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Thanks!

In which I answer the age old question: “How do you do it all?”

— 1 —
Small Steps

The other day, Stephen approached me with a twinkle in his eye. “You know,” he said, “your book is selling for $999 on Amazon … Don’t we have some of those around here?”

Indeed it is. And indeed we do. Just a very few, mind you. I explained the concept of “out of print” to the child, but still he was not convinced that we should not actually be making a killing on the internet.

Soon, sweetie. Soon.

Ave Maria Press plans to make Small Steps available to everyone in the spring of 2013, and my co-author Elizabeth and I will be so happy when they do. Stay tuned here for updates!

— 2 —
Runner’s Highs and Lows

I have been continuing my running workouts, and as I run, I think about the concept of “runner’s high” often. Sometimes, I experience runner’s lows. As in (usually between miles 1 and 2), I run while thinking:

Why does anyone Ever! Do! This!? Why do I? Do! This??? …

I think my leg is broken. Or maybe that’s my lung.

Whatever it is, something is definitely not functioning properly. I should put an end to this foolishness and seek medical intervention Right! Now!

But then there are highs, too. Usually somewhere between miles 2 and 3, I think I start to lose my mind. It’s then that I begin to think:

This is the awesomest thing I have Ever! Done! … I should Always! Be! Running! Everyone should Always! Be! Running! Because obviously, running is the Best! Thing! Ever! Let it Never! Stop!

Do people know about this? Because seriously, everyone should Always! Be! Running!

RUN! NING! NOW! Whhhhhheeeeeee!

I’m pretty sure both experiences are somewhat removed from reality, and I am currently trying to find a balance between the two. I will keep you posted.

— 3 —
Apple Pie

It is officially autumn in New England, so I baked two apple pies this week. I ignored the piles of laundry, the un-answered emails in my inbox, the unwashed sheets lying filthily in everybody’s beds, and I baked two apple pies from scratch. Yes, I did, and yes, it was worth it. And you should too. Don’t forget the vanilla ice cream.

— 4 —
Sleep Deprived

Earlier this week, my man mumbled these words: “I will drive the kids to school in the morning.”

SEXIER WORDS WERE NEVER SPOKEN.

— 5 —
Wine-ing

Sometimes I think I should not drink so much wine … And then I cry.

— 6 —
Laudamus Te

There is a beautiful new magazine you need to know about:

Laudamus Te

They describe themselves like this:

A seasonal publication which provides the daily Mass readings for the Extraordinary form of the Roman Catholic Mass as well as explanatory essays, commentaries by various saints and the Church Fathers, and devotional essays by Latin Mass priests and religious. The publication is intended to draw the faithful into a better understanding of the Mass and make possible deeper meditation and devotion as well to educate and inform those who are new to the Extraordinary form.

I know that you will enjoy this publication. I happen to know the people behind this project, and they happen to be a little bit awesome. So I hope that you will support them, with your subscriptions/donations/publicity.

Laudamus Te … Thank you!

— 7 —
The Blow Out

I had my roots touched up today, the stylist blow dried my hair before I left, and it looks amazing.

HOW DOES SHE DO THAT?

I have the blow dryer with diffuser. I have the hot air brush with ceramic core. I try to copy what my stylist does, and yet I always wind up a little more Gene than Jennifer.

Help?

Is this do-able at home? Is there a magic product or strategy that I am missing? Help a mom out.

—

That’s all you get! Hope your weekend is great! (Go see Jen for more of these!)

If it weren’t for 4:00 am, I might have only a superficial relationship with Jesus.

When I find myself awake at 4:00 am, though, I take a deep a breath and wait for the anxiety to begin. Though I am not generally an anxious person, at that hour, anxiety never does disappoint. It rushes to fill the silence inside my head. It says things like:

“That deadline! How are you ever going to meet that deadline?”

“Those children! How will you ever feed, clothe, educate, entertain, and transport those children while protecting their precious souls?”

“That paycheck! How will it ever be enough to provide for your needs?”

“This life! How are you not a miserable failure at everything … EVERYTHING!?”

