Where Have You Been, Missy??

It seems I've fallen off the face of planet earth. But actually, no I haven't! I'm still here, doing all the things. To put it lightly, things have been . . . busy. Let me explain. No, there is too much. Let me sum up.

--one--

Learning how to teach plus then teaching the Creighton Model has been a whirlwind. Whew! But just last month, I wrapped up my 13-month training with a big fat 4-hour final exam. It was a doozy. Also awkward, since it was proctored by the only person in town I could find to proctor -- a male librarian. I had to present the picture dictionary to him. *insert embarrassed face here* That aside, I felt pretty ok after I finished it, so I'm thinking I passed, but I should find out by the end of April. Fingers crossed, prayers said! 

I've LOVED working with clients and am looking forward to continuing that without supervision now. Wahoo! If you know of anyone interested in learning CrMS, please feel free to send them my way. :) 

--two--

Leading up to Christmas, I participated in my first saint peg doll swap. Have you seen these yet? They seem to be making their way around the Catholic bloggiesphere. You paint 20-30 of the same saint for the swap and get 20-30 different ones back (or however many people are participating). It's a great way to learn about a bunch of saints AND get your craft on at the same time. Plus, they make great toys AND Catholic learning tools for little ones. 

For my first swap (hosted by the great Hannah), I painted St. Cecilia!

And in return received . . .

Front Row

St. Therese // St. Faustina // Mary, Mother of God // St. Augustine // St. Cecilia // Our Lady Undoer of Knots

Second Row

St. Francis // St. Lucy // St. Joachim // St. Catherine of Sienna // St. Zelie // St. Martha // St. Luke

 

Third Row
St. Elizabeth Ann Seton // St. Joseph // St. Isidore the Farmer // St. Monica // St. Kateri

Fourth Row
St. Pope John Paul II // St. Clare // St. Louis Martin // St. Gianna // Esther // Blessed Teresa of Calcutta

Fifth Row
St. Maria Goretti // St. Peter // St. Rose of Lima // St. Michael the Archangel // St. Maximilian Kolbe

--three--

Within a few days of me receiving my 30 new saint dolls, I was already itching to do another one! So with the help of Katie and Cecilia, we organized a special group of gals who've experienced infertility, miscarriage and/or stillbirth and are together making a set of 20 saints who are patrons of those sufferings. So, so special.

I just shipped off my St. Philomena dolls . . .

. . . and should be receiving the new set in time for Easter. Most of the saints came from this patrons-of-infertility list.

I'll be sure to post pictures once they arrive.

Though, to hold you over, I've got a pic of two saints my husband painted! He wanted in on the fun after seeing me paint over 50 saints myself. He had to tell me which saints he painted because sometimes I'm clueless. Can you guess?

--four--

I wouldn't be me if I didn't waste stupid amounts of time watching silly things on the telly. So, recent favorites have been:

Call the Midwife -- So many babies being born! And an infertility/adoption story!
Downton Abbey -- HOW IS THIS OVER?! At least the ending left me with all the good feels.
Jane the Virgin -- Funny and clever, but getting less appropriate by the episode. :-|
Fixer Upper -- We blew through the only season on Netflix. GIMME ALL THE SHIPLAP!
The Property Brothers -- Just yes.
Married at First Sight -- I know it's terrible that I watch this. But I really want all the best for these couples! And I love watching people fall in love. Sigh. Why are the outcomes so bad?

--five-- 

In early February, John surprised me with a trip to The Harry Potter Wizarding World in Orlando!! He knew it was on my bucket list and one night in January, he arranged all the details on the internets by himself and BOOM. Surprise bucket list trip for us! My MIL joined in too to help out with John Paul. It was the best trip EVA!

I have to say, Universal is sooooo accommodating to families! Every ride has a child-swap room so that parents can wait in line together and then when you get to the front of the line, one hangs in the swap room with the kiddo while the other rides, and then once that parent is done, the parents swap! Easy peasy. There's also a building with rooms for breastfeeding moms, so I totally took advantage of that. We stayed, very affordably, at one of the Universal hotels, which included shuttle service to the parks every day. And, sigh, it was just awesome.


Favorite parts: buying a wand and casting interactive spells with it around the parks, drinking 4 glasses of butterbeer *drool*, walking through Hogwarts Castle, eating lunch at the Leaky Cauldron, and discovering Diagon Alley. The coolest.

