Ten years ago tomorrow was one of the best and most important days of my life. I had no idea. It was the day my future husband would come into the Catholic Church.
Ever since I had entered high school and started going to Life Teen at my parish in Connecticut I had been praying for him, praying for his faith and his relationship with God and just wondering where he was.
He was in Texas searching. Searching for answers that he finally found in the Catholic Church. It was a long journey for him but with the sometimes not-so-gentle prodding of his friends he started attending Life Teen events during his senior year of high school. He went on a retreat, went to adoration, and was taught all about the Eucharist and Mary and the saints and the pope. These were beliefs that had seemed strange to him even in the theology classrooms of his Catholic all guy's high school. Still, God was working in him and on New Year's eve 2001 he came to believe in the True Presence of Christ in the Eucharist as he knelt in adoration. He decided there and then that he was going to become Catholic.
It wasn't until Easter vigil 2002, over a full year later, that he became part of the Church. He said he wanted that whole year to prepare himself. He was a freshman at the time at Southern Methodist University in Dallas and as he tells me, basically taught the RCIA classes himself. He realized then that he wanted to transfer to a Catholic University and therefore applied and got accepted to the Franciscan University of Steubenville. It was in the first month of his freshman year that a bright eyed, blond haired high school senior arrived on campus for her college visit and met this neophyte. We were married a little less than five years later.
Our shared faith is the foundation of our marriage. It has been essential to every aspect of our marriage and has kept us strong in the hardest times. We each call each other on to holiness because we know that this world is not what we are made for. It is by being married to each other that we will be purified for heaven. Our faith is not only our foundation it is our path and our destination. It is the whole of who we are and what we want to be. Even being married young we can be assured that our marriage will last because in our weakness God is strong and we center our life on God.
That day 10 years ago God was shaping my life and I didn't know it. Without becoming a Catholic, we would have never met and he will readily admit that he would not have been the man I fell in love with. And he is an amazing man. I am so thankful to all of the people who helped him along this journey. David and Katie Garcia, Joe Florez, Edward Houser, Father Michael Earthman, and many, many others. You are a blessing in our life and I thank you.
Sometimes God is doing huge things on what seems like an ordinary day. I was just sitting in my church in Connecticut on a normal Easter Sunday and God was still transforming my life. I had been praying for my spouse for years at that point and it wouldn't be until years later that I would be able to see exactly what God had been up to.
Kyle, I love you. Happy 10 years as a Catholic. Don't be afraid to tell me that our wedding was the second best day of your life because I know that this was the best. It was the best day of my life too.
Showing posts with label Kyle. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Kyle. Show all posts
Thursday, March 29, 2012
Tuesday, March 20, 2012
The day I learned I am terrible at making bubbles and other museum adventures
Today, Tuesday, is Kyle's Saturday so to celebrate him surviving two 16 hours shifts in a row, my weaning the baby, and general awesomeness.
We have a family membership that gets us in to over 300 children's museums nationwide (watch out world) so we took off this morning (okay this afternoon. I may have slept in til 11 to compensate for those hours I spent awake not nursing the baby) for the Boston Children's Museum. Easily the most famous and yuppie of them all. Or so I am told.
With the exception of having the besneezes scared out of me by two random snakes hiding in two random rooms (really guys? Can't you fence them off like at the zoo so those of us with phobias don't freak and almost leave out children behind trying to escape. A little warning would be awesome.) it was amazing. There was so much to do, so much to explore, so much to touch and try to destroy. The kids had a blast, we had a blast, and the kids are exhausted. I count any trip that leaves the kids tired as a success.
So here are the pictures.
I tried to get a nice picture with my daughter but she was NOT having it.
Captain Madeleine and First Officer Pet. Or the worst flight of your life EVER.
She wasn't climbing it. She was crawling backwards. Talent.
Something about gravity. I still don't pay attention to science.
Waiting for the bus.
The only thing better than shopping is apparently asking other people for their moneys. And let me tell you, she was not selling quality produce. It tasted like plastic. (Oh lolz. I crack myself up)
This was Juliette's favorite part. Because we clearly do not have a train set at home.
Kyle kept trying to "teach the babies" but I think he really just wanted to play. He was not sharing either.
You were supposed to spell your name here. Madeleine first put up a "M" followed by an "A" and I was filling out the Harvard applications. She then followed it up with a whole bunch of nonsense and I tucked them back away.
In the hard hat on the truck. I'm pretty sure Kyle was jealous.
She actually got that the balls were supposed to roll down the hill. Not get slobbered on by the one-year-old which was her first idea
Sitting like a lady.... if that lady was Lady Mary Crawley. OH BURN!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Driving the house.
Driving the car. Much easier to steer.
I'm not sure if I was taking a picture of him or if he was photo bombing a picture of Madeleine.
Working together. So nice.
Explaining H20 to her sister. Amazing teacher. Juliette says, "Oh captain my captain!"
We have a family membership that gets us in to over 300 children's museums nationwide (watch out world) so we took off this morning (okay this afternoon. I may have slept in til 11 to compensate for those hours I spent awake not nursing the baby) for the Boston Children's Museum. Easily the most famous and yuppie of them all. Or so I am told.
With the exception of having the besneezes scared out of me by two random snakes hiding in two random rooms (really guys? Can't you fence them off like at the zoo so those of us with phobias don't freak and almost leave out children behind trying to escape. A little warning would be awesome.) it was amazing. There was so much to do, so much to explore, so much to touch and try to destroy. The kids had a blast, we had a blast, and the kids are exhausted. I count any trip that leaves the kids tired as a success.
So here are the pictures.
If only I could get her to do this in real life
I tried to get a nice picture with my daughter but she was NOT having it.
Captain Madeleine and First Officer Pet. Or the worst flight of your life EVER.
She wasn't climbing it. She was crawling backwards. Talent.
Something about gravity. I still don't pay attention to science.
Waiting for the bus.
The only thing better than shopping is apparently asking other people for their moneys. And let me tell you, she was not selling quality produce. It tasted like plastic. (Oh lolz. I crack myself up)
This was Juliette's favorite part. Because we clearly do not have a train set at home.
Kyle kept trying to "teach the babies" but I think he really just wanted to play. He was not sharing either.
You were supposed to spell your name here. Madeleine first put up a "M" followed by an "A" and I was filling out the Harvard applications. She then followed it up with a whole bunch of nonsense and I tucked them back away.
In the hard hat on the truck. I'm pretty sure Kyle was jealous.
She actually got that the balls were supposed to roll down the hill. Not get slobbered on by the one-year-old which was her first idea
Sitting like a lady.... if that lady was Lady Mary Crawley. OH BURN!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Driving the house.
Driving the car. Much easier to steer.
I'm not sure if I was taking a picture of him or if he was photo bombing a picture of Madeleine.
Working together. So nice.
Explaining H20 to her sister. Amazing teacher. Juliette says, "Oh captain my captain!"
'Saturday, March 17, 2012
And then there was the time I sold them to the leprechauns
Today is Saint Patrick's day and to celebrate I went shopping with probably the only other three sober people in the state of Massachusetts; Madeleine, Juliette, and my pregnant friend Ellen. We made it a good, oh, one store before the baby climbed out of the stroller and tried to shop lift. Many stores later (and great deals on clothes!) as I was pulling the kids out of the window display at Banana Republic, I thought to myself, "Self. Maybe you should join the drinkers."
And now the kids are in bed and I am enjoying some Bailey's and feeling pretty decent about life.
I have to admit that sometimes I teach the kids to do things just for my own amusement. Like playing fetch or rapping to Vanilla Ice. Kids are funny. They can do things that big people would look ridiculous doing. Madeleine often picks out her outfits and really nothing will match. It's a pink princess shirt, green leggings, a red hoodie with ears, and purple shoes. And she looks awesome!
Juliette is going through a bit of a nudey phase which we have to keep a lid on in public. Really though she is a typical one year old. Insane, impossible to control, cheeks for nibbling, and a penchant for sniffing out trouble.
We are trying to teach Madeleine that she is not, in fact, allowed to discipline her sister for us. My favorite is when Madeleine gets Juliette to do something she shouldn't be doing and when I catch them she turns and scolds her sister. She is a tricksy little one.
Mostly Madeleine just wants to hold hands, sing her songs, and force feed her things from her kitchen set. Madeleine is incredibly attentive to Juliette, sometimes to the dismay of the brown eyed one year old who only wants to chew on the book in their tent. Mostly though Juliette eats up the attention.
But the big news of the week is that I weened the baby. It's only been about 36 hours but it's going as well as can be expected. So ya know, I'm pretty pumped about it. A little sad but mostly excited.
But for now I am going to go watch Sister Wives and feel thankful that I get my husband all to myself.
And now the kids are in bed and I am enjoying some Bailey's and feeling pretty decent about life.
I have to admit that sometimes I teach the kids to do things just for my own amusement. Like playing fetch or rapping to Vanilla Ice. Kids are funny. They can do things that big people would look ridiculous doing. Madeleine often picks out her outfits and really nothing will match. It's a pink princess shirt, green leggings, a red hoodie with ears, and purple shoes. And she looks awesome!
Juliette is going through a bit of a nudey phase which we have to keep a lid on in public. Really though she is a typical one year old. Insane, impossible to control, cheeks for nibbling, and a penchant for sniffing out trouble.
We are trying to teach Madeleine that she is not, in fact, allowed to discipline her sister for us. My favorite is when Madeleine gets Juliette to do something she shouldn't be doing and when I catch them she turns and scolds her sister. She is a tricksy little one.
Mostly Madeleine just wants to hold hands, sing her songs, and force feed her things from her kitchen set. Madeleine is incredibly attentive to Juliette, sometimes to the dismay of the brown eyed one year old who only wants to chew on the book in their tent. Mostly though Juliette eats up the attention.
But the big news of the week is that I weened the baby. It's only been about 36 hours but it's going as well as can be expected. So ya know, I'm pretty pumped about it. A little sad but mostly excited.
