Small Successes--volume 73

1)  I am halfway through with a cotton sun top I am knitting for Gemma.  

2)  After my first batch of basil plants died over a month ago, I finally purchased some replacements and got them planted in the herb bed.  Hurray!  Because pesto is the essence of summer, and I make enormous amounts every summer, so that it can last all through the winter...

3)  I baked a wonderful loaf of bread.  Crispy crust, a chewy, moist crumb, the tiniest hint of sourdough...I could just live off fresh bread and fresh produce...I think it is time to do some homemade mozzarella again, too.

Now go over to Faith & Family Live and share your own Small Successes for the week...

Small Successes--volume 72

Wow, what a week, and it isn't over yet...still so much to do before the weekend!

1) I baked bread and zucchini bread, made a gallon of yogurt, a couple of pounds of butter and 52 ounces of peach jam;

2) I began work on a fall/winter cardigan for Gemma.  I really need to knit stuff for the other kids, but I just love the way baby things are so quickly done!

3) I made time to do some watercolor play with my little boys--they really love to paint, but I have to orchestrate everything or else our schoolroom and everything in it runs the risk of being vibrantly colored.

Head over to Faith & Family Live to read more Small Successes, and perhaps add your own. [At the time of posting this, Mrs. Bean hasn't yet posted Small Successes...so I've nothing to link to.  I'll check back with her later!]

Small Successes--volume 69

I am in the midst of getting ready to leave home tomorrow for three days and two nights, taking my daughters with me.  It's not been too bad a week...I actually have more than three successes to my credit, which is great since last week I couldn't even scrape two together!

1)  I started work on a little dress for Gemma.  This permitted me to put off doing the scary button-holes on Una's dress without feeling too guilty.  I do realize that I will not be able to put off button-holes forever.

2)  I  uploaded and ordered prints for another batch of photos from Shutterfly.  I only have about another eighteen months' worth of photos to catch up on now!

3)  I ordered gifts for Father's Day and a gift for my brother-in-law's birthday.

4)  I have all the boys' Mass clothes for Sunday put together for Bret's convenience and to spare him the embarrassment of the "So, mom must be out of town" comments.

5) Bonus:  In spite of being very busy, I managed to grit my teeth and let the little guys squish around in the mud (see post below), even knowing that it would mean a lot of clean-up on my part.  I also sat on the schoolroom floor and played a couple of rounds of "Jumping Pixies" with Gabriel when he lamented that no one wanted to play with him.

What are your Small Successes?  Go and blow your own horn on Faith & Family Live!

Small Successes--volume 67

1)  I finished the bodice on Una's regency style dress.  And it fits her.  A bit tight on the upper arms when she has her arms fully extended before her, but to paraphrase her own comment, she's not going to be doing gymnastics in a full length regency dress.  And it is, after all, my first attempt at sewing anything more complex than a curtain!

2)  I cut Dominic's hair yesterday!  Yes, I realize that I still have 3 haircuts to do in two days, but Dominic is the hardest for sheer wiggliness.  I wish I could sedate him.  The second hardest, oddly enough, isn't Adrian, but Gabriel, and that because his hair is thick, and I've not yet invested in thinning shears (frankly, I'm afraid to try to use them).

3)  I managed to capture Gemma's "pucker-face" on the camera.  It is something she does sometimes in order to get a laugh, and then we all do it back to her, and it becomes a game.  When she makes this face, she also breathes in and out through her nose loudly.  It's so cute, put whenever I tried to photograph it in the past, she would just grin at the camera!

Go and visit Faith & Family Live for more Small Successes, and perhaps tell us about your own!

Small Successes--volume 66--Take Two

Since Danielle Bean missed the boat last week, we are doing Volume 66 of Small Successes a second time around.  She admitted that it just slipped her mind!  Isn't it great?  Now I know she really is a homeschooling mom...

1)  I finally ordered a new Mei Tai-style baby carrier on eBay.  Gemma still loves to be carried about, and I don't mind having her in my sling on my hip, but it really limits me.  My hope is that I can cook and do dishes with her on my back so that I am not forced to sit her on the floor and allow her to watch videos with her siblings.  Of course, she really likes to mess with my hair, so I may have to shave my head or something...

