7 Quick Takes, Volume 34: Goodbye, Pope Benedict...

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Watching Pope Benedict's final blessing today was an incredibly moving experience. I always feel a little strange watching something like that on TV - it usually feels like you have to be there - but this was different. It was incredibly moving to hear him speak, to think how it must feel to know that he was doing this for the last time. We all must try to discern God's will at various times in our lives, but to do that at the level and visibility of the papacy is an overwhelming responsibility. My heart is heavy today as I think about how this man led us, how he kept the faith and tradition while reaching out to the people - even using Twitter to keep in touch. I pray that he may know peace in his retirement, as well as for the conclave as they choose a new Pope.

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I'm going in for some more x-rays tomorrow morning. I've been having back pain and numbness in my neck and arm for a while now, and I had back x-rays a few weeks ago that didn't show anything wrong. I went to start physical therapy earlier this week and the degree of numbness in my arm worried the therapist, so she asked me to go back for more tests before I do anything. I'm hoping it's all muscular, but I'm starting to wonder at this point! I'm having trouble thinking about anything else, though, so I figured I'd share with all of you.

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Emily has spent a lot of time standing up on her hands and feet lately, sort of a cross between downward dog and the plank. I don't know if she's just having fun with a new skill or if she's thinking life would be more interesting on twos instead of fours? Our pediatrician had told us not to get a walker or exersaucer because it would hinder their development, but I am starting to wonder. I don't see how babies develop leg strength without ever practicing standing! But hey, they're the doctors, not me.

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Erin went down for what I figured was a nap earlier this week and ended up sleeping for 14 hours! I was amazed. Freaked out, but amazed. I went to bed early, though I checked on her a couple of times to make sure she was ok. I fully expected that she'd wake up around 4 am (she fell asleep at 4:30 pm, I put her down about 10 minutes later) but she slept until 6:20 am! Don't get the idea that it's a regular occurrence, but I was pretty excited. Unfortunately, my sore back keeps me from sleeping super well, but I can still appreciate the luxury of uninterrupted sleep. I know it's great for the babies as well.

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Erin's favorite trick right now is pulling books off the bookshelf. Other than emptying the shelf, I'm not sure what to do about that. She especially loves our big Good Eats books (the Food Network show in book form) and they are so huge, I'm afraid she'll get smushed! But she is undeterred by their size and goes back over and over again. The recliner does a nice job of blocking the shelf for the time being - and maybe in a few months the bottom shelf won't be so appealing?

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Speaking of bookshelves, have any of you out there in blog land ever styled one? I've read various articles about how to organize the books by color and size and add decorative objects - and I'm kind of at a loss. Ours is floor to ceiling, matches the wall (it looks like it's built in) and is something of a jumble of books of all shapes and sizes. I'll take any suggestions, links, advice, experience, whatever you've got!

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I'll leave you today with Pope Emeritus Benedict XVI's final tweet, a truly beautiful sentiment: "Thank you for your love and support. May you always experience the joy that comes from putting Christ at the centre of your lives".

For more Quick Takes, visit Conversion Diary!

Revisiting Real Food

I realized the other day that I've been dragging. I've been so tired the last week, and while we've had a few nights that were short on sleep, I don't think that explains it. When I started thinking about how I'd been eating, that seemed a little more likely. I'd originally planned to give up processed foods 90 percent of the time in January, but when I realized how hard I was being on myself, I decided that was one of the unrealistic expectations that had to go. But now I'm thinking of giving it another try.

Processed food is easy. After all, most of the cooking is done for you. All you have to do is add liquid or heat or some combination of the two. There's a downside, though - there's not very much control over the ingredients, and they are often high in sugar and salt. Sugar's not bad in small amounts, and salt is an essential nutrient. But we get lots of naturally occurring sugar in fruits and other foods, so we don't really need to add it to everything we eat. Same with salt - it definitely makes food taste better and we need to eat some of it, but we don't need to add it to everything we eat. The recent obesity epidemic coincides with a steep increase in the consumption of processed foods with lots of sugar, salt, and corn, and there's no denying that people are gaining away despite an abundance of so-called health foods.