But for now I am going to go watch Sister Wives and feel thankful that I get my husband all to myself.
Friday, March 9, 2012
Seven Quick Takes- I slept last night!
1. The part of being sick where you have to watch your kids suffer, not get any sleep, and spend a ton of money on doctor's visits and prescriptions is no fun. The part where they recover and sleep 13-14 hours at night to make up for what they lost is positively delightful. I think if I showered I might actually feel like a normal person for the first time in... weeks!
2. I swear I feed my kids, I SWEAR it. But yesterday I found Juliette face down on the ground licking up a piece of old banana. It was one of those moments that if we were in public I'd be all like, "Weeeird where is that kids mom."
See! Proof that I feed her (mashed up bananas! super healthy!) AND that she sleeps! All in one neat little photograph.
3. I've learned a new form of exercise that you don't have to leave the house or put on a DVD for. You lie back, hoist your toddler up on your legs, and pretend she is an airplane. It provides lots of entertainment and giggles and leaves your legs with a wicked burn afterwords.
4. My sister is coming in from college for her spring break so we will be heading down to my parent's house this weekend. I found a Groupon for a photo shoot at JC Penny so (yet again, because it's not like we just did this at Christmas) I can document the crud out of their younger years. I would say, "Sorry kids." but since each of them pose like they are competing for the cover of Baby Vogue so really, this is a treat for all of us! And I will be putting the pictures up on her ASAP.
5. Speaking of my sister, she currently attends Franciscan University and was asked by Stella Mariae household to be part of their lip sync by channeling her inner Taylor Swift since she is a dead ringer for the country-pop icon. If you forward to about the 4 minute 30 second mark you'll get to see her rock her part. I'm so proud of her because as an introvert being up in front of crowds is not her thing and she did an amazing job.
6. Just a friendly reminder-
I think that according to NFP and one of those nifty online due date calculators, next week might be the last week to make your efforts. But ya know, it would be pretty cool.
7. I really, really, really love my family. God is so, so incredibly good to have given me such an amazing husband and such beautiful daughters. I feel like I write this all the time but really it's that His goodness leaves me in awe every single day.
For more fun go to http://www.conversiondiary.com/!
2. I swear I feed my kids, I SWEAR it. But yesterday I found Juliette face down on the ground licking up a piece of old banana. It was one of those moments that if we were in public I'd be all like, "Weeeird where is that kids mom."
See! Proof that I feed her (mashed up bananas! super healthy!) AND that she sleeps! All in one neat little photograph.
3. I've learned a new form of exercise that you don't have to leave the house or put on a DVD for. You lie back, hoist your toddler up on your legs, and pretend she is an airplane. It provides lots of entertainment and giggles and leaves your legs with a wicked burn afterwords.
4. My sister is coming in from college for her spring break so we will be heading down to my parent's house this weekend. I found a Groupon for a photo shoot at JC Penny so (yet again, because it's not like we just did this at Christmas) I can document the crud out of their younger years. I would say, "Sorry kids." but since each of them pose like they are competing for the cover of Baby Vogue so really, this is a treat for all of us! And I will be putting the pictures up on her ASAP.
5. Speaking of my sister, she currently attends Franciscan University and was asked by Stella Mariae household to be part of their lip sync by channeling her inner Taylor Swift since she is a dead ringer for the country-pop icon. If you forward to about the 4 minute 30 second mark you'll get to see her rock her part. I'm so proud of her because as an introvert being up in front of crowds is not her thing and she did an amazing job.
6. Just a friendly reminder-
I think that according to NFP and one of those nifty online due date calculators, next week might be the last week to make your efforts. But ya know, it would be pretty cool.7. I really, really, really love my family. God is so, so incredibly good to have given me such an amazing husband and such beautiful daughters. I feel like I write this all the time but really it's that His goodness leaves me in awe every single day.
For more fun go to http://www.conversiondiary.com/!
Thursday, March 8, 2012
Daddy-Daughter Date Day
They had been talking about it for weeks. Kyle and Madeleine were going on a daddy-daughter date. We'd had to put it off a few times because of illness but this week they were both healthy so I agreed that it should be put off no longer.
Kyle woke Madeleine up on Tuesday and asked her if she wanted to go on a plane. My usually very slow-to-wake toddler sprang out of bed and Kyle got her dressed up. They then took off for the airport, boarded a plane to Baltimore, and headed off on their adventure.
Madeleine would have been satisfied with just going on a plane, heck she probably would have been satisfied by watching planes with daddy at the airport, but when they landed in Baltimore Kyle had more surprised planned for her.
First, they had lunch in the airport terminal and then got on a train (A TRAIN!) to head over the aquarium to see the fishies! While they were on the train they even got to see a helicopter, which Madeleine hasn't stopped talking about since. At the aquarium they saw all sorts of fishies (Madeleine went up to the tanks of small fishes and went, "GUPPY GUPPY!!!" which I think all my Agape friends will appreciate.) and they also saw birds (which were her favorite, go figure), sharks, and a dolphin show! Madeleine came home telling me about how the dolphins were so funny and how they splashed all around in the water.
When they were leaving they made a stop over at the gift shop and Kyle let her pick out one present. She opted for a blue bird for herself and insisted on getting her little sister a pink dolphin, which Kyle obliged since it was so sweet that she even thought of her sister.
They took the train back to the airport and flew home to Boston. When they got back to the house Madeleine ran furiously in the door, her face full of excitement, and jumped on my lap to tell me all about her amazing day with the best daddy in the world. She gave her sister her present and we all settled on the couch to snuggle and spend time as a family... and eat chocolate ice cream.
Basically it was the most perfect date my two year old could have ever had with her daddy. I love them both so much!
Kyle woke Madeleine up on Tuesday and asked her if she wanted to go on a plane. My usually very slow-to-wake toddler sprang out of bed and Kyle got her dressed up. They then took off for the airport, boarded a plane to Baltimore, and headed off on their adventure.
Madeleine would have been satisfied with just going on a plane, heck she probably would have been satisfied by watching planes with daddy at the airport, but when they landed in Baltimore Kyle had more surprised planned for her.
First, they had lunch in the airport terminal and then got on a train (A TRAIN!) to head over the aquarium to see the fishies! While they were on the train they even got to see a helicopter, which Madeleine hasn't stopped talking about since. At the aquarium they saw all sorts of fishies (Madeleine went up to the tanks of small fishes and went, "GUPPY GUPPY!!!" which I think all my Agape friends will appreciate.) and they also saw birds (which were her favorite, go figure), sharks, and a dolphin show! Madeleine came home telling me about how the dolphins were so funny and how they splashed all around in the water.
When they were leaving they made a stop over at the gift shop and Kyle let her pick out one present. She opted for a blue bird for herself and insisted on getting her little sister a pink dolphin, which Kyle obliged since it was so sweet that she even thought of her sister.
They took the train back to the airport and flew home to Boston. When they got back to the house Madeleine ran furiously in the door, her face full of excitement, and jumped on my lap to tell me all about her amazing day with the best daddy in the world. She gave her sister her present and we all settled on the couch to snuggle and spend time as a family... and eat chocolate ice cream.
Basically it was the most perfect date my two year old could have ever had with her daddy. I love them both so much!
Monday, February 13, 2012
This love is ours
To Kyle,
I love you. Thank you for loving me more than I could have ever imagined anyone could love me. You reveal God to me in your love. Thank you for taking the time to get to know me, for looking past the fronts I put up, for listening to what I say and to what I don't. Thank you for being there for me no matter what and for always being so strong and steadfast in the face of adversity.
I was listening to my ITunes tonight as I made the brownies, dancing and singing like an idiot as usual, and Taylor Swift's "Ours" came on... and it pretty much summed up how I feel right now. Sometimes I feel like we are so misunderstood. Sometimes the world is a sad and discouraging place.
Then I remember that I have you.
No matter what people throw at us your love for me will give me the strength to persevere. I know that you are with me, 100 percent, all the time. Through you God turns my sorrow into joy.
I know Valentine's Day is a little bit cheesy (and I know a proclamation of love on my blog is a bit embarrassing) but with all you do for me if it's one more day to tell you just how much I love you and how you have made me happier than I ever imagined I could be then I will take it. I love you so, so much.
And because I want to up the ante on the cheese factor, I am copy pasting lyrics.
Happy Valentine's Day babe!
Love,
Sarah
"Seems like there's always someone who disapproves
They'll judge it like they know about me and you
And the verdict comes from those with nothing else to do
The jury's out, but my choice is you
So don't you worry your pretty little mind
People throw rocks at things that shine
And life makes love look hard
The stakes are high, the water's rough, but this love is ours"
I love you. Thank you for loving me more than I could have ever imagined anyone could love me. You reveal God to me in your love. Thank you for taking the time to get to know me, for looking past the fronts I put up, for listening to what I say and to what I don't. Thank you for being there for me no matter what and for always being so strong and steadfast in the face of adversity.
I was listening to my ITunes tonight as I made the brownies, dancing and singing like an idiot as usual, and Taylor Swift's "Ours" came on... and it pretty much summed up how I feel right now. Sometimes I feel like we are so misunderstood. Sometimes the world is a sad and discouraging place.
Then I remember that I have you.
No matter what people throw at us your love for me will give me the strength to persevere. I know that you are with me, 100 percent, all the time. Through you God turns my sorrow into joy.
I know Valentine's Day is a little bit cheesy (and I know a proclamation of love on my blog is a bit embarrassing) but with all you do for me if it's one more day to tell you just how much I love you and how you have made me happier than I ever imagined I could be then I will take it. I love you so, so much.
And because I want to up the ante on the cheese factor, I am copy pasting lyrics.
Happy Valentine's Day babe!
