Happy Valentine's Day!

Happy Valentine's Day everyone!! What does my Valentine's Day look like this year?

There is just something so beautiful about a single red rose :)

Rocky and I are going on our Valentine's Day date later this week since we have a youth group night every Tuesday. So we'll be spending our evening going to Mass, praying a rosary, and hanging out with a bunch of super awesome teens! We don't really take Valentine's Day too seriously so the actual day isn't too important to us. But since we go on a date at least once a month anyway, it's a nice excuse to go out and be romantic :)

My crazy girl never stands still for pictures anymore! haha :)

Gemma joined a preschool co-op group with a few Catholic families in the area which has been really great, even if she's a little young for super structured learning, it's nice for both of us to get out and socialize. I was a little too excited to get to make valentines this year for all her little classmates! Where did I go for ideas? Pinterest! where else?? :)

Here are the valentines I made, which I modified from a few different ideas I saw:

Those are little tubes of bubbles! They read: "Being friends with you makes me BURST with joy!" :)

 I saw an idea on Pinterest for bubbles valentines and I totally loved the idea because I wasn't keen on any kind of candy valentines considering the age group these were going out to. What's so great is that I already had these bubbles! Heart shaped bubble wand and all - they were leftover wedding bubbles from forever ago! (recognize them, Jaime? ha!) In fact, I already had all the materials for these so it cost me nothing to make! So jazzed about a free, cute crafty craft :):)

What about you all? What does your Valentine' Day look like this year?

Benjamin Louis

For awhile now, Rocky and I have known we would name one of our sons Benjamin.

This past Thursday was the day we finished the 33-day long St. Louis de Montfort - Total Consecration to Jesus through Mary. Some of you may be familiar with it. Rocky and I had consecrated ourselves individually before we ever met, and then we renewed it together, dedicating our Marriage to Jesus and our Lady, and again, renewed it to dedicate little Gemma when we were pregnant with her. So this most recent renewal was for our most recent addition to our family.

You see, this past Friday was supposed to be the day that I made my announcement here on my blog that we were expecting Baby #2. But the bleeding had started the day before - the exact day we completed our Consecration. And I thought I'd wait it out to see if the bleeding cleared up, as it had when I bled with my pregnancy with Gemma. It didn't this time around.

Last night, we held our tiny, tiny baby in our hands. We wept over him, and we just knew he was a boy. Our first son. To be honest, I'm still so shocked. It's hard to accept that just a few days ago, he was growing in my belly, and now he's gone. I just can't make sense of it.

This morning, we said goodbye to our sweet baby boy, Benjamin Louis. We placed his little body into a box, sang a hymn, and sent him out into the water off the dock in our backyard.

Even in the midst of this pain, I'm so grateful that we have an eternal perspective. That I can find some comfort knowing that he's in Heaven now with Jesus, and that our gentle Mother is holding him in her arms. It doesn't make me miss him any less, but it at least gives me a small token of comfort in knowing he's there. A friend of mine this morning who has known this kind of loss herself said "Just think, as parents, our job is to get our babies to Heaven so ... check. One down." I'm so thankful for my faith. I know I'm not going through this alone.

This morning at Mass, the responsorial psalm was "Praise the Lord, who heals the broken-hearted." I do praise Him, and I pray for healing, because my heart is truly broken today. All I can do is keep praying, cry when I need to, and thank Jesus for the beautiful blessing of my daughter, Gemma, who has already made me smile so many times today. Without her, I don't think I would have smiled for a long, long time.

This Post is About Poo

I just wanted to throw that right out there in case anyone has a weak stomach and can't handle the potty talk.

Anyway, Gemma is not even 18 months old yet, but I'm already considering potty training her. Or at least starting to entertain the idea of it. But, CA, why do you feel such a desire? Surely your child is too young.

Well, I see your point, but I also see Gemma's poop. Let me clarify. I started my day today by cleaning poop off the carpet, yes, carpet. You see, my wild lovely child like to take her diaper off and then do her business. And she has an uncanny knack for then walking through her business once she's finished. It's horrific and happens more often than can possible be acceptable.

So clearly, she is aware of when it's time to go numero dos. I've even picked her up mid-pooping-on-the-floor-antic, and rushed her to the toilet to catch some or (on a good day) most of her crap. Small victories, yes, but I'm looking for a greater glory. You know of what I speak. Diaper free days, a confident and independent pooper, happily using the potty on cue every time... in short, a fully potty-trained toddler.

Maybe I'm a crazy daydreamer! What do you all think? Is she too young to start potty training? My gut says she could probably handle it. In the meantime, any tips on how to handle her poo on the carpet shenanigans?