Author: Kathleen

week in the life 2014 : saturday in the album

Recently I had a day off without the kids so I powered through and completed this album! It took me most of the day but it feels awesome. I had a lot more photos to deal with since it was a weekend, and I had to leave quite a few out but the ones I chose tell the best stories.

Saturday started out a little rough because it was the morning after Halloween. I was kind of expecting it but it was still hard!

Once I powered through the morning with the kids (which did have its fun parts), however, David took over and gave me a good chunk of time to myself. I used it to knock out all the chores and get some relaxing time in.

After awhile David brought Liam back home (but he kept Meredith) and my friend Lauren came to hang out for a little while.

It’s funny that only this short time ago Liam was just crawling for the first time! Now he is all over the place.

This particular week was just a little bit different than our usual. We generally have dinner with my parents every Friday night, but since it was Halloween that didn’t happen. We also got a date night on Saturday which is more like an every 1-2 month occurrence. I was glad my parents made it into this album though! We dropped the kids at their house and went to a musical in town that my brother helped direct.

That’s Saturday in the album! Next week I’ll be sharing Sunday along with some final thoughts about the project.

April 8, 2015
what i read : march 2015
This month in reading I finished two audiobooks (yay road trips), my book club book, and one faith-based book I was reading for a small group Bible study. Glad the audiobooks picked up my slack!

In the Kingdom of Ice by Hampton Sides – I made a happy discovery that my husband recently acquired several audiobooks on Audible that I want to read. He read listened to this one first and couldn’t stop raving about it to anyone who would listen, so it jumped to the top of my list. It is a true survival story about an ill-fated journey to find the north pole back in the late 19th century. It’s strange to think about now, but they actually thought it might be covered by a warm sea (spoiler: it’s not). Although this was perhaps a tad too detailed for me, I was nonetheless captivated by all that the sailors endured. (4 stars, audio)

Turtle Moon by Alice Hoffman – This book was a little bit magical and a little bit suspenseful, but most of all I just really enjoyed getting to know the characters and it left me feeling hopeful. All good things. (4 stars)

Bad Girls of the Bible by Liz Curtis Higgs – I was reading along with this for a small group Bible study at my church and I will say that it made for lively discussions. I love those women so I will always have a positive association with this book. However, it was kind of cheesy. Okay, really cheesy.

The Girl on the Train by Paula Hawkins – If you’ve heard the hype for this book you might have heard it compared to Gone Girl and I have to say that I agree 100%. I thought it was a complete page-turner, a psychological thriller that kept me guessing till the very end. Although most of the characters weren’t all that likable, I did have some compassion for them. (5 stars)

Reading challenge:

This year I’m participating in Modern Mrs. Darcy’s reading challenge:
- a book you’ve been meaning to read – The Magicians by Lev Grossman (January)
- a book published this year –
- a book in a genre you don’t typically read –
- a book from your childhood –
- a book your mom loves –
- a book that was originally written in a different language –
- a book “everyone” has read but you –
- a book you chose because of the cover –
- a book by a favorite author –
- a book recommended by someone with great taste – Ready Player One by Ernest Cline (February)
- a book you should have read in high school –
- a book that’s currently on the best seller list – The Girl on the Train by Paula Hawkins
April 7, 2015
LIGHT : march

I’m going to break format this month for my one little word update. My primary reason for choosing the word “light” was because that’s how I want to feel on the inside. Overall I do feel that way in most areas, either making progress or doing well, but with parenting I feel like I’m going backwards. It’s been a huge struggle and I’ll probably write more about it in the days to come.

The prompt this month was all about making concrete plans and actionable steps toward multiple goals. When I thought about it, there were five areas that I wanted to make progress in that are separate from my monthly goals. I chose three actions to take for each of them, and here they are:

real food

1 / continue using frugal real food meal plans.

2 / don’t bring into the house what we shouldn’t eat.

3 / try baking bread.

declutter

1 / purge one area or room each month.

2 / actually take stuff to goodwill.

3 / do a “no buy” month.

fitness

1 / sign up for a race (at least a 5k) every three months.

2 / run twice per week.

3 / aim for 10,000 steps per day.

faith

1 / put a devotional book by the coffee stuff to read while it brews.

2 / begin bedtime prayers with the kids.

3 / choose one more way to volunteer.

parenting

1 / spend one-on-one time with Meredith most every day (even if just 15 minutes).

2 / go on adventures.

3 / pray for my kids and my parenting daily.

Here is what this month looked like in my album:

I printed out the handout on kraft paper and wrote on it using a white gel pen. This was completely inspired by Donya. The only other thing I did for the month was update my monthly reflection card and add a couple of filler cards.

