{SQT} Midday Edition

1. Tuesday night I went to the last homeschool mom’s social of the year. Despite trying to leave several times, I arrived home way too late for my usual 5:30 a.m. alarm. It’s another sign of my approaching 40th birthday that it’s taking me all week to catch up from that one crazy evening out.

2. Thankfully, this is the last week of early wake ups until Fulton’s last two days of school later in the month. For most of the school year, I had no trouble going to bed early and waking up ready to go. But as the daylight hours lengthened and the spring schedule picked up its  pace, I found myself climbing in bed later and later. People keep asking about everything I’ll be doing while all the kids are away next week and I can honestly say SLEEPING is one of, if not the highest priority on my list. (Sign number 204251935 that I am approaching 40.)

3. Speaking of camp, today starts the process of packing for Fulton and Teddy to spend the week away from home. It requires a three page list and if I’m lucky, only one shopping trip. It also means tons of laundry up to the last minute to make sure they have enough clean clothes to see them through the week. Through the years I have complicated the process by including special items (character themed soap, new toothbrushes, etc) that were intended to make life easier for the boys’ counselors, but instead raised the boys expectations. So today I will purchase overpriced brand named soap and toothpaste just because it has a favored Marvel character on it, while I convince my older kids that bulk bottles of generic shampoo are really cool.

4. Addie is babysitting everyday, all day,  this week and while I’m excited she can contribute to the escalating cost of her fencing habit, I’ll be glad when the back and forth driving is done. I’ve always wanted to wait until the last minute to allow my kids to drive (because I will be the first to admit that I was a lousy teenage driver) but living where walking or biking to anything is impossible, means tons of driving for me which I hate with the firey passion of a thousand suns. Now the attitude is to get her driving as early and frequently as possible so I can get back to the important things in life, like packing for camp, blogging, and sleeping.

5. Despite all the end of year craziness, I’m trying to make the effort to be thankful for all the opportunities that are making my life so sleep deprived. Like having friends who can keep me up late laughing, medical appointments that remind me how well Fulton is doing, and most especially a camp that can accommodate him and Teddy for a whole week. Learning to find the joy in daily life was one reason I started this blog. Otherwise, I knew I would continue to focus on the negative and forget all the  milestones that were actually happening around me. I’ve had a lot of unhappy days, but there are always moments to be grateful for, and identifying them helped move me back in the direction of a renewed faith after struggling with anger and doubt for so long. I know without concerted effort, it can be a struggle to find those moments. When the house is a mess, everyone is screaming and you’re wearing the same clothes as two days ago…complete with spit up. It’s why I created the journal “Clinging To God: A gratitude journal to guide worried souls towards joy and hope.”

If you want to focus on finding joy in each day and building gratitude, this journal is for you. It’s 21 pages with quotes from saints and scripture to inspire you to recognize the blessings that maybe you couldn’t see earlier. It’s available as part of the new Catholic Mom Bundle. For $20, you can get my journal, plus 12 other items like a rosary challenge, prayer prompt printables, and a guide on taking family camping trips. You can learn more about it HERE but don’t delay as the sale ends tonight at midnight! As a bonus, if you order through my link, you can get a full size downloadable version of ‘The Best Laid Plans’ planner with weekly entries. Each week’s entry can help you continue to find the joy and laughter in your days.

That’s all for me this week! Tune in next week for long gushing takes about sleep, reading, SLEEPING, and drinking my coffee while it’s hot. How was your week? Write it down then link it up below. Don’t forget to include a link back to this post so your readers can find the rest of the Quick Takes. I look forward to reading your posts!

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