "natural" on the bottle. Elena got a glob on her hand and instantly went for her mouth. I wiped it off in the nick of time before she started smacking her lips. Curious, I checked the bottle and was horrified by a big warning to call poison control if ingested. Isn't this stuff for a baby's BODY? They suck on everything, including themselves. I then got a Burts Bees lotion, which did not have fatal warnings all over, but found it didn't absorb very well. Finally decided to try coconut oil since everyone raves about it. They do for a reason! It's amazing and even works on cradle cap.

--- 7 ---

My final confession: I've had a ton of help through all this. Not only has my husband been amazing, but my mom stayed here for the first two weeks and now my sister is still with me. I'm a big wimp that I'm still finding adjusting kind of, well, difficult. I know it's all stemming from the lack of sleep, but gosh, I was able to deliver her without a bit of medication and I have cried more since being home than I did in the hospital. Actually I didn't even cry in the hospital... I just screamed. No screaming at home yet. I know it will all get easier, but I'm feeling a little daunted by being left alone. How do I feed myself? Will I ever take a shower again? These are the silly questions I ask myself when I've had two hours of sleep and feeling panicked. However, after receiving so many delicious meals from friends who almost each have at least two kids, my sister smiles and says, "See Rachel, there's hope!"

For more Quick Takes, visit Conversion Diary!

WIWS: Baby Edition

WIWS: Baby Edition

I haven't posted in a few weeks because I went and had a BABY!

Elena Marie was born on February 5th, 2014 and weighed 6lbs 10 oz. Labor was a total of six hours, and I only got to the hospital with an hour and a half to spare before she made her debut.

She is amazing and perfect and I have been overpopulating Facebook with lots of pictures.

She is also incredibly time consuming. She was two weeks this past Wednesday and my mom has been with me since day 2. I have no idea what I would do without her and Jeremy. Between breastfeeding, trying to rest, cleaning her up, and attempting to clean myself up, I have an hour here and there to either nap, read, or blog. Right now, I'm sacrificing nap time.

I finally got to mass last night! I had wanted to go earlier, but my mom talked me out of it since I was still hobbling around, and Jeremy wisely pointed at a wooden stool and said "If you can sit on that for an hour, then you can go to mass". The last two days, I have felt immensely better. Elena was perfect and slept through all of mass in her car seat. Of course, I was extremely distracted, and kept peeking at her to make sure she didn't wake up and was still breathing.

Here is our little family photo. I apologize for not having a full length outfit shot.

I felt pretty accomplished that I put on make-up.

Shirt: Express
Cardigan: New York and Company
Pants: Kohls (gray dress pants)
Shoes: Kohls (sparkly, silver flats)

Elena sported a red fleece dress with white leggings and really cute socks that looked like black ballet shoes with satin ribbons.

Next week's goal: put on jewelry.

Now go join up for more outfit posts at Fine Linen and Purple!

Declan's Baptism!

My little Declan was baptized into the Church yesterday! Although we wanted to have him baptized right away, he was born during the holidays which made it impossible to fit a baptism in. We thought having the baptism at the end of January would give our families plenty of time to recover from the end of the year festivities. However, we weren't planning on the weather being SOOOO terrible. Seriously terrible. My in-laws came in the night before and were able to avoid most of the snow and sleet, but driving to church the next day was downright treacherous. We slid out several times but somehow managed to get there - if not a few minutes late.

I love to be crafty and creative with parties. This was the first one I was hosting at our house for both of our families so I was feeling the pressure. I had planned on doing many other crafty things for his party but had to scale back my endeavors when I realized I can't get much done with a newborn.

The first thing I did was make a banner to be a focal point for picture taking. I got three different kinds of scrapbook paper with similar colors to tie all the decorations together. I chose a blue, brown, and white scrapbook paper as the background to my banner. I then just printed out the letters in Microsoft word and cut out the paper in the form of a triangle to make the banner.

Next I am pretty obsessed with the saints. I have the entire four volume edition of Butler's Lives of the Saints. I had a lot of fun going through these books to find a good saint name that I wanted to use. Because many people have never heard of Saint Declan, I decided to type up a quick synopsis of his life(which is pretty cool by the way). My Declan's middle name is Charles so we chose Saint Charles Borromeo as his other patron saint. I typed up his bio as well. I glued the bios to scrapbook paper, made a header, and put up pictures of Declan on the wall to flank my main table. 

I think they turned out pretty well! 

