Ask and you shall recieve

 Last summer our garden was blessed with good timing. My dear friend Karen let me know when city compost was available and we were able to load several truck loads of finished compost from the depot to our yard. Cost= gas+ sweat+ ibuprofen= mostly free.  A couple of weeks after that my other sweet friend Jen called to say she had a driveway full of free wood chips if we wanted them. More gas and more sweat and more Ibuprofen and our veggie garden was twice as big and beautiful to behold.

 Growing enough food to feed 10 people is another post all together. Roll around to this spring and I realize that we need more beds. So.... I stepped out of my cozy comfort zone and asked the contractor who was busy chipping a tree down the street what was he going to do with the chips? " Dump them. Unless you want them?" " oh Yes Please!" So super nice guy emptied his dump truck of maple wood chips in my driveway.

Yes that's my crew happily moving chips! But wait! there needs to be something under those chips to kill the grass. Here's the other part of ask and recieve. I asked the pizza shop across the street if he had and cardboard recycling . "Sure"' he says. "Can I have it?" I tell him about my spontaneous project and he sends me home with as much cardboard as I can carry.

So my garden is officially turning into an urban farm. Twice as big as last year. I may have bitten off more than I can chew. Or weed.

Resetting the baseline

When will I learn?

I've been parenting for 19+ years and most of those have had a baby or toddler in the house. And this weekend I learned another lesson.

Just because the 2 yr old walks and talks like a big girl she is still a baby. Who needs her family every 10 minutes. On Friday I had planned a field trip to  The Museum of Russian Icons in Clinton MA for the elementary aged kids. Knowing my rambunctious toddler, I arranged for her to spend the day with friends. She loves to go play at their house, she talks about it all the time. After a day full of art and big kids we returned to pick her up, only to find her very unhappy. Apparently she was inconsolable all day. My Mamma friends tried every trick in the book to no avail. Somehow I forgot how important it is when your 2 to see Mamma's face every few minutes. If it's not her, then Daddy or a sibling.

Fast forward through a busy weekend of activities/appointments and Mamma gone at a parade all day Sunday and yesterday I paid the price. A little girl who would not leave my side. At all. For any reason.

So today we are resetting the baseline. Taking the time to have her toddler activities close at hand while I go through my day. Dolly clothes for her while I do laundry. Chalk and board as big girls do lessons. Taking extra time to set up art for her too while big kids paint.

 Fresh air in the freezing cold ( for a little while). And taking her with me as I go to pick up teens instead of leaving her with biggest brother. Letting her find her rhythm today reminds me that the nurturing of young souls is important work. Letting her be little in the midst of our busy household can be difficult. All the children seem to be in a hurry to catch up with the older ones. Today I will enjoy her smallness. I will find the joy in her tw- ish-ness

Room for everyone in the choir

Celtic Thunder Heritage - "A Place in the Choir": http://youtu.be/aqm-S9J1s_k

Tiny bits

It's been a full day here. In honor of St Patrick's feast day we did an impromptu unit study of Ireland. Hours of outline maps, ALL the art supplies, music in the background, lots of Internet searches " just to find something" and a chaos filled dining room. I think we did more learning today than we have in months. But we had lots of fun, and I got to day dream a little for June.
       I wonder sometimes, I have a great classroom, but we work mostly in the dining room and on the couch. I have curricula galore but the best resources tend to be our good books. Why can't every day go this well? maybe its so I can appreciate the rays of sunshine. So here are today's tiny bits of Joy.
   3 kids happily drawing maps without complaint. Toddler naps. Teen daughter's first dance quote," It got much better once most kids left. Then we could dance and have fun." Happy college kid. Eventually I will figure out how to get my photos off my phone and onto here. Stay tuned!
   

Blessed with friends

    Friday mornings are my favorite. After a busy week of homeschooling, toddler chasing and homemaking Friday mornings are for me. I remember in my early years of mothering feeling very isolated and different from other moms I knew. For several years now though I have been blessed with the friendship of a wonderful group of women. Bible study days mean friends and sharing for me and playtime for my kids. We all come from different backgrounds and experiences. But our link is a love for God and the desire to walk with Him in our Catholic life. The opportunity to share our struggles, burdens and joys together is wonderful. This walk of being in the world but not consumed by it takes practice. The ever present draw to be more, have more, prettier, better, faster,etc distracts me from my goal to serve Christ in this world.( And boy am I distract-able...ooh shiny!)
          We have been reading Happy Are You Poor  by Thomas Dubay  for several months now. And had lots of discussions on gospel poverty and what that means, it's not destitution, for us and for our families. Balancing the needs of our families without using them as an excuse to consume whatever we can.
           So we talk about what are needs and what are wants. How we can be good stewards of our resources. How we can share our talents with others and learn from each other. A cute bit from today. One section of the reading had many of us wishing there was a glossary to look up the unusual words the author chose for this section. I think I have a pretty large vocabulary and I was stumped. I felt so blessed that one of my friends could translate those big theology words into everyday English in such a gentle way.
           My hope is that other moms find that kind of sisterhood early in their married life/mothering journey. If you have it share it with others, if your looking follow me here and hopefully we can journey together. Peace.

             

First steps

 This is my first step into the world of blogging or writing for that matter. I tend to talk ,a lot. But I thought maybe if I took the time to wrap up all the thoughts rolling around in my head and discipline myself to put them down on paper ( so to speak) They would be easier to share. More than a blurb on facebook. So here it goes...
          When I clicked create a blog the first request was a name. What would I call this new adventure? Something cute and witty and real. But I came up empty. So I looked at my Dream Board. It sits above my desk filled with pictures and words about what I want in my life. I created it one morning with a group of women who helped me dream again. To see the possibilities ahead. They believe in me so very much that I cannot imagine my life without their stamp. On that board is an ocean beach. A mother and child walking hand in hand to the water and the words "Joy is in Bloom".
           Joy.
           Its a word that follows me through my life. When I see it or when I've lost it. How to share and embrace it. So I think I'll share my Joy with you. Come along for the ride.