A Lenten Update

I had big plans this Lent to focus a bit on my blog, but it's been a long time since I've done an update. Sigh, that's how it is sometimes right? I mean, I'm at home all day long, it seems like it should be easy to pop over to my blog and blast out an update. Oh well, it is what it is. 😊

So, how is your Lent going? Fruitful I hope. This Lent has been fruitful and humbling for me. I planned to go to Daily Mass and thought all along that it's been my laziness keeping me from it. The first week the baby got sick. The second week The big boys got sick. The next week I was so tired from being up so much with the baby. I made it a couple days each week and I'm considering that good. That's the humbling part. Even when we are at our best, trying our hardest, sometimes it's not about us. Sometimes we need to remember to live our vocations and that might mean that focusing at Mass is harder because you're trying to keep one child from "punching" out at everything annoying him (the piano, the lights, noisy kids, the priest not being the one he wants). Sometimes living my vocation at this season in my life looks a lot like laziness, it FEELS that way to me, but at the same time I'm feeding a baby at night, or keeping everyone else from catching whatever he has.

The puncher contemplating life--or at least trying to figure out if I'll let him jump down

This Lent has also been fruitful because some of the things I've managed to keep up with nearly 100%. I've done spiritual reading every night but 2 since the beginning of Lent. I'm proud of that because it's often where I struggle the most. There have been many parts that I've read that have really spoken to me and I'm thankful that I've managed to keep up with it. I've also managed to not play my Switch (except for Sundays-don't judge me! 😝) and that has helped me to stay a bit more focused on living in the moment during the day. I've actually managed NOT to just fill that time with other meaningless things and have been more present with the boys, including bike rides, park play time and outside playing. 

 Happy Birthday to me! I got a new bike that is electric assist and it makes pulling this train much easier!

Yes Benedict is wearing a large pull up over his clothes...is that weird?

I think this is actually Jason's picture but that's because I can't manage to touch my phone when we're outside usually because this child is FAST and also fearless! 

So, how has your Lent been? Fruitful I hope!

It's Almost Lent!

This weeks starts Lent! I'm very excited this year for some reason. Dominic is doing kind of an enforced fasting/sacrifice, and by default Christopher is as well. Dominic can understand why he's being asked to sacrifice (he definitely doesn't like it, but he understands!), but Christopher doesn't. I wonder if that means that his sacrifice is more meaningful. Who knows! Anyway, the boys (and also by default-me) are giving up electronics before school is done. We used to always do this anyway, but when I was not getting much sleep I was letting the boys do that so that I could sleep in. Yes, yes, bad momming I know. So, we are getting back to that; in addition we will not have electronics for any meals any more. We do well with dinner, but if we are having lunch at home I often let them eat with their devices, but I'm going to stop that. I'm hoping that at the end of Lent we are better positioned to continue both of those habits.

Since fasting and abstaining is not technically required for the boys (though they abstain when we do anyway, I do enough double cooking, I'm not adding extra for that), I'm going to try to get Dominic to do a small fast weekly. On Ash Wednesday and Good Friday these will be bigger, but on Fridays I'm thinking it will be something like only eating main meals, no snacks/dessert. I'm trying to guide him without forcing, but I know that he does need the specific direction as well.

Jason ordered this book, and it's been kind of fun to go through her list of Lenten sacrifice suggestions. I'll be real, some are weirdly intense, and some don't seem intense at all. For example, one that is listed as an advanced sacrifice is to not use your dishwasher, we don't have one anyway; but another one the beginning suggestion is not eating out and the advanced is growing your own food. Ummm, that takes way more planning than I've ever given Lent and I've been known to start thinking about Lent during ADVENT. I mean for real, that would require living in the right place and A LOT of pre-planning. There are some really good suggestions though, and I'm pretty excited to go through the rest of the year with her.

We are very excited that the first Sunday in Lent we will be attending Low Mass at an FSSP parish in Denver. It is 3 hours away, but we are feeling a calling to a more traditional Mass. Bonus is that there is no music at low Mass, so hopefully Christopher will approve! :)

That's it for now! I plan to post some recipes during Lent and some other things about our Lenten sacrifices and how things are going. I will also hopefully be able to post some pictures next week from the FSSP parish we attend!

