On Friday night we were invited to have Cocktails with our dear friend Catfish (Scott), so we got a sitter (I know date night!) and headed for one of our favorite areas in Denver, the Highlands. We had been to cocktails with Catfish a few other times before we had kids and it was always a blast. We always knew most of the people that came and would spend hours conversing and drinking and usually close the bar down. Boy have times changed. We knew a FEW of the people there, not a big deal, it is always nice to get to know other young Denver Catholics. We only stayed a few hours because we knew we needed to be home to put Hannah to bed (our HS sitter really could not do it in the past) and to nurse Felicity again before bed time. Even though it was short it really was a wonderful time. Catfish really knows how to host a group of young people (he bought everyone their first drink) and just did a great job of making everyone feel so special and included and introduced everyone to everyone. I know we both miss those times of going out and being with friends and having a pretty good buzz going by the end of the night, but I would not trade our life now for any of it. It was a much needed night out for just Andrew and I, we were able to connect for the entire evening (it makes it much easier to do when you have a good night rest, thank you Felicity for finally sleeping thru the night!) I do have to say that I sure can't drink as much a I use to either, after a few drinks I was pretty "happy", but the next morning was not so much fun. Remind me not to do that again, especially with a little ones who think that the day starts at 7AM :)
Thank you little ones for keeping me grounded and reminding me that I am not 25 anymore.
Thank you for giving me a whole new set of responsibilities.
All my love,
Mom
Tuesday, October 25, 2011
Our Church and MOPS
Yet again to get caught up on my posting, it has been so busy this past week I really can't get upset with myself I really have had little time to sit at the computer for more than 5 min at a time. Andrew is feeling a bit under the weather so I am taking this time to catch up on blogging. So here goes :)
Thursdays our my MOPS days, well at least every other Thursday is, so we head out the door pretty fast and early for us to try and make it to the church by 8:45. MOPS days are both wonderful because I get to spend the morning with so many wonderful moms and new friends and Hannah is finally not crying at all (yes that means not even a tear) when I drop her off at MOPPETS, it is GREAT! But little miss Felicity does not really get to nap, unless it is in the BJORN (which when she does is only for about 20-30 min). So when we get home we have a few little ones melting down and we hurry with lunch and off to naps (sometime for the entire house). I do love MOPS and can put the non napping and meltdowns aside to spend time with my other fellow moms. Back to MOPS though. On this particular Thursday we got called on like 8th graders and told we were being to loud by a group of other parents that were learning about raising adolescents in the conjoining room. Now mind you we had already gone thru the issue of not having the rooms for the kids me needed and our room not set up for us, so we were a bit on edge already. We were also being very quite all things considered. My Co-coordinator got called in by Father Greg to have a talking to and in the end asked us to move rooms (because we don't pay to use this room and the other group did). We graciously obliged, but realized how little stock the church is actually taking in our group. I mean we are raising the future church are we not and offering a community for fellow moms to build their faith. We have been left off the schedule, not had things set up for us (so we had pregnant moms moving tables and chairs to get the room set up), asked to move and be quiet because we don't pay and not given the space to provide adequate care for our children. I have to ask, what is going on with our church/staff. Is this something we should take personally or do they do this with other groups? We are trying to grin and bear it, but each week it seem to be getting more and more difficult and we are feeling more and more like a burden and unappreciated. We acknowledged that the staff is overworked and underpaid but at some point when we have confirmed and confirmed again the blame has got to go somewhere else. I am wrong in feeling this way about my church? They do offer so much to me and my family. I guess the reality is that I need to look at the big picture and look at how much our Lord took in terms of being ignored, pushed to the side and under appreciated and give it all up for HIM.
I pray little ones that you know how much I appreciate you and that you one day will understand and appreciate all I have done for you.