For my main table, I made a tissue paper flower to hang over the table. Then draped the table in a blue tablecloth. I arranged the beverages, cake, and little sweet treats on the table. For one of the sweet treats, I got blue vanilla candies from Michael's, arranged them on pretzels and then put them in the oven at 200 degrees for 5 minutes. I wanted to make sure they were melted enough to add a white chocolate chip on top. (This is all to go with the blue Baptism theme ;)). I am kicking myself for not getting a picture of the finished product before they were all gobbled up. Oh well. Next time....

Finally, you can't have a party without party favors right? I wanted to somehow incorporate a prayer into the favors so I decided to make Hershey bar covers. I went onto Hershey's website, printed out their covers to use as a template. Then I went on Microsoft word and measured my covers to the size of the official Hershey ones. I created a border, added a Baptism clipart, and a little prayer for our guests to say for Declan on his baptism day. I am super thrilled by the way these turned out. They were a big hit at the party!

The party was a success and I felt a little foolish for stressing out about it the way I did. But the first party is over an done with so i feel like I will be more relaxed for the next one. One final picture of the whole thing put together. 

WIWS: 38 weeks

 

WIWS: 38 Weeks

 

Don't worry, the end is nearing, I think baby has dropped, and hopefully you won't have to endure maternity WIWS much longer ;) Last night I actually didn't even know if I would make it to mass since I felt terrible from a cold and cough. After lots of praying it would subside, a long night in bed, and a nice hot shower this morning, I was definitely feeling well enough to venture out. But, I consciously sat in the back and abstained from the sign of peace, in the hopes of not passing along any germs. Please ignore my tired look and overall lack of make up due to feeling under the weather.

 

Here is what I wore:

 

 

 

Top: Motherhood

Scarf: Target

Cardigan: New York and Company

Pants: Apt 9 (Kohls)

Shoes: Vera Wang (Kohls)

Bracelet: Gift from my mom

 

And, of course, another belly shot. I remembered to take off the scarf this week.

 

During the homily today, the priest spoke about "why we are here". I'm sure most people remember from the catechism that we exist to know, love and serve God, yet so many people still wander this earth wondering what their purpose is. One thing Father reminded us was that we need to remember we aren't here to necessarily marry, have a family, get degrees, work amazing jobs, or make money. Of course, we can still know, love and serve God through all of those things, but we need to remember that we have a family out of love for God, to raise children to serve him and know him, we work for love of God for others, and all this is done with the ultimate goal that we end up in heaven.

 

None of that is anything new or profound, but it was great for a reminder because with baby coming, it's so easy to get bogged down under all the items we "need" and worrying about all the extras.

 

Of course... I'm still having a little bit of anxiety whether she is definitely a girl or not... but it's all in God's hands :)

 

Happy Sunday and please join others for more WIWS at Fine Linen and Purple.

 

 

 



 

7 Quick Takes: Random Friday Thoughts

7 Quick Takes: Random Friday Thoughts

Here's another fast link up

--- 1 ---

Seriously, sometimes I feel like I'm cheating at this whole blog thing. I'm probably taking the easy way out linking up, but it's such a great spring board for jumpstarting posts! So... thank you to all those creative enough to start link ups, so I can participate and not have to think up an entirely original post...

--- 2 ---

I think baby has DROPPED! Meaning I've started to waddle, or at least, I think I'm waddling. Of course my doctor will probably tell me Monday that no such thing has happened, she won't arrive for weeks, and I've just gained more weight- resulting in my new waddle :)

--- 3 ---

I read a little post on FB today about one woman's journey to "unplug" herself and her family. I decided to get my smallest toe wet in this area by suggesting a card game tonight with hubby instead of the usual 3 episodes of Chuck or White Collar. We played this game:

My parents got it for us for Christmas and it's a lot of fun! Hubby won by two points... which means he will agree to play this game again in the future ;)



--- 4 ---

I've been trying really hard to keep Fridays meatless. My mom gave me a vegetarian cookbook for my Birthday and it's for the crockpot! I LOVEEE my crockpot. I came home for my hour lunch today and was able to throw together everything for dinner and eat my lunch before I had to drive back. Alas, I did not keep the day meatless (instead gave up chocolate... which I think is harder at this time in my life), but helped hubby keep it that way!

