No Car? No problem?

Jeremy and I have been sharing a car for almost an entire year now. That is a huge feat for two pretty independent people. Thankfully we work together, out of the house mostly, so it hasn't been to hard. However, when he travels for a show without me, which is becoming more preferred due to our antsy 11 1/2 month old, I am left home without a car. In the past I have just stayed home for a few days and went a bit stir crazy. It does make for a REEEEEeeeeeaaallllllllyyyy long few days when you can't leave the house and have no other distractions other than the phone and Internet.

So, I have recently branched out and decided to try St. Paul's convenient bus system. The 54 bus goes right by my house and I have thought for some time that I wanted to try it out. I am pretty comfortable with mass transportation after navigating my way around London for 3 months and across Italy and Spain. However, the bus in St. Paul was by far the most intimidating. It was mostly intimidating because I am no longer single. I have a baby, with a mind of his own. If he desperately needs a nap, he needs a nap! If he hurt himself, got sick, got hit by a car, got attacked by a rabid raccoon,  got.... well, you get the idea.... What if?????? I have to sit and wait for the bus to come and pick us up and then not get home home for an additional 1/2 hr.

Despite all these 'what ifs?' I figured, I would rather have a crazy fun bus adventure with my son than 4 days of sitting home going stir crazy. 

I had it planned perfectly. I timed how long it would take me to walk to my bus stop, how much it would cost, how long the bus trip would take, and whether I should take a stroller or front pack. And so we were off! After Augustine's nap we headed down to the gas station to get cash and sit and wait for the bus. Augustine looked like a huge stuffed teddy bear in his blue snow suit and strapped to my chest.

He loved it and chatted eagerly. (He likes an adventure as much as I do!) We got to mass in downtown St. Paul with no problem and then walked across the street to spend the day at The Children's Museum. We both had a blast and here are a few pics to prove it! :-)

Among all the other things to do and see I had to pull Augustine away from books multiple times.

The ride home went very smoothly as well and exhausted Augustine fell fast asleep in my arms in the crowded bus. Look at those lips!

I am really glad I gave the bus a try and I would definitely do it again! It was a really fun outing without parking troubles and other mishaps.

Sarah

Catholics take over... McDonalds???

Yes, its true.

Last night Jeremy and I went to McDonald's to pick up a RedBox movie and once we were inside the McDonald's our noses were tantalized by the smells of hot french fries. So after choosing our movie... we decided to get their fish and fries deal.

I couldn't resist posting this picture with this post ... this is a picture of a Large Mouth Bass that I caught July '10. Biggest fish caught on the fishing trip. It was caught off the dock with a broken fishing pole. But, I digress...


"Give me that there fillet-o-fish, give me that there fish." Last year when I was pregnant in my 10th month of pregnancy, with Augustine, we sang that jingle all the time... even making bets about words we couldn't understand in the jingle. It's amazing the weird variety of good memories that we create. So, perhaps last night we created another weird fun memory. I say this because I was caught watching the workers frantically making sandwich after sandwich of FISH!! The manager was yelling "Keep the fish coming! Keep the fish coming!! We are 20 behind on Fish, keep em' coming!!" This McDonald's was packed and everyone was ordering fish. Oh, yeah, did I mention yet that this was a Friday?

It just kind of struck me... McDonald's employees were overwhelmed with what appeared to be a lot of Catholics fasting from meat on Friday. Now granted getting dinner at McD's, even if it is fish, is hardly a fast, it was still pretty cool to see. Many non-practicing Catholics still observe fasting from meat on Fridays in lent. I'm not 100% sure why.... maybe it's because it has turned into one of those 'weird/fond memories' from their childhood having fish sticks and fries on Fridays in lent. Maybe it's that one small thing that's still Catholic in them. It's kind of like going to mass twice a year at Christmas and Easter. However small it may be, I really do hope and pray that God will take their one small 'yes' and build upon it grace. I'm trying to be in balance and in the moment this lent and that flood of fish orders at McDs has inspired me with a new prayer. Lord, take advantage of all the very small 'yeses' that people make this lent. The sandy beach is not one big yes but rather millions and billions of tiny small grains of yeses, each one counts towards the whole.

Below is a fun video we captured of Augustine, after our yummy fish dinner, laughing his heart out and "being all boy" as Jeremy says.

Make the most of today - even that trip to McDonald's!             
Sarah

Music!

Playing the drum with Aunt Lisa

The video below is of Augustine at 11 months dancing to his music. He spends hours each day sitting below the CD player eager to clap for the next song to play. Sometimes he takes a break from clapping, dancing and swaying his arms to the music to pull out all the DVDs on the shelf below. Occasionally I think, "why doesn't he play with his toys? Is he missing out on learning when he sits listening to music?" After these thoughts I just shrug my shoulders and think maybe he will be slow to say his first word but will be a music or dancing genius!! We parents spend too much time comparing and worrying. Is my child developing properly? Are they behind?? Why isn't he saying MAMMA YET!!!!!! His world revolves around mamma (mamma Augustine - mamma!). He can say MMMMM he can say AAAaaaaa. He can clap on command. He licks his lips to indicate he is hungry or thirsty. ...and yet still no mamma. (Music Genius, Sarah. Music Genius!)