#40LentPrompts - Week 5

I have some new things I've been wanting to post about, relating to my weight loss and most especially about the boys' progress - Dominic in school and Christopher's therapies. Hopefully I'll do a 7 quick takes link up tomorrow!

23. How did the first part of Lent go for you? Wait, what? Lent is HALF over?! Yikes, that has gone fast. This Lent has been fruitful in ways that I didn't plan for, and of course I've failed in some of my Lenten promises. I wanted to make Daily Mass a regular part of our day during Lent, but I've definitely not hit that desire. I decided this morning that I think we should focus on a couple days a week for daily Mass. Maybe focus on Monday and Wednesday, and depending on how Christopher is doing possibly Friday evening before the soup supper. We've just thrown everything at him lately and it's a lot. He now has therapy 4 days a week, and we're kind of asking more of him. It's not just all play, but play based learning, which is super awesome, but I'm also pushing him more than I ever have. I'll definitely post more about this later, but it's caused our Lent to be fruitful in ways we didn't plan. Dominic is having to suffer a bit in that life is so focused on Christopher right now, and that's never easy; we're trying to make time for it to be all about Dominic sometimes, but that is hard as anyone with more than one child knows. This is not specific to a special needs kid, but is something that all families with more than one child has to learn. It's also been a struggle for me. Honestly, it's much easier to stay with what is comfortable; but I'm trying to liken what I'm dealing with to Christ in the desert. It would have been much easier for Him to be comfortable too, for him to give into temptation and turn those rocks into loaves. That's what I tell myself in moments of clarity, looking back at the difficulties...in the moment I'm usually like "ugh, why am I doing this, it's much easier to laze about and let Christopher play with his square all day!"

Check out Beth Anne's page and spread the blog love!

#40LentPrompts - Week 4

No, you didn't misread that, I missed last week. It was such a crazy week that I didn't manage to do any blogging. Then all this week, I kept thinking of doing it and posting it late, but it just didn't happen.

20. Did you attend Stations of the Cross this Lent? Yes, actually, Dominic and I have been twice. Our Parish does a Friday evening Mass at 5:30, then a soup supper, then Stations of the Cross. I tried meeting Jason there at 6pm after he went to Mass with the boys the first week, but Christopher was really not having it. That was just too much a change of routine for him. So instead now the boys and I meet Jason there after he goes to Mass, and Dominic and I stay for the soup supper and the Stations. It's been really great; I'm not sure how much is seeping in for Dominic, but I've been noticing that he picks things up without my actually forcing it on him. I don't make him stand and kneel at appropriate times, but I do make sure he is quiet.

21. How has your prayer life changed this Lent? Well, it hasn't much, honestly. I'm making an effort to say my daily prayers, but I wouldn't say I'm winning at that necessarily. I have noticed that we are doing better with our family Rosary, so that is a blessing. We do two decades with the boys, and then Jason and I finish. We are finally in a really good routine with that and the boys expect it in the evening. We have changed our homeschooling with Dominic to Seton, and I've noticed that since there is more a focus on the faith life in his lessons, I'm getting more Bible reading in, and I'm saying more prayers with Dominic. Just last week, we had to discuss sin and confession, and being sorry for our sins and we added a new simple act of contrition to his night time prayers and he has taken to it very well. The book suggested a slightly truncated Act of Contrition similar to what you say after confession, but I knew Dominic would never be able to remember that so I made one up. "Dear God, I'm sorry for my sins, please help me to be a good boy." It's really adorable to hear him say it and I think he's proud of it, because if you start to say it with him he'll say "no, just Dominic" or "my turn".

Go check out Beth Anne's post to see other Lenten posts and those other people who didn't slack last week! I know I'm going to!!

#40LentPrompts - Week 2

I'm a little more on top of things this week since here I am doing my second Lenten link up this week!