And other helpful things …

I know these are lies and distractions, but I never feel more helpless and alone in the face of lies and distractions than I do at 4:00 am. Even with my beloved husband fast asleep beside me.

So that’s when I get real close to Jesus. Over and over again, I pray, Sacred Heart of Jesus, I place my trust in Thee. Sacred Heart of Jesus, I place my trust in Thee. Sacred Heart of Jesus, I place my trust in Thee.

I give voice to trust until I feel it.

I don’t lie awake every night, but I have come to appreciate these pockets of prayer whenever God sees fit to wake me for them.

Teach me to see you, to feel you, and to know you in the peace and stillness of this night. Touch my heart and show me where you lie patiently waiting for me — beneath the noise and chaos, in every moment of every day. Amen.

— 1 —
Conflicted

A conversation from my morning …

Daniel: I am so sad that I will never have any children.

Me: What makes you say that? Why wouldn’t you have children someday?

Daniel: Because … I will never kiss a girl.

— 2 —
For the Birds

We took the kids to a live Birds of Prey show at the Audubon Center last weekend. Others might have come to see eagles and falcons, but I was there for the owls. Here’s who was the star of the day, in my opinion:

If it were legal to keep these as pets, I would have several. Dozen.

— 3 —
Homemade Bread

You know, I used to make homemade bread all the time. When the first half of our family was still small, I baked every other day to supply for all our bread needs. I was adorable, I think. Anyway, fast forward about 10 years and I don’t do that anymore. At this stage in my life, I am okay with that, and my bread machine usually gets me through.

But last night I hit an all-time low. In a moment of weakness and desperation, I picked up a box of bread machine mix from the store. I wanted fresh bread to serve with dinner, knew I would have almost no time to even mix up my own batch of bread machine dough, and I had successfully used one of these mixes before.

But not so last night. All I can think was that maybe the yeast packet that came in the box had expired, but this loaf was no loaf. It was a very small brick. I could not even make a packaged box of bread machine mix come out right in a bread machine. It was a very low moment for me.

I might need to redeem myself this weekend by making a batch of these delicious cinnamon rolls — easily the most impressive thing I have ever made with my bread machine before. Here’s hoping.

— 4 —
Pink Eye Update

If you read the post below this one, you might be nervous about even reading on this website today, for fear of contracting the highly contagious and extremely undesirable Death Eye. But guess what? It isn’t Death Eye!

I was thrilled yesterday to discover that I am merely extremely allergic to something in the air, that happens to blast straight into my eyes when I am driving the van with the vents open. I realized this when it happened to me again yesterday. I was weeping as I drove to pick up Ambrose at cross country practice, “It’s not Pink Eye! It’s just a horrible allergic reaction to air! Thank you, Lord!”

— 5 —
Cashless

This having a no debit card while I am waiting for my bank to send me a new one thing? It’s getting old fast. I use that card for everything. EVERYTHING. Now I can do nothing. NOTHING. Amazon doesn’t work, Netflix doesn’t work, and Dunkin Donuts doesn’t take checks. The good news is that I am probably having the most frugal week of my entire life.

— 6 —
Busy Days Ahead

The first week of October, I will run my first 5K in about 20 years, make a quick trip to Connecticut to send the November issue of Catholic Digest to the printer, spend two days in Boston taping the remainder of this season’s The Gist, and arrive home just in time for the weekend of the fair.

Please join me in my denial of what this schedule will mean for my personal sanity, state of my laundry piles, and cleanliness of my bathroom.

— 7 —
Go Outside and Play

I just realized how beautiful a day it is outside today. The big kids will still have to complete their schoolwork, but the little kids are getting tossed out into the yard. Right now.

Hope your weekend is great! (Go see Jen for more of these!)

No? Too bad. I’m doing this anyway. Here goes …

Do you know what is one of the worst feelings in the world? It’s when you are driving home from dropping the kids off at youth group, looking forward to a mini date night with your sweet and patient husband, and then you feel a twitch in your left eye. And your brain starts to do this:

Hey, my eye is itching. No, my eye is actually hurting. And — oh wow! — watering too. A lot. Wait, maybe there is something in my eye. No, there is nothing in my eye. Maybe I have allergies. Oh, there’s the itching again. And hurting. And watering. Oh please God, DONOTLETTHISBEPINKEYE! DONOTLETTHISBEPINKEYE! Did you hear me?? DONOTLETTHISBEPINKEYE!

