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Back in 1915, in a book titled 蓝什么灯vip破解版, President Theodore Roosevelt wrote the following:

“Dante reserved a special place of infamy in the inferno for those base angels who dared side neither with evil nor with good. Peace is ardently to be desired, but only as the handmaid of righteousness. The only peace of permanent value is the peace of righteousness.”

 

The bold-face type is my own.

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At around the same time, Americans were also becoming much more polarized, in nearly every area of life. Politics, religion, and social issues, which of course are all intertwined, now sharply divide many of us to the point where conversation is scarcely possible any longer.

As for myself, I mostly stopped blogging due to the first reason–namely that the whole nature of online communication changed, and I guess I write a better essay than I do a Facebook status. Or I certainly enjoy it more, anyway. Plus my children were getting older and, for whatever reason, the more experienced I became as a parent, the less I felt inclined to write about it. I spend a lot of time with my kids, so perhaps I just have less bandwidth for “thinking aloud”–or writing out my thoughts, as it were–on account of the fact that I’m nearly always talking or listening to someone, or many someones, face-to-face.

Along the way I also began doing some freelance work in the political sphere, mostly writing news pieces for a conservative online publication. My niche there is pro-life and pro-family news, which finds me trolling for stories in the early morning hours before I drive my kids to school, stories I think should be told. That world is far removed, however, from my personal blog and personal life. Though I do not write anonymously, I don’t share my work for that publication on either of my Facebook pages. The articles are news pieces, as opposed to editorials or opinions, which wouldn’t necessarily make for thought-provoking conversation.

But there is another reason why I don’t typically share those things to (most of) my social media accounts. If I’m honest, it’s also a big reason why my blog has effectively gone dark in recent years.

The truth has become, it seems, terribly unfashionable.

To state any of a number of opinions in 2019 is to invite controversy and heated opposition. To authentically explore topics that used to be part and parcel for people of faith like me is now akin to stepping on a landmine. I don’t enjoy arguing with people, particularly friends and casual acquaintances, though the same goes for strangers too. I find it stressful and I’m also very realistic about the fact that rarely does it change minds.

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Although I’m not writing or posting much, I do read and see what other people out there are saying. I see longtime Catholic bloggers, wonderful people I know from the old days, being banned–banned!–from Facebook, on account of their traditional religious beliefs. (As in, what the Catechism of the Catholic Church says. Not exactly wild stuff.) I also see posts from people on the other side, extolling the (perceived but completely nonexistent) benefits of abortion. I see people gushing over confused 11-year-old boys dressed in drag, who dance for grown men in gay bars at night. I see the frequent and desperate appeals to emotionalism, the obfuscating of facts, the claiming of this or that identity and, ultimately, the taking of sides.

And, I’m not sure I lan灯破解百度云 to take sides–in public, anyway. If you ask my husband he’ll tell you I’m the most opinionated person he knows, and I definitely have a side, but I don’t necessarily enjoy inviting controversy by openly discussing that side.

But somehow, lately, that just feels wrong.

In hiding behind mundane news pieces that nobody but the like-minded reads am I, like Dante’s angels, daring to side neither with evil nor with good? Have some of the Catholics still faithfully speaking up on social media been hung out to dry by the rest of us? Is there still a place in the culture for good, thoughtful conversation and encouragement around controversial issues?

I realize that some would say that we should simply focus on the good stuff and ignore the bad. But as a modern parent, I don’t have a choice when it comes to confronting the moral and social issues of our day. I must listen, discern, and attempt to help my children navigate the modern world. I must also maintain a home of joy and peace, somehow walking that difficult line between guiding and teaching the truth, while simultaneously avoiding the pitfall of cultivating a spirit of fear, distrust, and despair. Focusing on the good, the beautiful, and the true, while being honest about sin and the human condition.

When I stop and consider the (small and very humble) part of my life I’ve spent as a writer, I know that the greatest benefit of blogging (by far) was the community it fostered–first, among other adoptive parents when we were adopting our four Ethiopian children and then, later, with Catholics, as my husband and I were attempting to learn more about what I now know to be the Fullness of the Faith. Not to put too fine a point on it, but online forums and blogs–and “famous Catholics”–played a tremendous role in my conversion. When I was exploring topics like the meaning of sexuality in marriage, or historic Christianity, I didn’t know any Catholics in real life. But thankfully there was the online world, the blogosphere, and it changed me.

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It allowed for like-minded people to find encouragement, strength, and solidarity with one another, while also leaving space for others to disagree. It resulted in thinking, and sometimes wrestling, through challenging topics that might not otherwise come up. I’m the first person to say I prefer face-to-face conversation and engagement, but there was also something nice about the connections formed through the blogs. Things are different now, more polarized, but perhaps that means we should be putting ourselves out there all the more.

I’m not too sure how many of you out there are even still reading here. Certainly not many, not like in the old days. But I’ve grown weary of not writing about things for fear of being accused of this or that, or of being put in Facebook jail. I miss the essay-style blog posts I used to write, because writing news isn’t really the same. I miss connecting with people exploring the Catholic faith, or considering crazy things like adoption or ditching their birth control.

And so I’d like to start writing again, here, about the things I’m thinking and doing and seeing as a Catholic wife, mother, and writer. Maybe we can build a fun little community again. Maybe not. Maybe zero people will read, or maybe I won’t be able to get back into the groove so there won’t be anything to read. But, either way, I’m giving it a try.

 

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Our sweet Baby Boy was born at the end of November–right on his due date, actually. And in keeping with this perpetually strange phase of life where I’m parenting both teens and babies all at once, my water broke 蓝1灯破解版百度云 in the dark, early morning hours as I was about to rouse everyone for the school day. “But I have Very Important Things To Do!”, I wanted to say. “But my teenagers are leaving this afternoon to go out of town for the weekend and they don’t want to have to wait to meet the baby, and also we’re supposed to go to a cocktail party tonight!”, I thought to myself.

But, alas. The beautiful thing about babies is that they wait for no (wo)man, and pretty much decide when they want to arrive!

Labor and delivery went well, meaning that while it was extremely painful and filled with all manner of VERY INTENSE SUFFERING (hello again, natural childbirth), it resulted in the birth of a precious little boy who fills our home with joy and love. And smiles–all this guy does is smile!

Don’t ever let anyone tell you that it’s automatically better to leave the childbearing to younger, more energetic parents who don’t already have teenagers. Because it turns out that though we are indeed old and tired and knee-deep in trying to guide kids through their final years of childhood, whilst shuttling them all over town, a new baby never fails to transform the entire family, and functions as a bit of a catalyst for things like virtue and, yes, happy moods.

