Eating Cold Spaghetti

I have been toying around with the idea of writing a post about a relatively new development in this journey of marriage my husband and I have entered, but being that it is new, I didn't quite feel like I have to authority with which to write about it. However, upon realizing that we are about to head into NFP awareness week, I figured it was time. We have just started learning the marequette method of natural family planning (NFP) and already the learning and growing has been incredible. Both for me personally and for us as a couple.  Prior to marriage, while we did do some marriage prep, and even had a sponsor couple (a couple that's been married for a while and active in the church) who we met with several times, we did not learn NFP. I was certainly interested, but my husband and I were both of the stance that we'll just leave it totally up to God. Plus, our sponsor couple only had an out dated hand out from the 90's to share, since they personally had never used NF...

Several days ago I was sitting in my kitchen floor waiting for cookies to finish baking. My toddler and the little lady and I were listening and dancing to music on the radio while we waited. And then I  heard a new song, and I had to stop and really listen, absorb the words- feel the song. And, when it was over, really think about it.  Surely you've been there before.. You hear a song and it just hits you. The emotions overflow and you feel something. Sometimes it feels deep and soul stirring. Sometimes it is just surface level. Depending on the song, the emotions can range from joy and elation, simple pleasure and enjoyment, to tears and sadness, or maybe even anger and frustration- music is designed to move you.  Not every song will move everyone the same. And some music will make us cringe and change the station. In fact, some " music " might not sound like music to our ears. But as with any art form, the beauty is in the eye of the beholder.  Truthfully, I do no...

The other morning I was sitting at my son's little table, watching him paint.  With my daughter sleeping on me in the ring sling carrier, I  grabbed a pencil and began to write a poem of sorts. This is what come of those two minutes or so, before paint was spilled and we moved on.  Mommy needs a Nap Just a moment. Give me just a second. Wait a.. minute, will you  please?  Mommy needs a moment  to get down on her knees- a holy reminder if you will- before we clean up our  next spill. There is no pill for this  frustration- no cure for this anxiety- it's simply Mother nature Slowly sanctifying me. To be fair, the last line is actually one that came a day later when I was rereading what I had written. When my husband found it laying on the little table he said he loved it. It should be a rap. And the title should be "mommy needs a map." Not exactly what I was going for, but here it is, regardless.  It's been a while since I've written like this,...

The other morning my 2 year old son and I had a very enlightening conversation about desires and needs. It went something like this; my toddler ( in a very whiney voice): "I want a green bar"  Me: "You still have breakfast on your plate, you don't need other food. If you are hungry eat your breakfast."  Toddler: "Greeeeen barrrr!" Me :"Eat your eggs" Toddler: "Want a GREEN BAR! Bite from the fridge?!"  At this point I refused to discuss it any further. And then for the next half hour he kept asking for a "green bar" (it's the aldi brand of "Lara bars"), with the hopes, I suppose, that the answer might change. It didn't.  After about the fiftieth time of hearing my son request a bar, I was a bit exasperated. In that moment I suddenly had a revealing thought, I looked at my husband and said " I wonder if God ever feels like this about us." About me..    Does he get frustrated when I keep asking, e...

My sisters, mother and I are planning to get together for coffee this weekend, for the first time in months. And right now, my main hope for this gathering is that I will get to drink my whole cup of coffee while it's hot.  I'm sure any mom and coffee lover will agree that drinking a cup of coffee while it's still hot- and not reheated for the umpteenth time- is a rare opportunity.  In fact, even before I was a mother, I realized that many times when you are caring for little people, you will eat and drink (and shower and sleep and pee and breathe..) on a totally different timetable with significantly lowered standards. You tend to take the back burner, because babies can't wait. At least, that's been my experience.. You see, back when I worked in early childhood ( aka daycare) many moons ago, was actually when I penned the title for this blog.  After an unusually  fussy and chaotic morning and then feeding and changing and getting 5 little bities safely settled in ...

 This is just a warning:  this post is going to be longish. It includes my motivation for home births as well as my first home birth story. I intend to either make another post about my second home birth, or add it to this later!   About a year after I knew motherhood was to become a primary calling in my life, I started researching home birth. It was a part of a broader  research about "clean green living" as I called it at the time. ( I made a folder and everything for this! It was my totally self motivated nerdy- ness at its finest.) It was a plan that involved simplicity and cleaning up my health little by little. I wanted to go green. To be kinder to my body and the earth. Release my inner tree hugger and respect the life I've been given and the beauty of God's design. I felt called to do this for many reasons but the more I learned the more I believed it was God's call. I'm definitely still working on this, and find that it's a day by day little by l...

"My name is Ned I do not like my little bed. This is no good this is not right. My feet stick out of bed all night and when I pull them in, oh dear, my head sticks out of bed up here"- Dr. Seuss- One fish, two fish, red fish, Blue fish Okay, so my name isn't Ned, it's Bridget. And I'm not a character in a Dr. Seuss book, even though having a toddler and infant sometimes makes me feel that way(you know, extra hairy and talking nonsensically to myself all day).  I love to read, and write. I'm probably addicted to chocolate. And baking. Baking is a major form of therapy for me. I'm a bit of a hippie and minimalist. I just like to keep things simple. As in, home birth s cloth diapers,  ecological breastfeeding, recycling, constantly donating all the extra stuff that is accumulating as I type, composting, gardening ( but my husband gets all the credit for keeping plants alive) and I think you get the picture.  I love nature and summer, but I'm not friends w...