Mama-luia

Hello there, readers. Long time, no blog. There's plenty to say about back-to-school happenings, life in general, but I thought I'd start instead with a pop quiz: What do  James van der Beek... (aka "Dawson") Chip Gaines... and my husband have in common? If you guessed, "occasionally unruly grooming styles,"  you would in fact be correct,  but the answer we were looking for is... They all have five children. Yes, you read that correctly.  Coming the end of March 2019, another little bouncing baby will join our clan. (Not actually Isaiah's reaction when we told him. Ha! Actually, he and his siblings danced on the front porch with joy  while eating a fudgesicle after we shared our news with them.  {I'm never one to let an important announcement or milestone pass without dessert of some sort...}) We are very happy and excited, but also deeply humbled by being given the ...

Outside my window... My "lawn" has become a jungle of weeds and the sky is rather overcast. The cool overcast morning makes me think of two of my favourite things -- autumn, and the East Coast. I always tell my Ontario friends and neighbours with a grin, "Oh I LOVE this weather! It's just like home!" when it's grey and drizzly. They think I'm nuts. But my hair has changed it's texture, moving away from the Atlantic Ocean and the resulting moisture in the air. I miss my East Coast hair. I am thinking... about this delicious blueberry muffin I am eating, which I made, thankyouverymuch, from blueberries I picked with my children. I felt like Little Sal's mom that day from my beloved Robert McCloskey book, and unlike Little Sal's mom, I didn't manage to lose any of them to bears! That blueberry-picking day will go down in history as "the day mommy actually planned and executed something something fun!" Indeed, Noah excitedly s...

Outside my window... there is still much snow on the ground, but I also see the icicles dripping from my roof; the temperatures are rising, and Spring will finally arrive (supposedly?). I can't wait. Well said. I am thinking... that as much as I buck limitations and restrictions -- nobody puts baby in a corner! -- I feel my best when I operate within them. Specifically, calorie-counting and budgeting. I took the week off from counting my calories during the Octave of Easter because... Easter... and I hadn't brought my food scale to Halifax, and it's vaguely annoying tracking my food. Surprise, surprise, I gained weight (not a lot, mind you, but still). Now I am back on the bandwagon and I feel so much more in control! Likewise, I've reverted to paying cash for groceries. Yes, I feel a little silly walking around the grocery store, doing a prolonged addition problem as I add each item to my cart (and yes, I am literally writing prices and adding on paper, ...

I love blogging and I want to blog more. But sometimes... just the mere idea of coming up with something to 'interesting' to write paralyzes me. Yet, because I love writing so much, I refuse to let the perfect be the enemy of the good, and so I decided to blog about something slightly prosaic, in part to just keep me in the habit. I'm blogging about what we ate each night. Although, I'm not convinced that what, or at least how, one eats at dinner is insignificant. In my bygone days of youth ministry, we were told during training to ask the teens, as a conversation opener, "What did you have for dinner?" It really is amazing what insight you can get into people's family dynamics just by inquiring into that one subject. And of course, more and more studies are coming out, saying a shared family meal is correlated to lower instances of substance abuse, depression, eating disorders, and risky sexual behavior; eating together matters. But... and that is...

At 13 or 14 weeks pregnant, I was out grocery shopping with my three born children when a woman stopped me to comment on my kids. She had nice things to say, to be sure, but the tenor of the conversation changed drastically when Isaiah blurted out excitedly "and guess what?! Mommy has a new baby in her tummy!" Immediately her face withered into an expression of disgust. "You're not having another one, are you?" I tried my best to be kind in the face of her inappropriate comment. After all, I was (am!) excited to be having another child. Plus, my kids were right there listening . "Yes we are, actually!" All smiles and warmth from me. "How far along are you?" she asked. When I told her, she said "you're not even in your second trimester and you're already showing?! What's the matter with you ?!" At this point, I was so hurt, so ashamed that I had to fight back tears. I slowly responded "Well, that's...

Do you love "Before and After" posts as much as me? Makeovers, whether for the home or the person, are always so amazing. Not only is it exciting to see the side by side pictures of the impressive transformations, it's always a delight to hear from the transformee how the makeover impacted them personally. The surface work of remodelling a kitchen or a whole new hairstyle and wardrobe brings about interior change as well. My own "before and after" isn't nearly so dramatic because there's hardly anything to see as different from the outside . BEFORE : I wouldn't say I was unhappy before we enrolled the boys in school. There were, and still are, many things I value about homeschooling in general and our own homeschooling journey in particular. This post was sincere; I really did enjoy it. It's worth noting, though, that I much preferred it when they were younger. I actually like making play-doh creations and finger-painting and readi...

