With Praise and Thanksgiving

The last weekend in March I had the great pleasure of attending a real life blogging conference! Like a real blogger! Cathedral of St. Paul Jacqui ,  Anna  and  Susanna  hosted the Catholic Women's Blogging Network Twin Cities get together at a stunning Summit Avenue mansion in St. Paul. Thirty-some wonderful Catholic women from the Twin Cities, the Midwest, and even Maryland joined up to talk blogging and really just to support each other and build each other up. My friend Monica encouraged me to go, and I signed up on a bit of a whim, figuring that if I paid for registration I'd be more inclined to go. If I didn't have a mutual friend link to one of the organizers, and if a couple of my most favoritest bloggers hadn't been speakers, I'd probably have chickened out.  In response to my evident nerves on the way, my husband wisely mused, "Well, if you're going to walk into a group of people you don't know, this is probably the best group yo...

My new Out-of-Control Center The blog is still in the midst of an identity crisis, but that won't keep me from using up some of my beloved nap time alone time to pound away all my thoughts onto the interwebs. Pretty random thoughts coming up here.  Above: I was (am?) ever so sick of the mountain of miscellaneous crap that kept getting piled in the middle of the kitchen island, mostly by me. I'm famous for my "I'll deal with that later" piles, and then dealing with them by just making neater piles. I finally got fed up and decided to create a little, for lack of better word, control center. I'm in control of nothing, so the irony does not escape me, but I needed to see a clean island, at least for a few minutes. We had this old box floating around full of more miscellaneous crap, so I cleaned it out and made space for a couple of magazines and fliers I wanted to keep and added the little sorter for mail that needs attention. My planner fits perfectly...

I'm so far behind in my posts that I accidentally posted Thursdays thing for Friday. So day 350 gratitude is actually from day 351. It's my blog and I'll post how I want to, which is mostly tired. Friday I met a new friend for drinks and had such a great time. I have mentioned my introverted temperament, which doesn't always bode well for someone in a new town! Meeting new people and forming connections isn't easy for me. I'm sure I've posted before about meeting some nice moms at the local family play area we frequent on Wednesday mornings. That seems to be my best bet for finding "my people" here. I do miss my Fargo friends so much, and so forming new friendships here gives me hope! It's rare to have a night out since we've been here, and this week I got two! I'm so grateful for each of them in different ways.

Here's a photo of me, taken by an uninterested 6-year-old boy before Mass. I was showing of my new LulaRoe maxi skirt that I won from my sweet friend Kari* during her 12 Days of Christmas giveaway. Yay! She picked a pattern I like and that matched a couple of tops already in my closet. I love getting packages like that in the mail! I have to say, I'm really pleased with all the LulaRoe pieces I have in my closet (which is 5). It's legit! I'm also wearing one of my new Noonday Collection necklaces. I hemmed and hawed between this one and one that seemed more practical, and I'm so glad I went with this one. I've worn it three times already and it's turning out to be more versatile than I expected. I'm really excited about the Noonday Collection and I'm so glad my dear friend is an ambassador. I'd be happy to hook you up if you're interested in anything! Everything is unique and handcrafted and just beautiful! It may seem a little vain ...

TGIF, man. For real. I've been up since 3:30 a.m. Things got a little crazy up in here, between the sleeplessness and the first day of awful wintery weather. No snow here yet, but it's cold and the wind is blowing about 200 miles per hour. I'm grateful we didn't get the 18-ish inches that my in-laws got yesterday and today, and praying that it doesn't storm over Thanksgiving weekend. Like I said, I'm very tired. Please check out a blogger who can actually write words that make sense. Here's my friend Matt's new blog, Geeky Catholic Dad . He's smart, funny, and insightful. Check him out. A couple of my favorite posts are today's Expecting A Child When You Have Children in Heaven and Praying With The Church .

Do you ever use the adjective "crusty" to describe something besides food? I used to say it a lot, usually meaning "bad" or some synonym of it. One of my friends when I was living in Florida was just astounded and grossed out by that usage, and it made me giggle. I've fallen out of the habit of using crusty, but when I think of my mood today, crusty is the word that comes to mind. (Sorry, Krystal!) Anyway, we had an unexpected favorite friend dinner guest tonight as he was passing through for work, and it was so nice. He was our first non-family guest since moving here and there's something comforting about being the presence of people who know you pretty well. I suppose we didn't do anything or act any differently than we would have with anyone else, at least not intentionally. It's not that I'm out only to impress new friends, or treat old friends badly in some way, there's just a certain level of comfort there which is exactly what I nee...