6. What are your favorite Lent or Easter Books? I'm going to cheat a little, this is actually a booklet. We love the Magnificat Lenten and Advent companions, and we usually get the Kindle version because it is easier for us and we can share it easier. It not only offers a reflection based on the readings, but it also offers some small penance for each day. It's wonderful! I heard this year that they actually have an app, but it's only available on i-devices, so that's a no for us. ;-)

9. What almsgivings are you doing this Lent? We picked up a rice bowl from church and we are focusing on having Dominic put the change that would normally go into his piggy bank in there. We explain to him that other kids are hungry and not able to have enough to eat, and that this money will help them to be able to buy food. He acted really sad when we told him not all kids get to eat whenever they are hungry, and he's overall very sensitive so I think it touched him a bit.

10. Share this weeks Lenten meal. This is kind of another cheat. :) We are trying to make it a point to go to our Parish's Friday services that include daily Mass, then a soup supper, and then Stations of the Cross. Last week Jason went to Mass and the boys and I met him for supper, but Christopher couldn't handle Stations so we ended up leaving after the 3rd station. This week, we might let Jason do Mass and then Dominic and I can stay for the soup supper and stations, and Jason can get Christopher out of there. Neither of them eats soup anyway. ;-) So every week a different group volunteers to provide the soup and crackers and bread. Last week I had this awesome chili cheesy potato soup and the rolls they had were amazing. My group isn't volunteering until March 4th and I'm still debating between a cream of broccoli soup and this amazing tomato basil soup with ricotta dumplings that I had when I went out of town with a friend.

So, that's all I'm talking about today, go check out Beth Anne's blog and share some blog love for the other people linking up!

#40LentPrompts- Link-Up Week 1

As I mentioned in my last post, I'm going to be linking up with Beth Anne again during Lent. She gives some great prompts that really make me want to write! Just what I need!

I'm going to do a couple this week, I might not do one for every day of the weeks, I might pick and choose. This week, I couldn't decide so I decided to do multiple ones!

1. Ash Wednesday - So on Ash Wednesday this year, Christopher woke up coughing so hard that he was gagging. I knew that one of us would have to stay home with him, and Jason volunteered. That meant that I got to focus more completely on the Mass and it was a lovely start to my Lenten season.

I was too busy trying to make sure I got my Ashes in the picture, that I didn't worry about smiling much ;-)

2. What are you doing for Lent? I went back and forth about whether or not to share what I'm giving up and promising to do, but in the end, I'm going to share just so I have a bit of accountability. So, something that I really struggle with is moderation. In food, this means that I often glut; eating past the feeling of fullness because I'm enjoying the food so much, and eating often. But I also lack moderation in other areas. If I start watching videos online of shows that I enjoy, I can easily get caught up in that and ignore most everything else. No, that doesn't mean the boys don't eat or get clean, but it has meant in the past that they also spend a lot of the day engaging in video stimulation instead of getting out and playing or playing inside. It has also meant that I've neglected some household duties. You might be thinking, well then, just don't watch videos-read a book, listen to a podcast, even an audio book. But, my lack of moderation extends there as well. So, for Lent this year I decided to give up some media consumption. I'm trying not to listen to new books, reading only at bedtime, no online videos (not even cooking ones boo hoo!), and only one podcast episode at a given time. I'm also adding in spiritual reading throughout the week, and daily Mass. We've been attending daily Mass as a family since Jason went back to working at 8AM, but if he can't go for some reason I've been allowing myself the leisure of laziness. But not this Lent! I'm going to try to take the boys by myself...tomorrow is the first time this will happen, so say a prayer for me. I've also decided (a little late) to fast on Fridays. If you're wondering if my media fasting extends to social media, it does not. I find that I'm not so entranced by Twitter and G+ that I neglect other things. That seems to be a facebook specific problem, and as I'm not on facebook anymore, I don't have this struggle right now.

Check out Beth Anne's site to see who else linked up, and join if you'd like! 

The After Lent Post

So a few random thoughts from our Lenten time.