2)  I am working on Una's regency style dress, and am making some progress!  Yes, I've had to rip out and resew a couple of seams, but I am being mighty patient with myself since I have never sewn anything more complex than an apron before.  I now have the lining pinned to the bodice, with the piping in between.  I am hoping I will only have to do this once, as pinning it all together was a pain.

3)  Tomatoes and herb bed are mulched, with many thanks to my kids, who went out to the pasture to pick up the composted hay from where the big bales had been this winter.  This rotted hay/manure stuff peels off in layers, and you can lay it like a mat around the plants.  Really great stuff.  Una thought me a bit weird for getting all excited about mulch.  She and her brothers probably think me even weirder for paying them $1.50 per Radio Flyer wagon-load for the stuff.

Another success, although not mine:  Bret seems to have finally eradicated the ant invasion in my kitchen and pantry.  They have been worse than ever this year, and seem to have been able to follow the honey and chocolate milk powder no matter where I hid it.  They were making me crazy!  And ant baits in every drawer and cabinet had little effect.  The man carefully put boric acid in a few hidden, choice spots and I have only seen one ant, looking a bit lost, so far this morning.  Hurrah!

Read some more Small Successes on Faith & Family Live, and share your own.

Small Successes--volume 66

1)  I have made a start at reorganizing my household binder.  Actually, I seem to be forever doing either one of two things with my binder; that is, I'm either reorganizing it, or I am ignoring it completely...

2)  In a moment this week when "the little guys" (Dominic and Adrian) were driving me insane, oscillating between boisterous play and arguments accompanied by lots of yelling and shrieking, I suppressed  my temptation to put on a video for them, and instead I pulled out water, paints, paper towels, liquid watercolors and watercolor paper, and I demonstrated the "wet-on-wet" technique.  They were [relatively] quiet and occupied for the next 45 minutes.  And I wasn't left feeling guilty!

3)  I sewed up my first muslin for the bodice of the regency dress I will attempt to make for Una, and I am so glad I did!  It turns out that I had to widen the armholes and neck for her.  Now I think, after adjusting the pattern, that I am ready to cut into my actual dress fabric.  First tell me, who is the patron saint of seamstresses?  I really want this to turn out...at least well enough for Una to wear around here!

Head on over to Faith & Family Live to read some more Small Successes--and add your own!

Small Successes--volume 63

1)  I am about 3/4 of the way done with a sweater for Gemma, which I started only two weeks ago.  Since I don't have any time to knit except in the van and in the evening after dinner and rosary, this is pretty good!

2)  I worked out a chore chart of sorts for the kids.  I know, I know...I should have had one in place years ago, but they never used to debate about whose turn it was to do this or that.  I don't have everything on the chart, but it is a start, and I can add to it as need be.

3)  I moved uploaded a bunch of photos to Snapfish to order prints, and then removed the photos from my computer to memory sticks.  I always do this with a sense of relief, as we lost the photos not only of Gabriel's birth, but also of his baptism.  I will never allow such a calamity again!

I wish I could say I was finally done with the seasonal clothing change, but I always dread it so much, and this year I am having an especially tough time motivating myself.  I find myself pulling a couple of things at a time out of the bins as needed for spring and slowly piling up winter stuff in my workroom.  When I run out of space in there, I suppose my hand will be forced and I will have to complete the despicable task.

Now go and visit Faith & Family Live to read more Small Successes and perhaps share your own!

Small Successes--volume 62

It has been a bit of a frustrating week, in spite of all the gorgeous weather.  A lot of trying to get things done to no avail.  Oh well...at least the kids seem to be getting over the cold they had.  Just in time for allergy season.

1) I made some headway on a sweater for Gemma.  Of course, I got a little distracted last night while watching the first disk of Wives & Daughters from Netflix, and now I have to rip out the last row because I was purling when I ought to have been knitting.