All my Love,
Mom
Thursdays our my MOPS days, well at least every other Thursday is, so we head out the door pretty fast and early for us to try and make it to the church by 8:45. MOPS days are both wonderful because I get to spend the morning with so many wonderful moms and new friends and Hannah is finally not crying at all (yes that means not even a tear) when I drop her off at MOPPETS, it is GREAT! But little miss Felicity does not really get to nap, unless it is in the BJORN (which when she does is only for about 20-30 min). So when we get home we have a few little ones melting down and we hurry with lunch and off to naps (sometime for the entire house). I do love MOPS and can put the non napping and meltdowns aside to spend time with my other fellow moms. Back to MOPS though. On this particular Thursday we got called on like 8th graders and told we were being to loud by a group of other parents that were learning about raising adolescents in the conjoining room. Now mind you we had already gone thru the issue of not having the rooms for the kids me needed and our room not set up for us, so we were a bit on edge already. We were also being very quite all things considered. My Co-coordinator got called in by Father Greg to have a talking to and in the end asked us to move rooms (because we don't pay to use this room and the other group did). We graciously obliged, but realized how little stock the church is actually taking in our group. I mean we are raising the future church are we not and offering a community for fellow moms to build their faith. We have been left off the schedule, not had things set up for us (so we had pregnant moms moving tables and chairs to get the room set up), asked to move and be quiet because we don't pay and not given the space to provide adequate care for our children. I have to ask, what is going on with our church/staff. Is this something we should take personally or do they do this with other groups? We are trying to grin and bear it, but each week it seem to be getting more and more difficult and we are feeling more and more like a burden and unappreciated. We acknowledged that the staff is overworked and underpaid but at some point when we have confirmed and confirmed again the blame has got to go somewhere else. I am wrong in feeling this way about my church? They do offer so much to me and my family. I guess the reality is that I need to look at the big picture and look at how much our Lord took in terms of being ignored, pushed to the side and under appreciated and give it all up for HIM.
I pray little ones that you know how much I appreciate you and that you one day will understand and appreciate all I have done for you.
All my Love,
Mom
Wednesday, October 19, 2011
Playdates
Have I mentioned how much I love playdates? I mean it is so much fun getting together with your friends and your kids friends (if they are that stage of making friends). We were graciously invited to one today with a number of my MOPS friends (a few of them this was one of the first time we had met outside of MOPS and really got a chance to get to know them a bit better). We went to a gals house, which is always the best location for me right now with a little one that still takes a morning nap (although she did not today). There were cribs and pack and plays available to put the little ones down if need be, we had coffee the kids had snacks and we really just spend more than two hours talking and sharing. It was wonderful! I guess I did not realize how important these relationship (and relationship building in general is) until I had kids. I mean it can be pretty lonely as a firs time mom not knowing other moms. Your single friends don't understand how much time and energy goes into this little being and your married friends don't understand why you can't just come and go as you once did, they don't get that routine and structure are now your life and at times it feel like there is very little room for spontaneity.
Getting to know these new moms and deepening my relationship with old friends has been a Godsend for me as a parent. I sometimes can't wait for the next playdate or gathering just for that adult interaction. So much that sometimes I find myself getting frustrated with Hannah when she does not want to play with the other kids and wants to just sit on my lap the entire time. This too shall pass (I hope). I was also sharing with the ladies today that I really wish I could be a bit more flexible, I find myself getting very anxious when Felicity does not take a good morning nap or one at all for that matter, all because I want to be out. The thing is that this girls is so happy most of the time, I am the one that is irritated. And as I was watching my other mom friends who have little ones the same age just let the time pass without batting an eye at that fact that their kid is not napped either, it made me really appreciate their ability to be flexible and in turn made me want to really try and be a bit more like that. Letting go of the control reigns a bit and enjoying this time and letting them (the kids enjoy this time), and the reality is that if she was loosing it and needed to go to sleep, I know that I would sacrifice that time with the ladies and take her home, because this is my vocation and there will be other playdates and gathering and time to share with these lovely ladies another day. I pray that I can surrender the desire to control each and every morning and enjoy this time I have with them now because it does go by so fast.