--- 5 ---

We had Potato Cheddar soup with frozen biscuits from Schwans. Those biscuits cannot be healthy, but they taste oh soo good. I once suggested I make my own biscuits and freeze them instead of spending the extra money on the Schwans ones. Hubby dolefully looked at me and then asked, "When they don't taste as good, can we go back to buying the Schwans ones?" He is so lucky he loves the rest of the food I normally make him ;)

Anyway, here is the recipe, because it was so easy and delicious!

Ingredients:
2 lbs unpeeled red potatoes, cut into small cubes
3/4 cup chopped carrots
1 medium onion, chopped
3 cups vegetable broth
1 cup half and half
1/4 tspn black pepper
2 cups shredded cheddar cheese

What you do:
1. Put veggies and broth in crock pot and cook on low 6-7 hours.
2. Stir in half and half and pepper. Cover, cook on high for 15-20 minutes. Turn off and stir in cheese until melted.
3. Serve with bread and enjoy!

--- 6 ---

I am the world's worst procrastinator. My lack of a hospital bag at almost 38 weeks pregnant provides testimony to the extent of my procrastinating abilities. The fact that I'd also rather blog about how I don't have my bag together instead of just walking upstairs and throwing some clothes together probably also speaks volumes. Too bad I can't also just procrastinate away the anxiety resulting from the lack of said bag....

--- 7 ---

I've been indulging in the ultimate teeny-bopper Christian novel series: The River of Time Series by Lisa T. Bergren. It's cute and completely unbelievable, but, hey, sometimes you need an easy, mindless flick to read. There is a bit of Bella'ish obsession with the main character regarding her love interest, but the time travel and medieval time period have made up for that so far ;)

Thanks for joining my ramblings, but for more Quick Takes, visit Conversion Diary!

WWRW: YA Book Review -- Grave Mercy by Robin LaFevers

Published: April 3, 2012

Audience: Ages 14+, Grades 9+

Series: His Fair Assassin Trilogy (1) 

Awards & Honors: ALA Best Fiction for Young Adults (2013). 

Genre: YA Literature, Historical Fiction, Fantasy, Romance

Setting: Kingdom of Brittany (Celtic Nation); Guerande, Brittany; France, Middle Ages; 1485-1488

Synopsis: Seventeen-year-old Ismae escapes from the brutality of an arranged marriage into the sanctuary of the convent of St. Mortain, where the sisters still serve the gods of old. Here she learns that the god of Death Himself has blessed her with dangerous gifts -- and a violent destiny. If she chooses to stay at the convent, she will be trained as an assassin and serve as a handmaiden to Death. To claim her new life, she must destroy the lives of others. 

Ismae's most important assignment takes her straight into the high court of Brittany -- where she finds herself woefully under prepared -- not only for the deadly games of intrigue and treason, but for the impossible choices she must make. For how can she deliver Death's vengeance upon a target who, against her will, has stolen her heart? 

(synopsis as seen on goodreads.com.)

My Rating: 5/5 Stars

My thoughts: Based on various reviews I had read about this book, I was pretty certain that I would enjoy it... historical fiction plot with a twist of fantasy and a bit of romance -- right up my alley. However, I wasn't planning on being completely blown away by it!  I used to be the type that could finish entire books in one sitting (like when Harry Potter & the Order of the Phoenix was released, I was disappointed it took me TWO sittings to finish it, simply because it took SO long to read!)  However, as of recently, I tend to get antsy and really don't spend more than an hour reading a book, (except audiobooks -- they allow me to multitask, or else I'm driving). Don't get me wrong, I still love reading, I just do so in much shorter spurts. 

That is, until I picked up this book... this 550 page long novel that I had immediately assumed probably didn't receive proper editing.  After reading the first 100 pages until I couldn't keep my eyes open one late night, I was quick to finish the next 300 in one sitting, and only very reluctantly set the book down because I had a friend's birthday party to attend that evening. I finished the book the next day and ended up at Barnes & Noble a few hours later, seeking out the sequel, gift card from Christmas in hand (which I had told myself I was going to save for the Miss Peregrine sequel when it came out).... Yeah, so much for that happening! Nevertheless, I very happily picked up the sequel to this novel, along with Anne's recommendation, Firefly Lane. I mean, who can ever leave the bookstore with just one book? 

So, needless to say, I absolutely loved this book. And the critic in me feels extraordinarily strange saying this, but after mulling it over, I simply can't think of a single bad thing to say about this novel. Yes, it was 550 pages... and every single page of it was well-used and fantastically written.  Right from the start, I was completely sucked in by the plot -- it didn't drag for a second.