(I remember being that young, energetic mom, by the way. I had lots of little kids back then and for some strange reason that I can’t even begin to understand now, I liked staying up late. Those were sweet days, playing at the park and going to the zoo and being generally care-free from 7:30 pm on because they were all tucked into bed, versus piling into my room wanting to Talk About Stuff. But, these days are sweet, too. I’m a more confident and relaxed mother than I used to be, and I’d like to think I’ve learned some things along the way. I soak up and appreciate the babies and toddlers more now, and okay, I admit it–the teens are a heck of a lot of fun. So yes, being an old mom also has its charms!)

In less happy news, when Baby Boy turned three weeks old, he gave us a bit of a scare. He was admitted to the hospital on Christmas Eve for RSV, which was a first for a Heldt baby. We spent a total of four nights there, which felt like about four years because it turns out that a three-week-old is not much of a conversationalist, and so I mostly watched the clock. And him, of course.

Back at the house, all Christmas festivities (other than Mass) were postponed. The assortment of side dishes and desserts we’d been busily preparing right up until I took baby to see the doctor were shoved into fridges, to be finished (and eaten) later. It was surreal (and, frankly, sad) spending the holiday away from most of my family, but we did video chatting and the kids assured me that they didn’t mind having to wait to open gifts and eat fudge–they just wanted their little baby brother to be okay.

Which in the end, he was. The kid is a fighter, and RSV really didn’t slow him down. He came home on oxygen, in part due to the high elevation here in Denver, but was able to wean off of it within the week.

In other news, I have “quit” social media. Again. I cannot stress strongly enough the joy that comes from largely disengaging from Facebook. I do still use Twitter for the freelance writing I do, and I may still occasionally post to Facebook (because how else will you read my silly little blog posts?), but oh my goodness, the scrolling was just.too.much.

In any case, my cell phone now resides happily on the kitchen counter, where I pretend it is a landline.

Now laugh all you want at my parting ways with the embarrassingly compulsory use of modern technology, but I’ve begun READING GOOD BOOKS again, which has been positively lovely! I’ve recently read CS Lewis’ A Grief Observed and Jane Austen’s Sense and Sensibility, Joseph Pearce’s CS Lewis and the Catholic Church, and Ida Elisabeth by Sigrid Undset. (Um, you guys. This book. All the feels!) I just started The Thing by GK Chesterton, because I have actually never read a full book by him, just some excerpts. And for my Lenten reading I’m going through Pope Benedict XVI’s Journey to Easter.

I’m also happy to report that my kids are doing well at the new classical school they’ve been attending this year. If I could custom-create a school for them (minus the Catholic element, which would of course REALLY make it ideal), this would be it–thank goodness for those rare places where education is still considered to be the pursuit of the good, the beautiful, and the true!

(Lest you think things are all perfect and rosy in the education department, I am also in the midst of attempting to get one of my children with special needs transferred out of her present public neighborhood school and into a different school. This school-year has been an unmitigated disaster for her from day one–when I had to leave the lake early to go get her because she was so distressed and worked up. I should have taken it as an omen when, in my haste to round up towels and water-wings and wet and sandy children who did not want to leave the lake early, I tried forcing our little shade tent closed (HOW DO YOU CLOSE THIS DUMB THING?) and it broke. But anyway. Sadly, it really hasn’t gotten any better. This whole saga with the school is really best suited to a post–or series of posts!–all its own, which I may write in the future, but suffice it to say for now that there is definitely a learning curve when it comes to how to best advocate for your child. I am, I confess, still learning!)

In other news, we’re (finally) about to file for our building permit, to build an addition onto our home (!) and do some remodeling of the existing house. What a lonnnngggg process this has already been, though I’m not complaining–with Baby Boy’s birth and then his hospitalization, I don’t regret putting construction off for a bit. (I also may or may not be in denial about the upcoming challenges that come with a major remodel. I don’t think we’ll be displaced out of the house at any point, or at least not for very long, but it will still no doubt be pretty, um, intense. Also? I think I still have “decision fatigue” from when we designed and had our kitchen redone. Three years ago. So, there’s that.)

Anyhow that’s it, I think, as far as what I’ve been up to. I’m still over here just fighting the good fight, doing mom stuff and writer stuff, and taking what amount to almost-daily naps.

Because I’m old, and I have a baby, and also a two-year-old my husband nicknamed “Nighttime Terrorist.”

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Woohoo, summer is here!

We made it. School’s out, our pool is in use pretty much nonstop, and we’re (mostly) enjoying the hot weather.

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Summer swim team has begun, which means weekday mornings and Saturdays are officially spoken for. Which is really fine with me because I love watching my kids swim, build confidence, and improve their times.

No big travel plans for us this summer. We’d talked about taking a family road-trip to either the West- or East Coast, but a couple of things made us ultimately rethink that plan.

For one, we are about to embark on a major home addition/remodel. As in, something that requires an architect and structural engineer, and construction and stuff. We are slowly moving forward and figured, you know, maybe it’s not the best time to leave the state when they’re breaking ground on a new, larger septic system at our house.

Also? lan 灯 破解版百度云 Woohoo! Baby Heldt due November 30th. You can read about my musings on being an “old mom” vs. a “young mom” here. (Hint: I love being an old mom!) In any case I’m still not feeling the greatest, so we’re delaying a costly vacation until food appeals to me again. (Because what is the point of travelling if you’re not going to eat a bunch?! Maybe that’s just me.)

We are however planning a camping trip for August with dear friends, which should be fun. Sidenote: I have not successfully tent camped in, oh, roughly ten years, which should make it all very interesting. (Especially if we discover our ancient tent is riddled with holes. And I say “successfully” because we attempted a camping trip with friends, many years ago, but we got completely rained/snowed out and had to pack our stuff back up and leave. Still traumatized.)

In other news, I’m officially a real freelance writer now. (Maybe I already was before. I don’t really know how any of these things work!) I’ve gotten an article into the Daily Caller, and am now a regular writer for Townhall. Yes, I’m coming out of the closet as a political conservative. So sue me. Actually, please don’t!