This only reminds me of when I longed for him to start to crawl. ...finally he did and it was pretty awesome. But even already I think, 'Hmmm I wish I hadn't rushed it or spent time hoping it.' Especially on days when he pulls out every DVD on our shelves. One day he will be saying "Mamma, MOMMA, MOMMA!!!! MAAAAAMMMMMMMAAA mamamamamamamamammaaaaaa!!!!!!!!!!!" ....and I will remember this moment and think of those sweet days when he just sat clapping and swaying to his music.


Today I pledge to be in the moment. To be in the present, and enjoy it! :-)

Sarah

Everyone needs a new beginning...

                        Picture from my performance in THE SCRUTINY PASSION

Lent is and should be for everyone. It is a wonderful opportunity to just start over. To say, I've been failing or falling short but I can start over. What a wonderful and beautiful feeling. What a joyful realization. Like the feeling you have after you wake up from a bad dream. Living pain and fear and anxiety and then Ash Wednesday rolls around and wakes us up and says - you get to START OVER! God is such a wonderful Father always giving us chances and opportunities to begin anew. Now, the major difference between starting over with a new years resolution and starting over with Lent is that a new years resolution is ME trying to be a better ME through much of MY own willpower and desire and Lent is GOD based. All the "resolutions" of lent are with the focus of God. Fasting is more for the purpose of holiness and discipline than health but many times do we get the added benefit of health. A perfect example of how putting God first orders everything to balance in our lives. And balance is key.

I actually get giddy for Lent as I do for Christmas. I have this excited anticipation of knowing my potential as a mother, wife, friend, and most importantly child of God.

Most years I go crazy with the fasting.... since I have seen awesome things happen in my life from fasting. It is a sort of ripple effect it really draws me into a greater spiritual awareness. When I am hungry or abstaining from foods I enjoy I think of why I am doing it and it constantly draws my focus back to God. It works.

This year, I am trying a different focus... rather than having the fasting lead me to a greater spiritual life. I want to try the other way around this year. First off not by my own grace but by His. To help me grow in holiness as a better wife I am going to do the Love Dare book (based on the book from the movie "Fire proof.") If you are not familiar with this book or movie check it out. It is really great. (I watched the movie by myself in the theatre and balled my eyes out. It is a bit cheesy but the message is awesome!) A nun focuses on her vocation... and so a wife should her vocation. I have to say i may have lost focus. I was kind of just focusing on - me. But I am called to a great vocation as a wife, a holy vocation that I mean to whip into shape this Lent. God help me! In a sense God gave me the idea to do the book... and it is a 40 day journal/guide, perfect for the 40 days of Lent. He also helped me find the book which was given to Jeremy and I as a wedding gift and was somewhat lost in the shuffle. Ok, so that is the first thing.

Second, I need to refresh and renew my prayer life. I am reading a book called, "Eat, Pray, Love". Now the religious stuff in it can be pretty hokey at times, but I've gleaned some really great stuff from it. The second long section was on Yogic Meditation in India. ...not all in line with the Christian Faith, of course, but interesting none-the-less. She spent tedious hours meditating on one mantra and being open to change and healing. The last part, that I am reading now, is in Indonesia,  her mentor offers her the first bit of advice to meditation. "Do you smile when you meditate? Smile while you meditate. Smile in your whole body. Smile in your liver." I have to admit it kind of inspired me. The thought of taking 15 min. out of each hectic day to just breathe in and breathe out a prayer. "Renew and Refresh my spirit Lord. Renew (breathe) and Refresh (breathe). Come Lord Jesus (breathe), make me holy...." and SMILE while doing it. I tried a little practice run and it was pretty joyful!!! The psychology of smiling while doing this was pure joy. I remember learning that very thing in my psych class. Now many unbelievers can reason this all away through explanations of physiology, psychology, and hokey... but that's why I glean from these sources of yoga, psychology, and even, I guess, an old medicine man from Indonesia. Because they are helpful but NOT the answer. God is the one that makes our prayers truly mean something. God is the one that makes renewal lasting. In the end God is the only true reason I have to smile at the end of the day. So part 2 of Lent will be spending a few minutes per day (goal at least 15min.) being still and doing the above mentioned, while smiling. Then, I'll let God do the rest! :-) In addition to that I will try to go to daily mass at least twice per week. That is realistic in my world.

Third of all I will do some sort of fasting... I am not entirely sure yet what that will be but I may not share that part, since Lent is also very much about not wearing your ashes around. In other words our offerings are to be private so that we do not feel any glory or get any satisfaction from them. "Ooo look at Sarah she is fasting on only bread today... Wow, she's so holy." I don't want that to be my reward. I want holiness to be my reward!!

and lastly.... I am going to try to incorporate training for this marathon into the mix. Discipline. Discipline. Disipline.

So, prayers to you all as you begin a renewing this Lent.
Sarah

1/2 Marathon Training!

                                               This picture is from a looooong hike up a mountain in New Zealand.

