Talking about Prayer

Today I am talking about prayer.  But not here!  You have to go over to the Catholic Sistas blog to see what I have to say.  My first post there, Prayer on Autopilot?, went live today.  Come check it out and while you're there check out all the other wonderful posts.
Come on over and join the fun!!

Fun Weekend

Yes, there was one of these at the party.

A party is not complete without an inflatable slide/"rock" wall.  We went to a party on Friday night that some friends of mine were having at their house.  I hadn't seen these friends or many of the people at the party in years!!  In that time, people had gotten married, had kids, and those that already had kids now had much older kids.  It was great to see so many people and catch up, even if it was brief.  We didn't stay long because of our two little ones and the fact that we walked to the party.  Walking to the party was a GREAT idea!!  The boys fell asleep on the way there and then again on the way home.

The best part?  They easily fell asleep that night too!!

Decluttering and cleaning MUST go hand-in-hand.  My husband does not get this concept.  We are "this close" to getting our house finally ready for that big For Sale sign in the front yard.  This close!  He spent Saturday cleaning the siding and putting down mulch.  I spent part of it inside trying to clean. He kept telling me to forget about cleaning, just to declutter everything.  But how can you NOT clean while you're decluttering?  That's what I want to know.  I ignored him and went about my cleaning AND decluttering.  As I tried to explain, I declutter things better when I am also cleaning.  When I have to move things to clean, that's when I start thinking more about whether that item needs to be out or not. 

The rooms I did get to on Saturday look great, both clean and decluttered!!  My ability to get a lot down is now hampered by the fact that the two little men in my life get bored watching me clean after a while and want to be awake a lot more these days.

So close!!!  {sigh}

The stroller needs a van.  Seriously.  I love our stroller.  We take it for walks in the neighborhood and we've even taken it on the trail that circles the huge city park near our neighborhood.  It streers easily and is very smooth.  Our Sunday outing was to our church's annual parish picnic.  Because it was on a farm and there would be Mass outside followed by the picnic, I wanted to bring the stroller rather than using the Double Snap and Go stroller that the carseats fit in.  I knew the babies would be way too hot if they had to sit in their carseats that whole time.  The challenge was getting the stroller into my husband's Camry.  I have a Honda Fit, so that was totally out of the question.  He had to pretty much take the whole thing apart to fit it in the trunk of the car.  But we managed to get it in along with the cooler while the back seat of the car held the two babies, the diaper bag, our two chairs, and one other bag containing a blanket, sunscreen, and bug spray.

We're going to Atlanta for Christmas this year.  We NEED a van before then or we may have to bring two cars.  Seriously!

Never thought I'd find myself sitting on a hay bale during Mass feeding a baby.  So Sunday's picnic was preceeded by Mass.  The picnic and Mass were at a horse farm just outside the city (but still in the county).  They had hay bales set up in rows for people to sit on as well as chairs for the seniors and others who needed something more sturdy (not to mention more comfortable).  Ethan had not eaten his full bottle at the meal previous to leaving for the farm.  As I suspected he needed the next one right in the middle of Mass.  We had gotten there late so left everything in the car and just took the boys in their car seats.  Why I didn't at least grab the diaper bag, I don't know.  So halfway through Mass hubby had to run back to the car to grab the diaper bag so I could feed Ethan.  Once Mass was over, Hubby went back to the car again, taking both car seats with him (a friend of ours and I held the babies), assembled the stroller, grabbed the rest of our stuff, and made his way back to us once again.  I think he got his exercise for the day.

In the future the picnic will be a lot more fun for the boys.  There was a mini petting "zoo," pony rides, a clown, and, of course, ... an inflatable bouncy house kind of thing.

No party is complete without some sort of inflatable ride.

7 Quick Takes Friday, vol. 23

Wow, I haven't done a Quick Takes post since mid-April!!  Hope I'm not too rusty; here goes nothing ...

~1~

It's been over a month now, but we did have the boys baptised in July.  I do have plans to write up a blog post and include some pictures of the day.  I'm sure some readers are interested in how things went and want to see pictures!!  I can tell you that there was much wailing but thankfully little gnashing of teeth.  More to come ... eventually.