Love,
Sarah
"Seems like there's always someone who disapproves
They'll judge it like they know about me and you
And the verdict comes from those with nothing else to do
The jury's out, but my choice is you
So don't you worry your pretty little mind
People throw rocks at things that shine
And life makes love look hard
The stakes are high, the water's rough, but this love is ours"
Tuesday, January 31, 2012
The Prophesy of the Sticker
I have been blessed with two beautiful, healthy, wonderful, sweet, AND HARD HEADED little daughters.
God bless em...
...and me too...
...and Kyle...
So first of all, Juliette. Mommy's little boob addict. I realized that her nursing was cah-razy when even the "crunchy" mom blog talked about her kid being down to three feedings a day at the same age as my Pet. Three feedings a day! Freaking.... Juliette nurses about three times in the hour before bed! Not to mention her morning feeding, her nap time feeding, her dinner time feeding, and the two or three times she wakes up during the night. It's like I'm nursing a hobbit! We've got breakfast and second breakfast and so on and so forth. Okay... this is it... I really MUST start the weaning process for sanity's sake as well as for the sake of my poor, wretched body. You know it's time to wean when the kid can stand WHILE nursing. As in her mouth on me and her feet on my lap all 90 degree angle. And sometimes she kicks her little leg like a dog does when you scratch his belly. This may be part of why her nickname is "Pet."
Also she's been staying awake til almost midnight lately because she just wants to be in my arms. Last night, one of the many times she fell asleep nursing, I put her down in her crib and she started to wimper. It was one of those times where it could go either way, she could wake up or go back to sleep so I ran out of the room all "ninja mommy" like and she started to wail... so I came back in and noticed something stuck to her cheek. It was a sticker from a baby calender to mark a special occasion. It read, "Slept through the night." (Veeeeeeeery funny God. I assume that was You?) Up until that point I had been SO frustrated I felt like I was going to scream but when I saw that I peeled it off her chubby cheek, kissed it, and held her close.
We finally got her to sleep by not nursing her and pacing with her for a while. Not having nursed to sleep she actually ended up falling into a deeper sleep and slept through the night for the first time ever. So I may have to save the Prophesy Sticker From God.
Madeleine, oh sweet Madeleine, wants a "big girl bed" so badly but we told her she couldn't have one OR her princess underwear until she potty trained. This would be encouragement to MOST kids but for my little firecracker it caused evil eyes and an outright refusal to go anywhere near her training potty. We are currently at a stand still on the issue. She is still of the opinon that she runs the house... little does she know that mommy has also been training daddy in the art of "No." It tortures him to look into those green eyes and not give her anything she asks for in her sweet, "Daddy please!" voice but he knows that it will be better for her in the long run to have consistent discipline and to not just wear diapers right through until geriatric age.
If the girls ran the house we'd have a 16 year old in diapers and a 15 year old still nursing someday. They may end up being home schooled but I don't want to let them be THAT weird.
Also, I've realized that Madeleine is associating prayer time with bed time and now no longer enjoys saying her prayers... that or she repeats everything six or seven times to stall. Needless to say we are moving family prayer time to earlier in the day.
Speaking of which, Kyle and I am doing the Total Consecration (St. Louis de Montfort style) once again, so prayers are appreciated as we once again pledge our marriage and our children to Jesus through Mary.
Yay bedtime!
God bless em...
...and me too...
...and Kyle...
So first of all, Juliette. Mommy's little boob addict. I realized that her nursing was cah-razy when even the "crunchy" mom blog talked about her kid being down to three feedings a day at the same age as my Pet. Three feedings a day! Freaking.... Juliette nurses about three times in the hour before bed! Not to mention her morning feeding, her nap time feeding, her dinner time feeding, and the two or three times she wakes up during the night. It's like I'm nursing a hobbit! We've got breakfast and second breakfast and so on and so forth. Okay... this is it... I really MUST start the weaning process for sanity's sake as well as for the sake of my poor, wretched body. You know it's time to wean when the kid can stand WHILE nursing. As in her mouth on me and her feet on my lap all 90 degree angle. And sometimes she kicks her little leg like a dog does when you scratch his belly. This may be part of why her nickname is "Pet."
Also she's been staying awake til almost midnight lately because she just wants to be in my arms. Last night, one of the many times she fell asleep nursing, I put her down in her crib and she started to wimper. It was one of those times where it could go either way, she could wake up or go back to sleep so I ran out of the room all "ninja mommy" like and she started to wail... so I came back in and noticed something stuck to her cheek. It was a sticker from a baby calender to mark a special occasion. It read, "Slept through the night." (Veeeeeeeery funny God. I assume that was You?) Up until that point I had been SO frustrated I felt like I was going to scream but when I saw that I peeled it off her chubby cheek, kissed it, and held her close.
We finally got her to sleep by not nursing her and pacing with her for a while. Not having nursed to sleep she actually ended up falling into a deeper sleep and slept through the night for the first time ever. So I may have to save the Prophesy Sticker From God.
Madeleine, oh sweet Madeleine, wants a "big girl bed" so badly but we told her she couldn't have one OR her princess underwear until she potty trained. This would be encouragement to MOST kids but for my little firecracker it caused evil eyes and an outright refusal to go anywhere near her training potty. We are currently at a stand still on the issue. She is still of the opinon that she runs the house... little does she know that mommy has also been training daddy in the art of "No." It tortures him to look into those green eyes and not give her anything she asks for in her sweet, "Daddy please!" voice but he knows that it will be better for her in the long run to have consistent discipline and to not just wear diapers right through until geriatric age.
If the girls ran the house we'd have a 16 year old in diapers and a 15 year old still nursing someday. They may end up being home schooled but I don't want to let them be THAT weird.
Also, I've realized that Madeleine is associating prayer time with bed time and now no longer enjoys saying her prayers... that or she repeats everything six or seven times to stall. Needless to say we are moving family prayer time to earlier in the day.
Speaking of which, Kyle and I am doing the Total Consecration (St. Louis de Montfort style) once again, so prayers are appreciated as we once again pledge our marriage and our children to Jesus through Mary.
Yay bedtime!
Saturday, January 14, 2012
The day from hell... not for the faint of heart
Awful day yesterday. We were supposed to be flying to Houston this Sunday but plans changed fast.
Ya see, I woke up Friday feeling like I was going to get sick. My first brilliant thought was to take a pregnancy test. Nada. No dice.
Then it hit me, "Crud. I'm sick"
THEN it actually hit me.
Fast forward about an hour and I was being carried out to an ambulance on a stretcher. I won't get into the gory details but suffice it to say I puked until I started blacking out over and over. I managed to call my landlady upstairs, the sweet saint, who came down and called 911 and watched my babies.
By the time the medics got there they had a hard time finding my pulse, blood pressure, heart rate... I was taken into the hospital as a cardiac patient and put in the trama room. Once those anti-nausea meds were in me and I had a few nice IVs I was doing much better. Still sick, but not passing out all the time.
Kyle made it home from work in record time and stayed with me at the hospital until my landlady had to go get her own kid. So I napped and by the time I called him he was in an absolute panic because the baby was screaming to be nursed and Madeleine was throwing up everywhere. He rushed them to the hospital to get me (I was finally being discharged, now that I was hydrated and on anti-nausea meds I was in no danger) carrying the baby and dragging Madeleine as she threw up all over the hospital. Once they finally got the IVs out of me I picked my darling baby up, kissed her on her pukey head, and carried her to the car.
Since we live about a mile from the hospital we were home in no time. I put Madeleine in the bath tub and asked Kyle to hold Juliette until I could nurse her. He told me he was starting to feel sick. I took the baby and nursed her while Madeleine puked all over the bathtub and Kyle got sick in the kitchen.
I got the three of them into our bed, Kyle with a trash bag, Juliette passed out nursing, and Madeleine with towels all around her, and took off to get my medicine from CVS. It took all I had to stay awake for the drive, I got home and slept for an hour. Then the baby woke up.
Since Kyle was much sicker than I was at that point and had been up since 2:30 in the morning I took the baby for the next three hours and then we traded when I almost passed out watching her.
He stayed up with her for another hour until they both fell asleep on the couch, I woke them up and dragged them to bed, it was about one, and we all slept...
Until Madeleine woke up at three, crying for water.
I watched a show with her and let her sip water until 4:30 when we both went back to sleep. The baby woke up crying at 7 and Kyle took that shift, he came back to bed about an hour later, the girls and I slept til 11 and he slept til noon.
Today we all sat around sipping juice and watching TV. No one got sick.
Now I am much better but it was the day from hell. I think all moms have stories like that and if you do, you are my heros...
After Kyle, of course, because he took such supreme care of myself and our girls. There is no finer husband to be found.
This post may be an "over share" but it's my blog and I deal with things by talking them out... so there ya have it. My written therapy.
Ya see, I woke up Friday feeling like I was going to get sick. My first brilliant thought was to take a pregnancy test. Nada. No dice.
Then it hit me, "Crud. I'm sick"
THEN it actually hit me.
Fast forward about an hour and I was being carried out to an ambulance on a stretcher. I won't get into the gory details but suffice it to say I puked until I started blacking out over and over. I managed to call my landlady upstairs, the sweet saint, who came down and called 911 and watched my babies.
By the time the medics got there they had a hard time finding my pulse, blood pressure, heart rate... I was taken into the hospital as a cardiac patient and put in the trama room. Once those anti-nausea meds were in me and I had a few nice IVs I was doing much better. Still sick, but not passing out all the time.
Kyle made it home from work in record time and stayed with me at the hospital until my landlady had to go get her own kid. So I napped and by the time I called him he was in an absolute panic because the baby was screaming to be nursed and Madeleine was throwing up everywhere. He rushed them to the hospital to get me (I was finally being discharged, now that I was hydrated and on anti-nausea meds I was in no danger) carrying the baby and dragging Madeleine as she threw up all over the hospital. Once they finally got the IVs out of me I picked my darling baby up, kissed her on her pukey head, and carried her to the car.