Wiggly babies make it hard to focus. On the homily, on the Consecration, on jokes the priest makes and on correct postures. On everything.

Wakeful babies make it hard to wake up in the mornings to attend daily Mass. We were doing really well, until Christopher got an ear infection and that threw off his finally getting awesome sleeping schedule. Which brings me to:

Sick babies are sad. Really, really sad. They can't tell you what's wrong with them and it is hard to make them better. :(

Taking toddlers to a park is a great way to spend some time...making a toddler leave the park before they're ready (when are they EVER ready???) is a great way to bring on a tantrum.

When the room is quiet, little ones will sit through prayer routines in the morning. So says Jason, because he got to do it almost every day.

The blessing that is Easter is something that we should try to remember daily. All year long. The gift that Our Lord gave us is something so wonderful and beautiful and I hope we can do even a remotely decent job imparting that to our kids.

Lenten Hiatus

Originally during Lent I had planned to continue with blog posts, but I have since decided that I will take a hiatus from blog posts as well. This will hopefully help keep me focused on what I am doing with my prayer life and better living out of my vocation as wife and mother.

I hope that you all have a fruitful Lent!

Preparing for Lent

So, it's just a couple of weeks until Lent. I have given a lot of thought to what I will give up this year, I have mostly given up food-related things in the past because I love food so it's hard for me. However, this year I have decided to give up social media. I have been spending an inordinate amount of time between Twitter, Facebook, and Google+ and it has been cutting into my spiritual life as well as my domestic life. I often spend too much time checking out what's happening else where and neglect playing w/ the boys or putting off the dishes. So, this Lent I am giving up something that will make a serious change in my life. After 40 days I might find that I don't need to be as connected as I have been recently.

What are you giving up for Lent?

Faith of the Family

As I mentioned before, Holy Week afforded me the chance to make good on some commitments that I hadn't been that wonderful at keeping throughout Lent. And I did really well, if I do say so myself, which of course I do, it is my blog after all. ;-)

Triduum was a little more difficult for us, as we've been having some difficulty with Dominic's sleeping lately. He's been teething and been so achy and not napping well, which of course makes him go to bed early. Jason went to Holy Thursday by himself, but did come home and let me go to Adoration for a short bit. It was definitely worth it. We did make it as a family for the Stations of the Cross on Good Friday, but again Dominic went to sleep early that evening so it was my turn. I attended on my own. Jason stayed home and cuddled the adorable boy so he stayed asleep. On Saturday, Dominic took a late nap so we decided that we would make an attempt at the Easter Vigil Mass.

Dominic did surprisingly well. We actually started in the cry room, but it was actually a CRY room that evening. As in, two babies were in there crying inconsolably, and quite sick as they were hacking like crazy (why would parents take their sick kids to Mass?!). So, we left the cry room for the comfort of the pews. Unfortunately people behind us thought that Dominic was so cute that they needed to try to make him smile and giggle. We really try to keep him mostly calm during Mass, not that he's getting a lot out of it right now, but we're trying to develop good habits. If you see an adorable baby at Mass, please wait until after Mass is over to attempt to make him or her giggle. Jason even had to sternly tell a little girl to stop trying to play with Dominic.

All of these difficulties with timing, and people in Mass obviously didn't change the beauty and overall wonderfulness of the Triduum for us, but it certainly made me appreciate the quiet times at Mass we've had in the past. It also made me really look forward to passing on the beauty and tradition of Lent, Holy Week, Triduum and Easter to Dominic and our still baking Spano fruit (and all subsequent fruit on the Spano family tree). As I read through blogs and posts of friends I saw so many ideas of how to bring the beauty to life for them, and I am excited. From resurrection rolls teaching the kiddos about how Jesus rose on Sunday, to 3D lamb cakes (not sure I'll ever be awesome enough for that one! ;-)) for Easter dinner.Oh yeah, plus chocolate crosses for Easter Sunday of course! :)

What are some of your favorite Lent, Holy Week, and Easter traditions?