These action items are year-long quests so right now I’m not too overwhelmed trying to fit them in.

April 6, 2015
link roundup / 27

>I love to support other bloggers and one of my favorites, Elise Cripe, just launched preorder for her amazing planner + goal-setting book (pictured above). I’ll probably end up ordering one even though I would be totally fine without it.

>One of my new friends from TxSC, Miranda, has a blog I love. I especially wanted to point out these posts she wrote about how to have a positive social media experience and creating a personal energy management profile.

>Beautiful writing from Erin as always, this time about how we answer our kiddos’ bigger questions.

>Handy tips for using Google maps.

>Love this post about hanging in there through the first year of motherhood.

Somehow I managed to post every day this week! I doubt I can keep that up but hey it’s an accomplishment. I’m grateful that today I have the day off and I am taking advantage of the fact that daycare is open to catch up on a bunch of personal projects that I never have time for.

I hope you all have a wonderful Easter weekend. He is risen!

April 3, 2015
meredith lately

getting ready for bed she puts on her “nursing tank” and grabs two baby dolls…
Meredith: I need two babies because I have two nursers!
proceeds to pull down one side of her tank top and stuff a baby in her armpit.

after hitting her head on a chair…
Meredith: dangit!
Me: what was that?
Meredith: the chair say dangit.

during a discussion about how she is going to go to a different school when she is old enough for kindergarten…
Meredith: and Imma get BIG boobs and get milk in them and I’m gonna feed my baby!
Me: sure!
Meredith: (seriously) I’m GONNA get milk in them.

while doing a floor puzzle and Liam keeps interfering…
Meredith: he keeps messing it up!!!
Me: I told you it’s not going to be easy to do with him around.
Meredith: but you can put him in his cage!
Me: that’s not nice!
Meredith: well I’m not nice.

Me: alright let’s sit down for dinner.
Meredith: I don’t wanna eat dinner tonight!
Me: we have to eat dinner every night.
Meredith: (sigh) but it’s HARD for me.

while brushing my hair and simultaneously playing with her baby doll…
Meredith: I’m right here by my baby because she’s crying.
Me: oh, you’re such a good little mommy.
Meredith: I’m not a mommy, I’m a princess.

while doing a puzzle and a piece fell on the floor…
Meredith: pick it up!
Me: can you pick it up please?
Meredith: but I can’t!!
Me: yes you can.
Meredith: but I just want you to pick it up because I love you.

while reading a book about Michaelangelo (who she calls microphone and insists I do the same) and studying a picture of the Pietà…
Meredith: why is Jesus broken?
Me: because he died. Some bad men killed him.
Meredith: but he will get fixed?
Me: yes he came back to life because he is God!

while telling her a story about her older cousin…
Me: one time when Lucas was a little baby-
Meredith: but where was I?
Me: you weren’t born yet.
Meredith: I was in heaven?
Me: well God knew you would be born soon but you were only in his mind and heart, you weren’t alive yet.
Meredith: I was in Jesus’s tummy?
Me: …

I want to remember…

…her continued mispronunciations. She says “lose” for “use” and “gotfor” for “forgot” and “holding don” for “holding on” and “tector” for “protect” and “Chick-er-a” for “Chick-fil-a” (although that one is ending; I’ve heard her say it the right way a few times and I correct her.)

…the way her eyebrows go up and she looks so earnest when she is singing; how her eyes turn to slits when she is really smiling; how her face seems to get flat when she is crying.

…how she still talks about our old dogs Eddie and Cleo all the time. How the place on the carpet we covered with a small rug because Eddie ripped it up is “Eddie’s spot” and she is afraid of it. How she used to ask to be carried over it but now she is brave and will run across it.

…how she wakes up in the middle of almost every night and needs to locate whatever toy or item she took to bed with her, usually her monkey.

…that she has rituals of asking me the same questions over and over, expecting the same answer like: “Why does Liam have a diaper?” “Because he’s a baby.”

…that she asks David to “read” her a story every night, but she really wants him to tell her a story about our lives before her. I want to remember how she asked to hear the story about our honeymoon every night for weeks, and how every time when we tell these stories she asks where she was and why she wasn’t there.

…that she prefers to eat all her food cold, no matter what it is. (Ew.)

…our many trips to the little park down the street and that she is always delighted if another kid is there. I want to remember how she wants to swing on every swing and that she loves it when I swing with her.

…that she is confused by her own strong emotions and needs help learning how to handle them; that I need to retrain myself to feel compassion instead of anger in the midst of her meltdowns.

…that she is desperate for time alone with me (and that’s why she can be so difficult sometimes). I want to remember the way that she copies everything I do.

Love this little girl. She is the great challenge and joy of my life.

April 2, 2015