I never really anticipated entering this niche, to be honest. Yes I was minoring in Political Science in college, belonged to the College Republicans (NERD ALERT), and worked as district office manager for a conservative California legislator. But my writing has always mostly been about adoption, faith, and the like. I always envisioned myself in the Catholic writing world, pretty much exclusively. Turns out, though, that the whole political commentary thing is turning out to be pretty fun, getting to write stories about social issues and things that don’t really fit elsewhere. (And that are too incendiary for my peaceable Facebook page. Ha!) Not sure where I’m going with it, but it’s a good challenge.

Today I read a post by a blogger I’ve known awhile. She’s quitting social media, at least for now, for a number of reasons. What’s funny is that even though she and I probably don’t share a ton in common, I absolutely resonate with some of her feelings about social media and image and the like. Anytime I’m tempted to post a status or photo on Facebook I think, oh my goodness, who really cares and why are we all wanting to post photos of ourselves and our kids? Are we looking for relevancy? Approval? To be the best? I honestly don’t know. It’s all just a very strange phenomenon.

So, there you have it. Life is, as always, full and busy and lovely. Our summer so far, in a nutshell!

 

 

Hello!

No real major life updates to share…just plugging along, as it were. Maybe I need to start doing Very Exciting Things, in order to blog more. Just kidding. I love being boring–truly.

Homeschooling…mothering…and winding down the schoolyear, which has gone MUCH faster than should be allowed.

Spoke to a friend recently about how this phase of life–when your oldest kids have reached the teen years–allows for a bit more breathing room. Even with small children currently underfoot, it’s just so different from when all of our kids needed help making it safely through the parking lot. I also think that over time you kind of figure out your family’s unique rhythm, priorities, and culture, and some things just kind of go on autopilot. You start to spend more time simply enjoying your children, and station in life, and less time trying to figure everything out. (Maybe part of this is because you know you never will!) Parenting will always be a ton of work, don’t get me wrong, but there is such a tendency in American culture to bemoan so much of motherhood. I’ve begun thinking so often, when I’m doing the most mundane and seemingly least-productive of things–like cuddling a sick little one or driving a teen to Latin class–that, really, what else would I be doing? Besides living out my vocation to the best of my ability, what could possibly deserve my time or attention more than my family?

My perspective on this has been confirmed time and time again, ever since my youngest was born. She’s been one of my harder babies in certain ways…strongly preferring me, not consistently sleeping through the night, and still, at nearly two years old, nursing a TON. As in, alotalotalot. She is also now waking at 5:30 am some mornings. (Why? I have no idea. All I know is that it’s EARLY. So, so early.) But oh, she is cute. And sweet. And full of sass. And really just a very good reminder that I’m right where I’m supposed to be.

There’s such a tendency, I think, for women to want to avoid the small, inconsequential stuff of life. How long before we’ll be done with diapers? When will I be able to go here or there alone? Why are these kids still so needy? I don’t mean to imply that there aren’t things you look forward to about the future–that’s normal, and natural. I love that my oldest children are such capable helpers, and things really have gotten much easier over time, as the older kids have gotten bigger and taken on more responsibility. (I used to have four kids ages three and under, you know!) But I do mean to say that when that is the predominant, overarching narrative about motherhood, well, that is a problem. You will probably not be very fulfilled, as a mother. And if you’re Catholic, you’ll most likely continue having little ones for awhile and every time you do, it’s like starting over. Again.

Anyhow, just some thoughts I’ve been having. Like I mentioned above, nothing much is new around here. My oldest daughter is now officially enrolled in a classical high school for next year. Others are still waitlisted. (Yes, I am VERY OBSESSIVELY checking the list. It might be a problem.) It’s looking like, at the very least, I’ll still have two (probably three) kids at home, which will be nice too. In other news, we’re gearing up for the second phase of our home remodel, which will be much larger in scope than the kitchen redo we did a couple of years ago, and so I am therefore in denial about it. (Though I’m also really looking forward to it because, well, our house needs some attention!) Finally, I’ve been trying to pick up more freelance writing as of late, which so far has proven to be utterly fruitless. Part of the reason might be that I refuse to pay a fee to see available jobs because, hello, what if I don’t get any?! PLEASE SOMEBODY PAY ME TO SAY STUFF!

So, that’s me in a nutshell these days. If you want to read more substantial (and occasionally controversial) things written by yours truly, you can check out my column at National Catholic Register. Hope you all are well!

Hi friends! It’s been awhile, so I wanted to take a few moments and give an update on what we’ve been doing (spoiler alert: just the usual stuff. Also? My picture editor program that I have always used NOW CHARGES MONEY to save or export the image so, well, no more images from me with text on them, because I’m a relatively obscure blogger not earning enough money to make the subscription worth it. Hence the lonely, random image above. Of course I discovered all of this AFTER taking the time to resize and add the text, which has me shaking my fist in fury at this most terrible injustice. That was a dirty trick, PicMonkey!) Somehow, Christmas has come and gone, and the school year is half-over, and I’m over here all like WHERE IS THE TIME GOING? and CAN IT STOP PLEASE?

As you know, we’re homeschooling five of our kids this year. Which is going well, for the most part. In fact, I’d say nothing is going NOT well, really. My kids generally work hard, get their stuff done, and are making good progress.

Of course after having had all of my school-age kids in school for the past three years, it’s definitely been an adjustment for me. I confess I kind of miss my old routine of, when the morning hurry-up-and-get-out-the-door ends, settling in with my coffee and having a (relatively) quiet house, with the day stretching out before me. Now when I get two kids out the door and onto the bus (my daughters with Down syndrome both attend a neighborhood public school which they, and we, love very much), I have my coffee while overseeing our school day and prodding sleepy teenagers to get their math done. My older kids are able to work (somewhat) independently much of the time, but when it comes to younger elementary, it feels a bit like starting allllllll over again–didn’t I already teach second-grade math four times already?!

All told though, I am very glad we made the decision to leave the school we were at. It was definitely time for us to move on. After three years it had become apparent that it was simply not the education or learning environment I’d wanted for my children. I’m super grateful the kids are home, and I wholeheartedly recommend homeschooling to anyone who’s thinking it might be time for a change, who wants something better for their child academically, or who simply wants to bypass the many sordid dramas of middle school. My kids are having a great time and they really don’t miss school–even the more social ones–all that much. Sometimes mothers unhappy with traditional school wonder if this is something they could do, and it absolutely is. Perhaps not everyone will enjoy it, or choose to homeschool long-term, but I assure you that it is absolutely feasible, and your kids can get a good education at home.

