Heather Homemaker...

Ok so 3 weeks into this not working thing and 1 week into kids being back at school and I have to say I really am enjoying putting all my efforts into figuring out how to best manage my house.  I'm able to focus on the important things in life: my faith, my spouse and my children.

Have I actually started anything yet?  Well I little bit.  I've begun to sell the baby items we don't need anymore to generate a little income.  I've been shopping at ALDI and shopping sales to try to save a little on the grocery budget.  I'm researching freezer cooking and may give that a whirl to provide cheaper home cooked meals to my family.  I've been making an effort to be prepared for the day and on time to things and so far I've done fairly good (I am notoriously always late to everything!).  I've been setting up a good routine with my school age boys to do their homework get good study habits in place and go to bed on time.  I've researched preschool homeschooling and have started to pull together an idea of what curriculum I'm going to use and or combination of curriculums and what theme's I'll be doing for September.  My goal is to order it all this weekend and next week shop and prepare with starting day being Tuesday the 3rd (although I have to do lunch duty up at school so the first day may be short.)  I even think a friend of mine will bring her son over to participate in the schooling as well.  I've attended every mass at school that my kids have attended which has been a challenge considering my little 11 month old will not be quiet or sit still.  Thank you Lord for the quiet room in the chapel (saves me!).

Things still to figure out - I need to be more on top of cleaning routine and laundry - I need to  build that into my day somewhere which I haven't figured out where.  I need to continue to clean out sell and organize our things.

I would also like to organize my computer (files, emails, photos), print out photo books, etc.  This is a time consuming thing that may take me years to do.

Something I know I saw someone do on facebook once was 365 days of photos. I  would like to try it and do it on the blog.  I want to take one picture a day at least and post on the blog.  Just to show what one year looks like in our life and heck maybe just keep going after a year.  No idea how good I'll be at keeping that up but we will see.  I think I have to figure out a simple way to get photos off my phone on to this site first.

So my son turns 4 next week and my daughter turns 1.  I've got to get a party planned.  Not sure what we'll do with that either.  Ok that's if for now... back to work.

I am no longer cut out for pets...

Per an earlier post last year we lost our dog and he was our only pet left.  I grew up loving cats and animals.  I had rabbits, cats, and mice as pets growing up and at times was convinced I wanted to be a vet.  I am known by my husband as animal whisperer because often times stray animals seem to find me knowing I will help them.  But that bit me in the butt a couple years ago and I no longer am open to helping strays.  A couple years ago I took in a dog that was lost and it ended up attacking my dog and we had to have his ear repaired.  I took the dog to a no kill shelter.  When we lived in Atlanta I took 6 stray cats to a no kill shelter.  But somehow having 4 kids and a busy life I have been turned away from animals.  Our dog that died was diabetic and I was giving him two insulin shots a day so I wouldn't say I haven't done my share with pets.  But our oldest son has been begging for a hamster for a couple years.  This summer he bought a cage and supplies with his own money at a garage sale so we agreed to get the hamster for him.  We've had this hamster for 2 months and now there is something wrong with it.  My caring nature can't stand to have this animal upstairs in pain or sick so now I'm torn on what do I do about this rodent.  He is itching and has bald spots on him.  Obviously something is going on but we can't take him to a vet.  Simply NOT in the BUDGET!  So we will run by the pet store today to see if they can give any guidance and hopefully not spend a fortune on possible cures.  No more pets for me!!  Call me mean or what you want but I know my limitations and my ability to care for an animal right now and I don't have it in me.  I have never been more sure about anything.... I can't care for an animal right now in my life.  It may change later... it may not.  We'll have to wait and see.

Depend on me in difficult times

So it's no coincidence that when looking for something in the basement that I came across my God Calling book.  I loved yesterday's post.  It was a perfect reminder of what I need right now.  "Rely on me alone. Ask no other help. ....So much retained by you, so much the less will be gained from me."  "Trust completely.  Empty your vessel. I will fill it.  .... Depend on me"  So I am rereading this today to my oldest son and explaining how we should always ask the Lord to help us through all situations in our life first.  How we often try to help ourselves first when we should ask the Lord first.  I am preaching this to him but explaining to him at the same time how Mom even struggles with it.  So then I said let's read what today's passage says.  And how fitting --- "Come to Me, talk to Me, dwell with Me and you will know My Way is a sure way...Come very near to Me."  So I continued my lesson to explain how even when they are so angry at their brother they can quickly say "Jesus be with me" or "Jesus help me" or even go more in-depth but that we should be talking with him constantly throughout our days asking for his help - trusting that he will see us through.  I have definitely drifted over the past few years away from him.  Not too far but not as close as I would like.  I have the task of being the spiritual leader in our home and when I'm not as close as I should be to Jesus then I'm not modeling it well for my kids.  We still do our daily prayers and attend mass but I can model it in so many other ways for them.  I think Jesus is calling out to me by me finding my God calling book and reading these passages.  Even with just this I was able to have a teaching moment with my two oldest about how close they should be with Jesus each day.  Lord help me to be closer to you and to model my spirituality to my children.  Help me today and every day to be a better daughter to you.

Been way too long...

In typical fashion, I start something with great intentions and somehow never finish.  Anyone else out there like that?  I have grand plans, I have every intention of completing grand plans and believe I am fully capable of it in a timeframe that to most would think is completely unreasonable.  So it's no big surprise that my follow through isn't always the best.  Thus this blog!