Disclaimer: "I am training for a half marathon. That does not guarantee the half marathon will be run."

So, it is about time I just spill the beans. I've been training for a 1/2 marathon the past few weeks. Well, at first I wasn't sure if I was actually all in or just secretly hoping I wouldn't wimp out. I haven't made it public knowledge, until now. Even writing this I get this hesitant feeling in my gut. That fear. That fear of failure. If I say I am doing it - I HAVE to do it! 


I guess my main concern is that if God blesses us with another pregnancy in the midst of this training I just don't think I'll be able to complete the 1/2 marathon. I know it can be done, but with my first pregnancy I couldn't excercise for like 11 months! None-the-less, I am going to give it a try.


Thanks to my rocking friend Sarah who kicks my butt on the track, I am now up to FIVE miles!! I am so pumped!


In the months prior to getting married I got into an exercise/breast cancer research study called WISER with the U of M. I was randomly selected to be in the exercise control group. It was for four months and required me to run 5 times per week. It was a 30 min workout/run but was based on my heart rate, so towards the end of the training I was running on a treadmill with all resistance going uphill as fast as my legs could go. It was KILLER! Some fond memories of the study were getting up at 6am to go running on my wedding day, working out on the treadmill on our cruise ship during our honeymoon while Jeremy took a nap, running in circles and up and down our stairs at our tiny newlywed apartment at 11:00 at night, and lastly begging Jeremy to go with me to the gym at 12:00 MIDNIGHT so I could get my workout in while he worked (I was to scared to go alone.) After the four months were up I found out I was pregnant and didn't work out for the next 11 months. How is that for a break?!


The study was fascinating and I was able to see how I significantly built up bone density and how much fat I had lost in each part of my body, including my fingers! I was pretty proud of myself for how in shape and healthy I was. I was definitely in the best shape of my life which is what most girls would want for their wedding day. It worked out great. However, I never thought I would be able to motivate myself to workout like that again. Not that I am not a motivated person but when it comes to working out I am no personal trainer that's for sure.


Running a half marathon would really push me to my limits again and it would be my choice. I also love to see how discipline in one area affects other areas of my life. For example, I love junk food, I could easily eat a half gallon of icecream or a bag of chips or 2 bags of popcorn or an entire pizza. However, after a long run I prefer to eat more healthy - to nourish my body. I am much more self aware. I am a temple of the Holy Spirit and I should treat my body in this way. This training is a physical reminder of "running the race", as Saint Paul so wisley says, in my spiritual and emotional life. Becoming disciplined in prayer, family time, housework, outreach, organization, cleaning, and health. What a perfect lead into my Lenten reflections. More on  that to come...


So here is where you all come in... accountability. Updates to come!


Keeping it real,
Sarah

Motherhood: the occupational hazards - Part I

Warning: this is not graphic but may not be for the faint of heart.

Yes, it's true and every mother knows it. There are occupational hazards to being a mother.

For my first example... let me set the scene...

It's a cold winter day somewhere lost in between January and February. A little precious creature whom you dearly call yours with the face of an angel gets the whines... then the sniffles... then yes, you guessed it. A COLD.

Well, the true hazard is the sneeze. How could such a volcano flow from such a little person?? If you are really lucky you have a tissue waiting in your hand. If you are really un-lucky, which seems to be me when it comes to this subject, the closest tissue is a mile away or somehow buried deep in my purse or pocket - which might as well be a mile away! I desperately search for a tissue, remembering my magician assistant days, and hoping somehow a tissue will not only appear but come dancing to me. (Yes, I really was a magician's assistant. And, yes, he really did have a dancing tissue trick.) Meanwhile, my little one figures out what to do. Oh, yes, they are so resourceful. A mother wears pants, shirt, and socks these are perfect replacements for above mentioned tissue. Other replacements include couch, chair, carpet, and of course remote control.

Hey, just keeping it real! :-)
Sarah

Book Worm

As a first time mom I read the blogs, the websites, the books, and the magazines. I kept reading over and over... read to your baby... in the womb... while nursing... while sleeping....etc. etc... As the ambitious, and yet a bit unsure, first time mother, desperate to give my baby the best start ever, I tried the book thing. Studies show reading to babies increases their love for books, for their lifetime! Because they connect reading with a cozy happy feeling. And loving to read is generally recognized with reading more and powerful brain development and creativity. Despite the encouragement in studies, I quickly grew discouraged. It only took a few story times with my wriggling newborn to realize he was just a little to little and I would rather just snuggle with him than try to get him to look at a book and hear me read. Boy am I glad I didn't push it, how silly! When he got a little older and more attentive I did begin reading to him. ...and it naturally clicked!

Augustine would prefer a huge pile of books than mounds and mounds of toys. All day he flips through their pages and traces the pictures within. (Even now as I write this he is flipping through books.) He is always eager to have someone read him a book, especially if the book includes poems or things that can be sung.

I am so glad to see Augustine's passion for books, it mirrors my own passion. I so look forward to the day when I can read books to him that don't involve green eggs and ham or me having to cluck like a chicken, although for now - that's ok too!