The million dollar question when January rolls around is, of course, if we’ll continue educating the kids at home next year. (Why do we have to make these choices so early? Is that just Colorado? Sheesh!) And honestly? I don’t really know. My oldest will be starting high school, then I have a child who will be going into kindergarten, and of course there are many kids in between (along with sweet little Beatrice who spends her days marching around, demanding to “netz” (nurse), and telling people what to do.) The truth is that there are certain aspects/benefits of a classical education, particularly once you hit the logic and rhetoric phases of learning, which are less easily replicated at home (good Socratic discussion, for example, or instruction in a foreign language). And because we have, over the years, become fairly committed to the idea of a liberal arts, classical education for our kids, this is definitely a consideration. Plus I’d really kind of love my daughter to go to Kindergarten, because hello, Kindergarten is pretty cool.

And there is a (completely technology-free, which is a HUGE sticking point for me for eight million reasons) school, affiliated with Hillsdale College, that we are considering for next year (though even if we decide we want to send the kids, some of them may end up wait-listed and, in that case, homeschooled anyhow.) So, we’ll see. I’d be sad to give up the things I lan灯破解百度云 about homeschooling (including the label Homeschooling Family, which I admit greatly appeals to my politically-conservative heart), but everything is such a trade off. You know? Pros and cons. Right now I like that my kids are with their siblings each day, that they’re not being negatively influenced by other kids, and that we’re not doing homework every night. I also like that I can direct what they’re learning, and that I can work on things with each child that he or she needs extra time on. On the other hand I do miss my quiet days, and there are indeed benefits to being in school. Here in Colorado there are a variety of options, but sometimes that makes the decision making harder, doesn’t it? One thing I’ve learned over the years is that kids are fairly adaptable, and continue developing and learning no matter where they are–but that a school environment can really have an impact on a child’s academic and/or social success (or failure), and I’m grateful for the freedom to educate my kids at home if I so desire.

Let’s see, what else is new? This year five of my kids have been swimming on a club team. Which is great, but the older ones have reached a fork in the road because they’re now at the age/level where they can try out for the competitive USA team. And, I don’t know if we’re really wanting to start down that path because, let’s face it, it’s a heck of a time commitment (practice four days a week, with meets all over the state.) The nice thing about swim, of course, is that all ages more or less do it together, but I’m still not totally sure we want to lose all of our weekends, together or not. Plus, there are other sports some of my kids want to try, and this would absolutely rule that out. So while I do love swim for a million reasons, it may be time for the older kids to move on from club. Sigh. Do your kids play sports? I think they’re great, and I love watching my children compete and gain skills and confidence, but it can certainly make for a bit of a crazy schedule. Plus my kids also really love just being home, playing board games, and running around outside. Unstructured family time is really important around here. So it’s all about figuring out the priorities, and a workable plan that meets both individual needs and serves the good of the family. So easy, right?

Speaking of family, recently I’ve been reflecting on how, at age thirty-six, I’ve definitely transitioned to “old mom”–when for so long I was more or less “young mom”. (I was only twenty-two when my oldest was born, and very few of my friends were married at that time, much less having children. So for awhile I was a bit younger than other moms to kids my daughter’s age. Now though, with my youngest being 18 months old, I’m older than most moms with a baby that age.) But you know what? I’m really loving being an older mom. Teenagers are turning out to be pretty fun to have around the house (also exhausting and filled with feels and attitude, of course), and it’s so much less stressful parenting the younger kids when you’ve done it a few times before. (And the teens make the little ones seem so much simpler!) I appreciate having littler ones so much more now, I think, because I see how quickly the time goes, and I want to soak it all up. Plus as I get older I think I become more comfortable with who I am, as a mother. It’s somehow easier to see the beauty, meaning, and love in family life. I’m really kind of loving it. So I am embracing this phase of life and parenting, even as I look around at several of the other moms and think, wow, I’m old.  

As you know, I’ve not been writing much lately, partly due to Christmas festivities and partly due to the fact that I had a series of colds for pretty much all of December, and some of early January too. Plus we’re gearing up to have some more work done on our house, and staying fairly busy with church and homeschooling and life. As always I should probably figure out what I’m going to do with my blog and various other writing projects (and I want to get back to podcasting, too), but alas, I seem to keep procrastinating. I’m rather good at it! I haven’t yet made any official resolutions–I never really do–but I’m thinking about actually setting some simple goals for myself.

But maybe not for awhile, because procrastination.

I hope you all are well, and enjoying the new year. Feel free to hit me with what your kids are up to, if you have any good resolutions, and what you’re thinking for school and sports or extracurriculars for next year. I love hearing what you all are doing!

Well, September has come.

And, along with it, a brand-spanking new school-year filled with lots of changes, hope, and a fair amount of trepidation on my part. Because homeschooling. And middle schoolers. And just plain doing something hard and counter-cultural, when you don’t know how it will all turn out in the end.

Last year, right around Christmastime, things really started going south between us and the school five of my kids attended. Concerns I’d had for awhile began to manifest themselves in ways I wasn’t loving. Bullying, racism, and kids not getting the academic help they needed (and were legally guaranteed), along with a few other pretty horrible incidents, combined to make us decide that this was no longer an appropriate place for my children to be spending eight hours a day, five days a week. You keep asking yourself “Is it just me? Am I making too big a deal out of this?”, but then enough bad things happen where you decide that no, no you are not.

And you make the really hard decision to bring all five of those kids home the following school-year.

And now September is here, and we’re beginning our third week of school at home.

Turns out that homeschooling a bunch of big kids is fairly exhausting. Who knew?

I took advanced courses and earned good grades in school, but at thirty-six years old my brain is woefully out of practice when it comes to algebraic equations and subject complements. It hurts–OH HOW IT HURTS–to solve for that sneaky, elusive value of x. Thank goodness for solutions manuals, and teacher editions. Caffeinated coffee also earns a well-deserved mention here, because I gave it up back in January to see if it helped my nonexistent energy levels, but then I discovered the real culprit was hypothyroidism. So, I’ve recently run happily back into the arms of my favorite legal addictive stimulant. (Easier said than done, though, because once you’ve been off caffeine for awhile, it makes you reallllll jittery when you add it back in. But I have played through the pain and come out calmly, and heart-palpitation-free, on the other side.) And miracle of all miracles, it makes math and grammar and science and mornings, in general, more bearable. Oh coffee, I love you so.