Since we live about a mile from the hospital we were home in no time. I put Madeleine in the bath tub and asked Kyle to hold Juliette until I could nurse her. He told me he was starting to feel sick. I took the baby and nursed her while Madeleine puked all over the bathtub and Kyle got sick in the kitchen.
I got the three of them into our bed, Kyle with a trash bag, Juliette passed out nursing, and Madeleine with towels all around her, and took off to get my medicine from CVS. It took all I had to stay awake for the drive, I got home and slept for an hour. Then the baby woke up.
Since Kyle was much sicker than I was at that point and had been up since 2:30 in the morning I took the baby for the next three hours and then we traded when I almost passed out watching her.
He stayed up with her for another hour until they both fell asleep on the couch, I woke them up and dragged them to bed, it was about one, and we all slept...
Until Madeleine woke up at three, crying for water.
I watched a show with her and let her sip water until 4:30 when we both went back to sleep. The baby woke up crying at 7 and Kyle took that shift, he came back to bed about an hour later, the girls and I slept til 11 and he slept til noon.
Today we all sat around sipping juice and watching TV. No one got sick.
Now I am much better but it was the day from hell. I think all moms have stories like that and if you do, you are my heros...
After Kyle, of course, because he took such supreme care of myself and our girls. There is no finer husband to be found.
This post may be an "over share" but it's my blog and I deal with things by talking them out... so there ya have it. My written therapy.
Thursday, January 12, 2012
Seven Quick Takes- Blessings and Tacos
1. Both kids fell asleep early which means I was able to do all the things I am usually unable to do... like shower and read and eat and sleep. Sure there may be a large pile of laundry sitting untouched on the couch but I. SMELL. GOOD! Heck yeah bath salts.
2. I've haven't had to buy bread since Christmas thanks to my new fancy shmancy bread maker that my parents got me. Since I don't eat much bread anyway Kyle has been the main beneficiary of this gift although I get the immense pleasure of smelling the dough bake all day. Yankee Candle should really find a way to bottle that.
3. We are traveling to Houston next week to visit my in-laws. Since we haven't seen them since May it should be fun to show off my beautiful little girls to the adoring masses. If I do say so myself their cuteness has grown exponentially since May.
4. What won't be cute next week will be me when I come face to face with my long-lost love, Authentic Tex-Mex. (insert dreamy sigh here) It is not all together unlikely that I will have salsa stains on everything I wear during my trip. I've come to terms with this and I accept it. I love Tex-Mex.
5. I will also be hitting up the Catholic Bookstore while I am there in search of some tools to teach my toddlers. This store is amazing. Kyle gets a little scared whenever I suggest we go there... but he just has to deal with the fact that I majored in Theology and Catechetics and an obsession with anything written by JPII or St. Theresa of Avila is just part of the package he signed onto at our wedding. Just like he also knew that I liked to perform dance routines to popular hits from the 90s. I'm a complex woman and I love Catechetical material. It could be worse, I could be obsessed with shoes... oh wait....
6. Also, without a doubt on our trip I will hear in explicit detail what kind of plane we are flying on, how Southwest came to acquire it's fleet, something about Boeing, something about Air Bus A380s, something... something... something... I already zoned out. Once again, I knew what I was getting into when I married a pilot and the barrage of information has helped me win at "Battle of the Sexes" more than once.
7. I adore my family. Sometimes after the girls go to bed my eyes are too tired to focus on anything but other nights I just look at pictures of them on my IPhone and am in absolute awe of how my life has turned out. When I was growing up I was afraid of flying and I would take my rosaries on the plane and just pray that we wouldn't crash because I wanted to be a wife and a mother. The last time I flew it struck me that I have done those things, I have received the deepest desires of my heart. Of course, I still pray the plane doesn't crash (although I'm not particularly afraid of flying, you'll get cured of that really quickly when your husband takes you up in a little Cessna and forgets to shut your door.) but I also marvel at how wonderful my life is and how blessed I truly am.
For more fun go to http://www.conversiondiary.com/. God bless!
2. I've haven't had to buy bread since Christmas thanks to my new fancy shmancy bread maker that my parents got me. Since I don't eat much bread anyway Kyle has been the main beneficiary of this gift although I get the immense pleasure of smelling the dough bake all day. Yankee Candle should really find a way to bottle that.
3. We are traveling to Houston next week to visit my in-laws. Since we haven't seen them since May it should be fun to show off my beautiful little girls to the adoring masses. If I do say so myself their cuteness has grown exponentially since May.
4. What won't be cute next week will be me when I come face to face with my long-lost love, Authentic Tex-Mex. (insert dreamy sigh here) It is not all together unlikely that I will have salsa stains on everything I wear during my trip. I've come to terms with this and I accept it. I love Tex-Mex.
5. I will also be hitting up the Catholic Bookstore while I am there in search of some tools to teach my toddlers. This store is amazing. Kyle gets a little scared whenever I suggest we go there... but he just has to deal with the fact that I majored in Theology and Catechetics and an obsession with anything written by JPII or St. Theresa of Avila is just part of the package he signed onto at our wedding. Just like he also knew that I liked to perform dance routines to popular hits from the 90s. I'm a complex woman and I love Catechetical material. It could be worse, I could be obsessed with shoes... oh wait....
6. Also, without a doubt on our trip I will hear in explicit detail what kind of plane we are flying on, how Southwest came to acquire it's fleet, something about Boeing, something about Air Bus A380s, something... something... something... I already zoned out. Once again, I knew what I was getting into when I married a pilot and the barrage of information has helped me win at "Battle of the Sexes" more than once.
7. I adore my family. Sometimes after the girls go to bed my eyes are too tired to focus on anything but other nights I just look at pictures of them on my IPhone and am in absolute awe of how my life has turned out. When I was growing up I was afraid of flying and I would take my rosaries on the plane and just pray that we wouldn't crash because I wanted to be a wife and a mother. The last time I flew it struck me that I have done those things, I have received the deepest desires of my heart. Of course, I still pray the plane doesn't crash (although I'm not particularly afraid of flying, you'll get cured of that really quickly when your husband takes you up in a little Cessna and forgets to shut your door.) but I also marvel at how wonderful my life is and how blessed I truly am.
For more fun go to http://www.conversiondiary.com/. God bless!
Monday, December 19, 2011
SIRI MY LOVE!
I have to confess my bad wifey-ness to the world. Yesterday I accidentally found out what Kyle got me for Christmas... and it was NOT a dolphin named Patrick!
I GOT AN IPHONE!
I am a stay at home momma and have never really desired a smart phone because my computer is basically in the playroom where I spend my days and I thought, "Why wouldn't I just check me email and facebook on that?!"
When the new Iphone came out I was intrigued by SIRI (my love!) and began to learn more. Organization apps? Homeschooling apps? NFP apps? Confession apps? FRUIT NINJA?!?! AMAZING CAMERA?!?! OH DO I DESIRE IT SO! It would be my smart MOMMY phone!
Still, I could not justify the cost of buying one to myself and so I looked at pictures of them on the apple website and thought.... one day... maybe....
Until that STUDLY husband of mine went all secret Christmas ninja on me and bought me one! OH JOY!
Yesterday I noticed some *ahem* charges to our Verizon bills and decided to investigate because I am not a fan of fraudlent charges. Then I saw it... a new phone... white and distinctly IPhone shaped!
I freaked out, then cried because I had ruined the surprise, then freaked out some more, then decided to call Kyle and tell him what I had done.
So we exchanged presents last night and it's a good thing because I would have spent all Christmas wrapped up in my own little 4g world. Now I can be totally focused on the kiddos like a good mommy.
The moral of the story is... I HAVE THE BEST HUSBAND IN THE WORLD!
Thanks babe!
I GOT AN IPHONE!
I am a stay at home momma and have never really desired a smart phone because my computer is basically in the playroom where I spend my days and I thought, "Why wouldn't I just check me email and facebook on that?!"
When the new Iphone came out I was intrigued by SIRI (my love!) and began to learn more. Organization apps? Homeschooling apps? NFP apps? Confession apps? FRUIT NINJA?!?! AMAZING CAMERA?!?! OH DO I DESIRE IT SO! It would be my smart MOMMY phone!
Still, I could not justify the cost of buying one to myself and so I looked at pictures of them on the apple website and thought.... one day... maybe....
Until that STUDLY husband of mine went all secret Christmas ninja on me and bought me one! OH JOY!
Yesterday I noticed some *ahem* charges to our Verizon bills and decided to investigate because I am not a fan of fraudlent charges. Then I saw it... a new phone... white and distinctly IPhone shaped!
I freaked out, then cried because I had ruined the surprise, then freaked out some more, then decided to call Kyle and tell him what I had done.
So we exchanged presents last night and it's a good thing because I would have spent all Christmas wrapped up in my own little 4g world. Now I can be totally focused on the kiddos like a good mommy.
The moral of the story is... I HAVE THE BEST HUSBAND IN THE WORLD!
Thanks babe!
Friday, December 16, 2011
The Eucharist goes in your mouth
IT'S ALMOST CHRISTMAS and boy am I pumped! It's the beautiful Christmas mass with the singing and the holiness and the adorable dressed up kiddos, it's Santa bringing presents. it's family time and having a birthday party for Jesus. I just love it.
Not to mention my husband has apparently gotten my "the best Christmas gift ever" (besides Jesus, of course) and won't even give me a hint as to what it is. Naturally I am a basket case over not knowing and have nagged him non stop to give me a hint. He won't. He's adorable. I've made up a story that he is giving me a dolphin that I will call Patrick. Sure, it may seem unreasonable to ask for a dolphin in a 3 bedroom apartment in the cold northeast but we have a really big bathtub.
We went to the mall Friday to see Santa and had to wait until after his lunch break was over to get in line. The Santa booth was right by the personalized ornaments and so I found the girls an ornament with two hearts that said BFF in the middle. I had them place one of their name's in each heart because they are BFFs and I think it's precious so I hung it in a very prominent spot on the tree as soon as I got home.