Thank you little ones for being patient with me as I continue to learn how to be a better mommy,
All my love,
Mom
Getting to know these new moms and deepening my relationship with old friends has been a Godsend for me as a parent. I sometimes can't wait for the next playdate or gathering just for that adult interaction. So much that sometimes I find myself getting frustrated with Hannah when she does not want to play with the other kids and wants to just sit on my lap the entire time. This too shall pass (I hope). I was also sharing with the ladies today that I really wish I could be a bit more flexible, I find myself getting very anxious when Felicity does not take a good morning nap or one at all for that matter, all because I want to be out. The thing is that this girls is so happy most of the time, I am the one that is irritated. And as I was watching my other mom friends who have little ones the same age just let the time pass without batting an eye at that fact that their kid is not napped either, it made me really appreciate their ability to be flexible and in turn made me want to really try and be a bit more like that. Letting go of the control reigns a bit and enjoying this time and letting them (the kids enjoy this time), and the reality is that if she was loosing it and needed to go to sleep, I know that I would sacrifice that time with the ladies and take her home, because this is my vocation and there will be other playdates and gathering and time to share with these lovely ladies another day. I pray that I can surrender the desire to control each and every morning and enjoy this time I have with them now because it does go by so fast.
Thank you little ones for being patient with me as I continue to learn how to be a better mommy,
All my love,
Mom
Honorary Grandma
All of my grandparents live in Idaho and Illinois and now all of the girls grandparents live in Idaho, so needless to say none of us get to see our grandparents all that often (Andrew's grandparents have all passes on). So there are a few older couples and ladies at church who just google over the girls every week. They always make sure to check in and tell us how big the girls are getting, how good they were in church that day and of course how cute the look. One in particular has been coming up to us since we first started attending mass at IHM, her name is Mary Lue, and she is so wonderfully nice. Now that the weather is cooling down and life is getting a bit less crazy and a bit more structured we invited her over for a morning of tea and conversation (just to get to know her better, and for her to spend some time with the girls). You would not believe the excitement in her voice when we asked her to come over on Tuesday. She was so darling making sure she was not interrupting the girls naps, or lunch and making sure that it was not to early and not staying to long. We had a splendid time talking about our lives (she to is one of 8, 6 boys and two girls so she can relate). She brought Hannah a few books of stickers which kept her busy for about 45 minutes decorating anything she could find to put them on. Mary also spent a good time holding and interacting with Felicity, it really was so fun to watch. Then at the end of the morning Mary helped Hannah pick up all her toys and listened to a few of Hannah s "you know what" stories (that is for another post). We decided at the end of our time to make Mary Lue our honorary grandma since we don't have our here to share these wonderful days with. Hannah also kept saying after Mary left that "I had so much fun playing with Mary". It really was so fun to get to know someone new and someone we would not typically spend that much quality time with; you don't really see many 30 somethings hanging out with the older folks unless the are indeed their parents or grandparents. It felt good to make someones day like that. I look forward to the many more days we will spend with Mary Lue.
Thank you Mary for your openness and kindness to our family,
Thank you Mary for your openness and kindness to our family,
Tuesday, October 18, 2011
The Welps for Dinner
No we did not eat the Welps for dinner, but our very dear friends the Welps did come over for dinner last night and what a great time we had. Unfortunately (for all those that know them) they will be moving in the next month to Chicago. Meg and Jacob are two of the strongest people I know and so faithful (I have always said that Megan is the closest person to a saint I know). They have had one hell of a year (they lost a newborn twin last November) and as you can imagine are still coping with this loss. You have never seen a family handle something with such grace and faith as this family has, and the support they got from our Catholic community was beyond imaginable (at least from my perspective). All in all they are just wonderful people, Megan is always there when you need her. Now what I mean by that is not that she always picks up the phone or always has the perfect thing to say, but that whenever I have needed someone to talk to for any reason (happy, sad, postpartum, first time mom issues) for some reason I would be able to get a hold of her, or by Gods good grace she would randomly call just to say hello or see how I was doing. It was all the Lord I am sure, but none the less she is simply one of the kindest people I know.