Anyway yes, we’re doing hard, new things this year. But do you want to know something absolutely crazy? We may be only two weeks in, and it’s far too early to know too much, but 萌萌蓝胖子-1.0.0.7[破解版].mtz下载 百度网盘pan 百度云盘 ...:2021-4-9 · 开心萌萌哒破解版.apk 百变萌萌哒 破解版.apk 果冻萌萌哒破解版V1.0 内购免费版.apk 百度网盘最新破解版 Aspen 8.4破解版 超级 V._P_N (新型Lan灯)_v6.0_去广告破解版.apk 纳豆V._P_N_v1.2.4_破解版(最新可用随时和谐).apk 乐看影视_v2.0_破解版(最新上映

My kids who struggled with math so much last year? Including the one who failed second semester, and had no clue what was going on? That kid is KILLING IT so far. Working hard, gaining confidence, and discovering they are, actually, very good with numbers, computation, and operations. My other kid who is taking advanced math in the form of (gulp) Algebra 1 right now is also doing so, so well. I worried I might not be able to keep that particular kid academically challenged, in general, but then she told me that this year is way harder than her years in school so, I guess we’re doing okay in that department. They are all also working hard at studying History, which includes (among other things) reading and outlining encyclopedia entries and primary sources, writing summaries, and taking oral and written exams. Oh yes, I do love history. Sorry kids.

The four oldest kids are also taking courses at a classical Catholic program–things like Latin, Writing, and Literature. It feels so good to have a few subjects taken off my plate! We’d initially planned for them to attend something similar through the local school district, but the drive was going to be a bit long, so we opted for something closer (for now. Because it’s wayyyyyyyy more expensive. But, the kids are praying the Angelus at noon, so we’ll call it a win.) Our parish is also offering some classes this semester, like Music Appreciation, and a book club discussing St. Augustine’s landeng破解版安卓版. My eighth grader is pretty excited about being in our priest’s book club!

It was, in many ways, very difficult pulling the kids out of school. Harder than putting them in, and harder than deciding to homeschool in the first place all those years ago. Even when stuff at school was going badly. Why? Because once you are part of the “system”, you start to think that way. You start to believe that something magical is happening within the school walls that is not within your grasp at home. You start to wonder if your kid is just plain destined to be a failure, in spite of having demonstrated that he or she is quite smart. You question your capabilities, your kids’ potential, and whether what you’re doing will serve them well in the end. But I wish to say that the last two weeks have shown me that you absolutely CAN prepare your kids for high school and college at home. It’s not the only option, or automatically the best option, but it is an option. I’m still adjusting to the workload and trying to find a good rhythm to my day–it doesn’t help that I’ve caught two colds in the last two weeks, so I have yet to have more than about one day of good health since we started–but I’m at least confident that this was the right choice for my kids this year. Socially, academically, spiritually, and psychologically.

So take heart, dear readers. If you’re trying new things that are hard, wondering if you have what it takes, or being tempted to despair, please remember that 思科路由器与交换机配置及密码破解详解_图文_百度文库:思科路由器与交换机配置及密码破解详解 - XX公司网络知识培训 路由器原理与基本概念 路由器 ? 路由器---互连网络的枢纽 ? ... 路由器的一个基本功能是连接多个独立的网络或子网 LAN 1 LAN 2 LAN 3 路由器基本功能作用（二） ? Sometimes that takes awhile. Sometimes it looks like placing them in a new school, and sometimes it looks like pulling them out. I’m still just as sure I don’t really know what I’m doing over here, but I’m also pretty sure we’re doing well enough.

Hello there. Is anyone still here?

I am, even though I haven’t written in forever.

While I’d love to say it’s because I’ve been so busy doing Very Exciting Things, the truth of the matter is that I’ve just mostly been busy doing Very Normal Things. Getting kids to and from school, offering (occasionally unsolicited) homework help, and getting meals onto the table. Also, making sure my oh-so-active nine-month-old is safe as she crawls all over the house, leaving behind a wake of destruction. (But oh, is she cute!) Most days, that’s more than enough for me.

In many ways, it’s been pretty quiet around here–or as quiet as it is when you have nine kids! We made the decision to take a nice little sabbatical and forgo winter and spring sports which has, frankly, been glorious. After enduring several soccer seasons of trekking all over the Denver metro, it’s great to have those Saturdays back. In the summer the kids will resume swim team and then we’ll reevaluate for the fall, but for now we are enjoying that extra bit of margin. And anyway, who needs organized sports when your husband installs a basketball hoop in your driveway? My kids spend hours out there, people. Hours. They’ve also ratcheted up their rollerblading, and most evenings can be found skating around. Also, kickball. Needless to say, Denver weather has been beautifully mild (read: warm!) for the past several weeks, and we’ve been taking advantage of it.

We’ve also been preparing for next school year. Because (hey!, here’s some actual news to report!) after many months of much prayerful discussion and discernment, we are bringing five (of our seven) school-age children back home in the fall. (Everyone except for my two daughters with Down syndrome, who will happily remain at their public school.) Yes, we will be homeschooling once again and no, I didn’t really imagine we’d ever be saying that but, you know, here we are. Time to dust off those denim jumpers.

When people ask me why we’re transitioning back to home education, I have a hard time explaining, because it’s complicated. There are a million reasons, really, some more significant than others but all played into the decision. The first year my kids were in their classical charter school, things went really well. Other than my initial freak-out early on in the year, I never really doubted that decision. But last year, a couple of things happened at school that had me concerned. Then dear Beatrice was born in June, we had a fantastic summer and I was actually a little sad to send the kids off in August. (Though don’t get me wrong, I do love my relatively quiet days! I say relatively because my four-year-old loves to talk, and has many things to say.) With my two sons now also in middle school, my husband and I were both feeling a little like family time was becoming harder to come by. Lots of kids needing that aforementioned homework help, and wanting to talk about whatever had happened that day. For the first time, we decided to try medication with a child to help them focus better and be more academically successful. (And yes, it did help. Quite a bit.) But then one November evening, as I was telling my husband that it was still so hard to meet everyone’s needs, even with the medication and my attempts at getting dinner on the table earlier to accommodate nightly prayer time, he asked me if I thought I’d ever consider going back to homeschooling. (Which we’d done for five years prior to putting the kids in, and which had certainly afforded more flexibility for our large family.)

Then he ducked, fearing my wrath. Just kidding. Sort of.

But instead I admitted that I’d actually been thinking about it for the past month or so, and wondering if we might just be able to make it work again. We both agreed to pray about it, and about our kids, most of whom have really enjoyed school. I knew they would be sad to leave, and that is something I do take pretty seriously. We grownups make the final decisions around here, but with a thirteen year old and two twelve year olds in the mix, well, we value their input too.