2)  I have some seeds started for flowers and herbs (better late than never, eh?) and they are starting to come up now.  Bret has to fence the area around the raised beds so the chickens won't destroy the new plants as they did last year (I don't want to talk about it...).

3)  I have a few of weeks of menu planning completed.  I still want a few more.  I would like to have a 6 to 8 week rotation at least, so that there is plenty of variety. 

There is still much to do today and tomorrow before I can consider it a productive week.  I need to make another batch of yogurt (going through it quickly now that "smoothie season" has begun!), and a batch of granola; I need to get more done on the menu planning; I need to finish putting away winter clothes and pulling out the warm-weather stuff, and I need to make some phone calls (I am terrible about that--I really am not a "phone person", perhaps because I can never just sit and talk, and I find it difficult to talk and do other things simultaneously). 

I hope you have had some small successes this week.  Read some more and/or share your own at Faith & Family Live.

Small Successes--volume 61

1)  I finally got to Mass on Easter after 5 weeks of not being able to go due to one illness in the family after another.  This was no credit to me, of course, and I give thanks to God for His merciful goodness.  But I did manage to get all four boys coordinated in beige trousers and white shirts, ties, and freshly-trimmed hair.  Added bonus: I got a photo of all six kids looking still looking nice after Mass!

2)  I gave my blog a "face-lift".  This included successfully adding a third column to it (I'd tried this once before and lost my entire blog for a gut-wrenching 30 minutes), and finally figuring out how to remove the snowflakes that had been falling on my blog since the beginning of winter.

3) I made nearly four quarts of fresh yogurt yesterday.  And I am hoping to get a huge load of granola made today.

Check out more Small Successes at Faith & Family Live, and add your own!

Small Successes Vol. 51

1) I got to Confession on Sunday. I am used to going every other week, but between, late starts, sick kids and weather, I hadn't been able to go for a month. To use a slightly crude analogy, going felt like, well, like relieving oneself when one really has to go! It felt so good to get it out!

2) I have a quasi-schedule in place. I'm still tweaking it, for there are still bits and pieces that aren't working (the after-lunch time slot in which I am supposed to fold laundry or mend, for instance, is not happening), but we have stuck to it more or less for the past three days and the best benefit has been less whining and bickering--the kids are kept busy!

3) I have slept in my own bed with Bret and Gemma for three nights now. This isn't really a success, as much as it is Gemma's keeping still and not pushing me into the co-sleeper, but my successes are few this week, and I couldn't think of number three.

God and read more Small Successes on Faith & Family Live, and maybe blow your own horn!

Small Successes Vol. 50

1) I am making some progress in working out a schedule for my household and schooling. I'm concentrating primarily on the former right now, because it is the household duties that frequently keep us from sticking to a school schedule. Anyway, I have figured out a workable plan for the first half of the day that includes time for prayer, chores and school, and even some time here on the blog if I need it.

2) I made an appointment to get my hair trimmed in two weeks. It's been over 6 months, and all I can do with my hair right now is put it in a pony tail.

3) A big deal: I followed the lead of Allison's husband and talked to our parish's secretary. I scheduled a Mass intention for our family for every month of the year (the first 4 months were covered by dear friends who gave us the gift of four Masses for Christmas), plus a Mass for every member of our family, on or close to his or her birthday. The suggested stipend for a Mass around here is $5. Five dollars! Tell me, what other treasures can you purchase for five bucks?

Now read a few more Small Successes on Faith & Family Live, and share your own!

Small Successes --Volume 45

1) Advent preparations: I took down the two creches (one for the dining room and another for the "altar" in my bedroom) from the attic crawlspace, put up our German Advent calender, and created a snowstorm of bits of white paper making paper snowflakes with the kids to put in the windows, which is a tradition in this house, and I found images on Google of all the significant saints and feasts in December, printed them out and posted them on our bulletin board. We have been praying a novena for the Feast of the Immaculate Conception after our rosary each evening and I have added the St. Andrew chaplet to my bedtime prayers.

2) I am on the second half of a knit pair of longies for Gemma. I also took a long-sleeved T-shirt which Una had outgrown and sewed up a quick pair of pants for her yesterday.