So I thought I would jump on the blog bandwagon a few years ago and share my life.  I used to think I was fairly good at writing (or at least I had one college professor who thought I was) so why not blog like every other person out there.  Well my lack of follow through could be a good reason.  But I vow to change!!  (maybe don't hold me to it?)

I posted very few posts over the past few years but want to change that.  I recently became unemployed so I am in a transition of trying to figure out how to manage my life, my house, my kids, my time, my marriage, my faith and what better way to do it then to blog about it!

What do I know about blogging and writing? Well nothing.  I suppose I should proof read and take time to really think about something amazing to share but honestly I am a Mom to 4 kids and finding 10 minutes to sit and share a post will be nothing short of a miracle so you get what you get from me.  You'll get what comes to mind on the spot and that's about it.   I'll do my best to not have typos but nonetheless you'll get raw honesty since I won't have the time to make it anything else.

Catch up on last 3 years....We moved and we moved and we moved and we moved.  So we moved once after my 3rd son was born and lived in a rental for 2 years then I had the brillant idea (hubby would tell you stupid) to build a house.  So we built a house while I was pregnant with my 4th.  We couldn't get our landlord to extend our lease so we had to live in temporary housing for 7 weeks then with Grandma for 3 weeks and then we moved into our new home when our daughter was 5 days old.  Daughter?  Did I say Daughter?  Yes I no longer am only raising boys but we were surprised with the birth of our Daughter.  Honestly I didn't think we were capable of making girls so I am still in awe that we have her.  She turns 1 the end of this month.  Time flies!

Our Samuel has had another ITP relapse and this time it doesn't want to go away.  He's classified as chronic and we now realize this is something we will have to continue to deal with.  I'll write more on this later.  I think I remember posting a full ITP post a few years ago.  BUT I will add he's amazing and strong and shown so much courage through all it.  I admire him and love him!

Ok my 10 minutes are nearing an end.  I have lots of things up my sleeve though and want to share them on this blog.  Since I can't afford preschool now that I don't have a job I will be homeschooling my soon to be 4 year old.  I need to spend the next couple of weeks working towards preparing for that.  I have no idea where to begin but plan to follow through (pray for me!)

I also need to figure out how to keep our food costs down by shopping smart for groceries.  More planning research coming my way (pray for me!)

On top of that need to work out time management, home management, exercise (what's that?) and overall health of our family unit ---oh and can't forget cultivating my marriage too (pray for me!)

I'll pray for you if you pray for me.... lots to do.

I suck as a blogger...

So much for blogging about my family and life.   It's been 2 years since my last post and just happened to remember this blog because Picasa or something else pointed me towards it.  So much has changed in the two years I don't even know where I'd begin.  We moved and moved and moving again.  Seems like we're always moving but this last move should be permanent (please Lord!).

We're building a house to be done within in the next 30 days.  Very excited to have our own home and be able to decorate and settle in for the long haul.  But baby #4 is due in 2 weeks so that's a little crazy.  oh and we're sort of homeless at the moment.  Moving into Teresa's house this weekend.  Looking forward to the end of all this turmoil this summer.

(reminder: insert picture of home & me preggo)

The boys are of course so much older.  Alex is turning 3 the end of this month and so adorable.  He has the sweetest personality.  So easy going.  Just a joy for everyone (most the time).  Samuel is 7 and going to start 2nd grade tomorrow.  To think the last time I posted here he wasn't even in Kindergarten yet.  He loves sports and is really quite good at them.  He loves to play outside and build with leggos.  He loves his family and still remains my sensitve emotional one even though you wouldn't guess it.  He's still quiet in school and around those he isn't comfortable with but opeing up more.  William is our social butterfly that we have to keep reinging in.  He loves to be goofy, loud, and the center of attention.  He is obssessed with star wars (samuel also to an extent).  He is an amazing lego builder.  researching building instructions on lego's website and then incorporating different building techniques into his own ships creations.  He is my computer video game kid who doesn't love the outdoors like the other two.  He tolerates it.  William is 8 going to start 3rd grade tomorrow.  Wow where is it going?  He'll be 10 next year and I just can't believe it.  He's almost as tall as me already.

Faith: well somehow (probably my fault - definitely my fault) I am disconnected from it at the moment.  We go to church every Sunday.  Up until the past few weeks the only praying I was doing was with the boys at bedtime but now before I fall asleep I run through some prayers in my mind.  I haven't been doing my reading and just feel a general disconnect from it all.  I suppose I'm in a valley period and just need to keep trudging through and try to read and pray more as that will help me.  Was feeling quite despondent a few weeks ago and was told to give it to the Lord.  So I have been trying to do that and not let negative feelings consume me.

Maximus, dear sweet Max.  He started having problems with his bowels this past April and was having continence issues.  Then he got a horrible spider bite on his leg and we had that removed but then his back legs started having problems.  He lost a lot of weight and couldn't walk.  We were carrying him out to go potty but otherwise he wasn't really moving around much.  He would still get up to eat and seemed ok.  Then a few weeks ago we woke up and he was in obvious pain.  He was breathing rapidly and whining and very uncomfortable.  We decided that day was the day to let him go.  It was so difficult for me to say goodbye and I (we - Sam and I) are still quite sad about it.  He was my first dog, thoroughly attached to me, loyal to me, loved me.  I was with him until the very end and it still makes me cry now thinking about it.  Even though I want to be pet free for awhile, he will always be loved and missed.

(insert photos of Max)


Note: Found this post --- obviously I do suck as a blogger - looks like I started this last August - one year ago and never posted.  I haven't even proofread but will post anyway.  And no pictures inserted -- will come back to that too.  Just thought I should go ahead and post. 8/7/13