Mama-luia

We have reached another milestone in our home: we now have a nine year old in the house. So far, it's a pretty nifty age. It involves bigness -- in opinions, feelings, ideas, and even sizem. It's like I woke up one day and realized my son is quickly gaining on me, height-wise! I do not know how I will deal with it when he outgrows me. Nine means independence: biking places by himself, devouring books by himself instead of always wanting me to read aloud to him, having strong opinions that may not be replicas to that of his parents'.  I had a foretaste of all of this when he was three -- he certainly wanted to do everything "by myself!" back then, but now, he can, and does. For reference's sake, here is Noah at three. Let us pause and sigh and whisper "tempest fugit" and WOULD YOU PLEASE STOP CHOPPING ONIONS IN HERE, I'm trying to BLAAAAAHHHG. While it actually does not feel like "just yesterday" that this picture...

Dear friends, it's unreasonably hot here for September! I got a sunburn yesterday wandering around town with my double stroller. Meanwhile, on my meal plan for last night's dinner, I was require dto make Cream of Cauliflower soup, because it's cheap/fast/the kids actually like it but it gives them oodles of veggies. But... Who wants soup when it's 31 degrees celsius?! (My kids, it turns out. They gulped down it like it was their last meal.) Of course, I am utterly grateful to not being lighting the wood stove yet. And I will gleefully don my swimsuit for one more dip in the lake this weekend. To be clear, I am more gleeful about the swimming aspect than actually donning of the swimsuit. Perhaps you already knew that. Soon enough, though, the colder weather will draw me back inside... by the fire... with more books! And I had better plow through them because Lawdy, I still have a substantial amount to complete to go to meet my goal of 52 books by December 31s...

I'm so behind on my book review posts, so I'm just going to do a handful I've read at a time. This means you'll be seeing a few extra posts from me, rather than cramming them all into one mega-essay. I'm personally not a fan of ultra-long blog posts, so I'm sparing you the pain. Before I begin, I decided mid-January that my one resolution for 2017 was to read 52 books. To some, that may be a small number. It seems like a whole lotta Mommy bloggers whip through books at a breakneck pace. I, however, am a relatively slow reader. At least when it comes to fiction, I tried to read at the pace in which I would read it aloud. So skimming, et cetera, is a no-go. Also, I'm not part of the goal to read any ol' garbage just to fill out my checklist. My reading choices aren't exactly Aristotle, unlike my spouse (... truly...) but I don't want drugstore paperbacks to fill up the time I would have been previously using Facebook. Wouldn't that be ...

Summer-tiiiiiiime... and the livin' is... noisy. The livin' is noisy . At 6:45pm this evening I was already curled up in the fetal position on the couch. Elijah was in bed but the other three were all frolicking around, hours of remaining daylight beckoned to us to go experience the great outdoors but all I could think of was "bed... now... please!" Patrick looked at me ruefully and said "you are welcome to do this in an hour, but for now, hang in there!" In actual fact, the kids' antics today were pretty adorable. They spent a large portion of their afternoon getting ready a ventriloquism show for us, after I showed them some spectacular videos of a kid ventriloquist earlier today. You really need to watch the video! It's amazing. Actually, this one is even better: It's pretty sweet how eager they all are now to throw their voices. I've been playing a "self-care anthem" over and over lately, and it's so upli...

This following picture has nothing in particular to do with this post. I just dislike publishing a blog entry without some sort of photo attached. And since I'm writing about me and what I've been reading lately, it seems as worthy a time as any to include a picture of myself. Note that this is a "no makeup selfie." Aren't I trendy?  Mostly because 3/4 of the time I don't wear any makeup anyway. I've had a bit of a slow few weeks when it comes to reading. I've been making progress on Til we Have Faces by C.S. Lewis -- it is stirring and sobering but it is much slower going than anything else I have read by him -- and of course, joining the masses and reading The Benedict Option  (which I appreciate in its aim, but am already getting sick of. Because... enough already. Hasn't anyone else written something worthwhile this year?) So here is my compiled reviews of books completed since March. ***** The Lifegiving Home: C...

Winter is slowly, ever so slowly, waning into spring. A glance outdoors would suggest quite the opposite; just how much snow can one province get? And yet... dinner is no longer eaten in darkness. There is a new brightness in the sky. The noticeably longer days are giving me hope. Yet until the snow melts a bit, or the temperatures rise, I still choose to play the part of the hermit, and stay put under a blanket with a book at the ready. I recently deleted my Facebook account (for many reasons which can be boiled down to my own lack of self-control) , but I enjoy having something to occupy my mind while I'm nursing, or when the children are sleeping... or when I am hiding in the bathroom.... Don't pretend you don't sometimes take extra long bathroom breaks, too. :) So I have returned to my old love of reading. I used to wonder how so many moms got so much reading time crammed into their full days. And now I see, I had been reading, plenty , it was all just through s...

It's February, generally the hardest month of the year for me. This year I planned ahead for it somewhat: I took January off , I am taking my physical health to heart and implementing a few small but necessary changes to keep myself well, and I got rid of some major clutter in January so I wouldn't be feeling so cagey in my own home. And so far, this has been my best February yet. But there is one thing lacking. As much as these various ways of looking after myself were, are, crucial, I want to do something for someone else (well, besides the three fellows I look after). I want to brighten someone else's day. So. . . I am hosting a little giveaway. Don't look so shocked, Lucy, I said so in the title of this post! I figure most people like getting things in the mail, and most people like books, so go on and check out my book recommendations and pick the one that interests you. Tell me which one you want in the comments and I'll enter you into a draw....

All of us have read books in our lives that stayed in our hearts for many years after reading them. Sometimes the words are so powerful that you can still picture where you were and how you felt when you read a particular passage. The following books have been like that to me. They have challenged me greatly and shaped my thinking in a new, and hopefully better, direction. I want to introduce you to some of my close friends. Happy are You Poor by Fr. Thomas Dubay This beautiful book elucidates the teaching that all Christians, not just vowed religious, are called to the Evangelical counsel of poverty. Fr. Dubay writes with wisdom and clarity, but also sensitivity, because he knows how radical what he is saying actually is. Patrick asked me to read this book when we were dating, as when he read it for school, he felt the ground shake from underneath him. I had a similar reaction. How could we possibly aspire to a marriage that embraced Gospel poverty, especially when you also e...