Since having kids it has been hard to really focus on a lot of conversations, it seems like one of us was always running around chasing a kid (or two) so when we have been able to get together with the hubbys it is nice because I do feel like we can really connect and focus on what the other is saying. Megan and Jacob have a son named Issac and a daughter Pearl, Issac is about 2 months older than Hannah and they play so well together. This is such a fun age because they are beginning to actually play together and not just play next to each other. They played really well most of the night, sharing toys and copying everything that each other did (some good and some not so good). These are one of those families that you can not see for months even years and just pick back up where you left off. I hope they know how much they will be missed. I know they will be back sooner or later, but it will be hard to see them go. Thank you Megan and Jacob for setting such an amazing example as to what it means to be wholly faithful and holy. All our love,
The Barga's
Nathan's Birthday
Nathan was born on October 12th but we celebrated with him up at our house on Sunday the 16th. It was nice and pretty simple. We invited a few of his friends (CP and Matt Wiz) to come and have dinner and cake with us. I do love entertaining, any excuse to have people over (I think I get that from my parents, they modeled that pretty well growing up, still do to this day). Nathan did not know we invited some extra people, Allison did a good job of not telling him, so I think he was pretty happy with the two friend that showed to celebrate with us.
Before we had dinner Allison and I went to a consignment event called Just Between Friends, it is basically where anyone who wants to get ride of anything kid related (toys, clothes, etc) can consign it in this event and they open it up to the public. Well the last day is always the 50% off day, which is when I go. I was in the market for some jeans for Hannah since she can't wear 2T anymore because of her height. I love this event (they have one every season in multiple locations) and you would not believe the amount of items they have, even at the end. Most items are given to donations like Catholic Charities or ARC if they do not sell, and believe me there are a lot of items left. Allison and I did pretty well I think considering who overwhelming it can be going thru hundreds if not thousands of items looking for the best ones. The reason I bring it up is because I found these pink shoes that are like ruby red slippers only bright pink for Hannah and she LOVES them, I think mostly because she can put them on herself (she is really trying to be independent when it comes to getting dressed, she can do most things outside of shirts and tops). Hannah has been running around in these shoes for the last two days and she keeps saying "oh look at my pretty shoes, they are so pretty, I just LOVE them." It is pretty run to watch her be such a girl (one after my own heart with a love of shoes and all) :)
We ended the night with one of Nate's favorite cakes (german chocolate) and Hannah could not have been happier, we try and do dessert (especially chocolate) as early as possible because if you have ever seen a child on a chocolate high like this one you would too. It is almost like her body can't stop from moving and her brain is trying to process the movement but can't quite keep up and then she crashes, I mean really crashes; not pretty, not pretty at all. Now Uncle Nate is the apple of Hannah's eyes, she loves to call him, go to his house, have him come up here, pray for him, and tell just about anyone she meets about Uncle Nate, so when she got to blow out the candles on his cake with him she was in heaven. I love how she loves him, if we could all love as a child loves, so unconditionally, so freely and so intensely, could you imagine how life would be for us.
Thank you little ones for showing me how I should love,
Love Mom
Before we had dinner Allison and I went to a consignment event called Just Between Friends, it is basically where anyone who wants to get ride of anything kid related (toys, clothes, etc) can consign it in this event and they open it up to the public. Well the last day is always the 50% off day, which is when I go. I was in the market for some jeans for Hannah since she can't wear 2T anymore because of her height. I love this event (they have one every season in multiple locations) and you would not believe the amount of items they have, even at the end. Most items are given to donations like Catholic Charities or ARC if they do not sell, and believe me there are a lot of items left. Allison and I did pretty well I think considering who overwhelming it can be going thru hundreds if not thousands of items looking for the best ones. The reason I bring it up is because I found these pink shoes that are like ruby red slippers only bright pink for Hannah and she LOVES them, I think mostly because she can put them on herself (she is really trying to be independent when it comes to getting dressed, she can do most things outside of shirts and tops). Hannah has been running around in these shoes for the last two days and she keeps saying "oh look at my pretty shoes, they are so pretty, I just LOVE them." It is pretty run to watch her be such a girl (one after my own heart with a love of shoes and all) :)
We ended the night with one of Nate's favorite cakes (german chocolate) and Hannah could not have been happier, we try and do dessert (especially chocolate) as early as possible because if you have ever seen a child on a chocolate high like this one you would too. It is almost like her body can't stop from moving and her brain is trying to process the movement but can't quite keep up and then she crashes, I mean really crashes; not pretty, not pretty at all. Now Uncle Nate is the apple of Hannah's eyes, she loves to call him, go to his house, have him come up here, pray for him, and tell just about anyone she meets about Uncle Nate, so when she got to blow out the candles on his cake with him she was in heaven. I love how she loves him, if we could all love as a child loves, so unconditionally, so freely and so intensely, could you imagine how life would be for us.
