Category: Catholicmom.com

Small Success: Just Add Grace

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Small-Success-Thursday-400pxThursdays at CatholicMom.com begin with a look at the past week’s Small Successes!

I said YES to grace this week. I was thinking, Tuesday morning, that I really need to make a way to get to Adoration. We have Perpetual Adoration in our parish–and I’ve been ignoring the opportunity. On my way out of Mass Tuesday, the lady who organizes the schedule for Adoration approached me and asked if I could take over an hour for someone who is ailing and unable to attend anymore. I think it took a whole 2 hours, if that, from the time I originally had the thought of Adoration in my head to the time Pat spoke to me in the church foyer. I start today.

I learned a new song this week. Our folk group is preparing to teach Matt Maher’s “Your Grace is Enough” to the assembly at Mass before the end of Lent. It’s a perfect song to meditate on during Lent (or any time, really.) And I figured out how to download the MP3 to my phone so I can have it with me everywhere. Give it a listen:

And in more practical matters, I came in under budget this week at the supermarket. By shopping the sales and using coupons, I saved $105.44 on my order, paying only $116.78. AND because I bought some stuff in the Dollar Days sale, I walked out of there with $7 in coupons off my next shopping order AND a coupon for a free reusable shopping bag. (WIN!) I buy supermarket gift cards through Little Brother’s school (we get a tuition kickback for that) and it does help me to stay on budget. Since I buy the gift cards every 2 weeks, I’m under budget about $16 for the 2-week period. Just in time for Middle Sister to come home for Spring Break and stock up on laundry detergent, Gatorade, granola bars and other staples of dormitory life.

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© 2015 Barb Szyszkiewicz. All rights reserved.

Small Success: Neat and Tidy

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Small-Success-Thursday-400pxThursdays at CatholicMom.com begin with a look at the past week’s Small Successes!

I’ve been doing a little tidying-up around the place, since it’s too cold to GO anywhere.

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My refrigerator door has gone from MESS to MESSAGE CENTER. I have a whole basket of the things I removed:  soccer-team-logo magnets that The Kid wants, a big SpiderMan magnet that I should really send to Mancub, a prayer card that my grandmother kept on HER refrigerator (yes, I inherited the Stuff My Grandmother Kept On Her Refrigerator Door and most of it moved straight to mine)…but they’re not going back on the fridge. Which means I must permanently get rid of some of it before TheKid gets home from school.

fridge door AFTER

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On Tuesday, TheKid and TheDad had Snow Days. I cleaned out the linen closet. Bye-bye, bag of cough drops from 2012 lurking in the back corner!

linen closet AFTER

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I’m all out of neat accomplishments. My limit seems to be 2 per week. But that’s better than 0 per week.

I also survived a half-day of middle-school substitute teaching on 30 minutes’ notice plus a seventh-grade sleepover capped off with a waffle-eating contest. The winner had 6. Perhaps Kelloggs would like to sponsor TheKid’s next sleepover…

Share your Small Successes at CatholicMom.com by joining the linkup in the bottom of today’s post. No blog? List yours in the comments box!

Small Success: Getting Things Done Edition

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Small-Success-Thursday-400pxThursdays at CatholicMom.com begin with a look at the past week’s Small Successes!

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I’ve been inspired by my friend Lisa Lawmaster Hess and working on getting things a LITTLE more organized around here. It’s a slow process. I did figure out that the set of small rocking chairs behind my desk, while cute, were too much of a temptation for me. They’re toddler rockers–one for each of my kids–and 2 are so small that no one but a small child can sit in them. So…they became tables for my Desk Overflow.

too much stuff on couch
Shameful.

I took All The Stuff out of those chairs (and out from behind those chairs) and it pretty much covered the whole sofa.

So I moved an upholstered chair into the space where the rockers had been, because I know I won’t pile stuff onto that chair. Then I put away All The Stuff.

And my living room looks a lot nicer now.

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It’s time to get ready for Lent, and I’ve been working hard over at Cook and Count to load up all the meatless recipes I can find. You can find all of them right here:  Meatless Recipes at Cook and Count.

Grilled Veggie Burrito: recipe coming soon to Cook and Count!
Grilled Veggie Burrito: recipe coming soon to Cook and Count!

There are more to come, and as I post them, you can access them through this same link.

(AND I learned how to add a copyright line to my photos!)

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If you’re reading this through a link at CatholicMom.com, that’s because I successfully installed the link tool in the CatholicMom post. I’m in training right now to be the Substitute Blogmother during Sarah Reinhard’s upcoming maternity leave. (And she is super patient while she gets me up to speed on All The Things.) This was my very first linky-thing, and it worked! It worked!

