Update on painting

I just wanted to show you what my hard work has yielded so far! The last two weeks have been cra-zay! But I'm finally seeing it all come together and I'm super excited. I think the dining room looks really nice all spruced up with fresh paint - don't you?

The white trim paint really makes a difference!

And the best part is I've got plenty left over, so I can spruce up again whenever I want!

And this is where a lovely drawing by Josie used to be on the wall :) (From now on she can stick to paper)

and those walls were pretty gunky from baby smearing his hands on the wall. No longer! The color is called Fresco Cream.

and the blue/gray is called Oyster Bay 

So, YAY! Bring on fall and winter. It's cozy and bright in here now and this mama is ready for whatever may come (including our first year of HOMESCHOOLING!)

I still have a good amount of work to do, though! The rest of the hallway and trim around other parts of the house. Whew. Wish me luck.

Have a great holiday weekend everyone <3>

The 'Goal Weight' post

Aaahhhhggghhhh!! Do weight loss stories drive you nuts? Then you better stop reading NOW. Because that's what this post is!

(Do you like the paint on my fingers? :)+

In all honestly, I feel a little embarrassed putting this out there. I mean, I'm proud of myself. I worked pretty hard. (I said "no" to french fries more often than I wanted to!) Still, there is something a touch vain in writing about one's weight loss. I just don't want to come off like I'm bragging about this...

In the end, I decided to do a post about reaching my goal weight because I just wanted to say what worked for me and maybe it could work for someone else. Or, maybe not. I know that I have enjoyed reading and talking to people I personally know who have been able to make healthy lifestyle choices and come out better in the end. I mean, weight loss stories in magazines do drive me nuts, but it's another story if it's from someone I know, you know? :)

Sooooo.....as many of you know, I have been doing Weight Watchers for the last few months. It all started back when I was pregnant with Michael and my friend Aubri helped to throw me a baby shower. When she came over that day I guess I hadn't seen her in a little while because she looked great to me! She looked like she did in high school, or better. She told us she had done Weight Watchers and had lost 20 something pounds! I was very impressed, but obviously being pregnant I couldn't join the program.

Fast forward to six months after Michael was born, February of this year. I finally decided to take the plunge and join the program. With the encouragement of Aubri I went ahead and signed up, went to my first weigh in and meeting. I learned that I had about 20-25lbs to lose before I was in the "healthy range" for my height. Whew! I knew I had to lose some poundage to be healthier but I was definitely nervous about losing that much weight and knowing my fickle personality - if I could stick with it!?

Well, as I started the first weeks of the program I could already tell that I liked it. At first it was really fun to look up the points of certain foods, and seeing how easy or hard it would be to stay within my points range. I lost weight very easily in the first two months. Like, super easily. It was also helpful that I was still nursing Michael at this time, so that burned extra calories (and yes, the program takes that into account - adding more points if you are nursing) I really enjoyed finding out what foods had surprisingly few or surprisingly numerous weight watchers points. Sunflower seeds or avocado, for example, have a lot of fat in them so they are higher points. Yes, they are good for you, but if you are trying to lose weight you have to make sure you limit these high in fat foods. I enjoyed adding more veggies to meals to make them stretch and make me feel fuller. Something I should have always been doing but now I really know how important that is!

Now, I have to be honest and say that as the months went on, it got a little more tedious. Counting points does get old after a while. And now days, I usually track during the week and take a break on the weekends. I skip days, too. But I still go to the meetings and I always feel like I learn something when I go. I think going to the actual meetings really helps (as opposed to just doing it on your own, which is also a plan option)

I reached my "goal weight" this week! So I ended up losing 25 pounds total. It took 6 months (really the program starts out having you do 17 weeks, so it took me a bit longer) I am much a much healthier weight and as a result I feel better and happier. One of the nicest things about losing weight is that you feel like you have some control over yourself. You learn better discipline in eating. NOT to the extreme though, don't worry! I LOOOOOOVE food and would never take weight loss to the extreme. Seriously guys, I know that I will never be SUPER skinny. I am just not naturally thin. I have a bigger build; broad shoulders and thicker arms. I'm okay with it. I've learned to deal with the parts of my body I'm not fond of. I know I will probably always have squishy parts to me, which is fine. I give better hugs to my children that way :)

Also, we do want to have more babies. So I'm very aware of the fact that I will not be this weight for the rest of my life. I PLAN on gaining weight again. It's ok. But at least now I know how to control my portions and reach for better foods to feel full longer. It's all very helpful knowledge to have. That is why I love WW. (You can't be on the program while your pregnant. You can go back on after like 6 weeks, I think?)

All that being said, if you have any questions about this whole thing feel free to ask me! I've had fun, lost some weight, and most importantly LEARNED A TON. Knowledge is power right?