And yet a dose of Benadryl, a gallon of Visene, a pathetic attempt at re-doing of the mascara, and 90 minutes later, you are pretty sure this is indeed pink eye. Also known as Death Eye. To those of us who have enjoyed its presence in our multi-child homes in the past. So. Here we go. Life is full of surprises and opportunities to practice humility (Elephant Woman? No, that’s just my reflection in the mirror) and patience (Just how many sticky eyes will I be dealing with in the coming week?).

Moving on … do you ever miss having babies in diapers? I know it’s really dumb, but I do. I miss the (pre-poop) smell of Pampers. I miss how, in my cloth diaper days, I used to revel in the sight of them hanging on the line, brilliant white in shining sun.

But two of my younger boys just appeared at my side. They had donned old t-shirts … on their legs. As in they pushed their legs through the arm holes and pulled the t-shirts up over toward their naked chests. They looked remarkably like overgrown babies wearing diapers. They were laughing themselves silly at the sight of each other and I was all, “What is that? What do you have on? Oh … I see … Do you have anything on underneath those? Uhhh, never mind. Don’t answer that. Just … just … yeah, go take those off somewhere.”

So no. No to the missing of the diapers. To everything there is a time and place. No diapers for now.

That’s my 10 minutes. You’re welcome. Go do yours now.

— 1 —
Robbed

I spent the last 45 minutes chasing down a fraudulent charge that was charged to my debit card at BarnesandNoble.com. The charge is in the process of being refunded and my debit card has been cancelled, but can I just say that this is not fair? When Dan’s card was hacked a few months ago, the crooks were making their way through France and Germany, buying cases of expensive wine, but I get thieves who read instead of traveling the world while drinking? Figures.

— 2 —
The Gist

The new season started last week, but I have been so busy with the start of school, that I have yet to watch a complete episode. Will you check it out with me, and let us know what you think? And then please like us on Facebook, so you can participate in our polls and discussions. See you there!

— 3 —
Running

Late this summer, I picked up running again. After years of debilitating joint pain that made it impossible for me to run regularly, I am healed (I think)! It’s a miracle (I think)! This is great news for me because I really enjoy running and was so sad to give it up. I even signed up to run a 5K in a couple of weeks. My goal is to make it through the race and not come in last. A pretty safe goal, I think, because there is bound to be someone there walking, right? I’m banking on that.

Also, because I am a total dork and unashamed to admit it, I timed myself running a practice 5K last night and then compared my results to the girls’ results in a recent cross country meet that Ambrose participated in. And guess what? I totally beat some of those whippersnappers! Should I call them up and encourage them to enter my race? Nah, just kidding. Sort of. No really, kidding.

Does anyone have running shoes they recommend? Mine are okay (Saucony), but I am really interested in getting a very supportive pair of shoes, to reduce the likelihood that I will go back to my achey joint ways.

— 4 —
Dinner

The cooler temperatures of fall always inspire me to try some new recipes, and there is nothing quite like Pinterest for finding some great new recipes to try. One recent winner in our house was this super easy chicken. It’s called World’s Best Chicken, and I must say it pretty nearly lives up to its name, even if only because 1) it’s not horrible for you 2) you can put it together in minutes, and 3) everyone actually eats it. WINNER!

— 5 —
My Baby

He is six. I am not kidding. But it kind of feels like God must be. How else to explain the fact that my baby — my sweet newborn infant — is now six years old?

— 6 —
Ten Minutes

I really like Rachel’s 10 minute idea, don’t you? Let’s hold her to it.

— 7 —
Catholic Digest

Our October issue, featuring contributions from Sarah Reinhard, Daria Sockey, Simcha Fisher, Karen Edmisten, and more of your favorites, will be arriving in subscribers’ mailboxes very soon. Are you one of them? Don’t miss out — sign up today!