--six--

So this is a big deal . . . we're house hunting! For the first time ever, we're ready to buy a home. We've seen about 15 houses and even put an offer on one! But the sellers decided to stay in their home right after our offer came in. Bummer. The good news is . . . we're in no rush. We could stay in our apartment for another year or so just waiting for the perfect house. So there's that. But the search continues. (And gosh, it's kinda a full time job!)

--seven--

Best of all the things keep me busy . . . 

Being this guy's mom. 

Can you believe I have a 10-month-old?!

Guys, he's just the sweetest, most hilarious kid ever. He loves exploring, pulling up on everything, pulling all the things off all the shelves. He LOVES the kitchen -- the dishwasher, the cabinets, the refrigerator, the oven drawer -- what's not to love? He eats all the things. New favorites include raisins, baba ganoush, blueberries, blackberries, watermelon, and my mom's chicken parm. He even likes semi-spicy curry dishes! He doesn't like sitting still for long, and sweet cuddly moments are hard to come by. But he's just a hoot. I can't get over the sounds he makes or the cheesy smiles or the way he hides his face in my shirt if he's being shy. Guh. This kid. What a blessing!

link it up

 

How a Lady with No Clue About Design Designs an Adventure-Themed Nursery

First, that lady is me.

Second, my best design tip is . . . copy someone else. Also, find things you like and go from there. But mostly, just copy someone else. ;)

We knew we were going to be moving shortly after John Paul was born, so we didn't set up much of a nursery in our previous apartment. Just the essentials: a crib, a shelf to store things, a closet full of baby gear. That was about it.

We had every intention of fancying up our nursery after the move, but it took a few months to settle in, then things with breastfeeding got really challenging, then I got wrapped up in my Creighton Model education program, and before I knew it, we had an 8-month-old with a totally uninspired nursery.

Don't get me wrong. Babies don't care about all this design stuff. So really, I shouldn't have let it bother me. And for the most part, it didn't. Until . . .

A Facebook friend posted gush-worthy photographs of her beautifully designed adventure-themed nursery for their not-yet-born son. It was GORGEOUS. Straight out of a magazine gorgeous. And it finally inspired me to do at least something to spruce up John Paul's bedroom.

As luck would have it, on a trip to Target not long after seeing my friend's nursery photos, I discovered that's where she did most of her shopping! So I purchased a few of the wall decor pieces she had used, straight-up copying her style, and things have just taken off from there.

At this point, the nursery is still a work in progress, but we're getting there. I've collected a few items, and found several others on the internet that I'll probably be purchasing soon. I threw together this inspiration board to make sure my ideas are all working together.

Yes?

Marquee Star Light // $15 via Target 

Gray, Green, and Blue Bunting Flags // $27 via pearlandjane shop on etsy

Silver Lamp // $70 via Target // We found a similar lamp at TJ Maxx for $35. It's rounder than this one.

Gray Rocking Chair // $284 via Wayfair // John's parents gifted us our rocker, which is not as wide, and a little plushier. Ours is actually a recliner. Very comfy! But if I could have a do-over, I'd totally get this one.

Old-Fashioned Map // $4 via The Paper Source // I framed it in a cheap plastic frame, then hand-lettered "Adventure is out there" over it. A fun little project!

Kendall Crib // $400 via Pottery Barn Kids // We got our Kendall crib as a gift from my parents, but they no longer sell it in the color you see above. I had to do a fancy google search to find it for the inspiration board.

Southwest Cross Stitch Pillow // $17 via Target

White Yarn Wall Hanging // $50 via TheLittleAvocado shop on etsy // I haven't purchased this yet and actually don't plan to. I figure I'll take a stab at making it myself. Can't be that hard, right? *famous last words*

Chevron Wall Mirrors // $13 via Target 

LOVE with Arrows Wall Decor // $20 via Target

Variegated Aqua Pouf // $99 via The Land of Nod

Round Fabric Basket with Handles // $18 via Target

Triangle Vinyl Wall Stickers // $7 for 150 triangles via ArtForwardDecals on easy // I really want to get these vinyl wall stickers for the wall behind John Paul's crib, but I'm not sure if they'll work with our apartment's beige walls. Plus, I'm not entirely committed to the triangles. Clouds could be fun too. Or arrows. Or polka dots! But I really like how they make the wall look like wallpaper, without any commitment. They're easily removed! And safe (AKA won't fall down and hurt baby) for the crib area.

