Simple Woman's Daybook- Advent Evening Edition

Outside my window...
Warmer than expected and rainy . . . I wish it were not rainy.

I am thinking...
That I am beginning to like daybooking at night!

I am thankful for...
The season of Advent. I love Advent and preparing for Christ's birth.

I am wearing...
Dark gray yoga pants, a dark gray shirt and a light blue and gray fleece vest.

I praying...
For a special intention for friends of ours.

I am going...
To shout down the computer and enjoy some time with my hubby after I am done with this post.

I am reading...

Grace Cafe by Donna Marie Cooper O'Boyle

I am hoping...

For a prayerful Advent.


From the learning rooms...

School is going well. J seems to be getting into a good groove. We are in Ancient Babylonia right now. We also have our book basket stocked with some amazing Advent books, thanks to our local library and the woman at Serendipity.


From the kitchen...
Yummy chicken fajitas!

Around the house...
The boys are in bed. Hubby is talking with the boys. The rest is quiet.

One of my favorite things . .
The chocolate fudge cake I made for my husband's birthday last week. It was soooo good! Luckily there is still more in the freezer for next weekend!

From my picture journal...

The camera has been collecting dust lately . . . I will get it out again soon!

To read other daybooks, or daybook yourself go to The Simple Woman's Daybook.

Cold Turkey 10K Report

This weekend I ran in a local race, called the Cold Turkey 10K. I signed up for this race shortly after my last 10K. After my last experience, I knew I had a lot to learn about running in a race. I wanted to run in another 10K before the 26.2K so I could work on my pacing and overall running.

Earlier in the week, I woke up with a bad pain in my leg. I have had problems with my left leg, on and off, for a few weeks now, and Wednesday my calf tightened up horribly. I tried to run, thinking that would help, but I had to stop after two miles. For the rest of the day, I was hobbling around. By Friday, it was better, but not 100%, so I was already mentally planning on skipping the race. Saturday, I felt pretty good, but did not think it would be wise for me to run in the 10K. I did not want to injure my leg any further. So Saturday night, I laid out all of my clothes and got ready as if I would run the race. The race was only 20 min away, and I had paid the $20, so I figured at least I would pick up my t-shirt! Sunday morning I woke up, ate a little, and left for the race. When I pulled in the parking lot, I knew I would run. There were runners all over. Some already warming up. You could feel the excitement in the air. So, I called my hubby and told him I was going to run. I planned on taking it easy and treat it like a training run.

When it was time to line up, I lined up at the back of the pack. I planned on running a 10 min. mile pace. The race started and I ran well. The weather was perfect; sunny, and just slightly cool. I passed the 1 mile marker and checked my watch; 8:15. I was running way too fast. I was feeling great, no pain in my leg, but I wanted to take it easy, so I slowed WAY down. I felt great during the whole race. I prayed quietly for the first several miles and then listened to my iPOD for the the rest. Miles 1.5-3.5 were very hilly, but I felt pretty good during the hills. When I came to water stations, I walked through them. I knew I did not really need hydration, but I wanted to learn the best way to drink while racing, and walking, by far, was the easiest and best option. By mile 4, I felt amazing. I was a little surprised, because by this time, in my last 10 K I was starting to get tired. When I hit mile 5, I began to speed up and ran conservatively strong the last 1.2 miles. Once I got close to the finish line, I got really excited. This was the first race that my boys were going to be there for and I could not wait to see them cheering me on. They are the main reason I started running in the first place. I wanted to be a better mom for them and taking care of myself is one way I have done that. So, I was so happy that I could share this moment with them. Once I saw them, I began to yell Hi and wave wildly . . . other runners probably thought I was a little crazy! I crossed the finish line at 56:20 (on my watch . . . there was no official time). I was pleased with that time and surprised by it too. It was only 40 sec. behind my last 10K and I ran HARD then. This race, I took it easy. I guess my endurance has increased a great deal in the last month. And, praise God, I have had NO pain in my leg either!

So, after my second 10K, I have to say, I really like the distance. You do not have to run insanely fast, as you do in a 5K, you are done in under an hour, and you are not in any pain the rest of the day! Also, I am officially addicted! I can see why people compete in races regularly. They are so much fun!

You Rock, Mom!