And then we watched as over the next few months, one thing after another began to fall apart. The medication was starting to produce some pretty bad side effects for my child, so it was no longer a feasible option–even though that means my child now has a harder time in the classroom. (Said child is legally guaranteed accommodations, but it seems they are just not receiving enough academic supports this semester). There’s been some bullying of one of my kids, and I felt like some things were maybe mishandled. But even when less-than-positive things were dealt with swiftly and appropriately (credit where credit is due!), they 蓝什么灯vip破解版You know?

And, the technology policy in schools today is one that I just personally really oppose. In my view, kids ought to be socializing and playing at lunch, not sitting around on their phones and devices. iPads in the classroom seem mostly unnecessary, and kids inevitably misuse them, or are exposed to whatever’s on the screen after a prior student has misused them. Yes, I’m old and grumpy beyond my years, but the screen addiction is ridiculous.

So before long, we decided that the benefits of our kids being in school were no longer outweighing the increasing number of cons. That is NOT to say there is nothing good happening there–there are some fantastic teachers, administrators, and staff members, some really wonderful families, and a lovely music program. I am really going to miss the Latin instruction one of my children is receiving, the memory work the younger kids do, plus I’d always kind of assumed all our kids would graduate from there. We’ve had some great experiences being a part of this school community, and most of my issues probably boil down to public school in general. And it was nice getting a break from being solely responsible for the kids’ education, which had grown tiresome in certain ways. So this was not an easy decision for us as my kids have, for the most part, loved their time there. But I do believe it is the lan 灯 破解版百度云 decision, so, off we go.

And we go with confidence because as daunting as it is on the one hand to think about a return to homeschooling, God has more than made it clear to us through prayer, conversations with wiser and more experienced parents (and my retired-teacher dad), and circumstances, that home education is right for us at this time. I am grateful He prepared us by putting it on our radar again because, honestly, that would have been difficult to feel like on the one hand it was something we needed to do, once everything seemed to be going downhill, but that we had no real lan灯破解百度云to do.

And I admit I’m pretty excited about the whole thing. It’ll be good to help the kids focus on areas where they need to grow, they can move at their own pace (either more quickly or more slowly), and there will be less opportunity for distraction. (And negative influences. Which yes, I do think is a valid thing to be concerned about in this day and age. No, my kids are not perfect angels themselves, but that is all the more reason to limit exposure to stuff like bullying, various forms of media, bad language and inappropriate conversation, etc.) They’re all reading so they will be more than capable of working at least semi-independently. My kids will also be returning to their once-a-week enrichment program where they can take things like piano, art, theater, and science. Homeschooling back in the day was, all told, a fairly good fit for us in certain ways. Not perfect of course, especially having had two kids who were late readers, but it had its charms. Of course my kids have grown a lot during their time in a brick-and-mortar school too, and I’m super grateful for that as well. I have always been pro-whatever-works-for-your-family, and one of the most valuable assets in raising a large family is the ability to be flexible, and to adapt, and to try new things when something isn’t working.

At the end of the day, I’m just glad to be an at-home mom with a wonderfully supportive and engaged husband, where I have the freedom to choose something different for my family, should the need arise. There will be challenges for sure, but as I’ve learned, there are challenges in school, too. Parenting is darn hard no matter what. No one form of education will change that. Period.

Oh and if you’re wondering, each and every one of my kids has come around on the whole thing, independently. God answered those prayers in big and difficult ways. The one child who was hating the idea of leaving the most? They wound up so frustrated over how their sibling was being treated that they looked up at me one afternoon, eyes filled with tears, and said we needed to be done. Now they’re even a little excited about being home. My other kid who didn’t want to leave (for purely social reasons) told me the other day that they were really struggling with school, and have decided they are happy with our decision. My kids are all pretty self-confident, and I believe they will do just fine making the transition. They’ve made me so proud this year, each and every one of ’em.

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I wrote a piece for NCR yesterday about the man with special needs who’d been kidnapped and tortured on Facebook Live, by four of his peers. The primary reason I wrote it was that, in my opinion, this story was not getting the attention it deserved in the media.

A few people were quick, however, to point out that it WAS getting plenty of attention. “The Today Show” and ABC News had featured the story, they said, which I hadn’t known and is, of course, great. My overall impression though had been based upon what I was seeing throughout the day on the internet, and on the reticence of some (including Chicago authorities) to call it a hate crime–which, in my view, it certainly seemed to be.

Later that evening, I came across an article by journalist Shaun King, a Black Lives Matter supporter and activist, who said he would not be speaking out on the matter since, after all, the arm of justice came swiftly for the four African American suspects. All are in custody. He contrasted this with various times where the victim was black and justice was NOT served, and said that is where he will continue to put his energies.

King’s perspective was good food for thought. It is silly, in my opinion, that people are blaming black activism for this cruel act, or using it to somehow “prove” that racism against white people is worse/equal to/the same as racism towards black people. (Cultural context matters here.) And I would never expect any one individual person, Shaun King or otherwise, to come out and decry something simply because he or she is of the same race as the perpetrator. However, just because someone is held accountable in a court of law doesn’t mean that the conversation should end there. This crime, which certainly may have had something to do with race (how much though is something we can’t really know for sure), is in my view about a lack of empathy and a general disdain for the dignity of the human person. And particularly the human person living with developmental disabilities. It reflects a dangerous and quick-spreading coarsening of the culture, and a big problem with American young people in particular. And THAT is what my article was intended to be about.

I have two daughters, ages nine and seven respectively, who like the victim in this case are developmentally delayed. They have Down syndrome. So I am ever aware that they are at a much greater risk of being abused than my other children, and will be for the rest of their lives. I am also aware that it is a relatively small portion of the population that has a loved one living with these challenges. Raising kids with special needs, whatever the needs happen to be, can be lonely, confusing, and exhausting. My heart goes out to the victim’s family–talk about your worst fears for your child being realized!

One reason why I suspect that raising differently-abled children is so difficult is that people don’t really know what to do with it. Should they feel pity? Should they tell their kids not to stare? Is it okay to ask questions? And, as far as the culture at large goes, the writing is on the wall. It’s estimated that up to 90% of prenatally-diagnosed babies with Down syndrome are aborted. So while most everyone I’ve met seems to like my kids okay, the statistics speak for themselves. But you see, it’s not just my kids with special needs that the culture has a problem with–consider the fellow swim dad I encountered at practice one evening, me sitting there with my sweet four-month-old, and him telling me he was SO GLAD to be done with that HORRIBLE PHASE, while he eyed my little Beatrice like she was a blood-sucking mosquito. (I didn’t say it out loud, but I wondered how much of the hands-on work he’d actually done with his infant anyhow. I doubted it was much. I also doubted his infant ever necessitated him killing time on a humid, chlorine-laden indoor pool deck two nights a week, which really makes you wonder why we act as if babies are such killjoys when it’s really these rotten older kids that hold our feet to the fire. But I digress.)