Climb Every Mountain Poster // $16 for an 8.5x11 print via NorseKids on etsy // John is actually planning on designing his own version of this poster using an app he likes. I just LOVE the reference to The Sound of Music, and the shape of the mountains fit in perfectly with some of the other triangular objects we have in the room.

Overall, the theme is adventure, the color scheme is gray, gold, and creme, with pops of blue and bright green, and triangular shapes are a common theme, found on several of the objects and wall decorations.

(Do I sound like I know what I'm talking about? 'Cause I don't. Haha.)

Because nursery decor doesn't actually matter in the grand scheme of things, we've tried to keep everything relatively affordable. We were blessed to have major furniture items gifted to us and everything else we're either trying to hand-make or purchase from not-too-expensive shops (AKA etsy and Target). If items are more expensive (like that teal pouf!), they have to be investment pieces that'll stand the test of time and work in other spaces as John Paul outgrows his nursery.

Whew! Design is hard!

Since the nursery is still a work in progress, I'll have to save photos of it for another post. But in the meantime, I can show you that little map project I created.

 To be continued . . .

Stephanie's Recipe: How to Bake Bacon

Who doesn't love bacon?

Y'all. That's obviously a trick question.

;)

Ok, ok, fine. I guess there's a chance that some bacon nay-sayers exist out there. Or some vegetarians. Both acceptable. But let's be real . . . them anti-bacon-eaters are in the serious minority.

To me . . .

Bacon
Is
Everything.

So today, if you're like me, I'm here to show you how to make bacon happen more easily in your life. Perhaps the MOST easy way possible. (Aside from, ya know, buying that microwaveable crap, or those bits that come in a plastic container which you sure-as-well know aren't 100% real bonafide bacon. I rest my case.)

Folks, you gotta BAKE YOUR BACON!

Seriously.

It's as easy as one, two, three.


Ingredients
Bacon

Directions
Buy some bacon, whatever kind suits your fancy. Make sure it's the raw stuff. Place bacon on a foil-lined rimmed baking sheet. But seriously, don't forget the foil. There is mess to be had here if you skip it. You'll thank me later.

Put the bacon in the unheated oven (as in COLD oven!) and then turn on the oven, raising the temp to 400*F. Bake for 17 to 20 minutes, or until they look as crispy as you like. (Thicker bacon obvi needs more time.)

Remove the bacon pan from oven and then move the strips of bacon with a spatula or tongs onto a plate lined with paper towel to tackle some of that grease. If you're a fan of all that extra bacon grease left behind on your baking sheet, go ahead and pour it off into a glass container for later use. Otherwise, discard . . . and not down the drain!

Snap. Crackle. Pop. Sizzle.

Bacon.

Christmas 2015

John and I have been talking lots about what we want our Christmas celebration to look like over the coming years.

Chats include . . .

How do we do Advent?
Should we do Santa?
When do we hang decorations?
How many presents?
What kinds of presents?

Etc., etc.

While we still haven't made up our minds about everything, we've had some great discussions and are looking forward to Christmases yet to come, to put all our new family traditions to the test.

But this year, since John Paul is still super young and basically just wants to play with all the boxes and wrapping paper, we kept things simple. We traveled to Rhode Island to celebrate Christmas with my family this year, and it was wonderful.

We spent Christmas Eve introducing John Paul to the ocean.

His Auntie M came along for the adventure too!

And then we proceeded to party the night away with all my aunts and uncles and cousins, the yearly tradition. No pictures, since we were all wrapped up in the fun of it.

On Christmas morning, my mom snapped pics of us on the top of the stairs before being allowed to walk down and see the tree.

The tree in all her glory! This was the first year my parents got a fake tree! *SHOCKED FACE!*

John Paul loved opening gifts. Playing with boxes is his favorite!

Christmas morning Mass was lovely!

Followed by a day of relaxation, lots of eating, and playing board games with the family.

'Twas a perfect Christmas day.

We flew home the next morning, and John Paul got to open his one gift from us.