3) I ordered a steam mop! I have been griping about my horrible floors forever (they look like they need mopping just about every other day!), and my mom did the research, found the best price for the highest rated steam mop, and then gave me money for my birthday to cover it. It should arrive sometime in the next few days. Marilyn swears by hers, so I am hoping it will prove to be a boon to my housekeeping arsenal.

Now, head over to Faith and Family Live, and enjoy some more small successes, or share your own!

Small Successes--volume 44

It hasn't been a banner week, really. It's been one of those weeks when I seem to be running constantly and not getting much done. I actually decided to let the kids just do art and creative stuff yesterday in order to try to catch up with cookie dough, mending and ironing--and I ended up doing none of those things! I need a motivational kick in the pants, I think! What I have done this week:

1) I have been reading Pinocchio to the older boys. Not the sugared, Disney version by any means! This is the original Collodi tale, and it is not for sensitive little ones. In the original tale, Pinocchio gets into trouble because he is a disobedient, ornery little cuss and not because he is merely naive. He is completely self-centered, and when scolded by an old, wise cricket, he throws a hammer at the offending insect and kills him! He also gets his feet burned off early on in the book and has to have Geppetto remake them. The boys groaned when I told them I was going to read this book to them, but now they groan when I have to put it down.

2) I am seaming Una's sweater. Slow going, as I really hate seaming. I also made a sweater in colors matching hers for her American Girl-type doll. Unable to contain my knitting mania, I will begin a pair of longies for Gemma in natural Lion's Brand Fisherman Wool and I may also start on a little hat for her (I keep trying to do these pilot-style caps I love, looking for a pattern that a novice knitter like myself can handle) and some fingerless gloves for the boys.

3) I have been creating a picture file of handmade toys--mostly wood--that Bret and I could pretty easily make. We are constantly trying to come up with things for Bret to make at home, and I noticed, while looking at Waldorf-influenced toys, that there are a number of them that would be easy to make. I'm hoping there's an Etsy shop in our future!

Other than that, I've only kept up with laundry and managed one batch of cookie dough for the freezer, but I'm off to make up another while the baby naps and the kids watch a dvd.

Look at some other successes for this week, big and small, at Faith and Family Live.

Small Successes--volume 43

1) Thanks to the dead freezer, I cooked up some ground beef, two pork loin roasts, one sirloin tip roast, two standing rib roasts, and a rolled rib roast this week. Gave some meat away as well.

2) I finished up three pairs of baby booties and am putting together Una's sweater.

3) I cleaned both my bathrooms.

Bonus--I am about done with Christmas shopping, which will allow me to concentrate on homemade gifts and cookie dough for the freezer!

Now head on over to Faith and Family Live for more Small Successes, and share your own!

Small Successes--volume 42

1) I made a batch of butter and a batch of peanut-butter chocolate chip cookies today;

2) I remembered that November 3rd was Una's nameday (really, how easy is it to remember that Una is some sort of derivative of St. Winifried? Really, it is!);

3) I got most of my Christmas shopping done! Hurray for Amazon.com and Super Saver Shipping!

Go to Faith and Family Live for more Small Successes, and share your own!

Small Successes--vol. 40

It has been a crazy week. And it just keeps getting crazier. The kids are acting the way they do in February, when they've been locked up in the house for two months and the joys of the holidays are but a distant memory, and now that we have a nice, new fridge, the well pump keeps shutting down on us. The electrician is coming out in the morning to see if it may be a wiring problem.

Anyway, a week like this means that getting just about anything done at all can be counted as a success. And not doing certain things may be counted as well, as in:

1) I did not ditch the family, pack a duffel bag and book a flight to a beach resort in Costa Rica (too selfish);

2) I did not get drunk and beat the kids (too boorish);

3) I did not tear my garments and heap ashes upon my head (too impractical/untidy).

On the flip-side, I did take the baby out for a little jaunt around the house for fresh air in the breezy, 70-degree weather this afternoon; I did have some fun playing some geography games with the kids on the computer and I did order a few things for Christmas.