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In other CatholicMom.com related news (AKA more shameless self-promotion), I have two posts about Lent that you might want to visit. Click on over!

Book review of 40 Days, 40 Ways

Tech Talk:  Lenten Inspiration from CRS Rice Bowl

Share your Small Successes at CatholicMom.com by joining the linkup in the bottom of today’s post. No blog? List yours in the comments box!

© 2015 Barb Szyszkiewicz

Small Success with a Side of Bacon

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Small-Success-Thursday-400pxThursdays at CatholicMom.com begin with a look at the past week’s Small Successes!

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The Kid’s blood sugar ran high all night and into this morning. We don’t know why. Sometimes diabetes is just random. And frustrating.

BACONSo Hubs suggested that he have a low-carb breakfast instead of his usual meal (a double bowl of instant oatmeal and an over-easy egg).

That meant I made bacon on a weekday.

I hate making bacon because I’m left with a huge mess all over the kitchen. Actually I almost never make the bacon. Hubs makes it. And then I rant that I want him to clean up the mess, and then I wind up cleaning up the mess myself, and it’s never pretty.

But today I maintained a good attitude about the bacon and its mess, and I hope it bodes well for The Kid’s blood sugar later today.

We’re not worrying about cholesterol right this minute. One thing at a time.

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baked salmon 1In other food news, I tried yet another recipe from Jeff Young’s cookbook, Around the Table with the Catholic Foodie. And it’s yet another winner. Baked Salmon with Olive Oil and Salt. Seriously, that’s all you need. No pepper. No lemon. Nothing creamy or fancy. It’s simple and delicious.

Every recipe I’ve tried from that cookbook, so far, has been a great success.

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In the name of cleaning up my act, I tossed a large basketful of the Personal Journal section of The Wall Street Journal. I enjoy reading those, but I got way behind when I was teaching every day, and I would just take the section out of the paper and recycle the rest. Finally I just admitted that I’m not going to get to these ever. And I threw them into the recycling bucket.

That felt good. I wonder what unused stuff I can let myself let go of today?

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Last Minute Shrimp Fried Rice (7)That bacon grease in the griddle pan? I’ll be using it in tomorrow night’s Last Minute Fried Rice.

Waste not, want not.

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Small Success: Introvert’s YES

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Small-Success-Thursday-400pxThursdays at CatholicMom.com begin with a look at the past week’s Small Successes!

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I don’t even KNOW how long we’ve been connected online, but this Sunday I finally got to meet Christine of Domestic Vocation and her lovely family.

At Amys Diner with CatholicMomVA Jan 25 2015We even have photographic evidence. See?

We are both introverts by nature, but that didn’t seem to be a problem. I’m glad we got the chance to visit and said YES to the opportunity to finally meet IRL. Christine no longer falls into the category once labeled by my kids as “imaginary friends.”

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Monday and Tuesday were tough for me; people were home because of the Snowstorm That Never Came which meant that I was trying to get some writing done around conference calls (Hubs) and SportsCenter or Super Smash Brothers (Little Brother).

This snowstorm wasn't yardstick-worthy.
This snowstorm wasn’t yardstick-worthy.

I normally do my writing when it’s quiet and all I hear is the dryer and the refrigerator and the magic timer on the living-room lamp. But I managed to do most of the work I’d planned and even baked some chocolate-chip cookies, because what’s a disappointing snowstorm without cookies?

Seriously, though, we lucked out here in the Philadelphia area. We got 3 inches, had a half-day of school Monday and a day off Tuesday (both for no good reason–a delayed opening Tuesday would have been plenty) but that’s really the worst that happened here, and I’m thankful for that.

And cookies. Yes, you CAN stuff Milky Way Bites into a chocolate-chip cookie. I’ll be sharing all the delicious details in an upcoming post at RealHousekeeping.com.

As our new pastor would say, these cookies are Confessional Matter.
As our new pastor would say, these cookies are Confessional Matter.

Don’t worry. I’ll remind you when it’s ready!

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Sometimes the introvert’s YES comes in the form of a NO. When I decided that it was best all around if I didn’t teach 5 days a week, that decision was made with an eye to what’s good for my family. And my own mental health, which is good for my family. I’m not helping anyone around here if I’m frazzled and cranky.

Because of the snow, and because I had said YES to substituting on Wednesday and Friday this week, I said NO today. I have an errand list a mile long, and was looking toward today as the day to get that all done while Little Brother is in school.