A Fisher Price little people Nativity. :)

And we're gonna keep on celebrating until the Epiphany arrives. We'll be blasting all the Christmas music (which we tried to avoid all through Advent!), eating more yummies, admiring Christmas decorations, and keeping the Christ Child alive in our hearts for a full 12 days. Oh, won't you join us? :)

Merry Christmas, friends!

Beloved:

When the kindness and generous love

of God our savior appeared,

not because of any righteous deeds we had done

but because of his mercy,

He saved us through the bath of rebirth

and renewal by the Holy Spirit,

whom he richly poured out on us

through Jesus Christ our savior,

so that we might be justified by his grace

and become heirs in hope of eternal life.

Titus 3: 4-7

Chopped Challenge: Husband vs. Wife Edition

Remember that time OVER A YEAR AGO when I said I'd post a video of our John vs. Stephanie Chopped challenge?!

Time sure flies when your husband takes his time editing the video. ;)

John and I competed against each other in a Chopped-style competition back in August last year. His sister and brother-in-law chose 5 secret ingredients that were revealed to us seconds before starting the competition timer. We had 30 minutes to make an appetizer dish that incorporated all 5 secret ingredients, which we then shared with the judges, John's family members. At the end of our food battle, the judges revealed the winning dish, much to our shock and surprise!

Who will win this marriage-testing cooking match-up? Watch to find out!


By the way, we call our version of this competition "Schopped", which is a play on the name of the actual show, Chopped, and our last name, which starts with Sch. 
Enjoy! And Happy Thanksgiving, friends!

Mama's MilkBox: A Nursing-Friendly Fashion Subscription Box

You guys, we just hit the 6-month nursing mark . . . can you believe it?!

6 months felt SO FAR AWAY when we were going through all of our early nursing issues. But now, nursing is easy breezy and so, so wonderful. I love it and am thanking my past self for persevering. YOU GO, girl!

To celebrate 6 months of breastfeeding my big boy, I signed up for a mama treat. :)

A few weeks ago, a fellow nursing mama sent me a link to Mama's MilkBox, and I was instantly interested. It's basically Stitch Fix, but for nursing moms. Of course, it's not exactly like Stitch Fix. There are definitely a few differences in how they run things. But the overall idea is the same. You fill out a style profile, a stylist picks out several items for you, they ship them to your home, you try them on, keep what you like, send back what you don't.

Some of the bigger differences include . . .

Your first box is a mega-box. They send you several items (I got 9!) to bulk up your breastfeeding wardrobe.

After that, you receive a regular sized box (3-5 items) every 6 weeks until you decide to cancel. Canceling is easy and can be done at any time. Stitch Fix, on the other hand, always sends 5 items and you can pick how often you get a box.

There's no discount for buying all the items, which I interpret as . . . they don't mark up the cost of the items to account for a possible discount. :)

It costs $39 to purchase a box, but that $39 goes toward any items you purchase. If you send all your items back, the $39 will apply to your next box. Stitch Fix is only $20, but if you send all your items back, you lose that $20 forever.

With Mama's, you have to pay the shipping cost to send the items back, which is around $8. Stitch Fix covers the cost of shipping both ways.

You can't gain referral credits by getting friends to sign up, which again I interpret as . . . they don't mark up the cost of the items to account for referral discounts.

Since Mama's MilkBox is sending nursing friendly items, they only send tops and dresses. Who ever heard of nursing friendly pants, amiright?

AND since the company is a lot smaller than Stitch Fix, I've already found that they're much better at taking my suggestions and sending specific items I ask for. Both Stitch Fix and Mama's MilkBox have Instagram accounts where they post items they sell. Stitch Fix has never once sent me an item I liked, or commented on, or pinned to my fashion Pinterest board. On the other hand, Mama's MilkBox sent me probably 5 items that I commented on or pinned. That's some top-notch service right there, folks.

Curious to see what they sent?

Can you spot what makes them nursing friendly? :)

I've already worn one of them out and about, and let me tell you, nursing-friendly tops and dresses make breastfeeding soooo much easier! I mean, we were doing just fine with me wearing normal tops and just pulling them up to access the milky makers. But these items made just for nursing mamas make it easier to keep nursing more discrete in public. AND I can finally wear dresses again! Most of my old dress wardrobe just doesn't work anymore, since nursing in them means basically taking them completely off to get up to the girls. Not a problem at all with nursing-friendly dresses. Woohoo!

