Week in My Life: Day 7, Sunday

This week,  I’m participating in the “Week in My Life” series. You can read Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday, Friday and Saturday to get all caught up on the shenanigans.

Whew, this is it, the downhill run. I learned so much these past seven days, namely that I’m glad this series is only a week. Wow! It’s been work to document all the itty bitty things that go on here at Casa Whitaker, but also incredibly fun and enlightening. More on that in a moment. Let’s get on to Sunday, shall we?

This Sunday began with a late start because that’s what happens when your kids stay up until 10pm rooting on the Aggies. We’re usually Saturday night Mass goers, but because of the late soccer game and the Aggies, we opted to go this morning. We have a saying at our house:  “We go to church every weekend because we have season tickets.” It’s a huge part of who we are and I can’t imagine starting the week any other way. This comic strip has been on our fridge for well over a decade and, might I add, the fact that it’s held up by my Dr Pepper magnet makes it even funnier. I am their unofficial spokesperson.

We were a wee bit rushed this morning, but still managed to herd five kids to the car and make it to our seats before the processional. I’m not 100% confident everyone’s hair or teeth were brushed. Details, details. The kids were mostly good. I think the older two boys only got the stank eye twice and Luke left once to get a diaper change. Mass usually falls somewhere between a hint of purgatory and a slice of heaven. Taking kids to Mass is a work in progress.

Of course, it didn’t hurt that a big incentive was having good enough behavior to earn a donut after Mass in the parish hall. Or, that a sweet, sweet man always brings fruit snacks for my kids and doles them out after Mass has concluded. He – and those snacks – are the highlights of their hour!

Every weekend, I stand in front of my closet and lament I have nothing to wear. A friend of mine on FB recently started a linkup on her blog called, “What I Wore Sunday.” While I doubt I’ll post many pictures here, I plan on taking a few photos of outfits and putting them in my closet so I can refer to them when I am completely out of ideas!

After we got home the next several hours consisted of lunch, homework, reading, a little fantasy football watching and a nap for the littlest. I knocked out the rest of Will’s saint costume. It was actually easier than I thought and the 9-1-1 call I made to my mom was solved by St. Google.

About 2:30, we rallied the troops and started putting on Halloween costumes. Oh. The. Drama. It itches! I don’t like this costume! Do I have to wear this mask? Ugh, I don’t wanna dress up. WAAAAA. It’s at that point Scott looked at me and said, “Is this ever going to be fun?” Probably not, but in my best mom voice I said, “Everybody quit griping and put your costumes on because we’re going to have fun.” I *may* have muttered an extra something on the end of that, but only Scott heard. Several weeks ago I had RSVPed for an event at the Chi Omega house on Texas’ campus. The house girls throw a great party, complete with indoor trick-or-treating, craft-making and goodie eating. I knew once we got there the kids would love it, it was just excruciating getting them there.

That’s pretty much the story of parenthood, isn’t it?

Just as I predicted, they had the time of their lives. Luke just stopped asking for candy and just started taking it. The sorority girls said, “Aww” and so he took more.

And, in a stroke of “this is the smallest world – ever” we ran into a great, great friend of ours at the shindig. Greg and Scott were yell leaders together at Texas A&M and he married a Longhorn Chi Omega. Greg and his wife just moved to Austin two weeks ago and we run into them in downtown Austin, on a Sunday, at the Chi O house. What are the odds, people??

I also ran into my Chi O neighbor (I knew she was coming) and her two sweet girls. Candace and I had to pledge our allegiances, of course.

On the way out to the car, John Paul says, “Man, that was fun. We need to come do this again next year.” SEE, I told you!

When we got home, the “Sunday schedule” was in full force. Dinner was on the stove simmering (Tasty Soup, a family favorite) and the kids got busy doing chores, laundry and picking up while I finished up the saint costume and Scott bathed two kids. It was a bit of a rough go with our oldest. Let’s just say he still has a lot to learn in the “time management” file folder of life. Sunday did not end well for him, but perhaps a lesson was learned, on both our parts.

After dinner, the kids enjoyed a piece of candy, then it was time for bed. Scott handled the boys, I was on tap for the girls. We read a book, said a our prayer requests and prayers (Hail Mary and Guardian Angel) and then they hit the hay.

Tomorrow, we get up and do it all over again. But, you know what? This is my life and I wouldn’t have it any other way. I pray you feel the same about yours!

I learned so many things this week, namely:

1. Rhythm and routine make our chaos, organized chaos. It’s crucial to my sanity and the kids’. I suppose our life looks a bit busy to some folks, but it’s happened so slowly, with each addition of a child, that it’s become our baseline. It’s hard to remember what it was like with one child!
2. As much as I love and relish my freelance graphic design business, I need to set some specific hours and be purposeful about the work I do during those hours. My most important vocation is motherhood, yet my creative outlet is my business. It’s always a bit of a balance and some days are better than others.
3. Time with Scott is my lifeline.
4. God has blessed us abundantly. I need to take more time to tell Him so.

My sincere thanks for allowing me to take a break from the usual and document a week in our life. I plan on taking a few days off from blogging this week, but you’ll get me back soon enough. Have a great week, y’all!