But back to the trip to the mall.... FINALLY Santa appeared and we were FIRST IN LINE. Madeleine was excited until it was "go time" and she came down with a massive case of nerves. The picture ended up being Juliette half passed out in Santa's arms, Madeleine on my lap looking PISSED and me smiling for the camera. Not one we will be prominently displaying for years to come but definitely one that we will bring out to embarrass them in front of friends.
In between refusing to look at the camera and staring at the floor Madeleine would turn to Santa and say, "Santa... trains please!" The kid at least knows how that part works.
Today was the final Sunday of Advent and another mass where I missed almost all of the new responses peeling Juliette off the pews and convincing Madeleine that this was NOT a good time to tickle the baby. However, when Madeleine does pay attention it is an amazing thing. During the consecration I told her, "Look at the priest. He is turning the bread into Jesus' body!" She looks at me, eyes wide, and goes, "NO WAY!"
Later I asked her if she knew what the Eucharist was. She nodded. She goes, "The Eucharist goes in your mouth." She may not know that the Eucharist is the Body, Blood, Soul, and Divinity of Jesus but she knows that the priest puts the Eucharist in your mouth. I'm very proud of her.
And that's been my weekend so far... not too exciting but I am very joyful.
Not to mention my husband has apparently gotten my "the best Christmas gift ever" (besides Jesus, of course) and won't even give me a hint as to what it is. Naturally I am a basket case over not knowing and have nagged him non stop to give me a hint. He won't. He's adorable. I've made up a story that he is giving me a dolphin that I will call Patrick. Sure, it may seem unreasonable to ask for a dolphin in a 3 bedroom apartment in the cold northeast but we have a really big bathtub.
We went to the mall Friday to see Santa and had to wait until after his lunch break was over to get in line. The Santa booth was right by the personalized ornaments and so I found the girls an ornament with two hearts that said BFF in the middle. I had them place one of their name's in each heart because they are BFFs and I think it's precious so I hung it in a very prominent spot on the tree as soon as I got home.
But back to the trip to the mall.... FINALLY Santa appeared and we were FIRST IN LINE. Madeleine was excited until it was "go time" and she came down with a massive case of nerves. The picture ended up being Juliette half passed out in Santa's arms, Madeleine on my lap looking PISSED and me smiling for the camera. Not one we will be prominently displaying for years to come but definitely one that we will bring out to embarrass them in front of friends.
In between refusing to look at the camera and staring at the floor Madeleine would turn to Santa and say, "Santa... trains please!" The kid at least knows how that part works.
Today was the final Sunday of Advent and another mass where I missed almost all of the new responses peeling Juliette off the pews and convincing Madeleine that this was NOT a good time to tickle the baby. However, when Madeleine does pay attention it is an amazing thing. During the consecration I told her, "Look at the priest. He is turning the bread into Jesus' body!" She looks at me, eyes wide, and goes, "NO WAY!"
Later I asked her if she knew what the Eucharist was. She nodded. She goes, "The Eucharist goes in your mouth." She may not know that the Eucharist is the Body, Blood, Soul, and Divinity of Jesus but she knows that the priest puts the Eucharist in your mouth. I'm very proud of her.
And that's been my weekend so far... not too exciting but I am very joyful.
Tuesday, December 13, 2011
Picking up my cross
I am so thankful for my doctors up here in Massachusetts. Since I almost died from an ectopic pregnancy about a week before we left Texas I was a bit scared of finding a doctor I could trust. Per the advice of many solid people I found a strong Catholic doctor who is well versed in the Creighton Method of Natural Family Planning, completely pro-life and anti-contraception with a sizable Catholic brood of his own. He is amazing. I was so scared of not being able to have kids after I lost one of my tubes and he helped me find specialists who could determine the underlying causes to my ectopic pregnancy and if I could achieve more pregnancies without risking losing my other tube or if I would need surgery.
After many sessions with him, lots of blood draws, and much more confidence than I had before I had met him I became pregnant with Madeleine. He was too far away to deliver my baby but I saw him through the first trimester. He did weekly blood draws to make sure my HCG levels were doubling properly before they could make certain that the baby was in my uterus by ultrasound. He got me on progesterone because of my extremely low levels and my family history of miscarriages due to low progesterone levels. Even after I migrated to my new (and also fabulous) doctor for my second and third trimesters he kept up with me to make sure I was doing well.
I had an appointment with him today as has become customary after I start to get my cycle back (over share, I know) after I give birth. They monitor my hormone levels to make sure that they don't detect any signs that there could be any problems with my remaining tube. Praise God, so far everything has been perfect.
We talked for a while about the gift that Natural Family Planning is. He gave an amazing analogy that I just wanted to share. When you achieve a pregnancy while doing Natural Family Planning you are aware of your fertility and therefore able to make a decision to receive a new life inside of you. It is like when you go to receive the Eucharist, you walk to the priest or Extraordinary Minister with the intent to receive Jesus inside of you and you are able to prepare yourself. When you use Natural Family Planning you are aware of the holiness of the act of creating a child with your spouse and you are able to prepare yourself for that new life. He said when you don't use Natural Family Planning and you aren't aware of your fertility it's like receiving the Eucharist in your sandwich. All of the holiness and grace are still there but you aren't aware and so you cannot prepare yourself as fully to receive it. It is such a gift to be aware that you may have just made a child and to reflect on that and it is a blessing to make the decision, "Yes, I want to bear new life." A child is always unequivocally a GIFT and a BLESSING but why would you not want to understand your fertility, embrace it, and know and receive the blessings of that gift right from the moment of conception?
We also talked about having large families. He says that he gets frustrated when the mother of many kids complains about hardships and people say to her, "Well maybe you shouldn't have had so many kids." Someone could be stuck in traffic and complaining about that but you wouldn't tell them, "Well maybe you shouldn't have a car." Sometimes mothers get "stuck in traffic" so to speak and struggle but that does not mean that they shouldn't have had their kids. The overall blessings from their child outweigh any hardships greatly. In fact, I would say that the hardships and challenges are what purify us and make marriage and motherhood a vocation that increases holiness.
Back in the day at Franciscan people would talk about "paths". Obviously your vocation is your path to God. Most of the time when I think about paths in a spiritual context I think back to the road Christ had to travel to the cross. That journey was His purpose and he bore His cross along it because of His intense love for the people we would die for.
I relate that to vocations. Until I found Kyle most of the time I found my "path" to be a rather easy one. I felt like I could carry my cross with no issues and was dancing along to God. It wasn't until I loved Kyle that I began to feel the weight of the cross I was carrying, my sinfulness. I could feel how my sins weighed down on me because now that we were one they were also placed on his shoulders. I could clearly see the effects of my sinfulness on him. If I was selfish, it hurt Kyle. If I was vein, it hurt Kyle. That clarity allowed me to see how I also hurt so many other people around me. Suddenly my cross felt more weighty. At the same time however I found new strength to carry it because I had found something I would die for. I'm not really talking about actual martyrdom because that seems like a no-brainer, dying for my faith, but someone I was willing to die to myself for.
Each day in marriage is a day to carry the cross of sin, of illness, and then to die to yourself for the ones you love. I imagine it is the same for a priest, wanting to carry your cross out of love for the Church, the bride of the priest, and being willing to die to yourself for Her. When I became a mother this conviction was taken to an even more intense level. My sins are weighted down on my daughters as well. I don't think that Jesus says His yoke is easy and His burden is light because the struggles you face as a Christian are negligible. I believe He says it because He gives you the ability to truly LOVE and that love gives you the strength to carry your cross. Ultimately in order to love someone you have to be willing to die to yourself.
I don't want to ever look at motherhood or being a wife and say, "I have no time for myself. I can't afford XYZ." There are times when I struggle with those things but if I ever complain I'll tell you now, I'm glad I have the car even though I am stuck in traffic.
Tonight it is two in the morning but I am not asleep. Juliette is having one of those nights where she thinks bed time is nap time and wakes up at 11 refreshed and ready to go. Which, of course, is always fun.
Tonight after she had been put down on the floor to burn off energy she took off for the clean laundry basket, put my underwear around her neck, and walked off screaming for "Na" which is what she calls Madeleine. Sometimes it's "Nani" but usually it's "Na".
So she eventually realized that "Na" was not in the living room or the play room or the kitchen so she beat down the door to the nursery and made her way to Madeleine's crib in the dark as she called out for her. I scooped her up and removed her before she could wake her sister, she cried, and I told her she would just have to settle for playtime with momma.
She fell asleep again just a little while ago and while I am exhausted I wouldn't a trade single smile. Motherhood can be hard, and I'll stumble and fall far more than the three times Christ did, but it itself cannot ever be a cross. It's what I carry my cross for.
After many sessions with him, lots of blood draws, and much more confidence than I had before I had met him I became pregnant with Madeleine. He was too far away to deliver my baby but I saw him through the first trimester. He did weekly blood draws to make sure my HCG levels were doubling properly before they could make certain that the baby was in my uterus by ultrasound. He got me on progesterone because of my extremely low levels and my family history of miscarriages due to low progesterone levels. Even after I migrated to my new (and also fabulous) doctor for my second and third trimesters he kept up with me to make sure I was doing well.
I had an appointment with him today as has become customary after I start to get my cycle back (over share, I know) after I give birth. They monitor my hormone levels to make sure that they don't detect any signs that there could be any problems with my remaining tube. Praise God, so far everything has been perfect.