(I don't have a starting or before picture. Just imagine me 25 lbs heavier 6 months ago. What's really crazy though is that roughly a year ago I was actually 45 lbs heavier after giving birth to Michael!! :)

Family time

Just some family time from this weekend.

Lately I've felt a very strong sense of gratitude for my little family. I don't know where it's coming from exactly, but every time I take a moment and think about my life I feel like I have way more than I deserve!

We've had a really nice summer. The kids are at a fun age. We got our third child to his first birthday! Lou and Josie bicker a lot, but they also play together a lot. Even though I'm physically tired most of the time, my heart feels very full.

The little irritations of life are of course still present. Family members that I don't know how to best deal with, too much laundry, financial worries, concerns over politics, etc. I'm not saying life is worry-free. I just feel in a good place right now. I'm grateful!

“True happiness is to enjoy the present, without anxious dependence upon the future, not to amuse ourselves with either hopes or fears but to rest satisfied with what we have, which is sufficient, for he that is so wants nothing. The greatest blessings of mankind are within us and within our reach. A wise man is content with his lot, whatever it may be, without wishing for what he has not.” -Seneca

Foreign Lands

Up into the cherry tree

Who should climb but little me?

I held the trunk with both my hands

And looked abroad in foreign lands.

I saw the next door garden lie,

Adorned with flowers, before my eye,

And many pleasant places more

That I had never seen before.

I saw the dimpling river pass

And be the sky’s blue looking-glass;

The dusty roads go up and down

With people tramping in to town.

If I could find a higher tree

Farther and farther I should see,

To where the grown-up river slips

Into the sea among the ships,

To where the roads on either hand

Lead onward into fairy land,

Where all the children dine at five,

And all the playthings come alive.

Robert Louis Stevenson

p*h*f*r

*pretty*

Pretty Josephine, and pretty flowers grown by grandpa. Little girls are a lot like flowers, I often think. 

Happy

I am a painting girl!

We have lived in this house for 2 1/2 years now, and the walls have just gotten so beat up. I actually already liked [most of] the colors in the house, the problem was just that the paint was so flat which made it hard for me to ever wipe the walls off very well. All the smudges and dirty fingerprints just got to be too much for me and I decided it was time for a paint job! Mike said from the beginning that this was to be my project and I'm fine with that! I didn't want to take away from our time together in the evenings anyway, so I'm mostly trying to get it done during the day. 

So far it's going well, I think. I like the first wall color that I did (it's got an ugly name, Oyster Bay...) What do you think? I am so happy with the trim that I've touched up so far. It looks amazing to have white white trim instead of smudged up, banged up, fingerprint-ed white! 

I still have a lot of work to do. But this week has been a good start. I have also received help from a couple friends; one who came over to actually help me prep and paint, and two friends who have taken the girls off my hands for a couple hours so I could work. I'm so happy to have good friends to lend a hand!

I'm so tired though. I haven't had any time to do any other housework so the house is a big mess...but that's okay. I have the paint job as my excuse.

Funny

Michael and his food. He's a crazy man. It's getting to be that when I feed him breakfast in the morning, he eats as much or MORE than his sisters! And he's no longer into baby food. This morning I tried to feed him smashed sweet potatoes and he was like, "Blah! Give me some texture ma!!" 

Being naughty and standing up in his high chair. I'm way too easy on this kid :)

Real

My 10 year high school reunion is this weekend. Talk about "real"! I am looking forward to it, actually. It doesn't sound like it's going to be a huge turnout, but there will be some cool people there I'd like to talk with in person (as opposed to staying in touch with them on social media.) Also, it will just be kind of funny to introduce Mike to people I went to school with. I joked on facebook that I am going to show my homeschooled husband what public schooled kids party like :) 

I wish I could post a picture of me in high school...but I don't have a pic on my computer from then. Where are those pictures anyway? Who knows. It was before facebook. The truth is my life before facebook (and my blog) is much less thoroughly documented.

Hey! I found one of me and my friend Sarah, getting ready for a dance, I think. I guess my hair-curling addiction goes way way back :)

I'm sooooo tired right now! Luckily, it's just about time for the girls to go down for a nap. The tricky part will be to see if Michael is tired again - since he already napped this morning from about 11-12. Hopefully, 'cause I need to crash! 

Wish me luck!

More everyday contentment and beauty at LikE MoThER LiKE daUGhter! 

Dear Fr. Joseph

For the last six years you have been my beloved priest. You have been an example to me of someone who gives God the best of yourself - your service, worship, heart, soul, life. You followed your calling to the priesthood, and because of the dedication you have to your vocation, I am always inspired to live mine better.