Today the boys and I headed back to Fargo for dentist appointments that we scheduled six months ago before we knew where we'd be living or what we'd be doing. I'm muy grateful that my kids don't mind the dentist (#1 loves it), so there was no anxiety or crying. Also no cavities! Whoop! My biggest gratitude moment of the day was when a friend agreed to take #3 during our appointments with less than two hours notice. I had plans for him with another friend, but then her little dude ended up with croup (sad face!). My mom's group friends are just the best. For real. They are so generous to provide their home, toys and snacks for us at a moment's notice. I really hope that no matter what happens here, I'm able to sustain these friendships with these generous and kind people.

Since we stayed in Fargo on Saturday night, we headed to the 10:00 Mass at our old parish, St. Joseph's, on Sunday morning. I enjoyed it so much! Fr. Larry gave a great homily and said Mass reverently and the kids weren't terrible. We wolfed down donuts and headed to the gym. I got to visit with so many of my favorite old friends. Such a joy! I felt real joy and delight. We ate lunch with our family besties and the I'm all smiles just thinking of Sunday. I'm not against new friends, and I find myself able to picture us settling here, but there's just something about sweet old friends. I love them so much, and felt so happy to hang with them like the old (Sun)days.

I have been filling out my new 2016  Catholic Planner . Aside: I do realize it's October. Bear with me. That's not what this is about.  Part of it includes listing people who inspire you, and then reflecting on why they inspire you. I listed several different people from different areas of my life. I admire them for a number of reasons. I got to thinking about a couple of friends in particular today while I tidied my house for a quick visit from grandma and grandpa this afternoon. These couple of friends I thought of are confident in their vocations, their parenting, and their choices. Not a "my way is the best way and I have it all together" way, but more of a "this works for me and for my family and I'm content with that" way.  I've struggled with confidence in who I really am forever, and specifically since I became a stay-at-home mom. A book or blog or YouTube video exists for everything and you can find a zillion ways to validate your wa...

Friday was fun! The toddler had his checkup and besides his cold, was deemed healthy. He only cried for a minute and the rest of us managed to get our flu shots without crying. Aside: Here's a story about how my brother almost died, but then didn't, of influenza. Talk about gratitude! Please get a flu shot if you can!  The boys and I were in the big city for the doctor appointment so we used that as an excuse to visit some of our favorite friends! Obviously. We had such fun watching the kids interact. We saw them practically every other day all summer, and so they behaved almost like siblings. The kids were so happy to see each other and I was pleased to see the familiarity still there between them even though it's been a while since we hung out. I loved not having an agenda and just spending a "regular" afternoon. We didn't have to rush, we stayed for supper, and I am pretty sure I smiled the whole way home. I also started Joan of Arc by Mark Twain on...

I've written and rewritten, and can't get it just right. This post was supposed to be for Tuesday, July 26. I wanted this post to be eloquent and well-written, but if I don't post it now, I might never remember to do it! Background: My friend Ashley (my dear friend Monica's sister) lives in a convent in New Ulm, Minnesota, with the Handmaids of the Heart of Jesus . She was back home in Moorhead last week. She'll soon begin her two novitiate years, and she won't be home during their duration. I had expected to see Ashley at a small-group meeting Monday night, and greatly enjoyed our visit there and lingering in the parking lot chatting afterward. Unexpectedly, Ashley, Monica and Monica's two girls joined the boys and I for lunch on Tuesday morning. The kids braved the humidity and ate picnic-style out on the deck while the grown-ups happily enjoyed the air conditioning. I really savored our conversation, casual and unremarkable as it was. I wavered betwee...

Today was just a great day! It was one of those days were nothing is planned, and impromptu gatherings make the day wonderful. We started with a text at 8:44 inviting us over to play, and an hour later there were 4 moms and 11 kids in my friend's living room. We laughed about how it wasn't very long ago when we weren't outnumbered by kids! For the most part, the kids played well together. The babies tolerated face touching by one another and much coloring, swimming, swinging, running and giggling took place. It is a great joy to be surrounded by such wonderful friends and kids. We hung out and all the small people took much-needed naps. Like, so much needed. I enjoyed the quiet immensely, and I got exactly one box packed. Progress is progress, right? Our after-nap outing was a trip to the library, and miraculously, the Wiggle Room was empty. The little introverts played peacefully until it was time to go, and the baby toddler didn't even pull 100,000 books off the...

It all came together in a matter of minutes. A few text and Facebook messages and suddenly I was dropping my kids and an iced coffee off with a friend and meeting another friend for lunch! We'd been trying to get together for a while but, life keeps happening instead. I appreciated the reminder that sometimes impromptu plans are the best kind. Hey! Guess what? I don't have to plan every moment of my life. We had a great chat about pizza, life, babies, pregnancy, birth, and all sorts of other stuff. It was such a terrific couple of hours with this former coworker, whom I haven't seen since I quit work almost a year and a half ago. Funsies!