We talked for a while about the gift that Natural Family Planning is. He gave an amazing analogy that I just wanted to share. When you achieve a pregnancy while doing Natural Family Planning you are aware of your fertility and therefore able to make a decision to receive a new life inside of you. It is like when you go to receive the Eucharist, you walk to the priest or Extraordinary Minister with the intent to receive Jesus inside of you and you are able to prepare yourself. When you use Natural Family Planning you are aware of the holiness of the act of creating a child with your spouse and you are able to prepare yourself for that new life. He said when you don't use Natural Family Planning and you aren't aware of your fertility it's like receiving the Eucharist in your sandwich. All of the holiness and grace are still there but you aren't aware and so you cannot prepare yourself as fully to receive it. It is such a gift to be aware that you may have just made a child and to reflect on that and it is a blessing to make the decision, "Yes, I want to bear new life." A child is always unequivocally a GIFT and a BLESSING but why would you not want to understand your fertility, embrace it, and know and receive the blessings of that gift right from the moment of conception?
We also talked about having large families. He says that he gets frustrated when the mother of many kids complains about hardships and people say to her, "Well maybe you shouldn't have had so many kids." Someone could be stuck in traffic and complaining about that but you wouldn't tell them, "Well maybe you shouldn't have a car." Sometimes mothers get "stuck in traffic" so to speak and struggle but that does not mean that they shouldn't have had their kids. The overall blessings from their child outweigh any hardships greatly. In fact, I would say that the hardships and challenges are what purify us and make marriage and motherhood a vocation that increases holiness.
Back in the day at Franciscan people would talk about "paths". Obviously your vocation is your path to God. Most of the time when I think about paths in a spiritual context I think back to the road Christ had to travel to the cross. That journey was His purpose and he bore His cross along it because of His intense love for the people we would die for.
I relate that to vocations. Until I found Kyle most of the time I found my "path" to be a rather easy one. I felt like I could carry my cross with no issues and was dancing along to God. It wasn't until I loved Kyle that I began to feel the weight of the cross I was carrying, my sinfulness. I could feel how my sins weighed down on me because now that we were one they were also placed on his shoulders. I could clearly see the effects of my sinfulness on him. If I was selfish, it hurt Kyle. If I was vein, it hurt Kyle. That clarity allowed me to see how I also hurt so many other people around me. Suddenly my cross felt more weighty. At the same time however I found new strength to carry it because I had found something I would die for. I'm not really talking about actual martyrdom because that seems like a no-brainer, dying for my faith, but someone I was willing to die to myself for.
Each day in marriage is a day to carry the cross of sin, of illness, and then to die to yourself for the ones you love. I imagine it is the same for a priest, wanting to carry your cross out of love for the Church, the bride of the priest, and being willing to die to yourself for Her. When I became a mother this conviction was taken to an even more intense level. My sins are weighted down on my daughters as well. I don't think that Jesus says His yoke is easy and His burden is light because the struggles you face as a Christian are negligible. I believe He says it because He gives you the ability to truly LOVE and that love gives you the strength to carry your cross. Ultimately in order to love someone you have to be willing to die to yourself.
I don't want to ever look at motherhood or being a wife and say, "I have no time for myself. I can't afford XYZ." There are times when I struggle with those things but if I ever complain I'll tell you now, I'm glad I have the car even though I am stuck in traffic.
Tonight it is two in the morning but I am not asleep. Juliette is having one of those nights where she thinks bed time is nap time and wakes up at 11 refreshed and ready to go. Which, of course, is always fun.
Tonight after she had been put down on the floor to burn off energy she took off for the clean laundry basket, put my underwear around her neck, and walked off screaming for "Na" which is what she calls Madeleine. Sometimes it's "Nani" but usually it's "Na".
So she eventually realized that "Na" was not in the living room or the play room or the kitchen so she beat down the door to the nursery and made her way to Madeleine's crib in the dark as she called out for her. I scooped her up and removed her before she could wake her sister, she cried, and I told her she would just have to settle for playtime with momma.
She fell asleep again just a little while ago and while I am exhausted I wouldn't a trade single smile. Motherhood can be hard, and I'll stumble and fall far more than the three times Christ did, but it itself cannot ever be a cross. It's what I carry my cross for.
Thursday, December 8, 2011
She's ALIVE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
I'm alive!!!!
Today is the first day I am finally feeling a bit better, praise God! Madeleine has spent the past two nights and tonight as well at my parent's house so I could recover and only have one kiddo to worry about. It's been nice but I miss that stinky little toddler like crazy and am excited to get her back tomorrow!
Momma and Juliette have been having some fantastic bonding time. Lots of fluids, peekaboo, and snuggling in front of Elmo. She's been an absolute angel.
And Kyle has been an angel as well. He has taken such good care of us while we were all sick and has gotten rather little time to relax himself. He does it all without complaint and is always trying to figure out what else he can do for us. At the same time he is planning some sort of Christmas surprise for me. He asked me a budget and I told him BAGILLION MONEYS!!! He says that isn't a real number and that he will figure it out for himself. It's tempting to snoop since I hate surprises but I have to admit that it's pretty fun having no idea what he is planning for me.
The house is a mess of half done projects. The dishwasher is half loaded or half emptied, the clothes are in the dryer but not folded, the playroom is half cleaned up. I'd start feeling better, get to cleaning, and then get sick again. This is the point at which I'd fall back on the couch and swear I wouldn't try to clean again.
Hopefully now that this is all almost over I can get back into the Christmas spirit with full force! I have cards to send out and presents to wrap and a toddler to catechize so I am busy, busy, busy. Especially with that last part.
But now I'm feeling rather lazy again so I'm off to watch TV and then get some sleep. I can't overdo it. I have the world's sweetest two year old to collect tomorrow and I plan on having the strength to give her the world's biggest hug!
Today is the first day I am finally feeling a bit better, praise God! Madeleine has spent the past two nights and tonight as well at my parent's house so I could recover and only have one kiddo to worry about. It's been nice but I miss that stinky little toddler like crazy and am excited to get her back tomorrow!
Momma and Juliette have been having some fantastic bonding time. Lots of fluids, peekaboo, and snuggling in front of Elmo. She's been an absolute angel.
And Kyle has been an angel as well. He has taken such good care of us while we were all sick and has gotten rather little time to relax himself. He does it all without complaint and is always trying to figure out what else he can do for us. At the same time he is planning some sort of Christmas surprise for me. He asked me a budget and I told him BAGILLION MONEYS!!! He says that isn't a real number and that he will figure it out for himself. It's tempting to snoop since I hate surprises but I have to admit that it's pretty fun having no idea what he is planning for me.
The house is a mess of half done projects. The dishwasher is half loaded or half emptied, the clothes are in the dryer but not folded, the playroom is half cleaned up. I'd start feeling better, get to cleaning, and then get sick again. This is the point at which I'd fall back on the couch and swear I wouldn't try to clean again.
Hopefully now that this is all almost over I can get back into the Christmas spirit with full force! I have cards to send out and presents to wrap and a toddler to catechize so I am busy, busy, busy. Especially with that last part.
But now I'm feeling rather lazy again so I'm off to watch TV and then get some sleep. I can't overdo it. I have the world's sweetest two year old to collect tomorrow and I plan on having the strength to give her the world's biggest hug!
Friday, December 2, 2011
My man and my mocha
Geeze having sick kids is the worst! And being sick with sick kids makes it even harder. That is why I am thankful for Kyle. Yes, he has helped with the dishes and the laundry while we are all down for the count (in fact he usually does the dishes because the OCD in him hates how I load the dishwasher) but he has also gotten me Starbucks every single day I have been sick.
Why is that a big deal for me? We normally only get Starbucks on Sundays and birthdays because it's expensive and we are p-o-o-r but this week he has obliged my cravings. Why? It makes me feel better, it gives me a little bit of energy to care for the kids. Honestly, I'm not sure why it works but mochas are pure magic.
I am just so thankful to have a husband who goes out of his way to take care of me. His love really gives me the strength to be the mother I need to be to my babies. I guess it isn't really the mocha, it's that he cares enough to do what it takes to make me happy. It's that he thinks of the little things that I like.
I've been sick a lot since we got married and every single time he has honored our vows of "in sickness and in health". I couldn't be more grateful to have married someone who loves my in the tougher days and in the little ways. He always tells me what an amazing mother he thinks I am but I wouldn't be able to do it without him.
Why is that a big deal for me? We normally only get Starbucks on Sundays and birthdays because it's expensive and we are p-o-o-r but this week he has obliged my cravings. Why? It makes me feel better, it gives me a little bit of energy to care for the kids. Honestly, I'm not sure why it works but mochas are pure magic.
I am just so thankful to have a husband who goes out of his way to take care of me. His love really gives me the strength to be the mother I need to be to my babies. I guess it isn't really the mocha, it's that he cares enough to do what it takes to make me happy. It's that he thinks of the little things that I like.
I've been sick a lot since we got married and every single time he has honored our vows of "in sickness and in health". I couldn't be more grateful to have married someone who loves my in the tougher days and in the little ways. He always tells me what an amazing mother he thinks I am but I wouldn't be able to do it without him.
Monday, November 28, 2011
THANKS GOD
Oh geeze it has been a long freaking week. Awesome week but L.O.N.G.
Thanksgiving was wonderful. Well, the trip out there was no fun at all. I live 30 miles away form my aunt and uncle's house and it took me TWO HOURS to get there. Because 128 in MA was designed by the servants of evil and this state is run by communists. But once I was there my day went something like this:
CHEESE
Nap
TURKEY
Nap 2.0
PIE
Nap 3.0
Family Games
Not all of those naps involved sleeping. In most cases I curled up under a snuggie in front of the fire place with my eyes closed and I lay reeeeeally still so the babies would think I was sleeping and attack someone else. Then I would bask in the utter joy of warm piggie toes, a full belly, and the noise of a full house. Of course despite the amazing spread for both dinner and dessert my highlight of the day was all the cheese dips because, well, I heart cheese and I never allow myself to make it.
The family was as dys-FUN-ctional as usual, emphasis on the FUN and we spent a good portion of the day torturing my sister Hannah over her new boyfriend-type-person. Par for the course.
My sisters Carly and Hannah spent the night at my house and the next day my daaarling husband watched the girls so we could go see Breaking Dawn, hold hands, and cry and I really don't care who judges me for this, it was my favorite sexy vampire movie ever. My favorite movie ever. All other movies are now crap. (Hannah would be laughing right now if she ever read this thing.)