And some of them even double as maternity clothing! God-willing, there'll be another pregnancy in my future, so I can add these gems to my maternity stash as well.

Alright. Let's do a quick piece-by-piece review and I'll show ya how they work.

Mothers En Vogue - $89

This dress is what made me fall in love with Mama's MilkBox. I commented on their Instagram pic of this one and said, "Signing up now and would LOVE this dress." They heard me loud and clear. Actually, I like this one so much, I'm wearing it as I type. I wore it yesterday too. I nursed in public at John Paul's well-check appointment this morning and it was so easy! There are little hidden zippers near my underarm that zip down for nursing. Love it! Plus, it has these over-sized pockets on the sides which fit my cellphone perfectly. A mother's dream!  KEPT.

Mama's MilkBox - $49

It seems like Mama's MilkBox has their own brand! I love the simplicity of this top. The navy blue color is one of my faves. There's a panel on the front that lifts up for easy nursing. So cool! And it'll be a great piece for the fall, especially with a thick cardigan over top. KEPT.

Dote - $89

I definitely pinned this dress on Pinterest. :) Thanks for getting the memo, Mama's MilkBox! This one works similarly to the one above, where there's a panel on the front that lifts for easy nursing. It's super cute in general, but I just wasn't feeling it once I tried it on. Also, you can't tell from the picture above, but space was kind of limited for the girls in this one. Too tight in the bust. Plus, I think the pale pink doesn't really work with my skin tone. Oh well! RETURNED.

Boob - $89

Another one that I pinned and love the look of! And another panel top. But the fit wasn't working for me. Overall, it's too baggy and probably a little too long. The color combo and polka dots have me swooning though. Sigh. RETURNED.

Milk Nursingwear - $45

Actually, I pinned this one too! You probably can't make it out in the picture, but it has a lovely lace detail up top. And I love the length of the sleeves. But it felt just a bit baggy on me. And I'm starting to think I don't like dresses made of the jersey knit material, unless they're really something special. Otherwise, they all start to seem like the same ol' dress to me.  RETURNED.

Bun Maternity - $39 

You can't tell from the picture, but this top has snaps up on the shoulder that make the straps of the shirt easy to pull down for nursing. Actually, each side has two shoulder straps, so even while you're pulling one down to nurse, the other stays up, making nursing super discrete.This tank top would be a great piece for layering, and I love the stripes! But it was wayyyy too tight around my bust and too small overall. RETURNED.

Milk Nursingwear - $55

Another jersey knit dress that makes me go, "meh." RETURNED.

Boob - $59

A plain, teal top with a lacey v-neck and a panel style for nursing. Again, "meh." It would be great for layering and is a lovely staple piece, but I was kinda bored by it. Also, I wasn't digging the lace detail on this one. RETURNED.

Loyal Hana - $79

I pinned this top on my Pinterest board too because . . . SWOON! Isn't it lovely?  I would have never imagined such a fun, fashion-forward nursing-friendly top! At first I wasn't sure since it's a little baggy, but I'm thinking the bagginess totally works with this look. For nursing, there are little zippers hiding near my underarms that zip down the v-shape on the front of the shirt. Sneaky, right? And a huge bonus with this one is that John Paul has some red and black flannel pants that match it perfectly. Mom and baby in matching outfits? Super win! KEPT.

---

And there you have it! Nursing fashion for the win!

I have to say, I'm pumped to get my next Mama's MilkBox in 6 weeks. Sorry, Stitch Fix, but you're on hold for a while.

Unrelated to this, I also backed a nursing dress kickstarter a few months ago, so I'll be adding those to my nursing wardrobe soon too. :)

You probably noticed that nursing friendly clothes are kinda pricey. Eek! I wasn't exactly expecting that. But I'll probably just keep one or two pieces from each box in the future, and that'll keep things a little more affordable overall.

Now, if someone could point me in the direction of some nursing bras that hold up the girls as high as my favorite non-nursing bras do ... well, that would be a HOME RUN!

Naming John Paul Fulton

When you're out and about with a baby, you get lots of attention. One of the first questions most folks ask is, "What's his name?" To which we reply "John Paul", and to which they reply with a variety of fun reactions.