And so four young people torturing a classmate with special needs live on social media, well, it’s a stark example of sin and hate, but I think many are concerned not so much about the potential racial aspects of the crime, but moreso about the fact that the man had special needs. Some are calling it an instance of “ableism”, which I suppose is just another way of saying that we’ve reached a point as a society where people have little use for folks living with challenges, and the inconveniences they might bring along with them. (As if life is ever all that convenient in the first place.) This is of course something we should all be gravely concerned about. This is where the real story lies. It is also something we should perhaps no longer be surprised by. Just look in your own backyard–voters in my state of Colorado recently legalized physician-assisted suicide, for example, under the ridiculously stupid euphemism “death with dignity.” Sick and probably dying? Meh. Just end your life, which is obviously useless if you’re weak and suffering. Or consider that less than an hour from my house sits one of only five late-term abortion mills in the United States, where women travel from all over the world to have their pregnancies (read: babies) terminated by the man who wrote the definitive textbook on abortion.

But the real problem is bigger than that, even. I fear we really are seeing entire generations of people growing up without the capacity to empathize, think critically, or recognize a person’s humanity, and social media plays a significant role here. Be brave and take a look at landeng破解版安卓版. Think about how even just the dating landscape has changed, how friends aren’t meeting face to face so much anymore (or how if they do, they are all looking down at their respective screens), how the pervasive hook-up culture is transforming the notions of romance and love. Heinous acts against one’s fellow man aren’t really anything new, but the types and degrees of things we’re seeing now are definitely concerning.

At least, they are to me.

The truth is that I hesitated to write my column yesterday, for fear of further fueling racist sentiments directed toward black people. This is presumably the reason many did not speak up. And, I get it. Four of my children are black, and yes they have encountered prejudice and recently, some unfortunate racial bullying, so I am just naturally sensitive to such things. (As I, and fellow white people, ought to be). But two of my kids also have Down syndrome, and just because this story has the potential to be spun the wrong way it shouldn’t mean that we ignore this issue or merely chalk it up to, as a Chicago police officer called it, “kids making stupid decisions.” Of course they WERE bad decisions, and that is the whole point. If we can’t look at these things and see what is happening, really happening, in our world, well, we’re in trouble. There is a definite problem among young people today. It transcends politics and socioeconomic status and yes, even race. I don’t know if it will get any better. I DO know that I will do my best to raise loving, happy, compassionate, and well-educated children. I will try to stand up for the “little guy”, the vulnerable among us, and I’ll teach them to do the same. I will continue to promote healthy, connecting, life-giving activities for my kids to participate in.

I’m convinced that the best way to combat all the garbage in our world is to pray, and to live life to the fullest in our homes. I cannot control what others do, say, or believe (though as a blogger I can occasionally offer my humble perspective in hopes that it might be encouraging to someone), but I can try to do good stuff in my family. It’s sad to know there are people out there who would find sport in hurting kids like mine, and yet it is also discouraging to consider what has brought them to this point. At a time when the world ought to have been filled with promise and hope for a future of possibility, the lives of those four individuals are now forever changed. The trajectory is set. The culture of self and nihilism has claimed four more victims, in addition of course to the dear gentleman who was the victim of their cruelty.

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Good news for all the tired parents out there: WE ARE IN THE HOME STRETCH!

We have almost made it!

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December in our family is, well, busy. Busier than probably any other month. School music performances, assorted Holy Days and Feast Days, parties, the end of a swim season, All Of The Things.

All very good things, I might add, but it’s still a lot.

Overall this year I feel like we’ve done a decent job maintaining a sense of quietness and a focus on Advent, in spite of all the hustle and bustle. Having a five-and-a-half-month-old baby probably helps with that–she more or less forces us to slow down, in the very best possible way. So thank you, Beatrice!

I also resolved this year to have all of the kids’ Christmas gifts bought by…wait for it…December 1st. And I did it! Thanks to Amazon Prime and a few other online options, everything was purchased nice and early. We do one large gift per child, occasionally rounded out by something else if the gift itself is relatively inexpensive.

Lest you start to think I’m some sort of supermom Christmas dynamo because I did all that shopping ahead of time, let me tell you that some of my goals were definitely not met–like the one to have everything all wrapped and the Christmas food all bought before we go out of town today to visit my in-laws–because I finally fell victim to a most horrible cold that had made its way through pretty much everyone else in my family, before finally deciding to take me down too. In spite of my valiant efforts to stay healthy, in the end, it got me. And I took to my bed like pretty much the most pathetic person ever, only getting up to shuffle to the kitchen for more water, and watched a bunch of shows. LAME. So when we arrive home on the evening of December 23rd, I will have some MAJOR THINGS TO DO before December 25th. I will begin the long task of giftwrapping, and curse my cold. I will shake my fist in the hot, crowded grocery store filled with like-minded procrastinators, and pronounce that next year I will prevail. Next year I will not be crashing my cart into summer sausage displays and small wandering children, as I buy my ham.

But you know, it’s really okay. I’m nothing if not flexible. I have nine kids for goodness’ sake, and let me let you in on a little secret here: you have to learn to be flexible when you have nine kids. Or you will die. Sounds dramatic, but it’s the truth!

And over the past few months–okay, probably ever since Beatrice was born–I’ve given a lot of thought to my life, to my vocation, to motherhood and to my family. Again, fresh new babies have a funny way of getting you to really think about things in a new way, or maybe it’s an old way, but regardless what it is, I’ve decided that I really want to embrace this season. I’m on the precipice of having a teenager, I have a sweet baby, and a bunch of kids in between. My life consists of changing diapers, preparing meals, and having LOTS OF CONVERSATIONS about everything from dating to atheism to friendships to screen time to abortion. I belong to a faith tradition which asks me for my yes to Jesus and to love, and I can give it kicking and screaming (yes, I do my fair share of that!), or I can give it humbly, trusting God to meet me there and fill in all the holes. Though the first option is tempting and, to be honest, is one that I occasionally fall into when I’m feeling sorry for myself, it leaves no space for joy, hope, or the beauty that can be found in daily family life.