The most complicated aspect of this is scheduling. I love the idea of having the time to cook meals for the family, everyone making time for three meals a day, and always having the ingredients on hand to make a good meal. The reality has always been that I can make the meal, as long as I can rely on a handful of packaged ingredients. For example, I made fajitas last night, but I had to use taco seasoning since I don't have all the spices in my spice rack to make my own. I have more luck when I use older recipes, because they tend to call for fewer packaged ingredients, but there are some new recipes that have great real food ingredients.

I think I may have found a compromise. On the blog "100 Days of Real Food", the author, Lisa, has a 10 day challenge. Ten days sounds doable. I've made an effort to eat better at certain times in my life, so I know I will feel better when I'm trying to eat healthier food. Swearing off processed food 100 percent might not be possible, so I'll give myself a little wiggle room, but I'll try to make it as small as possible. When exactly this will happen is a little bit harder. I don't want to start something like this without a good plan, so it might be a few weeks - it might even be after Easter. I am going to try and start eating better right away, but we will probably eat through the food we do have for the most part before we make any drastic changes. If any of you have ever taken the real food challenge, though, I'd love to hear how it went! What did you eat? What did you miss most (so I can eat lots of it now - only sort of kidding) and what did you not end up missing? Do you have a favorite real food cookbook?

What I wore Sunday: Vol. 8, Wearing the Baby

It was a little bright outside, but such a gorgeous day! Hard to believe we had over an inch of rain on Saturday...

Yep, that's right, I wore a baby! Since Emily and Erin are no longer nursing and have taken to exploring the house, I've had to make an effort to give them plenty of snuggle time. Not that I don't enjoy holding my baby girls, but they are just too busy! They still love riding around in the Ergo, though, so I wear them while I'm doing chores, running errands...or going to Mass. I'm not sure why we never did this before - or maybe we did and I've forgotten about it? I remember using the sling to hold Emily when she was first going to Mass, when the girls were less than two months old. Time flies! That was six months ago already. 

Anyway, it worked like a charm. We'd gone to Starbucks early in the morning to meet my aunt for coffee, since she was in town and we rarely get to see her. It was a real treat to hang out and chat for a while! I wore Erin then, and she napped the whole time. I could tell Emily wanted to sleep too, but she just never calmed down quite enough. I strapped her in and she was asleep shortly after the Gospel. Problem solved. She napped, her sister played with Daddy, and I even got a second afternoon nap out of both girls (and a FULL NIGHT'S SLEEP last night!)

What I wore:

Baby carrier: Ergo by Ergobaby (best baby carrier EVER!)

Fleece top: Old Navy (made a super snuggly, droolproof pillow out of Mommy)

Jeans: Citizens of Humanity (thrifted)

Shoes (not visible in this shot, but you can see them here): Dansko

Emily is wearing an adorable fleece sleeper from Carter's with flowers, a monkey on the front, and polkadot ruffles on the bottom!

For more Mass-inspired outfits, visit Fine Linen and Purple!

7 Quick Takes: Different strokes

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Whew! It's been quite a week. I've had lots of fun playing with Emily and Erin. In case you missed it, they're crawling like crazy and exploring the world. Every time I turn around, they're checking out something new and exciting (the thrilling Kleenex box, the fascinating refrigerator door, the tasty laptop keyboard) and playing around with it. I love it. Well, I do draw the line at gnawing on the laptop. I draw the line over and over again. Hence the lack of blog posts this week - I just don't feel right having something out that they have to stay away from, since they don't understand why!

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Our big girls are 8 months old!

Erin loved the sticker. She pulled it off and played with it for at least an hour after I got done snapping pictures!

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In an effort to distract Erin and Emily from some of our more fascinating possessions, we bought them their own versions.

Baby phone and baby remote - big girl toys!

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I'm not making a ton of progress on the "40 bags" Lenten challenge, but I do have some things lined up to go on their way. One box that we got out of our garage is going to count for at least 6 bags (I'm out of order if you're checking up on my list, but it's just where I happened to start!) But... I got rid of it before Ash Wednesday. So I don't know if that counts or not. But I think I'll make it count, since it was a big step forward in admitting we have some things to share with the less fortunate. 