Saturday was coffee with Alexa, more family time, and drinks with Blair and Bethany. It was amazing to get out with friends and just be with people that make me laugh and love me and accept me and laugh at my jokes... who aren't related to me because the people who are related to me kinda have to do all those things. I don't get to get out much so mom, I really appreciate you babysitting. You are the best!
With such an amazing but busy weekend I fully expected the girls to be NAS-TY last night and they did not dissapoint. The new translation of the mass was BEAUTIFUL and their behavior was a little bit the opposite. After mass we put Madeleine in time out and she just sat there for like, an hour. We kept offering to get her out but she refused. I'm pretty sure she needed the space to just be alone too, my precious little introvert. After she was done she asked to be held and refused to be put down for the rest of the night. She just kept saying, "I want mommy. Up please mommy." So I snuggled her until she was almost asleep.
When Madeleine went to bed early, Juliette and I stayed up and played Peek-a-Boo together. She would take my hands, cover my face, take them away, and say, "BOO!" and then laugh hysterically. After about ten minutes of this she was SO JOYFUL that she would move my hands and instead of saying "boo!" she would kiss my face over and over. Then she passed out in my arms and instead of putting her in her crib I just held her and nuzzled her face for a while.
And, not to make this post too long but today I got the pleasure of catching up with a college friend, Kristen, who's birthday it was. Now I am planning on buddy passing her and her adorable son up to come see us soon!
Basically, this was rambling but this weekend was one big fest of Thankfulness. I am also thankful for the wedding of Theresa to her prince charming, Jess. I wasn't able to be there but I am so thankful for the life of love they embarked on together. The world needs more holy couples, these two (now one) will be such a light to the world.
Thanksgiving was wonderful. Well, the trip out there was no fun at all. I live 30 miles away form my aunt and uncle's house and it took me TWO HOURS to get there. Because 128 in MA was designed by the servants of evil and this state is run by communists. But once I was there my day went something like this:
CHEESE
Nap
TURKEY
Nap 2.0
PIE
Nap 3.0
Family Games
Not all of those naps involved sleeping. In most cases I curled up under a snuggie in front of the fire place with my eyes closed and I lay reeeeeally still so the babies would think I was sleeping and attack someone else. Then I would bask in the utter joy of warm piggie toes, a full belly, and the noise of a full house. Of course despite the amazing spread for both dinner and dessert my highlight of the day was all the cheese dips because, well, I heart cheese and I never allow myself to make it.
The family was as dys-FUN-ctional as usual, emphasis on the FUN and we spent a good portion of the day torturing my sister Hannah over her new boyfriend-type-person. Par for the course.
My sisters Carly and Hannah spent the night at my house and the next day my daaarling husband watched the girls so we could go see Breaking Dawn, hold hands, and cry and I really don't care who judges me for this, it was my favorite sexy vampire movie ever. My favorite movie ever. All other movies are now crap. (Hannah would be laughing right now if she ever read this thing.)
Saturday was coffee with Alexa, more family time, and drinks with Blair and Bethany. It was amazing to get out with friends and just be with people that make me laugh and love me and accept me and laugh at my jokes... who aren't related to me because the people who are related to me kinda have to do all those things. I don't get to get out much so mom, I really appreciate you babysitting. You are the best!
With such an amazing but busy weekend I fully expected the girls to be NAS-TY last night and they did not dissapoint. The new translation of the mass was BEAUTIFUL and their behavior was a little bit the opposite. After mass we put Madeleine in time out and she just sat there for like, an hour. We kept offering to get her out but she refused. I'm pretty sure she needed the space to just be alone too, my precious little introvert. After she was done she asked to be held and refused to be put down for the rest of the night. She just kept saying, "I want mommy. Up please mommy." So I snuggled her until she was almost asleep.
When Madeleine went to bed early, Juliette and I stayed up and played Peek-a-Boo together. She would take my hands, cover my face, take them away, and say, "BOO!" and then laugh hysterically. After about ten minutes of this she was SO JOYFUL that she would move my hands and instead of saying "boo!" she would kiss my face over and over. Then she passed out in my arms and instead of putting her in her crib I just held her and nuzzled her face for a while.
And, not to make this post too long but today I got the pleasure of catching up with a college friend, Kristen, who's birthday it was. Now I am planning on buddy passing her and her adorable son up to come see us soon!
Basically, this was rambling but this weekend was one big fest of Thankfulness. I am also thankful for the wedding of Theresa to her prince charming, Jess. I wasn't able to be there but I am so thankful for the life of love they embarked on together. The world needs more holy couples, these two (now one) will be such a light to the world.
Monday, November 21, 2011
One Year Ago Today
One year ago today at exactly 3:00 pm, the hour of Divine Mercy, God mercifully blessed me with our second daughter, Juliette Marie. Just like my world was turned upside down on the day her sister was born, my life has not been the same since.
When I woke up in the morning I knew that I was heading to the hospital and was getting induced but I had no idea of what was about to unfold. It was about five hours of easy labor and eight minutes of pushing when Juliette breathed her first breath outside of my big ole belly and the doctor placed her in my arms for the first time. Kyle was there, my mom was there, but at that moment all I could see were those big brown eyes and that red face and I was a goner. Completely, totally, and utterly in love right from the beginning.
The joy in being a mother and the entirety of my love for my child has in no way faded from my first baby to my second. Somehow God has allowed me to grow enough to love them both with everything I have.
Juliette, maybe someday you will read this, but you haven't just stolen my heart. You are my heart. You and Madeleine. Through Kyle, God filled my heart until it overflowed out of my body and now it lives and breathes as the two of you.
Someday, maybe as a teenager, you may tell me that I can be overly protective sometimes, worry all the time, ask you nagging questions, and interrigate every boy you even look at. You won't ever understand until you have kids of your own.
You are beautiful in a way that is uniquely yours and will never exist anywhere else. Your eyes, your smile, your personality. Even at the age of one you love so entirely and you are so fearless. I am both excited and a little nervous to see how those traits of yours shape your future.
Your sister adores you too. When we ask Madeleine who her best friend she responds that YOU are, without any question at all. And maybe someday you may fight over boys and clothes but since I have sisters I know that ultimately you will always remain the first and best friends each other will ever have.
For now though I am enjoying each and every moment of you being my baby. I love how when you nurse sometimes you stand up and push your head into me. I'm not even sure of how you accomplish that. I love how we have to block off anything that would allow you to climb on it because you will climb and then you will laugh at us when you have reached your little summit. I love how you snuggle stuffed animals, how you try to play with the big kids without ever realizing how much smaller you really are. I love that when you are angry you lie face down on the floor and cry just to show us we have displeased you. I love the growling noises you make as you play and explore, I love how you always end up in our bed at night because there is no place you would rather sleep than in my arms. I love how when your daddy gets home you stop whatever you are doing and fling yourself at him with joyful abandonment and how no one can make you laugh like your sister.
You are precious to me. Most of all I love how when you are crying all I have to do is hold you and you will stop. I hope that in the future you will always come to me to comfort you when you are sad but even if you don't, I'll still always be here.
Really, I just love you more than words or a blog post can ever express. You and that amazingly adorable big sister of yours'.
Happy First Birthday Juliette Marie. Thank you for making this past year nothing short of magical.
Nothing terrible about two
Since in all likelihood I will dedicate tomorrow's post to my mini-me, the almost ONE YEAR OLD Juliette my Pet, tonight I will celebrate Madeleine. But this isn't the cutsie celebration of last night. This is why my toddler is AWESOME.
I mean, for one thing, toddler are awesome. So what if she thinks the answer to "what do you want to eat" and "what color is this" is an emphatic NO? And sure, her favorite music to dance to are Beyonce club hits. But that isn't even the half of it. Two year olds are also creative and hilarious.
For instance the other day Madeleine was pretending to talk on the phone... which was actually the credit card she had taken from my wallet... BUT ANYWAY. I am listening to her and the conversation went something like this.
M- OH HI BOYS! COLLEGE! FRIENDS! BOYS!
After a lot of worrying and soul searching I realized that she was imitating the phone conversations I have with my sister Hannah which involve asking her about college and friends and boys. And she also told me she was on the phone with Hannah too. Of course, she could have told me this at the beginning of the conversation... you know, before I had time to worry about her.
And, earlier today Madeleine had her friend "Roz" over for a play date. Side note- I've learned that a play date between two year olds involves lots of pleas for cookies, full out wrestling, and standing on tables (don't worry Roz mommy, it was all totally supervised! lol) Anyway, since Roz left Madeleine has not stopped talking about her. We were sitting around tonight at about nine when Madeleine grabbed my hand and started pulling me towards the door. This is made doubly entertaining since I was at the time sitting in the rolling desk chair and was therefore, rolling after her.
S- Madeleine... where are you taking mommy?
M- Come on mom! Madeleine and Roz go to park and play slide and swing. Moooooom! Leave NOW! CAR! SLIDE! (her sentences get shorter and more pointed when her emotions get going)
S- Madeleine, it is almost bed time we are not going to the park now. Is there anything else you want to do?
... she pauses...
M- Watch the Yankees please.
A girl after my own heart. This is the part at which Kyle and I applauded for her, gave her kisses, and gave each other a few self satisfied pats on the back.
I always thought two year olds were given a bad rap. Two year olds are awesome people and deserve respect. But if you ask them they will probably just say, "NO!!!!"
Sunday, November 20, 2011
Jesus Mommy Hail Mary
Tonight at mass I just had an overwhelming knowledge of how blessed I am. Sitting next to my husband, both girls curled up on our laps... I have more than I could have ever dreamed of. I have been blessed by God so abundantly to have His love and then on top of that the love of such a holy man and such precious little daughters.