Yes, it really is possible to find the good in the daily grind.

I see so many things about our large family that are positively priceless. The sibling relationships, the love, the mess-ups that give opportunities for forgiveness, the togetherness. It all runs counter to our culture, that is for sure, this being open to children thing. I do regularly ask myself “What on earth am I doing?”, but then if I really think about it and open my eyes, I am indeed able to see what God is doing. This is what allows me to embrace and, dare I say, treasure, my role as mother.

So as Christmas approaches I’m okay with a few things not going as planned. I’m okay with the fact that Beatrice still needs a bath before we leave today, and people still need to pack, and I forgot to finish buying stocking stuffers–add that to the list of daunting Christmas Eve tasks. (Also, making non-gritty fudge. Why is it always gritty?) But it’s all good because at 10:30 pm on Christmas Eve (my church doesn’t shut down for Christmas, by the way), my husband, nine kids and I will be sitting in Mass listening to the beautiful choir and receiving Jesus Himself in the Eucharist, the highest form of worship there is. A Merry Christmas, indeed!

 

I am, as you know, Catholic.

But it was not always thus.

Up until my conversion five years ago, as a Protestant of sorts, I was ignorant of 99.99% of the saintly liturgical celebrations–little did I know that hordes of Catholic mothers regularly get onto Pinterest to find assorted themed activities and recipes, for various annual calendar dates related to various holy people in Heaven. We had Christmas, and Easter. That was it.

So for the first time {ever}, this year, I am instituting some good old-fashioned St. Nick traditions in our home. His feast day is tomorrow, December 6th.

Why has it taken me five years to get my act together? Because it’s me, and I procrastinate. Why now? I don’t know. It’s definitely not guilt or peer-pressure, both of which I have become quite immune to over the years, thanks to what is probably an over-inflated sense of self worth and confidence. (This comes in handy when you’re raising nine kids, by the way.) I guess it’s just that my kids are getting bigger, and I feel like we as a family need to circle the wagons a bit. Embrace our Catholic identity. Build good family memories to pass down. Get refocused on the main things.

But oh, I am not naturally gifted in this area. I am woefully and embarrassingly uncreative. Crafts and Hobby Lobby make me nervous. So what is a convert mama to do?

Well, first I discovered the oh-so-helpful blog Shower of Roses. This woman is…well, she is the anti-me. All organized and feast-ish and such. But I’m not jell or begrudging her any of her fabulousness because she lays out all kinds of great ideas for the rest of us, and offers free printables. (I figure those are something even I could manage, because a) free and b) printable, meaning I don’t have to draw or paint or use a hot glue gun. Winning.)

Like these pretty St. Nicholas Day circle cutouts, to be glued onto the gold chocolate coins that St. Nick is supposed to bring. (If you scroll down, she also has ones for Christmas, and the O Antiphons. And, let’s be honest–I don’t know a whole lot about what the O Antiphons even are, just a very little bit because I went to a retreat on Saturday where my parish music director talked about them. I am learning!)

Then, I visited the website for the St. Nicholas Center. Oh yes, it turns out there is actually some sort of center dedicated to this saint and his feast day where, among other things, you can get ideas for what to do to celebrate, and what to put in the kids’ shoes. I guess the three main traditional symbols are chocolate coins, candy croziers (also known as candy canes), and clementines. If you weren’t totally last-minute like me, you could have even purchased cool stuff in the online store–bookmarks, prints, ornaments, and more. Something I’m WISHING I’d snagged ahead of time is this handy dandy set of St. Nick cookie cutters, because how cute are those cookies?!

Hashtag procrastinator life for-evah.

Side-note: if you’re ever looking for a Saint Nicholas peg doll, I cannot recommend the ones from Shining Light Dolls highly enough. It’s fun because they are a quite a bit larger than the standard peg dolls, and who doesn’t like a little variety? My kids are each getting a different one in their stockings for Christmas. Shhh, don’t tell.

Finally, I’ve been collecting various saint books (a few chapter books but mostly picture-type books) over the past couple of weeks, to give as gifts to each of the kids. I confess a deep and abiding love for anything by Tomie DePaola but there are so many great ones out there, in general. For chapter books, we enjoy both the Mary Fabyan Windeatt and Vision Books series’. And I buy a lot of books used–either at the thrift store, or online via Amazon or half.com. I am cheap. Sorry.

So what exactly have I decided upon for this year, our inaugural observance of St. Nicholas Day?

1.) Before the kids go to bed tonight we’ll get cozy in the family room, and 潜水侠下载相关百度网盘资源下载_百度云下载:2021-10-4 · 潜水灯 /百度云资源文件类型：back dir分类：其它由网友：Ki***李浩浩上传，累计点击2220次，下载次数为490次... We’ll also talk about what symbolizes him and why, which means I need to look that stuff up because I am not totally sure about the clementine connection. Anyway.

2.) The kids will put their shoes out, outside of their bedrooms, and after they’re asleep 潜水侠下载相关百度网盘资源下载_百度云下载:2021-10-4 · 潜水灯 /百度云资源文件类型：back dir分类：其它由网友：Ki***李浩浩上传，累计点击2220次，下载次数为490次... I did not get around to the coin printables this year (wahhhhh!), but it is something to aspire to next year for sure.

3.) Each child will receive a saint book or two, as well. I was going to gift-wrap them but I don’t know that I’ll get to that today, so I’ll probably just set them there with the shoes. #realisticmomgoals

4.) After our read-aloud, we will say a prayer to Saint Nicholas. (And also for my paternal grandpa, whose name was Nicholas. He passed away several years ago, but the beauty of being Catholic is that we pray for departed souls. Of course the reason we pray for them is because we believe in the reality of Purgatory, which frankly kind of scares me. And yes we also pray to the saints, in addition to praying to God, to intercede for us. The more prayers the better, we Catholics say!)

And that’s it. Now what about YOU–are you planning to observe the feast day? If you hadn’t been, but now you’re thinking maybe you want to, this is all pretty much stuff you can decide to do today, after you’ve finished reading my post here about underachieving. If you don’t have any St. Nicholas books lying around, get an ebook! Chocolate coins are readily available at Trader Joe’s, See’s Candies (oh how I love See’s), Party City, and probably other places too. Then grab yourself some candy canes and a bag of clementines from the grocery store, and you’re all set for a fun new tradition.

Underachievers and procrastinators, unite!