Do you have favor

Holy Week, AKA One More Chance to Make Good on Your Lenten Promises/Sacrifices

Despite this being the hardest Lenten sacrifice I've done thus far (my fourth), I have not given in and messed up my sacrifice. I gave up all drinks but plain ole water (sometimes w/ a splash of lemon juice), I hate water. As strange as that sounds, it's true. I can't stand it...even good water. Because I need to drink more water (especially while pregnant) I usually add Crystal Light to my water. And I love Diet Mtn Dew. So, yeah, this has been super rough. And we don't allow ourselves to have any on Sundays either. I'm not sure of Jason's reasons, but mine is that I have a tendency to be gluttonous so I know I would just overfill on those days and it wouldn't end up being much of a sacrifice. So, I'm really rather pleased with how my Lenten sacrifice has gone.

My Lenten promises? Not so awesome. I wanted to make it more of a priority to attend Daily Mass. So did Jason, and I think he's only missed one or two. He rocks. Me...not so much. Some nights I've slept so horribly the idea of getting out of bed early makes me feel sicker than my normal morning sickness. On those days, Jason would get up with Dominic and take him to Mass with him while I slept. Then when they got back Dominic would be ready for a little nap so I'd go back to sleep some more. I felt better, but talk about epic fail. This sleep issue also interfered with our other Lenten promise to make sure we prayed more together especially the Rosary. Some days were awesome, even if I didn't get up, others though I went to bed before Jason was done working so we didn't get the chance. Though I feel sure that he prayed the Rosary on his own. I know I've mentioned this before, but Jason is an amazing Spiritual Head of Household; he is knowledgable and he is passionate about his faith. Just what is needed with a leaning towards slothful at times wife!

So, some failing and some rocking...and along comes Holy Week. We have made it to Mass together all 3 days they had morning Daily Mass and prayed LOTH and the Rosary together each day so far. I don't feel like this makes up for all the days I failed, but I think it pleases Our Lord. And, I feel like I've got a bit of a habit started and it will stay with me, so I can be a good help mate to Jason as he continues to lead us in our Spiritual life.

How have you done this Lent?

A Work in Progress

Well, one of my Lenten sacrifice/promises was to go to Daily Mass regularly, and like I mentioned yesterday, Jason is doing great...me not so much. I am SO tired sometimes. :( It makes me feel really bad but I know it's normal to be this tired while pregnant.

I also wanted to start doing some religious reading each night, and so tonight I am going to work on that! It might take until the end of Lent, but I think I can develop some good habits. Pray for me and I will for you!

What? A Blog Post From Me?! Lent and Babies

OK, so my goal of posting frequently has not gone that well so far. But, hopefully I will continue to do better with it. This is the second week of Lent, and so far my Lenten sacrifice is honestly the hardest one I've done so far. I gave up all drinks but water, with some lemon juice. I do have OJ or milk w/ breakfast, but that's not really very often. And I pretty much hate water. So, this is really difficult for me. We are also trying to add in some daily Mass (Jason's doing better than I am, I'm awfully sleepy lately), and focus on our daily prayer life. So far, we are really doing well. Of course, it's only the second week of Lent, so we'll see. ;-)

Dominic is growing so fast and doing new things all the time. He has a couple teeth poking up in the bottom, and it's affecting his sleeping a bit...so it's affecting ours. It's pretty rough, but I know we'll get our sleeping boy back soon. He likes to try to get people's attention and smile and giggle at them so that they will smile at him and pay attention to him. It's pretty adorable. Dominic will take a few steps when holding our hands, especially excited if it's towards Mama or Daddy. But, he hasn't quite figured out crawling; he will stay on his tummy a bit more and just today brought his knees up underneath him himself, so maybe crawling won't be too far off. I'm sure that we won't be as excited about it once he starts getting into things!

We got to hear the littlest Spano's heartbeat today at our OB appointment. It was 163bpm, which is quite a bit higher than Dominic's was. I think his was usually around 148bpm, but I'll have to check back on old blog posts to know for sure.

We are so excited to meet the new baby and are really enjoying Dominic's first year. Our growing family is such a blessing! :)