Some folks say, "How beautiful!"

Others say, "Is that biblical or something?"

And others, "Like the Pope?!"

We sure are wearing our Catholicness on our sleeve with a name like that.

While we were pregnant, we decided to not decide on a name for baby. We had a (long) list of names for a boy and another (long) list for a girl and we'd make our name decision once we saw our little one's face for the first time.

In order to make "the list", the names had to be a saint's name, a future saint's name, a derivative of a saint or future saint's name, or a family name. Extra points for saints or to-be saints with cool stories. Also, the name couldn't be too popular. I tend to like traditional names that are a little off the beaten path, but not too far off (i.e. St. Sexburga . . . what?!). And I really like nicknames, so if the name had a good one, I liked it even more. Sometimes I'd even think of the nickname first and try to find a saint's name that matched the nickname. Naming really is a fun game!

You'd think that with all those requirements, we would be able to narrow things down a bit, but GOSH there are a lot of saints and to-be saints out there with wonderfully classy nicknameable names!

I spent a lot of time sorting through names on this alphabetical catalog of all the saints and once I found ones I liked, I'd head on over to the Social Security website to check the popularity of the name in the US over the past 10 years. In order to make the cut, it couldn't be in the top 20, especially if it was a girl's name. I like for girl's names to be even less popular . . . out of the top 100. I was serious about names, folks!

Once a name made my list, I'd bounce it off John and try to imagine calling our child by that name throughout his or her life. I'd occasionally run names by friends or family members, but I found it was best to decide on names just between the two of us, since everyone has naming opinions, and they differ wildly!

Once a name made our list, we worked on pairing it with the perfect middle name, which was typically where the family names came in.

After all that searching, we were hoping the perfect name would become obvious once we laid eyes on our newborn, but were also prepared for our baby to go nameless for a few days if we couldn't decide. :P

All that being said, we were pretty sure if baby was a boy, he'd end up being named for his father: John. The name "John" goes pretty far back on his side of the family. All the first born sons have been named John for at least the past 3 generations, with all the men having different middle names (so there's no Sr., Jr., III). My husband, John, was open to going with a different name on the list if baby didn't look or feel to us like a John, but I could tell he really wanted to honor his family by continuing the family tradition. And I was all for making that happen.

However, I really didn't want two guys going by the same first name in our house, like my husband experienced when he lived under his parents' roof. (When we go over there, there's still confusion whenever someone says "John"!) So that's where more creativity came into play.

Since our baby boy's first name was going to honor John's side of the fam, we figured his middle name should honor my side. As luck would have it, guess what my dad's name is . . . Paul!

So, while at first glance it appears we named John Paul for St. Pope John Paul II, we also named him for both his grandfathers -- John and Paul. How cool is that?

And though his first name is just John, we enjoy calling him John Paul so there's no confusion as to who I'm talking to or about at any given moment. We also like that if he decides he'd rather just go by John some day, he has the option, hence "Paul" as a middle name.

For whatever reason, we also decided he needed a second middle name. I think part of it was because we just like so many names, so we wanted to throw another one in there. And as a former infertile, you have no idea if you'll be able to have more in the future, so I sorta felt like . . . gotta use 'em while we can!

Because we were pretty certain about the name John Paul, it was really the second middle name that we left undecided until after he was born. The two we were deciding between were Fulton, for Blessed Fulton Sheen, who is so awesome and we've both loved for a long time, and Peregrine, patron saint of illness, but more importantly the saint that Pippin from Lord of the Rings was named for. ;) We also toyed with Benedict and Francis, but then we'd be double-Pope-ing our kid, Pio, for St. Padre Pio, and Patrick, because John liked that name at the last second and it sounds good with John Paul.

But once our little man arrived, it was clear he was meant to be John Paul Fulton.

So there you have it . . . the long version of where our little man got such a big name from. :)

And in case you were curious, I'll share all the other names we were considering. Don't be too surprised if we use them (God willing) in the future, but since John Paul's birth, I've already discovered a few more names that I love. I'll keep those newer ones a secret for now. ;)

PS - If you're as name obsessed as I am, check out this Catholic naming blog, Sancta Nomina. She even does naming consultations! Be warned, you can easily get lost in her old posts for hours. :)