Then when we were leaving mass I got another blessing. We stopped by the statue of Mary like we always do to say hi and thank you to Jesus' mommy. Madeleine went running up with the biggest smile and started talking to her. When I thought she was done I told her we were heading home and she told me that she wanted to stay here. With Jesus Mommy Hail Mary.
With all the toys and cookies and movie in our home she preferred to be with the Blessed Mother thanking her for Baby Jesus. Sometimes I really wonder what God was giving me such gifts as these two little souls to care for me, but He has it under control. I forget that they already have a perfect mother in heaven and that whatever my weaknesses are that she will be taking care of my girls as well so I have nothing to worry about.
So thank you to Jesus' mommy Mary for loving my babies, show me how to be a mother like you!
Then when we were leaving mass I got another blessing. We stopped by the statue of Mary like we always do to say hi and thank you to Jesus' mommy. Madeleine went running up with the biggest smile and started talking to her. When I thought she was done I told her we were heading home and she told me that she wanted to stay here. With Jesus Mommy Hail Mary.
With all the toys and cookies and movie in our home she preferred to be with the Blessed Mother thanking her for Baby Jesus. Sometimes I really wonder what God was giving me such gifts as these two little souls to care for me, but He has it under control. I forget that they already have a perfect mother in heaven and that whatever my weaknesses are that she will be taking care of my girls as well so I have nothing to worry about.
So thank you to Jesus' mommy Mary for loving my babies, show me how to be a mother like you!
The Long Languages of Motherhood.
I don't know how many know about The Five Love Languages but they were all the rage when I was at college. All the girls were reading about how the both gave a received love. There was a book with a quiz and we would all take it and then force our boyfriends or fiances to take the quiz as well. And then we would discuss the results at length. And then beat a dead horse.
The Five Love Languages were something like this:
1. Words of Affirmation
2. Physical Touch
3. Quality Time
4. Acts of Service
5. Gift Giving
I remember taking the quiz and proudly proclaiming that my top two (you went with your top two) were Physical Touch and Quality Time. I just loved snuggling and holding hand and kisses and spending lots and lots of time together.
We were soon married and did lots of both. I won't say more than that. I was blissful, he was blissful, I got pregnant. I gave birth and then I got pregnant again.
Now I have come to be fully convinced that there are a separate set of Love Languages for Mothers. These are ways that MOTHERS receive love. We all have or are mothers so I wanted to share my newest revelations with the class... blog.... whatever.
The Five Love Languages of Motherhood:
1. Cleaning up after yourself
2. Sitting still long enough to snuggle for like a minute.
3. Those pictures or art projects you make for us
4. When "I love you mommy" is NOT preceded or followed by a request for something you want.
5. Bubble Baths
It isn't that I don't like physical touch anymore... or quality time for that matter. It's that as a mom you can tend to OD on both. There is always someone climbing all over me and wanting to touch me... the girls, Kyle. That is why my love language is now bubble baths. I love my family more than anything but sometimes you just need to lock the door and relax by yourself with a good book. Sure, your family may still not understand why even this is not a group activity but you can explain to them that you will feel their love for you really strongly if they are in the other room. You may even miss them before long. I know I usually do.
The Five Love Languages were something like this:
1. Words of Affirmation
2. Physical Touch
3. Quality Time
4. Acts of Service
5. Gift Giving
I remember taking the quiz and proudly proclaiming that my top two (you went with your top two) were Physical Touch and Quality Time. I just loved snuggling and holding hand and kisses and spending lots and lots of time together.
We were soon married and did lots of both. I won't say more than that. I was blissful, he was blissful, I got pregnant. I gave birth and then I got pregnant again.
Now I have come to be fully convinced that there are a separate set of Love Languages for Mothers. These are ways that MOTHERS receive love. We all have or are mothers so I wanted to share my newest revelations with the class... blog.... whatever.
The Five Love Languages of Motherhood:
1. Cleaning up after yourself
2. Sitting still long enough to snuggle for like a minute.
3. Those pictures or art projects you make for us
4. When "I love you mommy" is NOT preceded or followed by a request for something you want.
5. Bubble Baths
It isn't that I don't like physical touch anymore... or quality time for that matter. It's that as a mom you can tend to OD on both. There is always someone climbing all over me and wanting to touch me... the girls, Kyle. That is why my love language is now bubble baths. I love my family more than anything but sometimes you just need to lock the door and relax by yourself with a good book. Sure, your family may still not understand why even this is not a group activity but you can explain to them that you will feel their love for you really strongly if they are in the other room. You may even miss them before long. I know I usually do.
Saturday, November 19, 2011
Criminal Profiling... FOR KIDS!!!
Well, as you can probably tell by my latest blog posts my go-to show for after the babies go to bed is Criminal Minds. Well, that show has been educational for me as a parent. As you may remember from my post about 24... I learn a lot about parenting from shows
You see, I have two kids now. It's true, that's not a lot of people to keep track of but sometimes I leave them in the playroom for a minute or two to heat dinner or empty the dishwasher and THAT is when the crimes take place. When I come back and crayon is all over the wall, the juice cup has been dumped on the futon, or the book shelf has been emptied all over the floor... I need to figure out who the culprit is.
For this purpose I have studied the shows use of facts they gather from the crime scene and victims to give myself an accurate profile for who committed the crime.
Take the case of the crayon on the wall, I wrote about that a couple of weeks ago. After evaluating the crime scene I came up with the following Criminal Profile:
"The unsub is between 2 and 3 years old and under 3 feet tall. She is probably left handed because the crayon marks didn't reach above the toy box on the right side of the wall. She loves coloring but feels confined by paper. Therefore she is taking our her artistic desires on walls. She probably has a few priors for coloring... on toys, dolls, or other small objects. Now her compulsion to color has gotten out of hand."
Now, with that profile I was able to determine that the only child who could fit the profile was Madeleine. I made the arrest and she was sentenced to two minutes of time out. FBI has nothing on me.
In other cases the profile may vary. Take the case of the empty tupperware cabinet:
"The unsub is probably no more than one year old. She has a need to remove everything she sees from it's proper place. Her house growing up probably had many safety latches on the cabinets and breakable objects places up high to prevent her compulsion. However, when someone forgets to relock the cabinet her compulsion cannot be controlled. When she sees an unlock cabinet she will immediately crawl or walk to it and remove everything from it, leaving most of it on the floor. She takes a trophy with her after her crime. If you find her she may be wearing a tupperware on her head or using it to make banging noises on the wood floor."
Well... after that profile I was able to determine with absolute certainty the unsub was indeed my Juliette. She had her trophy taken from her and the cabinet cleaned up and relocked.
The strangest cases are those where the unsub is neither Juliette or Madeleine. I give you the case of the dishes that were not done all weekend:
"The unsub is a male in his late 20s. He is married with kids. He is someone who probably enjoys eating but not putting away dishes. This weekend he was probably left alone at his home and took full advantage of the lack of nagging wife to sit on the couch, eat, and watch sports. When he was finished eating he did not put his dishes away, didn't even bring them to the sink, he just left them on the couch or next to the computer. This shows some "lazy" characteristics. He probably feels like his wife unfairly forces him to clean up after himself and therefore in her absense uses this time to make a mess. When you find him he will probably make excuses at first but then look guilty, apologize, and will offer to put them away because he is a good husband."
You have no idea how many times I have solved that case in four years of marriage.
I hope that this gives you new tools to help solve crime in your homes too!
You see, I have two kids now. It's true, that's not a lot of people to keep track of but sometimes I leave them in the playroom for a minute or two to heat dinner or empty the dishwasher and THAT is when the crimes take place. When I come back and crayon is all over the wall, the juice cup has been dumped on the futon, or the book shelf has been emptied all over the floor... I need to figure out who the culprit is.
For this purpose I have studied the shows use of facts they gather from the crime scene and victims to give myself an accurate profile for who committed the crime.
Take the case of the crayon on the wall, I wrote about that a couple of weeks ago. After evaluating the crime scene I came up with the following Criminal Profile:
"The unsub is between 2 and 3 years old and under 3 feet tall. She is probably left handed because the crayon marks didn't reach above the toy box on the right side of the wall. She loves coloring but feels confined by paper. Therefore she is taking our her artistic desires on walls. She probably has a few priors for coloring... on toys, dolls, or other small objects. Now her compulsion to color has gotten out of hand."
Now, with that profile I was able to determine that the only child who could fit the profile was Madeleine. I made the arrest and she was sentenced to two minutes of time out. FBI has nothing on me.
In other cases the profile may vary. Take the case of the empty tupperware cabinet:
"The unsub is probably no more than one year old. She has a need to remove everything she sees from it's proper place. Her house growing up probably had many safety latches on the cabinets and breakable objects places up high to prevent her compulsion. However, when someone forgets to relock the cabinet her compulsion cannot be controlled. When she sees an unlock cabinet she will immediately crawl or walk to it and remove everything from it, leaving most of it on the floor. She takes a trophy with her after her crime. If you find her she may be wearing a tupperware on her head or using it to make banging noises on the wood floor."
Well... after that profile I was able to determine with absolute certainty the unsub was indeed my Juliette. She had her trophy taken from her and the cabinet cleaned up and relocked.
The strangest cases are those where the unsub is neither Juliette or Madeleine. I give you the case of the dishes that were not done all weekend:
"The unsub is a male in his late 20s. He is married with kids. He is someone who probably enjoys eating but not putting away dishes. This weekend he was probably left alone at his home and took full advantage of the lack of nagging wife to sit on the couch, eat, and watch sports. When he was finished eating he did not put his dishes away, didn't even bring them to the sink, he just left them on the couch or next to the computer. This shows some "lazy" characteristics. He probably feels like his wife unfairly forces him to clean up after himself and therefore in her absense uses this time to make a mess. When you find him he will probably make excuses at first but then look guilty, apologize, and will offer to put them away because he is a good husband."
You have no idea how many times I have solved that case in four years of marriage.
I hope that this gives you new tools to help solve crime in your homes too!
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