Want to share your small successes? Go to Faith and Family Live!

Small Successes--vol. 39

I've been off the ol' blog for a couple of day on account of sheer busyness. When I haven't been at the schooling or housework, or acting as willing slave to that smiley bundle of pink of mine, I've been knitting or trying to create costumes for the kids. And our phone and internet were down this morning as well. Anyway, here it is, better late than never...

1) I am down to only a sleeve needed to complete Una's sweater. Seaming isn't my strong suit, so I hope it will come together well.

2) After a false start and an outfit too tight for Una to sit down in, I have made something that looks somewhat Egyptian. She is obsessed currently with all things Ancient Egyptian, and wanted a costume. With the addition of a wig and some jewelry, we may have something that satisfies Una, even if it is, as she tells me, "not truly authentic".

3) I have ordered the first of the Christmas gifts. It is a late start for me, but it seems I have six pots going on four burners right now.

My tiny mistress beckons...

Go and share you own small successes on Faith & Family Live!

Small Successes Volume 38

1) Restocked the freezer with 4 loaves of Banana Bread, 3 loaves of Pumpkin Bread and 2 meatloaves.

2) Completed the second half of the front of Una's sweater--just the sleeves left to do now.

3) Finished the horrid task of taking out all the winter stuff and putting away all the summer stuff.

And I am nearly done with my Goal List for the next six weeks of school. Now if I can get on with that and tackle my pile of mending, I will count the week as very successful indeed.

Go on, blow your own horn! And visit Faith and Family Live for the entire brass section...

Small Successes Volume 37

Ya know, as the school year wears on (into our 6th week) and the baby sleeps less, my small successes seem to get smaller and smaller! At this point I feel like I've succeeded if I managed to get through the day without screaming at the kids, weeping, or wishing I could have my 4:00 p.m. glass of wine at 10:30 a.m. If I gauge my week by that, I guess it's been a fairly successful week.

In truth, it's been one of those, I managed to teach, cook dinners and keep up with laundry kind of weeks. But if I have to dig around for something over and above these necessities, then I would list the following:

1) I made a monster batch of granola this week (after having it on my "To Do" list for two weeks).

2) I got my act together enough to celebrate the feast of the Archangels with the kids.

3) I have managed to squeeze in a few rows of knitting every day, and I am hoping to be done with the right front of Una's sweater this week. Then on to the sleeves!

Check out Faith and Family Live for more Small Successes, and share your own!

Small Successes Volume 36

Not much to brag about this week. The baby is going through a phase I remember suffering with Sebastian. She can Power-Nap. Yesterday, and the two days previous, she didn't nap for more than 10 or 15 minutes at a time, then spent 30 minutes screaming while I waited for her to go back to sleep. Her longest nap was an hour around dinner time. That was it, outside of catnaps, until 11:30 p.m.

I recalled reading in a book about 8 years ago, when Sebastian did this, that you have to watch the baby carefully and wait for the second yawn. That is the ideal time to put the baby down. By the third yawn the baby is over-tired and may not go down well.

It worked most of the time with Sebastian, and this morning it is working with Gemma. Alleluia!

Anyway, back to the week's successes, small as they may be:

1) I managed to have a really nice feast-day for St. Pio yesterday. We had a wonderful dinner of my favorite quick pasta dish with penne, pesto, Italian sausage, sliced black olives, diced tomatoes and Parmesan cheese along with garlic bread, and I made cappuccino mousse for dessert. I spoke at length about Padre Pio to the kids and they found him pretty fascinating. And after our rosary, I anointed them with Padre Pio blessed oil given to us by a priest friend.

2) Still having fun with Geography. The kids have learned so much about Australia and have had a great time producing aboriginal style art on heavy brown paper. We rented a great documentary on Australia and although we couldn't afford a trip to Kentucky Down Under this year, the kids had fun learning about Australian animals with a number of other resources.

3) I've managed breakfast, lunch and dinner every day thus far this week.

(Just don't ask me about my bathrooms.)

Now visit Faith and Family Live to see some more Small Successes!