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I just started reading a book called "Confessions of an Imperfect Mom" (Amazon link here) that I'm really enjoying. The book's subtitle is "God's Path to Less Guilt and More Grace" and the author has focused so far on how she spent a lot of time beating herself up for doing a lot of things "wrong" and that acknowledging the things she was doing right was the most important change she ever made as a mother.

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I've been feeling much better in general about the parenting choices we've made, but recently I've been feeling overwhelmed again, coupled with a pull to do more. I can honestly say that the overwhelmed feeling comes and goes, and I can sometimes manage it by making sure I'm not getting too tired or hungry during the day. But other days, all I can see is how much more I should be doing. Should is a word I need to remove from my vocabulary, I've decided...

For more Quick Takes, visit Conversion Diary!

7 Quick Takes Friday, Vol. 32: 7 Ways You Know Your Twins Are Crawling

Thanks to Jen for hosting! If you hadn't guessed from the title, Emily and Erin are crawling all over the house. Every day, they chart a little more territory. Intrepid explorers, they are. One day this week, it was our bedroom to visit Daddy's office. Another day, it was the kitchen - all the way back to the trash can (which I'd moved as far away from their play area as I could!). I love this phase (hey, I love it all), but some days I'm left gasping for breath at bedtime - and they don't even crawl super fast yet! With this in mind, I thought I'd share some ways "you know when your twins are crawling...", a lá David Letterman:

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You swear you'll never let them wear anything white (or light pink, or any pastel) ever again.

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You know (and hide if possible) every enticing object within a 10 ft radius of your children's play area.

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No need for a floor-mopping schedule - 5 minutes of playtime lets you know if the floor needs cleaning or not.

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Sudden silence sends you into an instant panic. (I hear this one hangs around for a while...)

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You have to keep all your shoes in the closet because they are apparently the most enticing objects known to babykind.

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Every bottom shelf in your house has been emptied of anything grabbable.

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You shake your head at bedtime and say, "Well, honey, at least they aren't walking yet..."

Have a great weekend, everyone!

For more Quick Takes, visit Conversion Diary!

Thoroughly Thankful Thursday: 40 Bags Challenge

Happy Valentine's Day! I hope you're all celebrating St. Valentine in style with the ones you love. We're delaying our celebration (we work for almost 14 hours straight between the two of us), but I'm looking forward to Emily and Erin's first Valentine's Day all the same!

In case you missed it, I've decided to spend Lent filling bags. With this in mind, today I'm thankful for the abundance we've been blessed with. Sometimes, when we're thinking about a new car or a new house, or even something smaller like a new pair of jeans, it's hard to remember all of the things we already do have.
Here's the list of places I'll be decluttering (our house is small, so several places show up more than once because I know there's more than one bag's worth in there). If you'd like to join in, let me know! I didn't come up with this idea on my own, so here's the link to the original post with the idea (her blog is super cute!)

As always, this is a linkup, so tell us what you're thankful for! Link your post below or share in the comments!

40 Bags in 40 Days: A Lenten Challenge

I got really excited when a friend shared this idea with me, because it seemed like the perfect Lenten challenge. Now that Emmy and Erin are crawling, I have a love/hate relationship with things. In reality, I always have - I like to get new things, I just don't like clutter. I also feel a tad guilty realizing that clutter means we have so much stuff, there's no place to put it all. Yep, that's why clutter is overwhelming, folks - it's because there really isn't "a place for everything and everything in its place" (at least that's how it is here!)

In case you didn't click through to the link above (the rest of this will make more sense if you do!) the challenge is to pick 40 spaces in your home and come up with 40 bags of stuff you don't need. The author gives a few places two days' credit in her list, figuring there's more than one bag of unneeded stuff in there. I'll probably have to give some places three or four bags, but I'm sure we can come up with 40 bags one way or another! I love the idea of going through a space at a time and committing to pass a bag of things on to someone who can use them.

As far as how this relates to Lent (other than it being a 40 day challenge): I think since we have been abundantly blessed, this allows us to bless others as well by giving them things they need. It's not always easy to give things away, especially if they have strong memories attached to them, but there's a finite amount of space at the end of the day. Plus, the focus can be less on things and more on Jesus - which is the whole idea of Lent in the first place. Who's with me?

Stay tuned tomorrow for my list!