~2~

I finally finished writing thank you cards out for all gifts that we have received for the babies.  That has been a constant task of mine for the last 12 weeks.  It takes a long time when you can only do a couple a night and then some nights just get way too busy and none get done.  And I really wanted to write nice thank you notes, really let people know how much we appreciate their generosity.  So it takes time.  And now that this is done, I've turned my attention to birth announcements.  Yes, the boys are 12 weeks old, going to officially be 3 months next week, but I still wanted to do this.  Besides, there are people who are not online that haven't seen any pictures (the great-grandmothers, other relatives) so I figured they would be delighted to get an announcement, even one that arrives 3 months late ... or maybe 4 months.

~3~

I have to say it ... I'm tired.  Ahhh, I feel better.  That is all.

~4~

Many months ago in #3 of this previous quick takes I mentioned that I had received some good news from work, but couldn't yet share the details.  I can now!!  Actually, I could have a while ago, but I never got around to it.  That's just my world these days.  The announcement: I have been approved for a sabbatical leave starting in January of 2012.  I'm very excited about this!  I will be home (working from home) for six months and the boys will be able to stay home with me.  That's very exciting!!  I will be working on a project that has been haunting me for years.  With this sabbatical I'll be able to concentrate on just that and not have to worry about my other job tasks, meetings, supervising people, etc., etc.

You might wonder what it is exactly that I'll be doing.  Well, it may not sound that exciting.  I will be working on massaging a database that is currently a jumble of information to make it worthy of converting into another format.  Along with this I have an idea for a survey, some digitizing possibilities, and a blog.  All of which will hopefully lead to some presentation opportunities in the future and maybe an article or two.  Oh, and about that blog: I plan on keeping a blog of my progress, thoughts and ideas along the way.  It could come in handy down the road.

The best part of all: working from home on my own schedule and having the boys with me.  I'll have to be a master organizer or it could be a waste of 6 months!!

~5~

Even though I am excited about being home for six months with my little guys, I really do like the daycare they are currently with.  We were extremely lucky to get in considering that they originally told us they had no openings.  Once they realized I was going to be short-term, they were able to fit us in.  It is really close to work.  Classes at the University started this week and as a result my parking situation had to change. I am now parking closer to the daycare than my office!  The people there are great and you can really tell that they enjoy the children and really get to know them.  Most likely we'll find a new daycare for them to go to starting next July, which is kind of sad since I really do like where they currently are.  But for a variety of reasons it makes sense to place them elsewhere at that point.

~6~

Have you checked out the new blog I am a contributing author for?  You must check it out if you haven't yet.  I am so impressed with the quality of writing so far.  I have a post waiting in the wings that will go up on Monday, but do check it out for the other authors!  You can also "like" the Catholic Sistas blog on Facebook and links to the blog posts will show up in your newsfeed.  And while it is a Catholic blog, if you are not Catholic it is still a good blog with faith-filled posts.  Any Christian will find some uplifting, inspiring, and thought-provoking posts to enjoy.

~7~

Have I mentioned that I'm tired? 

Check out Jen's blog for more Quick Takes!

What did Mary see?

One afternoon I was sitting in our family room with one of the boys in my arms.  He was stretched out in front of me with his head in my hands and his feet against my chest.  Perfect for making eye contact.

As I sat there looking at him and trying to get him to look back at me and potentially smile (oh, how I love to see those smiles that are still so few and far between!!), I wondered what it was like for Mary to look into her baby's face.  Her baby ... Jesus; her child ... the Son of God.

What an amazing responsibility.  What did she see in those eyes?  In that face?  What were her thoughts as she looked at this helpless little baby who was also her God?

I can't even imagine!!  Wow, what a thought!

I feel overwhelmed at times when I think of the awesome responsibility I have in raising my two boys as faithful Catholics and servants of God the Father.  The sense of responsibility Mary must have felt had to have been enormous ... totally unfathomable to me.  She was raising a son who WAS God.

So as I looked into my baby's face and watched his jerky arm movements and the eyes that wouldn't quite look at me, I wondered about the baby Jesus.  Was He the same way? 