And this means that come Monday when the kids are back in their regular uniforms instead of Catholic-Schools-Week fun-themed clothes, Little Brother will have pants and a vest that actually fit him, because the uniform store (a 1 1/2-hour errand) is one of the things on my list today.

I did discover that right next door to the uniform store, there’s a ShopRite (where I also need to visit today) but when I mentioned that to Hubs, he said, “You’d better not. Go to the regular one. You know you’ll get all out of sorts.”

That’s true. Plus, the last two times I went to a different ShopRite, things got ugly. There was a brawl in the middle of the day at the not-my-usual ShopRite a couple of weeks ago while I was there. I left before the 3 police cars showed up, which means I missed most of the entertainment, but I didn’t want to have to testify later.

 

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Small Success Thursday: 1/15

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Small-Success-Thursday-400pxThursdays at CatholicMom.com begin with a look at the past week’s Small Successes!

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January hutchI got all the Christmas things put away! Last year I never really put away the Christmas ornaments. I left them in a big plastic bucket and tripped over it in the basement all year. However, since it ain’t really over until Candlemas (February 2) I left my tiny Nativity scene on the hutch in the living room.

It’s entirely possible that this Nativity scene will remain among the angels (and the big St. Joseph statue) that sit on that shelf all year. I’m making no promises to get it put away before Lent.

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I saw my primary doc so I could get my asthma inhalers rebooted. My last prescription for those was so old that it was no longer even showing up in the online dashboard of our long-term prescription service. And then I came home and obediently made appointments for my long-overdue mammogram and annual GYN exam (which is over a year overdue).

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maple walnut muffins (4)Muffins! Specifically, maple-walnut muffins.

Share your Small Successes at CatholicMom.com by joining the linkup in the bottom of today’s post. No blog? List yours in the comments box!

Small Success Thursday: Thanksgiving

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It’s Thanksgiving, and it’s definitely better than last year’s Thanksgiving that we spent in the hospital with Little Brother. I am infinitely thankful for that.

Small-Success-Thursday-400pxIt’s also Thursday, which means we celebrate our Small Successes at CatholicMom.com! So in the spirit of the day, here goes:

  1. Middle Sister wanted to help cook Thanksgiving dinner. So far she has peeled 5 pounds of potatoes, made the stuffing, washed and stuffed the turkey and put it in to roast. I directed traffic and stayed out of the way.
  2. I’ve bitten my tongue a lot. And I’m praying I’ll be able to keep that up. I’m not talking about Middle Sister’s cooking, either.
  3. The apple pie didn’t leak juice all over the oven this year.

And now I will continue to enjoy “Alice’s Restaurant” on the radio for the second time today, and while I wait for it to come around on the git-tar, I will read what’s up with the other Catholic Moms! Because thanks to my Kitchen Apprentice, I’ve got some down time!

Grace of YES Day

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grace of yes day header
Good morning, class! Today is Tuesday, November 18, 2014.

It’s Grace of YES Day.

grace of yes day classroom photo

A few weeks ago, I said “YES” to a long-term substitute-teaching assignment. I’ll be there through Christmas. I’ve gone into more detail on the subject here, but a “YES” to any teaching job is a “YES” to a gratifying, frustrating, entertaining, saddening experience. It’s not just a job; it’s a ministry.

The students and I keep their Regular Teacher in our prayers each day. She is dearly missed and we all hope she will return to good health, and her classroom, as soon as she can.

I pray for my foster-second-graders as I

  • hand out birthday pencils
  • give spelling tests
  • grade spelling tests
  • read chapters from Ramona the Pest
  • encourage reverence during Grace Before Snack
  • redirect children who use the wrong hand to salute the flag
  • line up the class for the bathroom. Again.
  • conduct science experiments involving rocks, water and flimsy plastic containers
  • enforce the “no sharing snacks” rule (we have allergies)
  • invent the “no shaking down other kids for snacks” rule
  • make sure the two Imaginary Students are not disrupting the class

This job saps my energy, creativity, and voice like no other.

And I love it. Even when I have outside lunch duty on 35-degree days and my hair is up because there’s a Head Lice Epidemic on the first floor and, well, I’m not willing to make that sacrifice for the kids…

Little Brother leaves notes on the board for my class before they arrive in the morning and visits us on his way to the nurse for his pre-snack insulin at midmorning. This “YES” has been good for him. I think he likes having me around his school. (He even hugs me in front of my class. Don’t tell him I told you this.)