Thank you for giving us exceptional marriage prep, whereby Mike and I got to talk with you over the course of six months about anything and everything. It was personal and intimate, and we could not have received this kind of prep anywhere else. You clearly knew what you were talking about, since I often think back to the things you said and smile to myself. (My husband really is my biggest responsibility; my first child :) I love what you said about keeping the mystery alive in our marriage, too.

Thank you for reminding me often that this life is not meant to be easy. If it was, that would mean we were doing something wrong! You also have often said that loving God will cause us pain. It's so true. As a new convert and a baby Christian 7 years ago, I did not understand that. I'm so glad that because of your sermons, I know this to be true. The Christian life is such a struggle; it's a struggle to love God more than our own passions. Only with prayer and fasting can we conquer our passions and truly live a free, joyful life on this earth. I thank you for the image of adding jewels to our crowns in heaven, which are waiting for us if we finish the race.

Thank you Fr. Joe, for confirming Mike when he was 8 years old, then forming him for the next 20 years of his life into a good man for me to marry. (*tears started flowing when I typed that sentence) I know my husband is who he is in large part because of you. By teaching him to serve at the altar, you taught him reverence, wonder, fear of God and love of the Holy Trinity. You taught him to be good to women, to LOVE children, and to always connect life-giving love to matrimony.

Thank you for loving all the children of the parish and encouraging families to be generous. Your famous phrase of "a quiet church is a dying church" has helped me get through many Sundays. Your constant affirmation of LIFE has gotten me through hard days and times when I question the church's teaching on contraception. You are unwavering on this issue, and the result of this is a growing, lively church with many beautiful children. I have never felt, in any other church, the love of children as I feel it at St. John's.

Thank you for loving our children and knowing them by name. Louisa always talks about you. It's going to be so hard for her to go to St. John's without you there. I think she is old enough to remember you. I hope so.

Thank you for telling people what they need to hear, not necessarily what they want to hear.

Thank you for challenging us to not live a minimalist Christian life, but to truly allow ourselves to be transformed by Christ's love and never settle for the minimal amount of commitment.

Thank you for upholding the reverence and the beauty of the liturgy.

Thank you for marrying us in a gorgeous Byzantine wedding, for blessing me when I struggled with nursing, for baptizing our three children (more tears flow, as you will not be baptizing any more...) for giving us Holy Communion every Sunday, for your prayers, blessings, anointings, icons, and everything else....

Your presence in my Christian journey will never be forgotten. In fact, I believe it will reverberate in heaven forever. I wish I could have you walking beside me for many many more years. But it's time for you to go live your monastic life, the one you've yearned for for quite some time now. I know that you will, in fact, be walking alongside me, alongside us all, with your prayers. Still, I will miss you.

Thank you Father Joseph. Thank you. 

In Christ,

Kayleen

Quick Takes Friday

My boy genius

-1-

We left baby Michael in the care of Mike's parents last night so we could go out. (The girls stayed the night at my parent's) My father in law fed our baby half a steak. Yes, you heard that right. HALF of a STEAK. I mean, I can't say I'm that surprised. You see:
Michael loves food.
Michael loves his grandpa.
His grandpa loves steak.
So.....it's pretty much just logic, right? But still. The kid JUST TURNED ONE. Half a steak! Sheesh. :)

-2-

While our baby was eating as much as a full grown man, we were watching this!

It was a live event with the Rifftrax Live crew (Mike Nelson, Kevin Murphy, and Bill Corbett) ripping Starship Troopers. Which, happened to be, one of my favorite movies growing up. Sarah, do you remember us watching this flick a bunch of times at your house? We seriously loved it, didn't we?? It's so funny, I never knew it turned not only somewhat of a cult followed movie, but also comedy since it was soooooo cheesy. I mean, it's about killing alien brain-sucking bugs. Oh well, I still loved it. Even after seeing the guys from Mystery Science Theater rip it! ha. 

And, btw, if you have NO IDEA what I am talking about, it's ok, congratulations. I wouldn't have either half a dozen years ago before I met Mike and his brother. They introduced me. They are basically these guys who make running commentary making fun of B movies. Check out their website for more info, if you're interested. We can lend you some of the dvd's if you feel like being a nerd for an evening :)

Dang, Josie. Can you BE any more cute??

-3-

She's our almost three year old. It's a good thing she's cute and affectionate because she. is. exhausting! Some of her loves right now: Louisa's boots, playing "I SPY", sleeping naked, making Michael scream, feeding Michael, kissing Michael, eating Popsicles, telling you how much she loves eating Popsicles, and telling you about pretty much everything else she observes in the world. Oh, and posing for pictures.