However, I wondered most about His mother.  What did she see when she looked into that face and those eyes?  Did He have those same jerky arm movements that little babies all have?  Or was He different?  Did He cry for her in the pitiful way infants sometimes do?  Did He keep her up at night?  Or was He different?

So many questions going through my head.

Mary pondered much in her heart and I bet she had many thoughts about what would become of her son when she looked into those little infant eyes of His.  Did those thoughts fill her with joy or sorrow?   Did she fully realize the sorrow and suffering that was in store for her?

Suffering is a part of motherhood and the Blessed Mother knows this better than anyone.  I find comfort in knowing that I am not alone as I begin this journey of motherhood.  As I look at my little one, cuddled in my arms, I like to think that Mary once did the same thing.  She is a mother and she is my mother.  With her by my side I know I can raise my boys well.

Blessed Mother, give me the strength needed to raise my boys in this crazy world, to share with them a devotion to you, and to lead them, through you, to your divine Son.  Mother Mary, pray for us.

Who is this?

Having identical twins comes with its challenges ... and I'm sure I don't even know the half of it yet!!

This morning the boys awoke a little before 7am.  I had just finished getting ready so went in to start getting them ready.  Hubby came in just as I finished changing and dressing Peter.  He told me two bottles were ready to go and then wisked Peter away.  I got Ethan up and went through the changing routine with him and then brought him downstairs to join Daddy and brother for breakfast.

Settling myself into the recliner with baby and bottle, my husband asks me, "Who is this?"

It took a moment for me to realize what he was asking me.  He didn't know which child I had changed first and he was now feeding.

I had to laugh!!  And do a double-take myself to make sure that yes, it was Peter he was holding and Ethan that I was holding.

This is only the beginning!!  We have lots of fun in store for us as these two boys get bigger and look more and more alike every day.  We're in BIG trouble!!

A New Adventure!!

Life is a journey so with each new thing we take on it is like embarking on a new adventure.  That is exactly what I and several friends of mine are doing.  And we want to invite you to come check us out.

We are starting a new blog called Catholic Sistas.  It is all things Catholic from a group of Catholic "sistas" who like to talk ... a lot!!  I hope my readers here will come over and check us out.  We're just getting started and there are just a few posts up, but the writing talent is easy to see.  I'm already feeling humbled by my fellow sistas writing abilities!

Nothing should change here.  I'll still be posting as infrequently as always and always with a desire to post more frequently.  I'll be sure to link up my posts over at Catholic Sistas when I do post there.  But do check it out for the other writers, we have some really good ones in the group!!

Wordless Wednesday ...

... with a few words.

About 8 weeks old (I think).  Peter on left, Ethan on right.

Cheering for our favorite baseball teams!!
Go Red Sox!!
Go Gamecocks!!
(Peter on left, Ethan on right)

Peter is already hogging the remote ... and falling asleep in front of the TV.
Such a boy!

Peter sticking his tongue out at Mommy.

Ethan cozying up to Daddy.  So cute!

The Wipes are Screaming??

The middle of the night is NOT my finest hour.  Case in point:

It is 2 or 3 o'clock in the morning, just after a feeding.  As we get settled back into bed:
Me to Hubby: I hear the babies' screams in my dreams and it makes me think they're right here, like I forgot to put them back to bed after we fed them.

Hubby: In the bed?

Me: Yes, I start looking for them and wondering what happened to them.  Then I realize that I'm hearing the wipes.

Hubby: The wipes are screaming?

Me: Yes ... wait, no ... wipes?  Did I say the wipes?  [Insert hysterical laughing]

Hubby: What is screaming?

Me: [more hysterical laughing]

Hubby just looks at me confused.  Finally I'm able to compose myself enough to tell him that what I was trying to say was that it was the babies' cries through the baby monitor that I was hearing in my dreams.

The wipes!! Ha ha ha!  Cracks me up every time I think about it.  And this happened about two weeks ago!!  The wipes are screaming!!

What silly things have you said or done in the middle of the night when caring for an infant (or two)?