People ! It is my final day as twenty-something (and by -something, I mean, -nine. As in, it's my final day being twenty-nine). Clearly this needs to be documented for posterity's sake. Here are 7 Quick Takes in honour of my roarin' twenties. - 1 - I met this guy just one month short of my twentieth birthday.  Here we are when we were young and unmarried, looking way less tired. In case you were wondering, it was not love at first sight.  Not even close. He approached me at an event that was being run by CCO . He knew a surprising amount of information about me, considering we had never met, so I was put off by his eagerness. I considered it to be a hidden agenda. It was, I guess. He kinda fancied me from the get-go. But I was busy discerning a religious vocation. Ahem. Naturally, I came around (see subsequent takes). - 2 - After a winding road of studies, (I attended three different institutions, although my heart's alma ...

Jen from Conversion Diary wrote about the ideas that changed her a while back, and I have been thinking about what ideas, if any, affected me similarly ever since I read that post. I've finally compiled my list of five. ~ 1 ~ Multiple subpersonalities I always thought it was indicative of instability or immaturity if a person acted very differently depending on who's company they were in. The goal of wellness, I thought, was to be as integrated as possible. My psychiatrist a while ago told me there is a school of thought that rather sees each person as a composite of many different subpersonalities, and each subpersonality or persona needs an opportunity to come to the forefront or else the whole person experiences unrest. This has completely revitalized my way of seeing myself, particularly as a mother. In my previous idea of "integration" I believed the ideal mother to be a nurturing, ever-patient, sit-on-the-floor-and-play-endless-games-of-peekaboo type. ...

I'm not sure whether I conveyed what I had intended to with my last post ; I am not wallowing around, feeling unattractive. While I certainly have moments of feeling insecure about this or that aspect of my appearance, for the most part, I look in the mirror and feel quite delighted by what I see . I believe myself to be beautiful. The problem is, to what extent do I need to 'enhance' or 'adorn' that beauty with physical things? That question can't possibly be answered right now. I think it will be a continuous process of examining my heart (as in, in dressing in a certain way, who am I trying to please? What am I trying to say about myself?). For now, I want to be a bit more practical... and fun! So here is a little sampling of beautiful things that are inspiring my upcoming Operation: Defrump-ify.  1. This dress from eshakti .  I love the colour, the neckline, the little cap sleeves, the embroidery.  It's gorgeous, I say! 2. ...

"Beauty will save the world." (So said Dostoevsky, so it must be true.) I have been thinking about this quotation a lot lately. I could easily make a case for beauty in the liturgy saving the world, for beauty in art -- broadly speaking -- for doing so; it seems perfectly sensible and true. Beauty, if you're up on your philosophy, is a transcendental, convertible with truth, goodness and being itself. Since God is all-good, and all-truth, He must also be all-beautiful . So things of beauty bring our hearts and minds to Him. This is simple enough for me to grasp and believe. What becomes more difficult is understanding how this should apply to me . I feel like I have two minds on this subject. On the one hand, I think too much an emphasis on external beauty is unhealthy. It can lead to vanity and insecurity, covetousness and materialism, and you-name-it sin. Plus it says in 1 Peter "your beauty should not come from outward adornment... Rather it should ...

So I decided to go ahead today and write a 5 Favourites post for the lovely Hallie's linkup.You see, life is a bit hectic right now, and blogging is my favourite form of recreation (next to  eating Doritos doing calligraphy while listening to Mozart). 1. Instant Age Rewind Eraser by Maybelline I am makeup illiterate. I'm intimidated by the huge wall of products when I walk in a drugstore. What are mineral powders? What's up with lipstick that's claims to stay on all day? (It's cakey and unnatural feeling, that's what.) I become terrified by the well-coiffed painted-face twenty-something who asks me if I need any help, and so I always become completely dry-mouthed, say, "No, I'm fine," and back away quickly to an aisle where I can buy 'safe' things like baby wipes and Tylenol. On Christmas Eve, though, I decided I would swallow my pride and pick up some makeup to pretty up my holiday. I got the nerve to say, "What shou...