I'm still coming down from the high of finishing the super long but interesting, (Kindle) page-turning, addictive book  The Rise of Theodore Roosevelt  by Edmund Morris last night. I know I've mentioned it before but it was so terrific! I purchased it for $1.99 impulsively a couple of years ago, around the time the PBS miniseries came out, I think. It's been sitting on my Kindle, but I have to be in the right frame of mind to start a book like that. Turns out it's exactly what I needed this summer. I'd like to produce some sort of intellectual review of it for you, but I probably can't in the 6 minutes I have to sit here and type. I didn't know around 99% of what I read (because I missed the TR parts of the miniseries, I suppose) and every section fascinated me. I realized that I do not and mostly likely won't ever understand politics or military strategy, but Morris did a decent job of dumbing it down enough that I could follow what what happening. Th...

I reflected a bit today on hospitality. I just spent almost a week making myself perfectly at home at my parents' house. My sister and brother's houses were not spared either. I know not every family is so comfortable with each other that they can feel quickly make themselves at home with each other or in each other's spaces. As I thought about that, I have a few close friends who show that same type of hospitality to our family. Relationships can be so shallow these days that time spent together doing nothing is rare, and we can be so wrapped up in appearances that we don't let people "in."  I can think now of a few friends who would give us anything we need, who welcome us to their homes, feed us, and let our kids trash their family rooms! What a gift that type of friendship is! I only hope I can be that to my friends and family. 

Today I'm grateful for generous friends who take us in and feed us and let us mess up their houses and yards so we can keep ours clean. We've managed to keep the house in good shape for the last two days of showings. I'm hoping for a sale sooner than later, obviously, but am pleased with how we've done not completely trashing the place. Of course, it's much easier not to trash it when you are playing in friends' yards and toy rooms and eating in their kitchens. Win!

As usual, my Wallflowers Pandora station is killin' it today. I've mentioned a zillion times before how large a role music has played in my life thus far. Today I started listening not as much to the songs but to the memories they brought to mind and the people who will live eternally in those songs for me. Since the Wallflowers station is primarily '90s and early '00s, most of the people I thought of were from my high school and early college eras. I started thinking about how, even though we may no longer be in touch, or even though I feel the role they played in my life was minor, each of the people behind the songs have impacted me in some way. Some people's impacts are more profound than others, but through them I grew in virtue (or not), learned lessons about authentic relationships (or not), or just had a lot of fun. I will let those memories live with me forever. For instance, when I hear Seven Mary Three's "Cumbersome," I will always remem...

How is it May first already? This morning Facebook said it was my dear friend Callie's birthday and I was all, "Ha! Facebook, you crazy. It's probably only April 29th or something." Unfortunately, as it turns out, Facebook was right and I was wrong. Darn you, Mark Zuckerberg. Apparently the Year of Our Lord Two Thousand Sixteen is the year in which Ashley's prepared thoughtfulness comes to a screeching halt, so if you have a birthday coming up this year and are expecting a card from me, set yourself up for disappointment. I can't get organized this year, at least when it comes to acknowledgements where sending a card is the social norm. So like I said, it's my dear friend Callie's birthday. I've written about her before when we got a quick, unexpected visit a couple of months ago. She lives a million miles away (or two states, but still) so we don't see each other often, but when we are together it's like we were never apart. She is one...

It happens on lots of days, but on every April fourth I'm always grateful for my roommate! It would be easy to assume I mean one of the people who currently lives with me, but I actually mean my college roommate, Maren, whom I haven't lived with in 11 years! We lived together for three years in small sorority house rooms, as well as a summer at the fraternity house across the street and a summer in an apartment after graduation. We referred to each other as roommate or RM or any number of other terms of endearment that made our friends roll their eyes. I didn't send her a birthday card (because I forgot) for the first time in.... well, probably ever....so she only got a birthday text. And this gratitude post! Happy Birthday, RM! A lawyer by trade, RM currently stays at home with her three kids under 5, so even though we live almost 200 miles apart, we still have a lot in common. It pains me that we are not next door neighbors raising our kids to be little besties, but I...

Yesterday started out roses. My morning mother's group was perfect, enlightening and inspiring as usual. My homeboys took long naps and I got some administrative work done during nap time. Things took a sharp dive around 3 and by 6:30 I was ready to call it a day. At 7:30 I fished the toenail clipper out of a toilet of pee, and that's about where my mood was as well. As soon as the kids were tucked into their beds around 8:30 I was ready to fall into my own bed and forget the day had happened. Then I remembered that I was planning on donating some of my old formal wear today, and I thought it would be fun to try them on once more before saying goodbye. I made my spouse take pictures and texted them to the brides of those delightful weddings, and boy did I engage in some funny text conversations and trips down memory lane. That type of silliness and nonsense was just what I needed. I shocked myself by being able to at least partially zip all of them! #winning. All but one w...