Here are my small successes for the week:

1. I finally went for my yearly physical (that I have not had in two years) this past Monday. I got my results today and my cholesterol is 44 points LOWER than it was the last time I had it checked! I guess all that exercising and eating right has paid off!

2. The boys and I have prayed a decade of the rosary for priests every morning before starting school. We used to start every school day with prayer, but we had to stop because J would be resistant about going back into the kitchen to do his school work, so we had stopped our prayer time and went right from breakfast to school. This week the boys prayed so well and there was no complaining about school . . . we will continue to roll with it as long as it works.

3. I finally made the homemade vanilla extract mentioned at Faith and Family, Live! I bought the vanilla beans a while ago, but we do not frequent liquor stores, nor did I want to take all 3 kids into the liquor store when I bought a half-gallon of vodka, so I had to wait until the kids were not with me and I actually remembered. Well, that happened this week!

Want to share your successes? Go to Faith and Family, Live!

Simple Woman's Daybook - The Evening Edition

Outside my window...
It was a beautiful day today! It was warm and sunny. Now, all is dark.

I am thinking...
About the metric marathon coming up in a few weeks. I am NERVOUS!!

I am thankful for...
That my hubby finally got a day off. It was so nice to have him home today.
I am also thankful for our pastor. He gave a great homily yesterday. I am thankful he stands up for the Truth and preaches it too!

I am wearing...
Workout clothes . . . just got back from a run/walk with the boys.

I praying...
For God's will to be done in our lives.

I am going...
To go to bed soon after I am done with this.

I am reading...
Nothing right now . . . I had been reading books about training for a marathon and half-marathon, but just took all those back to the library. Now I am in need of a good novel.

I am hoping...
To get back into my normal schedule again. Last week I got into a bad habit of getting up later than I usually do. That meant that I did not workout until after dinner and my prayer time did not happen until after the kids were awake. It was a stressful week! I realized that I am so much happier and my day goes so much better when I exercise and pray first thing in the morning.



From the learning rooms...
Well, I am trying to ease up a bit. J is struggling with math. I just need to work at his pace and not worry about what lesson number we are on. This week, my goal is to have more fun. Also, we are reading about ancient Egypt . . . that is a HIT!! J loves it and loves reading about the pyramids and mummies.

Noticing that...
I am happiest when I am working on bettering myself and worrying less about what I do or do not have . . . I guess that would be true of everyone!

From the kitchen...
We had roasted chicken, rice, salad and peas . . . as staple dinner in our household.

Around the house...
All is quiet. The boys are in bed and my hubby just went to Adoration. Oh, how I love silence!

One of my favorite things . . .
Watching my kids play in the leaf pile!

From my picture journal...I love seeing the boys just sitting together, looking at a book!

To see other day books, go to The Simple Woman's Daybook.

Oh, the Places Baby A Will Go . . .

I really cannot leave him alone for a minute. He was so quiet I was wondering where he was. I walk past the bathroom, and this is what I saw . .

He make break his leg trying to get out of the sink, but at least he will have clean teeth!

Then, the next day, I go into the kitchen, and, you guessed it . . .

He is crawling on the kitchen table!

Daily Mass Anyone?

I, in what seems like another life, used to LOVE to go to daily mass. My day did not seem complete unless I went.

And then I had kids.

When J was a baby, we lived within a 5 minute walk of the Basilica of the National Shrine of the Immaculate Conception. There were several masses there a day, so I was able to work around J's nap schedule and we would head to daily Mass most days. But, as the years passed and the number of children increased, I went to daily mass less and less. Eating, naps, and children unable to sit still made it harder and harder to go. I had made attempts to return especially, during Lent. I would take the boys twice a week to daily mass. That usually lasted until the third week of Lent. I remember last Lent struggling with the boys during mass and, after mass, I looked at a friend of mine and I said, "I now remember why we do not do this much." It was NOT a prayerful experience. I know that when I show up to mass, the Grace is there, but if I get more stressed by going than anything, I would rather not go.

But, here I am thinking about attempting to go at least once a week again. A friend of mine mentioned that she takes her kids on First Fridays and major Feast Days. I was inspired and thought I should try to go again with the boys. We went on Wednesday and, although I cannot say they were great, the boys boys were not bad either. So, we will try again next week.

But, what I am wondering, is what all of you Catholic moms out there do? Do you attend daily mass with the kids at all? How often?