What To Do with my Little Blog

So I've been thinking a lot lately about what to do with my poor, neglected little blog. I have a few followers, 35 at last count (thanks so much for following me!!!) but I know my posting lately has left something to be desired. So I've been thinking about a schedule that I could follow during the week to make sure that I'm posting more regularly.

On Mondays I think I'm going to join in with Sarah over at In Light of the Truth for her Monday Meanderings. I used to do The Simple Woman's Daybook, but she has stopped hosting it and what Sarah does is very much the same, but I like her format a little better. I have been following Sarah and her adorable family for a few years, ever since we were neighbors one day over at Menu Plan Monday, hosted by I'm an Organizing Junkie. I like that she includes a weekly menu plan so hopefully I'll start posting back at MPM, which used to be something I really enjoyed.

Tuesdays and Thursday I think will be just family related posts. What are we up to? How are the kids? Fun glimpses into our daily life.

Wednesday I think I'm going to start doing posts about what we are eating. I've been doing a lot of research lately about nutrition and eating real, whole foods. One of my new favorite sites is 100 Days of Real Food. The site is written by Lisa Leake who is a mother of 2 young girls. In 2010 they got sick and tired of the way the food they were eating was making them feel. So she put them all on a very strict real foods diet for 100 days and blogged about the results, along with recipes that worked and didn't and what she was learning. She started challenging others to take the 100 days of real food pledge, starting you off on a more manageable 10 day pledge and now has 14 weekly mini pledges that you can do (the link will take you to week 1s mini pledge). Her site is really fantastic. I have learned a lot there and it has inspired me to start making some real changes in our diet. So that should be a pretty interesting ride. I don't know that I'll go as strict as they are with their diet, but I think we'll be able to make some positive changes with the help of Lisa's great site!

Friday will be Family Night Friday. I will share with you what we did that week for our weekly family night. This is something that we are hit or miss about. But it is something that I really want to do regularly and I think if I'm using the blog to share my ideas and what we did it will make me more accountable about actually following through each week.

Saturdays I may or may not post. I guess it'll just depend on if I have something I was really want to share.

Sundays are going to Communion of Saints Sundays. Each Sunday I will post information about one of the hundreds of Saints that the church has. They can be such an example and inspiration to us and I have challenged myself to learn more about them this year, especially since I work with 8th graders preparing for Confirmation who have to select a confirmation name.

So that's what I'm thinking about for my little blog. Hopefully it will give me the motivation to write more regularly, and more than just "Oh look what Micah did...isn't that cute?!!?" although there will still be plenty of that going on too!

Our 1st Grader

Wednesday was the first day of school in our area. It seems crazy to think it's the middle of August and the kids are already back in school, but I can't say I'm upset about it! Don't get me wrong: we had a great summer! We did a lot of fun things (swimming every Thursday at our friend Lisa's house, other playdates, Totter Otterville, baseball games, parks, swimming in the backyard, playdough, bubbles, drawing masterpieces, just all around fun!) and I enjoyed having Brianna home with us. But she thrives on the routine and schedule that school brings. And by the beginning of August she was getting bored. It was time to go back. She started a new school this year, the public school that is just up the road. We decided to send her to the public school for a few reasons, the biggest of which is tuition costs that we frankly can't afford. I mean tuition went up to $4200 this year, making it 10 monthly payments of $420! That hurts! Especially when you don't have any wiggle room left after you pay tuition to account for emergencies, or just to have fun with! Plus, the drive back and forth was killing us too. I was spending $240+ a month just in gas! That was killer! So after lots of contemplating and praying we decided to send her to the public school. She is riding the bus this year and loves it (so far!!) We got to go to open house on Monday to see the school and meet her teacher. I have to say I was very impressed with the school itself. Her teacher, Mrs. Edwards seems great! She's been teaching for 10 years and seems to have it all together! (God bless 1st grade teachers! I couldn't do it! lol) The cafeteria is fantastic! I mean they serve things like kale chips and roasted zucchini! I mean really!?!? That makes a mommy happy!!! Of course I had to snap some pictures on the first day, I mean, did you expect differently!?!?!

First day of school french toast, at the request of the big 1st grader!

Making sure her teeth were extra clean and shiny!

Posing with her Nina

Who told her she could grow up so fast!?! It's killing me!!!

Wishing our baby girl luck!

The whole family waiting for the bus!

Bri and our neighbor-who is also her "boyfriend"! hehehe

Climbing on the bus! Have a great day! We love you so much!

Coming home...tired, hungry but happy!

All in all it was a great first day back for her and that makes me a happy mommy! I have a feeling it's going to be a great year!

I wanted to make sure I shared a video too! While we were waiting outside in the afternoon for Brianna to get home we took the boys to play outside. While we were waiting Jonah gave me an informercial for Pack It. It made me laugh so hard! Sorry it's crooked! I forget that if I turn my camera sideways it means the video is going to be sideways because you can't rotate a video! Duh, Kari!

3 Months

The last few days have been hard. I don't know if there is a particular reason or not. They just have been. Our church festival was this weekend, and it's always a busy time, but with Steven and I taking on some responsibilities that we never have before it made it even more challenging. We were sitting in Mass Saturday evening and I found my eyes welling up every time a mommy passed by our row with a new baby. I ran into friends at the festival with teeny tiny ones, or who are pregnant and expecting babies in a few months, and something in me hurt. Then I looked at the calender and realized we've hit the three month mark. It's been three months since we lost our little angel. Three months since they were born into heaven, and for the first time in a while I really felt the loss all over again. I would be 6 months. I'd have the baby bump. I'd be looking all cute in my maternity capris and big chunky jewelry, cause that's always fun when you're pregnant. I'd be posing for those belly shot pictures, and planning where baby was going to sleep. And instead, I'm watching friends do those things and it makes it feel even more real what I'm not doing. I realize that everything happens for a reason, and that God had a plan for this little one that I will never understand in this life. But right now, I wish things had been different. I wish I'd be getting ready to hold my little one, instead of feeling so empty. And it sucks!