I can move my arm!!!

Cause for celebration! A parade even!! I got my cortisone shots in my shoulder yesterday and was in agony from about 6 til I finally fell asleep. I woke up this morning and it's definitely still twingy, but I can move it. It's better!

Last round of shots the day after was bad. I'm so relieved that's it's working faster this time and I'll be able help my mom pack and get our house moved around. I love Christopher and we make a good team when he decides to get on board, but no one would ever call him decisive or quick. I think being able to lift and move things today and tomorrow with ease any frustration I would have had to struggle with (my own!)

OK, off to shower and get ready for that parade! We really do have one today :o).

Moving...without getting a new house...

So, we've decided to move our bedroom downstairs to what is now our office/computer room. The girls will move to the master, Dominic will move to the what is now the girls' room and Killian will stay in his own room. I think this is going to make my house much more efficient and organized and give the kids much needed space, but...

I have to sort through ALL our storage in order to find a place for everything currently being stored in the office/computer room. I am resorting toys, baby clothes, cloth diapers, dress up clothes, books. It's NUTS! I know it's going to be fabulous to have it done and it'll make moving (eventually) so much easier and faster, but in the meantime it's way hard.

You see, I have an itty bitty house and when I drag stuff out to sort, there's really no room to move and there's no moving van to put the sorted stuff on while I finish the rest. So, our basement is very truly an obstacle course.

The plan is to have us downstairs this weekend, then I can work on the kids' rooms over next week. Once everyone's where they belong again, I can prepare for school. I'm trying to just take it easy and stay calm about it all, but my summer has been non-existent and I'm really trying to get some rest and relaxation in before I have to start homeschooling.

It's going to be August soon! WTH happened to my summer??

Oh, what a difference...

My shorts are loose, my tank top is fitted and looks cute. I feel like a new woman! Whew! This will really help me with my energy level as we rearrange the house this week/weekend! Amazing what 2 days can do :o).

Somersizing....

OK, so I've taken the plunge back into Somersizing. It's been 6 years since my first, very successful, foray into low carb eating, so I think I'm ready to commit again. Thing is, the first time around I lost 30lbs pretty quickly, then promptly got pregnant, thanks to Jen. Wait...that didn't come out right. Thanks to Jen's John...ok, no better. Thanks to the baby lust inspired by Jen's John. There. Better.

I ate according to plan yesterday and I've started off my morning right. I weighed SS against what I know of Atkins and decided that, since I'm familiar with SS and it works for me AND I can have whole grains/fiber on SS that I'd go with it. I need to have the carbs/fiber. I refuse to live on Miralax and I refuse to go a week to ten days between...ahem. So, wish me luck!

I felt GREAT last night and woke up this morning feeling hungover. Weirdest thing. I feel better now after coffee and clementines and bulgar with lemon and salt. Since I have less than 30 to drop this time...well, 30 wouldn't be BAD, but I don't "need" to lose 30. I'm hoping that by fall I'll be able to get me some cute clothes again :o). Hey, if I have to homeschool, at least I can look cute doing it, right?

WARNING: Catholic rant...

For those of you non-Catholics that are still reading :-p, it's important to know, for purposes of this rant, that the normative (read: usual) way to receive Holy Communion in the Catholic Church is on the tongue. In the US, and some other Western countries, Rome has given a dispensation so that we are perfectly allowed to receive Communion in the hand. In fact, militant Catholic that I am, I receive in the hand.

Zélie decided before her First Holy Communion that she preferred to receive on the tongue. Our parish is very traditional and I would say that most people there receive on the tongue, so this was no big deal at all. Well, we've been going to some more local parishes this summer in an effort to save gas (and time) and the Eucharistic Ministers at these parishes need a refresher in proper distribution of the Sacrament.

My poor girl has had the Host literally balanced on her folded hands!! How the heck is an eight year old supposed to consume the Host with it balancing on her hands? How does she even move without dropping Him on the floor? I am so SICK of this happening to her! She made a very reverent, thoughtful, prayerful decision about how she would receive Our Lord in Holy Communion and she's almost being forced to change her perfectly NORMAL and VALID preference.

I told her today, after her very deft handling of the amazing balancing Host, that we'll just make sure we get into the priest's line from now on. One would hope that a priest would not be averse to distributing Communion in the normative way! Grrrr...

My apologies to any of my non-Catholic friends for whom this post probably makes zero sense, but I had to get it off my chest!

Thoughts on sympathy cards from the vet....

They are a horrible idea. While I appreciate the motivation behind sending them and it's very sweet, they just make me cry every.single.time. We had to euthanize Nimbus last week. He was just ancient and wasn't able to get to his water bottle anymore or climb in his cage, etc. It was very hard. I had been taking care of him for a long time and there's big void in my days now where Nimbus used to be.

I was finally over the weepy stage and could walk into Killian's room without glancing over to the spot where Nimby's cage used to be. So, getting the very kind, personal note from our vet today just sent me back into the weepy stage. UGH! I think when/if we have to euthanize another pet, I'll specifically ask that we NOT receive a card. They just don't work for me.

An epiphany...

I think our family has well and truly reached the stage where fun outings are NOT super stressful and a ridiculous amount of work. We've done several big outings this summer and they were all really very painless and easy and, dare I say, FUN for ME!?

Dominic has about a 2 hour limit for good behavior. That's doable. That'll get us through the zoo (almost, but we have passes, so we don't need to do the WHOLE zoo everytime) and is my limit for time at the water park or lake or playground, etc. It's actually relaxing to take them places now!

We're not quite to the place where I can sit and read a book while they play...at least not around water, but I can sit and watch without having to be chasing after 3 different kids at one time. Two more years and I can be one of those moms relaxing on the grass or sand or in a chair reading a book or magazine or whatever while the kids play. I must be getting really old. I'll take it though. This is a perk I've been looking forward to for 13 years!!!

And so it begins...

I ordered the first of the school texts last night...well, really it was early this morning. I've been having a lot of trouble sleeping lately, mostly cause of my shoulder, but also I do believe that I'm reaching the breaking point of how much stress I can handle. Or, maybe this is just stretching exercises from God so that I can handle more later-- gosh, I hope not.

Anyway, I found almost all the really expensive stuff that I need for much, much cheaper. I was very relieved! I got the priciest of the teacher manuels and I got Killian's math book and the TM for that. Huge load off my mind. Everything else, I'm just going to order new from the homeschool that we're enrolled in, Kolbe.

I'm trying very hard to pump myself up for this adventure. My summer is flying by and I'm feeling more overworked than I did in the school year! I really need a couple of weeks to just BE. Maybe in August??

On today's agenda is a massive water balloon war. The kids have over 500!! Between the actual battle and the cleanup that should keep them pretty busy. Have to finally go get Carina's glasses today and order Killian's lens, too. So, not TOO busy a day, thankfully.

Happy sunshine and summertime!

Mom's coming home today...

My mom is coming home after lunch today. I got a detailed message from her physical therapist that was very reassuring. She was able to walk 70 feet yesterday and do 4 stairs and several other activities unassisted...with just walk beside help.

I'm a little nervous about the coming week, but feel MUCH better than I did yesterday. I was in a near panic since the last time anyone was with her she could hardly move on her own.

Please pray that her recovery is quick and her pain minimal. She really does have more than enough to deal with (and so do I). Any complication or protracted recovery (behind the expected 3 months) would be very trying.