January Almost Killed Me

I apologize so much for being absent the entire month of January. It was a tough month for many reasons:

-For the first time in 11 years I am working regular part time hours, Monday thru Friday. Although its only about 14 hours a week, its been an adjustment having to manage my time and find a new routine that works for me and my family.

-My mother in law, Barb was staying with us in January. Because I was working, I didnt have the same amount of time to visit with her as I normally do. The time I could have spent blogging, I spent talking with her or catching a quick nap. Her being here the entire month was such a blessing for all of us. We all love when she comes out to visit and this time was no exception. Her help while I transitioned back into working was a complete Godsend. While I was out, Barb would empty the dishwasher or pick up needed items at the store. She watched the boys while I ran errands and took Finn to the dentist. Everyday when I walked back home from work, she was waiting at our house with laundry piled neatly on the dining room table. Isnt my mother in law the best? The first Monday after Barb left, I felt genuine loss that she wasnt with us anymore. We miss her already.

-The biggest reason why I didnt blog this month was Finn's report on Mission San Francisco de Solano (see above.) How do I begin explaining this mission project? In a word it was "massive." Finn's report was a two part project that literally sucked up all of his free time and much of ours during the month of January. The first part of the project was a written report. It included a map, a timeline, a 12 term glossary, various illustrations and a thorough bibliography. The bulk of his report, however, centered around answering 12 questions that ranged from " Name three California landmarks closest to your mission and describe them" to "On a typical day at the mission, what did the friars do?" It was a huge undertaking and once it was completed, Finn's written report totaled 28 pages. Yeah, crazy right? The kid is 10 years old and he wrote and compiled a 28 page report! The most outrageous part about this report, at least in my eyes, was that it was completely handwritten in CURSIVE. Dude! If that aint Catholic school torture I dont know what is. The only thing that was allowed to be typed was the bibliography and the title page. Everything else had to be handwritten with black ink in cursive. Let me tell ya, we had some brutal days and nights. There were many tears shed and many frustrations vented. Everyday after doing his homework Finn and I worked on his written report. It literally took weeks to write. I felt the weight of the world lift off my shoulders when he finished it.

Less than a week later, Finn's mission model was due. I was under the impression that the model was due at least two weeks after turning in the report. It seemed reasonable; that report was an absolute bear and I assumed we'd get at least 10 days to make the model. I was wrong. Apparently we were supposed to be working on both the model and the report simultaneously. Upon realizing my mistake, I panicked. Matt had to be in Virginia the following week. We had less than two days with him home to help. Barb and I were going to have to shoulder the weight of the project with Finn. I was stressed. Thankfully Matt built and painted the basic structure of our mission before he left. All we had to do was create the details: the roof, the landscaping, the doors, windows and other miscellaneous accessories. It took us four days to complete Finn's mission, but once it was done it looked good. The coolest part about it was that we all (Matt, Barb, Seamus, Finn and I) all helped in making it.

I'll try to get back into posting regularly. Our lives certainly havent slowed down. They've just become busier.

Happy Wednesday.