{SQT} For-Sale Sign Is Up!

1. Weekend Fun

Chris took David to his brothers' ice skating lessons, so that I could help clean the old house for listing it: two-year-olds can have fun anywhere.

Big Sunday breakfast at the new house . . .

John had the honor serving as vimp at the Rite of Confirmation Mass in the Extraordinary Form with the bishop on Sunday. He sat by the bishop's side and held his heavy crozier for two hours. It was a wonderful Mass!

2. David's birthday

Chris' parents had come for the weekend to celebrate David's second birthday: click here.

3. Getting Back to Routines

After traveling out of state twice this summer and then moving homes, we are sorely in need of routines being established during this last two weeks before school begins. Do my readers also notice that everyone is out of sort and behavior is difficult when children (and adults) have too much freedom? I'm praying for other families who I know are heading back to school routines soon and I ask you to pray for ours!

I am trying to get morning prayers and holy reading re-established . . .

Toddler brother reading with older brother reading his holy meditations

I am trying to get my prayer life and holy reading back in order, too!

I'm not doing a Morning Time and not sure where I can create the time in our upcoming school schedule, but I have started reading aloud the edifying "Character Calendar" by Sr. Mary Fidelis and Sr. Mary Charitas (orig. pub. 1931) to the family during breakfast.

I've written a Family Chore Chart for the new home and know it is a work-in-progress. There is much re-training to be done about daily chores in general and the chores that are new and different for this home.

I've formally launched anew reading aloud at night! Since the top three children will be independently reading some serious literature for school imminently, I decided to try reading aloud a hagiography instead and launched with a favorite of mine: The Life of Blessed Margaret of Castello (TAN Books). I persevered through the protests of the first chapter, by the end of which the children were hanging on my every word. Now, each night, they beg for more of this most moving and touching story . . . and I, also, can't wait to get back to it!

I'm moving bedtimes earlier and morning times earlier, trying to get everyone awake and dressed with beds made right away, with our experimental goal that all music practice is completed between 7:00 and 9:00 a.m.

4. Idle Hands

Lest any reader thinks I have it all together, know exactly what I'm doing, and that only women who are natural-born fantastic mothers have larger families, let me disabuse you of that notion. It feels impossible at times to supervise the children while I have to unpack a home--and in a short period of time. I start my "full time job" in ten days when homeschooling begins, at which point I will have no time left for unpacking a box for about nine months (no time left for leaving the house, exercising, reading a novel, chatting on the phone, practically even for simple personal care . . .). So, I'm trying to unpack, but if I let the children run off to play, the youngest ones get into mischief. If I keep them all in the same room as me, fights galore break out and I am not even getting through a single box without having to manage the next discipline. I can think of all the pat answers I would give another mom complaining of this same thing to me, but, in my own shoes, all I can say is that it is overhwhelmingly challenging and humbling.

I need a big dose of God's grace to be a kind and patient mama while being a very efficient and productive mama as well!

Positive occupations this week have involved music lessons, well-child doctor checks, online orientations for upcoming courses, playing board games, listening to books on CD, playing with play food at the table while Mama cooks dinner, playing elaborate games of soldiers, catching frogs, harvesting Margaret's first pole bean, swimming, playing basketball in the driveway, perfecting the rip stick in the cul-de-sac, going to a play date, and watching a new-to-us version of "Heidi" (1993 starring Jason Robards and Jane Seymour).

New Melissa and Doug cutting food for David's birthday

Negative occupations this week have involved dumping out a bottle of White Out on the brand new carpet (no, we have not been able to get it out), spreading a new tube of toothpaste mixed with a bottle of Compound W (acid!) all over the bathroom and then flooding it with water, stomping a muddy path of 20 feet (ruining that entire stretch of lawn) . . . okay, that was all the four-year-old's doing . . . and fighting (everyone can share in that claim).

I guess what I really need is a huge dose of God's grace and for the four-year-old never to leave my supervised side!

5. House Is Listed!

It has been an honor to watch how hard my husband has worked to get the old house listed for sale. Once we moved in, nearly all of my attention has been on settling into the new house, while Chris has had to split his attention to innumerable details between two homes, and getting very little sleep to achieve that. John (12) was his right-hand man accomplishing many small home repairs and watching and learning from his dad managing many contractors.

John enjoyed  watching the real estate photographer do his work, including taking photos with a drone. The gentleman let John land the expensive drone in a field, which was a thrill!

Now our beloved home of 12 years is listed and we pray for buyers to choose it quickly and for it to bless their lives as it has ours.

Will a future neighborhood resident love all our wildlife? We currently have a mama deer with triplets we see quite often . . . and in the below photo with two babies nursing!

Mama deer with triplets: Photo courtesy of David M.

And we've had fox sightings lately . . .

Fox sighting: Photo courtesy of Katie G.

6. Feast of the Assumption

The Feast of Our Lady's Assumption into heaven is a holy day of obligation, so Chris attended Mass in the morning adjacent to his morning meeting, and then I went in the evening with just the older children so the youngest two wouldn't have their bedtimes disturbed.

I made strawberry shortcake for dessert and served it after lunch when we were all home, knowing half of us would be gone during the evening. I managed to put out a statue of Our Lady to be festive, but that's all this overwhelmed mama could do this time around.

Beautiful evening clouds after Mass

7. Exhausted

We are still all exhausted, but happily so.

Thomas (4) fallen asleep in a kitchen chair at dinner

For more 7 Quick Takes Friday, check out This Ain't the Lyceum.