It’s grace, pure and simple, that is getting me through these challenging days and weeks.

What’s your “YES” and how is grace making it possible? Share on Facebook or Twitter with the hashtag #graceofyesday

Want to learn more about the Grace of Yes? Read my review of the book here and join the discussion at CatholicMom.com!

Book Review: The Grace of Yes by Lisa Hendey

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Lisa Hendey is the driving force behind one of my favorite websites, CatholicMom.com. But her latest inspirational book, The Grace of Yes, is geared toward a wider audience.

grace of yesYou don’t have to be a mom to appreciate the wisdom in this book. For that matter, you don’t even have to be a parent. With The Grace of Yes, Lisa Hendey has broadened her focus even as she bares her soul and tells the story of her own struggles and joys as she lives out God’s plan in her life. It’s not a big book, but there’s a lot of food for thought in those 160 pages.

I’m glad I said “yes” to reading Lisa Hendey’s latest book. It’s a combination memoir and pep talk with prayer, Scripture and inspiring quotes to tie the whole thing together. This book touches on the many ways saying “yes” can be an opportunity for grace for ourselves and others–and why sometimes saying “no” is also necessary to allow grace to work within us.

Whether you’re overwhelmed, exhausted, looking for a new direction or just starting on your path, you’ll find help, encouragement and Lisa’s kindred (and kind) spirit within these pages.

I read a preview edition of this book on my e-reader and am eagerly awaiting delivery of my print copy (Amazon promises to have it here by November 10). I already know that I want to go through this book again, highlighter in hand.

GOY-Book-Club-sq-400x400To accompany the launch of this book, CatholicMom.com is hosting a Grace of Yes Book Club. Coordinated by the impossibly-energetic Sarah Reinhard, the Book Club will feature a reflection each Saturday. You can read along and add comments to each Saturday’s Book Club post. Here’s a list of the scheduled topics:

  • November 1 – Interview with author Lisa Hendey
  • November 8 – Chapter 1: The Grace of Belief
  • November 15 – Chapter 2: The Grace of Generativity
  • November 22 – Chapter 3: The Grace of Creativity
  • November 29 – Chapter 4: The Grace of Integrity
  • December 6 – Chapter 5: The Grace of Humility
  • December 13 – Chapter 6: The Grace of Vulnerability
  • December 20 – Chapter 7: The Grace of No
  • December 27 – Chapter 8: The Grace of Rebirth

I was humbled to be asked to write one of these reflections; my chapter is Chapter 3:  The Grace of Creativity and is scheduled for November 22.

Friends-of-Fiat-400x400Finally, take a look at that cute little fish on the cover, and read the story of how the fish got a name! I may or may not have stuffed the ballot box, voted early and often, and spammed my Facebook and Twitter feeds to help push my favorite fish name to the top of the charts. But it’s all good:  there was a donation to charity at stake. My chosen charity is the local crisis pregnancy center, First Way of Burlington County, NJ, and they are in great need of assistance at this time. In your kindness, remember their good work in your prayers, and please donate to your local crisis pregnancy center. They do amazing work!

The fine print: This review is based on a preview copy of the book, courtesy of Netgalley.

Small Success: Mercy, Courage and Soup

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Small-Success-Thursday-400pxThursdays at CatholicMom.com begin with a look at the past week’s Small Successes!

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I could be substitute-teaching today, but I had to decline the gig. That’s because Middle Sister asked me to take her to the funeral for her high school track coach’s wife. After the funeral I need to get her back to college in time for her 3:30 class. Whether she realizes it or not, Middle Sister is all about the Corporal Works of Mercy, and I’m not going to get in the way of that if I can help it.

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Scene from Tuesday night’s soccer practice:  It’s dark. So dark the coach can’t see the kids, and the kids can’t see the soccer ball or each other. Time to be done. The coach calls the team over for a conference while they fumble for their water bottles in the dark. “Guys! SUNDAY SUNDAY SUNDAY! I scheduled a 10:00 scrimmage game against Burlington City GIRLS team! My son will tell you how good they are. We have to play our best.”

Dead silence.

Then Little Brother piped up. “I have church.”

Half the team chimed in with him at that point.

Coach decided to reschedule the game.

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Chicken gnocchi soup (3)And because Small Success around here wouldn’t be complete without a recipe, here’s my re-creation of Olive Garden’s soup. Only my version comes with Neverending Gnocchi.

BONUS:  I made it to the gym 3 times this week and on the day I didn’t go I worked out at home on the Gazelle!

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