Happy Catholic Home: 7 Quick Takes Friday

one.

Isaac has a new word that I'm quite fond of: Sorry. Except he can't pronounce an "s" yet, and he struggles with "r", so it sounds like yah-wee, and it's the cutest darn thing ever. "Yah-wee Mama!" when he bumps into me. "Oh. Yah-wee." when I tell him he shouldn't have done something he did. "Ahhh (sigh) yaaah-weee..." when he's forced to apologize to a brother.

Love this budding vocabulary.

(side note: I know all baby talk is cute when a little one is learning to use words. I make exceptional note of Isaac's milestones because he has apraxia of speech with a severe expressive delay. He's almost four, so we've been waiting a long time and working really hard for these words!)

two.

Well if it's not one thing, it's another. It seems we just can't keep ourselves from doing project after project lately. I do feel like it's a natural part of life for people in our situation -- homeowners and parents -- but sometimes I question our sanity. Now we're looking into putting an addition on our home. It's something we will do, God-willing, at some point. We've known that since we moved here almost two years ago. It's just a matter of figuring out when and how, and how big of an addition. We're not rushing into things, just doing some research. It may still be a year or longer before we begin.
Or maybe we'll hire someone next week and have it finished before this baby comes ;).
More on this later, to be sure.

three.

Speaking of spending enormous amounts of money... I recently checked a book out from the library about saving money on groceries. I didn't touch it for awhile, because frankly I didn't think there'd be much there that I haven't already thought of or don't already do. I finally picked it up and haven't been able to put it down! It's called Family Feasts for $75 a Week. I know someone somewhere must have recommended it, but for the life of me I can't remember who (and I'm slowly realizing that I've seen Mary Ostyn's blog before...). Even the title didn't grab me much, since the idea of feeding this crew on anywhere near $75 a week is quite a joke. I was kind of picturing a menu of skimped down, unhealthy meals for four, which I would then have to triple. I was so wrong! The author actually has 10 kids herself, so I know she understands my perspective on feeding a crowd. I've already gotten several fantastic ideas that I'm going to start implementing right away, and I'm only about halfway through the book. She really speaks my language, and there are even some great recipes.

four.

I realized that I posted about Peyton's First Communion, but never about his First Reconciliation back in March. I had drafted a partial post about it, and want to include it here, so I can remember these little tidbits of sweetness that are my blessed life:

Peyton had his First Reconciliation on Saturday. He was so nervous! He wrote his sins down on a scrap of paper so he wouldn't forget them (we burned it when we got home), and at one point while writing them out he asked, "Can I just hand this to the priest when I get in there?" So sweet. It went well, he was happy, and he ran all the way home, telling us he had been able to run faster than ever because he felt so light. We celebrated with new shoes and ice cream sundaes.

five.

This will be the first Memorial Day weekend in years that we're home instead of out-of-town. We briefly considered making plans to go camping, and now I'm so glad we didn't. It's supposed to be hot, hot, hot by the end of the weekend and I'm looking forward to hanging out in my nice cool basement family room. (with my hubby if he can tear himself away from work at some point.) I plan to revisit Large Family Logistics, cover to cover, with my Mother's Handbook binder and some pretty pens in my hands, and give these nesting instincts some structure and direction.

six.

Boys and toads.