Thank you little ones for showing me how I should love,
Love Mom
Saturday YMCA of the Rockies
Time to catch up again! I will make these short so you don't get to bored :) Saturday we decided to go to the mountains (the plan was to meet up with Nathan, Alison and her family, but ended up not doing that), we went up to the YMCA of the Rockies on the Winter park side. If you ever visit Denver again this is a must visit place. It was a 2 hour drive (not bad considering we did it during Felicity's nap), we wanted to make it to the mountains this month to try and see all the changing trees. We were able to see a few trees changing but due to the snow a few days back most of them had already fallen. The best part of the trip truly was the camping grounds at the YMCA. They have so much to do there and most of it is free, and it changing with the season. While we were there we went on a very nice pretty easy hike with the girls (both in backpacks). Hannah tried to do a bit of the hike but her little legs just did not keep up ours. On our way back down she got to see some horses up close, you should have seen the smile on that girls face when the horses looked at her and sneezed, so cute! The facilities have a year round arts and crafts building where we go to help Hannah paint an apron to use when she helps us in the kitchen (she had a ball).
By the end of the day both girls zonked out for the two hour drive home. There were so many other things that we could have done, from skating to swimming to mini golf. They have two places to eat lunch and many parks to play and run in, as well as game buildings and plenty of space to host parties and weddings. In the winter time they have snow showing, outdoor ice skating and a place where you can ice sled just for starters. Needless to say we will be going back very soon (like next month), only this time we will stay the night so we can utilize the facilities to its fullest. We talked about trying to get our whole family (Auth) up here for a summer family reunion, it is fairly inexpensive and so accessible and great for everyone who has kids (which we all do). Maybe we should drop the idea at Christmas this year? It was really a wonderful day and the 4 hours in the car with sleeping/quiet kids really gave Andrew a chance to catch up and connect, I love family filled weekends like this.
On a side note, it is much easier if I drive, I got pretty sick on the drive up, good thing I am not married to a man who must drive when we are both in the car :) And to top off the day on our drive back home we stopped at one of our favorite restaurants that we had not been to in a while (Parisi's) and had some amazing Italian food and wine. It was a family date, but a great one at that.
Thank you little ones for your joy in simple things, and Andrew for all your love and giving us this beautiful family,
Love Mom
By the end of the day both girls zonked out for the two hour drive home. There were so many other things that we could have done, from skating to swimming to mini golf. They have two places to eat lunch and many parks to play and run in, as well as game buildings and plenty of space to host parties and weddings. In the winter time they have snow showing, outdoor ice skating and a place where you can ice sled just for starters. Needless to say we will be going back very soon (like next month), only this time we will stay the night so we can utilize the facilities to its fullest. We talked about trying to get our whole family (Auth) up here for a summer family reunion, it is fairly inexpensive and so accessible and great for everyone who has kids (which we all do). Maybe we should drop the idea at Christmas this year? It was really a wonderful day and the 4 hours in the car with sleeping/quiet kids really gave Andrew a chance to catch up and connect, I love family filled weekends like this.
On a side note, it is much easier if I drive, I got pretty sick on the drive up, good thing I am not married to a man who must drive when we are both in the car :) And to top off the day on our drive back home we stopped at one of our favorite restaurants that we had not been to in a while (Parisi's) and had some amazing Italian food and wine. It was a family date, but a great one at that.
Thank you little ones for your joy in simple things, and Andrew for all your love and giving us this beautiful family,
Love Mom
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