-4-

Quick question for you Instagram users....do you import your pics to Facebook? None, all? Some? Usually for me I import 1/3 to 1/2 of the ones I post. I don't know why, I guess I just feel like I already use FB way too much, so I hold myself back from importing all of them. Just curious what other people do! (On my newsfeed it seems like there is a spectrum. Some of my friends do import all of them, but those friends seem to post a lot fewer instagram pics than I do. I average 1-3 instagram pics a day!)

-5-

Well, speaking of Instagram pics - here's another one for you from this week.

new rosary holder (garage sale, 1.00)

And another one

Josie looking cute as usual

aaannndddd, just one more:

big boy walking with more confidence every day

Do you see how I get carried away!? Oh, and are these EXTRA large pictures too big for your computer screen? Too bad! I love 'em like that! :)

-6-

Okay moving on! This week was the Feast of the Assumption of Mary, a Holy Day of obligation for Catholics. (Here are some articles on Mary for my Protestant friends who squirm whenever I talk about Mary! :) Such a beautiful feast day. It's one of my favorites. Partly because it always reminds me of when Mike and I first started dating. (A story for another day)

So we went to mass in the morning, then I drove Mike into work after.The traffic was really terrible going back home, so I decided to stay in the city with the kids for a while before heading out. I felt very hipster because I took them to a coffee shop in a very hipster part of town. It was pretty fun, though my organic, gluten free, whatever whatever scone was so dry I could barely eat it. The latte was good at least, and I got the kids nice and tired before heading back home.

(Doesn't look like a coffee shop, right? I know. They had a kid's room up in this loft thingie. Pretty cool. So yeah, I guess I'm willing to pay 4 dollars for a scone if the kids get to play and give me some peace!)

-7-

I'm leaving you with my favorite music video right now. I usually hate all music videos (or rather, there are so few that I like) But Phillip Phillips - you are the best. (Does anyone know if that guy is single?)
Just kidding.

Well, sort of. I kinda do want to know. ;)


Linking up this week! Happy Friday. Happy Weekend!

Little park, bee sting, and some funny utterings from the kids

We were going to go to the beach today but the weather was strange this morning. It was just overcast and slightly muggy. Not too bad but I wasn't feelin' a trip to the beach. So instead we packed a lunch and headed over to a park near nana and papa's house. (Even though Lou really wanted to go to the store to buy a huckleberry bush to plant in our yard. Thank you Kelly for getting the girl hooked on huckleberries) 

We had a pleasant time. We ate our lunch, I drank my coffee (since my morning was pretty crazy so I only got in a couple sips previously), Nana came and met us with Tessa, and Michael slept for the first half so I was able to play with the girls more. Oh, and yesterday I FOUND MY CAMERA BATTERY. So I was able to take pictures! (I took a bunch on another camera chip but it seems like it's messed up and not reading the pics, so these are the ones I had after I switched over)

sisters doing what sisters do - making each other laugh (and scream)

It was after the girls had eaten that the bee sting happened :( Louisa was holding on to Tessa's leash and suddenly she started crying out and grabbing at her pants, quickly getting pretty panicky, saying her leg hurt. My m.i.l. said she had thought she'd seen a yellow jacket close by and maybe she got stung? It became pretty evident that that is indeed what had happened. My poor Lou! She was so brave though. Nana walked her back to their house because I had to still pack up the lunch stuff and Michael and Josie before I could get in the van. By the time they arrived back at their house nana said Lou had calmed down quite a lot. 

When they got back to the house nana was trying to see where her bee sting was and apply some baking soda. In the process of doing so, Lou actually noticed something on the floor. It was a yellow jacket! It must have crawled up her pant leg and stung her (got her three times the little buggar!) She was totally fine after a call to daddy and an Otter pop. First bee sting with my kids!

And now for some random funnies from lately:

Lou: "God said yes mom."
me: "He did? What did he say yes to?"
"....he said yes that you can have another baby girl."

"MICHAELPHINE!" (That's Lou's name for Michael lately; but only when she's exasperated with him)

After coming into OUR bed last night, Josie was complaining to daddy this morning: "Dad, you too noisy. You wake me up" (We just can't get over the irony of Josie; the queen of loud; getting annoyed with other people for being "too yowd")

"NANA; YOU A DOCTOR!!" (Josie exclaimed recently after seeing my mom in her chef's outfit. My mom is going back to school to learn commercial baking! P.S. I'm so proud of her :)

"Mom I need MORE pennies!"
"Well I guess you'll just have to earn some"
"Na, let's just go buy some"

"I'm feeding my tongue the leftovers" (Lou explains as she's licking the chocolate pudding off the corners of her mouth)

And baby Michael's funnies include:

holding up any phone to his ear and saying "Yaeee yahh yaeeeee"

Pooping on the floor twice (some boy genius, huh? :)